Paris Crime Wave

I really started getting into classic French movies in 2007, shortly after subscribing to Netflix. Of course, the first thing one learns about classic French films is that- unlike classic Hollywood movies- French movies do not have happy endings- which I always find refreshing. Watching Rififi again recently (I own it) also reminds me how much American films from the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s influenced French cinema, especially American gangster movies, film noir, and Westerns. Like cowboys or samurai, the Parisian gangsters in Rififi operate outside the law and live by their own code (the black and white film only adds to the starkness and symbolism of the proceedings) but the movie does not glamorize criminal behavior and only uses it to study and say something about human behavior.

Most of the gangsters in Rififi are motivated by want of money, and even in their fatalistic, criminal underworld there are rules and a hierarchy: informers, junkies, and child abductors are the lowest of the low. Enter Tony (Jean Servais), a tough guy’s tough guy, recently released from five years imprisonment for jewel theft (and after getting pinched he did the right thing- he did not rat out his partner). Tony doesn’t know what he wants to do with his newfound freedom and when he finally agrees to help three other gangsters pull off a daring jewel heist, we’re not sure what Tony’s motivation is for participating; and that- along with the gritty Paris in winter street scenes shot in almost documentary style- is what makes the movie so interesting. Tony represents man’s search for meaning in a cold and broken world.

By the end of the film- which culminates in a speeding, suspenseful drive through the streets of Paris- Tony has found something to live- and die- for and that realization puts all the film’s previous action in a new light for both Tony and the audience. Directed by blacklisted American filmmaker Jules Dassin (who makes a brilliant cameo as the safecracker), Rififi is a treat to revisit annually- especially for fans of French movies, Existentialism, and film noir. While it predates the start of the French New Wave by a few years, the film is no less influential and for every gangster movie cliché it celebrates, Rififi also gifts something fresh, exciting, and unexpected to cinema- and life- even after 65 years. Grade: A-

Christmas Faves III – Part 2

Philippians 2: 5-8: Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Leona Lewis

John 14: 8-9: Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” 

John 10: 30: “The Father and I are one.”   

Matthew 28: 17-20: The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

The Partridge Family

The Incarnation was God’s answer to the double problem that faced fallen mankind. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, God the Son, became man, took to Himself and made his own a human nature; and in that nature offered to God the sacrifice which outbalanced the sin of mankind, and merited the supernatural restoration of man: Adam’s offense was expiated; the breach it had caused between God and man was healed, so that God and man might be at one again, and man brought back from servitude to sonship.

Thus, we have the unique instance of one single person with two natures. To the question “Who are you?” Christ would have but one answer. He is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, God the Son, the Word. But to the questions “What are you?” Christ our Lord  would have two answers, for he has two natures; He is God and He is man. 

Note the consequences for our Lord’s actions. Nature decides what the person can do. This one Person had two natures, two sources of action from which He could draw. He had the divine nature, and so could do all that goes with being a man. But whether He was doing the things of God in His divine nature or doing the things of man in His human nature, in either event it was the Person who was doing them: and there was but the one Person and He was God. 1

Adoration of the Child by Gerard van Honthorst

01. The Drifters – “White Christmas” (1954)
02. Loretta Lynn – “Country Christmas” (2016)
03. Jimmy Durante – “Frosty the Snowman” (1950)
04. The Harry Simeone Chorale – “O’ Holy Night” (1963)
05. The Partridge Family – “White Christmas” (1971)
06. Burl Ives – “Happy Birthday, Jesus (A Child’s Prayer)” (1968)
07. The Harry Simeone Chorale – “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear / Good King Wenceslas / We Three Kings/ Villancico / Hark, the Herald, Angels Sing Medley” (1959)
08. Dolly Parton – “Hard Candy Christmas” (1984)
09. Ray Conniff and The Ray Conniff Singers – “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1959)
10. Run-DMC – “Christmas in Hollis” (1987)
11. Sarah McLachlan – “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (2006)
12. Aretha Franklin – “O Christmas Tree” (1992)
13. Choir of St. Mary’s Cathedral – “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (2000)
14. Blues Traveler – “Christmas” (1997)
15. Carpenters – “Silent Night” (1978)
16. U2 – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (1987)
17. The Harry Simeone Chorale – “The Little Drummer Boy” (1958)
18. Mormon Tabernacle Choir – “Joy to the World” (1970)
19. Leona Lewis – “One More Sleep” (2013)
20. Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers – “A Christmas to Remember” (1984)
21. Andrew Bird – “So Much Wine, Merry Christmas” (2014)

John 10:7-11: So Jesus said again,“Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

 

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____________________________

1 Frank Sheed, Theology and Sanity (San Francisco : Ignatius Press, reprint edition 1993)

Christmas Faves III – Part 1

Isaiah 9:5: For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.

