Author Archives: admin

Auld Lang Syne!

Posted on by
Reply


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

The breath that carried me

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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!

oh captain, my captain

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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!

Posted on by
Reply


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.

a new(?) joint

Posted on by
Reply

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…

 

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like…

Posted on by
Reply

I am pretty sure there exists somewhere a print version containing proof that I have shat upon the Music Genome Project. It angered me. How dare you set out to “capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song”? That phrase in itself should be a dichotomy – “capture” something that is “unique and magical”? Wah! Meh! Other various grumbling sounds!

I just have a tendency to fight something that I see as forced. To fight anything that doesn’t organically evolve. I’m not saying I’m right. I have my quirks.

This is my Sexy Little Netbook.

And since I never found time to fully upload any real semblance of an iTunes library on my Sexy Little Netbook, I find myself needing to obtain music from sources Other Than My Own while at work.

So I caved, and I created myself a Pandora profile.

In June I created a Wallflowers station. I liked it. It was good. In July I created a Jack’s Mannequin station. It was great. On August 30 I created a Santana station. What amazing guitar artistry was displayed on this station! That was a good day at work.

That was when I was thankful for Pandora. You know why? By September 5 I was the new owner of the album 11:11 by Rodrigo y Gabriela.

So I have to say thank you to Pandora and music genomes. Listening to Santana allowed for an electronically-induced organic discovery of this Mexican musical duo and the amazing things that can be done with a guitar.

No. There is no drummer. That is Gabriela’s percussive style of playing. In fact, it is so heavily percussive that it led to a temporary hiatus in touring recently due to a stress injury! Fortunately for their most loyal fans, the duo performed live at a pub in Dublin on 11/11 to celebrate the album on which they play tribute to 11 artists who inspired them. NPR streamed the live performance and you bet I tuned in… It was amazing. Since then, I have been playing it to lift my spirits around the house and out and about while the weather turns cold and holiday planning comes into full effect.

Track One on the album, released in September 2009, is dedicated to Carlos Santana. Click play and listen to “Hanuman”.

Click to Play Rodrigo y Gabriela – Hanuman

Other tracks on the album are dedicated to musicians from all over the world: Pakistan, Spain, India, Argentina, plus Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and even Dimebag Darrell from Pantera! Tell me you can see yourself putting that on the ‘pod, or on your home stereo, or in your car… Move about the house readying it for company, pull out your long johns, fight mall traffic, bake holiday goodies, come on. It’s perfect mood music to substitute for all the Christmas music you’ll be hearing everywhere.

This is an amazing album. Buy it now. Take it with you. Now you’re warm.

All We Are Saying…

Posted on by
1


So I’m a big John Lennon fan. Not so much for his music as I am of the ideas that he sometimes presented through his music. He wasn’t a perfect man. He definitely enjoyed his drug use, for example. He also possessed a hot temper, and had some dealings with women I look down on. However, I feel as though his impact on the world is still felt today. Thirty years ago today, his life was senselessly taken by fanatic Mark David Chapman. Even ESPN’s Outside the Lines did a piece on Lennon’s killing.

As I said, his music isn’t really what I am a fan of. In fact, much of his solo work is very sub-par. On occasion, though, the brilliance would come out and produce musical wonders. Three of them are here today. I think we all know two of the three. The first was an anthem against the Vietnam War and helped solidify Lennon’s being booted from the States by Richard Nixon. The song “Give Peace a Chance” became the anti-war song amongst anti-war songs. The second one is also anti-war but in a bit more subtle sense. Every holiday season, we hear “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)”, and wonder where it came from, but it somehow seems to fit.

Click to Play John Lennon – Give Peace A Chance

Click to Play John Lennon – Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

The last is one that pushes more his ideas as an atheist, which continually becomes more stigmatized in this country by the day. No real help from the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens with their tactless and arrogant delivery, however. The song “God” proclaims his disbelief in the fantastical, which smacks of a bit strange, considering his past history of drug use.

Click to Play John Lennon – God

People may be wondering why I didn’t post “Imagine”. Well, if you dig back a few months on the blog, I actually did a post on the song, and the covers of it I found to be some semblance of good. Now go buy some of the man’s music!

OH SO GUILTY: The music gives us a chance

Posted on by
Reply

I hate radio.

I love radio.

I just need to sing in the car. I just need that. I just need to belt out any random song recorded between 1962 and today. Randomly. I don’t want to program it into a playlist, a CD, an mp3 to install, or an iPod to plug in while I drive.

When I find a good one, I think “THIS is what I am going to sing at karaoke.” Then I text Vanessa and ask when we’re going downtown next. But I never share my secret song. Then when I am a couple sheets to the wind and AT the juke joint, I have no idea what I want to sing.

Today while driving, I heard “Build Me Up Buttercup.” Oh, what a song. THAT is the song I MUST sing with gusto on the stage. I wish I could be in every possible machination of that song in every scene from “There’s Something About Mary” that the actors filmed. I love this video.


There’s Something About Mary from nitz on Vimeo.

Did you know that Mookie wants to start playing the Ukulele? He could play backup while I belt my heart out at one of my guilty pleasure songs. You know, now that I think about it, I wish I could have been at that table to participate in “Say A Little Prayer” from “My Best Friend’s Wedding”, too.


My Best Friend’s Wedding – I Say a Little Prayer For You from Carlos Giroto on Vimeo.

Forever, and ever, you’ll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I’ll love you
Together, forever, that’s how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me.

I am starting to understand what is going on here. I have a thing for Cameron Diaz movies where the characters burst out into song. Dressing Room Movie Montage from The Sweetest Thing. You know the song, I don’t have to share the video.

Click to Play Peaches and Herb – Shake Your Groove Thing  

Ah.
These songs make me happy.
I wish there was a radio station that played all my favorite singalong songs on a continuous loop. And if I lived in a town where gridlock was an issue, we could all get out of our cars and do a song and dance routine to them.

Guilty. So guilty.

Click to Play The Foundations – Build Me Up Buttercup