Song Share: Baal Shem: Nigun

By Angus McKay

I was asked to orchestrate this song so Caleb could play it with his school orchestra at the end of this school year. I had never heard it before, but since beginning work on it, I have listened to it probably 100 times and I have never grown tired of hearing it. It is an amazing and moving piece of music. It comes from a compilation called "Three Portraits of Chasidic Life". I know nothing about Ernest Bloch, but I will be definitely looking into his other works now.

Song: Baal Shem: Nigun
Composer: Ernest Bloch
Performer: Joshua Bell

Song Share: Fast Car

By Angus McKay

I know almost nothing about Wyclef Jean (for a long time I didn't even know how to pronounce his name). I was introduced to this song through Paul Simon's website. As a devout Paul Simon fanatic I look into everything he is involved in. This was a surprising collaboration for me, but I think it works pretty well.



Lyrics:
[Intro: Wyclef Jean]
Yeah, this those Jersey boys

[Verse One: Wyclef]
I heard a man say Jesus Walks
Me myself I heard Jesus talk
Cause when I heard this beat I felt Jesus force
I heard it through the wire that he made it out the coma
from a fast car, it was a fast car
Yeah~!
Every day is like the wild wild West
Some of us are Bad Boys, some of us are Outlawz
Unsolved mystery, the killer get away
L.A., Vegas at the end of the day
in a fast car, drivin a fast car
Yeah~!

[Chorus: Wyclef, Paul Simon]
You don't gotta be no billionaire
To get a ticket up to the moon
We all know somebody up there
You need a helpin hand, look up right here
To help you see clearly now
To help you see clearly now
I hope you see clearly now
[scratched:] "AW YEAH!"

[Verse Two: Wyclef]
What would you do after your bachelor party
In the bar celebratin with all your homies
Go outside and you ready to ride
Then over 51 shots but you ain't ready to die
in your fast car, yeah, in your fast car
Paul Simon, talk to 'em

[Interlude: Paul Simon]
When that fast car picks you up
You will have no choice
You may hear the tires screamin
But you will have no voice
When that fast car picks you up
You will weep and smile and see
Heaven in the headlights
Mile after mile after mile after mile

[Chorus]

[Verse Three: Wyclef]
E'rybody need some TLC
So she headed to Honduras for some TLC, yeah
Havin fun in Central America
But she was a passenger, never a driver
in that fast car yeah, ridin that fast car
Yeah~!
Sweet sixteen I see her leavin the scene
Crossin the street she won't see 17
Blink of an eye, DWI
Hit and run that's felonies
in a fast car, ridin the fast car
Yeah~!

[Interlude]
[Chorus]

[scratched:] "AW YEAH!"

[Chorus]

Song Share: McGreggor

By Angus McKay taken from www.angusmckay.net

There was a time when nobody knew the band Elbow, save the devout few who followed them slavishly. I was among those few, and count myself fortunate to be so. Then they made the album The Seldom Seen Kid which won them the Mercury Prize, the Brit award for best band, and a slew of other top awards, and suddenly they were famous and everyone knew them.

Being one of the early fans, their new-found fame is a bitter-sweet pill. Sweet in that they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Bitter in the sense that I always rather enjoyed being the devoted fan of an amazing band that no one had ever heard of.

Nevertheless, I am still a devoted fan and now wish to share another piece of their brilliance from the days before the glory.

This song, McGreggor was recorded with the Leaders of the Free World album, but only released as a B-side, tragically. It came about somewhat as a fluke: while in the studio listening back to the mix for the song Picky Bugger, keyboardist Craig Potter accidentally hit the “half time” button, slowing the track down to half its original tempo (surprise). It turned out to fit perfectly with some lyrics that Guy Garvey had been playing around with, and they cut the track.

The result is this beautiful blend of gospel and rock with the classic Elbow twist.



Lyrics:
Oohhhh
There was lying at the table
Crying on the stairs
A raven on the gables singing
'Jesus doesn't care'
A woman at the window
With her hands on her hips
Staring out across the ocean
Like the prow of a ship
No blinking or emotion
Like the prow of a ship
Just endeavor and devotion
Like the prow of a ship, Ohhh rest in your bed
Oooohhh, McGreggor's dead
The kids were in the kitchen
Carving up the will
where/when the long line of limousines
Snake down the hill
They think they're winning
And shaking hands with the prodigal
And pompous who knew the man
Father figures and mo-fos
Who knew the man
God's torment at the party
As if God knew the man
Ooohhh, rest in your bed
Ooohhh, McGreggor's dead
Recall his lies
Pick up the pen
Record his reign
For the b**** that bore him
Is in heat again
Ooohhh

Song Share: Jeremy

By Angus McKay

Here's another familiar flashback for most of you: I recently became reacquainted with this one because I am currently in an ensemble project for school in which we are doing all Pearl Jam covers. I get to play the part of Eddie Vedder. It's a high school dream come true. But being in this position has given me new and greater respect for the man.