Matthew 1:23: “She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

Colossians 2:9-10: For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily, and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power.  

Bing Crosby

I could spend the rest of my life exploring and discovering Christmas music and still leave this earth without having heard it all. There are worse hobbies than hunting and gathering Christmas music and I’ve always been partial to the Christmas crooners- Bing, Dean, Johnny, and Andy. Sure, Sinatra could hold his own with secular Christmas standards, but he just couldn’t do the same with sacred songs- Dean Martin was smart enough to not even try- while Mr. Christmas, Nat King Cole, could sing both the sacred and the secular Christmas songs with ease. I’ve branched out over the years and have come to enjoy country Christmas songs, as well, and whatever else gets me in the mood for the holiday season. Here are some more of my favorite Christmas songs- old and new. Enjoy- and Merry Christmas!    

01. Bing Crosby – “Winter Wonderland” (1962)
02. Harry Belafonte – “Mary’s Boy Child” (1957)
03. Nat King Cole – “Away in a Manger” (1960)
04. Ella Fitzgerald – “Sleigh Ride” (1960)
05. Jim Brickman – “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” (1997)
06. Martina McBride – “O Holy Night” (1998)
07. Nat King Cole – “Silent Night” (1960)
08. Nat King Cole – “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” (1960)
09. Nat King Cole – “The Christmas Song” (1961)
10. Dean Martin – “Silver Bells” (1966)
11. Trisha Yearwood – “It Wasn’t His Child” (1994)
12. Vince Guaraldi Trio – “O Tannenbaum” (1965)
13. Perro Como feat. The Fontane Sisters – “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” (1951)
14. Jackie Wilson – “Deck the Halls” (1963)
15. Dean Martin – “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (1966)
16. John Denver – “Christmas for Cowboys” (1975)
17. Andy Williams – “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” (1963)
18. Perry Como – “Medley: Caroling, Caroling / The First Noël / Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Silent Night” (1968)
19. Jim Brickman – “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” (2016)
20. Leonard Bernstein, Mormon Tabernacle Choir & New York Philharmonic– “O Come All Ye Faithful” (1965)

Adoration of the Shepherds by Charles Le Brun

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Reg Dwight – Part 2

In addition to his trademark singing voice and stellar piano playing, Elton John had two other secret weapons helping to catapult him to ‘70s superstardom and universal acclaim: the boys in his band, who not only played their own instruments but also served as sensational backup singers; and, of course, the colorful lyrics of Bernie Taupin. In fact, of my 20 favorite Elton John songs, Mr. Taupin wrote the words to 16 of them. Who are Levon, Bennie and the Jets, Tiny Dancer, and Rocket Man? Who cares? It was the ‘70s, man, when Bernie and Elton just let their talents and imaginations run wild.

Sadly, weird, wonderful, and creative songs like those classic ‘70s John/Taupin compositions no longer exist in today’s boring, fractured pop musical landscape. Who is today’s Elton John? Certainly not John himself, or Lady Gaga (besides the costumes, what else has she in common with Sir Elton?) For the record, I have no desire to see the recent Elton John biopic Rocketman since everything I ever need to know about him I already learned from VH1’s Behind the Music. But I will tip my hat to the man (who is the same age as my parents) and simply say thank you for the music, Elton (and Bernie). Here are some more of my favorite Elton John songs. Enjoy!

01. Elton John – “Bennie and the Jets” (1973)

02. Elton John – “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” (1975)

03. Elton John – “Daniel” (1973)

04. Elton John – “Levon” (1971)

05. Elton John – “Tiny Dancer” (1971)

06. Elton John and Kiki Dee – “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (1976)

07. Elton John – “Rocket Man” (1972)

08. Elton John – “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” (1983)

09. Elton John – “Little Jeannie” (1980)

10. Elton John – “Seasons - Reprise” (1971)

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Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Remastered & Revisited (Extended Interview)

Reg Dwight – Part 1

The Jean is back! How I spent my summer vacation in the U.S. included revisiting the songs of Elton John whose music for me still conjures up childhood memories of Long Island summers. “Philadelphia Freedom” might as well have been the unofficial anthem for America’s Bicentennial and I remember “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” being all over the radio and even singing it with the neighborhood kids (though at the time I was probably still in diapers).

