music – Page 36 – Wrekehavoc.com

Category: music

you can't go home again. ever.

Posted on January 22, 2004 by wrekehavoc

“i went back to ohio but my city was gone.” – chrissie hynde

i lived at Club Mel for most of my legal (and not-so-legal) years at Rutgers. i loved begging baldy matt pinfield (aka mr. former MTV VJ, now A&R man) to play non-stop smiths songs as well as new order.

my brother has been in robert wood johnson hospital since early december. when planning to come visit him, i talked with my older brother about posibly taking the train to ‘brumfis. “do you know how to get to the hospital from the train station?” he asked me.

“shit,” i answered. “i walked that way drunk most weekend nights.” 😉

in short, i am crushed. not surprised, but crushed, nonetheless.

Former tavern razed

Published in the Home News Tribune 1/13/04

By SHARON WATERS
STAFF WRITER
NEW BRUNSWICK: The former Melody Bar, a local live-music landmark, was
unceremoniously razed last week as part of a plan to expand the adjacent science high school. Demolition of the French Street club, which has been closed since 2001, began Jan. 5 and was completed Wednesday, said city spokesman Michael Drulis. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital owns the property, which will be developed by the city’s Board of Education to expand the New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology High School, said hospital spokesman John Patella.
The Melody Bar’s demolition was expected since former owners Steve Flaks and Cal Levine sold the club to the hospital in July 2001 for $500,000. But Superintendent of Schools Ronald F. Larkin was surprised yesterday to hear the bar had been recently razed.
“That’s great news,” said Larkin, noting plans for the school’s expansion had been dormant for a while. “We’ll put it on the front burner now.” The expansion plan, as discussed by school officials a year ago, included a rise in enrollment from 160 to 200 students, two science labs, two classrooms, a larger cafeteria and more administrative office space. After buying the bar in 1981, the Melody’s former owners transformed a neighborhood hang-out into a club that became an integral part of the city’s cultural revival. Its reputation for cutting-edge music spread as far as Europe.

julian's first mix CD

Posted on May 21, 2003 by wrekehavoc

well, i did it.

i made little boy’s first CD. it doesn’t have anything outlandish on it because i am hoping it will be a fairly relaxing musical experience. however, i am totally open to other people’s thoughts on other CDs. i just don’t feel like blasting Barney or the Wiggles or any of that stuff yet. when he is older, there will be plenty of time for that dross.

and of course, you cannot have music in this house without some bruce and without any members of the beatles. it simply isn’t done.

the lineup.

strawberry fields forever – a really lovely cover by peter gabriel
solsbury hill – peter gabriel
mary had a little lamb – paul mccartney and wings
as – stevie wonder (i wrote the entire lyrics out on a card for BC’s first birthday. when i hear this song, i think of my children. always.)
NY state of mind (live) – billy joel (if only they had a jersey state of mind. but heck, i included 2 sentimental BROOOOOOCE faves later on. that’s about as close as i will get, i suppose. but somehow, this song reminds me of home as well.)
i believe in love – dixie chicks (i really loathe the dixie chicks, but this song, off the World Trade Center benefit CD, is a very gentle and lovely little song. and the chicks did rise a little in my esteem as soon as they bashed Bush, so phhht.)
imagine – john lennon
beautiful boy – john lennon (because he, of course, is my beautiful boy 🙂
pink moon – nick drake (so his sister can sing to him.)
can’t find my way home – blind faith
i want love – elton john
the water is wide – james taylor
josie – steely dan (picked this because he is named after my aunt josie 🙂
sweet jane – cowboy junkies (he has been listening to this in utero for months, so he should have something familiar 😉
daisy jane– america
harmony – elton john (one of my all-time favorite songs. ever.)
meeting across the river (live) – bruce springsteen
if i should fall behind (live) – bruce springsteen (the only song BS ever put on and subsequently cried to. it was beautiful. really.)
evidence of autumn – genesis

baby mix

Posted on May 19, 2003 by wrekehavoc

which also reminds me…

i want to make a baby mix on CD that i can tolerate. first CD should be quiet songs that julian can snooze to (but that mom and dad can tolerate without wanting to vomit.) some candidates at the moment:

“beautiful boy” – john lennon (although this one also makes me cry when i think of lennon singing about how he can hardly wait to see sean come of age)

