Going Solo & Opinions on Modest Mouse
It's been 45 years since Paul McCartney broke away from The Beatles to release his first solo album. To mark the occasion, Jim and Greg talk about other artists' efforts toward Going Solo. Later they review the latest from Modest Mouse.
Music News
Percy Sledge died this week at the age of 74 from cancer. The soul singer was most famous for his hit song "When a Man Loves a Woman." The story goes that as a young man he was working in a hospital when a patient overheard him singing and suggested he record music for a living. His songs have been covered numerous times, most prominently by Michael Bolton, which caused a resurgence of popularity for Sledge in the '90s. He continued making music and performing up until his death.
It's no secret that Ringo Starr is a great drummer but should he be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist? Paul McCartney thought so and worked with Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl to get Starr inducted as a special candidate. Ringo received the "Musical Excellence Award" - only the fourth recipeint in HOF history.
Going Solo
{artist:Paul McCartney} released his first post-Beatles album 45 years ago this month, launching a commercially successful solo career that is still going strong. Sometimes members of a famous band go out on their own and fall flat on their faces. But in this segment, Jim and Greg share examples of artists going solo and living up to expectations.
Greg
- Lauryn Hill of The Fugees
- Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley
- Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan
- Morrissey of The Smiths
Jim
- Peter Gabriel of Genesis
- Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music
- Chaka Khan of Rufus
- Justin Timberlake of NSYNC
Strangers to Ourselves Modest Mouse
After making fans wait 8 years, Modest Mouse is back with Strangers to Ourselves. The Washington band graduated college rock and had a brief taste of big time success with "Float On." But, disappointingly for Greg, they haven't used this extended break to make any sonic shake-ups. It's more of the same - almost like lead singer Isaac Brock has been sleeping these past years and woke up just prior to recording. He says Trash It. Jim wonders why all the shade, Greg?! True, Modest Mouse does one thing, but they do it really well. The album is admittedly a few tracks too long (especially the track "Pistol"), but Jim thinks the band really succeeds at giving listeners a lilting, wistful, psychedelic sound that also delivers pop hooks. He says Buy It.
Featured Songs
- Percy Sledge, "When a Man Loves a Woman (Live in 2010)," When a Man Loves a Woman (Single), Atlantic, 1966
- Percy Sledge, "It Tears Me Up," Warm and Tender Soul, Atlantic, 1966
- Ringo Starr, "It Don't Come Easy," Ringo, Apple, 1973
- Paul McCartney, "Maybe I'm Amazed," McCartney, Apple, 1970
- Lauryn Hill, "Everything is Everything," The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Columbia, 1998
- Peter Gabriel, "Here Comes the Flood," Peter Gabriel, Atco, 1977
- Celine Dion, "All By Myself," Falling into You, Columbia, Epic, 1996
- Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins, "Rise Up With Fists!!," Rabbit Fur Coat, Team Love, 2006
- Phil Manzanera, "Big Day," Diamond Head, Island, 1975
- Ghostface Killah, "Underwater," Fishscale, Def Jam, 2006
- Chaka Khan, "I Feel For You," I Feel For You, Warner Bros., 1984
- Hall & Oates, "Go Solo," H2O, RCA, 1982
- Justin Timberlake, "Rock Your Body," Justified, Jive, 2002
- Morrissey, "Suedehead," Viva Hate, HMV, 1988
- Modest Mouse, "Lampshades on Fire," Strangers to Ourselves, Epic, 2015
- Modest Mouse, "Coyotes," Strangers to Ourselves, Epic, 2015
- Modest Mouse, "Pistol," Strangers to Ourselves, Epic, 2015
- Modest Mouse, "Float On," Float On (Single), Epic, 2004
- Aretha Franklin, "Call Me," This Girl's in Love With You, Atlantic, 1970
- Don McLean, "American Pie," American Pie, United Artists, 1971
- Sleater-Kinney, "Surface Envy," No Cities to Love, Sub Pop, 2015
- Rush, "2112," 2112, Anthem, 1976
Dear Listeners,
For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!