The Regular Friday Post
Rando Lyrics: Dead kings, many things I can't define Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Ed. - I would love to credit the other music writer who recently wrote something on Substack about the song from which I took the above “Rando Lyrics” for this week but I don’t remember which one of the many music writers I follow on here was the one writing about it. But, it’s been earworming (A LOT!!!) in my head ever since so, “Thanks a pantload, Chet”…..
Last week’s rando lyrics: The lyric, “Any place is better Starting from zero, got nothing to lose” is from the song "Fast Car”, a song written and performed by Tracy Chapman, released in 1988 as Track 2 on her album “ Tracy Chapman”. The album was produced by David Kershenbaum.
““Fast Car" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released on April 6, 1988, by Elektra, as the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album (1988). Chapman's appearance on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute helped the song become a top-ten hit in the United States, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart in 1988.” Credit: Wikipedia Link: Fast Car
“Fast Car" was the song that was played on the radio so it was something that turned out to take a significant role in shaping my first record and probably the public perception of me as a singer-songwriter who is writing about stories, songs which tell stories about peoples’ lives and very generally represents the world that I saw it when I was growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, coming from a working-class background. In part everything that a person writes is autobiographical but the songs are directly so and most of them were not, and “Fast Car” wasn’t one that was directly autobiographical. I never had a fast car, it’s just a story about a couple, how they are trying to make a life together and they face challenges. I had so many people come up to me and say that they felt it was their song and someone told me at one point that they thought I’ve been reading their mail, they were saying, ‘You seem to know my story,’ and people would come up and tell me about a car relationship and some detail that they felt was in the song that represented something that happened in their lives.
– Tracy Chapman via Unmask (as found on Genius: Fast Car)
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
For Today:
We have a lot of cool stuff for you today, so I’m going to let the articles and links do most of the talking - in part because I see I’m starting out over the email limit (apparently there’s a button to press somewhere to see the rest of it if Google email truncates it…), and in part because it’s a cold, snowy day here in the Upper Left Corner. That means the guitars need humidity and I’m keeping the humidifiers and distilling machine busy (I live in an area with low humidity year around AND hard, mineral laden water - tasty, but leaves a white dust everywhere if I use it straight from the tap in the humidifiers…meh). I did try to post links for folks at every level of guitar playing or simply music buffs. Case in point is the Tracy Chapman song. At the Grammys she was playing with a capo at the second fret - not sure if that was a nod to her or Mr. Combs’ vocal comfort zone. Apparently, she uses a capo frequently (at least that’s what a couple of articles I read seemed to indicate) when playing songs she’s written, not sure why (and the articles I read were notably unhelpful in that regard - maybe one of those highly paid, very famous music writers should just ask her….). The chords in the un-capoed “Fast Car” and the capoed version are not that difficult either way, but it’s interesting. Enjoy!
A Song To Play
Link: Fast Car Chords - Chordify
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero, got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make somethin'
Me, myself, I got nothing to prove
[Verse 2]
You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us outta here
Ibeen working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
Won't have to drive too far
Just across the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
Finally see what it means to be living
[Verse 3]
See, my old man's got a problem
He lives with a bottle, that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for workin'
His body's too young to look like his
When mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said, "Somebody's gotta take care of him"
I quit school and that's what I did
[Pre-Chorus]
You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way
[Chorus]
So I remember when we were drivin', drivin' in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feelin' I could be someone
Be someone, be someone
[Verse 4]
You got a fast car
We go cruisin', entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
And we'll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs
[Chorus]
So I remember when we were drivin', drivin' in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feelin' I could be someone
Be someone, be someone
[Verse 5]
You got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinkin' late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I'd always hoped for better
Thought maybe together, you and me'd find it
I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on drivin'
[Chorus]
So I remember when we were drivin', drivin' in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feelin' I could be someone
Be someone, be someone
[Refrain]
You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way
Credit Genius Link: Fast Car
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Other Voices:
Nic Briscoe is a Substack friend and the subject of a previous (last year) interview in this space. Also I have complete photo envy of this (cover?) pic and he’s using a capo in it, too. Some sort of musical resonance occurring….:
Nic’s Substack this week is about his “kit” (here in the colonies we’d probably call that our “gear”, but…..). Anyway, it’s a great review of what he takes on the road with him and timely because he has some gigs coming up soon. If you’re new to performing live or just want to know more of the nuts and bolts and “how to do it” - start here to learn from a pro:
“The news is blue (the news is blue)
It has its own way to get to you (ooh)” [Driver’s Seat”, 1978, Sniff ‘n’ The Tears, Paul Roberts]
The News:
Legal Action Against Pandora - If you’re a recording artist, or thinking about it, and you have music to release as an independent artist through CD Baby or Songtrust, Distrokid, etc., I urge you to become a member of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) - they do good work! I’m not sure if the issues here are similar to the Spotify refusal to pay owed royalties to smaller artists, instead dividing them among users with an arbitrarily arrived at number of streams. If so, this may be a shot across Spotify’s bow. Interesting in any case…
More news:
Brian Wilson Album - The “lost” (and about to be found) album…
An Album The Wilson Sisters Regret Making - Not so sure this was that bad - apparently now remixed/remastered - should be interesting.
