Category: Music

New Jayhawks Album: “Paging Mr. Proust”

Paging Mr. Proust

News of a new Jayhawks album is always cause for celebration in my house. The band will be releasing Paging Mr. Proust this coming week on April 29, 2016, and from the first single, “Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces,” it sounds like the album will have the harmonies and catchy tunes we are used to hearing from the band.

The Jayhawk’s last album of new material was Mockingbird Time, released in 2011. That album saw Mark Olson rejoining Gary Louris and Tim O’Reagan on the album, but Olson soon departed again. The band has made some great music since it formed with Olson as well as bass player Marc Perlman, so I hate to see Olson’s departure again after an unhappy split.

But the Jayhawks historically have shown that the group can make great music without Olson too, as they did on albums like Rainy Day Music (2003), Smile (2000), and Sound of Lies (1997). So I am hoping the rest of the band pulls it off again.

In addition O Louris, O’Reagan, and Perlman, longtime Jayhawks member Karen Grotberg (vocals and keyboard) also returns on the new album. Below is the first single, “Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces.” Check it out.

Paging Mr. Proust was produced by R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, the Decemberists). R.E.M.’s Mike Mills contributed vocals to the song “Leaving The Monsters Behind.” Paging Mr. Proust hits stores and the Internet on April 29.

What is your favorite Jayhawks album? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • R.E.M. Calls It a Day
  • Watch One of R.E.M.’s First Shows
  • Micky Dolenz Covers R.E.M. Song That Was Partly Inspired By the Monkees: “Shiny Happy People”
  • “Roll Columbia” Captures Spirit of Woody Guthrie (Album Review)
  • Michael Stipe’s Tribute to David Bowie
  • Song of the Day: “The Weekend” by David Rawlings Machine

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Purple Rain: Prince at 2007 Super Bowl

    Prince Halftime

    Today, the world received the shocking news that Prince had passed away at the age of 57. Like so many others, I can think back to many times where his music was the soundtrack to my past memories going back around four decades.

    One of Prince’s memorable performances was at the Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show in February 2007. It was one of the most spectacular Super Bowl half-time shows of all time. Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated rank it the second-best of all time (only behind the emotional post-9/11 U2 show), while Billboard ranks Prince’s show at number one.

    At the 2007 halftime show, Prince’s setlist included “We Will Rock You,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Baby I’m a Star,” “Proud Mary,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Best of You,” and “Purple Rain.” Below is his performance of “Purple Rain” during a downpour of rain.

    Reportedly, before Prince went on the stage, organizers called him to ask if it was going to be a problem that it was raining. Prince responded, “Can you make it rain harder?” The video of the performance is not available for embedding but you may check it out with this YouTube link.  As we mourn his loss, this performance is a great way to remember how his music moved us. RIP.

    Additionally, an NFL video features clips and a discussion of his amazing performance. (Within 24 hours of Prince’s death, the NFL changed the policy on the video so it is no longer available for embedding, but you may watch it here.)

    Goodnight, our Prince.

    What is your favorite Prince memory? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Super Bowl Songs: Bon Iver & “Wisconsin”
  • Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: “Purple Rain”
  • Doug Flutie and the Hail Mary Pass
  • Football Song: “At My Weakest Moment”
  • Justice Byron White on the Football Field
  • Super Bowl Songs: I Am a Patriot

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen “Shout” In Their Third Performance Together

    Shout Springsteen Seger

    Bob Seger recently joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on stage in Detroit during Springsteen’s current The River tour, which is promoting the release of The Ties That Bind: The River Collection. After playing some joyous tambourine on “10th Avenue Freeze-Out,” Seger also joined in on a performance of The Isley Brothers’ “Shout.” Although Seger-Springsteen collaborations are rare, it was not the first time Seger and Springsteen have performed together.

    Seger had first performed with Springsteen during the opening night of the original The River tour back in 1980, when Seger helped out on “Thunder Road.” Below is the audio of that performance.

    Although Rolling Stone reports that the two are good friends, after the 1980 concert Seger and Springsteen did not appear onstage together until December 2011 when Springsteen joined Seger’s concert for Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll.” Check it out.

    That brings us to the most recent collaboration on April 14, 2016. From the energy of the performance this week, it was worth the four-and-a-half-year wait to see the two together on “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and “Shout.” Hopefully we will see them together again soon.

    Although Bob Seger’s Ride Out Tour with the Silver Bullet Band ended in March 2015, Springsteen still has work to do. The current U.S. leg of The River tour ends April 25 in Brooklyn before heading overseas to Europe for the summer.

    What song would you like Seger and Springsteen to do together? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Bruce Springsteen: Always Roaming With a Hungry Heart
  • “New” Springsteen Track: “Meet Me In the City”
  • “The River” Had a Happy Ending After All
  • Springsteen’s “Spill the Wine”: Is This Just a Dream?
  • Passover: Moses and the Price You Pay
  • Springsteen’s “Whoop-Ass Session on the Recession” in Greensboro (Guest Post)

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Back From That Soul Vacation: The Meaning Behind “Drops of Jupiter”

    Pat Monahan wrote Train’s hit song “Drops of Jupiter” after an inspiration came to him in a dream following his mother’s death.

