Curio Cabinet / Song Curio
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
For folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary, having bags packed and a ticket in hand didn't exactly mean they were ready for take-off. Fellow singer-songwriter John Denver originally wrote their hit Leaving on a Jet Plane as he was alone and melancholy at an airport. Denver's original band, the Chad Mitchell Trio, was falling apart, and feelings of displacement from touring were getting to him, especially in a space where things were always left behind. The verses' tale of a difficult breakup played a somewhat ominous portend to Peter, Paul & Mary, who had their first #1 hit with the song in 1969. It would be their last single released, as the band would break up the next year. Still, the group's gentle three-part harmonies and acoustic underpinnings lend to a sense of melancholy that just can't be shaken off, even with the desperate appeal for smiles and kisses in the chorus. Next time we fly, we're keeping our minds busy with long check-in lines and magazine kiosks, lest we remember this song and start crying about airports!
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Image credit & copyright: Rhino / Warner Bros.
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
For folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary, having bags packed and a ticket in hand didn't exactly mean they were ready for take-off. Fellow singer-songwriter John Denver originally wrote their hit Leaving on a Jet Plane as he was alone and melancholy at an airport. Denver's original band, the Chad Mitchell Trio, was falling apart, and feelings of displacement from touring were getting to him, especially in a space where things were always left behind. The verses' tale of a difficult breakup played a somewhat ominous portend to Peter, Paul & Mary, who had their first #1 hit with the song in 1969. It would be their last single released, as the band would break up the next year. Still, the group's gentle three-part harmonies and acoustic underpinnings lend to a sense of melancholy that just can't be shaken off, even with the desperate appeal for smiles and kisses in the chorus. Next time we fly, we're keeping our minds busy with long check-in lines and magazine kiosks, lest we remember this song and start crying about airports!
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Image credit & copyright: Rhino / Warner Bros.
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FREEWorld History Song CurioFree2 CQ
Any way we cut it, British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was destined for greatness. Born August 15, 1875, to a British woman and a father from Sierra Leone, Coleridge-Taylor showed an aptitude for music at a young age, having studied at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London beginning at age 15. As his compositional skills grew, he developed a penchant for incorporating in his work African folk music and poetry—he was named after the Rime of the Ancient Mariner poet, after all. His piano piece Deep River is a take on the American negro spiritual of the same name, lending a rolling waves-on-the-shore-like bassline to the song about crossing the river Jordan to get into heaven. After a few solemn repetitions of the melody, Coleridge-Taylor explores variations on the theme, letting heavenly bell-like notes ring proudly on high as the sinking depths are explored at the bottom end of the piano. With his ability to tap into the emotional longing and ecstasy of a piece, it's no wonder Coleridge-Taylor was immensely popular in the U.K. and the U.S. during his lifetime. Let's take the plunge into Deep River and give Coleridge-Taylor the credit he deserves on his birthday week.
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Any way we cut it, British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was destined for greatness. Born August 15, 1875, to a British woman and a father from Sierra Leone, Coleridge-Taylor showed an aptitude for music at a young age, having studied at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London beginning at age 15. As his compositional skills grew, he developed a penchant for incorporating in his work African folk music and poetry—he was named after the Rime of the Ancient Mariner poet, after all. His piano piece Deep River is a take on the American negro spiritual of the same name, lending a rolling waves-on-the-shore-like bassline to the song about crossing the river Jordan to get into heaven. After a few solemn repetitions of the melody, Coleridge-Taylor explores variations on the theme, letting heavenly bell-like notes ring proudly on high as the sinking depths are explored at the bottom end of the piano. With his ability to tap into the emotional longing and ecstasy of a piece, it's no wonder Coleridge-Taylor was immensely popular in the U.K. and the U.S. during his lifetime. Let's take the plunge into Deep River and give Coleridge-Taylor the credit he deserves on his birthday week.
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FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
It's impossible to stay seated when Do You Love Me comes on. The Contours brought their all to the recording, which they viewed as one of their final chances to prove their worth to Motown records. Lead singer Joe Billingslea's sheer energy radiates as he asks his former lover if she's happy now that he's learned how to dance. The song's playfulness is built into its structure. The tune tapers off to near-silence about two minutes in... but wait! Billingslea's voice erupts again, propelling the song forward. Do You Love Me also mentions classic '60s dance moves like the Mashed Potato and the Twist. Its evocation of a specific era meant that it had legs beyond 1962, the year it was released. When it was included on the soundtrack of 1988 film Dirty Dancing (which was set in the 1960s), Do You Love Me managed to top charts for a second time, over a quarter century after it first became a hit. Not bad for a group that was barely hanging on to its recording deal!
