Rockford, Illinois is not the first place (nor the second, or third, for that matter) that comes to mind when thinking of places that have produced iconic pieces of American history. Hailing from a town near Rockford that is even less exciting and a fraction of its size, it's surreal even for me to think that Rockford gave us such offerings as the original sock monkey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock_monkey, the Rockford Peaches http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockford_Peaches featured in "A League of Their Own", and various parts that propel the airplanes we fly every day. However, Rockford's greatest gift to the world is without a doubt, Cheap Trick. The band was officially formed in 1974 by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson, and Bun E. Carlos. To this day, I can't get enough of the 1977 album In Color. Rumor has it the band wasn't all that happy with the production of the album, saying that producer Tom Werman wanted to highlight the band's lighter, more pop-influenced side (exactly why I love it). While the album was only slightly more successful in the U.S. than their debut album Cheap Trick released earlier the same year, it gave them mega-star status in Japan. The Japanese media deemed them "The American Beatles", and after their 3rd record went gold there (though not here in the U.S.) the band was inspired to record Cheap Trick at Budokan (only intended for release in Japan, but eventually released in the U.S. by popular demand). Today I'm posting my all-time favorite Cheap Trick track, "Southern Girls" from In Color. The toe-tapping drum intro, the beautifully ringing power chords of the verse, and the hook-laden chorus never fail to keep me moving every time I hear it. It's a 70's power pop gem, but something about the simplicity of it takes me back to a simpler era of rock and roll. Enjoy! Cheap Trick-Southern Girls
Thursday, May 28, 2009
David Berthy Posts
While yesterday's excellent mix is going a long way to cheer me up, the gloom of recent days has had me drinking too much tea and reaching for a certain strain of melancholy British pop. "Beachwood Park" by The Zombies and "She Smiled Sweetly" by the Rolling Stones are both classics of the genre. If you're familiar with them, they're well worth revisiting whether or not the gloom persists. Listened to on a sunny summer day, they very well might make me nostalgic for the experience of drinking tea on a rainy afternoon while listening to a certain strain of melancholy British pop. "Sam," is from the third album by Bill Fay, a singer who never quite caught on, but has had something of a rebirth in the last ten years thanks to reissues of his three studio albums.
back in the late 90's, the Lake Effect crew would rent a house together for a week each year up in Saugatuck, Mi. The area had one of the greatest resort radio stations of all time, blending inane Dj Patter with obscure AM radio hits that you you knew all the words to, but had no idea who the artist was and hadn't heard since you were five years old, riding in the back of the family station wagon on the way to the supermarket or TGI Fridays.
The radio station went country, but Alvy has kept the tradition alive with a series of annual mixes to keep our Summer soundtrack rolling. This years is a real doozy, highlighted by an incredibly Steve Windwood-esque Santana hit "I'm Winning", Leo Sayers incomparable jam "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing", and a pair of hits from the Little River Band, plus 20 or so others.
Here, courtesy of Alvy, is the complete mix. Do yourself a favor and download it, your Summer will thank you, if it ever gets here.
One of the driving forces and creative minds behind my favorite era of Wilco's music (Being There, Summer Teeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), Jay Bennett, died of undisclosed causes at the age of 45 this past weekend. Known as a pioneer in putting the alt into alt-country, Bennett split with the band in 2001 amidst unpleasant circumstances laid out unflatteringly by the band in the film I Am Trying To Break Your Heart:A Film About Wilco. Disputes continued and just weeks ago Bennett filed suit against his former bandmate Jeff Tweedy for breach of contract relating to his work in Wilco.
Here's a beautiful track from his latest solo album, 2006's Magnificent Defeat. Survey The Damage
Friday, May 22, 2009
QD and I caught The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens on the Colbert Report recently. Now going by the moniker Yusuf, (I suppose the name "Islam" isn't a great boost for record sales), the artist has just released his first album in nearly three decades. Watvhing him perform we were surprised at how much he sounds like, well, Cat Stevens! Colbert's brass balled questioning was priceless. Heres the title track from the new album Roadsinger .
