‘Something’ in Music 262
(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 262
Something Old
Our “something old” in this edition is the classic cut “Take Me To The Pilot” recorded by English singer, songwriter, and musician Elton John. He co-wrote it with songwriter Bernie Taupin. It originally appeared on the album Elton John which hit the record racks back in 1970. Some consider the lyrics to be cryptic.
Something New
Our “something new” this time is the new number “Goo.” It’s the debut single from London, England-based, American singer-songwriter and composer Wendy Rae Fowler’s new musical score for the BBC documentary titled A Year In An English Garden: Flicker+Pulse. The soundtrack drops on March 31st, 2023 on Ghost Rhythm Records.
This is reported to be the first of a trio of singles off the upcoming album. Fowler discussed the first single in a recent e-mail. She said:
“I wanted to try and write a bass line in homage to Holger Czukay of CAN. My favorite sound on this track was accidental - a serendipitous microphone stand creak that occurred whilst tracking heavily processed vocals on a different track.”
Something Borrowed
Our “something borrowed” this time is the song “Ooo Baby Baby.” The song was co-written by American singer-songwriters Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore. It was originally released as a single by The Miracles in 1965. This more recent tuneful take from 2021 is by actor, singer, and entertainer Donny Most. He is currently working on a new album he hopes to release soon.
Something Blue
Finally, our “something blue” for this edition is the song “Blue.” It is a song recorded by the American alternative country and country rock group known as The Jayhawks and written by band founders Mark Olson and Gary Louris. This live cover was recorded by the tuneful twosome of Texas singer-songwriter/musicians Hillary Tipps and Steve Obermiller in October 2014 at the Benbrook Texas Library Music Series. Watch this column for further information on their upcoming new disc Love (and Other Mysteries) dropping on March 24th, 2023.
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!