Part of the reason for this mini "hiatus" is that, after sixteen months of searching, I have found some semblance of a job. Or two. One of them is at a front desk at a nearby hotel; the other, as a substitute teacher at my local school district. My experience there has mostly been as an aide for special education classes, but, having been to five of the district schools so far, including the high school and middle schools, I think I have a good cross section as to what school these days are all about, some four decades after the last time I set foot into one (excepting my 40th high school reunion weekend when, during the day, we actually toured my old high school).
Based on what I've observed for the last couple or so weeks, reports of eliminating music in public schools have been grossly exaggerated. At least in the elementary schools (where I have spent most of the time thus far), there are music classes and music rooms. And the music they are teaching?
Well, my first day was as an aide for a special education 3rd grade class. Although the curriculum that day didn't involve music, the room caddy corner from our classroom was probably filled with fourth or fifth graders. Across the hallway I could hear that class singing the following songs: "Eye of the Tiger", "YMCA", "I Will Survive", "I Feel the Earth Move" and a few others. With the exception of the latter, all came out after I graduated, but all of them are over thirty years old, yet they are still relevant to be sung (not to mention with our generation in general). While the music I learned in grade school wasn't quite as old compared to the time I was there, and the music was a bit more current, what we learned really wasn't pop-rock per se, but more "adult contemporary". I remember singing "Ballad of the Green Berets" (one of the top songs of 1966) in music class, along with some other folk-ish songs. I also remember singing "Sing a Rainbow" which at the time we all thought was uncool, only to have Mrs. Miller, our music teacher tell us that Andy Williams sings this. Of course back then, we didn't think Mr. Williams was cool; it was only later that we appreciated that kind of music as well as having tolerance for anything other than rock.
Which brings us to middle and high school. I wasn't near any of the music classes in those schools, thus it's hard to discern what kids are listening to (given the fact that most of them have their phones or iPods hooked up to their ear buds). But hip-hop does, indeed, seem to be the dominant genre being listened to as there were references to Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Kalifa, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. In fact, the latter was the subject of a song/rap parody that one of the special ed classes were going to put together to honor the anniversary of the school's principal. In fact, the only rock reference during my time there was seeing a kid with a Green Day shirt. It's apparent that hip-hop is the new "FM Rock" in the high schools these days.
Teaching techniques have changed drastically, of course and so does pop music. My most recent endeavor was as an aide for a second, third and fourth grade special education class, when the teachers were playing recent popular music during a day-ending exercise for the kids. And then there was the one class where one female student was singing "Hello" by Adele. Yes, things have changed. The one memory I do have of the radio being played when I was in elementary school was in January, 1968 when I was in sixth grade, working on a classroom exercise. Our teacher, Miss Halperin, let us listen to the radio, and during songs like "Different Drum", "Woman, Woman", "My Baby Must Be A Magician", and "Judy In Disguise" we were completing our assignment.
I guess you could say that music helps productivity. But, no matter what genre you listen to, it works. As for some districts removing music from its curriculum, they are doing a mass disservice to all of us.
AND THE WINNER IS...: The most recent Oscars, in direct contrast to the Grammys, for example, were much talked about if only because of the lack of diversity among the nominees in the major categories. From a musical standpoint, aside from Best Original Score, the most salient issue to music lovers would be Best Original Song. The five nominees were "Manta Ray" from Racing Extinction, "Simple Song #3" from Youth, "Til It Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground, "Writings on the Wall" from the James Bond movie Spectre, and "Earned It" from 50 Shades of Grey.
