A Humble Music Blog - LIVENERGI

Wish that I could stay forever this young Not afraid to close my eyes Life's a game made for everyone And love is a prize... Lines from one of Avicii's most famous songs, "Wake Me Up".  Tim Bergling, better known by his stage name Avicii passed away yesterday. Though the cause of his death is still unknown, there are speculations that it could be because of the acute pancreatitis he was suffering from since he was 21, which, according to popular opinion, was caused by his excessive drinking. Avicii, who was 28 years old he was when he died, joins the unenviable group of hugely talented artists who died way too young. He produced a bunch of highly acclaimed tracks, broke into mainstream, and became a worldwide sensation, all this by the time he was 22.  In his own admission, Avicii was heavily burdened by this sudden fame. In an interview to The Hollywood Reporter in 2016, shortly before his retirement from the live circuit, he mentioned ho...

Eye Of The Tiger, Lose Yourself and Stayin' Alive. These are some amazing songs used in movies for iconic scenes. And they compliment the scene perfectly well. But in this post, we are not talking about the "appropriate" songs. In fact, we are talking about songs that seem completely out of place in scenes they were chosen for. And that's what makes these scenes such fun to watch. Guardians Of The Galaxy - The Chain by Fleetwood Mac X Men Days Of The Future Past - Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce X Men Apocalypse - Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics The Devil's Rejects - Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd

This is an amazing song by the one hit wonder Martika. This song talks about drug abuse and how people, like Toy Soldiers, blindly follow what others are doing without thinking of the consequences. Watch out for the subtle electric guitar playing in the background, especially the slide following the line "Won't you come out and play with me". Also check out the short but beautiful guitar solo.  Oh! And yes. Eminem sampled this in his song "Like Toy Soldiers". TOY SOLDIERS Martika Step by step Heart to heart Left right left We all fall down like toy soldiers It wasn't my intention to mislead you It never should have been this way What can I say It's true I did extend the invitation I never knew how long you'd stay When you hear temptation call It's your heart that takes, takes a fall Won't you come out and play with me CHORUS: Step by step Heart to heart Left right left We all f...

Whenever we think of Chris De Burgh, the song that invariably comes to mind is Lady In Red. Well, listen to his "Spanish Train". After that, you won't really listen to Lady In Red anymore. This amazing track is called Spanish Train. Incredible music... kettle drums... violins... guitars. Plus there's drama, mystery, intrigue. It's a truly operatic experience. And that ghostly, eerie whistle of the train at the end of the song is bound to give you goose bumps. Don't miss this one — and get set to forget all about that Lady In Red!   SPANISH TRAIN Chris De Burgh There's a Spanish train that runs between Quadalquivir and old Saville, And at dead of night the whistle blows, And people hear she's running still... And then they hush their children back to sleep, Lock the doors, upstairs they creep, For it is said that the souls of the dead Fill that train ten thousand deep!! Well a railwayman lay dying wi...

Dona Dona by Joan Baez. For those who haven't heard it, it's truly is a collector's item! Savour this masterpiece by a singer who continues to dominate the folk and country music scene even today. DONA DONA On a wagon bound for market There's a calf with a mournful eye. High above him there's a swallow Winging swiftly through the sky. How the winds are laughing They laugh with all their might Laugh and laugh the whole day through And half the summer's night. Dona dona dona dona Dona dona dona don Dona dona dona dona Dona dona dona don "Stop complaining," said the farmer, "Who told you a calf to be Why don't you have wings to fly away Like the swallow so proud and free?" How the winds are laughing They laugh with all their might Laugh and laugh the whole day through And half the summer's night. Dona dona dona dona Dona dona dona don Dona dona dona dona Dona dona dona ...

As you may or may not know, Alan Parsons of Alan Parsons Project wasn't a musician in the true sense of the word. He was primarily a Sound Engineer and worked on most of Pink Floyd's albums. His influence would show up somewhere or the other. After all, a significant portion of the "Floyd Flavour" (barring the guitars, of course) was created in the studio, during production and post-production. However, that didn't quite happen...Floyd had their own distinct sound, as did the Alan Parsons Project. Now here's a Pink Floyd track that one could, perhaps, point to as having a slight yet discernible Alan Parsons touch. It's a lesser known song called Julia Dream from the album Relics. It is a lovely song...very soothing melody...nice blending of acoustic guitars with the keyboards and other instruments. Here are the lyrics...and you will be excused if you can't figure out what they mean. It sounds like the ramblings of some Lunatic from the...

I'm sure many of you heard this song in it's various forms. The disco version, the opera version etc. But this is the original, the best version of them all (like most originals are). The song is known most for the amazingly beautiful Sax playing of Raphael Ravenscroft. That said, the guitar solo by Hugh Burns and the lovely flute (intro and solo) are deeply haunting too. Check it out, I'm sure you will love it. BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty Windin' your way down on Baker Street Light in your head and dead on your feet Well another crazy day You'll drink the night away And forget about everything This city desert makes you feel so cold. It's got so many people but it's got no soul And it's taking you so long To find out you were wrong When you thought it had everything You used to think that it was so easy You used to say that it was so easy But you're tryin' You're tryin' now Another year and...

