Jayne ,'Ariel'
There's a lady plays her fav'rite records/On the jukebox ev'ry day/All day long she plays the same old songs/And she believes the things that they say/She sings along with all the saddest songs/And she believes the stories are real/She lets the music dictate the way that she feels.
My question is this: Do performers have any type of an obligation to play older material or hits? Should they, if it bores them but makes the fans happy? I know some performers basically do greatest hits shows, whereas other bands play newer music almost exclusively. What's the right balance?
Dylan deals with this by radically changing the song's arrangement - trying to make it new, and find different angles on it.
Dylan deals with this by radically changing the song's arrangement - trying to make it new, and find different angles on it.
I've heard of artists (Connie Francis may be one) who do a medley of the old hits, to satisfy the fans who came for that reason, but emphasize the newer songs.
Dylan deals with this by radically changing the song's arrangement - trying to make it new, and find different angles on it.
Joe Jackson's live album has, I believe, 4 versions of Is She Really Going Out With Him.
Dylan deals with this by radically changing the song's arrangement - trying to make it new, and find different angles on it.
Yo La Tengo has done this many times as well.
One of my CD players died last night. Before I buy a new one, I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with the 'enhanced' CD formats like SACD or DVD-A? I grew up on vinyl, and I have this persistent delusion that CDs, for all of their advantages, lack something of the emotional edge of good old records. I'm wondering if more digits would help, or at least prove that I'm a nut so I can get over my irrational Luddism.
One tour, Elvis Costello had a huge wheel onstage with all his songs on it, and audience members got to spin it and whatever it landed on, they played.
What happened if the wheel kept landing on the same song?
They re-spun.
The Wheel of Fortune tour was amazing. He had an emcee in each city (he only did it in three or four) --it was Tom Waits in LA. David Johansen in NYC. The Bangles girls were go-go dancers at the LA one. Everybody that got called up from the audience to spin, got to sit on stage at a bar, drinking Gatorade during the song. Some of the songs were covers too - when the wheel landed on "Pop Life" by Prince the crowd went nuts.
Not that I got to see it, I just remember the reviews and the deep wellss of bitterness that I wasn't at those shows.
I saw it in Boston and Aimee Mann and Jules Shear were the local guests. GREAT show.