Golden Nuggets #5: Elvis Presley- Suspicious Minds

Welcome to Golden Nuggets, where I take a look at the American listening habits of yesteryear by taking a listen to the number #1 song on the Billboard charts that week or weeks from 50 years ago. In this fifth installment, we'll be taking a listen to 'Suspicious Minds', as performed by Elvis Presley. Now, normally, I would give a brief summary of the artist in question, but I don't really think anyone needs an introduction to Elvis, so let's just cut to the analysis. Take a listen to the song here.

To get a picture of my opinion, I believe it was a Quentin Tarantino film that said you're either an Elvis or Beatles fan. Though I feel like a more accurate comparison is Beatles or Stones, for the sake of argument, let's use the original two. I fall squarely into the Beatles camp. I can see his role in the popularization of rock and roll to more mainstream (aka whiter) audiences, and a lot of 60s and 70s rock acts that I enjoy speak highly of Elvis, but his music is not really for me. I think it comes down to his exaggerated vocal delivery. With that being said, this song is pretty good. Catchy melody, solid topic, and much better production and arrangement than the Mark James original. His vocal delivery does kind of get in the way for me, but I can see why this song was partially responsible for his comeback into the charts in the late 60s. For my money though, the best version is the Dee Dee Warwick version. The horn section is a little overpowering at points, but her soulful delivery and the lively arrangement brings the song to a whole new level. 

This song was only number one for the week of November 1st, 1969 (sorry, I know I got this post in a little late), and really rejuvenated Elvis' career, and this song has led to many other successful cover versions. Maybe it would be fun to kill an afternoon scouring the internet looking for the wildest rendition of 'Suspicious Minds'. As for me, I'm off to do some more research on our next Golden Nugget, 'Wedding Bell Blues', by the 5th Dimension.

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Golden Nuggets #4: The Temptations- I Can't Get Next to You

Welcome to the fourth installment of the Golden Nuggets series. For those new to the series, I look back on the #1 song on the Billboard charts from 50 years ago, in a way to discover what was the most popular song to the American consciousness at that time and see how radically things have changed. For this edition, we're taking a look at 'I Can't Get Next To You' by the Temptations, which reigned as #1 during the weeks of October the 18th and 25th, 1969. Before we proceed, let's get acquainted with the song.

Now, the name the Temptations is not foreign to me, but a lot of their music is. Them being from the Motown crop of artists makes this fact even more surprising, Motown really was an unstoppable hit machine in the sixties, and the Temptations helped contribute to that success, though they were also quite different. In my research, I learned that this group (along with Sly and the Family Stone in my opinion) pioneered the idea of psychedelic soul music, which in time would give way to funk. It's very easy to see how funk could come from a group that produced 'I Can't Get Next to You', with its very rhythmic guitar playing and insistent groove. It sounds like something you'd hear a little later on a Parliament or Stevie Wonder record.

I also find it interesting that this was put out on Motown. Motown was hardly known for innovating, as it was more focused on songwriting by committee and pumping out hits. It must have been a struggle for the group and its producer/writer team Barrett/Strong to wrest so much creative control from the label to put out some more experimental material. The album this single was cut from, Puzzle People, as well as its follow up, Psychedelic Shack, sound nothing like the sound Motown had become so famous for, the latter record most of all. On the record, there was some decidedly political songs, namely 'War', made most famous by the Edwin Starr cover, which Berry Gordy would have disliked because its message would have cut into sales by alienating more conservative buyers. The fight to get Marvin Gaye's What's Going On is pretty much legend at this point, and I assume it must have been difficult for them as well, though not being related through marriage probably helped, since Marvin Gaye being Gordy's brother in law may have strained that relationship.

It's a little hard for me to get a lot out of 'I Can't Get Next To You'. I can respect it for the groundwork it laid towards the advent of funk and more experimental R&B and soul music, but it's hard for my ears, that have absorbed so much Parliament/Funkadelic, Stevie Wonder, Rick James etc., to appreciate the genre at its most primordial, which is something I find difficult with many genres (though I don't really experience this problem with Sly and the Family Stone). When you've heard something like Biggie or Wu-Tang, something like Sugarhill Gang can seem a little, well, basic and rudimentary. It doesn't make that group bad, but the sound has progressed so far since that initial inception point, and it's a little harder to get into without some added context. Maybe a hot take, but just my opinion. I respect it a lot more than I enjoy it, but to the 1969 music listening public, it was cutting edge.

