Happy Late Night, Elizabeth. I hope you had a nice day and that your project is coming along well. I am gonna guess that it's another commercial for Sound Devices, and if so, they are lucky to have such a lovely and personable spokeswoman. :):) (a national campaign is in order, magazine print ads, etc.)
Pearl and I had a good day too, going on a walk around the neighborhood (by which I mean a wheelchair push, of course). For this work cycle, I brought along my dvd collection of Buster Keaton shorts, so tonight we watched the very first one he ever made, called "The Butcher Boy". It's actually a Fatty Arbuckle film - Buster only has a brief appearance - but it's hilarious. I first saw it when Professor Tim screened it as part of our Keaton retrospective a few years ago at CSUN. "The Butcher Boy" was made in 1917, so it's over 100 years old, but some of the physical comedy would not be out of place on Saturday Night Live, and the thing is, Fatty Arbuckle was a riot. He was a comedian way ahead of his time, and when "Butcher Boy" gets crankin' in the final ten minutes, it's positively insane.
Tonight I am thinking about the three minute pop format, especially that of the 1960s, when a songwriter or songwriters could create a vivid and colorful tune, by getting right to the point, which is what you've been doing in your latest songs. In three minutes, and often less, a lot can get done musically, and a lot can be said lyrically.
I've been thinking about hit singles that influenced me during the '60s, when I was listening exclusively to Top 40 Radio, and one group in particular that I've always remembered was The Association. They came along about 1967, and they weren't Hippies or trendsetters. Although they had a '60s look, you could even say they were a bit conservative, compared to everything else that was happening. But they had several songs that hit the Top Ten, each of which sounded unique and inspired, and most of all different from all the other music on the radio. The Association was an extremely polished group, and though they didn't make a worldwide impression beyond their four hit songs, each song was a gigantic hit, and each was so well constructed and recorded that they remain classics to this day.
The songs were : "Windy", which had a huge influence on little me, not just because of the melody and hook, but because of the sound. The sound of this song typifies the sound of pop in 1967, only this song sets the standard. "Windy" was one of my favorite songs of the 1960s.
Then they released "Cherish", which is a blueprint for a classic love song. That one was ultra-romantic and lush, and maybe a little too deep, emotionally, for a seven year old. But it sounded great, and that's all that mattered.
Their next one I liked even better : "Never My Love". The Beach Boys at their best would've been jealous of this tune, and again, it is an absolute statement of what can be done in the short pop format.
Finally, The Association had a hit with "Along Comes Mary", which was more propulsive and less finely crafted, bit all in all a good song too.
Well, so there you have it. Just a few musical thoughts for tonight. At their best, The Association were as good as it gets in pop music.
I love you and will see you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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