    Drops of Jupiter Meaning Like most people, I loved Train’s song “Drops of Jupiter” when it came out in 2001. I ran out and bought the CD of the same name, playing the CD over and over again, but especially repeating the title track. And then, like most people, I got a little tired of hearing it played everywhere.

    But recently, I heard an interview with Train’s Pat Monahan, explaining how he came to write the song. It may have been that I had missed his earlier interviews about the meaning of the song. Or maybe I had heard the explanation but had not connected with the explanation as I did now around a time when I had lost two people very close to me. But hearing his explanation made the song make a lot of sense to me.

    Now that she’s back in the atmosphere,
    With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey, hey.

    Monahan wrote “Drops of Jupiter” soon after his mom had passed away following a battle with cancer. In the song, he imagines that after dying his mom’s spirit could go anywhere, and so a person would be likely to go explore the universe.

    As Monahan explained in a Buzzfeed News interview, “It’s a story about my mother coming back after like swimming through the planets and finding her way through the universe, and coming back to tell me that heaven was overrated and [to] love this life, you know?”

    She acts like summer and walks like rain
    Reminds me that there’s a time to change, hey, hey, hey

    Thus, his mother returned to visit him with “drops of Jupiter” in her hair. Pretty cool.

    Monahan wrote the song in less than an hour. The song came to him in a dream, and after he woke up, the song was in his head. When he woke up, he took about thirty minutes to write it down and sing the words into a Dictaphone. The next night before bed he finished it up, and the song that was a conversation with his late mom was complete.

    And tell me, did Venus blow your mind?
    Was it everything you wanted to find?
    And did you miss me
    While you were looking for yourself out there?

    After the song was recorded, it propelled the band’s popularity into the universe. “Drops of Jupiter” went on to win the Grammy for Best Rock Song. Monahan thanked his mom when he accepted the award.

    Of course, the great thing about songs is that you can always interpret them in your own way to find something for your own life. So if you hear something else or another thing in the song, that is cool too. But it is also great to know the story behind the song. (For a short video about the story, check out this video on YouTube.)

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • “Soul” Songs That Aren’t Soul Music: Hey, Soul Sister
  • “There’s No End to Grief, That’s How We Know There’s No End to Love”: The Story of U2’s “One Tree Hill”
  • Kasey Chambers: “We’re All Gonna Die Someday”
  • Lisa Marie Presley and Elvis: “I Love You Because”
  • The Inspiration for Jason Isbell’s “Elephant” (Song of the Day)
  • What Is the Murder Ballad That Holly Hunter Sings to Nathan Jr. in “Raising Arizona”?

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon

    Sturgill Simpson Covers Nirvana’s “In Bloom”

    A Sailor's Guide to Earth Sturgill Simpson’s upcoming album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth has been receiving positive reviews even before the CD has been released. As he did earlier for When in Rome’s “The Promise,” Simpson once again surprises listeners with a unique cover song, this time covering Nirvana’s “In Bloom” on the new album.

    Simpson found inspiration for the album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth from two sources, his grandfather’s letters from the South Pacific during World War II and the birth of Simpson’s own son. While Simpson struggled with watching his own son grow up fast while he was on tour, he turned to creating this album, which Mojo describes in a 4-star review as ruminating “on the transformative powers of parenthood, the weight and ecstasy of love.”

    Considering the conceptual context of Simpson’s new album, it may at first appear an odd selection to include a cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom.’ The song was the fourth and final single from the band’s 1991 album Nevermind (1991) and was the band’s message to those who did not understand their music: “And he likes to sing along / And he likes to shoot his gun / But he knows not what it means.”

    But in the context of the album, “In Bloom” does seem to fit as part of a parent’s message to a child as perhaps a warning against ignorance. Similarly, Simpson closes the album with “Call to Arms,” a diatribe against authority and in particular the military. “Bullshit on the TV/ Bullshit on the radio/ Hollywood telling me how to be/ Bullshit’s got to go.”

    In this context, Simpson takes a great Nirvana song and explores the hidden love behind the song as not so much a message to the ignorant but as a warning to the ones we love. Check it out.

    A Sailor’s Guide To Earth hits stores and the Internet on April 15, 2016.

    What is your favorite cover of a Nirvana song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Sturgill Simpson and the Dap-Kings: “All Around You”
  • Sturgill Simpson Live at Paradiso
  • Sturgill Simpson: “You Don’t Miss Your Water”
  • Johnny Blue Skies aka Sturgill Simpson Temporarily Drops New Album: “Mutiny After Midnight”
  • “You Don’t Miss Your Water”: Sturgill Simpson Song of the Day
  • Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgill Simpson) Releases “Passage du Desir”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)