Let’s talk about a very interesting subject, sampling in music. If done well, it can take your song to a whole new level. When we talk about sampling, Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music” (sampled Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”), Kanye West and Jamie Foxx’s “Gold Digger” (sampled Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman”) and Eminem’s “Stan” (sampling of Dido’s “Thank You”) are some songs that come to mind. But let’s look at some unexpected, yet refreshing examples of sampling. Bone Thugs N Harmony – Wind Blow sampled Fleetwood Mac – The Chain This song features some amazing bass and guitar work. The chorus, as expected from all Fleetwood Mac songs, is filled with excellent harmonies. Bone Thugs N Harmony sampled the chorus and the brilliant bass line of John McVie. They also added an awesome guitar solo in the outro. Check it out. The Rhapsody feat Warren G – Prince Igor sampled Sissel – Prince Igor (Originally by Alexander Borodin) This song take...

Sting's  real name is  Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner . So how did he land up with a name like " Sting "? Well, during the early part of his musical career, he was the bassist for a jazz band called The Phoenix Jazzmen . One of his favourite outfits on stage was a black and yellow sweater with horizontal stripes on it. The other band members thought it made him look like a bee. So the band's frontman, Gordon Solomon , started calling him Sting , and would introduce him on stage as "Sting"... and the name stuck.

Rick Ruben Johnny Cash Nine Inch Nails

Picture this... The year is 1971. The place --- Ascot in England. Early in the morning, a legendary musician sits down at a white grand piano in his bedroom, and pens the lyrics of a new song --- at one go… effortlessly. He then proceeds to compose the melody and completes it in a single sitting. His wife (Yoko) later said that the song was already inside him, just waiting to come out. The legend referred to is the late John Lennon, and the song is, of course, Imagine, arguably the best song ever written by him --- a point personally acknowledged by Lennon himself. However, he never intended it to become an anthem. To him, it was a simple song --- 21 lines written in simple everyday English, expressing a simple idea: that we are one country… one world… one people. The divisions within us are caused by narrow concepts like money, politics and religion. In his imagination, Lennon even had a name for this country — he called it Nutopia. His Dakota residence...

Satchmo. Strange nickname, huh? The origin of this moniker is rather interesting. Like all trumpet players, the legendary Louis Armstrong had developed a large mouth with loose sagging lips. So some of his close buddies used to call him Satchmo --- short for "Satchel Mouth"! Remember that lovely Louis Armstrong song: Hello Dolly? Here's some interesting trivia related to the song. When it was released in 1964, The Beatles had been hogging the No. 1 position on the pop charts for 14 consecutive weeks. Hello Dolly knocked The Beatles off the charts (!!!)... and occupied the No. 1 slot. The song also set another record. At 63, Armstrong became the oldest artiste to occupy the No. 1 spot on the pop charts.

In an earlier post on my personal musical moments, I mentioned the live recording of Belafonte at Carnegie Hall. This triggered a huge response from many Belafonte fans who mentioned that reading the post gave them a chance to walk down Memory Lane after years. Let me share some of my special memories of this wonderful album. The last song of the concert, is Mathilda with which Belafonte brings the curtain (and the house) down. There's one bit, the part where the audience sing-along, doesn't sync with the orchestra...so Belafonte tells the orchestra not to play.  It's hard to pick favourites on this album. Every song is rendered brilliantly. In particular, I love the opening... the low, steady rhythm of the kettle drums... Belafonte comes onstage setting off a ripple of applause... and goes straight in Darling Cora. I also love the Carnegie Hall versions of Mama Look A Boo Boo, Hava Nagilah and Cu Cu Ru Cu Cu Paloma. Another aspect that I marvel a...

Ever so often, the opening notes of a song become its identity. For instance, the opening of Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple). You hear the Da-Da-Da Da-Da-Da-Da Da-Da-Da Da-Da...and you immediately know what the song is. In fact, it couldn't be any other song. Here are some more songs with definitive openers: ::Black Magic Woman (Santana) Santana's scintillating guitar intro backed by the pulsating percussion and bass guitar sets the tone for this brilliant track. ::Locomotive Breath (Jethro Tull) A distinctive yet deceptive beginning... the laid-back piano intro followed by a bluesy guitar piece gives no indication that the track is about to explode into a rocking song with driving drum beats. ::Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond) The organ melody is what makes a difference here, more so because Neil Diamond's songs are predominantly guitar-based. ::Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen) A lively keyboard-based intro with a ...

Every Pink Floyd fan knows about the acrimonious parting of ways between Roger Waters and David Gilmour... but many don't know the story of this not-so-pleasant meeting... two decades later. The event: Live 8. The facilitator: Bob Geldof. The challenge: Getting Gilmour and Waters together again – even for a one-off appearance. For Pink Floyd fans all over the world, this was a historic event in the making. And here’s how it happened… finally. As was to be expected, Gilmour wasn’t too keen to get together with Waters. In 1993, they had parted ways with a lot of rancour and unpleasantness. And to be fair, it was Waters who had walked out of the band. Also, since Waters was the dominating, overbearing one, it was natural for the relatively more passive Gilmour to avoid any interface with him. Nevertheless, the ever-persuasive Geldof managed to convince the two artistes to meet in a London hotel room. Gilmour remembers reaching after Waters had arrived – he reca...