Hello,
Special thanks to Random House Children's publishing/ Delacorte Press and the Davis County library for the ability to read this book. Also thanks to NetGalley for letting me know about this book, although I wasn't able to read it through them.
Ann Brashares "The Here and Now" is a short scathing commentary of our current world, especially how our environmental conditions continue to deteriorate. Although the evidence for that deterioration is overwhelming there are still deniers insisting things aren't getting worse. As this is a Young Adult novel, of course there's a love story at the center of the book. The happy couple is Prenna James, who comes from the future, and Ethan Jarves, who is a so-called "time native". Prenna and Ethan have a very sweet YA appropriate romance. I'm grateful there's no love triangle, but there's a smart twist which helps their relationship avoid being yet another YA cliche. They first meet in 2010 accidentally as Ethan is fishing and Prenna arrives from that future through a time path.
Prenna James, a traveler, is the female protagonist from an apocalyptic future full of disease, especially the deadly blood plagues. When she arrived the number 51714 was written on her arm. At first she didn't know what that number meant, but eventually realized it meant May 17th, 2014. That's a key date for all of Earth's residents, both those from the cataclysmic future and also the people of the present. Prenna, her Mom, and their group left the future in 2098, traveled the time path and arrived in 2010.
In 2010 Ethan Jarves is fishing and sees the air shimmering and Prenna arrives from the future naked. She's cold and embarrassed, he gave her his NY Giants jacket to give her some dignity. She kept that jacket as a reminder of him. Two-and-a-half years after their initial meeting Prenna arrives in his class at school. "The Here and Now" follows Prenna and Ethan as they find out about May 17th, 2014 and what they have to do to prevent the apocalyptic future. Eventually those two figure out that date has something to do with Mona Ghali. Ghali is working on "capturing the energy of ocean surface waves".
The real first year of the plague was 2087, however people were able to keep holding it back and containing it, but that could only last so long. When the mosquitoes started spreading the disease, that's when the plagues became dramatically worse. In the year 2098 was when they figured out how to make the time path work.
Prenna had experience with the blood plagues as it had killed her two little brothers Remus and Julius. The book is broken up with Prenna's letters written to Julius, even though he died before she arrived in 2010. For some reason those letters to Julius stop? I'm not sure what that means.
As with most YA novels there's a group that's controlling everything and of course they aren't the best leaders. The leaders control the others from the future with pills, glasses (really a recording device) and a set of 12 rules.
Ethan and Prenna are the two main characters. But there's also Prenna's Mom, Molly, who came as part of the same group from the future. Prenna and Molly are living together as the mother and daughter they are. Poppy, Prenna's Dad, was suppose to come with them in the same group. However something happened and he was unable to join them.
There's also "Ben Kenobi", a homeless man, who also came from the future. At first we think he's someone who's probably a minor character, but he ends up being so much more. Other characters include Ms. Cynthia and Mr. Robert, two of the group's short sighted leaders. They are tasked to ensure the 12 rules are followed, which are designed to help the travelers blend in with the time natives. We meet a few other characters, some who are more important than others.
Thanks to the aforementioned twist, and thinking outside of the box, Prenna and Ethan's relationship is much less of a cliche than it could have been. I always say how good a book is determined significantly by the ending. Although the book is slight in most regards and falls back on some standard YA story lines, overall it's a good book. I'm giving "The Here and Now" a B grade. I recommend it to those that enjoy a quick, enjoyable read. You may roll your eyes a few times, but ultimately you'll be glad you've read this book.
I would recommend it to those who like "The Hunger Games" trilogy.
themusicaddict
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
themusicaddict's Greatest CDs of All-time: Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (Part 4, Disc 1 of "The Wall") (Updated July 13th, 2014)
Hello,
Pink is the main character of "The Wall". He's a very troubled rock star going through the motions and slowly going insane, which leads to delusions. Throughout "The Wall" we see those things that added bricks to his wall. His mother, his teachers and his wife cheating on him. Pink has lost touch with all reality and is essentially living in a catatonic state. "The Wall" is Pink Floyd's classic double CD about Pink's alienation from life. Each new piece of alienation adds another metaphorical brick to Pink's very real wall of alienation. "The Wall" has been released in different versions by Pink Floyd over the years selling millions of copies in the 35 years since it's release. It has a firm place in the pop culture of the world. Alienation seems to be universal and an every generation malady.
"The Wall" was recorded June-December 1978 in London, England. Then "The Wall" recording was moved to France, where they worked on it from January to July 1979. They also worked on it at other studios. "The Wall" album was released on November 30th, 1979. The movie version of "The Wall", starring Bob Geldof as Pink, was released July 14th, 1982 in England. It was also shown at Cannes earlier the same year.
The four members of Pink Floyd during the recording of this CD were Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rick Wright (sort of) and Nick Mason. Obviously this CD is more than just the work of musicians. "The Wall" was produced by Waters, Gilmour, Bob Ezrin and James Guthrie. Since it's release it has sold millions of copies and it's influence continues to be felt to this day.
"The Wall" has sold millions of copies in the 35 years since it's release and has a firm place in the pop culture history of the world.
As much as possible I'm going to add the Work in Progress versions, which are are rough versions from the 2011 release of "The Wall". Some of these rough drafts had quite dramatic changes before the final version that are on the 1979 release. I'll include selected original versions, alternate versions, clips from the movie and live versions. That will include songs that didn't even make the CD. In 2011 Pink Floyd released "The Wall (Deluxe Experience Edition)", which is where most of the alternate tracks are. I usually dislike it when musicians release slightly different versions of their classic works. However in this case this was worth the money. It's interesting to hear all the transformations these songs went through before its 1979 release.