“imagine” – john lennon

“mary had a little lamb” – paul mccartney

“love’s in need of love today” – stevie wonder

“pink moon” – nick drake

“sweet jane” – cowboy junkies’ version

“weather with you” – crowded house

“can’t find my way home” – blind faith

any other bright ideas? i don’t want to replicate the tape (may it rest in pieces) i made for BC when she was born. i won’t even mention too many of those songs so that anyone out there who wasn’t tortured listening to it can give me some fresh, mellow ideas for babyland zzzz music. all genres welcome (although i don’t forsee too many rap/chem candidates out there, to be honest.)

why deny the obvious child

Posted on May 19, 2003 by wrekehavoc

and the obvious is that i am not getting enough sleep. and this is the time when i really need to do so. i am crying when i hear this song. i probably have put the lyrics up before, so i will just link to them now. but for some reason, it hits me today. all the car bombs. all the peace talks that go asunder. my kid’s tearful return to school – she is doing a whole lot better but she is crying as the car pulls away – she doesn’t want to go. hopefully her dad will get her a donut in the cafeteria and take a little extra time and TLC to get her back into the swing of things.

it’s all right. and i will now put on “the obvious child,” also by paul simon, which makes me smile. time to listen to happier stuff, i guess.

-Paul Simon

I’m accustomed to a smooth ride
Or maybe I’m a dog who’s lost its bite
I don’t expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don’t expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie’s a lie’s a lie
But I say why
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?

And in remembering a road sign
I am remembering a girl when I was young
And we said These songs are true
These days are ours
These tears are free
And hey
The cross is in the ballpark
The cross is in the ballpark

We had a lot of fun
We had a lot of money
We had a little son and we thought we’d call him Sonny
Sonny gets married and moves away
Sonny has a baby and bills to pay
Sonny gets sunnier
Day by day by day by day

I’ve been waking up at sunrise
I’ve been following the light across my room
I watch the night receive the room of my day
Some people say the sky is just the sky
But I say
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?

Sonny sits by his window and thinks to himself
How it’s strange that some rooms are like cages
Sonny’s yearbook from high school
Is down from the shelf
And he idly thumbs through the pages
Some have died
Some have fled from themselves
Or struggled from here to get there
Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls
Runs his hand through his thinning brown hair

Well I’m accustomed to a smoother ride
Maybe I’m a dog that’s lost his bite
I don’t expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don’t expect to sleep the night
Some people say a lie is just a lie
But I say the cross is in the ballpark
Why deny the obvious child?

because i am feeling so intellectual at the moment…

Posted on May 10, 2003 by wrekehavoc

just have to share that i have been addicted to the acoustic version of “times like these” by the foo fighters that is an AOL exclusive. and dave grohl is such a hottie. he reminds me of a guy we knew in college and all called “little dave” who worked in the House Crew for all concerts and shows at the stupid center (AKA the student center) who i dated for about 2 minutes. of course, HE wasn’t as much of a hottie.

i don’t care so much for the electric version of the song, but i have got to figure out how to get this song saved on my computer so i can put it on a CD.

argh. i am thinking like a cyber pirate 😉

when the going gets tough…

Posted on May 2, 2003 by wrekehavoc

…the tough get pedicures. that’s exactly what i did. and i feel fine.

afterwards, i stopped by starbucks to treat myself to a “why bother” (READ: something without caffeine and without fat) and ended up winning a tall chocolate frappucino. the trivia question was: “what fruit is used to make calvados?” (answer: apples.)

see, it pays to drink.

but seriously, i actually learned that from high school french class. madame donovan (i swear), the wackiest french teacher ever, at some point mentioned calvados. why we ever discussed that as underage chillin, i have no idea. (and no, as a 35-week preggo, i have not been imbibing, so please, don’t call the division of family and youth services.)

see, high school can be useful.

in the funniest news of the week, though:

last night, BS, BC and i went to dinner at one of our favorite, hole-in-the-wall southwestern/mex restaurants. for some unknown reason, they were playing a ton of ’80s hits. it was kinda fun, despite the fact that BS and i were probably the only ones there who remembered the ’80s in quite that way. at one point, they played the j. geils band hit “centerfold” and we started tapping on the table. and the conversation went something like this:

BC: “mama, what is this song about?”

BS and i look at each other and smile guiltily.

BS: “well, honey, it is about a man who is upset because he sees a friend from a long time ago and she has changed. but you know, people change over time, and that’s ok.”

BC: (thinking in her little 4-year-old-way): “how did she change, dada?”

