In our first "Tune Tad," we feature a recording artist who's also a fellow Substack-er, and we check in on one of our favorite people, Matthew Sweet, and get caught up on his recovery & prognosis!
Thanks for the kind words and enthusiasm, everybody! I've got some fun things planned for 2025. My posts drop at midnight every Wednesday and Friday ...and I don't have a paywall!
(You're welcome to drop a coin in the hat, anyway, but take care of yourself first, and then the artists, and then see if there are some local organizations you can help out before the hat thing.)
Thanks, Chris! I'm really pleased that Tad was thoughtful enough to want to share Matthew's latest, and as Mr. Sweet has always been a personal turntable fave, I'm more than happy to provide the space for a shout-out....and, love and health to Matthew and the Sweet fam!
FR&B readers: I'm happy to announce that we've corralled Chris Bro to participate in a Tune Tag, which is underway as we speak! Look for it in the new year! Meanwhile, do yourself a favor, and check out his "Chris's Shaped By Sound Substack"!
Another great one with ins and outs that put the burger chain to shame! I will listen to Tad Callin's music and read some of his stack. My one quibble is Brian Wilson with the beloved Zooey D? I mean she was great in every film she did and even better on the Dating Game reboot with Michael B. and M. Ward was in rare form with the Monsters of Folk but the duppy duo thing was too much. OK is the word but music isn't supposed to be, OK. I didn't buy into the Nu folk scene anyway it had nothing to offer that was new and She/Him? Sosume Records wouldn't sign them if they weren't famous, and the lure of fame is what ruined the second wave of folk and led us to Nu Country which I dig but gave in to jingoistic leanings as being just slightly more authentic than Mumford et al. Avett Bros. excluded.
I should know I was the Anti-Folk Record label, and they just pretended it didn't exist. Only on the internet do real legitimate documented music movements get pushed aside for the latest craze.
But damnation big ups and kudos galore for Elaine Stritch "Ladies Who Lunch" I'm trying out for Company this spring. Sondheim is the future of music. I did some of his tunes from Company in a Broadway style gala and those tunes win where hipster goulash retro nonsense fails. Being Alive!
Shameless plug: Matthew Sweet sorry to hear. Ivan Julian (Richard Hell and the Voidoids) was a touring guitarist for him and is w/Cynthia Sley (Bush Tetras lead singer) on my last 109 Records record MAD ORPHAN by the Lovelies. Both have new records out and tour and so re-released it on Live! From the Vault #25 soundcloud.com/stevegabe
Thanks, Steve, for the compliments, and I appreciate your impassioned insight.
I wish you well on your "Company" audition! I only learned about Stritch's "Ladies Who Lunch" about a decade ago, just shortly before I felt I "had to" do it in karaoke! I guess I was as knocked out by it as everyone else was in '70! Hers was such a bold, all-but-punk performance that was in the face of all the "pretty voices" dotting B-way at the time!
I will tell you that--way too late--I'm discovering more of a love for stage-performing...I've done a handful of small things over the decades, but I'm wishing now I'd-a tried to do more...especially in the stage-musical arena! So, keep us posted on your prep and audition! I hope you'll be writing about that process, too!
"The song itself, though, angered some rich and powerful Americans. Pro-business leaders believed the tune was a dangerous attack on the American economic system. They tried to ban it from Broadway ... "
All the selections in the second half are strong. I hadn't heard "Man" before, and that's a fun video. Much to my surprise the opening of the She & Him track made me think of "Beds Are Burning" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E ).
Very nice to include the Matthew Sweet mention at the end.
This was a proper ride. You keep raising the stakes, Brad, and pushing the bar higher and higher.
I love how Tad started with something edgy and unexpected (at least from my perspective), and how you both took turns at finding obscure and very interesting tags.
Can I just say that it is particularly refreshing to read content like this at this time of year. You guys allowed your creativity and your knowledge to flow freely, and you took us everywhere except the village of Commonplace! Thank you both!!
Great minds...........! That's actually my destination (and lifetime dream) this Christmas: I've always wanted to visit Disney's new Village of Commonplace! I especially have my eye on its various "lands": YawnTown, The Island of Indifference, The Gaping Maw of Intolerable Boredom, and The Mysterious Planet of Languor! Dood, I obviously love that phrase...thank you! It gave me a mid-day jolt of creativity!😁👍
Yes, now....your comment! Thank you for the compliments, Andy! I will say I've tried to master folks' orientation seminar! Along with giving 'em the necessary deets, I instruct them to peruse a couple previous TTs to get the flow!