"The Wall" Disc 1:
This is "The Prelude", which isn't actually on the original version of "The Wall":
1) "In The Flesh?, (Part 1)" (Original version) (Lead Vocals: Roger Waters):
"In The Flesh? (Part 1)" from the movie:
2) "The Thin Ice" (Original version) (Lead Vocals David Gilmour, Waters):
"The Thin Ice" (Rough demo version):
3) "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1" (Original Version) (Roger Waters):
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1" (Work In Progress Version):
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1" (Live):
4) This song is the linchpin to making "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2" so powerful, I find Rogers Waters "The Wall: Live in Berlin" overall is extremely powerful. Waters sang the lead vocals on "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives":
Cyndi Lauper seems to be a strange choice here, but ultimately it works. This is the magic that happens when the two songs are played together.
5) "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2" (Gilmour, Waters) :
This is one of the most memorable scenes from the movie and this song has one of the most amazing guitar solos in the history of rock music which starts at 4:25:
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2" (Work in Progress version). This video is made of "Goodbye Blue Sky", "Teacher, Teacher" and "Another Brick In The Wall". (In the final version "Goodbye Blue Sky" comes after "Mother", not before.) I'm so glad they didn't use this version for the final recording.
6) "Mother" (Original version) (Gilmour, Waters) Boy the things that Freud would talk about with Pink about his Mother. Do you notice that it's Pink who asks his Mom if he should build the wall? Later Gilmour sings Mother's line "Of course mother is going to help you build the wall":
"Mother" (The Work in Progress version):
"Mother" from "The Wall" movie:
"Mother": Roger Waters and Sinead O'Connor "The Wall: Live in Berlin":
7) "Goodbye Blue Sky" (Original version) (Gilmour):
"Goodbye Blue Sky" (Works In Progress version) This isn't radically different than the final version:
"Goodbye Blue Sky" (Live):
8) "Empty Spaces" (Original version) (Waters):
"Goodbye Blue Sky"/ "Empty Spaces" (Roger Waters Live in San Francisco):
"Empty Spaces" (Work in Progress version):
9) "Young Lust": (Gilmour) "The Wall" movie version. This video isn't for the faint of heart:
"Young Lust" (Live)
"Young Lust" (Work in Progress Version):
10) "One of My Turns" (Original version) (Waters) (Pink is on tour in America and he's lamenting the state of his marriage as a groupie tries to figure out exactly what he wants. Too bad Pink doesn't know exactly, he wants a real connection but doesn't seem to know how to get it. The groupie is willing to give him any thing he wants, except for what he really wants. Both Pink and the song explode in violence and ends with the haunting line "Why are you running away?") :
"One of My Turns" (Live): This song gives us insight into how far Pink has fallen and lamenting the impending death of his marriage.
11) "Don't Leave Me Now" (Original version) (Waters):
"Don't Leave Me Now" (Live):
"Don't Leave Me Now": ("Work in Progress version) After he thrashes his hotel room, he asked the groupie why was she "running away". He realizes his boorish behavior and doesn't want her to leave. I get the feeling he doesn't care who the company is, he just wants some company.
12) "Another Brick In The Wall" Part 3" (Waters): (From the movie)
"Another Brick In The Wall Part 3" (Original version):
All 3 parts of "Another Brick In The Wall" (Original versions):
13) "Goodbye Cruel World" (Waters) (from "The Wall" movie):
"Goodbye Cruel World" Roger Waters "The Wall: Live In Berlin":
themusicaddict
Pink is the main character of "The Wall". He's a very troubled rock star going through the motions and slowly going insane, which leads to delusions. Throughout "The Wall" we see those things that added bricks to his wall. His mother, his teachers and his wife cheating on him. Pink has lost touch with all reality and is essentially living in a catatonic state. "The Wall" is Pink Floyd's classic double CD about Pink's alienation from life. Each new piece of alienation adds another metaphorical brick to Pink's very real wall of alienation. "The Wall" has been released in different versions by Pink Floyd over the years selling millions of copies in the 35 years since it's release. It has a firm place in the pop culture of the world. Alienation seems to be universal and an every generation malady.
"The Wall" was recorded June-December 1978 in London, England. Then "The Wall" recording was moved to France, where they worked on it from January to July 1979. They also worked on it at other studios. "The Wall" album was released on November 30th, 1979. The movie version of "The Wall", starring Bob Geldof as Pink, was released July 14th, 1982 in England. It was also shown at Cannes earlier the same year.
The four members of Pink Floyd during the recording of this CD were Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rick Wright (sort of) and Nick Mason. Obviously this CD is more than just the work of musicians. "The Wall" was produced by Waters, Gilmour, Bob Ezrin and James Guthrie. Since it's release it has sold millions of copies and it's influence continues to be felt to this day.
"The Wall" has sold millions of copies in the 35 years since it's release and has a firm place in the pop culture history of the world.
As much as possible I'm going to add the Work in Progress versions, which are are rough versions from the 2011 release of "The Wall". Some of these rough drafts had quite dramatic changes before the final version that are on the 1979 release. I'll include selected original versions, alternate versions, clips from the movie and live versions. That will include songs that didn't even make the CD. In 2011 Pink Floyd released "The Wall (Deluxe Experience Edition)", which is where most of the alternate tracks are. I usually dislike it when musicians release slightly different versions of their classic works. However in this case this was worth the money. It's interesting to hear all the transformations these songs went through before its 1979 release.
"The Wall" Disc 1:
This is "The Prelude", which isn't actually on the original version of "The Wall":
1) "In The Flesh?, (Part 1)" (Original version) (Lead Vocals: Roger Waters):
"In The Flesh? (Part 1)" from the movie:
2) "The Thin Ice" (Original version) (Lead Vocals David Gilmour, Waters):
"The Thin Ice" (Rough demo version):
3) "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1" (Original Version) (Roger Waters):
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1" (Work In Progress Version):
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1" (Live):
4) This song is the linchpin to making "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2" so powerful, I find Rogers Waters "The Wall: Live in Berlin" overall is extremely powerful. Waters sang the lead vocals on "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives":
Cyndi Lauper seems to be a strange choice here, but ultimately it works. This is the magic that happens when the two songs are played together.
