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February 13, 2007

* "sunshine on a cloudy day..."

Our good friend and occasional ND contributor Jim Desmond shared with us the following passage last month, and it seems worth sharing with others as well. It was originally written as an e-mail correspondence to a couple of his friends, but they encouraged Jim to see if someone might be interested in publishing it. We were already too far along with plans for the March-April ND to have any way to put it in there, but in the spirit of web-publishing serving as a supplement to our print-publishing, this seemed like a good place to pass it along....

by Jim Desmond

One of the many unexpected joys of parenting is watching them discover and choose the music they like, and hearing it again sort of through their ears. About two months ago, we're driving and "My Girl" came on the radio. Louise about halfway through says, "Dad, what is this music?" After the song is over she bugs me to play it again, my kids still not really understanding how radio works.

So later I put on a Temptations anthology at home. Both of them have just gone nuts for it, have to hear it every day. The early stuff only. "The Way You Do the Things to Do", "Get Ready", "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", etc. I lose 'em by "Psychedelic Shack", they see right through the fake rock era. And they always have me skip "I Wish It Would Rain" ("He's too sad, Dad").

They are obsessing on it too. The other day Lily saw some magazine hanging around with a glamour fashion photo, and asked me if I thought the woman "is pretty." So I say, well she looks too thin to me but yes she is sort of pretty. Lily says, "Dad, but beauty is only skin deep, she might not be a good person on the inside and that is what really matters." And I've heard "My Girl", still their favorite, more in the last two months than my entire Motown-centric life.

I love that catalogue, know it inside out, but even I am floored to now be really hearing it again, paying perhaps more attention to figure out what they like so much. It's like hearing it for the first time. What I cannot get over are the arrangements. Of course kids love it -- they hook you in the first five seconds. The songs have awesome openings, but no one formula. My favorites:

* "I'm Losing You". The little strum, followed by the quick soft, bahm bahm, repeat little strum, bahm bahm, then Ruffin fades in: "Eeewwww, your love is fading, i can feel your love fadin', woman it's fading away from me." In seven seconds they have set the entire mood of the song, taken you right there to the suspicion, the fear, his moment of realization.

* "Can't Get Next To You". A Lily favorite. Party sounds, then the sudden "Hey everybody, hold hold it -- listen." Half-second of dead silence, then jazzy solo piano intro, starts left swings back right, then the horns hit me three times BAM BAM BAM, back to super short version of same piano riff, then the vocals storm in with one word "I" -- pause -- "can turn the grayest sky bluer," bass singer follows "I can make it rain whenever i want it to" ... and when they quickly run through a couple more examples with different singers on each one, then hit the climatic high chorus, "Unimportant, are all these things I can do, cuz I, I, I can't next to you!" Then everybody joins: "Can't - Get - Next - To - You!!!" Less than 45 seconds in and you're dead on the ground. But all because of how they grabbed your attention in first five seconds, literally shut the party down to tell you, then built up an even bigger party.

* Or then there's the opposite -- no buildup to any vocal, no musical intro, no nothing. Ruffin just belts out "I know you wanna leave me," quick piano riff, "but I refuse to let you go," repeat piano riff, throw a little high hat in, "If I have to beg and plead for your sympathy, I dont mind cuz you mean that much to me," pick the sound up, kick in the full Funk Brothers and backup singers "Ain't too proud to beg..." A few seconds in and you are already deep into one of the most swingin' choruses ever.

The other revelation is David Ruffin. My lord what a singer, but really more of a rock 'n' roll singer than a '60s soul man. Instead of unfavorably comparing him to say Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett, we should be looking at the blueprint he set out for Mick, Rod Stewart, Paul Rodgers and rock singers up through Bono, except not one could carry his jock. His vocals are each astounding. Every song he sings, even a lesser composition ("It's You That I Need"), is incredible just because of the lead vocal. As famous and well-loved as that group is, I still don't think Ruffin gets his due. I'd be hard pressed to name a singer I like better.

So do yourselves a favor and rediscover the Temptations.

Posted by Peter at 11:40 PM | Permalink

February 3, 2007

* "the young quarterback, waits for the snap..."

Grant, you ignorant slut.

Colts 23, Bears 17. Manning finally gets it done. (Kenny Chesney not on the sidelines, with any luck.)

Worst QB ever to play in the Super Bowl, however, was Trent Dilfer.

And, actually, if my score turns out to be correct, you'd still win a wager, if you had the points.

this IS what y'all come to these blogs for, right?

adios,
peter

Posted by Peter at 3:28 PM | Permalink