Harry Nilsson

Certain Songs #581: Harry Nilsson – “Jump Into The Fire”

June 30, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Nilsson Schmilsson
Year: 1971

I kinda love that Harry Nilsson chose “Jump Into The Fire” to be the single that followed the massive “Without You,” even though it barely cracked the Top Thirty, because the two songs couldn’t be more different.

Driven by a pumped-up Herbie Flowers bassline and clipped rhythm guitar from Klaus Voormann, “Jump Into The Fire” establishes its groove early and then piles on with crazy-ass lead guitar from John Uribe and a vocal performance from Harry Nilsson that starts at psychotic and only gets more unhinged from there.

Gang, this is a disturbing song on any number of levels.

Certain Songs #580: Harry Nilsson – “Early in the Morning”

June 29, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Nilsson Schmilsson
Year: 1971

Despite being both insanely talented and Beatle-approved, Harry Nilsson also a little bit too off to have a sustained career in the public eye. So while he had a couple-three of Top Ten hits — the Midnight Cowboy-powered “Everybody’s Talking,” the transcendently schlocky “Without You” and the just plain weird “Coconut” — that was pretty much it for him, singles-wise.

Those last two, of course, were from his one big album, 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson, and while other Nilsson fans love records like Aerial Ballet or Son of Schmilsson or even the utterly chaotic Pussy Cats, I’m going to side with the general public.

Certain Songs #579: Harry Nilsson – “Me And My Arrow”

June 28, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: The Point!
Year: 1971

It’s weird, the things you remember from your childhood. And, of course, it gets hazier all of the time. That said. I absolutely remember watching The Point! as an 8-year-old kid when it was broadcast on ABC in early 1971.

Which seems weird, because, according to the internet, that would have been a school night, so maybe I saw a rerun. Either way, I know I saw The Point!, and totally related to its fable of a kid who didn’t quite fit in trying to make his way in a world that demanded conformity.

19 Musical Moments To Die For

February 13, 2009 by Jim Connelly

This month, in honor of St. ~~Hallmark’s~~ Valentine’s day, it’s a special theme version of Musical Moments To Die For.

Love songs! Nothing but love songs!

Well, that’s not exactly right: not so much love songs, but songs about love, which is a totally different head. Totally.

However, just because I’ve applied a theme to this month’s post, it isn’t meant to be a definitive list of greatest songs about love or anything like that. It just happens that all of the songs this month are about it, that’s all. Which means, not uncoincidentally, a lot of these songs were huge hit singles or are incredibly familiar or obvious. Which, of course, doesn’t make them any less to die for.

This is the seventh in a series: The first one had 25, the second one had 24, the third one had 23, the fourth one had 22, the fifth one had 21, and the sixth had 20.