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Sound Opinions, being the scholarly work it is, has provided footnotes to help you navigate through the show's vast maze of musical knowledge.
Because, let's face it—sometimes even we have no idea what the heck Jim and Greg are talking about.
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05-20-06 Footnotes
Listen to the MP3 Stream of this show: (link)
Download the Podcast: (Download the MP3)
1 First up in the news is some headway in the Payola investigation conducted by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The Universal Music Group, the world's biggest music company, has agreed to pay $12 million to settle accusations that its executives paid radio programmers to play certain songs. This is the largest settlement of its kind. Warner Music Group(www.wmg.com/) and Sony/BMG made similar deals last year. Mr. Spitzer is still in the process of investigating EMI, as well as radio companies like Clear Channel and CBS Radio. And, as we heard a couple of weeks ago, the FCC is conducting a similar inquiry. As always, Sound Opinions H.Q. will keep you posted.
2 Another story in the news this week suggests that record company lawyers won’t be taking a break any time soon. All four of the major record labels have just launched a lawsuit against XM Satellite Radio. Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI all claim that a new XM device called the “Inno” violates music copyright law. The Inno allows people to not only listen to satellite radio, but record it. Therefore, according to the labels, XM has become a digital retailer, like iTunes, and should be required to pay similar fees. This is just yet another example of how the recording industry is scorning new technology rather than embracing it.
3 Guns N’ Roses front man Axl Rose is also making news, though Jim and Greg are wondering why. The buzz is that his long-awaited album Chinese Democracy is forthcoming; however our hosts are skeptical. Rose has been saying that he is at the brink of finishing for years (15 to be exact), and in the process he’s become one of the long-running jokes in the music industry. But, fans can take solace in the fact that the singer recently performed some Chinese Democracy tracks in New York. So that is a good sign indeed.
4 Later this summer Revolver will celebrate its 40th anniversary. To honor that, our own rock scientists, Drs. DeRogatis and Kot, decided to dissect the Beatles masterpiece. In their discussion, as well as in their interview with Geoff Emerick, the man who engineered the album at Abbey Road, you’ll hear an in-depth breakdown of what made the music so revolutionary. Here’s a sampling of fun-facts and analysis listeners will hear about the different tracks:
4a Tomorrow Never Knows – The last song on Revolver was actually the first one written. In December 1965, after a mind-expanding acid trip, John Lennon wrote what would later become “Tomorrow Never Knows.” The completely unique four-track song, with its organ drones, backward guitar, bird calls, and megaphone vocals, perfectly encapsulates what Revolver was about—revolution. Two interesting points come up in Jim and Greg’s discussion with Geoff Emerick about Lennon’s lack of technical prowess. Not being able to really communicate how he wanted his vocals to sound technically, he simply asked Emerick to have his voice sound like monks singing on the top of a mountain. Also, the backwards guitar part was merely a happy accident. Lennon, not knowing how to run a reel-to-reel machine, simply loaded the tape backwards and liked what he heard.
4b Rain – The interesting thing about this song is that it wasn’t even released as part of the original Revolver album. It was the B-side of a single (paired with “Paperback Writer”) that was recorded during the same session. EMI expected the Beatles to write and record not only an amazing album, but hit singles as well. Jim recommends fans burn their own complete Revolver with the addition of these singles.
4c Yellow Submarine – Geoff Emerick’s description of recording this song is one of the most entertaining in his book. The session was attended by a raucous group of notable guests including Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Marianne Faithful and Patti Harrison. In the middle of recording Lennon decided that he wanted to sound like he was singing underwater, and in fact, suggested that he do just that. Out of desperation, the engineer relented and agreed to try it with the microphone placed in a milk bottle filled with water. In order to protect the microphone he used a condom provided by longtime Beatles roadie Mal Evans.
4d Eleanor Rigby – Emerick was really innovative in how he recorded different instruments. This is particularly evident on this song, written by Paul McCartney, which incorporates an 8-piece string section. In fact, none of the Beatles actually played on Eleanor Rigby. In order to get the best possible sound, Emerick placed the microphones just inches away from the 2 violas, 2 cellos and 4 violins. Beatles fans are so used to hearing this song so it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to experience it for the first time in 1966 on the same record with more traditional sounding rock songs like “Good Day Sunshine” and “Got to Get You Into My Life”.
4e Taxman – Revolver marks significant growth in the band’s sound, as well as for the individual Beatles. George Harrison really matured as a songwriter during the recording of this album, which has an unprecedented three songs written by him, as opposed to chief songwriters Lennon and McCartney. While Harrison is often thought of as the more transcendental Beatle, Jim notes that “Taxman” expresses a very normal, earthy concern—paying taxes. While, Harrison grew as a songwriter, Emerick admits that he still struggled with the guitar during some of the recording of this album. After wrestling for almost nine hours with “Taxman’s” famous guitar solo, the part ended up being handed over to Paul McCartney, who hit it in one take.