Muskegon, Michigan’s Betty LaVette recorded “You’ll Never Change” in 1963 and “Let Me Down Easy” in 1965. Though both songs are about heartbreak and even share some similar lyrics, it would be a shame to post one without the other. “You’ll Never Change” features a poppier sound, some memorable backing vocals, and the defiant tone of a one-sided argument. “Let Me Down Easy” is the other side of that argument--a solitary lament--and evokes genuine vulnerability with a raw vocal performance backed by haunting strings.
As Simo posted a week or two back, i did pick up a couple records from the chicago-based reissue label Numero recently (new to me) ... including a double LP set called "Good God! The Gospel Funk Hymnal".
And when I mentioned that to someone they responded: "There's such a thing?" To which Numero responds:
"A collection of this nature can only exist in hindsight. ... There aren't any labels, artists, or producers that focused strictly on funky gospel music; rather, there were a couple hundred groups that had a funkier number in their repertoire"
In this case here's a disco, very Curtis Mayfield-inspired version of the spiritual standard "Wayfaring Stranger" ... which is a song usually associated with country or bluegrass (and apparently, Burl Ives).
Also included is a live Neko Case version with a great banjo solo ... compare and contrast if you will.
Perennial Uke caberet player C. Everett Uke opened the last show with a dead-on rendition of Manu Chao's "Bongo Bong", a song I myself had tried to prepare but gave up on due to the lyrical delivery demands. The next week, I brought the song in to the kids at The Intonation Music Workshop at Taylor Park to find all three classes giggling uncontrollably at the playful boasting of the song's narrator. They wanted to learn the song and did so in no time.
The track is the first solo single from Manu Chao's debut album Clandestino, released in 2000. Its a remake of Mano Negra's song, "King of Bongo" (1991), which has its roots from a 1939 recording of "King of the Bongo Bong" by the trumpeter, Roy Eldridge.
I'm going to go ahead and kick off the summer songs season with two songs from Africa and hope the weather will eventually cooperate. First is Armee Guineenne, by Guinea's Bembeya Jazz National. Famed guitarist Sekou "Diamond Fingers" Diabete achieves a depth of tone here that pairs especially well to the slowness of a hot day, and this song has been at the top of my most played itunes list the last two summers. Next up is "Sunday Morning" by Zambian supergroup Amanaz. The first line, "Sunday morning, and we're sitting outside..." is followed by five gloriously unhurried minutes that are the perfect soundtrack for lazy weekend mornings in the shade.
This past weekend Simo, Tony B. and I attempted an enthusiastic cover of the song Barracuda by Heart at the incredibly fun animal-themed uke cabaret "Uke Zoologica". As I was preparing for the considerable vocal challenge, I became a bit obsessed with the band. I have long been a fan of their pioneer status in the arena of female rockers as well as their infectious Zeppelin-influenced sound. I was struck, however, when I rediscovered the title track to their 1976 debut album Dreamboat Annie which I hadn't heard in years. In contrast to their more gritty singles, this one has a remarkable Carpenters-esque folky vibe, especially in the lead and backing vocals. Perhaps my favorite part of the song is the banjo roll in the second verse, giving it the feel of a dreamy yet slightly sad travelin' song.
Another birthday gift, this one from Alvy, hasn't left my turntable in the last few days. Histoire de Melody Nelson is a 1971 concept album by controversial French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. The Lolita-esque pseudo-autobiographical plot involves the middle-aged Gainsbourg unintentionally colliding his Rolls Royce Silver Ghost into teenage nymphet Melody Nelson's bicycle, and the subsequent seduction and romance that ensues. Histoire de Melody Nelson is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished album. Beck obviously loved it, as he pillaged this track for "Paper Tiger" from Sea Change.
Join us this Saturday 9:00 PM at Silvies for Uke Zoologica, a four-string celbration of the animal kingdom. With 14 acts already signed up, this promises to be the best Ukulele Cabaret yet. We Hope to see you there! Thanks to Tony B for sending this track in.
In continuing with Leonard Cohen, here are some of my favorite covers of his songs. Part of what was emotional about seeing the show last night was listening to songs I’ve experienced as very personal in a communal space. For me, it brought home how universal Cohen's subject matter is. The two performers I’ve picked, Jeff Buckley and Antony, understand that Cohen's songs at their best are about nothing less than the human condition, and perform them with appropriate reverance. As a bonus, I’ll throw in “Suzanne” as performed by French chanteuse Francoise Hardy.