It's working, apparently, and I give a huge thanks to the new guests, Tad chief among them, in setting their creative GPS far from the Island of Indifference, and focusing, instead on heading straight to the World of Riveting Music Writing!
Thanks for your inspiration, Andy, and, as they used to say in radio..."The hits just keep on comin'!" At least, they PLAN to!
🤣🤣YawnTown and The Island of Indifference 😆😆 You are too funny! Glad you enjoyed the phrase!
Yes, you definitely know how to strike the right balance between guidance and freedom. Fundamental when hosting recurring “shows” like this one. Judging by the numbers and the engagement of your readers, it’s clearly working! Keep those hits flowing, my friend!
What a powerful, odd, beautiful, and fun ride you both took us on.
I want to specifically thank Tad for sharing the Matthew Sweet info and link. I read the long piece he wrote and it brought me to tears. The honesty and directness, I could feel the sadness and catharsis behind each word.
I love the wild zig-zags of this Tune Tad. Many artists I knew, but not the songs. That Jean Michel-Jarre track to start off...I can see why Tad said, "not as obscure as many people might want it to be." Yeah, I would be one of those people, though I didn't know the song.
I also didn't know the Scritti Politti song, or the Afro Celt Sound System (or maybe I had heard it back when it came out?). And The Look? Didn't know them at all. Their version of "Tonight" was like watching a car crash through my fingers. Maybe so bad it's good? I do have a soft spot for over-the-top cover songs.
And the way you both maneuver around the Bernstein reference was masterful. A true sonic chess match. The Elaine Stritch tune blew my mind. She made it her own.
I'm a huge Neko Case fan, and "Man" is a favorite. Hadn't seen the video before so that was cool. And good tie-in for the She and Him track, Brad! I have found their stuff hit and miss, but Zooey and M. have been doing it so long now, that they've developed an effortless rapport that is lovely to listen to and watch.
Thanks, Steve, for your detailed comment! Much appreciated! I'm glad you liked the Stritch song. Such an "out-of-the-box" performance! It's hard to imagine what Sondheim was envisioning regarding the song's performance, no matter what he ended up with on the paper!
From the song's Wiki page, and I wish I had found this prior to pub...I'd have added it....but, it's here, now, and quite fascinating:
"In regard to her performance, which one interviewer described as filled with 'rage,' Elaine Stritch responded, 'I don’t think I sang it with rage. First of all, she drank. I should have made you understand that. Anyway, when you drink, you can do anything you want, and it’s not always very attractive. I tried to say to the audience, 'And here’s to the ones who just watch—and they’re not here anymore'.
Stritch’s epic struggle with her big number serves as the climax to the 1970 documentary Original Cast Album: Company by D.A. Pennebaker. "Stritch, Stephen Sondheim, and the orchestra were all exhausted because it was after midnight and the end of a long day of recording.
"After struggling several times to perform the vocals, the recording session was suspended. Stritch returned two days later, after a matinee performance of Company, and successfully recorded the final take for the album."
Thanks for the kind words and enthusiasm, everybody! I've got some fun things planned for 2025. My posts drop at midnight every Wednesday and Friday ...and I don't have a paywall!
(You're welcome to drop a coin in the hat, anyway, but take care of yourself first, and then the artists, and then see if there are some local organizations you can help out before the hat thing.)
I love this on so many levels. And thank you for the Sweet reminder. That makes me sad on so many levels.
Thanks, Chris! I'm really pleased that Tad was thoughtful enough to want to share Matthew's latest, and as Mr. Sweet has always been a personal turntable fave, I'm more than happy to provide the space for a shout-out....and, love and health to Matthew and the Sweet fam!
FR&B readers: I'm happy to announce that we've corralled Chris Bro to participate in a Tune Tag, which is underway as we speak! Look for it in the new year! Meanwhile, do yourself a favor, and check out his "Chris's Shaped By Sound Substack"!
👉 https://shapedbysound.substack.com/
In HS he was a constant! Pure musical goodness.