So, that's pretty much the extent of my opinion on 'I Can't Get Next to You' by the Temptations. Next time, I'll be taking a look at Elvis Presley's one week return to #1 with 'Suspicious Minds'.



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Golden Nuggets #3: The Archies- Sugar, Sugar

Welcome to the third entry in Golden Nuggets, a series in which I research, describe and review the #1 song on the Billboard charts from 50 years ago. I find it interesting to see where pop music was half a century ago. For this entry, we're taking a look at a song that for 4 weeks dominated the charts in the fall of 1969, 'Sugar, Sugar' by the Archies, arguably the first virtual band. Gorillaz fans, eat you hearts out.

The Archies were assembled to be a fictional band for The Archie Show, based on the characters from Archie comics. People from my generation and later may be familiar with these characters through their progressively more ridiculous CW show and through Sabrina the Teenage Witch and its reboot to some extent (Sabrina was in some of Archies content). I'm going to digress a bit to rag on the new CW show a bit. At first it was harmless enough, like a dumber CW Twin Peaks, but then much like that show it started going waaaay off the rails. During the third season, I feel like David Lynch himself would've tapped out due to excessive weirdness and lack of any sort of grounded reality or narrative structure. Where was I? Oh, yeah, the Archies.

 The "band" consisted of mostly session musicians assembled by Monkees manager Don Kirshner, with Ron Dante and Toni Wine handling the majority of the male and female vocal duties, respectively. The group released singles and albums from 1968 to about 1973, with some moderate success outside of 'Sugar, Sugar'. Their follow up, 'Jingle Jangle', scraped into the top ten in the same year, and it makes me laugh, because if you've seen the new show, Jingle Jangle is the name the creators concocted for their universe's street drug. A nice call back.

Now that we've got the history out of the way, let's talk about the song. You can listen to the song here. I made sure to pick the animated video complete with intro, because it deserves to be seen in all its '60s cheese. 'Sugar, Sugar' is pretty much the perfect example of 1960's bubblegum pop. It definitely sounds like something the Monkees would have released, which is probably way there's a pretty persistent rumor that songwriters Jeff Barry and Andy Kim originally offered the song to them, though they deny this. It's pretty fun and bouncy, and harmless enough. It also has quite a lasting reputation. I remember it being used in a Simpsons episode, which has become a meme all its own called Sugarposting, as well as a sample in this monstrosity which my girlfriend introduced me to, which is simultaneously the best and worst thing ever. Needless to say, people remember the song.

So, what do I think of it? I like the song fine. I feel like I'd like it a lot more if I had more of a nostalgic connection to it, like early Beatles songs or the Monkees or something like that. It's definitely catchy as all hell, so sorry in advance if I ruined the next couple of days for you by getting it stuck in your head. I also find it interesting that with all the parallels between the late '60s and today politically, the listening public back then still had the stomach for something so sweet. Pop music is considered upbeat today if it doesn't have a reference to depression of substance abuse on it. It's really interesting to see how times have changed.

I'll be back soon with another entry of Golden Nuggets. Next time, I'll be covering 'I Can't Get Next to You' by the Temptations. In the meantime, I'm sending out an open call: I want to hear your music! I haven't really been keeping up to date on new music, so I thought I might try my hand at reviewing submissions. If you send me a link to your stuff to dedwax13@gmail.com I'll take a listen and give you some constructive feedback. Who am I to review your music? Just a music fan, nobody special, but hey, at least it'll get out to more ears. Until next time.




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Golden Nuggets #2: The Rolling Stones- Honky Tonk Women

In this edition of Golden Nuggets, a feature in which I spot light and critique the number one song the Billboard chart from fifty years ago, I will be taking a look at the Rolling Stones' deep dive into some low down southern rock on 'Honky Tonk Women'.

