ITINERARY
CLOCKWISEFROMTOPLEFT:GRAHAMROUMIEU;MARKSELIGER;MICHIKONAKAO
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
MAY 01, 2013
21
{ MUS IC }
SourNotes
ATTENTIONALLSOONLYWEDS:
Bevery, verycareful
whenchoosing the tuneyouandyourbetrothedwill
sway toawkwardlyduringyour firstdanceasmanand
wife. Though some first-dance staplesmight sound
like sweet love songs, they’ll doomamarriage faster
thanachorusof “LoveStinks.”Hereare the right—and
wrong—ways topressplayafter you say, “I do.”
WRONG:
“EveryBreathYou
Take,”ThePolice
. “I’ll be
watching you,” is themantraof
a stalker, not a lover. Stingonce
called it a “sinister andugly” song
about surveillance and control.
RIGHT: “InYourEyes,”Peter
Gabriel
. JohnCusackmade
it famouswithhisboom-box
serenade in
SayAnything
. Just
makesure thedisc jockeydoesn’t
mistakenlyplay“Shock theMonkey,”
likeStandidon
SouthPark.
WRONG: “Hallelujah,”Leonard
Cohen
. This
American Idol
favorite
tellsof a tortuous affair gone
kaput: “She tiedyou toakitchen
chair/Shebrokeyour throne/She
cut your hair.” It’s anhomage to
MarquisdeSade, not anode to
marital bliss.
RIGHT: “Hallelujah I LoveHerSo,”
RayCharles
. A soulful amen toa
couple’snew start—andagreat
way toget thedance floor rocking.
WRONG:
“WhenaManLovesa
Woman,”PercySledge
. The lady
is a tramp, but theman is too
love-blind to notice: “If sheplays
him for a fool/He’s the last one
to know.”
RIGHT: “(YouMakeMeFeel
Like)ANaturalWoman,”Aretha
Franklin
. Another ’60sballad
about burning love, but this time
with r-e-s-p-e-c-t.
WRONG: “One,”U2
. This
touchingballad is actuallyanasty
break-up song: “Wehurt each
other/Thenwedo it again.”
RIGHT: “All IWant IsYou,”U2
.
Lovemoves inmysteriousways
inmost of Bono’s lyrics, but this
is themost straightforward love
songhe’swritten.
WRONG: “MyHeartWillGoOn,”
CelineDion
. This
Titanic
tearjerker
is about adead lover. Avoid this
song likean iceberg.
RIGHT: “Let’sStayTogether,”Al
Green
. ThewiseRev. Al teaches
you to loveyour spouse, “Whether
times aregoodor bad/Happyor
sad.”
—THOR CHRISTENSEN
MusicAppreciation
Whathappenswhenyoubring
more than230musical artists from
all over theworld together for 37
events in34venuesacrossNew
YorkCity?
THEREDBULLMUSIC
ACADEMY
, that’swhat. FromApril
28 throughMay31, TheCityThat
Never Sleeps hosts amultilayered
festival and conference. This
year’s event— the 15thannual—
promises tobebetter thanever
with industryprofessionals suchas
LCDSoundsystem’s JamesMurphy,
BrianEno, FlyingLotus andLee
“Scratch” Perry treatingattendees to concerts, talks, audio/video shows,
lectures andmore. Visit
for a full
lineupand toorder tickets.
—J.M.
BrianEno
DynamicDuo
Lightning inabottle.
It
happenedwhenRobertPlant
andAlisonKrausscombined
their talentson2007’s
Raising
Sand
, and thismonth, another
multitalentedpair—
STEVE
MARTIN
and
EDIEBRICKELL
—
follows suitwith thealbum
Love
HasCome forYou
(Rounder, $16).
AmericanWay
chattedwith
thepair about the joint eort,
which features 13
original compositions
basedon traditional
bluegrass thatper-
fectlyblendBrickell’s
voiceandMartin’s
five-string-banjo
accompaniment.
ONHOW ITCAMETOBE:
EDIEBRICKELL:
Wewereat
aparty, and I hadheardSteve’s
recordawhilebackandalways
wanted to tell himhowmuch I
loved it, so I did. He saidhehad
tuneswithout anywords, and I
said, “Iwould love towritea song
withyou.” I didn’t really think
anythingwasgoing to comeof it.
But Steveactually cameoverwith
the song, and “SunsGonnaShine”
cameout of it.
ONTHESONGSANDPICKING
FAVORITES:
EB:
Ohmygosh, I really can’t pick
— thereare toomany. I love the joy
in “WhoYouGonnaTake?”And
then themoodinessof “Fighter.”
And thegorgeousmelodic
phrases in “Kingof Boys.”
STEVEMARTIN:
I feel the same
way as Edie, but I oftengoback
to “WhoYouGonnaTake?” It’s
just so full of joy and abandon.
ONTHEREACTION:
SM:
Myagent said tome—
cautiously—a coupleofmonths
ago, “Steve, I don’t knowhow to
say this toyou, but this is thebest
thingyou’veever done.” [
Laughs
]
—JAMES MAYFIELD
