jefitoblog - Latest Comments

Re: Deeper Still

Uncle Davis — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 15:52:39 -0000

Baker is horrible singer, I'll say that.

Re: Strings

jefito — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 11:08:22 -0000

Yes!

Re: Make It Your Own

jefito — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 10:14:10 -0000

I love ragged but right, and I love your writing. I often wish you kept at it more regularly.

Re: Make It Your Own

judd6149 — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 10:12:45 -0000

Yeah, I hear what you are saying: a feeling. Gurlanick was referring to a specific time, place and people - and my presentation of that is a bit out of context. The feeling though - that is spot on.

p.s. this post makes me want to write more... and it makes me want to never write anything again. I wouldn't have been able to give it such depth and I would have settled for ragged, but right.

Re: Make It Your Own

jefito — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 08:50:40 -0000

It strikes at the heart of it, yeah. Although I think there's something exclusionary in there, too -- the notion that in order for this music to come from the heart, it must derive from experience. I mean, it certainly HELPS, but I'd hesitate to throw up that wall; I think it's essentially artificial, and it turns a people's music into something best appreciated from a distance. It starts with a feeling, the way it did for Dickinson, you know what I mean?

Re: Make It Your Own

judd6149 — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 08:20:56 -0000

I don't mind standing by my comments - as smart or insane as they may be. I don't subscribe to the 'real blues' argument either, really. I like what people do with it - and then I also like what is commonly thought of as 'real blues'.

Let's not forget: record labels and charts created these categories. For those that played it way back when, it was part of their life.

Which reminds me of one of my fave rave passages from Peter Gurlanick's "Sweet Soul Music":

(referring to the early blues, gospel and country singers)

[They] sing music from the heart; music that is deeply engraved in their background and experience. All make reference to this in one way or another; all recall a boyhood in the country, on the farm, a sharply delineated group of men and women who grew up in circumstances probably very much like their own, who responded to the music not just as entertainment but as a vital part of their lives.

I won't bring up the "A" word here, but maybe this is what it means.

Re: Make It Your Own

jefito — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 07:15:34 -0000

I wasn't gonna out you, Brother Judd! Like I said, I don't disagree with your comment -- I just didn't want this post to be about who's making real blues and who isn't, you know?

I love the Seeger/Folk Process connection you made. Perfect.

Re: Make It Your Own

judd6149 — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 06:07:54 -0000

Damn. So well written. Yes, I did call the Black Keys "Ohio pop music." I was being glib and crude. What I was implying is what you so eloquently described as the Allstars' "essential sound." It's what they do; it starts in the womb; its lineage for them.

So, not to hinge my comparison to the Keys on birthright or proximity, I suggest only that the closer you are to the source, ("intuitively"), the more that permeates throughout the feel (yikes!) of what is produced.

Your post's title and last para made me thing of Pete Seeger, which made me think of the Folk Process: borrowing feely from others to create something new.

Re: Strings

SteveC — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 15:04:55 -0000

Way back in high school, I bought an Ibanez electric guitar with dreams of being the next guitar god, but the reality of actually learning to play well was a bit too much for my teenage brain and it eventually ended up in the back of the closet. Every couple of years, I'd come across it while looking for something else and I'd pull it out just to look at it (it's quite pretty!) and think to myself that I should really learn to play.
But, just in the past year, I found a PS3 game called Rocksmith, which seemed like Guitar Hero using a real guitar, but, in reality, is a sneaky / fun way to teach you to play. Plus, the person who put together the song list did a great job in avoiding the "Don't Look Back" syndrome of going with the tried and true.
I've really latched on to Radiohead's "High and Dry", which I had never heard before. There's something magical about actually playing the solos and chords that's very fulfilling to me and has made me listen to music in a completely different way. Now, I'm almost able to visualize how the song is being played and feel much more connected to it than I had ever been before.

Re: Strings

Ted — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:01:42 -0000

Nicely written, Jeff! I was talking with Julie the other day about how little bands and performers make from their music -- unless they are a superstar. The recorded music has been devalued by the sheer amount of it for free on the Internet, and labels rarely help develop an artist's sound like they did back in the day. You generally had three albums before they dropped you (or so it seems to me from what I've read about bands I like). Now? They'll drop you after your first record to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. Sure, many bands (indies and non-indies) make up the costs for recording and marketing their music through touring and selling t-shirt and other "stuff" at the merch table, but that doesn't seems like enough to sustain a living for too long. Maybe that's why singles and EPs seem to be so prevalent these days. It's not as expensive to produce, so the potential "loss" isn't as great.

