Listening To It All
These Brothers... (keep in mind this is where I put a clue for next week's Bonus Round, and has nothing to do with the themes of today's post. Just sayin....)
Last week’s Bonus Round: “The Passenger" is a song written by Iggy Pop and Ricky Gardiner, recorded and released by Iggy Pop on the Lust for Life album in 1977. It was also released as the B-side of the album's only single, "Success". It was released as a single in its own right in March 1998, reaching number 22 in the UK charts.
Background and composition
"The Passenger" was co-written by Iggy Pop and guitarist Ricky Gardiner; Pop wrote the lyrics, while Gardiner composed the music.[1] Gardiner thought of the riff in early 1977 as he was wandering throughout the countryside, "in the field beside an orchard, on one of those glorious spring days with the trees in full blossom."[2] The song was recorded at Hansa Studio by the Wall in West Berlin between May and June 1977. The lineup consisted of Pop, Gardiner, David Bowie on piano, Carlos Alomar on guitar, and brothers Tony and Hunt Sales on bass and drums, respectively.[3] Bowie, Pop, and producer-engineer Colin Thurston produced Lust for Life under the pseudonym "Bewlay Bros.", named after the final track on Bowie's 1971 album Hunky Dory.[4]
Similar to other tracks on Lust for Life, the lyrics for "The Passenger" were mostly composed on the spot in the studio.[2] They were inspired by a Jim Morrison poem, titled "The Lords",[3] that saw "modern life as a journey by car", as well as rides on the Berlin S-Bahn, according to Pop's former girlfriend Esther Friedmann.[1][5] The lyrics have been interpreted as "Iggy's knowing commentary on Bowie's cultural vampirism".[6] In an interview with The Guardian in 2016, Pop said "The Passenger" was partly inspired by touring with David Bowie: "I'd been riding around North America and Europe in David's car ad infinitum. I didn't have a driver's licence or a vehicle".[7] Biographer Paul Trynka states that the song was "a simple celebration of life", of the "long walks" Pop would take growing up and his own reputation at the time.[2] Tom Maginnis of AllMusic described the music as a "laid-back ... springy groove".[8] Reviewers characterize the track as garage rock and proto-punk.[9][10] Credit: Wikipedia
“The Passenger” is a bit out of what I think of as my “genre”, but I think it’s really important to listen widely, and outside whatever your chosen “genre” is. The reason is “genre” is really just a way of categorizing music, and the more we allow any characterization of our own music, whether written, performed, recorded, or just the stuff we play for ourselves, the more we’re limited by ourselves and others. I’ve mentioned I likely would not be attempting rap or hip-hop, but I listen to the music - there’s a lot of “sameness” in rap/hip-hop in themes, but the same can be said for a lot of rock, country and western, pop, Americana, and other types of contemporary music as well. In part, that sameness is driven by the market for music. As we’ve discussed, unless you’re consciously limiting yourself (and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing at all - writing/performing your own music can be an intensely personal experience, and some things you just don’t want to share - I get it), you may want to write or perform something - something that’s going to sell. Last week we talked about heartbreak songs and how they’re pretty reliable sellers. So are love songs, and even songs with lyrics that are pretty much unintelligible but the music hooks us. There’s usually a lot, but sometimes (more interestingly) very little, in the way of formula. We may often write to what listeners sort of expect structurally, if not lyrically: intro, verses, chorus, bridge, outro, but lots of successful songs ignore that formulaic approach, either in part or completely. Experimenting with going “off-formula” is a good way to build some songwriting chops.
For instance, listeners expect varying lyrics in the verses, that’s kinda what we think they’re for, but the “expectation” is the chorus will restate itself pretty much exactly, and in doing so will illuminate some meaning in the variations of the verses. What if you change that? What happens if you change the words in later choruses to be different from the choruses following the first couple of verses to something else (ex: “Poncho and Lefty”: “All the Federales” versus “A few gray Federales”)? What if you use a chord progression in the third verse that’s different from the one you used in the first two verses? Maybe not the melodic pattern or harmonic intervals, but use different chords in the same key? This is kind of like a key change, and in fact you can do that if you want, there’s nothing that says you can’t! Things that we do that are different from the “formula” catch the listener’s ear - many, maybe most, listeners won’t know exactly what happened musically, but they’ll hear something interesting. Keeping your music interesting in some manner is a great way to differentiate your stuff from the mass of less interesting, “diary entry”, formulaic rock/pop/country/whatever music.
See this hilariously (but accurately) titled web page for a funny and insightful discussion about how Eric Clapton frequently uses key changes in his songs: What Key Is "Layla" In For Crying Out Loud?
