It was the worst of times. It was the worst of times.
Aye, it is true that we see through a glass darkly. But sometimes, it is too dark to even see the glass.
That's the theme of this week's 3 Chords & the Truth. No, this isn't the kind of program that tries to fool you into thinking it's sunny all the time.
But this is the kind of program that tries to lift your soul even while we're trying to make you think about some stuff that maybe you'd rather not. Sometimes, thinking can be entertaining, too.
Nevertheless, there will be no pledge-week hard sell after the Big Show. Perhaps there would be if we had a pledge week -- but we don't. You can put your credit card away.SO this week, events have pushed us into thoughtfulness, if not out-and-out solemnity . . . though there's a touch of that, too. As we put this week's show together, it's the 14th anniversary attacks on New York and Washington, and that's plenty of reason to reflect on a lot of things. A few of those things make it into the show, for your reflection and, one hopes, edification.
Also as we wrap up another edition of 3 Chords & the Truth, we've just finished watching the remastered, 25th-anniversary edition of The Civil War on that channel that does have pledge breaks. It seems to me that that's food for plenty of thought, too, in this summer of controversy over Confederate symbolism and monuments. Thus, a Civil War set . . . submitted for your approval.
Lest I start to bog you down right here in the description of the podcast, I'll just stop my touting right here and humbly ask you to set aside a spare 91 minutes and 15 seconds and listen to the thing. I don't think you'll be sorry you did.
And you may even be ecstatic that you did. So listen. Click the player or the link and have at it.
IT'S 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
If you're younger than your Mighty Favog, who apparently is something of a fossil, you probably don't remember when your TV picture being in living color was a pretty big (and expensive) deal.
It was a glorious entertainment development way back when, during the Age of Wonders, when the wonders of technology were spaced out just enough for us to appreciate them all.
Now, it seems, I'm always at least one wonder behind. Because fossil, no doubt.
Too, the wonders don't seem so wonderful anymore. Just kind of "meh" as wonders go. Maybe we just have too many of them too fast today. Maybe I'm just jaded in my old age.
And that, Cap, is kinda, sorta the inspiration for this episode of 3 Chords & the Truth.
THUS, we start the Big Show with seriously wonderful music from the time when color TV was a true wonder. And, looking back on that era, so was the music. Especially our opener this week, Lenny Dee's wondrous 1966 take on Chris Montez's fantastic 1965 take on Petula Clark's 1965 original of "Call Me."
And if it's possible, the program just might get better from there. A little trippy at times, too.
So, that's about all I have to say about that. Just do yourself a huge favor and listen. Preferably on one of those massive 1960's console stereos. Those things were awesome.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
This week's edition of 3 Chords & the Truth is so huge that I don't know where to start touting it.
Nice problem to have, eh?
To preserve some small semblance of mystery about this week's prompt proceedings -- yeah, the Big Show is a few days early this week -- I'll just highlight a couple of cool things and call it good. You'll have to listen to catch the rest . . . duh.
First, your Mighty Favog is proud to announce that we're unveiling the official Donald Trump campaign theme song at the top of this episode of 3 Chords & the Truth. This is a Big Show exclusive of the highest order -- you'll hear the song that will frame The Donald's run for the White House (and from his creditors) right here on the web channel well before it's unveiled by the Trump campaign itself.
Really, it doesn't get much more exciting than this on the Internet, and 3 Chords & the Truth is proud and thrilled to get this scoop to you before everybody else.
Tune in for the big news, and then stay for the rest of the exceptional music on the Internet's most eclectic corner.
Well, that's it for now, so be sure . . . wait!
YOU'RE wanting the other tidbit about this week's Big Show, aren't you?
Allow me to sum it up thusly: You can hear this little bit of heaven now, or you can wait a while, live a good life, love Jesus and die so you can experience it later. And it won't cost you a cent.
It was the turn of a new decade, the dawn of the Space Age 1960s. And in the year of our Lord nineteen-hundred and sixty, Brook Benton released a new LP on Mercury Records with a deceptively simple -- simplistic, if you will -- title. Songs I Love to Sing, though, was a Benton masterpiece.
Somewhere in the way-out stereophonic groovage of this Space Age, bachelor-paddish, mid-century modern pop classic resides the perfect version of Rube Bloom's and Johnny Mercer's musical masterpiece. I can't listen to it enough (and, too, there's the wild early-stereo production of the track to get into), and I'm betting you won't be able to get enough of it, either.
