Feliz Navidad Is Turning 50 This 2020

Given the Spanish Yuletide classic’s popularity during the past years, did you know that José Feliciano’s Feliz Navidad is turning 50 this year?

By: Ringo Bones

In every interview during the past decades, José Feliciano readily admits he wasn’t thinking of writing a Christmas classic when, almost on the fly, he first sang: “Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad, proóspero año y felicidad.” And during the intervening years, the now Spanish language Yuletide classic has managed to survive being disco-fied during the disco boom years. Weirder still, José Feliciano probably pioneered writing a de-facto song about celebrating Christmas in parts of the world that never gets snow – probably inspiring Jimmy Buffett to write Christmas in the Caribbean and his Christmas Island album years later, perhaps?

Even though I’ve practically grew up listening to this Yuletide classic – given the song is only two years older than me – I’ve always thought that Feliz Navidad was much older, perhaps dating back at least to the Middle Ages composed by a Spanish monk in a monastery back then. It was only during the late 1980s that I’ve found out that this was originally composed by José Feliciano back in 1970 during a recording session for a Christmas album with Rick Jarrard, who would become Feliciano’s trusted producer and friend over the years. At the time, it was Jarrard who floated the idea of a Christmas song in Spanish. And Feliciano, in the middle of recording in the summer, wrote what would become one of the most enduring Christmas songs of all time.

Sadly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic putting a damper on celebrating this Spanish language Yuletide classic, nevertheless, a plan to release a 50^th Anniversary tribute to Feliz Navidad got ahead. Produced by longtime friend and producer Rudy Pérez, “Feliz Navidad 50^th Anniversary (FN50)” was released by Anthem Records as an Amazon exclusive at the end of November 2020. The recording sessions were done in July 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, but had been planned since 2019.

Remembering Eddie Van Halen

His fans around the world may have been saddened by his death at the age of 65, would heavy metal music be radically different without the musicianship and technique of Eddie Van Halen?

By: Ringo Bones

His death was announced by his son, Wolfgang, after a 20-year battle with cancer, fans around the world now mourns the passing of Eddie Van Halen at the age of 65. Fans who had known Van Halen since the 1970s and 1980s could be forgiven that he died too soon because there are “rock-stars” today who are twenty years older who are still touring – that is before the 2020 COVID 19 lockdown.

Eddie Van Halen, whose full name is Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, was an American musician famously known around the world as the guitarist of the band Van Halen which he co-founded back in 1972 with his brother Alex Van Halen on drums , bassist Mark Stone and singer David Lee Roth. Even though the two-handed tapping technique for the electric guitar was already demonstrated by electric guitar pioneer Les Paul back in the 1950s, this guitar playing technique was more famously associated with Eddie Van Halen during the 1970s, probably because Van Halen manage to compose better songs in which to show-off the technique than Les Paul did back in the 1950s. Without this technique, which was later dubbed as “shredding” during the late 1980s Hair-Metal era, heavy metal music would sound radically different without Eddie Van Halen’s influential technique.

During the 1980s, Eddie Van Halen’s well known collaboration with the King of Pop, the late great Michael Jackson, on the iconic guitar solo on the song Beat It was probably his most well known musical collaboration. Those dodgy Van Halen live bootleg recordings were a must-have for the aspiring guitarist back in the 1980s. add to that the departure of long time singer and frontman David Lee Roth to be replaced by Sammy Hagar had caused a Kultur-Kampf in the Van Halen fanbase back in the mid 1980s, detractors often derogatively referring the Sammy Hagar fronted Van Halen as “Van Hagar”. Eddie Van Halen is indeed no stranger to real-life musical drama. And, by the way, Eddie Van Halen was also a clever inventor with various guitar related patents credited to him, like a musical instrument support that allowed him to play his signature two-handed tapping technique while standing up on stage for prolonged periods without tiring, an adjustable string tension control allowing more precise adjustments than a whammy bar, a type of humbucking pickup and ornamental designs for guitar pegheads and pickups.

