Bono recently joined Glen Hansard, who was taping for Sirius/XM’s The Loft at The Living Room in New York. Together, the U2 frontman and the Once film star sang “The Auld Triangle.” The 1960’s song was written by the brothers Brendan and Dominic Behan for the play The Quare Fellow.
Hansard often plays “The Auld Triangle” on his own and with his band The Frames. Several Irish music artists like The Pogues, The Dubliners, and Dropkick Murphys have played the song. Bob Dylan and the Band also played the song during their recording of “The Basement Tapes” in 1967. Here is the latest take on this Irish classic from Hansard and Bono:
“The Auld Triangle,” which has gone on to a life of its own outside the play, opened the play set in a prison the day that a prisoner is set to be executed. The triangle in the song refers to a metal triangle that was banged to wake the inmates every morning at Mountjoy Prison in Ireland: “And that auld triangle went jingle-jangle / All along the banks of the Royal Canal.”
The play The Quare Fellow, which was loosely made into a 1962 movie with Patrick McGoohan, grapples with a number of social issues, including Ireland’s use of the death penalty at the time. Ireland has since abolished capital punishment.
2014 Bonus Version Update: “The Auld Triangle” appeared in the movie Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). In the movie, the song is performed by The Punch Brothers, Marcus Mumford, and Justin Timberlake. Below is a concert inspired by the movie, featuring The Punch Brothers and Marcus Mumford.
What do you think of the Hansard-Bono duet? Leave your two cents in the comments.
One of my favorite recent CD purchases is This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (2011), which I have had on repeat play since I got it in December. This One’s for Him is a solid 2-CD collection of songs by the wonderful Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark. Although tribute albums often are hit-and-miss affairs with an uneven collection of interpretations by various artists, this one maintains a nice consistency throughout. One reason the CDs work so well is the consistency of Guy Clark’s writing, although tribute albums usually consist of well-written songs. Another reason that the listening experience is like listening to a CD by one artist is because the producers recorded live with the band and a limited number of overdubs, giving consistency throughout. Finally, the great collection holds up due to the group of artists assembled for the project. Although there are some famous singers on the collection, the producers clearly opted for talented musicians who love Clark’s music instead of just seeking big names, and the love comes through the music.
It is hard to choose a favorite song, but one of mine is Jack Ingram’s version of “Stuff that Works.” In a video no longer available on YouTube, Jack Ingram talked about his love of Guy Clark’s music, noting that the music feels “like the Truth.” The great thing about Clark’s songs is that he writes beautiful words to go with his beautiful music. Stuff that works, stuff that holds up; The kind of stuff you don’t hang on the wall; Stuff that’s real, stuff you feel; The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall.
Artists on the CD include a who’s who of great singers and songwriters: Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Kris Kristofferson, Robert Earl Keen, Ray Wylie Hubbard, John Prine, and many more. [UPDATE: In a promotional video no longer on YouTube, Hayes Carll, who sings “Worry B Gone” on the tribute CD, talked about hanging out with Clark.]
If you are already a fan of Guy Clark’s music, you will love the CD. But if you are new to his music, the tribute CD is a great place to start. One of my favorite songs of all-time is Guy Clark’s “LA Freeway.” Radney Foster does an excellent job covering the song on the CD. I could not find his version on Youtube, so here is the songwriter’s version. He does a pretty good job too.
If I can just get off of this LA freeway, Without getting killed or caught; I’d be down that road in a cloud of smoke, For some land that I ain’t bought — bought — bought.
“LA Freeway” captures the common longing for running off and being free. Even if you cannot make that kind of escape, you might come a little closer if while you’re on the road you pop in this CD.
At Churchill Downs this morning, heavy rain led organizers to cancel morning training for today’s 138th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race. Handicappers and others wondered how the muddy track and possible additional rain may affect the horses in the race. But the skies cleared and sun came through by the time of the race, which was won by I’ll Have Another, who with 14-1 odds overcame the favorite Bodemeister.
When I think of “Kentucky Rain,” one song comes to mind. “Kentucky Rain” was written by country star Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, but made famous by Elvis Presley. While there are a ton of Elvis performances on YouTube, they do not appear to include any live footage of Elvis singing this hit. But here is a good video that someone put together with images from the King’s career.
According to Ernst Jorgensen’s Elvis Presley: A Life in Music – The Complete Recording Sessions (p. 275), Elvis first recorded “Kentucky Rain” during RCA sessions on February 19, 1969 at American Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis started the song around 7:30 p.m. in the evening, and the musicians found the song challenging as they worked to add a little edge and a little brightness to the sound. They worked on the song for three hours, took a short break, and returned to the song for several more hours at 11:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. The hard work paid off, and afterward everyone involved believed the song about a man searching for his lost love could be a potential single.
