Ten tunes for the day that’s in it
Count Backwards From Ten – The Big Pink
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out – Bruce Springsteen
Ten Miles High – David & the Giants
Ten Cent Pistol – The Black Keys
There Goes a Tenner – Kate Bush
Haiku Ten – Sigmatronic & Cat Power
Love Songs are Ten-a-penny – Rossco Galloway
John Lennon was born in Liverpool on October 9th, 1940, and would be about to celebrate his 70th birthday tomorrow if he hadn’t been murdered by Mark Chapman in 1980 (and if he then managed to stay alive for the subsequent decades, of course). Coincidentally, EMI has re-released remastered versions of Lennon’s solo albums and have added a couple of more Greatest Hits collections to the pile. There’s also a stripped-down version of Double Fantasy, a few box sets, a 70th birthday t-shirt and a bleedin’ 2011 calendar. Don’t they know there’s a recession on? Anyway, Lennon is my favourite member of the Fab Four and I like a lot of his solo songs in general and the Plastic Ono Band album in particular. Many people have attempted versions of his songs and a few have written ones about him. Hamell on Trial‘s original features some frenetic acoustic guitar accompanying the singer’s breathless tale about a life-changing encounter with the subject of his song. The Flaming Lips version of a song that was posthumously released on Milk & Honey in 1984 comes from a 1995 tribute album called Working Class Hero. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs have so far released two Under the Covers albums. The first volume focuses on the sixties and includes their take on And Your Bird Can Sing by The Beatles. Gimme Some Truth appears on the seventies-themed follow-up. Look out for another post about Lennon on December 8th
Nobody Told Me (John Lennon cover) – The Flaming Lips
Gimme Some Truth (John Lennon cover) – Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
The Major League Baseball postseason gets into full swing today with the opening games in the American League and the National League Division Series. Three of the four National League teams have been at this stage a few times over the last decade, but it’s fifteen years since the Cincinnati Reds last made the playoffs. In fact, it’s been a decade since the team even had a winning season. In contrast, their opponents later today, the Philadelphia Phillies, clinched their fourth consecutive East Division title this year and are attempting to become the first team since 1944 to win three National League Pennants on the trot. The Phillies have been installed as favourites to defeat the Reds and many commentators are suggesting they could do it with one or two games of the series to play. The Phillies had the best record of all the teams in the MLB this year, so the Reds must travel to Citizens Bank Park for their opening couple of games before bringing them back to the Great American Ball Park (pictured below) for at least one more game
This week’s fourth episode of Later with Jools Holland promises to be even more eclectic and eccentric than usual. The most established act on the show is an American singer and guitarist who has been called the Space Cowboy, the Gangster of Love and Maurice. Steve Miller (pictured above, top left) is now in his sixties and will be playing songs from his current release, Bingo! The Atlanta-born singer and producer Cee Lo Green (bottom left) is a member of Gnarls Barkley and his upcoming solo album is called The Lady Killer. Janelle Monae (top centre) hails from Kansas City and her debut long-player, The Archandroid, was recorded in Atlanta. It’s a concept album that draws on science fiction, time travel and a silent film from 1927 called Metropolis. The song I’ve chosen also comes from the past and was written by one of silent film’s most renowned figures, Charlie Chaplin. The act I’m most looking forward to is CW Stoneking (bottom centre), an Australian guitar & banjo player. Jungle Blues (2008) is his second and most recent album and he’ll be joined by The Primitive Horn Orchestra. His music is also rooted in the past and his style and image belong to the early part of the last century, as can be heard on his cover of The White Stripes. Cheikh Lo (bottom right) is a Senegal-based singer and musician and Jamm is the title of his most recent release. His take on the U2 song appears on an album called In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2. Finally, The Jim Jones Revue (top right) won’t have to travel too far to the BBC studios as they’re based in the English capital. They’ve released two albums and Burning Your House Down is their latest. Get Back is taken from the recent Mojo Magazine tribute to the final album by The Beatles. Later goes out every Tuesday and Friday on BBC 2
No One’s Gonna Love You (Band of Horses cover) – Cee-Lo Green
Smile (Charlie Chaplin cover) – Janelle Monae
Seven Nation Army (White Stripes cover) – CW Stoneking
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (U2 cover) – Cheikh Lo
Major League Baseball in the States is about to finish up for the regular season this weekend. I’ve been keeping an eye on the standings over the last few weeks and am delighted that one team in particular has made it to the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years. I’ve still got a lot to learn about the sport, so I’ve been reading up on its rules, history and culture recently. Today, I’m going to talk about four songs that focus on different aspects of America’s favourite pastime. The picture above has been captured from the music video of Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen. The song was one of numerous singles from his seventh studio album, Born in the USA (1984). Like many of the songs on the albums that preceded and followed that release, the lyric of Glory Days contrasts the high hopes and great expectations of youth with the stark realities of adulthood. In the first verse of the song the narrator recounts a chance meeting with a former high school friend who he remembered as a talented baseball player. It seems that his friend never realised his potential as all he talks about are those “glory days”. The same fate has befallen another schoolfriend and, it seems, the narrator as well. This downbeat lyric is counterbalanced by an upbeat tune and typically energetic backing by the E Street Band
Glory Days – Bruce Springsteen from Born in The USA