Is Donald Trump Using Music Inappropriately At His Rallies ?

From the launch of his 2016 presidential campaign to the more recent reelection campaign for 2020, is President Trump using music “inappropriately” at his rallies?

By: Ringo Bones

The Rolling Stones might be the latest of a growing number of musical artists launching their own cease and desist directives to the Donald Trump presidential campaign after their songs are used inappropriately in his rallies. Even though the Stones had been telling Trump to stop using their songs since 2016, the iconic band finally issued a legal action for Trump to stop.

Donald Trump had been exploiting loopholes in the BMI’s Blanket Political Entities License Agreement law in being able to play a number of classic Rolling Stones, Queen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Pharrell Williams, Rhianna and Adele just to name a few. But a growing number of artists are complaining and had launched their respective legal cease and desist orders from their lawyers because their songs are used in a Trump rally for very inappropriate lessons.

Earlier this week, the family of the late Tom Petty posted on the band’s official Twitter account saying that the Trump campaign’s use of his song is “in no way authorized,” adding that he: “would never want a song of his used for a campaign of hate.” Pharrell Williams’ Oscar nominated “Happy” was played at a Trump rally hours after 11 people were killed at a Pittsburgh synagogue back in October 2018.

This more than just pointing out the preexisting thinking of hard right conservatives not giving a rat’s ass about copyright laws since the launch of Fox News, being tone deaf to the social injustices endured by non white Anglo Saxon Protestant musicians is one thing, but keeping silent while Trump uses their songs inappropriately in the era of the renewed Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd was killed in an act of police brutality is just unforgivable. It’s high time to vote Trump out of the White House this November 2020.

Is Robbie Williams a Secret Trump Supporter?

Despite being debunked for four years, does former Take That member Robbie Williams’ belief that the Pizzagate conspiracy is real make him a “secret Trump supporter”?

By: Ringo Bones

In the wake of the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter protest brought about by the application of excessive force during the arrest of George Floyd, admitting publicly that you subscribe to debunked bizarre conspiracy theories put forth by white supremacist could be tantamount to saying publicly that you are an unabashed Holocaust Denier. Sadly, former member of a popular 1990s era boy band Take That, Robbie Williams, just recently did that in a recent interview.

The 46-year-old sat down for an interview with journalist Anna Brees, and in a teaser clip from the second part of the interview, the Rock DJ singer appears to question the validity of a conspiracy theory alleging that several high-ranking members of the U.S. Democratic Party and U.S. restaurants were involved in an alleged human trafficking and child sex ring. That theory was widely debunked during the 2016 US Presidential Election following an investigation by the New York Times and the fact-checking website Snopes. Although various American far-right and white supremacists groups still believe to this very day that the Pizzagate Conspiracy is real and proof that – according to them – the US Democratic Party are composed of sex deviants, while denying President Trump’s association with convicted billionaire-paedophile - the late Jeffrey Epstein.

As well as the Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory being debunked by a number of investigative journalists, no alleged victims came forward and no physical evidence supporting the theory was ever found. Sadly, it caused the defeat of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Presidential Election that resulted in subjecting America into over three years of social trauma that culminated in the COVID 19 response mismanagement and the systemic racism of US law enforcement that resulted in the resurgent Black Lives Matter protests. Let’s just hope this is nothing more than Robbie Williams’ sad attempt to be famous again to the 18 to 24 crowd who are now heavily into Billie Eilish and peacefully marching in Black Lives Matter protests.

Black Lives Matter: The Musical?

Given that the so-called modern music is predominantly influenced by African American culture, should the music industry lend a voice to the Black Lives Matter cause?

By: Ringo Bones

From a musicologists’ perspective, modern popular music is largely influenced by black American or African-American culture. I mean when was the last time a hit song had forgone that signature singing back-and-forth between the tonic and the suspended fourth – i.e. the Pentatonic Blues Scale? Fortunately, our contemporary online digital music streaming providers immediately took notice and avoided from being on the wrong side of history by launching Blackout Tuesday.

