The Beatles were stuck with the curse of incredible fame. It finally killed John Lennon, 26 years ago. His son Julian didn’t seem to be able to build his own identity apart from that of his father. There’s that bit in Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll where Chuck Berry seems to force Julian to be [...]
“We’re all in the mood for a melody…”
As I head out of town for the holiday weekend (at least here in the States), what better gift can I leave behind, but a little Jon Brion? I’ve written about this gifted producer-songwriter on previous occasions, chiefly in connection with two albums he produced: the unreleased version of Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine and Kanye [...]
“Here we go…”
Longtime readers will recall that I am a huge fan of Jon Brion, whom I consider to be a god among men. I’ve been lucky to see his weekly show at Largo a couple times. There is an (almost ridiculously) long profile of Brion in this week’s LA Weekly, which you can read here.
“Here’s coming a better version of me…”
Here is the post from yesterday on Fiona Apple‘s Extraordinary Machine, versions BEM (bootleg) and OEM (official). We’re comparing the Jon Brion-produced version and the Mike Elizondo-produced version of a couple songs, just to see what we can see. Today’s song actually changed names along the way. On BEM, the song is called “Used to [...]
“Give us something familiar; something similar…”
Previously, I briefly covered the controversial history of Fiona Apple’s new Extraordinary Machine album. I am a huge fan of the bootleg version of the album, which I procured back in the Spring of this year. I spent most of the summer listening to it, on a daily basis for some of that time. Anyway, [...]
“I seem to you to seek a new disaster every day…”
If you’re not familiar with the minor brouhaha over the upcoming Fiona Apple album, I’ll catch you up. She recorded a complete set of tracks for Extraordinary Machine in 2002 with producer Jon Brion. Then, the album was reportedly being shelved indefinitely by executives at Apple’s label, Sony Music, who didn’t hear a potential single. [...]
Final registration
I swear, this is the last time I’m going to talk about Kanye West’s new album Late Registration — at least this week. I already posted two tracks — you want any more, go out and buy the damn album already. Of note is the song “Roses,” a track about Kanye’s sick grandmother and another [...]
Color me gone
We started with the beginning. Now we see how Kanye West’s Late Registration ends — not with a bang, but a steady groove. “Gone” begins with a sample from “It’s Too Late,” from The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads. The piano loop starts, the drum kicks in. I presume co-producer Jon Brion can be [...]
“Nothing’s ever promised tomorrow, today…”
If you’re a long-time hip-hop head, then you probably bear a grudge against thugs. Back in the Eighties, hip-hop was pretty broad in its scope, encompassing everything from Ice-T and Public Enemy to The Fat Boys and Biz Markie. Then, the one-two punch of NWA and Dr. Dre‘s The Chronic ushered in the gangsta era [...]