• Irish,  Rock

    And a Bang on the Ear

    A look back at more of the music that makes me tick. This is my favorite Waterboys song. From their great 1988 album, Fisherman’s Blues, it’s a bittersweet, nostalgic look back at the singer’s past loves. He sends them all his love, and a bang on the ear. No, not a wack upside the melon, but simply a kiss (according to Wikipedia)…

    “And a Bang on the Ear”, in which Scott summarizes a past romantic attachment in each verse, finishing the song with a current “woman of the hearthfire”, was released as the second single from the album… Confusion amongst listeners about what a bang on the ear might be among prompted The Waterboys’ Frequently Asked Questions page to note, more than ten years later, that it was “a term of affection”. A ‘bang’ means a kiss…

    Buy Fisherman’s Blues.

    Visit their Official Site | MySpace

     

  • Live,  Rock

    Live Earth Moment: Gimme Shelter

    So I spent many a minute yesterday clicking around, checking out the different Live Earth performances around the globe. Kudos to MSN for their webcast coverage. They even made it user friendly for us Mac users (though you did need IE to be able to click around from city to city). One of my favorite moments yesterday was a Keith Urban / Alicia Keys performance of the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” during Keith’s set. Color me impressed, they rocked hard…. (and Alicia, you weren’t lookin’ so bad either).

    By the way, did you guys see the Police play “Message in the Bottle” with John Mayer, and – uh – Kanye West? “Uh! Yeah! Uh. Uh. Uh. Yeah.” Um, no.

  • Rock n' Folk

    Go to Sleep with the Avett Brothers

    Another tip o’ the hat to Sirius for turning me on to some more good new music. The Avett Brothers are a trio from Concord, North Carolina made up of Scott & Seth Avett, and Bob Crawford. Scott plays banjo and kick drum. Seth plays guitar and high hat. Bob plays the stand-up bass. Their mixture of thrashing, old-timey, acoustic melodies have them thrown into the category of “punkgrass”. But you can’t really pigeonhole them into any category.

    Whatever the genre, the Avett Brothers are pretty damn refreshing. Their new CD, Emotionalism, was released in May, and is strong from top to bottom. It’s a good sign when it’s hard to select one song (be sure to check out “Shame” and “Die Die Die”, and – well – just pick up the whole thing).

    The Avett Brothers – Go To Sleep (mp3)

    Buy their new CD, Emotionalism, on Amazon or The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism.

    Check out their Official Site | MySpace | YouTube page

  • Kids are Listening To,  Pop

    What the Kids are Listening To: Fergie

    The five top songs on this week’s Billboard Top 100 are the same as last week. Boring, but I’ll continue on with week 2 of “What the Kids are Listening To”… this week, we look at Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. I can’t say the song does anything for me. Very manufactured, and very much targeted to all of the young heartsick girls out there. I gotta hand it to Fergie though, she’s risen from her roots on the TV show Kids Incorporated, through her time in the Black Eyes Peas, and emerged as a very successful solo artist. Not even a little on-stage squirt in her pants will deter her or her fans.

    So here’s the video. It is me, or is she dressed like a blonde Milli Vanilli at the beginning? And I love the hard-ass punk look on her band, playing what couldn’t be any further away from hard-ass or punk.

    Final verdict on this one: disinterested.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbDD5HLwifY&w=336&h=278]

  • Rock

    Highly Recommended: Tom Dowd and the Language of Music

    About a month after I started this blog, my then-boss recommended the documentary Tom Dowd and the Language of Music. Two and a half years later, I finally took his advice (thanks to my new subscription to Netflix).

    Tom Dowd (1925-2002) was a legendary engineer and producer for Atlantic Records, and worked with some of the greats in recorded music. Let’s name a few: Eric Clapton (Cream / Derek and the Dominos), the Allman Brothers, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Led Zeppelin, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, the Drifters, and countless others.

    The documentary follows his life, in Dowd’s own words, from his work as a nuclear physicist on the Manhattan Project (while he was a teenager!), to his emergence as a technical (not to mention musical) genius in the studio.

    By the end of the film, you’ll be blown away by his warm and personable character, the childlike enthusiasm he has for music, and the love and respect that some of the biggest names in music have for him.

    The end of the film shows him late in life, in front of the console at Criteria Studios in Miami, playing around with the mix for “Layla”, which he produced for Derek and the Dominos. He isolates the guitar parts played by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman (whom he introduced), fools around with the levels, and is like a kid in a candy store.

    If you have a Netflix account, put this one at the top of your queue now, or buy it below. As a music lover, this one will affect you.

    Buy The Language of Music.

    Check out the staggering list of Tom Dowd’s production and engineering credits on AllMusic.

    View the trailer here, from the film’s official site:

    Dowd was the recording engineer for Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”. But he was also the engineer when Otis Redding recorded it a couple years earlier than Aretha. Here it is…

    Otis Redding – Respect (mp3)

    Listen here: [audio:otis-respect.mp3]

    From:

  • BritPop,  Giveaway

    Ickmusic Giveaway: Memory Almost Full

    Let’s give one away, eh mates?

