It's a 5K walk/run (thank GOD the work "walk" comes first!). You can join the team or simply donate, if you're a LAZY BUM. Go to www.fsawv.org and click on the "donations" tab along the top, then there's a "donate" box with a heart, click on that and it takes you right to Paypal.
You better pony up or I'll look bad and we don't want that!
If you listen to my Sunday night radio show, you may know that I usually like to close the program with a Badlees song. I started the tradition back in 2004 when we first launched "Music On The Menu Live," and I've done it ever since. I've been an admirer of the band since the early '90s, and while helping cover rock music for The Times Leader and The Weekender for the past 20 years, I've written more articles about them than any other artists. And that's simply because of their talent and because they've always had something interesting going on. The music was fabulous. And there was always a good story.
As a journalist, I've been fortunate enough to have been along for most of the ride as The Badlees have continued to move forward with their music. I recall talking with them back in 1994 about winning The Times Leader's "Sound Choice" readers' poll and being voted NEPA's best band, and about their trip to China. In the spring of 1995, with the release of "River Songs," the band was clearly on its way to a national record deal, and that summer, I talked with them on the very day they were signed. Later, when they opened for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, the newspaper sent me out to cover the show. It was an incredibly exciting time for everybody who followed the band because we were all seeing good things happen to a band that we really believed in.
In October of 1997, the band was in Bearsville, New York, recording its follow-up to "River Songs." And once again, the newspaper sent me on the road to write about it. In addition to myself, the arts and entertainment editor at the newspaper also saw the importance and significance of what was happening with The Badlees, and I appreciated the fact that he allowed me the time and gave me the resources to cover them so well. Simply put: we were on it. And so, off to Bearsville I went ...
Now, 15 years later, things like websites and blogs allow writers to share some of these types of experiences in a little more detail. And here on this little Mountain blog, I'm sharing some of the many photos that I took at the Bearsville Recording Studios during the "Up There Down Here" sessions. Only four of these photos appeared in the newspaper, but on the above slideshow you can view a few dozen pictures. I figured with the band's new "See Me As A Picture - The Best, So Far: 1990-2012" album doing so well on the local charts, and with The Mountain spinning the lead single, "Promises," the time was right to dig into my Badlees vaults and put them out there.
The above slideshow photos were taken on October 14 and October 15 of 1997. (Suggestion: watch 'em in full screen.) You can read the article that I wrote about my time there in the archives linked above, but here, for the first time, are a few other things that I remember about the sessions:
1) The setting was perfect. Bearsville is near the fabled Woodstock. It's in the Catskills. And it was October. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I sometimes felt that the surrounding atmosphere and ambiance actually bled into recordings and into some of the tracks on the "Up There Down Here" album. Yes, the record has some great rockers such as "Don't Let Me Hide," "Middle of The Busiest Road," "Luther's Windows" and "Silly Little Man," but when I hear the softer tracks, such as "Thinking In Ways" and "Running Up That Hill," I can actually hear the Catskills in the fall.
2) While there, I lodged with the band, and I was told that the house where we stayed, or cottage, was owned by Robbie Robertson. Or, maybe it used to be owned by Robbie Robertson. Didn't matter. Either way, it was cool. It was adjacent to the studio, and The Badlees were huge fans of The Band, so the connection felt right. I've posted a photo of the place at the end of the slideshow.
3) By the time I got to Bearsville, the band had been working on the album for a while and most of the rhythm tracks had already been completed. Thus, you don't see as many studio shots of drummer Ron Simasek, bassist Paul Smith and rhythm guitarist Jeff Feltenberger. The whole band, however, was present and was very engaged in the recording. Paul engineered the vocal tracks on "Middle of The Busiest Road," which were not done in the actual studio, but in vocalist Pete Palladino's room at the cottage. Jeff was still laying down some guitar tracks on "Silly Little Man" and Bret Alexander was adding some texture to "Thinking In Ways."
4) Though the setting was rustic and, from the outside, the studio looked almost like a big barn, the inside was state-of-the-art. At the time of the "Up There Down Here" sessions, The Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M. and Blues Traveler had all recently done some fine records there.
