October 2016 - Page 5 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Indigenous Peoples Day v. Columbus Day

Dumping Columbus Day seems unfortunate in that it becomes a zero-sum equation.

October 12, before the federal government turned it into a Monday holiday, was, Columbus Day in the US, to honor that guy “who sailed the ocean blue in 14 hundred 92.” However, several towns are instead celebrating Indigenous People’s Day.”

“For decades, celebrating ‘Columbus Day’ has been hotly debated. Many feel Christopher Columbus is largely responsible for the decimation of the Native Americans, and giving him a day of celebration just adds insult to injury.” In this blog, I’ve been supportive of this redesignation. Check out this article.

Still, I’m not quite sure if it’s the holiday one would really want. It seems to be mostly about sales, and a chance to get away and perhaps see the autumn colors before the cold weather comes.

Now, if there were some conversation about what Indigenous People means – see this video for a limited time, e.g. – maybe it’d be a more meaningful change. The Dakota Pipeline story was underreported because the Native Americans lack political muscle.

Still, dumping Columbus Day seems unfortunate in that it becomes a zero-sum equation: Indians, si, Italians, no. Columbus Day has always felt like some of those non-legal holiday celebrations, such as St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) for the suddenly Irish and Cinco de Mayo (May 5) for the ersatz Mexicans, only without all the alcoholic consumption. And there’s usually a parade!

But the Italian experience in America is interesting to me. As this article notes that when Columbus, who was Italian, but sailing for Spain arrived:

“We think of this day as when America became white. But nearly 400 years after Columbus, a large wave of Italians would arrive on American shores, and they would not be considered as such. The period between 1880-1920, known as ‘The Great Arrival,’ when at least three million Italians immigrated to the United States, created an era in which southern Italians had to become white.”

This is an interesting story, when, early on, they were considered black, especially in the South, and treated as such, which is to say, badly.

Maybe we can have some other, less polarizing, Italian-American’s birthday celebrated and learn more about our ever-changing country.

Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates turns 70

She’s Gone by Hall and Oates was the last song played

A sea change seems to have taken place regarding Daryl Hall and John Oates. Once scorned as too commercial – they WERE the most commercially successful duo ever – they were FINALLY nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and were elected on their first, delayed shot.

I’ve had affection for Hall & Oates for a long while. I own a few of their early LPs, such as Abandoned Luncheonette and Voices. According to one of those VH1 “Where are they now” specials, which I saw a couple of years ago, some folks thought they were gay, based on the Voices cover. Though they were not, it was not something they rushed out to fix.

Listening to these again, I’m fascinated by how long it takes for the vocals to come up, a ’60s DJ’s dream. Good thing they came out later.

My favorite Daryl Hall songs, most, but not all, with John Oates, with links to all songs. Chart references are to Billboard.

16. Change of Season – title song from a 1990 H&O album, co-produced by Jon Bon Jovi and Danny Kortchmar, after H&O were cranking out the hits. The song is a bit Beatlesque. The album wasn’t a big hit, or particularly well received by the critics. But I have a great deal of affection.
15. Did It In A Minute from Private Eyes, #9 pop in 1982. This album generated a lot of hits.
14. So Close, the first song on Change of Season, #11 pop in 1990.
13. Say It Isn’t So from Rock ‘N’ Soul, Part 1, #2 for four weeks pop, #45 soul in 1982 – some artists put out greatest hits albums and the song is only on that album, initially. This is one of those.

12. Sacred Songs – the title song of that Daryl Hall solo album, for which I’ve spoken of my affection.
11. Out of Touch from Big Bam Boom, #1 for two weeks pop, #24 soul in 1984. I found it danceable.
10. Starting All Over Again from Change of Season. It reminded me of the old Philly sound of a decade or so earlier
9. Sara Smile, from Bigger Than Both of Us, #4 pop, #23 soul in 1976. Daryl Hall’s love song to his then-girlfriend and music collaborator Sara Allen

8. Kiss is on My List, from Voices, #1 pop for three weeks in 1980 – when I sing along with songs, it’s usually NOT the melody. In this case, it’s the “Because your kiss” part, which I love
7. NYCNY from Sacred Songs, Recorded in the summer of 1977 – the Summer of Sam, when I lived there – though the album was not released until 1979. This song SOUNDS like NYCNY of the time.
6. How Does It Feel To Be Back, from Voices, #30 in 1980 – when I first heard this song, that Tom Pettyish-guitar made it sound familiar, in a good way
5. I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do), from Private Eyes, #1 pop, and soul in 1982 – perfect ’80s pop song

