There are times when something just flat-out resonates -- not "just" resonates, but hits you smack dab between the eyes. On three occasions during the past month or so, I’ve been gobsmacked with music. Two of these “gobsmackings” came from random selections from Austin FM stations; the other from a Bob Dylan CD. But more on that in a moment.
Ricard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” is the first composition that affected me this way. In fact, the first time I heard it in my life was a Sunday morning in Phoenix, AZ back in the late 1960s. I was home listening to the local classical music FM station (on Mono none the less!) when it came on. I had never heard anything like it, and was so overwhelmed I called the station and asked the DJ what it was. He must have thought some total dork was on the line but humored me and provided the information. To this day, Wagner’s “Ride” causes goose bumps. A little Wikipedia checking shows the music to be as short as three minutes long, however the version now on U-Tube runs five minutes. Wagner was an unusual opera composer as he did both the musical score as well as the libretto (words). He had fabulous initial success and even built an opera house in southern Germany called the Bayruth Festival House. The composer lived to the age of seventy, but ended up in poverty and on the run from his creditors. His music was the poster-child for the vile nationalism of the Nazis in Germany’s horrible Hitler era. Wagner represented both high highs and low lows, but this particular composition drove a stake into the middle of my being.
Swinging to a totally opposite branch on the musical tree, our local hard-core FM rock station played “Sultans of Swing” the other morning when I was on the way into town to brave the Corona Virus pandemic. I turned the volume wa-a-ay up and just grooved. The song, by Dire Straits, was released in 1978 by a small studio. After floating around in London and getting some initial airplay in the UK, the song was re-recorded a year later and put on the band’s eponymous debut album. Several versions were released. Mark Knopfler, lead guitarist, composed the song, and said it “blossomed” on an electric Stratocaster. Dire Straits was knocking around London early on and heard a jazz group playing at a nearly deserted pub in South London. The lead singer announced that the band’s name was the Sultans of Swing. Knopfler noted the stunning contrast between the band’s grand name and the plain-Jane venue and their dowdy appearance. The lyrics are a rambling poem that catches your interest right away:
You get a shiver in the dark
And it’s raining in the park
But meantime …
(Copyright Dire Straits)
My final comment on stunning music started when I discovered an old CD stuck in the bottom of a side panel in our car: “The Best of Bob Dylan.” There are sixteen selections, and like any album, some of them are “wowzers,” some dreamers, and a few others “just okay.” But with Dylan's best, all are good, and are varied. A lot depends on the arrangement, but to make a long story short(er), several of the tracks just got to me. I’ve listened to them over and over now for several weeks.
The “most got to me” song is “Tangled Up in Blue,” which appears to be an autobiographical (aren’t all songs that?) work. Background analyses of this song are all over the place; no one really seems to know, but clearly there are references to Dylan’s early marriage and to some odd jobs he might have had. Yet the lyrics include mentions of things no one seems to be able to place for sure. Apparently the song “took ten years to live and two years to write.” All I know is that it’s hard to listen to it without weeping at least a little. It’s a masterpiece, and like such classics, not fully understood.
The other two works imprinted on my soul include “Lay, Lady, Lay.” This is one of the most beautiful songs ever -- tender and biting. The organ arrangement is effective, just beautiful. The lyrics are clean and simple, short and perfect.
Finally, almost, the third of the triumvirate is “Like a Rolling Stone,” a song for the era and the ages that hits at the heart of my youth. The arrangement is wonderful, and a terrific example of how important it is to a song’s success (and impact.). How does it feel? How does it feel?
“But there’s more,” as the cheesy TV ad says. This “best of” album really is just that. Other classics include “Mr. Tambourine Man,” as well as “Not Dark Yet,” Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Forever Young,” and "Gotta Serve Somebody.” I could go on, but ….
Be safe, stay healthy, and do not take for granted the sacrifices made to keep this country what it has been. I fear some of the pressures today to be divsive rather than unifying forces.
Comments are welcome and will be published, pro and con. Make your comments below, or send to me via email at n3bb@mindspring.com. Email comments will not be identified.
Enjoy life; it's the only one we will get.
J.K. (Jim) George
**********************************************************************
* Check out my books and blogs on my author website:
www.authorjkgeorge.com
Please recommend them to your friends. Also, recall that I’ll travel to any book club or radio club within two hours of Austin to discuss either of the books and answer any questions. Any and all comments are welcome either by email to my return address, n3bb@mindspring.com, or to the website in the comments section after any blog.
* Reunion is available in stock at Tamarack on the West Virginia Turnpike as well as at amazon.com and other Internet retail locations. It’s under consideration for a movie, and a screenplay now is under active development!
*Contact Sport is in stock in hardcover print format at any of the thirteen HRO (Ham Radio Outlet) stores nationwide as well as at DX-Engineering and the American Radio Relay League. In addition, many Barnes and Noble stores nationwide carry it in stock, and they, as well as Book People in Austin or any independent bookstore can order it. You can buy direct at my website’s link for a personalized copy.
*Both books now are available in Print, eBook, and Audio Book formats at all major Internet retailers.