the sawpit

When we get to England

When we get to England
Will we know when we've arrived?
When we get to England
Will we know if she has died?

Does the girl with the dogs
Still live in the big house
On the corner?
Are the boys collecting frogs
Still marching away
To die in war?

Like it's all from a dream
Like it's all from some history book
Did I look too hard
Did I miss something that I should have seen?
When we get to England
Will it still be there?

When we get to England
Will we know when we've arrived?
When we get to England
Will a kiss bring her alive?

Once a farmer in the field
Had to grow enough
To feed his family
Now they pay him for his yield
Just to burn it down
And throw away

Like it's all from a dream
Like it's all in a crystal ball
Did it fall so hard
Rest in pieces on a village green?
When we get to England
Will it still be there?

When we get to England

Andy Partridge

My Funky Teacher

James Brown taught me how to dance. Hearing his music for the first time made me squirm and tap my feet. Before I knew what was happening, I was shaking my booty. And once the funk gets under your skin, it just never leaves. As I grew older, I started to notice a pattern at many parties: if you want to get self-conscious white people on the dance floor, ask the DJ to play ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine’ because it always works. James Brown’s music was the foundation for all other funk musicians to follow. And regardless of P-Funk’s good natured jibes at the "grandfather" of soul, nobody has ever laid down funkier grooves. And as a singer and performer, Brown had both a soulful tenderness and a red hot scream that could give you goosebumps. But James Brown’s passing on Christmas Day is significant because he often asked his fans to consider those who have been oppressed and neglected by society. Regardless of Brown’s arrests for drugs and domestic abuse, I believe that his influence has been a positive one. As a musical force promoting black pride, and racial harmony, he inspired many socially conscience black urban poets and rappers. Some even consider Brown to be the true originator of what would later be called rap and hip hop. I regret that I never saw James Brown live in concert. I was considering his New Year's Eve show at BB King's, but that, of course, will no longer be an option. Thank you for making it funky James. We all need to get off that couch and get into it like a sex machine more often.

Lady Sovereign Rules Central Park

Love her or hate her, Lady Sovereign performed a free concert this past Sunday at Central Park SummerStage along with Pete Rock and Jean Grae, and mesmerized the crowd with her spunky attitude.

Happy Birthday Harry

Who is Harry Nilsson?

I recently discovered that a new documentary about Harry Nilsson has been released this year called Who is Harry Nilsson? (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)? written and directed by John Scheinfeld. The film features rare footage of Nilsson performing, and interviews with members of the Nilsson family, Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson, Randy Newman, the voice of John Lennon, The Smothers Brothers and many other old friends and collaborators. I'm really looking forward to learning more about one of my all time favorite singers and songwriters. Thanks for the music Harry.

 

1941

Well in 1941 a happy father had a son
And by 1944 the father walked right out the door
And in '45 the mom and son were still alive
But who could tell in '46 if the two were to survive

Well the years were passing quickly
But not fast enough for him
So he close his eyes through '55
And he opened them up again
When he looked around he saw a clown
And the clown seemed very gay
And he set that night to join that circus clown and run away

{Scat solo}

Well he followed every railroad track
An every highway sign
And he had a girl in each new town
And the towns he left behind
And the open road
Was the only road he knew
But the color of his dreams
Slowly turning into blue

The he met a girl the kind of girl
He wanted all his life
She was soft and kind and good to him
So he took her for a wife
And they got a house not far from town
And in a little while
The girl had seen the doctor
And she came home with a smile

Now in 1961 a happy father had a son
And by 1964 the father walked right out the door
And in '65 the mom and son were still around
But what will happen to the boy
When the circus comes to town

Harry Nilsson (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994)

Nikki Sudden (1956–2006)

Desperately Seeking Nikki

By Tyler Love

Back in 1990, when I was still a teenager, I started a fanzine with a friend of mine called this disaster. We started it because we wanted an excuse to meet all of our music idols - all the cute britpop rockers we were reading about in NME, Sounds and The Melody Maker every week. But my number one reason to start a fanzine was so I could get to Nikki Sudden.

The summer of '89 I was living in NYC, on Ave A, right over the Pyramid Club (a good place to live back then). My room was hot and small. I played Texas and Dead Men Tell No Tales and Ragged School over and over, while I tried to sleep. Texas was my favorite and it is still is.

The following summer I got word that Nikki was coming to spend the summer in NYC and I was nervous. I had told too many people I was starting a fanzine - now I had to actually follow through. I also wanted Nikki on the cover and thankfully Marlena let me do that instead of pouting for some trendier band we had interviewed, like The Wedding Present or The Charlatans.
Needless to say, Nikki turned out to be a real prince. He was my first interview and he made it easy on me. My nervousness disappeared within his unpretentious friendliness. He also spoke in complete sentences, something I found out to be pretty rare - it was very easy to edit his interview!

We hung out a lot the whole summer, long after the interview was over. I bought him white Russians and he gave me one of his jackets. While he didn't exactly resemble the man I had pictured in my mind writing Texas, he was impressive in his friendliness and charm. He knew so much about music. He was a great storyteller. He was a world traveler. He was a real artist. I truly had a great summer that year, because of him.

