Ep.14. Water

I take walks to Lake Michigan as often as I can, almost every day in the summer. I find it to be the greatest source of inspiration for playing music. A few weeks ago I went out, and it was about 30 degrees F, and there were these rings made of shards of ice floating around. You could think of them as rafts bumping into each other, with enough space to move a few inches, as far as you could see, and there were stray shards of ice that would sink between them as the circles met, and rise back up as they fell apart. It sounded like an ocean of giant chandeliers, pulsing very gently with the rate of your breath. I'd never seen anything like it before. It was especially clear that day why I love going to the lake, but I think we can all get that same feeling when we see an ocean or a waterfall or a river or a lake. I think the sheer power of water, even if it's only hinted at, makes us and our problems feel small, and puts everything in perspective.

1. Jimi Hendrix - "May This Be Love" (1967)


From the very beginning you can hear the flowing form of Jimi's guitar. His guitar playing is brilliant throughout the entire song (as it always is), although subtle compared to most of his work. Jimi tells you "Waterfall, nothing can harm me at all, My worries seem so very small, with my waterfall", but shows you with his solo beginning at 1:50, that reveals how deep the inspiration goes. The solo is played almost entirely on a single string, and consists of a series of highly dynamic, nearly continuous slides, with sublime volume control (sometimes he picks the strings, but much of the time he is tapping or pulling off or sliding without picking, allowing more delicate volume control), which allows him to glide vertically up and down the neck. If a guitar solo could ever flow like a waterfall, it would sound like this.

2. Bunny Wailer - "Dreamland" (1976)


It's never mentioned explicitly that the Dreamland is an island, but the music and the vibe imply island. The story of this song, which includes "we'll take a ride on the waterfall", has the spirit inspired by water, which is that life should be a dreamland where only awesome things happen and there are no worries. Worries aren't even mentioned. It's all good. Of course we all know this is unrealistic, but we also all know that this is how it should be, and so the song is both beautifully positive and also a bit tragic. The first several lines and the last few lines repeat twice. The first time through contains all major chords, which we associate with happiness. When the line is repeated by a chorus, the chord progression is the same except that the last chord is replaced with a minor chord, which are typically on the somber side. So it's like Bunny dreams the dream, and the repetition is his conscious that knows it's only a dream.

3. Brad Mehldau - "When It Rains" (2001)


You're sitting by the window in your house in the middle of a meadow surrounded by trees without leaves, staring out into an increasingly cloudy sky, until it finally begins to drizzle. In a future world where speakers are distributed throughout every wall and your sound system automatically plays the perfect music, "When It Rains" by Brad Mehldau begins. That random sound of rain drops, where it can go for several seconds in silence or it can sound like fast tapping. And the rain intensifies over a span of just a few minutes, until the rain is pelting your windows and it becomes dark at 3pm. But it's all good because the song is perfect, with the increasingly intense, unpredictable piano and heavy snare hits.

4. Alison Krauss - "Down To The River To Pray" (2000)


Alison Krauss has such a mellow, yet emotionally-charged voice. The low, murmuring backup vocals mimic the soft roar of a river (will only come through if turned up with decent speakers). A capella - sounds so simple and raw. At first I thought, going down to the river to pray, sounds a bit hokey, it's just some religious thing, but after thinking about it, going down to the river to pray and asking for the lord to show you the way is really a way of admitting that you're not whole, that you are doing something wrong, and you don't know exactly what it is. You could say it's the same internal struggle we all deal with, making it relatable (if you want it to be), which is amazing considering the song was written by someone from a different walk of life (a slave woman) and a different time (150 years ago).

Ep.13. The Country Ballad

"Everything except country" is probably the most common answer to the question "What kind of music do you like?" Well, hopefully soon you'll agree that there is some really good country music, so you can reply instead "Everything good."

A "ballad" is generally a slow, sentimental song. The instrumentation is nice in these songs, but I'm going to focus on the story and the vocals this time.

1. Lefty Frizzell - "Long Black Veil" (1950)


There's a murder and all the witnesses say the killer looks like the protagonist, and rather than admit that he was in bed with his best friend's wife, he decides to die. It sounds serious but the way Lefty sets it up is hilarious. I think a lot of these western stories are somewhat tongue-in-cheek like this. After I listened to this about 15 times, it occurred to me: I thought at first he chose not to use the alibi as some sort of sign of honor or something, but if you think about it, even if he had used the alibi, she could have denied it, and then he would have had some deplorable, unpredictable reputation as both a murderer and adulterer with a probable death sentence anyway. So his decision was actually more logical than honorable - just go all in for the murder and keep it classy. Of course it would have to be based on the woman, but her character is unclear from the song. I guess it goes to show how little people cared about murder in the wild west. Another thing I didn't notice at first, even though it's the first part of the song, "Ten years ago..." Because it doesn't really mean anything until you find out he died...meaning that this is a ghost singing this song. So it took the ghost ten years to write this song and get it into the ether so that someone with arms could play the guitar. I'm a little less scared of dying now that I know you can still make music as a ghost.

