Tag Archives: Andy Warhol

Let’s Take A Moment Day 376

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

March 2021 Blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Fifty years ago The Rolling Stones famous logo made its debut. On March 26, 1971 the band’s lips and tongue trademark appeared on their VIP passes for the Marquee Club show in London, making their emblem one of the most identifiable ones in the world.

The same year today’s song hit #1 in four countries including the US and it peaked at #2 hit on the UK charts. It features another one of the band’s iconic guitar riffs and a smoking sax solo by Bobby Keys. The track is from the Stones 1971 Sticky Fingers album which had another legendary picture related to the group-the infamous Andy Warhol designed photo of a man’s crotch area featuring a functional zipper. The Rolling Stones were masters of both innovative music & iconic images.

“I bet your mama was a tent show queen
And all her boyfriends were sweet sixteen
I’m no schoolboy but I know what I like
You shoulda heard me just around midnight“.

Lips logo

Sticky Fingers

Stones 1971

Top: The Rolling Stones lips & tongue logo. Middle: The Sticky Fingers album cover. Bottom: The Stones circa 1971 (L-R): Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “Brown Sugar” (1971, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 353

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

March 2021 Blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

By 1984 MTV was an enormous part of the music scene. Anyone who wrote it off as a fad at its inception in 1981 could no longer deny the massive medium it had become. Around that time some of the old school hold outs from earlier music decades decided to embrace the video era. But there was one participant who completely surprised me and that was Lou Reed.

The only thing I knew about him when I was in high school was that he was the voice behind 1972’s “Walk In The Wild Side”, an FM radio staple. But once I got to college, a friend introduced me to Reed’s ground breaking band, The Velvet Underground. They were considered a rock band with an avant-garde approach that put them in the middle of NYC’s subculture in the mid 1960’s. This was due in part to their sound, their manager, artist Andy Warhol & the band’s frequent collaborations with German singer Nico. Reed’s most famous songs with the band, “Sweet Jane” and “Rock and Roll” helped push him to try more creative sounds that he would continue to do in his solo career after he left the Underground in 1970.

Before the Underground, Reed co-wrote a song in protest of the popularity of dance songs called “The Ostrich”. Fast forward to April 1984 when he released the album, New Sensations. Not only did he make a video for today’s song, which was the album’s first single, but he also released a 7″ and 12″ single of the track as well. Despite the fact that it can easily pass as a dance song, I fell completely in love with it & the video from the first time I saw it on MTV. And the music by the man born Lewis Allen Reed 79 years ago on March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, NY remains one of the coolest parts of my world.

“You broke my heart and you made me cry
You said that I couldn’t dance
But now I’m back to let you know
That I can really make romance“.

L Reed

Lou Reed circa 1990. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Lou Reed: “I Love You, Suzanne” (1984, written by Lou Reed.

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 116

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Thoreau music quote

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Between the 4th of July holiday and Ringo Starr’s 80th birthday, I missed another milestone celebration:  Debbie Harry’s 75th birthday on July 1.  Out of all the female “rock chicks” from the 1970’s/1980’s she was my absolute favorite.  I was not a real fan of punk or new wave music, but I really liked Blondie because Harry was just so cool.  As a principal songwriter & the front woman of a very popular band where she was the only female, living & hanging out in New York with people like David Bowie & Andy Warhol, being tough without losing any of her style or femininity and her incredible voice just made her a force to reckon with.  Women wanted to be like her, men wanted to date her and she wanted to sing.

She also started acting in the late 1980’s with roles in the TV show “Crime Story” and the film “Hairspray”.  Later on she appeared in two of my favorite films ever, “Cop Land” and “My Life Without Me”, the latter being a dramatic role which really showcased her talent.  Last year she wrote her autobiography entitled “Face It” which is a very good & surprisingly funny read.  She has had an incredible life and lived to tell about it, which in rock & roll is always a happy ending.

Blondie

Blondie in 1977. Left to right: Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri.  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Blondie:  “Dreaming” ( 1979, written by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.