Monthly Archives: December 2010

Auld Lang Syne!

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Ever wondered what that song was that peeps played when the New Year rang in? It’s called “Auld Lang Syne” and translated from Scottish, it means “old long since” if very literally. Basically, it means “days long past”. A way of remembering the year that we just finished. Well, house music producer Slow Hands has made a really cool jam that can bring the new year in in such fitting fashion. It’s a remix of the traditional track you hear that was recorded in this instance by Guy Lombardo.

Anyhow, do check this one out. The original is there for you all, also. I hope all of you have a happy and safe New Year!

Click to Play Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians – Auld Lang Syne

Click to Play Slow Hands – Auld Lang Syne

Earn it and burn it

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If you have heard the name Mark Ronson, it might be because of his production work on Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black album. For his work Ronson would win three Grammy’s for “Producer of the Year, “Best Pop Vocal Album”, and “Record of the Year”. You might know that… but not know that Ronson is also a DJ, guitarist, singer/songwriter, and co-founder of the music label Allido Records.

Mark Ronson and his new backing band, The Business Intl., released an eclectic album called Record Collection on September 27th, 2010. It was, rather quietly, a success. Quiet in the States at least. The first single off the album peaked at number 6 on the UK singles chart and number 18 on the Irish Singles Chart.

Mark Ronson

I find it surprising it never caught on here in the US though. It seems most of my generation is uber reminiscent of the 80’s. This album has such a great 80’s sound and vibe to it, that I think if more people actually gave it a listen, that they would absolutely love it. Mark Ronson is able to tie in the sounds from 30 years ago with the present pretty easily. It’s so flawless in its union, it just shocks me.

What’s more 80’s than Boy George? The song “Somebody to Love Me” was the third single released from Record Collection. Take Boy George and have him sing alongside the front-man from Swedish indie group Miike Snow…throw in some keyboards and a dope breakbeat drum line, you have a synergistic meld of decades of music!

Click to Listen to Mark Ronson – Somebody to Love Me (featuring Boy George and Andrew Wyatt)

Even with the 1980’s making appearances all over the album, there are also other guest collaborations to be found on Record Collection. Q-Tip, D’angelo Spank Rock, Ghostface Killah, and even the London Gay Men’s Choir all offer some great moments on the album. Ronson also lays down vocals on a few of the tracks.

There is an adorable video for track 8 off the album, the song “Circuit Breaker”. The song is just an instrumental track that features California turntablist/DJ/producer Teeko. The video is an 8-bit gamer’s dream and was directed by Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland. Check it out below.


“CIRCUIT BREAKER” by Mark Ronson from gary breslin on Vimeo.

A Zelda like character, that I am assuming is Ronson, slashes and parries his attackers while he collects all the pieces he needs to create a turntable that he can use for the final boss. A DJ battle ensues and the protagonist gets his girl!

There is a ton of good stuff on this album. You can stream the entire thing here. After listening to it, I can’t imagine you won’t be buying it.

The breath that carried me

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If you listen to any sort of American radio – be it internet or terrestrial, you may have recently caught this indie-sounding tune and you might be bracing to hear more from this band. Imma let you in on the secret the terrestrial deejays don’t even know: Florence + The Machine has been around for awhile, so hurry up and get cozy with this album so you can be cooler than your friends.

Florence is Florence Welsh, a 24-year old from London whose upbringing appears to have been a stable, if not somewhat inspirational, one. You can’t complain about having a normal childhood with intelligent parents. Her mother, a Professor at the University of London, once gave a lecture that inspired Florence to create music that “has some of the big themes – sex, death, love, violence – that will still be part of the human story in 200 years’ time.”
The Machine is comprised of whatever session musicians are needed at the time. The song, “Dog Days Are Over,” which you may have heard on the radio or as the opening theme to Eat, Pray, Love was recorded in a tiny closet with no instruments. Indie band The xx even duetted with Miss Welch over the summer at some Glastonbury shows.

Wait… I haven’t told you about The xx yet have I? Shame on me. A bit more mellow than Florence + the Machine but quite a lovely sound nonetheless.

2009’s Lungs album was written during what turned out to be a temporary breakup between Flo and her beau. Apparently he doesn’t like her to talk about it, but here she is singing about it. That’s got to feel raw. Unless you can just play with it, I guess, but really. Music can be so emotive, taking you back to a dark place or maybe recharging the fire and passion that you felt, thought you lost, and have again. Powerful to think of when hearing “Between Two Lungs.”

