It's good to be back. Not just on RHT, but back in Columbus as well. Now that all of the moving, settling in, and just general transition has come and gone (and the laziness has faded...), I suppose I'm back. But, in the past two months, I stumbled upon Nick and Norah, and the infinite playlist of which they possess together. Look, let's face it. I'm not shy about it. I like chick flicks. I like them a lot. If I had to list my most watched films of all time, it'd go something like:1. Love Actually
2. His Girl Friday
3. Goodfellas (And I just watch that over and over to prove that I'm still a man. A man who loves chick flicks, but is also a sucker for the scene where DeNiro and Pesci beat the hell out of Billy Batts.)
And who doesn't love Mike Cera and/or Kat Dennings? So, I forced enough people to watch that with me to make everyone sick of it. But, music + love? how can anyone resist? not to mention, the soundtrack features The Dead 60's ("Riot Radio"), Devendra Barnhart ("Lover"), and Band of Horses ("Our Swords")....so even if you hate the film, you can be cool on the indie rock scene. Which is what we all want anyway. On to the point of this blog...
I thought of what to cover here. Run-DMC getting inducted into the Rock HOF while other important hip-hop pioneers get looked over? Na. Later, maybe. But....A happy 70th birthday. To whom, you ask? Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. would have been 70 today. Marvin Gaye is much like Elvis, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan for me. I know how I SHOULD feel about him, and his impact...but I'm never sure that I always do. I'm a big soul freak, and an even BIGGER Motown fanatic...but after all that, I've got Otis Redding and Sam Cooke sitting 1/2 and the distance with Marvin at 3rd is pretty large, with Eddie Kendricks flip flopping him here and there. It's not that I don't like Gaye. Because I do. I just think I like the idea of him, and what he promoted, more than the execution of it. I'm solely reflecting on the full scope of him. Cooke and Redding may have been superior to Gaye as far as singing...but Gaye outlasts them as a MUSICIAN. (For what it's worth, if we are to consult the always interesting Rolling Stone "Immortals" list of the 100 greatest musicians of all time, Gaye clocks in at 18, Redding at 21, and Cooke with the lead at 16. Stevie Wonder sits as the first Motowner at 15.) So many people have listened to the album "What's Goin' On"...but a lot of people haven't truly HEARD it. The message in the album still lies as important, and what's more important is the age old legend of how Berry Gordy, probably the greatest "Record man" to ever live, almost killed the record before it even came out. America doesn't like it's sex symbols to be dark, and introspective. Matthew McConaughey won't be doing Shakespeare on Broadway anytime soon. But, Gaye was already pretty dark, and with the death of Tammi Terrell, he just went deeper. And to be honest, where would Motown be without this album? Stevie Wonder, your career is welcome. For all of Wonder's great, GREAT conscious 70's records, that in my opinion, far surpassed What's Goin' On from a creative standpoint, wouldn't have existed had it not been for Gaye laying that foundation first. If you're a record freak, yeah, the first side is great. But the second side, with those three tracks ("Right On", "Wholly Holy", and "Inner City Blues") right after each other? I don't think a side of an album gets any better than that.
Still, my favorite Gaye album will always be the severely underrated Let's Get It On. Don't think it's underrated? ask almost anyone to name another track off of the record besides the title track. It's a tough album to grasp, mostly due to the sexually explicit nature of most of the lyrics. But this is where his music and creativity peaked. Listen to the title track on headphones. And if you have the extended version, check out Uriel Jones on the drums...and strings! there's strings on a Motown record! It's amazing. And the song builds. To the point near the end where Gaye is no longer asking to "get it on", but DEMANDING. And the common misconception is that Gordy hated What's Goin' On, and forced Gaye to make a more commercial album, but there's still politics, mixed in with all of that sex (which actually doesn't seem as fun as it sounds.) On the track "Get it on Pt. 2", Gaye drops the line, 'won't you rather make love, children/as opposed to war, like you know you should'...when faced with those two options, he makes it seem so simple.
I like his later stuff. I do, I know it's not popular, but I like the albums like I Want You, and Here, My Dear. I remember when Camp Lo came out with the Gaye Sample dripping album Uptown Saturday Night, where they took the cover art from I Want You, and I thought that was the dopest thing ever. Like all lovers, he lost his sense of idealism when he became heartbroken, and he became bitter and a bit cynical, and you can hear it in his later work. And that's what's more important. Marvin Gaye wasn't some positive dude...he was dark, and pretty disturbed, but he was also, at heart a sexual icon. A crooner in the same way that Sinatra was.
Here's a last thought on Gaye. He did it all while being probably the worst dancer on Motown's roster (Stevie Wonder doesn't count....)... A roster that placed an emphasis on appearance more than anything. The Temptations had better clothes, Diana Ross had more glamour, and Smokey Robinson had all of the writing ability. But acts like Gaye (And another Motown gem, Martha and the Vandellas), kept Motown close to the streets of Detroit. Close to the inner city movement, which is what inner city labels need. Def Jam's current bosses should take notes.
So, happy 70th Marvin. We'll get it on for you. I mean, if that's the kinda thing you're into. I might just cuddle up and watch Nick and Norah's infinite playlist.
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