I knew next to nada about Josh Rouse before hearing of his new album El Turista a couple weeks ago. The review I read spoke of laid back Latin-inspired rhythms, the kind of vibe Stan Getz and João Gilberto exuded. That’s my kind of vibe.

After streaming the album on Lala (sounding like a broken record with Lala lately), I was hooked. One listen is all it took. And I know there are those of you out there who will lock in the same way I did.

Take some time right now – listen to this record on the nifty little widget down there.

Then, here you go: El Turista (Bonus Version). You’ll thank me later.

If the ticket gods are kind, then come August 9th and 10th, I’ll be in one of my favorite places on earth – Telluride, Colorado – to see Phish! My first Phish show was 20 years ago, when Phish came to my school (Colorado College) for an outdoor Earth Day show with Pike’s Peak in the background. Since then, I’ve seen them play in Arizona, Las Vegas, Wisconsin, and London.

When I heard that Phish may play Telluride this summer, a heavenly spot where my parents live during the summers, I knew that I’d need to find a way. Well, if I can score the tickets, I will be there! Oh hell yeah…

See all the dates from their just announced Summer Tour right here.

And here’s a “Lizards” from their Colorado ‘88 collection (the cover features Trey & Mike crossing Telluride’s main drag, Colorado Ave).

Earlier in ‘56, Elvis had made his first television appearances on shows hosted by the Dorsey Brothers, Milton Berle, and Steve Allen. These appearances shocked – SHOCKED! – the nation’s old guard. The media, parents, and citizens of high moral fortitude (yeah right) were appalled at the sexual connotations set forth by Mr. Presley. Of course, his actions then wouldn’t raise an eyebrow in today’s cesspool of cultural waste – but in 1956, ooo-weee, look out America, Elvis the Pelvis is comin’ for your kids!

On September 9th, 1956, Elvis made his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Mr. Sullivan was recovering from a serious car accident, so Charles Laughton actually hosted the program in the New York City studio. Across the country in Hollywood, Elvis was filming his first motion picture, Love Me Tender, so his first appearance on Ed Sullivan was simulcast from CBS Television City.

The clips below skip the intros by Laughton, so if you have a Netflix account, I’d recommend watching the entire show (available streaming). But what we have here with Elvis’s performances are pure magic. The show was viewed by 60 million Americans that night – a staggering 82.6% of the total television audience. I’m sure it changed some minds and solidified some others.

But man oh man, to be a music lover in the year 1956. It’s hard to imagine now, but try to think back to the mindset of 1950’s America – you flip on the television on a Sunday night and you see this…

“Ready Teddy” is my favorite of the bunch. I love the way he kicks off the song with a finger point to the drummer – going from 0 to 60 in about 5 seconds. This is pure Elvis – unrestrained and one of a kind.

Friday Five : \’frī-(,)dā,-dē ‘fīv\ : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes, then share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a 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 Five:

“Comin’ Home” by City and Colour (from Sometimes, 2005)

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the songs that find you at the just the right moment in your life; this is another one of those songs. In the mid-aught’s my job had me shuttling back and forth to Toronto, Ontario on a monthly basis. On one hand, I got to know my host city in intimate detail, finding favorite restaurants, pubs — P.J. O’Brien, just in case you are curious — and hidden corners of Canada’s largest city. I was lucky enough to have my wife join me on more than one trip, but more often than not, I was alone and far from home. Around the same time, I discovered singer/songwriter Dallas Green’s City and Colour. I vividly recall listening to the album on one of many flights home and this song coming on, sealing it forever in that time and place.

Well I’ve been down to Georgia
I’ve seen the streets in the West
I’ve driven down the 90, hell I’ve seen America’s best
I’ve been through the Rockies, well I’ve seen Saskatoon
I’ve driven down the highway 1 just hopin’ that I’d see you soon

Cause I’m comin’ home, I’m comin’ home

“We Can Work It Out” by The Beatles (from Mono Masters, 2009)

If you had asked 13-year old me what my favorite Beatles tune was I surely would have responded with “We Can Work It Out.” These days I find myself gravitating to other, deep catalog tracks to find my favorite, but always come back to this as a great example of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting style. Listening to it now does reaffirm it as one of my Top 10 Beatles songs.

“Misunderstanding” by Genesis (from Turn It On Again: The Hits, 1999)

Somehow I had never put this together, but if you listen to “Misunderstanding” and follow it up with Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain” — which you call may recall is my favorite Zeppelin tune — you’ll notice certain similarities. Not just in its rhythmic swing feel, but lyrically it covers the same ground. Originally written by Phil Collins for his solo debut, Face Value, the track was a real departure from the rest of Duke. It is also one of my favorite Genesis tunes, which is probably somehow related to the whole “Fool in the Rain” thing, odd how that happens.

“Fragile Tension” by Depeche Mode (from Sounds of the Universe, 2009)

Why this is still on my iPod, I am not sure. As much as I dig Depeche Mode, this album was just awful.

“Misery Business” by Paramore (from RIOT!, 2007)

The little subtle things in this song are what make it so damned awesome. Sure, it is an arena-ready rock anthem, on par with some of the greats. The little things, like the half-time drums that build the tension in the second half of the chorus show attention to detail that is rare in a band so young.

What’s on your shuffle today?

So this week, a British newcomer named Taio Cruz vaulted to the #1 spot in the charts, knocking the Black Eyed Peas “Imma Be” from the roost. It features Ludacris (who seems very early 00’s to me). And after listening once, my thoughts are… Meh. Homogenized. Unoriginal. Annoyingly repetitive chorus. But I’m not a teenage girl – at least last I checked – and “Break Your Heart” is currently rockin’ their world.

