“These Days” — Who Does It Better?
October 8, 2008
I recently saw one of my favorite movies again, The Royal Tenenbaums. It’s definitely good for a laugh, but I’m always struck by the soundtrack, which provides a sonic pastiche of the movie. One of the songs featured is “These Days” which was written by Jackson Browne and performed by Nico, formerly of the Velvet Underground. The German chantreuse had recently engaged in a summer’s affair with Jim Morrison before recording the song in September of ’67. Morrison wrote a couple of songs for her, “The Marble Index” and “Lawns Of Dawns”, which appear on her album, Chelsea Dreams. Here’s Nico’s take:
The writer, Jackson Browne:
And Gregg Allman and Graham Nash:
Question is, who does it better?
Lynyrd Skynyrd — Cardiff, Wales (11/6/1975)
October 8, 2008
01. Double Trouble
02. I Ain’t The One
03. The Needle and The Spoon
04. Saturday Night Special
05. Gimme Three Steps
06. I Got The Same Old Blues
07. Simple Man
08. Whiskey Rock A Roller
09. Call Me The Breeze
10. T For Texas
11. Sweet Home Alabama
12. Freebird
39 Years Ago Today…
October 8, 2008
The last album recorded by The Beatles , Abbey Road, entered the U.K. charts this week in 1969 at number 1. It is their best selling album, with fans buying over 11 million copies in the U.S. alone. The first side of the record was compiled in the traditional way, to keep John Lennon happy, while side two featured a mini rock-opera with song snippets combined into a long arrangement. The idea was developed by Paul McCartney and George Martin, who wanted the entire album done like that. “Her Majesty” was originally placed between “Sun King” and “Polythene Pam,” but upon playback, Sir Paul requested that it be removed. So engineer, John Kurlander, chopped out the appropriate piece and tacked it on at the end of the reel (engineers were instructed to never throw anything away). Before the next session a demo was made from the tape, with “Her Majesty” unknowingly stuck on the end, and when the group heard it, they decided to leave it there. “Her Majesty” became the first “hidden’’ track on an album. This practice is very popular on the CD format of today.
MMJ’s Jim James Falls Off Stage
October 8, 2008
From the AP:
IOWA CITY — My Morning Jacket singer and guitarist Jim James was injured during the Southern-rock band’s concert Tuesday night at the University of Iowa.
James slipped and fell about 30 minutes into the band’s set at the Recreation Building and was taken to a hospital. The remainder of the show was canceled. Officials with SCOPE, the UI’s concert organization, would not say where James was taken and declined further comment.
James apparently hit his head in the fall, which happened in the dark between songs. The extent of his injuries were not known.
My Morning Jacket’s four other members left the stage seconds after James fell. Drummer Patrick Hallahan returned to the stage several minutes later to say James fell and his injury was being assessed. About 10 minutes later, Hallahan and the rest of the band, minus James, took the stage to say the show was canceled.
“Jim was really hurt, he’s heading to the hospital,” Hallahan said. “We’re really sorry, this has never happened before.”
At least one fan yelled “refund!” but the majority of the crowd cheered in a show of support for James.
Here’s the band’s statement at last night’s show.
We wish Jim a quick and speedy recovery.
***UPDATE***
From the band:
As some of you may have heard we had to cancel our show last evening in Iowa City. We were finishing up the last few bars of “Off The Record and just like any other night we were all having a great time. Jim went to get closer to the audience on his side of the stage, and as he moved forward to step onto the sub-woofer the lights darkened, and he inadvertently stepped off the stage. Upon falling, he suffered traumatic injuries to his torso, and was immediately taken to the hospital.
Per the doctor’s orders, Jim will be off the road and recovering from his injuries for the next two to three weeks. Sadly, we must postpone the two shows in Chicago on Thursday and Friday until further notice.
For those who attended the Iowa City show, we would like to extend our gratitude for your understanding and cooperation. We take our fans and performances very seriously, and would never cancel a show unless it was absolutely necessary. Please know that we will be making every effort to return to your fine city.
Thank you so much to our fans for the kind sentiments and well-wishes on Jim’s behalf. We hope for Jim’s quick recovery and to be back out on the road soon.
With Love,
My Morning Jacket
