SEVEN MEMORABLE GEORGE GERSHWIN INTERPRETATIONS

Summertime and there's never a shortage of Gershwin performances at pops and jazz concerts across the country.
But who, we wondered, has also "re-imagined" Gershwin in the rock era beyond the song "Summertime," which has been marvelously rendered by Sam Cooke, Janis Joplin, Bobby Womack and Angelique Kidjo?

Here's a SoundSpike 7 list of impressive Gershwin interpretations in the rock 'n' roll era.

7. "But Not for Me," Elvis Costello (1994)

6. "Embraceable You," Laura Nyro (1994)

5. "It Ain't Necessarily So," Sun Ra & His Arkestra (1960)

4. "I've Got a Crush on You," Bill Frisell & Petra Haden (2003)

3. "Our Love is Here to Stay," Four Freshman (1955)

2. "Someone to Watch Over Me," Jimmy Scott (1992)

1. "I Loves You, Porgy," Nina Simone (1957)


August 18 2010, by Phil Gallo on soundspike.com:
Seven memorable George Gershwin interpretations

Q&A WITH BRIAN WILSON

Interview for concert promotion

Q: What have you been working on in the studio?

A: I've been putting the final touches on my Gershwin album.
I did interpretations of some of my favorite songs, and then I actually was able to finish two fragments of unfinished music from the estate. Very exciting.
I think the album is going to be released later this year. We will do some (live) shows for it as well.

May 26, 2010 Mandy Zajac
eastvalleytribune.com

+ http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/2010/05/
brian_wilson_at_talking_stick.php

ADVICE TO GRADUATES: EMBRACE USELESSNESS

'Praise of uselessness & some aforisms from wikipedia'
QUOTE:

If we remember another of Santayana's pronouncements, we may not be condemned to getting the liberal arts wrong.
Music, he once observed, is essentially useless. (He added that this is also true for life, but let's not go down that path.)

To say music and its kindred arts are useless is not the same as saying they are worthless.
What is worthless, of course, is a world without J.S. Bach or the Beach Boys.
What Santayana meant is that music has no end or goal outside itself. It is absolute and absolutely pointless

May 8, 2010 ROBERT ZARETSKY
chron.com


+ More examples from wikipedia

Usually an aphorism is a concise statement containing a subjective truth or observation cleverly and pithily written. Aphorisms can be both prosaic or poetic, sometimes they have repeated words or phrases, and sometimes they have two parts that are of the same grammatical structure. Some examples include:

Good Art seems ancient to its contemporaries, and modern – to their descendants. — Plutarch

Lost time is never found again. — Benjamin Franklin

Mediocrity is forgiven more easily than talent. — Emil Krotky

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.— Benjamin Franklin

That which does not destroy us makes us stronger. — Friedrich Nietzsche

Wrong life cannot be lived rightly. — Theodor Adorno

If you see the teeth of the lion, do not think that the lion is smiling at you. — Al-Mutanabbi

The first ape who became a man thus committed treason against his own kind. — Mikhail Turovsky

Many of those who tried to enlighten were hanged from the lampposts. — Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

A mystic hangs a fig leaf on a eunuch. — Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

You can play a shoestring if you're sincere. — John Coltrane

When you are expected to exceed expectations, expect the unexpected. — Oleg Vishnepolsky

The psychology of committees is a special case of the psychology of mobs. — Celia Green

It is not uncommon to commiserate with a stranger's misfortune, but it takes a really fine nature to appreciate a friend's success. — Oscar Wilde

Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue. — Unknown, possibly French proverb, or authored by François de La Rochefoucauld

Only that which always existed can be eternal. — G. Antuan Suárez

Empathy is lost whenever it is most needed. — Arturo Mendívil

Believe nothing you hear, and only half of what you see. — Mark Twain

It is better to be hated for what one is, than loved for what one is not. — André Gide

Truths are not relative. What are relative are opinions about truth. — Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. — George Santayana, "The Life of Reason," Volume 1: "Reason in Common Sense," 1905.

FALSETTO ROCKS ’N’ ROLLS

The falsetto voice in indierock

Indie singers go for the high notes

OK Go’s “WTF?’’ kicks off with a sludgy punk-guitar line, but the strangely seductive intonations from Damian Kulash are more Earth Wind & Fire than Johnny Rotten.
When Dougie Mandagi opens his mouth on the Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition,’’ his skyward vocals take the listener by surprise, piercing all that anthemic reverb.

