I Need A Dollar

I had started a blog awhile back called "Music Without a God" in which the initial intention was to explain life from the perspective of a musician that also happened to be an atheist. After only two posts, I realized I had nothing else to really write concerning the subject. I explained how i became an atheist, I talked about about how most musicians embrace some form of "spirituality"... but I concluded, pretty quickly, that much smarter people have already spoken/wrote extensively on the topic, and what I really want to talk about is music. Ultimately, writing about not believing in something, despite being a passion of mine, as well as being one of the many ways in which I define myself, is boring, potentially pretentious and ultimately not as much fun as writing about the subject that truly is my ultimate passion: music.

Throughout my life I have been many things, but one thing that has always held true is that I am first and foremost a musician.

In this blog, I hope to review other people's music as well as provide some insight into the life of someone who has dedicated their life to what many will refer to as an art form. At the end of each post, sneaking in yet another passion, i will recommend a wine or spirit to enjoy while listening to the music I'm reviewing. Enjoy!

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"I Need a Dollar" - Aloe Blacc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbVHbEGerRA

For the masses:

My generation, referred to as "Generation Y", "the Millennials", "Generation Next" or the "Echo Boomers", has had a unique and complicated place in world history, thus far. For us, a college education is the equivalent of a high school one for the generations that have preceded us, we have watched the growth of the internet, we can all recall the events of September 11th vividly and many of us are off fighting in one of two wars that we watched start on or our television sets. With our current economic climate, most of my generation is still living with our parents, being that, despite our higher level of education, the job market is flooded and housing prices have sky rocketed.

There is a sense of both desperation and hope emanating from those within my age bracket. We embrace humor, we invented the internet meme, we have spent endless hours making each other laugh by posting and watching youtube videos, we have helped make the world smaller, we have helped to make the cocktail reemerge as a staple at bars, reviving the life of American rye whiskey. I doubt our generation will be remembered as one that did nothing... sure we sat on our asses a good amount of our free time, but we managed to do a whole lot with what could have otherwise been unproductive ennui.

There is a great sense of connection with our grandparents... those that lived through both the Great Depression as well as World War II. They say that history repeats itself, and there are times that being a "Millennial"simply feels redundant.

With all of that said, it's no wonder that a song written by a Gen Y'er would be so reminiscent of the depression anthem "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Aloe Blacc's, "I Need a Dollar" is the story I hear so often from my peers. I know I got lucky to have not completed college, yet to have a steady job I love, and to have an apartment shared by only my girlfriend and our cats... not having to wake up every morning to the disappointed faces of our parents, "the Sandwich Generation"... those whom, as soon as we move out, will have the responsibility of taking care of their aging parents.

I have never before heard a song that so aptly describes the plight of my generation, the sense of desperation, the melancholy of simply wanting to have a good time and achieve some level of success shared by the dreamers of my age group, than that expressed in this single song. As the bass player in a Psychedelic-Soul-Rock band, it's no surprise to me that Soul music is making a come back. In the past, Soul music has been able to express both the sense of desperation and, perhaps, idealistic romanticism of the last generation to go through such a rough time, so it's reemergence into popular music is really fitting, and not much of a shock.

A lyric I particularly feel expresses what I have written above from the song:

Your mama may have, bless the child that's got his own
If god has plans for me i hope it ain't written in stone
Because i've been working, working myself down to the bone
And i swear on grandpa's grave I'll be paid when i come home

This is what we're going through. The sense of constant trying, yet getting nowhere. Sure, we most likely haven't had it the worst of any generation... but it's now the year 2011, and life and civilization should have advanced... but it's still just the same old story. The Recession's the new Depression. North Korea's the new Nazi Germany. The war in Iraq's the new Vietnam war. With so much advancement, why is our generation subject to so much repetition of past mistakes? To the generation in charge now... please stop.

Geeking Out:

The song is a simple V, VI, I progression, for the most part, which is rhythmically and harmonically reminiscent of (or arguably identical to) "Last Dance with Mary Jane" by Tom Petty and the much newer hit single, "Dani California" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I'm not going to even attempt to argue that the tune is harmonically original, or even interesting... what makes the song pop, musically, is the instrumentation/arrangement (what an awesome use of horns!), Aloe Blaccs sultry vocals (his phrasing and timbre have a subtlety, honesty and vulnerability expected from the likes of Ol' Blue Eyes himself) but mostly, I would argue the groove. Perhaps I am biased as a bass player, but for me, if a bassist and drummer are holding down a good grove, it almost doesn't matter what the harmonic and over all technical content is. A catchy melody and grooving rhythm section make this otherwise harmonically dull song an instant head-bobber.

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Templeton Rye "Small Batch" from Templeton, Iowa

I had some good old buddy his names is whiskey and wine
And for my good old buddy i spent my last dime
My wine is good to me it helps me pass the time
And my good old buddy whiskey keeps me warmer than the sunshine

- Aloe Blacc

Supposedly Al Capone's Whiskey of choice, a younger entrepreneur decided to revive this old Rye Whiskey formula which was most popular during the Prohibition Era. Other than the fact that Rye sales are sky rocketing, and this old American Whiskey is becoming, once again, a heavy hitter in the spirits world, due in part to a generation obsessed with nostalgia, every sip of this whiskey is not only a taste of history, but a taste of defying a country spitting in the face of it's citizens. "Viva la Revolution d'Whiskey!" Please drink/listen responsibly.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Fruit Cake, Allspice, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Leather, slightly Ester-y.

Palate: Cooked Pear, Big Red Gum (Subtle, not crazily so, unlike Old Potrero Rye), Cloves, Cherry Pie, Spicy Honey. Surprisingly dry, long finish, even more allspice at the end. Chewy.

Overall: It's no wonder Capone called this "the Good Stuff". Much more subtle than many other Ryes, but it still tastes like actual Rye. An all around winner.