A Reflection On "We Are Young"

The other night while driving home I was listening to the radio. As a part of the radio experience, I was changing stations. Not surprisingly, I came across "We Are Young" by Fun featuring Janelle Monae.I entered into the track right after the first time the chorus is sung. The lead singer Nate Ruess's voice was the focal sound at the time. In about a note or two, the rest of the band came in. Nate then declares "Tonight, we are young".  In that moment of pure vocal bliss, it dawned on me that I now struggle to remember a time before this song. A time before that declaration was one made by so many of my peers in unison with the track.  Normally when such a characteristic can be attributed to a pop song, my skin crawls about a quarter of an inch. But for me, this is more than a pop song. Sure it is played on local pop stations 93.3, 92.3, and 104.1, but it can also be found on the alternative stops of 95.5 and 92.9. It stampedes through all musical territories, leveling all walls which stand as boundaries, thus creating landscape for it to freely move across.

All that movement has fostered a surplus of sentiment being attached by youths of all ages. In particular, there was a surge of sing-a-longs this past spring semester. I remember an avalanche of facebook statuses quoting the chorus of the song. It became a rallying cry for youth. As someone who does not believe in surrendering his youth so quickly, I was pleased in the celebration of our collective age. However, in my opinion, that is not a 100% accurate reading of the song's lyrics. I do not fault people for understanding the song in such a fashion, but I focus more on the relationship between the singer (Ruess) and his love that he addresses in the opening verse. I enjoy the song as one about two former lovers who run into each other one night at a bar. To this chance meeting, they both bring old feelings and a new found fondness for one another. I feel that Ruess is attempting to communicate a lasting sense of caring that he has for his old love. He also acknowledges that is cannot work and that both parties have moved on. One my favorite moments in the song is when he snarly states "Now I know that I am not all that you've got".  Overall, this story within a story warms my writer's heart. I find it to be both clever and original. Ruess could had easily written a song about missing someone, but he put it into a social situation that anyone could find them-self in in. It gives it new life in a song new to the musical landscape.

However, I do not believe that "We Are Young" will be going anywhere any time soon. Sure as new pop and alternative songs are recorded, it will be played less on the stations I named above, but I feel that it will stay close to all of hearts of so many because of how big it was to us in this year. In post to be written, I plan to reflect on who would be playing in the opening ceremony of the Olympics if there were to hosted in The United States. For one,both Fun and Janaelle hail from America. Also, given the current significance of this song, I feel that a rendition of it would be included in the festivities. In particular the way that this song was significant  means something. For so many, it was a declaration of their age; a time they will never want to forget. For me personally, it stands a poem I would have never thought to write but certainly enjoy. While hearing it on the radio that time, I had an image in my head of being a middle aged man turning the radio dial and coming across the song. When the canon of "classic" songs from our era forms, I feel that this one will be added. We can only hope.

Please enjoy,
Nick Howard

Tribute Songs to John Lennon

Within the past couple of days, Bob Dylan has announced that he will be releasing a new studio album, Tempest, set to be released September 11th of this year. Yesterday he announced the track listing for the album. Included on the album will be a song entitled "Roll On John". As reported by Rolling Stone, the song will be in tribute to John Lennon. Dylan has worked several of Lennon's lyrics into the track. Amongst them, "Come together right now" and "I read the news today, oh boy". Not only did this news immensely excite me, but it prompted me to think of other tribute songs to John Lennon. Interestingly enough, three of them come from his former band mates in The Beatles. All three possess an unique nature distinct to the musician who crafted them and speak to the relationship the musician had with John.

The first of these songs came from George Harrison in 1981. "All Those Years Ago" aims to romanticize the time Harrison and Lennon spent in The Beatles and almost places it as a far off period in a distant past (The Beatles had only broken up eleven years prior). The lyrics of the song praise John for his personal philosophy and outlook on life. For example, Harrison references one of Lennon's most personal Beatles song, "All You Need Is Love" and sings "But you point the way to the truth when you say / All you need is love." Harrison also looks back at the treatment John received for his "controversial" views and declares "They've forgotten all about God / He's the only reason we exist / Yet you were the one that they said was / So weird / All those years ago." It appears that in this song Harrison attempts to connect to Lennon on a philosophical level. For example, the song opens with "I'm shouting all about love / While they treated you like a dog / When you were the one who had made it / So clear". He is positioning himself on the same level of Lennon's love for peace and happiness. It is a positioning I can support. Like Lennon, Harrison made his views known through his music. His view for his fallen friend shines forth in this song.

