“Punk died the day The Clash signed to CBS.” This 1977 quote by Mark Perry is almost prophetic for describing that era of punk. Some dub it the end of the first wave of punk. Some put it as the definitive end of “true punk.” It doesn’t really matter to be honest, but over the years, the quote has stuck to the band and to the era. It’s not like it was unwarranted. The Clash were a punk band on the highest pedestal. They came on the scene with only a few shows here & there and just blew people away, some would say even matching the current kings of punk The Sex Pistols. They were good, scathing, raw, and pure. They were the punk band. But before the band made their true impact on the punk scene, they were snatched up to CBS. They signed the label with the “enemies” and “sold out.” It was a smack to the people who had supported them and the movement at the time and while The Clash would defend their decision, it would ultimately turn out to be a slap to their face as well. For starter’s, their contract was a joke and later used as an example on what not to sign for new bands. It left the young band with virtually all of the costs for tours, recordings, remixes, artwork; you know, pretty much most of the things that a band needs desperately? Of course, it didn’t stop there. Soon after that, they released their first album that was all that punk music wanted it to be, but CBS decided to cut that momentum down for the band. For their second single from the album, the band planned to release the now-classic “Janie Jones.” Well, some execs didn’t like that pick so they decided to go with the more commercially friendly “Remote Control,” which the band barely wanted on the album in the first place. This infuriated the band who then virtually disowned the song and gave Mark Perry the legitimacy he needed for his quote. The Clash could make the best music for the punk community & spread that ideology, but it didn’t matter. CBS was going to decide what music people would hear and when they would hear it. True to the punk philosophy, right? Don’t fret though. Mark Perry would ultimately eat those words and The Clash would get their revenge.

The band was obviously furious about this as well as the growing need for control over them. After a meeting with their manager Bernie Rhodes where he decided he needed “complete control” over the band, the quartet fell over laughing and they had their song. They paired up with famous reggae & ska producer Lee “Scratch” Perry (who fell in love with the band after their cover of “Police & Thieves“) to really capture that “root rocks rebel” for their new song. They didn’t need him though and ultimately didn’t use his mix for as soon as they plugged in and started recording, visceral rage started flowing out through their bodies onto tape. A fury of music spiraling out of control inside them over the record company, the managers, the corporate mindset, et cetera all made what is now heralded as one of punk’s greatest singles and the best anthem for punk music at least to this one fan. “Complete Control” was everything the band wanted to say and needed to say for the punk community. It was a giant middle finger to the executives over at CBS as well as anyone who thought they could take some control over the movement or band. You don’t even have to know the lyrics to be able to feel the unrefined anger & hatred in the song, but with lines like “They said release ‘Remote Control,’ but we didn’t want it on the label” and “They said we’d be artistically free when we signed that bit of paper,” the story’s made that much simpler for you. Running down everything wrong with punk music at the time before turning into a near protest on control at the end, the song is the true cry to define punk music. CBS may have gotten some punches in here and there, but The Clash went for the kill & one-upped the label. The song turned out to be a top 30 hit, their highest charting at the time, and would later be recognized as one of the best, most important, and most influential songs of all time. So did punk die the day The Clash signed to CBS? Maybe or maybe the surface of punk was finally being scratched.

But how does this relate to me and stress? Do I sign a label every once in a while and get jerked around? No! Hell, I’m not even one to fully align myself with the religion they make punk out to be. But we all have weeks where we feel like we’re being jerked around and controlled or where we feel like we just need to grab control back. Think about it though: do we ever really have control? The best line in the song that sums it up to me isn’t one of those iconic ones above. It’s the very simple line: “Complete control; yeah, that’s a laugh!” Isn’t that the truth? How will we ever have complete control? Something’s always going to come along to shove that control further away for us so why should we worry? It doesn’t exist so stop reaching for it at every bend. The cathartic guitar riffs and hard drum pounds only let the anger & stress flow out of you and by the time the protest chant against “C-O-N – CONTROL!” comes in at the end, your stress is gone and you’re rocking like we should have been doing in the first place.