Re: Sabougla Voices

Jellyjules.com — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 00:00:48 -0000

Thanks for this, Jeff. Sounds like a great album. Pretty amazing to be cranking out your first album at 81, no? As always, I'm glad you keep showing up with your writing. I do know that my muse with my blog has gotten lazy. Not me, never. Just that lazy muse.

Re: Sabougla Voices

jefito — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 16:00:28 -0000

Hell yes, brother Judd.

Re: Sabougla Voices

judd6149 — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 15:48:24 -0000

Right up my alley - the post and the tunes. Leo: on repeat.

Re: Shy Dog

Jules — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:29:21 -0000

What a horrid experience. I'm glad you came through it OK, and that you allowed yourself to learn from it. Some people repeat such behavior over and over again. That's what young love is about, in a way. Not just finding out who is a good match, who can make you happy....but more importantly, how to be the person that you want to be in a relationship, how to be honest and true to YOU. Sometimes that means testing the waters by trying too hard to keep a love best lost, and learning that that's not who you are.

Re: Shy Dog

Martinspencerbrown — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:30:33 -0000

Jeff I don't know if you remember me - you wrote a great review of my music a couple of years back - but just to let you know I have been through an almost unbelievably similar experience during the last two years. The pain is indeed incredible, the self-justification I have used whilst allowing myslef to be used and generally mistreated is, in retrospect, awe-inspiring. Whilst it's all still very raw with me, I applaud you for your candour and for giving eloquent voice to an experience I relate to 100%. I can only hope that you recover from this and I hope that I do, too! I need to re-read this article a few times as there are things that I hadn't recognised in the experience that you have pinpointed. Thanks Jeff. Martin Brown www.martinbrownmusic.com

Re: Many Rivers to Cross

jbacardi — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:10:53 -0000

Wasn't that the guy who wanted to play congas on one track? I think that was mentioned in the documentary.

Re: Many Rivers to Cross

jefito — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:55:27 -0000

Do you remember the story about a friend/relative of Nilsson's coming in to lay down some track or other during the sessions? I read that Lennon said the poor person only had one take, and then stood outside the control booth making faces to try and ruin it. Or was Nilsson the one making faces? I don't recall. Maybe I dreamed it.

Re: Many Rivers to Cross

jbacardi — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:48:10 -0000

Great article. I have one little nit to pick, but I'll email it to you.

Pussy Cats was the first Nilsson album I ever owned; I had the "Coconut" single, but at age 14 I was just beginning to build the ol' record collection. The Lennon connection piqued my interest, even though I had already been eyeballing the Schmilsson records...

One thing you didn't mention about his "Rivers" version was the absolutely gorgeous steel guitar solo by Sneeky Pete Kleinow- it dips and darts around and Lennon laid the echo on heavy, making it sound melancholy yet hopeful...it's one of my favorite moments on one of my favorite records.

Re: Many Rivers to Cross

Stacy — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:34:17 -0000

As a Beatles fan, the Lennon angle is what brought me to Harry Nilsson. This album is so full of Lennon's influence it was the perfect bridge for me to cross to get to... The Nilsson side.

Re: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

jmgantt — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:06:17 -0000

i almost didn't want to read the whole post cause it felt very familiar. excellent post!

Re: Love Me Still

Jake R — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:49:15 -0000

I Googled "Love Me Still" because I "lost" the burned disc I had with the BH solo version of this great song. I enjoy the "Clockers" soundtrack one with Chaka Khan's vocals, the spareness of the piano-only one is what moves me.

Thank you for having all three versions of the song available on your blog, and for the nice introductory piece you wrote about the lyrics.

Re: Old Interview: Peter Cetera, October 1, 1992

jefito — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 18:01:07 -0000

Now I want to see if I can arrange an interview between Peter Cetera and a 12-year-old.

Re: Old Interview: Peter Cetera, October 1, 1992

EightE1 — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:58:08 -0000

Really well done, especially considering you were, like, 12 when you did it.

Re: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

jefito — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:47:43 -0000

Thanks for saying so, Tracy.

Re: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

Tracy A O — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:48:38 -0000

Thank you for sharing this post in all its beautiful vulnerability. I'm an actress, and it spoke to me on a deep level.