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Image credit & copyright: The Contours
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
It's impossible to stay seated when Do You Love Me comes on. The Contours brought their all to the recording, which they viewed as one of their final chances to prove their worth to Motown records. Lead singer Joe Billingslea's sheer energy radiates as he asks his former lover if she's happy now that he's learned how to dance. The song's playfulness is built into its structure. The tune tapers off to near-silence about two minutes in... but wait! Billingslea's voice erupts again, propelling the song forward. Do You Love Me also mentions classic '60s dance moves like the Mashed Potato and the Twist. Its evocation of a specific era meant that it had legs beyond 1962, the year it was released. When it was included on the soundtrack of 1988 film Dirty Dancing (which was set in the 1960s), Do You Love Me managed to top charts for a second time, over a quarter century after it first became a hit. Not bad for a group that was barely hanging on to its recording deal!
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Image credit & copyright: The Contours
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
When we talk about a song burning up the charts, we don't usually mean it in this way. On August 8, 1960, Decca Records in the U.K. burned 25,000 copies of Ray Peterson's Tell Laura I Love Her. Why such an uproar? The 1960 rock ballad tells the heartbreaking story of a young man who dies in a racecar crash while trying to win money to buy his fiance, Laura, an engagement ring. The tune is slow and swelling with Ray Peterson wailing out the dying teenager's lament. Some radio stations banned the song for "sensitive subject matter," but that was nothing compared to the reaction it got in the U.K.: it was considered vulgar and offensive, leading Decca to destroy all copies that had already been pressed. Tell Laura refused to stay down, however, as Peterson's version shot up the U.K. charts soon afterward. Teen angst triumphs!
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Image credit & copyright: RCA Records
When we talk about a song burning up the charts, we don't usually mean it in this way. On August 8, 1960, Decca Records in the U.K. burned 25,000 copies of Ray Peterson's Tell Laura I Love Her. Why such an uproar? The 1960 rock ballad tells the heartbreaking story of a young man who dies in a racecar crash while trying to win money to buy his fiance, Laura, an engagement ring. The tune is slow and swelling with Ray Peterson wailing out the dying teenager's lament. Some radio stations banned the song for "sensitive subject matter," but that was nothing compared to the reaction it got in the U.K.: it was considered vulgar and offensive, leading Decca to destroy all copies that had already been pressed. Tell Laura refused to stay down, however, as Peterson's version shot up the U.K. charts soon afterward. Teen angst triumphs!
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Image credit & copyright: RCA Records
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FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
When Beyoncé drops an album, the world listens. This time, Queen Bey has released The Lion King: The Gift, a record inspired by African music and musicians. It includes collaborations with prominent U.S. artists like Childish Gambino (Don Glover, who voices Simba to Beyoncé's Nala in the live-action Lion King), Kendrick Lamar, and Jay-Z, as well as musicians like Guyanese-American Saint Jhn and Nigeria's Wizkid, who sing on Brown Skin Girl, an afrobeat ode to black girls. Wizkid has collaborated with Drake before, and many of the African artists on The Gift have been featured on tracks by hip-hop artists—though an entire album both dedicated to their work and curated by the world's biggest pop star has certainly put the global spotlight on afrobeat. The genre itself is a mash-up of West African music and bits of funk and jazz influences, making The Gift a perfect melding of African diaspora music, wherever it is made. Lucky for us listeners, the results on songs like Brown Skin Girl incorporate uplifting melodies with complex rhythmic structures. And hey, it doesn't hurt that Beyoncé's own child Blue Ivy joins in on the opening chant of the chorus!
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Image credit & copyright: Disney
When Beyoncé drops an album, the world listens. This time, Queen Bey has released The Lion King: The Gift, a record inspired by African music and musicians. It includes collaborations with prominent U.S. artists like Childish Gambino (Don Glover, who voices Simba to Beyoncé's Nala in the live-action Lion King), Kendrick Lamar, and Jay-Z, as well as musicians like Guyanese-American Saint Jhn and Nigeria's Wizkid, who sing on Brown Skin Girl, an afrobeat ode to black girls. Wizkid has collaborated with Drake before, and many of the African artists on The Gift have been featured on tracks by hip-hop artists—though an entire album both dedicated to their work and curated by the world's biggest pop star has certainly put the global spotlight on afrobeat. The genre itself is a mash-up of West African music and bits of funk and jazz influences, making The Gift a perfect melding of African diaspora music, wherever it is made. Lucky for us listeners, the results on songs like Brown Skin Girl incorporate uplifting melodies with complex rhythmic structures. And hey, it doesn't hurt that Beyoncé's own child Blue Ivy joins in on the opening chant of the chorus!