Blackout Tuesday was a collective action to protest racism and police brutality in conjunction with the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. The action was originally organized within the music industry in response to excessive police action that led to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breona Taylor. It took place on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Streaming services taking part were encouraged to abstain from releasing music and other business operations. Some outlets used blacked out, silent or minimal programming for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time officer Derek Chauvin compressed Floyd’s neck resulting in death.

Given that Black Lives Matter protests have since gone global, maybe musicians everywhere should do their part to tell everyone that racism is still alive and well in this day and age. Not just in Trump’s America, but also in the rest of the world. Country music band Lady Antebellum recently changed their name to Lady A in the wake of the protests of the killing of George Floyd and ongoing Black Lives Matter Protests. Although if you ask me, the name change is somewhat reminiscent to the 11^th Hour urgency of one of their biggest hits Need You Now. It’s a quarter after one but the famed country music band should have changed its moniker back during the June 2013 Paula Deen racism row.

Spotify For Your Pets, Anyone?

Aimed by the Swedish audio streaming site for their subscribers who felt guilty leaving their pets alone at home, does a Spotify playlist and podcast list for your pets actually offer positive benefits for your pets?

By: Ringo Bones

The Swedish audio streaming site has pitched the scheme specifically for those who felt guilty leaving their pet(s) alone at home Spotify is now making curated playlists specifically tailored for your pets to enjoy. Often referred to as “Spotify For Pets”, it’s been around for over two weeks now and many subscribers swear by it given that the app’s algorithm generates a music playlist that is more or less “liked” by their pets.  But for pet owners with a semblance of knowledge on how the science behind their pet’s auditory system works compared to theirs, are the “Spotify Pet Playlists and tailored podcasts are really backed by science that they offer positive benefits to your pets, never mind if they can even hear them at all given the physiological differences between the human auditory system and your pet’s?

Well, there was a study published by Australian researchers a few years ago that dog breeds used for sheepherding prefer to listen to acoustic guitar based campfire music and even seem to feel relaxed while listening to such repertoire. But what about the more exotic pets mentioned in Spotify’s pet playlists, like iguanas and probably snakes whose auditory system are more sensitive in the low frequency or bass region compared to humans? Would such pets prefer electronic dance music with a surfeit of bass – maybe Meghan Trainor’s All About the Bass perhaps?

Rough Trade Records: Selling More Records Than Ever?

The legendary record label and independent record shop says it has sold more records than ever in the second decade of the 21^st Century, sign that the vinyl LP revival is alive and well?

By: Ringo Bones

When the BBC ran this story a few days ago, I thought that it was part of their “This Week In History” series and they were featuring a mid 1990s vinyl LP revival news story that features the legendary Rough Trade record label. Stranger still, it was a current report on the state of the vinyl LP revival in the second decade of the 21^st Century. But what makes Rough Trade records so special?

Rough Trade records occupies a special place in the hearts of everyone who’s into hard-to-find alternative rock and punk rock albums, or just about any album censored by the Reagan Administration that won’t be displayed at your local K-Mart during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by Geof Travis, it serves as a launching point of independent rock bands that were later signed into a major label. But during the 1990s, Rough Trade was often seen as the “British equivalent” of the American Go-Kart record label that was famous for the NYC based punk rock band Lunachicks.

I don’t know how the under 30s perceive Rough Trade records in its current form but for anyone who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, the Rough Trade record label will forever be associated with Scrawl, Young Marble Giants, Miracle Legion and Mazzy Star. Though newer bands – as in post 9/11 era bands – like Alabama Shakes, Arcade Fire and British Sea Power are also signed with Rough Trade records. And to audiophiles pushing 50, Rough Trade records was better known during the 1980s for their “rough-sounding” CDs because virtually all bands in this era signed to Rough Trade were submitting their digital master tapes on the early JVC DAS-90 digital recording system.