Crosby, Stills & Nash - Helplessly Hoping

This song is about two young lovers. I'd venture that it's a romance built largely around the wordplay in the lyrics.

"Helplessly hoping..." this is a series of alliterations built first on "H" and then on "W," and "G". In the Italian Commedia dell'arte theater tradition, "Harlequin" was the name given to a clown/mime figure who was also usually the young male romantic lead. This stanza is a portrait of a confused (and like the original "Harlequin", speechless) young man who is attracted (as so many of us are) to an elusive lover that is leaving ("sound of goodbye").

"Wordlessly waiting..." this is alliterations again, this time with the W first, and then the H. Now that his lover is gone, he pines and misses her. But has she really left? He doesn't know if his love interest is entering or leaving his life ("hello" or "goodbye").

"Stand by the stairway..." is new set of alliterations, this time "S", "C" and "L". This is the love interest, the Columbine to the Harlequin, an equally confused young lady who is trying to leave, but instead "lingers" feeling "lost." She is drawn to a love connection, but she is "choking" on admitting it.

"They are 1 person..." There's a different word game in the chorus. Each number after the first one is a pun. You should read this as:

They are one person
They are too alone
They are free together
They are for each other

As with many songs, the chorus answers the questions and resolves the confusions of the verses. The lovers may not know if they are destined for each other, but the chorus confirms their pre-ordained love. They are "one person" --that's possibly an allusion to (pseudo) Aristophanes's myth that soulmates are two halves of the same person, from Plato's Symposium. They are lonely, they bring each other freedom, and finally, they are "for each other."

This song was written by Steven Stills. It was written when he was trying to make ends meet as a session musician, before he became a superstar. The woman in the song he is writing about is Judy Collins, who he met and fell in love with working as a session musician. She was a huge star at the time, as big as you could get in the folk music scene in 1968. He was not, as the band he belonged to had just broken up. Anyways, they did start a relationship, and she already had a son who Steven adored. I believe thats where the "3 together" line comes in. So, as this goes on, Judy meets actor Stacy Keach, who also gets along extremely well her son. She drops Steven, and goes with Stacy. And that's that. I'm sure there are more sordid details of the relationship, but I don't know them. He also wrote Suite: Judy Blue Eyes about her, and I'm sure some other songs.

From: https://musicfans.stackexchange.com/questions/8195/what-does-the-song-helplessly-hoping-by-crosby-stills-nash-csn-talk-about

Altın Gün - Rakıya Su Katamam

Hailing from Amsterdam but coming from various backgrounds, Altın Gün has captured the world’s imagination with an indelible fusion, for over five years now. The band combines psychedelic rock, deep funk, synthpop, cosmic reggae, and more with the rich and incredibly diverse traditions of Anatolian and Turkish folk music.
After two years of recording separately from home during the pandemic and releasing Âlem and Yol (2021) as a result, the band members of Altın Gün now recorded a live album in the studio again, called Aşk. This album sees Altın Gün swinging away from the electronic, synth-drenched sound of their home-recorded albums, to capture all the infectious power and urgency of the band’s famously, propulsive live performances. Aşk (2023) therefore marks a new start for the band, who’s ready to tour the world again.
Recorded using vintage equipment and techniques, the ten groundbreaking tracks on Aşk all represent visionary new readings of traditional Turkish folk tunes, revealing how these ancient songs remain eternally resonant and ripe for reinterpretation. This results in an exuberant return to the 70s Anatolian folk-rock sound that has characterized Altın Gün’s first two albums.  From: https://ebbmusic.eu/artists/altin-gun/

