Leaving on a jet plane…
31 Days of Brannan – Day 16
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Today’s Playlist – Leaving On A Jet Plane
As Jay embarks on his tour this week… I was drawn to this one more than any other from his youtube channel.
I never heard the version that Jay is riffing off of. Not to say that whatever version that Jay is using to put his own spin on it isn’t good. I like this rendition of this classic song – this evocative moment he calls upon. But my memory of this song is long reaching. As I approach the half-centennial mark in my life (yeah, you NEVER think you’ll write those words about yourself – EVER…), I have so many renditions of this song that play right along with Jay’s plaintive and emotive posting on his youtube channel.
Good songwriting never grows old or wears out it’s welcome. This song is definitely in that pantheon of classic tunes. Instantly memorable, even if you’ve never had the benefit of hearing it before.
I could expound upon the memories this song evokes for me, from the time I was a child and watched it being performed my Peter, Paul and Mary (though penned by John Denver back in ’66) on some TV variety show later on in that decade. I could talk about that. I could also remember how this song was one of my family’s traveling songs. Songs we played on an 8-track (yes, you read that right) tape player. Along with a classic Dionne Warwick tape of Valley of the Dolls (still one of my all time classic LPs of the era), Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66, and the Fifth Dimension. This was a very classic era of pop song writing.
I know I could wax poetically about that era of writing. How very little writing of this era even remotely matches the hooks, the arrangements or the prose of that emotionally charged part of our past.
I could write about all of that…and quite a bit more.
But I won’t.
Why?
Simple: Jay does it all so beautifully in this posting. It’s plaintive, it’s emotive, it carries all the history and sentimentality for older guys like me. It’s the simplicity of it that grips the heart and dares you to let go.
So, I’ll just leave it at this. Do what you do so well, Mr. Brannan.
…and I’ll keep on remembering my days long past. Thank you for bringing them back, like faded photos in an album I keep in my head – that can only be opened with my heart.
Brilliant.
The Always, Then & Now Tour…
Please check out his site with links for his upcoming shows. I am definitely a late comer to the Brannan bandwagon whenever he pulls through my city. But now that I am going this year, I am making it a goal never to miss when he swings through town. I hope you take advantage of the opportunity as well. Also be sure to check out his web store at the following link.
- Jay’s Website – jaybrannan.com
Always, Then & Now – A Review
31 Days of Jay Brannan – The ALBUM RELEASE
Days 13 and 14 – hey, it took me a few to put this all together…
Always Then & Now Cover Art
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Today’s Playlist – ALWAYS, THEN & NOW (An Album Review)
Authors Note: There were no liner notes or booklet on offer with the iTunes version of this album. So unfortunately I can’t include credits (like the female vocalist on the final piece “Changed”) or any of the other instrumentalists on the work – as much as I’d like to. Also, I’ve pulled the various video uploads Jay has posted to his YouTube channel where possible. I will update with small snippets of the songs (much like iTunes or Amazon offer) to give you an example of those pieces where there were no videos online to include with this review. Oh yeah, this is a post after a couple of run throughs of the album. They are FIRST impressions.- S.A.
Final Analysis – This release takes a different tract from the seminal effort that was Rob Me Blind (still my personal favorite of his work). While it doesn’t quite reach the emotive impact of RMB, it is no less a worthy entry by Brannan, it is stellar in its own way. Like Brannan’s public persona, it is an amalgam of experiences that blend and turn back upon themselves, a vocal river of emotions and experiences. What this album does quite brilliantly is that it highlights the best instrument at Brannan’s disposal – his voice. That clear and sweetly lyrical quality that with age only seems to become finer and subtly textured – a mellowing warmth like a lovely cozy blanket or the hug of a dear friend that you haven’t seen in a long while. It’s like the fragrance of home – after a long trip. A vocal embrace that once it has you, you find you just don’t want to let go. A brilliant, brilliant effort and a worthy entry into his ever broadening and varied compositions. 5 Stars (though decidedly different stars than the five I had for RMB).
A full download PDF of the lyrics can be found from Jay’s site, here.
