The 500 - #173 - Something/Anything? - Todd Rundgren

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: #173
Album Title: Something/Anything?
Artist: Todd Rundgren

Genre: Rock, Pop, Psychedelia, Avant-Garde Pop, 

Recorded: Three Studios in Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; and Woodstock, NY

Released: February, 1972

My age at release: 6
How familiar was I with it before this week: A couple songs

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #396, dropping 223 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Hello, It's Me

Just last week, Term One report cards were distributed to my Grade 7 class. My favourite aspect, and perhaps the most important part of the assessment document, is the Learning Skills section. In Ontario, the first page of each elementary report card includes a space for educators to write up to 500 words highlighting each student's progress in six categories: Collaboration, Independent Work, Initiative, Responsibility, Self Regulation and Organization.

Learning Skills Explanation section of Ontario Elementary Report Cards.

For the past six years, my approach has been to consult with every student for their input into the evaluation process. Together, we craft a mini-essay that spells out their successes, acknowledges their growth and establishes mutually agreed-upon objectives for the second term. I am regularly impressed by how well they know themselves and how fairly they identify the challenges they need to overcome.

This year, I was struck by an engaging conversation with one student who, to his credit, frankly acknowledged his collaboration skills needed improvement. As we discussed how he could accomplish this using the S.M.A.R.T. model we've learned about in class (see below), he candidly said: "I know I don't collaborate well, but I really like to just work alone." He wasn't wrong. He's a creative, tech-savvy kid who has independently created some excellent projects. He even painstakingly creates his own musical compositions using Flat.io -- a powerful, but tedious, computer application.

The S.M.A.R.T. approach to accomplishing goals..

It's been said that social intelligence improves if you "pretend that everyone you meet, good or bad, was sent to teach you something". That night, my brain worked overtime trying to figure out what this student really meant:

• Should collaboration be an option, not mandatory in an elementary classroom?
• Am I doggedly adhering to a set of arbitrary expectations set by our education authorities?
• Should there be flexibility in administering that component
• Should a thirteen-year-old student be allowed to choose whether to work alone on every assignment?

My thoughts turned to this week’s blog

Something/Anything? from the multi-talented Todd Rundgren is a masterful and powerfully engaging 23-song exercise in independent work. On the first three sides of the double record, Rundgren plays every instrument and provides all the vocals. He also wrote every song and took the helm in the studio as producer and engineer for the final cuts.

Todd Rundgren in the studio in the 70s.

Rundgren, already an accomplished singer, keyboardist and guitarist, felt he had become comfortable enough with other instruments – including bass guitar, drums and a variety of percussion and electronic instruments – to complete most songs by himself. Boldly, he had already voiced a "general dissatisfaction" with studio musicians despite recording in Los Angeles, a veritable hotbed of the best session players on the planet. This included the legendary Wrecking Crew, a loose collective of top drawer musicians who had contributed to hundreds of Top 40 hits.

Some Wrecking Crew members creating the trademark
"Wall of Sound" with Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in 
Los Angeles, 1965.

My take on Rundgren’s comment is that it wasn’t a question of "dissatisfaction" with the musicians’ talents. Rather, much like the student in my Grade 7 class, Rundgren simply wanted full creative control. He wanted to experiment freely with sounds and adjust arrangements on the fly. Understandably, the experimental process is slower when a band leader needs to explain his spontaneous vision to a group of supporting musicians, regardless of their talent level.

Rundgren would eventually move his studio to his house
on Mink Hollow Road in Woodstock, New York. 

After several weeks, at I.D. Sound Recorders and Runt Studios in Los Angeles, Rundgren had too much material for a single record release. Perhaps unnerved by the Sylmar earthquake, on February 9, 1971, in the San Fernando Valley he relocated to New York where he enlisted the help of his former collaborator, Mark "Moogy" Klingman. The two had worked on Rundgren's first solo release, Runt. After their reunion, they continued working together throughout the ‘70s, most notably with a progressive rock collective they dubbed Utopia.

Rundgren (foreground) on stage with Klingman
behind on keys.

The duo recruited some New York session players to complete enough material for the double album that was released in February,1972, as Something/Anything? The opening track, I Saw The Light was the first single. The B-side on that single was Marlene, a love song dedicated to Rundgren's girlfriend, Marlene Pinkard, who became the cover model and centerfold in Playboy Magazine's April, 1974, issue.

April, 1974 cover of Playboy Magazine featuring
Marlene Marlow (formerly Pinkard) on the cover.

While collaboration will still be promoted in my classroom whenever I encounter a resistant student, I'll think of Todd Rundgren and his “do it alone” record Something/Anything? If he could move on to collaborate with another musician and session players, it demonstrates the need for flexibility in life, even with independently productive students. I suspect that, in time, they will find their own Moogy Klingman and embrace collaboration on their own schedule.

