Hearing Jim Obergefell on CNN today talking about the Supreme Court decision holding the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage could melt the hardest of hearts. The case had started out with Obergefell seeking to have his name on the death certificate of his partner of twenty years. His fight came out of his love, which made the victory all the more sweet.
So, tonight even though up until President Obama we have never had a president say that they supported gay marriage, we have a White House lit up in rainbow colors. And it is hard not only to think of those who can now get married, but also to think of those through the years who did not live long enough to see this day. And one hopes that this decision will aid the ongoing progress, helping teenagers who have historically felt ostracized.
I cannot think of a better song for the day than “What a Beautiful Day,” by Australian singer-songwriter Brett Every and featuring Belinda Crawford. The song and video recounts a beautiful day of two people proclaiming their love while supported by friends and family.
“What a Beautiful Day” is from Brett Every’s album Tales of Ten Men (2012). The song won the Outmusic Awards 2012 Love Song Of The Year.
Today’s song of the day is Gram Parson’s classic song “She” as covered by the Vancouver band No Sinner. Lead singer Colleen Rennison pours her soul into her performance of the song.
The video is of an acoustic rendition of the song at the Indaba Bowery loft in New York. Check it out.
If you are not familiar with the young Canadian band No Sinner (whose name comes from Rennison’s name spelled backwards), check out some more of their soulful music, including their album Boo Hoo Hoo (2014).
Country music group Zac Brown Band has been performing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” on their current tour. They stay faithful to the original recording, and not surprisingly, it is a big crowd pleaser.
Of course, nobody can match Freddy Mercury and the original band on the epic song. But Zac Brown Band has been getting rave reviews for their cover, as fans eat it up too, such as when the group played the song recently at the CMA Music Fest 2015. Below, check out Zac Brown Band playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” at the 2014 iHeartradio Music Festival in Las Vegas.
Bonus Trivia: The “Scaramouche” referenced in the song is a buffoonish clown character from the Italian commedia dell’arte.
What do you think of the Zac Brown Band cover? Leave your two cents in the comments.
One of the great albums for finding solace amidst middle-of-the-night anxiety is Frank Sinatra’s “In the Wee Small Hours.”
In our series “3 a.m. Albums,” we look at albums that are perfect for those nights when you cannot sleep due to sadness, loneliness, despair, or other reasons. We begin the series with an album that is appropriately named, In the Wee Small Hours, which is one of Frank Sinatra’s masterpieces.
Frank Sinatra recorded most of In the Wee Small Hours in the late night hours in early 1955, releasing the album not long after completion in April of that year. Often considered as an early concept album, In the Wee Small Hours received its main inspiration from the dissolution of the relationship between Sinatra and actress Ava Gardner, who Sinatra had married in 1951.
The ballads, arranged by Nelson Riddle, features more sparse instrumentation than on many Sinatra classics, allowing the heartache in Sinatra’s voice to bleed through your speakers above the sounds of the guitar, celesta, piano, and strings. The title song, which was new at the time, stands well next to the album’s classics like “Mood Indigo.” The song “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” remains one of the great opening album tracks of all time, setting the mood for the entire album.
Sinatra poured his tears, sweat, and blood into these tracks. The liner notes claim the album creates “the loneliest early-morning mood in the world.” Reportedly, Sinatra broke down crying after recording “When Your Lover Has Gone.”
The album has stood the test of time. The song “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” has stood the test of time, being covered by many singers, including a recent cover by another singer famous for his relationships, John Mayer. B.B. King has talked about listening to the album on many late nights (“I practically put that In the Wee Small Hours album under my pillow every night when I went to sleep”), and Tom Waits lists it as one of his favorite albums of all time, echoing the album’s artwork on his own The Heart of Saturday Night (1974).
When one thinks of Sinatra, the songs on In the Wee Small Hours may not be the ones you first think of as you run through songs like “Lady is a Tramp” and “Summer Wind.” But it is one of his original albums best heard in its entirety from start to finish rather than as a collection of greatest hits or live performances. And it is best heard at 3 a.m. as you face the demons in your own life, somehow finding comfort knowing that even Ol’ Blue Eyes knew (and somehow survived) the same type of heartbreak. Thankfully, he is there, giving words and music to your feelings like a friend buying you a drink in an empty bar at closing time.
What is your favorite 3 a.m. album? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Last night, Metallica‘s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett kicked off game five of the NBA Finals with a metal version of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Members of the U.S. armed forces held a large American flag while the guitars wailed prior to the start of the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.
While my favorite version of the national anthem played before a basketball game remains a legendary performance by Marvin Gaye, this Metallica version was still pretty cool. Check it out.
(2014).
