Back from a blogging break as I cover a few thoughts on some music related items.
Thanks to a recommending tweet from Trisha Yearwood I discovered a great new track from Nashville songwriter Jessi Alexander. She co-wrote the Lee Brice hit “I Drive Your Truck” which is one of the saddest country songs of all time. Jessi is married to songwriter Jon Randall who wrote another great heart tugging country tune, Brad Paisley & Allison Krauss’ hit, “Whiskey Lullaby.” Come March 27th Jessi has a new album titled “Decatur County Red” due out. The lead single from it is this song, and it doesn’t get more country than this.
With recreational marijuana now legal in Illinois, you can’t help but think of the many rock, pop and country songs that cover the subject of smoking weed. My personal favorite is Brandy Clark’s “Get High.” This song is a nice bookend to “Mama Drank” as Brandy notes how a few puffs of cannabis can help an overworked mother get through her day.
I was way late to the prom coming across Michael Ray’s song “Her World or Mine” which was released last year. What I can’t figure out is how this get-you-where-it-hurts country track never made it close to number 1 on the music charts.
It’s now 40 years old but I still think Dire Straits’ “Skateaway” is one of the coolest sounding songs ever. Mark Knopfler’s vocals are only topped by his unmistakable guitar playing.
I often see concert photos of singers and musicians who are wearing wristwatches while performing. I have a problem with that. When playing for fans, the time of day or night should NOT be a concern to those onstage. I compare it to how casinos in Las Vegas don’t have clocks. Forget about what hour it is, just play man!
JOIN TOGETHER WITH THE BAND
I’m a huge fan of Choir! Choir! Choir! This is where strangers get together at a designated location to sing classic rock songs. (You can find loads of their performances on You Tube) Well last month I went online and registered with the Choir! Choir! Choir! organization. So if and when they plan one of their public singalongs in Chicago, I’ll be notified ahead of time and will try to show up to be one of their mass singers.
Some of my Facebook friends caught the latest song parody that Al Flash and I did for the WGN Morning News TV show. We twisted Taylor Swift’s “Mean” into “Dean” as a tribute to their entertainment guru Dean Richards. The tune and video went over very well with the show’s stars and Dean e-mailed me his thanks along with a cool tweet.
It’s always fun to get that kind of positive feedback but what excites me the most is we finally have a female singer in our stable of talent. Al’s daughter Michelle sang “Dean” and got plenty of well deserved compliments for her work on the song. This means we can delve into and twist up plenty of popular songs originally recorded by women and have Michelle belt them out. Not that Al and I don’t like to play rock star, but now we’ve got a much more palatable ace up our sleeve to deal to the world.
Next Week’s Blog: Remembering my trip to the 2000 Super Bowl.