 
 


 

The 500 - #194 - Transformer - Lou Reed

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: #194

Album Title: Transformer

Artist: Lou Reed

Genre: Glam Rock, Pop Rock

Recorded: Trident Studios, London

Released: September, 1972

My age at release: 7

How familiar was I with it before this week: Somewhat

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at position #109, moving up 85 spots

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Andy's Chest

I am excited to introduce a new guest poster to The 500 Blog series – Jennifer Jones. I have been friends with Jennifer for more than 25 years, having met her through her husband Oscar. Not only was Oscar the goaltender on my tournament hockey team, he was also a talented musician and is still part of the live music scene here in the city of London, Ontario. There were many nights when my wife, Jen and I would be in the audience at a local watering hole (The Wick, The Brass Door, The Salt Lounge, Call The Office) while Oscar played bass. I always appreciated her perspective on music, as her tastes varied from mine.

Last November, Jennifer was posting photos of some of her favourite albums of all time. Among those posts was the cover to this week’s record, Transformer by Lou Reed. I dropped her a line and asked if she would be interested in sharing a few thoughts and, delightfully, she agreed. Here is her post.

—-------------------------

As a really young teenager, the soundtrack of my life was monopolized by the Velvet Underground, and by Lou Reed in particular. It’s hard to explain my love for Lou: Despite his infamy, I can say that this love has been long-lived and has zero chance of dying.

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Lou Reed (Circa 1975) 

To me, Lou’s music is about stories: Stories that paint a picture of the people he surrounded himself with (or who happened to surround him) and the kinds of things that irked or inspired them. These stories are so raw and colourful and real, I’ve always felt a little transported back to Andy Warhol’s Factory and the dirty streets of New York. (Holly, good for you, girl - I would have gone too!) I feel like Lou did with his music what Andy did with his art, which was to create these stark, unapologetic snapshots capturing – even elevating - the culture around them and reflecting this back to those living it - and to anyone paying attention.

American visual artist Andy Warhol (left) and Reed in the 70s.
Warhol's studio in New York was called "The Factory" and
was a famous hang-out for artists, musicians and celebrities. 

I was later to the Transformer party, for sure, but since I first heard it, it’s always been my favourite: It is simply impossible to get sick of this album. Like my love for Lou, I find it hard to explain, but I suspect it’s because it is textured with a little of everything, from the catty, campy, burlesque (New York Telephone Conversation, Good Night Ladies), to the sweet, melodious, slightly tragic (Perfect Day and Satellite of Love) and of course the ultimate story-scape anthem that is Walk on the Wild Side.

Album cover for the single, Walk On The Wild Side. An
iconic song and Reed's best known, Rolling Stone ranked
it #223 on The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Although some of the songs were written or recorded earlier than Transformer, every single one belongs here - and has to be here - to make up this magnificent whole. Even in the midst of some of Lou’s most celebrated work, Andy’s Chest is still one of my all-time favourite Lou songs, less for the honour it gives Warhol (wonderful in itself) but more for the magical intimacy of its tiny, nonsensical, surely drug-fueled, vignettes. For me, this song has always been a kind of demented lullaby - maybe it’s all that swooping and rocking.

Marilyn Diptych - one of Warhol's best know art pieces.

While Transformer does feel a little gentler in some ways than what I think of as typical Lou (because of David Bowie’s involvement and influence?), Lou’s trademark “snark” is definitely felt all the way through. The connection between Lou and Bowie is interesting: I always saw Lou as much grittier and rougher around the edges, but maybe paired with Bowie’s grace and elegance, the match was all the better.

Friends and musical collaborators, Bowie (left) and Reed (right)

take a humorous photo with Iggy Pop. Collectively, with

14 records on The 500 list (as musicians).

I like to think about the album title and all that it evokes: Lou transforming himself, becoming “someone else, someone good”, moving in a different, separate direction (I’m So Free, Hangin’ Round), and the evolution/ transformation/becoming that occurs in some of the songs (Make Up, Walk on the Wild Side).

There’s an addictively bold, infectious, prideful energy to all of Transformer’s stories that draws you back to listen again and again - and again! To me, overall, Transformer is disarmingly poetic, a little fantastical, and a little snide – just like Lou.

Guest Blogger - Jennifer Jones

The 500 - #196 - Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era, 1965 - 1968 - Various Artists

 I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: #196
Album Title: Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965- 1968

Artist: Multiple

Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Garage Rock
Recorded: Multiple Studios
Released: October, 1972
My age at release: 7
How familiar was I with it before this week: Surprisingly, many.
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at 405, moving down 209 spots.
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Dirty Water

Like any kid trying to fit in, I made some regrettable fashion choices in high school. Most of them, including bleaching a blond streak in my hair, I look back on with  affection. However, one decision still generates a cringey shudder when I think about it. It all started when I purchased tickets to see American rock guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Ted Nugent when he brought his 1981 World Tour to my hometown of London, Ontario, in support of his sixth studio release, Scream Dream.

