Rachmaninov/Eric Carmen - "Piano concerto No.2 (Adagio sostenuto)"/All By Myself

Rachmaninov composed his Piano Concerto No. 2 between 1900 and 1901 and 75 years later a hit song from Eric Carmen "All By Myself" was based on a melody from that concerto. In fact, Eric Carmen had written the piano solo first (which is part of the full version of the hit song) and then after listening to his favourite composer, Rachmaninov, he decided to incorporate the beautiful melody, we all now know, into the song. Not quite finished yet, he went back to the first few notes of the chorus of "Let's Pretend" from his previous band 'The Raspberries' for the chorus of "All By Myself" but that is much more subtle than the borrowed Rachmaninov melody. He even used a Rachmaninov melody for his follow up solo hit "Never Gonna To Fall In Love Again." If you have ever heard the full version of "All By Myself" other than the edited single, you would've guessed that he was classically trained. That is why I respected him more than his AM radio/power ballad peers. This connection also got me to seek out some Rachmaninov music years later.




"All By Myself" - Eric Carmen



"Let's Pretend" - The Raspberries

I Monster - "The Best"

The Olympic games are suddenly upon us and here is the unofficial unofficial song of the 2012 London Olympics. Tina Turner's anthem "Simply the Best" yes, the one heard at every sports stadium, has had a much needed makeover by I Monster. Gold medal performance.

Memphis Minnie - "When The Levee Breaks"

Memphis Minnie recorded this blues classic "When The Levee Breaks" in 1929 with her husband Kansas Joe McCoy. They wrote it about the Great Mississippi Flood a couple of years earlier. The flood effected many lives and was the subject matter for many Delta Blues songs for the decade or so after. It was written primarily about the Greenville, Mississippi area, where thousands of people were evacuated to the protection of another levee on higher ground. However, over the years it has become an ode to the Mississippi State and further. A telling reminder of the hardship they have endured. I don't really even need to mention Hurricane Katrina... we know the damage that did to the levees in New Orleans. A topical song that will keep coming back... particularly for those folks along the Mississippi.



Led Zeppelin recorded a version of "When The Levee Breaks" in 1970 for the Led Zeppelin IV album. Unfortunately it may be remembered more for its great drum sound than the origin of the song itself. The opening drum riff has been sampled on dozens of songs by Beastie Boys, Eminem, Bjork and Massive Attack, to name a few.

Led Zeppelin - "When The Levee Breaks"

Miss Li - "I can´t get you off my mind"

Miss Li has already appeared on this blog so I will spare you the minor details about her prolific musical career which started in 2006 with her first single "Oh Boy" (the other Miss Li post on this blog). In 2011 she released her fifth album 'Beats and Bruises' and one of the singles from it was "I can´t get you off my mind" an exceptional pop song that I can't get off my mind.

The Vaselines - "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam"

1986 - Edinburgh: The Vaselines formed.

1987/1988 - Edinburgh: They released the 'Son of a Gun' EP and 'Dying For It' EP respectively. (the latter EP featured "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam")

1989 - Edinburgh: They released their debut album 'Dum Dum' and then broke up.

1990 - Edinburgh: They reformed to open for Nirvana when they played in that city... after Kurt Cobain had revealed his love of their music.

1992 - Seattle: Nirvana released the 'Incesticide' compilation, which featured two Vaselines covers "Son of a Gun' and 'Molly's Lips".

1993 - New York: Nirvana recorded the 'MTV Unplugged in New York' album, which was released the following year. They covered The Vaselines' "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" for that album.

1994 - The World: Now we all love them as well.

(there is more but I think I've made my point)




A more recent (reformed) performance.

David Dundas - "Jeans On"

I went to a great Double Denim party on saturday night and for some strange reason it led me to download this old one hit wonder "Jeans On" by David Dundas. Unfortunately time hasn't improved it one bit. Fatboy Slim gave it a little bit of credit when he sampled it on "Sho Nuff"



Fatboy Slim - "Sho Nuff"

Datarock - "Computer Camp Love"

"Computer Camp Love" has been on Bitter FM playlists for a few years but until now I had never seen the official video. The video paints a similar picture to the one in my head. In other words - it is a perfect accompaniment to this song. "Computer Camp Love" is a humorous computer nerd love song... but with a difference. The difference here is the exchange between the singer and the backing singers. This Norwegian electro-dance band have given young computer nerds a new anthem... even if it is an '80's retro' new anthem. And don't miss the cameo performance from our old friend Mr Commodore 64. 00001011000110010datarock0001100101000100