Click to Play Florence + The Machine – Between Two Lungs

Here’s the one you could play with.

Enjoy. And buy. And Happy Merry Christmas.

From Disco to House

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So listening to an old mix I had kicking around, I felt as though I could share a quick one with you guys. Unfortunately, due to Christmas shopping and errands that have me behind like nuts, this is gonna be a short post. I will try to atone for it next week, however!

Anyone that knows Derrick Carter well may know his track “10”. The video below features it as it was taken from a mix.

Well, the track he sampled from? Is a relatively unknown band by the name of Quando Quango. Guys like Derrick, who pick through the obscure to find gems to sample, know gold when they hear it. The track “Love Tempo” is an infectious sort of jam. Disco meets new wave meets horns. You guys should check this one out.

Click to Play Quando Quango – Love Tempo

Merry Christmas to all of you, out there!

Here We Go (get it?)

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When I meet someone new, I usually end up telling them I run and write for a music blog. More often than not a music fan will light up and try to find out which of their favorite bands I haven’t heard of yet.  I’m pretty well versed, but sometimes whatever band they’re gushing about ends up being new to me. I promise to look into them, and I always do. I figure that if I don’t know, maybe you don’t. If YOU don’t, then I am obligated to share them with you. Good or bad–although I try to spare you the bad.

This last time I was at the bar, our bartender spots us as we walk in and asks me if I like Punk music. He knows I am a “music snob” so I wasn’t caught off guard in the least. I say I love Punk music…and then a girl on the other side of the bar hollers over the din of the bar to ask who my favorite Punk band is. I answer quickly. My favorite band, period.  Never mind the genre.  “Bad Religion,” I shout back.

After 15 minutes I get her to sit on my side of the bar so I don’t have to yell to be heard. We get into more discussions about music. She shits on Sublime for 15 minutes and I try to defend. She’s from So-cal and just hates on them because she feels like they bit everyone’s style out there. I spar with her, but she won’t budge. Her mind is set.

Then she asks me if I have ever heard of Jawbreaker.

Jawbreaker

I hadn’t.

She does what they all do at this point. She gives me the pitch. Why they are great and why I need to listen to them. She tells me about how great the music is and how emotional the lyrics are. The band was formed in Oakland, CA (which might have been a plus according to her?) and dissolved in 1996.

She’s piqued my interest. I asked if she thought they were an “Emo” band and she quickly dismissed that they were. Most punk purists scoff at the idea of Emo has a watered down version of Punk. I disagree, but I understand why most people feel this way. Emo sucks is the new “disco sucks” mentality of many Punk Rockers.

This barfly tells me I need to listen to the album 24 Hour Revenge Therapy first and then check out the rest of their discography after that.

That is exactly what I did. I wish  I could tell you that she was on the money. It’s rather mediocre. I expected better from Oakland honestly. Check out “Jinx Removing”… Track 11 off of 24 Hour.


Click to Play Jawbreaker – Jinx Removing

ZZZZZzzzzzzZZZZzzzz…

It’s totally an Emo band, by the way. A bad one at that. We should be thankful they broke up. We’ll give them credit for being an influence to all the Emo bands that came after them. They should be thankful for even that much credit. If you are feeling this track, I suggest you pick up the album Dear You. It’s their last album, before they broke up. Dear You is a lot more polished than the bands other albums, and in my opinion this band could use the acoustic clean up.

The Flatliners

Well…if you are reading this, “girl from the bar,” I suggest you listen to the Punk band The Flatliners.  It’s the band I think you were describing. The only thing wrong with them is that they are not from Oakland.
Toronto, Canada isn’t that far from Oakland right? Also, the band is still together. Since 2002, and an album for as many years.

Click to Play The Flatliners – Here Comes Treble

Rockin’! That’s a punk band to claim!

oh captain, my captain

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I was working on another post when I heard the news: Don Van Vliet, better known as Captain Beefheart, died Friday evening. I know you’ve probably seen write-ups at tons of other websites but bear with me as I pay my own tribute.

The Captain

You’ve likely heard of Captain Beefheart (and His Magic Band) even if you never listened to his music. The album Trout Mask Replica is on pretty much every larger greatest albums list out there and you’ll find quite a few statements on Beefheart from other musicians and artists who fared better in the mainstream. But the guy didn’t write music ready for radio play and will always remain more of a cult figure than some rock legend. So what’s the big deal?

