DAY 05: LOUIS PRIMA "THE WILDEST" (1956)

I know what my ears like and it all boils down to three things. 

- Voice: this is something that I can never explain in words. There are singing voices that I like and I don't. And this also depends on the genre of the song. The rest of the factors of "the voice" all rest on what I call the "magic". A couple of my favorite male voices would be Adam Levine, James Maynard of Tool and the dude from The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. You wanna know what makes a voice great? If you think that a singer's voice still sound amazing when you let them sing the contents of a newspaper. 

- Style: this can be anything from a guitar riff to an extra "hey" in the song or a repeat of  the lyrics or a pattern of drum beats. If the song's got a lot a character and charm then it's an instant hit for me.

- Magic. This one right here is a deal breaker. It does not matter if the song is by an artist I like or hate or if the song does not fall to my favorite musical genre. When the magic hits, it's always unexpected and most of the time, cannot be explained. You know what I'm talking about. It's when you hear the song and you feel that you are hypnotized or under some spell. On some occasions we even feel that the song is made for us because the lyrics are so spot on.

I remember the first time I saw my dad's copy of the Stand By Me Soundtrack. I was about 8 years old and there's not that many old songs I know. I only knew the Beatles. You can just imagine the look in my face when I found out that I have a new set of songs to play with.  It was about the voices I heard, the energy, the style and of course the spell that I was in when I listened to the songs.

From then on I have this own category in my head where I file songs under it as a "Stand By Me" kind of songs. This album is like one of those. It reminds me of The Bobbettes but with a male voice. I was happy to hear a female voice in his songs. I later found out that the same girl also collaborated with Frank Sinatra.

Now, this is not the first time that I've heard of Louis Prima. When I saw Will Ferrel's Kicking & Screaming, one of my favorite songs in the movie happened to be of this man. It was Zooma Zooma. Man, I love his voice so much. When I made the connection of the voice in the song and this next album that I have to listen, I knew that I'm going to have some fun. Not only did I listened to the whole album but I also watched The Wildest Documentary for this. Yes, you can cue a brag alert! I like him so much that I did a couple of research here and there. Boy, it was so worth it!

His songs are so contagious too. I can see myself sing any line from Just a Gigolo because it's so damn good. I can switch from a male voice for Louis's part and switch to a female voice for Keely Smith's part as well.

'Cause I ain't got nobody
Oh, and just nobody cares for me
There's nobody cares for me

I'm so sad and lonely
Sad and lonely, sad and lonely
Won't some sweet mama
Come take a chance with me
'Cause I ain't so bad

Never forget this equation: Voice + Style + Magic = Louis Prima

DAY 04: THE LOUVIN BROTHERS "TRAGIC SONGS OF LIFE" (1956)

Day 04 and I'm on my 3rd album. This one is very difficult for me personally because "COUNTRY" is my least favorite genre. Ask me if I have a favorite country song and I can guarantee you that I'll answer back with a blank face.  Add that with the culture and the time gap(this was made in the 50's) then you'll have a recipe for a music that I'll stop after 5 seconds but nevertheless, I have to listen to it since it is a part of the book. With an open mind, I listened to the whole thing.

I want to start off this entry by saying that I believe that there is no bad music. IT'S TRUE!!! You're probably saying NO IT'S NOT right now with your Simon Cowell know-it-all stature but you are wrong because music is all about preference, my friend!

You want proof? FINE! I'll make a believer out of you. I'll give you one perfect example. Remember when you were little and you could not sleep at night and you ask your mom or your dad to sing to you? You probably realized now that your older that your mom's or dad's voice suck but when you were young you thought whoever is singing to you is an angel. 

I also want to say that this is not a bad album. I just don't prefer the style. I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of people back in the day who like it otherwise it won't be a part of this book. I can honestly say that If I were born in the 50's and I live in the country then I'd probably like it.

I can also say that If Lady Antebellum or the Dixie Chicks make a cover of these songs then I'll probably like it as well. Remember when Nirvana sang "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" on MTV Unplugged? Everyone thought it's an original but it's actually a Leadbelly song. It's the same thing when John Meyer sang "In the Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" in Late Night Show with David Letterman. I think the lesson of the day is that Music have versions. We've heard this done a million times by different artists and there is nothing bad about it. For me, a version of another song would mean to say that you are probably catering a "preferable" version to a person who did not like the original. IT MAY OR MAY NOT WORK, I have to say that with a great emphasis. I remember hating Avril Lavigne because she murdered Foo Fighter's Everlong. Her fans like it but I don't. But Hey, I also remember liking a song because Boyce Avenue made a cover of it. I won't say the title but man, I hate the original so much. It's a circle isn't? 

Just like life, music finds a way.

DAY 03: ELVIS PRESLEY "ELVIS PRESLEY" (1956)

For this specific album, I channel my energy from one cartoon character. She's from Hawaii, cute as a button and she's got herself an alien friend. Yes, you are right on the money! It's Lilo! And why the hell not? I don't know anyone in real life and in movies who is passionate about Elvis like her. 

This album is really quick. All songs are less than 3 minutes. I got up this morning, ate my breakfast while playing this album on youtube and by the time that I'm finished, He's done too. I recognized familiar songs right away like The Blue Suede Shoes and of course Tutti Frutti. I was happy with the decision to listen to it first thing in the morning. I felt vibrant afterwards, like I got a shot of sugar in my veins. And you know what's weird, I can't stop thinking of pineapples too. If you ask me, it's the kind of album I'd like to listen to if I'm on a beach and sipping pineapple juice while my hammock sway back and forth like ocean waves. 

I felt a little John Lennon when I heard the song "Trying To Get To You". I love it when I can hear other people from another one's voice, like the way I hear a little Jim Morisson on Jeff Buckley when he sang Mojo Pin. If songs remind us of people, all the more with voices.