I consider myself a pretty good singer (4 years regional choir, 2 years All-State, etc.), but when handed the task of singing Jeremy I was blown away by just how physically taxing it is, and I still can't do it like Eddie. The man has a God-given gift of a voice and he uses it well.

Not only is this song an amazing vocal feat, but it is fascinating in so many ways. First off, it's the true story of a boy named Jeremy who shot himself in front of his classmates (Eddie Vedder being one of the classmates). "Try to forget this, Try to erase this, From the blackboard". That is such a cool line that gives the perfect sense of how strongly this event was impressed upon those who witnessed it. There's a lot of other metaphors, analogies and even straight-forward story telling that goes on in this song and it's beautifully woven together with that raw-90's-grunge energy that I grew to love back in the day.



Lyrics:
At home
Drawing pictures
Of mountain tops
With him on top
Lemon yellow sun
Arms raised in a V
The dead lay in pools of maroon below

Daddy didn't give attention
To the fact that mommy didn't care
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today

Clearly I remember
Pickin' on the boy
Seemed a harmless little f***
Oh, but we unleashed a lion
Gnashed his teeth
And bit the recess lady's breast
How could I forget
He hit me with a surprise left
My jaw left hurtin
Oh, dropped wide open
Just like the day
Like the day I heard

Daddy didn't give affection
And the boy was something mommy wouldn't wear
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today

Try to forget this... (try to forget this)
Try to erase this... (try to erase this)
From the blackboard

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today

Song Share: Alone Again

By Angus McKay

I was first introduced to this song in my songwriting class my first term at LIPA. Our project for that term was to write a "break up" song, and this was one of the examples of an approach we could take.

For a little history: Gilbert O'Sullivan is an amazing songwriter who missed out on a lot of money and glory because he was duped into a contract in which his manager paid him £10 a week and let him live in a little shack on the manager's property while Gilbert wrote songs that the manager would then record and sell for millions. Eventually he got wise and walked out to start his own career. He's done much better since then.

I really dig this song because it's about incredibly painful events, yet it takes a rather playful approach, lyrically and musically, to conveying the stories. I also really like how he is able to lay his lyrics over the meter he's set . For example, note how he places the word "whoever" in the first verse: it's one of those situations where most songwriters would try to find another word to fit, rather than stretch the same word over two different melodic phrases, but Gilbert maintains the lyric and it flows nicely.

Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O'Sullivan



Lyrics:
In a little while from now,
If I'm not feeling any less sour
I promised myself to treat myself
And visit a nearby tower,
And climbing to the top,
Will throw myself off
In an effort to make it clear to who
Ever what it's like when your shattered
Left standing in the lurch, at a church
Where people 're saying,
"My God that's tough, she stood him up!
No point in us remaining.
May as well go home."
As I did on my own,
Alone again, naturally

To think that only yesterday,
I was cheerful, bright and gay,
Looking forward to, but who wouldn't do,
The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down,
Reality came around
And without so much as a mere touch,
Cut me into little pieces
Leaving me to doubt,
All about God and His mercy
For if He really does exist
Why did He desert me
In my hour of need?
I truly am indeed,
Alone again, naturally

It seems to me that
There are more hearts
Broken in the world
That can't be mended
Left unattended
What do we do? What do we do?

Now looking back over the years,
And what ever else that appears
I remember I cried when my father died
Never wishing to have cried the tears
And at sixty-five years old,
My mother, God rest her soul,
Couldn't understand, why the only man
She had ever loved had been taken
Leaving her to start with a heart
So badly broken
Despite encouragement from me
No words were ever spoken
And when she passed away
I cried and cried all day
Alone again, naturally
Alone again, naturally

Song Share: Lightning Crashes

by Angus McKay

A few months back, I was singing to myself at work. I do this mostly to get the annoying songs that they play at work out of my head. Anyway, on this particular day I decided to dig a little deeper in my song memory bank for something I hadn't heard in a while. I found a place that had been locked and hidden away for many years. It was the music of my high school years. As I played through these long-forgotten songs in my mind, I found that I still loved them like I did before. Pearl Jam, Spin Doctors, Collective Soul, Tonic, Nirvana, and others all came flooding back to me. It was great.

One song in particular stood out to me. I kind of consider it the anthem of my high school class (whether the others of the class of 97 will agree may be questionable). Anyway, for those of you who know it: I hope it brings back good feelings the same way it did for me. For those who are hearing it for the first time: welcome to my world.

This is Live: Lightning Crashes.



Lyrics:
lightning crashes, a new mother cries
her placenta falls to the floor
the angel opens her eyes
the confusion sets in
before the doctor can even close the door

lightning crashes, an old mother dies
her intentions fall to the floor
the angel closes her eyes
the confusion that was hers
belongs now, to the baby down the hall

oh now feel it comin' back again
like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
forces pullin' from the center of the earth again
I can feel it.

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
this moment she's been waiting for
the angel opens her eyes
pale blue colored eyes,
presents the circle
and puts the glory out to hide, hide