This is the song, guys. It’s the most therapeutic song to vent all your frustrations out. Belt it out loud and scream that chant out at the end. If you’re not feeling better afterwards, maybe you need a shrink. Otherwise, check it out here. It’s “Complete Control” and while the concept is a laugh, the song itself is a pure classic gem.

Song: Complete Control
Artist: The Clash
Album: “Complete Control” Single
Year: 1977

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In all seriousness, I talk about John Frusciante a lot here in this blog. Quite honestly, he’s my favorite musician, but he’s also right up there with the best guitarists of all time, was part of one of the biggest bands ever (the best parts too), and is probably one of the most musically diverse artists out there. The man is a great musician – there’s no doubt about it – and with anything great, there’s always a peak period in their career/life. Athletes have it, television shows have it; hell, even some people’s relationship’s have them. Just like Shaq had his best run during the three-peat with the Lakers & Seinfeld shined bright popping Bubble Boy, John Frusciante had a peak period as well. Writing that though is a little cryptic; almost like I’m writing it as if he stopped making music or is making bad music now. No, he hasn’t “jumped the shark” by far and hopefully he has another peak period, but with his sporadic career thus far, Frusciante has really had one truly great peak period and obviously that’s what I’d like to talk about today.

From the recording of By The Way starting in November of 2001 until the tour for that album ended in June of 2004, there was not a better musician alive in the world than John Anthony Frusciante. Dead serious here. Now, let’s look at that time period and single out some stuff to signify his work. Obviously it started with the recording of By The Way and that album’s a testament to his peak period. The laid-back guitar work that proves that less is truly more (hear “Universally Speaking“), the serene background vocals that are more fun to sing too than the main vocals (hear “Dosed“), the intriguing compositional work that Flea said took artistry to a whole new level (hear “Midnight“); all some of the best traits of Frusciante are present on this record more than any others. With just a guitar and a few oohs and aahs, he became the true star of the band in the most unselfish way possible as everything he did was designed to enhance something else. The tour that followed was undisputable fact as to the skill level John was performing at. The album Live In Hyde Park, the DVD Live At Slane Castle, or any YouTube video of the band performing all show John at the height of his career. Elongating popular hits into unrecognizable jam sessions, delivering some of the best solos of all time (you have to hear this one), and belting out pristine vocals no longer hiding behind a sound collage. This work alone proves my point.

But of course, like any good argument, there’s more to back-up my point. Let’s look at his solo career. We have Shadows Collide With People, The Brown Bunny Soundtrack, The Will To Death, DC EP, Inside Of Emptiness, & Curtains. Hell, all of those were released in the time span of just a year. A year! Let that one sink in after you realize that some bands only release a new album every four years. You might think that with all that released in such a short time frame that it was just rushed and a little watered down. Erroneous! Erroneous on both counts! It easily contains some his best solo work ever. My favorite Frusciante song, and one of my favorite songs ever, comes from this period (read about it here). The music doesn’t even connect in actuality. Shadows Collide With People is his attempt at sonic perfections (hear “Carvel“), The Brown Bunny is lo-fi divinity (hear “Dying Song“), The Will To Death was a minimalist’s love affair (hear “Unchanging“), DC EP stripped him of his beloved synthesizer (hear “A Corner“), Inside Of Emptiness was his tribute to true rock and roll (hear “Look On“), and Curtains was his acoustic album (hear “The Past Recedes“). All of it different, yet still great.

And we’re not done yet! Collaborations? He had them in spades with all different genres. He had his side-band Ataxia formed with current-RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and Fugazi’s bassist Joe Lally which merged experimental, progressive, & jam rock into a forty minute trance (hear “The Sides“). He had an electronic album release with Klinghoffer that would ignite the techno world on fire if released to radios (hear “The Afterglow“). Oh, both of those albums were released in the same time frame as the six above pushing the count to eight releases in a year. He laid blues & country guitar-work down for Johnny Cash on his amazing covers of Heart Of Gold” & “Personal Jesus.” He joined in on the epic soundscape remix of David Bowie’s “Bring Me The Disco King.” He played on perhaps the best Mars Volta song ever in “Cicatriz ESP.” Mars Voltan Omar Rodriguez-Lopez even recorded some work with him. Finally, Ziggy Marley, Ekkehard Ehlers, and more boasted his help during this period too. Not one to sit still, huh?