Majority of the songs are just too fast for my taste. I prefer Elvis most for his slow melodic songs. I wish I'll Never Let You Go and Blue Moon is more than 3 minutes because it so good. I now understand why women back in his day are crazy for him. The dude sings like a bird that sometimes it feels like he's cooing like one. 

Imagine two birds, one girl and one boy. The female bird is inside a cage, fragile and beautiful and alone. Then all of a sudden, out comes this stray bird from nowhere. It stayed on the window only to sing for the female bird. This to me, is definitely a courtship album.

DAY 02: FRANK SINATRA "IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS" (1955)

Danny Ocean: You shook Sinatra's hand. You should know better.

I know what you are thinking? You probably think that it's such a cliche to use that quote up there but what the hell. I thought that it speak volumes of who Frank Sinatra is. Now, I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about him, In fact I know nothing about the dude! I was born in the 80's, I grew up listening to my father's music, which did not include Sinatra at all and lets face it, there is not enough media to bring back these kind of music in circulation for young people like you and me to rediscover. But that's the beauty of this journey I'm taking. Although it's mapped out by a book, I am in full control. I say hell yes to Fred Durst when he sings "Imma do things my way, It's my way, my way on the highway!" Thinking about what I plan to write about this road trip, I came across two different paths. Do I stick with the details that I can probably also see when I google his name or do I stick with the "feel" of the songs. I prefer the latter.

I can imagine Steven Soderbergh listening to this album when he was writing Ocean's Eleven. I see Nancy Meyer movies when I hear the songs on this album, there goes Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton kissing on the porch in her house in the Hamptons but most of all, I can see Holden Caulfield in his late 20's walking in the street after a night in a pub, he just broke up with his girlfriend and stares at the street lamp and is thankful that the bright light is keeping him warm. It is a "conceptual album" after all. Yes, I do research. While I swear to God that you will not see anything here that Google can't tell you , I think it's best not to leave an important information about it. You don't believe me? Listen to the songs and check the album cover. 

I mentioned on my first entry that I see albums like a collection of fashion pieces and if they don't fit well together then it won't make sense at all. This would a perfect example of that. The songs obviously don't sound the same but the vibe is the same. There's a theme and you can feel it in the songs.

I'm writing and listening to this album right now in the kitchen table and feels like I'm somewhere where it's raining. I feel like I'm in a street walking in cobblestones as the raindrops glide to the arch of my gray umbrella. I am on my way home and is wondering why after a whole day of work, I still have the time to think about a person who I just lost.

It's a hopeful album I'm telling you but a gloomy-i'm-going-to-be-okay kind of album. It's the kind you want to listen to after 6 months have passed by since a bad break up or a loss of some sort, that perfect time where you're not angry about things anymore, your head is clear and accepts the truth and while the longing is there and some of the pain still lingers, your heart snaps right back in focus. 

I want to share a couple of my favorite lines:

"When your lonely heart has learned its lesson

  You'd be hers if only she would call." ( In The Wee Small Hours)

"I'm so lonesome I could cry." (Mood Indigo)

"I can't win, but here I am

More than glad to be unhappy." ( Glad To Be Unhappy)

"But I've forgotten you just like I should." ( I Get Along Without You Very Well)

As I listen to the songs, I caught myself smiling and laughing to some of the words because it resonates so true to the state I'm in right now. I never thought I'd say this but Frank Sinatra is a dude I can relate to. Keep in mind that Frank and I are generations apart. He was in his forties when this album came out and yet here we are.

When you're done reading this, I want you to listen to Deep In A Dream. That's my favorite song in this album. :)

DAY 01: THE LIGHTBULB

You know how Julie Powell changed her life by cooking everything on Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking? Well, mine is sort of like that as well. I think. While I won’t be using my chopping board and use butter to make my life all better like Julie or Julia, I will however take a similar journey but of course without the help of any kitchen utensils.

If Julie or Julia is to french cuisine, “JE” would be to music. See the analogy there? lol. I have the same amount of passion these two ladies have for their food as with my music. Now, I don’t want to sound like I know how to play because I don’t. I don’t have a degree in music either to give you professor like comments about a song or an album. but what I do best is to appreciate. Sometimes in life, it’s best to be a spectator and trust me, this is the place to be if God did not bless you with the talent to give people an eargasm.

I knew back then when I was little that I have this special relationship with music from the time my father handed me my first cassette tape. From then on, I went to discover the music that I like, recorded them when I was in high school when it's played on the radio and If my dad gave me a decent allowance then I’d buy the whole album.(This was back in 98′ so yes, cassette tapes and cd’s.) Through the years I developed my own "palette" or preference however you wanna call it. And it is a desired taste that I continuously like.

I marveled at the album covers, stared at the drawings and illustrations on the cover sleeves and realized early on that musicians are not just singers but painters and poets. I found out that albums are like books that have stories in it. 

One record album is also similar to a collection of fashion pieces and if they don’t go together then it’s not a good! I want you to think of an album you like or a collection on a fashion show or Picasso’s Blue Period and it will make you realize that artists in general, be it: visual arts, music, fashion etc. all do the same ground work. I see one magical spectrum.

But times have changed. Music is marketed very differently now. Cassette tapes and CD's are now considered extinct. We can download on single song in itunes and we forget the collective beauty of an album. I plan to revive the old school.

See, there’s a reason why a rainbow is a spectrum and I think it’s symbolic to “enlightenment” and I want that right now in my life. And so today, May 18,2014, I declare my 1001 journey. I will listen to all of the albums on the book and I will keep a diary of it and keep tabs of my thoughts. Let’s see where this will take me.