• Country

    My Dwight Masterpiece: If There Was a Way

    April 10, 2007 /
    If There Was a Way

    Tonight I’m reaching back to the archives to my favorite Dwight Yoakam album, 1990’s If There Was a Way. It’s a great record start to finish, and my cassette – yes cassette – got many many listens in its day. Dwight has always remained a steadfastly old-school country-boogie-swingin’ honky-tonk man.

    My two favorites off the album are the title track, and “Turn it On, Turn it Up, Turn Me Loose”. The latter track I’ve been looking for on YouTube for a while, and I finally found it. Who uploaded it to YouTube? Why, Warner Brothers Records, believe it or not! A step in the right direction, as the labels are figuring out how important this medium is to the future (and past) of music.

    Dwight does himself a little acting in this video for “Turn it On…” As you may know, Dwight’s also established himself as a formidable actor in Hollywood. You all remember him as that prick Doyle in Sling Blade, right? This video precedes his first movie role, 1992’s Red Rock West, by two years.

    So, in the annals of songs I’ll always love, I give you the video, courtesy of Warner Brothers, for “Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose.”

    “If a tear should fall
    If I should whisper her name
    To some stranger I’m holdin’
    While we’re dancin to an old Buck Owens soooong”

    So naturally, your next inclination is to buy the album: If There Was a Way

  • Indie

    A new Mac and some good Blow

    April 9, 2007 /

    Da Blow

    PC or Mac? As my Dell PC (c. 2004) began to slow down a bit, and the 80 gig hard drive neared its capacity, it was time to start the search for my new computer. For once, it was a calculated decision, quite unlike the impulse trips to Best Buy “for a quick look”, only to walk out with a new PC 45 minutes later. This upcoming computer will be my fourth since 1997, not too bad in computer years I guess.

    So this time around, I’ve decided to jump across the great divide and go with a Mac for the first time. An iMac, to be precise. 20 inch screen. 500 gig hard drive. A gig of memory. It should be shipping tomorrow. The anticipation builds… a new era! My wife said she’s way more excited about the steam cleanin’ vacuum that’s on its way from Costco. I – I just don’t get that.

    So thanks to my friend Jim for being the answer man for all my Mac vs. PC questions. I’m pretty pumped about this if you can’t tell already. Thing is, I haven’t found a Mac owner who hasn’t raved about them. And they’re just – so – damn – cool! Sleek, slick, simple.

    So on to some music. The Blow is the brainchild of Portland, Oregon based performance artist Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt. Artsy fartsy indie rockin’ performance artists – with a good beat. And the kids can dance to it.

    The Blow – Parantheses (mp3)

    The Blow’s Official Site | MySpace

    Buy their latest, Paper Television:

  • Pop

    Friday Flashback: Richard Marx

    April 6, 2007 /

    Richard Marx - Hazard

    The CD single of Richard Marx‘s “Hazard” was the latest disc my 1 year old grabbed out of my CD rack. It prompted me to throw it in the CD drive and have a good listen. Early 90’s cheese? To some. But in my oh so humble opinion, still a good song. Nice tune, nice melody, nice singin’. It holds up!

    Richard Marx: Hazard (mp3)

    Buy: Rush Street (1991)

  • BritPop

    Hollywood Weller

    April 5, 2007 /

    Paul Weller

    Add Paul Weller’s three night February stand at the Avalon in Hollywood to my “shows I would have driven 6 hours to if I was still a bachelor” list. The former Jam and Style Council frontman has been a very successful solo artist in the years since, and still puts on a great show, as you’ll hear right here, right now.

    Paul Weller
    The Avalon, Hollywood, Calif.
    February 4th, 2007

    Part I

    Science
    Peacock Suit
    Into Tomorrow
    From the Floorboards Up
    Paper Smile
    All the Pictures On the Wall
    Above the Clouds
    Thick as Thieves
    Savages / Fly Little Bird
    Wild Wood
    Up In Suze’s Room
    My Ever Changing Moods
    Running On the Spot
    Porcelain Gods / Walk on Gilded Splinters

    Part II

    All On a Misty Morning
    Wishing on a Star
    Butterfly Collector
    It’s a Very Deep Sea (Weller on piano)
    Long Hot Summer (Weller on piano)
    Shout to the Top
    Changingman
    At the Foot of the Mountain

    Encore
    Come On Let’s Go
    I Wanna Make It Alright
    Broken Stones / Happy Days
    A Town Called Malice

  • Opera

    La Boheme, Acts III and IV

    April 3, 2007 /

    Cristina Gallardo-Domâs
    Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, soprano who plays Mimi in this performance (I’m not sure which character / opera the photo is from).

