Month: May 2013

Top 5 Cool Splash Songs about Swimming…Welcome Summer!

~ Cave_Guy ~ 11 Comments

swimming-header-cave

I don’t care if it’s 37 degrees fahrenheit or 2 degrees celsius outside- Summer is here and let’s go swimming…and I got to sketch a little cartoon! (I will hold off on calling this an art blog for the moment)

5. MGMT. Electric Feel

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpc5ny_mgmt-electric-feel_music?search_algo=2#.UaFTsECTiTM

Great vibe and great song. I don’t feel too bad that I am too old to be invited to this party with the cool kids, because to be honest…. I had no shot of going even when I was this age. I could have showed up with 100 dollar bills taped to my forehead and a case of good tequila under my arm and I still was not getting in (I may, however, have been instantly mugged). But, if I was this cool, this is where I would have loved to be, splashing in the Amazon and getting shocked like an electric eel !

4. B-52’s.Rock Lobster

The first release from those crazy guys and girls from the Athens scene and I was in love right from the beginning (They had me at “his earlobe falling in the deep”!). This is something an underground music-loving outsider could shake his money maker to! I was waiting for this and it was liberating to let go on that dance floor (thankfully no footage is available).

3.The Pixies. Where is my Mind

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo9nl_pixies-where-is-my-mind_music#.UX-WjbWTiTM

I know I just wrote about this, but it is such a good song and deserves many replays. I have yet to regret the journey that this song takes me on. Having an existential experience while little fishes chase you around in the warm Caribbean ocean. How cool is that!

2.Metric. Breathing Underwater

I love the chorus “Is this my life? Am I breathing underwater?” – “I am a knife and you are the blade” or is it “I am the shovel and you are the spade?”

A twist on the fish out of water concept as we go with the “non-fish in water”….Yes, my mind is blown…Powwwww!!!

But it does not have to make sense to the conscious mind to connect to the unconscious mind and make you feel something down deep; and I mean really deep, where all life is transparent and freaky-looking and glows with weird bioluminescence.

And this song makes me feel better every time I hear it.

1.R.E.M Nightswimming

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x63odl_r-e-m-nightswimming-jools-holland_music?search_algo=2#.UaFSvkCTiTM

Summer is fading, innocence is fading, and youth is fading, so let’s take one more dip.

This is probably my favorite R.E.M tune. It does not destroy your vulnerability, but it does put you out there with it, drip-drying on the porch and hoping that the screen door was left unlocked.

The Lizard King rests…Wonder #4

~ Cave_Guy ~ 9 Comments
Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors.
Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Making my way through the Wonders of Rock music I decided I did not want any grave sites but one nudged its way in anyway.

The grave of Jim Morrison in Paris has become a phenomenon.  And is Wonder #4

It is not only rock music fans, but all get drawn to a place that holds a strange type of cultural and mystical attraction.

Why some things set fire to the imagination can’t always be explained.

 The fascination that the Doors and Jim Morrison continue to hold by casting a spells on fans in different generations is operating on a different plane of consciousness than just good music.

The Doors were the first band that I went back in time to get hooked on.

I did not grow up with them. And I am not alone in this.

Maybe there is something to the 4 year old witnessing death on the highway and feeling the spirit of the Shaman enter his body. (This is in that realm of -did this really happen or did something close to it happen and the memory gets twisted and tweaked over time until the by-product drives you over the edge?… Reaching god-like superstar status just before falling off the face of the earth) I am no psychologist but writing about Jim Morrison makes you think about altered states of mind.

I will suffer Paris to visit this place.

This does not seem like a nice relaxing stroll in a friendly charming city. I see Paris as teeming with tourists combined with local residents that could care less if we tourists help subsidize the quality croissants that they consume and will not help us find. It is going to be a fight through crowds in order to spend about 15 seconds at the resting place of the most romantic and wounded spirit of Rock Music. Rock stars may not go to Paris to die but poets and artists do and Jim Morrison was all of these.

