Mother Road [instant fave]
We all have those friends who decry the state of new music today. “All new music sucks!”, they say. Of course, some of these people think Creed was the best thing since sliced bread. Well, every time I hear these people, I now have another band to fire back with: Old Californio.
Last Friday, I opened up my snail mail to find their forthcoming CD, ‘Westering Again‘, inside. Instead of tossing it on the stack of CD’s I need to listen to, it went right into my car CD player. I don’t know exactly why. Cover art? Cool band name? Fate? How ’bout all of the above.
Less than 30 seconds into the opening track, a spiritual experience ensued. The song is “Mother Road”, and it’s easily the best tune I’ve heard all year. Rootsy, earthy, homegrown, purely American rock n roll – a perfect blend of inspiring, get-out-on-the-road lyrics, unforgettable riffs, great chord changes, and a harmonious sing-along chorus. If the Traveling Wilburys sprung back to life, this could easily lead off their third album.
“You got to get on the mother road
just like a river reflectin’ everything it’s told
You got to get on
Get your story told.”You’ll understand after you’ve hit the repeat button 5 times and you’re singing along.
Old Californio is singer/songwriter/guitarist Rich Dembowski, Jason Chesny (bass), Levi Nuñez (keys, including some great B3), and Justin Smith (drums). The album was produced by the band along with Alfonso Rodeñas (Mark Olson, Los Tigres Del Norte), and recorded in their old chicken coop garage turned studio in Pasadena, California. There’s clearly a West Coast / southwest-y feel throughout the album. I hear shades of Dylan (“From the Mouths of Babes”), Calexico (the horns on “Riparian High”), and the Grateful Dead (during “Warmth of the Sun”, you’d swear that late 70’s-era Dead were morphing into “Not Fade Away”).
I’m an upbeat person by nature, and maybe that’s why this album connects with me so easily. Among the Californian soundscapes, the reverence for the great outdoors and the escapism, there is an undercurrent of positive energy – an “It’s good to be alive” vibe. I can get behind that.
Old Californio – Mother Road (mp3)
Westering Again will be released on April 7th. I’ll post a links to buy when available. For now, keep these guys on your radar.
Links: Old Californio’s MySpace page.
Bang the Bodhran, It’s St. Patty’s Day…
…and I hope you boiled the breakfast early. Be safe out there. It’s Amateur Hour, you know.
The Chieftains – Boil the Breakfast Early (mp3)
From:
The Friday Five: March 13, 2009
For those who have not joined in the Friday Five here is all you need to know; each Friday I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me.
The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments. The more the merrier!
The Five:
“Big Bottom” (mp3) – Spinal Tap (from This Is Spinal Tap, 1984)
“The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'”
Seriously, what more can I say? So say we all: “Tap into America!”
“One Caress” – Depeche Mode (from I Feel You, 1993)
From the underrated Songs of Faith and Devotion, this track is Martin Gore doing what he does best.
“Solitude” (mp3) – Billie Holiday (from First Issue: The Great American Song Book, 1994)
Recorded during her tenure with Verve during the 50’s, this is a prime example of Lady Day at her best. This performance is soulful, intimate and absolutely essential listening for any fan of music in general.
“Stomp” – Brothers Johnson (from Light Up the Night, 1980)
A nice slice of 80’s pop-funk from the Brothers Johnson.
“P Control” – Prince (from The Gold Experience, 1995)
Much like last week’s “Trust” this is the lesser of the funk tracks on The Gold Experience. For my money nothing beats “Billy Jack Bitch” for a straight up jam. Also of note is that fact that this record (as well as last week’s Batman) are currently out of print. Odd? Maybe…
What is whisking you away today?
What the Kids Are Listening to: Flo Rida’s “Right Round”
“You spin my head right round right round when you go down when you go down down.” – Flo Rida, “Right Round”
Sigh.
Yeah, well, this is the #1 song in the country right now. I guess subtlety and any semblance of wit or originality have gone right out the window. This is an epidemic in popular music today (“Right Round” is only the latest example), and one reason I shy away from even listening to snippets of the Billboard Hot 100 singles.
How did Mr. Flo Rida comes across the Dead or Alive ‘80’s hit “You Spin Me ‘Round”, which quite obviously forms the backbone of this song? “[I]t was actually my A&R from Atlantic that brought the beat to my attention.” [source]
Now that’s inspiration.
I hope Pete Burns and Dead or Alive are seeing some fat royalty checks for this mess.
I’m old and grumpy, and this… is what the kids are listening to.
