Oh Voices

Randy Newman on Family Guy

2008-09-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

What I've been listening to lately

2008-07-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

1. Bob Dylan's album New Morning
STANDOUT SONGS:
Track 8 "Sign on the window" (and Aaron, I disagree now, the bridge fits very well, it could have been executed differently, but it is impressive as it is)
Track 3 "Time passes slowly"

2. Gillian Welch's album Soul Journey
STANDOUT SONGS:
Track 3 "Wayside/Back In Time"
Track 7 "Lowlands"

3. The Beach Boys album Pet Sounds

4. I've been listening to and reading a book about Dylan's Highway 61 Revisted album. It is especially spiteful and rocking.

5. Howlin' Wolf's album Moanin' in the Moonlight
Standout Tracks:
Track 4 "Who's been talkin'"

6. I've been thinking a lot about song composition and chords, especially looking to The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 album. I haven't heard it for more than a month, but I think about it almost every day. The piano playing and chord choices he comes up with make me think.

7. And while I was in Missoula last week I read an interview and thought about melody in reference to Joanna Newsom and her phenomenal, ground breaking, melody-rich album Ys.

Since I'm typing. I've finished 3 new songs recently and am killing myself considering possible, best, and potential arrangements for them.

New Songs

2008-06-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some new songs by myself over the last month or so. I just posted the first one on my personal myspace page.

This song is called I Need A Break.

Its a bad idea to try and argue
Arguments are not becoming of you.

If I was in need of a break
would you be the one to give it to me?
If I was to ask for a break
would you be the one to give it to me?

I'm building up my gall to stay around one more go.
I will nod to virtue, but I will not bow to kiss its hand.

Townes Van Zandt is playing on my stereo.
Townes Van Zandt is playing on my stereo.

All the beauty in the world comes down at a price.
Except the ones I love and the tune I live inside.

So go, let it all end.

Give it a listen. Remember, its not on the Oh Voices page, but at www.myspace.com/andrewtmcneely

I push things out through my mouth, I get refilled through my ears

2008-05-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Modest Mouse lyrics from The Lonesome Crowded West. Don't have much energy to post anything else right now. I was just rocking to this today.

"Heart Cooks Brain"

Slow walk
It's land mine
It's coal mine
It's a bad thought
On the way to god don't know
my brain's the burger and my heart's the coal
I'm trying to get my head clear
i push things out through my mouth i get refilled through my ears
i'm on my way to god don't know or even care
my brain's the weak heart, and my heart's the long stairs
Inland from Vancouver shore
the ravens and the seagulls push each other inward and outward
inward and outward
in this place that i call home
my brain's the cliff, and my heart's the bitter buffalo
my heart's the bitter buffalo
we tore one down, and erected another there
the match of the century: absence versus thin air
on the way to god don't know
my brain's the burger and my heart's the coal
on this life that we call home
the years go fast and the days go so slow

SINISTER: to add to the last post

2008-04-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Harp Magazine's Fall 2001 edition has an interview with Gillian Welch which refers to her songs about April 14th. I will add this interesting article to my links list too.

Welch refuses to explain the connections between the events mentioned within the songs. With a nervous laugh, she admits, “When I was working on ‘Ruination Day,’ I got spooked. I honestly spooked myself. I don’t know how deep to go into it, but, um, you know, it’s a bad day. Some bad stuff went on. And it’s so peculiar, and such a strange coincidence, that it makes you stop and think. That’s all I’ll say. Sinister. I found it very sinister, the number of bad things that have gone down on April 14.”

"It was not December, and it was not in May. It's the 14th of April, that is Ruination Day."

2008-04-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.
1912 - The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic, and sinks the following morning with the loss of 1,503 lives.
1935 - "Black Sunday", the worst dust storm of the U.S. Dust Bowl.

This day is one of the few dates I remember (sorry Chris, about your birthday). I was initially introduced to the happenings of April 14th through Gillian Welch. She, no doubt heard about it through Woody Guthrie and her general knowledge of history. Woody wrote about it in relation to the devastating dust storms that caused the soil in the midwest to take flight. In 1940 he released Dust Bowl Ballads, a series of songs that protest injustice, add humor to widespread tragedy, poke a finger at politicians, and tell of the general blues of the era. I have been listening to this album for 6 or 7 years and it led me to read Guthrie's partly true autobiography Bound For Glory. The book is ridiculously humorous, witty in jargon, and reveals some of Guthrie's concern for social justice.

The Great Dust Storm:

On the 14th day of April of 1935,
There struck the worst of dust storms that ever filled the sky.
You could see that dust storm comin', the cloud looked deathlike black,
And through our mighty nation, it left a dreadful track.

From Oklahoma City to the Arizona line,
Dakota and Nebraska to the lazy Rio Grande,
It fell across our city like a curtain of black rolled down,
We thought it was our judgement, we thought it was our doom.

The radio reported, we listened with alarm,
The wild and windy actions of this great mysterious storm;
From Albuquerque and Clovis, and all New Mexico,
They said it was the blackest that ever they had saw.

From old Dodge City, Kansas, the dust had rung their knell,
And a few more comrades sleeping on top of old Boot Hill.
From Denver, Colorado, they said it blew so strong,
They thought that they could hold out, but they didn't know how long.