Tonight is the long anticipated Leonard Cohen show at The Chicago theatre. The 74 year old bard has been on the road for nearly a year now, with another one yet to go. It will be interesting to compare tonight's show to the one Heather and I saw last year in Toronto, which was the first of the tour. Perhaps he will again open the second set with Tower of Song, accompanied by himself on the Casio.
Tony B hooked me up with this Double Vinyl LP from the terrific Numero Group label. Home Schooled, The ABCs of Kid Soul, a collection of tracks from 1970's kid soul bands is an inspired gift for someone who runs a youth pop band workshop! The album caught my attention right out of the gate with this Kids Rights Anthem "Trust Your Child" from Patrizia & Jimmy
Join us tonight, dear listeners, for an Intonation Music Worskhop benefit at The Hideout featuring local indie stalwarts David Singer & The Sweet Science and Horse in the Sea, both of whom count IMW instructors among their members. Stick around afterwards for a dance party with DJ Solucien and witness yours truly upgrading to 4.0 at midnight.
Today's track is "Mosquito King" from Horse in the Sea's 2007 album I Order The Sun To Shine on Everyone
Like a lot of T. Rex fans, for a long time I overlooked the album Tanx (despite its amazing cover), assuming that The Slider was the last album worth spending time with. Granted, Tanx did mark the beginning of the end of T. Rex. Made in 1973, the very height of the “T. Rextasy” phenomenon, it was the last album recorded with the classic T. Rex lineup, and Bolan’s legendary ego--fueled by brandy, money, and cocaine--was stratospheric by this point. One would assume this would all make for a disaster of an album, but in actuality the louche decadence of the record’s sound is its greatest virtue, perfectly suited for Bolan’s spaced-out lyrical non sequiturs.
John King, Who Made Ukulele Ring With Bach, Dies at 55 By DOUGLAS MARTIN
John King adored Hawaii, though he lived there for only a few years as a boy. The “Hawaiian room” in his Florida home was stuffed with hundreds upon hundreds of hula dolls, leis and other artifacts. He once owned 400 Hawaiian shirts, more than enough to wear a different one every day of the year — which he was proud to do. Is it a surprise that Mr. King played the ukulele?
And boy, did he play that ukulele. His huge hands and stocky wrists darted and danced up, down and across the tiny instrument’s strings in a way that few, if any, players have ever attempted.
Mr. King resurrected a guitar technique from the time of Bach to play a piece that was almost certainly never before tried on a ukulele, Bach’s Partita No. 3, and went on to play other difficult classical works with dazzling mastery. He opened pathways of sound unimaginable to those whose memories of the ukulele involve Arthur Godfrey, Elvis Presley and, of course, Tiny Tim.
The Journal of the Society for American Music last year called Mr. King “perhaps the world’s only truly classical ‘ukulele virtuoso.’ ”
Mr. King’s death at 55 on April 3 at his home in St. Petersburg, Fla., sent shock waves through the ukulele universe, which has widened with enthusiasts now clustering on the Internet and at festivals around the country. His wife, Debi, said that Mr. King died of a heart attack, suddenly and completely unexpectedly.
In one of the tributes that pervade this online universe, Jim Beloff, a leading ukulele player, calls Mr. King’s work in classical ukulele “the finest in the world, and the finest we will ever see in a long time.”
Tom Walsh, a board member of the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum, said in an interview last week that Mr. King was “adored by the ukulele community,” most of whom faced an inescapable realization: “I could never possibly play like that.”
The foundation of Mr. King’s achievement was reviving a Baroque guitar technique and applying it to the ukulele. The technique involves playing each succeeding note in a melodic line on a different string. The ukulele — which is tuned so that the four strings go not from the lowest to the highest note but instead run G, C, E, A — turns out to be great for doing this. (An illustration of ukulele tuning can be found at theuke.com.) The result is a bell-like quality of sound in which individual notes over-ring one another, producing an effect that some compare to a harp or harpsichord.