Anyway, I was reading about the top singers of all time, and found out that Merle Haggard (who admittedly was heavily influenced by Lefty Frizzell), voted for Lefty as #1. Naturally I was curious and came to find out that he is indeed an amazingly good singer, and it occurred to me that the voters are probably biased away from country music just due to overall popularity. It's interesting that Lefty is the Aretha Franklin for some people, and I can't call them crazy. There's a depth of nuance (like the classy use of that country "hiccup" sound) and character in his voice, and he makes use of dramatic, delicate volume and pitch changes with a similar (but more subtle) virtuosity as Aretha, all in perfect pitch. And it all sounds effortless, like this is how he was meant to sing. Also check out "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" on the playlist below.

2. Patti Page - "Tennessee Waltz" (1950)


Haunting...As of 1974, this was the biggest selling song of all time in Japan. It's a heartbreaking song about dancing with your loved one only to lose them to your friend after introducing them. The layout of the song is interesting - there are only two verses (and no chorus), and they repeat nearly identically, so it feels like the singer really can't let go of this, and is just going to keep replaying it in her mind forever. Even when she's a ghost.

3. Marty Robbins - "They're Hanging Me Tonight" (1959)


The stakes are pretty high in some of these songs. This one's about a guy who's lover leaves him for another man, so he shoots and kills both of them and ends up getting hanged. Real hardcore cowboy stuff. But the lyrics are beautifully arranged and sung. There are four verses (with no chorus), and the story is told chronologically, except for the second verse, which foreshadows the ending. Check out the lyrics. It's like an entire cowboy movie in musical/short story form. Marty Robbins has a very strong, operatic voice that always sounds important.

4. Johnny Cash - "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (1959)


I love this song to an unreasonable degree. When I first heard it I think I listened to it about 15 times in a row. Johnny Cash's soul is just pouring out of him and picking up lyrics on the way out. "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" was first recorded in 1909, and is an "American negro spiritual." I love how he sings "Swing" in a way that sounds like it's swinging. He balances the intensely serious first "carry me home" (in each verse) with the equally intensely positive "swing low sweet chariot." You don't have to be religious to appreciate passion like this.

5. Ray Charles - "I Can't Stop Loving You" (1962)


The way they did the backup singing back then was unique. They turned the bass down and the treble up. The best analogy I can think of is that it sounds like a waterfall - it's like a constant almost white noise kind of sound. A painting on the wall. There's still a lot of feeling in it, it just sounds kind of removed. They probably did that partly to make Ray's voice stand out. This song is probably the most sentimental of the bunch. It's not about spirituality or murder so much, it's just an expression of a sad nostalgia. Not only did Ray do country music, he had an entire record called "Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music."

6. Roy Orbison - "Crying" (1962)


According to Rolling Stone, Roy Orbison is the #13 singer of all time and "Crying" is in the top 100 songs of all time. I'm sure a lot of people put him at #1. Just listen to this song. There's a lot there that I doubt anyone else could do. The way he sings the word "crying" at 0:32 is I think the closest you can get to vocalizing the act and feeling of crying. It's like he's creating new vocal vocabulary, and it's amazing. And he sings from deep down, with the power of an opera singer, which really comes through and hits you hard at the end. In terms of effectively communicating feeling, Roy Orbison is at the level of the top soul singers.

I'm just going to drop this little gem in here:


7. Sting - "I Hung My Head" (2010)


Sting is not a country artist (although he's become more folky lately), but he dips into country for this one, with the narrative about accidentally killing someone and getting hanged for it. This version is like folk/country/classical, and is more country-sounding than the original (from the Mercury Falling album), with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra adding nice touches like the harmonica. But there is one thing that sets this song apart from probably every country song and 99.99% of all pop (non-jazz) songs - it's in 9/8 time. If you try to nod your head to it you'll find that you're off beat every other measure because of the odd (literally) time. Try to count it out - start at 0:38 right on "early" - each cycle of 9 lasts about three seconds and ends with the beginning of the next line ("with time to kill..."). You can hear it in the guitar. It's easiest for me if I count it as (1-2-3-4-5)-(1-2-3-4) where the 1's and 3's are emphasized with the percussion. Usually the feeling of listening to odd timing is that you're sort of leaning in the whole time, like the person next to you is always walking a little bit too fast and you're always catching up. You can't just sit back and get into a comfortable groove like you can with most songs. Intriguing.

The playlist:

Episode 12. The Clash

If I were to tell you that The Clash are the only band that ever mattered, and you weren't very familiar with them, you'd be rightfully in disbelief. It's quite a statement. However, if you were familiar with The Clash, you would tilt your head slightly to the left and make that frowny, raised-eyebrowed "well...maybe" face. 

