New Common – Universal Mind Control
Old buddy and ACL partner in crime Chris sent me a link to this new Common joint featuring Pharrell. “Universal Mind Control” is the title track from Common’s upcoming album, due in stores November 11.
Anything that sounds futuristic and like an old school Newcleus B-side is OK in my book.
Spearhead’s Say Hey (I Love You)
Infectious riddims from Michael Franti & Spearhead‘s brand new record, All Rebel Rockers. M’ lady and I heard this on Sirius Jam On yesterday, and it was immediately flagged and tagged for later consumption. The album was produced by Sly & Robbie, the veteran reggae production team (Black Uhuru, Yellowman, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, and many more), and recorded mostly in Kingston, Jamaica.
Irie!
Michael Franti & Spearhead – Say Hey (I Love You) [mp3, featuring Cherine Anderson]
Buy
Links: Official Site | Watch the Video for “Say Hey (I Love You)” | MySpace
© Photo credit: Mike Schreiber
My Photos from Austin City Limits Music Festival
Band of Horses on Morning Becomes Eclectic
Okay, yes, I am in a rather obsessive Band of Horses phase at the moment. And I feel the need to gather any embeddable BoH action and post it on my site so I can refer to it in 50 years when I’m an 88 year old geezer with a hankering to show my grandchildren one of my all time faves.
This is just over a year old, from KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic.
Ickmusic’s Friday Five: October 3, 2008
Is it October already? I swear it was just August a few minutes ago. One thing that I’ve found since I started The Five is that I am hyper-aware of the passage of time. And time in the final week of the quarter is even more precious so with that I’m going to keep this brief!
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s how it works: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with a bit of insight for each track.
Then it’s your turn! Just share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments and see what your fellow readers are listening to as well.
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Destroyer – “Sick Priest Learns to Last Forever” (from Destroyer’s Rubies, 2006)
I picked this up on the suggestion from more than one of the popular blogs of the day and can’t say too much about it as I’ve only listened to it three or four times. It’s not even that I dislike the record; it’s just a matter of time vs. desire.
2. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble – “Pride and Joy” (from Greatest Hits, 1995)
There’s always time for some Stevie Ray Vaughan.
3. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Mo Money Mo Problems (feat. Mase & Puff Daddy)” (from Life After Death, 1997)
I’ve been watching the VH1’s 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs (see the entire list here) series this week and have been pulling up and listening to my favorite Hip-Hop tracks of the past 20 years. This is on my list (though it’s not on VH1’s) without a doubt. Play this one in a club to this day and everyone knows every line of Biggie’s rhyme.
4. Snoop Dogg – “Who Am I (What’s My Name?)” (from Doggystyle, 1993)
Another classic Hip-Hop cut, this time from the Westside courtesy of one Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr., better known to you and I as the one and only Snoop D O Double G. 15 years on this George Clinton fueled track still inspires some serious ass wiggling.
5. Metallica – “Harvester of Sorrow” (from …and Justice for All, 1988)
That should read from the last decent record Metallica produced, but I digress. …and Justice for All is the last Metallica record that I truly enjoyed beginning to end. The Black Album was alright, but it was Bob Rock‘s version of the band and therefore not as good.
That said, what’s playing in your shuffle today?
Kenny Aronoff
How cool was the Austin airport on Monday? I got to meet two great artists: Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell and good ol’ Kenny Aronoff – a drummer I’ve admired and enjoyed for years. Most people will know Kenny from his 17 years of backing John Mellencamp, all the way back to 1980’s Nothin’ Matters and What If It Did
. He was in Austin to pound the skins for John Fogerty at ACL (one of my favorite sets of the weekend).
But Kenny has also been one of the most in-demand studio session drummers for a long, long time. The list of artists he’s played for in the studio is staggering. Some of them: Iggy Pop, Carlos Santana, Willie Nelson, Melissa Etheridge, Garth Brooks, Meat Loaf, Cinderella, Richard Thompson, B.B. King, Paul Westerberg, Lyle Lovett, Neil Diamond, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Alice Cooper, and the list goes on and on. See for yourself.
So when I spotted Kenny over near the Salt Lick stand, I had to say something.
John Cougar Mellencamp – Lonely Ol’ Night (mp3)
Check out Kenny’s Site: Kenny Aronoff.com
A.A. Bondy and his Lovers’ Waltz
Gorgeous effing tune right here. I’ve listened to this song about 100 times in the last couple of weeks. I picked up A.A. Bondy‘s American Hearts album in preparation for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. He was set to play at 11:30am on Sunday morning. And play he did. I guess. I didn’t make it. I was slowly coming back to life at the hotel. The previous day/night had involved many large $8 cans of Heineken at ACL, and a few Dos Equis back at Shakespeare’s Pub on 6th Street {and a block away, Band of Horses was playing their surprise benefit gig at the Parish. Ah cruel fate).
So this is a great record. A roots-blues vibe, and Bondy’s voice is one of a kind. He’s certainly influenced by Dylan (more apparent on the rest of the album). He’s also the brother-in-law of the Felice Brothers, another group sort of in the same vein.