    And so here we have Acts III and IV of La Boheme. I’m glad to see some enthusiasm about the recent opera posts. I’ve had these arias going through my head all week. The cool thing about opera – and I’ll lump classical music into this observation too – is the history behind it. La Boheme debuted in 1896. Isn’t it pretty amazing to consider that people like you and me have been enjoying these arias for the last 111 years? Think about some of the classical composers. Their music has been touching people for hundreds of years. Hundreds. What a legacy to leave behind.

    The crazy thing is that people a couple hundred years from now will be looking back at our era with the same historical perspective and amazement. There will be some kid in the year 2307 hearing Hendrix, Miles, Dylan, Prince, and Springsteen for the first time. And Sanjaya of course (I hope you all did your part and voted tonight). Something tells me that a religion will soon form based on the life’s work of the Great Sanjaya. It is beyond our control, I’m afraid. For now, we vote. Sanjaya will not be stopped.

    So enjoy Act’s III and IV. I’ll have to track down a performance of Madame Butterfly for some near future opera action.

    La Boheme

    February 3, 2007
    Metropolitan Opera, New York City

    –Act III: At the toll gate —
    Ohe, la, le guardie! Aprite!
    Sa dirmi, scusi, qual’e l’osteria
    Mimi! Speravo di trovarvi qui
    Marcello. Finalemente!
    Mimi e una civetta
    Mimi e tanto malata!
    Donde lieta usci al tuo grido d’amore
    Dunque e proprio finita!

    –Act IV: Back in the garret —
    In un coupe?
    O Mimi, tu piu non torni
    Gavotta! Minuetto! Pavanella! Fandango!
    C’e Mimi!
    Vecchia zimarra, senti
    Sono andati? Fingevo di dormire
    Che avvien? Nulla. Sto bene

    Metropolitan Opera Choir and Orchestra
    Conductor: Carlo Rizzi

    Cast:

    Marcello (baritone) – Dwayne Croft
    Rodolfo (tenor) – Marcello Giordani
    Colline (bass) – John Relyea
    Schaunard (baritone) – Aaron St. Clair Nicholson
    Benoit (bass) – Paul Plishka
    Mimì (soprano) – Cristina Gallardo-Domâs
    Parpignol (tenor) – Meredith Derr
    Alcindoro (bass) – Paul Plishka
    Musetta (soprano) – Susannah Glanville

  • Miscellaneous

    Keith snorts his old man!

    April 3, 2007 /

    Keith!

    A delightfully strange nugget of music news crossing the wire today…

    LONDON (Reuters) – Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said in an interview published on Tuesday that he once snorted his father’s ashes mixed with cocaine.

    “The strangest thing I’ve tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated, and I couldn’t resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow,” Richards said in the interview, which was posted on NME’s Web site.

    Source: Yahoo News

    What more is there to say?

    Get Lost with YouTube Keith:

  • Laid Back

    Back in time with Shaw / Blades Influence

    April 1, 2007 /

    Shaw Blades

    A Shaw / Blades post seemed to be inevitable: seeing them on VH1-Classic one afternoon, hearing them on Howard Stern the following week, and then being approached by a friend, demanding Shaw / Blades exposure on Ickmusic. So here goes…

    Jack Blades, formerly of 80’s super hair-pop group Night Ranger, and Tommy Shaw, singer / guitarist for Styx, first joined together as two members of Damn Yankees (along with the Nuge) in 1990. Seventeen years later, the two are still collaborating, as Shaw / Blades. Influence, released in February, is actually their second release. Hallucination was released back in 1995.

    Influence, as the title suggests, is a journey through the classic tunes of yesteryear that influenced the two. They take on tunes by the likes of Buffalo Springfield, the Zombies, and Yes. But they also show their soft sides by covering Orleans, Seals & Crofts, and the Mamas & the Papas. Well actually, soft is a theme throughout the album. They put the soft, smooth, seventies lite-rock twist on every tune on it.

    It’s nothing groundbreaking by any means. The covers stay very true to the originals. But it’s … nice. Shaw and Blades are two very down to earth, likeable guys. And they’re sharing the music that means something in their lives. You can’t knock that. And to the fans who have followed them through their careers – like my friend Shannon – it means something to them too.

    Shaw/Blades: Time of the Season (mp3) -originally by the Zombies

    Buy:

    Track List:
    1. Summer Breeze (Seals & Crofts)
    2. Time Of The Season (Zombies)
    3. Your Move (Yes)
    4. I Am A Rock (Simon & Garfunkel)
    5. Lucky Man (Emerson, Lake and Palmer)
    6. The Sound Of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel)
    7. California Dreamin'(Mamas & Papas)
    8. On A Carousel (the Hollies)
    9. Dirty Work (Steely Dan)
    10. For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield)
    11. Dance With Me (Orleans)

    Shaw / Blades‘ Official Site | MySpace