From the production, to the arrangement, to Benton's smooth, lush voice and his masterful and deft phrasing, this version of "Fools Rush In" is . . . simply heavenly. Obviously, this is one place that fools rushed in just ahead of the angels.
A good time was had by all.
SO, THAT'S the short version of this week's Big Show highlight reel. Or demo tape. Whatever.
Whatever you do, just do yourself a favor and listen to the thing.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
In a world of strife and travail, how do these things coexist in one glorious place on the Internet?
The Temptations.
Bram Tchaikovsky.
Devo.
Nick Gilder.
Ray Charles.
B.B. King.
Jefferson Airplane.
Paul McCartney.
Glen Campbell.
Jackie Gleason's orchestra.
Patti Page.
Bent Fabric.
Lou Rawls.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
BEATS the hell out of me. But they do -- on 3 Chords & the Truth.
Why don't you give the Big Show a listen and see how this whole musical peaceful-cooperation thing works in an angry world gone mad?
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
Greetings from Omaha, by God, Nebraska. And welcome to the humble studio home of the Big Show, a little audio adventure we call 3 Chords & the Truth.
I, as always, am your Mighty Favog, and I'm tickled pink that you're able to join me again this week as we tiptoe through musical genres and play the best of it all on our foray into freeform radio on the Internet.
And, as always, we have a great program lined up for you -- one where we get from here to there seamlessly and without regard to musical pigeonholing. It doesn't matter where you are; wherever that might be is a great place for a staycation for your ears . . . and your soul.
This week on 3 Chords & the Truth, we begin the show with a late-1960s classic written by John Denver and memorably performed by Peter, Paul and Mary. Then we really kick things into gear.
WE'RE TALKING great music by Dinah Washington, for one. Rod Stewart 2.0 for another. Isaac Hayes and Santana engaging in a bit of funky synchronicity for a third bit of "Whoa!"
From the fusion of New Wave and ska to cruising with The King to a journey deep into classic jazz and big band, we're covering it all on the Big Show. And it's all as close as the digital device you're using right now.
I could go on and on, but I fear that would just ruin the surprise.
Nine out of 10 people who really love music highly recommend that you block out 90 fun-filled minutes to be entertained -- and edified. The tenth guy is just a grouch.One listen to 3 Chords & the Truth will prove that entertainment and edification are not mutually exclusive.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
There's a moon out tonight, and it's blue.
Once in a blue moon comes out to about -- on average -- once every 2 1/2 years. That's how often you get two full moons in the same month.
In my native south Louisiana, we'd call that lagniappe. A little something extra.
AND IT occurs to me that's how often you'll find something like 3 Chords & the Truth . . . something as wonderfully diverse, broad-ranging, quirky and sometimes surprising as this here little musical venture on the Internet. The goal here is to always give you a little something extra.
Just like a blue moon.
Bom ba ba bom ba bom ba bom bom ba ba bom ba ba bom ba ba dang a dang dang,
Ba ba ding a dong ding . . . blue moon.
And, boy oh boy, are you going to get your blue moon's worth this week on the Big Show.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
Did you hear the big news?
The Big Show is a BIG SMASH! And we're not talking about what happens to your fedora when you accidentally sit on it, either.
No, the kind of "smash" we're talking about when we're talking about 3 Chords & the Truth is the good kind of smash . . . as in "smash hit." As in "smashes down the boundaries of excellence in music programming."
Yes, in that respect, your favorite music podcast is indeed a smash.
THIS WEEK, we'll be doing more of our customary smashing of barriers that dictate what you can and can't do with a music format. And we'll be smashing any notion that you might guess what we'll be doing next -- or playing next on the Big Show.
That's the Big News about 3C&T all wrapped up in a petite promotional package. And the big news is, of course, very good news.
Even more succinctly, let me put it this way: Give the Big Show just 90 minutes of your valuable time, and we'll give you an entire world of music. Sound fair? Good. We'll meet you over at the podcast player.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
The last couple of weeks, the Big Show has run a minute long.
I interpret this as there being just too much spectacular stuff to fit in a mere 90 minutes of 3 Chords & the Truth.
You know that great Billy Eckstine album I was telling you about earlier on the blog? We're leading the show with the best cut. This is called "getting off to a fast start."