Another great one with ins and outs that put the burger chain to shame! I will listen to Tad Callin's music and read some of his stack. My one quibble is Brian Wilson with the beloved Zooey D? I mean she was great in every film she did and even better on the Dating Game reboot with Michael B. and M. Ward was in rare form with the Monsters of Folk but the duppy duo thing was too much. OK is the word but music isn't supposed to be, OK. I didn't buy into the Nu folk scene anyway it had nothing to offer that was new and She/Him? Sosume Records wouldn't sign them if they weren't famous, and the lure of fame is what ruined the second wave of folk and led us to Nu Country which I dig but gave in to jingoistic leanings as being just slightly more authentic than Mumford et al. Avett Bros. excluded.
I should know I was the Anti-Folk Record label, and they just pretended it didn't exist. Only on the internet do real legitimate documented music movements get pushed aside for the latest craze.
But damnation big ups and kudos galore for Elaine Stritch "Ladies Who Lunch" I'm trying out for Company this spring. Sondheim is the future of music. I did some of his tunes from Company in a Broadway style gala and those tunes win where hipster goulash retro nonsense fails. Being Alive!
Shameless plug: Matthew Sweet sorry to hear. Ivan Julian (Richard Hell and the Voidoids) was a touring guitarist for him and is w/Cynthia Sley (Bush Tetras lead singer) on my last 109 Records record MAD ORPHAN by the Lovelies. Both have new records out and tour and so re-released it on Live! From the Vault #25 soundcloud.com/stevegabe
I reiterate tis the season give to Matthew's GFM I am. https://substack.com/redirect/81fafdf5-bafc-4cc4-9d0a-5eafe321ca0b?j=eyJ1IjoiMTR3ZXltIn0.es21ury5bTaua_8QEAGlCd26kRl0kQvfWi71bnjFHDk
Thanks, Steve, for the compliments, and I appreciate your impassioned insight.
I wish you well on your "Company" audition! I only learned about Stritch's "Ladies Who Lunch" about a decade ago, just shortly before I felt I "had to" do it in karaoke! I guess I was as knocked out by it as everyone else was in '70! Hers was such a bold, all-but-punk performance that was in the face of all the "pretty voices" dotting B-way at the time!
I will tell you that--way too late--I'm discovering more of a love for stage-performing...I've done a handful of small things over the decades, but I'm wishing now I'd-a tried to do more...especially in the stage-musical arena! So, keep us posted on your prep and audition! I hope you'll be writing about that process, too!
I usually keep the worlds separated but you teed it up and I hate golf! Company!
Thanks, Steve, for the above links, especially the Sweet reminder!
Fun tune tag! That takes some very entertaining twists.
The opening track is fun, and not one I've heard of.
I'm always excited to hear Sinéad O’Connor, and I think I like the Afro Celt Sound System song, but it will take me bit to get used to it.
The Leonard Bernstein song was surprising, and really good.
Coincidentally, seeing Tad's note, I was just looking up a Mandy Patinkin performance earlier today (and sad that I could only find it on reddit -- it used to be on YouTube): https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/vjsapp/mandy_patinkin_makes_an_unscheduled_appearance_on/?rdt=50098
It is technically a show tune (or, at least, a song written for a show): https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/story-behind-the-song/the-story-behind-the-song/brother-can-you-spare-a-dime/
"The song itself, though, angered some rich and powerful Americans. Pro-business leaders believed the tune was a dangerous attack on the American economic system. They tried to ban it from Broadway ... "
All the selections in the second half are strong. I hadn't heard "Man" before, and that's a fun video. Much to my surprise the opening of the She & Him track made me think of "Beds Are Burning" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E ).
Very nice to include the Matthew Sweet mention at the end.
No lie - the Mandy Patinkin performance of "Brother..." was what I wanted to find!
That's quite the coincidence! It's a great performance.
This was a proper ride. You keep raising the stakes, Brad, and pushing the bar higher and higher.
I love how Tad started with something edgy and unexpected (at least from my perspective), and how you both took turns at finding obscure and very interesting tags.
Can I just say that it is particularly refreshing to read content like this at this time of year. You guys allowed your creativity and your knowledge to flow freely, and you took us everywhere except the village of Commonplace! Thank you both!!