When The Clash formed in London in 1976, the economy was stagnant, and in general the youth could choose between factory work and ... nothing. So the fundamental attitude of any good artist, which is "I don't care what you want, this is what I'm saying,"

was especially clear in punk rock, which was a direct response to this lingering apathy and the hoity-toity "let's all drink champagne" pop music on TV. It wasn't just artistic freedom, it was "This is what we think, and we're going to cram it down your throat."

The Clash
Joe Strummer - Paul Simonon - Mick Jones - Topper Headon

The Clash became the biggest punk band in the UK in the late 1970s and gained a hardcore following, thanks to the charisma of legendary frontman Joe Strummer and the fact that the band would let fans crash on their hotel room floors. It wasn't just about the music - their honest lyrics and style helped them connect with a wide range of fans and they became the leaders of a cultural shift in the UK, as a sort of lost, alienated generation finally found a voice.

1. The Clash - "London's Burning" (1977)

From their first, self-titled album, "London's Burning" exemplifies the painful apathy felt by many Brits. It was really Joe Strummer(the lead singer)'s passion to "do something about it" that drove The Clash. You can get a sense of Strummer's dynamic, personal vocal style with his gargly work in this song. Clearly this is rock 'n roll, but you can hear evidence of reggae in the guitar during the verses. Paul Simonen, the bass player, was particularly interested in reggae, which is another sort of anti-establishment movement. Paul began as more of a painter than a musician, and initially learned his bass lines from Mick Jones, the lead guitarist and main composer. Paul was largely responsible for the outfits, posters, set design, etc. He was just too cool to not have in the band. So that was to get an idea of their original punk-rock style.

2. The Clash - "Tommy Gun" (1978)

Things began to change after their first album. Columbia Records signed The Clash for their second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope, leading to accusations of selling out despite the fact that they were still broke. "Tommy Gun" is about the hijacking of planes in the middle east. Joe Strummer had been criticized in the punk community for coming from a nice, middle class family, but without his upbringing, The Clash would not have been the same. Joe was born in Turkey and lived in several locations including Cairo and Mexico City because of his father's work in diplomacy, so from a young age he was keen on understanding conflict on an international level. This global outlook puts Strummer ahead of many of his contemporaries and is the inspiration for much of not only their lyrics, but also their music, because the way they operated, at least initially, was that Joe would write the lyrics, and then Mick would turn them into an instrumental melody and chord progression, and possibly even the vocal melodies.

Another major change took place at this time, which was arguably the most influential change to their music: after auditioning countless drummers to replace Terry Chimes, who played on their first album, The Clash finally landed on Nicky "Topper" Headon. I consider Give 'Em Enough Rope to be in effect a warm-up for their third album, London Calling, which Rolling Stone accurately places as the eighth best album of all time. I'd estimate that without Topper, it would be perhaps #20. The beauty of London Calling is that it is extraordinarily complex, diverse, and deep, and yet it's also fun, relatable, and dance-able. It's one of those rare albums where the artist almost reinvents itself for every song. It's still punk in spirit, but musically it's also reggae, ska, jazz, bossa-nova, and rockabilly, to name a few. This kind of mix-and-match, fusing so many genres to the point where almost every song on the album is a different genre, is exceedingly rare, and I don't think it's ever been done better. 

3. The Clash - "London Calling" (1979)

The title track perfectly sets the tone for the album. The Clash were actually broke and at the end of their rope when they recorded this album, so the sense of urgency and the feeling of swimming to stay afloat is very real. "We ain't got no swing" at 0:45 is a bit ironic considering that the drums are swinging pretty hard (basically there is a kind of lag and they are not strictly on the beat). My favorite part is right around 2:00 where the echoed vocals and guitar go crazy. Most of the lyrics are metaphorical ("Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls") or poetic ("The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in") but there is one that is almost comically pointed - "Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust." The Clash began as part of a backlash to "pub rock" (music played at pubs) which was meant primarily to please the audience. Joe Strummer, in true punk form, disliked The Beatles and The Stones and all of the popular rockers who appeared to be sellouts. The funny thing is that after listening to their music you might expect them to be aggressive people, but they were all really soft-spoken, laid-back, and according to Strummer, pretty lazy. If you see them lounging in a documentary you can really feel the painful boredom that incited this music.

4. The Clash - "Lost In The Supermarket" (1979)

Everything clicks immediately - the guitar provides the nostalgia, the bass makes it sound important, and Topper chugs along with his hi-hat to maintain the momentum throughout the song. Interestingly, the song was written by Strummer but sung mainly by Mick, and is about "feelings of disillusionment," but you don't need to know the lyrics to get the feeling from this one. The lead guitar at 1:56 has so enough feeling for two songs, as does Mick's vulnerable vocals, especially with the melody on lines like "long distance callers make long distance calls" (1:38). This song almost puts you to sleep on the couch with its "I just keep getting scammed, what's the point" attitude and Topper's intoxicating beats, but don't be fooled - it's a classic. 