Me, I’m a sucker for the love songs, especially when they delve into fatalistic scenarios like:
And I will hang for you
And you will hang for me
And the northern lights
Will take us in like refugees
Over our heads, over our heads
And a lovers’ waltz will turn until the endKiller tune.
A.A. Bondy – Lovers’ Waltz (mp3)
Buy American Hearts
Austin City Limits and a Band of Horses
I think I have enough energy to muster up an ACL post tonight. There’s so much to get transferred from brain to keyboard that it’s a little overwhelming. So I’m starting with baby steps, people.
First, who did I see? Well, it goes exactly like this:
Friday: The Jones Family Singers, Dan Dyer, Rodney Crowell, Yeasayers, Strange Boys, Vampire Weekend, Gogol Bordello, David Byrne, Antibalas, and Manu Chao.
Saturday: Old 97’s, the Fratellis, Back Door Slam, Erykah Badu, John Fogerty, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss
Sunday: Octopus Project, Against Me!, Blues Traveler, Band of Horses, Foo Fighters
I’ll give you a day by day breakdown later. Tonight, I focus my brainpower on the highlight of my weekend: Band of Horses.
BAND of HORSES
Okay, anyone who knows the music geek in me is aware of my fondness for this band, and therefore won’t be surprised when I say BoH was the highlight of my trip to Austin. Until Sunday, I had never seen BoH live, and quite frankly, this set stood out since I first saw the ACL lineup earlier in the year. So my expectations were pretty damn high. And? Well, they jumped leaps and bounds beyond those expectations with their Sunday night set.
I managed to squeeze my old(er) butt down to the front of the stage, about four rows back. Yup, nuts to butts. I was looking straight on to center stage. I was primed.
Just after the sun set, the band strode out on stage, and singer/guitarist Ben Bridwell – shades on – squatted on the stool before his pedal steel. The first song of the night was, well, “The First Song”, from their debut Everything All The Time. That was all the sitting Ben would do for the set. He grabbed his guitar, launched into my 2 year old’s favorite tune, “Is There a Ghost”, and we were off…
For the next hour, the band showed us why they’re so great – building up and launching into those great guitar-driven crescendos on songs like “The Great Salt Lake”, “The Funeral”, and “No One’s Gonna Love You”, and slaying the crowd with the gorgeous, ethereal harmonies of Bridwell and keys-man Ryan Monroe on songs like “Marry Song” and the new ditty “Why You Never Get Older” (see the video below).
We got Bridwell banging away on his tambourine for the fun “The General Specific”. And we got great tunes like “Island on the Coast” and “Ode to LRC”. I don’t have the set list yet. If anyone can help me track it down (or a recording of the show), I’d appreciate it.
The final tune was a great one called “Am I A Good Man”, a cover by an R&B group called Them Two, who have no web presence at all, it seems. In the final moments, Ben jumped down among us, right in front of me (the person holding the camera in this picture probably took this video).
The live Band of Horse experience was everything I wanted, folks, and left me and the thousands and thousands of others fully satisfied. There’s something about their energy – and Bridwell’s voice in particular – that taps into my soul. Sounds about as corny as you can get, but it’s true.
We stumbled over to the Foo Fighters with smiles on our faces.
The Morning After: So the next morning, I guess it was about 10am, I was sitting at my gate at the Austin airport. I put my feet up on my carry on bag, and launched into ‘Cease to Begin’ (the second and latest Band of Horses album) on my iPhone. I think I was listening to “No One’s Gonna Love You”, having some great flashbacks to the night before, when who walks by? Ben Bridwell.
Have you ever been sitting around listening to one of your favorite artists, when he walks by right in front of you? It’s pretty cool, let me tell ya.
So, I decided not to be shy, and I followed Ben, his wife/girlfriend (?) and cute little infant over to the food stand. I walked up and asked politely – and rhetorically, I guess – “Excuse me, are you Ben Bridwell?” I told him there were some cosmic forces at work, and showed him my iPhone with the ‘Cease to Begin’ album cover, telling him how strange it was to watch him walk by as I listened to his music. He really could not have been cooler. He was very gracious and appreciative, and was kind enough to snap a photo with me (taken by his wife/girlfriend).
It was the morning after ACL, so you have to excuse our exhausted demeanors…
Lots more to come on ACL, just a few things here…
Check out some live vid-action I shot of their unreleased tune “Why You Never Get Older” (which I’m only assuming is the title).
Check out some more photos of their ACL set at Brooklyn Vegan.
For the love of all that is good in this world, buy these two albums if you don’t own them…
If you want a great video introduction to Band of Horses, watch their entire in-store performance at Amoeba Records in Hollywood from last year.
Visit their web site: Band of Horses.com
Yes. I am a fan.
Oh, biggest regret of the weekend? Missing the Band of Horses surprise gig at the Parish on Saturday night – a club I walked by every night on my way back to the hotel! Bill Murray was there hanging out too (big BoH fan, I hear)…
