This is not the way we put an end to war: songs for your Monday evening

Some random nostalgia for your Monday evening. This is what I've been listening to today, and decided I'd share it... as idiosyncratic as these tunes are, a few of you should enjoy at least one of these songs.

~*~

Sometimes, you just need to get away:

Earth Wind And Fire - Getaway

[via FoxyTunes / Earth, Wind & Fire]

Slack-jawed, you will now behold one of the greatest blues-guitar players in the history of the world. Also, proof that there is a requirement for MEN to be attractive, although the bar is considerably lower than it is for women. Johnny Winter should be mega-famous, but did not have the good looks of the youthful Eric Clapton.

Also, this performance is footage from WOODSTOCK, originally filmed for the movie. Ask yourself: WHY would no-talent punks like SHA-NA-NA make it into the WOODSTOCK movie, and this incredible performance didn't? It might have something to do with looks. Also, the fact of how completely disorienting Johnny Winter was, in his time; he's so white trash, the joke went, that he is ALBINO! (And as a result, legally blind, and--as is evident in the video--he never focused on the audience or camera during his performances.)

The first time I ever heard him, his Texas-swamp blues was so authentic that I simply assumed he was black. Then I saw a photo of him and thought, not only is he white, he is the whitest guy I've ever SEEN.

I saw him play with Muddy Waters and James Cotton in 1977 and they were absolutely electrifying! And under bright lights, while sweating? He positively GLOWED like neon. Meant in a good way!

They really should have put him in the movie, dammit!

Johnny Winter - Mean Town Blues (Live)

[via FoxyTunes / Johnny Winter]

My mother loved this song, and this is for her. I miss her terribly.

My mother sang this song in her band and said it was hard not to sing it with a Mexican accent, particularly the phrase: I was so lonely/cried for you only. She said she didn't know why, but it needed to 'sound like where it came from.' She had to fight not to sing it that way, since she knew people would think she was mocking and/or disrespectful. (Although nobody thought that about the likes of Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra, when they donned fake-accents for songs, people tend to assume bigotry of country musicians.) My mother said the phrasing "cried for you only," simply wouldn't be in a regular Nashville-based county song, and it wasn't something you usually heard in country music, so you felt you should give it the accent.

A decade later, I would hear California punks who felt it necessary to sing Clash and Sex Pistols songs with a tinge of a British accent, and then I understood what she meant. Songs have a cultural CONTEXT, and wiping that away is also disrespectful.

Freddy Fender - Wasted Days & Wasted Nights

[via FoxyTunes / Freddy Fender]

Finally, if you've never heard this song and you consider yourself progressive AT ALL, it's time to listen. This was a song that inspired your Mamas and Daddys in the cause.

First Buffy Sainte-Marie talks about the writing of her song, and her inspiration, then sings it.

It's just so true.

Buffy Sainte-Marie - Universal Soldier

[via FoxyTunes / Buffy Sainte-Marie]

Dead Air Church: Shining Star

Dead Air Church brings you Earth, Wind & Fire's wonderful Shining Star recorded live (1975) on the old Midnight Special TV show. I recall this fairly well, since I taped it on an ancient RCA tape-recorder with the extremely low-tech microphone propped up in front of the TV. (Many of us regularly taped the show, which was a great way to get live recordings.)

This song is about human dignity and self-respect, and goes out this week to our newly-retired blogger Brownfemipower. I will dearly miss your spiritual writing and fierce insight. Also, to Blackamazon, who is able to bring down the wrath of feminist publishing with three little words! An amazing and powerful woman, whose words command earth-shaking responses. These are the women the world requires!

At the end of this song, unlike the recorded version, there is a "call and response" segment, which first entered mass-marketed popular music (to my knowledge) with the Isley Brothers' Shout. This is a worship style of the African-American church, that evolved from African community-debate tradition:

In Sub-Saharan African cultures, call and response is a pervasive pattern of democratic participation -- in public gatherings in the discussion of civic affairs, in religious rituals, as well as in vocal and instrumental musical expression. It is this tradition that African bondsmen and women brought with them to the New World and which has been transmitted over the centuries in various forms of cultural expression -- in religious observance; public gatherings; sporting events; even in children's rhymes; and, most notably, in African-American music in its myriad forms and descendants including: gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz and jazz extensions.

Not surprisingly, this song has been covered by Christian artists also, notably the pioneering Christian metal band Stryper.

And before there was Samuel L. Jackson, there was... Maurice White!!! One of the coolest guys ever; the very measure of cool even though people used to call his hair a "half-ro" since half of his hair was gone. Unfortunately, White has Parkinson's disease now and is no longer in the music business. He was quite the marvel in his day, as was Earth, Wind and Fire--inventive, fabulous funk-originators.

And yes, he popularized the sparkly-jacket-with-no-shirt look, imitated by 70s lounge lizards everywhere. Singing effortless harmony with White is multi-talented Philip Bailey.

Enjoy, and live the message!

~*~

Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star

[via FoxyTunes / Earth, Wind & Fire]