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Track 1 – Always, Then & Now
The first track give us our first glimpse on what we have in store for this album. It’s introspective (as much of Brannan’s work is) but in a way that threads a new tapestry for us to consider.
As if inspired by the recent change in popular opinion, a tidal wave that sees no signs of stopping, albeit slowing here and there – legal stall tactics that never really pan out, this song speaks to marriage equality (I refuse to term it GAY marriage – that puts it one down in my book. It already separates us from the masses). It’s a musical vow of love. It is a promise of a life together, facing whatever storms rage over the horizon. It’s defiant, like the simple statement of how I know I feel with regards to my husband. The trials, tribulations that life throws our way (complicated by the presence of children and grandchildren – not a complaint in any way) but this song says so much of how I feel about it all. A great opener to what is truly a great effort on Brannan’s part and a very welcome addition to his growing catalog.
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Track 2 – Blue-Haired Lady
I’ve expounded about this tune in another blog. This one is special for me in that I have a deep fondness for songs that relate a story – with a beginning, middle and end. Though this one works a bit in reverse in that we start at the old age and then reflects on a life that was and the irony that she never wanted to die alone but comes to the realization that dying is anything if not a lonely experience. One which we all must face at some point. It’s inevitable, as inconceivable as it must be at times for us. We try to push, we try to set it aside. Thought it never is far away. It’s ever present. It stalks us with each passing year. Each day, each moment. It’s always there, whether we want to discuss it or not. Brannan’s touch on this sentimental piece (that never crosses the line into being maudlin) is as lovely as it is thought provoking.
Track 3 – Elusive Knight
Elusive Knight is a lovely take on the shining Knight of fairy tale lore we all seem to want in our lives. The orchestration is minimal but effective. The lingering piano is dreamlike and subtle, weaving here and there and then supporting the verse with pronounced chords that never take over but give lift to the verse as it snakes its way to the chorus. The guitar work is hypnotic and supports the fairy tale-esque feel to the song. The balance between fantasy and the reality that pulls upon our heartstrings of a love that doesn’t quite measure up.
Track 4 – Take Off
This song is a folkish piece that niggles at your ear, pulling you in lyrically into the piece. The song is infectious, hummable and, as usual, evocative of that get up and go type of feeling – like you just can’t wait to get out there.
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Track 5 – Square One
This one is very infectious. The lyrics are rollicking and meander like the rush of a babbling brook. It bubbles along and the melody switches between punctuating staccato elements (highlighted by the plucking strings in the background) to lyrical lines within the verses that lead into the chorus. It’s about the resetting of one’s life after a breakup or hell, just a time out between two lovers. A cautionary tale of sorts – as if we all need reminding…but if we did, this is a helluva way to do it. Brilliant.
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Track 6 – Burn Into The Son
This piece harkens to the war protest songs of the 60’s – it is provocative in how it uses the lyrical imagery to provoke an emotive response (well, it did in me anyway). To my way of thinking, it is every bit as worthy of those war protest songs of our past. It’s brilliantly crafted and clever in how it extolls the after effects of war and bloodshed, and how as a culture we pass this onto other generations – never seeming to learn from our past mistakes. It’s an indictment of how feeble man is, giving into other things that are less than valuable when compared to compassion, and love to our fellow man. It’s a call to reevaluate what we do and how we find it easier to turn a blind eye to what we’ve done before and the legacy we leave never seems to evolve. Father to son, the aggression of man – a battle cry that by now we should’ve evolved beyond – yet, here we are, caught in the same hellish quagmire of our forefathers. The orchestration/arrangement is simply stated and carried by the pleading and emotive clear tones Brannan brings to the piece.
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Track 7 – No Ship
An a cappella piece that puts Brannan’s voice front and center to deliver the sarcastic and pointed prose. It’s a clever little ditty and a delightful respite from the rest of the work. An intermission of sorts – or an intermezzo.
