Tune Tag #37 with Jeremy Shatan of "AnEarful" Pt. 2: The Verve, Blondie, Roosevelt, Antonio Carlos Jobim, FaltyDL, Mary Timony, Faye Webster
The song-span of this bird is a jaw-dropping 60 years! From 1965 to just a few weeks ago, our time pieces of choice run the gamut from an encyclopedia to a stop-watch!
Hey, Jeremy! TAG! YOU’RE IT!
Tune Tag again welcomesof “AnEarful”!
A self-described “music obsessive” born in New York, Jeremy describes his Substack as “Giving you an earful about an omnivorous array of music, from cutting edge sounds by living composers to new (and old) classics in rock, folk, hip hop, pop, R&B, reggae, jazz, global, and more. Established 2009.”👉https://linktr.ee/anearful
Feel free to read, subscribe, and get “AnEarful” from Jeremy by clicking here!
✨This just in! Jeremy is fresh from Record Store Day Crate diggin’! Dig in, here!
Plus, check out Jeremy’s first Tune Tag from October ‘23 by clicking here!
Last week,
of TALES & RANTS joined us for Tune Tag:Next week,
of BrittaRiffindots tags tunes for Tune Tag #38!Jeremy’s song #1 sent to Brad: Faye Webster, “Underdressed at the Symphony,” 2024
Jeremy’s rationale: My first song was “Underdressed At The Symphony,” the title track from Faye Webster’s latest album. I shared it for two simple reasons: I’m obsessed with it (and the whole album), and it’s a 2024 release.
I’m always aiming to keep things up to the minute! As I wrote in A Song For Friday: Faye Webster, “Now, she has released the absolutely addictive “Underdressed At The Symphony,” which finds her and her regular collaborator, Drew Vandenberg, both smoothing out her sound further, leaning into lounginess, and pumping up the drama.
“After the thrill of hearing her sing with a live orchestra on 2022’s brilliant Car Therapy Sessions EP, it’s even more delightful to hear the strings and a bombastic piano nearly turn the title track into a miniature radio play…just one great moment among many.”
Brad’s song #1 sent to Jeremy: The Verve, “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” 1997
Jeremy’s response: Then, Brad hit me with that old (overplayed) chestnut from The Verve, “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” which I always thought was a great hook (borrowed from Jagger/Richards/Oldham) in search of a song. With 25 years separating “Underdressed” and “Bitter Sweet,” I’m going to assume that Brad picked it just because it had the word “Symphony” in the title, and not because any behind-the-scenes folks worked on both songs.
Brad’s rationale: Who…….? Me? Yep. “Symphony” for the devil: According to RadioX.co.uk, “The instrumental backing to the track was sampled from a symphonic version of The Rolling Stones’ ‘The Last Time,’ which was recorded in 1965 by the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra and arranged by David Whitaker.”
Why did the Stones sue The Verve? Accounts differ. According to this Wiki page, “The Verve negotiated rights to use the ‘Last Time’ sample from the copyright holder, Decca Records. However, they did not obtain permission from the Rolling Stones’ former manager, Allen Klein, who owned the copyrights to their pre-1970 songs, including ‘The Last Time.’”
Read the above link for the whole story, and where it stands now. Suffice to say, as of April 2019, Jagger and Richards agreed to return the “Bitter Sweet Symphony” royalties and songwriting credits to The Verve lead singer, Richard Ashcroft.
Jeremy’s song #2: Kenyon Hopkins, “Hard Latin,” 1965
Brad’s response: 1965….the year this soundtrack came out, and the year The Andrew Loog Oldham Symphony recorded their symphonic “The Last Time.”
Jeremy’s rationale: Sticking with the theme of obsessions, I’ve been a Kenyon Hopkins (above) fan for decades now, considering him among the crème de la crème of soundtrack composers. For whatever reason, he’s never gotten the respect of someone like Henry Mancini, whom I also love, but that just compels me to talk about him more and share his music at every opportunity!
After getting The Verve song, I remembered that some of Hopkins’ albums had come out on the legendary Verve label, known for its incredible jazz catalog, not to mention The Velvet Underground. So I picked one of Hopkins’ coolest tracks, “Hard Latin,” from the soundtrack to the now-forgotten 1966 James Garner flick, Mr. Buddwing. Someday I’d like to see the movie!
Brad’s song #2: Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Agua de Beber,” 1965
Jeremy’s response: Brad volleyed back with one of Jobim’s greatest songs, the thirst-quenching “Agua de Beber.” So fantastic...Jobim was a genius! While I love the version Brad shared, my favorite is probably the Jobim/Sinatra collaboration. They just had such chemistry:
As for why Brad chose this absolute gem, my first guess is that it’s for the Latin connection. While bossa nova has roots in Brazil and cha cha, from which Kenyon Hopkins draws in his track, and has Cuban origins, they would be classified under the umbrella term, “Latin music” - for better or worse. My second guess is that the Jobim recording features arrangements by Nelson Riddle (a longtime Sinatra arranger, as well), who also did music for movies and TV and used some similar approaches to the music of Kenyon Hopkins.
Brad’s rationale: Linking 1965, the same year as Jeremy’s song, and staying with Latin jazz to a degree with the bossa nova lilt of Jobim! I was considering a ‘65 Herb Alpert song, as I was wondering if Jeremy would, perhaps, pick up on the vast A&M Records catalog, and choose a song, then, that could be tagged back to one of the label’s two founders (in this case, the label’s “A,” Herb Alpert)!
