Popular Culture 20120907: Jethro Tull — Aqualung Side Two

(9 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

It has been a while since the last installment due to several reasons, all of them good.  Tonight we shall finish up Aqualung, one of their better efforts.

The link above has the history around the album, so tonight we shall just concentrate on the music.

The second side begins with “My God”, a really good song.  By the way, all of the songs on this side were written by Anderson.  This is a complex song both in message and in music, and I like it very much.  This version had the lyrics so you can pull them down and read along as you listen.

“My God” follows, and its message is every bit, if not moreso, true today than it was when Anderson wrote it in 1970.  The Republican convention last week pointed out quite a bit of the behavior that he was describing.  Once again, the lyrics are in the video if you pull them down.

I do not understand the short song “Slipstream” but I like the style, very much unlike a lot of the other material on the album.  If anyone can explain it to me, I would appreciate it.

The widely played “Locomotive Breath” comes next, the definitive song about someone who is losing control over his life.  I was talking with a friend of mine earlier today and he has to have the worst luck in the world.  He had to send some important papers overnight so that they would arrive Monday and drove over to Federal Express only to discover that the address was a Post Office box.  I helped him to navigate to the nearest Post Office so that he could send it Express Mail, and he barely got there in time.  That is just one example of the horrible string of bad luck that he has had for over a year now, beginning with some health problems, getting laid off, more health problems, relationship problems, his father dying week before last, and that is just the beginning.

The album ends with “Wind-Up”, probably the best song on the album technically and also by message.  Because of its complexity I never tire of hearing it.  It did not get much radio play because of the controversial nature of the lyrics, except for some of the more progressive FM stations.  I remember Bob Ketchum playing the entire album on KMAG 99.1, the 100,000 watt station in Fort Smith, Arkansas back in the day.

I knew Bob a little because a high school friend of mine worked at that same station.  My friend is no longer with us, but Bob is a Facebook friend and hosts a popular internet music show called The HiTek Redneck Internet Radio Show which used to run on Sunday nights but has lately been on Tuesday nights at 9:00 Eastern.  Check it out sometime.

I know that this is sort of a short piece tonight, but I have been getting Pique the Geek ready for Sunday and also polishing up my contribution for What’s for Dinner? which I am guest hosting tomorrow (Saturday) night at 7:30 PM Eastern.  If you get a chance, come by tomorrow night.  I have a visual feast in store for readers because I am presenting a photoessay about my first attempt at making a cheesecake from scratch.  It turned out beautifully!  There is sort of a nice backstory about it as well, or at least I think so.

I shall be around for comments pretty much all night tonight since The Woman (formerly The Girl, but since her 20th birthday was Tuesday past insisted on the more mature sounding name) is out of town.  As always, any insight into the meanings of the music are welcome, as are other videos that you would like to add in the comments.

Unless I fancy a nonmusical topic, next time we shall examine Thick as a Brick, in my opinion the finest Tull album.  This is going to be a challenge from a technical point of view because there are only two songs, both over 20 minutes long, “Thick as a Brick, Part 1” and “Thick as a Brick, Part 2” being the entire first and second sides of the album, respectively.  I anticipate that it will be a two part or even longer series, because of the album cover.  I found links to it, and it is such a classic that we might consider the cover separately from the music.  We shall just have to see.

Please have a wonderful evening and try to join me tomorrow night for cheesecake.  Better get some coffee on, because you will be able to taste it as you view the pictures.

Warmest regards,

Doc, aka Dr. David W. Smith

Crossposted at

The Stars Hollow Gazette,

Daily Kos, and

firefly-dreaming