5) "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2" (Gilmour, Waters) :
This is one of the most memorable scenes from the movie and this song has one of the most amazing guitar solos in the history of rock music which starts at 4:25:
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2" (Work in Progress version). This video is made of "Goodbye Blue Sky", "Teacher, Teacher" and "Another Brick In The Wall". (In the final version "Goodbye Blue Sky" comes after "Mother", not before.) I'm so glad they didn't use this version for the final recording.
6) "Mother" (Original version) (Gilmour, Waters) Boy the things that Freud would talk about with Pink about his Mother. Do you notice that it's Pink who asks his Mom if he should build the wall? Later Gilmour sings Mother's line "Of course mother is going to help you build the wall":
"Mother" (The Work in Progress version):
"Mother" from "The Wall" movie:
"Mother": Roger Waters and Sinead O'Connor "The Wall: Live in Berlin":
7) "Goodbye Blue Sky" (Original version) (Gilmour):
"Goodbye Blue Sky" (Works In Progress version) This isn't radically different than the final version:
"Goodbye Blue Sky" (Live):
8) "Empty Spaces" (Original version) (Waters):
"Goodbye Blue Sky"/ "Empty Spaces" (Roger Waters Live in San Francisco):
"Empty Spaces" (Work in Progress version):
9) "Young Lust": (Gilmour) "The Wall" movie version. This video isn't for the faint of heart:
"Young Lust" (Live)
"Young Lust" (Work in Progress Version):
10) "One of My Turns" (Original version) (Waters) (Pink is on tour in America and he's lamenting the state of his marriage as a groupie tries to figure out exactly what he wants. Too bad Pink doesn't know exactly, he wants a real connection but doesn't seem to know how to get it. The groupie is willing to give him any thing he wants, except for what he really wants. Both Pink and the song explode in violence and ends with the haunting line "Why are you running away?") :
"One of My Turns" (Live): This song gives us insight into how far Pink has fallen and lamenting the impending death of his marriage.
11) "Don't Leave Me Now" (Original version) (Waters):
"Don't Leave Me Now" (Live):
"Don't Leave Me Now": ("Work in Progress version) After he thrashes his hotel room, he asked the groupie why was she "running away". He realizes his boorish behavior and doesn't want her to leave. I get the feeling he doesn't care who the company is, he just wants some company.
12) "Another Brick In The Wall" Part 3" (Waters): (From the movie)
"Another Brick In The Wall Part 3" (Original version):
All 3 parts of "Another Brick In The Wall" (Original versions):
13) "Goodbye Cruel World" (Waters) (from "The Wall" movie):
"Goodbye Cruel World" Roger Waters "The Wall: Live In Berlin":
themusicaddict
themusicaddict's Greatest CDs of All-time: Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (Part 3) Waters Takes Down The Wall in Berlin
Hello,
From Wikipedia, the highlights about The Berlin Wall.
East German's official name was the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
The Berlin Wall started to be built on August 31st, 1961, it completely cut West Berlin off from East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was officially called the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart. Some from West Germany sometimes would refer to it as the Wall of Shame. The Berlin Wall was built to stop all those from East Germany who wanted to emigrate from doing so. Before The Berlin Wall was built 3.5 million East Germans "circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions". During it's existence, roughly from 1961 to 1989, around 5,000 people attempted to escape. Up to 100 people were killed in their attempt to escape. The GDR announced on November 9th, 1989 "that all GDR could visit West Germany and West Berlin." (The quotes are Wikipedia's, thanks to them.)
President Reagan's historic "Tear Down This Wall" speech at The Berlin Wall on June 12th, 1987. It was a speech to people of the world, the Soviet Union and also the people of Berlin- both East and West Berlin.
This is President Reagan's actual classic "Tear Down This Wall" comment to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev:
The Berlin Wall falls, this is very interesting:
Roger Waters "The Wall" performance at The Berlin Wall on July 21st, 1990, the CD was released on August 21st, 1990. Sadly the link is "disabled by request", but here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjxFp6U-pns
From Wikipedia's "The Wall: Live in Berlin" page:
"The concert was staged on vacant terrain between Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate, a location that was part of the former "no-man's land" of the Berlin Wall."
"Shot on Potsdamer Platz, the no man's land between East and West Berlin, the producers didn't know if the area would be filled with mines. Before setting up, they did a sweep of the area and found a cache of munitions and a previously unknown SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler bunker."
"Waters had stated on the first airing of the making of The Wall on In the Studio with Redbeard in July 1989 that the only way he was to resurrect a live performance of The Wall was "if the Berlin Wall came down". Four months later the wall came down."
"In the end, (producer Tony) Hollingsworth (with Waters assisting) brought in guest artists including Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of The Band, The Hooters, Van Morrison, Sinéad O'Connor, Cyndi Lauper, Marianne Faithfull, Scorpions, Joni Mitchell, Paul Carrack, Thomas Dolby and Bryan Adams, along with actors Albert Finney, Jerry Hall, Tim Curry and Ute Lemper. Leonard Cheshire opened the concert by blowing a World War II whistle."
(Thanks to Wikipedia.org for most of the information in this blog.)
themusicaddict
From Wikipedia, the highlights about The Berlin Wall.
East German's official name was the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
The Berlin Wall started to be built on August 31st, 1961, it completely cut West Berlin off from East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was officially called the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart. Some from West Germany sometimes would refer to it as the Wall of Shame. The Berlin Wall was built to stop all those from East Germany who wanted to emigrate from doing so. Before The Berlin Wall was built 3.5 million East Germans "circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions". During it's existence, roughly from 1961 to 1989, around 5,000 people attempted to escape. Up to 100 people were killed in their attempt to escape. The GDR announced on November 9th, 1989 "that all GDR could visit West Germany and West Berlin." (The quotes are Wikipedia's, thanks to them.)
