chimesfreedom

Cover Songs: Ryan Adams Covers Ratt’s “Round and Round”

This week, Chimesfreedom has focused on new versions of old songs, so here is one more. Ryan Adams recently performed an acoustic cover of Ratt’s 1984 hit song, “Round and Round” on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday. He has reportedly been playing the song periodically in concert while promoting his CD Ashes & Fire (2011). Check it out.

Ryan Adams – Round and Round (Ratt cover) (Live on NPR) by rfp86

Unfortunately, there is no Milton Berle appearance as in the original Ratt video.

Song of the Day: “The Weekend” by David Rawlings Machine

Caitlin Cary After Whiskeytown

Ryan Adams Covers Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These”

Runner of the Woods Debut Album: “Thirsty Valley”

NC Music Love Army Continues Music’s History of Protest

Ryan Adams, not Bryan, Sings “Run to You”!

(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

Football Songs: Tim Tebow’s St. Elmo’s Fire

John Parr, who recorded the 1980s hit “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” for the Brat Pack movie St. Elmo’s Fire has decided to re-record the song in honor of . . . a football player. Parr explained that he was inspired by Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos quarterback who is known for talking about his Christianity and for kneeling in thanks on the field of play. Some, like Parr, see inspiration in Tebow, while others see hype for a mediocre quarterback.

Parr’s recorded “Tim Tebow’s Fire.” Warning: If you are a fan of the movie, St. Elmo’s Fire, you might want to avoid listening the the new version and getting it stuck in your head.

The phrase “St. Elmo’s Fire” comes from a weather phenomenon involving electrical charges commonly seen by sailors during thunderstorms. It was named after a mispronunciation of St. Ermo or St. Erasmus, the patron saint of Mediterranean sailors. Whether or not you think of Tebow as some kind of saint, he certainly has become a phenomenon.

Purple Rain: Prince at 2007 Super Bowl

Doug Flutie and the Hail Mary Pass

Football Song: “At My Weakest Moment”

Justice Byron White on the Football Field

A Schoolhouse Rock Lesson for Hank Williams Jr.

Super Bowl Songs: Bon Iver & “Wisconsin”

(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

Cover Songs: Wilco, Mavis Staples, and Nick Lowe cover “The Weight”

In December, three music heavyweights got together backstage at the Civic Opera House in Chicago and jammed on The Band’s classic song, “The Weight.” Wilco, Nick Lowe, and Mavis Staples took turns on the verses.

Staples is no stranger to the song, having performed the song with her family and The Band on Martin Scorsese’s classic rock film, The Last Waltz.

The song’s writer, Robbie Robertson, as well as other members of The Band have commented on the song’s meaning through the years and the fact that the characters in the song are named after people they knew. For an interesting detailed analysis of the lyrics — such as “Who was Crazy Chester?,” check out this article from Peter Viney. For example, it is “Fanny,” not “Annie” in the chorus, and the Nazareth is in Pennsylvania. The Dallas Observer has a recent short article about the song “The Weight,” including some discussion of how the song abides along with links to some other versions.

What do you think of the jam version of “The Weight”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’s Last Waltz

Levon Helm RIP

You Can’t Raise a Caine Back Up

Dylan’s Inspiration: “Drifting Too Far From the Shore”

The Unsatisfying Ending of Scorsese’s “Silence” That Is Still Perfect

Uncle Tupelo’s Last Concert on May 1, 1994

(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

Pop Culture Roundup (9 Jan. 2012 Edition)

In case you have been deep in the NFL playoffs or if you live in Iowa or New Hampshire and have been too busy listening to presidential candidates, here is this week’s roundup of some of the stories about music, film, and pop culture that you might have missed.

— Music —

Patti Smith has written a song about Amy Winehouse and will include the tune on her next CD.

Cee Lo Green manaaged to anger religious leaders, atheists, and John Lennon fans with a New Year’s “Imagine” lyrics change. He later explained why he changed the lyrics.

Jump! Van Halen — including David Lee Roth — played a small club this week to warm up for their upcoming tour.

Rodney Crowell’s website has three live acoustic songs for free download. Nice.