“The people Bach originally wrote this music for must have been fabulous musicians, because this stuff is really hard to play,” Mr. King wrote in an essay. “My heart is in my throat whenever I play these pieces in concert.”
In another essay he expounded on the sheer difficulty: “The truth is it’s a crazy way to play the uke; ease of execution is all but sacrificed, subordinated to whatever it takes to get that shimmering, harplike sound. It works for me, because when I play it that way, the ukulele sings.”
John Robert King was born in San Diego on Oct. 13, 1953, the son of a naval officer. The family moved a lot; when John was 6, they lived in Hawaii. His mother took up the ukulele to get a feel for local culture, and John imitated her. He noticed two things: it was difficult, and he had “absolutely no talent.” So he took up the guitar and progressed impressively. He ended up taking lessons from Pepe Romero, the classical guitarist, and Pepe’s legendary father, Celedonio.
He picked up a ukulele occasionally, but not successfully. Then he learned that the diminutive ancestors of today’s guitars were tuned like ukuleles. He tried Bach on the ukulele and was deeply intrigued. He soon commissioned Gioachino Giussani, the Italian luthier, to make a ukulele expressly for classical music. After a decade of practice, he put out a record, including the Bach partita, on his own label in 2001.
Pepe Romero concluded in the liner notes: “The sound of the ukulele is exquisitely well suited for Bach’s music, and I delight in this discovery.”
Mr. King made a second record, again on his own label, Nalu Music. It was music composed in the later part of the 19th century by the members of the Hawaiian royal family, in the decades before the state’s annexation by the United States. Many pieces had not been played for a century.
He also wrote books of arrangements for the ukulele, including works by Mozart, Chopin and Scott Joplin. At his death, Mr. King was working on a book about ukulele history, beginning with its introduction to Hawaii by the Portuguese in the late 19th century.
Mr. King liked to pick his uke at his neighborhood Starbucks, where he said he did not feel nervous, because people had no expectations.
He often said that his fondest desire was to move to Hawaii and live in a shack in the mountains near the beach.
Transa, recorded in 1972, is my favorite album by the legendary Brazilian artist Caetano Veloso. This was the last album he released while living in political exile in London, and there's a bramble of seemingly incompatible ideas clashing on the record: exile, anonymity, hope, memories of Brazilian music, British pop music, lyrics sung in English, lyrics sung in Portuguese. I love how Veloso embraces these contradictions with a celebratory defiance.
On the other side of the universe from these two funkmasters is Neko Case, who gives good advice for those celebrating Earth Day. From her new album Middle Cyclone:
Let's continue our funky-bassist-gone-solo series with P-Funk legend Bootsy Collins and two tracks from his 1976 solo debut album "Stretchin' Out in Bootsy's Rubber Band". Both tracks here lay out a template for the tremendous success of Outkast almost 3 decades later
Heather and I commemorated Record Store day by scooting on over to Recordbreakers on the 2100 block of South State. $10 coupon in hand, we scoured the bins for an hour while some truly abominable bands assaulted our senses with live in-store performances. I came across this sealed copy of Graham Central Station and had to have it. Larry Graham was the bass player for Sly and the Family Stone, and I had heard from many that his solo material was top notch.
We knew we were in for a treat when we threw on side A and the acapella album opener "We've Been Waiting" came at us like some soul version of Bohemian Rhapsody. From that point forward, the album plays like a cross between The Staple Singers, Sly and The Family Stone, and Funkadelic, with some of the most astoundingly hot bass playing ever put to tape (listen to the beginning of "Hair".
“Every Little Bit Hurts,” written by Ed Cobb and originally recorded by soul singer Brenda Holloway in 1964, is one of those songs that just keeps coming back. Small Faces, The Clash, George Clinton, The Jam, and others have covered the song with success, and, like “The First Cut is the Deepest,” the song seems to weather any interpretation that’s thrown at it. I found my favorite version, by the Jamaican group The Rulers, on a MOJO compilation that came out a few years back. As a bonus, I’ll throw in the other Rulers song that was on the compilation, “Wrong Em’ Boyo,” which was also covered by The Clash.
