Happy Music Monday! There aren't many composers who can go from fronting the seminal punk band to playing what many would describe as classical music. John Cale has never stopped making music that's interesting and exciting, and seeing how today's the date of his birth, Scott's decided to pay this cool guy a little tribute. Perhaps you can join in, eh?
The Velvet Underground - Sister Ray NSFW due to elementary school-style body part talk your boss might not like
The debate with John Cale isn't where to mention the Velvet Underground, it's when. Do you close with it? Do you lead with it? I just decided to throw this beloved game-changing song in at the very start. Lou Reed gets most of the credit for being up front, but try to imagine this song without John Cale's organ. YOU CAN'T.
More like John Cale hits inside, after the jump.
Yes, this is an LCD Soundsystem cover. But really, listen to the original and you'll see that it was always a John Cale song just waiting for John Cale to find it. And saying that should drive home just how influential Cale was to modern music. It took like thirty years for pop music to catch up with him!
John Cale - Sandman (Flying Duchman)
How many seventy year old men do you know who have worked with producer Danger Mouse? Maybe this isn't the best thing Cale's ever done, but it's certainly as contemporary as anything other rock stars are trying. If a nineteen year old did this that nineteen year old would be considered "a exciting new artist to watch" and you know it.
John Cale & Brian Eno - Lay My Love
This song is from 1990. This song was a contemporary of Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers and Do The Bartman. But what else would you expect from these two?
There won't ever be a world of rock god excess again. The big stars of today's filesharing world will never be rich enough to spend a year's pay on cocaine and groupies. John Cale finally got clean around the time his daughter was born, and this beautiful song is sort of a reflection of what it's like to go through the fire and finally accept that you were wrong. And that's why it's my closer, forcing me to skip over the art pieces and biographies that really would illustrate just how many things John Cale tried. Maybe next year, huh? Happy birthday anyway, John Cale. And thanks for never working with Metallica.
Let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use. See you next week.