The Playlist in My Head

I think anyone who loves music, at certain times of the day, when the mind is calm, finds themselves playing favourite (or not?) songs in their head. I do it all the time, or at least whenever my brain is unoccupied enough for me to fire up my internal music player - sort of like a personal radio station. And it can be pretty interesting to see how that playlist develops. Sometimes the songs are all related by genre, or even by artist, so that there is a sane progression from one tune to the next. But there are days when the illogical leaps from track to track cannot be explained and are downright weird. Like from Megadeth to Madonna? It's happened.

Lemmy brutally attacks my auditory cortex

According to the experts out there, hearing music in one's head is one form of an auditory hallucination. Apparently, this particular type is known as Musical Ear Syndrome, or a Musical Hallucination. I don't feel as though I'm suffering with this "condition", though. I love being able to call up music I love whenever I want, without any need for an external source, and without concern about disturbing others.

This internal playlist thing has been with me for many years. I remember when I was in my late teens, working on a landscaping job, mowing the grass - on a riding mower, thank God - of a massive field for a full day. It was a solitary job and my mind wandered... though I did take care as I steered my lawnmower across the expanse. Back then, I was in full-on Rush mode, listening to their albums almost exclusively. So on that hot and sunny summer day, as I trimmed the grass for hours, I played entire Rush albums in my head. That day, the entire 2112 suite was the highlight. You know you're a fan when you know the music so well that you can run through a song in detail... every word of the lyrics, every note of the guitar, every drum strike, every cymbal nuance. 

I have found that over the years, as I hear new music, and old music that's new to me, even if I don't get all the lyrics straight, I do absorb the vocal sounds well enough for me to play a song in my head. I think I've been that way with a lot of artists, even favourites; I may not know exactly what is sung all the time, but when I play something in my head, it all sounds right. I've always focused much more on the instrumental parts, anyway, so that explains how I could accurately reproduce every musical bar in my mind. Too bad I wasn't a better musician (just a scrappy guitarist who rarely plays nowadays) or I could bang out songs like a pro. 

Anyway, it was just this past week when I took extra special notice of my "internal playlist" and actually wrote down the titles of the songs that played in my head. And I tried my best to just let them happen, and not intentionally call up anything specific. Even if there was a pause after a tune, I'd just let my mind go blank... and sometimes I'd momentarily think back to the previous song. That occasionally led to a replay, if you can believe it. Hey, if I really like a song, it can get stuck in my head for a while, until intense effort forces another one to take over. Then there are the times when the next track picks up very naturally - sometimes it's the song that follows on the recorded album (if I know it that well), sometimes not. Otherwise, the next tune may be determined by the musical artist or the genre, or neither. It can be pretty random.

Warren DeMartini of Ratt solos over my mindgrapes

The workday I chose to document the playlist in my head turned out to be a bit busy, so my list wasn't as long as I'd anticipated. I had to deal with people and tasks that demanded my attention, which interfered with longer spells of personal musical programming, so to speak. But I still came up with a cool, if slightly odd, set of songs.

Love Me Like a Reptile, by metal punk pioneers Motörhead... the only way to wake me up!
Heart of the Sunrise, by 70's progressive rock giants Yes... one of their greatest songs
Love Me Like a Reptile... again. Sorry, I can't explain.
Ace of Spades, by Motörhead
Rocka Rolla, by great grand-daddies of metal, Judas Priest... a lean and mean early gem
Winter, by Priest again.. follows Rocka Rolla on their first album
Cheater, by Priest... yep, same album again
Never Satisfied, by Priest... monster riffs, and follows Cheater on the album
Chase is Better Than the Catch, by Motörhead, again... I was in a Lemmy mood, I guess
Round and Round, by 80's L.A. glam metal band, Ratt... I kept picturing their music videos, too
Lay It Down, also by Ratt... killer guitar riffs and solo... and weirdly memorable music video
Freewheel Burning, by Judas Priest... a fast, soaring and aggressive tune
Running With the Wind, again by Priest
Number of the Beast, by kings of the early 80's New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden
Jamie's Cryin', by hard rockin' partiers, Van Halen... a crunchy yet melodic and oft-sampled song
Flintstones TV show theme song... I have no explanation how that happened
Cygnus X-1: Book 1, by Canadian prog-rock trio, Rush... a doozy of a metallic space trip
Keep It Comin' Love, by K.C. and the Sunshine Band... what the what? Well, I do like it <cough>

Music My Mom Used to Listen To

Today I'd like to talk about something a little different. Not about music that I, personally, listen to... or used to listen to. Instead, I'll chat a bit about what my dear mother used to listen to - at least during my years living at home with her. I should mention that my mom is still alive and well, and continues to enjoy the music from her past, so the use of the past tense - "used to"  - might be misleading. So I will include some names of artists that I know Mom has been listening to right up to date.