4. Private Eyes, the title song, #1 for two weeks in 1981 – It’s the hand clapping. “Private Eyes” [clap] “are watching you” [clap, clap]. An oddly effective hook.
3. Something In 4/4 Time from Sacred Songs. I now believe this WAS released as a single – Daryl needs to find an a capella choir to record this, especially that instrumental break
2. She’s Gone from Abandoned Luncheonette, #60 in 1974, #7 pop, and #93 soul when it was reissued in 1976 – it’s the modulation at the end that seals it. Plus I told this story before, but it WAS 10 years ago: In the summer of 1977, I was living in NYC, specifically Jamaica, Queens, with my sister Leslie and her then-husband Eric. One day, they had the radio on, and one had to be the ninth caller “with the phrase that pays, ’99X is my radio station'” AND be able to identify the last song played. Well, I was the ninth caller, I said the phrase that paid, and I knew that She’s Gone by Hall and Oates was the last song played. I won twice my age, which meant $48, real money for an underemployed telephone solicitor (TV Guide, Encyclopedia Britannica). I had to spend SOME of it though, and that turned to be the ONLY time I’ve ever seen the New York Mets play in person. Don’t remember the game or even the score, but I remember the joy of being there with my sister. I also have an unusual affection for the song.
1. You Make My Dreams from Voices, #5 in 1981. Used effectively in the movie 500 Days of Summer

One more tune, by someone else: Everytime You Go Away by Paul Young, written by Daryl Hall, and #1 pop in 1985

N is for English as a New Language

English, on a language perspective, makes no sense at all.

My wife is a teacher of English as a New Language (ENL). It has also been called English as a Second Language (ESL), but the NEW designation is more accurate because, for some of these students, English is their third or fourth language.

Here’s a 2008 article about English Language Learners (ELLs) that I think describes the process and problems of learning English for non-native speakers.

The rules for the order of adjectives are nearly instinctive for native-born speakers of English. In case that you need help learning this language, we recommend you this igcse online english tutor.

But it is tricky for the ELL. There are several lists, found here and here and elsewhere. But they generally agree on the order.

Comparative / superlative
Example: Bigger chair, smartest student

Opinion
Example: an interesting book, a boring lecture

Dimension (size)
Example: a big apple, a thin wallet

Age
Example: a new car, a modern building, an ancient ruin

Shape
Example: a square box, an oval mask, a round ball

Color
Example: a pink hat, a blue book, a black coat

Origin / nationality
Example: some Italian shoes, a Canadian town, an American car

Material
Example: a wooden box, a woolen sweater, a plastic toy

So you would say a “new Italian car,” not an “Italian new car.” Or a “big pink plastic sculpture.” And you don’t use commas between the terms. If you ask a native speaker why, she’ll say because to do otherwise sounds wrong. If I were an ELL, this might be a difficult aspect.

Other issues for ELL students depend on their native language. Certain sounds aren’t “available in their first language (‘th’ is a big one in general, but so are ‘v’ for Turkish speakers, ‘w’ for some European language speakers, ‘sh’ for Spanish speakers, and ‘r’/’l’ for many Eastern/Southeastern Asian language speakers).

“English, on a language perspective, makes no sense at all. There are so many exceptions, and these exceptions don’t follow the same rules. Some letters are silent, but they aren’t always so. There is no real verb conjugation. You always need your pronoun or it makes no sense at all.

“The sounds are weird as well. You can learn the short and long vowel rules, but in some situations, they are just different, and there is no reasonable explanation as to why you have pronounced something differently.”

There are also issues with verb conjugations, idioms, and homophones/homographs/homonyms.

I’m always impressed when people take on English as a New Language.

ABC Wednesday – Round 19

A book about the White Album?

Lots of people speculated what the album would have been like if it were a single LP

Someone I know has asked me to compile and edit a book about the album The Beatles, generally called the white album. I haven’t said no, but I haven’t said yes yet because, to quote a white album title, “I’m So Tired.”