Phew, lot of typing. I supplied a lot of links in the paragraphs above. Check them out – trust me, they’re great and only back up my argument more. John was just on fire in this time period and I can’t stress the musical greatness of it all. Had John wanted more of a commercial return on the music, I could easily predict a wave of musicians being influenced by his work. However, seeing as how Captain Beefhart received no mainstream attention and influenced hundreds of artists; hopefully we’ll see the weight of Frusciante’s work pushing into decades to come. Check out those links above or allow me to tell you about one his greatest songs from this period.

I said it all started with By The Way and I’m not kidding. There are so many key tracks on that album not only for Frusciante himself, but for the band itself. Perhaps the stand-out track on the album for Frusciante’s greatness comes at the very end with the two-part masterpiece “Venice Queen.” Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics to the song about his former drug counselor Gloria Scott after she passed away from cancer. For all her help & guidance, Kieids always remained close friends with her and even bought her a house at Venice Beach. Despite the touching memorial to a fallen friend (in some of his best lyrical work too), Frusciante shines bright in the song. The opening melody plays out so straightforward yet is quickly made haunting by the wrapping synthesizer work in the background. As Anthony comes in with the lyrics, it’s the soothing background vocals that even out the eerie serenity of the music. Part one wraps up and part two breaks down: Frusciante’s intricate work spans multiple guitar parts (two, three, or maybe even four?) that do so only for the sake of adding to the atmosphere. While it’s not at the forefront, it builds up perfectly as Kiedis comes right back in. But after his first verse, the true star shines again as Frusciante’s mournful vocalizations in the background steal the show at least for this listener. Every time I listen to the song, I always begin to sing a long to Kiedis’ part by default, but after maybe thirty seconds, I’m pulled into the reverie of Frusciante’s vocals and I’m enjoying myself far more. God, I could really go on and on about this song for another page, but I’ve talked you guys up enough. Check out this song – believe you me, it’s worth the time.

Song: Venice Queen
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Album: By The Way
Year: 2002

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“He’s clear on that song. His mind and his music are clear. There is his innate talent; he brought that sound together.” There’s no one better to introduce the song than John Lennon who described the song as one of George Harrison’s best songs. Indeed, “Within You, Without You” is an overlooked gem on The Beatles’ magnum opus Sgt. Pepper’s. Actually, it’s not just overlooked; it’s often been dismissed as a low point on that album. Crazy, huh? If you compare the song with the rest of the album though, you can get an inkling as to why though. The song plays out like a eulogy of oppressed ideas and the depressing nature makes it stick out compared with the rest of the album. While “A Day In The Life” & other songs tackled dark subjects as well, each had their own brisk section or redemption somewhere within. Harrison tried to do just that by tacking on laughter to the end to “lighten the mood,” but most at the time took that as The Beatles mocking Harrison’s sole songwriting effort on the album which didn’t really lighten any mood. But the song does deserve a ton of praise. It’s easily Harrison’s strongest Indian piece while with The Beatles and the lyrics on spiritual exploration fit in perfectly with the Summer Of Love at the time. In fact, the lyrics so moved famed musician Stephen Stills that he had them carved onto a stone monument onto his yard. I doubt someone would put that effort in for a song described as a “low point” on any album.

