New Patty Larkin: Watch the Sky
Patty Larkin has been one of the consistent, high quality mainstays of the contemporary folk-singer-songwriter scene since she emerged in the mid-80’s. Her latest, Watch the Sky, was released on Vanguard Records in January. Patty shows her guitar prowess on this record – playing all sorts of gee-tars: acoustic, electric, lap steel, National, baritone, and bass! If you’re a gearhead, be sure to check out the Guitarbox area of her web site for all the techy guitar details.
Here’s one of my favorites off the record. Be sure also to check out the mesmerizing lap steel on the instrumental, “Bound Brook”. Really a great album all the way through…
Patty Larkin – Phone Message mp3)
Buy Watch the Sky
Meanwhile at Bob Marley’s
This tour guide at Bob Marley’s estate will brighten your day. Trust me…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MorR04iLtMw]
Freedom! Bob and Tom on the 4th of July (Part 1)
Tom Petty and Bob Dylan-RS 478/479 (July 17, 1986) - photo by Aaron Rapoport
It would be most fitting to post this 4th of July show on Independence Day, but given that this is my first post on my new host (Hostmonster), and we’ve got a new theme and some new banners, I’m feeling free and refreshed, so here goes.
3 cheers to Michael for the awesome banners! Michael is indeed the sh-t.
This show comes from a great tour that took place over the summer of 1986: Bob Dylan with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I was in the midst of my high school years, and there were two things consuming my life at the time (besides my studies, of course): Prince and girls. So while I was busy gallivanting about on this particular 4th of July – probably drinking Old Style beer on a Lake Michigan beach (while the girls drank White Mountain or Seagram’s wine coolers) – Bob, Tom & the boys were on the shores of another great lake, playing their hearts out in Buffalo, New York.
Here comes a two-parter. I’ll hit you with part deux in a few days. For now, take in some of the show….
Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Buffalo, NY
July 4th, 1986Part 1:
1. So Long Good Luck & Goodbye
2. Positively Fourth Street
3. Clean-Cut Kid
4. Emotionally Yours
5. Trust Yourself
6. We Had It All
7. Masters Of War
8. Straight Into Darkness
9. One Of These Days
10. The Waiting
11. Breakdown
12. To Ramona
13. One Too Many Mornings
14. A Hard Rain’s Gonna FallIckmix 2
I used to really enjoy creating mixes for friends and – well – especially girlfriends. Inspiration would smack me like a freight train, and I’d dig into my collection and weave together tapestries of musical brilliance (at least I thought so!) and what I thought to be clever proclamations of affection. Well, the girlfriends are no more (my wife would kill me), but I have to get my mix fix in every now and then. So indulge me, my internet friends, and take in my new Ickmix.
It’s a fairly mellow mix. I’m a mellow fellow. I hope you enjoy. If you do, let me know. It may give me a kick in the pants to make more.
Ickmix 2 (mp3 – 63MB – 46:00)
Playlist after the jump:
Beneath Dodger Stadium
There are two albums I’ve been immersing myself in lately: Los Lobos’ ‘The Town and the City‘ and Ry Cooder’s ‘Chávez Ravine‘. The Los Lobos album hasn’t left my truck’s CD player in weeks. It’s great to have one of those albums that you can keep repeating over and over, and find something new and fresh with every listen.
But ‘Chávez Ravine‘ has been muscling its way into my listening time lately. It’s been out for a few years now (it was released all the way back in June 2005). It’s a concept album, I guess you’d call it, based on the story behind Chávez Ravine – the current site of Dodger Stadium a few miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Before Dodger Stadium was built, Chávez Ravine was home to a poor but tightly knit Latino community. You can find out more about the details behind it here, but suffice it to say that in the end, the city of Los Angeles forced the community out, either in the name of eminent domain or condemnation. The sheriff’s department physically moved the last holdouts of Chávez Ravine – in a standoff that would come to be known as “The Battle of Chávez Ravine”. Once the community was razed, the city filled in the ravine with dirt from the top of a nearby hill, and Dodger Stadium was born.
The second to last song on the album is “3rd Base, Dodger Stadium”. Sung from the perspective of a man who grew up in the neighborhood that is now the interior of Dodger Stadium, the song will rip your heart out. Just a taste of the lyrics…
Back around the 76 ball, Johnny Greeneyes had his shoeshine stall.
