Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On"

Today is the official 50th anniversary of Motown. Like so many (I might argue most) people, the music of Motown has had a profound influence on my life. The Temptations, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder - I'm forever grateful that as a white kid growing up in the south in the '70s, these guys were held up by my dad as people to look up to and emulate. My favorite song when I was a toddler was "Get Ready" by The Temptations. Of course I had no idea what it meant, but I LOVED it, and would do the little Temptations dance that my dad taught me for hours.

Over the years, though I'm sometimes slower on the uptake than others, I've loved diving further into the many layers of Motown. Early on, I was hooked by the rhythms and the joyful melodies. As a teenager, I started catching on to the more contemplative, political side of Motown. Songs that used to just be fun to dance to or sing along to suddenly had deeper meaning. Stevie spoke to me just as much as my political consciousness developed as he had when I was learning to dance.

If there is one album that, above others, stands for Motown's political side, it is, of course, Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." From start to finish, Marvin takes on the issues of the days in what really is one continuous meditation/anthem. Apparently, Berry Gordy argued vociferously with Marvin Gaye, asking him not to do this album. Gordy thought it would ruin Gaye's career. Up until this album, Marvin Gaye was known for his beautiful love songs and duets. But Marvin was adamant. He had taken a break from music for a couple of years after Tami Terrell, his collaborator and dear friend, died of a brain tumor, and this was the only album he was interested in making.

Thank goodness Marvin Gaye prevailed. This album is as relevant today as it was when it was released in 1971. It's sobering to realize that all of the issues that Marvin so beautifully and painfully illustrates are just as critical today as they were over thirty five years ago. War, the economy, ecology. I'm sure if he were alive today, the world we've created in the last couple of decades would still make him cry "mercy, mercy me."

This week, I'm getting ready to go to the inauguration of Barack Obama. Celebrating Motown's anniversary, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Obama's inauguration all in the same week is certainly significant. Amazing, really. But as centrist politician after centrist politician are named to the Obama administration, I find myself singing along with Marvin Gaye. We've certainly achieved some change, and we've got to celebrate, but we still need a lot of change. Real change. And we've got to continue to stand for that.

So this album is definitely going to be part of the soundtrack of my Obama inauguration experience. Once again, Motown, such a big part of the soundtrack of my life, and the soundtrack of life for so many of us. If you've lost your copy of this album and need Marvin to remind you what's going on, gimme a holler.

Paul Simon - "The Rhythm of the Saints"

I woke up this morning still wiped out from this cold that is lingering. (That's my excuse for neglecting my blog duties yesterday.) I wanted to put on some music that was pleasant and would help me wake up, but wouldn't upset my delicate system very much. "The Rhythm of the Saints" was somehow on top of a pile of cds, though I haven't listened to it in a long time. It was the perfect soundtrack to my sleepy morning.

I have a feeling that Paul Simon is one of those musicians you either like or you don't. I doubt there are many people out there who like one of his albums but not the others. I happen to like most of his stuff, and so I like this album. But I don't think it's worth my time trying to convince anyone who's not a Paul Simon fan to listen to this one.

If you do like Paul Simon, and you haven't heard "The Rhythm of the Saints," or haven't listened to it in a while, I'd recommend it. I'm no expert on his career, but it seems like he spent some time in South Africa, and then put out "Graceland," and then he spent some time in Brazil, and consequently put this album out. "Rhythm" isn't the classic that "Graceland" is, but it's really good. Typical Paul Simon melodies and lyrics, but with some Brazilian percussion to back them up. There are moments when it's obvious that it was recorded in 1989 - the bass slapping at the beginning of "She Moves On" is a dead give away. But overall, it's a really solid album of easy to listen to melodies, thoughtful lyrics and fun rhythms.

Lush - "Gala"

Yesterday my friend Darryl from back in Div School days posted the video for "Sweetness and Light" on his facebook page, which made me really happy! It was the final push I needed to end my international travel/jetlag/holiday/cold - induced hiatus. So the Lo Fi Life Project is officially back on. Happy new year everyone! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. I had a fantastic trip to South Africa and Botswana. If you want to see some pictures, just let me know.

So on to the topic at hand. "Gala" came out in 1988. That's twenty years ago. This makes me realize that I am not so young anymore! But the fact that the lovely music of this album, and "Sweetness and Light" in particular, has never been far from my heart, cements "Gala" as a classic in my world. I think it's stood the test of time very well.

What I've always loved about Lush is the swirling, ethereal, enveloping wall of sound their guitars create. It's just so beautiful. This music is all about atmosphere. I don't know if I heard the Cocteau Twins or Lush first, but they occupy similar places in my musical life. When I want to be surrounded by gorgeous, contemplative sound, I look to these bands. The big differences are that Lush incorporates much more straight ahead rock rhythms than you'll hear on any Cocteau Twins albums, and their lyrics are all in English. So whereas I listened to the Cocteau Twins constantly while lying on the floor of my bedroom in the dark when I had mono, Lush is better for a solo road trip on a sunny afternoon.

Seeing Lush in the video Darryl posted endeared me to them all the more. I had never seen the video, and sadly never saw them live, so I had no idea that they were so dorky. I kind of figured they'd be all dressed in black, kind of too cool for school, but in fact one of them is wearing this cotton shirt with a floral pattern at the top. Made me wonder if my extremely bad fashion of twenty years ago wasn't so unique....

Figuring I had a few other things to learn, I read their wikipedia page last night. Turns out that one of the Cocteau Twins produced "Gala," which isn't surprising, and that Lush initiated a genre of music that came to be called "shoegazing." I think that genre has already come and gone, and I had no idea, but there you go. Apparently, "Gala" was actually a compilation of the band's first three EPs, which explains the fact that a number of the songs appear more than once on the album. It's a little embarrassing but no surprise that in my college haze when I first fell in love with "Gala," I failed to notice that. But honestly, it really doesn't matter. The music is so hypnotic that it works.

There's a certain amount of nostalgia in my love for Lush, for sure. Last night while listening to "Gala" and playing Take Two (a great game by the way), a visceral memory of those ratty couches in the WOBC office came flooding back. I could feel the scratchy fabric on my leg. But this album really is as enjoyable to listen to in the home I own today as it was back in my college days. If you don't own "Gala," and want to give it a go, let me know. And again, happy new year to all!