We’ve also talked about the power of metaphorical, but relevant, song lyrics. I’ve mentioned the lyrical phrase from The Pretenders’ great song, (written by Chrissie Hynde) “Back On The Chain Gang” before - the phrase is “the phone and the TV and the news of the world”. Is there a better description anywhere of the things that distract us from what’s really important in our lives? The phrase “traffic and work and what to make for dinner” just wouldn’t have the same impact, even though each of those things can be equally distracting. Ms. Hynde wrote the song about specific tragedies that were occurring in her life at the time, but that phrase in particular has resonates for most of us.
As songwriters we have specific things going on in our lives that we may write about. If we write too specifically about our own experience (“I’m currently annoyed with the roomba like thing getting stuck in the same carpet wrinkle every damn time”), we lose our audience in our own issues. If we write in metaphorical, but more universally felt terms, we engage our audience:
“You’re always so stuck, like the dust on my floor,
that won’t leave me alone, why don’t you just roll out the door?”
OK, so probably my feelings toward the roomba thing at this moment, expressed either literally or metaphorically, aren’t going to end up as a hit song. But if you didn’t know the story behind them, the memory of a former love whose poor life habits and lack of concern for your needs might resonate. Or maybe you’d think “I wish that dude would quite whining about his vacuum cleaner!”. Actually, if you bought the song that those lines were part of (yeah, there is no song like that, don’t be misled by marketing ads to the contrary…), I’d be fine with whatever interpretation you wished to apply. As I’m sure Chrissie Hynde and Iggy Pop are with whatever interpretation any of us apply to the songs of theirs we just streamed or listened to on YouTube or bought on vinyl or CD.
As Randy Newman says: “It’s the money that matters….”
A couple weeks ago I mentioned more pictures of my cat would appear here if we grew a little, and I’m happy to report that that has indeed happened. I’m pretty sure she might want you to share Michael Acoustic and help me engage folks that might be looking for some of our subject matter. Or, she might just be wondering why I’m writing to you all, instead of paying attention to her needs. So, either way, here’s my cat (yeah, probably the latter…):
Now you see why I need a roomba thing….
Speaking of subscribers, SubStack has been making a lot of news lately, and I think it’s an important place to discover many different points of view. While many are paid, I’m committed to keeping Michael Acoustic a free newsletter, but I get the fact that many other writers on here need the revenue generated from paid subscriptions to continue. That’s one reason I often feature other SubStack writers. I don’t feel I’m in competition with them, I want my readers to be able to learn from many different sources and points of view, and so far the folks that provide the website (and I appreciate that free riders like me are given a voice - websites don’t run for free!) are tolerant. Check out the “What I Read” page and the folks I follow - while some are political in nature, that’s not what Michael Acoustic is about, and the folks I actually recommend (as opposed to read) often have as good or better insights into my topics: guitars and playing them, where to learn how (local guitar instructor), where to find and buy them (locally owned guitar shops), music in general, listening widely, songwriting, home recording and the “business” that goes with each of those things. Read widely, friends!
Bonus Round: Is it the beaches?
What I’m Listening To:
Cheers and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
Thanks Brad - will definitely include the link next week - interesting. There were some groups that always just caught my ear back in the day - Gin Blossoms, Live, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Better Than Ezra - always got radio play, hits but never quite top tier, and sometimes the interesting stuff was stuck on the album and rarely heard on radio or MTV, lots of great guitar and intriguing lyrics (usually). I still listen to them, in part because it’s hard to find stuff now that really catches my perhaps curmudgeonly ear now. Darn kids….shakes fist at spy balloon…..
Nicely done, Michael! Love your choice of Gin Blossoms tracks for your 'List.....while most lean on "Jealousy," as their GB cut d'jour, I've always favored "Found Out About You," even to the point of giving it the frequent karaoke spin in the latter half of the last decade. Always loved the understated guitar play, and the harmonies. I'd frequently sing harmony parts at karaoke, whether or not the lead was covered on the track (it usually wasn't of course, being karaoke! That didn't stop me!)
I like that Cockburn track, too. Never spent much time listening to him before (I know he's Canadian...that much I remember from the rock mags back in the day!), but again, the guitar on this one is janglingly attractive!
And, while I've never heard of The Why Store, I enjoy their song, although the lead singer's voice would be an acquired taste (to me, at least). But, the guitars are tasty....again....I'm spotting a trend, my well-fretted friend!
If I may be so bold, Michael, I think your readers might appreciate my deep dive into the recording of Iggy's "Lust for Life" and "The Idiot " (and part of Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy") from 1977 in West Berlin, if you don't mind me dropping the link: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/pressing-the-flesh-with-iggy-pop
Many thanks, Michael, and I enjoyed your peek into The Ig (I've even sung "The Passenger" in karaoke)!