Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Elton John is one of the most successful and influential musicians of all time, known for his expressive outfits and electrifying performances. In 1973, John released Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, a 17-song album that would go on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide. The album, with lyrics written by Bernie Taupin and produced by Gus Dudgeon, is known as one of John’s best works. Some of the best songs on the album include “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Candle in the Wind,” and “Bennie and the Jets”.
Ever since I had to analyze Goodbye Yellow Brick Road for a school project, the title track is one of my favorite songs. On the surface, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” contains rich vocal harmonies, dreamy piano chords, and a crisp drum beat to create a contemplative atmosphere for John to reflect on his life of fame. As a child, I remember my parents singing along to “Bennie and the Jets” on the radio, another personal favorite song of mine from the album. The song has an instantly recognizable introduction and a spectacular piano solo that displays John’s genius piano and composition skills.
Though John struggled with addiction at the height of his fame, he managed to quit his substance abuse and create his own charity, the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Despite his personal struggles, Elton John is one of the most successful musicians of all time, selling over 300 million records and producing many timeless hits that will live on long after his career is over.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Referred to as the most renowned unreleased album in pop music history, Smile was supposed to be the 12th studio album by the American band the Beach Boys, projected to be released after their album Pet Sounds. However, they did not officially release the album, potentially because of legality issues with Capitol Records and the producer and composer of the album – Brian Wilson’s – rocky emotional state.
The album had fully completed musical tracks, but only a few of the songs have vocal recordings. Potentially because of his fear of ridicule, Brian Wilson refused to finish the album, but when bootleg versions of the album became popular among the Beach Boys’ audience in the 80s, Capitol Records released a portion of the album to the public in the 90s.
Wilson drew inspiration from astrology, numerology, and the occult when composing Smile. He also became fascinated with religion, even adopting meditation and vegetarianism. Wilson wanted this album to be a “teenage symphony to God.” The group named the album Smile because it focused on good thought and happiness.
You can find the Beach Boys Smile album at the Parsons Music Library. The box set includes 40 tracks, many of which are unfinished but include parts of the structure of the original Smile album. The box also includes a small book of notes from Wilson and photos from the recording sessions.
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today we’re featuring a selection of 25 songs by artists under the age of 25 as curated by Music Library student assistant Eliana (class of 2024).
A playlist featuring the next generation of artists: 25 songs from 25 artists all 25-years-old or younger.
This playlist began as a discussion with a friend online a couple months ago. I had shared a song that I’d had stuck in my head and my friend said that it was their least favorite song by the group because (and I quote) “SHA LA LA is a terrible lyric 🙂”. The discussion that followed was all in good fun, but led me to want to research songs that have nonsense syllables in them just to prove that “sha la la” is NOT (necessarily) a terrible lyric.
Vocals like “sha la la” in songs are called non-lexical vocables. Basically, they are nonsense syllables which may or may not be mixed together with meaningful text and they appear in all manner of different musics. This, of course, led to me being extra geeky and having a lot of fun creating a playlist highlighting a variety of different songs that use nonsense syllables in this way. In point of fact, it goes all the way back to at least the middle ages with songs using things like “fa la la” in them – but I decided to stick to more modern examples for playlist purposes. Which means this playlist starts with some scat singing (from circa the 1920s-1940s) and goes on from there.
Your mileage may vary in terms of your tolerance of the non-lexical vocable, but I maintain that sometimes one doesn’t need an actual word to create musical meaning and that non-lexical vocables can be super fun!
Welcome to our second installment of Parsons Playlists. Our second playlist is from Music Library Associate, Melanie Armstrong and is a tribute to songwriter Adam Schlesinger, whose career was cut short on April 1st, 2020 due to complications from Covid-19.
Melanie says: “I first became aware of Adam Schlesinger’s work when I discovered the band Fountains of Wayne in the early 2000s. But come to find out, I had already heard his amazing pop sensibility thanks to the title song of the 1996 movie That Thing You Do!. He wrote music for many other TV, Broadway and film projects and also for the musical TV series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which happens to be one of my very favorite recent TV shows. I also threw in a couple of TV Christmas songs since I blog about holiday programs with my husband. So please enjoy this sampling of his amazing and alas too short career! This music will definitely make you smile though, and that’s quite a legacy to leave behind.”