May 2, 2010 Adam Conner-Simons
more... boston.com

+ Indie music = Beach Boys + Velvet Underground
Contrary to popular belief, the indie rock movement didn’t start with recent bands such as Modest Mouse or Death Cab for Cutie. This movement started in the 1960’s with legendary bands like The Velvet Underground and The Beach Boys.

HEY, WHAT'S THAT SOUND: GLOCKENSPIEL

Infotainment

Favoured by indie musicians and avant-garde auteurs, the glock is outgrowing its associations with primary school music rooms. Just don't call it a xylophone ...

26 April 2010 David McNamee
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/apr/26/glockenspiel

WELL-READHEAD: I'VE GOT WORMS

There's nothing wrong with the Beach Boys per se.

The album Pet Sounds routinely shows up on best-of-all-time lists.
But I'm feeling a bit less fondly towards them after recently having the chorus of Help Me Rhonda stuck in my head on a loop.
It reappeared several days in a row.

Fri Apr 9, 2010 Leigh Sales
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/09/2868049.htm?site=thedrum

+ Why do songs get stuck in my head?
http://health.howstuffworks.com/songs-stuck-in-head.htm

WHEN DAPPY GROWS A BEARD, IT'LL MEAN N-DUBZ ARE GETTING SERIOUS

The Killers got facial hair to connote lofty ambition, while Chris Martin grew something as amorphous on his chin as Coldplay's music. So who's next to ditch the razor?

Saturday 13 February 2010 Will Hodgkinson
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/feb/13/bands-with-beards-guardian

DEFINING THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK

JT vocal jazz columnist blogs on the canon for singers

QUOTE:
But I have to quibble with such restrictive parameters. If 1960 (or so) is the cutoff, is most of the marvelous work of Cy Coleman to be omitted? What of Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Johnny Mandel, Bacharach & David and Stephen Sondheim?

And that’s just the tip of the post-1960 iceberg, representing composers and lyricists who, by and large, carried the torch lit by Porter, Berlin and such. What about those who, from the dawn of the rock ‘n’ roll era onward, have further defined the art of songwriting? Are they less “great” than their predecessors?

I’d argue that Lieber & Stoller, Bob Dylan, Gerry Goffin, Carole King, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Donald Fagen, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Janis Joplin and Tom Waits, to name but a few, are equally deserving of inclusion;

02/08/10 Christopher Loudon
http://jazztimes.com/articles/25733-defining-the-great-american-songbook

1984 BEACH BOYS TOUR T-SHIRT

Is There Any Color More Perfect For A Beach Boys T Other Than This Sunny Yellow?

http://www.poshvintage.com/prod_one.cfm?id=5456

BRIAN WILSON @ ASSER LEVY PARK

Know that high, clear, triumphant introductory passage on "God Only Knows"?

It's very arguably the single best moment on Pet Sounds and one of the greatest in all of music.

July 2008 Claire Shefchik
http://www.beyondrace.com/reviews/concerts/590-brian-wilson-asser-levy-park

MISTLETUNES, THE HO-HO-HOME OF A ROCK 'N ROLL CHRISTMAS

Welcome to the reimagined Mistletunes

This redesign of our much-loved Christmas rock music site is a work in progress -- much of the original content remains at the old site, so if you can't find what you like here, go over there and sniff around. Read more about the changes in the extended entry.

By Rudolph on December '31', 2009
http://www.mistletunes.com/
or...
http://www.mistletunes.com/surfing.html

+ Vintage Christmas record albums
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEcqIIwxBDQ

BRIAN WILSON INTERVIEW REVEALS NO PLANS PAST GERSHWIN

The following is the complete interview with Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson as he was beginning a new album of Gershwin music following a short tour:

December 3, 2009 Bruce Fessier
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20091203/LIFESTYLES01/91203020/Brian+Wilson+interview+reveals+no+plans+past+Gershwin

CORK IN THE OCEAN: LIFE'S A BEACH

http://sites.google.com/site/corkintheoceanproduction/ (cds)

DAZED AND CONFUSED BY BRIAN WILSON'S ANTICS

It was apparent from the show’s start the band would overshadow Wilson for the duration of the performance, the long performance of two and a half hours.