Our relatives were huddled into their oil boom shacks,
And the children they was cryin' as it whistled through the cracks.
And the family it was crowded into their little room,
They thought the world had ended, and they thought it was their doom.

The storm took place at sundown, it lasted through the night,
When we looked out next morning, we saw a terrible sight.
We saw outside our window where wheat fields they had grown
Was now a rippling ocean of dust the wind had blown.

It covered up our fences, it covered up our barns,
It covered up our tractors in this wild and dusty storm.
We loaded our jalopies and piled our families in,
We rattled down that highway to never come back again."

He also details a two song telling of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath in the songs Tom Joad, Parts I & II. Most of the songs on this album show the best of Guthrie including Dusty Old Dust (So Long, It's Been Good to Know You). It's one of his most famous songs. Check the album out at your local library.

Now, I've spent a couple of years of my life on a Guthrie kick, but Gillian Welch's album Time (the Revelator) is my number one favorite of all time. Gillian's songs April 14th, Part I & II, document the three tragedies listed at the top of this post.

"And the great barge sank and the Okies fled
And the Great Emancipator took a bullet in the head
In the head... took a bullet in the back of the head

It was not December and it was not in May
It was the 14th day of April, that is Ruination Day
That's the day, the day that is Ruination Day

They were one, they were two
There were three, they were four
They were five hundred miles from their home
From their home... they were five hundred miles from their home

When the iceberg hit, then they must have known
that God moves on the water, Casey Jones
Casey Jones... God moves on the water, Casey Jones

It was not December and it was not May
Was the 14th of April, that is ruination day
That's the day.. the day that is ruination day"

That's Part II. Part I is more of an autobiographical, and at least 1st person narrative about musicians blowing around like dust. I love it, listen to it. Now, I've got to go.

I'm thinking about starting a What I Listened to Today bit because I'm pretty busy these days... we'll see. Listen to these songs

Four Winds - Bright Eyes

2008-04-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Lately, its all videos. What can I do? I like it.

So far, so good.

2008-04-05T23:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight I played a concert In The Round with Damien Jurado and Jenna from Troubletown and I think I pulled it off pretty well.

And... I now love Howlin Wolf... these are not related.

Gillian's new album update

2008-03-28T09:24:00.001-07:00

I just discovered this on Gillian's website...

Welch and Rawlings have been so busy playing with other musicians that four years have passed since Soul Journey was released. “We’re writing songs for the new album now,” Welch says. “We’ll start recording once we have almost all of them written.” The album will be released on the duo’s own label Acony Records, which they set up in 2001 for Time (The Revelator), as a way to own their master recordings and control their musical output. “We’re very independent musically, and this means that our business can actually be in line with our aesthetic,” Welch says.

And what do the new songs sound like? “The stuff is feeling spookier and more panoramic than Soul Journey,” she says. “The bottom line is, we’ll do whatever the music calls for, because we are always slaves and servants of the song.”

I am so excited.

One Monkey Don't Stop No Show

2008-03-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

Below are lyrics from Gillian Welch's "One monkey" song off her latest album Soul Journey (late like too long ago!) and a possible source for her phrasing and theme in a song by Big Maybelle that I heard on KPLU's All Blues program (Saturday and Sunday's @ 6pm- midnight, Blues Time Machine - always at 8). I believe that the topics are one and the same, Gillian's phrasing is just more focused on the train imagery. You know, I used to not like Gillian's "One monkey", it is so slow and prodding. But in the last year or so, I've come around. Check her song out on iTunes or somewhere. Try catching some of Big Maybelle's too, she's got style - completely different from Gillian.

"One Monkey", 2003

One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa, so get on board
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa, so get on board

Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
So, get on board

One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa, so get on board

There is a purpose, a running keep
There is a Captian, with a steady wheel
Wheel

One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa, so get on board
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa, so get on board

Here comes the slow train
Here comes the slow train
Here comes the slow train
So get on board

One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa, so get on board

She’s at the station, running slow
Ready for leavin;, she’s gonna go
Go

One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show

Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
So, get on board

One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa, so get on board
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
One monkey don’t stop the show
Whoa, so get on board

Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
So, get on board

"One Monkey Don't Stop No Show"
Big Maybelle, 1954

My baby jumped up this morning
And sat on the side of the bed
He said I'm leaving you baby
And this is just what I said

I said I can't make you stay if you want to go
But it's high time baby that you should know

One monkey don't stop no show
One monkey don't stop no show
So if you still want to go, go ahead
And I meant every word I said

My baby thought I was jiving
And he went right out the door
He left me about three in the morning
Hmm, I got me a man at four

Some women cry when their men leave 'em drylongso
But I found out something long time ago

One monkey don't stop no show
One monkey don't stop no show
So if he gets too big for his pants
Get a spring brand new one and give him a chance

I used to be chicken-hearted
And cry when he'd walk out the door
'Cause I was just young and simple
Ha! Ain't like that no more

'Cause I had a hard way to go 'fore I learned the score
But I'm here to tell you and I should know

One monkey don't stop no show
One monkey don't stop no show
I let him do anything he choose
'Cause there's a million men who can fill his shoes

One monkey don't stop no show
One monkey don't stop no show
One monkey don't stop no show
And you can tell them I told you so

Round lineup update

2008-03-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Jenna from Troubletown will be joining Damien Jurado and I at the Round on April 5. She sometimes plays the cello and sings with Damien. Check it out.