 5. The Clash - "Train In Vain" (1979)

Topper adds so much energy with the drums. This beat is one of the most recognizable and influential in rock music, and this song simply would not exist in this form without him. In perfect counter-balance to the soft, sweet, vulnerable vocals from Strummer, the drums are really the kick-ass attitude that you feel. He makes it sound simple but almost everything he plays is subtly very complex. Topper was influenced largely by jazz and soul music, so he brought a new, funky, jazzy element to the group. He and Mick Jones, who wrote and sang this song, were constant sources of brilliant music. Rewind to the beginning: there are four excellent bass lines in this song, and they define a remarkably unorthodox structure. Usually songs are structured verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, etc, where each part is relatively homogeneous. This song is different. It starts out with the drums and a funky two-note bass line, and then drops into the first verse, but it's more than just a verse. It's probably going to take a few listens to catch all this, but it's music history so it's worth it. 

• "You say you stand by your man" marks the beginning of the first verse. This second bass line has a very low rumble sound, that seems to end abruptly every measure, and if you were dancing (and I would seriously consider it), it would be this bass line that would make you want to freeze in place every few seconds. "Tell me something I don't understand" repeats the structure of the first line. 
• On the third line, "You said you love me, and that's a fact," Mick Jones creates something I've never heard elsewhere, at least to this degree - he uses what sounds like a one-line chorus within the verse, which has a new, third bass line. So each verse in "Train In Vain" is like its own complete short story. The fourth lyric, "And then you left me, said you felt trapped" finishes the verse in the same style as the first two lines.
• And then there is a sort of bridge, or whatever you want to call it, with a fourth bass line, for "Well some things you can explain away, but the heartache's in me till this day."
• What comes next sounds like a chorus lyrically ("Did you stand by me, no not at all...") but is almost identical musically to the 1st, 2nd, and 4th lines of the verses, so much so that it doesn't sound like anything changes as the second verse starts with "All the times..."

So (in the spirit of punk rock) Mick Jones shredded what most songwriters think of as structure, and blurred all the lines, which really keeps you on your toes. This, along with the drums and every other element, is made to sound so deceptively simple that it's almost hidden. This is grandmaster-level songwriting and production. I always knew I loved this song but only after writing this did I realize why. Unbelievably, Mick Jones wrote this song in one night, and it was recorded the following day, just in time to be included in the album (but too late to be listed on the cover). It became one of their biggest singles. The name "Train In Vain," by the way, reflects Mick's repeated experience of riding a train across town to visit his girlfriend only to leave rejected.

6. The Clash - "Revolution Rock" (1979)

Are you feeling the drums yet? I think this is about as reggae as punk can get. The deep, flat bass line, echoed guitars and vocals, the cadence of the vocals, and the organ/keyboard combine to reflect the upbeat side of reggae, while the strained, emotional singing and distorted guitar represent punk. And again with the drums, I don't think any drummer in the world would have been better for this band. He can play anything.

7. The Clash - "The Guns Of Brixton" (1979)

A hardcore Clash fan would probably not agree with this, because Strummer and Jones didn't write it, but I think that musically "Guns Of Brixton" is the greatest Clash song, and I'd put it among the greatest songs of all time. Blast this one. By their third album, Paul Simonon began to play guitar in addition to bass, and he wrote and sang this gem. It's a chameleon in how it progresses fluidly and never feels like it repeats due to varying levels of detail. The bass line is one of the most heavy-hitting lines I've ever heard. It's difficult to explain. All I can say is it makes me want to join the mob. The guitar pieces are truly brilliant, from a surf-rock sound at 0:08, to a reggae pattern sharpened by knife-sharpening sounds at 0:21, to a bizarre section with bent strings and boing sounds to add to the absurdity at 1:01, to clean, jazzy background chords with vibrato at 1:40, not to mention more subtle guitar parts. 

The brilliant lazy lead vocals exemplify malaise on the edge of violence, and the creepy high and low-pitched backup vocals make it sound like the mob is coming. The perfect storm comes together with Topper's absolutely brilliant drumming. Right at 0:29, it sounds like he's playing his tom drums with his hands, to eerie effect. The ridiculously good one-second fill at 1:29 is Topper's way of sort of winding up the gear to kick off the second half of the song, which he punctuates at 1:40 and beyond with energizing off-beat snare hits. Notice that during the bizarre guitar part at 1:01, he refrains from playing anything to steal attention. And that's how the entire song is - there's so much detail, but at no time is it ever confusing. Every detail takes its turn. It's a masterpiece.

Simonon, by the way, was captured on camera (later used for the cover) as he was in the middle of destroying his nice Fender P-Bass. He said it felt more like destroying the stage, because these guitars are tough and it didn't break very easily. And then he had to play a not-so-good backup bass for the rest of the tour, so... at least it was photographed. The print on the London Calling album cover is identical to Elvis Presley's first album - same font, same colors. 