I'll begin by saying that music was an odd thing in my family's household as I was growing up in the 1960's, 70's and early 80's. When I was a young kid during the 60's, I never heard music in my home. Neither my Mom nor Dad ever turned on a radio or played a record, as far as I can remember. Of course, at that tender age, it never occurred to me that this was unusual. Somewhere in the mid-to-late 70's, the old man popped for a Realistic brand (from Radio Shack... remember that? It more recently morphed into The Source) home audio AM/FM stereo receiver with a built-in 8-track tape player, and a pair of little speakers.

I recall occasionally catching my mother tuned in to some sort of easy-listening station, though never when Dad was home. It had already been made abundantly clear to all that music was not to be played when the head of the household was present. Not only did The Man not have an appreciation for music, it seemed he downright despised it. To him, music was just a frivolous waste of time and an affront to his ears. And he could become downright surly if he caught even the faintest strains of something tuneful in his house. The rules were clear, even if they were broken now and then... by me. Later, I listened almost exclusively on headphones.

So Mom had to pick her moments to relax with some music. As soon as the old crank pulled out of the driveway to go run some errands, that was when the matron of our home could breathe easy and play something on the stereo. My involvement in her musical moments were few and far between though. 

Mom enjoyed light music at the time, sometimes very low-key like Anne Murray, sometimes a bit more lively like the Glenn Miller Orchestra. She had a handful of 8-track tapes lying around, which included the two artists I just mentioned, plus some Carpenters and the like. 

It was maybe a few years later that there was an addition to the family room's minimalist audio set-up. A strange-looking cassette tape player entered the mix. It most resembled one of those portable cassette players from back in the day, a boxy thing with the function keys and flat-loading tape slot on top. Again, this was a Realistic model, but it didn't look like a true system component, other than the fake woodgrain plastic sides. But it did the job. This became my way of building my first tape collection, recording tons of music off FM rock radio stations.

It was at this time that Mom began to buy commercial pre-recorded cassettes. Not very many, mind you, but she occasionally added a tape to her little collection. Probably no more than a dozen or so at most. I sometimes sneaked a peek at her tapes to see what she liked to listen to. I even gave her one or two tapes as Christmas presents. I remember first hearing the music of the Benny Goodman Orchestra and George Gershwin's An American in Paris when Mom took over the family room stereo.

Since I had my own little audio system in the basement - where I had re-located my bedroom for privacy and to escape from the little brother - I didn't really need to spend much time with the upstairs stereo, other than to periodically record some more radio tapes. So much music! But I was curious about Mom's tastes in tunes, so I checked out her tapes now and then. 

George Gershwin's An American in Paris was interesting to me - and still is, its sprightly rhythms and bright brass section leaping out of the mix. The gentle sections of the ambitious jazz-classical fusion were evocative yet playful. This very progressive orchestral piece plays like a suite of sections that each depict a different theme... telling a story. Perhaps An American in Paris spoke to me the way that Rush's 2112 suite did. On the flip-side of that tape was Rhapsody in Blue, equally unique and intriguing. The lengthy piece moves through a variety of tempos, styles, and textures. Also very cool. Good one, Mom!

The Carpenters were, at the time, too middle-of-the-road for my tastes, though their one song, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft was kind of cool. I guess the music appealed to my limited pop sensibility, and the lyrics to my science-fiction fanaticism. 

The big band stuff was beyond me... the Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman orchestras just weren't my cup of tea. Even today, though I can appreciate several jazz styles, that swing band sound just doesn't do it for me. 

