Paul McCartney at Yankee Stadium; Setlist and Video for 7/16/11

So I haven't posted in approximately forever, but you'll get over it. As I sometimes do, I am throwing up the setlist for another concert before I go to bed. Tonight's show was fantastic and I may blog about it later, but for now, here's what was played:

PAUL McCARTNEY
YANKEE STADIUM, NEW YORK CITY
JULY 16, 2011

SET:
Magical Mystery Tour
Jet
All My Loving
Junior's Farm
Drive My Car
Sing The Changes
The Night Before
Let Me Roll It (w/"Foxey Lady" coda, written by Jimi Hendrix)
Paperback Writer
The Long and Winding Road
1985
Let 'Em In
Maybe I'm Amazed
I'm Looking Through You
I Will
Blackbird
Here Today
Dance Tonight
Mrs. Vanderbilt
Eleanor Rigby
Something (written by George Harrison)
Band On The Run
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Back in the U.S.S.R.
I've Got A Feeling
A Day In The Life w/Give Peace a Chance
Let It Be
Live and Let Die
Hey Jude

Encore I:
Lady Madonna
I Saw Her Standing There (featuring Billy Joel)
Get Back

Encore II:
Yesterday
Helter Skelter
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End

All songs composed by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, Paul McCartney, or Paul & Linda McCartney, except "Sing the Changes" (McCartney/Youth), "Give Peace a Chance" (John Lennon), and where noted.

These aren't my seats (I wish) but here's some HD video:

Video shared by YouTube user BillyJoelVideos.

...But Instead, We Get Skins

Everyone loves Twitter (except me, I suppose).  Everyone loves music videos.  Everyone loves trivia.  If all of this is true, then why hasn't Pop-Up Video made a comeback yet?

Where are you?

Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things

One of my aunt's favorite stories comes from driving around with me in the front seat listening to the radio.  I was much younger then--probably about seven.  America's song "A Horse With No Name" was on the radio and we were talking about the lyrics.  After hearing the chorus, I asked her (with the utmost sincerity) why they didn't just give the horse a name.  She laughed and repeated the story to the rest of our family, who found my query equally comical.  The thing is, she still thinks that this is really, really funny for some reason.  Meanwhile, I'm still don't see why what I said was humorous, and I still don't understand why they didn't just give the horse a name and be done with it already.

What am I missing here?

At Least It Wasn't "Ebony and Ivory"...

I don't watch the show, but I'm stunned that "Glee" could take "Silly Love Songs" to the top of the charts in 2011.  What a strange world we live in.

Short Hits for The BEST NIGHT EVER

Woo!

Generally speaking, I only use all caps when I'm being sarcastic. Or if I type really hard.

In this case, it's sarcasm because I live in a tourist destination and I'm staying in watching late night standup on Comedy Central.  No, see all of my friends are busy.  Really.  REALLY!  Sorry, typed too hard.

This seemed like an appropriate time to fire off a post.  The following items could probably be full entries but I don't have the attention span to flesh them out. Here we go.

- Last week I was looking up peer-reviewed research articles in the library (why, yes, ladies... I am single, how did you...?) and typed in the terms "student teaching" and "classroom discourse" for my project.  I click on the most promising article, and the first two categories for this article are, I kid you not, 1) "student teaching", and 2) "social isolation".  Yup.  Sounds about right.

- Just ran to the bodega to buy some root beer (it's how I roll) and paid in spare change (mostly dimes) and realized (not for the first time) that (in addition to using parentheses) I love paying in change.  It really does feel like you got your stuff for free.

- To be a student teacher in NYC, you have to schlep on over to Downtown Brooklyn and get fingerprinted.  This is so they can weed out the weirdo candidates that are criminals or bad finger-painters or lack hands.  After the privilege of having your fingers sqashed onto a scanner, one by one, you then get slammed with a $115 fee.  Yes, a buck fifteen, but sadly not a buck fifteen. $115.  Yet, if I had committed some dumb crime like, say, jaywalking with intent to launder, I would get fingerprinted for free.  Not okay, New York.  Not okay.

- Apropos of nothing, the comedian in the 11:00 timeslot (wow, it's that late already) tried to make a joke about how Mexican girls are always pregnant, and the crowd shut him down.  Really.  Audible boos and groans.  Then he makes a joke about how the audience wants to play "The Real World is Not Real" game, and adds a few more dime-a-dozen stereotypes, and still they don't take the bait with a sympathy laugh.  It was almost inspiring, but then he told a joke about midgets and the audience ate it up.  So much for that.