Track 8 – After All This
“I know I am nothing special, I never been the best. But there are thoughts in my head, and thump in my chest.” In short, this is indicative of Brannan’s POV across many of his works. It’s something he extolls frequently. It’s self-depricating in a way that you shake your head and shrug and say, “Okay, if you think so. I happen to think you’re pretty damned cool, but okay. We’ll just see where you go with this.” This is Brannan at what he does extremely well, the end of a relationship song. The nudge to a past lover, so – after you left me, didja get what you wanted? Something we’ve all no doubt wanted to ask. Even myself. I told one of my exes, so now that it’s over, I want to make a date with you. When we’re seventy and living in a home somewhere or with our family – I want to sit on a porch somewhere and catch up and find out what happened to you. Tell me where you went after me. This song is along that same vein – with bit more bite than I intended in my own life, but I get the sentiment just the same.
Track 9 – My Last Day On Earth
Here is my favorite of the album. It’s Brannan bringing it home (well in my opinion). It has the plaintive string accompanying his soothing guitar work. It’s melodic, it’s evocative and it’s dark. It’s brooding and defiant. It’s everything that Brannan does best. It’s an anthem for life. It’s sweeps through you and shakes you up a bit before retreating and takes a different tract – rattling what you know to be true, questioning and provocative – it’s like a lashing of an iodine laced emotive whip that is immediately followed with harmonics that pecks at you like a murder of crows that is unrelenting only to slither away but never really out of reach. “If you try to sell me another day or two, I wouldn’t buy…” Yeah, it’s that kind of a song. Riveting and the best damned song on the album (to my way of thinking at any rate).
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Track 10 – My Love, My Love
This song got under my skin. It is beautifully crafted and hypnotic, both instrumentally as well as vocally. It’s introspective as it threads into your ear – wending its way into your heart. A lovely little piece.
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Track 11 – Uncle Auntie- Socialite
“…And we don’t need your sex-orcism.” Much like La, La, La of Rob Me Blind, this one is a lot like that piece. It’s all over the map thematically but it works as a patchwork, reflective of how varied our lives can be. It’s in your face in how it says plainly what it needs to. The orchestration/arrangement is solid without overbearing the message of the song. It gives it a french appeal that doesn’t give way to sentimentality (because that would work against the message of the song).
Track 12 – Changed
Melodically this song is like a lullaby for the soul. It’s haunting and lyrical (in ways that I don’t believe Brannan has explored before in his other projects). It’s a somber note to end the album on. But I found I was humming the plaintive melody of the chorus long after I’d stopped listening to it. Probably a testament to how sometimes the simplest statements can be the most lingering.
It’s decidedly a departure from Rob Me Blind. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just a different take. It’s like a dream that you can sort of recall once you wake. It’s fuzzy at the edges, some of the imagery is muted but lingers – you can’t stop thinking about it. In that way, it’s a profound work. It’s bold in its simplicity, it’s audacious in its quietude. I find with just a few listenings – it’s already growing on me – and that’s a very good thing. While I loved the broad and well produced sound of Rob Me Blind, I think that Always, Then & Now will be a perennial favorite of mine. For me, right up there with such story infused classics as Carole King’s Tapestry, though in a quieter, though no less emotive way.
A brilliant effort, Mr. Brannan. I’ll be humming these while I wait in line at Bottom of the Hill in SF. I’ve got two weeks to memorize the songs (and without liner notes, I’ve got my work cut out for me).
The Always, Then & Now Tour…
Please check out his site with links for his upcoming shows. I am definitely a late comer to the Brannan bandwagon whenever he pulls through my city. But now that I am going this year, I am making it a goal never to miss when he swings through town. I hope you take advantage of the opportunity as well. Also be sure to check out his web store at the following link.
- Jay’s Website – jaybrannan.com
It’s All In The Story…
31 Days of Brannan – Day 12
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Today’s Playlist – Jolene
[Dolly Parton Cover]
So storytelling… and songs. I miss those times back in the seventies when storytelling in songs reigned supreme. It was the era of concept LP’s (yeah, we referred to albums that way – Long Playing records, or LPs). The singers and bands back then were always trying to come up with story like premises where all of the songs evoked a story with a solid beginning, middle and epic ending.