But, Alpert’s output in ‘65 was a little more AC (Adult Contemporary) than Latin jazz, or even the innovations he’d bring about on his very next album, April 1965’s Whipped Cream & Other Delights, an album that was enormously attractive to this just-turned 10-year-old boy, having nothing whatsoever to do with the music within! “Wow, Dad! Look at that cover! What?! You mean, that’s a record, too?”🤯
Jeremy’s Song #3: FaltyDL, “Mount Sinai,” 2023
Brad’s reaction: Well, thanks a lot, Jeremy! That’s an earworm I’ll never get out of my head! Get a towel….that was dripping with sarcasm! OK, synth noodles for lunch, with a full plate of “Whatchutalkin’BoutWillis” on the side! Love his play on words, or, at least phrases, this FaltyDL, aka Faulty Drew Lustman. “A Nurse to my patience” sounds like a title I might’ve tried to conjure; his “Rapidly Harvested Asparagus,” “Beat Lumber,” and “Callipygian Female Flattery” all sound like Captain Beefheart title rejects from Trout Mask Replica!
Jeremy’s rationale: I chose FaltyDL’s electronic jam, “Mount Sinai,” for the slightly morbid reason that, as I was reading about Jobim, I learned he died in 1994 after surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
I work for the Mount Sinai Health System, and I can only think how hard the doctors must have worked to save his life. I confess that while I was aware of some of the music of Drew Lustman, who records as FaltyDL, I had never heard this track before - but it was the best song I could find called “Mount Sinai”!
Brad’s song #3: Roosevelt, “Illusions,” 2018
Jeremy’s response: Brad shot back “Illusions” by Roosevelt, an artist I’ve never heard of before. Pretty cool song, too; reminds me a bit of Nation Of Language, who put out one of the best albums of 2023. Naturally, I’m shocked to see Roosevelt has close to 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify!
I also note he’s on the Ninja Tune label, which has put out some of FaltyDL’s stuff, so that could be the link. But, here’s another idea: Part of the Mount Sinai Health System is a hospital called Mount Sinai West - which used to be called Roosevelt Hospital, in honor of James Henry Roosevelt, who bequeathed his fortune to found the institution in 1871. I’d like to think only real New Yorkers know that there used to be a Roosevelt Hospital here, and I thought Brad was a West Coaster - but there’s much I don’t know about his history.
Brad’s rationale: None of the above, Jeremy! Great guesses, and each would’ve been a great tag, but my reason for tagging was simple: Both Masters Falty and Roosevelt operate in the keyboard arena, and both have more traditional names on their respective birth certificates: FaltyDL’s mom calls the Connecticut native, Andrew Lustman, while the erstwhile Ms. Roosevelt (aka the fair lady, Frau Lauber) calls her German-born lad, Marius Lauber.
While Marius (who can also handle drums and guitar) is a new find for Jeremy, I’ve been happily enjoying his music for about 3 years, now. There’s this:
…..and this, which spotlights the new interest ‘70s disco-forward Chic-meister, Nile Rodgers has recently taken in Lauber, showing the music world he’s operating under a completely new precedent: Roosevelt.
Jeremy’s song #4: Mary Timony, “No Thirds,” 2024
Brad’s response: Similar beat, I suppose, although the Timony one seems a tad faster. Never heard of her before, and I like her guitar tones and sound. She was born in Washington, DC, and Roosevelt (both Theodore and Franklin, as presidents) lived in DC when serving. Our Roosevelt, aka Marius Lauber, was born in Germany in 1990.
Jeremy’s rationale: For my last pick, I wanted to return to 2024. I was thinking about the word “hospital,” which led me to one of my favorite bands of the 21st century, Hospitality (shown above), who never officially broke up, but haven’t released anything for a decade. I didn’t want to share an old song, however.
Then, I remembered that Brian Betancourt, who played bass in Hospitality, was doing the honors for Mary Timony’s terrific solo album, Untame The Tiger (Merge Records; Timony co-produced with Dennis Kane and Joe Wong), so I picked one of my favorite songs from that fine album. Voila!
Brad’s song #4: Debbie Harry, “French Kissin’ in the USA,” 1986
Jeremy’s response: Brad’s final volley was a baffler, a Debbie Harry single from her second solo album, 1986’s Rockbird, of which I was only dimly aware. The song, itself is a total victim of the ‘80s, full of production choices that are best left in that decade. Bizarrely enough, I note the song was written by Chuck Lorre, whose true métier has been television, as creator of such hit shows as Dharma & Greg and Two and a Half Men.
None of this rabbit-holing, including a look at the lyrics and personnel, has revealed Brad’s intent. So, I’ll just hand it to him - game over!
Brad’s rationale: The opportunity presented itself, Jeremy, with Mary Timony being such a recent artist! I was stunned to discover that Greg Calbi, now 75, mastered the Timony album! He was credited, also, as the “sound designer” on Blondie’s 1986 Rockbird album (Geffen Records/U.S., Chrysalis/UK). From that album, I was drawn to “French Kissin’ in the USA,” written solely by Chuck Lorre. Now 71, Lorre wrote the song when he was 34, and it became a UK Top Ten hit.
Another great Tune Tag! I love how eclectic this one was. I didn’t know about the Verve/Stones lawsuit saga, so that was quite interesting to read about.
Also can I just say, when Brad pulled off that Agua de Beber track… just in case anyone thought the King of Tune Tag didn’t have any more tricks up his sleeve! 😂
Fantastic job all around, guys!
Love the Roosevelt and Mary Timony songs --now I want to listen to more from both of them.
Enjoyed going back to 1965 and the Agua de Beber tune I remember well. I'd love to watch Mr Buddwing too -- never heard of it but always enjoyed James Garner.
Who knew TV sitcom wunderkind Chuck Lorre also wrote a hit song? Good find, along with Greg Calbi. The seventies are the new fifties in terms of creative output.