The song was based upon a musical piece by Ravi Shankar, a famed Indian musician who taught George the sitar. The two would form a great friendship as well as collaborate over the years most famously with The Concert For Bangladesh in the 70s. It’s a safe bet to state that he was a great influence on Harrison even outside of this song. Outside of Ravi though, the song’s beginnings come from a night at Klaus Voormann’s house playing the harmonium after a party according to Harrison. Expanding upon that idea, Harrison set out to recruit Indian musicians to record the piece which proved difficult since most Indian musicians could not read Western music. Luckily, he was able to get help from the Asian Music Circle out of North London though the members would remain unaccredited to this day for the work on the track. Sucks for them! Band in place, Harrison set about recording his new composition which he must have been enthusiastic about since the original version of the song was over thirty minutes long! The Beatles pushed a lot of boundaries, but I doubt a thirty minute song would have gone over well then or now. Utilizing none of the other three band members, Harrison did finally record a version only five minutes long for the album. Sandwiched in the middle of the album, the song does stick out like a sore thumb, but is a captivating work of music in an era where Indian music was meeting Western in a brilliant way. Over forty years later, the song still shines out as a hidden gem in the pot of gold that is Sgt. Pepper’s.

Song: Within You, Without You
Album: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Year: 1967

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I know a bunch of you guys are scratching your head at that big word I just used twice so let’s go over that first off. For a straight definition, interpolation is the abrupt change of elements while still continuing the first idea. This process was generally used in the classical world in order to stretch out musical ideas & phrases to give diversity to pieces (and, let’s be honest, as filler too). A great example of this would be Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 10. Look at that – classical music discussion in a blog post about hip-hop music; now you know why you keep coming back for more. Anyway, interpolation still goes on today, but it is now known widely as the same practice as “sampling” & “covering.” While covering is just a bad term to lump it with, sampling & interpolation are not that far off in reality. In fact, it’s one of those things where all interpolations are samples, but not all samples are interpolations. A good example of the difference would be the classic sampling war over “Ice Ice Baby.” We all know it samples Queen’s “Under Pressure,” but the lyrical and musical differences in the songs are huge with the only thing really connecting them is that (in)famous bass line. The rest of the music is changed, the tone is quite different, and the lyrics don’t even belong in the same grouping. See the difference? But if that’s a good indication as to what isn’t an interpolation, then what is? Well our song choice today is!

Our song choice today comes to us from Tricky, an English artist defined by his fusion of rock & hip-hop as well as his part in the rise of trip-hop in the mid-to-late 90’s. His 2001 album Blowback was designed to make an impact on the radio (his earlier work shied away from being accessible for the radio) and featured a bunch of guest appearances. In fact, a total of four Chili Peppers made an appearance on the album. Anthony Kiedis & Frusciante worked on the track “Girls” with Tricky. Another song on the album featured John Frusciante on guitar & vocals, Flea on bass, and the current guitarist Josh Klinghoffer on drums (what a talent there). The song was Tricky’s take on interpolating the theme song to the Wonder Woman 70s show (featuring Lynda Carter) into a fresh, song with the same lyrical content. A weird song to pick I know, but it yielded something great here. If you listen to the song, it is a man’s obsession with Wonder Woman (or a woman with the same features) as they lament on how to get her into his life while stating all their feelings & what they would do for her. The music stays about the same with a funkier feel (it’s the Chili Peppers – duh!) as well as some blistering guitar parts by Frusciante. This song is a perfect example of an interpolation. It carries on the same musical & lyrical ideas of the previous one despite being blatantly different. Of course, it only helps my case that it’s a fantastic song, but now all you know what interpolation is!

Titled “#1 Da Woman,” this is a clear favorite of mine. The feeling of unrequited love are very well expressed by Tricky’s trademark whispering sound and John Frusciante’s almost-mournful, epiphanal singing. That singing & tone fight against the addition of the funk & hip-hop element into the song in a great contrast. It’s almost as if this is playing on in the background during Wonder Woman’s theme from a different perspective. The guitar fills & riffs throughout the song soar over that funk style and give the hip-hop song an unmistakably feel of great rock music. The climax of the song around the two minute mark (following the explosive-sounding bridge) is definitely the highlight of the song. Frusciante’s singing finally hits its peak and the addition of a descending guitar riff blisters the singer’s lament more than anything else in the song. Can you tell I really like this song? Not only it is a great example for interpolation, but there’s just nothing unlikable about the song itself. Trust me when I say you’ll love this.

