Citizen Cope – D’Artagnan’s Theme
I’ve been meaning to post this song for a while now. And it’s Michael’s great Alice Smith post that spurred me into action. Alice had been opening up for Citizen Cope on his recent tour.
Cope is the pseudonym of Clarence Greenwood, and I’ve been enjoying his last couple of albums – 2004’s The Clarence Greenwood Recordings and last year’s Every Waking Moment – for a while now. They truly surprise me, as they seem to get better and better the more I listen. It was one of those iTunes shuffle moments when this song came up, and made me stop what I was doing to enjoy the laid back, semi-sad vibe.
D’Artagnan refers to Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte d’Artagnan, one of the the fictionalized Three Musketeers. I can’t quite figure out who the protagonist is, but the lyrics evoke an outlaw type who has no time for the woman he’s singing to.
Well I don’t know how else to say it
In a different way
But why don’t you just fade away
‘Cause there’s a battle going on
Down south of Babylon
So why don’t you just fade awayThe tune is a breeze on the acoustic guitar. C-F-G. Impress your family and friends!
This one comes from The Clarence Greenwood Recordings….
Buy: The Clarence Greenwood Recordings | Every Waking Moment
Citizen Cope’s Official Site
Springsteen’s Magic to be released on Vinyl a Week Earlier than the CD (Sept. 25th)
It looks like I’ll be putting my new turntable to good use on September 25th!
From this article on Billboard:
In an unusual move, Bruce Springsteen’s new album, “Magic,” is expected to be released on vinyl a week before its CD version hits stores. The vinyl is due Sept. 25 via Columbia, while the CD will arrive Oct. 2. A handful of major releases have appeared on vinyl prior to CD; Pearl Jam released its 1994 album, “Vitalogy,” on vinyl two weeks early, prompting a premature No. 55 debut on The Billboard 200.
Second Listen: Dreaming…
There’s just something about Alice Smith. I’ll admit it, I dug this one out of the pile of CD’s marked “Must Listen To Again” and I’m kicking myself for having slept on it for so long. With comparisons ranging from Patty LaBelle to Fiona Apple to Billie Holiday the one common factor is the presence of soul. There is something so honest in her phrasing and delivery, no smoke, no mirrors. It’s almost as if you are sitting in the corner of the vocal booth, just soaking in every corner of her four-octave voice. I’ve packed this post with two of my favorite tracks. Here’s just a little lyrical taste of “Dream”…
When I wake up in the morning time
I like to see you sleeping by my side
I think about the nights we had before
Wanna give you this and more
Let you know I truly adore youI’ll tell ya, she had me at “Let you know I truly adore you”. I’m a fan, give a listen and you will be too.
Alice Smith – Dream
Buy: For Lovers, Dreamers & Me
Links: Official Site
The Boss Live at the Roxy, 1978 (Part One)
My wife made me watch David Hasselhoff sing on America’s Got Talent, and now I feel sick to my stomach. I thought she loved me.
This must be rectified now. We need live Boss, and we need it now. I am getting seriously geeked about the new boss album and E Street tour coming up in a matter of weeks. This show here, this has to be my favorite Boss show of all time. You’ll feel the energy from the second Bruce takes the mic to apologize to those who got shut out after waiting in line all day: “I wasn’t trying to turn this into no private party, ’cause I don’t play no parties no more…except my own. [crowd cheers wildly] So give me a little slap back on this microphone… One…we gonna do some rock n’ roll for you...” ZOWWW! They don’t call him Boss for nothing, as you’ll hear with this show.
The show goes on for well over three hours, so this is going to be a three parter. I’ll have 2 and 3 up soon. But let’s get started with this. You Bruce fanatics, you probably have this show. But if you don’t, God are you in for a treat. I recommend downloading it all, queuing it up on your iPod or iTunes, and listening to it straight through. Certainly string the intro and “Rave On” together to see how this show kicks off. It’s amazing.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
The Roxy, Hollywood, California
July 7th, 1978Part One
Intro
Rave On
Badlands
Spirit in the Night
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Candy’s Room
For You
Point Blank
The Promised Land
Prove It All Night
Racing Intro
Racing in the Street
Thunder Road
OutroCome back soon for parts 2 and 3.
Ickmusic Giveaway: Miles Davis Quintet on Monterey Jazz Festival Records
It’s a giveaway frenzy here lately, so I have no choice but to once again bestow quality goods upon you people. The latest item will make any jazz fan happy. Even those who aren’t into jazz know a cool motherf**er when they see one, and Miles Davis was just that.
Well the Monterey Jazz Festival has launched their own label, aptly named Monterey Jazz Festival Records, and their first wave of CD’s were released today. They launched into their live archives, and are debuting with releases from Sarah Vaughan, Thelonius Monk, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles. Future releases will also feature contemporary artists, projects and special events recorded at the festival.
So leave a comment down below, folks, and have your chance to win this CD. Did anyone out there ever have the honor to see Miles play live? What’s your favorite Miles Davis album? Are you down with electric Miles?
Speaking of cool mofos, check out his quintet circa 1963: Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, George Coleman. Sheesh…
Miles Davis Quintet – Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival
(September 20, 1963)
Miles Davis – trumpet
George Coleman – tenor sax
Herbie Hancock – piano
Ron Carter – bass
Tony Williams – drums1. Waiting for Miles
2. Autumn Leaves (streaming Quicktime)
3. So What
4. Stella by Starlight
5. Walkin’
6. The ThemeSome other streaming goodies:
Louis Armstrong – Mack the Knife
Thelonius Monk – Rhythm-a-Ning
Dizzy Gillespie – Poor Joe
Sarah Vaughan – Round MidnightMonterey Jazz Festival Records: Official Site | MySpace
Visit Concord Music Group’s Online Store to purchase.
