Monthly Archives: May 2017

  • Phil Ochs — Searching for the Fool

    Lame DogClassic Rock

    He was one of the musical icons of my childhood. Back then, as now, he was known primarily for “I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore,” “Draft Dodger Rag,” and other overtly political protest songs of the 1960’s. But as the decade drew to a close, Phil Ochs sought a new direction. To that end, he tried writing more personal material in a style inspired by the early days of rock and roll.

    Among his late work is this curiosity, which tells the story of a lavish party disrupted by one of the guests. “While we were dancing,” the narrator relates, for no apparent reason, someone ruined the occasion by tossing a gourmet food basket into a swimming pool. It was “the worst of manners” and “the worst of taste.” So “who was the fool”?

    The song leaves the question unanswered. But it refers to a real incident at an actual party. And the unspoken punchline is that “the fool” was (more…)

  • Conlon Nancarrow — Taking Piano Beyond Human Limits

    Lame DogExperimental

    A woman sits at a piano and the world is at her fingertips. She may be on the verge of performing any one of thousands of pieces in innumerable styles. And new ones are being written every day. But regardless of her technical virtuosity, there are some songs she could never hope to play. They would require her to depress in unison combinations of notes that no human hands could reach — or race from note to note across the keyboard at speeds no human hands could attain. What is the sound of this secret music?

    Conlon Narcarrow was born in 1912 in Texarkana, Arkansas, where his father was later elected mayor. Whatever interest he had in playing piano himself was destroyed by his childhood piano teacher, who he described as a “horrible old spinster.” But he took up the trumpet, became fascinated with jazz, and went on to study music in Cincinnati and Boston. He also became committed to radical politics and fought with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade against Franco in the Spanish Civil War.

    Upon returning to the United States, Narcarrow was influenced by the theoretical work of Henry Cowell, who had become one of the most important avant-guard composers of his time (before being sent to San Quentin for having sex with teenage boys). Cowell had suggested that certain experimental rhythms could only be performed on a mechanical player piano. That idea set in motion decades of effort on Nancarrow’s part. But he pursued his dream abroad.

    After being denied a passport because of his membership in the Communist party, Nancarrow renounced his American citizenship and resettled in Mexico City. There, he worked in isolation and obscurity, composing for player piano and punching the roles by hand. The results took music in a new direction:

    Note that after 1 minute 21 seconds into the clip, you can view the keyboard in action.

    As the years went by, Nancarrow’s experiments grew stranger and bolder.  He (more…)

  • Khaled — “Keep Your Treasures”

    Lame DogWorld Music

    The video clip you are about to see has been viewed over twenty million times. It’s performed by an artist who has been described as a global superstar. But you’ve probably never heard his name.

    Khaled Hadj Brahim was born in 1960 in Oran, Algeria, the son of a mechanic who worked in a police garage. He was influenced by both North African music and the music of the West, including Elvis Presley. He released his first record at age fourteen and recorded under the name Cheb Khaled (or “young Khaled”) before graduating to Khaled (pronounced HOLL id, with the first syllable as in “holly”). He also became known as the King of Rai (pronounced RYE) — a word that literally translates as “opinion” and refers to a form of popular music known for its social commentary.

    Khaled expanded his reach after relocating to France. In 1996, he scored a huge hit with this track by a French songwriter:

    The words, sung in French and Arabic, describe a man’s love for a beautiful woman, to whom he offers pearls, jewels, gold, and fruits tasting of honey. But how the object of his desire responds may confound expectations: (more…)

  • Linda Thompson — A Performance to Remember

    Lame DogFolk

    Try googling the name and you’ll be bombarded with references to one of Caitlyn Jenner’s ex-wives. But it’s her namesake to whom I pay tribute today.

    She was born Linda Pettier and grew up is Glasgow.  She tried her hand at acting, then switched to singing before marrying Richard Thompson in 1972.  About three years later, Richard decided to end his career and join a Sufi commune.  Linda dutifully followed but was miserable. And when she tried to take up with a new band, she was given a dressing down by the resident “sheik.” Fortunately for the world, Richard eventually left the commune and resumed recording with her.

    After six albums and three children together, Richard fell in love with another woman. Linda nevertheless accompanied him on a 1982 American tour in what she later described as a “pathetic” effort to win him back. Feelings ran so raw that at one point she hit him over the head with a coke bottle and stole a car. But their work on stage was said to be extraordinary.

    The years that followed had their share of challenges. Linda increasingly suffered from spasmodic dysphonia, a voice disorder that forced her to give up singing. They also contained rewards: enduring second marriages to other people for both Linda and Richard; the chance to see their son Teddy and daughter Kamila grow up to be respected musicians themselves; and the restoration of Linda’s ability to sing, at least sporadically, with the aid of botox injections into the vocal cords. In 2014, she, Teddy, Kamila, and Richard appeared together on an album entitled “Family.”

    But let’s return to an earlier day. On August 19, 1981, the BBC broadcast Linda and Richard performing a set of his songs, culminating with “The Dimming of the Day.” It’s been covered repeatedly and has deeply affected some of those who have covered it, including Emmy Lou Harris (who once called it “the greatest love song ever”), and Alison Krauss (who upon first attempting to sing it, broke down in the studio). I doubt, however, that this rendition by Linda, made when her marriage was falling apart, has been surpassed. What follows — at least to my gullible eyes — is a show of vulnerability seldom captured on video, held in check just enough to maintain full artistic control.

    (more…)