I think it was the Anne Murray 8-track that I heard my mother play the most. For a while there, she seemed to like that sort of lightweight country-pop more than the rest. Snowbird, Danny's Song... that sort of thing. I do remember secretly playing that tape a few times just to hear Murray's rendition of the Monkees song Daydream Believer. Though I preferred the classic Monkees version, I thought this one wasn't so bad, fairly true to the original, only with female vocals. And as time has passed, I've come to like some Anne Murray music, and even bought myself one of her old records recently.

I was a teenager during those years of getting to know my Mom's musical tastes. As soon as I graduated high school, I was outta there and off to another city for college. Then from there to an even more distant city where I've lived until today. So I wasn't keeping up with everything Mom listened to for many years. She did play a lot of piano during that time, so I knew she was learning stuff that she already knew and enjoyed from the Great American Songbook, artists like Ellington, Porter, and Berlin.

In more recent decades, during visits, I've heard my Mom mention her interest in the music of Billie Holiday, Harry Connick Jr, and Michael Bublé. I used to listen a bit to a Connick CD I have around here somewhere, but I no longer care much for it, and certainly have no inclination to get into Holiday or Bublé. I've checked out both a bit, and neither appealed to me. If I want Sinatra-like music, I'll listen to Sinatra.

So I'd say that my sole musical influence at home was my Mom. Her tastes were varied, as were - and are now - mine. I liked some of what she listened to back when I was a teenager, and even the stuff I didn't... well, I've sort of come around to it. Maturing, getting older, nostalgia, broadening the horizons, a more open mind. Though the radio and friends had a greater influence, Mom helped, at least in a small way, to shape my musical interests. 

Thanks, Mom.

1978 At The Movies - Sharks, Snatchers or a Speeding Bullet?

Today, let's enjoy a flashback to 1978 at the cinema. I was just fourteen years old so I couldn't see any of the Restricted-rated movies that year, but I did my best to see the blockbusters and anything else of interest. Some of the biggies at the box-office were Grease, Superman, and National Lampoon's Animal House. I had zero interest in anything like Grease (a dance musical), but I made like a speeding bullet to the theatre to see Superman. I can't remember if I saw Animal House on its first run, but I have a feeling I did not. I do recall renting that on VHS with some buddies a few years later.

I was nuts about Superman - in general - ever since I can remember. The majority of the titles in my modest childhood comic book collection were Superman-oriented. Batman might have been a close second. I watched repeatedly the reruns of the 50's George Reeves Superman TV show. As clunky as its visual effects (the flying) were, I didn't really notice much, if at all, when I was a kid. 

So when a Superman motion picture (the first ever) featuring state-of-the-art (for that time) visual effects came along, I was totally on board. It blew everyone's mind... including mine. That was certainly the highlight of the year for me. And ever since then, I've watched and re-watched Superman many, many times. Great story, great performances, out-of-this-world visuals... whew.

Every Which Way But Loose wasn't exactly my kind of movie, but I dragged myself out to a school friend's birthday outing to see it. A man and a monkey. Meh. A few years older, I'd sure dig Clint Eastwood in his tough-cop Dirty Harry flicks, but he was just weird in this goofy comedy. Not my style and totally forgettable. 

I believe I first saw Jaws 2 at the drive-in with a carload of fellow 14-year-olds. Again, it was a birthday outing for a friend. So... lots of junk food and horseplay... but I did settle down enough to enjoy the gargantuan shark chomping down on hapless swimmers. I don't think I ever saw the movie again, until just a couple of years ago when I finally found time to give it a re-watch. And it was actually pretty good, not on par with the first Jaws, but a better than decent follow-up which picks up with Roy and his family not long after their earlier misadventures. 

Revenge of the Pink Panther was the sixth, but not last, instalment in the comedy series starring Peter Sellers. I was a fan of the Panther movies, having laughed my guts out repeatedly viewing the earlier flicks on TV. Revenge was probably one of the lesser of them all, but I'm sure it was still good enough for a dumb kid back in the day. As long as the key ingredients were there - Herbert Lom as the mentally unstable Chief Inspector, and Clouseau's (Sellers) manservant Cato - a Pink Panther movie just couldn't fail. Well, '83's Curse of the Pink Panther did that, didn't it?