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Right now, Ariana Grande is at the top of her game. She has been relevant in the pop genre for quite some time, from her early days as a Broadway and Nickelodeon actress, to now, but is currently transforming her career in what I would consider a glorious comeback.
In May 2017, the Manchester Arena suicide bombing took place at one of Ariana Grande’s concerts, and 22 people were killed. This led Ariana to suffer from severe anxiety, and even post traumatic stress disorder, putting a jolting halt to her career. She did not release new music until her mighty comeback single, “No Tears Left to Cry”, which was to be included on Sweetener, almost a year after the attack. It was an anthem of positivity in light of tragedy, which set the tone for the rest of her music that was to come shortly after.
In Sweetener, Ariana finally finds her own, unique sound. While her voice has always been recognizable as powerful, the songs on Sweetener go past her usual made-for-radio pop, providing a personal look into her growth, both as a person and as an artist. As trends in music have shifted, so has her style, going from experimenting with EDM on her previous album, Dangerous Woman, to using trap and hip-hop influences on Sweetener. Pharrell Williams‘s sophisticated and smooth production, combined with features from Missy Elliot and Nicki Minaj, show how hip-hop and trap have only enhanced Ariana’s music.
Ariana’s overall sound to me has matured, and may have even shifted her audience from younger girls to all people around her age, who are able to relate to what she’s saying. On Sweetener, she covers the ups and downs of romantic relationships, singing about love in her dreams on “R.E.M.” and a crush who she just can’t seem to ignore on “Goodnight and go.” On the other side of this, Ariana reminds us of mental health and self-care on the tracks “Breathin” and “Get Well Soon.” “Breathin” is about Ariana’s own experience with anxiety, and reminds listeners who are going through similar situations to keep breathing. Sometimes I listen to “Breathin” when I’m nervous, and it helps me keep calm. “Get Well Soon”, the closing track, is my personal favorite. Described by Ariana as a “musical hug” to her fans, it reminds listeners to take care of their bodies and encourages a discussion about mental health. She tells listeners that she will be there, even in their worst moments, and inspires them to “work their way to the top”.
There is a clear reason for Ariana’s seemingly overwhelming popularity today: her music has never been better.
When Sweetener came out, I woke up, made myself a coffee, and sat in my sunny backyard on a hot August morning to listen to it for the first time. The album made me feel warm and happy, and I don’t think it was just because of the weather. To me, this is a special album that I still listen to, especially when I’m feeling down, and will always remember. It holds a firm spot in my top albums of 2018.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
When a person thinks of ABBA, they most likely envision a group of four Swedes with voluminous 70’s styled hair, dressed in spectacular costumes, dancing emphatically on stage, having the time of their lives. This is why I appreciate them so much – the energy, positivity, lightness and uplifting emotion the songs bring out in listeners are infectious and inspiring. It feels so good to belt out “Lay All Your Love On Me,” twirl around to “Honey, Honey,” and it is a well known fact that no one stays quiet when “Dancing Queen” comes on over the speakers. It’s no wonder they’ve stayed popular over so many years; the feelings that their songs evoke in listeners are timeless.
While the group isn’t planning on touring (in person) any time soon, there is word that a futuristic “hologram tour” (yes, you read that right) is set to debut in 2019 or 2020. All I know is that I have to be there…
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
I have been listening to Sam Smith since my freshman year of high school, which was now five years ago! His talent is so pure and he can convey such strong emotion through his songs. I love how he has a blend of sad, raw songs and upbeat, happy ones. I guess it depends on your mood… Although, the songs are so good that I’ve found myself listening to his slower ballads even on cheery and sunny days!
I love to sing, so I appreciate any artist that goes above and beyond with their music. I like the type of songs you can sing along to and understand the words to. My favorite album of Smith’s is In The Lonely Hour. At times some of the lyrics seem a bit trite and overdone with repetitive melodies, but nonetheless it is still quit enjoyable even for Smith’s voice alone. He reminds me of Adele and Duffy, two other British singers whom I like.
