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Songs are sign posts of our past

Everyone has certain songs that take you back to another place and time, songs that trigger physiological changes in your body. These songs may conjure up ghosts, pleasures, anguish, and broken-hearted pain.

They may be sad songs; they may be bad songs. They cast a spell on you. (Insert ‘Screamin’ Jay Hawkins here.) They may be classics. But when they come on, you turn that radio up. (Insert Van Morrison song here.)

My song for this episode of Signpost Songs is a song you probably never heard of. It’s called ‘Down South’ and it’s an original song by the two-person band (duo?) called A Brief View of the Hudson.)

I heard this song as I was driving home from work one night across the Richmond Bridge sometime around 2005,

Anyway, I called the Berkeley public radio show which had broadcast the song. He said something ‘like what song we talking about here?’ I said that’s why I am calling. I ended up having to hum a few bars with words that I remember. I’m singing “And we drive down south and we drive down south. OK, he says, that’s ‘Drive Down South’ (no? really?) by ‘A Brief View of the Hudson.’ He knew nothing about the song and he was busy, kept me on hold for 15 minutes.

So I put in a lot of effort to get this song. It remains one of my favorites, melancholy, laid back vocals that make you believe they knew heartache and then, the refrain.

And then we roll down south

And you try to figure out what you just could not figure out.

Relocating from California to Alabama was a big decision and the song provided the soundtrack.

And we drove down s

SOUTH VIDEO HERE:

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Daily journal Oct. 6, 2019 (‘Could 7 strings be the new 6 edition)

Here’s part of a post by Vintage Guitar magazine senior writer about a classic 7-string guitar and an Alabama man who owned one. In fact the Alabama man was integral in having it created.

Here’s a snippet written by Willie Moseley. Click on this link to see entire story on AL.com

Certain locations in the middle portion of Alabama are often cited as part of “Hank Williams Territory,” and for good reason—two thirds of a century after the country music icon’s passing, legends still abound regarding memorable Williams performances, as well as people and locations that inspired his songwriting.

However, one hasn’t heard too much about famous jazz musicians that hail from the same region, although Nat King Cole was born in Montgomery, and trumpeter Andres Ford, who was also from the Capitol City, gigged with Duke Ellington.

While musical genres such as country and western, rhythm and blues, rock and pop are usually saturated with (primarily-electric) guitars, notable jazz guitarists—Wes Montgomery being an obvious and handy example—have always had to compete with pianists, saxophone players, and other talented musicians plying their trade on their own respective instruments.

Jazz guitarist Relfe Parker Jr. (1918-2002) wasn’t famous, but he stuck to his guns regarding the music he loved to play. Moreover, he was the first guitarist to order and play a seven-string guitar handcrafted by a famous guitar builder (such artisans are known as a “luthiers”).

A resident of Wetumpka, Parker aspired to play jazz music for most of his life, even though he was compelled to perform other styles of music at times.Again you can click here for full story.

Also online at AL.com right now is a revisit to a song that one scientific study is the best they had found for lowering anxiety. Listen to the extended version (30 minutes) of the song and see if you can stay awake. There is a 24-hour version which I’ll try to find and post here. That means you could have reduced anxiety — by 65 percent these scientists say — all day long. (They should put it in dentists and doctors’ offices or wherever there is a stressful environment.

Here’s link. Remember don’t operate heavy machinery after listening to this: ‘Weightlessness.’

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The Best Worst Song Ever (Winner)

A  couple of weeks ago  I posted my runnner-up for Worst Best Song Ever. The competition is stiff but 1964’s ‘ ‘Bread and Butter’ by the Newbeats  had the right ingredients: inane lyrics so bad they are funny; a catchy ear worm tune that you wish you could purge from the jukebox in your head.

And, if you remember this post, Bread and Butter had a secret weapon. A happy looking grown man with a falsetto that sounded like the noise coming out of Linda Blair’s mouth when her head  did a 360.  And there was video evidence that the three young men could not dance.

But that  was only good enough for second all time.

The winner contains similar ingredients: inane lyrics; catchy earworm tune so powerful  a prescription is required just to listen to it.  People I have tested it on have wandered around for hours with glassy eyes singing softly Na Na Na Na.

(‘And then we can Na Na Na’, indeed, double entendre much?

The frightful video features  a Dutch Mountain Man with a powerful voice trading vocals with a sprite of a woman with a delicate voice who alternately seems afraid of and playful with  her King Kong partner. He covers his face and plays peek-a-boo with his violin.

Ultimately for no reason, he picks her up like a sack of potatoes.

Words cannot capture the virus that is this song . Check out the video below to see Mouth and  MacNeal (yes that’s their name) ‘perform’ “How Do You Do.’

An experiment at a children’s pre-school  showed powerful  results of the song’s mind controlling properties as nearly every child after only one listen began chanting ‘How do you do Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na.’