Female Vocalists

The 100 Greatest Songs of the Rock Era: #82: Leaving on a Jet Plane

By lousiteadmin

 

Lyrics

Peter, Paul & Mary from Album 1700 (1967)

“The first cover song on the list,” Peggy said. “John Denver fans are going to have a bone to pick with you.”

“Actually, this is no more a cover than ‘I Heard it through the Grapevine’ was. John Denver wouldn’t release a commercial version of this song himself for six years. He was essentially an unknown songwriter when Peter, Paul & Mary had a hit with it. As far as his fans having a bone to pick with me, I don’t think his version holds a candle to the PPM version. His vocal is lovely, but Mary Travers’s vocal is transcendent. You’re right there in the room with these two people.”

“I get what you’re saying. He’s singing it out to the crowd, while she’s singing it to her lover.”

“Exactly.”

“John Denver fans are still gonna be pissed with you.”

“I’m ready for their ire.”

“Good to see your convictions are strong. So what exactly is going on in this song, anyway? Is she going on a business trip? Is this a long-distance relationship? Is she joining the Peace Corps?”

“I hadn’t considered the Peace Corps thing, but that makes as much sense as any other scenario. There’s a little too much pain here for a business trip, unless it’s a really long business trip, and I don’t think this is a long-distance relationship. If it were, she wouldn’t be talking about what happens when she comes back.”

Peggy was quiet for a few seconds, during which I conjured other scenarios for this couple’s separation.

“I was never good at long-distance relationships,” she said, which seemed like a bit of a non-sequitur to me.

“Or long-distance friendships,” I said, the words jumping from my mouth before I had a chance to consider them.

“Ouch.”

Now that we were back in touch on a regular basis, I hadn’t planned on bringing up how we’d lost communication or how I felt that Peggy had largely been to blame for this. I’d tried in multiple ways to stay connected to her after Stevie whisked her away, but I never felt as though she was trying as hard, and I finally let it go.

I thought about apologizing for being insensitive. Then I decided against it. Instead, I said, “Good thing one of us came up with an elaborate excuse for getting back in touch, huh?”

She hesitated a couple of seconds before saying, “Yeah, good thing.”

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Jul 17, 2015
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The 100 Greatest Songs of the Rock Era: #83: The Wheel

By lousiteadmin

Lyrics

Rosanne Cash from The Wheel (1993)

 

“Wow, a song for grownups,” Peggy said.

“I think there have been quite a few songs on this list that grownups can relate to.”

“Yes, but I think this is the first that only grownups can relate to.”

“I’m not convinced of that. I would have understood at least a chunk of this message when I was a teenager.”

Peggy laughed. “Yes, you were always very mature about relationships. To a fault, in my opinion.”

The sentiment threw me back a bit. I felt a little as though Peggy were attacking me, and my immediate response – as if to prove that I wasn’t ruled by maturity – was to think that Peggy was the exact opposite in that regard. She was always ridiculously impetuous about relationships. She’d even married a “bad boy,” though, to her credit, she’d stuck with him a long time at this point. I managed to avoid actually bringing this up, though.

“Kidding,” she said when I didn’t say anything right away.

She wasn’t, but I let it go.

“It isn’t just the message that’s mature in this song,” I said. “It’s the production as well. While this song would completely work on one instrument – and you know that’s one of my qualifiers for being on the list – the production takes it to another level. Those guitar arpeggios, the jittery drumming, the plaintiveness in her voice. There’s experience in that arrangement.”

“So you’re saying a more pop arrangement would have undermined the song?”

I wasn’t saying that, but it was a good point. “I think it would have. The way this song was produced compels you to listen to the lyrics – interestingly more than if the arrangement had been simpler.”

I could almost feel Peggy nodding on the other end. “Something you can only truly appreciate when you’re older.”

“Or if you’re mature to a fault.”

Peggy chuckled, but I could sense some discomfort in the chuckle, which I considered to be a good thing. “That bugged you, huh?”

“What gave you that impression?”