Ick’s Pick (Week X): Cursive – ‘Mama, I’m Swollen’
This week I thought I’d adventure off to unfamiliar territory again. I just couldn’t get myself all geeked up to listen to the new Kelly Clarkson or Chris Cornell / Timbaland over and over. So I decided on Omaha’s Cursive, mostly because of their label, Saddle Creek, which was founded by Conor Oberst.
I can affirm, after a few listens, that:
- Cursive do indeed rock. And…
- Their drummer’s name is Cornbread Compton. That’s reason enough to buy this album as far as I’m concerned.
The album kicks off with “In the Now”, featuring a feedback/effects laden intro, and launching into the repeated chorus “Don’t wanna live in the now / don’t wanna know what I know”; followed up later with “So history repeats / ‘cause present won’t repent”. It’s short, simple and ferocious, like a lot of moments on this record. I find it pretty cathartic myself.
“From the Hips”, which the band kindly offers up gratis on their web site, starts off slow, before singer/guitarist Tim Kasher’s squealing “right?!” brings in the up tempo, double beat madness.“I Couldn’t Love You” has Kasher channeling his inner Robert Smith – which makes sense – Cursive was picked by the Cure to open for them on their 2004 tour.
You won’t believe how soft and pleasant they can make a song called “We’re Going To Hell”. But there’s also an underlying doom and creepiness. The song has sort of a Pixies-like vibe going on too.
And the boys get downright evil on “Mama, I’m Satan”:
I’m writing out a confession
My fathers and brothers
Raped your sisters and mothers
We are the sons of butchers
All in all we’re pawns
The darkness of mankind stirs in us allSongs like “Mama, I’m Satan”, “Let Me Up”, and “Mama, I’m Swollen” – and really the feel of the record – take the listener into the darkness – some ugly fugly places. I feel like taking a shower and finding a church, and I’m not even that religious. Holy smokes…
For those looking for some quality power-indie-post-punk, and aren’t afraid to step into the shadows for a while, this album fits the bill.
Links: Official Site | MySpace (be sure to listen to “Dorothy at Forty” – one of the rockin-est grooves I’ve ever heard) | Last.fm
“Eruption” Zappa Style
Dweezil Zappa – “Eruption” (YouTube)
My brother-in-law sent this one over… You’ve got to love Dweezil for all his self-deprecating “aww shucks” modesty before ripping a killer version of Van Halen‘s signature crescendo. The 2009 Zappa Plays Zappa tour will be canvasing the rest of the world though June. You can find the dates as well as other goodies at the official site.
Phish Returns
This past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, Phish played their first shows in five years at the Hampton Coliseum (aka “the mothership”) in Hampton, Virginia. I was one of the lucky ones who saw them in their very early years, during their first forays outside of the northeast. In 1990 and 1991, Phish stopped through my college in Colorado three times, and I was introduced to the wonder and weirdness that was the live Phish experience (two of these were costume-required Halloween shows, which added to the weirdness).
Since those college years, I’ve seen a healthy pile of shows here in Arizona, Las Vegas, Alpine Valley, and London – and have watched them soar in popularity as one of the premiere live acts of our time. I was saddened when they shut down shop in 2004, possibly for good.
But this weekend, the boys returned for a much anticipated run of shows in Hampton. And what has to be a first for an act of their caliber, they are offering free high quality MP3’s of the shows, released just hours after the last notes of the encores are played. This weekend was Phish weekend, not only for those inside the coliseum, but anyone around the world with a computer, who wished to share in the experience.
I haven’t listened to anything else since I downloaded Friday’s show on Saturday morning. Each morning has been met with a good dose of music geek excitement, as I get the opportunity to listen to the previous night’s Phish show. For this long time fan, it means a lot.
Check out LivePhish.com, where you can download these shows for free (for a limited time).
Phish – Fluffhead (mp3) – their first song on Friday, 3/6.
Phish – 2001 (mp3) – from last night’s show (3/8). I love Phish’s take on Also Sprach Zarathustra. They don’t get any funkier…
The Friday Five: March 06, 2009
If it ain’t broke… don’t fix it. It’s March, the five is still alive and going strong…
For those who have not joined in the Friday Five here is all you need to know; each Friday I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me.
The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments. The more the merrier!
The Five:
“Nine in the Afternoon” by Panic at the Disco (from Pretty. Odd., 2008)
Spending hours playing Rock Band 2 with my wife has burned this tune into my psyche. In truth, I actually quite like this record, though not as much as the bands debut (before they dropped the “!”). Sure, they borrow heavily from Sgt. Pepper era Beatles, but since when is that so bad?
