So Neil Young's birthday was yesterday and I decided to look up some relevant trivia. Turns out he played with none other than Rick James in a band from Canada. They apparently used to do a trick where Neil would do a harmonica solo and then toss it up in the air and Rick James would catch it and do a solo of his own. The fun came to an end when the feds caught up with Rick for dodging service in Vietnam. Quite an odd couple huh?
This got me wondering: what would be the ideal odd couple in music? There have been plenty of choices to pick from. Aerosmith and Run DMC, KRS-One (if you're into rap and you haven't heard of him you should check some of his stuff out) and REM, Jimi Hendrix and Little Richard, Nelly and Tim McGraw, 50 Cent and Chaka Khan, and of course Ludacris and Justin Bieber. If I had my way, I'd like to see Frank Zappa lay down a few tracks with Bob Marley. Zappa's music spanned quite a few genres, but he always liked to rearrange some classics into a reggae format. This is heard on the live album "The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life" when they play the melody with emphasis on the 2 and 4 after the guitar solo on Inca Roads. Also on the finale track of "Joe's Garage," Frank warns the listeners that the band is about to transition to some reggae stylings on Green Rosetta.
Marley's reggae acolytes speak for themselves, but I think where his compatibility with Zappa comes in is with the lyrics. Songs like "Redeption Song" and "Get Up, Stand Up" are political anthems that have probably inspired thousands of politically conscious music fans. Zappa, in the same spirit, wrote one of the most influential political songs of our time. Vaclav Havel, former president of Czechoslovakia credited Zappa's song "Plastic People" with catalyzing the Prague Spring uprisings. With this much political force in one place, it would be impossible for them to not produce an instant classic.
Comment with your favorite or ideal odd couple!
Music mentioned in the post.
Zappa- A good version of Inca Roads- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhhQMdzzVDo
Couldn't find Green Rosetta :( It's on Itunes though and I highly recommend it. Very silly song and a good end to a good album.
Plastic People- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVEqxSlaQ64
Marley- Redemption Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJHgMD1S0bg
Get Up, Stand Up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iXcKKpdx0&feature=relmfu
psst- check out some KRS- One if you're feelin' some hip-hop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FadzGGJiLTg
This got me wondering: what would be the ideal odd couple in music? There have been plenty of choices to pick from. Aerosmith and Run DMC, KRS-One (if you're into rap and you haven't heard of him you should check some of his stuff out) and REM, Jimi Hendrix and Little Richard, Nelly and Tim McGraw, 50 Cent and Chaka Khan, and of course Ludacris and Justin Bieber. If I had my way, I'd like to see Frank Zappa lay down a few tracks with Bob Marley. Zappa's music spanned quite a few genres, but he always liked to rearrange some classics into a reggae format. This is heard on the live album "The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life" when they play the melody with emphasis on the 2 and 4 after the guitar solo on Inca Roads. Also on the finale track of "Joe's Garage," Frank warns the listeners that the band is about to transition to some reggae stylings on Green Rosetta.
Marley's reggae acolytes speak for themselves, but I think where his compatibility with Zappa comes in is with the lyrics. Songs like "Redeption Song" and "Get Up, Stand Up" are political anthems that have probably inspired thousands of politically conscious music fans. Zappa, in the same spirit, wrote one of the most influential political songs of our time. Vaclav Havel, former president of Czechoslovakia credited Zappa's song "Plastic People" with catalyzing the Prague Spring uprisings. With this much political force in one place, it would be impossible for them to not produce an instant classic.
Comment with your favorite or ideal odd couple!
Music mentioned in the post.
Zappa- A good version of Inca Roads- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhhQMdzzVDo
Couldn't find Green Rosetta :( It's on Itunes though and I highly recommend it. Very silly song and a good end to a good album.
Plastic People- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVEqxSlaQ64
Marley- Redemption Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJHgMD1S0bg
Get Up, Stand Up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iXcKKpdx0&feature=relmfu
psst- check out some KRS- One if you're feelin' some hip-hop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FadzGGJiLTg
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