What Are You Listening To Right Now? #25

Sharing, & listening to, these music posts, has led me to appreciate some areas of music, I'd previously given little attention. Take, for instance, this 50s rock & roll tune which, while basic, serves perfectly well, to get the blood groovin'.



That was essentially, a music video, from the late 1950s. I will say, that there seems to be more of a subdued energy, in a lot of that decade's rock-- listen, above, to the lead vocal.
Below, though, the song is covered by their older selves, who can give a more fitting treatment, to being, "laid back."





Did everyone realize that Sha-Na-Na, was at Woodstock? That is one of those things that I knew, then forgot, and have now become reminded of.

An interesting take, on "At the Hop:"

 

A Teenager In Love-- Dion & the Belmonts



Seems like more than just a little resemblance, with this tune:
Poor Little Fool-- Ricky Nelson




The Red Hot Chili Peppers do an upbeat cover of Teenager In Love, except that the singer seems to hit some flat notes, in the parts in which the background music stops, & his voice is naked.



^^Not really up to the Dion vocal standard.


Runaround Sue (in front of what look like an audience of mannequins, except I've seen another version, which shows their, unaffected, faces-- a little unsettling)

 

Haiduk - Sea of Fire

 

An evocative effect, but over time, begins feeling monotonal, to me. What do you think of something like this, that provides some variations in the timbres of sound, along with some rhythmic wrinkles (though, granted, not as malevolent- sounding):

 

Don't know. The two previous posts make me long for some Stevie Nicks vocals.

 

A classic, and a moving song, though I would not, personally, call that one of the best versions. Here is an early one. Though Stevie is a little bit distracted, it still has its charm:




I also really enjoy the Dixie Chicks' cover, which I feel has a bit more of an upbeat mood




Here are the Chicks, together with Nicks:




Interesting, to hear the various ways that artists cover a song, whether it be one of their own, or someone else's. Here, the Chicks give a live performance which has more of the introspective seriousness, of Nicks' original:



Here's one more, of them on Howard Stern, if it'll fit in this post:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=tyYbiuFI2KM&feature=share

 

By the way, @lemmiwinx , music's elixir, is drawn from the deepest wells of our being, and so it is a shame for one to limit, too greatly, their experiences, imbibing it. There is no reason that someone who loves the song, "Landslide," cannot also appreciate, & get something worthwhile, from listening to something very different, like this:




That is one of the quickest takes on the piece, at 5 1/2 minutes. The tempos for it vary markedly, with some versions running 8 minutes, and others at everywhere in between.

 

Here is an attempt to split the difference, between you, Lemmiwinx, and @Sarxas : it is both relaxingly mellow, and simultaneously sinister. The title, is Central Park In the Dark-- by Charles Ives, who used to live in my town. I'll give you the choice, of with or without video. The best part, is about 3/4 of the way through.

 

Now this is some pretty cool stuff. Pauline Oliveros. Not famous, like Charles Ives, but notable, in experimental music. Here are a few, brief samples. It pays off, by the way, to listen with patience , and allow the music to entwine you, in its web (I'm particularly thinking of the third offering, here, an abbreviated version of "The Gentle."

 

More of Oliveros' entrancing, short pieces. These are all rather different from each other. The first, "Wind Horse," is ephemeral, passing like a phantom, but there is a timeless element to the piece, and a definite, ritualistic feel to the performance.




Take a few deep breaths, and slow your sense of time, for "Breaking Boundaries," a spaciously sparse piano piece.




The third, "The Roots of the Movement-- Crossing," is the most hypnotic, and psychologically penetrating.

 

Yeah, I'll pass on that one. Unless I want to make it my default phone alert tone.

 

Most people don't know it but Bonnie has never spoken a bad word against anyone in her life.

 

Anyone agree this is one bitchin' song by Taylor Swift and Def Leppard?

 

"Bitchin' "-- definitely not. But listenable, sure. Though, what I would consider Easy Listening, or rather Soft Rock.

DEF LEPPARD-- wow, that's a blast from the past. Even apart from their, presumedly, Rock & Roll lifestyles, they look incredibly good, for their ages!

Back to Swift: though I don't consider myself a fan, below is a video, in which she does actually kick some ass. It's a performance she gave on the Graham Norton Show, which rocks way more than the single release of this song, "I Knew You Were Trouble." To her credit, Swift is not a lip-syncher, and she really delivers some passionate force, here. At the time, when I'd seen it, my impression had been that she'd been proud of the work, and trying to make a statement, with her performance.

The verses are still a bit sing-songy, but the refrains rock, thanks in good part to the drums and bass, which ended up being minimized and smoothed over, in the version I'd heard on the radio.

 

More of her with Def Leppard. She got spunk alright.

 

A classic beautifully composed.

 

Like I'd said, her singing and music do not generally impress me. But I thought this coincidence was worth a reply: looking at my You Tube playlists, it had "auto" generated a playlist for me, with only 1 song, to which I'd never before listened; it was the Swift song, below, which I think is from her latest album (based on a similarity in sound to a song I heard her perform recently, on Saturday Night Live-- which I don't usually watch, either, just to keep straight, the record of all the things, of which I am not really "a fan"). Anyway, the song is OK, but what had struck me was not just that it was a new vibe for Taylor, but how much she sounded like Kate Bush. It's hard to believe that Bush hadn't been an influence, here.





In case you're not familiar w/ KB, here is a sample:







What do you think?

 

@lemmiwinx

The current, female vocalist who really gets to me, is Jennifer Nettles:

 

But, if you prefer more upbeat tunes, here are a couple of good ones:










Great Video-- FUNNY:

 

Kate, who I never heard of before, is now my favorite Bush replacing not only George W, but Jeb, Laura and Herbert Walker as well.

 

She'd probably be fun on a date.

 

I'd be willing to risk it.

 

been a fan since I first saw her on SNL probably while in college. Bought my first house in 89, one of the few records that was unpacked was her record that had this on it and I wore it out, you might recognize the guitarist that is shown in this video



this next quirky number came out a few years later.

 

I thought a good song, after the Kate Bush, would be Sarah Maclachlan's "Possession." But my memory of the best version of that song, was the first time I'd ever heard her sing, on t.v., performing this song on the Dennis Miller Show-- which I was never a fan of, BTW; it had been only fortuitous timing, that I'd been channel surfing just as Sarah M's song was about to begin. But I digress. Unfortunately, there seems to be no You Tube posting of that performance, I'd wanted, so I'm going to go another way, with it.










@Turtledude , this brief clip was suggested for me, while I was at Twitter, listening to "Love & Anger," which you'd linked. It seemed like something you might like.

https://youtube.com/shorts/recDXRXnmc0?feature=share