It surprises me how often this album gets overlooked, even by some Clash fans.  Sure it’s more overproduced than their debut album and the song writing isn’t as consistent as say London Calling, but it was really foreshadowing what would be coming next.

The pure 1977 punk sound, ex. Sex Pistols, debut Clash album, was already evolving by the end of that year. The Sex Pistols were pretty much finished by ’78 and bands like the Talking Heads and Devo were taking punk music and molding it into something else.   The Clash was doing the same thing and one sees it happening on Give’em Enough Rope.

Songs like “Safe European Home”, “Tommy Gun” and “English Civil War” still has that raw energy of their debut album, but the songwriting has definitely matured.  And a song like “Stay Free” shows how Mick Jones was coming into his own with his songwriting style that would show up on London Calling.

I have always seen Give’em Enough Rope as the stepping stone that marked the The Clash from being only a punk band to a killer rock and roll band with their punk attitude still anchoring their sound and songwriting.

Fun factoid: While Give’em Enough Rope was the second Clash album, it was the first Clash album released in the U.S.

Stay Free – The Clash

Safe European Home – The Clash

Tommy Gun – The Clash

Hank Williams – Honky Tonk Blues

It was that same Johnny Cash compilation that also led me to Marty Robbins. I must have mentioned to my Dad that I liked the song “Big Iron” on the CD.  For my birthday I received Marty Robbins’ Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs.  This album blew me away. While Hank Williams’ voice was definitely more twangy, Marty Robbins’ voice was mellifluous. I didn’t know a country singer could sound like this.  Again the songs were simple, yet they always told a story and Robbins’ sang them with passion. Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs is now one of my all-time favorite albums. It makes me nostalgic for a time and place that I’ve only seen in books and movies. And I guess that is why I like it so much. It takes me away.

Marty Robbins – In the Valley

And now we began my discovery of the badass women of country music  It started with Emmylou Harris this past spring.  I don’t know how I stumbled upon her music, but I did and I’m grateful for it.  She’s great and I wish I could sing like her.

Emmylou Harris – Amarillo

Next up is Dolly Parton, who I’ve only started listening to within these past couple of months.  I’ll admit, I kind of wrote her off at first, blame her now (cartoonish) appearance or whatever.  But, boy was I wrong to ignore her! Her music is fantastic and at times funny.  I’ve mostly been listening to her earlier albums: Hello, I’m Dolly (1967); Just Because I’m a Woman (1968); The Fairest of Them All (1969).  I imagine I’ll keep going through her discography and I’m looking forward to it.

Dolly Parton – I’ll Oilwells Love You

And closing out this post is Loretta Lynn.  Like Dolly, I’ve only been listening to Loretta very recently. And I think I just stumbled upon her after listening to so much Dolly Parton and then seeing Loretta Lynn’s name everywhere.  I imagine that Loretta Lynn’s personal history is the most famous of the three women I’ve mentioned. Especially with the movie Coal Miner’s Daughter.  And from what I’ve read it also seems that she has been the most controversial with songs like “The Pill” talking about birth control. And after listening to Loretta, she sounds like one tough cookie. I absolutely love her songs and sass. I think more singer/songwriters, especially women, should aspire to have some sass and fight in their music.

Loretta Lynn – Fist City (I love the fact that she sings this entire song with a big smile).

And that brings us up to date with my new love affair with country music. I’m sure I’ll continue to discover other artists, but I’m also just content exploring the discography of the artists I’m listening to now.

That’s all for now folks!

Going on long driving trips has always been a staple in my family.  Growing up in Southern California, there would be car trips to San Francisco, the Mojave Desert and Sequoia National Park.  Even when we traveled outside of California, one could also count on a fair amount of driving to be done.

Before I was old enough to really form my own music taste and before I had a cassette player (old school ya’ll) or even a CD player, I was subjected to whatever CDs my parents had rotating in the car.  It was a wide variety and interestingly enough it has helped shaped my music taste today.  In fact, many of the albums that they played in the car when I was younger, I listen to now. So without further ado, here are the albums that blasted from our mini-van on our family vacations:

1. Doc Watson – Doc Watson on Stage (with Merle Watson)

A favorite of my Dad, and a must for our car trips, Doc Watson’s finger-picking and renditions of old Americana songs were ingrained into my brain at a very early age.  Looking back, his music provided the perfect soundtrack for driving around California.

2. João Gilberto – O Mito

This next one, is also because of my Dad. He use to travel to Brazil a lot for business and would bring back CDs.  Growing up, the music of Jobim, Gilberto and Stan Getz filled the house and car.  This album in particular, was always packed for any car trip.

