I’m slow, but I’m steady. I prize the work more than the pay. I’m rough and I’m ready, livin’ the carpenter’s way” – Hal Ketchum from “Carpenter’s Way” Between turns as a master carpenter, Hal Ketchum just happened to make it big as a country-music superstar. While it’s easy to too often compare songsmithing to […]
“I don’t have that many influences on my work. Of course, my brother Bri, but it’s got to come from your own heart…I ‘d never just get by or cheat. That’s my heart out there.” -Dennis Wilson, 1977 Amazon.com Widgets The story of the Beach Boys is a tragedy. It’s full of Shakespearean themes like […]
“The genus names of all the flowers that were feeding off her amazing glow…” Amazon.com Widgets It’s rare to hear such specific botanical lyrics in any song. Rarer still to hear them in a song so elegantly layered, conjuring up visions like a time lapse photo of the flowers it refers to. What is not […]
“I want to reach the point where people hear my name and immediately think of real country music.” -George Strait Amazon.com Widgets So what is “real” country music? Since at least the mid-‘70s, when crossover stars like John Denver and Olivia Newton John made country hip, the argument has raged between traditionalists and progressives. When […]
“We thought the sun would surface, and we prayed for this to change…” Amazon.com Widgets The now defunct Common Children was somewhat of an anomaly in the music world. While technically labeled as “Christian Rock”, you would have a hard time finding the usual trappings of the genre. Through their three albums, CC avoided the […]
“How much better is your love than wine; the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice!” –Song of Solomon 4:10 Amazon.com Widgets Welcome to a special Valentine edition of Overlooked Hooks! In the spirit of all the lovey-dovey hooey that gets associated with February 14th, we’ll look at a song taken almost word […]
“Now I wonder, just into whose dream, did who walk?” -From “Dark Angel” Amazon.com Widgets It was hard to choose one Blue Rodeo song for this blog, because they are about as overlooked as a great band can be in the US. For Canada, it’s a different story, as the band has been a mainstay […]
“You don’t even care where that other missile is headed, do you? “Of course I do. I know exactly where it’s headed. Hackensack, New Jersey.” –Superman and Lex Luthor from Superman, 1978 Amazon.com Widgets FOW are best known for their surprise hit, “Stacy’s Mom” from their third album, 2003’s Welcome Interstate Managers. This album as […]
“Hey Brit…If I said you ripped off our song, would you hold it against me?” -Howard Bellamy Amazon.com Widgets This song wasn’t in my queue of Overlooked Hooks until Britney Spears forced my hand. I heard a sample of her “new” song “Hold it Against Me”, and immediately recognized that she (or more likely her […]
“Drove downtown in the rain, 9:30 on a Tuesday night, just to check out the late night record shop” Welcome to my blog on unheralded music that your ears will love hearing! Look for a new post at 9:30 on Tuesday nights (as often as I can get them out!) about a song that may […]