the Nilsson thread
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dudes/dudettes, I just heard this story about Harry Nilsson. in this clip of the song Let The Good Times Roll, when they were recording it, Harry picks up a harmonica they had in the studio, for the first time in his life picking up a harmonica, and goofing off like they always were doing he was going to take a shot at filling the harmonica solo himself with something off the cuff. and this is what he did, starts 1:28 >
not bad. -
Just saw this rapper, Asher Roth, sampled Nilsson's song Gotta Get Up! Good reason to bump this thread I thought!
Good to see Harry still getting some love from the kids. -
A while back our own audi turned me on to a musical cat named Adrian Belew, so I went out and picked up one of his records and was indeed impressed. Impressed mainly by his straight up studio acumen. the guy makes some very cool sounds, and can really play. anyway, just recently realized he took part in the Harry Nilsson tribute record back in 1997 I believe, cutting a cover of Harry's 1971 hit 'Me And My Arrow'. Adrian freaking NAILED this track. I honestly can say I like it better than Harry's. Now outside of Harry being a phenominal singer, in my mind he's an extremely creative writer, thats what I appreciate most about him, so it seems to me a lot of his songs could be done even better in the hands of the right artist. But props to Adrian Belew for a stunning yet true to the original, version of Me And My Arrow. Its like he took everything great about it and enhanced it. Fantastic.
![](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51koOFz3%2BvL.SL500_AA280.jpg[/img] [img]<a href=)https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/215183_6697284994_6696764994_201397_460_n.jpg[/img] [img]http://at.blogs.wm.edu/files/2011/10/oblio_arrow.jpg"/> For the love of Harry indeed. -
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kapoo:
Have you ever watched a moonbeam as it slid across your windowpane? I tell you what.. please listen to this song called Moonbeam by Harry. From Nilsson Schmilsson. First listen and read along with the lyrics, because they are so clever; double entendre, use of the word crap, all kinds of crazy stuff going on.. I wish it was easier to write like that, he was great at it? and then check out the images that this guys put up on YouTube to go along with the song. When I watch it it?s actually semi moving for me.. so relaxing, and the song just totally takes me away.. and the images even assist that more. Dig it
Have you ever watched a moonbeam as it slid across your windowpane? Or struggled with a bit of rain. Or danced about the weathervane. Or sat along a moving train. And wondered where the train has been. Or on a fence with bits of crap around its bottom. Blown there by a wind beam. Who searches for the moonbeam who was last seen looking at the tracks of the careless wind beam. And moving to the tracks of the tireless freight train. And lighting up the sides of the weathervane and the bits of rain and the windowpane and the eyes of those who think they saw it happenThis shall be the last song I listen to tonight. A beautiful send off to my sleepy nights dreams..
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This is great, I like this guys cover of 'I Guess The Lord Must Be in NYC' w the 'Everybody's Talkn' teaser at the end
and here's a cool cover of someone doing Harry's 'City Life'. simple beauty. a girl named Pricilla Ahn doing 'the Moonbeam Song'. Lovely A guy named Sean Nelson doing 'Think About Your Troubles' Marianne Faithful doing Harry's 'Don't Forget Me' The alt-rock band Filter doing an interesting sort of industrial version of Nilsson's 'One' here's a clip of the great Van Dyke Parks who worked with Harry on the Popeye songs, performing the song 'He Needs Me' with some ensemble and finally here's some vid of John and Harry at the March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon in NYC, April 1974. This one has good quality audio, best I've seeen anyway Good night Harry Heads. -
One more nugget for ya, check out this Yoko Ono penned song called Silver Horse, and then compare it to Harry Nilsson's cover of it. You realize, Yoko actually was not a bad writer. Although at the same time Nilsson could make the phonebook sound good. Yoko Ono - Silver Horse (1981)
Harry Nilsson (1984) -
Well I don't know about you guys but Yes I will be getting this book.
http://www.jmeshel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/21-12-2012-13-24-08.jpg -
Back in the day Harry and Phil Spector wrote a song together called This Could Be The Night. They ended up using it with a group called the Modern Folk Quartet, total Spector production, great writing by Harry. Total hit.
It was also used as the main theme for the 1966 film, The Big TNT Show, and later again as the theme song for L.A. DJ Rodney Bingenheimer?s popular radio show on KROQ. Spector took a co-writing credit for his trouble. ![]( Harry later pitched it to the Monkees, when they were doing his songs, I think they did at least 3 in total.. and this version is such a Nilsson?d out pop vocal melody, as on all his demo?s. nilsson?s one of those singers whos demo?s are a lot of times better than the release. though the Spector production suits the song I?d say. Just a really big sound. This is how Harry was throwing down demos, better than the band that was about to be doing it producers actually had to ask Harry to sing demo?s down octaves cause the other artists would have too, they couldn?t hit the notes. And here?s a clip of Harry doing it himself at home sometime in the early 90?s. I can?t remember if he alters lyrics at all but I recall there?s a great line about needing a piece of gum or something. But a great song really. And copying Spector?s arrangement/production to a tee in his, as Bdub did. Good song Harry! -
btw something about that song, probably the whole 'something tells me' line, but the music too.. reminds me of Herman's Hermits 'Into Something Good'. and it was out before or while essentially Nilsson wrote this. and their similar in story too! You ripped off the Hermits HN, I love it! and Harry's song is so different I'm not saying its a bad thing if he did rip it off. He's actually had worse rip off moments.