5) Late in the studio one night, Bret played me a completed track. If I recall, it was "Running Up That Hill," which even the band realized was a very special number. It sounded wonderful, and to this day, it is probably my favorite Badlees song. As it played through the speakers in the studio on that cool October night, I asked Bret, "So, is this your favorite part of this process? When a song is completed - when it's mixed and mastered and all of the instruments are there, and you can just sit back and listen to it - is that your favorite part?" He said, "No, not really. My favorite part is the moment I write the song. My favorite part is when you're sitting on the coach with your guitar, and you know you've got a good tune. All of the other instrumentation, I can sort of hear that in my head when I write it, and I know we can do that later. The best part is when you first get the song."
Interesting answer. And perhaps one I should have expected from such a creative band.
Hope you enjoy the photos from Bearsville. They really were some of the most interesting days I've ever had, and I'm glad, after all of these years, to finally share them.
That's the word that came to mind quite often on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia when Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed before a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000.
Yes, there are other seasoned acts that go out on the road and fill arenas each year, but few are as musically and socially relevant as Springsteen. He came into one of his favorite towns with a new album, "Wrecking Ball," sitting near the top of the charts, filled with songs about what he has described as the distance between American reality and the American dream. And nearly 40 years after the release of his first album, he is still writing new songs that connect with his fans.
Springsteen opened the show with the new "We Take Care of Our Own," and though it's only been a few weeks since his latest album was released, the song - a biting social commentary on the state of America - was greeted with the same affection of an old favorite. The crowd sang along, as it did with the second number of the night, "Wrecking Ball." This time, however, The Boss was also briefly met with a few good-natured boos, as a lyric makes reference to the New York Giants football team. Not a popular topic in Eagles country, but Springsteen smiled and shrugged and the cheers soon returned. A stomping performance of "Badlands" was next, followed by an intense rendition of the new "Death To My Hometown."
Four songs into the set, and Springsteen had already played three engaging songs from the new album.
Did someone mention relevance?
A soulful rendition of "My City of Ruins" allowed Springsteen to showcase some of the new parts of the E Street Band, which now includes two gospel singers and a five-piece horn section, including Jake Clemons, the nephew of the late Clarence Clemons. He acknowledged the absence of deceased E Streeters Clemons and Danny Federici with taste and dignity, first asking the crowd if someone was missing, and then simply stating that, "If we're here, and you're here, then they're here."
Springsteen then dusted off the rare "Seaside Bar Song" and later offered a lifting rendition of "Atlantic City." Through it all, however, the new material remained a centerpiece. He introduced "Jack of All Trades" as a song he wrote about two years ago that was inspired by the high number of people that had lost their homes and their jobs during what many viewed as a national recession. Cell-phones lit the arena like lighters of concerts past, and once again, he connected with a recent composition. And it happened again with performances of the new "Easy Money" and with one of the show's highlights, "Rocky Ground."
Even some of Springsteen's older numbers, such as 1978's "The Promised Land," seemed to mesh well with the tone of the "Wrecking Ball" material. It too talks about tough times and trying to rise above them, and it served as a reminder that throughout his career, Springsteen has remained dedicated to certain topics. "American Skin (41 Shots)," which he debuted 12 years ago amid much controversy, has been brought back to the show and many felt it had been done so in response to the recent killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida. On this night, Springsteen erased all doubts by dedicating the song to Martin.
Of course there were also many moments of levity. Despite often being inspired by the news, Springsteen also likes to throw a party. His new "Apollo Medley" of soul classics had him body surfing across nearly half the arena, he walked and sang in the aisles among the fans during a performance of "Raise Your Hand" - and also drank from a fans' cup of beer - and the house lights were on for a spirited rendition of "Born To Run." On two occasions, young members of the audience were brought to the stage to sing and dance and Springsteen seemed genuinely joyful while delivering one of his biggest pop hits, "Dancing In The Dark."
The show ended with "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out." Three hours after he first took the stage, Springsteen, 62, was dancing on top of the piano. And again, during the number, he honored Clemons. When delivering the line, "When the change was made uptown and the big man joined the band," the music stopped. There was dead silence on the stage for two full minutes. The crowd roared and Springsteen encouraged them to keep roaring. And then the five-piece horn section played a saxophone part that was once played by one man.
Symbolic? Absolutely.
At one point early in the set, Springsteen spoke of how the show was about beginnings and endings, and old friends and new friends. Throughout his energetic performance, he wove it all together very well. But again, what stood out the most was the quality and the acceptance of the new material. Yes, it's fun to see a band like The Rolling Stones play three hours of big hits and old favorites - something Springsteen is also fully capable of - but there is something quite gripping about seeing a songwriter of his stature continue to challenge and delight his audience with new songs. Eight of the numbers in the set - nearly one-third of it - were tracks from "Wrecking Ball" and several others came from the past decade.
