Dear Mr. Marcus, Your mentions of Steve Erickson in the Days Between Stations column "The summer-of-love generation" [link] reminded me of a long-held connection I have made between you and Mr. Erickson. "Treasure Island", your epilogue to Stranded is a tour-de-force of short form/capsule record reviewing. I think Mr. Erickson's "LA's Top 100" (included in
I thought Dana Spiotta wrote very convincingly about music and how it worms its way into our lives in her novel Stone Arabia (2011), which I figured I'd probably heard about from you but maybe not.
"Accidents Will Happen" on your daughter's funeral soundtrack is perfect wan smile. Respects.
Heinze had an unfortunately reedy voice but a big white-haired pompadour, as I recall.
I'm usually impatient and disappointed with alternate takes and outtakes and such detritus left behind in the recording studio. When I indulge such records they regularly affirm for me how good recording professionals appear to be at getting the best versions on original releases. But I'm close to trying "Fragments" for "Like a Rolling Stone," which is a Mount Rushmore-level song of the Rock Era.
Thanks for paying such close attention to this music stuff. Always learning from you. Best wishes.
Good call on Dana Spiotta, who I definitely first heard of through GM, although the novel in question was EAT THE DOCUMENT. She's fantastic.
Dylan's just about the only person whose "process" recordings I'm interested in. The complete "Like a Rolling Stone" sessions are found not on FRAGMENTS but on THE CUTTING EDGE, and last only about 40 minutes. Definitely worth hearing. It's really wild because for basically every other song he recorded in the mid-'60s, the last attempted take would be the one that was released. He knew when they'd nailed it. The idea of not realizing they'd nailed "Like a Rolling Stone" and continuing to take stabs at it -- imagine thinking what he wound up releasing wasn't good enough!
Thanks for the clarifications. The Cutting Edge at 40 minutes sounds much less daunting to hear. And now I'll get to Eat the Document for sure but would still recommend Stone Arabia, which reminded me of Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association, only music is the subject of obsession.
FWIW Canada's 10th province, Newfoundland and Labrador, joined in 1949, close enough to the end of the war that I'm sure Roth was just confused. Wouldn't be the first time a smart American got Canadian history wrong!
Joe Forno Jr. wasn't a drug dealer, and the fact you label him so poorly reflects poorly on your character. Robertson’s manager did the feeling out. Robbie continues to be a dubious source, and, sadly, you did little actually to check sources.
Other names also confirmed the supposed reunion, I find it incredibly disheartening that you spread such misinformation, Greil.
On the Police/Bobby Vee item, first, isn't it amazing when you hear something for the first time and then can't un-hear it? I'll now forever think of one when hearing the other. As for the possible connections, if it's Vee, I'd put it more on Andy Summers, who was a teenager when the song would have hit, while Sting was just a wee lad. It is Summers' riff that came first, after all. Another possible source: the ubiquity of the video for Leo Sayer's 1980 cover on MTV. That melody, for good or ill, would be lodged in the head of anyone who watched with any frequency, particularly the bleached blonde head of a vain singer hoping to see his turn as a wayward teacher on the telly.
I thought Dana Spiotta wrote very convincingly about music and how it worms its way into our lives in her novel Stone Arabia (2011), which I figured I'd probably heard about from you but maybe not.
"Accidents Will Happen" on your daughter's funeral soundtrack is perfect wan smile. Respects.
Heinze had an unfortunately reedy voice but a big white-haired pompadour, as I recall.
I'm usually impatient and disappointed with alternate takes and outtakes and such detritus left behind in the recording studio. When I indulge such records they regularly affirm for me how good recording professionals appear to be at getting the best versions on original releases. But I'm close to trying "Fragments" for "Like a Rolling Stone," which is a Mount Rushmore-level song of the Rock Era.
Thanks for paying such close attention to this music stuff. Always learning from you. Best wishes.
Good call on Dana Spiotta, who I definitely first heard of through GM, although the novel in question was EAT THE DOCUMENT. She's fantastic.
Dylan's just about the only person whose "process" recordings I'm interested in. The complete "Like a Rolling Stone" sessions are found not on FRAGMENTS but on THE CUTTING EDGE, and last only about 40 minutes. Definitely worth hearing. It's really wild because for basically every other song he recorded in the mid-'60s, the last attempted take would be the one that was released. He knew when they'd nailed it. The idea of not realizing they'd nailed "Like a Rolling Stone" and continuing to take stabs at it -- imagine thinking what he wound up releasing wasn't good enough!
Thanks for the clarifications. The Cutting Edge at 40 minutes sounds much less daunting to hear. And now I'll get to Eat the Document for sure but would still recommend Stone Arabia, which reminded me of Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association, only music is the subject of obsession.
FWIW Canada's 10th province, Newfoundland and Labrador, joined in 1949, close enough to the end of the war that I'm sure Roth was just confused. Wouldn't be the first time a smart American got Canadian history wrong!
Joe Forno Jr. wasn't a drug dealer, and the fact you label him so poorly reflects poorly on your character. Robertson’s manager did the feeling out. Robbie continues to be a dubious source, and, sadly, you did little actually to check sources.
Other names also confirmed the supposed reunion, I find it incredibly disheartening that you spread such misinformation, Greil.
On the Police/Bobby Vee item, first, isn't it amazing when you hear something for the first time and then can't un-hear it? I'll now forever think of one when hearing the other. As for the possible connections, if it's Vee, I'd put it more on Andy Summers, who was a teenager when the song would have hit, while Sting was just a wee lad. It is Summers' riff that came first, after all. Another possible source: the ubiquity of the video for Leo Sayer's 1980 cover on MTV. That melody, for good or ill, would be lodged in the head of anyone who watched with any frequency, particularly the bleached blonde head of a vain singer hoping to see his turn as a wayward teacher on the telly.