3. Patsy Cline – 12 Greatest Hits

I don’t know which parent was responsible for this one, but it was always in the car.  I have a fond memory of listening to this at night while driving to the Grand Canyon. Patsy Cline is now one of my favorite singers and I’m so glad my parents had this in the car.

4. Bruce Springsteen – Greatest Hits / The River

I couldn’t pick one Springsteen album, because I remember both being played fairly often. My mom is a big Springsteen fan, so naturally his music could be heard from our car. And because of this, I am now Springsteen fan too. Thanks Mom!

5. Various Artists – Paris After Dark

I especially remember this one because me and my brothers would pretend to sing a-long in French.  It seems like an odd album to play on a trip, but I can’t imagine my childhood without it.  Neither of my parents speak French and I don’t either, but I’ve always wanted to learn in hopes that one day I could actually understand these wonderful songs.

I’ve been watching Twin Peaks these past few days and I cannot get over the amazing score.  And it’s not just the Twin Peaks theme, it’s the various themes and scores that help set the atmosphere or signal a character.

The ultimate album for the summer? Perhaps.  For some reason, whenever the temperature outside starts getting into the 80s I feel the need to listen to this album.  Of course, there are a lot of albums from the 60s that make for great listening during the June and July months.  Odessey & Oracle is definitely one of my favorites.

I figured it would be best to start from the beginning and the first episode makes for a great blog post.  It sets the mood and themes for what The Twilight Zone would be exploring; isolation, outer space, death, science and the workings of the human mind.

“Where Is Everybody?” has the audience drop in on an Air Force pilot who cannot remember his name or where he is from.  He arrives in this deserted town with no idea how he got there.  He wanders the town, going into empty stores and even an empty police station, with hopes that he will eventually find someone. At one point he mistakes a mannequin in a car for a person and talks to it at length before realizing it is not a real person.

His desperation and frustration with the ghost town grows as the day wears on.  The one phone booth in town ends up being out of service and the audience starts to see the first signs of panic in the character.  Throughout the episode, the character also experiences a growing sense of paranoia. A theme that is prevalent throughout the series.  There are many instances in the episode where he discovers a coffee pot still cooking on the stove or a cigar still burning in an ashtray.  Signs that live should still be here when it is not.  And also a sense that he is being watched.

During his search for life, he enters a soda fountain.  He helps himself to ice cream and again looks around the place for any other people.  At one point he goes through paperback books and the camera focuses in one book in particular, titled “The Last Man on Earth.”  It becomes apparent to the audience and to the character that perhaps this is a “last man on earth” type of scenario.  We have to keep in mind that the The Twilight Zone came out during the The Cold War and the Space Race.  The Russians had already launched Sputnik in 1958 (the series started in ’59) and people were living in fear of nuclear warfare (and the Russians).  The concept of being the last person on earth was a notion that many Americans were probably thinking about as they started building their bomb shelters.

SPOILER ALERT

[Please don't read any further if you do not wish to know how the episode ends!]

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Towards the end of the episode, nighttime approaches and the town lights turn on.  He passes a movie theater showing a Rock Hudson film which happens to be about the air force. It is this movie that triggers the characters memory that he is or at least once was an air force pilot.  He goes inside the theater and finds the movie playing.  He rushes to the projection booth with hopes of finding someone running the projector, but as always, no one is there. His anger and frustration grows even greater at this point and the audience realizes that he is on the verge of a complete mental meltdown.

It is before the meltdown that the twist in the plot comes and we learn the real reason for this deserted small town.  It cuts to a scene of some type of military hanger. And in the hanger is a small box where he find our protagonist.  He is hooked up to various wires and we learn that he was participating in an experiment that the military had developed.  Through this experiment the military was able to place a person in a situation by using the mind. So by attaching these devices to his brain, the person would think he was somewhere else.  And with this, they placed our character in a small deserted town as a test to see how he would react.

The idea of being the last person on earth is a topic that intrigues everyone and it has been used in countless films and books.   The Twilight Zone does an especially good job with it here and the twist at the end really is a surprise.  I think this episode definitely sets the bar high and is the perfect launch for a classic series.

]]> http://amandaclairedaus.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/where-is-everybody-season-1-episode-1/feed/ 0 amandaclairedaus Where Is Everybody? Where Is Everybody? Phonebooth Last Man on Earth http://amandaclairedaus.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/youve-now-entered-the-twilight-zone/ http://amandaclairedaus.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/youve-now-entered-the-twilight-zone/#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:45:11 +0000 amandaclairedaus http://amandaclairedaus.wordpress.com/?p=325 ]]> “There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.” – Opening Narration from Season 1

Netflix recently released most of the original series (except season 4) for streaming/instant play.  I had seen a handful of episodes growing up, but have always wanted to watch the entire series.  The show terrified me when I was little.  Certain episodes have stuck with me through the years and it will be interesting to see how well these episodes (and others) have held up now that I am older.