I did not become fully aware of the English piano man until the early ‘80s (during his pork pie hat wearing pop star phase) and it wasn’t until the end of the century that I started to appreciate John’s ‘70s singer-songwriter back catalogue (thanks to the movie Almost Famous). All this just goes to show that Elton John (born Reginald Dwight) is an institution who- despite the tabloid stories and crazy stage costumes- was a talented pianist and singer who brought joy and pleasure to millions. Unfortunately, John seems to have lost his beautiful singing voice sometime in the mid-‘80s and that is where my appreciation of his talents ends. Sorry, Lion King. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

01. Elton John – “The Bitch Is Back” (1974)

02. Elton John – “Philadelphia Freedom” (1975)

03. Elton John – “Blue Eyes” (1982)

04. Elton John – “Elton’s Song” (1981)

05. Elton John – “Your Song” (1970)

06. Elton John – “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973)

07. Elton John – “Amoreena” (1970)

08. Elton John – “Song for Guy” (1978)

09. Elton John – “Friends” (1971)

10. Elton John – “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” (1976)

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Elton John – “I’m Still Standing”

Play It Again, Jean II – Part 3

I guess if my favorite songs share any commonalities it’s their proven ability to move me, thrill me, and empathize with what I’m feeling at the moment. The ability to do these things is usually the mark of a great songwriter and performer and I have little patience for songs that don’t get the job done. Here are the last of my 69 favorite songs from the past year. Enjoy- and have a great summer!

Rickie Lee Jones

01. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem – “Mountain Dew (Live)” (1961) from Kiss Me I’m Irish II – Part 2

This song always puts me in a good mood and reminds me of enjoying homemade rakia (plum brandy) with locals in towns and villages across Bulgaria. Love the whistling at the beginning- so does my baby boy. Still hope to make it to Ireland one of these days.

02. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – “American Girl” (1976) from Pet Rocks! – Part 3

We had so many amazing women in our Peace Corps group in Bulgaria twenty years ago including a retired teacher who was honoring a promise she had made decades earlier after President Kennedy’s murder to one day join the Peace Corps and serve in his honor. Well, she did it.

03. Rickie Lee Jones – “On Saturday Afternoons in 1963” (1979)  from Blue Jean Rock Poets IV

I like songs that for whatever reason remind me of a high school musical. This one has just the right amounts of wistfulness, sweetness, and nostalgia and might fit nicely right after the intermission.

Scott Walker

04. Scott Walker – “Joanna” (1968) from The World of Scott Walker II

This song carries me away on tufts of fluffy golden clouds and makes me feel like I’m falling asleep in a barber’s chair.

05. U2 – “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” (1991) from Four Guys from Dublin – Part 1

Achtung Baby is one of the most under-appreciated albums of the past 30 years and used to sound great late at night in my college bedroom- sounds even better in Europe. The album also had the misfortune of being released just two months after Nirvana’s Nevermind and while the ‘90s Seattle grunge explosion may have derailed U2’s plans to reconquer North America at least the Dublin quartet still had Europe and Australia- and the Jean.

06. Sheryl Crow feat. Sting – “Always on Your Side” (2005) from Gordon Sumner – Part 2

Just a sweet union of two pop music icons. I miss duets like these. 

07. Warren Zevon – “Desperados Under the Eaves” (1976) from Blue Jean Rock Poets III

Not everyone views the end of the world as such a bad thing. I still have never been to the City of Angels but when I finally get there I would like to attempt a Warren Zevon inspired tour of the city. That’s Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys on backup vocals. BTW- does a song about California sliding into the ocean featuring a melody based on “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” count as nautical themed? 

Dan Fogelberg

08. Dan Fogelberg – “Same Old Lang Syne” (1981) from Christmas Faves II – Part 1

Everybody’s favorite downbeat Christmas song- still going strong after all these years (and only gets better with age).

09. The Mamas and the Papas – “Safe in My Garden” (1968) from Oldies: Pass the Fritos IV – Part 2

Rich L.A. hippies in their fancy homes bemoan and contemplate the rioting in the streets. One of M&Ps’ last great songs before breaking up, it’s no “California Dreamin’”  or “Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)” but I find this to be a satisfying deep cut.