The Grateful Dead - Beat-Club 1972

The Grateful Dead - Beat-Club 1972 - Part 1 

The Grateful Dead - Beat-Club 1972 - Part 2

Beat-Club, a music program broadcast from Bremen, West Germany, was born in the same year as the Grateful Dead, 1965. Eventually, the show reached cult status amongst German youth. Beat-Club evolved with the times, incorporating go-go girls to dance to the music and integrating psychedelic backdrops and colorful imagery while musicians played. This stage hosted the premier musical acts of the day.
On April 21, 1972, the Grateful Dead set up on the Beat-Club stage and sound checked “Loser” and “Black-Throated Wind.” After they were introduced, the band proceeded to play for eighty-three minutes. Out of this dynamic set of music, only “One More Saturday Night” was aired on Beat-Club. Five decades later, the entire Beat-Club video was shown in select theatres nationwide at the 4th annual Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies in 2013.
A triumphant “Bertha” opener sets the tone as the band digs in and performs as if this is just another concert on their magical journey across Europe. A slow-moving tie-dye/psychedelic backdrop glides across the screen as the band jams. The closeups of the Dead are superb. As “Playin’ in the Band,” begins, Donna joins the festivities. One of the highlights of this video is watching Jerry unload early in “Playin’” as Donna softly sways. Pigpen’s vocals impress during a swinging presentation of “Mr. Charlie.”
The Grateful Dead had difficulty capturing the X factor in recording studios throughout the years. On this occasion in Bremen, they were essentially performing a concert without a live audience, and the results were fabulous. Fifteen years later, the Dead successfully used this format of setting up as if they were performing live when they recorded In the Dark, which turned out to be their most successful commercial album.
A lively “One More Saturday Night” is followed by a second serving of “Playin’ in the Band.” Redundancy is not an issue here as the band doles out another wild and wicked round of improvisation—fusion fireballs galore. TV for Tivoli (4-17-72) and Beat-Club both feature essential footage of the Dead during this legendary tour. The Tivoli segment is more song-oriented. Beat-Club rages with numerous flights of free-flowing improvisation.
Since this wasn’t a live show, a song could be restarted when the musicians weren’t feeling it. There were minor missteps early on in “Sugaree,” the second “Playin’,” and “Truckin’.” The Grateful Dead could play through anything, but on these occasions, they proclaimed a mulligan and started over. The “Truckin’” jam was cooking along, but the band skipped the chorus reprise and let their drummer lead them into “The Other One.” A clock was ticking out their allotted stage time.
The last “Other One” on 4-16-72 was a twisted tease of anticipation without the volcanic eruptions associated with this tune. The Beat-Club rendition is the complete opposite. The band blasts away from the get-go and there’s an abundance of succulent “Other One” meat. Garcia’s shrieking leads blaze a trail through a path of pounding bass detonations. The jam dissolves, reorganizes, and strengthens before Weir sings, “Spanish lady comes to me she lays on me this rose.”
Between verses there’s an aural inferno before the jam dissolves into a dreamlike state, drifting in and out of consciousness—time out of mind terrain. With a subtle shifting of tempo, the jamming becomes more furious than before—Garcia’s searing leads spiral round and round in a tight blizzard of sound. “Escaping through the lily fields I came across an empty space,” howls Weir. On this day, Apollo 16 landed on the lunar highlands of the moon. All this cosmic improv captures the flavor of the day. Back in Bremen, the Grateful Dead’s allotted studio time is almost done. Instead of an abrupt ending, the band noodles away as they resist the temptation of breaking into a new tune before improvising a climactic instrumental fanfare.  From: https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/grateful-dead-europe-72-revisited-germany-beat-club/

The Soul Survivors - Expressway (To Your Heart)

“Expressway to Your Heart” was the first Top 40 hit not only for the band, but also for its producers, a pair of ambitious Philadelphians named Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Gamble and Huff would go on to develop the silky sound of Philadelphia soul, perhaps the single greatest musical style to reach America’s radios in the Seventies. (Think “Love Train,” “Me and Mrs. Jones” and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” just for starters.) They hadn’t found their own sound when “Expressway” came out. It’s pretty much Young Rascals with a twist of Righteous Brothers.
Soul Survivors frontman Charlie Ingui puts a little too much of himself into the “much too crowded!” vamping after the first verse. As a result, he sounds like he’s fighting to get most of the second verse out of his throat. Sinatra used to call those moments of hoarseness “coughing up a Chesterfield;” Ingui’s second verse sounds like he brought up a half-pack of king-size. And yet, it works, in an impassioned sort of way.
Now, you can’t have a Young Rascals-style white-soul single without the Hammond organ any more than you can have clam sauce without garlic. But the main keyboard instrument on “Expressway” is the driving piano that carries the riff, and that needs to come through loud and clear. So G&H found creative uses for their Hammond player, who lays out in the first verse; drops in to support the breakdown (“I was wrong / It took too long”); and then leans on every two-beat during the second verse, further accentuating the work being done by the snare drum. The listener receives his or her required dose of soulful organ without ever really noticing it, like the vitamins that are baked into bread.  From: https://neckpickup.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/five-for-the-record-the-soul-survivors-expressway-to-your-heart/