The content on this blog is going downhill

2008-03-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

I was wasting time online when...

2008-03-16T17:44:00.001-07:00

Andrew is playing a solo show April 5th.

2008-03-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

I've heard this one live a few times, but not on an album yet

2008-03-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

This song is often called "Throw me a rope" or "That's the way it would be." It is hoped to be on any new Gillian Welch album. Their harmonies always amaze me.

Songs that flow freely

2008-03-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I'm walking, a tune will come to me. And as I tramp along, I sing every thought that flows from me. And usually its not good. But sometimes... I recall that I wrote a song called "Sing you" while I was walking the long way home from work.
The type of songs that I am thinking about are reminiscent of songs from a musical. Sometimes the content is light and seems silly, and other times it is tightly woven around a theme. Bjork's musical Dancer in the Dark has lovely (and sad) examples of these types of songs. Van Dyke Parks does this too, of course. As does Wilco (I've been digging that Sky Blue Sky, and more and more A Ghost is Born).

Joanna Newsom's album Ys. has five good examples of amazing, broad and flowing song-writing. "Emily" is a good one. I like it when she brings herself back with "Anyhow, I sat by your side..." Read this aloud to yourself to catch the wonderful and fun rhyming lilt. And pick up a copy of this album, it is grandiose and likable.

Emily
The meadowlark and the chim-choo-ree and the sparrow
Set to the sky in a flying spree, for the sport over the pharaoh
A little while later the Pharisees dragged comb through the meadow
Do you remember what they called up to you and me, in our window?

There is a rusty light on the pines tonight
Sun pouring wine, lord, or marrow
Down into the bones of the birches
And the spires of the churches
Jutting out from the shadows
The yoke, and the axe, and the old smokestacks and the bale and the barrow
And everything sloped like it was dragged from a rope
In the mouth of the south below

We've seen those mountains kneeling, felten and grey
We thought our very hearts would up and melt away
From that snow in the night time
Just going
And going
And the stirring of wind chimes
In the morning
In the morning
Helps me find my way back in
From the place where I have been

And, Emily - I saw you last night by the river
I dreamed you were skipping little stones across the surface of the water
Frowning at the angle where they were lost, and slipped under forever,
In a mud-cloud, mica-spangled, like the sky'd been breathing on a mirror

Anyhow - I sat by your side, by the water
You taught me the names of the stars overhead that I wrote down in my ledger
Though all I knew of the rote universe were those pleiades loosed in december
I promised you I‘d set them to verse so I'd always remember

That the meteorite is a source of the light
And the meteor's just what we see
And the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee

And the meteorite's just what causes the light
And the meteor's how it's perceived
And the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee

You came and lay a cold compress upon the mess I'm in
Threw the window wide and cried; Amen! Amen! Amen!
The whole world - stopped - to hear you hollering
You looked down and saw now what was happening

The lines are fadin' in my kingdom
Though I have never known the way to border 'em in
So the muddy mouths of baboons and sows and the grouse and the horse and the hen
Grope at the gate of the looming lake that was once a tidy pen
And the mail is late and the great estates are not lit from within
The talk in town's becoming downright sickening

In due time we will see the far butte lit by a flare
I've seen your bravery, and I will follow you there
And row through the night time
Gone healthy
Gone healthy all of a sudden
In search of the midwife
Who could help me
Who could help me
Help me find my way back in
There are worries where I’ve been

Say, say, say in the lee of the bay; don't be bothered
Leave your troubles here where the tugboats shear the water from the water
Flanked by furrows, curling back, like a match held up to a newspaper
Emily, they'll follow your lead by the letter
And I make this claim, and I'm not ashamed to say I know you better
What they've seen is just a beam of your sun that banishes winter

Let us go! Though we know it's a hopeless endeavor
The ties that bind, they are barbed and spined and hold us close forever
Though there is nothing would help me come to grips with a sky that is gaping and yawning
There is a song I woke with on my lips as you sailed your great ship towards the morning

Come on home, the poppies are all grown knee-deep by now
Blossoms all have fallen, and the pollen ruins the plow
Peonies nod in the breeze and while they wetly bow, with
Hydrocephalitic listlessness ants mop up-a their brow

And everything with wings is restless, aimless, drunk and dour
The butterflies and birds collide at hot, ungodly hours
And my clay-colored motherlessness rangily reclines
Come on home, now! All my bones are dolorous with vines

Pa pointed out to me, for the hundredth time tonight
The way the ladle leads to a dirt-red bullet of light
Squint skyward and listen -
Loving him, we move within his borders:
Just asterisms in the stars' set order

We could stand for a century
Starin'
With our heads cocked
In the broad daylight at this thing
Joy
Landlocked
In bodies that don't keep
Dumbstruck with the sweetness of being
Till we don't be
Told; take this
Eat this

Told, the meteorite is the source of the light
And the meteor's just what we see
And the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee

And the meteorite's just what causes the light
And the meteor's how it's perceived
And the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee.

Last night I had a dream

2008-03-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Last night I had an exhilarating dream. I've been waiting for the events of this dream for a long, long, long, long, long time.