English: Jim Morrison's grave in Paris, France...
English: Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris, France. Dansk: Jim Morrisons grave Paris. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Matthew Sweet.Divine Intervention

~ Cave_Guy ~ 2 Comments

I am having one of those weeks when I feel the need for a good alternative agnostic power-pop gospel song with some killer guitar. I don’t want to get into a big religious debate in the cave-I just want to say that there are times when we all look for the stuff that got us this far and hope that it still works when we need to get a little farther down the road. This song always hits me that way…the opposite of R.E.M  Losing  My Religion.

The Seven Wonders of Rock #2 and #3 The Studios

~ Cave_Guy ~ 7 Comments

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When picking studios I had two criteria that I had to meet:

  1. They must still exist so you can visit them
  2. They must be steeped in the epic-ness of Rock Music

And I only got seven spots; I don’t have room for a third and better choose carefully!

 

Here we go:

Sun Studios, Memphis, 2006
Sun Studios, Memphis, 2006 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sun Studio Memphis, Tennessee

Elvis, Jerry Lee and Johnny- Do I have to go last names?

You can argue that Sam Phillips invented Rock n Roll right here.

Memphis-this is a Rock music town!

And you can visit and take the tour.

I have not been here yet, I need to change that.

 

 

 

 

 

English: Abbey Road, London
English: Abbey Road, London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Abbey Road Studios, London

Everyone knows the zebra crossing shot of The Beatles. (I need to get in this shot without getting run over!)

The Abbey Road album stands up as an epic swan song by the fab four.

 It is also the place where Pink Floyd recorded Dark Side of the Moon.

And London-Another great city of Rock Music!

I have got to start saving those nickels from bottle returns. The Cave guy needs to go on a road trip.

And I am happy to say that the “Wonders” website has been started and I will bring it out when we get all seven.

 

 

The Seven Wonders of Rock n Roll-#1 The Crossroads

~ Cave_Guy ~ 13 Comments

seven-wonders-banner2

I wrote my favorite post a few months ago. https://caveoffame.com/2013/02/20/the-devils-music/

And since then I have goggled around and have found no boot tracks to mark the consecrated ground of the “Seven Wonders of Rock”. None have attempted to single these out: from the big guys of Rolling Stone and Spin all the way down to the insignificant little-guy blogger in a cave like me.

"The Crossroads", where Robert Johns...
“The Crossroads”, where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for mastery of the blues, according to the legend. It is the intersection of U.S. Routes 61 and 49, at Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am starting at The Crossroads-There is a marker at the intersection of U.S. Routes 61 and 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi that is the tourist spot to go. This may or may not be the place of legend and it does work …but…I have this idea of a more rural deserted crossroads at midnight with a full moon(devil optional). Robert Johnson made a choice that night and played guitar like he was chased by the hounds of hell for the rest on his days on earth. Rock n Roll was born here! So when I go I will be taking pictures at both places…the one that is marked and the one that I have in my mind as yet unmarked.

It has to be in Mississippi -The crossroads where black and white music mixed to create an American phenomenon that took over the whole world. The devil has been in the details ever since.

My plan is to roll these out one by one until we have all seven-  Then create a separate  page- and just maybe another site where people can send pictures and opinions because that would be awesome!  There is still time to change my mind on these wonders. I will entertain any suggestions and give you full credit if you can convince me of an error.

And lastly I am not enforcing the “be nice” WordPress decorum if you want to leave opinions. These 7 wonders are for all of us and it is more important that I get this right (or close to it) instead of feeling warm and fuzzy all over with tons of like buttons.

As of now I have no actual pictures because I have visited none of these sites, I hope to change that in the near future!

Songs that can’t be killed…Smoke on the Water.

~ Cave_Guy ~ 16 Comments

smoke-on-the-water-2

This song has it all!

A simple repeated chord progression that anyone can play:

Too simple?   To twist a quote that Mozart used in Amadeus “What notes would you like to add?” This  Da, Da, Daa can be understood by anyone and explained to anyone. Rock music comes in so many different flavors that you sometimes need the source to show what it is all about-A lighthouse of a song to let you find your way home through all the complications of haze and confusion. Find me a rock guitarist who has not evoked the great spirit of rock n roll by playing this…it even works if you play it as a joke…you are connecting yourself to the life-force of rock music.

