Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
For our readers here in the U.S., we wish you a happy Thanksgiving. For a little holiday cheer, here is the ending segment of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, a Peanuts special that first aired on CBS on November 20, 1973.
Below is the opening for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Of course, the episode begins with a football.
What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Chimesfreedom previously discussed singer Julie Roberts, her first taste of success in 2004, her bad breaks, and her attempt at a comeback on The Voice. After her one appearance on that show, none of the judges selected her to continue. But Roberts did get a new record contract, producing the newly released Good Wine and Bad Decisions (2013).
One decision that definitely was not bad was her choice to include on the album a Buddy Miller song, “Not Getting Any Better at Goodbyes.” The song is one of my favorite heartbreak songs, and Roberts does justice to the excellent song about loss. Check it out.
Roberts did make one change to the song, though. Buddy Miller’s original uses the singular, “Not Getting Any Better at Goodbye,” but for some reason Roberts makes “Goodbye” plural. I like the original lyric better, but she still does a fine job with the song. “Not Getting Any Better at Goodbye” originally appeared on Buddy Miller’s wonderful CD, Cruel Moon (1999), which is one of my favorite albums of the last fifteen years.
Interestingly, this comeback album for Julie Roberts is also a comeback of sorts for her record company, the legendary Sun Records. As she has explained, this record is the first one from Sun Records in decades.
Welcome back, Julie, and welcome back Sun Records. We hope neither of you will be saying “goodbye” or “goodbyes” soon.
What do you think of “Not Getting Any Better at Goodbyes”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
In announcing his new upcoming album High Hopes on his website, Bruce Springsteen wrote about one of the songs on the album and the inspiration for the song. After explaining that he wrote “The Wall” after visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., he describes how the song was inspired by his memories of fellow New Jersey musician Walter Cichon (pronounced Sha-SHONE). First, Springsteen tells how Cichon played in a local band called the Motifs.
Walter was one of the great early Jersey Shore rockers, who along with his brother Ray (one of my early guitar mentors) led the ”Motifs”. The Motifs were a local rock band who were always a head above everybody else. Raw, sexy and rebellious, they were the heroes you aspired to be. But these were heroes you could touch, speak to, and go to with your musical inquiries. Cool, but always accessible, they were an inspiration to me, and many young working musicians in 1960′s central New Jersey.
Below is a 1966 recording of the Motifs singing “If I Gave You Love.”
But there is more to the story. On his website, Springsteen continues discussing what happened to Walter and how it has affected him through the years.
Though my character in “The Wall” is a Marine, Walter was actually in the Army, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry. He was the first person I ever stood in the presence of who was filled with the mystique of the true rock star. Walter went missing in action in Vietnam in March 1968. He still performs somewhat regularly in my mind, the way he stood, dressed, held the tambourine, the casual cool, the freeness. The man who by his attitude, his walk said “you can defy all this, all of what’s here, all of what you’ve been taught, taught to fear, to love and you’ll still be alright.” His was a terrible loss to us, his loved ones and the local music scene. I still miss him.
Springsteen has played “The Wall” in concert a few times, including this performance below from New Jersey on November 16, 2005. As in Springsteen’s other songs about the Vietnam War, the song captures the complex emotions still attached to the war, just the way that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, i.e. “the Wall,” does. In the song, Springsteen remembers how “Billy” and his band “Was the best thing this shit town ever had.” And he recounts how the war took that all away: “As the rain falls / And apology and forgiveness have no place here at all.” Before playing the song in the video clip, he explains the inspiration further.
You may read more about Walter’s service and disappearance on the POW Network website, and his photo is on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website. “The Wall” is a beautiful song, with a touching back story. Like others, we look forward to the official release.
Photo via National Park Service.
What do you think of “The Wall”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Bruce Springsteen has confirmed that he will release a new album January 14, 2014 called High Hopes. The 12-track album will include new material, covers, and new versions of other Springsteen songs. Yesterday we posted “Dream Baby Dream,” which will appear on the album. The title track is “High Hopes,” a song released by The Havalinas in 1990 (Springsteen earlier covered the song for his EP Blood Brothers in 1996.
Here are the tracks on the album: 1. High Hopes (feat. Tom Morello); 2. Harry’s Place; 3. American Skin (41 Shots); 4. Just Like Fire Would; 5. Down In The Hole; 6. Heaven’s Wall; 7. Frankie Fell In Love; 8. This Is Your Sword; 9. Hunter Of Invisible Game; 10. The Ghost of Tom Joad (Duet with Tom Morello); 11.The Wall; 12. Dream Baby Dream.
The E Street Band members play on the album, as does Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine. Springsteen wrote one of the songs, “The Wall,” as a tribute to a friend who went missing during the Vietnam War. Springsteen explains more about the album on his website.
Are you excited about the new album? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
As a thank you to fans, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street band released a video to accompany a new recording of Suicide‘s “Dream Baby Dream.” The video features clips of audience members during the Wrecking Ball tour. I have been a fan of Springsteen’s version of “Dream Baby Dream” since hearing recordings made during his Devils & Dust tour. Check it out.
The release of this video, along with the announcement that this week Springsteen will release a cover of the Havalinas song “High Hopes,” has led some to speculate that a covers album might be forthcoming. Either way, we can enjoy this cool new video.
What is your favorite song that Springsteen has covered? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)