I dreamed that Gillian Welch has a new record out. In my dream I was looking at the tan cd case. Gillian and David Rawlings were on the cover. I flipped it over looking for the record company, expecting to see the Acony symbol like all her albums have. But Lo!!! It said Capitol Records (maybe with an 'a', I'm not a detail man).

Regularly I randomly say to Katie, "You know what would be amazing? If there was a new Gillian Welch album!" And now, my dreams are coming true, sort of. If only in my dreams.

...So, after I first posted this Katie asked me if she might have an album coming. So I searched for 15 minutes and this is the best I've got. Check it out.

Hey boys!

2008-03-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

Hey boys, come around,
its raining in this orphan town
and its cold outside.

Wave your arms,
and lay me down.
Come talk with me from both sides of your mouth.

Take your name,
and put it down
with all the devil thieves here in this town.

Wish you will,
wish you won't,
just stay awhile and sing it to me slow.

Hey boys, come around,
its raining in this orphan town
and its cold outside.

Primaries: A real nice way to spend the day in Dayton, Ohio

2008-03-03T17:12:00.000-08:00

This Tuesday seems to be a big deal. Here’s some time wasting information for you while you watch the polls. Songs about Ohio that I enjoy.

"Ohio" by Modest Mouse from the album This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. I bet tomorrow a lot of people will be thinking “Ohi-ie-ie-oh-ho!”

“Dayton, Ohio 1903” by Randy Newman from the album Sail Away. Homey, reminiscent, you should listen to it. The piano is amazing. You can download a nice concert with this track included or just listen to a live version of the song here (click on “Dayton, Ohio 1903”).

It's a real nice way
To spend the day
In Dayton Ohio
On a lazy Sunday afternoon in 1903

And you know that if Hillary wins in Ohio many will be singing “Look At Miss Ohio” by Gillian Welch from her album Soul Journey. It is sort of about a wayward woman, flaunting herself around (which is not about how I feel about Hillary, but is a funny joke).

ABOUT TEXAS I don't really want to write about it. So why don't you pass on some songs about Texas.

This morning is musical

2008-02-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

This morning, while cooking up some swiss chard to go with my eggs and pear I listened to The Kinks' Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround. I enjoyed the style variations and liked the little old-timey piano ditty.
I also listened to a recording I am working on, very tentatively titled Sheep With Cameras. A few lyrics... "I wish that you could be my next thought. More likely, I will be." This is one of Nicolas' best organ parts, it has such a good beat. And soon I will sing the lovely harmonies he laid out for me.

Nicolas told me, he was right

2008-02-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

Panda Bear's album Person Pitch

Boston: "You seem like a good little boy to me."

2008-02-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

Check out our new song "Boston".

And I found a good band residing in Tacoma - Kusikia.

I am going to Vancouver, Canada. This is the flag of that SUNNY city (God help us).

Kimya Dawson and Olympia, WA

2008-02-11T08:41:00.001-08:00

I saw Kimya Dawson from the Moldy Peaches and of fame from the hit movie Juno at the Grand Cinema in Tacoma yesterday. Her music is up for a soundtrack award. I added her blog to the links list on the right. Maybe it will be interesting sometimes. Her songs have a lot of honesty in them, and a lot of the Olympia vibe I enjoy so much when I go there. On that note, I attended my first Olympia house show (apparently they have amazing shows in houses there all the time) a few weeks back. A band from Arizona came through on tour - French Quarter. They were tight and fun. And there was an amazing SHADOW PUPPET SHOW! It was really remarkable. Then, Polka Dot Dot (that's only two members of Polka Dot Dot Dot) played. They were quite excellent too. And the crowd was quirky and comfortable.

I am not in love with these bands, but they have something going and it was actually nice to see them all. Check them out.

Kimya Dawson looked kinda like this at the show I saw.

Blues Time Machine: Discovering the Mississippi Sheiks

2008-02-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

- R. Crumb's rendering of the Mississippi Sheiks

Six months ago, or so, I was listening to KPLU (88.5 FM)on their weekend show All Blues with John Kessler and I was introduced to the Mississippi Sheiks. I'm pretty sure it was during an excellent segment that John Kessler does called Blues Time Machine. In the Time Machine he plays different versions of the same song over time. Last weekend he featured a song about Mardi Gras that was rooted in an American Indian song. It was phenomenal. And it reminded me of how I was introduced to the Mississippi Sheiks.

"All Things Considered, December 29, 2006 - As part of our series about students and teachers, musicologist Bruce Nemerov describes the way that one song is recorded by several different musicians in different decades of the 20th century. The older musicians are teaching the younger musicians through the song "Sitting on Top of the World." We hear the song as recorded by Al Jolson, The Mississippi Sheiks, Howlin' Wolf, Eric Clapton, Bill Monroe and The Grateful Dead." - NPR

To me, that isn't the finest description, possibly because I'm not a real fan of a lot of those artists. It was, however, the variety of styles and the raw strength of the song to be viable in so many different styles and eras, that made me like this portion.

Follow this link to hear the journey of this song, it is worth way more than 8 minutes.

- This is the album I purchased after listening to this segment on KPLU's All Blues.

I linked this earlier, but now it's here. Thank you, my tech saavy friend!

