In the third episode of season seven of The Walking Dead, “The Cell,” the producers gifted us with an earworm of a song, “Easy Street.” In the episode, Negan’s The Saviours are holding Daryl Dixon as prisoner. As Dwight (Austin Amelio) works to break Daryl, he plays the song repeatedly as part of a torture tactic.
“Easy Street” is performed by The Collapsable Hearts Club, and it was written by Jim Bianco. Bianco explained to The Independent that he was happy to hear his song used on the show, even if it were being used to torture someone. “I think the show used it brilliantly,” he explained, “Framing such an upbeat song as a torture advice is a work of genius by the music supervisor.” We’re on easy street, And it feels so sweet; ‘Cause the world is ’bout a treat, When you’re on easy street.
Bianco wrote the song while driving in his car and thinking about those “rare moments” when you are “holding the winning card.” Below is a video of 10 hours of the song.
There is not much about The Collapsable Hearts Club on the Internet, but the lead singer is Petra Haden, who has done a substantial amount of other musical work. Bianco is also part of the group, singing backup. And Brad Gordon plays the horns.
Currently, Daryl, played by Norman Reedus, is no longer the only person with the song stuck in his head. After the episode, “Easy Street” appeared on the UK Singles Chart, and it also has climbed to #1 on the US Spotify viral charts. What do you think of “Easy Street”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On November 15, 1956, Elvis Presley made his movie debut in Love Me Tender as the film premiered at New York’s Paramount Theater. The film is set in Texas after the U.S. Civil War.
In the movie, Elvis plays Clint Reno, the brother of a former Confederate soldier. If you are going to make a movie with the most popular rock and roll star of the era, apparently someone thought it would be a good idea to put him in a period piece.
Presley started his music career with Sun Records in 1954, and then his first album for RCA was released in March 1956. So at the time of the release of Love Me Tender, Presley had only been recording music for a few years. Also, he had made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956, only a few months before the release of Love Me Tender.
The film initially had the title, The Reno Brothers. But after advance sales of the single “Love Me Tender” went through the roof, the movie was renamed after the song. Elvis sang “Love Me Tender” in the movie, along with three other songs.
The film was similar to Elvis’s later films in that it combined a story with Elvis singing. But it differed from many of his later films in that he did not play the lead role in Love Me Tender. Additionally [spoiler alert!], Presley’s character died at the end, which would have been unthinkable in his later movies.
What is your favorite Elvis Presley movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Bruce Springsteen released “Long Walk Home” in 2007 on his Magic album. He wrote the song to reflect how he felt during the years of the George W. Bush presidency.
Last night I stood at your doorstep, Trying to figure out what went wrong.
“Long Walk Home” is about a guy coming back to his hometown and not recognizing anything. As Springsteen explained about the singer’s character in The New York Times, “The things that he thought he knew, the people who he thought he knew, whose ideals he had something in common with, are like strangers.”
In town I pass Sal’s grocery, Barber shop on South Street; I looked in their faces, They’re all rank strangers to me.
The reference to “rank strangers” in Springsteen’s “A Long Walk Home” was inspired by the song “Rank Strangers to Me,” sometimes called “The Rank Stranger” or just “Rank Stranger.” Albert E. Brumley wrote “Rank Strangers to Me,” which was made famous by The Stanley Brothers.
“Rank Strangers to Me” is also about a man returning to the town of his youth. As in Springsteen’s song, the singer discovers he does not recognize anything.
The meaning of “Rank Stranger” is open to interpretation. There is no resolution or explanation about why the singer does not recognize the people in his town. Has he died? Has everyone else died? It is a mystery that makes the song haunt you long after you have heard it.
Similarly, in Springsteen’s song, the unrecognizable world feels alien to the singer. The meaning would be mysterious too, except that Springsteen has provided context for “The Long Walk Home.” He explained about the alienation during the Bush administration, “I think that’s what’s happened in this country.”
It’s gonna be a long walk home; Hey pretty darling, don’t wait up for me; Gonna be a long walk home, A long walk home.
While some celebrated the election results this week, many felt they were seeing their country in a way they could not recognize. Maybe Springsteen had a feeling about what was going to happen when he chose to play “Long Walk Home” outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall during a rally for Hillary Clinton the night before the election.
Either way, the song captures the disappointment that one side often feels after an election. But that is the nature of democracy. At one time or another, we all have to take a long walk to get back home.
Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo by Chimesfreedom.
Singer and guitarist Susan Tedeschi was born in Boston on November 9, 1970. Tedeschi has made some great music as a solo artist as well as with her current work with the Tedeschi Trucks Band along with her husband Derek Trucks. We wish her a happy birthday.
In celebration of Tedeschi’s birthday, check out this performance of “Angel from Montgomery” from October 5, 2016. In this performance, Luther Dickinson joined in on guitar with the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
If that performance leads you to wanting more from the Tedeschi Trucks Band, check out this NPR Tiny Desk Concert from March 2016. Songs in the video are: “Just As Strange,” “Don’t Know What It Is,” and “Anyhow.”
What is your favorite Susan Tedeschi recording or performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.
As our U.S. readers go to the polls, listen to one of the more hopeful songs about presidents, “If a Song Could Be President.” The Ohio band Over the Rhine featured the song on their album, The Trumpet Child (2007).
Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist of Over the Rhine were inspired to write “If a Song Could Be President” after receiving an invitation to visit the White House in 2005. The band accepted the invitation even though they disagreed with policies of President George W. Bush’s administration.
But, as they later wrote on Huffington Post, “we soon realized that what was so often missing from the current political climate in America were opportunities for folks who might have differing ideas to sit down face to face and actually engage in real conversation.”
Detweiler and Bergquist came away from the White House visit thinking about how “American music is one of the last remaining communal enterprises in this country. Music and songwriting still have the potential to bring incredibly diverse people together.”
They took the experience and put together a song that brought together a beautiful mix of American music. They came up with a dream wondering what it would be like if a song could be president. Check out “If a Song Could Be President.” If a song could be president, We’d fly a jukebox to the moon; All our founding fathers’ 45’s, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Patsy Cline, If a song could be president.
In the third episode of season seven of The Walking Dead, “The Cell,” the producers gifted us with an earworm of a song, “Easy Street.” In the episode, Negan’s The Saviours are holding Daryl Dixon as prisoner. As Dwight (Austin Amelio) works to break Daryl, he plays the song repeatedly as part of a torture tactic.
On November 15, 1956, Elvis Presley made his 
As our U.S. readers go to the polls, listen to one of the more hopeful songs about presidents, “If a Song Could Be President.” The Ohio band 