They were monumental in scope and people ate them up.
They were all well and good. Concept LPs were a whole lot of fun. Thematically they worked on many levels. But with today’s selection I am thinking more along the lines of a singular piece that tells a definite story.
Like, Angie Baby (which was always one of my favorites because it crossed into that realm of intrigue with a soupçon of horror or otherworldliness.
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Angie Baby is a song that I liked because of this otherworldly element. A psycho Alice in Wonderland sort of thing. Going down the rabbit hole. A Carrie on acid, if you will.
But there were others… Take for instance Vicki Lawrence’s Nights Went Out in Georgia.
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Both of these songs have that mystery, an evocative feeling that permeates the tale they are spinning. They are both cautionary tales, much like my choice by Jay today.
Jolene is one of those golden story songs – cautionary in that it is a plea from someone who is confident that in a showdown of love, the person singing the song would come out the loser. Dolly’s a brilliant song writer – of that there is little doubt. But I find it quite interesting how many times this song of her has been covered by other artists (both male and female alike). It is universal in that a love triangle is one of the most cautionary tales we can spin. Where, unless they all choose to walk away from one another, someone will definitely come out the loser.
I miss this era of songwriting. There are many others that fit this formula that are all memorable for being solid storytelling. I suppose it is my love of this particular type of writing that I am drawn to Brannan’s work. Brannan is also a master tunesmith. His prose is tight and well thought out. Measured like a master craftsman – layering at the right moments, revealing only when absolutely the right moment for the greatest effect.
I suppose one could classify them as folk songs. But they are so much more than that. The songs are humanist in nature. Dark thoughts mingling with the lighter (C’mon, Jay’s not known for flowery, running through pastoral scenes skipping and the wearing of rose colored glasses).
It’s cool. I’m good with it. Drama sells way more than light and airy.
Like one of my fellow opera singers said one time during a rehearsal of Cavalleria Rusticana – one of the most over the top drama operas ever written. He said:
Of course it’s over the top… who’d come to see a happy opera?
The same holds true for Jay’s work. I don’t know if his brand of storytelling would be as poignant or provocative if he sang happy thoughts all the time. It’d probably get old real quick. So yeah, I’ll take the darkly amorous Jay Brannan over his lighter fare doppelgänger any day. It just works for him.
I’m good with that…
The Always, Then & Now Tour…
Please check out his site with links for his upcoming shows. I am definitely a late comer to the Brannan bandwagon whenever he pulls through my city. But now that I am going this year, I am making it a goal never to miss when he swings through town. I hope you take advantage of the opportunity as well. Also be sure to check out his web store at the following link.
- Jay’s Website – jaybrannan.com
For me, it’s all about Denmark…
31 Days of Brannan – Day 11
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Today’s Playlist – Denmark
So I am finally getting around to my absolute favorite Brannan piece. More than any other this one speaks to me. First off, because of the title. Having been to Denmark and falling madly in love with that country, I was over the moon to find a song on Rob Me Blind when it was released that bore it as a title. I’ve got a thing for all things Scandinavian. Even married myself a man of real Viking descent – seriously – straight down the line from Blue Tooth himself (yes, he really existed, folks – he’s not just a piece of technology that we all swear by).
So yeah, when I watch Vikings on History Channel – it’s sort of a religion for me. My entire Fae Wars series stems from the Norse origins of the Fae. So yeah – Denmark. It was the first damned song I played when I bought the album on iTunes.
The romantic leanings in the opening verse grabbed me hard and refused to let go. The imagery was tight and emotive – deftly measured and realized.
Hey there, baby, have you got a light?
I’m not smoking, but I’m afraid I might
Have fallen down a dark carpal tunnel and landed in your kiss
And in the water from your big, brown eyes, I swam away from a quarter life crisis
I was listening to this song when the idea of Angels of Mercy really began to take form. Where Rob Me Blind was where Elliot was firmly rooted – having something that you aren’t sure will remain yours, Denmark was where I realized I could root Marco, my stalwart and true to his word jock boyfriend.