10. Gordon Lightfoot – “Same Old Loverman” (1971) from Summertime Dream – Part 3

Lightfoot you old cad, you heartbreaker. Leave the poor lady alone. (She doesn't stand a chance.)

11. U2 – “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” (1991) from Four Guys from Dublin – Part 1

So much going on in this song- not the least of which is the ‘60s girl group inspired intro.

Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral)

12. Joan Baez – “God Is God (Live)” (2016) from Joanie from Staten Island

True, we are not God but mainstream Christianity holds God is one of us: the Word made flesh- Jesus Christ- the one infinite and eternal spirit God incarnate- both fully human and fully divine and through whose sacrifice on the cross we are redeemed.

After Jesus rose from the dead and then returned in his risen and glorified body to his Father, the Spirit came upon the apostles. These weak and cowardly men were changed into enthusiastic witnesses to the kingdom Jesus had preached. But there was more to the coming of the Holy Spirit than an infusion of courage. The apostles not only began to behave differently; they also began to see things differently. 

As the apostles reflected on the few brief and eventful years that they had spent in Jesus’ company, they realized with increasing intensity that Jesus had been more than he seemed. They reflected on his miracles, on his forgiveness of people’s sins, on his teaching that a person’s final and eternal value would be judged by how that person had related to him, to Jesus. They reflected on the special meaning that he seemed to give to the phrase he liked to use in describing himself: “the Son of Man.” He was often called “Lord,” a word used to address God. Sometimes he allowed himself to be called “Son of God” and to be referred to as “the Christ,” the promised savior. 

Healing of the Blind Man by Duccio di Buoninsegna

Jesus’ relationship with God seemed different from other people’s. He seemed more familiar with God. Jesus referred to God as “Abba” (“Dad”), which seemed to indicate that he enjoyed a relationship with God that others did not. Then came the Resurrection and glorification of Jesus. Was it merely a sign of approval from God for what Jesus had done and said during his public life, or was it a sign of something more? 

As the apostles and other followers of Jesus reflected on him under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they became aware that Jesus was indeed more than he seemed. Jesus, full and complete human being, was at the same time no one less than God. 

Jesus’ followers taught about the story of his life, death, and resurrection. They began to express, as best they could, the astounding truth of which they had become aware: that Jesus was God who had lived in their midst. Soon these accounts were written down by those who had heard the apostles, accounts that ultimately became the Gospels in the New Testament. 

Christ at the Sea of Galilee by Jacopo Tintoretto

Some people today refuse to believe that Jesus was divine. For them, he may be a great teacher or a splendid model of human behavior, but that’s all. Others refuse to accept that Jesus was human. They think of his life as effortless, without the real pain and frustration that every human experiences. Both approaches are wrong; both are incomplete because neither accounts for the full reality of Christ. 

If the Christ we reverence is not fully divine, if the Christ we worship is not fully human, if his humanity and divinity are not united in a single subject, then the Christ we are dealing with is not the Christ of the apostles nor the Christ of the Christian faith, but a figment of our imagination. 

But what difference does it make? Granted that Jesus was a real human being, what does it add to say that he was God? Granted that he was God, why bother about whether he was really human? The Christian answer is crucial when it comes to considering our relationship to God in redemption and grace and glory, when it comes to considering the community of believers in the church, when it comes to figuring out what our own individual human existence ultimately means. 

To say that Jesus is one being, both human and divine, is to say that in him God became a human actor on the stage of the world’s history, that God became a human participant in the love story that had begun with creation. With God as a human participant, the story takes a whole new turn, and so does our part in it.

Resurrection by Matthias Grünewald 

  

Thanks to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, divine and human, our world is no longer merely the creation of God, good as that is. It is now the place where God’s human and divine activity in Jesus continues to unfold. It is God’s world in a way in which it was not before God became a human participant in it. It has been given a new direction and a new significance. 

All that is what we mean when we say Jesus saved and redeemed us.