I don't know how discerning I was about picking movies to see at the cinema, but I probably jumped on any chance to see something with my friends. At the age of fourteen, all kids are looking for a reason to get out of the house - away from the parents - for an evening. Coma was likely a bit of a stretch for me. Coma was based on Michael Crichton's sci-fi thriller novel... less action and more talky, certainly a lower-key film intended for an older audience. The movie was forgettable for me at the time. Who knows, maybe I'd see something good in it now.

Damien: Omen II was the sequel my pals and I were eagerly anticipating. This sort of horror, while rather tame by today's standards, was creepy enough back in the day. Damien is growing up, 12-years-old now, and is as evil as ever. His devilish doings were fun to watch, though I didn't feel compelled to see it over and over again. The original was the best. Always would be.

The Bad News Bears Go To Japan was the second sequel in the series about foul-mouthed youngsters who took the baseball diamond by storm. Matthau returned as the coach, but I think the rest of the cast was re-vamped. I mean... you have to keep it fresh... and that meant keeping young kids in the mix. Who wants to see the original Bears team growing up? Not me. Forgettable.

I nearly finished this post without recalling what is now regarded as one of the best horror movies of the 70's... the Philip Kaufman re-make of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Many people prefer this re-make to the original, citing colour film and screaming aliens as factors that make it far superior. Don't get me wrong, I really like this re-imagining of the classic sci-fi thriller of the 50's. The thing is that I already had several years of exposure to the seminal 1956 alien invasion story (on TV)  and had developed a deep admiration for the tense, creepy black-and-white gem. Paranoia everywhere! So when director Kaufman brought his vision to the big screen, I had reservations. Yet it's a terrific film, just as anxiety-inducing and spine-chilling as its predecessor. An all-star cast: Sutherland, Nimoy, Goldblum, Cartwright. Weird and disturbing visual effects are likely part of the reason fans rank this re-make above the original. But for me, nostalgia speaks louder... the original wins. Still, excellent stuff.

Because of my still tender age, I wasn't able to see horror milestone Halloween theatrically. I had a while to go before I could rent that on VHS in the 80's. Same with Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke, of which I am now a huge fan... hey, I'm no dope-head - it's just plain funny. Animal House had to wait, too. 

So, as far as movies I actually saw in '78 go, I'd say that Superman and Invasion of the Body Snatchers were the best of the bunch. A fair year, with only a couple of standouts. 

James Bond Movie Theme Songs - Part 4

It's time to revisit the theme songs from the James Bond movie series. In the previous three instalments, I covered the movie themes for the Bond pictures from 1962 until 2002. Today I'll look at the films starring actor Daniel Craig as the gentleman spy 007. 

Though I'm no big Craig fan, I have come to accept him as part of the Bond formula, at least for now. I heard he is slated for one more appearance in the role... after the forthcoming Bond 25 in 2020 (such a long wait!). I feel as though Craig has grown into the role, or has at least demonstrated to me that he's capable as MI6's best operative. For now.

First up... the rock'em'sock'em kick-out-the-jams franchise revitalizer Casino Royale. Released in 2006, Casino Royale served as a reboot of the James Bond world, momentarily setting aside most everything we knew from the four previous decades of Bond in cinema. 

So, a new film - a reboot, a new actor... now how about the theme song? It's a killer: You Know My Name, as sung by Chris Cornell. Quite the comeback after that Madonna song died another day on the previous Bond flick.

You Know My Name is a powerful rock song, tempered only slightly by Bondesque orchestral touches. Heavy both musically and lyrically, the tune is complemented by the very cool visuals of the opening credits sequence. I'd say this film's opening credits are among the best - or may be the best - in the whole Bond series. The imagery, music - and lyrics, set the tone for the story-to-come perfectly, creatively using elements that would play into the 007 adventure, and in a graphic animated style that is both retro (think classic 60's Bond?) and modern. 

Cornell cut his teeth as a primo singer for "grunge/alternative" (I prefer "metal") band Soundgarden in the 80's and 90's... and a bit beyond that. He could achieve a smooth yet masculine vocal tone yet could soar with biting screams. None of that Sam Smith fluff here - but we'll get to that later. 

Though You Know My Name is nothing like McCartney's Live and Let Die theme song, I feel the same way about the two: they both work with current (of their time) heavy rock sounds that fit the Bond template... both instrumentally and lyrically. 

