Sonic Love Byte: Shine by Dolly Parton

There are certain things you wouldn't normally put together but when you do -- they end up complimenting each other perfectly.

Hash browns, scrambled eggs, ketchup and maple syrup, for example. Sounds disgusting, right? It looks even worse. But, next time you wake up hungover with that sloshy feeling in your stomach, head to your local Denny's and chow down on this culinary delight. If your stomach doesn't explode with a fury not seen since Pompeii -- it'll be the best meal of your life.

Music is like that too. You take two completely unrelated forms and you fuse them together and end up with something greater than the sum of its parts.

Never in my life would I ever have thought I'd hear Dolly Parton belting out a modern rock classic like Collective Soul's Shine, but lo and behold -- here it is:



It makes sense, though. The introspective, spiritual lyrics and Miss Parton's sweet bluegrass sensibilities mesh perfectly. And I swear I never thought these words would leave my mouth, but the fiddle solo rocks. Now, I'm not gonna trade in my Strat anytime soon, but as far as strings go -- the fiddle's pretty fierce. Don't believe me? Listen to the solo on this track and if that isn't enough to convince you, download The Devil Went Down To Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band (Beelzebub FTW BTW)


And for all you purists out there, here's the original. Enjoy.



Parton's cover of Shine can be found on the Little Sparrow album and Collective Soul's original can be found on the Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid album.

Sonic Love Byte: Atlantic City by Bruce Springsteen

You want to see what America's really like? Look through the eyes of an immigrant. You'll see a very interesting portrait of the nation -- one both bleaker and rosier than the one you're used to seeing.

You'll notice a lot of duality like that. See, when you live in the States and you weren't born here, things are different. Now, I can't speak for the rest of the tired, poor huddled masses yearning to breathe, but I can speak for myself.

I love this country. Fiercely. Passionately. Completely. I'm not some flag waving patriot who'll stick a boot up your ass just as quickly as she'll shock'n y'all (Yes, I realize that doesn't make sense, but then again, neither does Toby Keith). I'm just a person who appreciates the opportunity and the life she has.

There is no place in the world I would want to reside besides these here United States. But in this country -- I cannot legally work. If I choose to get married, a horde of officials will demand paperwork and legitimate proof of my relationship is actually a relationship and not a scam. If I wanted to go on vacation abroad, I could not re-enter the country. Next year, my visa will expire and I have no idea what I'm going to do.

In short -- living in America ain't easy, but trying to live here? It's even tougher.

Some days, it seems like the system is doing everything in its power to evict me. But despite that -- I want nothing more than to stay. I believe in America. That it is a good place. That the Algerian ideals are true. I still believe in the American Dream.

That being said, I recently rediscovered something I fell in love with when I was seventeen -- the music of Bruce Springsteen.

My boyfriend made me a mix CD and one of the tracks on it was Atlantic City.

I played it once and as soon as the song was over, I immediately rewound it and played it again. And again. And again. With every subsequent replay, I started to remember more and more about just how much I loved Springsteen. How I've read It Ain't No Sin To Be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen by Eric Alterman from cover to cover at least a dozen times. How I must have listened to Glory Days at least once a week back then. How I referenced American Skin (41 Shots) in a paper I wrote for an English class. How I remembered thinking that Springsteen was a real rarity because he told the truth and no-one hardly does that anymore.

Springsteen epitomizes America. Just like Mustangs, Fender Strats, bottomless cups of coffee and great greasybluesydirty guitar solos.

He understands the country's duality -- the promise and the desperation. The optimism and the devastation. But above all, he understands the hope.

Life is hard and cruel. Sometimes, you don't make enough money to make ends meet. Sometimes, your dream is further out of reach than you originally believed. Sometimes, the guy doesn't get the girl, but in America -- when there's nothing else left, there's always hope. The promise of a new day. A brighter tomorrow. "Everything dies. Baby, that's a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back. Put your makeup on. Fix your hair up pretty. And meet me tonight in Atlantic City."

It may be fraught with peril ("Well I'm tired of comin' out on the losin' end/So honey last night I met this guy and I'm gonna do a little favor for him" -- an obvious reference to Atlantic City's shady criminal underworld), but if you're willing to take the chance and get on that Coast City bus to the place where the sand's turning into gold -- well, you've got a shot. At a better life. At a bigger dream. At rebirth and reinvention.

Despite the elegiac tragedy just waiting to befall the our hero, Atlantic City is a song of promise. Our hero may never win the big money jackpot. He might not ever be a high roller but he's throwing the dice. He's taking a shot and as long as he does that -- well, he's living the American Dream.

No retreat, baby. No surrender.



I couldn't find Atlantic City on Radio Blog Club, so instead -- here's another one of my favorite Springsteen tracks.

Sonic Love Byte: G. Love

Reasons I Dig G. Love:

• He effortlessly combines hip hop, funk, soul, blues, rock, folk and pop. Now usually when artists try their hands at fusion, it ends up with the listener trying to shave off his or her ears with a cheese grater (see: Fred Durst, KoRn, most any rap-rock hybrid), but G. Love has managed to perfect the sound.
  
  
• The band's name is Special Sauce. Who would have thought that a condiment found at McDonalds could be so cool?
  
  
• He collaborates with Ben Harper, Jack Johnson and Blackalicious on his seventh studio album, Lemonade.
  
  
• The man digs food in a serious way. I think he was even featured on the Food Network once. My general rule of thumb? If they ain't all about food, don't trust 'em.
  
  
• One of his biggest influences is John Lee Hooker and John Lee Hooker is bad-ass. Real bad-ass.
  
  
• Three words -- Milk and Cereal
  
  
• And the most important reason I dig G. Love -- he sounds good.

For more G. Love -- check out the official G. Love and the Special Sauce website, Philadelphonic or you can head on over to I Am Fuel, You Are Friends for these two posts.

In other news -- I have a headache, we're getting free HBO and Showtime at Lush Manor and in eleven days -- I'm seeing Dan. I can't wait.

Sonic Love Byte: Lily Allen

Reasons I dig Lily Allen:

She's English (like me)
She's a pint-sized pottymouth (again, like me)
She's a blogger (I'm seeing a lot of similarities here...)
Her music is a helluva lot of fun -- she sings about having her ex boyfriend beaten up (Smile), her pot-smoking scrub of a brother (Alfie), her frugal grandma (Nan, You're A Window Shopper which is actually a take on 50 Cent's battle rap Window Shopper) and life in London (LDN).
She's down with puppets.