The latter three songs were performed on the telecast by major recording artists. Sam Smith co-wrote the Bond theme, the only song of the five to make my weekly chart, and he performed the song live. Although "Writings on the Wall" won the award, Smith's performance on the show was a bit uninspired and disappointing, especially compared to the other two performers. The Weeknd, who impressed at the recent Grammys, performed "Earned It", a top 3 Billboard song for him, and again, to me, was a pleasant surprise, and a singer I should explore further. And Lady Gaga picked up right where she left off at last year's telecast (when she sang a medley of Sound of Music songs, with a very moving performance of "Til It Happens to You". Given the disappointment of her Bowie tribute at the Grammys, perhaps doing ballads, torch songs, and standards--suitable for the best voices--is Gaga's strong suit. She has announced she will be making another album soon. I am curious what kind of music will be on it.
IDOL FAREWALL: Gaga wasn't the only singer bringing the audience to tears recently. As you may well know, American Idol is broadcasting their final season; the once-influential show, a shell of its former self, will retire after this, its fifteenth season. As a testament to its history, it is bringing back many of its winners for one encore performance. Such as was the case with original winner Kelly Clarkson. Clarkson performed the title track from her most recent album Piece by Piece. The song was very emotional, and brought tears to the eyes of the audience and even the judges, most notably Keith Urban. Clarkson herself broke down in tears and struggle to finish the song, but received a standing ovation.
I was actually a bit disappointed in Clarkson's album, released early in 2015. I had added two singles, "Heartbreak Song" which peaked at #31 on SNS, and "Invincible", which only got to #75 on my list. "Piece By Piece" enters my list this week at #91. The original version on the album has instrumental trappings, as opposed to the version that she sang on Idol, as well as on Ellen Degeneres' show. Kelly has recorded a new version with just the vocal and piano accompaniment, as per her recent performances. The video link on my chart is for the original album version; I may replace with the new version (which has been added to the remixed version of the album recently) in subsequent weeks. Given Adele's success, that could be the version that gets radio airplay. I may also download the new version and play it in tandem with the original album track.
MORE PASSINGS: With the almost two-week gap between my last blog, we continue to lose long-time musicians and those who played a major role in the industry. First up, there was Gayle McCormick. While she was far from a household name, her late 1960's band, Smith, had a big hit, a cover of The Shirelles' "Baby It's You", on the Dunhill label. It was their only hit, but she, along with Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin of Big Brother & the Holding Company, held up the banner for women fronting rock bands, which became more commonplace in recent decades. McCormick had a minor solo hit two years later, with "It's A Crying Shame".
And just today, I found out that Keith Emerson, keyboardist of the noted 1970's prog-rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, passed away at the age of 71. ELP was one of my favorite bands during high school, and songs like "Lucky Man", "From the Beginning", and "Karn Evil 9" were constants on my turntable during that era. ELP did continue into the 1980's, and Emerson was involved in offshoot groups like "3" (which matched Emerson and Carl Palmer with Robert Berry), and Emerson, Lake & Powell (with Cozy Powell of 1970's "Dance with the Devil" fame, as well as with Greg Lake). There was also the supergroup The Best, with members of The Who, Doobie Brothers and The Eagles in the early 1990's. He also had the Keith Emerson Band, and, at the onset of his career, a band named The Nice.
And finally earlier this week, we lost Sir George Martin, arguably the greatest producer of all time, simply because he was the mastermind behind the greatest band of all time, The Beatles. He signed the Fab Four when nobody else did, and was able to bring out the best in them. As the Beatles evolved through the 1960's, Martin evolved with them, as he was the guiding hand, and in many ways, led the band to become the geniuses that they indeed were. He was more than up to the task to produce material like Sgt. Pepper (especially the track "A Day In the Life") and other innovations that John, Paul, George and Ringo introduced to pop and rock music. He produced just about all of the Beatles' recordings, save for Let It Be and now he joins George Harrison and John Lennon in rock and roll heaven.
Martin produced other artists as well, including America (several albums, as well as their #1 song "Sister Golden Hair") and even an album by Cheap Trick, a band which were definitely influenced by The Beatles. He has also worked with the likes of Elton John, Celine Dion, Neil Sedaka, and countless others. He was a legend and the music industry won't be the same without him.
