Sunday 11 January 2009

Sunday January 11th, 2009 TBPL Rocks!

Becoming a kitchen rock star is about the only thing that can get me through the tedious process of cooking or baking. I’m just not overly fond of it and I’m not very good either. So, I was having a great time over the weekend singing my lungs out, indulging in a little head banging, cooking up a storm. That was until I happened to glance out the window and came eyeball to eyeball with my neighbour braving the bitter cold for the sake of a leisurely Sunday smoke. There was, of course, instantaneous frozen panic and the incredible urge to bang my head on the kitchen floor rather than in thin air, but I decided it was about time for a don’t-give-a-toss attitude, and did some crazy, but liberating, dance moves instead. I have to say, I absolutely admire anybody who refuses to deny their inner rock star self and can sing wholeheartedly at any red traffic light totally un-caring of whoever may be watching them. For me, though, I’ll just have to be satisfied with the whole kitchen rock star bit.

When he was a tad younger, my brother compiled a list of the best ever music for driving. He sent me an updated version recently, which includes any pre-Hotel California Eagles, a variety of U2, Sultans of Swing, More than a Feeling by Boston, some Fleetwood Mac, Elton John’s Crocodile Rock and, surprisingly, Kevin Johnson’s Man of the 20th Century. If you look on the internet, others have also constructed top ten lists, and uncannily, they all seem to be dependent upon the age of the person making the list. A friend of mine has the theory that a person’s favourite music will always be the music they most enjoyed in their early teens. I believe this theory has merit. Although I perceive my music taste these days to be quite eclectic, a lot of my favourite stuff comes from the mid-to-late 70’s.

The Thunder Bay Public Library, like me, also houses a large and eclectic collection of music. Not only this, there are lots of books devoted to the topic as well: books on artists, songs, musical instruments and the history of music. TBPL’s music taste is much akin to Jennifer’s from Love Story who enjoyed music from Bach to the Beatles. Considering that this movie came out in 1970, TBPL is undoubtedly far more hip with a really up-to-date CD collection. So if you’re into a little Beethoven, or maybe some AC/DC, Shania, Great Big Sea, Avril, Greenday, J.J. Cale, or anything else you fancy, chances are we’ve got it.

And don’t forget our Virtual Collection on the library’s homepage. From here you can access the AMG Allmusic webpage and the Naxos Music Library. Allmusic allows you to search for songs, albums or bands; an extremely useful tool if, for example, you’re trying to find out who sang a particular song or which album a song is on. The Naxos Music Library is geared mostly for classical music, while Allmusic covers just about any genre.

Brodie Street also houses a song catalogue which can direct you to books with lyrics or musical notation. This is particularly useful if, like me, you’ll sing a song regardless of whether you know the words or not. For years, a particular line in Manfred Mann’s Blinded by the Light totally eluded me. What I heard was: Ripped off I ka doosher to the rumour in the night, which makes no sense whatsoever, but it worked for me. However, it turns out that the line is actually: Revved up like a deuce another runner in the night. Frankly, this doesn’t make any sense either, so I’m sticking with my version, but if you’re a stickler for these things and you have to get it just right, we may be able to put you onto the lyric-straight-and-narrow.

So, whether you find yourself driving down the highway, bopping around in the kitchen, or just sloughing around on the couch, maybe check out our varied CD selection beforehand: we have something for everyone. Or if the line to that song is totally bugging you, we may also be able to help.

Happy listening!

Rosemary Melville, Library Technician

5 comments:

DMRuxton said...

I really enjoy your column, but have to take you to task on this last one. Manfred Mann covered "Blinded by the light", but it's a Bruce Springsteen song from his first album, "Greetings from Asbury Park". A catalogue search shows that it isn't in the library holdings, but I highly recommend it. If you would like to borrow it to hear the original (and I think highly superior) version, let me know.

Regards,

Duncan Ruxton (email is on file with the library).

Anonymous said...

Hi Duncan

Thanks for your comment. You're absolutely right! Not being a Springsteen fan, I wasn't aware that Manfred Mann's version was a cover. I checked out Springsteen's lyrics and found it interesting that Manfred Mann changed the chorus slightly. Springsteen's version makes a little more sense than Manfred Mann's. I'm going to see if I can download the original version from Limewire, but if I can't I would definitely appreciate listening to your copy. I'll keep you posted.

Cheers
Rosemary

DMRuxton said...

Hi Rosemary:

I'd never looked at the Manfred Mann version of the lyrics, but you're right. Without knowing the original they're pretty confusing. Opinions vary on what "cut loose like a deuce" refers to. The car (as in "Deuce coupe" possibly), or a playing card? Manfred Mann's version is "revved up like a deuce" so they must have been thinking of the car.

Manfred Mann also covered another Springsteen song from that album: Spirit in the night.

Duncan

Anonymous said...

Hi Duncan

I listened to Springsteen's original this morning and I have to admit, I liked it. It's very different to what Manfred Mann did, and you can actually understand the words, which is always a bonus.

I guess the meaning of "cut loose like a deuce" will have to remain one of life's little mysteries.

And I imagine I will be borrowing some of Springsteen's albums from the library now - thank you for putting me onto him. I see from the catalogue that we have a whole bunch of his stuff.

So, thanks again for responding to my column, and for "taking me to task". All the best.

Cheers
Rosemary

DMRuxton said...

Glad you liked it, Rosemary. That album isn't as popular as many of his more "rocky" later ones but I really like it, as well as The wild, the innocent, and the E Street shuffle.

Duncan