“Stay With Me” became a radio hit, but one that didn’t get as popular (and should have) was the more lively tune “Money On My Mind” which I’ve definitely had stuck in my head on more than one occasion. I like that his music has a pop, yet soul, flare to it and does not need the kind of auto-tuning that many current pop stars use. His voice is so versatile that many other famous artists have featured him, including the electronic duo Disclosure. In addition, I was so happy to hear that he was singing the theme song for the recent James Bond movie Spectre.
Back cover of “In The Lonely Hour”
This album‘s focus was on a lost lover, something Smith seems to sing about a lot. I hope his next album will be about something different, but if not, I am content with the talent he exudes singing about past relationships.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
This special edition of Arachnophonia features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love‘s MUS 235 class: “I Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.”
“Nothing Compares 2 U” was intended for The Family, a band formed by Prince in 1984, and was released on their self-titled 1985 album. The song was not released as a single, and the album bobbed around on the Billboard R&B Chart. While The Family was a favorite of Prince fans, “Nothing Compares 2 U” received little recognition. The song was offered to a young Irish singer, Sinéad O’Connor, fresh off releasing her first album. O’Connor embraced “Nothing Compares 2 U” in her own style, and it would end up introducing the artist to a massive global audience.
The Parsons Music Library contains two parts of this story in its collection. In 1993, Prince released his own version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” on Hits/the B-Sides. While this album is easily accessible on Spotify, it’s worth a trip to the Library’s CD collection to take a glimpse at the album itself. Flip open the first few pages of the liner notes, and the throwing-fists-in-the-driveway story gains credulity.
Excerpt from liner notes to Prince’s Hits/the B Sides
“When Sinead O’Connor took Nothing Compares 2 U to the top of the charts in 1988, Prince was damn near obliged to perform it himself… leaving no doubt whose song it was.” Fair enough. On Hits/The B-Sides, the song feels completely Prince. The song is performed live, it’s sensuous, and it has gentle echoes of Purple Rain. There’s a trumpet solo. Rosie Gaines contributes her vocals, telling a story in a way that one person just can’t do alone.
Prince’s take on “Nothing Compares 2 U” speaks to a level of artistry that only Prince could embody. Everything about the song is lush and performative. While the vocals yearn for the personal, there is a feeling that the song is still far beyond its listener. The song belongs near the center of a concert, capturing a feeling both grand and ethereal. It’s hard for me to imagine this version being excerpted on the radio or in coaxed into a short music video.
The song belonged to Prince, but it was a song that Sinéad O’Connor would succeed at first. There’s one more part of this story, one which Marcy Rose Chvasta finds related to Sinéad O’Connor’s body. Political Rock, available in the Parsons Music Library, offers a collection of critical essays on politically linked recording artists from Peter Gabriel to Pearl Jam. While O’Connor has been rooted in the political since the beginning of her artistry, Chvasta’s chapter looks to probe a little deeper. For a singer so deeply connected to the authenticity of Bel Canto, how should we handle an O’Connor who no longer feels authentic to the work and person she began with?
As O’Connor has moved on from “seven hours and fifteen days,” Chvasta notes that O’Connor has sometimes defined her popularity in relative proximity to the song. It was “Nothing Compares 2 U” that was popular, not necessarily O’Connor. The song becomes a story of O’Connor’s body, in a certain place and time, a forcible societal imagination of O’Connor as a permanently androgynous 20-something wandering around Parc de Saint-Cloud. As O’Connor has aged, she has aged out of this song, “her” song, due to an unstable and unreliably political body.
The O’Connor of today can’t quite be pinned down, and that’s a good thing — it is not the place of a 1990 hit song to define a career. Chvasta notes that O’Connor’s body and artistry are dangerous because of what they are not: lacking in eroticism, narcissism, and self-indulgence, this duality could not be popularly sustained. As an unwieldy body, O’Connor moved in directions far from her youth, and far from a place “Nothing Compares 2 U” could ever relate to.