Let me tell you.

Van Vliet was one of the rare breed of artists who never compromised his vision, regardless of how bizarre that vision may have seemed to everyone else. He wasn’t for mass consumption and never pretended to be. He read the rulebooks of genre, sonic quality, and commercial viability and promptly told them to go fuck themselves. Maybe despite this, or more likely because of it, he was a bastion to other musicians who want to focus on their art rather than their album sales. Frank Zappa was a longtime friend and collaborator. Tom Waits found something he’d been looking for in Trout Mask Replica and started modifying his sound. Beefheart was a muse, changing the face of music and inspiring others to do the same. That’s why he was so important.
You can dig deeper into the man, the music, the strange history of how his opus of an album was recorded, on your own. I’ll just throw a couple songs out here so you can listen in. You may love them, you may hate them, but you can’t deny they’re unlike anything else you’ve heard. Rest in peace, you strange, brilliant man.

Click to play Captain Beefheart – Ella Guru

Click to play Captain Beefheart – When Big Joan Sets Up

Click to play Captain Beefheart – China Pig

  

Look out the window at that storm

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Hi there. I’ve got another album to get you in the holiday spirit.

I know.

It’s so annoying isn’t it. I don’t care.
You’re going to wish so hard you were in a cabin in the mountains in front of a fire.
You will wish it and you will like it!

And if you still resist, then you’re going to buy it for your cubemate or flatmate or cousin who unexpectedly is showing up this year. And they will like it. Buy two just so you have an extra on hand. I am telling you, it is always good to be prepared with “thoughtful” gifts.

So now do you want to know which artist is sure to bring delight somewhere in your periph’ as winter creeps in and holiday havoc snowballs your way?

Miss Norah Jones.

And Outkast, and the Foo Fighters, and Willie Nelson, and Belle and Sebastian, and Talib Kweli, Q-Tip… Eighteen tracks featuring collaborations and duets she’s done in the last decade. Many by the other artist’s request. It’s in this way that this collab album is set apart from others. This isn’t Norah Jones grabbing artists to do an album she’s conceived of. It’s Norah Jones giving thanks to all those who thought to add her sound to theirs.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, for instance. THE New Orleans funk/jazz band. Perhaps the credit for the idea to put her on their 2002 album Medicated Minds doesn’t belong to the band members per se, but what a lovely track they created nonetheless.

Click to Play Dirty Dozen Brass Band ft Norah Jones – Ruler of My Heart

“It’s so exciting and flattering and fun when I get asked to sing with somebody that I admire,” Jones said via a statement. “It takes you a little bit out of your comfort zone when you’re doing something with another artist. You don’t know what to expect-it’s kind of like being a little kid and having a playdate.”

And who can resist the “Baby It’s Cold Outside” classic? No one. Every artist has done it. Frank Loesser wrote this song as a duet with his wife Lynn Garland in 1944. She was none too pleased when he sold the song to MGM. To her, it was their song. They had it for four years as it was played informally here and there. As soon as it was sold, the recordings started piling up. Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan. Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban. Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton. I’ve only named half of the artists who recorded the song in the year 1949 alone!!

Mae West and Rock Hudson. Ray Charles and Betty Carter. Ray Charles and Dionne Warwick. Robert Palmer and Carnie Wilson. Untold numbers of other artists, pairing with uncredited backup vocalists. Buddy The Elf and Jovie (one of my favorite versions.)

And Willie Nelson, when he decided to record a jazz album, asked Norah Jones to sing along with him.

And it still sounds great.

Click to Play Willie Nelson ft Norah Jones – Baby It’s Cold OUtside

Now pack your ugly sweaters, load up this album, and get your sweetie up to that cabin! Now!

Giddy-up!

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Recently, a friend of mine posted a video on my wall on facebook. With it, a note that said, “[R]eview some Irish music, for once!!!” Well, Chad, you’re getting your fucking wish. Now keep your mouth shut.

So the Rubberbandits are a hip-hop duo that are really more comedic in their style, than anything else. From Limerick, Ireland, you’re going to have a tough time understanding the accents, at first. You’ll get over it. And then find awesomeness. Seriously. You will. Or maybe some coins in your couch. I don’t know. It’s your couch. Clean it. It’s disgusting. And you have family coming over soon. Now if you all would kindly watch the video for “Horse Outside” and laugh and/or guffaw, it would make me tingle inside. The song already has about 1.5 million views in around a week, and they’re aiming to be number one in Ireland on Christmas as a gag. So better yet? Go buy this song! Help the joke!