It was, quite simply, a fine display of ongoing creativity and of the continued relevance of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.
1. We Take Care Of Our Own
2. Wrecking Ball
3. Badlands
4. Death to My Hometown
5. My City of Ruins
6. Seaside Bar Song
7. Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
8. Jack of All Trades
9. Atlantic City
10. Easy Money
11. She's the One
12. Waitin' On a Sunny Day
13. The Promised Land
14. Apollo Medley (The Way You Do the Things You Do/634-5789)
15. American Skin (41 Shots)
16. Lonesome Day
17. The Rising
18. We Are Alive
19. Thunder Road
20. Rocky Ground
21. Land of Hope and Dreams
22. Born to Run
23. Dancing in the Dark
24. Raise Your Hand
25. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
It's been a Bruce Springsteen kind of week up here at The Mountain and across the U.S.A. And I've enjoyed being a small part of it here on the Mountain website. First, I wrote a blog about "Death To My Hometown," one of the best tracks on Springsteen's new album, "Wrecking Ball." And then a few days later, I blogged a review of the entire CD. That review also appeared in The Weekender. Since then, we've learned that "Wrecking Ball" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and at No. 1 on the local Gallery of Sound chart. Also this week, Springsteen - as its keynote speaker - gave a colorful address at the SXSW conference in Texas. His lengthy interview with Rolling Stone also hit newsstands.
(If you are a fan, which I assume you are if you decided to read this blog, I highly suggest you read the Rolling Stone piece and listen to the SXSW speech. I have posted it here: http://www.facebook.com/musiconthemenu
Amid it all, we were giving away some copies of "Wrecking Ball," and since Jimmy Fallon dedicated an entire week of his show to Springsteen, I thought I might offer one more blog about The Boss. It's a pretty simple one and it involves my iPod. I have just about everything Springsteen has ever released on CD, but rather than just upload every album to my iPod, I enjoy making "playlists" that include just my very favorite songs from those albums. I do this with a lot of my favorite artists. It's like one of those old "Best Of" cassettes you might have made for your car stereo or your walkman, but it's digital and it's actually a bit easier to assemble. My style has always been to mix up the eras on a playlist. Rather than put the songs in the chronology of their release, I like each playlist to weave throughout the artist's career.
When I did this for Springsteen a few years back, I decided to make five playlists, as if each was its own CD in a five-disc "Best Of" set. When I was done, there were 82 songs in total. They are my favorite songs from his catalog, though this was done before the release of "Wrecking Ball." When I update it, I'll need to add at least a few more. I am posting the songs here. If there is a rare tune here that you never heard of, let me know, and I'll be glad to tell you a little about it and where you can find it. And if you've got a favorite that I didn't include, let me know. And tell me why you like it. I enjoy talkin' some Bruce with people.
Playlist Vol. 1:
1. Born To Run
2. Growin' Up
3. Soul Driver
4. Streets Of Fire
5. Lonesome Day
6. New York City Serenade
7. Sad Eyes
8. I'm Going Down
9. Worlds Apart
10. Fade Away
11. Thundercrack
12. Lost In The Flood
13. Tenth Avenue Freezeout
14. Life Itself
15. For You
16. Racing In The Streets
Playlist Vol. 2:
