Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Good

Number 4:

Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Good

Current Knowledge: This one is actually quite new to the list. My boyfriend brought it up at an open mic we were at together while someone was playing it. He was absolutely horrified that I didn't know this song, so I figured I'd take the initiative for once and actually look it up within a week of promising I would. Apparently this was in Back to the Future, but literally every 50's rock song sounds exactly the same to me.


First Thoughts: As predicted, this sounds exactly like every other 50's rock song ever. Not that it's bad, it certainly isn't. (The original is way better than the guy who was singing at the open mic, that's for sure). Maybe because I've heard so many bad covers of these kinds of songs I've been desensitized to them, but I really don't have anything profound to say about this. Except for the fact that one of these lyrics (He could play a guitar just like ringing a bell) was recently in a song released by Ed Sheeran, my most favorite musician of all time. The song is called Nina. I never understood the lyric before, but now that it is most definitely a shout out to Chuck Berry, it makes way more sense.


Verdict: I don't have much to say about this one. It was okay. I'm glad I can cross it off the list, but I definitely don't feel like I accomplished too much here. I think I've just heard too many songs like this to feel like I heard something new. I'm excited about the insight it gave me about Nina, though. That was unexpected. Maybe I just have to re-watch Back to the Future to appreciate this.

An Update: Comfortably Numb

I was out with some friends last night, and on the drive home someone put on "Comfortably Numb" on their iPhone. I didn't want to act like I was the most excited person the world had ever seen in that moment, because then I'd have to admit that I learned this song not two days ago. But I was so excited. The odds of that happening are pretty slim! And even though that was a very small thing, I felt like this was paying off just a little. 

Below is just some food for thought, something I saw this morning that I thought was really nice. 

Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb

Number three.

Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb

Current Knowledge: I went to a concert for "The Machine" a year ago - they're one of the most famous Pink Floyd cover bands out there, according to the people I went with. I'd love to tell you that they're great, but unfortunately only knowing two songs by Pink Floyd allows me to give absolutely no comparison. I love Wish You Were Here and Another Brick in the Wall, but I only know them because I covered them in the alt-rock band I was in during High School. I've lied probably a dozen times about knowing Comfortably Numb, and fortunately nobody has noticed that I haven't the slightest clue how it goes. Hence, it's on the list.

First Thoughts: I expected something really trippy, and I certainly wasn't wrong about that. To be honest... this is really weird. Oh wait, as soon as they start singing, it's waaaay better. This sounds kind of familiar! I've definitely heard this before! That's a bit of a relief. I actually really like this so long as they're singing. Yeah, I'm sure I kind of know this. (Cue the excited singing) IIIIIIIIIIII have become comfortably numbbbbbb. And of course the guitar solo is absolutely dynamite, but that's to be expected.


Verdict: I'm thrilled that something has finally sounded familiar! I mean, this has probably been in movies or TV or something, so that's likely where I know it from. But I've heard it nonetheless. Plus one for me. Aside from the weirdness that was interspersed (ie, that talking thing they do that seems to constitute the verses), it's great musically. I think you have to expect some weird stuff from a band with a reputation like Pink Floyd, though. Overall, I definitely liked the song, but I liked the fact that I kind of knew the song way more. It's nice to be able to put a name to the melody. (Don't ask me why I never associated the part I recognized above with this song, despite the fact that it says the title... because I don't have an answer for ya.)

Janis Joplin: Mercedes Benz

Song numero dos is probably the one I've been requested to do the most of all time.

Janis Joplin: Mercedes Benz

Current Knowledge: I already cover Bobby McGee, but I only learned it because, like this song, a ton of people asked me to do so. I'm pretty sure I know a lot more Janis Joplin songs than I think I do, but, like with Simon and Garfunkel, if you played them for me I couldn't pick them out. Plus, learning this is going to satisfy everybody and their brother once I can play it.

First Thoughts: Okay I kind of forgot that Janis Joplin has the coolest voice in all of history. That's a kind of tone that can never be taught, and can only be achieved through years worth of illegal substance abuse. Silver linings, I guess. This is originally totally a Capella? That's really odd. I never would have guessed that in a million years, but I actually really like it. I think it fits pretty well with the message she's trying to get across, at least. And you can hear her smoke-and-gravel voice so well this way! This explains why I've never heard it though. Who covers an a Capella song? It's not like they're gonna play that on the radio.

Verdict: I didn't expect pretty much anything I encountered listening to this, but it was a pleasant surprise, I think. My voice isn't anywhere near as gravelly as Janis Joplin's, not by a long shot, but with that aside, based on the range and phrasing and stuff I can see why people have requested it. I think I'd do a decent job. But does this mean I have to write chords for it?! I'm gonna do some looking for a version with a band, because I feel like that had to have been done at some point.... okay, I guess it never was. How odd. It was remixed in 2003?! That's super bizarre, too, although that sound is kind of more along the lines of what I expected. I'm totally perplexed as to how this could have become such an iconic thing. But it's a very cool song nonetheless, that I am now very much looking forward to covering and satisfying a lot of belligerent drunk people with.

