‘Something’ in Music 376
(Note: this series was created elsewhere.)
Something in music: the origin
One night at a 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 scribbled down 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’s about to get hitched, she needs “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” Your provocative penman was immediately inspired. After all, those same terms could be applied to music: “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. And the rest is history…
‘Something’ in Music 376
Something Old
Something New
Our “something new” this time is the new single titled “Metropole (Dontmesswithjuan Remix)”. It’s the first single off the upcoming new album Metropole Remixes Vol.1 from Brazilian electronic musician, composer, and producer Amon Tobin’s music project Stone Giants. The album’s out on February 15th, 2024.
According to a recent email, the Dontmesswithjuan Remix “dives into Surrealist Electronica” and is only “one of 19 remixes of the ‘Metropole’ single (originally released in 2021).” Dontmesswithjuan, a.k.a. Stephanie, a singer-songwriter and electronic music producer from Montreal, Canada said: “Creating this remix from Amon’s stems was the most surreal experience.”
She added: “My approach was to dive into the sounds with some free modular digital tools (Reaktor, VCV Rack) and listen to where this journey would take me. My only limitation was to solely use sounds created from Amon Tobin’s stems, so except kick and voice, all the sounds were created in this manner and bricolaged.”
The e-communique concludes that this single is part of the special music project, known as The Metropole Remix began “on the Nomark Discord channel” and “was just an idea in amongst the chatter; to see if anyone was interested in remixing ‘Metropole’, one of the otherworldly love songs on Tobin’s Stone Giants West Coast Love Stories album.
“Remix after remix was sent and slowly it became clear that there were some amazing versions of this bewitching song being created. The question ‘What would you make of this?’ was answered with a burst of creativity from established artists, as well as first-timers and inventive experimenters. There was no expectation of release when the stems were made available. Those involved were creating for the pleasure of it, an actual case of Art for Art’s sake.”
Something Borrowed
Our “something borrowed” for this edition is the song “If You Be My Baby” written by Clifford G. Adams and Peter Green in 1968. This lively 2023 cover is by blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Alastair Greene. If you’re in Arizona and would like to see Greene perform live, you’re in luck!
He will be performing live at the 2024 Woodystock Blues and Brews Festival at Lake Havasu State Park, Windsor Beach #4, in Lake Havasu City, Arizona on Saturday and Sunday, March 23 and 24, 2024. According to a recent e-communique, this festival strives to present “some of the best national and regional names in blues. Along with Greene, this year’s event will include an assortment of other artists as well.
The artist roster also includes Prescott, Arizona’s blues-rock act the Scott O’Neal Band; the Phoenix-based alt-blues band, Until The Sun; Laughlin, Nevada-based Catbone, the guitar-shredding blues rock band Jay Gordon & Blues Venom; the blues 'n' roots group Orphan Jon and the Abandoned, singer and songwriter Jason Trombley, the Los Angeles, California-based singer and songwriter Jon Geiger, Orange County, California’s Anonymous, and area singer Tiffany Lynn, returning to sing the “Star Spangled Banner.” The emcee will be Sanford Cohen from Badass Blues radio station 101.7 FM. The music starts at 11:00 a.m.
Pre-Sale Online Day Passes are $30.00, or $40.00 for both days. Veterans with Military ID and “current card-carrying Blues Society members” receive a $5.00 discount. Children aged 16 and under are free with a paid adult admission.
Bring your chairs. No ice chests are permitted. Gates open at 10:00 a.m. If you choose to stay overnight, the Hampton Inn/Lake Havasu City is offering discounts. For further information or to purchase tickets, visit the official website.
Something Blue
Last but not least, our “something blue” this time is the track titled “Texas Blues” recorded by American folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist Lucy Kaplansky in 1994. This music video is from her 2005 disc The Tide (Remastered - Additional Tracks). The song was written by singer-songwriter Bill Morrissey in 1984.
If you’d like to see Kaplansky perform live, you’re in luck! She is currently still out on tour! See the image above for some remaining dates this month!
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 Rock n Roll Bride, Rebekah Westover Photography, Emma Case Photography and/or original owners)