1. Blinded By The Light
2. Human Touch
3. Something In The Night
4. Mary's Place
5. Frankie
6. Born In The U.S.A.
7. Fire
8. One Step Up
9. Happy
10. Leap Of Faith
11. My Love Will Not Let You Down
12. Glory Days
13. My City of Ruins
14. American Skin
15. The Promise
Playlist Vol. 3:
1. The River
2. Spirit In The Night
3. Nothing Man
4. Adam Raised The Cain
5. 57 Channels (And Nothin' On)
6. Brilliant Disguise
7. Because The Night
8. Dancing In The Dark
9. Candy's Room
10. Streets Of Philadelphia
11. Devils & Dust
12. Murder Incorporated
13. Hungry Heart
14. The Fever
15. I'm On Fire
16. The Promised Land
17. Light of Day
Playlist Vol. 4:
1. Rosalita
2. Radio Nowhere
3. Bobby Jean
4. Youngstown
5. War
6. Night
7. Point Blank
8. Darkness On The Edge of Town
9. Jersey Girl
10. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
11. Independence Day
12. She's The One
13. Outlaw Pete
14. Downbound Train
15. Livin' In The Future
16. If I Should Fall Behind
17. This Land Is Your Land
Playlist Vol. 5:
1. Thunder Road
2. Tunnel Of Love
3. My Hometown
4. Prove It All Night
5. Secret Garden
6. Atlantic City
7. The Ghost of Tom Joad
8.. Trapped
9.. The Big Muddy
10. The Rising
11. Out In The Street
12. Backstreets
13. Lucky Town
14. Badlands
15. What Love Can Do
16. Jungleland
17. Born To Run (acoustic)
There you have it. My 82 favorite Bruce Springsteen songs, prior to 2012. I've been fortunate enough to have seen him in concert nine times, but when I meet people that don't know much about his music, I give them this list. It's where they need to start. And if I worked at Columbia Records and we were putting out a Springsteen boxed-set, this would be it. Are some of these tunes better than others? Certainly. But they're all great and it is - for my money - "The Best of Bruce Springsteen."
Bruce Springsteen has described his new album, "Wrecking Ball," as the "most direct" record he's ever made. That's a big statement from the man who is arguably the most analyzed lyricist of our time. It's also what made some of the early interpretations of the first single, "We Take Care of Our Own," so interesting. Was it a patriotic American anthem, or was it a biting social commentary on a broken America? Well, for those that still think that "Born In The U.S.A" was Springsteen's attempt at writing a flag-waving rocker that could be marched along to on the Fourth of July - and think that "We Take Care of Our Own" is his attempt at another – there is some news:
You're wrong. Again.
"We Take Care Of Our Own," a thumping and blistering track, is a biting commentary on social and economic injustice. And when placed within the context of the entire album, it's more than "direct." It's about as subtle as, well ... a wrecking ball.
The entire record is that way. Even the title track, though clearly inspired by the closing of Giants Stadium, also seems to take on a bigger meaning when tucked within the album.
Two tracks that will likely get some attention are "Death to My Hometown" and "Rocky Ground." "Death" is a stopping, swaggering, Irish-inspired, pissed-off mini-masterpiece. It about a town in Anywhere-U.S.A. that's been raped and pillaged by greed and it's a song that too many towns can probably relate to. You might even call Springsteen an "occupier" on this one and it is the album's most stirring track. "Rocky Ground," which is moving both musically and lyrically, combines elements of soul and touch of hip-hop, and while its arrangement might surprise many, it is both daring and wonderful.
While the words are always what get the most scrutiny on any Springsteen album, there's also some fine music accompanying those words on this record. And while Springsteen is an angry and/or despondent American on some of it, that doesn't mean he doesn't love his country. On the contrary, it probably shows how much he does love it, and through his music, he notes the vulnerability and resiliency of its people. There is no defeat on this record, but Springsteen writes songs about a daily struggle, probably hoping they can somehow make a difference, inspire, raise awareness and get people to think a little bit more about their neighbors.
Bruce Springsteen, through his music, still takes care of our own.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (This review also appears in the March 14 issue of The Weekender : http://www.theweekender.com/stories/Bruce-takes-care-of-his-own,122592.)
It seems that not a week goes by without the death of a celebrity grabbing the headlines. Of course, some of those headlines are bigger than others. The recent passing of Whitney Houston garnered so much interest that her funeral was carried live on major news channels. And while the recent death of Davy Jones didn't garner quite as much attention, I was glad to see that it wasn't passed off as a simple footnote. Indeed Jones' passing at age 66 was been treated as a significant loss to the world of pop culture, and though we all would have liked to have seen him around for another 25 years, I'm glad that in death, the ex-Monkee is getting his due.
The Monkees, at least initially, were not an actual band, but were in fact put together for a TV show in order to capitalize on the success of The Beatles and films such as "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help." But something quite remarkable happened along the way. And it didn't take very long. The Monkees became a very good band.
The Monkees had albums that topped the charts for months. They had singles that hit No. 1. And they did in fact make some terrific pop music. It was the mid-'60s, an incredibly exciting time for rock and roll, and The Monkees were right there in the middle of it all and were doing it just as good, if not better, than most.