When Phil Spector was initially acquitted in the 2003 murder of Lana Clarkson, I posted Pistol Packin' Papa from Jimmie Rodgers right here on this page. Now that Spector has finally been convicted of the murder, its only right to commemeorate it with "In the Jailhouse Now" another track from "The Singing Brakeman".
New music today from Bonnie Prince Billy, who recorded his latest record, Beware, right here in Chicago at Engine Studios with our friend Neil Strauch manning the boards. Its an ambitious effort, with arrangements incorporating Leonard Cohenish female choral backing vocals, fiddle, banjo, cornet, accordian, manolin, and pedal steel into a sound that blends americana, rock, chamber, and spiritual styles.
BPB's incredibly prolific with his output, releasing a new record every 7 months or so , and like Neil Young and Van Morrison (Pre-millenial), its the sound of BPB's voice alone that draws me in, regardless of the record or its approach.
I listen over and over again to the opening track "beware your only friend", especially in the morning. Don't miss this one!
Speaking of Crazy Hoes(?) I did see "Lez Zeppelin" Saturday night at the Double Door, and well, it rocked. On paper it sounds like a gimmick: 4 women playing Led Zeppelin covers, including a front-woman who is almost as hot as Robert Plant himself ...
And it would be, except they are really, really good at it (though Quickdraw's Robert Plant might still be better!), especially the guitar player Steph Paynes, who makes me think I could have been hearing Led Zeppelin.
But it got me thinking of some other hard playing / hard singing women-fronted bands like 70's prog-rockers Babe Ruth, and Ohio's Heartless Bastards, who played the Bottom Lounge saturday, as well. "The Mountain" is the title track of their new record ...
P.S. Do check out this Babe Ruth video for intense 70's costumes and visuals - esp. around minute 1:30 or so."
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Noir Doo Wop gets the choral treatment on the debut single from Swedish women's choir The Sweptaways' forthcoming sophomore album The Sweptaways Show. Sign Your name
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Unpacking those boxes from storage, I came across the countless mixtapes I made back in the 90's. One of the oldest of these was entitled "Neil Young and Crazyhoes", which alternated Neil Young tracks with those by the plethora of female indie rockers exploding onto the scene in the early 90's...Liz Phair, Bettie Serveert, Sonic Youth, Throwing Muses, and The Breeders to name a few. Tanya Donelly had stints in the latter two before making her bid for pop stardom fronting Belly whose pop confection "Feed The Tree" captured the airwaves in 1993. Today's double daily download covers boths ends of Donnelly's spectrum, from the sugary indie pop of that track to the dark swing of "Honeychain" from Throwing Muses' The Real Ramona. Donnely's rare writing and lead vocal contribution to that band is my pick for best Throwing Muses song ever, despite the fact that half-sister Kerstin Hersh was primary songwriter and frontwoman for all those years.
Here's a couple of tunes to flip your wig! The first track, "Bald Head", from New Orleans Boogie Woogie King Professor Longhair, concerns a poor lass who can't keep her wig on her head. The second, "Give Me back My Wig", is from Chicago Blues legend Hound Dog Taylor, known for his all out two guitars and drums (no bass) sonic assault.
I watched a DVR’d episode of Elvis Costello’s Spectacle the other night and it did not disappoint. Say what you will about Elvis as an interviewer with his need to grandstand over his guests, or his penchant for relating every question asked to one of his own personal experiences, but I think the show and its format are terrific with carefully chosen guests who seem to really enjoy themselves almost as much as Elvis does singing over them.
This episode featured the offspring of famous musicians. Guests included M. Ward & Zooey Deschanel (She and Him) Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) and the subject of this post Jakob Dylan. There was a deep sadness is Dylan’s semi-off interview and performance that has bothered me all week. I have been struck by the actual weight placed on that man’s shoulders considering the sperm that brought him into this world.
Let’s get one thing straight. The Wallflower’s grammy award winning single “One Headlight” is a fist pumping jam. The perfect summer radio hit of 1997 was one part Bob Dylan, one part Tom Petty and perhaps one part Counting Crows (!?) with an anthemic chorus so plaintive and enthusiastic it’s virtually impossible not to sing along with it. The Wallflowers then went four years without recording anything only to follow up with a handful of post-millennium material that was largely ignored. So what happened? Where did he/they go and why did Jakob Dylan stop putting out music after such a promising start?