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I want everyone to know that I do hold it against you that you are not big enough in my mind Nilsson supporters. Check out this early Beatlemania song Harry did for Foto-Fi Records, totally the kind of unlicenced bootlegging and use of the Beatles hype, right? http://fortheloveofharry.blogspot.com/2009/01/stand-up-and-holler-b-sides-1964_04.html that line one is taken but three are single.. is funny
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Something cool I just stumbled upon, a one of a kind acetate of the Beatles 'Come Together', pressed sometime late 60's by a company in California called Sound Trek Disc Cutting. Its got a stamp on it that says 'Thank You Tony Richland', the same Mr. Richland referenced in Harry's song 'Mr. Richland's Favorite Song'. That was supposedly John Lennon's favorite Nilsson song. Just more cool shit Nilsson4Life http://www.beatlesource.com/bs/ao-cometogether1.html
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kapoo:
I want everyone to know that I do hold it against you that you are not big enough in my mind Nilsson supporters. ...
Now you know what I go through in my FUNK thread.
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audi:
kapoo:
I want everyone to know that I do hold it against you that you are not big enough in my mind Nilsson supporters. ...
Now you know what I go through in my FUNK thread.
Audi you really need to familiarize yourself with Nilsson. I may not be giving you enough credit, you may know a lot of his stuff. but you are one who would really appreciate his genius. his melodic and vocal gifts are really on the level.
Reaching for a butterfly, old soldiers never die busted vocal chords and all I love it. and you know I freak the funk too! your thread is badass. Funk lives in the soul. -
kapoo:
audi:
kapoo:
I want everyone to know that I do hold it against you that you are not big enough in my mind Nilsson supporters. ...
Now you know what I go through in my FUNK thread.
Audi you really need to familiarize yourself with Nilsson. I may not be giving you enough credit, you may know a lot of his stuff. but you are one who would really appreciate his genius. his melodic and vocal gifts are really on the level.
Reaching for a butterfly, old soldiers never die busted vocal chords and all I love it...I appreciate this track. Reminds me of the great Billie Holliday in her final days: Ravaged vocal cords but so much authenticity and veracity in her singing.
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audi:
kapoo:
audi:
kapoo:
I want everyone to know that I do hold it against you that you are not big enough in my mind Nilsson supporters. ...
Now you know what I go through in my FUNK thread.
Audi you really need to familiarize yourself with Nilsson. I may not be giving you enough credit, you may know a lot of his stuff. but you are one who would really appreciate his genius. his melodic and vocal gifts are really on the level.
Reaching for a butterfly, old soldiers never die busted vocal chords and all I love it...I appreciate this track. Reminds me of the great Billie Holliday in her final days: Ravaged vocal cords but so much authenticity and veracity in her singing.
Nice! I gave you a bit of a tough one there, but we're on the same page my friend
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I did catch some of the Nilson doc last month on PBS. Got to say amazing stuff that I never knew about him. I knew about the Beatles connections and his song Without You, but lots of other interesting facts. May have to pick that dvd up some point.
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edcrawf:
I did catch some of the Nilson doc last month on PBS. Got to say amazing stuff that I never knew about him. I knew about the Beatles connections and his song Without You, but lots of other interesting facts. May have to pick that dvd up some point.
It's very interesting and informative, really provides great insight into who Harry was, where he came from, and stories from the people who knew him best. IMO its an awesome flick.
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kapoo:
how ****ing beautiful is this :
very nicely sung.
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Check out this Harry Nilsson Box-set coming out, $150 gets you everything, 17CD's of ridiculously badass tunes. Thats how you re-issue music people. http://www.amazon.com/The-Albums-Collection-Harry-Nilsson/dp/B00CJCHJ8S?&linkCode=wey&tag=fothloofha-20 I won't actually be buying that cause I have everything already... but thought someone here might. Anyway, I will be buying this book however! http://www.amazon.com/Nilsson-Life-Singer-Songwriter-Alyn-Shipton/dp/0199756570?&linkCode=wey&tag=fothloofha-20 Paul McCartney and John Lennon described him as the Beatles' "favorite group," he won Grammy awards, wrote and recorded hit songs, and yet no figure in popular music is as much of a paradox, or as underrated, as Harry Nilsson. In this first ever full-length biography, Alyn Shipton traces Nilsson's life from his Brooklyn childhood to his Los Angeles adolescence and his gradual emergence as a uniquely talented singer-songwriter. With interviews from friends, family, and associates, and material drawn from an unfinished autobiography, Shipton probes beneath the enigma to discover the real Harry Nilsson. A major celebrity at a time when huge concerts and festivals were becoming the norm, Nilsson shunned live performance. His venue was the studio, his stage the dubbing booth, his greatest triumphs masterful examples of studio craft. He was a gifted composer of songs for a wide variety of performers, including the Ronettes, the Yardbirds, and the Monkees, yet Nilsson's own biggest hits were almost all written by other songwriters. He won two Grammy awards, in 1969 for "Everybody's Talkin'" (the theme song for Midnight Cowboy), and in 1972 for "Without You," had two top ten singles, numerous album successes, and wrote a number of songs--"Coconut" and "Jump into the Fire," to name just two--that still sound remarkably fresh and original today. He was once described by his producer Richard Perry as "the finest white male singer on the planet," but near the end of his life, Nilsson's career was marked by voice-damaging substance abuse and the infamous deaths of both Keith Moon and Mama Cass in his London flat. Drawing on exclusive access to Nilsson's papers, Alyn Shipton's biography offers readers an intimate portrait of a man who has seemed both famous and unknowable--until now.