My whip.

- Next comedian made fun of a Honda Civic.  Maybe he was making fun of himself for not being able to afford one?  I don't get it.  I really like my first car.

- There might be worse feelings than checking your phone on a Friday night and seeing no texts and no missed calls, but I'm not sure what those feelings are.

Check out this Dylan guy.  Real up and comer.

- I enjoy having very specific music tastes and distastes.  For example, I'm generally pretty ambivalent about classical music, but I really, really like Tchaikovsky, and I really don't like Vivaldi at all.  A jazz example: Totally dig hard bop but I can't get into fusion.  I like early Chicago, mid-period Steely Dan, Motown around 1965, and one Pink Floyd song (ten points if you guess which one).  Especially unique--I like Bob Dylan's latest stuff way, way better than his famous stuff (except "Just Like A Woman"--which is awesome).

"Sorry that my carrots are limp."

- There have been so many previews for "No Strings Attached" that I feel like I've seen 30-40 minutes of the film.  It's this year's "Dinner for Schmucks" or "Due Date" in that it is so overexposed already, there can't be anything left in the film worth seeing.  Not that I was going to see it anyway.  This is too bad, because I find Ludacris to be a legitimately funny actor. Or at least a funny dude.

- Great joke that's worth repeating:
Q:  What happens when you play a country song backwards?
A:  He gets his dog back, his truck back, and his girl back.

Wow, I just live-blogged a night on the couch.  So proud.  Goodnight, more popular people.

Never Let You Go

When I was your age, kids, the radio played stuff that was worth listening to.  It was actually a regular part of my day and I heard a lot of it between 4:00 and 7:00 during my first wave of homework.  There were actual bands and they got actual airtime.  Some of this music could even be described as rock or alternative.  This is shocking, I know, and I'm showing my age.

Around the year 2000, there was one station in the Boston market that did a phenomenal job of playing these bands.  Tune into Mix 98.5 (WBMX) and you could hear (with some regularity) the Barenaked Ladies, Vertical Horizon, Third Eye Blind, Sister Hazel, and Matchbox Twenty.

Though the suits in the biz would clinically describe this music as "Modern Rock" and eventually "Modern Adult Contemporary", these bands were rock bands.  Sure, songs like "If You're Gone" and the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" would end up becoming shopping mall music staples--loved by moms everywhere--but the vast majority of singles and radio hits from these bands were enjoyable and made life a whole lot better in middle school.

Then something terrible happened.  Suddenly, radio stations were all up and changing their formats and crap (because, really, who listens to the radio anymore?) and Top 40 was everywhere.  The niche for a station that played rock songs with thoughtful lyrics and jangly guitars evaporated. Mix 98.5 went with this wave and a small part of me was lost on the day the music died (I believe the exact moment was the day that they played Madonna's "American Pie").

I decided, ten years on, to make a mix CD compiling my favorite songs from back in the day (8th grade, 9th grade, and 10th grade), and my track list is contained here.  I bypassed the obvious title choice ("The Mix Mix") as well as more accurate ones ("Buzz Ballads 3") for the blandest one imaginable ("The Mix 98.5 Throwback CD").

Behold:

Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon

Slide - The Goo Goo Dolls

She's So High - Tal Bachman

Last Beautiful Girl - Matchbox Twenty

Change Your Mind - Sister Hazel

Absolutely (Story of a Girl) - Nine Days

You're a God - Vertical Horizon

Pinch Me - Barenaked Ladies

The Space Between - Dave Matthews Band

Bent - Matchbox Twenty

Broadway - The Goo Goo Dolls

If I Had $1,000,000 (live) - Barenaked Ladies

Never Let You Go - Third Eye Blind

Desert Rose - Sting

Sweetest Thing - U2

Drive - Incubus

Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse

Save Me From Myself - Vertical Horizon

Ghost in the Crowd - Sister Hazel

NOTES:
- I had been mulling over this CD for some time, and repeatedly told my friend (a fellow listener and fan from back in the day) that I was about to make one.  We listened to this on the way into Boston last night and it was fantastic to hear these tracks again.  These songs were there and played loudly when I was finding myself, falling for the girl, getting over the girl, and discovering singing and writing.  They mean a lot to me.