8. The Clash - "Charlie don't Surf" (1980)

The following Clash album, Sandinista!, had one big hit - "The Magnificent Seven," and about 35 other songs that were not quite as well received as London Calling. The most blunt comment I read was that "if this is their worst - which it is, I think they must be world's greatest rock and roll band." "Charlie don't Surf" is my favorite track on this album. The guitar is loaded with effects and creates the creepy vibe, while the bass and drums carry the energy. It feels exceptionally loose with the long intro and how it seems to fall off the map at 3:15. 

9. The Clash - "Straight To Hell" (1982)

Although not rated quite as highly as London Calling, their fifth studio album, Combat Rock, was their best-selling album, largely due to the songs "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" and "Rock The Casbah." "Straight To Hell," like many of their songs, has everything. Topper's drum skills are evident throughout the song. Probably the most interesting addition is the eerie violin that has reverb and some other effects. Adding effects to a violin is not easy, but they make it sound almost natural. This is one of the most poignant Clash songs. Strummer is singing about the disillusionment at home in the UK, as he frequently does, in the first verse, but in the second verse he gets into the Vietnam War, as he cries out for the abandoned "Amerasian" children fathered by American soldiers in Vietnam. The term "papa-san" and "mama-san" were used by US troops to designate older Vietnamese people (even though 'san' comes from Japanese). Strummer uses papa-san to describe, rather, the soldiers that won't take the children home. It's something I never even thought about until looking up the lyrics for this song, which showed me the power of Strummer in particular to educate people. In case you're still wondering where you've heard this song before, it was sampled in MIA's "Paper Planes." 

The bottom line is that The Clash were worldly, versatile punk rockers of the highest order. If you're interested in hearing more, just go to the London Calling album and hit play. There's also a lo-fi side of the album, which would cause a natural first reaction along the lines of "Why would I listen to that if there's a better version right there?" It's true, but the lower-quality songs are more intimate because everything is lower compared to the vocals.

Episode 11. Soul Music

What is soul music?

Once Ray Charles (known as 'The High Priest of Soul") and Sam Cooke ("The King of Soul") got soul on the airwaves in the '50s and early '60s, everything changed. Soul singers were the ultimate inspiration - with a combination of courage, spirit, talent, and social intelligence, they showed other musicians that it was possible not only to completely drop their guard and expose their soul, but to get on top of a mountain and tell the entire world about it. Just like how scientists "stand on the shoulders of giants" to make the next discovery, every soulful singer that came later stood on the shoulders of these soul singers.

Soul music originated in black churches in the 1950s and '60s, so the soul singer sings with a passion that a gospel singer has for God (you can hear the connection in "Touch The Hem Of His Garment"). "Soul" means "the immortal essence of a living being," so gospel singing is probably closer to a strict definition of soul music, given the transcendent religious experience, but gospel music ignores the secular experience that we are all familiar with - falling in love with women is much more appealing than falling in love with God for most of us (not to mention more lucrative). So the name "soul music" became used for a sort of secularized version of gospel music. Because of this grounding in all-out body-and-soul impassioned singing, there's no shield between a soul singer and a listener, making it easier to connect with them, so it's no surprise that 7 of the top 10 greatest singers (as determined by Rolling Stone) are soul singers - James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin.

Although the lyrics changed from religious to secular, soul singing transcends lyrics, as you can hear in "Soul - Hidden Track." That indescribable soul sound is derived from spirituals, hymns, and ultimately slave work songs, so this music is based on the most tragic type of human conflict I can imagine (slavery) and likewise the most joyful feeling I can imagine (emancipation). When a soul singer sings, even if it's about having a good time, they are drawing from the intensely emotional black church environment that developed during and after slavery.

A soul singer's timbre can sound anywhere from relatively smooth (Aretha Franklin) to woodwind-y (Sam Cooke) to brass-y (Otis Redding). Soul singing features a lot of sweeping vocal runs, large intervals in pitch, and volume changes, so it can feel like being on a rollercoaster of emotions. It's common for soul singers to push their voices to the limit until it almost sounds like a scream. But soul can also be found in the instrumentation, most obviously in the violins and horns, but also in the drums, bass, guitar, and piano. In fact, the spirit of "soul" permeated the entire band, and even the production crew. Most of these songs were recorded with the entire band playing in unison, and in general the music would be at least somewhat improvised, so every member of the band is contributing their transient feeling to the song, and because of this, every recording would sound somewhat different. When the producer tried to perfect a song, they would not say "do this until you hit these notes perfectly at the right time," it was more like a vague emotional direction, and sometimes the producer would just record dozens or hundreds of takes until they heard "the one." A combination of magic and luck.