Next up: Quantum of Solace. The movie is a dud. The theme song is a dud. I hesitate to even discuss the song Another Way to Die. But I'll give it a little run-down: instrumentally, it's messy, sounding like an amateurish and haphazard assembly of riffs and sound bytes. I think it's trying to be another You Know My Name with it's pseudo-heavy guitars, but the plinky piano bits don't work well here. And the Bond-like horn parts sound too forced, as though just punched in here and there during digital assembly... just a puzzle that was messily assembled. Oh, and don't get me started on the shrill and off-key vocals. Nothing cool or pleasant or subtle or powerful about Alicia Keys' cringey hollering. It just doesn't work. Not for me, anyway. Yuck.

And then along came Skyfall. Woohoo! Okay, now I cannot claim to be a fan of Adele. I'd only ever heard one other song by her before her Skyfall theme came along. I liked it (Rolling in the Deep) well enough, but not so much that I sought out more of her music. But the Skyfall movie theme really knocked it out of the park. Finally, somebody re-captured that aura of the early Bond classics. Adele did it here, with an Oscar-winning performance that pretty much rivals that of the classy Bond theme songstresses of the 60's and early 70's. She worked with her own team to write the song, and they ingeniously devised something that would have (with different lyrics) worked seamlessly with Goldfinger or Diamonds Are Forever. 

Adele possessed the vocal qualities that make a Bond theme.... um, sing. And Skyfall has become one of the best-loved theme songs of the whole 007 series. It's certainly among my favourites. Just listen to that lush orchestral sweep (à la Bond) in the opening, the subdued piano-and-voice-only first verse, the slow build to the grand chorus, the effortless and compelling famous Bond musical motifs. It plays like the movie does, gradually swelling to the huge finale... then a very soft and brief dénouement. There is nothing forgettable about the Skyfall theme song. Oh, and great movie, by the way... finally re-introducing a bunch of traditional Bondisms for a fun and nostalgic tie-in with the modern world of 2012.

After an excruciating wait (as usual, it seems), the next Bond film finally hit the silver screen in 2015. The long-awaited Spectre was unleashed on 007 fans... most of whom expected some truly old-school escapism. I mean, that title says it all. There has been no evil SPECTRE organization in the Bond movies since Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. So... anticipation was high. 

The movie was semi-satisfying. Daniel Craig did his job admirably, as did the rest of the cast, with what they were given to work with. Unfortunately, later in the film, there were what I think were missed opportunities to grow the characters, their stories, and the James Bond mythology. Certain scenes seemed to serve little or no purpose, lacking a polished, finished feel. Despite its small-ish flaws, Spectre is pretty good as far as Bond movies go. I mean, every actor who filled those 007 shoes experienced at least one stumble at the cinema. Craig came roaring out of the gate, so it was hard to top Casino Royale... but a darned good track record so far. 

My biggest issue with Spectre is its theme song, Writing's On the Wall. Instrumentally, it's actually quite nice, following - maybe too closely - the successful formula of previous themes. Nothing special or terribly memorable, but better than serviceable. But I don't care one bit for the alternately soft, weak bits or the high-pitched whispers of Sam Smith. Not a fan. His style of delivery just doesn't fit the Bond structure for me. I mean, would the BeeGees have been the right choice for a Bond theme back in the 70's? Maybe, but I think not. Either beautiful female vocals or throaty masculine ones worked... but a guy singing like a woman? Nope. Hey, no offence to the BeeGees, either, because I do like their music. But it's a matter of context, how appropriate it is for its intended use. Anyway, I'll likely skip those opening credits - that song - whenever I watch Spectre. 

That brings us up to date on James Bond movie theme songs. It's been an interesting analysis, one I never really thought much about before... besides deciding a handful of my favourites. To really hunker down and pick apart the music revealed more about it than had occurred to me before, and the process helped me see how I felt about the Bond themes... objectively and subjectively, especially the latter, since I attach a lot of nostalgic importance to many of the older pieces that I grew up with. The two biggies that immediately come to mind are You Only Live Twice and Nobody Does It Better, a couple of faves that'll always top my list. 

I wonder who will feature on the Bond 25 theme. A vocalist, a band? Maybe bring back Adele? That might ensure another solid super-hit. What we want is a memorable song that works well for the movie and stands up to repeated listens on our music playlist. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Rock on, Bond.