2008-02-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

This is Dr. John. The piano, his voice, and the fact that these songs are ridiculous, on top of the funny artwork make these ads amazing. I first heard about Dr. John on KPLU 88.5 FM, our amazing jazz station. More to come on KPLU.

Van Dyke Parks

2008-02-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

I lifted this from Mr. Parks myspace page.

About Van Dyke Parks:
Van Dyke Parks (1943-) established a recording career as artist, arranger, producer, and songwriter in 1963. In that year, he had his first professional job in movie music as arranger for "The Bear Necessities". In 1964, he signed his first contract with MGM Records as singer/songwriter, continuing through the sixties and into the nineties with eight of his own albums, and countless others, as arranger, studio musician, and producer. In 1969, Parks joined Warner Brothers Records as Vice President of Audio/Visual Services and in A&R. Parks recently has taken a hiatus from the Industry, objecting to its contract practices (with the observation "...it's fundamentally wrong to build wealth and comfort which is based on the deprivation of others"). With the re-emergence of his work for a new generation of music-lovers, Parks has resurfaced, and like Frank Sinatra and Brian Wilson (who preceded him in retirement), Van Dyke Parks is back. Van Dyke lives in Los Angeles with his Delta Queen.

See previous posts on Van Dyke Parks and check out the song The Attic on his debut album Song Cycle. Amazing!

David Bazan is a pro and here is his video

2008-02-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

I like this song because it is good. And the video is fun. Thanks Christian for showing me how to paste the doodad on here.

Something nice if you like "smug drumless ballads..." which you do!

2008-01-30T20:58:00.000-08:00

Someone wrote something nice about us on a blog called Dance Hall Hips.

Recording and Conrad Paumann

2008-01-30T18:10:00.001-08:00

I posted some of this up on myspace, but I thought I'd add it here too.

We record using an Apple iBook G4, through the Garage Band program, only using the built-in microphone. That's right, we just set the computer a few feet away from the piano and guitar amps and we record it. Since we don't own a grand piano, we record in a local university's piano practice rooms, they are none the wiser (so far). After that, I do most of the vocals at home. We like how it sounds, but we'd also like to kick it up a notch.

And in other general news... I am working on a new song tentatively titled "Conrad Paumann". Here's a line:

"Conrad Paumann (another blind musician of uncommon talent)."

I am reading a book by Stuart Isacoff called Temperment. It stirs the imagination.

I am hitting the needle on the head and it hurts - because it is a NEEDLE!

2008-01-30T17:53:00.000-08:00

Well, after I sat and thought about it for 5 seconds, I realized that there isn't really an argument to be had about the swearing bit. I suppose I just know a bunch of people who feel like it gets in the way of the music. But what they mean is that it keeps them, as individuals with a personal gauge on what they do and don't like to hear, from enjoying particular songs. Most importantly, what they don't mean is that the meaning(s) of the song, are impeded by certain words. Certainly, I would argue against anyone who tried that one. "Shit" is exactly what I mean and what I am trying to bring to the listener - that's right! I'm trying to bring you SHIT (and it costs more to get speedy delivery, otherwise, it will take 14-43 business days).

I feel like an idiot for bringing it up. This isn't a good example of what Zach was telling me to include in this blog, or what I wanted to. It is a reflection of how the people I know bug the crap out of me about my music. I no longer hear them...

CURSING, SWEARING, BLEEPING not so much for emphasis... but for TRUTH ???

2008-01-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

This is for me, not for you. A little encouragement to post on a topic I consider whenever I drop the bomb around people, especially small nephews and "churchies".

This song is truly titled "(The shit) And the Gold". I will write about it soon. Here are the lyrics for now, and and checkout the link to the Oh Voices myspace page where you can find this song to listen to. And check out the unrelated beer ad I found in Scotland at the bottom.

And the Gold

When I found out that you were doing drugs
I wasn't upset. I thought, "I know what you mean, man."
I know what you mean.

Well, I'm diamond toothed and ready to go.
I am in the thin place, and the shit stands alone.
It's not either/or - it's the shit and the gold.
It's not either/or - the timing is the war.

This song I sing, you know it is the truth (like the sky is blue).
I might be fucked up, but you know I can sing.
I might be fucked up, but you know I can sing.
I might be, but you know I can sing.

Cover Similarities

2008-01-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

Van Dyke Parks' debut album Song Cycle (1968) begins with a Randy Newman number.
Randy Newman's debut album Randy Newman (Creates Something New Under the Sun) (1968) was co-produced by Van Dyke Parks.

And look at the mugs on these guys!

Oh Voices is... RAFFI !!!

2008-01-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

I got this email today from my sister-in-law. My wife and I recently introduced our nephew to Raffi - the kid song guy. "Baby Beluga", "Banana phone" and all the rest. We danced with the little guy. He's also seen me perform with Oh Voices a few times. Its all very confusing.

Email:

Hey Andrew,

Just thought I would let you know that your cute nephew is a little confused, he thinks that you are Raffi, and in between each song he says, "more Anu"

Enjoy your day,

Renata

R. Crumb's Jelly Roll Morton

2008-01-06T18:10:00.000-08:00

There are some really astounding murder ballads Jelly played for the Library of Congress, he drops the F-Bomb in there. Pretty gritty blues. Check those out. Also, I know of at least one recording of Jelly with a band he directed, hence the picture. I have an album of his band work entitled Jelly Roll Morton - that might not be much help. I don't have the original cd anymore so I couldn't say who put the album out. Anyway, he is an amazing Jazz pianist and orchestrator, who lived quite a life (see previous entry).

