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Spring has sprung! Easter stood upon her stage, resplendent in her best bonnet. The squirrels chattered and leapt about the empty lot; the tulips bloomed and are already beginning to fade. The sixth season of Strong Songs premiered and is now halfway done.
Five Down, Five to Go
Season Six kicked off with an episode about Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” a song that contains so many layers that I didn't appreciate before learning it - and I mean that literally, because there's basically two of everything. Two drummers, two bassists (!!), two guitarists, two keyboardists. A bunch of singers, though of course, only one Peter Gabriel, and only one Youssou N'Dour.
Episode two jumped from the late 80s to the mid 90s, with one of the best bands of the grunge era: Soundgarden, and their 1994 hit "Black Hole Sun." I'm sure I'm not alone in my difficulty separating this song from its music video; three decades later, those images are still seared on my brain.
But it's a hell of a song on its own, and this episode was a fun excuse to take it on its own terms and really understand it on a compositional level. It was particularly fun to learn the guitar parts, and to take my own crack at a "Kite & Anchor" solo near the end of the episode.
Episode three took on a new kind of challenge: "Águas de Março (The Waters of March)" composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim and recorded by him along with singer Elis Regina. This song has followed me for almost three decades, despite the fact that, unlike a lot of Jobim's songs, I've never actually performed it live. In a strange way, that enhanced my relationship with it. It was always a bit of an abstraction, out at the fuzzy borders of my musical knowledge.
As much as I love the song, this episode would have been impossible without a special guest, the Brazilian musicologist Frederico Barros. I was so grateful to him for sharing his time (and lovely guitar playing) with me, and he greatly helped enhance my overall understanding of Brazilian music. He even listened to an early draft and gave me some notes. What a guy!
Episode four was the third volume of “Strong Covers,” this time focusing on just two covers: Jimi Hendrix’s cover of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” and The White Stripes’ cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”
I made the episode just weeks before Béyonce released her own cover of “Jolene,” and am actually somewhat grateful for that. I find I do best with music that’s had enough time for the culture to digest it. Had Cowboy Carter been released any earlier, I might have felt the need to jump aboard The Béyonce Take Express. There are plenty of interesting takes out there about that record, and about her cover; I’m happy to have kept my focus on the original, and the emotional core that The Stripes’ cover reveals.
As for “Watchtower,” well, I didn't consciously plan to cover two songs with so many parallels, but it's wild how much the two have in common, and how well they fit together! For "Watchtower," a song in C# minor, a cover down a half-step in C, and an analysis that focuses more on that cover. For "Jolene," a song in C# minor, a cover UP a half-step in D, and an analysis that focuses more on the original.
The season’s fifth episode, about Meshell Ndegeocello’s “The Way,” was a joy from top to bottom. My friend Sam Howard, shown above trying to figure out how Meshell pulled off an octave neck-pump, stopped by to help me get a little bit closer to re-creating the song’s insanely deep pocket. We came closer than I could have hoped, but a gulf remained. That’s okay. I had a great time working out Wendy Melvoin’s guitar arrangement, and came to appreciate her funkiness anew.
Five episodes down; five remain. This season has been a real pleasure. With help from my exceptionally organized spouse Emily, I’ve overhauled my process and moved production much further in advance of publication. As a result, I’ve been able to spend more time in pre-production—doing research, reading books and listening to interviews, and assembling more elaborate recreations of each song. It’s been immensely rewarding work, and I’ve felt more relaxed and in control than ever before.
The second half of the season is going to be a lot of fun, starting with this Friday’s episode on Blondie, an artist picked by Strong Songs Patrons in our first-ever voting bracket earlier this year. We’ll be doing another one of those to pick an artist for Season Seven, so if you aren’t currently a member over on Patreon, hey, go sign up!
Triple Click, Live In LA!
In other news, I’m coming to Los Angeles this June. My video game podcast Triple Click, which I co-host along with my longtime friends Maddy Myers and Jason Schreier, will be doing a live show at the Teragram Ballroom on Saturday June 8, at 6:30 PM.
If you’re in the area, you should definitely come out! These live shows are a good time. Buy tickets here.
Music Recommendations
Here’s some stuff I’ve been digging, with Songwhip links so you can listen wherever you listen:
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine - I’m planning to tackle a Fiona song in Season Seven, and while I think it’ll be from an earlier album, Extraordinary Machine is still probably my favorite of hers. “Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)” kills me every time.
Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue - I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz guitar greats lately, and had never made enough time for Burrell. What a player.
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - In addition to his more searching (and more famous) quartet records, Trane recorded a collection of straight-ahead commercial records while he was on Impulse. I came back to this one while trying to pick a definitive version of Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” to talk about on the show. This might be the one.
Rick Springfield - Hard to Hold - Specifically the song “Bop ‘Til You Drop.” What is this? A bunch of Peter Gabriel’s dudes got together with Rick Springfield to make the hippest 80s jam you’ve never heard.
Rob Cope - Gemini - I recently guested on saxophonist Rob Cope’s jazz podcast, and we had a great chat. I checked out his record before talking with him, just to see what he was about, and it’s great!
St. Vincent - All Born Screaming - Is this album out yet? Apple Music seems to have most of it downloaded, but I think maybe it’s not quite out yet. Anyway, it’s a new one from one of the most interesting musicians going. It rules.
Tall Tall Trees - Stick to the Mystical I - A listener introduced me to Tall Tall Trees, and I’ve been loving this record ever since. A fascinating collection of… I don’t know. Progressive quest-folk? Genre is a cage. It’s an album with a profound sense of space. Everything is recorded beautifully. It’s good!
Blondie - Eat to the Beat - I didn’t wind up doing my Blondie episode on “Atomic” off of this record, but I ALMOST did. This album rocks, and that song rocks.
Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever - My niece has recently gotten really into Billie, and she got me to check this record out. I’m sure lots of people have said this, but Billie Eilish is as much a jazz and soul singer as anything? I’m pretty excited for her new one.
Anna Tivel - Outsiders - I’ve loved Anna’s music for a while; Sam was in town recording with her when he stopped by to play on my Meshell episode. She’s remarkably prolific, and her albums all sound fantastic - this one is no exception. The drums sound like a waking dream.
Kishi Bashi - Lighght - Another listener recommendation. How had I never heard this guy? Just endlessly joyful, explosive pop music with, unsurprisingly, some real Of Montrealish energy. Delightful.
ee gee - SHE-REX - This was a listener pick from the Strong Songs Discord. I’d never heard ee gee’s music. Everything sounds so perfect? It’s kind of wild that this is just how albums sound now.
Austin McMahon w/ Troy Roberts, Nate Radley & Ana Petrova - Things are Looking Up - Austin (drums) and Troy (sax), both old friends who happen to be two of the best musicians I know. It’s cool to see them recording something together, and I hope to see them collaborate again!
Elsy Wameyo - Nilotic - This rec came from a listener from down under, and dang. Just a reminder that all around the world, there are young musicians pouring absolute lava every day, and I haven’t heard of ninety percent of them.
Elizabeth Cotten - Live! - My friend Kenji, a terrific guitarist himself, has long been telling me to listen to Elizabeth Cotten. She’s got one of the most fascinating stories of any musician… ever, I guess, and this live record is a beautiful artifact.
Onward
That’ll do it for now. I hope you’re all taking care out there, supporting independent and local artists when you can, and finding ways to stay sane amid the general insanity of the world.
I’ll leave you with this pic of Appa, who recently turned four but still dreams a puppy’s dreams. We bought that couch specifically because it won’t show all the fur she gets on it.
Take care and keep listening -
~KH
4/29/2024
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