President Reagan's historic "Tear Down This Wall" speech at The Berlin Wall on June 12th, 1987. It was a speech to people of the world, the Soviet Union and also the people of Berlin- both East and West Berlin.
This is President Reagan's actual classic "Tear Down This Wall" comment to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev:
The Berlin Wall falls, this is very interesting:
Roger Waters "The Wall" performance at The Berlin Wall on July 21st, 1990, the CD was released on August 21st, 1990. Sadly the link is "disabled by request", but here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjxFp6U-pns
From Wikipedia's "The Wall: Live in Berlin" page:
"The concert was staged on vacant terrain between Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate, a location that was part of the former "no-man's land" of the Berlin Wall."
"Shot on Potsdamer Platz, the no man's land between East and West Berlin, the producers didn't know if the area would be filled with mines. Before setting up, they did a sweep of the area and found a cache of munitions and a previously unknown SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler bunker."
"Waters had stated on the first airing of the making of The Wall on In the Studio with Redbeard in July 1989 that the only way he was to resurrect a live performance of The Wall was "if the Berlin Wall came down". Four months later the wall came down."
"In the end, (producer Tony) Hollingsworth (with Waters assisting) brought in guest artists including Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of The Band, The Hooters, Van Morrison, Sinéad O'Connor, Cyndi Lauper, Marianne Faithfull, Scorpions, Joni Mitchell, Paul Carrack, Thomas Dolby and Bryan Adams, along with actors Albert Finney, Jerry Hall, Tim Curry and Ute Lemper. Leonard Cheshire opened the concert by blowing a World War II whistle."
- "In the Flesh?" by Scorpions
- "The Thin Ice" by Ute Lemper & Roger Waters & the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir
- "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)" by Roger Waters; sax solo by Garth Hudson
- "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" by Roger Waters
- "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" by Cyndi Lauper; guitar solos by Rick Di Fonzo & Snowy White, synth solo by Thomas Dolby
- "Mother" by Sinéad O'Connor & The Band; accordion by Garth Hudson, vocals by Rick Danko & Levon Helm; acoustic instruments by The Hooters.
- "Goodbye Blue Sky" by Joni Mitchell & the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir ; flute by James Galway
- "Empty Spaces/What Shall We Do Now?" by Bryan Adams, Roger Waters & the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir
- "Young Lust" by Bryan Adams, guitar solos by Rick Di Fonzo & Snowy White
- "Oh My God – What a Fabulous Room" by Jerry Hall (intro to "One of My Turns")
- "One of My Turns" by Roger Waters
- "Don't Leave Me Now" by Roger Waters
- "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)" by Roger Waters & the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir
- "The Last Few Bricks"
- "Goodbye Cruel World" by Roger Waters
- "Hey You" by Paul Carrack
- "Is There Anybody Out There?" by The Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir; classical guitars by Rick Di Fonzo & Snowy White
- "Nobody Home" by Roger Waters & the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir, guitar solos by Snowy White
- "Vera" by Roger Waters & the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir
- "Bring the Boys Back Home" by The Rundfunk, Band of the Combined Soviet Forces in Germany & Red Army Chorus
- "Comfortably Numb" by Van Morrison, Roger Waters & The Band & the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir, guitar solos by Rick Di Fonzo & Snowy White
- "In the Flesh" by Roger Waters, Scorpions, the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir
- "Run Like Hell" by Roger Waters and Scorpions
- "Waiting for the Worms" by Roger Waters, Scorpions and the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir
- "Stop" by Roger Waters
- "The Trial" by The Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir, featuring:
- Tim Curry as the Prosecutor
- Thomas Dolby as the School Master
- Ute Lemper as the Wife
- Marianne Faithfull as the Mother
- Albert Finney as the Judge
- "The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)" by the Company (lead vocals by Roger Waters, Joni Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, Van Morrison and Paul Carrack.) & the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir.
- "Outside The Wall" by Roger Waters
(Thanks to Wikipedia.org for most of the information in this blog.)
I'm providing the video for "The Tide Is Turning" as this is a new addition to "The Wall":
themusicaddict
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
themusicaddict's Greatest CDs Of All-Time: Pink Floyd's "The Wall" Part 2: The Covers
Hello,
Here are some covers of some of the 25 songs on Pink Floyd's "The Wall". While there are a couple of videos below from tribute bands, I tried to find songs from other groups.
Korn's "Another Brick In The Wall" Part 2:
Natalie Maines' "Mother":
Pearl Jam's "Mother":
Felicia Weston's "Mother":
This is surprisingly good, there are a lot of talented people out there. The Reese Boyd Project's cover of "Young Lust":
Speak Floyd, from Romania, their cover of "Young Lust":
The Novelist's "Comfortably Numb":
The DNA Pink Floyd Tribute Band covering the Floyd with the Rossini Symphony Orchestra on "Comfortably Numb":
There's been a completely different song recorded that's titled "Is There Anyone Out There", it's a completely different song than the Pink Floyd song.
Enricator's "Is There Anyone Out There":
Hydria's "Hey You":
Dream Theatre's "Hey You":
Foo Fighters' "In The Flesh":
Primus' "Run Like Hell":
Maserati's "Run Like Hell":
This version kicks butt, Rivethead's "Run Like Hell":
themusicaddict
Here are some covers of some of the 25 songs on Pink Floyd's "The Wall". While there are a couple of videos below from tribute bands, I tried to find songs from other groups.