Paul McCartney released "Here Today" in 1982. Honestly, I came into this song with a few reservations. Personally I get turned off by Paul McCartney a lot. Probably because of the fact that he is the only one left to speak of the legacy of Lennon/McCartney. But I do feel that in this song he takes the high road and expressed love for John. I enjoy the fashion in which he does it. Whether in this live version I included or the original studio recording, the choice of acoustic guitar fosters an intimate feel. The listener is invited into Paul's reflection on his old friend. It is a reflection on the entire narrative of their friendship. The song opens with a lighthearted and honest reading of how John would feel about Paul at the time. It has been reported that John and Paul used to talk on the phone some what frequently toward the end of John's life. Friends talk on the phone with one another and friends can joke around. Paul then focuses in on the time that he met John. As seen in the movie, Nowhere Boy, John had the band already and Paul wanted to join. John gave him a hard time at first but they grew as friends because of their musical ability. I do not know what is referenced when "the night we cried" is mentioned, but similar to the fact that in "Hey Jude" there are lyrics that do not necessarily apply to Julian Lennon (the person for whom the song is supposedly written), there are lyrics in this song that do not necessarily apply to Paul's relationship with John. Overall this song is a nice, short, and extremely sweet sentiment for an old friend.

Ringo recorded the third of these tribute songs in 2009 for his album Y Not. Simply titled "Peace Dream", Ringo shares of a dream he had of utopia based around the frameworks Lennon envisioned in "Imagine" . The quoting of Lennon continues throughout the song. Ringo pleads with the listener "So try to imagine / if we give peace a chance." This combination of two of Lennon's most important and personal songs really stands as fitting tribute. Ringo directly quotes Lennon when he sings "Just as John Lennon said in Amsterdam from his bed / 'One day the world will wake up to see the reality'". This song matches Ringo's personal mission to carry on John's mission for peace and love. Ringo ends most conversations with "peace and love". It is nice to see him capture that work in a song which is a tribute to the man who inspired it.

An interesting fact about these songs is that they may be credited to one of The Beatles individually but on two out of the three, the other members appear. Ringo plays drums on Harrison's track and Paul sings back up vocals. On Ringo's song, Paul plays bass. George had passed away in 2001 and consequently could not appear on the track. However these two songs are not the only instances of the band "reforming" in order to honor John. In 1995, with the help of Yoko Ono, the three surviving Beatles or "The Threetles" worked with two of John's demos to create two new songs. These songs are "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" . The former has a narrative filled music video and the latter intermingles the recording of the song with images from the career of The Beatles. These two songs honor John not through lyrics but through music; something I am sure he would approve of.

So as Dylan, someone from the same era and of the same talent as John Lennon, prepares to honor him, we can look back at how his former band mates did. I believe that it speaks to his character that people continue to express there love for him in song. Dylan shall be the latest. Most definitely he will not be the last.

Please enjoy,
Nick Howard

 

The Black Keys Should Play The Super Bowl, Not Van Halen

I know that we find ourselves in the “dog days of summer”, when the only male professional sport going on right now is baseball, but people are always talking about football. In particular there has been some chatter about football’s big game in early February and the musical act which plays half time. One guess as to who will take the stage is Van Halen. Nothing has been official, but in an official release on the website "Van Halen News Desk"  (who knew they had a news desk?),  David Lee Roth expressed “That honor has not been bestowed upon us at this time though it is one we would accept in a NY minute.”