Click to Play Rubberbandits – Horse Outside

Now go buy something. Or your penis will fall off. If you’re female? Well, I guess I’ve got nothing.

Thanks For The Perspective (Clap… Clap… Clap…)

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Kanye West

I had plans to write about some punk albums this week. I had plans to do a lot of things. I’m in the weeds at work. I’ll be in the weeds well into the new year.

Really, I just never got around to listening to the punk albums I wanted to talk about  for the post.

Honestly? I just still can’t stop listening to the new Kanye album.

In the near future I am making the staff give me the top ten albums released this year for a week of “Best Of” posts at the end of the month.

I’ll give you my number one album now. It’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Lyrically and musically it’s fucking fantastic! You already know how I feel about that album since I wrote it up a few weeks back. Since I am under the gun though, you get more Kanye. This time it’s the leak and remix promo Kanye is doing for his fans. In August Kanye West proclaimed on twitter (of course…) that he would release a  “new joint from our family“ on his website every Friday until xmas.

He dubbed it G.O.O.D. Fridays and then the gems started dropping. I was there every Friday like a hungry dog begging for a biscuit.

Power Remix Track Art

The first track dropped was a remix of the song “Power” off the then yet unreleased new album. The song featured Jay-Z and Swizz Beats and mashes up Snap’s “I’ve Got The Power.” It’s got hot, hot alternate verses from what ended up on the album version.

We livin’ in that 31st century, futuristic fly shit

The penthouse is the projects and everybody flies private

New watch, know what time it is, watch us (You see us)

They can’t stop us, prophets, beyotches


Click to Play Kanye West – Power (Remix featuring Jay-Z and Swiss Beats)

There were 12 other releases packaged up into the G.O.O.D Friday project, and then  nothing new after My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was released. I’m assuming Yeezy just wanted to make sure the focus stayed on the new album for a few weeks before he starts back up on the G.O.O.D. Fridays series. That would make sense anyways. One can hope! You can check out the thirteen tracks for yourself here. An email address gets you access to download them all. I suggest you do. Then buy his new album if you haven’t already.

a new(?) joint

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A friend recently told me about a new band he heard and has fallen in love with. He sent me a bunch of youtube clips to watch. He raved about their songwriting and production. He got me really excited about this new group, so I opened the emailed links with great anticipation. Before the music even started I saw the album cover and the name of the group: Elbow.

“Wait, these guys aren’t new,” I thought, “they’ve been around forever.” Then I realized that what I’d been taking for granted may be the next big thing for someone else. That’s the point of this kind of blog anyway, right? So I’d like to introduce you to Elbow if you haven’t heard them yet. If you’re already a fan you may still learn something here, but you can also just put on your favorite Elbow album and spend your time listening again instead of taking my word for it.

The band formed as a bunch of teenagers in 1990. It took them 10 years to release their debut album, Asleep In The Back , due to a takeover of their record label by a bigger player. This may be just as well, since their melodic Brit-pop sound probably had more of a place in 2001 than it would have up against the likes of Nirvana and the Grunge movement. Here’s a pretty little track from that debut:

Click to play Elbow – Red

From there things started to blossom. In the last decade they’ve toured with some great bands, won a few awards, traded covers with Peter Gabriel, and generally made a great name for themselves. I’ll just drop a track from each of their full-length albums here so you can get a sample.

From Cast Of Thousands (2003):

Click to play Elbow – Fugitive Motel

From Leaders Of The Free World (2005):

Click to play Elbow – Station Approach

From The Seldom Seen Kid (2008):

Click to play Elbow – Grounds For Divorce

These aren’t my favorite songs from any of those albums, but they’re a good start for each. Hopefully they’re enough to make you go out and buy more.

If a bit of randomness will help you commit, here you go:

Click to play Elbow – Independent Woman

Elbow is an amazing band. That’s basically all I have to say. I’m sure you’ll hear all about it when their next album drops in 2011, from me if nowhere else.

By the way, in case anyone out there is troubled enough to actually check for my post every Sunday, I have to apologize for missing last week. I had to travel for work and couldn’t quite make the time to put a good post together for you. Oh, the hard life of an international supermodel…