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Image credit & copyright: Disney
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FREEJazz Guitar Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
What happens when you book two of the world's most influential avant-garde musicians for the same show—at Coney Island, no less? A lot of silence, gibberish, space-age poetry, and chaotic synthesizer solos. John Cage Meets Sun Ra is far from accessible. Sometimes, it's downright baffling. But then again, the same could be said for both composers' solo works. Cage is perhaps best known for 4' 33", performed by sitting at a piano silently for four minutes and 33 seconds; Sun Ra paved his way with otherworldly jazz improvisations and his insistence that he was born on the planet Saturn. The two didn't seem to know of each other's work before this one-off show, and may as well have been performing at separate concerts. But at one point they came together for Empty Words and Keyboard and the result is, well, otherworldly. The video below shows Cage, right, reading from the vocal piece Empty Words with sparse accompaniment from Sun Ra, left. Cage's vowels and guttural sounds aren't total nonsense: the artist assembled them from the journals of Henry David Thoreau. Taking directions from the I Ching, an ancient Chinese book of divination, he removed vowels, consonants, and syllables, until he ended up with the final text. The poor audience didn't even know when to clap!
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Image credit & copyright: Meltdown Records
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
What happens when you book two of the world's most influential avant-garde musicians for the same show—at Coney Island, no less? A lot of silence, gibberish, space-age poetry, and chaotic synthesizer solos. John Cage Meets Sun Ra is far from accessible. Sometimes, it's downright baffling. But then again, the same could be said for both composers' solo works. Cage is perhaps best known for 4' 33", performed by sitting at a piano silently for four minutes and 33 seconds; Sun Ra paved his way with otherworldly jazz improvisations and his insistence that he was born on the planet Saturn. The two didn't seem to know of each other's work before this one-off show, and may as well have been performing at separate concerts. But at one point they came together for Empty Words and Keyboard and the result is, well, otherworldly. The video below shows Cage, right, reading from the vocal piece Empty Words with sparse accompaniment from Sun Ra, left. Cage's vowels and guttural sounds aren't total nonsense: the artist assembled them from the journals of Henry David Thoreau. Taking directions from the I Ching, an ancient Chinese book of divination, he removed vowels, consonants, and syllables, until he ended up with the final text. The poor audience didn't even know when to clap!
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Image credit & copyright: Meltdown Records
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FREEJazz Guitar Song CurioFree2 CQ
Bud Powell may have lacked the showmanly reputation of his contemporaries Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, but those in the know recognize his skills behind the ivory keys. Powell's career saw him play with jazz greats across generations, including big bands like the Cootie Williams Orchestra, bebop legends Gillespie and Parker, and hard bop players like Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk. On his own compositions like the 1946 Bouncin' With Bud, it's easy to hear the motley influences take shape: the big band-like horns establish the first choruses and solos, leading to Powell's mercurial chord improvisations in his solo—right up there with the best of the boppers. Despite his swingin' brilliance, Powell's career was stifled by mental health issues that often impeded his ability to perform—and later by the tuberculosis diagnosis which lead to an early death 53 years ago today. Thank goodness we still have songs like Bouncin' With Bud to remember times when Powell sat down at the keyboard and it seemed like his creative wellspring was endless.
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Image credit & copyright: Jazzist
Bud Powell may have lacked the showmanly reputation of his contemporaries Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, but those in the know recognize his skills behind the ivory keys. Powell's career saw him play with jazz greats across generations, including big bands like the Cootie Williams Orchestra, bebop legends Gillespie and Parker, and hard bop players like Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk. On his own compositions like the 1946 Bouncin' With Bud, it's easy to hear the motley influences take shape: the big band-like horns establish the first choruses and solos, leading to Powell's mercurial chord improvisations in his solo—right up there with the best of the boppers. Despite his swingin' brilliance, Powell's career was stifled by mental health issues that often impeded his ability to perform—and later by the tuberculosis diagnosis which lead to an early death 53 years ago today. Thank goodness we still have songs like Bouncin' With Bud to remember times when Powell sat down at the keyboard and it seemed like his creative wellspring was endless.
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Image credit & copyright: Jazzist
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
The home fitness craze of the '80s reached new heights of silliness when Olivia Newton-John unveiled her 1981 video for Physical. The song was originally pitched to Rod Stewart, though Newton-John's chipper persona proved to be just the right thing to sell an ultra-raunchy song to an MTV-friendly audience. In the Physical video, Newton-John plays the ultimate nightmare trainer who leers at muscled men and puts wrestling moves on comically out-of-shape versions of those same men. The final joke lands on her character, when the adonises refuse to play tennis with her and take off with each other (a part that was often censored or cut in the '80s due to homoerotic themes). The new music video format paid off for Newton-John, who saw Physical rise to the occasion and spend 10 weeks at #1 on Billboard's singles chart. No pain, no gain, right?
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Image credit & copyright: Geffen Records
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
The home fitness craze of the '80s reached new heights of silliness when Olivia Newton-John unveiled her 1981 video for Physical. The song was originally pitched to Rod Stewart, though Newton-John's chipper persona proved to be just the right thing to sell an ultra-raunchy song to an MTV-friendly audience. In the Physical video, Newton-John plays the ultimate nightmare trainer who leers at muscled men and puts wrestling moves on comically out-of-shape versions of those same men. The final joke lands on her character, when the adonises refuse to play tennis with her and take off with each other (a part that was often censored or cut in the '80s due to homoerotic themes). The new music video format paid off for Newton-John, who saw Physical rise to the occasion and spend 10 weeks at #1 on Billboard's singles chart. No pain, no gain, right?
