Reigning Sound's "Stormy Weather":We'll keep it in my hometown this week and talk about Memphis-scene staple Greg Cartwright's song "Stormy Weather." Cartwright's been in and out of several bands during his widely-influential career, now settling comfortably into "cult following" status with his most recent project, Reigning Sound. "Stormy Weather" is not their most recent song, but it's my favorite because it seemlessly combines the chord patterns of early-60's rock-pop with the attitude of punk's formative years. Think Please Please Me-era Beatles meets The Ramones with some armhair-raising vocals and a suprisingly infectious melody.
Which leads me to the most interesting aspect of this song: the juxtaposition of intent and execution. That is, the melody and harmony are pretty and innocuous, but the lyrics and vocal performance are troubled, to say the least. In this way, Cartwright executes a successful paradox: pairing troubled waters underneath a seemingly calm surface, thus enacting the emotional conflict in the song itself.
Check out the song here, and stay tuned...
Raining all the time,
Chris
4 comments:
What up Honkies, if you're anywhere in Tennessee and you care ANYTHING for drums and music, whoever you are, you GOTTA go see Marcus Finnie in clinic at MTSU. Tuesday, March 21, at 11 am--the drum clinic of your lifetime by the baddest cat in TN right now, no shit. Check his web site, www.stixfinnie.com
Also, I've got a new article on rudimental drumming in the works for Wikipedia, all their current drum articles are weak and struggling. Anybody who wants to pitch in, or learn something when it's all done, go to en.wikipedia.org and type in rudiment, rudiments, drum rudiments, rudimental drumming, history of rudimental drumming, etc...
Too strong for too long!
Plus I just found two sites for drum chat, www.thedrumforum.com and www.drum-forum.com, if you should want to "hook up" with fellow children of the skins in your area...if you know what I mean...and there's always the Percussive Arts Society...
I'm out.
uh, you know that Stormy Weather is a cover ,right? That song has been covered dozens of times since the 1930's. I do love the Reigning Sound's version (it's my favorite, actually), but Greg didn't write it.
Uh, you know this song is a cover, right? "Stormy Weather" has been around since the 1930's, and been performed by dozens of artists. I'll agree that the Reigning Sound's version is among the best (if not *the* best), Greg Cartwright did not write it.
Post a Comment