Calendar

2008-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, I received a calendar with drawings by R. Crumb starring his Hero's of Blues, Jazz, and Country Music. My wife's blessed sister Anna gave it to me. With it came some postcards including The Carter Family and Duke Ellington. Pretty great. I found it hard to find an image of the Carter Family postcard, though. Check out the Carter Family, try "Black Jack David" or "Can the Circle Be Unbroken".

Time (the Revelator)

2008-01-05T13:02:00.001-08:00

Gillian Welch - I say her name, and I warm up a bit. My life and music are significantly connected to her music and what it implies. Two guitars, two vocals, and perfection. Here's some personal data for you (for me).
When I was 21 and living in Chattanooga, TN, I was introduced to Gillian's music, being told, "'GILL' not 'JILL'". I was doing a lot of driving around at the time for work, and I was up at all hours doing it, so I had a lot of time to listen. Previously, I hadn't listened to much folk or country music. It was around that time that I first got into some blues, namely, Robert Johnson. (I recall going into this hippie/spiritual/record/book/art store next to the Mudpie Restaurant I worked at, and picking up Robert - Oh the intrigue! Oh the amazing singing and playing!) Well, my girlfriend had seen her play several times, and I was driving around all night singing and emoting over her songs - listening to the possibilities, so we bought tickets to her show at Chattanooga's Rhythm and Brews. A lovely small venue. They brought the brews and grub right to our folding chair seats in the third or fourth row. She could have spit in our food.
I'll take a larger aside here to be funny. You know those adds for movies and books saying, "BREATHTAKING!" or "RIVETING!" or even "SENSUAL to the CORE!" Well, my favorite one is

"SPELLBINDING!"

And that's what Gillian and David Rawlings (her amazing guitar wizard) were that night. Ever since, I have enriched myself with countless hours listening to her ideas, expression, and notable guitar tone. There have been months where I only listen to Time (the Revelator) or Revival over and over. She is definately the one for me. The one I go to. I do have musical and emotional needs, and Time (the Revelator) is the teat that feeds me when I am hungry.
So, a few bits of information about this Gillian and this album before I quit....
1. Her whole discography is excellent and shows a definite musical progression. Check it out.
2. You know her music from "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
3. Bright Eyes, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Old Crow Medicine Show, and T-Bone Burnett among many others love her music, play with her, or have her make guest appearances. Ryan Adams too (not that I like his catalog - I am judgemental).
Tracks to check out on Time (the Revelator):
Track 1. Listen to that guitar tone.
Track 2. The banjo really grew on me, so loud and strong. Try listening to it and ignoring the vocals, just to hear the great instrumentation. Also, on the Revelator dvd, which I recommend you watch, and possibly on YouTube, there is a great in-studio version of this song - "My First Lover".
Track 3. Even if you don't want to love Gillian Welch you will love this song. Floating guitars and vocals.
Tracks 5 & 8 use interesting historical references to "Ruination Day" which is April 14. It is the day that the great dust storm happened in the dust bowl, President Lincoln was shot, and the Titanic sank.
Track 9. Everybody loves it everyone covers it and it might be about the music industry and people acquiring music for free.
Track 10. Don't get me wrong, I listen to it all the way through, its just time for lunch... This song is 14 minutes long, beautiful, sad and amazing.

Listen to Gillian Welch.

What makes the caged bird sing?

2007-12-28T21:25:00.000-08:00

This week, while in Colorado with my wife's family, I read a bizarre graphic novel entitled "As the World Burns: 50 Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial". Derrick Jensen wrote it and it was illustrated by Stephanie McMillan. Very bizarre. And good. And, as Anna noted, possibly ok with eco-terror (I think I am saying that right).

So, there is an easy comparison between the way those alien robots and corporations devoured all the plants and trees and fishes and rocks... to the way I consumed new music this week. I studied, for the first time, David Bowie's "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," Randy Newman's "Randy Newman (Creates Something New Under the Sun)," The Kink's (I need to listen more, yet) "Lola Versus Powerman," and did some connection making and researching on Van Dyke Parks' "Song Cycle". Apparently, Ziggy Stardust is Jimmie Hendrix. That's what I'm told. I will study on.

I am listening to all of this to find the sound. We are finding it, it is in us.

www.myspace.com/ohvoices

my musical gifts

2007-12-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

I have many musical gifts. I received some new gifts yesterday from my wife's family in Colorado. Especially exciting was the set of headphones I received from J.P. I will no longer tape my old headphones together every day. I also received a book I asked for, The Blues Line. It is a collection of blues lyrics edited by Eric Sackheim. In the past, a library copy I've checked out has given me lots of insight into how modern songs utilize structures and themes from traditional works. I've reaped a few ideas from it myself.

