Stu News and Photos

Put your headphones on - this is a bootleg recording of the premier performance of "Freehold," a song Springsteen wrote about his hometown -- funny, poignant, candid...

Another great protest song that has all but faded into the background of history:

One of my YouTube videos now has over 414,000 views.

Got your attention? Good. Here's the whole story:

There's a musician/composer named Darren Solomon. He's based in Los Angeles, and has had a pretty diverse career, from work as a bass player for Ray Charles to crafting the Clio-award-winning music for the M&Ms commercial featuring Megan Mullally. He's also willing to experiment now and again. One of his experiments involved taking advantage of the fact that you can play more than one YouTube video at a time (if you didn't realize this, pick a YouTube video, play it, then open a new window and play another YouTube video - they'll overlap without a complaint).

Solomon sent out a call, asking for submissions of YouTube videos, where the audio would be in the key of Bb, and where the tempo would be A piacere - that is, no specific tempo, the notes should be played as the performer sees fit. Solomon's idea was that he would take a variety of the submissions and put them all on one page, so that when you loaded the page, you could play any of the YouTube videos to create your own musical texture. This became http://www.inbflat.net/

I submitted a video, a solo cello voice wandering gently. Miraculously, that video was picked for inclusion on the In Bb page. If you go to the page, my video is in the bottom row, second from the left. Four hundred thousand views later, and it's still getting mileage. In fact, earlier this year, right around my birthday, our local Fox affiliate ran a segment featuring Mr. Solomon, mentioning his In Bb experiment. Here's that segment:

For all of you who take the initiative and create your own art and your own experiments, for those of you who put yourselves out there, who give voice to thought, who stand up when everyone else sits down, I salute you.

Are you a fan of Wilco? This lush cover of "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" is *everything* I love about Soul/R&B.

Just got a call from my friend at the NJ chapter of Save The Children - She tells me that the special fundraising event is going swimmingly. Thanks so much to all of you who donated!

What's that? You forgot to send in your donation? Totally understandable, and don't worry, there's still time! Simply print out the letter that appears below, fill out the bottom, write your check, and mail them both to:

Save The Children
112 5th Avenue
Hawthorne, NJ 07506

- Thank you so very kindly, you're the best!!

Matching Gift Challenge

Ellen Degeneres did a send-up of the iPhone commercials - For some reason, Ellen ended up apologizing, though I can't quite grasp the reason. Why would Apple not be ok with such a parody? Is the joke too mean-spirited? Or are they just being hyper-vigilant in their copyright protection? And, for real, isn't the satire well-crafted here? I'm as big an Apple fan-boy as the next guy, and I think Steve Jobs should get taken out to dinner by the FTC, not investigated, but this time, this Ellen thing, I just don't see how Apple made the right move. Wouldn't they have been far better off contacting her, praising her parody, and then begging to let them provide her with props for a new sketch? Maybe a follow-up to the iPhone "My finger's are much thicker" joke, featuring an iPad - The Thicker Finger Picker-Upper.

This is the full version of "Just A Dream," of which a thirty second edit can be heard in the new Schwinn Bicycle advertisement:

Kathleen York was nominated for an Academy Award for writing/singing this song. Great song, lovely, vocal performance. And yet I think that I am more moved by her portrayal of Congresswoman Wyatt on "The West Wing."

Jake Holmes wrote and recored this song, which he performed at various clubs. One evening, Jimmy Page heard this song. He then went into the studio with the rest of Led Zeppelin and taught them the song, though he treated it as his own. Give this a listen and see if you don't think Mr. Page owes Mr. Holmes a public apology.

*UPDATE* Below this video is my version of this story, extended to provide a more complete picture.



And for those who care, here's a more detailed account, as I know it:

Jake Holmes wrote the song in late 1966 or early '67. He recorded it and released it in '67, for his first album, ""The Above Ground Sound" of Jake Holmes." The quality of that album, and the quality of Holmes' public performances led to more prestigious gigs, including sets at The Village Theatre in New York. Fate took a turn at the tiller one night; on August 25, 1967, guitarist Chris Dreja, vocalist Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, and bassist Jimmy Page walked into The Village Theatre that night. They were the remaining lineup of The Yardbirds, an historical group of import and renown. And who is on stage but Jake Holmes. Mr. Page paid particular attention to Holmes' rendition of "Dazed And Confused," and decided that he could make it better, turn it into something far more powerful.

So back on the bus, as the band was riding to their next show, Page talked to the band, saying he wanted to perform it as soon as possible. Later on, many performances in many places, Page stretched out his musical wings and constructed a damned-near epic sonic landscape. "Dazed And Confused" became an audience favorite, as young men and women were captivated with Page's work on the guitar (which included one of his first public demonstrations of playing chords on the guitar with an orchestral bow).

Eventually, the band started to develop disparate visions, and they broke, leaving Page to try to keep the name "The Yardbirds" alive. He put together the landmark quartet of Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham, and started out on the road as "The Yardbirds," until Chris Dreja convinced Jimmy Page (with the aid of a cease-and-disist) to stop using the name. Remembering a snarky remark made by The Who drummer Keith Moon, Jimmy Page suggested that they rename the band "Led Zeppelin." The name stuck and they moved forward into history.

Of course, history is made in the studio, so Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham, in the fall of 1968, sauntered into Olympic Studios, to lay down track for their first album. While inside, Page pushed hard for Dazed And Confused to be an album track. After just a few weeks, that track and eight more were polished, mastered, and shipped out all over the world. Funny thing was, the song Dazed And Confused was credited solely to Jimmy Page. There was no mention of Jake Holmes. Now, this wasn't an oversight, or even an aberration, as the album also contained two songs stolen directly from the iconic blues legend Willie Dixon, who also received no credit. And Page wasn't just a thief - he convinced the various record company staff to release the album cover/label with a misleading, far shorter time for the song "How Many More Times," in order to appear radio-friendly to rock station jocks. Page knew no bounds.

So I put up this video as an attempt to further the cause of Jake Holmes, who has not gotten an apology from Mr. Page, something that is long, long overdue.

How Many More Times indeed?