“I’m Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)”
by The Ben Vaughn Combo
“Under The Table”
by Fiona Apple
6 thoughts on “Volume 11.2.3”
knack – heard of them, couldn’t name off the top of my head anything they did. One section of this song reminds me of another song, unfortunately I can’t figure it out. it stuck in limbo in my mind. Not a bad song
Vaugn – Wasn’t sure what to expect from just the cover image… Never heard of this group. I actually like it. It reminds me of the group “The Modern Lover’s” best known for their performance in the movie There’s Something About Mary.
The Knack – Frustrated
Ah, memories. A pretty tight power pop album with lyrics that can sometimes make a grown (mature? enlightened?) person uncomfortable. The guitar sound and licks are very pleasing along with drumming par excellence.
The Ben Vaughn Combo – I’m Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)
I know the Marshall Crenshaw version of this one best. I’m hearing Roy Orbison doing it as I listen. A nice little shuffle. Singing it, he seems disinterested – very matter-of-fact. Accordion has its place here.
Fiona Apple – Under the Table
Reminds me of the theme song for the Showtime series The Affair (oh, no wonder – she does it).
I like the image of kicking under the table to try to get someone to bite their lip. This song pushes all the right buttons for me. Production perfection. This would have been a rewind-the-tape-and-play-again song when cassettes were king. Certainly not my first taste of Apple, but my new favorite of hers. (Man, that “I would beg to disagree, but begging disagrees with me” sequence towards the end is killer!)
“Frustrated” / Le Knack. About as basic as it gets, a tale of sex-teasing, with power chords and attitude rooted in early Kinks. I only know a few Knack tracks, first time hearing this one.
“I’m Sorry, But so is Brenda Lee” / B. Vaughn Combo. Ben Vaughn, interesting character, talented smart-aleck who had an indie heyday in the mid-80s to early 90s. A college roomie of mine was a big fan, and I saw Vaughn (a South Jersey lad) perform once in a South Street club whose name I have sadly forgotten. A fine songwriter who adhered to Western pop classicism at a time when the trend was louder-faster-more-hyphenated. Terrific l’il tune here, world-weary and resigned and ready to move on, albeit within the comforting embrace of accordion, and brushes on the snare. Notes on Brenda Lee, whose “I’m Sorry” of course inspired this tune: She was 4’9″! And though she is half-forgotten now (except for “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”), I learned recently she was the fourth-biggest-selling musical artist of the 1960s, after The Beatles, Elvis and Ray Charles!
Ben- Really like the lazy, breezy backing music on this especially the melodic hum of the accordian. The voice is in a strange place in this mix; that is, WAY out front and not adorned with too many effects, or reverb. Kinda bare out there. Maybe too bare. It made me wonder about scrapping the vocal and putting a whole new vocal line in. Maybe a lyric about missing one’s favorite cake (I’m sorry, Sara Lee?)
Fiona- I just love Fiona Apple’s weirdness. In every part of this song she is amazingly herself. The lyrics are wild, the performance is beautiful- what a powerful voice. Percussion is creative. This is a killer song.
“Frustrated” by The Knack: fun to hear The Knack again. They have such great frenetic rock/pop sensibilities. Ma, ma, ma my Sharona ….oh this is a different song……..still great!
“I’m Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)”by The Ben Vaughn Combo: Never heard of this group. A country vibe. Digging that accordion and the call out of a specific name is kinda quirky… kinda makes it more familiar somehow. Sorry for the rapid fire write-ups this week but so is Brenda Lee.
“Under The Table” by Fiona Apple: Really liked this one. She is so unique and love her voice intonations throughout on this one. Her sort of talk/singing just works too. Kicking anyone under the table is never a good idea.
“Frustrated” by The Knack. Get the Knack! 1979 – such a great power chord pop album… I mean, yeah – that beat. All I hear is My Sharona, but it’s good in that B-Side attitude. Frustrated takes its just-barely-over-four-minute run time and crams all sorts of fun into it. Such a great album.
“I’m Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)” by The Ben Vaughn Combo – Likewise, have not heard of the Ben Vaughn Combo until now. Combo reminds me the name of any given polka band… I initially had trouble pegging which decade this was released in because it’s so, different. The arrangement of this song is consistent, and the bass notes at the very beginning of the song are a nice touch.
