Tag Archives: my ipod

#708: The Beatles – Lady Madonna

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So I guess around 2009/2010 would have been the first time I heard ‘Lady Madonna’ by The Beatles. I may have written here and there in the past about how that period was when The Beatles entered my life and how they’ve remained a permanent fixture in my life since. There are plenty of other songs by them that I probably prefer to this one but that doesn’t take anything away from the obvious quality it possesses.

It was February 1968 and the four guys were about to partake in Transcendental Meditation in India, and so they wanted to release a single that would be available for the public for the time they were away. ‘Lady Madonna’ was made and chosen for the A-Side. It was mainly written by Paul McCartney, John Lennon helped with some of the lyrics, and was influenced by the voice of rock and roll legend Fats Domino, a blues instrumental by Humphrey Lyttleton and the Virgin Mary.

‘Lady Madonna’ is led by a fantastic piano hook mirrored by the lead vocal initially, then the fuzzy guitars from Lennon and George Harrison and then a saxophone, played by Ronnie Scott, that takes the centre stage for the solo in the middle of the track. It’s a pleasant composition. McCartney sings very well, as he usually did in those times, and Ringo Starr does his thing on the drums (both with brushes and the sticks). I feel like it foreshadows what was to come on the White Album months afterward. It almost feels like a McCartney solo song. Doesn’t stop it from being good though.

#707: They Might Be Giants – Lady Is a Tramp

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When I found out that They Might Be Giants’ ‘Lady Is a Tramp’ – found on their B-Side compilation Miscellaneous T – was a cover of a classic musical number, I went to listen to an earlier take of the track from long ago. It’s been performed by some true greats. Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, you name it. Once I did that, it really left me wondering how They Might Be Giants’ version resembled the song in any way.

The Johns’ cover is an instrumental of blaring synthesized trumpets and a bass guitar that gets louder and louder in the mix at various points. It’s only a minute and 20 seconds long. Someone, I assume it’s John Flansburgh, yells “Yeah!” twice and there’s a sample of Carla saying the word ‘tramp’ from her and Otis Redding’s song of the same name. After a few listens I realised that the trumpets loosely follow the original song’s melody in a very jumped up and hyper fashion. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett coincidentally released their cover of the song the same year I heard TMBGs’ for the first time; the melodic similarity was right there. I think They Might Be Giants’ wild take just makes me appreciate their cover a lot more. It’s a very different way of taking on a Broadway musical number.

#706: Franz Ferdinand – L. Wells

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A month’s gone by already so I guess it’s time to start on these again. There are lot more songs beginning with the letter ‘L’ than the previous two letters – let’s get right into it.

‘L. Wells’ by Franz Ferdinand was released as a double A-side single with ‘The Fallen’ in 2006. I was very much alive back then. The band’s second album You Could Have It So Much Better had been out for months by that year. I got it for Christmas 2005. So when the video for ‘L. Wells’ started showing on MTV2, it begged the question why this song didn’t make it on the album. I assume that it was a song that they laid down way after sessions for the record had finished which is understandable. Still, no joke, ‘L. Wells’ may be my favourite Franz Ferdinand track – and for a while you could only listen to it if you bought the physical single.

So what’s it about? Well, I would say that it’s from the perspective of an admirer of the titular character (whose name is Lynsey/Lindsey, I don’t think the spelling matters hence the initial) who wants to be as carefree and just ‘good’ as her. There’s just something about her that the narrator must know, believing that she must have some sort of secret to her free spirit, and sings about situations where she lets things brush off her shoulder. It’s quite self-explanatory once you read the lyrics really. I couldn’t delve too deep without quoting some phrases from the track.

Described by drummer Paul Thomson as “a bit of a hoedown”, ‘L. Wells’ is an uplifting, very joyful number. I feel it’s one that not a lot of people know about. Hopefully by making this post I can stir a commotion that gets the word around.

#705: OutKast – Knowing

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I didn’t intend to receive Speakerboxxx/The Love Below as a Christmas present in 2003. I was eight years old and ‘Hey Ya!’ was everywhere. I just wanted the single; my aunt got me the full double album instead. At that young age, I had no patience to listen to the whole thing. A dumb decision, no doubt. But kids don’t know any better at that age. Fast forward to about 2010 – I was fifteen, playing FIFA a lot of the time due to no one being in the house. I’d play with my iTunes library on shuffle in my ears. ‘Knowing’ came up one day and it would regularly play on other days. I realised there that it was a jam.

‘Knowing’ is the thirteenth track on the Speakerboxxx half of the album, which is more or less a Big Boi solo album with The Love Below being André 3000’s. There are only a few moments where the two members are on each others tracks throughout the double album; ‘Knowing’ is one of them, with Andre 3K singing the chorus and providing the distorted “From this point on, it only gets rougher” line. Big Boi takes the lead on the verses and tells a story of a woman named Wanda who gets her money by stripping, spends it all on clothes and accessories when she could be spending it on food and things that actually matter. She goes on to buy a car but then loses her job, turns to robbing to earn some cash but leaves some ID at one occasion and gets her comeuppance when she gets caught out.

It’s not the most optimistic of songs. But it’s real. It’s an unfortunate tale of a person in the midst of a community filled with people who are struggling and trying their best to get by. The beat is killer with those echoing clicks and emphatic bass, and with Andre 3000’s vocals on top it creates a very uneasy and quite anxious tone. Big Boi does his natural thing of telling a story with impeccable flow and wordplay and rapid fire flow. It’s always best when the two members are on a song together, and this is a prime example.

And that’s it for the Ks. That wasn’t very long, only took a month to get through them all. The Ls will roll in soon.

#704: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Knock Me Down

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Released in 1989 as the second single from Mother’s Milk, ‘Knock Me Down’ was written as a tribute to Hillel Slovak – the original guitarist and founding member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers – who died from a heroin overdose in June 1988. Lead singer Anthony Kiedis was greatly affected by the loss of his friend and, after plenty experience of drug use himself, became determined to get clean. The track explores the damning effects drugs can have on your life. I’m sure that the lyrics shouldn’t be taken literally though if you were to Kiedis is bluntly saying “if you see me with some heavy stuff, slap that shit out of my hand because this life is all we have”. It’s also about not being afraid to tell your friends when you need help and being able to accept it when they give you the time of day.

I heard this song for the first time when its video played on the TV years ago. I had heard plenty Chili songs before then, and I remember thinking “That’s not how that guy’s voice usually sounds?” Well, during the song’s mixing, John Frusciante’s lead vocal was “accidentally” raised higher than Anthony Kiedis’ and as a result Frusciante’s voice is the main vocal you hear. I put “accidentally” in quotes because there is a mix of the track where Kiedis’ vocal is louder and….. his voice doesn’t sound too great on there. I think whoever mixed the song knew what they were doing. I also think they made the right decision.

I really like it. It might not be regarded as one of the band’s most notable tracks. I’ve always appreciated the strong melody that goes on throughout. It’s probably one of their most melodic songs. And it’s a very forward-looking and charging track. Very powerful guitar chords and Flea’s signature bass grooves and slaps that keep the momentum going. And then there’s that female singer who comes in with the killer vocalisations at the end. It’s good stuff. They haven’t played it live for a very long time though. Maybe there’ll be a day.