A true story:

It is based on a “stupid with a flare-gun” burning down the place where Deep Purple was set to record.

Name Dropping:

Frank Zappa and the Mothers were at the best place in town…And the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio thingy that they borrowed or rented or stole.

Exotic Location:

Lake Geneva, Switzerland.

The four classical elements:

Fire, Water, Earth and Air

Smoke on the water- fire in the sky. It does three of them in the chorus! And the “stupid” with a flare gun burned the place to the ground. That would take care of earth but they were not done yet and brought in a hero of Funky Claude who saved the day by pulling kids to the ground.

The biblical story of “no room in the inn” – go find another place:

Most of the song is about the struggle to find a location to perpetuate the awesomeness of making rock music. This story has been retold through generations over and over and it probably started when mankind started painting cave walls.

That picture in a picture thing that goes forever:

You know those pictures of somebody looking in a mirror and in that mirror image-you have the mirror image of that dude looking in a mirror in a mirror and on and on to an infinity of the same dude looking in a mirror!!!!

Well this song has that…because it is a song about making a song and writing a song about a true event that is still unfolding and part of creating the song itself…it goes on and on into infinity –just like this song.

Maybe that is why you can’t kill it…Infinity just keeps going and going.

Da…Da…Daa…da, da, dada… Da…Da…Daa..dadada.

Not to mention iconic performances by Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and Ian Gillan on vocals…and didn’t rock stars who followed all try to make up names that sounded as rockstar-ish as this?

I still am not sick of this song and I have heard it at least 8 zillion times!

And I am going to YouTube me up a couple more versions right now!

AWOLNATION.This kids not alright

~ Cave_Guy ~ 4 Comments

AWOLNATION.This kids not alright

Finally, something the kids can soak up and enjoy without thinking if they are supposed to like it. Without thinking if it is good or bad…without thinking if it is cool or un-cool…or if all their other peeps and haters are onboard—this is just play it and like it. Yes-this is what rock music is supposed to be.

Movement of Ska people- From Madness to Sublime

~ Cave_Guy ~ 3 Comments

Ska used to be a tonic for the oppressed. Maybe because it has its roots in Jamaica where it seems like economic strife and hardship are permanent fixtures. It found a home in Britain then made its way to America to gain smoothness and swagger. I never think that music loses anything as it gets interpreted by different people in different places. That is part of what makes it so great.

Reggae is the rhythmic offspring of Ska- your body will tell you the difference- Reggae makes you sway and Ska makes you jump.

You know the cave guy loves every kind of music but that does not mean that every kind of music can get this guy moving. So I’m gonna take you on a ride that can be enjoyed no matter what kind of life you have. Beat down by the man or the man himself. Ska will make you move.

I give you three of the English version, including the Clash going back to the start with a cover of Toots and the Maytals .

Step one- Madness.One Step Beyond

Something Special-Specials.Ghost Town

The Clash.Pressure Drop

And two American- One pop music and one west coast swagger.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones.The Impression that I Get

Sublime.Santeria

My apologies to Fishbone who I tried to find a place for in this post but it always felt like you guys didn’t quite fit. Awesome band but we don’t know where to put you…I know –you’re heard that before.

Radiohead.Fake Plastic Trees

~ Cave_Guy ~ 2 Comments

I do have a few Ska songs racked up and ready to go but that post will have to wait as I find myself in the depths of a Radiohead mood. I wouldn’t call it sadness- more like a mixture of isolation mixed with a good dose of reality and extreme tiredness. You shake these ingredients together while some post-apocalyptic vision dances slowly across your brain and it’s time for those creepy boys from Oxfordshire-They are like the patron saints of wallowing self-reflection (wonder if I can get a mini plastic version of them to place on the dash of my beat-up Oldsmobile?) So enjoy and I feel better already.

And thanks to http://dustandsoul.wordpress.com for placing this gem on their manic/depressive playlist and inspiring this post.