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(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 276
Something Old
Our “something old” in this edition is the classic cut “Amazing Journey/Sparks” recorded by the Brit band The Who. The piece was written by Roger Daltrey. It is a live track off the group’s first live platter Live at Leeds which was actually recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory and hit the record racks in 1970.
Something New
Our “something new” this time is the most recent single and music video “Golden.” It’s by Los Angeles, California-based Brazilian musician, and composer Amon Tobin’s popular music project known as Two Fingers. In a previous e-communique Tobin said: “Two Fingers is my release valve for beats that come out like Tourette's whether I like it or not.”
In a recent email, the song was described as an “ultra-modern James Bond Theme for the surely in-pipeline remake of The Man With The Golden Gun.” Elements of the track were described as “primal and gladiatorial.” This is the second single from the new, upcoming *Nomark Selects V.1” compilation due to drop on April 28th, 2023 on digital and vinyl.
The email added: “Imagine a fight scene in the Colosseum involving helicopters, collapsing scaffolding, and the harsh, metallic clash of swords, stolen during the preceding shaky camera chase through a flea market, (with obligatory overhead drone shots). It’s all there in the heaviest of riffs, the off-kilter metronomic chant, and the elastic, contorting bass.”
Something Borrowed
Our “something borrowed” this time is the song “Different Drum” written in 1964 by American singer-songwriter and musician Michael Nesmith and most famously covered by the Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt in 1967. This reworking is by the glam-rock group The Orion Experience. According to a recent email, the song “has special significance to the band.” When the band’s lead vocalists “Linda XO and Orion Simprini met in college, ‘Different Drum’ was the first song that [the pair] learned to sing together at the campus coffee house.”
They had no clue at the time that their tuneful team-up would one day result in a virally explosive music career. According to the recent e-communique, the song “has been reworked with a groovy 1990s Manchester beat, and sparkling, rhythmic electric guitars, Linda XO takes center stage with her unmistakable vocal performance that also has its roots in a special memory. As a child, Linda XO would sing this song so often, her grandmother gave her the name ‘Linda Ronstadt’.” It’s the fourth and final single and music video off of the act’s upcoming album Cosmicovers which drops on May 19th, 2023.
Something Blue
Finally, our “something blue” this edition is the song “Blue Bayou.” It was co-written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and became a hit for both Orbison in 1963 and Linda Ronstadt in 1977. This is a live cover by American singer-songwriter Inara George.
Here she performs her dedicated cover, at Vidiots Foundation's Harry Dean Stanton Award tribute back in October 2016. The song was one of Stanton's favorites. George is backed by the show’s house band led by Harper Simon. It featured Carla Azar, Paz Lenchantin, Benji Lysaght, and Will Canzoneri.
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!