If you are familiar with the troubling and sometimes odious controversies that have followed this angry media personality over the past few decades, you may have a suspicion about where this story is going – that I regretted spending money on this ticket. However, I am not. Within his range and style, "The Nuge" is a pretty good guitar player and there are still a few of his songs that I like -- mainly for old times’ sake. As I have said in previous posts, I generally try to separate the "art" from the "artist”.

Ted Nugent performing live in the 80s.\

The regrettable decision I made came the next day when I arrived in my first period history class proudly wearing the official concert shirt I bought at the show. I thought I would enjoy several nods of envy from my fellow rockers in the room. Instead, my history teacher looked at me and said... "Is that a naked man on your shirt?" (See below for evidence of the offending frock).

I found a photo of a vintage shirt, exactly like mine, online.

The class exploded with laughter as I clumsily defended the clothing choice that I was regretting more deeply with every beat of my racing, teen-age heart. I am not sure why I was trying to convince a stodgy, suited, 50-year-old high-school educator that a "Nugent shirt" was actually cool. I suspect I was trying to convince myself that this expensive ($10 was a lot of money in 1981) piece of memorabilia was worth the freight. The shirt remained in my bedroom closet for most of the next few years. It’s probably in a box in my mom's basement, and being in top condition it would likely fetch more than $100 from online vintage resellers. So, perhaps I didn’t make a bad investment after all.

A closer look at the shirt's logo - taken from Nugent's "Intensities
in 10 Cities" live album, released the same year.

Long before his solo career, Nugent belonged to the psychedelic, garage rock band The Amboy Dukes who had a hit single with Journey To The Center Of Your Mind. Released in 1968, the song reached #16 on the Billboard Charts and was a thinly veiled celebration of the mind-altering drugs that were wildly popular that decade, including L.S.D. and magic mushrooms. Nugent, who is now known for his ardent anti-drug advocacy, has claimed he had no idea what the song was about, which seems dubious unless the now aging rocker was terribly naive in his twenties…while playing in a self-described "acid rock" band.

The Amboy Dukes are among 27 bands that appeared on the 1972 compilation record, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era, 1965 - 1968. The disc was painstakingly curated by Lenny Kaye, a writer and clerk at the Village Oldies in Greenwich Village, New York City, at the time. Kaye later became the guitarist for the Patti Smith Group whose debut album, Horses, ranks at #44 on The 500 list.

Lenny Kaye, working at Village Oldies - early 70s.

Kaye appeared on the most recent episode of The 500 Podcast and provided a rich and fascinating insight into the development of the outstanding collection of the eclectic songs he assembled. He also discussed the follow-up album, Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from The British Empire And Beyond, which was released as a four CD Box set in 2001. I encourage readers to take a listen to the podcast for a much deeper dive into the history of these bands and their music. Kaye even hints there are talks about a Nuggets III production.

Album cover for Nuggets II release (2001)

In previous posts, I have questioned the inclusion of compilation records on The 500 list. I need to amend that stance. My view now holds that anthologies are more than the sum of their parts; this one is akin to a love letter about the music of a generation.

Kaye is passionate about the rare and oddball music he discovered through his writing and work at the Oldies Record Shop, and that shines through on this beautiful tapestry of fascinating and engaging songs. The liner notes, authored by Kane, are further testament to the affection he has for the selections on Nuggets I. It also contains one of the first uses of the term "punk rock" -- a genre of music that exploded a few years after release of Nuggets I. The liner notes begin with a title that captures the spirit of this record, and I smiled when I read it -- "It's a Nugget if you Dug it".

Epilogue:

In 1995, while driving from London, Ontario, through Northern Michigan and across the top of Lake Superior toward Teachers College in Thunder Bay, I stopped at a Tim Hortons in Wawa. It was just before dawn and 11 hours into my 17-hour cross-province journey. I had set off the night before in order to avoid traffic and to enjoy the stunning landscape of the rugged, forest covered Canadian Shield as the sun rose.

Wawa, Ontario, known for its beautiful landscape and giant
goose statue.

As I walked into the Timmies to purchase a cup of conscious-propping caffeine, a slim man in camouflage gear and a ball cap held the door for me to enter as he left.

"Do you know who that was?" the cashier asked me as I ordered. "Ted Nugent" she said, excitedly answering her own question before I could respond.

I turned to see the door of a large pick-up truck close, so I couldn't confirm the information -- but, who would lie about seeing Ted Nugent at dawn in a Tim Hortons in Wawa, Ontario?

At least he had more clothes on.