It took a listen to Sirius Jam On this afternoon to clue me into the fact that there’s a new Galactic record out – focused on the music of New Orleans (their hometown). “Bounce,” to be specific – an “energetic, highly eroticized and occasionally gender-bending” type of music native to the city. The album is full of special guests: Rebirth Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Big Chief Bo Dollis, Allen Toussaint, “Wolfman” Washington, Trombone Shorty, and others.

Not surprisingly, after listening to the full album on Lala, I can confirm that the record is a non-stop party, a percussive blast of Louisiana flavor. Here are two early favorites right off the bat, “Boe Money” and “Do It Again”…

Listen…

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Buy the MP3’s at the Amazon Music Store: Boe Money (Featuring The Rebirth Brass Band)| Do It Again (Again) (Featuring Cheeky Blakk)

Check out the whole album: Ya-Ka-May

Galactic’s Web Site, where you can download “Heart of Steel” (w/ Irma Thomas) and “Dark Water” (w/ John Boutte) for free.

Thinks And Feels

So I’m really stoked to see that this year will bring a brand new album entitled Bloom Cheek (on Terpikshore). A few days ago, they posted some sneak peeks at the new record. Take a listen to the minute and a half clips below. A great sign of things to come…

“On The Fence” | Great groove!

“Keep Running Shoes Special” | I saw them do this live, and it smokes.

“Tape It Spoke” | Brings out the folksy “Fleet Fox-y” side of the boys…

I stumble across this show quite frequently in my travels through iTunes, and I was reminded again of it this morning while picking around on my acoustic guitar. I was toying around with the beautiful guitar parts of the Dire Straits tune “Why Worry”, and decided to punch it up in iTunes so I could play along. Up came this live version by the Notting Hillbillies – a relatively short-lived group from the early 1990’s made up of Mark Knopfler, Steve Phillips, Brendan Croker, and Guy Fletcher.

I posted this show back in 2006, and thought I’d bring it back for those who want to hear a laid back, tight-knit group of friends playing some great music. The Dire Straits covers are especially great – particularly the Calypso version of “So Far Away”.

The Notting Hillbillies – Why Worry (mp3)

Download the whole show here (zip).

THE NOTTING HILLBILLIES
Swan Hunter Shipyard
Newcastle, England
July 6th, 1993

1. Intro
2. Calling Elvis
3. So Far Away (Calypso version)
4. Your Own Sweet Way
5. Run Me Down
6. Why Worry
7. Railroad Worksong
8. Feel Like Going Home
9. Setting Me Up
10. Outro

Check out the Notting Hillbillies’ one and only album: Missing…Presumed Having A Good Time

Friday Five : \’frī-(,)dā,-dē ‘fīv\ : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes, then share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a 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 Five:

Editor’s Note: This week’s Friday Five comes courtesy of the iPod and was listened to in-between taking conference calls. The awesome side-effect was I went into each meeting with a smile as there wasn’t a stinker in the bunch.

“Take Me Home Tonight” by Eddie Money (from Can’t Hold Back, 1986)
“Take Me With U” (feat. Apollonia) by Prince & The Revolution (from Purple Rain, 1984)
“Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey & Phil Collins (from Chinese Wall, 1984)
“Suedehead” by Morrissey (from Viva Hate, 1988)
“The Authority Song” by Jimmy Eat World (from Bleed American, 2001)

What’s on your shuffle today?

Editor’s Note, Part Deux: Thanks to Jason Hare for the on the fly proofreading. When you are done with the five, make sure you get your a** over to Popdose for this month’s episode of The Popdose Podcast which is all about a**holes!

Tom “T-Bone” Wolk, bass player extraordinaire – and best known for his almost 30 year association with Hall & Oates – unexpectedly passed away this past Saturday at the age of 59, apparently from a heart attack.  I had just watched the latest episode of Live from Daryl’s House last week. Daryl, T-Bone and the guys were on the island of Jamaica, jamming with Toots & the Maytalls. There’s a laugh out loud moment when they’re visiting Noel Coward’s estate, and T-Bone sits on an old chair and promptly breaks it.

What occurred to me while watching these episodes of Live from Daryl’s House lately, is that wherever you’d see Daryl Hall throughout his storied career, you didn’t have to look far to see T-Bone right along side him. In a statement earlier today, Daryl likened the loss of T-Bone to “losing my right hand. It’s not if I will go on, but how.” The loss is severe to T-Bone’s family, friends, and many collaborators – but Daryl Hall has truly lost a blood brother. My heart goes out to him.

T-Bone’s list of musical credits is a mile long. You can check out the 3 page list here on AllMusic. The list goes on and on: Carly Simon, Roy Orbison, Elvis Costello, B.B. King, Paul Carrack, and even Kurtis Blow. Did you know T-Bone played bass on Kurtis’ breakout 1980 hit, “The Breaks“?

T-Bone was always a friendly, familiar face to me. Coming of age in the 80’s, I remember him from those classic Hall & Oates videos, and I remember seeing him every Saturday night, playing bass next to guitarist G.E. Smith in the Saturday Night Live band.

I strongly urge you to watch the latest Jamaica episode of Live from Daryl’s House : http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/index.php?page=ep28. You’ll see a man who lived and breathed music, and you’ll sense his vitality and terrific sense of humor. And you’ll witness the bond between T-Bone and Daryl Hall. A bond that we all took for granted, and will never see the likes of again.

Rest in Peace, T-Bone.

Hall & Oates – “Maneater”