Manu Manu
Manu Chao was born in Paris to Spanish parents in 1961. In his earlier years, he was in a rockabilly band that went by the name of Les Hot Pants (great name!). He also fronted a popular French rock band called Mano Negra. His music is hard to pin down, but you hear some reggae, pop, and lots of latin rhythms. It’s a grab bag of styles, very interesting stuff…
He’s a very politically active guy, and his bio is pretty interesting. In 92, he toured Latin America with a circus and actors, “aided and abetted by various political guerilla groups.” Anyone who can make the jump from Les Hot Pants to a circus tour funded by guerillas has to be interesting. His web site is an eyeful too.
Manu Chao:
Bongo Bong(mp3)You can listen to an entire live show (over 2 hrs long) on the Multimedia section of his site.
Buy the music of M. Chao
Getting Shivaree in Here
For this post, I hand the reins over to my buddy Richard, who has introduced me to some cool music, including this band fronted by a talented woman. Yes, another female post! Hot damn, soon I’ll have to rename this blog Chickmusic! Take it away Richard.
Just a word of warning, this writing is somewhat sexist, but I cant help it. This is the lead-off track from the latest Shivaree release, ‘Whos Got Trouble?’ [Buy it Here]. Shivaree is basically singer/songwriter Ambrosia Parsley and whoever is in her band at the time. I was first turned on to her from a note on KCRWs web site. I sampled some of her tunes and was immediately blown away.
That voice just immediately warped itself around my being in a way that can only be described as, well, sensual. She sounds like some lost-soul beat writer/poet from the fifties has been channeled through her to create this sensual, late-night, chain-smoking, druggy aura that is truly intoxicating. If I had to make a comparison, I would say she reminds me of the early Ricki Lee Jones, but with a lot more promise and more depth. Her voice just tumbles out so easily and catches your ear like some sweet vixen youd like to know but cant because she is too ethereal to really exist.
She mixes influences from jazz, blues, soul, and some tin-pan alley kitche and Tom Waits off-centeredness all thrown into a stew that sounds totally new yet totally familiar…all at the same time. And listen to the lyrics closely; she tells tales of love lost and forlorn, but not in a sad, woe-is-me kind of way, but more of an experienced girl/woman who knows “whats really goin on”, at least in her head.
But, really, she could sing the phone book and Id probably get goose bumps listening to it, or maybe the shivers, or hey, the Shivarees. Ill be her handsome buckaroo anytime she wanted to curl-up next to a campfire somewhere in the open West that her sound seems to evoke in my brain. “Get lost in her dream.” Its well worth the trip. There are currently 3 CDs available, 1 in Europe only (where she is very popular), and one EP. Plus, check out the live taping at the KCRW studio if you want to see her live. Get the “Shivers.”
Shivaree:
New Casablanca(mp3)Hanging with Bill
Some of you return visitors may have noticed a recurring theme on Ickmusic: Steve Earle. My strong appreciation for Mr. Earle’s work has led me to some great music, through his own work, and through his association with others. One in particular is the Bill Lyerly Band. Bill Lyerly has been churning out the blues in North Carolina for over 25 years. In 1998, he released ‘Railroad Station Blues’ (Buy it here}. On one track, he brought in the Twangtrust to produce it. The Twangtrust is Steve Earle and Ray Kennedy. The track is “Hangmen”. Steve joins in on the singing too. . . a quite catchy little number about the life of a hangman. “The hangman’s there to do his duty, the hangman never cries…”
Bill Lyerly Band: Hangmen (mp3)
Bonus: Virtual Reality Time (mp3)Fun with Fred
So here’s another Canadian treasure that still manages to fly under the radar down here in the States. The name’s Fred Eaglesmith, and he was born into a large family on a southern Ontario farm. His debut album was released way back in 1980. Great roots / country/ folk rockin’ going on here. It’s this tune that caught my attention a couple years back. Still waiting for the man to make it down to Arizona…Fred Eaglesmith:
Gettin’ to Me(mp3)Buy Fred’s music.