The 500 - #222 - New Orleans Piano - Professor Longhair

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: #222
Album Title: New Orleans Piano
Artist: Professor Longhair
Genre: Blues, New Orleans R&B
Recorded: New Orleans, November, 1949, and  November, 1953

Released: 1972
My age at release: 6
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Tipitina

A signature dish in Louisiana is a stew called gumbo. It is a meat or shellfish broth mixed with celery, bell peppers and onions -- often dubbed the "holy trinity of Cajun cuisine". Gumbo is complemented by a thickener. Most recipes call for okra, aka "lady's fingers", an edible green seed pod plant originally from East Africa but now cultivated in warm temperate or tropical regions. Other Gumbo dishes feature filé powder, a spicy herb seasoning from the North American Sassafras tree. The dish can be made more hearty with the addition of rice, shellfish, Andouille sausage, ham or chicken. Some versions contain duck, rabbit or even alligator and squirrel.

Gumbo is, in many ways, the perfect metaphor for Louisiana -- a beautiful, saucy, spicy mix of cultures and flavours. There are influences from West Africa, France (by way of the Nova Scotia Acadians), Portugal, Spain, Sicily and the Indigenous populations of the surrounding area (the Chitimacha. Coushatta, Choctaw and Tunica-Biloxi peoples). Louisiana, and New Orleans, in particular, is a melting pot of zesty influences from all these cultures. It can be found in their food, language, architecture and, of course, their music. New Orleans is often considered to be the birthplace of many uniquely American musical genres, including ragtime (Jelly Roll Morton), jazz (Louis Armstrong), Dixieland (King Oliver) and rhythm and blues (Fats Domino).

New Orleans native, the legendary Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong.

Professor Longhair, aka: "Fess" (birthname Henry Roeland "Roy" Byrd) was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, in 1918, a small town near the Alabama border. His distinctive style of piano playing came from his childhood when he learned to play on an instrument with missing keys. His style, a type of New Orleans Blues, was influenced by the jazz music he was hearing alongside a variety of Caribbean sounds, such as rumba, mambo and calypso.

Professor Longhair (c: 1950s).

In his book, The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, music journalist Tony Russell wrote "the vivacious, rumba-rhythmed piano blues and choked singing typical of Fess were too weird to sell millions of records." However, he served as an inspiration and father figure to the legendary Louisiana artists who followed him, including Fats Domino, Huey "Piano" Smith, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John -- who has two records on The 500 list (#404 and #143).

Malcom John Rebennack Jr. -- aka: Dr. John.

In March, 2010, my wife surprised me with a trip to New Orleans. We enjoyed a five-day adventure walking the lively streets of The Big Easy, enjoying the music, culture, history and cuisine of the legendary Crescent City. We ate po-boy sandwiches and jambalaya. One morning it was freshly baked beignets at the famous Cafe du Monde and in the afternoon, a traditional New Orleans Muffaletta Sandwich from the Central Grocery and Deli.

My wife, Angela, about to tuck into a Muffaletta Sandwich.

Without a doubt, the best night of music happened when we left the touristy French Quarter and Bourbon Street region (overrun by NCAA basketball fans who were there for the March Madness tournament). We took a long cab ride to the Vaughan Lounge in the Bywater neighbourhood on the east side of town. Every Thursday, since the 1990s, well-known jazz trumpeter Kermit Ruffins hosts his BBQ there. The New Orleans native spends the day at an outdoor grill, preparing the food. Then, as the sun goes down, he and his band, The Barbecue Swingers, take the stage. The show is an open jam with many talented locals joining the small stage for an improvisational session of riotously fun jazz and blues.

Exterior of The Vaughan Lounge.

During the intermission, everything comes to a stop and the BBQ is served. A long table is set-up at the back of the restaurant and everyone -- musicians, serving staff, cooks, bartenders and patrons -- fill their plates with white bread and scoops from giant metal pots containing rice, red beans and that day's barbecued meat. It is a wonderful, communal and culinary experience. After about a half hour, a piano is heard and, within minutes, Kermit and the band are jamming again.

Kermit Ruffins outside the Vaughan.

New Orleans is a city worth revisiting. It is a touchstone of many satisfying attractions –  music, food, history, art and culture. Next time, I will add the music venue Tipitina to our itinerary. It is at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in the Uptown district. The name was inspired by a song of the same name from Professor Longhair, his biggest hit and the second track on this week's album, New Orleans Piano. Constructed in 1912, it has been a gambling house, gymnasium, brothel, juice bar and restaurant. It is also a location where numerous live records have been recorded by many musicians of whom I am a fan, including The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Jane's Addiction, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Radiators, Phish and, of course, Professor Longhair. He recorded Ball The Wall: Live at Tipitina's, fewer than two years before his death in 1980. It was a seemingly fond farewell to a mecca rich in southern heritage. Hopefully, we will return to New Orleans in the coming years. It will give us another chance to enjoy their traditional gumbo -- real and metaphoric.