Stoutly refusing to record his passionate songs under anything less than his own terms (in his New Jersey home on a TASCAM MiniStudio), F.M. Cornog, under the name East River Pipe, has released seven albums since 1994 that can stand toe-to-toe with anything by your favorite indie rockers over the past 20 years. Although working full-time at the local Home Depot and raising a daughter with his wife may have curtailed Cornog’s recording time somewhat, the quality of the finished product remains unchanged. ERP’s latest, We Live In Rented Rooms (Merge), is further testimony to a man who refuses to play the rock-star game (form a band, tour, do photo shoots, etc.) and has come out the other side with a brilliant body of work—and with his soul intact. Cornog will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Cornog: Growing up in the early 1970s, I listened incessantly to a radio station out of New York City called WABC. They played the top-40 hits of the day: Elton John, Neil Diamond, Paul McCartney & Wings, Three Dog Night, etc. It was a real mixed bag. Some of it was great and some of it sucked big time. But sitting there in my little blue room in New Jersey, the stuff that really resonated intensely with me was early-’70s soul. “Have You Seen Her” by the Chi-Lites and “Freddy’s Dead” by Curtis Mayfield are perfect examples of this genre. The Stylistics recorded a string of beautiful ballads, including “You Are Everything” and “Betcha By Golly, Wow.” The Spinners had the great “I’ll Be Around.” The O’Jays cut the flawless “Back Stabbers.” Sly & The Family Stone did “Family Affair.” Gladys Knight & The Pips recorded “Midnight Train To Georgia.” Billy Paul had “Me And Mrs. Jones.” Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes recorded “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.” There are really way too many to mention. I bought all these 45s when I was a kid, and they propelled me on to buy album masterpieces by Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Al Green. A priceless era in American music.
Videos after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECgBXkil7YI