#1. Sam Cooke - "Bring It On Home To Me" (1962)

As I read about soul music, this song came up over and over again as the iconic soul song. For anyone familiar with the song, it's no surprise. The piano is gorgeous, the drums are perfect, and Sam Cooke's singing is in the classic soul style that I described above. Well, it is the classic soul style. Sam does many of the background vocals on his songs, too, which was actually significant artistically and from a recording standpoint at the time. You can really feel the ebb and flow, thanks in large part to the bass walking up and down.  So this song basically defines soul music. Sam Cooke popularized soul music as he was a very astute observer of popular culture and human psychology, which probably helped in his career as an entrepreneur (he owned his own record company). But if there was a true pioneer of soul music, it was Ray Charles. 

#2. Ray Charles - "Georgia On My Mind" (1960)

Can an introduction possibly tug at the heartstrings any more? It's like finding out about a death in the family and finally accepting it after two years, all condensed into 15 seconds. All of these singers have unbelievable control of their dynamics, and make good use of them, but Ray was the master. Your average singer will sing at more or less the same volume. These soul singers use the volume of their voice, on top of the tone and pitch, to convey conflict and resolution. They can do this by changing their voice, or by moving away from or towards the microphone, which Ray Charles does a lot to make it seem like he's leaving or coming towards you. Ray performed this song as a sort of peace offering after the civil rights movement, in 1979, when Georgia adopted it as the state song.

I feel like I need to make a special note about Ray Charles, because he's more than just the #2 singer of all time (Aretha Franklin is #1). He (and Aretha) should not even be on this list. "Greatest" is not good enough - they're from a different galaxy. I'll get to Aretha, but even compared to her, Ray has a ridiculous range of timbres (or rather just one extremely flexible timbre) and an other-worldly control of nuance, which is part of why Ray is also known, not as "Genius," but as "The Genius."

Make sure this one's turned up, and just listen to the soundscape of various tone, timbre, and volume in Ray's voice. But those are only three of a countless number of dimensions. It's like when Sound of Music first went from black-and-white to color, except it happens from each word to the next. Simply unparalleled in so many ways. I believe that Ray Charles was only capable of communicating such a deep range of feeling because he experienced an exceptionally trying set of circumstances. His brother drowned when he was five. His vision began to deteriorate soon after until he completely lost sight at the age of seven. He was classically trained in piano, and had to learn by reading braille on the left to play with the right hand, and vice-versa. And his mother died when he was 14, which was the second of the two major tragedies in his life, the other being the death of his brother. Ray went on to play music, but lived in borderline poverty for years, going days without food. So when you hear his voice sounding tragic or bitter, it doesn't matter who wrote the lyrics - when Ray Charles sings them, they're personal: "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they're here to stay."

From a gentle kiss on the cheek to a bag of rocks in the throat, and everywhere in between. This is just one more sub-array of Ray's endless array of tricks. Midway through his career he switched from (mainly) composing original songs to interpreting (covering) songs.

#3. Otis Redding - "Change Is Gonna Come" (1965)

I think out of all the soul singers, Otis Redding has perhaps the most distinct timbre. It's almost like he's playing a special instrument, that's a mix between a human voice and a tenor saxophone. This is actually a Sam Cooke song, and (many agree) is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. It was very common in the soul scene to interpret other artists' songs, because as we saw with Ray Charles, the interpretations could be so creative as to be in a sense original. Otis' version makes really nice use of a guitar full of vibrato and a powerful horns section. He always sang like it was his last song, never for the money. But he did use the money - in 1967 Otis owned 200 suits and 400 pairs of shoes, and sold more albums than Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin combined. 

#4. Etta James - "I'd Rather Go Blind" (1969)

Etta James had a beautiful, intimate, gritty kind of soul. That picture is from 1969 when she recorded this song at Muscle Shoals. The guitar has a really nice twangy, soulful sound with its own personality. I can almost guarantee that this guitar, and much of the rest of the song, was improvised. There's an awesome documentary on Netflix called Muscle Shoals about a recording studio in Alabama. The biggest acts from all across the world (i.e. The Rolling Stones) came to get that Muscle Shoals sound, which they thought was coming from a group of black musicians, given the soulful sound, so you could imagine their surprise when they found that these local musicians were creating that vibe. But nobody was disappointed.

#5. Aretha Franklin - "I Say A Little Prayer For You" (1968)


Aretha has more power and range than Etta James, and her timbre is a little smoother. This was actually not a planned recording - Aretha was just playing around with her backup singers, The Sweet Inspirations, and this fun spirit clicks with the music so well. The music and lyrics of "I Say A Little Prayer For You" were written by Burt Bacharach originally for Dionne Warwick. If you listen to Dionne's version you can get a good sense of how talented Aretha is. This version was produced by a hot-shot executive named Jerry Wexler, who soon after brought Aretha to Muscle Shoals, where her career began to skyrocket. I'm going to break this song down to pieces, because it deserves it. I've heard it countless times now and I still notice new details. I recommend listening to the song all the way through before reading this.