And then we don't let up a bit -- a great number, recorded live in 1987, from the late tenor-sax great Stan Getz. And then after that. . . .
WELL, we don't need to lay waste to the mystery of this edition of the Big Show, do we? No, we don't.
Not knowing what's next is half the fun of it all -- am I right?
Anyway, it's another good 'un, and you just might want to make 3 Chords & the Truth appointment listening. This is called "the smart thing to do."
In a wee housekeeping note, you'll notice that we've made just a few format tweaks in honor of this being episode No. 301 of the program. The biggest tweak is this: After more than 7 1/2 years, we're getting a new primary opening theme. Let's just say Gruppo Sportivo's Superman spoke to my radio-guy soul the other day.
THAT'S about it for this week. Just listen . . . and just have fun here in 3C&T land.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
Three hundred.
300.
Thrice five score.
Three hundred episodes of 3 Chords & the Truth . . . and counting.
That's a lot of shows. I've loved doing every one of them -- even when I had a clunky, outdated digital audio workstation (that's computer to you and me) that I fought with all the time. I won't tell you what I called that Windows monstrosity; this show is PG-13 at its bawdiest.
But now I have a souped-up, giganto iMac, and it's all gravy now. Even more fun. And I hope you have as much fun listening as I do playing great -- and highly eclectic -- music for you on the Big Show.
WELL, this week we have another highly eclectic and hugely fun program for you to mark the Big 300th episode. We start out with a "revolutionary" set in honor of Revolution 21, the umbrella under which your humble musical smorgasbord keeps its powder dry. Dry gunpowder is important when you're aiming for a music explosion, don't you see?
Then we have some more smorgasbord, and then some classic soul, and then . . . well, why dispel all mystery about this episode of 3 Chords & the Truth.
Needless to say, it's a good 'un.
Set a spell, take your clothes off . . . NO, THAT'S NOT RIGHT . . . PG-13, REMEMBER? Let me try this again.
SET A SPELL. Take your shoes off. Y'all have fun now, y'hear?
Clothed. Absolutely clothed. Family show here on the Internets. Yeah, that's the ticket.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
We're going to run this edition of 3 Chords & the Truth up the flagpole and see who salutes it.
That's because this edition of the Big Show tackles America's raging debate about the Confederate battle flag. Should it fly? Is it all about hate and subjugation?
What's it all about, Alfie?
As a native Southerner now living happily in the Midwest, your Mighty Favog has some thoughts about all that. They've been expressed over the years on Revolution 21's Blog for the People, and they're going to be put to music on this edition of 3 Chords & the Truth.
I'd like to engage your brain in this, but I'd like more to engage your heart and imagination. I think we succeed -- and succeed in superbly entertaining in the process -- but, as always, you'll be the judge.
THE SOUTH. Race. Heritage. Hate. History. Culture. Music.
It's all packed in to a special edition of the Big Show. As a matter of fact, it's so special that there's a bonus two minutes . . . which I couldn't bear to trim. So there's that.
Sit back, listen, think, feel and enjoy. Those are your marching orders for this week . . . and every week, actually.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
This week on 3 Chords & the Truth: A meditation.
It's sort of along these lines (with apologies to the Alan Parsons Project, 1977):
We break down in the middle and lose our thread,
No one can understand a thing that we do,
When we break down just a little and lose our head,
Who could blame them all if they think that we're through?
Any time it happens we'd get over it,
With a little help from all our friends,
Anybody else could see we're in the pit,
But they walk away and just pretend,
When we break down . . .
We break down in the middle and lose our thread,
No one can understand a thing that we do,
When we break down just a little and lose our head,
Who could blame them all if they think that we're through?
Where are all the friends who used to follow us,
All they ever gave us was phony praise,
People that we've never seen are sure we're nuts,
Is it any wonder we're confused?
When we break down . . .
When we break down. . . .
ON THIS latest edition of the Big Show, we break down the breakdown.
Should be interesting. Be there. Aloha.
This week's edition of the Big Show features a stellar "live" album that wasn't. Recorded "live in concert," that is.
The first-ever pairing of jazz greats Peggy Lee and George Shearing was supposed to be a blockbuster-type thing at the 1959 National Disc Jockey Convention, held Memorial Day weekend in Miami Beach, Fla. A live album was locked into the Capitol Records release schedule, and audio engineers would be there to capture it all on tape -- in glorious stereophonic sound -- for what would become the Beauty and the Beat! LP.