“Trust” by Prince (from Batman, 1989)
This funky rave-up from the Batman soundtrack provided the background for Jack Nicholson‘s twisted turn as the Joker. Not as heavy on the funk as my personal favorite “Electric Chair” or even “The Future” it still definitely gets the butt wiggling.
“Here in Your Bedroom” (mp3) by Goldfinger (from Goldfinger, 1996)
Excuse me while I dance in my chair; feel free to join in…
“Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J (from All World, 1996)
“Don’t call it a comeback…” Seriously, what happened to James Todd Smith? I’d say he’s due for a comeback, especially after this.
“Brian Wilson (live)” (mp3) by Barenaked Ladies (from Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits: 1991-2001)
I have to say I was pretty disappointed when I read earlier this week that Steve Page has decided to leave the Barenaked Ladies. Here’s a taste of one of his finer moments with the band.
What’s making you dance in your chair today?
Ick’s Pick (Week IX): Bell X1’s ‘Blue Lights on the Runway’
I narrowed this week’s pick down to two Irish bands. I figured Bono and the boys have succeeded in completely saturating the U.S. media, and it was a good opportunity to shine the spotlight on another quality band from the Emerald Isle: Bell X1.
Before I get started, look down a little further in the post for the embedded media player. Bell X1 has done it right, offering a full embeddable stream of their entire album. So go on down, click play, and come on back.
Bell X1 are a Dublin-based group who started off in the early 90’s as a band called Juniper, which also featured Damien Rice. The “Bell X1” was inspired by the first plane to break the sound barrier (flown by Chuck Yeager way back in 1947).
Blue Lights on the Runway is the band’s 4th studio album since their debut in 2000. I’d picked up their 2005 release Flock due to a couple of great tunes I heard on Sirius: “Rocky Took a Lover” and “Flame”. So when I noticed Blue Lights, their debut on Yep Roc, I had to take a listen.Glad I did! This album has some great moments…
“The Ribs of a Broken Umbrella” kicks off the album in rocking, synthy, electro-pop style.
“How Your Heart Is Wired” has an electronic-based rhythm that brings to mind Kid A-era Radiohead.
“The Great Defector” will have David Byrne fans double checking their iPod. Vocalist Paul Noonan sounds just like Byrne on this one, particularly when the chorus takes flight with the background vocals.
But it’s the album’s slower moments that really do it for me. “Blow Ins” is one of the best down tempo tunes I’ve heard all year. It takes a look at a subject that fascinates all of us: our mortality: “I am the magpie when all’s shiny and new / I can’t help myself, I pick a pocket or two / And if all time was but a day / We’d show up around midnight and say ‘Hey’… We’re just blow ins / On the storm of time / Yeah, we’re just stopping / For a while”. Noonan’s vocals shine on this one – really a gorgeous tune.
“Light Catches Your Face” and “The Curtains are Twitchin'” are two other quality slower numbers . “Curtains”, the album closer, starts off as a minimalist dirge-like ballad – piano, electric guitar and vocals – and ends up sounding like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band broke into the studio – a cavalcade of dixieland brass bursting through the final moments of a great album.
Links: Official Site | MySpace
A Nudge in the Right Direction
Editor’s Note: It’s been a busy ‘music news’ day, here is what has my attention…
U2 is following this weeks “No Horizon on the Line” with what Bono describes as a “sister release” titled “Songs of Ascent” later this year. Here’s hoping it’s the pretty sister. [stereogum]
Phish kicks off their reunion tour on Friday and is giving away free high quality downloads of the first three shows. [livephish.com]
Wayne Coyme of The Flaming Lips is not a fan of Arcade Fire. [Rolling Stone]
From the ‘no duh’ file, Daft Punk will be providing the soundtrack to Tron 2.0. [The Yellow Stereo]
Looks like Prince is recycling a few old tracks for his upcoming “LotusFlow3r”, peep the full track list at Prince.org (as it’s already been pulled from Amazon by the Purple Police) [Prince.org]
Finally, our friends at Popdose open the crates and pull out the brilliant remixes of Peter Gabriel‘s “Steam” for White Label Wednesday. [Popdose]
Bonus! I happened to have the underrated “Quiet Steam” version in my collection (which was available on the “Digging in the Dirt” single), now you can add it to your collection…
“Quiet Steam” (mp3) by Peter Gabriel
[audio:03 Quiet Steam.mp3]