The attitude: "At work I just take time, and all through my coffee break time, I say a little prayer for you." "Together, forever, that's how it must be." "For me there is no one but you, please love me too." The lyrics are a bit more extreme than your average love song, and this relationship seems to be very one-sided. It's apparent, especially in how Aretha sings, that she's crazy for this guy, and constantly worried about his fidelity. Who would spend their entire break praying their man doesn't leave her? During the verses she's on the brink, trying to convince herself everything is ok, and during the choruses she just loses it.

The verses: This song has a much different feel from most soul songs, in large part due to the classical guitar and Burt Bacharach's style, which gives it a relaxed, jazzy vibe (at least during the verses). If you listen with headphones you can remove the right channel to hear the guitar on the left, and you can remove the left to hear the piano on the right. The two instruments are in nearly the same range, so when you hear them together it sounds like one guitar/piano hybrid instrument providing a subtle, delicate combination of chords and melodies, pretty low in the mix. You might think that if something is at low volume it's not as important, but if you listen to just one channel you can hear the effect of removing one of the instruments. If you follow Aretha's melody, and the back-and-forth with the backup singers, the first two verses sound roughly the same. After the double chorus, she comes in with a completely fresh melody for "My darlin' believe me," and her exchange with the backup singers is different too. It seems that after the back-to-back impassioned choruses, she's become even more desperate, resorting to pleading rather than praying.

The chorus: The first one starts at 0:36. Not only is the tone way more intense than the verses, the timing is crazy. It's not easy, but if you try to count the beats during the chorus, you'll count...11. What? Almost all soul music, and pop music in general, is in 4/4 time, like in the verses. I've seen 5, 7, 9 and even 13 once, but I've never seen 11. If you try to nod your head to it, you can do it, but it doesn't feel natural, it feels odd. Right at 0:39, the backup singers sing "and I will love you," and it feels like the beat skips. The beauty of such an intense chorus is that when it drops back into the verse, the verse feels as fresh as it did in the introduction.

The backup singers: They are really the unsung heroes of soul (and rock) music. There's an excellent documentary on Netflix called "20 Feet From Stardom." Up until the soul era, the majority of backup singers where white, and they played primarily a backup role (as you might expect). The migration of gospel singers to backups (although "backup" is not totally accurate) really changed the feel of popular music, as they became much more prominent and injected that soul sound into everything from The Rolling Stones to David Bowie. You can hear in "I Say A Little Prayer" that they are actually replacing Aretha for some of the main lyrics, as they have a beautiful back-and-forth. That's how good they were - they could exchange with the greatest singer of all time.

And Aretha's voice. Right when she comes in - "The moment I wake up" you can tell she's the best. She goes from a power of maybe 3/10 to 5 to 7 to 4 to 5 in just that line, and each of those jumps is pretty significant. It takes immense strength to be able to adjust your volume and intensity like that, not to mention the crystal clear change in pitch. Nobody else in the world can do it like that, and that's why she's #1. She can go from low power, low pitch, to high power, high pitch, seemingly without effort. In other words, her ability to convey emotion is completely unrestricted by normal vocal constraints. Even when it sounds like she's belting it during the choruses, she's probably only at 7/10. If you want to hear an 8 or 9, listen at 2:33. That's how strong her voice is. If she were to push it all the way like everyone else it would be inappropriate.


A Sam Cooke song, showing off more dimensions of her voice - sultry, breathy. The backup singers are once again very prominent, occasionally overtaking Aretha.

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The songs above represent the heart of soul music, and there are more examples in the playlist below. The traditional soul scene began to fade in the late 1960s with the rise of psychedelic rock (Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd). The following songs demonstrate some of the branches that grew from the great Soul Tree that's still alive today.

#6. Jimmy Cliff - "Many Rivers to Cross" (1969)


Jimmy Cliff wrote this beautiful reggae/soul song, featuring a sweet gospel feel from the backup singers. That repeated "many rivers to cross" line is far from easy to sing; Jimmy has a very unique, enchanting style, and his soulful spirit comes through clearly. He's a soul searcher - after converting from Christianity to Islam many years ago, he now believes in science rather than religion. He released an album a few years ago at the age of 64 called Rebirth that received critical acclaim.

#7. Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" (1969)

Michael Jackson was 10 years old when he sang this. The bass is just... I can't even explain it...it's pure magic, and it's really the reason this song is so good. MJs voice is amazing, but without this line there is no "I Want You Back." There are some notes that feel off the beat, which is what funk music is all about, but there's not enough to really call this funk. It's R&B pop music, but the singing is certainly soul, and it was #1 on the soul singles chart for four weeks. On top of the bass, piano and funky guitar, the strings come in and just spark everything. I don't think anyone knew how good it would be until they played it.