Korn's "Another Brick In The Wall" Part 2:
Natalie Maines' "Mother":
Pearl Jam's "Mother":
Felicia Weston's "Mother":
This is surprisingly good, there are a lot of talented people out there. The Reese Boyd Project's cover of "Young Lust":
Speak Floyd, from Romania, their cover of "Young Lust":
The Novelist's "Comfortably Numb":
The DNA Pink Floyd Tribute Band covering the Floyd with the Rossini Symphony Orchestra on "Comfortably Numb":
There's been a completely different song recorded that's titled "Is There Anyone Out There", it's a completely different song than the Pink Floyd song.
Enricator's "Is There Anyone Out There":
Hydria's "Hey You":
Dream Theatre's "Hey You":
Foo Fighters' "In The Flesh":
Primus' "Run Like Hell":
Maserati's "Run Like Hell":
This version kicks butt, Rivethead's "Run Like Hell":
themusicaddict
Monday, July 7, 2014
themusicaddict's Greatest CD's of All-Time: Pink Floyd's The Wall Part 1 (Preview Of A Series of "The Wall" blogs) (Updated July 16th, 2014)
Hello,
It was announced in the last few days that Pink Floyd will be releasing a CD full of new music. "The Endless River" is set to be released in October of this year. According to Rolling Stone.com this is a Rick Wright's farewell. The tracks were recorded during the same sessions that produced "The Division Bell". The additional tracks were initially titled "The Big Spliff". With the news that Pink Floyd is releasing their first new CD in 20 years, this seems to be a great time to write about "The Wall".
Who is Rick Wright? Wright was born on July 28th, 1943 and passed away on September 15th, 2008. Wright died at home of cancer at the too young age of 65. Wright is an original member of Pink Floyd and an extraordinary multi-instrumentalist. Wright was also involved in one of the more bizarre incidents in the history of Pink Floyd.
Wright was forced to resign from Pink Floyd during "The Wall" sessions due to personal problems and conflicts with Roger Waters. Although he was officially no longer a member of the band, he was retained as paid employee of Pink Floyd. Once Waters officially left Pink Floyd, Wright eventually returned to help with the recording of "The Division Bell". (Thanks to Wikipedia's Rick Wright page.)
Wright also released a couple of solo CDs, that didn't gain much traction with the public. He also formed a band called Zee. Not surprisingly none of Wright's solo work or Zee is available on Rdio.
("The Endless River" sounds like it will be mostly an instrumental work with David Gilmour and others singing on some of the tracks. To answer your next question, it doesn't seem Roger Waters is anywhere to be found on this CD.
In my opinion the chances of "The Endless River" being any good is about 1%. The CD seems to be driven more by Polly Samson, wife of David Gilmour, rather than David himself. Polly "helped" him on his 2006 solo CD, "On An Island", which frankly isn't very good. Although reading the several complimentary reviews on amazon.com, maybe I should give it another listen?)
I'll admit here that I have no insight into being a musician, having no musical talent whatsoever. The best I can do is to be as educated of an outsider as possible and I'll be writing from that viewpoint. I'll be using several sources to research and write this blog, as always all opinions are mine.
This could be the most difficult blog subject I ever write about. This subject will be broken into at least several individual blogs. I may change and update each blog as I continue to study and research. "The Wall" is a masterpiece without a doubt, a complex masterpiece. The movie version of "The Wall", starring Bob Geldof, is a brilliant look at the alienation and loneliness of being a rock star. Watch this movie to get an even better idea what Pink Floyd was trying to express in their seminal work.
"The Wall" was recorded June-December 1978 in London, England. Then "The Wall" recording was moved to France, where they worked on it from January to July 1979. They also worked on it at other studios. "The Wall" album was released on November 30th, 1979. The movie version of "The Wall", starring Bob Geldof as Pink, was released July 14th, 1982 in England. It was also shown at Cannes earlier the same year.
The four members of Pink Floyd during the recording of this CD were Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rick Wright (sort of, see above) and Nick Mason. Obviously this CD is more than just the work of musicians. "The Wall" was produced by Waters, Gilmour, Bob Ezrin and James Guthrie. Also it would be criminal not to mention Gerald Scarfe's animation and sleeve design. He put much of "The Wall's" visual component on stage and the album cover. Since it's release it has sold millions of copies and it's influence continues to be felt to this day.
Some of the questions I hope to provide insight into include what is "The Wall" about? Why has it touched such a nerve over the years?
Here's the entire 2011 remastered version of "The Wall":
Pink Floyd performing "The Wall" in 1980, the full concert, the sound fades in and out:
This is the same Nassau concert as above, however the introduction has been eliminated. The sound is much better in this clip, however the video just shows the same picture throughout.
Roger Waters "The Wall" live in Wembley Stadium September 14th, 2013:
One song that you'll hear on "The Wall" movie, but not on the actual CD is "When The Tigers Broke Free". In the movie the song is actually broken into two parts. Here's both parts in one video, sadly the volume is very low. The lyrics and video give lie to the glory of war nonsense.
From the Wikipedia Battle of Anzio entry:
"Eric Fletcher Waters, father to Pink Floyd's bassist and songwriter Roger Waters, was killed during Operation Shingle at Anzio. The Pink Floyd albums The Wall and The Final Cut contain many references to this. In particular, the song "When the Tigers Broke Free" (featured in the soundtrack to the film of The Wall, and later added to The Final Cut) recounts the events at Anzio."
The lines that end the above song are "... most of them dead, the rest of them dying. And that's how the high command took my Daddy from me". The last few words are sung with a great deal of anguish.
Here's the Wikipedia entry about the Anzio bridge battle:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Anzio
Other sources for these next few blogs about "The Wall". Please don't expect me to keep track of where I get all the information from, I'll do what I can. 1) Andrew Means "A Brief History of Pink Floyd" by Andrew Means (You can buy the Kindle version of this book for $1.99.) 2) Multiple Pink Floyd related Wikipedia pages. Yes, I know that's not 100% reliable, so take any thing I write in these blogs with a grain of salt.