    In my inherently lazy way, I’ve been sitting on a copy of Paul McCartney’s new CD, Memory Almost Full, for a good month now. High time I give it away to one of you fine folks, yeah?

    You know, I’m one of those people who reveres the Beatles as one of the most important, inflential, and best bands of all time. Yeah, I know tastes in music are subjective, but I always felt like most people agreed. And maybe they do. But I work with a couple of guys who sure don’t. One of them, I’ll call him Jim (’cause that’s his name) likens the Beatles to the origin of crappy teen pop. He tells me the Beatles are the reason Britney Spears exists. He has never, does not, and allegedly will never like the Beatles.

    When I was in college, my neighbor one door down was a Beatles fanatic. He told me and a few of my friends one time: “Anyone who doesn’t like the Beatles is in a state of denial.” We all laughed, and made a little fun of the comment later. But looking back, he was right! I mean, how can a human being not like the Beatles after listening to Abbey Road? Or The White Album? Or Meet The Beatles!?

    So back to the giveaway. It’s an easy entry once again. You leave a comment below, and you’re in the running. I’m assuming those entering are fans of the Beatles (or massive Wings fans? who knows). Do you have anti-Beatles people in your life? Do you struggle to understand them? Is it worth trying to convert them?

    Ok, Jim, give me your side of the story. How did you grow into adult form without an appreciation for the Beatles?

    Jewel Case Disclaimer: the original jewel case that the CD came in has been systematically dismantled and rendered inoperable by my 15 month old daughter. Another jewel case will be provided. Jeez, this girl and my CDs!

  • Punk,  Rock

    The Sandinista! Project


    If London Calling was the Clash’s masterpiece, Sandinista! – a three-LP, multi-genre assault on the senses (and the follow-up to London Calling) – was its stoned out red-headed stepchild. Thirty-six songs strong, Sandinista! was their chance to completely let loose and record whatever it is they felt like recording. I like the way The All Music Guide review puts it…

    The Clash sounded like they could do anything on London Calling. For its triple-album follow-up, Sandinista!, they tried to do everything, adding dub, rap, gospel, and even children’s choruses to the punk, reggae, R&B, and roots rock they already were playing…

    As loose and scattered as it is, there are some killer tracks on the album: “The Magnificent Seven”, “The Call Up”, “The Leader”, and Eddy “Electric Avenue” Grant’s “Police On My Back”.

    So music journalist Jimmy Guterman had a vision as a Clash fan: a tribute album. What he pulled together with The Sandinista! Project is pretty damn impressive. There are some well known names involved: The Smithereens, Camper Van Beethoven, Jason Ringenberg (Jason & the Scorchers), Katrina Leskanich (Katrina & the Waves), Matthew Ryan, Wille Nile, and the Mekons’ Jon Langford (who also designed the album cover).

    Many of the artists I had not heard of: Sex Clark Five (great name!), The Hyphens, Haale, the Coal Porters, and many more. So I thought I would share a couple from the tribute album, paired with the Clash originals.

    Two of my favorites from the album are “The Call Up” and “The Leader”. On the tribute, theremin – yes theremin – ensemble The Lothars take on “The Call Up”. This would fall under the category of totally and completely devoid of resembling the original. But there’s something very strange and alien about it that pulls me in. You want originality? Here you go…

    The Lothars – The Call Up (mp3)

    The Clash – The Call Up (mp3)

    On Sandinista!, The Clash pack a whole lot of rock, urgency, and great lyrics into the minute and forty-one seconds of “The Leader”. Amy Rigby offers up a respectable version true to the original. Though there’s something about her “on a Sundayyy…” lyric that I’d like to tweak, but nice overall…

    Amy Rigby – The Leader (mp3)

    The Clash – The Leader (mp3)

    I can’t really say that someone not familiar with Sandinista! and the Clash would really “get” or appreciate this tribute. But if you’re a Clash-ophile who worships at the altar of Strummer, as I am, you should hear this album. And if you’re new to both, why not pick up both?

    I recommend getting the CD itself just for the DIY punk packaging. It’s very well done, and includes a booklet put together by Guterman called “2007 – The Armagideon Times Update.”

    Buy The Sandinista! Project on Amazon.

    Check out Jimmy Guterman’s blog / site devoted to the project. Included on the sidebar are PDF’s of the CD booklet and the packaging.

    Buy The Clash’s Sandinista!

  • Prince

    Chelsea Rodgers

    “Chelsea Rodgers” is a song on Prince’s new album, Planet Earth. The woman above is apparently Chelsea Rodgers. Nobody really knows what role she’ll play. New Prince protege? His girlfriend? Who knows right now. Does it really matter? Not really. But I’ll just stare at this picture until I find out, okay?