“To Be Alone,” which Hozier put together, or so I understand because the internet on this point mostly fails me, as a tribute to Junior Kimbrough (who gets a writing credit), does not bear the stamp of Kimbrough’s rough electric blues - although perhaps captures the feel - suggesting instead Peter Green during his brief time as the leader of Fleetwood Mac, it’s lead riff echoing the B riff of Green’s”Oh Well.” The production, too, has that dank, rainy reverb that Green loved, and deals in the dark depths of green manalishis and black magic women. With lyrics that investigate sexuality, religion, and drugs without robbing any of them of their dark poetry, the album maintains a soulful bounce that only occasionally loses its chug. It almost seemed like it was a mistake, because how long has it been since you heard an actual band pumping out the rock on a pop station? The song was from Hozier’s full length, self-titled debut, which, while not a perfect record, isn’t far from it. But unusual too - it wasn’t hard to hear beneath the compressed radio waves a rock band sweating it out behind a gifted singer, songwriter, and guitarist. In true pop radio fashion it was catchy, easy on the ears, anthem-y. In 2014 into 2015 he produced a bona fide pop radio hit in “Take Me To Church,” which got played on all the I Heart Radio stations in the U.S. In the case of Hozier, the revolution is subversion by honoring the blues and soul music his native Ireland so loves. But your arguments against are blind to the tail-chasing beast: it’s as often in pop as not that the true revolutions happen, where the work is done, before in creeps mimicry and gold diggery. I will laugh and scoff with you, because there is, as there always has been, portents of conformity in the monochrome sameness of the popular. And this is only something music can do, only music can touch you in this way.Say what you will about pop radio, you nostalgists and prognosticators of musical doom. Once again, there’s positively someone real singing this song, no machines. All you oldsters bitching that this is not new, that the lyrics are good but not spectacular…remember that the English blues cats were a sore imitation of the Delta bluesmen at first. Because if you’ve got it, you can replicate it, all you need is yourself. The studio version is close, but just doesn’t capture the magic. I’m including the studio take and the live Spotify Sessions take in this playlist. “Why Must Country Singles Be ‘Worked’ By Labels to be Played on Commercial Radio” But blame corporate radio too, read this story in “Billboard” how Brandy Clark didn’t have a chance on country radio: If only we could have a weekly playlist of what we need to hear as opposed to what we’re supposed to hear. It raises that which deserves attention above the surface. That’s right, technology is not the enemy. And synch it to their homemade productions. But thank god for the youngsters who’ve got enough time to dig deep and uncover this stuff. Their bitching and self-promotion turns me off. We’re promoting what appeals to the head but not the heart. It’s become so money-focused that the music takes a back seat. There’s something radically wrong with the music business infrastructure, and it’s got nothing to do with piracy or Spotify payments. How am I supposed to find this stuff? It’s not like Hozier hasn’t been in the news, but the two tracks they promoted didn’t do it for me. Along with a dash of Cat Stevens, before he got too cute. Not that Hozier exhibits Slowhand’s prowess on this track, but the soul, it’s there. If you listen to this iteration of “To Be Alone” you’ll know what it was like back in the midsixties when we discovered Clapton and the bluesbreakers. That’s what’s wrong with the modern music business, nothing sees the light of day before its time, and by that time, after they’ve added so much and streamlined it, you no longer relate to it, all the humanity has been eliminated. Maybe because the iteration synched with the video was a live take and the immediacy stung me, that’s life, when it’s just lived and not premeditated. You know Hozier, the guy with the international hit that all the girls liked, the sensitive guy I was overworked on and didn’t get until now. So I pulled out my iPhone and Shazamed it and lo and behold it was Hozier. And I heard a track playing in the background which infected me. One of the great things about the internet is you can pursue your passion, I’m combing skiing sites incessantly, and knowing they got 48″ in Taos last week I clicked through to see what was going on.
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