Dylan’s new LP “Seeing Things” features stripped down guitar/vocals production and lays his songwriting chops and sandpaper voice on the table. During the Costello interview he speaks candidly about "no longer being able to keep up" with the comparisons and resisting the urge to distance himself from his father which he has done for so long. Perhaps this is the only thing you can do when you’re Bob Dylan’s son and you want to be a musician? Resistance is futile.
The song he plays with Elvis “On up the mountain” is the perfect track to sum up the interview and the emotional state and direction he’s headed in as he not so much comes out of his father’s shadow but allows himself to be comforted by life inside it. In the live performance his voice was a little off and his guitar was slightly out of tune, but there’s a Landslide-esque beauty to this track that makes it hard to deny the DNA double helixing inside this guy’s body.
In other news the rendition of the Clash’s “Straight to Hell” they do together is one of the worst covers of all time.
There’s a certain kind of sad-bastard-in-a-bar song that I really love. I sometimes fantasize about owning a dive bar with a jukebox filled with old forty-fives, and if I did, I would definitely have more than a few sad-bastard-in-a-bar songs on there to cue up as closing time approached. These songs would be about country music themes like unrequited love and drinking, or, in the case of the Del Shannon song I’ve posted below, both. It would be a grave injustice to do this post without including something by Lee Hazlewood, who may well be the patron saint of sad drinkers everywhere. So many Hazlewood songs fit the bill that it’s tough to choose one, but I’m going to go with “After Six” for the laconic perfection of its deadpan lyrics.
Last weekend was spent Spring cleaning and getting ready for the QD to move in. In the process, I came across many boxes still unpacked from my last move, over two years ago. The first thing I found was all of my CD's and a five disc changer. After 2 years with LPs only in the living room, I hooked up the player and threw on one of the long packed CD's- Elliot Smith's Figure 8. I had nearly forgotten about the album and what a gem it is. It also turned out to be the perfect house cleaning soundtrack.
In 1997 Ween went to Nashville and hired that town's legendary session musicians (Charlie McCoy, Bobby Ogdin, The Jordanaires etc.) to make 12 Golden Country Greats, an album that captures the sound of the golden age of country music while still including Ween's usual trademark collection of lyrical themes ranging from gay pool parties ("you were the fool"to drug abuse "Help me scrape the Mucous off my brain", and more. The finest moment on the album comes in "Powder Blue" when the band gives an old-fashioned vocal introduction to each musician, followed by a short solo from each. The last introduction is for none other than Muhammad Ali, which is followed by a lengthy rant from the boxer recorder earlier in his career. Apparently, Ween was denied permission to use the clip, but Elektra accidentally released it anyway in the first pressing, then deleted it from all future versions. I had that version in my collection at one time, but alas, I've misplaced it and cannot find it anywhere on the web. If any of you have it, please send it to me, I'm dying to have it!
Instead, please enjoy "Japanese Cowboy" until we have the Ali clip for your listening pleasure.
On the occasion of Sub Pop's Re-release of Red Red Meat's Bunny Gets Paid, the band played a couple of shows at the Empty Bottle this week. Cautioned by memories of the occasional snoozefest watching the band in that venue back in the nineties, I decided to walk down to the corner and give it a go. The show was terrific, the band on task and focused for the most part, with disjointed silverware scraping sound collages kept to a minimum. There were many sweet spots during the show, when Tim Rutili's bluesy art rock slide work and Brian Deck's floor tom heavy just-behind-the-beat drumwork locked in to create the perfect demented blues blend. One such moment was during "Chinese Balls", from the band's last album, There's a Star Above The Manger Tonight.
This Doris Duke song is sadder than a thousand dying dogs. I found it on one of legendary British soul expert Dave Godin’s “Deep Soul Treasures” compilations, and it’s a perfect example of the deep soul genre. The narrative goes from bleak to bleaker, detailing the hardships of a former millworker who turns to prostitution. The vocal performance is an absolute killer, almost scary-authentic, and I love how the spare instrumentation turns lush during the chorus. If you like this, the I’m A Loser album pictured above is definitely worth checking out.