If you disagree with me or have additional insight, please don't be afraid to share in the comments or sending me an e-mail.
themusicaddict
It was announced in the last few days that Pink Floyd will be releasing a CD full of new music. "The Endless River" is set to be released in October of this year. According to Rolling Stone.com this is a Rick Wright's farewell. The tracks were recorded during the same sessions that produced "The Division Bell". The additional tracks were initially titled "The Big Spliff". With the news that Pink Floyd is releasing their first new CD in 20 years, this seems to be a great time to write about "The Wall".
Who is Rick Wright? Wright was born on July 28th, 1943 and passed away on September 15th, 2008. Wright died at home of cancer at the too young age of 65. Wright is an original member of Pink Floyd and an extraordinary multi-instrumentalist. Wright was also involved in one of the more bizarre incidents in the history of Pink Floyd.
Wright was forced to resign from Pink Floyd during "The Wall" sessions due to personal problems and conflicts with Roger Waters. Although he was officially no longer a member of the band, he was retained as paid employee of Pink Floyd. Once Waters officially left Pink Floyd, Wright eventually returned to help with the recording of "The Division Bell". (Thanks to Wikipedia's Rick Wright page.)
Wright also released a couple of solo CDs, that didn't gain much traction with the public. He also formed a band called Zee. Not surprisingly none of Wright's solo work or Zee is available on Rdio.
("The Endless River" sounds like it will be mostly an instrumental work with David Gilmour and others singing on some of the tracks. To answer your next question, it doesn't seem Roger Waters is anywhere to be found on this CD.
In my opinion the chances of "The Endless River" being any good is about 1%. The CD seems to be driven more by Polly Samson, wife of David Gilmour, rather than David himself. Polly "helped" him on his 2006 solo CD, "On An Island", which frankly isn't very good. Although reading the several complimentary reviews on amazon.com, maybe I should give it another listen?)
I'll admit here that I have no insight into being a musician, having no musical talent whatsoever. The best I can do is to be as educated of an outsider as possible and I'll be writing from that viewpoint. I'll be using several sources to research and write this blog, as always all opinions are mine.
This could be the most difficult blog subject I ever write about. This subject will be broken into at least several individual blogs. I may change and update each blog as I continue to study and research. "The Wall" is a masterpiece without a doubt, a complex masterpiece. The movie version of "The Wall", starring Bob Geldof, is a brilliant look at the alienation and loneliness of being a rock star. Watch this movie to get an even better idea what Pink Floyd was trying to express in their seminal work.
"The Wall" was recorded June-December 1978 in London, England. Then "The Wall" recording was moved to France, where they worked on it from January to July 1979. They also worked on it at other studios. "The Wall" album was released on November 30th, 1979. The movie version of "The Wall", starring Bob Geldof as Pink, was released July 14th, 1982 in England. It was also shown at Cannes earlier the same year.
The four members of Pink Floyd during the recording of this CD were Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rick Wright (sort of, see above) and Nick Mason. Obviously this CD is more than just the work of musicians. "The Wall" was produced by Waters, Gilmour, Bob Ezrin and James Guthrie. Also it would be criminal not to mention Gerald Scarfe's animation and sleeve design. He put much of "The Wall's" visual component on stage and the album cover. Since it's release it has sold millions of copies and it's influence continues to be felt to this day.
Some of the questions I hope to provide insight into include what is "The Wall" about? Why has it touched such a nerve over the years?
Here's the entire 2011 remastered version of "The Wall":
Pink Floyd performing "The Wall" in 1980, the full concert, the sound fades in and out:
This is the same Nassau concert as above, however the introduction has been eliminated. The sound is much better in this clip, however the video just shows the same picture throughout.
Roger Waters "The Wall" live in Wembley Stadium September 14th, 2013:
One song that you'll hear on "The Wall" movie, but not on the actual CD is "When The Tigers Broke Free". In the movie the song is actually broken into two parts. Here's both parts in one video, sadly the volume is very low. The lyrics and video give lie to the glory of war nonsense.
From the Wikipedia Battle of Anzio entry:
"Eric Fletcher Waters, father to Pink Floyd's bassist and songwriter Roger Waters, was killed during Operation Shingle at Anzio. The Pink Floyd albums The Wall and The Final Cut contain many references to this. In particular, the song "When the Tigers Broke Free" (featured in the soundtrack to the film of The Wall, and later added to The Final Cut) recounts the events at Anzio."
The lines that end the above song are "... most of them dead, the rest of them dying. And that's how the high command took my Daddy from me". The last few words are sung with a great deal of anguish.
Here's the Wikipedia entry about the Anzio bridge battle:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Anzio
Other sources for these next few blogs about "The Wall". Please don't expect me to keep track of where I get all the information from, I'll do what I can. 1) Andrew Means "A Brief History of Pink Floyd" by Andrew Means (You can buy the Kindle version of this book for $1.99.) 2) Multiple Pink Floyd related Wikipedia pages. Yes, I know that's not 100% reliable, so take any thing I write in these blogs with a grain of salt.
If you disagree with me or have additional insight, please don't be afraid to share in the comments or sending me an e-mail.
themusicaddict
Thursday, July 3, 2014
themusicaddict's Almost A Classic CD, But Not Quite: James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend" (Finished, July 6th, 2014)
Hello,
This blog is inspired by the CMT Crossroads special from my previous blog about The Dixie Chicks' "Fly". In that special they sing with James Taylor. While watching that very entertaining performance I thought to myself does James Taylor have a Greatest CD of All-Time? My conclusion is no, but he does have some very good CDs. Many would consider his most classic CD to be "Sweet Baby James". That CD features the title track, "Country Road" and all-time classic song "Fire and Rain". That's indeed a solid CD. Personally I'm a fan of the more obscure "That's Why I'm Here", a CD full of great songs.