Now perhaps we can see how fitting it is that Jesus was both human and divine. If Jesus had been merely a human being, his life would have been, at best, an example. On the other hand, if God had chosen to restore the world without the collaboration of humanity, the restoration of the world would have been an acknowledgement that things had gotten so bad that they could only be dealt with through an interruption from outside. By redeeming and saving the world through humanity, the humanity of Jesus, God indicates that the original plan was a good plan. God acknowledges the inherent worth of the human creature by using humanity to save and redeem humanity from ultimate failure. We have been saved and redeemed through the power of God, but we have also been saved and redeemed by a human being like ourselves. God has an ingenious way of doing things. 1

Madonna and Child blessing by Giovanni Bellini

Owing to the sin of the first man, the race had lost its union with God; a breach lay between. Where God and man had been at one, they were now at two: till at-one-ment, atonement, was made, heaven was closed to the race’s members. 

God could, of course, have simply written off the race as a failure. He could, as simply, have forgiven the sin. He did neither. He chose that in human nature the sin committed in human nature should be expiated. 

For the act by which Christ redeemed us was a wholly human act. The life He offered as sacrifice was His human life; an offering of the divine life would have been meaningless. The suffering was in His soul and body; the death was the separation of His soul and body. 

In Him, humanity gave its all, holding back nothing. Here was a total obedience against the disobedience of man’s sin, a total acceptance and self-surrender as against the thrust and self-assertion of man’s sin. And all this was wholly in human nature.

Christ carrying the cross by Andrea Solario

But He who performed the act was God: actions, we have seen, are always in the nature, but the person does them: and the Person whose human nature this was, in whose human nature all this was done, was, is, God the Son. Because He was truly man, His sacrifice was truly human, so that it could be set against the sin of the race. But because He was God, His act had an infinite value, by which it compensated, outweighed, not only all the sin men ever had committed but all they ever could. That, in essence, is why it is redemptive. 

Every act of Christ was infinite in value because He who performed it was God. 2  

13. U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (Live)” (2005) from Adults Only II

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee. – St. Augustine of Hippo

U2 attempts- and pulls off- distilling each person’s lifetime journey of faith into a timeless song which surprisingly (or not) went to #1 in the U.S. in the summer of ’87. This version was recorded in Milan.

14. Arlo Guthrie – “Victor Jara” (1976) from Folkies V

Besides the history lesson, I also dig the audio production on this song- recorded in 1976 but sounds like it was recorded just yesterday.

Victor Jara

15. Jerry Jeff Walker – “L.A. Freeway (Live)” (1984) from Country Grab Bag II – Part 2

Proof not all ‘80s country was garbage. Born Ronald Clyde Crosby in Oneonta, New York (I’m not crazy about the stage name either), Walker tears it up and burns it down with a take no prisoners backing band on this live Guy Clark cover (yeah, another song about Los Angeles.)

16. Elvis Costello and the Confederates – “Brilliant Mistake” (1986) from Declan MacManus – Part 1

One of my favorite Elvis Costello songs. I always enjoy hearing foreigners sing about America.

17. The Human Beinz – “Nobody But Me” (1967) from Garage Freaks!

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall not have other gods beside me (Exodus 20:2-3).

18. Jackson Browne – “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” (2012) from Bob’s Birthday Bash – Part 2

One of my favorite ‘60s Dylan songs. I like Browne’s laid back interpretation as if he’s recalling a long forgotten childhood nursery rhyme one line at a time.

19. Adele – “Make You Feel My Love (Live)” (2011) from Pop Faves II

Words and music by Bob Dylan. Like all great love songs, this one is also probably about Jesus. 

The Human Beinz (what’s with the broom?)

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1 Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Being Catholic: How We Believe, Practice, and Think (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2006)

2 Frank Sheed, Theology for Beginners (Brooklyn, NY : Angelico Press, reprint edition 2011)

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Play It Again, Jean II – Part 2

Growing up on Long Island there was definitely a ’60s spirit of peace, love, and service flowing through our Catholic family’s home and so it came as a surprise to no one when 20 years ago this week I went off to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bulgaria. While music does not inform my beliefs, I tend to prefer songs that conform to or at least do not conflict with those beliefs. Here are some more of my favorites from the past year. Enjoy!

Jackson Browne

01. The Byrds – “Wild Mountain Thyme” (1966) from Byrds of a Feather II – Part 1

The Byrds were so experimental, so adventurous, and not afraid to push the boundaries of ‘60s popular music. This album includes far out, groundbreaking songs like “Eight Miles High”, “5D (Fifth Dimension)”, and “Mr. Spaceman” as well as this sweet, psychedelicized Celtic folk ballad. 

02. Jackson Browne – “Song for Adam” (1972) from Browne’s Blues – Part 1

Songs about suicide can be tough to pull off but Browne does his song justice by relying on honesty, simplicity, and compassion on this- his debut album- which brought him critical and commercial success (though I never heard this song until last year).

