What happens when Bach's "Air on a G String" is turned into a popular song?
Apparently, it becomes an anthem that's considered one of the greatest anthems of the 20th Century, and one of the theme songs of the Summer of Love of 1967. Procol Harum's debut single, it is one of the best selling physical singles of all time - selling more than 10 million copies - and was one of the first SONGS induced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Some days, I have a clear plan for what I'm going to post. Sometimes, I don't. Today's post is the latter.
I'm not generally a huge fan of Beyoncé. I mean, she's all right. However, when I was writing this post about the song "Maps", by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I found that this song made a direct reference to it. Repeatedly. "They don't love you like I love you." Karen O and the rest of the songwriters got a songwriting credit on this. This song also interpolates "Turn My Swag On" by Soulja Boy, who ALSO gets a songwriting credit.
Since the song was Grammy nominated, that would have been a lot of statues had it won.
The song is something of a joyful calypso.... musically. It's really chill, really cool. Lyrically, though.... whoa. It's angry and heavy and, well, it explains why Bey is walking around with a goddamn baseball bat beating the shit out of everything.
This song, an early hit single by Rage Against The Machine, clearly states "anger is a gift." It's a great song, and you should enjoy it.
That's not what we're going to talk about here, though.
No, we're going to talk about Leonard Peltier, Native American activist and mainstay of the American Indian Movement. On June 26, 1975, two unmarked cars - which were driven by FBI agents who were investigating AIM - drove onto private property on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. A fire fight began, with two FBI agents and one Indian killed.
A huge manhunt followed, and three AIM members were arrested. Two were acquitted, but Peltier was extradited from Canada - based on documents supplied by the FBU that contained false information - and convicted, sentenced to two life sentences in 1977. Key witnesses did assert that their testimony was coerced and later recanted their testimony against Peltier. Evidence of Peltier's innocence has been brought to light, but ignored by the appellate courts and by Presidents Clinton and Obama, both of whom denied Peltier's appeals for clemency.
There is worldwide support for clemency for Peltier, including from Pope Francis, the attorney who supervised the prosecution of Peltier, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, the Dalia Lama, and many others.
So, Rage Against The Machine used their MTV platform to bring attention to the Peltier case, and I'm going to honor that by bringing that attention here as well.
The Cure were a leading alternative band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They didn't really get a lot of mainstream success..... until this single in 1989 vaulted them into the Billboard Top 10.
It's not like they altered their style to get that hit. The song was someone morose-sounding, but its subject matter.... well, it was a love song. This wasn't a typical Cure song, because it was lyrically upbeat, and not trying to be clever - it was just a straightforward love song.
And, it's one of the most beautiful, lyrically simple songs ever written and performed.
In hindsight, MCA Records did a really REALLY bad job marketing Kelly Willis. She recorded three albums for them, plus there was a compilation (which included her fantastic version of Dave Alvin's "Little Honey").
Take this video, which was a minor country hit in 1991. The song is an emotional powerhouse, about an imminent breakup, with some significant snark included. How many wardrobe changes does she need for that? Because there are no less than six of them, and probably a lot more.
Still, the video does NOT detract from the great musical performance that is typical of Kelly Willis.
Yeah, I felt guilty about yesterday's post, because there are two Stella sisters and they are both fantastic.
If you are - were, I guess - a fan of the ABC/CMT television show Nashville, then you already recognize Lennon Stella. She and her sister Maisy played sisters on the show - and are sisters and musicians in real life. We featured them several years ago on Totally Covered.
Well, these sisters, from Ontario, Canada, like so many of our greatest actors, still perform together, but they also have solo careers in their own rights. Here is one of the great singles from the elder Stella sister's solo debut, Three. Two. One. Perhaps surprisingly, her music isn't generally seen as country music, but more quiet pop music. This song's video features a lot of home movies featuring both Stella sisters.
The Stella Sisters got way more than their share of musical talent. Her older sister has the more current record as of this writing, but Maisy Stella has multiinstrumental and vocal talent in spades.
This was the younger Stella's debut single, her take on the theme for the Dreamworks series Spirit Riding Free. It is an uplifting, happy song, and her youthful voice (she was 13 when it was recorded) is perfect for the feeling the song is trying to convey.
I know it's technically a cover - she took over the existing theme song in season 3 of the show - but it's here. Don't @ me.