Still, it’s an interesting proposition. That album is, in its own way, as emblematic as its predecessor, Sgt. Pepper, and I think it ages better. It is the way people describe Tusk by Fleetwood Mac, e.g., an album with individual artists, rather than a band, with the others showing up as each other’s sidemen, or in this case, NOT showing up sometimes.

The first time I heard the white album was in the basement of the Unitarian church in Binghamton, NY in late November or early December of 1968. Our friend Steve was a member of a church group called LRY, Liberal Religious Youth, so he had access to the building.

We listened intently to the four sides. I remember or think I do, being struck by the Beach Boys effect of Back in the U.S.S.R.; the Beatles’ self-reference of Glass Onion; confusion over the meaning of Happiness Is A Warm Gun; the harpsichord on Piggies; the interesting segue between Birthday and Yer Blues; the sheer loudness of Helter Skelter, followed by the nearly inaudible Long Long Long; the familiarity of Revolution 1; and the utter confusion of Revolution 9.

I got the album for Christmas 1968. No doubt I read the lyric foldout sheet to try to figure out the meaning of it all. But when I got to side 3, the record skipped! It was just before the vocals on Birthday, and I later learned that there were thousands of copies with the same defect. I got it replaced a few days later.

Lots of people speculated what the album would have been like if it were a single LP, rather than a double, starting with producer George Martin. But it was The Beatles we’re talking about, who, that year, put out a seven-minute single, Hey Jude. (Now if YOU want to speculate what would be lost, besides Revolution 9, go ahead.)

If there were a book on the White album, what kind of items would you want to see? I know it’d have reference to cover versions of the songs, at least the ones that charted.

Listen to:

Back in the U.S.S.R. – Chubby Checker, #82 in 1969
Dear Prudence -5 Stairsteps, #66 in 1970
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – Arthur Conley, #51 in 1969

There are a bunch more…

Music Throwback Saturday: Fire

Three songs that are all in my collection called Fire, they are very different pieces of music.

October 9-14 this year is Fire Prevention Week in the US, “established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.”

Each year has a theme. 2016’s theme is Don’t Wait – Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years.

Watching the terrible fires in California, and elsewhere in the western United States, following the severe drought conditions, was sobering. Yet, as is often the case, it also reminded me of music. Specifically of three songs that are all in my collection called Fire, but which are very different pieces of music.

The earliest is a 1968 song, originally credited to Arthur Brown and Vincent Crane, and performed by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. “The single reached #1 in the UK and in Canada, #2 in the US Billboard charts,” and Top 10 in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Ireland.

Though its lack of guitars or bass guitar, relying instead on the Hammond organ, it was considered “an example of the psychedelic rock of the period… Mike Finesilver and Peter Ker successfully sued for co-credit and royalties based on melodic similarities to their song ‘Baby, You’re a Long Way Behind'”, which I’ve never heard. The song was covered on Pete Townshend’s The Iron Man collection.

Fire is ALSO “a hit song by R&B/funk band Ohio Players. The song was the opening track from the album of the same name and hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Soul Singles chart in early 1975. It spent five weeks atop the soul chart. Fire was the Ohio Players’ only entry on the new disco/dance chart, where it peaked at #10. The tune is considered to be the band’s signature song along with Love Rollercoaster.”

Fire is ALSO a song written by Bruce Springsteen in 1977, which did not appear on his June 2, 1978 album release Darkness on the Edge of Town, because of its “inconsistency with Springsteen’s ultimate thematic vision for that album.” But it showed up in the live shows from the period, and as a live single nearly a decade later.

Robert Gordon recorded a version with Link Wray in 1978. But it is the inaugural single by the Pointer Sisters as the trio (Anita, June, and Ruth) that became the big hit: #2 on Billboard Hot 100 (February 1979), #14, and #22 on the magazine’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Adult Contemporary charts, respectively, and #1 in Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, and New Zealand, #3 in Canada, #7 in Australia, and #10 in Austria, plus Top 40 in Germany and the UK.

Listen to

Fire – the Crazy World of Arthur Brown HERE or HERE
Fire – Pete Townsend HERE or HERE

Fire – Ohio Players HERE or HERE (album version, I think)

Fire – Bruce Springsteen HERE or a different take HERE
Fire – Robert Gordon and Link Wray HERE or HERE
Fire – Pointer Sisters HERE or HERE