Song: #1 Da Woman
Artist: Tricky
Album: Blowback
Year: 2001

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Written about a man unable to get in touch with his unfaithful girlfriend & the pain that follows, “No Reply” would be John Lennon’s version of “Silhouettes,” a 1957 hit by The Rays with a similar topic. John had originally written the song for Tommy Quickly, one of Brian Epstein’s artists, but John realized the potential of the song & saved it from becoming one of “The Songs Lennon And McCartney Gave Away.” The song would become John’s first complete story and their music publisher Dick James commented on how Lennon was improving in his songwriting seeing as this song actually resolved itself. Before that, John (and apparently Dick James) had thought that his stories drifted off from the subject matter in a vague open-ending way instead of finishing the story. Lennon would go on to write a bunch of timeless stories with the absence of his songwriting-ADD (i.e. “The Ballad Of John And Yoko”), but “No Reply” definitely started him down that style of songwriting. While it was primarily a Lennon song, Paul would claim that he helped with a few missing elements to the song which was the custom for the duo at the time. John never spoke out against this and his silence must be his concurrence; the two really only disagreed on the credit for three songs in their whole career. Three out of hundreds! More on that later and back to the song…

Like the rest of the album, the song was written & recorded in haste as the band was fast-approaching a deadline. Knowing that, it’s amazing to see how well the song turned out given that it’s definitely a great start to the album to differentiate from their past three works. Despite being a fairly plain song musically (key of C, AABA song format, et cetera), the song did feature some great lyrical work such as the line “If I were you I’d realize that I love you more than any other guy; and I’d forgive the lies that I heard before when you gave me no reply.” Sure, The Beatles have had a ton of memorable lines (I passed one the other day painted onto a day care while on vacation in Colorado Springs); but this one definitely has to be an overlooked lyrical gem from the band. The singing has to be commended here too and it’s interesting to note that Lennon had originally intended to sing the higher harmony part, but after wasting his voice on other tracks, McCartney had to take over the duties. Normally, Lennon would have done it regardless like in “Twist And Shout,” but like everything, I’m sure the stress & fatigue the band was facing at the time of Beatles For Sale affected their singing as well. Despite that fatigue, the album still started with a big bang in “No Reply.”

Song: No Reply
Album: Beatles For Sale
Year: 1964

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One of the most memorable songs from the band’s folk-rock album, the genesis of “Michelle” actually began around 1959 as it was one of the first instrumental pieces Paul wrote. Back then, he wrote all of his songs on his first guitar, a right-handed Zenith that he turned upside down to be able to play. Songs like “I Saw Her Standing There” had their beginnings in this stage of Paul’s songwriting, but “Michelle” stood out as it was his first attempt at playing in a finger-picking style. While he was inspired by the song “Trambone” by Chet Atkins, the style foreshadowed Paul’s future desire to break out of the rock style of writing songs as this style was fairly innovative at the time. Originally called “Instrumental In C,” the song started to get more life during John Lennon’s stay at art school. He would invite Paul & George out to college parties where French culture happened to be a huge trend. Trying to fit in, Paul would sit in the corner playing the song while making up French words to match the song. Years later when prepping for the recording of their first true landmark album, John suggested that Paul pay some serious attention to the composition.

Trying to keep the French theme intact, Paul got in touch with Jan Vaughan, a French teacher. In an interesting fact, Jan was the wife of Ivan Vaughan who actually introduced Paul & John to each other. In Paul’s own words: “I said, ‘I like the name Michelle. Can you think of anything that rhymes with Michelle, in French?’ And she said, ‘Ma belle.’ I said, ‘What’s that mean?’ ‘My beauty.’ I said, ‘That’s good, a love song, great.’ We just started talking, and I said, ‘Well, those words go together well, what’s French for that? Go together well.’ ‘Sont les mots qui vont très bien ensemble.’ I said, ‘All right, that would fit.’” Years later, Paul would send her a check as he considered her to be a co-writer of the song. The final piece to come together for the song would be from John who suggested the “I love you” bridge section that was inspired by Nina Simone’s “I Put A Spell On You.” John would later comment on how he would always find ways to add a blues-y, discord-y feel to otherwise straight love songs of Paul and this song stands a prime example for it. In the end, Nina Simone & Chet Atkins helped inspire a piece ultimately composed by Paul McCartney with some help from John Lennon & Jan Vaughan thrown in there. Pretty easy to see why the song got so much praise.