In the first episode, I covered Zager & Evans' one hit 'In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)', which led me into a lot of research to figure out who the band were, listen to the song for the first time,etc. That was not the case for our sophomore episode. Everybody knows the Rolling Stones, and 'Honky Tonk Women' is a pretty big song of theirs, at least in the parts I've called home (when they played the song in Heinz Stadium when I saw them, people were jumping and freaking out so much I could feel the concrete stadium risers physically shaking. A little scary to be honest. Good song though). Before venturing any further, if you somehow haven't heard this jam, let's get acquainted really quickly. So, what do I say about this song that hasn't been said before? Not much, but I can retread old ground.

For starters, this is the first song released by the band after the death of former guitarist and founder Brian Jones (it was released literally the day after he died, July 4th, 1969). Now, in days of digital releases, you'd probably push the release date back a bit, but the wheels were already turning too fast to stop the vinyl machine. Second, there's an alternate version that can be found on the album that followed the release of this single, Let it Bleed, aka one of the best Stones records they've ever released (I'm more of a Sticky Fingers #1 person so I won't go so far as to say it's their best, but it's up there), under the name 'Country Honk'. Allegedly, this much more country tinged version of the song was the version that was originally being worked on, and it sort of mutated into the cowbell laden, loose southern fried jam it became. Keith Richards attributed it to the arrival of Mick Taylor, though Taylor swears the song was pretty much already complete before he joined.

So, the song itself is a pretty loose, vaguely southern little ditty about a woman the narrator meets in a bar in Memphis (Jackson in 'Country Honk') who, most likely a prostitute, tries to get him upstairs for sex. The narrator seems to acquiesce to the demand, saying something along the lines of "maybe this will get this other woman out of my mind since the alcohol isn't working". I have already admitted to personally being a witness to people (especially women) freaking out when this song was played, 'Brown Eyed Girl' style, which when you pay attention to the lyrics is a little bizarre, but hey,the song bumps, whatever.

This song spent four weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard charts starting on August 23, 1969, and for additional week at number one in their native UK. However, the track has had a lot more lasting popularity than that, becoming a concert favorite and still making it into regular rotation in their setlists and various compilations. I enjoy the vibe of the song, and really enjoy the horn section near the middle of the track. The release of the song seems a little bit like the release of the 'Revolution' single by the Beatles a year earlier, with the more laid back version 'Revolution 1' landing on the album. Coincidence? Probably.

So, next time I'll be looking at 'Sugar, Sugar' by the Archies, which I've definitely heard, as well as seen the weird Archie comics animated video, but maybe with a little research, I can discover the band behind the cartoon.



"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Golden Nuggets #1: Zager & Evans- In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)

In this inaugural edition of Golden Nuggets, a feature in which I spot light and critique the number one song the Billboard chart from fifty years ago, I will be taking a look at this glimpse into the future by the group Zager & Evans.

To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of this group or song before, and its presence on the Billboard chart at number one for six (!) weeks during the summer of 1969 was actually the whole reason I had the idea to start this new series. What was this song? Who are Zager & Evans? How was this song top of the charts for over a month and yet I've never heard anything about it? I intend to answer some of those questions here, as well as add my critique to the song. So first, let's take a listen to the song to acquaint ourselves.

So, in my research, I have been able to ascertain that Zager & Evans were a duo from Lincoln, Nebraska who hold the distinction of being a one hit wonder who managed to have their hit become #1 in both the US and the UK without ever having another chart success. They released a few albums in their run between 1969 and 1971.  So, onto their hit single. 'In the Year 2525' is a bit of warning about humanity's reliance on technology. As the verses pile up, time advances in 1010 year increments, describing the downfall of humanity leading to its eventual extinction. Some of the references are quite prophetic (test tube babies and the like), and it gave me some Harlan Ellison/ Aldous Huxley vibes, as well as the last portion of Wall-E (except played dead serious).

It's hard to put myself into the shoes of a pop listener during the 1960s, but with this and other apocalyptic ditties such as 'Eve of Destruction', it's conceivable that people thought the world could end during their lifetime, with mutually assured nuclear holocaust ever looming (It's good to know we don't have to worry about anything of that magnitude in 2019, right? Just kidding). It's interesting that while this tale about the evils of technology and its potential to rob humanity of thought, the body's utility and eventually its existence was dominating the chart for 6 weeks, the Moon landing was taking place, with steps advancing towards the song's narrative (also fun facts: Woodstock and the Manson murders also occurred while this was on the charts. This song was essentially the song of the summer during one of the most turbulent times in American history).