Additions that helped make the song a classic was the backing vocals and piano playing of a future star named Ronnie Milsap. During the recording session, Elvis turned to the young musician and asked, “Hey Milsap, can I get a little bit of thunder over there on the piano?” So, Milsap supplied the thunder for the song in a technique he would later use on his own 1980 rain song, “Smoky Mountain Rain.”
Jorgensen’s book says “Kentucky Rain” was released in February 1970 (but Wikipedia claims the song was released January 29, 1970). The song went to number sixteen on the pop charts. For Elvis, the song was his fiftieth gold record. For Ronnie Milsap, it was the beginning of a great career. Similarly, for songwriter Eddie Rabbitt, it signaled to his parents that maybe he would amount to something. For me, who was a young kid at the time, it is one of the new Elvis releases I remember hearing on the radio. I still love hearing it today.
[Thanks to @jonniebwalker for pointing out that Milsap played piano as well as sang on “Kentucky Rain.”]
What do you think of “Kentucky Rain”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Nine other students were wounded, and those who were shot included students on their way to class. The exact events of that date are still in dispute, with some of those involved still seeking answers.
Events Leading to the Kent State Shootings
The anti-war demonstrations began days earlier after President Nixon announced on television on April 30 that U.S. forces had invaded Cambodia. Pres. Nixon presented the invasion as a defensive response meant to help end the Vietnam War. But students and demonstrators believed the announcement revealed the war was escalating and expanding.
Watch Pres. Nixon’s address in the video below.
The day after Nixon’s address, on May 1 students began demonstrating at Kent State University. After some confrontations between local police and demonstrators, Ohio Governor James Rhodes called out the National Guard.
On May 4, members of the Guard used tear gas to disperse protesters. And while the protesters were in retreat, suddenly over the course of 13 seconds, 67 bullets were fired, resulting in the deaths and injuries.
Questions About the Shootings
A big question remaining is whether or not someone gave an order to fire on the demonstrators. At a 2012 news conference, seven of the people who were wounded that day announced a campaign to convince officials to hold hearings on the question. They claimed that analysis of audio recordings shed new light on the question, apparently revealing that there was an order to fire.
The group sought public support for the government inquiries. They said they did not seek individual prosecutions. Instead, they sought answers. Those questions and answers are still relevant today, as addressed in an excellent essay by Jesse Kornbluth at Huffington Post.
But subsequently in 2012, the FBI concluded the new tapes were inconclusive. The Department of Justice decided not to re-open the case. [2015 Update] Having failed to get the review they wanted in the U.S., the Kent State Truth Tribunal subsequently requested a review by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Neil Young’s “Ohio”
In 1970, the Kent State shootings became national news, affecting everyone who read about it, including a young songwriter. After seeing photos in Life magazine, Neil Young wrote the song “Ohio.”
Then, Young’s group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded the song only 11 days after the tragedy and then quickly released it as a single. Young later noted that David Crosby broke down and cried after the recording.
The video below for “Ohio” was put together by a talented YouTuber. Check it out.
“Ohio,” which first appeared on an album as a live song on Four Way Street (1971), stirred up some controversy for its criticism of Pres. Nixon. But the song went on to become a classic. It has been covered by a number of artists, including the Isley Brothers on Givin’ It Back (1971).
Rolling Stone lists “Ohio” as the 365th greatest rock song of all time. The song deserves a spot in the rankings as there are few songs that were so immediate about a current event. And there are few songs with such unanswered questions four decades after the song’s release.
Former Swiss fighter pilot Yves Rossy used a winged jetpack to fly over Rio de Janeiro today, reaching speeds up to 186 miles per hour. All I can say, is that it is about time! When I was a kid, I was under the impression we’d all be using jetpacks to travel by now.
Anyway, Rossy cheated a little because he had to launch from a helicopter and then use a parachute to land. But the video is still pretty cool.
The 11-minute-and-35-second flight was not Rossy’s first. Rossy, who began working on the project in 1993, flew over the English Channel in 2008 and has also flown over the Grand Canyon. Speaking of wings and jets, it seems the most appropriate music to salute Rossy’s flight is “Jet” by Wings.
“Jet” is from the excellent album Band on the Run (1974). What is it about? According to Wikipedia, McCartney explained in an interview that it is about a pony he once owned. Well, we have come a long way since the days of traveling by pony. Here’s to my future jetpack, “with the wind in your hair of a thousand laces / Climb on the back and we’ll / Go for a ride in the sky.”
What do you think of the jetpack flight? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Bono recently joined Glen Hansard, who was taping for Sirius/XM’s The Loft at The Living Room in New York. Together, the U2 frontman and the Once film star sang “The Auld Triangle.” The 1960’s song was written by the brothers Brendan and Dominic Behan for the play The Quare Fellow.