Before I determine whether a CD is a Greatest CD of All-Time it either has to be a CD I've listened to at least dozens of times already or I go listen to it. When I went to Rdio.com to research great James Taylor CDs, I discovered the CD titled "You've Got A Friend". According to Rdio.com, this CD was released on June 30th, 1975. The only problem with that is that Wikipedia or amazon doesn't show any information that such a CD has actually ever existed.
It sounds like it might be a live recording, but if so there's no audible audience.
On Rdio the record company listed for this CD is Vision 21 OMP. On Rdio's Vision 21 OMP tab are included greatest hits CDs by such legendary performers as Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline and Merle Haggard. But they also have a lot of obscure (to me) musicians. I can't find a lot of information on the 'net about what exactly Vision 21 OMP is. One thing that gives me doubts about Vision 21 OMP is that they misspell lonely as lonly on "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonite". That's a very long explanation to say I don't think that "You've Got A Friend" was ever released as an actual CD. It seems to be a very good compilation of great songs slapped together to form a playlist. Anyway it's a great compilation, so with the above caveats I'm going with this as a not quite a classic CD.
1) "You've Got A Friend":
2) "Handy Man":
3) "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonite":
4) "Up On The Roof":
5) "Her Town Too" (with J.D. Souther):
6) "Like Everyone She Knows":
7) "Copperline" (One of my favorite JT songs):
"Copperline" (live)
8) "Fire and Rain" (And of course one of the greatest songs of all-time.) :
"Fire and Rain" (Live in 1970) :
9) "Sweet Potato Pie":
10) "Never Die Young" (According to Wikipedia, the CD this song was on was released 1988. So obviously it couldn't be on a CD released in 1975. I'm really confused.):
11) "Country Road":
12) "How Sweet It Is":
themusicaddict
This blog is inspired by the CMT Crossroads special from my previous blog about The Dixie Chicks' "Fly". In that special they sing with James Taylor. While watching that very entertaining performance I thought to myself does James Taylor have a Greatest CD of All-Time? My conclusion is no, but he does have some very good CDs. Many would consider his most classic CD to be "Sweet Baby James". That CD features the title track, "Country Road" and all-time classic song "Fire and Rain". That's indeed a solid CD. Personally I'm a fan of the more obscure "That's Why I'm Here", a CD full of great songs.
Before I determine whether a CD is a Greatest CD of All-Time it either has to be a CD I've listened to at least dozens of times already or I go listen to it. When I went to Rdio.com to research great James Taylor CDs, I discovered the CD titled "You've Got A Friend". According to Rdio.com, this CD was released on June 30th, 1975. The only problem with that is that Wikipedia or amazon doesn't show any information that such a CD has actually ever existed.
It sounds like it might be a live recording, but if so there's no audible audience.
On Rdio the record company listed for this CD is Vision 21 OMP. On Rdio's Vision 21 OMP tab are included greatest hits CDs by such legendary performers as Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline and Merle Haggard. But they also have a lot of obscure (to me) musicians. I can't find a lot of information on the 'net about what exactly Vision 21 OMP is. One thing that gives me doubts about Vision 21 OMP is that they misspell lonely as lonly on "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonite". That's a very long explanation to say I don't think that "You've Got A Friend" was ever released as an actual CD. It seems to be a very good compilation of great songs slapped together to form a playlist. Anyway it's a great compilation, so with the above caveats I'm going with this as a not quite a classic CD.
1) "You've Got A Friend":
2) "Handy Man":
3) "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonite":
4) "Up On The Roof":
5) "Her Town Too" (with J.D. Souther):
6) "Like Everyone She Knows":
7) "Copperline" (One of my favorite JT songs):
"Copperline" (live)
8) "Fire and Rain" (And of course one of the greatest songs of all-time.) :
"Fire and Rain" (Live in 1970) :
9) "Sweet Potato Pie":
10) "Never Die Young" (According to Wikipedia, the CD this song was on was released 1988. So obviously it couldn't be on a CD released in 1975. I'm really confused.):
11) "Country Road":
12) "How Sweet It Is":
themusicaddict
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
themusicaddict's Greatest CD's Of All-Time: Dixie Chicks' "Fly" (Completed July 3rd, 2014)
Hello,
"Fly" is the fifth album from the Dixie Chicks, it was released on August 31st, 1999. It's their second CD with Natalie Maines as lead singer. She debuted with the Dixie Chicks the previous year on their solid CD "Wide Open Spaces". The other two members of the most popular version of The Dixie Chicks are Martie Maguire and Emily Robison.
Although "Fly" is the fifth album by the Dixie Chicks, it's only the second album with the lineup that exploded on to scene in 1998. With Natalie Maines on vocals, the Dixie Chicks finally had the chemistry to meet their potential. The Dixie Chicks debut CD was 1992's "Thank Heavens For Dale Evans", which featured Robin Lynn Macy, Laura Lynch, Martie Erwin and Emily Erwin. Martie and Emily both married, changing their names to what they currently are.
"Fly" debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top 200. It has shipped 10 million copies and has sold about 8.5 million copies since it's 1999 release. It also earned two Grammys in 2000.
I'm guessing their debut CD "Thank Heavens For Dale Evans" and their second and third CDs aren't very good. None of those 3 CDs are available on Rdio or Spotify, it's almost like weren't even released. Following their debut CD is 1992's "Little Ol' Girl" and 1993's "Shouldn't a Told You That". Although they released 3 CDs quickly, they didn't break out until 5 years later. That followed a line up change and Natalie making her debut. Their chemistry and talent lead to the explosion of "Wide Open Spaces" which features the title track, "There's Your Trouble" and one of my favorite Dixie Chicks songs "You Were Mine".