Overall, I thought the song was interesting. The music was a little drab, with some overblown strings and not a incredibly memorable melody, but I think it was more the message and the story that got people to listen. It was kind of that science fiction that started to blur the line between fiction and inevitability. With people addicted to pills, thought policed by mainstream media, glued to their screen (which I am looking at as I write and which you are looking at as you read), and using genomics to select for certain traits for their test tube babies, it's interesting to see what the duo got right (and those poor bastards, they thought it would take thousands of years. Try 50).

So, where are they now? Denny Zager owns a custom guitar company, and Rick Evans, after retreating from the public eye, unfortunately passed away last year. Sorry if my first post of Golden Nuggets came off like a One Hit Wonderland episode minus the production value, humor and thorough research (seriously you should give that a watch), but Zager & Evans are kind of a perfect group to cover for that show ( get on it, Todd). I don't think I'll have that problem for my next post, as I cover one of the most successful groups of all time, the Rolling Stones.

So, what did you think of 'In the Year 2525'? Had you ever heard of the song, or of Zager & Evans? What did you think of their vision of the future to come? Let's get a conversation going. Or, we can take a break from the screens and use our bodies while they still work. Your choice.

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Albums in My Life: 2013

In 2013, I was in grad school, and during the summer, I worked as a kitchen employee at Penn State. I drove my girlfriend into town for her job in the morning, but my job didn't start until lunch time, so I had a lot of free time to walk around town or listen to music. During school, I also lived alone; my girlfriend was finishing up her degree at my undergraduate college about a half hour away. I visited every weekend, but the days of solitude really got me used to myself, and I filled time with a lot of music and hobbies, along with studying of course.



Childish Gambino- Because the Internet
It's interesting to see how radically the critical consensus has changed on Childish Gambino. This and his earlier work were panned pretty much across the board, but as soon as Awaken, My Love! came out, people were clamoring to reevaluate his previous records and make it seem like they loved his records all along. I was there, no you didn't. However, I actually enjoyed this record, and I felt like it was a pretty smart critique of internet culture as well as containing good songs and is definitely Donald Glover's most ambitious musical project. The lyrics were a little corny, but what critics failed to see was that was kind of the point. Donald Glover is far too self aware to think that those punch lines were genuinely good bars. C'mon guys.



My Bloody Valentine- mbv
My Bloody Valentine went 22 years without dropping an album and didn't miss a beat. This record almost reaches the sublime highs of Loveless while not repeating it outright. It maintains that woozy, fuzzy and dreamy atmosphere, but is definitely still its own thing. I'm really looking forward to see what Kevin Shields and company do next. There's supposed to be an EP coming out sometime soon, but with My Bloody Valentine, I think release dates are more general guidelines. However, to go 22 years without an album and somehow have a project live up to that amount of hype is astonishing.


of Montreal- lousy with sylvianbriar
This album is one of my three favorite of Montreal records, the other two being Cherry Peel and Hissing Fauna, are You the Destroyer? I find it hard to pick a favorite since the records are so radically different, and shows how versatile an artist Kevin Barnes is. This record sounds almost nothing like anything they've ever done before or since, being influenced by a lot of old folk and psych rock records, and it puts Kevin Barnes' incredibly personal and cryptic lyrics into an almost Dylanesque perspective. I also think it's one of the bands most consistent albums, with no low points or skippable tracks to be had. Even my other two favorites have at least one track that overstays its welcome.



Earl Sweatshirt- Doris
Earl's debut album is quite a bridge between the two different halves of his career. This links the hyper violent early work with the more depressive later work in a way that maintains his trademark lyricism and dense rhyming abilities. I played the hell out of this album when it first came out, and I still listen to tracks like 'Hive' a decent amount. This also gave him an opportunity to really show who he was as an artist, whereas on his Earl mixtape or on an Odd Future project he always kind of seemed like Tyler's boy genius secret weapon. While I do long to see them collaborate in the future, especially since their sounds have diverged so far, it was good to see him step out from his mentor's shadow and embrace his own sound.


