Inspiration Information

I first heard 'Strawberry Letter 23' by Shuggie Otis back in May this year, on Jamie Cullum's Radio 2 jazz programme, and it's been haunting me ever since. Soon after that first exposure I read a great piece about Otis on Richard Williams' wonderful music blog The Blue Moment and again made a mental note to explore some of his work. One thing led to another and I never did get around to it.

Last weekend, as I wrapped Christmas presents on a gloriously sunny Sunday morning, the song turned up on Cerys Matthews' 6 Music show. It sounded so good I was forced to down sellotape and listen. It wasn't back-announced, or referenced on the iPlayer tracklisting after broadcast, but I knew I had been revisited by an old friend.

It's a song that reinforces my long-held opinion that 1971 may well have been the greatest year in pop history. The dusting of jingle bells lends the song an unobtrusively festive air, but it's far more than that. Musically it's perfectly executed, as though Emitt Rhodes and the Isley Brothers had double-booked studio time and thought, what the heck, let's make a record.

The first 2 minutes 20 seconds may sound like unremarkable, if high-quality, singer-songwriter fare, but appearances are deceptive, as the ensuing maelstrom of phased harmonies and guitar picking proves. If there's a more intoxicating second half to a song I'd like to hear it.

Thanks to a friend with impeccable taste, I now have a borrowed reissue of Inspiration Information, from 1974, with appended extras (including 'Strawberry Letter 23') to wrestle with over the Christmas break.

Result.

What if...

John at 73 (by Paul Myers)

While the critics are waxing poetic
'Bout his album with T Bone Burnett
John is racking his mind for a memory
That he swore he could never forget
Of a time on the banks of the Mersey
When the world hadn’t heard of him yet
When he practically did this for free
This is John turning 73

On the red eye with Yoko to London
He looks up and says “That’s fucking great!”
As he reads the front page of The Guardian,
Seems they’ve stirred up another debate
Some Conservative MP wants to shut down
Their new gallery show at the Tate
But the Queen even said, “Let it be”

This is John turning 73

Just for kicks he starts trolling on Twitter
As the pseudonym “@BedInForTweets”
And he fucks with the Westboro Baptists
And deflates the prevailing elites.
He composes a comeback so nasty
That he posts and then quickly deletes.
Then he turns and stares down the sea.
This is John turning 73

In the studio, Sean and Mark Ronson
Run a song with their guest David Byrne
Until John hits the talk back to greet them
And says “Lads, here’s a new one to learn”
So they listen to roughs in Garageband
As they wait for Questlove to return
And he nurses his chamomile tea
This is John turning 73

Mirage

Spotted yesterday in Ikea Milton Keynes. Their room dressers have taste.

London Conversation

Simultaneously inspiring and exhausting, it was well worth braving the gale force winds (actually, London didn't fare too badly, though the rail shutdown at 11pm meant we made it home by the skin of our teeth) to attend Day 2 of The Rest Is Noise at the Southbank Centre. A little like convention day at Beatleweek, there was barely time to eat or catch our breath, as competing allegiances made planning our day a difficult task (a 'good' downside, if there was one, to a very packed schedule).

For a change, our usual tendencies were set aside, and a conversation with Gail Zappa in the QEH won out over a Beatles-centric panel discussion on the 6th floor. A strident and formidable presence, we learned much about Gail's London-based past pre-Frank, how she came to arrive in LA via New York and her battles with sycophant fans of her late husband. The closing Q&A prompted Gail to recommend Hot Rats as a primer for Zappa pre-schoolers. We took note.

Childhood / 1