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Image credit & copyright: Geffen Records
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
If at first you don't succeed, there's always orthopedic surgery to fall back on. Swedish composer Franz Berwald was born this week in 1796, and unlike his Romantic contemporaries Chopin or Liszt, his musical efforts like the Piano Concerto in D Major failed to strike a chord with the public. In spite of his musical pedigree, including five generations of musicians and lessons from his violinist father, financial troubles and a completely disinterested public forced Berwald to take orthopedic work in 1835. Nevertheless, he continued his passion outside of the concert halls and conservatories. His Piano Concerto, which was completed in 1855, never saw a premiere until his granddaughter Astrid revived the work as a student performance in 1905. A terrible shame, as the I: Allegro con brio opener makes wonderful use of glissando-like movements ("gliding" from one note to another) in the keys, proving to be swooningly gorgeous, hypnotic, and sometimes imminently stern. Take a listen to Stefan Lindgre and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra tackle the work of a man who eventually earned the respect and recognition he deserved.
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If at first you don't succeed, there's always orthopedic surgery to fall back on. Swedish composer Franz Berwald was born this week in 1796, and unlike his Romantic contemporaries Chopin or Liszt, his musical efforts like the Piano Concerto in D Major failed to strike a chord with the public. In spite of his musical pedigree, including five generations of musicians and lessons from his violinist father, financial troubles and a completely disinterested public forced Berwald to take orthopedic work in 1835. Nevertheless, he continued his passion outside of the concert halls and conservatories. His Piano Concerto, which was completed in 1855, never saw a premiere until his granddaughter Astrid revived the work as a student performance in 1905. A terrible shame, as the I: Allegro con brio opener makes wonderful use of glissando-like movements ("gliding" from one note to another) in the keys, proving to be swooningly gorgeous, hypnotic, and sometimes imminently stern. Take a listen to Stefan Lindgre and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra tackle the work of a man who eventually earned the respect and recognition he deserved.
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FREEBlues Piano Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
After Jimi Hendrix, many consider Stevie Ray Vaughan to be the greatest blues guitar virtuoso who ever lived, but a chance performance could have completely changed the trajectory of his career. Born in 1953, Vaughan spent decades in the Texas club circuit, until he and his band Double Trouble were invited to play the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. There he caught the attention of singer-songwriter Jackson Browne and starman David Bowie: the former offered Vaughan studio time at his house, the later a chance to play on his upcoming record, Let's Dance. Vaughan ended up playing most of the guitar solos on Let's Dance, but had a falling out after contract negotiations forced him to cancel his spot as one of Bowie's guitarists for the Serious Moonlight tour. Shortly after, he signed with Epic records and marathon-recorded his debut album Texas Flood in two days. It introduced the world to Vaughan's powerhouse blues guitar, which could pull out all the (double) stops for Pride and Joy, playing a walking bass line and open-string percussion at the same time, while incorporating blazing solos into his love song. Take a look back at the performance that started it all at the '82 Montreux Jazz, and the Pride and Joy of Texas on full display.
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Image credit & copyright: Grammy Museum at L.A. Live
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
After Jimi Hendrix, many consider Stevie Ray Vaughan to be the greatest blues guitar virtuoso who ever lived, but a chance performance could have completely changed the trajectory of his career. Born in 1953, Vaughan spent decades in the Texas club circuit, until he and his band Double Trouble were invited to play the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. There he caught the attention of singer-songwriter Jackson Browne and starman David Bowie: the former offered Vaughan studio time at his house, the later a chance to play on his upcoming record, Let's Dance. Vaughan ended up playing most of the guitar solos on Let's Dance, but had a falling out after contract negotiations forced him to cancel his spot as one of Bowie's guitarists for the Serious Moonlight tour. Shortly after, he signed with Epic records and marathon-recorded his debut album Texas Flood in two days. It introduced the world to Vaughan's powerhouse blues guitar, which could pull out all the (double) stops for Pride and Joy, playing a walking bass line and open-string percussion at the same time, while incorporating blazing solos into his love song. Take a look back at the performance that started it all at the '82 Montreux Jazz, and the Pride and Joy of Texas on full display.
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Image credit & copyright: Grammy Museum at L.A. Live
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Escaping the role as an Andy Warhol ingénue was no easy task for the singer Nico. Before releasing her solo album 1967's Chelsea Girls, the German model had been paired by Warhol with the early noise-punk band The Velvet Underground and made to tour in the artist's Exploding Plastic Inevitable roadshow. After such bombastic endeavors, no one could blame Nico for taking up residence in New York coffee houses to try to redefine her sound among folk singers like Jackson Browne. He penned her classic tune These Days, a gently ambling work which features Jackson's country-fingerpicking guitar accompanying Nico's wistful voice. The song comes off introspective and full of regrets—certainly not what the casual observer would associate with Andy Warhol's superficiality-embracing aesthetic. But who needs "15-minutes of fame" when Nico's voice in These Days leaves so much to be emotionally discovered in both young and old age?
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Image credit & copyright: Getty Images
Escaping the role as an Andy Warhol ingénue was no easy task for the singer Nico. Before releasing her solo album 1967's Chelsea Girls, the German model had been paired by Warhol with the early noise-punk band The Velvet Underground and made to tour in the artist's Exploding Plastic Inevitable roadshow. After such bombastic endeavors, no one could blame Nico for taking up residence in New York coffee houses to try to redefine her sound among folk singers like Jackson Browne. He penned her classic tune These Days, a gently ambling work which features Jackson's country-fingerpicking guitar accompanying Nico's wistful voice. The song comes off introspective and full of regrets—certainly not what the casual observer would associate with Andy Warhol's superficiality-embracing aesthetic. But who needs "15-minutes of fame" when Nico's voice in These Days leaves so much to be emotionally discovered in both young and old age?
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Image credit & copyright: Getty Images
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FREECartooning Song CurioFree2 CQ
Here's a tune that even beagles can get down to! You've almost certainly heard Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy before, even if you don't know it off the top of your head. Linus and Lucy pianist Vince Guaraldi, born on June 17, 1928, originally composed the song in 1963 for use in a documentary about the Peanuts characters and their creator, Charles M. Schulz. The documentary never aired, but the upbeat jazz piece found new life two years later when it became an anthem for the 1965 animated special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. The swingin', lively, childlike sound became Guaraldi's most well-known work. This tune even made it into space! In 2008, it served as the wake-up alarm music for the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor's STS-123 mission. Because nothing says "get up and go" like that groovy, repeating ostinato figure in the bass line!
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Image credit & copyright: Peanuts Worldwide LLC
Here's a tune that even beagles can get down to! You've almost certainly heard Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy before, even if you don't know it off the top of your head. Linus and Lucy pianist Vince Guaraldi, born on June 17, 1928, originally composed the song in 1963 for use in a documentary about the Peanuts characters and their creator, Charles M. Schulz. The documentary never aired, but the upbeat jazz piece found new life two years later when it became an anthem for the 1965 animated special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. The swingin', lively, childlike sound became Guaraldi's most well-known work. This tune even made it into space! In 2008, it served as the wake-up alarm music for the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor's STS-123 mission. Because nothing says "get up and go" like that groovy, repeating ostinato figure in the bass line!
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Image credit & copyright: Peanuts Worldwide LLC
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
"Hello, hello, hello, how low?" That hypnotic phrase was first heard in 1991 when Smells Like Teen Spirit was released as a single off of Nirvana's Nevermind album. Kurt Cobain had a few punk rock sources of inspiration to draw from while writing the song. A rowdy night hanging out with Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hannah ended with her scrawling "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit" on his bedroom wall, in reference to the deodorant his girlfriend wore. Cobain liked the phrase so much, he penned it into "the ultimate pop song" mixed with the loud-quiet-loud sonic dynamics of his favorite band the Pixies. The rest of the lyrics were inspired by Kurt's adolescence in Aberdeen, Washington, his anti-establishment punk ethics, and his penchant for surreal poetry. When combined with the visuals of the high school concert-turned-riot music video, Nirvana had a massive hit on their hands, which would come to define the raw-sounding Seattle grunge scene and obscure the hair metal hype of the late '80s. Since its release, Smells Like Teen Spirit has helped Nirvana sell over 10 million copies of Nevermind, and is often hailed as one of the best rock songs ever recorded. "Entertain us," they did!
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Image credit & copyright: Universal Music Group
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
"Hello, hello, hello, how low?" That hypnotic phrase was first heard in 1991 when Smells Like Teen Spirit was released as a single off of Nirvana's Nevermind album. Kurt Cobain had a few punk rock sources of inspiration to draw from while writing the song. A rowdy night hanging out with Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hannah ended with her scrawling "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit" on his bedroom wall, in reference to the deodorant his girlfriend wore. Cobain liked the phrase so much, he penned it into "the ultimate pop song" mixed with the loud-quiet-loud sonic dynamics of his favorite band the Pixies. The rest of the lyrics were inspired by Kurt's adolescence in Aberdeen, Washington, his anti-establishment punk ethics, and his penchant for surreal poetry. When combined with the visuals of the high school concert-turned-riot music video, Nirvana had a massive hit on their hands, which would come to define the raw-sounding Seattle grunge scene and obscure the hair metal hype of the late '80s. Since its release, Smells Like Teen Spirit has helped Nirvana sell over 10 million copies of Nevermind, and is often hailed as one of the best rock songs ever recorded. "Entertain us," they did!
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Image credit & copyright: Universal Music Group
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
As one of the gods of British alternative rock, PJ Harvey is no stranger to dissonance. This past month, the artist released six new tunes for The Virtues' soundtrack, including The Crowded Cell. The ominous march is propelled by Harvey's sharp and guttural guitar riffs, as well as her powerful lyrics about capital punishment. The violent themes parallel those of The Virtues, a BBC drama written by Shane Meadows about repressed memories, betrayal, and vengeance. It's not all bad though: Harvey's unflinching perspective in folk songs like Crowded Cell sheds light on Britain's imperialist history and human rights violations. Okay, so maybe that's not the cheery allure many were looking for, but Harvey's recent forays into scoring—such as an All About Eve production—are also proving to be compelling as any of Harvey's other ventures in an illustrious 30-year career. Indeed, for those of us that can handle the truth, Harvey's honesty and drive continue to provide us with beautifully haunting and challenging music.
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Image credit & copyright: Seamus Murphy / Nasty Little Man
As one of the gods of British alternative rock, PJ Harvey is no stranger to dissonance. This past month, the artist released six new tunes for The Virtues' soundtrack, including The Crowded Cell. The ominous march is propelled by Harvey's sharp and guttural guitar riffs, as well as her powerful lyrics about capital punishment. The violent themes parallel those of The Virtues, a BBC drama written by Shane Meadows about repressed memories, betrayal, and vengeance. It's not all bad though: Harvey's unflinching perspective in folk songs like Crowded Cell sheds light on Britain's imperialist history and human rights violations. Okay, so maybe that's not the cheery allure many were looking for, but Harvey's recent forays into scoring—such as an All About Eve production—are also proving to be compelling as any of Harvey's other ventures in an illustrious 30-year career. Indeed, for those of us that can handle the truth, Harvey's honesty and drive continue to provide us with beautifully haunting and challenging music.
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Image credit & copyright: Seamus Murphy / Nasty Little Man
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
A bow-wow-wow, yippie-yo yippie-yay-shout out to Doggystyle's, the debut album by rapper Snoop Dogg. Back in the early '90s, Snoop was a smooth-voiced protégé of Dr. Dre and a debut artist on Death Row Records—a label soon to be known as the epicenter of West Coast rap. Snoop's debut single Who Am I? (What's My Name) took the hedonistic atmosphere of his recording sessions onto the radio airwaves, while Dre's production team gave it the rhythmic g-funk backbone that would come to define the West Coast rap sound. With g-funk, Dre and crew layered cheap keyboard sounds and drum machine tracks atop samples of Parliament-Funkadelic songs. In the case of Who Am I?, the catchy chants and choruses come from George Clinton's appropriately canine-themed Atomic Dog. On the success of What's My Name?, Doggystyle debuted at #1, selling 80,000 copies in its first week. These days, Snoop Dogg is known as Martha Stewart's co-chef and the person who's popularized words with "-izzle" at the end, but in 1993, The Doggfather proved he was one of the biggest stars of gangsta rap.
Explicit content warning: this video contains strong images and language.
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Image credit & copyright: Death Row Records / Interscope / Atlantic Records
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
A bow-wow-wow, yippie-yo yippie-yay-shout out to Doggystyle's, the debut album by rapper Snoop Dogg. Back in the early '90s, Snoop was a smooth-voiced protégé of Dr. Dre and a debut artist on Death Row Records—a label soon to be known as the epicenter of West Coast rap. Snoop's debut single Who Am I? (What's My Name) took the hedonistic atmosphere of his recording sessions onto the radio airwaves, while Dre's production team gave it the rhythmic g-funk backbone that would come to define the West Coast rap sound. With g-funk, Dre and crew layered cheap keyboard sounds and drum machine tracks atop samples of Parliament-Funkadelic songs. In the case of Who Am I?, the catchy chants and choruses come from George Clinton's appropriately canine-themed Atomic Dog. On the success of What's My Name?, Doggystyle debuted at #1, selling 80,000 copies in its first week. These days, Snoop Dogg is known as Martha Stewart's co-chef and the person who's popularized words with "-izzle" at the end, but in 1993, The Doggfather proved he was one of the biggest stars of gangsta rap.
Explicit content warning: this video contains strong images and language.