In the middle of the 1st base line, got my first kiss, Florencia was kind.
Now, if the dozer hadn’t taken my yard, you’d see the tree with our initials carved.
So many moments in my memory. Sure was fun, ‘cause the game was free.
It was free.The wonderful, unique voice you’ll hear is Bla Pahinui, a Hawaiian singer that Cooder brought in for this song. Call me impressionable or sensitive or whatever, but this song really affects me. I’m one of those history buffs who has a keen interest in the people and places that came before. It’s hard to gauge how many others feel the same way. As the thousands of fans watch the baseball games from the stands of Dodger Stadium, how many of them are even aware of the people of Chávez Ravine – the lives, the childhoods, the first kisses that took place beneath the grass and parking lots?
Ry Cooder (w/ Bla Pahinui) – 3rd Base, Dodger Stadium (mp3)
Buy Chavez Ravine
Ickmusic’s Friday Five: March 14, 2008
I don’t know how the celebrities do it, winging from coast to coast to coast and never looking worn a minute for it. I’m back, nicely jet lagged and California Dreaming for this week’s five.Last weeks “very special” pre-taped five covered everything from the cure for “Purple Ear Fatigue” to my penchant for my love of NWOBM bands with a ride on the A train along the way. Our Friday Five regulars (should we call you guys Fivers?) chimed in with everything from Sweeny Todd to Robert Cray. To join the elite Fivers club you need only stop by on Friday’s and submit your random five in the comments.
Now, on with the, albeit sleepy, show…
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Einstürzende Neubauten – Sie (from Tabula Rasa)
For those of you paying attention, I’ve kinda got a thing for Industrial music and it does not get more industrial than Einstürzende Neubauten. Loosely translated into “buildings that are collapsing” the group eschews the traditional format (and often instruments) of western music and creates movements in lieu of songs. I highly recommend the linked record as an introduction to the bands 90’s output.
2. Miles Davis – Spanish Key (from Bitches Brew)
As much of a seminal record as ‘Trane’s Giant Steps, this record truly put the jazz world on its ear. For me this was my introduction to Miles and opened my mind to the world of fusion and jazz outside the box. As I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to appreciate the risk that was taken putting this out. If there is any doubt in how much Mr. Davis has influenced me I named my son Miles in his honor.
3. Whale – Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe (MP3) (from Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe)
I’m pretty sure this one may be burned into the skull of at least a few Ickmusic readers who have likely managed to erase the memory from their brain. No apologies here enjoy the awfulness!
Bonus: This one is not complete without the video!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMN9yKQIk2w]
4. The 24-Carat Black – Mother’s Day (MP3) (from Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth)
I stumbled across this record in the last year and have to say that I’m all the better for it. I’ve not been able to find much information on the record outside of the fact that is boasts an all-star Staxx Records cast. It also contains a bevy of breaks that have provided the backbeat to more than a few Hip-Hop hits.
5. Bruce Springsteen – Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix) (from Girls in Their Summer Clothes)
While I much prefer the version on Magic, this track is still like a perfectly sun kissed coda to today’s five.
Okay, so what’s keeping you awake through the last hours of your workday?
Blind, Sexy Dancers, Peaches and Lap Lap
I saw the Blind Boys of Alabama open for Tom Petty many years back. I wish I was at the Knitting Factory in LA a few nights ago to catch the purple one jumping on stage to jam with them on “I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord”.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uzv62BolLMk 336 259]
So a few years ago, British electronic duo 7 Hurtz hooked up with Bitch Lap Lap and Peaches for a version of Prince’s “Sexy Dancer”. Bitch Lap Lap? That’s indie queen Leslie Feist. I guess she used to lurk on stage at Peaches shows back in the day and called herself Bitch Lap Lap (they lived together in Toronto for a spell). I did not know that until tonight. You see, I was doing some exhaustive research trying to figure out who was acting out the Brenda part to Peaches’ Apollonia in the song (the banter mimics an inter-song segue on the Apollonia 6 album. Pre-“Ooo She She Wa Wa” to be exact. Yes, I am a 37 year old married father of two, and I know that.). I searched 7 Hurtz’s MySpace page and the only picture of a female I could find was this one…
After another minute of research, I discovered that the mystery voice was Feist. I hope you don’t mind, though, that I intend to picture the young lady above when listening to this version. In fact, I’ll picture her in both roles…. as twins. Antennaed twins.