#8. Janis Joplin - "Cry Baby" (1971)

Janis Joplin is right at the edge of this transition, and was considered "The Queen of Psychedelic Soul." About singing she said "I'm not really thinking much, just sort of, trying to feel," and I think that holds true for all soul singers. During the quiet moments it sounds a lot like traditional soul, but during the more intense sections you can hear all of the instruments get a little more...wild...than, say, Sam Cooke's music. Of course Janis was the star, but everyone in the band really gets their time to shine and show off their personality. 

#9. Stevie Wonder - "As" (1976)

This is a beautiful example of Stevie Wonder's soulful style. The synthesized bass and keyboards indicate a new interpretation of soul, but the original spirit of soul was (and still is) alive and well in his voice. You can hear the influence of Ray Charles as his vocals get very gruff towards the middle of the song. Stevie is without a doubt one of the most innovative and prolific pop (by pop I mean anything other than jazz) musicians ever, although Stevie could have played jazz or any other genre. Not only does he have one of greatest voices, he plays many instruments (he was a drumming virtuoso) and produces these songs himself. Everything you hear came from Stevie's head. As opposed to most of the other songs on the post, Stevie knew exactly what this was going to sound like, composing just like Mozart. This album, "Songs In The Key Of Life," is one of the finest works of music out there. Elton John believes that when people look back on music centuries later, they'll mention Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder. I'll get more into Stevie (and Louis and Duke) later. 

#10. Mavis Staples - "You Are Not Alone" (2010)


Finally, here is a more modern style of soul, by Mavis Staples (of The Staples Singers). A bit of trivia: Bob Dylan proposed to Mavis. She said no. I imagine their kid would have had a pretty interesting voice. Check out "I'll Take You There" to hear Mavis at her finest. The simplicity of that song is pure genius, especially the bass line.

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The playlist is below. If you want to save it, go the the app and click "follow." If people follow it I might add more songs later.

Episode 10. Variety Pack

I'm working on a post about soul music but I need more time. This week I'm removing the constraints of a theme to provide a variety of really good songs that I think everyone might like. At the bottom is a link to the playlist containing all of the songs, so you can click on that and go to the Spotify app, and if you want to save the playlist, click follow. If several people follow it I might add songs to it later. Or you can make your own playlist and drag and drop the songs you like. Also, any suggestions are welcome. By the way, if you get a weird pop-up dialogue box when you try to play a song on the blog, refreshing the page should work.

1. Taylor Mcferrin - "Degrees of Light" (2014)


I normally don't gravitate towards electronic music, but Taylor Mcferrin (son of Bobby Mcferrin, the "Don't Worry Be Happy" guy) does a good job orchestrating this soundscape. It sounds great with closed eyes.

2. Jenny Lewis - "She's Not Me" (2014)


You can tell this is good music in the first two seconds, and it's because of the guitar. Normally there's a rhythm guitar, that plays chords, and a lead guitar, that typically plays one note at a time at a relatively high pitch. In this song however, there is a "background guitar" playing funky little jingles at low volume, and a more prominent "main guitar," at higher volume, that plays, apparently, whatever the hell it wants, chords or lead. It's so effective because it's so irregular and unpredictable, spending most of its time laying low. They did a really good job mixing everything, so the main guitar cuts through clearly in its own range (nothing is competing with it), and has just the right amount of distortion to stay clean enough to match the rest of the song while also having some attitude. The tone of this guitar is perfect for this song, and it really shines towards the end. Also Jenny Lewis is great. She's the lead singer of Rilo Kiley.

3. Lennon & Maisy - "Boom Clap" (2015)


Ok, I'm not going to lie - I searched for Charli XCXs "Boom Clap" on Spotify, which is a terribly cheesy love song aimed at high school girls... but also happens to be excellent pop music. Thankfully I let the whole song play through, because what came on next was amazing.  Lennon (born 1999) and Maisy (born 2003) are sisters known for their appearance on the show Nashville. I don't know how much experience with love Maisy could possibly have, but whatever's going on in this song is above the lyrics, and she's definitely feeling it. Her innocent, angelic voice harmonizes beautifully with Lennon's more powerful voice. When they trade off solos it's like hearing the same person at different ages. I love how they turn "boom" into two syllables at times. The beat is solid, but they could have done this a capella and still gotten millions of hits. That's a lot of soul for a 12-year-old.

4. Vulfpeck - "Wait For The Moment" (2013)


I was very happy to find this. The funky bass player kills it, along with the rest of the band, but they do a good job of staying low-key for the most part, to let this amazing soul singer deliver a sublime performance. Ultra-chill funk, soul, r&b, loving it.

And a throwback

5. Brothers Johnson - "Strawberry Letter 23" (1977)


I don't really know how to convey how amazing this song is. I mean, the funky bass is fantastic, the guitar is stellar, the singing is soulful, but there's just something about it I can't describe. Must be that melody.

Here's the playlist: