The SATs.

I struggled with the analogy section on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). You viewed a pair of words, and then you were asked to choose from five other pairs of words which relationship most closely resembled that of the first pair.   For example, “Paltry is to significance as _______ is to _________.” where the blanks are the two words in one of the answer choices.

PALTRY : SIGNIFICANCE

A. redundant : discussion

B. austere : landscape

C. opulent : wealth

D. oblique : familiarity

E. banal : originality

For those scoring at home, the correct answer is E.  Now in light of the recent death of Prince, and listening to his music, I am left thinking about a musical analogy.  SouthSide Johnny & the Asbury Jukes is to Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band as Morris Day and The Time is to Prince.  The sound (a mix of soul & rock n roll), home cities (Minneapolis, MN & Asbury Park, NJ respectively) and of course multiple collaborations (live and in the studio).  I do not think these are examples of emulation or that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  To say the least, the music left behind by Prince and the catalog of songs that continue to live with Springsteen are on another level.  However, I believe that there can be a time and place in which music can do something more than overlap. 

There has always been talk of there being a “Seattle sound” (aka grunge music) which revolved around Seattle's independent record label Sub Pop, but if you look at the different bands of that 1990s era, they do not embody the same analogy. I do not believe that Nirvana's “Nevermind”, Pearl Jam's “Ten”, Soundgarden's “Badmotorfinger” or Alice in Chains' “Dirt” fit together like Bruce Springsteen does on the Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes 1991 album, “Better Days” or even the Prince produced Morris Day and The Time’s 1981 album “The Time”. 

When I listen to the song, “Cool” and close my eyes, I feel that I could be listening to Prince.  I am now unable to listen to Sinead O’Connor’s version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” without thinking of the Prince (with Rosie Gaines) version that was eventually released.  Then there is the seamlessness of Springsteen & SouthSide John Lyon’s voices on “It’s Been a Long Time”  and knowing that they each happily know the next line coming in the song.  Or that it will never be too long before they both grace the stage at the legendary Stone Pony.

I will never know why Morris Day and John Lyon did not reach the same heights as their musical counterparts, but in light of their being so many tribute bands around these days, it is nice to know that the music will live on.  And of course to bring it full circle, Bruce Springsteen opened his recent performance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn with Prince’s epic song, “Purple Rain”.  RIP – Prince Rogers Nelson. 

           

Thanks for reading.

Putting the band back together.

"The Only Living Boy inNew York", a song that I have grown to love from the soundtrack of “Garden State”, was Paul Simon's not-so-veiled breakup song with Art Garfunkel. "Tom, get your plane ride on time; I know your part will go fine" specifically referencing Garfunkel (their original group name was Tom and Jerry) taking off for a movie role, leaving Simon to work on material for ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by himself.   Some music critics believe this incident is what caused their musical separation.  Unfortunately, money can also contribute to the reasons bands break up.   But there are also the clichés, like “creative differences” or “clashing personalities” that contribute to a band's demise.  And for some artists, after years of not being in a band, finding satisfaction in reuniting can be easier for some and not others. 

I had a reunion with my friends in late February in Washington DC and music (as usual) was a constant topic of conversation.   Discussions began on bands from our college days like The Empty’s or G. Love & Special Sauce, then shifted to new music.  My friends and I are always trying to one-up each other (possibly to prove that we are still in the know) and bands like the Allah Las (Los Angeles, CA band channeling The Doors) or Twin Peaks (Chicago, IL band channeling the Rolling Stones) came up in conversation (well done Jason F.).  These new artists are hopefully years away from a reunion tour, but an article from PerfectSoundForever reads, “for as long as there have been musical eras that inevitably expire, there have been band reunions”.  So while we continued to banter about old and new music, I started thinking about which defunct bands, I would pay to see on a reunion tour.

Unlike many rock bands from the 1970s who have a constantly changing roster of musicians, Led Zeppelin has only ever had four members: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones. When drummer Bonham died in 1980 the remaining members decided to break up.  However, in 2007, Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham’s son Jason came together for a one-off charity show at London’s O2 Arena. More recently, Guns N' Roses has confirmed an upcoming reunion tour with members of the band's classic lineup Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan.  The party kicked off at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA this past Friday but to quote Art Tavana of the LA WEEKLY, it is too early to tell how long this “chapter will last”.  

Do the bands need to worry that these reunions will only represent a shell of what the band once was?  Many music critics have still not forgiven the Pixies for EP1-EP3 or the Outkast reunion tour in which Andre 3000 admitted to "peddling" songs in his 30s that he originally recorded as a teenager.  I know not all reunion shows can be as successful as “Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead" at Chicago's Soldier Field this past July 2015, so it is definitely challenging to remain positive. 

I would also be remiss if I did not mention the fact that the Replacements could not keep it together long enough on their “reunion tour” for the Pittsburgh date this past May 2015.   Now I just need to decide if I want to see Living Colour at Altar Bar on Wednesday, April 13 or be content to know that nothing will top their Ritz Theatre sets from the late 1980s.

Thanks for reading.