Friday, January 20, 2012

Favorite Song Fridays II

Today's song:
Joe Cocker, "With a Little Help from my Friends"
There was a time last year when I would sneak upstairs to the English Department at the high school where I worked to use the computer. I say "sneak" not because I wasn't supposed to use it, but because I always hoped there was no one else working there so I could put this song on. 

I watch the recent documentary about Woodstock with my dad whenever it's on TV (the one from 2009 for the 40th anniversary of the festival) and can't help wishing I'd been born forty years earlier...but that's another story for another day. Here is one of my absolute favorite performances of Woodstock and hands down my favorite version of this song. Joe Cocker has so much soul (see a trend in these first FSF song?) in his voice, and unlike other people, I think his crazy spasms are kind of charming -- they just show how much he feels the music (and sure, he probably had some "chemical help" to enjoy it so very much, but come on, it was the '60s and he was a rock star).


One of my biggest complaints with the music that's popular these days is the absolutely horrendous live performances the artists give. The particular of singing and playing music live has gotten lost in the spectacle of rock and pop shows; the masses don't care if the performer is singing off key or gets the words right or connects emotionally to their music -- it's all about the lights and the sex appeal and the noise. To be fair I've felt buoyed by emerging artists that have managed to maintain some musical integrity and become internationally renowned and respected, like Adele, Amy Winehouse (RIP) and many of the "indie" artists that are out there (although I have another bone to pick with them, ie. too experimental is too weird, and just because you don't wash your hair doesn't mean you are "cool" and "alternative" and "anti-establishment.") 

But to go back to this video, I love how subtle and nuanced his inflections are, and I'm always amazed at how right-on his pitch is, throughout -- and this is without those awful earbuds that allow you to distinguish your own voice (supposedly) from the womping amplifiers behind you. True talent is hard to see in the face of all the glitz these days, and I find it so refreshing to listen to Joe growl away so beautifully. Happy Friday!

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