“Under The Table” by Fiona Apple. I had no clue that she released new music last year! After listening to this track, I added Fetch the Bolt Cutters to my “listen to soon,” pile I adore her quirkiness here. Her strengths really shine, and the double tracking adds another layer of complexity/fun to the track. My only real compliant is that Under The Table begs to be a couple minutes longer.
knack – heard of them, couldn’t name off the top of my head anything they did. One section of this song reminds me of another song, unfortunately I can’t figure it out. it stuck in limbo in my mind. Not a bad song
Vaugn – Wasn’t sure what to expect from just the cover image… Never heard of this group. I actually like it. It reminds me of the group “The Modern Lover’s” best known for their performance in the movie There’s Something About Mary.
Apple – I love Fiona Apple.
The Knack – Frustrated
Ah, memories. A pretty tight power pop album with lyrics that can sometimes make a grown (mature? enlightened?) person uncomfortable. The guitar sound and licks are very pleasing along with drumming par excellence.
The Ben Vaughn Combo – I’m Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)
I know the Marshall Crenshaw version of this one best. I’m hearing Roy Orbison doing it as I listen. A nice little shuffle. Singing it, he seems disinterested – very matter-of-fact. Accordion has its place here.
Fiona Apple – Under the Table
Reminds me of the theme song for the Showtime series The Affair (oh, no wonder – she does it).
I like the image of kicking under the table to try to get someone to bite their lip. This song pushes all the right buttons for me. Production perfection. This would have been a rewind-the-tape-and-play-again song when cassettes were king. Certainly not my first taste of Apple, but my new favorite of hers. (Man, that “I would beg to disagree, but begging disagrees with me” sequence towards the end is killer!)
“Frustrated” / Le Knack. About as basic as it gets, a tale of sex-teasing, with power chords and attitude rooted in early Kinks. I only know a few Knack tracks, first time hearing this one.
“I’m Sorry, But so is Brenda Lee” / B. Vaughn Combo. Ben Vaughn, interesting character, talented smart-aleck who had an indie heyday in the mid-80s to early 90s. A college roomie of mine was a big fan, and I saw Vaughn (a South Jersey lad) perform once in a South Street club whose name I have sadly forgotten. A fine songwriter who adhered to Western pop classicism at a time when the trend was louder-faster-more-hyphenated. Terrific l’il tune here, world-weary and resigned and ready to move on, albeit within the comforting embrace of accordion, and brushes on the snare. Notes on Brenda Lee, whose “I’m Sorry” of course inspired this tune: She was 4’9″! And though she is half-forgotten now (except for “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”), I learned recently she was the fourth-biggest-selling musical artist of the 1960s, after The Beatles, Elvis and Ray Charles!
Ben- Really like the lazy, breezy backing music on this especially the melodic hum of the accordian. The voice is in a strange place in this mix; that is, WAY out front and not adorned with too many effects, or reverb. Kinda bare out there. Maybe too bare. It made me wonder about scrapping the vocal and putting a whole new vocal line in. Maybe a lyric about missing one’s favorite cake (I’m sorry, Sara Lee?)
Fiona- I just love Fiona Apple’s weirdness. In every part of this song she is amazingly herself. The lyrics are wild, the performance is beautiful- what a powerful voice. Percussion is creative. This is a killer song.
“Frustrated” by The Knack: fun to hear The Knack again. They have such great frenetic rock/pop sensibilities. Ma, ma, ma my Sharona ….oh this is a different song……..still great!
“I’m Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)”by The Ben Vaughn Combo: Never heard of this group. A country vibe. Digging that accordion and the call out of a specific name is kinda quirky… kinda makes it more familiar somehow. Sorry for the rapid fire write-ups this week but so is Brenda Lee.
“Under The Table” by Fiona Apple: Really liked this one. She is so unique and love her voice intonations throughout on this one. Her sort of talk/singing just works too. Kicking anyone under the table is never a good idea.
“Frustrated” by The Knack. Get the Knack! 1979 – such a great power chord pop album… I mean, yeah – that beat. All I hear is My Sharona, but it’s good in that B-Side attitude. Frustrated takes its just-barely-over-four-minute run time and crams all sorts of fun into it. Such a great album.
“I’m Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)” by The Ben Vaughn Combo – Likewise, have not heard of the Ben Vaughn Combo until now. Combo reminds me the name of any given polka band… I initially had trouble pegging which decade this was released in because it’s so, different. The arrangement of this song is consistent, and the bass notes at the very beginning of the song are a nice touch.
“Under The Table” by Fiona Apple. I had no clue that she released new music last year! After listening to this track, I added Fetch the Bolt Cutters to my “listen to soon,” pile I adore her quirkiness here. Her strengths really shine, and the double tracking adds another layer of complexity/fun to the track. My only real compliant is that Under The Table begs to be a couple minutes longer.