Monthly Archives: April 2009

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Song of the Day #268: ‘Closing Up’ – Witness UK

underasunWitness UK’s album Under a Sun was a serendipitous find. Years ago, it was playing while I browsed a used CD shop and after hearing three songs I walked up to the counter and told the guy I wanted to buy it. If that guy hadn’t opted to play that CD at that moment, I’m sure I never would have heard of this band in my life.

Now obviously that wouldn’t be the end of the world, and I could also choose to look at it the other way and imagine all the great albums out there I don’t know about because they haven’t been playing in a used CD shop right when I walked in. But I prefer to celebrate the happy accidents rather than dwell on the missed opportunities. So even though I don’t play it very often, this album has always been special to me for what it represents.

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Song of the Day #267: ‘Me and Bobby McGee’ – Kris Kristofferson

kristoffersonKris Kristofferson started off in the Carole King mode, writing great songs that were hits for everybody but him. So I thought I’d give him the spotlight today as a singer, too.

‘Me and Bobby McGee’ was a big hit for Janis Joplin, maybe the biggest hit of any Kristofferson song. But he does it a lot of justice as a performer. Here’s a link to Joplin’s version, recorded shortly before she died. She and Kristofferson were an item once upon a time.

This song contains some absolutely stunning lyrics, starting with that classic line from the chorus: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” But the whole thing is strong. I love that opening image (“Busted flat in Baton Rouge, headin’ for the train, feelin’ nearly faded as my jeans”) and this poignant line toward the end: “I’d trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday.”

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Song of the Day #266: ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ – Johnny Cash

cashkrisI recently read a fascinating profile of Kris Kristofferson (by Ethan Hawke, of all people) in Rolling Stone magazine. Hawke painted Kristofferson as a modern-day renaissance man and an unabashed sentimentalist and political liberal who is nonetheless about as “manly” a man as can be.

In the opening of the article, Hawke relays a story of the backstage scene of a tribute concert, where Toby Keith allegedly walked up to Kristofferson and said “None of that lefty shit tonight, Kris.” Kristofferson exploded, shouting “You ever worn your country’s uniform? … Have you ever killed another man and then cashed the check your country gave you for doing it? No, you have not. So shut the fuck up!”

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Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

cycloneI’ve started writing this review in my head about ten times already but I’ve always stopped short of typing it out because it’s never felt quite right.

At one point I had what I thought was a pretty clever opening in mind: You know how they say “so-and-so’s voice is so good I’d listen to her sing the phone book?” Well, Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone is the closest I’ve come to testing that theory.

That was after I’d first gotten the album and I just didn’t get half of it. I was searching for melodies and choruses without much luck, left admiring the gorgeous vocals of the gorgeous Case but not really feeling the songs.

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Song of the Day #265: ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ – Radiohead

radiohSpeaking of ugly singers…

The freakishly pale and impish Thom Yorke is another good example of the double standard for male and female artists. And a lot of women are actually attracted to this guy. It’s that “ugly sexy” thing, I guess.

But that takes nothing away from this song, which is another absolute stunner from The Bends. This was the first Radiohead song that really struck me (apart from ‘Creep,’ I suppose, which I didn’t even know was their song for the longest time). I heard it for the first time live when they were opening for R.E.M. It was right before they became huge and I didn’t pay much attention to their set even though much of the crowd was going nuts over them.

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