075: João Gilberto, ‘Chega De Saudade’ (Jobim) “My colleague Alan Tigay writes a knockout blog on World Music, especially Brazilian. https://worldlisteningpost.com/” jeffSeptember 15, 2024 @ 5:27pm
075: João Gilberto, ‘Chega De Saudade’ (Jobim) “Foundational for me. When Garota De Ipanema hit the US airwaves I was about 8, and it cracked open. I was already musically smitten (my parent s both were musicians in younger years and there was almost always music on in the house), but bossa nova really stood out immediately. This music has been central in my ears ever since, and tho I’ve not been to Brazil I collected stacks of recordings by many of the greats (Jobim, Gilberto, Baden Powell, Maria Bethania (who for my money captured saudade better than anyone), her brother Caetano Veloso, Rosa Pasos, Eliane Elias… not a day goes by when I do not hear brazilian music in my head. One of my hopes came true when I attended a solo concert by Joao Gilberto here in San Francisco (a block from our apartment!)…magical and referential. Nice job capturing the essence of saudade.” BernSeptember 13, 2024 @ 4:48pm
075: João Gilberto, ‘Chega De Saudade’ (Jobim) “well, yeh!!!- isn’t this song evocative- carrying me back to the 60’s and the first album my then boyfriend bought for me (his first and last gift- but a good one!). Thanks for re-posting. Look how young they are in the photo. That was us. xoxoxo” joan spearSeptember 13, 2024 @ 3:43pm
226: The Byrds, ‘Eight Miles High’ (RCA Version) “Jeff! I recently ran into a fun 12-song anthology entitled “Psychedelic Pop” (BMG/RCA/Buddha) and of course the usual suspects appear on it but the highlight was ‘8 Miles’. I welcomed that reunion and realized that I’ll never tire of that little masterpiece.. To that sentiment I’ll add that I’ll also never tire of your rich and insightful commentaries. Thanks and hello again from Cincy…” Andy BaltermanSeptember 12, 2024 @ 10:56pm
157: Nilsson, ‘One’ “My 23 year old son was listening to a cover of “One” by Blue Wednesday, I showed him the original version by Nilsson, he was amazed, and now my son has added it to his playlist that he listens to in his car, I’m glad that the new generations are getting to know good music.” GlendaSeptember 12, 2024 @ 6:11pm
180: Tim Ries, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ (Flamenco) “I’ve just returned from a very intensive jazz course in the UK. Quite honestly I am blown away by this piece. Not sure if I love it but it’s mesmerising and great artistry. Thanks Jeff” MarilynSeptember 7, 2024 @ 9:45am
180: Tim Ries, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ (Flamenco) “I was ready to hate Flamenco Jumpin Jack Flash but I thought it was terrific because, I suspect, it didn’t sound like Jumpin Jack Flash at all. The dancer was very striking. Flamenco dancing in jeans looks better than those big skirts. And the soprano sax and Flamenco singing were great too. The Lara Fischer part at the end was not awful but not as good.” Recruiting AnimalSeptember 6, 2024 @ 2:32pm
180: Tim Ries, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ (Flamenco) “One of my bucket list destinations is Andalusia. Flamenco music has always been like a hypnotic spell to my ears. This is nirvana. Thank you for bringing it to us. I won’t hear these Stones standards in the same way again. Beautiful.” MaggieSeptember 6, 2024 @ 2:19pm
165: Paul Simon, ‘Jonah’ “I like Simon and Garfunkel. I don’t like Simon or Garfunkel. I believe I am in the majority with this statement.” John RadoszewskiSeptember 4, 2024 @ 4:41pm
165: Paul Simon, ‘Jonah’ “Swallowed by a song, it still feels so good. I have a friend, almost 90 years old, who has become an unlikely Simon fan. I derive much pleasure from talking about all things Paul Simon with him. And we laugh the way some ladies do.” MaggieAugust 30, 2024 @ 3:21pm
168: Neal Hefti, ‘Girl Talk’ “When I saw the email I was surprised. The Girl Talk I know was written by Elvis Costello and was a hit for Dave Edmunds in 1979. I actually like it better than this song and somehow I didn’t think that would appeal to you enough to write about it. And I was right. But of the versions listed here I like the Bobby Troup video the best.” Recruiting AnimalAugust 23, 2024 @ 6:14pm
177: Joni Mitchell, ‘Woodstock’ “Seminal journey for us both, brother, even for one day. Missing you still.” BillAugust 18, 2024 @ 7:11pm
056: James Taylor, ‘Secret O’ Life’ “James’ first album was one of my first albums. I know it backwards and forwards. It’s been a dear friend of mine for over 50 years” Moshe ManheimAugust 18, 2024 @ 6:13pm
181: Linda Ronstadt & J.D. Souther, ‘Faithless Love’ “Thank you for a lovely – and amusingly written – article. How lucky we kids who were born in the 50s could grow up, live with and love this music. By the way, I found your article because I was listening to Faithless Love on my personal greatest hits tracks on my iPad and when it got to the middle eight I thought “I wonder if that is J. D. Souther singing harmony “. Please keep on writing as long as you are able. The world needs good journalism (and I write as a former journalist). And my 50-year-old M. Suzuki acoustic guitar is on the table in front of me.” John V. WrightAugust 17, 2024 @ 1:27pm
177: Joni Mitchell, ‘Woodstock’ “As Jeff knows, I wasn’t at Woodstock, mainly through living in altogether the wrong country, but I know something about it, and I do believe it was in many ways a zenith, an epitome, of the counterculture. Someone in the comments said they knew someone who was there and they reckon it was awful. I too have known people who had less than happy memories of it. But others I’ve known verify that the movie and the music as they have come down to us do in fact embody the true essence of the event, and frankly I’d rather believe them. The counterculture had its ups and downs and obvious flaws and myths, but the basic ethos that prevailed in many places and events, large and small, from the genuinely benign to the misguidedly virtuous to the outright dipshit crazy, was, I will always believe, radically Good as opposed to Evil. When that is the fundamental guiding force driving a global movement, I reckon it’s worth hitching your star to it. As one of the veterans I knew said once, “I left Woodstock, but Woodstock never left me.” I’ve always liked that.” Ian BoyleAugust 17, 2024 @ 7:32am
