(Note: this series was originally published elsewhere.)

Something in music: origin

One evening at a hot, trendy L.A. nightclub on a rare solo outing, yours truly found himself standing alone at the bar preparing to review the upcoming act. Before he had taken more than a few notes, however, he was bookended by a pair of vivacious vixens who insisted on engaging your rockin’ writer in cozy conversation. Strangely, the subject of “marriage” arose.

One of the young ladies noted that when a gal is about to get hitched, she needs “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” Your provocative penman was immediately inspired. After all, those very same terms could be applied to music too: “Something old” or classic, “something new” or recently released, “something borrowed”, a cover, and “something blue”, a blues song or a song with “blue” in the title. The rest is history.

‘Something’ in Music 282

Something Old

Our “something old” in this edition is the classic cut “Mother’s Little Helper” recorded by the Brit band the Rolling Stones. It was co-written by band members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It’s a folk rock song with Eastern influences and the lead track on the group’s 1966 platter, Aftermath.

Something New

Our “something new” this time is the most recent single and music video “Atkinson Sky.” It’s by Los Angeles, California-based Brazilian musician, and composer Amon Tobin. In a recent email, the track was described as “something twisting and turning through the celestial heavens, at first ill-defined yet definitely on an earth-bound trajectory.” The email added that this release “continues the series of short video films for 2023 from Tobin’s alias Shy1.” The music itself is from Tobin’s Long Stories disc.

Something Borrowed

Our “something borrowed” this time is the hit song “You Don’t Know How It Feels”. It was written by American singer-songwriter and guitarist Tom Petty for his 1994 disc Wildflowers. This unusual adaptation is by American singer-songwriter and musician Dean Mueller, It is off his upcoming premiere solo album titled Life Ain’t All Roses which has a drop date of June 1st. (You can read about the entire album right here.)

Something Blue

Finally, our “something blue” this edition is the song “Dotti Douchebag Sings The Blues.” The song was written and recorded by the East Coast-based outfit Chesty Malone and the Slice 'em Ups. The track is off their disc Now We're Gonna See What Disaster Really Means which dropped back in 2010. (Keep an eye out for a full-length piece on their upcoming release too!)

Did we mention your favorite “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”? If not, let us know. Don’t forget to send us your bride photos too!

(Images courtesy of Beewaits and Rock n Roll Bride respectively)