Most beach vacation spots have that perfect island tinged soft rock station to provide the getaway soundtrack, and Miami is no exception. I heard this one on my way to pick-up QD from the airport and was immediately struck by the thought that Jens Lekman stole it wholesale for his "The Opposite of Hellelujah", one of my faves.
The song "Give Me Just A Little More Time" is from Detroit Soul outfit Chairmen of the Board, and it hit #3 in 1970.
I’m pretty obsessed with this David Bowie cover of the Velvet Underground classic “I’m Waiting For The Man.” Like the best covers, it allows you to experience what it’s like to hear a canonized song all over again as Bowie truly makes the song his own. I love how he adds texture to his interpretation by employing both the laconic cool of the original and his own glam swagger--the move from the former to the latter makes for an irresistible build. While we’re on the subject, I’ll throw in another of my favorite Velvet’s cover, this one of “Femme Fatale,” by Big Star. Here, Alex Chilton utilizes the same aching innocence you hear on the band’s classic song “Thirteen.” Whereas the original comes off with sneer, Chilton’s ache here brings out the unrequited love lurking beneath the song’s accusations.
The Replacements released this toss off country punk curiosity in 1983, just a year before masterpieces Let it Be and Tim would come ut in quick succession. The liner notes state that is was recorded"Oct 82-Jan 83 in a warehouse in some godawful suburb north of Mpls." The album features everything from a Beatles Parody "Mr. Whirly" to a verbatim want add "LoveLines", to a throwawy on which the band all switch instruments (opening title track).
Towards the end of his life, Cool Jazz legend Chet Baker made a guest appearance on an Elvis Costello's 1983 album Puch The Clock to play the trumpet solo on "Shipbuilding". Just a few years later, Baker would record this version of Costello's "Almost Blue" for the academy award nominated documentary film Lets Get Lost, released just months before Baker would be found dead after falling out of his second story hotel window in Amsterdam in 1988. Baker struggled most of his career with heroin addiction, and his delicate, withered vocal performance here tells the whole story.
New music today from M.Ward, one of my favorite artists. The album title Hold Time perfectly describes the timeless quality of the man's music, which could have been recorded in the twenties, yesterday, or anytimne in between. Sure, this effect feels a little too contrived at times, but overall, his records have a lush and lovely sound with terrific guitar playing and great songwriting too.
Vinyl lovers are going to want to drop coin on this one. The packaging is stunning and it comes with a free download of the album too. Galpal and She and Him cohort Zooey D. joins him on this catchy track.
The mercurial Slim Smith (born Keith Smith) was rumored to have bled to death at the age of twenty-five from a hand wound caused by smashing out a window. Others say he simply committed suicide after a rocky sojourn in a sanitarium. Regardless of his early demise, Smith is undoubtably one of the great vocalists in Jamaica’s considerable musical history. His unique, raggedly intense falsetto stands out even when Smith sings, as he sometimes did, as a part of a vocal ensembles like the Victor Youth Band and the Techniques. My two favorite solo tracks of his are “Please Stay,” and his cover of the Curtis Mayfield song “Gypsy Woman.”
I've been digging on this track Paper Planes from M.I.A.'s second album. The song, also featured in Slumdog Millionaire and Pineapple Express, uses a sample from the Clash's Straight To Hell from Combat Rock as its main basis. Paper Planes
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Here's a nice little ditty that Sherm brought to Hayward rehearsal last night. Real twangy in a Steve Earle kind of way. I resolve to learn it to play to my niece Katie when I go east to visit in April.
At a dinner party this last weekend, we discussed top concerts through history that we wish we could have attended. Berthy suggested early seventies Parliament/Funkadelic, and I had to agree that P-Funk would be a top choice, especially during the Mother Ship Connection/Dr. Funkenstein era. Check out this clip from 1978 and imagine attending.
Today's track is from Funkadelic, the funk rock side of George Clinton's musical empire. The track is from the band's 1971 album Maggot Brain, and has a rock/gospel tinged groove that brings to mind music from The Staple Singers and the Band. I Dig the interplay throughout between all the voices, especially, the baritone lead in the third verse.
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