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.
One of my favorite albums (and singers) is Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me.This might sound odd, but it’s what I most frequently listen to when cooking or baking — it’s the perfect rainy day music.
Her tone is so soft and sweet and her songs are very melodic. I love that intertwines jazz and blues because it’s hard to find that type of music now. Jones was a lot more popular in the early 2000s — I was first introduced to the album when my mom and dad would play it in our house when I was in elementary school.
She has lots of awards and has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. In the beginning of the 2000s Billboard deemed her the top jazz artist of the decade. She has won nine Grammys and writes her own songs as well as plays the piano.
Norah Jones at Bright Eyes at Town Hall 29 May 2007 (credit: Yaffa)
Come Away With Me is the album that kick started her career and launched many of her songs into popularity. The album is a fusion of jazz with country, blues, folk and pop. It was certified diamond, meaning that it sold over 27 million copies. This album alone was enough to win Jones five Grammys, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist. My personal favorite songs from the album are “Don’t Know Why” and “Shoot the Moon,” but all of the songs are so unique and enjoyable in their own way. I tend to listen to a lot of mainstream pop because it’s always on everywhere and I want to stay up-to-date on all the trending music, however, this is a nice change of pace from that. I think it’s important to listen to a wide range of artists and music, and Norah Jones is the kind of singer that I believe almost everyone would like.
Some other singers that mirror her musical vibe are Diana Krall, Corinne Bailey Rey, Alicia Keys, Adele, and Duffy. I’d say her style is a bit more laid back and the songs aren’t as fit for blasting on the radio, but her songs are written about similar themes and use little auto-tuning or electronics.
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’m fascinated by the vocal talent of musicians and for some reason, I discover a lot of artists that I enjoy through listening to covers of their songs by a cappella groups on YouTube. I had no idea who George Ezra was until I listened to the Trinitones perform a mash-up of “Barcelona,” “Budapest” and “Paradise” over a year ago. The all-male group surprised me with their impressive talent, but also with the arrangement of the songs. I was familiar with the song “Budapest” because it had been playing on radio stations at the time, but the artist behind the song had escaped my familiarity. After listening to Wanted on Voyage however, George Ezra has become a frequent artist on my Spotify playlists.
Wanted on Voyage is Ezra’s debut album released in the UK in 2014. He had first been discovered by Columbia Records in 2012 from his videos on YouTube performing his own original songs. After being contracted to work for Columbia Records, Ezra found inspiration for his album in 2013 when he traveled by train across Europe, writing about the places he visited and the people he met. From this collection of memories, Ezra sat down and penned the songs for the album, immortalizing his journey.
The album gained many positive reviews on release, attributing the success to the relatively simple composition of the songs that are dramatically enhanced by Ezra’s ability to sing. A vital characteristic to Ezra’s music is his voice, which is naturally lower than many popular artists. The pitch of his voice adds flavor to his songs that make it appear as if these songs only fit the register that Ezra is able to perform in. Some highlights of the album for me are “Budapest” and “Barcelona,” which is not a surprise considering these are the songs that led me to George Ezra’s music. The mix between Ezra’s incredible voice and the instrumentation and production on both tracks really drives home the idea of why I enjoy his music so much. Another track I enjoy is “Did You Hear The Rain?” which was released as the first single from the album.
Wanted on Voyage is a fantastic album that does not try to create complicated music. The purity of the instrumentation and vocals shine through on every track. George Ezra actually filmed a Mahogany Session video for “Budapest,” which is a video series that allows artists to acoustically perform some of their most famous songs for the world to gain a more intimate view of the artist. This particular video is great, because I honestly cannot tell the difference in the quality of Ezra’s singing between the video and the recorded song from the album. Wanted on Voyage truly shines as Ezra’s first step into the musical world and it manifested a popularity around him that still holds true to this day.
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.
To me, John Mayer stands as one of the most interesting musical icons of my childhood. Originally making his name as a pop-rock singer-songwriter, Mayer garnered attention early in his career for his guitar ability (he attended Berklee College of Music’s guitar program for two semesters). After the success of his 2001 debut Room for Squares (for which he won his first Grammy) and 2003’s Heavier Things, Mayer pivoted when he released Try! (2005), a blues record released under the moniker of the John Mayer Trio. With his most acclaimed album, Continuum (2006), Mayer sought to unite his earlier pop-rock stylings with his recent efforts in blues.
Though for whatever reason, it’s Mayer’s first album, Room for Squares, that I find myself listening to more often than his more acclaimed and successful releases. I fully agree that Continuum is a masterfully executed record that showcases the best of his songwriting ability. And Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles (2008) might be my favorite live album of all time. But there’s something wonderfully innocent about Room for Squares absent in his other works, like the lovable arrogance with which Mayer scoffs at those who doubted his decision to drop out in “No Such Thing”:
“I want to run through the halls of my high school
I want to scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there’s no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you’ve got to rise above”
And then immediately doubts himself in “Why Georgia”:
“’Cause I wonder sometimes
About the outcome
Of a still verdictless life
Am I living it right?”
