Having several music geeks as regular readers of my blog has had clear benefits. Foremost among those benefits has been assistance these folks have provided when I'm developing or updating one of my music appreciation/history classes. Hence, my request below. As always, if I end up using any idea of yours - music geek or otherwise - your compensation as a consultant will be negotiated offline.
Tunesmiths: The Ascendancy of Singer-Songwriters was developed in 2016 and subsequently delivered several times over the next few years. In the reprise I'll be delivering later this year, I'm considering which singer-songwriters to add to update the course a little. This will not be a wholesale re-write. I'm just tuning up (ahem) my six-hour course to potentially include a few singer-songwriters who've earned a significant musical spot alongside some of the giants who came of age from the early 60s through the late 70s. Your parameters/my request follows.
* Suggest only singer-songwriters who've made their name without having first been in a notable band. For example, I did not feature Neil Young (late of Buffalo Springfield, etc.) or Sting (late of Police) in my 2016 course and don't plan to add either to this reprise. (In a more contemporary vein, this rules out Beyonce, for example, late of Destiny's Child.) The 2016 version began - as will 2025 - with Dylan. And that version ended with Elvis Costello who has had a long, significant, and growth-filled run since his debut in the late 70s. Any suggestion you offer for this reprise must post-date Costello and also be close to the high musical bar he (and Dylan) have set.
* Except for Stevie Wonder, my 2016 version was pretty white. If you have suggestions to help me with this deficit, I'm listening. But please remember: Debut after 1980 and has since demonstrated musical staying power.
* Last parameter: For any suggestion you make, please provide at least three songs that you feel make your case for the importance and the lasting appeal of your nominated singer-songwriter.
OK, get busy. I thank you and my brother - music geek par excellence - thanks you more. I've worn out his brain since I began developing and teaching these courses in 2014. Poor guy needs a break.
Boz Scaggs -- "Sierra," "Lowdown." "Jojo," "Lido Shuffle"
ReplyDeleteChris Isaak -- "Wicked Game," "Heart-Shaped World," "Wrong to Love You."
Chris Rea -- "Texas" (Road to Hell album), "On the Beach," "Fool (If You Think It's Over)
Dave Alvin -- "Fourth of July," "Thirty-Dollar Room," "Out of Control" "Bus Station" -- he writes some terrific lyrics and is a good story teller. Also, "Interstate City" off the live album Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men
Jim; Thanks for weighing in on this post. Of the singer-songwriters you've suggested, Dave Alvin is unfamiliar to me so I will check out those five songs of his to evaluate whether he will fit this updated course. Although Boz Scaggs is a personal favorite, I'm afraid his early years spent with the Steve Miller Band disqualifies him from consideration for this particular course. However, I have used Boz extensively in my catalog of music courses because I feel obligated to turn people onto him. In my estimation he is vastly under-played, despite the hits (like "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle", both great tunes, BTW) from Boz's two best selling albums, "Silk Degrees" and "Down Two and Out". For my money, both "Middle Man" and "Some Changes" are better records end-to-end than his more widely played stuff, despite the hits.
DeleteIs Paul Simon ineligible because he was part of a duo?
DeleteJim; Paul Simon is indeed ineligible for this particular course but no matter because I've got a full six hour course (entitled "The Dangling Conversation") dedicated to just his music alone that I've delivered numerous times. The only other solo artist that has that distinction in my catalog is Joni Mitchell. Both deserve to stand alone.
DeleteJason Isbell - "Cover Me Up", "Elephant", "Cast Iron Skillet", "Dress Blues", "Last of My Kind"
ReplyDeleteSufjan Stevens - "Casimir Pulaski Day", "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!", "Romulus", "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step-Mother!", "Jacksonville"
Phoebe Bridgers - "Motion Sickness", "Kyoto", "Garden Song", "Chinese Satellite", "I Know the End"
Father John Misty (Joshua Michael Tillman) - "Holy Shit", "The Palace", "Ballad Of The Dying Man", "Leaving L.A.", "Please Don't Die"
And someone that you probably know something about:
Taylor Swift - "All Too Well", "my tears ricochet", "the last american dynasty", "Dear John", "Clean"
Chris; As the uber-music geek, I'm not at all surprised at the effort you put into this comment. Been listening to Phoebe Bridges more lately; my daughter's influence. And was already considering adding a Taylor Swift tune to this reprise. Will now also check out Jason Isbell tunes you listed; I'm mostly unfamiliar with his music. The Sufjan Stephens stuff I've heard to date hasn't lit me up at all, but I plan to check out the tunes you mentioned. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteHey Pat. I hate being late to these lists as some of the names I would have mentioned are already here - no surprise though. So, not knowing who is already on your list for the class, I'm going to suggest the following:
ReplyDeleteEd Sheeran (Thinking Out Loud, Shape of You)
John Mayer ( 2 albums of his are: Continuum, Heavier Things)
Alicia Keys (Fallin', No One)
Lady GaGa ( Poker Face, Bad Romance)
Fiona Apple (albums - Extraordinary Machine, Fetch The Bolt Cutters)
Jason Mraz (I'm Yours)
Amy Winehouse ( Back to Black, Rehab)
Hope these help,
Bob
Bob; As a regular attendee of my classes (thanks a bunch for that!), I appreciate you taking the time to weigh in here. A couple of the names you mentioned are on my longlist. Never sure until the last minute who'll make the final cut but you'll be there to know. Thanks for the comment.
Delete