bad boy from philly
Well here I am riffing off of someone else’s blog post again, but I just got done reading Christopher Porter’s post on a new book called Rakim Told Me, which delves into 21 different classic old school rap albums, including, among others, Eric B. & Rakim, Too Short, Ice T, Public Enemy, and Schoolly D. I read an excerpt on Schoolly D’s Saturday Night album, and was compelled to plop on the headphones, turn the volume up to 11, and relive my younger days… Schoolly talks about the making of “P.S.K. What does it Mean”, with the aid of a “massive reverb chamber”: “big f** plates, they took up a whole room. It takes like 3-4 people just to move them around”. Schoolly was pioneering “gangsta rap” in Philly back in the mid 80’s. He and his DJ Code Money would get together with a Roland TR-909 drum machine, a couple of turntables, and an ample amount of alcohol and weed, and they’d see what came out of it. As a 15 year old kid in Wisconsin, I didn’t know how they were putting these tracks together, but I sure liked ’em…
Schoolly D:
P.S.K. What Does it Mean?(mp3) andHousing the Joint(mp3)Two of my favorite things: Bars and Guitars
I have to give props to my favorite music blog of the moment: Bars & Guitars. The guy’s name is Peter so you know he’s cool from the get go. Peter has his finger on the pulse of the Americana / alt-country scene in ways that I envy greatly. I was prompted to put up a link after hearing today’s Cropduster post. He keeps churning out these great tunes, and I am duly impressed…
Check it out: Bars & Guitars
Fiona’s Extraordinary Apple Machine
The ‘leaked’ Fiona Apple album, ‘Extraordinary Machine’, has been all over the internet, but I thought I’d share one anyway. This is one talented hot young artist, and Sony / Epic has been holding off on releasing this album for more than two friggin years because they don’t think it’s commercial enough. Blecchh… What a bunch of idiots. I feel for her.
It will sound weird to some ears. But when dealing with Apple, a certain amount of confusion is a given. Brion’s ingenious orchestrations are dramatic and demented. The songs, all piano-based, focus less on conventional melodies and hooks than on creating and sustaining an overall mood suitable for a collection tantamount to hallucinogenic cabaret, pure musical absinthe ladled out by the gallon…Extraordinary Machine is nothing if not the musical manifestation of Apple’s infamously unstable psyche. – from this article
Fiona has always intrigued me by her wise-beyond- her- years voice and lyrics, her originality, and – yeah – her beauty. Hallucinogenic Cabaret….exactly.
Buy the Music of Fiona Apple
July Update: Not sure how long it will last, but the songs can be found here for now
Quiet time with Townes
So it was my turn to put my little one to sleep tonight. Usually an
ambient/space music internet station does the trick. Tonight, it was
random shuffle on Winamp. So with my daughter laying across my lap in the
dark, the sweet sounds of “Lover’s Lullaby” showed up and did its trick.Townes Van Zandt released this tune on 1995’s ‘No
Deeper Blue’ (Buy it here on Amazon], two years before his untimely passing on New
Year’s Day, 1997. I was introduced to Townes through his association with
Steve Earle. Steve once said that Townes was the “best songwriter in the
whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy
boots and say that.”“Lover’s Lullaby” is bittersweet, beautiful, and raw; you can just hear
all the years of Townes’ hard living in it. Townes is missed. By
the way, for the best tribute to Townes that I’ve ever heard, check out
Earle’s “Fort Worth Blues” from 97’s ‘El Corazon’.Townes Van Zandt:
Lover’s Lullaby(mp3)a funny clip from mr. cross
I had to share this little excerpt from comedian David Cross‘ latest CD, ‘It’s Not Funny’ [Buy It]…. he’s talking about the music that becomes popular during war time, namely the country stuff. I’ll let David take it from here…
Warning to you: if you are offended by obscene language, or just easily offended in general, or really love Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”, don’t listen to this.David Cross excerpt (mp3)
The Pride of Falkirk, Scotland
For me, listening to this song is sort of like watching ‘Trainspotting’. I thoroughly enjoy it, have to concentrate hard to understand what in the hell they’re saying, but understand more with each listen. But there’s definitely something infectious about this song by Scottish group Arab Strap. The song itself was released on their 1997 debut, ‘The Week Never Starts Round Here’ [Buy it Here]. There’s an odd coolness to it. A laid back vibe. I shall consult no lyrics sheet for this song…I shall decode it myself!! HA!
From All Music: The Scottish post-folk duo Arab Strap was formed in mid-1995 by vocalist Aidan Moffett and multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Middleton, longtime friends who after years of exchanging cassettes of their respective bands decided to finally begin collaborating together. Upon signing to the hip Chemikal Underground label, they issued their debut single, the stark, downcast “The First Big Weekend”; the song was a major critical hit, with Britain’s Radio One declaring it the best record of the decade.
Arab Strap:
First Big Weekend(mp3)