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Image credit & copyright: Death Row Records / Interscope / Atlantic Records
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FREEUS History Song CurioFree2 CQ
One of our country's most patriotic songs, America the Beautiful, also comes from one of its earliest women scholars, Katharine Lee Bates. The Wellesian English professor found her poetic inspiration in an invitation to Colorado. In 1893, after spending her summer lecturing on Chaucer in Colorado Springs, Bates took a trip to Pike's Peak to take in some nature and improve her mood. On the wagon ride down, she caught sight of the huge Rocky mountain range and richly-colored evergreens, among other natural wonders. "All the wonder of America seemed displayed there," Bates later wrote. Her subsequent poem "America" was first published on July 4, 1895, in The Congregationalist. It was originally sung to a number of traditional pieces of music like Auld Lang Syne before finding its permanent home alongside Samuel Augustus Ward's Materna, written in 1882. However, our favorite version takes the meeting of the minds even further with one of the 20th century's greatest soul singers, Ray Charles. Now that's a performance we could blast from sea to shining sea!
Below: a view of Pikes Peak in Colorado, the inspiration for America the Beautiful, and Ray Charles' take on the patriotic tune.
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Image credit & copyright: Cape Cod Wave, Springs Media
One of our country's most patriotic songs, America the Beautiful, also comes from one of its earliest women scholars, Katharine Lee Bates. The Wellesian English professor found her poetic inspiration in an invitation to Colorado. In 1893, after spending her summer lecturing on Chaucer in Colorado Springs, Bates took a trip to Pike's Peak to take in some nature and improve her mood. On the wagon ride down, she caught sight of the huge Rocky mountain range and richly-colored evergreens, among other natural wonders. "All the wonder of America seemed displayed there," Bates later wrote. Her subsequent poem "America" was first published on July 4, 1895, in The Congregationalist. It was originally sung to a number of traditional pieces of music like Auld Lang Syne before finding its permanent home alongside Samuel Augustus Ward's Materna, written in 1882. However, our favorite version takes the meeting of the minds even further with one of the 20th century's greatest soul singers, Ray Charles. Now that's a performance we could blast from sea to shining sea!
Below: a view of Pikes Peak in Colorado, the inspiration for America the Beautiful, and Ray Charles' take on the patriotic tune.
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Image credit & copyright: Cape Cod Wave, Springs Media
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FREEGuitar Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Put on your sunscreen and get the boogie boards, because there's a new kind of surf guitar in town. Ledward Kaapana is one of Hawaii's foremost slack key guitarists, and a rascal of a performer. Slack key guitar has its origins in the 19th century when Mexican cowboys arrived in Hawaii to help wrangle cattle; they brought their guitars with them and local Hawaiians began to tune the instruments to favor their cultural music. Slack key playing was passed down as oral traditions between generations, and Led's musical upbringing continued that path. While growing up in Kalapana, he learned to play guitar by taking his turn as the music maker at days-long backyard parties, and by listening to and imitating his mother and uncle. Since then, Led's impressive work has led (no pun intended) him to work with artists like Chet Atkins, Alison Krauss, and Dolly Parton, and earned him two Grammys. When he's not touring the world, Led never forgets where he came from, playing weekly free shows at local venues and jamming the night away in his backyard with family and friends. On songs like Whee Ha Swing, you can hear the joy, silliness, and aloha spirit Led brings to every performance.
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Image credit & copyright: Dusty Foster
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Put on your sunscreen and get the boogie boards, because there's a new kind of surf guitar in town. Ledward Kaapana is one of Hawaii's foremost slack key guitarists, and a rascal of a performer. Slack key guitar has its origins in the 19th century when Mexican cowboys arrived in Hawaii to help wrangle cattle; they brought their guitars with them and local Hawaiians began to tune the instruments to favor their cultural music. Slack key playing was passed down as oral traditions between generations, and Led's musical upbringing continued that path. While growing up in Kalapana, he learned to play guitar by taking his turn as the music maker at days-long backyard parties, and by listening to and imitating his mother and uncle. Since then, Led's impressive work has led (no pun intended) him to work with artists like Chet Atkins, Alison Krauss, and Dolly Parton, and earned him two Grammys. When he's not touring the world, Led never forgets where he came from, playing weekly free shows at local venues and jamming the night away in his backyard with family and friends. On songs like Whee Ha Swing, you can hear the joy, silliness, and aloha spirit Led brings to every performance.
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Image credit & copyright: Dusty Foster
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FREEDrums Song CurioFree2 CQ
Sometimes the greats are taken from us too soon—case in point, jazz drummer Lawrence Leathers, who was tragically killed this past month. A Juilliard graduate, Leathers was a staple of the New York jazz scene, appearing over 270 times in the Smalls Jazz Club show archive. According to his fellow musicians, Lawrence was easy going on and off stage. "He was always aware of everyone and everything around him," pianist Aaron Diehl once said, "with the objective to be supportive, to groove, and to simply lift the bandstand with euphoria." Lawrence's groove is particularly evident in the Grammy-winning recording of Devil May Care by Cécile McLorin Salvant. The singer and her band had played a week of uneven sets before Lawrence confronted his bandmates backstage before the recorded set, telling them now, now was their time shine. And shine they did, with Diehl and Lawrence improvising a mischievous opening until hitting the chorus. From there, Lawrence swings on the backbeat like the jazz drumming legends he looked up to and is likely to become for future generations of musicians.
