beans’ tribute to those resting in peace

this is a post with a sad theme – musicians who have passed. passed at a young age. tragically. unexpectedly. accidentally. this is my tribute to them. jeff buckley, eva cassidy, rich mullins, keith green: all born before me, all died sometime in my lifetime.

jeff was born in 1966 and died in 1997 at age 30 (drowned in a lake while vacationing)
eva was born in 1963 and died in 1996 at age 33(died of cancer)
rich was born in 1955 and died in 1997 at age 41 (died in an automobile accident)
keith was born in 1953 and died in 1982 at age 28 (died in a plane crash)

when i listen to the music of these beautiful artists, i am always filled with thinking what a tragedy it was that they had to die at such a young age, all of them at the height of their career (except eva who gained international recognition through recordings that were distributed postumously.

jeff buckley – neither jeff buckley nor eva cassidy had extensive recordings or releases. in fact, i do not even own a single album of eva’s. i listen to all her songs on youtube or on my internet playlist. jeff buckley’s grace is not an album i can listen to without feeling sad…and without feeling an air of eeriness around me. his voice is clear and haunting; it’s perfect and beautiful. when i listen to these songs, i must turn up the volume and concentrate:
- dream brother
- grace (haunting…)
- lover, you should have come over (from 5:06 until the end of the song when he sings ‘ohhh….ohhh…’ is so beautiful)
- last goodbye (must be turned up loud to hear the nice bass lines)
- leonard cohen’s ‘hallelujah’ (beautiful guitars, nice lyrics)

jamie cullum is a decent artist, but when i heard his attempt at ‘lover,’ i wanted to hurl. do not attempt jeff buckley. ever. again.

eva cassidy - a then little-known singer based in DC, this songwriter who had the voice of an angel left behind some beautiful recording for the world to enjoy… perhaps a little too late. at a young age, she succumbed to skin cancer and left the world mourning. i do not know much about eva except her music. i don’t even know of that many, but the ones that i have heard (mostly on youtube, if you can believe it), i have been mesmerized by her pure, soulful, and passionate voice. recommended tracks:

- songbird http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFFo1pu4q7Q
- autumn leaves http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7-haKkFnT8
- over the rainbow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUwTdqPkluY

keith green - i hate to admit it (and feel like a bad sport for saying so), but i do not like most modern christian music out there. i like worship and praise songs, but i do like ccm, for the most part. once in awhile, i do like to go back to very old christian tunes like those of keith green. the songs were so simple and almost childlike, if i may say that. he also suffered a tragic, sudden death – a plane crash that killed him and his two young children as well. recommended tracks:

- make my life a prayer to you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNww8F6G9U8
- there is a redeemer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hVTcS_8oN4&feature=related
- you are the one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrPEpG5o0Ko

rich mullins – another brilliant singer, songwriter, and certainly a performer. best known for ‘awesome god’ and ‘sometimes by step,’ these songs were definitive songs in my life as a young christian when i was in junior high and high school. though i do not listen to much of them, i have come to really appreciate mullins’ many songs about the great country that is the US and his love for it. his songs challenge me to think big and remember that the God i worship is a really, really big God.  this man is a true poet, a true songwriter in the purest sense of the word:

- sometimes by step http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-b7TQMoZsM
- calling out your name http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaNwTYJrYtA

‘intimacy’ by bloc party (2008)

Ever since Bloc Party burst into the UK music scene, they have been met with great hype and praise. ‘Silent Alarm’ (2005) is such an exciting album; though not for everyone, for those who dig it, they REALLY dig it. Their jagged, loud, booming sounds are all too addicting and exciting. You really feel the energy in their singing, drumming, and beats. Dubbed as ‘art-rockers,’ whatever that may mean exactly, they are definitely different from your usual American rock, be it emo rock, hard rock, alternative rock. Not that I have anything against American alternative scene, I love it, in fact, but hey, it’s no secret that I have a penchant for British music.

I was in Asia when ‘Weekend in the City’ came out; I remember spending the first weekend I downloaded the album on itunes watching videoclips from NME and Later…with Jools Holland. It was a show they did just after releasing their new album. After that, I was even more hooked on BP, so when they released random releases like ‘Two More Years,’ I was all over it.

The album, again, is filled with tons of energy and force, it’s great. Songs like “Halo” and “Mercury” are just the kind that I love to listen to when I’m in the mood for some loud, powerful music with great beats. My morning commute and a random moment of inspiration (to write, to clean, to get fit, etc.) come to mind. There are slower songs like “Biko” that really shows off Kele’s voice, which is great, but not excellent. In my opinion, some vocalists are just built for loud, shouting-type singing (Kele) and some are just built for long, drawn out ballad-like singing (Jeff Buckley). In the album, there are very pleasant songs, like ‘Signs’ that just make you want to turn up the volume and contemplate on the words – no matter how shallow or silly they are. (Let’s face it, sometimes Bloc Party lyrics are really stupid…either they’re really stupid or I am just a dumb American who does not understand the ways of the really intellectual British people). Either way, I am not a huge fan of blatant lyrics about getting drunk, getting laid, getting high. But I digress…

Back to ‘Signs,’ I mean, how beautiful is that song? And not just beautiful in a Rufus Wainwright kind of a way, but in a sophisticated and modern way that only the Europeans seem to pull off? It’s just my observation and I know that I do not know everything there is to know about independent and alternative music, but, as drugged and messed up they are, they’ve got powerhouse singers like Amy Winehouse/Joss Stone and those that sound original like Lily Allen (or at least it sounds original to me) and we have that girl who sings about kissing a girl (and liked it?) As much as I do not like pop music and as much as artists like Estelle had to network her way through to the hip-hop megaproducers this side of the Atlantic in order to find international recognition and commercial success, there is always something different and innovative about musical artists from that side of the Atlantic.

Boy, I’ll never get to talking about ‘Signs.’ Never mind; let me just say it’s a HIT and you should listen to it.

‘the queen is dead’ by the smiths (1986)

i am rewriting the review on ‘the queen is dead’ by the smiths because the one i wrote in 2004 was pretty shabby.  this is easily regarded as the smith’s best work and reflects a lot of struggles the band was going through, including a dispute with its label as well as questionable lifestyle issue of one of its members.  nonetheless, struggle breeds creativity and, like so many of the smiths’ and morrissey’s work, even though they sing about negative, depressing subjects, johnny marr’s jangly guitar licks and morrissey’s pleasantly high voice make it seem…not so negative.  morrissey once said in a jools holland interview that ‘once a northerner, always a northerner,’ in saying that a manchester boy will always have certain manchester qualities in his songwriting, even if it is in the depressing, seemingly insignificant things that only he (or other mancunians) will find endearing and memorable.  but i like the smiths for their simplicity and their anti-what’s popular attitude at a time when it probably wasn’t all that popular.  new wave, new romantics movement was the big thing at their time; they strayed away from glamour, glitzy look that bands like duran duran flaunted and favored a plain look (jeans, shirts).  they named themselves the smiths, for crying out loud.

so here it is: the queen is dead.  highlights include:
- there is a light that never goes out
- cemetry gates
- the boy with the thorn in his side
- i know it’s over

i hate to be a cheater, but i am actually a huge fan of their smiths best I album.  it really is an excellent compilation of the BEST songs by the smiths.  gosh, they’re awesome!!