This week’s song “Think About Your Troubles” comes from a Harry Nilsson album called “The Point” which is also a made for tv animated musical show that aired on ABC in 1971. It’s about a young “boy” who is missing a point on the top of his head while everybody else in his town has one. The story is a take on the classic Ugly Duckling story where the outcast has an adventure and all the town’s people learn a moral lesson in the end. I suppose it’s for kids, but the songs on the album are really good and most of them can exist outside of the story.
This song for example just tells the simple story of a guy crying at his breakfast table and what happens to the tears as the trickle out of his eyes. I love this song and first heard it when Robbie Fulks sang the song in a stage production of The Point that happened at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I think the director of the show was hoping to stage the production more than those two performances, but got busted by someone in charge of Harry Nilsson’s property rights and they wanted a lot of money. I wish more people could have seen it ’cause the music was great and the characters in the story were all done with puppets.
Best,
Peter – ACA
this is one of my favorite songs. man, i love nilsson. the thing i like about this cover is that there are some very nilsson-y elements, but you’ve also taken it to town with your own vibe.
another fine vocal pete. your voice is developing in fine fashion. this weekly work seems to be paying off.
you sound like rufus wainwright sometimes – except less broadway/judy garland. and you don’t slur (phonologically, of course) as much as he does. perhaps you need to injure your mouth or just drink alot more to get that nice slur effect?
Nice work my brother. I think this is one of your most realistically “vintage” efforts to date. Good to hear those warm sounds (coming through these computer speakers).
Hey Pedro-
Harry Nilsson is abso-smackin-lutely one of the best of the best..and I think I may be able to forgive you covering Boy George Michael now.
Love and triangles, johnBoy.
Harry Nilsson was one of the reasons I showed up as a student DJ (an otherwise uncompensated gig on a college “radio station” that was only broadcast in the college’s dormitories over the 60Hz carrier wave in the power supply). Late, late at night when the fascists in the Office of Student Affairs went home to screw their mothers, we’d play classics like “You’re Breakin’ My Heart,” “Take 64″ and “The Flying Saucer Song.” And when we got busted, we’d break new DJs in by requesting the same songs… we ain’t goin’ to heaven, I know….
Did you go to DePaul by any chance? I went to that school and also had a lame school station that only broadcast to the dorms and cafeteria. I wanted to work at the station, but the wind went outta my sails when I realized that even a big music freak like me was probably not going to listen in.
Nope. Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. They now broadcast on FM, but had to give those wonderfully rare “WLSU” call letters when the FCC gave them the green light to go on the air – as “KLSU” (even though technically, LSU Baton Rouge is east of the Mississippi River and could have kept them according to the old rules for call letter assignment – but I guess there was somebody else already broadcasting as WLSU).