Album review: Nilsson Sings Newman

      When deciding on what album to choose for this review, I was torn between various albums of different genres and times. It came down in the end to three albums: Liquid Swords (GZA), Speak No Evil (Wayne Shorter), and Nilsson Sings Newman (Harry Nilsson.) I chose Nilsson Sings Newman because I feel that it is an album that I know was historically looked over by people of the time and still has not found much mass acclaim. Where it lacked in popularity, the album was applauded by critics. Nilsson Sings Newman was asking for trouble by collaborating with Randy Newman. Despite writing beautiful song after beautiful song, Newman never found a large audience. Nilsson should have saw that commercially the album would not do well. Enough about the background into the review.

      The album starts with the split track "Vine Street" which was only released by Newman as a demo. Before Nilsson covered it, under appreciated artist Van Dyke Parks covered a much closer version than Nilsson's. (Check his album Song Cycle out.) The first half has striking piano with a droning shaker. This love song serves as a not so fluid transition into the beginning of the cover. One of the main reasons which makes this album stand out so much is the vocals. Harry Nilsson's cooing harmonies along with Newman's tough piano make for a great bunch of tracks. The next track "Love Story (You and Me)" provides the same brilliance as the last track giving us a beautiful tale of lovers with the constant vocals of Nilsson and the joking lyrics of Newman. 'We'll have a kid, or maybe rent one. He's got to be straight because we don't want no bent one.' Starting with 'Yellow Man' and ending with the next song "Caroline," these tracks lack in the quality of the rest of the album. I do not think that they are bad songs, but I do not find myself coming back to them in further listens. The extremely emotional "Cowboy" is next and the screaming and soft vocals with the constant wind noise that ends with harpsichord makes "Cowboy" stand out. The silly but funny "Beehive State" is forgettable, but interesting track. Next the sweet "I'll Be Home" is a fantastic cover of Newman's song with the beautiful vocals of Nilsson. Despite enjoying many of the covers more than the originals, this is one that I prefer with Newman. The echoing piano on "Living Without You" is iconic in my mind while Nilsson sings about his loneliness. A man who has given up on everything after he was left. He's too sad to do anything about it. On "Dayton Ohio 1903," despite being a good cover, I do not think that Nilsson captured what made the original track so great. It feels less personal than Newman's version, but works well in the album. Lastly, "So Long Dad" is a track that captures the album well in this tune about talking to a dad in a conversation that seems very distant. It has some of the best lyrics of the songs Nilsson chose, and also the best piano playing.

Overall, I think that this album has power with two great musicians that was greatly overlooked.

FAV TRACKS: VINE STREET, LOVE STORY(YOU AND ME), I'LL BE HOME, LIVING WITHOUT YOU, SO LONG DAD

LEAST FAV TRACK: CAROLINE

classic/10

Y'all know this is just my opinion right?

Margaret Macomber: Killer!

Margaret is a woman who is deceitful and rude to her husband. She has many reasons at the end of the book to shoot him and that's why she ends up doing it. For one, she has now seen this emergence of bravery in Francis, which will give him the courage to divorce her. Before he was too afraid to lose her, and she relied on him for money. If she is divorced, he will most likely lawyer up and try to take her for all she is worth. With his wealth, and her disappearing looks, she will be left without her usual riches. Her life will decrease from the stature she is used to. Knowing Margaret with her multiple affairs, she tends to get what she wants, and this will not do for her. She realizes that the buffalo charging at Francis was an opportune time to take the shot. There is a strong possibility she will be receiving money with his death too. These are reasons that Margaret Killed Francis!

6 Six Word Stories

Six shots rang in the night.

The black veil hid her tears.

"You were right! It was loaded..."

His arms lay slashed and dripping.

Her ripped skirt slowed her running.

Misery and suffering creates our creativity.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge

In my opinion, John Proctor is a stooge with many hero qualities to him. He has the whole town for most of the play thinking that he is a strong and fearful man. He cares very deeply for this reputation he has over the people. He has pride (a deadly sin in the faith) for this fact and Arthur Miller reveals that despite that he is a sinner. We know very early in that he has committed adultery against his wife and still has some feelings for Abigail. He made a mistake, but it was the reason that him and his wife got in trouble. His wife didn't die, but she was supposed to. He does make up for many of his actions by becoming a martyr to the town and sticking up for his friends. He doesn't look out for his children at the end either. He knows that if he dies, his wife will die and his three kids will be left alone. The other family most likely doesn't have the money to help these children. He rushed into the decision when he had time to think about it. He did many good things at the end of the play, but his family was affected with his cheating on his wife.

There Goes the Neighborhood

       When two groups of people come together, the result depends on the the type of people and the beliefs and culture of the people. The result can be fatal or friendly. It's difficult to tell whether or not it will be without knowing the details of the types of people.
       If one of the groups of people is more technologically advanced, they might think they are more superior than the other group. This more advanced group also might be able to take advantage of the other group and use them for their own personal gain. This abuse will not help the relationship between the two groups. Another conflict could stem from the beliefs and ideals of the two groups. If they have different beliefs, arguments and fights could break out.
      Some of the positive things that could come from the combination of both of the groups would be the mixture of technology and ideas from each group. Each of them would have different ideas to bring to the table and their joining could revolutionize certain things in our world.
      A situation in our real world that reflects this meeting of two groups is the illegal immigration of Mexican citizens into the United States of America. Some people believe that this immigration is wrong and that the Mexican citizens should stay in the Mexico and the migration is wrong. Others believe that the US is already a melting pot of different cultures and that this is no different despite that it is illegal and that it should be less hard to get into. I believe that the latter is the correct way to go in order to maintain peace.