Tyler, the Creator- Wolf
Like Doris, this really was a transitional record that bridged the gap in Tyler, the Creator's radically different early and more recent albums. Wolf is a lot more tonal, jazzy and melodic than his previous work, relying on a lot more influences of neo soul and 90s R&B, while still retaining some of the story elements that appeared on those albums, minus the horrorcore framing (for the most part). There are still hype beast tracks and songs looking to offend like tracks off Goblin, but you can see how Tyler was trying to stray away from that sound and slowly transition to the more accessible and critically successful fare that appeared on Flower Boy and IGOR.



So, that was 2013 for me, as well as the conclusion to the Albums in My Life series. As I previously stated, if you were curious as to my favorite albums from subsequent years, check out my year end top 10 lists.

I also hinted at a new feature on this blog in previous posts and here it is: I'm calling it Golden Nuggets. In the feature, I will give a little bit of background and share my opinion on the #1 song on the Billboard chart from fifty years ago (hence golden) that week (or period of weeks). It'll be interesting to see what songs were popular fifty years ago, as well as chart the changing music tastes and discover some songs I hadn't even possibly heard of since they've been lost to time. I hope you enjoy it.


"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Albums in My Life: 2012

2012 was a pretty big transitional year for me. I graduated from college, started grad school, worked my final year of summer camp, met my girlfriend's family, finally got around to getting my driver's license; the list goes on.

Fiona Apple- The Idler Wheel.....
The Idler Wheel... was the first Fiona Apple album I bought when it dropped. I had heard Extraordinary Machine a few months previously, and by some random coincidence, her new album was just about to drop. It's been about 7 years now, so it's almost time for the next album. I bought the composition notebook edition of the CD and played the album constantly that summer. I still return to 'Every Single Night' and the crazy counterpoint on 'Hot Knife'.
What I like about a Fiona Apple album is that even though they come out very sporadically, they have enough density to stand on their own until the next album comes out.


Frank Ocean- Channel Orange
As popular as Channel Orange was, you've got to admit it's a weird album. It's kind a pastiche of ideas loosely assembled into a somehow cohesive product. It's held together by Frank's singing and a general theme of rich kids with nothing to do but get high and make mistakes. Some of the little soundbytes in between tracks remind me of channels changing (maybe by the title, that's the point). It took me a while to come around to Blonde, and I outright rejected Endless, based on the previous greatness Frank already reached on this record.



Odd Future- The OF Tape Volume 2
This was probably Odd Future at the peak of their popularity, and the album also ushered in the return of Earl Sweatshirt from his Somalian exile on the posse cut, 'Oldie'. I think this album was a pretty good introduction to all the sub groups and artists within the Odd Future collective, though some get a little more shine than others. It's been very interesting to see where everyone's career has gone since the release of this record.





Panopticon- Kentucky
This probably the best example I would go to when describing an album with polar opposite influences. With this album, Austin Lunn expertly mixed atmospheric black metal with American bluegrass and folk music for an intriguing sound and concept revolving around a Kentucky coal miners' union strike. It's kind of baffling how well this works, but I guess if other folk metals exist, why not Americana metal? I don't think Austin got the ratio quite right again until his latest monstrous opus, The Scars of Man Upon the Once Nameless Wilderness, which was my number one album of 2018.



Swans- The Seer
This was the first album I ever heard by Swans, and I definitely came in at a interesting place in their discography. I had recently starting Pitchfork regularly, and made a habit of giving 'difficult' records a shot. A noisey, dark, arty post rock double album sounded right down my alley, and it was. I had never really anything like the bands incremental progressions and explosive peaks. The closest I had ever come was Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but Swans was so much more explosive, dark and hypnotic. This album not only opened up the door to Swans for me, but to more bands in this vein.




So, that was my musical 2012. In the next and final edition of Albums in My Life, I'll take a look at the records that really influenced me in 2013. After 2013, I figured you could just check out my year end top 10s if you were interested in my favorite albums from those years, since this blog started in 2014. See you next time.



"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."