BS and i open our eyes. i decide to answer.

me: “well, honey, his friend looks different now then she did when he knew her long ago. she is wearing different clothes…gee, we can all sing this part of the song — c’mon bunny — ‘na NA na na na na, na na na na na na na na na!”

BS and i look at each other and, i imagine, are psychicly high-fiving each other.

what a save.

okay, and i couldn't help this, either.

Posted on April 14, 2003 by wrekehavoc

You are Paul McCartney! You are still touring
today. You are one of the best bass players of
all time and have written tons of great music.
Yeah, some of it is rather corny, but you’re
great nonetheless.

?? “Which Beatle are you?”??
brought to you by Quizilla

happy birthday, dad

Posted on April 11, 2003 by wrekehavoc

today is my dad’s birthday. i could talk for weeks about how much i love the guy. but suffice to say, he’s the tops in my book.

he made a mix CD for BC when we were last up visiting. seems BC likes some of the music that he likes. it’s a lot of Beach Boys classics, “tomorrow” from annie, “rawhide”, and BC’s absolute favorite, “jump In the line,” a calypso classic by harry belafonte that is known in our house as “shake, shake, shake senora.” BC, as well as her cousin Jake, absolutely groove on this ricky-ricardo-gone-wild-type tune.

so, if anyone wonders where i got my ability and inclination to make extremely eclectic mix tapes, one need look no further than my dear old dad 🙂

from the "she never ceases to amuse me" dept.

Posted on March 30, 2003 by wrekehavoc

before i ever had any children, i bought the book At The Zoo, with lyrics from the famous simon and garfunkel song which i adore. i knew that one day, there would be a little person who would enjoy it right along side me.

and now, most nights, she asks for that book. of course, now, she knows the lyrics by heart. there is something extremely funny (and disturbing) about a 4-year-old who sings:
“zebras are reactionaries/antelopes are missionaries/pigeons plot in secrecy/and hamsters turn on frequently.”

fortunately, when she sings “the zookeeper is very fond of rum,” she thinks that rum is the name of the beaver on the page.

At The Zoo
Simon & Garfunkel

Someone told me
It’s all happening at the zoo.
I do believe it,
I do believe it’s true.

It’s a light and tumble journey
From the East Side to the park;
Just a fine and fancy ramble
To the zoo.

But you can take the crosstown bus
If it’s raining or it’s cold,
And the animals will love it
If you do.

Somethin’ tells me
It’s all happening at the zoo.
I do believe it,
I do believe it’s true.

The monkeys stand for honesty,
Giraffes are insincere,
And the elephants are kindly but
They’re dumb.
Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages,
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum.

Zebras are reactionaries,
Antelopes are missionaries,
Pigeons plot in secrecy,
And hamsters turn on frequently.
What a gas! You gotta come and see
At the zoo.

this rant is all <lj user="maddening">'s fault ;-)

Posted on January 31, 2003 by wrekehavoc

a trend i have found most interesting — and for which i blame randy newman – is the trend of “pop” or even “rock” artists to suddenly try their hand at scoring movies or broadway. the movies are usually cartoons – for example, phil collins (“tarzan”) or elton john (oh please, there are several – that “el dorado” movie, i think he is also responsible for “the lion king”, along with master lyricist tim rice), and the resulting material is generally mass-marketed pap. say what you want about phil collins or elton john – they have been capable in their careers, at times, of writing some solid material. but they have become newman converts. their work for film is, IMO, crrrrrap. and now, lest we forget, billy joel’s music is currently on broadway. which is a good thing considering he will need the extra money to buy a new car after his most recent run-in with a tree.

what really sent me over the edge, tho, was when, about 10 years ago, i went to see the broadway show “tommy.” i wanted to be lobotomized after the experience. yes, the music was mostly the same. but. it-had-been-SO-sanitized. it had been disney-fied. i mean, there are some really icky issues teased out here – a pedophile, heavy drugs, death – and it all sort of flitted away. it was a serious relief when, a few years after, i had the pleasure of seeing 3/4 of the Who plus guests do it onstage. someone refreshed pete townshend about what he had originally written, i guess.

two of the onlies who, IMO, have successfully made the leap are mark mothersbaugh (Devo) and danny elfman (Oingo Boingo). their work continues to be interesting — even when, like mothersbaugh, they write for children’s shows. believe me. i know. i get to watch some of those children’s shows.