Comments for Funky Fruit

Comment on Underworld – Jumbo by Ian Shepherd

Ian Shepherd — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:02:37 +0000

Yes yes yes ! This is THE Underworld track from Beaucoup Fish. One of my favourite festival moments ever was Glastonbury 2000, where in the break with all the lovely chords at 1′55″ everything turned yellow…

Another was at a festival in Brighton, during Rowla (a track I never understood until I heard it in a tent with 3000 other people, all of whom went mental at exactly the same moment, because Rick Smith twisted the knob on a resonant filter *just so*…

Comment on Wisdom in the Face of Mortality by Dean

Dean — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:40:27 +0000

Thanks very much for the correction. Agreed Warren is underrated both as a lyricist and a tunesmith.

Comment on Wisdom in the Face of Mortality by Spencer

Spencer — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:31:56 +0000

Very, very good song. Zevon is one of the most underrated songwriters of all time. His first two records are masterpieces. However, “My Shit’s Fucked Up” is from 2000’s “Life’ll Kill Ya” (brilliant record). That album was released nearly two years before Zevon’s grim diagnosis. It is ironic though.

He did write and record an entire record between the time he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and his death, 2003’s “The Wind.” I’d definitely recommend that you read his amazing biography, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life & Times of Warren Zevon,” which was penned by his ex wife Crystal Zevon. Excellent read. Thanks for a great video post!

Comment on Breaking Up by new-girl-on-the-blog

new-girl-on-the-blog — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:53:16 +0000

Hey, Dean!
I found your blog by chance and I really liked it!
Great song!
The lyrics reminded me of another song I ΄ve been listening to last night..”what will survive of me..a cardboard box with thoughts inside…”

Comment on Breaking Up by randellfever

randellfever — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:38:43 +0000

beautiful. (was that stewart copeland on drums

Comment on Welcome Stranger Tomorrow by I Wouldn’t Do That | The Other Side of Everything

I Wouldn’t Do That | The Other Side of Everything — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:33:41 +0000

[...] More from this album [...]

Comment on Tom Waits for No Man by Leisl

Leisl — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:48:16 +0000

We practically worship at the church of Tom Waits in my home.

Comment on Tom Waits for No Man by mrsthing

mrsthing — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:20:12 +0000

Beautiful! He delivers those lines with such deft sensitivity–unexpected from such a gravelly voice.

Comment on Reinventing Ritual by sean808080

sean808080 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:02:41 +0000

so sorry for the spate of losses. yes getting older means bearing witness to the changes of seasons and the passing of friends. it’s a gift to be able to honor one by playing his beloved guitar. i’m sure you did so beautifully.

i have been a fan of the eno/bowie partnership ever since i was a young gun. i appreciated how eno always cranked up the presence of the artist without leaving an obvious footprint. i’m a big fan of his work with Devo, Bowie, and of course Byrne. The only other producer that I feel comes close would be the late great Conny Plank.

To be a fly on the wall when these great artists were creating their magic would have been a gift. As it is, we’ll have to imagine what it was like when those magical moments were being created.

Comment on They Don’t Make Them Like That Anymore by Tom Sparks

Tom Sparks — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:31:53 +0000

Your dad had good taste, Marty Robins, Ella Fitzgerald, Gershwin, all wonderful artists. Fathers are such a big influence on sons, he must have had some influence on you as an artist not matter how tangential.

I remember listening to El Paso as a child with my dad driving down the highway in 59 or 60, it’s a beautiful mournful song.

Comment on Recording, Writing and Inspiration by Adrian Ellis

Adrian Ellis — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:34:59 +0000

Fantastic musings!

“The map is not the territory” is a brilliant statement that concisely refutes the assumption that any fixed performance or notation is ‘THE’ version etc. – a funny notion we all fall into believing now and then.

Interesting ties to the more philosophical/spiritual aspects of creating and performing music. How true it is that, operating on those sublime levels (glimpses such as the one you got performing spontaneously) we can see the ‘mysteries’, to occupy an incredible state of being in the ‘moment/flow’, which is difficult to describe unless you’ve been there.

You hint at an interesting paradox – that you have to study and practice for years to really master music, yet, to reach the ultimate performance state, you have to rely on that in an unconscious way – you have to let go.

