Chez Seychelles
So my wife and I are sitting in the Glendale Arena a few weeks ago, waiting for Bruce Springsteen to take the stage. The pre-show music that’s piping over the PA is great stuff, most of it I don’t recognize. One in particular gets my wife’s attention. She remembers hearing it as she grew up in Seychelles…. an old traditional folk tune.
So the other night, I’m checking out Bruce’s web site, and lo and behold, he mercifully has provided us with a list of the pre-show ‘walk-in’ music! It turns out the name of the tune is “Chez Seychelles”, as performed by the keepers of the Cajun sound, Beausoleil. It is indeed a traditional song, and Michael Doucet (of Beausoleil) gets writing credit on the tune (just wondering, does a person get composition credit by offering a new arrangement of a traditional song?).
Ah, the power of music. The way one song can take you back in time.. it’s an amazing thing. My wife hadn’t heard this song in years, and suddenly, waiting for a Springsteen show to start in the middle of the Arizona desert, she suddenly finds herself back in her homeland, a beautiful tropical island in the Indian Ocean.
Beausoleil: Chez Seychelles
- Beausoleil’s Web Site
- Buy Beausoleil’s Music on Amazon
- Geography Lesson: Where is Seychelles?
Todd’s Train Song
One of tunes I heard during Bruce’s pre-show music prompted me to call home from the show and leave some of the lyrics on the answering machine (yeah, I’m a geek). I didn’t figure out what it was though until I saw the list.
Todd Snider‘s the name. I’m ashamed to say I only own one of Todd’s CD’s, 1996’s ‘Step RightUp’, but that’s about to change after I’m done with this post. I wasn’t aware of Todd’s personal troubles, but he’s had one helluva fight with drug addiction which led him to a suicide attempt. Todd has been putting out his brand of Nashville country-folk-rock for over a decade now.
So here’s that mystery tune that caught my ear. Gotta love those train songs…
Todd Snider:
Play a Train Song(mp3)- Todd’s Official Site
- Buy Todd’s Music on Amazon
Country New Wave
You all have great and very safe Country New Wave weekend.
Tex Haper: – Country New Wave (Real video) – (be warned, you will be singing this to yourself and those around you all weekend)
Go-Go with Kurt and Trouble Funk
It’s 1982 in Washington D.C tonight as Trouble Funk mixes their homemade brand of go-go music with the freshest master rappin’ styles of the day courtesy of Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force. Their 1982 release, ‘Drop the Bomb’ was released on Sugar Hill Records, home to some of the earliest hip hop sent out to the world.
Trouble Funk: Pump Me Up
Nice groove huh? Well, the very same beat in this tune was sampled and looped a few years later into Kurtis Blow‘s “If I Ruled the World”, which showed up in the old school classic film ‘Krush Groove’ (aka the Fat Boys acting debut).
Kurtis Blow: If I Ruled The World
I Bleepin’ Need You More Than Ever
If you need a chuckle (and we all do), check out the web site of The Dan Band. If you’ve seen ‘Old School’ or ‘Starsky & Hutch’, you’ve seen The Dan Band. My friend Charlie shot me a note recommending them. They have a great Flash site. Find your way to the Extras section and check out the Video and Audio. They have the video clips from their movie appearances. You gotta love the Old School clip, where, as the wedding band, they bust out a hilarious version of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”: “every now and then I get little bit terrified, I see the f**ng look in your eyes…”
It’ll put a smile on your face.
The Dan Band Official Web Site
Cameosis
It’s late, and there was a slight internet outage in the House of Ickmusic… that, and a killer season finale of ’24’. So not a lot of commentary. Cameo was the first band I went and saw multiple times. My friend Chris and I would make the trek up to the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee to catch them in concert (dropped off by our parents, no doubt)…two of the few white boys in attendance… this one is the title track of their 1982 album, ‘Alligator Woman’. This was a few years before ‘Word Up’ exposed Cameo to the mainstream. . . their quirky, funky stylings are on display here…
Cameo:
Alligator Woman(mp3)Be Saved, Elvis Style
Regardless of how religious you are, you can’t help but be a little moved by the power of the King in this outtake from ‘How Great Thou Art’. I picture a Southern Baptist church on a sunny Sunday morning (think the scene from ‘Blues Brothers’ with Elvis in James Brown’s place). Elvis and his boys amble up to the front of the pews, turn around, look sheepishly at the ground, clear their throats, and unleash upon the congregation this 2 minutes and 47 seconds of salvation…
Elvis Presley: Run On – Alternate Take (mp3)
Piano Man: Now That’s a Wet Suit
Reading the story today about the “Piano Man” inspired me to showcase some quality piano work tonight. Did you all see this? A man shows up in a suit, soaking wet, on the Isle of Sheppey in the UK. He says absolutely nothing to anyone, is taken to a hospital, and sits down at a piano and plays for hours. Read the full story here.
Well, last June, I was listening to a live radio simulcast of the Playboy Jazz Festival from the Hollywood Bowl, and had the pleasure of hearing the sounds of the Michel Camilo Trio.
The artistry and virtuosity of Michel Camilo bridges the genres of Jazz, Classical, Popular and World music. He is a pianist with a brilliant technique and a composer who flavors his tunes with the spice of Caribbean rhythms and jazz harmonies.
I found this tune on Michel’s web site. The man flies on the keys. I’m positive he would give the ‘piano man’ a run for his money.
Michel Camilo Trio: See You Later
Tin Pan Tuesday
Robert Plant. The name conjures something in your heads. Whatever your judgments and preconceptions regarding the man, erase them all, and check out his new album, ‘Mighty Rearranger’. I bought it a couple days after its release a week ago, and it pretty much has followed me around from CD player to CD player all week.
Adjective time: Fresh, eclectic, exotic, and brilliantly unique. Surprised the bejeezus out of me. I give you my favorite of the moment…
Robert Plant: Tin Pan Valley ~ ~ from Mighty Rearranger [buy it]
Those Green Eyes – Ibrahim Ferrer
A perfect song for a late Saturday night… the lights are low, there’s a few drops of wine left in the bottle, your eyes meet. You slowly walk closer to her. You sense excitement in the air as you approach her. Then…the unbearable wait is over as you say… “Wanna go for a walk?!… Outside??! WOOF WOOF!! Her tails wags uncontrollably as you step out into the moonlight.
Now that’s a Saturday night…
Ibrahim Ferrer: Aquellos Ojos Verdes [Buy on Amazon]
In all semi-seriousness, this song can help in your amorous pursuits…. Ibrahim is a golden-throated Cuban singer, now in his late seventies. He was one of the popular Cuban musicians of the 1950’s. By the 80’s he was back to shining shoes and living on a monthly pension. That was until the late 90’s, when Ry Cooder went to Cuba and located all of the great Cuban musicians of the day and assembled the Buena Vista Social Club. You can see it all in the 1999 documentary of the same name. The movie is powerful and moving beyond words, featuring such greats as Ruben Gonzales, Compay Segundo, and Eliades Ochoa. The shame is that these greats lay dormant for so long in Castro’s Cuba.
I’ll go out on a limb and assume that if you’re reading this, you love music. If so, get a hold of this movie and watch it. Go to the video store, hit up Netflix, buy it on Amazon, whatever… just see it.
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