5 To show the range of influence Revolver has had on the music industry, Jim and Greg commissioned this montage of Beatles covers from this album. Here’s a list of the songs you hear:
“Taxman” by Stevie Ray Vaughn
“Eleanor Rigby” by Ray Charles
“I’m Only Sleeping” by Rosanne Cash
“Love You To” by Bongwater
“Here, There and Everywhere” by Emmylou Harris
“Yellow Submarine” by Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops
“She Said, She Said,” by Gov’t Mule
“Good Day Sunshine,” by Jimmy James & the Vagabonds
“And Your Bird Can Sing” by Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
“For No One” by Rickie Lee Jones
“Doctor Robert” by Bozo Allegro
“I Want to Tell You” by Ted Nugent
“Got To Get You Into My Life” by Earth, Wind & Fire
“Tomorrow Never Knows” by Brian Eno
6 Singer/Songwriter and producer T-Bone Burnett recently put out The True False Identity, his first album in 14 years. He is most well known for his production work having produced albums for Los Lobos, Roy Orbison, Elvis Costello and ex-wife Sam Phillips. He also produced the hugely successful soundtrack for Oh Brother Where Art Thou, as well as Cold Mountain and A Mighty Wind. After over a decade-long hiatus, he returned to the studio with drummer Jim Keltner and guitarist Mark Ribot. Greg is glad to have T-Bone back. He loves how the musician uses the studio as an instrument and gives The True False Identity a Buy It. Jim, on the other hand, listened to the album and prepared to rumble. He compares the music to that of a similar artist—Tom Waits. Jim feels that both men try to be weird simply for the sake of being weird. He wishes that T-Bone was as effective a producer for his own work as he is for others, and gives this album a definite Trash It.
7 The next album up for review is Broken Boy Soldiers by The Raconteurs. The Raconteurs is a side-project for Jack White of the White Stripes. He is joined by power popster (and fellow Michigan native) Brendan Benson as well as members of garage band The Greenhornes. This marks a bit of a departure for White, who favors a much more minimalist approach with the White Stripes’ music. Greg is not entirely impressed with this departure. He feels that too much of the record is merely a classic rock imitation. Greg suspects that White ceded too much power to Brendan Benson, and wishes that he made more innovative musical choices as he did on the album he produced for country star Loretta Lynn. Broken Boy Soldiers gets a Burn It from this critic. Jim, however, cannot stop listening to The Raconteurs, and for him that’s all that matters. Rock and roll has never been about originality, and according to Jim, every song is catchy and energetic. Therefore, he recommends listeners Buy It.
8 It is Greg’s turn to pop a quarter into the Desert Island Jukebox, but this week he had a hard time choosing just one song. According to our host, hip hop star Missy Elliott is the top singles artist of the last 10 years. Along with producers like Timbaland, she makes truly avant-garde music, but does so in a really fun, accessible way. Therefore, it’s no wonder that her songs are hits critically and commercially. For this week’s show, Greg went with the song “Work It.” The song demonstrates Missy’s novel approach to sounds and words. It isn’t really about anything new, but the lyrics, beats and sounds (note the elephant’s wail) couldn’t sound fresher. In fact, only Missy Elliott could get away with having the hook to a Top 40 hit be sung backwards. So, you may not be able to sing along to this week’s DIJ, but you’ll certainly want to.
Songs Featured in Show #25
Husker Dü, “New Day Rising,” New Day Rising, 1985
Nirvana, “Pay to Play,” With the Lights Out, 2004
Lou Reed, “Satellite of Love,” Transformer, 1972
The Beatles, “Tomorrow Never Knows,” Revolver (UK), 1966
The Beatles, “Rain,” Revolver (UK), 1966
The Beatles, “Yellow Submarine,” Revolver (UK), 1966
The Beatles, “Eleanor Rigby,” Revolver (UK), 1966
The Beatles, “Taxman,” Revolver (UK), 1966
T-Bone Burnett, “Palestine Texas,” The True False Identity, 2006
T-Bone Burnett. “7 Times Hotter than Fire” The True False Identity, 2006
The Raconteurs, “Steady as she Goes,” Broken Boy Soldiers, 2006
The Raconteurs, “Intimate Secretary” Broken Boy Soldiers, 2006
The Raconteurs, “Store Bought Bones” Broken Boy Soldiers, 2006
Credits: Missy Elliott, “Work It,” Under Construction, 2002
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