- This is not a comprehensive cover of this period in music, but rather a conscious effort to compile my favorite songs from then (minus the extra slow or sad ones--"Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)" for example).  I didn't listen to Radiohead or the Foo Fighters then so they aren't there.  Also, after this phase, I more or less stopped listening to the radio and got a little too into classic rock.

- Considering that most of the tracks here have a "pop" vibe, I was surprised to recall the quality of the lyrics.  It was especially interesting to hear VH's "I've been unable to put you down/I'm still learning things I oughta know by now" and realize that, a decade later, I still feel that way.

- As a tenth grader, I was certain that if you sang "Slide" to any one girl, she'd have to fall in love with you and be yours forever. "Put your arms around me/What you feel is what you are and what you are is beautiful".  I'm still about 45% sure that this would work.

- "Never Let You Go" has appeared on pretty much every other mix CD I've ever made, and I can play a serviceable version on guitar at college parties when people have been drinking.  It's a dark horse for "Favorite Song from the Last 12 or 13 Years" (a category I just made up now).

- Except it might actually be "Falling For the First Time" from the Barenaked Ladies, which I cannot believe was left off.  Other notable omissions include "Semi-Charmed Life" (overexposure), "Mad Season" (forgot), "Kryptonite" (also forgot), and "All For You" (reminds me of my college a cappella group).  I think I would swap out "Desert Rose" and "Sweetest Thing" for "Kryptonite" and "Mad Season" because they better fit the vibe.

- I still love Matchbox Twenty.  Those songs hold up.

- The last two songs actually came out in 2009, and to my knowledge, have not been played on WBMX (which was coined to be the Black Music EXperience according to Wikipedia--surprise racism!).  I included these songs because both of those bands are still making great music, even if radio isn't listening.

- Also in the Where Are They Now category, Matchbox Twenty put out six new songs on 2007's retrospective Exile on Mainstream and they are pleasantly excellent.  I haven't heard BNL's latest album so I can't vouch for it, but Third Eye Blind still enjoys strong, sustained support from Providence, RI, among other places. It goes without saying that Sting, U2, and DMB are still active.

- I have no idea where Tal Bachman is, but I'm guessing his one hit got him the girl.  It had to.  She couldn't walk away from that.

- I like a lot of The Goo Goo Dolls' mainstream grab Dizzy Up The Girl, but hardly anything else they've done before or since.  I think this is strange and alarmingly conformist of me. Also, for the record, "Slide" blows "Iris" right out of the water. 

- Vertical Horizon's Matthew Scannell is a fantastic and underrated songwriter.

- "Change Your Mind" is definitely a song I need to hear more often.  Noted.

- Don't do a Google Image search for "Barenaked Ladies Pinch Me" if the filter isn't turned on.  Nothing good coming from that. Lesson learned.

I wish these bands got the airplay now that they did then, because there is something unifying about liking music that other people like, too.  Until then, I will refuse to listen to the "new" Mix 104.1 and work on "The Mix Mix Strikes Back" (or "Buzz Ballads 4").  Or maybe I'll just buy "NOW 2".

PS - If Nick Hornby and Stephen Chbosky co-wrote an article about music, it would sound exactly like this one.  If you understood that, color me impressed.

Brit Brit

Setting: an LA studio, early 2008

Producer:  Okay Britney, we need one more song and we've got ourselves an album. You got anything?
Britney:  You know, I was listening to the radio in the car and I had this genius idea.  It's totally our first single.  I wrote it down and this is going to change the game.
Producer:  W-Wait, really?  Seriously?  Well all right!  Let's see what you've got.
Britney:  Ok. I'm thinking a pulsing, mid-tempo, edgy dance number...
Producer: So far, so good...
Britney: ...and it's kind of a kiss-off to a player...
Producer: ...I'm liking it...
Britney: ...and I think I'm gonna call it "Womanizer", which goes along with the whole robotic dance sound. It's this word that I heard the other day and it really stuck with me, and I think it could mean a lot for girls today who are tired of being played.
Producer:  Great!!  Wow, this could be really something!  Alright, step up to the mic and let's record some of this while it's still fresh!
Britney: Okay, here goes.  [Singing] "Womanizer, womanizer, you're a womanizer oh, womanizer, womanizer you're a womanizer baby you you you are, you you you are, womanizer, womanizer, he's a womanizer she's a womanizer we're all womanizers Bob's a womanizer womanizer baby oh womanizer womanizer toxic womanizer wo-..."
Producer:  Whoa Brit, whoa. Hang on a second.
Britney:  What's the problem?
Bob the Custodian:  Yeah, what's the problem?
Producer: It's just... aren't you just singing the word "womanizer" over and over again?  Like, are there other lyrics?
Britney: There are other lyrics too!  I just really like that word.
Producer: All right I just... I just think that if you're going to have a hit chorus, you need more than the same word over and over and over again, no?
Britney:  Well I wasn't done yet, though!  And I really think that today's girls will be able to identify with it.
Producer:  Okay well, I don't know.  We're on a tight schedule.  We need a hit song done in like ten minutes.
Britney:  Okay.
Producer:  You don't have any other songs?
Britney: Well, I'm working on one that I think I'm going to call "1 2 3" or something and I'll namecheck beloved folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary as a euphamism for a threesome.
Producer: Uhhhhh yeah okay we'll go with "Womanizer".  Just throw the word "swagger" in there somewhere and we should be good.