November 2, 2009 Nicole Yanovsky
http://www.thedaonline.com/a-e/dazed-and-confused-by-brian-wilson-s-antics-1.856121

Brian Wilson tribute

Songs

These are songs I want to hear
Cool, Cool water, country air
Let’s go away for awhile
And come back with a SMiLE

Back home I used to get around
But now it’s time to get alone
Sometimes I sit here in my room
At my window in the glow
from the surfer moon

Don’t worry, baby, rainbow eyes
Our sweet love, wouldn’t it be nice?
To add some music to you day
Don’t talk, oh darling, it’s OK

And then your dreams come true
Aren’t you glad their meant for you?
The surf’s up and you are here today
So let us go on this way,
darlin’, we’ll melt away

So with my simple songs
I barely reach you to your toes
I wish I had your ears but not your fears
I have a simple life to live,
But there are lots of worries still
But with the sounds you have given
I really feel like livin’
Who’d thought the power of a
song could be so strong.

Good Vibrations, fun, fun, fun
In the warmth of the sun
Happy days passing by
Please let me wonder till I die

Your imagination running wild
But In the back of my mind
I wasn’t made for these times?
But still lingering behind
Is my a-tinklin’ wind chimes

(Lars Engen)

date?
source?

DON'T WORRY BABY

August 15, 2009 Dummidumbwit’s Weblog
http://dummidumbwit.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/the-beach-boys-dont-worry-baby/

IM GESPRÄCH MIT EINER MUSE

Interview mit Debbie Keil (auf Deutsch)

Sep 24, 2009 Martin
http://www.beachboys-germany.com/117.html

+ Bird Man Makemake’s Orbital Dance – An Astrological Tool by Debbie Keil-Leavitt http://www.meetup.com/scanastro-com/calendar/10696965/

+ This is Debbie K?
http://www.meetup.com/scanastro-com/members/2284245/photos/

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: BEATLES ON TOP

Ask people of various ages about their favourite music and what do you get? Perhaps more common ground between the generations than you'd expect.

QUOTE 1:
Top 20 acts in the poll:
1. Beatles
2. Eagles
3. Johnny Cash
4. Michael Jackson
5. Elvis Presley
6. Rolling Stones
7. Aretha Franklin
8. Frank Sinatra
9. Carrie Underwood
10. Garth Brooks
11. Jimi Hendrix
12. Bruce Springsteen
13. Mariah Carey
14. Bob Dylan
15. Jefferson Airplane
16. Nirvana
17. Madonna
18. Coldplay
19. Kanye West
20. Grateful Dead

QUOTE 2 (pewresearch.org):

That said, one of the most compelling findings in the survey is the extent to which the Millennial Generation (ages 16 to 29) embraces the music of the '60s -- including the work of groups that stopped performing long before anyone in that generation was born.

Aug 12, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hRB17F0WO9zFs1ElPDYjHde32D3g

+ http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1309/gentler-generation-gap-music-tastes?src=prc-latest&proj=peoplepress

NEIL YOUNG: ‘DON’T SAY I DIDN’T TELL YOU’ TO GO BLU-RAY FOR ARCHIVES

Legendary rocker and gearhead Neil Young is prepping to release the first volume of his archives on CD, DVD and Blu-ray on June 2. But if you ask him, Blu-ray is the way to go.

2009 may 18 Scott Thill
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/05/neil-young-dont-say-i-didnt-tell-you-to-go-blu-ray-for-archives/

OH YOU'RE SO SILENT JONATHAN RICHMAN

Jonathan Richman isn’t known to talk about his music or his personal life in interviews. In fact, he’s a notoriously hard man to get an interview with.
He’s one of my musical heroes, so if all I can score from him is 20 minutes of looking into each other’s eyes, I’m doing it.

I get Richman’s phone number from a publicist at the San Francisco International Film Festival since they’re presenting a silent film from 1921 entitled The Phantom Carriage, and Richman is booked to accompany the film with a live score

2007 may 23 Tony DuShanehttp://crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com/Article/Oh-Youre-So-Silent-Jonathan-Richman.html?page=1&cpage=1