03. The Turtles – “Earth Anthem” (1968) from Turtle Week – Part 4

Is this a love song to Earth, or a call to eco-terrorism? This album had the Turtles performing each song as a different fictional band (à la the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band). Attributed to All, this one was reportedly recorded at 3 A.M. by candlelight in order to achieve just the right mood.

04. George Jones – “These Days (I Barely Get By)” (1974) from Country Grab Bag II – Part 2

I started exploring country- and George Jones- in the mid ‘00s after a painful break up. It was only then that I could truly appreciate the depths of sadness and loneliness in so many of Jones’ songs. I would listen to his music while making dinner (for one) and chuckle to myself; such is the healing power of music. In giving advice to aspiring writers, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. said: “Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.” I love the way life just keeps getting worse for the protagonist in this song and there is no trace of a happy ending (yet country music fans in the ‘70s ate this stuff up). 

Willie Nelson

05. Jackson Browne – “The Birds of St. Mark’s (Live)” (2004) from Blue Jean Rock Poets II – Part 1

“I’m weary of the nights I’ve seen inside these empty halls.” Written when Browne was just 18 and returning to California from New York City (JB always thought of it as a Byrds tune), I like the song’s imagery and I’m always a sucker for love songs featuring queens and castles. 

06. Looking Glass – “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” (1972) from Classic Rock: Choice Cuts IV

While not the sharpest tool in the shed, Brandy is kind, loving, and loyal. This classic rock staple will still sound good a hundred years from now, and I’m always interested in nautical themed ‘70s songs that take place on the West Coast. Hmm. That might be a good theme for a future blog entry.

07. Dar Williams – “Fm Radio” (2015) from Rock Grab Bag VI

Ok, we get it, Dar. You came of age during a time when FM radio was popular, today’s kids don’t have that same experience, and you want to make sure everyone knows how cool and magical it was back then. But I was there- it wasn’t- and there is nothing cheaper or easier than nostalgia. But I agree- this Internet Age is overrated. 

08. Paul Simon – “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” (1972) from Paul from Queens – Part 2

Still sounds good after all these years. Favorite line: “And when the radical preacher come and get me released, we was all on the cover of Newsweek.” As Peace Corps Volunteers in Bulgaria we all received free subscriptions to Newsweek.

The Wallflowers

09. Willie Nelson and Calexico – “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)” (2007) from Bob’s Birthday Bash – Part 2

Nelson takes this Bob Dylan song to a whole new level of darkness, terror, desolation, and doom. Scary stuff, indeed- and it is not easy to scare the Jean. Hats off, Willie.

10. The Gaslight Anthem – “The ‘59 Sound” (2008) from Kiss Me I’m Irish II – Part 1

I first heard this song in the car on my way to a Redskins game in 2008 (at first I thought it was Bruce Springsteen) and then I went and purchased the album. A few months later the unthinkable happened when my ex returned to me. She was fleeing domestic violence at the time and I helped her out of a jam but she soon returned to her abuser. This song takes me back to that brief, intense period when The ‘59 Sound was the only music I had in my car- and Barack Obama had just been sworn in as president. 

11. The Wallflowers – “Lawyers, Guns and Money” (2004) from Adults Only II

When the creative juices just aren’t flowing, nothing invigorates a band more than a cover song and the Wallflowers go all out on this Warren Zevon cover (although I’m not crazy about the replacing of “dad” with “Warren”. Maybe Jakob just wasn’t comfortable singing about his famous father).  

12. The Monkees – “Shades of Gray” (1967) from Cheer Up, Sleepy Jean II – Part 1

As a young Monkees fan in the ‘80s, this song really struck me and sent my imagination reeling (right down to the French horn). From all the TV shows and movies I had seen I imagined the ‘60s to be the most dramatic, exciting American decade ever. I eventually outgrew it but when I return to this song now I still enjoy its childish wisdom and innocence.

Indigo Girls

13. Paul Simon – “Duncan” (1972) from Paul from Queens – Part 2

While not one of Simon’s better known songs, I like its strangeness. 

14. Jackson Browne – “I Am a Patriot” (1989) from Browne’s Blues – Part 1

Words and music by Little Steven Van Zandt. For the record, the Jean is a registered independent voter.