Setting: Some time later, Scotland
Alex Kapranos:  Guys, let's cover this song. It'll be hilarious.
Franz Ferdinand:

Well Tonight Thank God It's Them, Insteeead of Yoooou!!

Christmas music stinks, no?

Well some of it is okay. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi Trio comes to mind. Anything by Nat King Cole works for me, too. He could probably have cut a CD of him singing the phone book and I'd buy extra copies.

For the most part, though, Christmas music is über-lame. "Santa Baby" is a horrible, horrible song. Other tunes find respected artists taking well-loved Christmas melodies and massacring them; thank you, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, for taking the somewhat-tolerable "Winter Wonderland" and making it incredibly annoying.

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a horrendous song. I don't know what would ever have prompted anyone to write, sing, or enjoy this song. It levels the playing field by being equally horrid whether sung by the best or the blandest. Every single girl singing this song has sounded exactly the same since the day this travesty was written. And does no one else find this song incredibly sketchy?

The first time I heard "Dominic the Donkey", I thought it was a bald-faced ethnic joke that I wasn't in on. It turns out it's a straight-faced holiday tune and every Italian I know LOVES it. Joke's on me, I guess. I'd like to thank the anonymous customer last week who answered my rhetorical question ("And really, when you think Christmas, what animal do YOU think of?") with a brilliantly witty reply ("Asses, definitely"). Well done, young lady. Marry me.

Back to the task at hand. The last thing we need is more Christmas music; every artist seems to pump out more of the same old crap every year. Wouldn't it be great if we just had one excellent, definitive collection of only good Christmas music? A CD that was so good that Christmas music would be considered as having 'been done' and today's artists would just leave it alone?

Ladies and gentlemen, your prayers have been answered. I have cut a Christmas CD, just in time to be the hot "impulse buy" while you're standing in line waiting to return the XXXL underwear your creepy uncle Timothy gave you. Feast your eyes, and ears, on the final word on Christmas music: A One Hand Clapping Christmas.
Check out what consumers are saying about this collection!

"Eminently regift-able!"

"Less uninspired than the other dreck, but only marginally so."

"Eminem's guest verse on 'If I Hear Mariah Carey One More Time...' is simply inspired, but it's exceedingly uncomfortable. This is still the high mark of the CD."

"'Holy $#@% Dude, It's Freezing Out There' may never be a holiday classic, but it certainly may become the so-bad-it's-good ironic hit of the season."

"Mostly comprehensive, but how could any collection not include 'Silver Bells (It's Christmastime and It's Sh*tty)'?

"Makes for an excellent beverage coaster!"

Don't delay. Pick up a copy or seven at your local record store, and unwind to the soothing sounds of the holiday season before it's over, or...

Well, pick it up for next year then.

Still Not Ready for Holiday Music (but this is fine).

Bob Dylan has done many surprising things during his career. This music video is right up there, though.

I'm not saying it's busting out an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 (blasphemy!!), but this is pretty unexpected nevertheless. Dylan put out a Christmas CD this year, with proceeds going to Feeding America, but hipsters everywhere are rejoicing in what must be shameless irony. Or is it?

Here is Bob's take on "Must Be Santa", accompanied by a happenin' polka band and a holiday party that straddles the middle ground between A Christmas Carol and Animal House. I think this is great, personally. The video's developments will distract you from the lyrics, but see if you can catch the additional names on the list of reindeer.