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Jun 30, 2015
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The 100 Greatest Songs of the Rock Era: #89: Wide Open Spaces

By lousiteadmin

Lyrics

Dixie Chicks from Wide Open Spaces (1998)

“This is your first big chorus song,” Peggy said. “That’s surprising, because I always took you to be a big chorus guy.”

I heard what Peggy wasn’t saying. Back when we were close, she’d use musical preferences as a form of psychoanalysis. She strongly believed that people who liked songs with soaring choruses with multi-layered harmonies – songs like “Wide Open Spaces” – were the kinds of people who loved their families and had responsible jobs. People who liked songs that were less immediately “singable” contributed something to the world. I’d never been able to convince her that a person could fall into both of those categories. It’s unlikely I had a better argument for her now.

“We’ve only just gotten into the top ninety,” I said. “I think it’s safe for you to assume there will be more.”

“Glad to see you haven’t changed too much on me. This is a really good song, though. It was the first time I’d ever heard Dixie Chicks. I’d kinda written them off from their name. Who knew back then that Natalie Maines was such a badass.”

“Yeah, it took a few more years before that became obvious. ‘Wide Open Spaces’ made it clear that they were primed for mainstream pop stardom, though.”

“No argument there. She had the plaintive/spunky vocal thing down, the fiddle carries you through the song without latching it to a genre . . . and then there’s that big chorus thing.”

“And you know how much I love those. I’m just that kind of guy.”

Peggy chuckled. “You know the line that gets me in this song every time?”

I answered instantly. “The one about checking the oil.”

“Yeah, that one. How’d you get it right away?”

I knew that Peggy had had a complicated relationship with her late father. They’d always had trouble communicating, and he never seemed to understand what mattered to her. He was the kind of man who would have yelled, “Check the oil” as he was driving away rather than “I love you.”

“Educated guess. I remember an old friend once telling me that you could use musical preferences as a form of psychoanalysis.”

 

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Apr 21, 2015
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The 100 Greatest Songs of the Rock Era: #96: Rolling in the Deep

By lousiteadmin

Lyrics

Adele from 21 (2011)

“So I see your entire list isn’t going to be music made by guys a long time ago,” Peggy said.

“Not entirely, no.”

“It’s nice that you’ve stayed evolved. So what do you think? Is Adele the most important pop artist of the decade?”

“More important than Carly Rae Jepsen? Gee, I don’t know…”

Peggy chuckled. “She’s in the conversation, right?”

“No question. In fact, she’s central to the conversation. Just as 21 needs to be in the conversation for most important album of the decade. There’s so much good stuff on it. Ultimately, I felt that ‘Rolling in the Deep’ edged out songs like ‘Don’t You Remember’ and ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ because of the dynamics. I remember the first time I heard it I thought it was a nice tune with a great vocal – and then she got to the first chorus. I actually got goosebumps. That’s not a daily occurrence for me.”

“You’re just not living right. The thing that struck me was watching her sing this live for the first time. This is one tough song to sing and she looked like she was expending no effort at all. She probably could have gone up another three octaves without breaking a sweat.”

“One can only hope that she keeps her career moving forward, because there have been very few singers who can bring her combination of emotion and technical skill.”

“Let’s just hope she doesn’t need to experience an awful breakup to make music this good.”

“It really was the breakup heard ’round the world, wasn’t it?”

Peggy was quiet for a few seconds. “That’s the same thing you said about my split with Paul.”

I had completely forgotten about that. Paul was the guy Peggy dated for most of her junior year of college. I was never a huge fan, but I kept my opinions to myself. When they broke up that summer, Peggy spoke about nothing else for weeks…and weeks. About two months into this, I threw out the “breakup heard ’round the world” line to indicate that maybe this thing had been talked out. I mean, he really was kind of a jerk. Peggy didn’t speak to me for ten days afterward. It was the longest we ever went without talking until she moved to Austin.

“Sorry to bring up bad memories,” I said.

“Hey, we’re talking about music. Comes with the territory.”

I suddenly felt awkward, which was a feeling I rarely had with Peggy.

“Too bad you can’t sing like Adele, huh? You really could have cashed in.”

Peggy offered a little laugh. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”

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Mar 10, 2015
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