I also got a card from my amazing cousin Rachel saying that Van Dyke Parks' debut album Song Cycle (1968) is in the mail. Very exciting. She also gave me Randy Newman's first album Randy Newman(Creates Something New Under the Sun). I have to learn how to post pictures on here, the album covers are remarkably similar. Also of note: these albums came out during the same year, Van Dyke co-produced Randy's album, and they have a similar archaic orchestration/grand concept song writing style on these albums. As I understand this, Randy's songs strayed a bit from this afterwards, while Van Dyke continued in this vein. I love these albums. I'm soaking them in.

Check out the covers here until I figure out how to do it (go on, look at them):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Dyke_Parks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Newman_(album)

They both wear glasses and write notable music.

Thank you David for introducing me the the Parks. It only took me a year or so.

"This is a song about a bear and a boy."

2007-12-23T14:45:00.001-08:00

I woke up with this song in my head this morning: “Burn On”, by Randy Newman. It came in 1972 on his amazing album Sail Away. There are several tracks on Sail Away that stand out: the title track, “Lonely at the Top”, “Political Science”, “Dayton, Ohio - 1903” ( I really love that one), and "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)". I understand that he is especially popular these days for his movie soundtracks, but don’t let him slide past you on the screen. He is a remarkable songwriter.

Briefly, it seems to me that in “Burn On” Randy sings about Cleveland in a fashion similar to what Sufjan Stevens is getting praised for these days. It is straight forward, and that is why I woke up with it in me. Nice strings too. See the lyrics below.

Burn On

There's a red moon rising
On the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake

There's a red moon rising
ON the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake

There's an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake

There's an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake

Cleveland city of light city of magic
Cleveland city of light you're calling me
Cleveland, even now I can remember
'Cause the Cuyahoga River
Goes smokin' through my dreams

Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on
Now the Lord can make you tumble
And the Lord can make you turn
And the Lord can make you overflow
But the Lord can't make you burn

Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on

briefly, Jelly Roll Morton

2007-12-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton
By Howard Reich, William Gaines
Published 2003 Da Capo Press

I read this book in the fall and will be pondering it regularly. To get you introduced, google some pictures of Jelly. I don't know how to publish pictures on here yet.

gurgling cow nectar

2007-12-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

milk. foam. shots. pitchers. sinks. citrus bread. hot water in a paper cup on a counter with steam billowing from its mouth like smog from a sick factory. ahem: I (nicolas hartzell of oh voices Fame) was steaming a small pitcher of gurgling cow-nectar (yes milk) for a balding man draped in veiny skin which stretched across and wrapped itself around the top of his body to complete the architectural ingredients of a head. He had a dry voice, reminding me of some rare desert wind, blowing from lips that shook like rattlesnakes. he was a walking desert, bereft of anything wet.. but before the foam could reach its ideal temp* this man waiting for his "tall cap" came to life... there were after all flowers hiding in his sand."uuhhhhmm, my dear you're a lovely one," he said. he seemed to be looking at my coworker. her pale, delicate arms appealed to his ...situation. what sort of strange magnet lied buried in his heart, shielding itself behind its only bait- an ugly old casket of a face- in order to attract a beautiful young girl? he knew his was a love that changed stomachs, not hearts. Yet he spoke. To me this meant that his objective was not contingent upon her compliance....he was not seeking approval from her. He was not petitioning for anything, and this made him incapable of shame. He was not asking, nor was he waiting. Her opinion of him did not come into the picture because he barely knew she had one. What? Because she was a woman? Because "all he wanted was sex", so instead of a person he saw a pair of talking tits? No. Because she was beauty, and his inner darkness could not be stirred by such a foreign whisk. There was nothing within him that could possibly hear her beauty, just as rocks do not have ears for Proust. Thus he had no shame to hide from her. One is incapable of feeling shame, envy or humiliation in the presence of something one doesn't see. And he, though all subscribers to penthouse would argue otherwise, did not see her. That may seem absurd on the surface, but think of it this way: do you feel envious of a rock, whose strength far surpasses you? No. But you may envy the strength of the character of a particular man. If you relate through envy you relate through a desire to appropriate, to mirror what you see. Through envy and appropriation you can become your ideal self, envy can be transformed into an inner guide which leads towards an ideal yet to be actualized. But to feel no shame when pure beauty gazes upon you, that is not the reward of a healthy ego, it is the sickness of a numb heart whose light lies buried like forgotten relatives scattered into a dozen graveyards. What marks the difference between an object you can relate to and one you cant is your capacity for inward appropriation. For example: You can pluck a rock from the ground and build yourself a bridge without ever feeling a drop of envy. Why? The rock is not a mirror for your potential. The man in the cafe was able to be bold in the face of beauty because he could not see it. Nothing in him was spoken to. If you do not envy beauty you are doomed. Stunted. For envy is like a sun whose beauty at times may burn, but ultimately it is it is the violent whip of this bright star that awakens out of its slumber: possibility. And that is what my music is born from, it is the reaction of one who sees, but does not embody beauty.

by Nicolas Hartzell

Dr. John TV Heaven 41

2007-12-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

Check out Dr. John's ridiculous TV adds. They have good animation and are kind of genius.

paste this into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rda0uXuRXzA

Song of the DAY!