Enjoy. Or else there's something considerably wrong with you.

Do-Nut Doo-Wop

I saw these fine fellows in 2002 in the middle of Absolutelynowhere, Ohio. They go by the stage name Chapter 6. For this number, they graciously allowed their bass (one of the lowest, most resonant basses I've ever heard) to take the solo spotlight. He had previously delivered an obscenely smooth bassline on "Mercy Mercy Me".

Please remember, before viewing: This man's voice part is very low. Bass II. Bass III, if there is such a thing. There might be. He'd be one. Enjoy.

Beats on Repeat

Ever get really fixated on a song? Like, for whatever reason you just cannot get it out of your head, but you don't actually mind, because you really like that song? As soon as it's over, you want to hear it again? I've been going through a few of these cycles recently.

Last month, I was sweating this song pretty hard. It's from Detroit native Mayer Hawthorne, and if Andre 3000 ever did a Stax ballad, it would sound a whole lot like "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out".


If you can pick up the pieces of your blown mind after that, I'd like to slow it down a little bit with the song that has been stuck in my head all week. I never really cared much about this song until I saw it performed on Sessions at West 54th, but "Missing the War" by Ben Folds Five is the kind of poignant song that can sink in over time--until one day you wonder why you haven't really given it the attention it deserves.

The studio version is good, but the live version used to open their Sessions show is fantastic. Ben's voice is in fantastic shape, and the seperation in the mix gives you a great idea of what all three musicians in the Five are doing. The harmonies are beyond excellent. You can listen to it now, or download it here for your iPod. You're welcome.

Ben Folds Five - "Missing the War (live)"

Dancing In The Aisles

Today at the Trader Joe's on 14th Street, Phil Collins's "Easy Lover" was playing over the intercom. I caught no fewer than four people singing along, not including myself. The whole store seemed to be moving along with the good vibes flowing from the sound system.

Now, I'm not entirely sure why this was happening. I don't know if everyone shopping around me came of age in the 1980s, or if there was a Genesis fan convention later that day, or even if Philip Bailey's background vocals simply cut through the monotony and gave deeper meaning to picking out the right batch of bananas. What I do know is this: for one moment, we were all united. And, I suspect, anything was possible. We could have ended world hunger, vaccinated America's elderly against the flu, and built houses for the homeless... all before lunchtime! Instead, we chose to rock out while getting great deals on organic foods.

Sooner or later a generation will fix all that's wrong in today's world, and Phil Collins will be providing the soundtrack. I'd imagine that this turning point in society will be marked by the drum fill in "In The Air Tonight". Oh Lord.

And with this negligible entry, I have officially brought this blog to my new home in New York City.

Adventures in Education, Chapter 10

Thursday, Summer Camp, 11:27am
Kindergarten Bunk

5-year-old: "Somebody call 911."
Me: "Wait, what?"
5-y.o. [distractedly]: "...shawty's fire burning on the dance floor..."

Billy Joel & Elton John: Review

Concert Review
Face 2 Face Tour
Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
July 18, 2009

Double-billed concerts can sometimes be a mixed bag. Often, fans of one artist are left with a perfunctory half-set, hearing only the most obligatory hits before the stage is handed over. These artists are frequently packaged by the promotion company and may not even interact with each other, let alone collaborate. Other double-billings arise from a mutual respect between two artists who complement their counterpart's catalogue in interesting ways and foster an environment where the best in each others' work can shine through. Happily, last nights Elton John and Billy Joel pairing falls in the latter category.

I should clarify that while I am not the biggest Elton John fan, Billy Joel is on my short list of artists I can apply little critical reasoning to. My respect for Sir Elton's work is there and I enjoy many of his projects, but Joel's discography is rife with some of my favorite songs and albums of all time. I've even performed ten or so of his tunes on stage. Last night's ticket to their Gillette Stadium show was a late-breaking surprise and could not have been more exciting.

That said, the show was energetic, electric, and alive with all the accomplished playing and good vibes that one would expect from two of RIAA's ten top-selling musicians of all time. As the pair took the stage and began the first of their two mutual sets, it occured to me that these two gentlemen have produced some of the most well-known songs in the popular rock canon. And while the audience sang along for nearly 90% of the concert, there was not a whiff of weariness in even the most obvious song choices.