And if you listen to Episode 297 of 3 Chords & the Truth, you will hear a fair chunk of that 1959 Capitol LP on the show. It is glorious. Peggy Lee is brilliant, and Shearing and The Quintet are swinging years ahead of their time, stylistically.
It's an important record . . . and it's a joyous listen.
IT'S ALSO an epic fraud.
On the other hand, that's pretty appropriate for an album purported to have been recorded at a DJ convention epically summarized by the Miami Herald as "Booze, Broads and Bribes." And America would soon learn all about "payola," thanks to a radio confab where the record labels ran amok and the broadcasters ran . . . amoker?
I mean, here you have a live, in-concert recording session at a convention full of bought-off, drunk-ass DJs (and a large contingent of "ladies of the evening" on the labels' dime) in a ballroom at the Americana with a tragically messed-up public-address system. What could go wrong?
WELL, if you listen to the Big Show, you sure as heck will find out. And you'll hear a bunch of great music, too . . . and not just from a legendary jazz pianist and an equally legendary jazz singer.
And you'll also hear about Omaha's connection to the whole mess.
3 Chords & the Truth . . . it's not just a freeform music show. It's an expedition. An adventure. And a blast. Don't forget to check out our organ-flavored rock 'n' roll set in Aisle 1.
I guess that's about all I have to say about that. Except. . . .
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
I thought that this week we could hang out and play some records.
What do you mean that's what we do every week on 3 Chords & the Truth?
Fair point.
Well, what say we hang out and play some more records this week on the Big Show?
ALL RIGHT, that's what we'll do, then. After all, isn't that what freeform radio was all about anyway? I'm sitting here in the studio with some records, some CDs, some . . . whatever . . . and I'm playing 'em for you because I thought you'd like to hear this cool stuff I've come across.
That's 3 Chords & the Truth. It's as simple as that.
So, if you want to hang out and listen to some records, come right in. I got a bunch of 'em.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
It's Friday night here in Omaha, by God, Nebraska. It's windy. And it's rainy.
There's been rumbles of thunder; it's muggy. It's starting to feel like summer.
If there's some particular feel to this week's edition of 3 Chords & the Truth, it seems to me it's a summery feel. It's upbeat. It's smooth. It's . . . summery. At least to me.
Dunno what else to say about it, apart from it's a danged fine listen. As always.
THE BIG SHOW is good music. And fun. And sonically edifying.
I'm not exactly sure what "sonically edifying" means, but I like writing it. Just like a like me a good summer's eve. Just like I like me the Big Show.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
Sometimes, you have a brilliant plan, and you execute it to perfection.
Sometimes, not so much.
This week's edition of 3 Chords & the Truth, your premier musical destination on the Internet, falls into that second category. The funny thing, though, is that in the humble opinion of your Mighty Favog, it didn't turn out half bad.
Sometimes, I guess, just winging it and saying "whatever" can work out just as well as the best-laid plans with the best-case execution.
That works for me. I mean . . . whatever. Right?
WHEN IT comes to putting together yet another stellar edition of the Big Show, the only thing that matters when it comes right down to it is this one simple thing: It can't suck.
Methods of achieving that goal are secondary.
So just listen in yet again and let your ears be your guide. I mean . . . plan or no plan, I haven't steered you wrong yet. Right?
Right???
IT'S 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
You'll never know how much I really loved it. You'll never know how much I really cared. Listen . . . do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?
Closer . . . let me whisper in your ear. Say the words you long to hear -- what the Big Show's paying tribute to.
Listen . . . do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?
CLOSER . . . let me whisper in your ear. Say the words you long to hear -- screw it, I can't tell you.
I've known the secret for a week or two. And nobody knows, not even you.
Listen . . . do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?
Closer . . . let me whisper in your ear. Say the words you long to hear . . . nope. Still not telling you.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
This week's 3 Chords & the Truth is the kind of show that will make you glad that you're alive.
With that said, just dance where you might be -- and push back against the world's darkness harder than it pushes on you. Because we should be glad that we're alive.
ME, I'm just glad you're listening to the Big Show.
So let's dance, shall we? Life's too short to waste on anger, despair, paranoia and finger-pointing . . . and that's just what we see on Facebook.
Eschew that. Listen to this.
It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