Yes, we all know the story …. they used a lot of outside songwriters and they didn't play most of the instruments on their first few albums. And in a time when acts such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were writing their own material and playing their own music, that cost The Monkees some street credibility and critical acceptance. But having professional songwriters write the hits and having polished studio musicians play on the records has always been pretty common in pop. That's how Elvis Presley did it. He found good songs, he got great players to record them, and he sang them. Perhaps by the late '50s, with the arrival of Buddy Holly, and later with the arrival of Bob Dylan and The Beatles, people may have thought that pop music might become an art form strictly for songwriters, but it hasn't quite worked out that way. The charts, even today, are still usually sprinkled with a few pop singers.
The Monkees, however, were more, and while recently listening to some of their old hits, I was reminded of how much I used to like them. "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" is a fabulous pop song and tunes that I really hadn't heard in years such as "Papa Gene's Blues" – written by Monkee Mike Nesmith - are as catchy as hell. And of course there was "Last Train To Clarksville," "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" "I'm A Believer" "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and Jones' signature number, "Daydream Believer." It's all good stuff.
By all accounts, when The Monkees went out on the road and toured – and played their own instruments – they did just fine. And when they were able to get more creative control of their recordings, write their own material and play on their albums, they also did just fine. And man, could they sing. Some of them – particularly Jones – sang very well.
It was nice to see some of this discussed last week as people reflected on Davy Jones. Locally, WNEP-TV did a nice segment on how he'd owned a home near Williamsport for decades and how the local people there thought the world of him. The Times Leader did a story about his local connections and was kind enough to ask me to share a few thoughts. Over on our sister station, WILK, Shadoe Steele repeated a lengthy interview that he'd done with Jones just last summer. WNEP-2 ran a two-day "Monkees Marathon" of every TV episode and The Bio Channel ran several very good biographies on The Monkees and Jones. Writers, including the great Mitch Albom, wrote flattering commentaries.
Good for Davy Jones. The man – who genuinely seemed like a nice guy – had earned it.
When The Times Leader asked me for a few thoughts, I told them how much l liked the TV show when I was a kid, how I thought their music was really a terrific brand of '60s pop, and I shared a story of the time I saw The Edge of U2 perform "Daydream Believer" in concert and how the crowd of 70,000 went wild. This was back in 1997, and at the time, I remember wondering if Jones knew that the biggest and most critically acclaimed band in the world was playing his most famous song every night. Well, a quick YouTube search answered my question. At one show on that same tour, Jones was actually in attendance and Edge brought him to the stage to sing it with him. At one point in the clip - which I've posted here - the entire crowd sings along and Edge does an "unworthy" bow towards Jones.
A lot of people showed Davy Jones a lot of love last week, and while that's very kind, I'm glad that U2 and that enormous crowd allowed him to feel it while he was still here. And the fact that he was still touring as late as last summer indicates that he probably still felt that love quite often.
RIP Davy Jones. When some of us hear your songs, we are young kids again, sitting in front of our little record players as your albums spin before us. We are, once again, daydream believers, falling in love with music. And that's not a bad gift for anyone to have left us.
It's a Cajon, which wikipedia describes as a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru. You sit on it and slap the front, back and sides...it has drum snares on the inside of the light brown plywood side, for a buzz like effect.
I got it from my daughter and her girlfriend. (take THAT Rick Santorum!)
By the way, the pinkish edges on these pictures is a result of my iPhone case, which ALMOST fits. This is my reward for buying it on Ebay for, like, three bucks.
It really helps if you already know how to play a percussion instrument...which I don't....but I'm working on it. I went on line to try & find some video of someone who KNOWS HOW playing the thing, but it was all too intimidating. So as soon as I.T. Boy gets back to me, I'll post a video of ME playing it!
Well, it's not ALL about donating money, but that's what I want YOU to do. Here's the link to the website: http://www.therenalrace.org/ If you want to run/walk, that's fine too, all the info is there.
Make checks payable to The Renal Race c/o FOP Lodge 36
Stop by or mail em to
Cathy Donnelly
102.3 The Mountain
305 Hwy 315
Pittston, PA 18640
Tax id # 23-7586154
Charitable organizations tax # 237586154
And this time I'm going to train!
Well, it's not ALL about donating money, but that's what I want YOU to do. Here's the link to the website: http://www.therenalrace.org/ If you want to run/walk, that's fine too, all the info is there. 