Below: a video of Lawrence Leathers riffing on jazz drumming, Cécile McLorin Salvant's Devil May Care with Leathers on drums.
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Image credit & copyright: Dave Kaufman
Sometimes the greats are taken from us too soon—case in point, jazz drummer Lawrence Leathers, who was tragically killed this past month. A Juilliard graduate, Leathers was a staple of the New York jazz scene, appearing over 270 times in the Smalls Jazz Club show archive. According to his fellow musicians, Lawrence was easy going on and off stage. "He was always aware of everyone and everything around him," pianist Aaron Diehl once said, "with the objective to be supportive, to groove, and to simply lift the bandstand with euphoria." Lawrence's groove is particularly evident in the Grammy-winning recording of Devil May Care by Cécile McLorin Salvant. The singer and her band had played a week of uneven sets before Lawrence confronted his bandmates backstage before the recorded set, telling them now, now was their time shine. And shine they did, with Diehl and Lawrence improvising a mischievous opening until hitting the chorus. From there, Lawrence swings on the backbeat like the jazz drumming legends he looked up to and is likely to become for future generations of musicians.
Below: a video of Lawrence Leathers riffing on jazz drumming, Cécile McLorin Salvant's Devil May Care with Leathers on drums.
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Image credit & copyright: Dave Kaufman
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Lil Nas X's trippy Old Town Road remix may have topped the Billboard charts for five weeks this past month, but he hardly took the easy route to get there. Arguably the best hustle in the music biz this year, Lil Nas X's (Montero Lamar Hill) chart-topper tune began with a $30 beat purchased from Dutch producer YoungKio. The sparse sample taken from Nine Inch Nails' 34 Ghosts IV became the inspiration for "hick-hop" country-trap lyrics, a two-minute song uploaded on SoundCloud, and countless memes Hill would circulate on Reddit and other websites. As the tune climbed the Billboard country charts, it was swiftly taken down for "not [embracing] enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version." Enter Billy Ray Cyrus, who pushed through the racist undertones of Old Town Road criticisms and lent his undeniable country pipes to the tune's remix. Coming from nothing to sit atop the pop charts is an event worthy of a celebration—not unlike the line dancing party at the bingo hall in the Old Town Road video!
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Image credit & copyright: Sony Music Entertainment
Lil Nas X's trippy Old Town Road remix may have topped the Billboard charts for five weeks this past month, but he hardly took the easy route to get there. Arguably the best hustle in the music biz this year, Lil Nas X's (Montero Lamar Hill) chart-topper tune began with a $30 beat purchased from Dutch producer YoungKio. The sparse sample taken from Nine Inch Nails' 34 Ghosts IV became the inspiration for "hick-hop" country-trap lyrics, a two-minute song uploaded on SoundCloud, and countless memes Hill would circulate on Reddit and other websites. As the tune climbed the Billboard country charts, it was swiftly taken down for "not [embracing] enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version." Enter Billy Ray Cyrus, who pushed through the racist undertones of Old Town Road criticisms and lent his undeniable country pipes to the tune's remix. Coming from nothing to sit atop the pop charts is an event worthy of a celebration—not unlike the line dancing party at the bingo hall in the Old Town Road video!
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Image credit & copyright: Sony Music Entertainment
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Pass the tanning butter! While writing the first B-52s' album in 1979, singer and architect of the infamous Rock Lobster Fred Schneider visited a dance club in Atlanta, Georgia, called 2001. Instead of disco balls and light-up floors creating the mood, they had a simple wall projector with pictures of puppies, babies, and lobsters on a grill. Schneider was inspired by the oddness and brought the "Rock Lobster" title back to the B-52s as part of a jam session. The band added surf music riffs and fish noises to Schneider's spoken words—even including dissonant shrieks as an homage to Yoko Ono (who would join them performing the song live in 2012)—and the first B-52s party song was born. The tune spent eight weeks on the Billboard charts, and garnered the band instant international success. Not bad for a song about a bit of nautical nonsense!
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Image credit & copyright: The B-52's
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Pass the tanning butter! While writing the first B-52s' album in 1979, singer and architect of the infamous Rock Lobster Fred Schneider visited a dance club in Atlanta, Georgia, called 2001. Instead of disco balls and light-up floors creating the mood, they had a simple wall projector with pictures of puppies, babies, and lobsters on a grill. Schneider was inspired by the oddness and brought the "Rock Lobster" title back to the B-52s as part of a jam session. The band added surf music riffs and fish noises to Schneider's spoken words—even including dissonant shrieks as an homage to Yoko Ono (who would join them performing the song live in 2012)—and the first B-52s party song was born. The tune spent eight weeks on the Billboard charts, and garnered the band instant international success. Not bad for a song about a bit of nautical nonsense!
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Image credit & copyright: The B-52's