Ickmusic Live: Talking Heads 1979
I haven’t spent too much time with the music of Talking Heads in my life, but I’ve always liked what I’ve heard, and I enjoy David Byrne’s stuff too. My favorite tune? Probably “Road to Nowhere”.
Let’s travel back to a nice little show snippet from their peak of creativity: 1979.
I skipped posting the DJ intro. If you feel like you need it, let me know. TH fans, what is the essential TH album?
Talking Heads
Sydney State Theater
Sidney, Australia
1979The Book I Read
Paper
Mind
Found a Job
Memories Can’t Wait
Psycho Killer
Take Me To the RiverRockberry Jam
You’re just gonna have to indulge me a bit here, as I rifle through my hundreds of albums and cassettes, and get nostalgic about the music of yesteryear. I’m not sure if the words “Where the hell is my Georgio album?” have ever been uttered before, but they were last night! Don’t worry, I’ll track it down.
But another 80’s gem I uncovered last night was the L.A. Dream Team‘s 1986 album (okay, tape), Kings of the West Coast. Rudy Pardee and Chris Wilson were an L.A. area duo who were one of the first to marry up electronic music with rapping. Others around that era were the Egyptian Lover and World Class Wreckin’ Cru (Dr. Dre was a member).
One of my favorites from the album is this side two standout track featuring the smooth and sultry “Miss Rockberry”.
L.A. Dream Team –
Rockberry Jam(mp3)Buy Kings of the West Coast (OOP, but available used)
Go Go Music: Chuck Brown (DC’s Best Kept Secret)
Pete and I must have had a cross country mind meld, as I swear the post you are about to read was started on my laptop late Friday night.
My first exposure to Chuck Brown came earlier this year in the way of an interview with Mike Scott (Prince, Justin Timberlake) in Guitar Player magazine. While the good Rev. Scott gave utmost props to his former band leader he also spoke in great detail about “The Godfather of Go-Go” and how he shaped his sound growing up in D.C. I ran out and picked up “The Best of Chuck Brown” and immediately understood how. Take equal parts funk and Latin music, mix in a dash of soul and new jack swing (way before it’s time) and you’ve got the recipe for yet more break-filled music to move your rump.
Check out a handful of tracks, and if you don’t tap your foot, nod your head and wiggle in your chair upon listening, check your pulse!
Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers – It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) (mp3)
Chuck Brown – The Love Theme From “The Godfather” (mp3)
Bonus Video!!
Here’s Chuck’s performance (With his band The Soul Searchers) of “We Need Some Money” from the 1986 movie Good To Go.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBpO2_gRYSE 336 278]
Buy: We’re About the Business | The Best of Chuck Brown
Links: Official Site | MySpace
Go-Go Music: Redds & the Boys
The in-laws came through on my birthday a couple days ago: an Ion USB turntable! The vinyl resurrection can now continue. One of the first to get the treatment yesterday was “Movin’ and Groovin'” by Redds and the Boys.
Go-go music has its roots in the Washington D.C. area, going back to the 70’s, when Chuck Brown was credited with creating the genre. It’s basically rhythm-percussion heavy funk. In the 80’s, Chris Blackwell, the Island Records head, heard Chuck Brown, and brought him and a lot of other D.C. area go-go bands in through Island subsidiary 4th & Broadway and T.T.E.D. records. Blackwell signed Brown, E.U., Trouble Funk, and Redds & the Boys.
E.U. probably had the biggest U.S. hit of the bunch: “Da Butt”, which was written by Marcus Miller for Spike Lee’s movie School Daze.
But “Movin’ & Groovin'” did very well in the U.K., reaching #1 on the singles charts.
Redds & the Boys –
Movin’ & Groovin’(mp3)Wikipedia entry on Go-Go.
Here’s a clip of Redds & the Boys performing the song in the 1986 movie Good to Go . The movie was envisioned by Blackwell to be a go-go version of The Harder They Come
, but didn’t quite turn out that way. Co-director Don Letts was let go about half-way through. Letts directed the Clash documentary Westway to the World
, and was a founding member of Big Audio Dynamite with Mick Jones.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_-5yLLOUbI 336 278]
Mmmemphis
I missed Cry Cry Cry, a folk supergroup of sorts, the first time around. The group was made up of Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplanski, and Richard Sindell. They released only one album, in 1999.
I sure am glad I heard this song a few weeks ago on Sirius Disorder. It’s really one of the most beautiful and bittersweet songs I’ve come across in a while.
“I saw my choices, and I chose Memphis, now all I can see is you.”
Cry Cry Cry –
Memphis(mp3)Buy Cry Cry Cry
.
Gong!
Gong: a psychedelic – progressive – space rock band formed in the late 60’s, the brainchild of Australian Daevid Allen.
And if you’re brand new to them (as I am), it’s just a bit difficult to wrap your head around their whole “scene.” They even have a glossary, which includes mind-bending confusion-isms like:
WIZARD OF THE KEYS – one of the eight immortals of the planet gong. he has the key to the gong cosmognie & correspondance [sic] charts, the key to your heart, and above all the key to the secret vaults wherein is stashed the highly hush hush or ha! ha!ha!sshhh! cakes from the moon which he distributes daily to each of the 1024 (1K) PHP’s which means that a day on the planet gong is 1024 (1K) pipes long, and is measured by lunggong pipeclocks all over the planet.
So I won’t go too far into their background now, because – well – I need about six months of exhaustive research to give you something substantial. But I will play you a song of theirs. A song that captured my attention on my afternoon drive home from work. It’s always fun to hear something new and interesting that happens to be over 35 years old (egads – so am I, in fact, tomorrow is the 3-7! Urk!).
GONG –
Dynamite / I Am Your Animal(mp3)Buy Camembert Electrique
.
Visit Planet Gong | Daevid Allen’s Web Site | University of Errors (David’s current San Francisco-based band) | Gong’s All Music Profile
And while on the subject of Gong, here’s Paul Reubens on the Gong Show, circa 1976.
31 Positions On 21 Night Stands…
21 Nights of Prince and the question stands… will he play the same set every night? Will we get 21 identical sets? Add 21 after shows with 21 versions of “Footprints”, “Stratus” and “Crazy”?
What do you guys and gals want (or not want) to hear?
It looks like the whole UK shebang was kicked off with “Purple Rain” and after hearing the 7/7/07 show I have to say that it’s beginning to really sound like he wants to ‘get it out of the way’ as opposed to the celebration that it was as recent as the Musicology tour and the spectacular (albeit abbreviated) Super Bowl performance.
Booking a 21 night stand is a pretty risky proposal for just about any artist. But Prince has the catalog, hits and all, to back it up – provided he does not do the unimaginable and leave his song book at home. It’s time to show and prove Prince, don’t you wanna come…
Link: Official Site