2007-12-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

Song of the day:

Often times I wake up with a song or two on my mind, so I’ll probably make it a fixture here. Often, while I’m tidying up the kitchen and prepping the morning coffee, I announce to Katie, “The Song of the Day is… _____ and it shares its throne with Gob’s magic theme song from Arrested Development. Let me know what song you woke up with. Sometimes, mine are very bizarre. And that’s what makes the Song of the Day so dern fun.

I woke up around 4:40 today, too hungry to sleep, rolling around for 2 hours, with about 5 songs running around in my head keeping the vicious cycle of what I like to call “poor-stomach-no-sleep” going on multiple levels (head, stomach, and the “meta-level”). Today was a sleep in day too, nothing to do until David from the band Tex comes over for breakfast at 8:30.

1. Memphis Yodel - Jimmie Rodgers, from The Essential Jimmie Rodgers

“I woke up this morning, the blues all around my bed.
I woke up this morning the blues all around my bed.
I didn’t have nobody, to hold my aching head.”

Since I know a lot of “woke up this morning” songs, when I can’t sleep in the morning they all come rushing to me. As you know, and care, Jimmie Rodgers was the “yodeling brakeman.” He laid down hits like “Away on the Mountain” and popularly “In the Jailhouse Now” and most notably “T.B. Blues” which he died of (listen to that song, it’s tragic).
When I start thinking on a Jimmie Rodgers song I tend to mix them all together, in a sort of best of Jimmie Rodgers “Master-Song”. This is the case because most of his songs are very similar, for multiple reasons: (1) Most of them have really interesting, sometimes amazingly well put lyrics - in that song/rhyme/lyrical depth/and matter-of-fact cleverness that works for simple rhyme songs, (2) his yodels - while they can get old on the second time through in one sitting - are different each song, but they always nail the notes without a shadow of wavering (I think that is amazing considering how high he is singing), (3) simple tunes, nice country melodies, and (4) well, “I’d rather drink muddy water and sleep in a hollow log…” or “I got me a shotgun with a great, long, shiny barrel…” or “I’m fighting like a lion, looks like I’m going to lose” and “I can git more women, than a passenger train can haul!!!!!!”

2. Allan Boothe’s song titled ________, off of his “Open Air in a Closed Casket” album (for sale online and in local stores - www.allanboothe.com or myspace)

“I know of a place where he needs to feel insane
I know of a place where the clouds deny the rain.”

I probably messed those lines up. But anyway, that song has a light and quick beat that keeps your head bobbing. Thank you, Allan, for perpetuating my sleepless state.

(30 minutes later… Oh, maybe that song is not on the album… I just scanned through it to get the name of the song, but I couldn’t find it. So, if Allan Boothe didn’t write it, then I did, and I am a genius - Allan, defend your glory!)

3. “Woke up this morning with my mind on Jesus” from Doug Martsch’s (Built to Spill) solo album.

“Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus.”

I believe this might be a traditional song that he modernized, but it might not be the case. This is not a religious album, by the way. Just about every song on it has a strong-armed slide guitar melody playing with the main vocal line. His style on the slide guitar is not Nashville. The melodies come out much firmer from his big steel slide than the overly popular whisps we here from the lap steels and textural slide guitar that is popular these days (like in Bright Eyes). And it really adds to the album. Actually, that is probably the reason the songs are so catchy. It is the most prominent feature of the album. Kudos to Metro Coffee down on S. 19th, they were playing this album when I was in there two weeks ago.

4. Now that I have pontificated on 3 songs, I can’t recall what other songs got me up 30 minutes ago. But I did pretty good. It is now 7 am and I’ve had an apple to tame my burning stomach.

www.myspace.com/ohvoices

Unique Music

2007-12-19T16:21:00.001-08:00

Today, I was reading Billie Holiday's autobiography "Lady Sings the Blues" (Penguin) and was enjoying it thoroughly (she cusses a lot) when I came across a great passage.

"When I did my first number, 'If You Were Mine,' I knew that nobody understood my singing. They didn't like me; they didn't hate me either. They just didn't have any enthusiasm either way, like they hadn't been told by anybody yet whether I was good or bad. And when you're doing something new, you got to have somebody tell people." (p. 63)

www.myspace.com/ohvoices

Humiliating others through beauty

2007-12-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

We have wanted to have a place to publish our thoughts on music for a long time. The feeling is like what a musician or any artist feels when they have created something unique, that urgent need to display it. This allows a certain headiness to come into play: We believe that our thoughts on music, composition, performance, quality, tonal and textural attributes of certain tunes, notable lyrics, good albums, and the significance of important and innovative music, etc. are quite notable and worth considering. And we labor to write music that passes our rigorous criticism.

We'll see about this blog, though...

Today I've listened to Madeline Peryoux's (sp) Careless Love (2-3 songs in the car, #4 is amazing), and Thelonious Monk. Monk's middle name was revealed to me yesterday while reading the liner notes to The Essential Thelonious Monk. I initially passed it by while scanning the super-lauditory prose that comes inside such a collection (I'm not sure what I think yet, I was just given the cd by my CHAMPION brother Peter yesterday). But when I came across a description of him claiming that he is "interplanetary," I had to pause. Then, I found that his given name is Thelonious Sphere Monk. Whatever I will say about him when I become familiar with him, he can play that piano.

Check out Oh Voices two new tracks, "(The Shit) And the Gold" and "Blood Constellation" on our page www.myspace.com/ohvoices.