It was important for me to write this series with the premise in mind. I wanted to pose the question –
What if the geeky out gay kid got the number one jock on campus –
what then?
And it was important that Marco’s character was the strong one. The one who never wavers. He is the rock that Elliot will come to realize he must cling to if he wants to keep what Marco has become to him. But being the gay kid on campus who keeps to the shadows isn’t an easy thing to deal with when you’re dating the most prominent guy on campus. True enough, Brannan uses brown eyes in the verse and neither of my boys are but, I attributed it to literary license when it came to my story. The sentiment still rang true.
In fact, I buried elements from Denmark into the prose of my book whenever Marco was near Elliot. My way of keeping him rooted to the song.
You told me horror stories in room 426
Of wooden boys falling for girls made out of matchsticks
I shoulda strapped you to me with padlocks and glue
So I could spend the rest of my life wearing nothing but socks… and you
My boys are very sexual (as all teens are when left to themselves). I know I was all over the fucking map (literally) when I left my virginal days behind me. I was fairly insatiable about it. We were boys – we didn’t have to worry, like our straight counterparts, about pregnancies and the like – so we just had at it whenever the moment came up, so to speak. Marco and Elliot spend a fair amount of time having sex in the book. But I was careful to use it when it propelled the story forward, taking the boys deeper into the revelations of what being gay and pleasing another man meant for each other.
But it is in the chorus where Marco’s character truly comes to the fore. This is where my guy grounds himself. He even paraphrases Brannan’s line back to Elliot (even if he has no idea that Elliot is a fan of Brannan’s work – it just seemed the right thing to do. If I were a gay teen, I probably would be celeb crushing hard on Brannan myself. Hell, the hubby thinks I do now – well, not really but he teases me about it from time to time).
We got a lot of maybes to muddle through
But my emotional rabies are fixed on crashing through to you
Though governments and distance stand between us, well be fine
Cuz I’m gonna tear this world apart, baby, until you’re mine
This song is deeply moving, not only rhythmically – which Brannan expands his musicality greatly in this (and the other pieces on Rob Me Blind) piece. It has a drive that serves as the emotive undercurrent. The rhythm of the piece is what really helps sell the song (here we get Brannan’s acoustic version – which is deeply emotive and alluring all in it’s own right). I really fucking LOVE the shit out of this song.
And here we come to the next verse which, for me, is how Marco sees Elliot. Elliot is the magic of life to him. The boy moves about in his world and Marco can’t help but be spellbound. It happens from the first moment he spies him on campus – but all doesn’t prove to be an easy road to the love of his life. Elliot, being the out gay kid, has been taunted, teased and abused by jocks on campus. It’s just the way things work. Just when Marco thinks he can come to Elliot and profess his love he overhears what Elliot thinks of jocks in general. And more to the point, how Marco himself has become the poster child for everything bad about the jocks who have hurt him in the past – even if Marco has never said or done one malicious thing to him in the past. How could he? He’s been secretly in love with him the whole time.
You’ll be an artist, I’ll be your hands
Well go the farthest from our lives we can
I’ll swim the ocean, whisk you away
Til were in Denmark, you’ll hear me say
Love the last verse of this song. It holds every element that I imbued in my boys. Elliot is the artist, Marco is the hand who guides him. Marco keeps telling Elliot that once they’re free of their high school days, he’s gonna whisk Elliot far away from their small town life.
They just gotta get there first.
So yeah, Denmark. For me, my first novel, and the boys who inhabit it, we are all deeply rooted and grow from the lines of this song. Jay couldn’t have given me a greater gift than that – and it isn’t lost on me that it never was the point for him. He has his own story about the song – and now, I have mine.
Denmark – I fucking love the country, and now I’ve got an anthem – a theme song for the series. Thanks Mr. Brannan, I’ll always be in your debt.
The Always, Then & Now Tour…
Please check out his site with links for his upcoming shows. I am definitely a late comer to the Brannan bandwagon whenever he pulls through my city. But now that I am going this year, I am making it a goal never to miss when he swings through town. I hope you take advantage of the opportunity as well. Also be sure to check out his web store at the following link.