Following the double barrel shotgun of "Wide Open Spaces" and "Fly" in 2002 the Chicks released 2002's not quite as dynamic "Home". Those were followed by a little controversy which lead to the amazing 2006 CD "Taking The Long Way". That's been their last CD of original material as of 2014. Since then they released a live CD "Top Of The World" (which I'm listening to now, thanks Spotify!) and a couple of greatest hits CDs. Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks have essentially gone into hibernation other than the occasional concert. Although Emily and Martie are still making music as the Court Yard Hounds. So far they've released two CDs, 2010's self-titled CD and 2013's "Amelita".
My favorite Court Yard Hound song "It Didn't Make A Sound":
I don't care about all the controversy, I just care about the quality of the music. Both "Fly" and "Taking The Long Way" are both Greatest CDs of All-Time. Thanks Natalie, Emily, Martie and all those other talented people who created so much great music. (Thanks to Wikipedia for many of these details.)
Here's a Youtube playlist featuring 13 videos for all the songs on the CD:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=ALBTKoXRg38BBRUX4masTtQTNi01JW5gPw
Here's the actual songs with some live tracks thrown in.
1) "Ready To Run":
"Ready To Run" (Live):
2) "If I Fall You're Going Down With Me":
3) "Cowboy Take Me Away":
"Cowboy Take Me Away" (Live):
4) "Cold Day In July":
"Cold Day In July" (Live):
5) "Goodbye Earl":
This was the highlight of the Dixie Chicks concert I went to, too bad it was the first song of their concert. "Goodbye Earl" (Live):
6) "Hello Mr. Heartache":
7) "Don't Waste Your Heart":
8) "Sin Wagon":
"Sin Wagon": (Live):
9) "Without You":
"Without You" (Live):
10) "Some Days You Gotta Dance":
11) "Hole In My Head":
12) "Heartbreak Town" (This video nicely encapsulates the controversy of their comments about George Bush):
13) "Ain't No Thang But a Chicken Wang" (a 6 second fading tone) (Thanks to Wikipedia.) (No video.)
14) "Let Him Fly":
Here's a couple of brief Dixie Chicks concerts I can find on Youtube. Live in London 2000:
Here's The Dixie Chicks and James Taylor in a CMT Crossroads concert:
themusicaddict
"Fly" is the fifth album from the Dixie Chicks, it was released on August 31st, 1999. It's their second CD with Natalie Maines as lead singer. She debuted with the Dixie Chicks the previous year on their solid CD "Wide Open Spaces". The other two members of the most popular version of The Dixie Chicks are Martie Maguire and Emily Robison.
Although "Fly" is the fifth album by the Dixie Chicks, it's only the second album with the lineup that exploded on to scene in 1998. With Natalie Maines on vocals, the Dixie Chicks finally had the chemistry to meet their potential. The Dixie Chicks debut CD was 1992's "Thank Heavens For Dale Evans", which featured Robin Lynn Macy, Laura Lynch, Martie Erwin and Emily Erwin. Martie and Emily both married, changing their names to what they currently are.
"Fly" debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top 200. It has shipped 10 million copies and has sold about 8.5 million copies since it's 1999 release. It also earned two Grammys in 2000.
I'm guessing their debut CD "Thank Heavens For Dale Evans" and their second and third CDs aren't very good. None of those 3 CDs are available on Rdio or Spotify, it's almost like weren't even released. Following their debut CD is 1992's "Little Ol' Girl" and 1993's "Shouldn't a Told You That". Although they released 3 CDs quickly, they didn't break out until 5 years later. That followed a line up change and Natalie making her debut. Their chemistry and talent lead to the explosion of "Wide Open Spaces" which features the title track, "There's Your Trouble" and one of my favorite Dixie Chicks songs "You Were Mine".
Following the double barrel shotgun of "Wide Open Spaces" and "Fly" in 2002 the Chicks released 2002's not quite as dynamic "Home". Those were followed by a little controversy which lead to the amazing 2006 CD "Taking The Long Way". That's been their last CD of original material as of 2014. Since then they released a live CD "Top Of The World" (which I'm listening to now, thanks Spotify!) and a couple of greatest hits CDs. Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks have essentially gone into hibernation other than the occasional concert. Although Emily and Martie are still making music as the Court Yard Hounds. So far they've released two CDs, 2010's self-titled CD and 2013's "Amelita".
My favorite Court Yard Hound song "It Didn't Make A Sound":
I don't care about all the controversy, I just care about the quality of the music. Both "Fly" and "Taking The Long Way" are both Greatest CDs of All-Time. Thanks Natalie, Emily, Martie and all those other talented people who created so much great music. (Thanks to Wikipedia for many of these details.)
Here's a Youtube playlist featuring 13 videos for all the songs on the CD:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=ALBTKoXRg38BBRUX4masTtQTNi01JW5gPw
Here's the actual songs with some live tracks thrown in.
1) "Ready To Run":
"Ready To Run" (Live):
2) "If I Fall You're Going Down With Me":
3) "Cowboy Take Me Away":
"Cowboy Take Me Away" (Live):
4) "Cold Day In July":
"Cold Day In July" (Live):
5) "Goodbye Earl":
This was the highlight of the Dixie Chicks concert I went to, too bad it was the first song of their concert. "Goodbye Earl" (Live):
6) "Hello Mr. Heartache":
7) "Don't Waste Your Heart":
8) "Sin Wagon":
"Sin Wagon": (Live):
9) "Without You":
"Without You" (Live):
10) "Some Days You Gotta Dance":
11) "Hole In My Head":
12) "Heartbreak Town" (This video nicely encapsulates the controversy of their comments about George Bush):
13) "Ain't No Thang But a Chicken Wang" (a 6 second fading tone) (Thanks to Wikipedia.) (No video.)
14) "Let Him Fly":
Here's a couple of brief Dixie Chicks concerts I can find on Youtube. Live in London 2000:
Here's The Dixie Chicks and James Taylor in a CMT Crossroads concert:
themusicaddict
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