089: Jackson Browne/Maurice Williams, ‘The Load-Out/Stay’ “I have to disagree on your comparison of JB to JM and JT. I think he belongs in that group easily. He is one of my favorite songwriters, a true poet. Much more than a “very talented pop musician”. I would probably rank JB above the other 2 imo.” Robert FunckAugust 17, 2024 @ 12:54am
177: Joni Mitchell, ‘Woodstock’ “I often feel like a relic of the past. I’ve always felt this song embodied the absolute best ideals of a generation. I try to take them with me into every day. We are stardust. We still get it. Thank you for a beautiful post.” MaggieAugust 16, 2024 @ 5:28pm
177: Joni Mitchell, ‘Woodstock’ “I met another Canadian this year who was there. He said it was awful. But I saw an American woman online saying that she had a great time. Sometimes the main value of being somewhere is being able to say that you were there when, in reality, it was nothing special.” Recruiting AnimalAugust 16, 2024 @ 2:35pm
155: Buddy Holly, ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ “Buddy Holly is the most missed musical artist of all time. I don’t mean that he died early, or suddenly. I mean that his legacy would have been the greatest musical artist of all time. I am biased having been a personal friend of Bobby Vee. However, I maintain that opinion on Buddy’s merits alone. I was in a hospital bed when I heard of the crash. Only years later did the complete implications of that news story become so relevant to my life. “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” but it still does.” John RadoszewskiAugust 14, 2024 @ 5:12pm
152: Sam Cooke, ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ “Whenever I hear it, that intro, “I was born by the river….” I gotta stop whatever I’m doing and sit down and listen. Truly great. Universal. Thank you for sharing it.” MaggieAugust 4, 2024 @ 4:59am
168: Neal Hefti, ‘Girl Talk’ “I have been scratching my head trying to resurrect a national tv commercial using this tube. My old brain says it was a Sea and Ski commercial where “all around the scenery…they get their tans from using ..Sea and Ski. Use Sea and Ski to get a dark tan. A dark tan.”…. Or maybe not. Anyone else remember any national jingle,that used this?” Liz MattAugust 2, 2024 @ 2:03pm
152: Sam Cooke, ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ “This is just a great, great song. I’m Australian and didn’t know it existed until James Taylor sang it in an episode of The West Wing, and I didn’t realize it was a civil rights song at first. Since then I regularly listen to Sam Cooke’s version. It works just as well as a universal prayer for Human Rights, which is a sign, I think, of its genius.” Ian BoyleAugust 2, 2024 @ 10:27am
151: Otis Redding, ‘(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay’ “I remember his death clearly. It brought reality to a teenager invested in all music. Jeff, you hit it good this time. I look forward to your articles on Janis, Patsy and Jim Croce.” John RadoszewskiJuly 27, 2024 @ 5:11pm
151: Otis Redding, ‘(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay’ “On a hot hot Mississippi summer afternoon in 1972, as our legs were losing the ability to keep the cranks turning, long after we’d finished off the last of the water, and the clouds of microflies had coated every inch of skin, and the woods gave way to bright, steamy, exposed lowlands, and the hallucinations were next, came a vision, off to the right toward the last bit of land before the gulf, of a roadhouse on stilts. There was nothing else likely to save us, and we took the ‘Open’ neon as a lifeline. We walked the heavily loaded bikes down the boardwalk, left them outside, and stumbled in. The place was cheerful enough, not dark, so it was easy to see the few tables and chairs and the bar, with one patron planted at the end, and the barkeep on the other side. They looked at us (in our cycling kit and the last of the flies) like polite insiders look at unknown outsiders. Then the barkeep asked “Where you boys from?” and we told him San Francisco, and then he walked to the cooler and pulled out a couple cokes, set ‘em on the bar. “Long ride just to visit my place. Have a drink on me.” Then he did the thing I remember clearly, one of the best memories of months on the road: he walked from behind the bar over to the jukebox, put in a coin and picked a tune. The baseline and the wavesound started…and Otis began to sing.” BernJuly 27, 2024 @ 1:24pm
151: Otis Redding, ‘(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay’ “This song captures the feeling of trying in vain to gather the enthusiasm to make a change. The inertia at work is overwhelming. I love “I can’t do what ten people tell me to do, so I guess I’ll remain the same.” It’s a quiet act of rebellion.” MaggieJuly 26, 2024 @ 4:14pm
279: Ásgeir, ‘Torrent’ “A breath of air in a troubled time. Thank you for this post, it’s a reset in so many ways. For me, time to look at what isn’t working and make changes. Feels right. Music that encourages a mental clean slate. I’m wishing you a time of refreshment and renewal. Ypu deserve the fresh air.” Maggie EvansJuly 5, 2024 @ 2:31pm
279: Ásgeir, ‘Torrent’ “Enjoy your trip to Iceland, Jeff! Hope you get to hear some good music there!” Michal KirschnerJuly 5, 2024 @ 12:06pm
140: Randy Newman, ‘Sail Away’ “I never liked Randy Newman. His lack of faith justified my opinion.” John RadoszewskiJune 21, 2024 @ 6:21pm