Great minds...........! That's actually my destination (and lifetime dream) this Christmas: I've always wanted to visit Disney's new Village of Commonplace! I especially have my eye on its various "lands": YawnTown, The Island of Indifference, The Gaping Maw of Intolerable Boredom, and The Mysterious Planet of Languor! Dood, I obviously love that phrase...thank you! It gave me a mid-day jolt of creativity!😁👍
Yes, now....your comment! Thank you for the compliments, Andy! I will say I've tried to master folks' orientation seminar! Along with giving 'em the necessary deets, I instruct them to peruse a couple previous TTs to get the flow!
It's working, apparently, and I give a huge thanks to the new guests, Tad chief among them, in setting their creative GPS far from the Island of Indifference, and focusing, instead on heading straight to the World of Riveting Music Writing!
Thanks for your inspiration, Andy, and, as they used to say in radio..."The hits just keep on comin'!" At least, they PLAN to!
🤣🤣YawnTown and The Island of Indifference 😆😆 You are too funny! Glad you enjoyed the phrase!
Yes, you definitely know how to strike the right balance between guidance and freedom. Fundamental when hosting recurring “shows” like this one. Judging by the numbers and the engagement of your readers, it’s clearly working! Keep those hits flowing, my friend!
I'm on it, yo!😉🎼
You were born ready, no question! 💪🏻
Great Tune Tad this week 😁.
Thanks, Tune Pe! 😉🎼
What a powerful, odd, beautiful, and fun ride you both took us on.
I want to specifically thank Tad for sharing the Matthew Sweet info and link. I read the long piece he wrote and it brought me to tears. The honesty and directness, I could feel the sadness and catharsis behind each word.
I love the wild zig-zags of this Tune Tad. Many artists I knew, but not the songs. That Jean Michel-Jarre track to start off...I can see why Tad said, "not as obscure as many people might want it to be." Yeah, I would be one of those people, though I didn't know the song.
I also didn't know the Scritti Politti song, or the Afro Celt Sound System (or maybe I had heard it back when it came out?). And The Look? Didn't know them at all. Their version of "Tonight" was like watching a car crash through my fingers. Maybe so bad it's good? I do have a soft spot for over-the-top cover songs.
And the way you both maneuver around the Bernstein reference was masterful. A true sonic chess match. The Elaine Stritch tune blew my mind. She made it her own.
I'm a huge Neko Case fan, and "Man" is a favorite. Hadn't seen the video before so that was cool. And good tie-in for the She and Him track, Brad! I have found their stuff hit and miss, but Zooey and M. have been doing it so long now, that they've developed an effortless rapport that is lovely to listen to and watch.
Wonderful TT and welcome to the TT family, Tad!
Thanks, Steve, for your detailed comment! Much appreciated! I'm glad you liked the Stritch song. Such an "out-of-the-box" performance! It's hard to imagine what Sondheim was envisioning regarding the song's performance, no matter what he ended up with on the paper!
From the song's Wiki page, and I wish I had found this prior to pub...I'd have added it....but, it's here, now, and quite fascinating:
"In regard to her performance, which one interviewer described as filled with 'rage,' Elaine Stritch responded, 'I don’t think I sang it with rage. First of all, she drank. I should have made you understand that. Anyway, when you drink, you can do anything you want, and it’s not always very attractive. I tried to say to the audience, 'And here’s to the ones who just watch—and they’re not here anymore'.
Stritch’s epic struggle with her big number serves as the climax to the 1970 documentary Original Cast Album: Company by D.A. Pennebaker. "Stritch, Stephen Sondheim, and the orchestra were all exhausted because it was after midnight and the end of a long day of recording.
"After struggling several times to perform the vocals, the recording session was suspended. Stritch returned two days later, after a matinee performance of Company, and successfully recorded the final take for the album."
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Neko Case “Black Listed” is in my top 5 albums of all time. Hauntingly beautiful music and lyrics as good as anything I know of.
Thanks, Mick........she'll be pleased to hear that!
Time for a vodka stinger in honor of Matthew Sweet!
....or two!🍸🥂Most certainly......thanks, Dan!
Some cool tunes this week. Great to meet Tad. You're it!
Thanks, Paul! Yes, Tune Tad came wit da goodz, no doubt! I loved his tuneage!