With that praise, the song turned out to be one of The Beatles’ most acclaimed recordings ever. The song actually was the only one to ever win a Grammy for Song Of The Year despite being nominated for songs like “Hey Jude, Yesterday,” & “A Hard Day’s Night.” While the band picked up awards in 1965 (such as the prestigious “Best New Artist”), the band went home from the 1966 ceremony with no awards despite being nominated for nine! The Beatles would then only get nominated for two awards in 1967 (one of them being for Klaus Voormann’s cover art for Revolver) and their hopes had to be low, but when they won one of the top four awards at the ceremony, it was a big triumph over a ceremony that overlooked them. Sure, The Beatles were really only active for about seven Grammy ceremonies, but they really only picked up eight awards. That may seem like a lot, but in hindsight, The Beatles only winning one of the Big Four awards four times is a little sad for perhaps the most acclaimed band of all time. Perhaps I’m being critical of the Grammy’s, but the criticisms the ceremony get today were just as prevalent then as they are now. Back on the song though, “Michelle” would be named the 42nd most performed song of the 20th Century by BMI and remains a pure stand-out from their breakthrough album Rubber Soul. It’s easy to see why the song won a Grammy and remains popular to this day, but with 78 more songs to go, the quality’s only going to keep going up from here.

Song: Michelle
Album: Rubber Soul
Year: 1965

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“Martha My Dear” is a very catchy song in a music hall style that recounts the lover’s affection for the titular Martha. Now, who is Martha? Well, as we’ve seen in some songs already like Lovely Rita, the song doesn’t always have to be about someone, but here, we can gather some ideas about who the song is about. Since the song’s release, some have speculated that the song is about Paul McCartney’s ex-fiancée Jane Asher who Paul had just recently broken up with. Paul himself has said that some of the lyrics could have been written about her such as the line “…when you find yourself in the thick of it, help yourself to a bit of what is all around you.” However, while fans have speculated, Paul has come outright and stated who the song is about…though he’s said contradictory things. The first identity Paul has said is his sheepdog named Martha. In Many Years From Now, Paul stated that it was about his dog in a very affectionate kind of way. Martha was his first pet and according to John Lennon, Paul was very “cuddly” around the dog. Knowing this, it would be easy to view the song as that. Paul was gone a lot and didn’t want his dog to forget him and plus, “silly girl” seems to fit more to a mischievous dog than a bothersome ex. However, Paul has also stated that the song is about his muse. In A Hard Day’s Write, Paul stated that his dog was named after his muse, the voice in his head that helps him with his music, and that the song was about said muse. Looking at these possible scenarios, the song probably fits in most with his dog, but it could easily be a combination of any of them or perhaps all three. Only Paul really knows and I’m sure he’s forgotten by this point in his life.

The song itself, like I already mentioned, is built around a music hall piano line that probably would have been summed up by John Lennon as “granny music.” What’s interesting was that Paul was still a novice piano player and was originally a piano exercise for him instead of an actual song. Paul would state that it was above his skill at the time to play as he had to use both of his hands fluently and even people in the studio commented on how it seemed to be out of his skill range. Kind of interesting to see the song that helped Paul play piano as it wasn’t long before he played the instrument on iconic songs like “Let It Be” and “The Long And Winding Road.” Sure, not the most skillful pieces, but definitely iconic songs that I’m sure a good portion of piano players have learned at one point in their career. Like a small portion of other songs, this one doesn’t feature any other Beatle on it and is filled out by George Martin & fourteen session musicians. This probably was another casualty of the band’s gradual deterioration which had started with the sessions for this album. Sure, the band had released a few tracks with only one member before, but most of those were Indian pieces with only Harrison and Indian musicians on them. A big difference here. But with John’s “affinity” for this style of music, perhaps this jaunty piece was best off with just Paul and perfect for the album that many described as four solo albums in one.

Song: Martha My Dear
Album: The Beatles
Year: 1968

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