A haphazard look at music

Well, with the holiday season in full swing, me working 2 jobs to put away money to move, and life’s endless sources of stress, I completely forgot that November 29th marked the 10 year anniversary of George Harrison’s death. And I had intended to write something about it to mark the event. I’m such a lousy blogkeeper.

Anyway. I was a sophomore in high school, 9/11 just happened, and 2001 in general kind of sucked. My friend had told me that George Harrison died. I didn’t believe him at first because a year or two before that he told me that someone else had died but it turned out he was just playing a practical joke. Then I walked into my homeroom, and my homeroom teacher (and later English teacher and friend) was sporting his infamous Sargent Pepper tie, and was like “ya hear about George?” And it sucked. George was probably my favorite Beatle, and I was in the middle of a pretty heavy Beatles phase at the time of his death.

I suppose it had been coming, as he was basically riddled with cancer, but he had occasionally blurted out reports that he wasn’t dying and he would beat the cancer, even if sources said otherwise (he had an inoperable brain tumor). My naivete sided with George’s words, and I remember kind of being mad at him for putting on this game face that the cancer he had was just like a bad toothache; with some work it’d go away within time. Then again, I was 16 and stupid, and didn’t know how to deal with anything.

George Harrison was a singular character. He was the perfect mix of the other three Beatles. He had the serious and idealistic side of John Lennon, except not as angry and bitter. He had the more playful side of Paul McCartney, but not as tacky. He also had a very humorous side much like Ringo Starr, except not as Ringo-ish. He also had the prettiest wives of all the Beatles, and one of them never tried singing on a Beatles record or one of his solo records (and thank God). Patty Boyd was a looker back in her day, and Olivia Arias still looks pretty good at 63. He also had the best solo career out of all of them, with All Things Must Pass serving as the crown jewel.

To remember George, I’m posting my 5 favorite songs by him, both with his career with the Beatles and as a solo artist.

1. “Taxman” (Revolver, 1966)

The Beatles were so popular they had their own cartoon too! But this is a great song reflecting Britain’s tax code and how the Beatles paid through the nose come tax day.

2. “Long, Long, Long”

One of the best Beatles tracks, and one of the most underrated. It didn’t have too much of a chance to be noticed after being placed after the sonic frenzy of “Helter Skelter” on the White Album.

3. “I’d Have You Any Time”

The first track from All Things Must Pass, co-written with Bob Dylan. A sublimely gorgeous track.

4. “All Things Must Pass”

Sad but uplifting.

5. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”

I always liked this solo acoustic version, found on the third installment of the Beatles Anthology. Very sparse and haunting. And no Eric Clapton solo! (I don’t like Eric Clapton…)

HONORABLE MENTION:

Monty Python’s “The Lumberjack Song”

He was a frequent collaborator with the Monty Python guys.

So, the biggest single this year was arguably Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” with her album, 21, being credited for getting the record industry out of a slump. And you know what? She deserves it!

I finally heard “Rolling in the Deep,” or at least knowing so, not too long ago and just was completely enamored with Adele’s passionate and yearning vocals. Very soulful for a white British girl of 23. I’m finding it difficult to believe that the mainstream record buying public is going for an artist like Adele. She’s not overly skinny, she’s not conventionally pretty the way you would think of Christina Aguilera or Katy Perry, and her vocals aren’t Auto-Tuned half to death. But 21 has spent 13 weeks atop the US Album Charts so far, and has sold millions worldwide.

Last week, I sat down and listened to 21 several times. Is it one of the best albums I’ve ever heard? A very far cry from that: The lyrics are kind of trite, and the production on some songs is a bit too glossy for my tastes. It would be refreshing if Adele focused on themes other than lost love. But she makes the songs convincing more than most people, and she has a voice so compelling and so rich she could read off a menu at a Chinese restaurant and I’ll still develop a boner!

Aside from “Rolling in the Deep,” perhaps the only hit single in the past 10 years that has really touched me, there’s “Someone Like You,” a piano-and-vocal only ballad that is a tearjerker, and is also the only song to be a #1 hit in the US consisting solely of piano & vocals (and what better song to do that than that one!). Some of the songs are not as memorable, but much to my surprise, the best song on 21 is a cover of The Cure’s hit song, “Lovesong.” It’s a bossa-nova influenced track that Rick Rubin supposedly wanted to give to Barbra Streisand (and WHY?!?!?!?!), and to counter Robert Smith’s song he wrote as a wedding present to his wife, Adele makes it a lovesick tale of yearning for her lover, with a vocal delivery to make a person question why anyone would ever leave her. It definitely gives the song a new life for me, as I had a hard time listening to it after 311′s atrocious cover of it for a shitty Adam Sandler movie!

I hope Adele grows as an artist – a creative writing class would help her lyrically, for some constructive criticism. Recently, she has had some problems concerning a vocal cord hemorrhage, forcing her to cancel some tours. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.

And so what if she’s a tad bit overweight? It’s not like she’s Aretha Franklin at her worst or Ralphie May! Sorry she doesn’t have a dress size in negative numbers, and it’s nice and refreshing to see a successful pop star with a little meat on her bones! So shut the fuck up, haters!

Here’s a funny SNL skit featuring “Someone Like You”

Her cover of “Lovesong”