Or maybe it has more to do with the fact that, to me, the album itself is seems distanced from the controversy-plagued, self-proclaimed “ego addict” that Mayer eventually become known as. Contrast this with his 2003 acceptance speech for his first Grammy award (for “Your Body Is a Wonderland” off of Room for Squares), in which Mayer remarked “this is very, very fast and I promise to catch up,” and you might begin to appreciate the sort of unspoiled innocence of Meyer’s debut, and indeed, his early career as a whole. Regardless, Room for Squares remains an often stunning debut (see: guitar part on “Neon”) from a man who would go on to change the landscapes of both pop and blues music.
John Mayer playing live at Tower Records in Atlanta, Georgia 2001
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.
John Mayer, the egotistical, narcissistic, prodigious, reformed paradox of a musician is by far my favorite artist of all time. When people think of John Mayer, they typically think of him for one of two things: his iconic love songs or TMZ headlines articulating exactly how he broke Katy Perry’s/Taylor Swift’s/Kim Kardashian’s/Jennifer Anniston’s heart. Either way, I rarely see people appreciating his musical talent or his raw songwriting genius. There’s a reason Eric Clapton calls him a “master” guitarist. And for me, there’s no better example of this mastery than on his fifth studio album, Born and Raised.
You wouldn’t guess it at first, Mayer often speaks in interviews about how his favorite type of music to write is blues. You get hints of this on sprinkled across his other hit albums, but Born and Raised is his real tribute to this passion. From first looking at the album art, it becomes apparent that this is no ordinary album from hit-machine John. There’s no photo of Mayer trying to seem like he doesn’t know his picture is being taken, and no angsty black and white filter over the whole image. No, Born and Raised sports old-fashioned text intertwined with clockwork, adorned with phrases such as “Music by John Mayer” and “Stereo Recorded Sound.” No glitz or glam, no profile shots algorithmically calculated to get girls to pick up the tape. Just the title, and a little style to set the tone.
Now, the music. The tracks on this album are slow, gentle folk songs, with a Mayeresque vibe to them. It opens with “Queen of California,” as Mayer immediately flexes his technical muscles with a flowing, articulated, methodical guitar riff cover almost the entire length of the song. It almost sounds like “Why Georgia” at first, but the album’s themes sink in after a spell. A gentle, clean electric guitar accents the track with smooth bends which work alongside Mayer’s voice to keep you interested.
Another highlight of the album comes with the fifth track, “Something Like Olivia.” If you’re still questioning Mayer’s prowess on the guitar, just watch the music video on YouTube. The fact that he can keep this riff going effortlessly whilst singing is beyond me, and the studio version certainly displays his mastery well. The lyrics are repetitive yet meaningful, and the chorus is easy to sing along to. “Something Like Olivia” is about a girl, but it’s not a love song. It’s a jam.
Finally, we have the title track. “Born and Raised” is deservingly named after the album (or… vice versa?), as the simple chord progression leaves Mayer’s voice at the forefront. A harmonica finishes out each chorus in lieu of a guitar solo, an ode to the unique blues/country rock theme of this album. Lyrically, “Born and Raised” is a strong track, telling the story of how he feels that life has passed him by, and how he no longer feels like he has dreams to work towards: “I still have dreams, they’re not the same/They don’t fly as high as they used to/I saw my friend, he’s in my head/And he said, ‘You don’t remember me do you?’”
As a whole, Born and Raised is a break from Mayer’s routine, and it feels like the first album he made more for himself than for the public. It’s not a collection of hits, and it’s not a collection of his best guitar playing. It’s a collection of jams, and though he would continue his adventure into Americana with his next album, Paradise Valley, it was a testament to the kind of music Mayer wanted to make. If nothing else, it’s a collection of good songs, and an album I think everyone should listen to.
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.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by Music Library student worker, Jane (class of 2022) and features Citizen a CD box set by the 1970s rock band Steely Dan. Thanks, Jane!
It’s the summer of 2006, and you’re sitting in the back of a 15 year-old Subaru with the windows down and your whole family is harmonizing to the chorus of “Rose Darling” by Steely Dan. Or, at least, that’s what I was doing. My parents listened to that whole cornucopia of 70’s classic rock, so I grew up with artists like Crosby Stills & Nash, Joni Mitchell, and Paul Simon. I was always particularly drawn to Steely Dan, but I wouldn’t be able to explain why until I revisited their music in 2016.
Simply put, I’m a sucker for interesting harmonies, and no one does it better than Steely Dan. All of their songs highlight different instruments or musical motifs. For example, if you want a strong bass line, songs like “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number” and “Babylon Sisters” might suit your fancy. If you’re looking for a more melodic, wistful sound, check out “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” (it has some great, unexpected xylophone chords) or “Doctor Wu”.
My favorite though, which I had never heard until after I moved to Richmond, is “Fire in the Hole”. It starts with a rhythmic and intense piano riff that makes way for sliding electric guitar and, of course, a chorus you’ll never get out of your head, sung by none other than Donald Fagen.