The song appears on an album of Prince covers called ‘Controversy: A Tribute to Prince‘. It’s got some interesting versions from some artists I’d never heard of (except for D’Angelo, who does “She’s Always in My Hair”): Blue States, Stina Nordenstam, Kode Nine and Space Ape, to name a few. A reggae version of “Girls & Boys”? This album’s got it.
So give it a listen. Picture the antennaed twins, and go with them to Prince’s house.
7 Hurtz w/ Peaches & Bitch Lap Lap – Sexy Dancer (mp3)
Buy: Controversy: A Tribute to Prince (UK Amazon)
Links: Peaches.com | 7 Hurtz | Feist
Hittin’ the Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
As I sit to type this, I’m watching American Idol contestant Kristy Lee Cook absolutely BUTCHER the Beatles song “8 Days a Week”. An uptempo, countrified version. Buhhh-leck. “Dolly Parton on helium,” says Simon. Lucky for me I don’t watch American Idol. Oh sh – -, caught!
So anyway, here’s Alabama 3 with a version of John Prine’s “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness” – one of my favorites in his catalog. A3, as the popular country group Alabama insists they call themselves stateside, is a British acid house band that mixes in genres like country, gospel, and blues. Their claim to fame so far is “Woke Up This Morning”, the theme song to The Sopranos (RIP). I heard this on Sirius a few weeks ago, and promised to share it with you fine folks sometime soon.
From Last Train to Mashville, Vol. 2 (2003)
It’s a fun version – hee-hawed up a bit and turned into a first person perspective. I don’t think they’re being irreverent, and I don’t think the point of the song is lost on them (Prine’s lyrics imply a more somber tone) – but they do alter the atmosphere of tune – one of sadness and – well – loneliness.
photo by Senor McGuireAnd who captures the atmosphere of the song the best? My favorite version (I have to honestly say I like it better than Prine’s original) is Nanci Griffith‘s, from her great album of covers, Other Voices, Other Rooms. With a little help from Mr. Prine himself on backing vocals, Nanci sets the tone perfectly – wistful and bittersweet. Every time I hear it though, I wish Prine would take that second verse!
From Other Voices, Other Rooms (1993):
And that isn’t to say that Prine’s version is lacking in any way. Here’s the original from Prine’s 1986 album German Afternoons.
John Prine – Speed of the Sound of Loneliness (mp3)
From German Afternoons (1986)
Links:
Alabama 3’s Official Site
Nanci Griffith’s Official Site
John Prine’s Official SiteFirst Listen: Haale
Haale (pronounced similar to Hallelujah) successfully manages to blend the traditional rhythm and passion of Persian and Sufi Trance music and fuse it with a beautiful take on the post modern rock most readily associated with the likes of Radiohead. Dark and beautifully orchestrated spaces allow for the true breadth of her voice to shine throughout the title track of her debut release No Ceiling (available now on MP3 and on CD March 18th). I’ll post a full review in the coming week but to tide you over until then check out “No Ceiling”.
Haale – No Ceiling (MP3)
Buy No Ceiling: Amazon (MP3) | Direct (CD Pre-Order)
Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace
Bruce’s Magic New York Nights
photo from BackstreetsBruce’s back to back nights in Rochester and Buffalo at the end of last week ranked up there as two of the tightest, most energetic shows of the tour. Among the breakouts and non-standard fare was a spirited “Because the Night” and a deeep “Racing in the Street” in Rochester.
The following night in Buffalo, the crowd was treated to a Magic tour premiere of “Detroit Medley”. I can’t recall seeing it on too many set lists from the Rising or Reunion tours, but I could be wrong. Always good to see a classic E Street staple back in the set.
Racing in the Street (mp3) – Rochester, NY – March 6th, 2008
Because the Night (mp3) – Rochester, NY – March 6th, 2008
Detroit Medley (mp3) – Buffalo, NY – March 7th, 2008