Personally, I would not enjoy it in the slightest if Van Halen were given the slot. I believe that choosing them would be another case of an act from the past that just cannot do it anymore. Two years ago The Who exemplified this completely. Also, to be blunt, I just do not like Van Halen. There music just never did anything for me. Interestingly enough, a member of the band who I believe would be a satisfying choice for the halftime show holds a similar position. Patrick Carney the drummer for The Black Keys spoke of Van Halen in an an interview with Rolling Stone's Patrick Doyle and said “I am not a big fan of that music.” In fact in that same interview he reflected on seeing Van Halen play today, “what the f*ck is the point?”

Without sounding like the beginning of an English essay, there are several reasons as to why I believe The Black Keys would the perfect act to play halftime. First and foremost, they are current. Ever since their 2010 release Brothers, their stock has been on the rise. They went from being this indie-blue two person act to one of the largest acts in music. They continue to play bigger and bigger shows.

Into those large arenas they bring their signature sound, which is the second characteristic of theirs which sets them up to play this big stage. I understand that by picking acts such as Van Halen or The Who, the NFL is trying to appeal to “Classic Rock” fans, the assumed majority of the football’s audience. It is my opinion that a classic rock fan would also enjoy the music of The Black Keys.  The Keys pull from rock’s origin: blues. It the greatest common factor for music. For it is origin of all music from 1950 onward. But The Black Keys also work modern innovation into their music. Their latest album El Camino, was produced the modern producing prophet Danger Mouse. In fact he co-wrote all the songs on the album with the band. He also produced their 2008 release Attack & Release and their 2010 song “Tighten Up”.  Mouse aka Brian Joseph Burton , has worked with modern stars such as Cee Lo Green, James Mercer, and Beck. Together, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney form a signature sound which has a classic base coupled with modern innovation.

The fact that it is only Auerbach and Carney is the final reason as to why I think they belong right there on the stage; there is plenty of room for a guest musician to jump and jam with them. One thing that people love to see happen at half time shows is a surprise musical guest to join the featured act. Not only are The Black Keys willing to work with someone else in the studio, it is something they embrace on stage. Two examples from this year come to mind. Following the passing of Levon Helm,  the band invited John Fogerty onto stage to perform “The Weight” with them in tribute to Helm. Earlier this summer at the MTV Movie awards, the band was joined by Johnny Depp (scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the performance) to play “Gold On The Ceiling” and “Lonely Boy”. The possibilities are endless for who could pick an instrument or mic for a song. Heck, even someone from the “classic rock” era could join them and appease those may had wanted Van Halen or someone of the like. The only stipulation would be that they could keep up with The Keys. 

Now I have given much consideration as to what an ideal setlist would be for the band given the venue. Half time shows are just a little under fifteen minutes, so song selection is important. I feel that the band should honor the journey it has been on musically and showcase their growth and change. In no particular order, I feel that the following songs would be best. "I'll Be Your Man" because it comes from their first album and rocks in an eternal fashion.  "Your Touch" stands as a measure of the middle of their career. "Tighten Up" was the song broke so big two years ago and brought them to the forefront of modern music. "Gold On The Ceiling rocks all the way through with every instrument present and accounted for. Also, its simple chorus will have the whole stadium singing along. In this hypothetical set-list I am leaving room for a cover. I love seeing band I love from today pull something they love out from yesterday.  

I acknowledge that this idea of mine is probably more fantasy than prophecy but it makes an important point: bands from today should be playing they biggest stages of today. We as music fans should honor them in the period in which they rein. Here is a throne for The Black Keys to sit upon.  

Please enjoy,

Nick Howard

The Beatles Sing Today's Pop

Given my existence as a 21 year old college student with a fairly active social life, I encounter pop music. Currently part of this encounter includes the songs “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction and “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen. Now I do enjoy these songs for they are: songs to be listened to in social situations. They are fun to sing along to while riding in the car with friend or to shout at the top of your lungs at a party. But personally I feel like I would enjoy them in a whole new way if one my favorite bands could cover them. More specifically I think about how they would sound if The Beatles covered them. Unfortunately there are number of factors which prevent such renditions from ever being recorded. Amongst these road blocks are the unfortunate deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison, the event which was The Beatles breaking up in 1970, and the simple fact that The Beatles existed almost fifty years before these songs were even thought of. However it is my belief that if The Beatles were around today, they would cover these songs and possibly even put them on an album.