Late Breaking News:
Paul McCartney's Hofner Bass Returned After More Than 50 Years
Some Links for today:
From Carvin Audio:
Multiband Compression - This is a bit down in the weeds if you’re not recording your own stuff, but interesting even if you only listen to music - it’s a primer on what you hear, and don’t hear…
From Blues Guitar Unleashed: BGU is just a great site for guitarists. Mr. Hamlin’s main fare is electric guitar and especially blues/jazz, but every guitarist will learn something…
Stevie Ray Vaughan "Empty Arms"
From Songtown:
Writing Better Songs Checklist - songwriters and especially singer/songwriters - things to think about here - I’ll admit I haven’t been diligent about revisiting songs I’ve written that have lain dormant for awhile - periodically revisiting this checklist (and your songs) is a good habit to get into.
Better Song Catalogs - Not all of these are going to apply to everyone - for instance, I’m just not interested in co-writing, at least at this point, but I get it if it’s on your list.
From Acoustic Guitar Magazine:
How Guitar Strings Age/When To Replace - If they’re worn, you could sound worn out - good technical advice here from an actual luthier, with a lot of background to supplement.
5 Ways To Evolve Musicianship - This is great stuff! Did I do it all, or will I? Nope… But if you can’t do it all, either, at least do the last one on the list - It’s the one that gets you furthest toward your goals, IMHO….
From Guitarworld:
Pick or Fingerstyle? I’ve gotta admit I have to force myself to play with a pick these days - I’ve gotten too comfortable with fingerpicking, but I can’t afford to lose pick skills either…
Four ideas from Rumble featuring our absolute favorite video guitar skills instructor, Sean Daniel - I’m going to let the titles speak for themselves, but I guarantee you’ll learn something cool from him and these videos!!
Thank You To Our New Subscribers!! This Week’s Conversation With Mika, the Cat:
Me: (In the early spring and late fall the sun is exactly at the right angle to reflect off my phone’s screen and hit the wall at one end of the room. Mika apparently perceives this as some sort of invader and desperately tries to capture it. I’d like to think she believes she’s protecting me, but I suspect she regards it as a particularly elusive, but likely tasty, morsel…. )
Mika: “I’ll get it tomorrow for sure!”
Disclaimer Section
This Substack is free, I receive no compensation of any kind from companies or products I mention. Some linked or quoted material may be copyrighted by others, and I credit them. I rely on the “Fair Use” doctrine for educational purposes (Link: Fair Use). *I do not use AI, things I link to might though. -Michael Acoustic
*Exception: For the next few weeks at least I’ll be testing out a beta feature offered on Substack that produces an AI image based on a text input - the image of the week can be seen in the upper left corner of this post… (it’s not me in the pic, just sayin…)
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Shameless Self Promotion Section:
My song is out! Link: “Long Road Back” (click on link for streaming options)…
What I’m Listening2:
LINK»> Winter Blues….click the underlined link, it’s on Amazon
Cheers!….. and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”
https://open.substack.com/pub/shermanalexie/p/fast-car-tracy-chapman-and-luke-combs?r=1knofy&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Another banger, Michael.
Loki says hi to Mika!