The joint sets that opened and closed the show offered perhaps the most highlights. It was genuinely fascinating to hear the two legends trade verses and piano fills on their material. Obviously, each has the chops to both perform and improvise upon the other's music at a moment's notice, and a high point of the show was hearing the pair trade fours in the extended outro of "Bennie and the Jets". Their vocal swapping worked well in most instances, too, making songs like "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" (and even the cliche adult-contemporary lilt of "Just The Way You Are") fresher and arguably better than their recorded counterparts. John found much of his rocker side again contributing to "You May Be Right", and even if Joel's vocal style struggled with "Candle in the Wind", he was able to elevate songs like "The Bitch Is Back" into leaner, more ragged rockers.

Following the opening four tunes, Joel's piano disappeared into the stage and John and his band began their proper set. From the moment he arrived on stage, Elton was a magnetic personality. His mere prescence energized the stadium, and from the opening notes of "Your Song", he had the audience hanging on his every note. Even his (slightly) lesser known songs like "Funeral for a Friend" and "I'm Still Standing" were aired to a nearly delirious reception. That's not to say he didn't include a hefty selection of the standard hits in his set; "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", "Philadelphia Freedom", and "Crocodile Rock" all got the standard treatment and had the crowd of mixed ages dancing, jumping around, and--in at least one merry fellow's case--falling over. Elton gave a nod to the live album revival with a suite from 1971's Madman Across the Water: "Levon", the title track, and "Tiny Dancer", the last getting a boost from Almost Famous as the audience sang along word for word. Incidentally, Elton mentioned that he will return to Gillette in October to serve as an honorary captain for the Patriots. I had known that he was a fan (and a personal friend of Robert Kraft's) but I had forgotten.

If Sir Elton's presence was comparable to that of a respected modern British composer, then Billy Joel was the rock-and-roller American everyman. Beginning with the "Wipeout"-inspired piano gymnastics of "Angry Young Man", Joel's set ripped through many of his most upbeat numbers. A tougher sounding "Movin' Out" and gritty "Allentown" followed before Joel introduced the biggest surprise of the evening in the jazzy "Zanzibar" from 1978's 52nd Street. Carl Fischer's trumpet got a fantastic ovation after a lengthy and demanding solo. "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" was well-received, but it was the interpolation of a complete verse of the Standell's "Dirty Water" in the caesura of "River of Dreams" (and in the same key, no less) that got the loudest roar of approval. A moment that did seem lost on the crowd was Billy's slyly inserted screenshot of Elton synched with the lyric "England's got a new queen" during "We Didn't Start The Fire"--a song that means "nothing at all", according to its composer. On the whole, Joel and his band offered tighter, better performances than when I caught him for his 2006 tour in Boston.

The show was not without its flaws. Several songs were transposed to accomodate their singer's aged vocal range; "Piano Man" in particular seemed uncomfortable for Elton John, while "Uptown Girl" seemed uncomfortable for the entire audience. Still, for a show that consisted of trotting out songs that everyone has heard many, many times, the performances were vibrant, exciting, and amazingly satisfying. The inevitable closer, "Piano Man", rounded out a fantastic show for a very good crowd on a Saturday.

Billy Joel & Elton John: Set List

Just got home from Route 1 (where no one has heard of the every-other-car rule) and I'm still buzzing from a great show. I might do a review tomorrow, but I wanted to jot down the set list before my phone dies (or beat the Globe and score extra blog hits).

Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA // July 18, 2009

Show Open: Billy & Elton
"Your Song"
"Just the Way You Are"
"Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"
"My Life"

Solo set: Elton John
"Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding"
"Saturday Nights Alright For Fighting"
"Levon"
"Madman Across the Water"
"Tiny Dancer"
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
"Daniel"
"Rocketman"
"Philadelphia Freedom"
"I'm Still Standing"
"Crocodile Rock"

Solo set: Billy Joel
"Prelude/Angry Young Man"
"Movin' Out"
"Allentown"
"Zanzibar"
"Don't Ask Me Why"
"She's Always A Woman"
"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"
"River of Dreams/Dirty Water"
"We Didn't Start the Fire"
"Still Rock and Roll to Me"
"Only the Good Die Young"

Closing Set: Billy & Elton
"I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues"
"Uptown Girl"
"The Bitch is Back"
"You May Be Right"
"Bennie and the Jets"
"Candle in the Wind"
"Piano Man"

Update: You can read my full review here.