An Update: Simon and Garfunkel

So, following listening to Bridge Over Troubled Water, I decided to dig a little deeper into the Simon and Garfunkel discography before delving into another artist. It turns out, I really, REALLY like them. Which is awesome. I have a soft spot for songs that tell stories and so many of theirs do. Again, I'm partially thrilled and partially frustrated that it took me so long to find this good music.

A moment of shameless self promotion: they're playing my song "Wasn't Enough" on 107.7 during the local music show tonight! The wonderful people in charge over there have graciously spun my tracks quite a few times, and they had me on for a live interview and performance a while back. The show runs from 8-9pm if you're interested in tuning in! (You can listen online here.)

Tomorrow, I'm moving on to the next song! This one's on the list because approximately three million people have told me to cover it. Stay tuned!

Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water

First on the list! Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Current Knowledge: Yeah, I've never heard this song. I also used to confuse Simon and Garfunkel with Penn and Teller. Not good. 

I've heard maybe one or two other songs by them ever, but if you played one at random for me, I wouldn't be able to tell you who it was. Except for their song Cecelia, it's got sort of a folk feel which I am a big fan of. But this is one here is a real classic. That's actually why I've  put it first, it's a pretty big offender on the list of I-can't-believe-you-haven't-heard-that. 

First Thoughts While Listening: Oh, it's real pretty. Not folk-y at all. I always love just piano and vocals by themselves. The fact that most of the song is like that, and that it doesn't need much else, is wonderful. The lyrics are really great, too, obviously! They'd have to be in a song with this reputation. I almost wish the bridge didn't have as many other instruments added in, I think I like the stripped down feel better. I really wanted this song to have a section that sounded familiar to me, because I honestly can't believe I've lived 20 years and never, ever heard this song until just now. 

Verdict: It definitely holds up to all the praise. It's beautiful, both lyrically and musically, and I'm kind of upset that I haven't been listening to it my whole life because I loved it. This also has me very, very interested in listening to a lot more Simon and Garfunkel. I also feel like this would be really awesome to sing. This is like the most ultimate and beautiful power ballad ever. Yeah, I've been missing out. And now I'm kind of excited, because if every single song on this list is as good as this just was, this is going to be an awesome project. 

One down! Tons and tons and tons more to go, though....

A bit of a back story:

This is a bit painful to admit, but here goes:

I didn't know who The Rolling Stones were until I was far into high school. The first time I heard "Stairway to Heaven", I was nineteen. And I thought Bob Dylan and Bob Marley were the same person for a long, long time. 

And that's a very abbreviated list. As a musician, well, that is just downright mortifying. (If you are a musician reading this, you can stop shaking your head at any time. I know, it's bad.) Fortunately, there is a simple explanation for this unfortunate situation.

I love my parents unconditionally, but there is one area in which I was partially deprived as a child. Musically, I was raised on a combination of early 2000's pop music, 90's country music (Think: Achy Breaky Heart), and whatever nursery rhymes set to music my mother deemed acceptable to play on cassette tapes in our minivan. Don't get me wrong, though. There are a few exceptions to this rule. I know the whole "Hotel California" album front to back because my dad would play it at the dinner table some nights. I've heard every Elvis Christmas song ever performed, I'm certain. And I might be the biggest Jim Croce fan alive. It's just that as a little kid, your parents set all of your cultural examples, and it's pretty hard not to follow them until you're much older. Especially when you were a kid who was seriously concerned with parent-pleasing.

In short, music was not a focus for my parents, so it it wasn't for me, either. The result was a person with a very narrow-minded and kind of abhorrent understanding of how music "should" be.

It's quite the wonder that I began teaching myself guitar at thirteen, all things considered. In reality, one day I just picked it up out of the blue, and I haven't set it down since. Once I did, I got the notion that there might be a few musical things that I was missing out on (not that it happened right away, I played horrendous country cover songs for a year or two before I figured anything out). I eventually took the time to learn some music with a little bit more soul, something that contained more than just a one-five-six-four chord progression.

I've been playing for seven years now. Music has kind of consumed my entire existence. I play gigs just about every week in bars and coffee shops and on street corners and anywhere else that will have me, especially in the past two years. I've spent as much of my free time as I can involving myself in the music community in Buffalo. And I've had some amazing experiences come of it. (I could write a thesis on how great being a musician is and how much I love it, but that's for another post.) Without question my knowledge of all aspects of music has increased exponentially in that time. But I can't begin to tell you the number of times I still have to grit my teeth and tell someone that I've never even heard of that song, let alone the artist, and get a genuinely shocked expression staring me down, shaming me into promising to look it up as soon as I get home (And then I always forget, and the vicious cycle continues).

SO! I present to you: the purpose of this extremely long-winded post and the introduction to this blog. I've kept a running list over the years of songs and artists I'm supposed to know, and still don't. The plan is to sit down and listen to all of it, and then write about it. After making music, writing is my next favorite thing to do; this is the best of both worlds. This is actually a project I've been wanting to do for a long time, and now I have a great excuse to do so.

Hence, the title, the "Music Redemption". It's long past time for me to repair my general unintentional ignorance towards "good" music. It's only my favorite thing on the whole planet, after all.