- Jay’s Website – jaybrannan.com
Saying It’s Possible
31 Days of Brannan – Day 10
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Today’s Playlist – Say It’s Possible (Terra Naomi Cover)
So here’s a cover from one of the artists who will be accompanying Jay when he pushes through San Francisco (my home base). I love this song and knew it was a cover so I thought I’d highlight some of Terra’s work here as well (her version of the piece will be at the end of this blog entry). Am looking forward to hearing more from her as an opening act. As a sidebar, I am bringing my granddaughter to the concert (she’s a big Jay-B fan too) and I am really looking forward to Keely hear a strong woman’s voice and perspective in music. So I think this little night out for the both of us will be hella good for the whole celebratory gang I am bringing along (we’re celebrating my b-day that night).
This song is quite an amazing tune – it’s definitely got a hook that grabs and won’t let go. A roller-coaster ride of a song, if you will. Melodically it is hypnotic and has a allure from just a musicality standpoint. Naomi’s edgier touch to the song (see below for comparison) when juxtaposed with Brannan’s more lyrical touch highlight the rainbow of colors that bring out subtleties in the piece. Like a nicely orchestrated symphony, the song has worded nuances that each singer that approaches it can put their emotive spin on it. Perhaps this is the song’s greatest quality. Like a siren song, it’s inviting to sing along, to wallow in the melodic turns of it, to swim in it’s lyrical waters, so to speak.
It’s truly an emotive and lovely piece, rich with pathos and contradictions that we all have to face in life. It’s the push/pull of all those voices (whether live or digitally expressed) that try to tell us what is best for us. When the harshest critic of all is often times ourselves.
This is Naomi’s masterful touch in the piece. The simple and evocative statements pushing us along –
Don’t wait, act now
This amazing offer won’t last long
It’s only a chance to pave the path we’re on
I know there are more exciting things to talk about
And in time we’ll sort it out
And in time we’ll sort it out
It’s the TV commercial pitch to soothe what ails you. Someone else always has the answer, right? Yeah, often, not so much. There’s always layers of moments in our lives that no one often knows anything about – but no matter, their opinion reigns supreme and if you just follow it NOW, don’t wait, time is of the essence, yada, yada, yada.
I love the push back the song brings – using the cyclic melody to rebel against the tide that says it knows what’s best. A masterful stroke of tune-smithing.
Probably my favorite passage is where the singer reveals that even as the voices who know best press in upon them, they have a card to play that no one realizes trumps everything (in bold below):
And the truth is such a funny thing
With all these people
Keep on telling me
They know what’s best
And what to be frightened of
And all the rest are wrong
They know nothing about us
They know nothing about us
Yet the plea for that special someone who grounds you, who holds steadfast while you spin out on your own shit is what you’ve come to count on and how you pray that they won’t fail you when you’re at your most vulnerable. Brilliant, brilliant and emotive stuff.
And though they say it’s possible
To me, I don’t see how it’s probable
I see the course we’re on spinning farther from what I know
I’ll hold on
Tell me that you won’t let go
Tell me that you won’t let go
And yet, the vulnerability lingers – intoning in the background, acknowledging that the self-doubt, the worry, the realization that you actually care about the outcome – cyclically resonating inside each of us – no matter how strong a face we put out to the world. Some small part of us knows how much this world has damaged us – with three little, but definitive words:
I’m not alright
I’m not alright
I’m not alright
Culminating in a defiant moment of resolve and lastly, at least to my way of thinking, hope.
This could be something beautiful
Combine our love into something wonderful
But times are tough I know
And the pull of what we can’t give up takes hold
I can’t wait to see these two performers on July 31st here in San Francisco. Everything points to one beautiful way to ring in a new year for me. Can’t wait.
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The Always, Then & Now Tour…
Please check out his site with links for his upcoming shows. I am definitely a late comer to the Brannan bandwagon whenever he pulls through my city. But now that I am going this year, I am making it a goal never to miss when he swings through town. I hope you take advantage of the opportunity as well. Also be sure to check out his web store at the following link.
- Jay’s Website – jaybrannan.com