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

More words on Michael Jackson?!? Yes. You've been warned, so if you don't want to read this, don't.

During the massive media overkill that has been Michael Jackson coverage over the past two weeks, I have been amazed to see just how much the oft-maligned entertainer meant to so many people. I would never have expected to see so many millions, all over the world, expressing their grief and openly crying for a man most had never even seen, never mind met and known. It is both downright bizarre and, in a strange way, quite heartening. The popularity of one man's work, all over the world, almost underlines our common humanity.

Perhaps I'm overstating it. Yet, he definitely had universal appeal like few others before him. Michael Jackson's music shot to the top of the charts all over the planet, almost immediately after his passing. His life and death have been the dominant story on every major news outlet, almost continuously, for the past twelve days. There are few figures in entertainment history that could have ever garnered that kind of following. MJ's global popularity is rivaled only by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and perhaps Bob Marley as a dark horse. Think about that. Our generation doesn't even have a defining artist (like a Nirvana, a Madonna, or a Led Zeppelin), never mind an artist who transcends all limits of popularity, time, and location. We'll never have an era-defining moment like when MJ debuted the moonwalk on Motown 25.

For all those who argue that he was only an entertainer, it is worth remembering that he is the most successful solo artist of all time. For those who argue that he was a bizarre character, it's also worth remembering the massive amounts of charity work he both spearheaded and privately funded. For those who argue that his peak was in the mid-80's, over twenty years ago, it's absolutely worth remembering that a lot of his music is still massively popular today.

Popular, I think, beyond what anyone would have expected. And good, too. Thriller is still the greatest selling album of all time, by anyone. "Billie Jean" is a rock solid 10/10 on even the curmudgeoniest critic's scale. The song is genius, and every last piece of it was conceived and written by Jackson himself. "Beat It" is the best thing Eddie Van Halen ever did, by far. "Smooth Criminal" is just as popular now as it was then. "The Way You Make Me Feel" livens up any party even twenty years later. "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something" are so damn danceworthy that they have probably caused car accidents.

The undeniable transcendence of his music is, for me, the most surprising part. I'm old enough to remember when Dangerous came out, and his subsequent performance at Super Bowl XXVII. Michael Jackson was a big deal for a lot of people back then. What I wasn't aware of is, after over a decade of basically being a punchline, kids today actually love his music. The students (in the summertime, we call them "campers") that I work with love it whenever "Billie Jean" or "Beat It" is played over our PA system in the mornings. Just today, someone played "Thriller" and I had a kindergartner tell me that she saw the video with her mom and loved it ("This is Michael Jackson! This is the prom video with the dancing!"). The girls always dance to "I Want You Back" while the boys seem to prefer "Smooth Criminal", though not for dancing. More for just standing around to. Even as they're making jokes or informing me of their knowledge ("he died, you know"), they still really love his music.

And, although it might not be the coolest thing to say... I do too. While the onslaught of Jackson memorial coverage is suffocating (and no, I didn't watch it), you can count me among those who was quietly hoping he'd make a comeback and felt sad at his passing. He might have had some major issues later in life, but the man had talents that most of us can only dream of, he inspired millions of people, and his music is still damn good.

Adventures in Education, Chapter 7

Today, Summer Camp, 12:37pm
Lunch Table

2nd Grader: [Playing harmonica]
Me: Jared, you can't possibly be eating your lunch if you're playing the harmonica.
2nd Grader: [Begins to chew his sandwich while shifting his harmonica to his nostrils and continuing to play]

The Beatles Rock Band Trailer Goes Live

I'm not even a big gamer, and I think I need a fresh pair of pants. Only partial word on the set list so far, but the official trailer went live today. Wow.



I'm getting the feeling that they did this one right. "Taxman" on the 1966 tour? Are you kidding me? Awesome. I really didn't expect to be buying this but it might be hard not to.

Video copyright Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. and Apple Corps, Ltd., 2009. Accessed from www.thebeatlesrockband.com/trailer.php .

A Case for Radio from A Face for Radio

Remember radio? You might be surprised to hear that it still exists. Yes, that relic from your childhood, riding in overheated cars with defective cassette decks and melted crayon on the dashboard, is still alive and... well, I shouldn't say well, but it's not sick or anything.