15. Indigo Girls – “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Live)” (2008) from Rock Grab Bag VI

There are many cover versions of this Dylan song but this may be my new favorite. It’s so joyful!

16. Craig Finn – “Maggie I’ve Been Searching for Our Son” (2015) from Rock Grab Bag III

Perhaps it’s because- like Craig Finn- I am a Catholic from the Northeast that the Mountain States and so-called American-born prophets have always scared me.“There were handcuffed girls with barely any clothes.” Are singer-songwriters making a comeback? 

Earth, Wind & Fire

17. Old 97’s – “Salome” (1997) from Country Grab Bag II – Part 3

Right from the start the song evokes a sad, desolate atmosphere somewhere in the Southwest and you can almost see the dusty highway bar and neon sign as the weary protagonist sings a song well known to every man whose ever had a lady break his heart and learns the hard way- sooner or later- everyone leaves and lets you down. “I’m tired of making friends.” 

18. Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack – “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” (1983) from Soul by the Dozen V

If you were born in the early ‘80s, then you may have quiet storm music to thank for your existence. 

19. Earth, Wind & Fire – “September” (1978) from Soul by the Dozen V

This song is sure to get any dance floor moving- any time of the year!

20. Screeching Weasel – “99” (1994) from Alternative Grab Bag IV – Part 3

Having already tackled Happy Days and The Brady Bunch, Screeching Weasel’s tribute to the ‘60s spy TV show Get Smart (reruns of which I used to enjoy watching as a little boy with my bologna sandwich and milk) is packed with Get Smart references and appears on the band’s last good album (which runs less than 30 minutes and the 13 songs run you over like a freight train as if the band wants to hurry and finish so they can use the bathroom). 99 was played by actress and former model Barbara Feldon. 

“99”

21. Dr. Hook – “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman” (1978) from Rock Me Softly II

This song makes being in love with a beautiful woman sound like a real drag but also oozes with late ‘70s charm. For what it’s worth, these guys were from New Jersey.

22. Johnny Rivers – “Positively 4th Street” (1968) from Bob’s Birthday Bash – Part 1

One of the great kiss off songs of all time- so many powerful lines aimed at fair-weather fans and critics alike. The original Dylan version is good but rough and I prefer this version which is smoother but still carries the same edge, power, and drama. I heard Dylan likes this version, too.

23. U2 – “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own (Live)” (2005) from Alternative Grab Bag IV – Part 5

Bono has it out with his dad (or God) live on stage in Milan (my dad loves opera, too.) It’s always a thrill to hear whether or not Bono will be able to hit that high note near the end of the song. (He does.)

24. Adele – “Someone Like You” (2011) from Pop Faves II

It took me some years to come around but now I like this song. Timeless, universal pop.

25. Sarah McLachlan – “Answer (Live)” (2003) from Rock Grab Bag VI

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

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Richard Marx - What's In My Bag?

Bob’s Birthday Bash II – Part 2

Every artistic movement has its watershed moments and for rock music there were two biggies that occurred just months apart in 1965: the release of the Byrds’ version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” followed a few months later by Dylan’s own “Like a Rolling Stone”. Simply put, these two songs blew minds and broke new ground for rock- mostly thanks to Dylan’s lyrics- and influenced every rock song and band that came after them. Here are some more of my favorite Bob Dylan covers (and one song co-written with his fellow Traveling Wilbury, Tom Petty). Happy Birthday, Bob! Enjoy!

The Byrds

01. The Byrds – “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (1965)

02. The Byrds – “Mr. Tambourine Man (Live)” (1970)

03. Miley Cyrus – “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” (2012)

04. Sheryl Crow – “Mississippi” (1998)

05. The Byrds – “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (Version One)” (1965)

06. Adele – “Make You Feel My Love (Live)” (2011)

07. The Hollies – “Mighty Quinn” (1969)

08. The Hollies – “When the Ship Comes In” (1969)

09. Roger McGuinn – “Mr. Tambourine Man (Live)” (1992)

10. Gordon Lightfoot – “Ring Them Bells” (1993)

11. Stereophonics – “Positively 4th Street” (1999)

12. Joan Baez – “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Live)” (1963)

13. Manfred Mann – “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” (1965)

14. Billy Bragg – “Lay Down Your Weary Tune” (2012) 

15. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – “Jammin’ Me (Live)” (1997)

16. Spirit – “Like a Rolling Stone” (1975)

Sheryl Crow and Bob Dylan

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