The Beatles are justly praised for their innovation and originality. These qualities are what make them a landmark group in the history of Rock N Roll. In seven years that they released albums, their style grew almost as much their hair. Their music became as complicated and detailed as their lives. The arrangement of their songs became as thoughtful as their personal philosophies. The songs they recorded at the starting point of this growth were standard and average pop music. What made them stand out was the fact that they wrote the songs themselves. During the recording of their first album, Please Please Me, the record’s producer George Martin was struck by their ability to write. However, The Beatles also participated in a practice fairly common for their time: the recording of songs already made famous by another artist or group. Some of the covers they did are their most famous songs. For example, “Twist and Shout”, which concluded their debut album was a cover. It was originally by The Isley Brothers, who were a doo-wop group. The Beatles would go onto cover other songs by doo-wop groups and Motown artists. They understood that as much as cover could work as a means of paying tribute, something they did by covering Buddy Holly’s “Words of Love”, two Carl Perkins songs, and a Chuck Berry tune,  they viewed covering a song as a way of reinventing a song and reimaging its musical landscape. It is for this reason that I believe that The Beatles would cover the two aforementioned songs.

Let’s start with “Call Me Maybe”. I can understand there may be doubt about The Beatles covering this song given the fact that is sung by a girl from a girl’s perspective. But that never stopped them before. An example from the career of The Beatles standouts as an examples of the group playing a “girl song”. It comes on Please Please Me and is fittingly named “Boys”. The chorus of the song is “Well I talk about Boys/ don’t you know I mean boys… / What a bundle of joy.” In order to convey a heterosexual message, Ringo Starr who sings on the track switched some of the pronouns. For example he declares “My girl says when I kiss her lips/ Gets a thrill through her finger tips”. The Beatles recognized that they could have fun playing this song and they gave it to their most light-hearted member to sing. Paul McCartney is quoted as saying that when they played this song in concert it was always a crowd pleaser. When I first thought about the idea of The Beatles covering “Call Me Maybe” I envisioned Ringo taking lead vocals. Given the job he did with “Boys”, I could see him sliding into the shining role for this song.

As for “What Makes You Beautiful” I feel that it would be a group effort in regard to vocals. Just as in One Direction where there more than one singer, so was the make-up of The Beatles. Each member had a distinctive singing personality which was reflected in their singing voice. During the verses of One Direction’s hit, a different singer takes the lead. I have given it much consideration and I have mapped out which Beatles would sing each verse. Coincidently, every time I indentified a shift in Beatle, there is a shift in One Direction member. Also the moments when I believe a certain Beatle would return, the corresponding member of One Direction returned.  The song would open with John. I can see him having a lot of fun setting the scene for this song. He would do it in a half serious/ half silly tone. Meanwhile George would enjoy reinterpreting the opening guitar riff. I envision him turning to the style of guitar he was pioneering around the time of their albums Rubber Soul and Revolver. It was distinct mid 60’s Harrison. Paul would sing the bridge. The whole gang would come in for the chorus. The second verse would be George’s turn to sing. Interestingly enough, the subject of that verse is similar to a song Harrison wrote with The Beatles called “I Want To Tell You”. George penned the lyrics “I want to tell you / My head is filled with things to say / When you’re here / All the words they seem to slip away”. Overall in that song George has things to tell his love interest. The same sentiment is found in this verse: “So c-come on / You got it wrong / To prove I’m right / I put it in a song.” It only makes sense that he would step up to the plate on this one. Paul would come back in with the bridge. Then another round of the chorus, followed by some “Na Na Na” courtesy of John. The middle eight would be all Paul and then rest of the band would come in to finish the song off.

I hope that my points make sense and add to the listening experience of these two songs by providing some perspective on them and their connection to one the greatest groups in Rock N Roll history. It may just be a musical fantasy of mine but is sure fun to think about. Take it for what is and please enjoy.