Comment on Performance by Recording, Writing and Inspiration | Funky Fruit

Recording, Writing and Inspiration | Funky Fruit — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:07:59 +0000

[...] Soundtracks « Performance [...]

Comment on Quincy Jones by Tom Sparks

Tom Sparks — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:24:20 +0000

Quincy Jones, another famous musician from Seattle, he went to the same High School as Jimi Hendrix, Garfield High. Great song selections Dean!

Comment on Daily Song by Yesterday My Brain Popped | The Other Side of Everything

Yesterday My Brain Popped | The Other Side of Everything — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:13:32 +0000

[...] writing songs for a couple of hundred friends. [...]

Comment on Top of this City by Ian Shepherd

Ian Shepherd — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:30:16 +0000

That's what I love about what @skinnermike, @imogenheap and others are doing - showing us how their music happens, *as* it happens. Great post Dean, and a top tune !

Comment on Top of this City by Tom Sparks

Tom Sparks — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:36:42 +0000

It is interesting to read about the inspiration and genesis of a song; it’s unusual really. Most music comes to us as an enigma out of the black box of another’s inner experience, we end up filtering the music through our own story.

I loved this one, thanks for going back in time to find it for us.

Comment on Top of this City by Paul H

Paul H — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:43:48 +0000

Catchy.
Got me thinking about my time in London.
Age 7-21 (Dad left for NZ when I was 7).
Lived in Penge for a couple of years.
Went to school in Brixton at that time.
Then Jasper Road, Crystal Palace, from age 9.
Walked to schools in East Dulwich,.
And finally Milestone Road, Crystal Palace, age 12-21.
Music was always a place of refuge, and mostly the music of pirate radio (Invicta etc.).
Half a lifetime ago now.
Thanks for sharing this, Dean.

Comment on Top of this City by Duane-PreppyDude

Duane-PreppyDude — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:16:23 +0000

Dean, excellent song.

It rings as true today as it did for you in the 90’s

Comment on Tasty Disco Slice by Heat | Funky Fruit

Heat | Funky Fruit — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:08:51 +0000

[...] Soundtracks « Tasty Disco Slice [...]

Comment on Easy Virtue by Chris

Chris — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:40:29 +0000

I love the snare Dean, and the whole 80s style – even the tinkle tinkle tambourine.

Crossed paths with her since?

Comment on Eurovision or Eurotrash? by Indigobusiness

Indigobusiness — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:08:16 +0000

That pear gives me a chubby.

Comment on Eurovision or Eurotrash? by Leisl

Leisl — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:15:01 +0000

Being on the wrong continent, I missed watching this. I enjoyed Ewan’s tweets about it, some of which prompted me to hit the ‘net to search out some of the performers on YouTube in the hopes of discovering some new, wonderful, “out of the box” artist to embrace. Sadly, I was disappointed. Most of what I was able to find was little more than homogenized fluff. I was really hoping for something unique. Norway’s pretty boy winner, however, does play a fun bit of fiddle (I did enjoy that, but still could only make it halfway through the song before becoming bored and moving on to something else). I do agree that Iceland’s entry is much better lyrically (and appeals to my inner adolescent), but still felt very contrived and generic to me. My daughter would love both.

And yes, it does sound like “Sleeping Satellite” but not quite as good.

Comment on Eurovision or Eurotrash? by G.D

G.D — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:26:01 +0000

As I twittered last night ; “Can anyone remind me of the relevance of the Eurovision song contest…Any clarification would be welcomed…” “Eurovision Song Contest is to popular music, as karaoke is to live music. It’s a total throw back to an age best forgotten.”

Comment on Angel by Dean

Dean — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:37:41 +0000

You win a pint of beer!

Comment on Angel by Ian Shepherd

Ian Shepherd — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:36:21 +0000

Gotcha ! Took a couple of hours for my subconscious to process, trawling through all those Golden Years before the right tune popped into my head. Nicely done, sir !

Comment on Why Radio & Music Industry Sucks Nowadays by Dean

Dean — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:38:35 +0000

Yes; he is old school, isn’t he, trying to find a new analog to the existing framework.