As I go through the series I hope to blog about the episodes (at least most of them). I’m hoping this project will get me thinking about blogging again and my writing.  And above all else, I’m looking forward to watching one of the most celebrated television series.

Stay tuned!

1. Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)

Finally got around to listening to an actual Nilsson album and it’s fantastic. Just great pop/rock music.

2. Madonna – The Immaculate Collection (1990)

Say what you want about Madonna, but pop music doesn’t get much better than her stuff from the 80s and early 90s. Immaculate Collection is a great compilation of her greatest hits and I’m hoping to dive into her actual albums at some point. But right now I’m having a lot of fun just listening to the hits.

3. Emmylou Harris – Roses in the Snow (1980)

My love for country music has been expanding ever so slowly, but each time  I discover a new artist I’m completely blown away.  Emmylou Harris is phenomenal.

4. Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet – Savvy Show Stoppers (1990)

Canadian surf revival garage rock? Yes please.  They are best known for their song “Having An Average Weekend” which was the theme for the show Kids in the Hall.

And that’s all folks. I hope to get back into the swing of updating again, so stay tuned.

I imagine that many, if not most Beatles fan, already own much of The Beatles catalog.  And if they have an iPod and know how to rip cds, this iTunes announcement really doesn’t mean that much.  And the people who bought the Mono and Stereo remastered box sets last year, probably could care less about this too.

For the people who don’t listen to The Beatles that much and don’t want (or know how) to rip a torrent, this news is great.

My only distaste for this is:

I’m a staunch supporter of listening to albums…. from start to finish.  And with a band like The Beatles, all their albums should be listened to from track one to the end.  I only hope that people who download their music off iTunes will download their whole albums (especially post-Rubber Soul), instead of individual songs.  Because I really can’t imagine listening to “Golden Slumbers” without “Carry That Weight”.  In fact, all of Abbey Road is like one huge song.  Or listening to “Back in the U.S.S.R” without it going into “Dear Prudence”.

iTunes has created a listening culture that doesn’t revolve around the whole album.  With vinyl, tapes, and CDs, you got every song and listened to the whole thing. Some you liked, hated or grew to love.  Now with individual song downloads, one can pick and choose.  With albums like Sgt. Peppers and The White Album, listening to it from beginning to end is an awesome experience. It’s a musical journey.  I still get an adrenaline rush when  “Carry that Weight” turns into “The End.”

So my only advice for newcomers to The Beatles: Do yourself a favor and download the whole albums. Not just “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “All You Need Is Love.” Even if you only listen to it all the way through once and then never again.  Because who knows, maybe you’ll find another favorite Beatles song along the way.

As someone who grew up in Southern California her whole life, the changing of seasons was pretty much non-existent.  Occasionally, one would find a tree whose leaves were changing color, but that was a rarity.  Going on my fifth year living in Missouri and experiencing a wide range of weather, I don’t think I could go back to a season-less environment.   I eagerly look forward to the  collective sigh of relief felt when the cool autumn air starts to beat out the humid  summer heat. Or when the first warm days of spring show up after months of ice, snow, sleet and every other type of cold precipitation that falls from gray overcast winter sky.

The changing of seasons also has greatly affected by listening habits as well.  I’ve started to notice a pattern of what albums I listen to during the different seasons. Sometimes it’s not even a conscious decision. “Oh! It’s autumn, I should listen to this!” Many times, it happens gradually like the changing of seasons themselves.  Anyway, I now present to you some of my favorite autumn albums:

David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)

Something about the world ending in 5 years and a glam rock alien coming to save humanity just screams the start of fall. …At least I think so.

T. Rex – Electric Warrior (1971)

Marc Bolan’s voice, the guitars and confident yet sexy melodies always makes me feel good when I walk down the street stomping on brownish orange leaves in my boots.

Bob Dylan – Bootleg Series, Vol. 4 – Live 1966, The Royal Albert Hall Concert

People are booing Dylan cause he’s gone electric and his reply is “Play it fucking loud.”

Sonic Youth – Bad Moon Rising (1985)

I guess the album cover helps with this one.

The Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)

This album just as this autumn feel to it. I wish I could explain it better, but I love listening to Abbey Road during this time of year.

Television – Marquee Moon (1977)

I could listen to this album any time of year, but it’s so much better when it’s cold out and the dead leaves are starting to fall.