No one listens to the radio anymore. In an era of iPods, iPod car adapters, mix CDs, and in-car bands that sing about free credit reports, the idea of actually turning on the dial and taking a chance on what music you're going to be hearing seems borderline insane. People who text while driving consider the radio dial to be downright dangerous. What happens if it's a song you don't like, or worse, haven't heard before? What if you scroll through all 45 or so stations, realize that half of them are playing the same song, and find that none of them are playing your favorite obscure indie band whose early stuff was really good? Don't even get me started on commercials either, you say.

I'm here to step up to the plate and say that the radio has made many a long drive (and a few workdays) not only tolerable but actually enjoyable. While I am about 107.1% sure that my taste in music is vastly superior to anyone else's (and it's not even close), if left to my own devices I too will tend to listen to the same songs and bands over and over. I don't mean to, but it happens. I just got out of a weeklong stretch of listening to nothing besides Simon and Garfunkel, and while I felt more literate and spiritually refreshed, I also had an unresolved need to get my face rocked off.

That's where radio is great. You don't choose what you're going to hear. The chances for appreciating a song for the first time, gaining a new favorite artist, or even hearing something new and different go up exponentially. Without the radio, I would have never been introduced to songs like "Think I'm In Love" by Beck, "Denial Twist" by the White Stripes, "Love Removal Machine" by The Cult, "Mother Mary" by Foxboro Hot Tubs, "Hush" by Deep Purple, "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand" by Primitive Radio Gods, and countless other songs that I listen to frequently now. That's just over the past year or so.

This is where I make a case for all southeastern Massachusetts listeners to check out Cool 102, Cape Cod's fantastically consistent mix radio station. It's pretty much like my iPod on shuffle.

I was aware of this the other night when I was faced with a long drive home after visiting some friends of mine north of Boston. Unable to find an upbeat CD that I hadn't heard recently, I decided to give WBCN (104.1 FM) a chance, and I got this righteous block of music:

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Know Your Enemy" - Green Day
"Viva la Vida" - Coldplay
"Shipping Up to Boston" - Dropkick Murphys
"Hurt" - Nine Inch Nails
"Wish You Were Here" - Incubus
"No You Girls" - Franz Ferdinand
"Smoke Two Joints" - Sublime

Sure, there might be a few predictable titles up there. But at 11:51 at night, with 40 miles to go and the windows rolled down, that was just the kind of playlist I was looking for. Even the Nine Inch Nails was invigorating enough to keep up the energy. This succeeded where another round with Classic Rock Mix That Doesn't Suck, Vol. 2 or Happy Mother's Day Mix 2005 would have fallen short. Radio is super like that.

But if I hear "Crocodile Rock" one more time, I'm totally giving up on it.

Arguing With Myself Over M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes"

Setting: Inside the author's head, and somewhere between 87.7 and 107.9 MHz

Okay man, this is the third time today you've stopped on this song while scanning radio stations. Even allowing room for curiosity, it's now clear that you're totally into this tune. And it's not okay. This is pop music. Pop music is irrelevant fluff. Not only that, but the lyrics don't even make sense. This wouldn't necessarily be a problem if every single verse wasn't repeated twice. Hell, half of the lyrics in the chorus are replaced by, of all things, sound clips of gunshots and cash registers. And now every white kid on the street claims to have "swagger". Why are you listening to this stuff?

Yeah but dude, listen to that bass. It's great.

Sure it is. Repeating eighth notes over three pitches. I'm sure only Stanley Clarke could play that, or perhaps Larry Graham if he got lucky. Yeah. Looking beyond the massively complex technical details of the arrangement, doesn't it bother you that the editing is shaky? Listen to that poor edit right before the first chorus. There's a huge, choppy blip right there. No one noticed that when they were copying each verse twice? Serious studio wizardry this ain't. There's no way you can like this song.

Yeah but man, it's catchy.

Catchy, sure. So is the Arthur TV theme. Listen, this song sounds pretty violent. Those gunshots have to be glorifying armed robbery. At the very least. Are those kids singing that part? And there's a KGB reference, so now we're internationally offensive. Hey, the song is... it's talking about murdering people right there! The singer murders people! This part here, hey!

True, but some-a-some she lets go-o.

You are so unbelievably frustrating. Fine. How about this, then? The entire song is one looped sample of the intro of "Straight to Hell" by The Clash. The whole thing. There isn't a single original musical contribution in this piece, just lifted ideas from someone else. It's all been done before. You cannot possibly think this is a great song.

Yeah but dude... it's The Clash.

Ah. Touche, then.