Richard & Linda Thompson - The Little Beggar Girl

Richard Thompson, Richard Thompson, Richard Thompson... For years I was convinced he was destined for international stardom. Blessed with one of those instantly recognizable voices, Thompson was also a gifted writer and an amazing guitarist. In spite of years of critical acclaim (from both English and American writers), it never happened... 
One of the founding members and creative mainstays of the original Fairport Convention, Thompson left the band in 1971. The multi-talented Thompson spent the next year sharpening his chops with a series of studio sessions for the likes of Sandy Denny and John Martyn.  Late in the year he signed a recording contract with Reprise, releasing his solo debut "Richard Thompson: Starring as Henry the Human Fly". Prominently supported by backup singer Linda Peters (soon to become Mrs. Linda Thompson), the album featured a professional if somewhat pedestrian collection of folk-rock efforts. Unfortunately, precious little of Thompson's songwriting or guitar skills were on display. In spite of favorable reviews, the album failed to attract much of an audience leading Reprise to quickly drop him from it's recording roster. 
I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight: First off, I'll be upfront and tell you this is one of my all time favorite albums... I normally don't hype albums, but here's an exception. Signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Records, 1974's "I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight" found Thompson and new wife Linda officially collaborating as a duo. With Richard responsible for all ten tracks, musically the set contained some of his all time classic songs. Lyrically, material such as 'The Cavalry Cross', ‘Withered and Died' and 'Down Where the Drunkards Roll' was typically dark and depressing (hard to imagine Richard was only 25), though roughly half of the set was wrapped in memorable up tempo melodies. The real surprise here was Linda. Blessed with a wonderful voice that was easily a match for the late Sandy Denny, she effortless plowed her way through Richard's material. Equally at home with mournful ballads (Has He Got a Friend For Me), or injecting a dark sense of humor into her performances (The Little Beggar Girl), Linda's crystal clear voice provided a perfect balance to Richard's deep and somber delivery. Personal favorites, Richard's blistering guitar on ‘When I Get to the Border’ and Linda's wicked delivery on the title track. Sadly, the album didn't see an American release until the mid-1980s.  From: http://badcatrecords.com/THOMPSONrichardLINDA.htm

Keef Duster - Necrodancer

Super heavy acid/stoner rock, quite original for an otherwise sort of monotonous genre. in fact, songs lean more towards the weird and psychedelic, thankfully. I think that's because the guitar work's outstanding and, at least in part, undoubtedly inspired by Flower Travellin' Band's 'axe-wielding maniac' Hideki Ishima.  From: https://keefduster.bandcamp.com/album/keef-duster  

The Bangles - Dover Beach

A track from the first Bangles album, "Dover Beach" was written by their guitarists, Susanna Hoffs and Vicki Peterson, and sung by Hoffs. The beach in question is the one at the bottom of the white cliffs in Dover, England, exalted in the 1940 song "The White Cliffs Of Dover." There is no mention of Dover in the lyric: the title comes from the poem Dover Beach, published by the Englishman Matthew Arnold in 1867.
In a Songfacts interview with Vicki Peterson, she said: "Susanna and I were slightly geekish about opening the Norton Anthology of English Literature, flipping through that and going, 'Hey, this is a great line.' She had come across the Matthew Arnold poem Dover Beach at some point and that inspired that song, that idea of applying the fantasy of escape and the reality of what that would really mean. It was a really fun time to just mine the world for ideas."  From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bangles/dover-beach