Vampire Weekend’s most recent, ableit already five years old, album entitled Modern Vampires of the City takes a leap away from the band’s quirky, Africa-inspired rhythmic playfulness. The album feels more emotionally powerful than the band’s previous work, but it hasn’t completely abandoned the playfulness that may have been the key draw to past listeners. Songs like “Step” and “Don’t Lie” both fit into more mainstream-sounding emotional pop tunes, while the band rekindles old sounds with new twists in “Diane Young”, “Worship You”, and “Unbelievers.”
2013 promotional photo of the band members L-R Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson
Deeper cuts into the album get into some of the songs which bring out the band’s famous unique sounds even more. Each song on this 12-track album is worth a listen, as each one provides a brand new experience for the listener. I come back to it time and time again because each time I listen to it, I end up interpreting stanzas or choruses or the entire song in a different way. Whether you want rhythmic, wild, and carefree or if you are looking for something to listen to as a break from studying, this may be your ticket.
The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album was released on June 1, 1967 in the UK and on June 2, 1967 in the US. It became the soundtrack for the fabled “Summer of Love” both influencing and reflecting the flower powered youth culture of the time, but its appeal has proven to be timeless.
The Beatles stopped touring in August of 1966, and took some time off. The group reconvened in November of that year and spent over 400 hours in the studio between November 1966 and April 1967 completing the album. (This was a far cry from their first foray into EMI Studios to record their first album in 1963 — that entire album was recorded in less than 24 hours!) This studio time led to all sorts of interesting musical experimentation and since the group had decided they were done with touring, there was no need to worry about whether the songs could be produced live on stage. The album as a whole is a fascinating almalgamation of harmonium, harpsichord, brass band, fairground noises, harp, psychedelia, Leslie speaker tweaking, multi-tracking, tape loops, full orchestra, crashing apocalyptic piano chords, dog whistles and more. The Beatles’ musical ideas required lots of technical innovation from producer George Martin and studio engineers.
The eclectic mix of songs was loosely held together by the “concept” of a fictional Edwardian alter-ego Sgt. Pepper Band and the songs are wonderfully joyful. From the psychedelic marching band music that introduces us to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, to the psychedelic imagery of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” ( title inspired by a drawing by John Lennon’s young son, Julian), to the music hall whimsy of McCartney’s “When I’m Sixty-Four”, to the spiritual tone of Harrison’s sitar-laced “Within You Without You”, to the amazing shifting tones, full orchestral crescendo and avant garde surrealism of “A Day In The Life” (one of the greatest ever Lennon/McCartney collaborations in this author’s opinion), there is much to enjoy, right through to the startling tape loop ending inserted into the run-out groove of the original LPs (and included on CD reissues if you wait for it). The Beatles drew inspiration from varied sources like an 1843 circus poster (“Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite”), a TV cornflakes commercial (“Good Morning, Good Morning”), news stories about runaway teens (“She’s Leaving Home”) or car accidents (“A Day in the Life”).
An alternate take from the Sgt. Pepper cover photo session
There is just as much to enjoy in a perusal of the album art itself. The cover features a pop art inspired collage of various folks (famous and not so famous) that the Beatles chose as inspirational to them, elaborate gatefold sleeve packaging (with bonus cardboard mustaches and pseudo-military insignia in early pressings) and includes the lyrics to all of the songs printed on the back cover, something that had never been done before with a pop album.
Sgt. Pepper signaled that pop & rock music could also be considered high art or even progressive social expression and more than just disposable entertainment. Musicologists cite Sgt. Pepper as continuing the musical maturation of the Beatles as a group that began with Revolver and Rubber Soul. It was also extremely influential on the development of progressive rock with its emphasis on studio experimentation, elaborate instrumentation and insistence on pushing the boundaries beyond conventional subject matter and track lengths. The album has been an influence on countless others since its release in 1967.
Here’s a sampling of a few of (many) parody takeoffs on the iconic cover:
This album has been one of my favorites since high school. Two years after “For Emma, Forever Ago” was released in 2008, Bon Iver’s sophomore release was this self-titled album.
“Holocene” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. The intro features intricately woven electric/acoustic guitars and vibes. While the beginning of the song is gentle and almost mesmerizing, by the time the chorus rolls around, the song picks up. The chorus lyrics are not your typical “pop” chorus:
And at once I knew I was not magnificent
Huddled far from the highway aisle
Jagged vacance, thick with ice
And I could see for miles, miles, miles
A wintry shot of Bon Iver’s frontman, Justin Vernon
“Towers” is also a favorite. This tune demonstrates the poetic nature of the group’s lyrics. The lyrics are a rhyming poem, which detail the process of falling in, then out of love. Some of my favorites include:
From the faun forever gone
in the towers of your honeycomb
I’d a tore your hair out just to climb back darling
when you’re filling out your only form
can you tell that itʼs just ceremon’
now you’ve added up to what you’re from
If you’re looking for a folk/indie album that’s not like the rest, check out Bon Iver’s “Bon Iver”.