Kathleen Edwards’s new CD, released later this month, was co-produced by Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) w/ guest artists.

For the first time ever, in 2011, digital sales of music topped the physical sale of music.

Grammy-winning musician Youssou N’Dour will run in Senegal’s presidential election next month.

Charlie Louvin’s new memoir recounts Oasis-type disharmony with his brother when the Louvin Brothers toured.

Terry Ardolino, the drummer with NRBQ from 1974-2004, passed away at the age of 56. RIP.

Freddie Milano, one of the Belmonts who sang with Dion on a number of classic rock and roll songs, passed away this week. After Dion left the original Belmonts behind (and a falling out and litigation followed), Milano continued to sing with the group while pursing his education. When he passed away he was working with the less fortunate, helping indigent people detained at Rikers Island jail in New York City. After Milano’s death was announced, Dion wrote a short tribute on his Facebook page, stating how Milano played an important role in his younger life: “We had our ups and downs through the years but that’s how things go in families, even rock-and-roll families. I will always remain grateful for his contribution in 1958 & 59 – may he rest in peace and rock on in heaven.” Milano was known for his great harmonies in the group on such songs as “I Wonder Why.” RIP.

You may also hear and see Milano (on your right) in this performance of “A Teenager in Love.”

— Movies —

This year in movies “might just be the geekiest ever.” — IMDb editor Keith Simanton.

A Bridesmaids Sequel Without Kristen Wiig?

The Chicago Tribune listed 10 films to see this winter from Michael Phillips.

The Tree of Life originally included a planned Adam and Eve sequence.

War Horse actor Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to be in the Star Trek sequel, perhaps as a villain.

Red Tails — an action film produced by George Lucas about WWII African-American Tuskegee Airmen — is out Jan. 20.

— Television —

Betty White has a new hidden-camera TV show of seniors pulling pranks.

Donald Trump announced his biggest Celebrity Apprentice cast ever.

What happened to Ted Williams, the “man with the golden voice” who was found homeless last year? (video)

Who Flipped a Coin With Ritchie Valens?: The Day the Music Died and the Coin Toss Controversy

Dion Has the Blues

Charlie Louvin RIP

Bruce Springsteen Releases New Protest Song About ICE Protests: “Streets of Minneapolis”

The Stanley Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, and “Rank Strangers to Me” in Our Modern Times

The Ending of “Judgment at Nuremberg” And the Film’s Lesson for Today

(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

Happy Birthday Elvis: Clean Up Your Own Backyard

On this date in 1935, Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. His simplified life story is that an awkward young boy grew into a young man who rocketed to stardom in the 1950s with his musical talent and then went to Hollywood where he lost his way making second-rate movies. Eventually, the story goes, the man found his musical roots in a television special, but then lost his way again in a spiral of excess and over-medication.

But one’s life cannot be simplified into a few sentences. The general story line is inaccurate on a number of levels, including the general assertion that Elvis made no decent movies or music during the time he made films. While a number of the films are only interesting because of Elvis’s presence and there is a lot of cheesy music like “Do the Clam,” the King was still capable of hitting one out of the park now and then during this period. Several songs you know originally came from his movies, like “Can’t Help Falling in Love” from Blue Hawaii (1961).

The clip below is a song you may not have ever heard if you have not seen the movie, The Trouble With Girls (and How to Get Into It) (1969). The film itself is among his more interesting and unusual movies, despite the title that makes it sound completely generic. Unlike other Presley vehicles, The Trouble With Girls does not feature him in almost every scene (he’s in about one-third of the film), and at various times before production Glenn Ford and Dick Van Dycke were slotted to play Elvis’s role as Walter Hale. His character is the manager of a traveling chautauqua, which is a school that provides education combined with entertainment. You may read more about the unusual movie at this fan site.

The musical highlight of the movie is where Elvis performs “Clean Up Your Own Backyard.” The bluesy song is an excellent vehicle for Elvis, and the lyrics about hypocrisy is a good lesson for all of us. Before we judge Presley’s life, “Clean up your own backyard / You tend to your business, I’ll tend to mine.”