CURRENT BRIEFS: Elle King's "Under the Influence" wrestles the top spot away on my SNS 100 away from Coldplay's "Adventure of a Lifetime", which held my top spot for four weeks. Not far behind are Foals' "Give It All", and Adele's "When We Were Young"; both have a shot at the top spot in a week or so. The only new entry into the top 20 is Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats' Southside Johnny-inspired "Look It Here".
Aside from Clarkson, other key debuts include "My Mistake" by Smash Palace, their follow-up to the top five "Haddontown". Once again, they display their retro 1970's rock sound, mixing vintage bluesy rock, with perhaps a hint of early David Bowie thrown in for good measure. I'll try to devote a future blog to the unusual journey of this South Jersey band who was on the verge of stardom in the mid 1980's. This one is a winner. It's the top debut at #75.
That is followed by the long-awaited (at least by me) single by jazz-blues Brit singer Corinne Bailey Rae, "Been to the Moon". It's from her first album in six years, The Heart Speaks in Whispers. Her last album The Sea came out in 2010 and featured "The Blackest Lily", one of my earliest blog songs, which made my top 10. Last year, in an effort to find more material by her, I culled her cover of the Paul McCartney classic, "Bluebird" from a Macca tribute album. That song also made my top 10. "Been to the Moon" highlights her classic style, probably even more so than past efforts. It'll be interesting to see how her new album performs after such a layoff. Her first two efforts made the top 10 on Billboard's album chart.
Finally, Gwen Stefani's follow up to her top 10 "Used to Love You", allegedly about her ex, Gavin Rossdale, is "Make Me Like You", which is about her current love Blake Shelton. The video had premiered during the Super Bowl. James Bay, in the running for Best New Artist in the most recent Grammys, rounds out the debuts with "Let It Go".
RESILIENCE: Finally there are the songs the refuse to let go of the charts: "6 AM" by Fitz & the Tantrums celebrating week number 70 on my chart, heads the list of course, but there are other stubborn songs that are hanging on. "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran, there for the same reason, is running on week 48. But then there's Alabama Shakes' "Gimme All You Love" at week 41, and Elle King's "Ex's and Oh's" on week 38. Also, the Arcs, Matt Weiss, and Leon Bridges are also slow to leave. A great song is a great song, and having on my active playlist, is like hanging onto an old friend.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
February 28 / March 6, 2016
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 2 | NUMBER ONE:
"Under the
Influence"
Album: Love Stuff
|
8 |
| 2 | 1 | Coldplay - Adventure of A Lifetime | 13 |
| 3 | 3 | Foals - Give It All | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | Adele - When We Were Young | 8 |
| 5 | 7 | DNCE - Cake By the Ocean | 7 |
| 6 | 6 | Florence + the Machine - Delilah | 5 |
| 7 | 10 | City and Colour - Lover Come Back | 12 |
| 8 | 12 | Lake Street Dive - Call Off Your Dog | 10 |
| 9 | 5 | Cage the Elephant - Mess Around | 17 |
| 10 | 14 | Martin Courtney - Northern Highway | 16 |
| 11 | 16 | Beach House - Space Song | 7 |
| 12 | 17 | Half Moon Run - Turn Your Love | 14 |
| 13 | 11 | Smash Palace - Haddontown | 17 |
| 14 | 8 | Mutemath - Monument | 14 |
| 15 | 9 | Iration - 867 | 14 |
| 16 | 20 | Tame Impala - The Less I Know the Better | 4 |
| 17 | 22 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Look It Here"
Album: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
|
5 |
| 18 | 13 | The Dreamers - Wolves (You Got Me) | 16 |
| 19 | 19 | Wild Belle - Giving Up On You | 8 |
| 20 | 18 | Chris Stapleton - Traveller | 14 |
Tremors:
| 101 | ---- | The Jezabels - Pleasure Drive |
| 102 | ---- | Fall Out Boy f. Demi Lovato - Irresistable |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod. 
No comments:
Post a Comment