I saw Nikki here and there for the next 16 years and I saw him for what will be the last time just this last week. Why we had both turned up in Buffalo, NY at the same time I don't know but I am so thankful that I got to say goodbye.

Have a good time with your new adventure Nikki. I will miss you very much.

John Lennon: 1940-1980

Along with the death of my Father and the break-up of my first serious relationship, the murder of John Lennon was one of the most traumatic events of my life. I was a typical, confused fifteen year old boy who was starting his first year of high school when Lennon was shot to death by a deranged fan. The Beatles had been my favorite band since I was ten, and John Lennon was my favorite Beatle. I related to his songs, his anger, his silly humor, and was moved by his personal lyrics — especially the song "God" from the Plastic Ono Band album. I was impressed that Lennon was willing communicate directly with his fans, and treat them like adults. His desire to join the peace movement in New York City was quite uncommon for a celebrity of his stature. He didn't just send money, he participated directly. He had begun to write very political songs and performed them at benefit concerts for causes like freeing jailed poet John Sinclair, and raising money for the families of prisoners murdered during the police raid at Attica prison.

Just as I was going to bed that Monday night, there was a news report that John Lennon had been shot, but they were waiting to find out more information. I went to sleep crossing my fingers hoping that he had survived the attack. That night I had a disturbing dream which put me at the scene of the crime. The next morning I quickly put the radio back on and heard that John Winston Lennon had been pronounced dead at the hospital. My heart sank. I put a Beatles t-shirt over my sweater and left for school without saying goodbye to my Mom. That whole day was one of the most depressing of my life. Mom was so worried, she contacted the Dean who asked to meet with me in his office for grief counseling.

Later that month, my family and I went to England to visit my Mom's relatives who lived across the River Mersey from Liverpool. I discovered that my Aunt Beryl used to go to the Cavern to see the Beatles perform. Part of my visit included a Beatles tour of Liverpool conducted by my Uncle Dave's friend. What should have been a really fun experience for any young Beatles fan turned out to be a very depressing experience. I will never forget visiting the Cavern and seeing all the flowers and cards piled up on the old doors. I sneaked a peak at a few of the notes and was taken aback at how intensely personal they were. Some of the notes had been left by people who had gone to art school with John, had been childhood friends, or who had watched him play at the Cavern. Then we visited Strawberry Field children's home, and some of the boys came out to have their pictures taken with us. That was the one thing that cheered me up a bit. 

These days if I think about John too much, I remember that day when the music died, and that trip to England in December 1980. Thanks for the music John, and thanks for inspiring me to care about making a difference in the world.

Broadband at Death Disco

The Broadband Brooklyn girls kicked well-deserved ass before a modest eight-thirty crowd at The Delancey in NYC last Wednesday night. Death Disco indeed.

Bubble & Friends: Live Beatles Tribute

If you are going to be in the New York City area this weekend, you may want to check out power pop band Bubble salute to The Beatles at The Living Room on Sunday, October 9th (John Lennon's 65th Birthday). Bubble will be joined by Joe Pecorino (from the original Broadway cast of Beatlemania) and Mark Rinzel (of the Ways Away) alongside a truly remarkable assortment of horn, string and sitar players, plus magical mystery surprises galore to perform Rubber Soul and Revolver in their entirety. I've already seen Bubble & Friends perform Revolver at The Baggot Inn, The Beatles "White Album" at Arlene Grocery (see pics here), and play a free outdoor concert at Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken. If you are a Beatles fan, you will be delighted (hear audio files from past shows here). What better way to commemorate the immortal songs and sounds of The Beatles than with a faithful recreation of two of the band's most beloved, classic albums? There will be a 3pm kids performance, and an 8pm adult show. You may wish to purchase advance tickets because these shows are very popular and may sell out.

Louisiana 1927

What has happened down here is the winds have changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
Rained real hard and it rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline

The river rose all day
The river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away alright
The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline

Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tyrin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away

Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away

President Coolidge came down in a railroad train
With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand
The President say, "Little fat man isn't it a shame
What the river has done to this poor cracker's land."

Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away

Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away

From the album, Good Old Boys by Randy Newman

We Still Miss You Jerry

Jerome John Garcia (8/1/42 — 8/9/95)

Brokedown Palace

Fare you well, my honey
Fare you well, my only true one
All the birds that were singing
Have flown except you alone
Going to leave this broke-down palace
On my hands and my knees I will roll, roll, roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time - in my time - I will roll, roll, roll

In a bed, in a bed
by the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

River gonna take me
Sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy
all the way back home
It's a far-gone lullaby
sung many years ago
Mama, Mama, many worlds I've come
since I first left home

Going home, going home
by the waterside I will rest my bones
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

Going to plant a weeping willow
On the bank's green edge, it will grow, grow, grow
Sing a lullaby beside the water
Lovers come and go - the river roll, roll, roll

Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

Music by Jerry Garcia, Lyrics by Robert Hunter