Good luck!
Springsteen’s Magic – the cover?
Here’s an unconfirmed, but possible cover to Bruce’s new album, due out October 2nd.
Bruce and non-Bruce fans: thoughts? Cool cover? Badass Bruce? Grumpy Bruce?
I vote gritty, badass Boss. Sort of the 21st century version of Darkness-era Bruce. It could be the real deal, or it could be that someone combined a new Boss pic and some Photoshop skills. We’ll see…
Update: Amazon has it up on their site. It’s looking like the real deal: Magic
Remembering Joseph Hill and Culture
Joseph Hill, January 22, 1949 – August 19, 2006
I have to thank my wife for the infusion of more reggae into my life. She’s an island girl (Seychelles), and has grown up loving reggae. One of the great groups she has introduced me to is Culture. They are reggae legends, but I wasn’t familiar with them until I met her.
Today turned into reggae day for us. We watched Countryman earlier this afternoon. It’s a 1982 film about the adventures of a peaceful rastafarian fisherman. It has an awesome soundtrack of great reggae tunes. So naturally it put us into the reggae mood. So we put on Culture for the rest of the day. In cruising around the web checking out the Wikipedias and the YouTubes, I came to discover that Joseph Hill, lead singer of the group, passed away exactly one year ago today (August 19th). It was after a gig in Germany a year ago that Hill collapsed. It was later attributed to liver failure.
Hill formed Culture in Jamaica in 1976 with his cousin Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes. They soon joined up with producer Joe Gibbs and engineer Errol Thompson, who would help Culture record a string of classic reggae albums, starting with 1977’s Two Sevens Clash. They also worked with some premier musicians of the day, including Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.
Let’s remember Joseph Hill today with some classic Culture tunes, one of the true pioneers of roots reggae.
Culture – I’m Not Ashamed – extended version, from Two Sevens Clash: The 30th Anniversary Edition
Culture – Jah Rastafari – from International Herb
Here’s a full 2003 set from Shrewsbury, UK at the Buttermarket:
Ickmusic Giveaway: Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars DVD
My wife and I just got done watching the newly released DVD Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars. As far as the horrifying subject matter that forms the backdrop of this documentary – which is the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone – I feel much the way I felt after watching Hotel Rwanda: enraged and ashamed at the atrocities that occur, yet filled with awe and admiration for the people who rise above it all to help others. In Hotel Rwanda, it was Paul Rusesabagina who sheltered and ultimately saved over a thousand fellow Rwandans in his Kigali hotel, the Hôtel des Mille Collines. In this inspiring DVD, it’s Reuben Koroma, “Franco” Langba, “Black Nature”, and their fellow members of Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars who use the power of music to overcome their traumatic pasts, and to help others through theirs as well.
The film follows the All Stars from the refugee camps of Guinea – where thousands of Sierra Leone’s people fled to escape the violence in their home country – to their return to Sierra Leone in 2004. There, they recorded an album, and have since toured the world. They are in the midst of a U.S. tour as we speak, so do yourself a big favor and rent/buy this DVD, buy their album, and go see them live if they’re coming to your area. My wife and I will be seeing them here in Scottsdale on February 17th.
Here’s the trailer on YouTube. You can view higher quality trailers on this Quicktime link or this Windows Media Player link.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSgY6n_ek_g 336 278]
GIVEAWAY: To celebrate the August 14th release of this amazing film, I have a copy of the DVD available to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment below to be entered. I’ll pick out a winner in a few days.
Now for some important links:
- Buy the DVD here.
- Visit their Official Site.
- Visit their MySpace.
- Visit the film’s Official Site.
- Check out their Tour Dates.
- Buy their CD, Living Like a Refugee.
Ickmusic Live: The Human League, 1980
Dropping back into the early new wave scene, we go to a June 1980 show featuring the original lineup of the Human League. The founding members were Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, and Philip Adrian Wright (who ran films and slide shows onstage, but was still credited as a full band member). Oakey remains today as the only original member of the still functioning Human League. Ware and Marsh left the group in late 1980 and went on to form Heaven 17.
I’m no aficionado of science fiction or video games, but the name Human League comes from the game Starforce: Alpha Centauri, one of the first sci-fi games.
So the sound quality of this show is not superb, in fact some would argue that it’s shitty, but I still like to listen to shows like this as sort of a historical document – a piece of music history. So Human Leaguers – behold!
The Human League
June 10th, 1980
VPRO Radio, AmsterdamIntro
Dreams Of Leaving
Almost Medieval
A Crow and a Baby
Perfect Day
Marianne
Empire State Human
Rock ‘N RollCheck the Human League out on
.MORE ELECTRO GOODNESS – As an early electronic music bonus, Radio Free Wohlman has an entire podcast “transmission” dedicated to the Kraftwerk family tree. Check the post out here. An hour full of Kraftwerk history. Well worth your while, friends.
Old School Friday
Well I’m back from a little family vay-kay to the beaches of San Diego, and the crowded, expensive, but still fun destinations of $eaworld and Di$neyland. We happened to be at Disneyland to experience the phenomenon that is Disney’s High School Musical. The premiere of High School Musical 2 took place on Tuesday while we were there. Before the premiere, the kids from HSM rode in a little cavalcade through Disneyland. I’ll have you know that Vanessa Hudgens totally looked right into my camera as she rode by with Ashley Tisdale. See?
I assured my wife that there was nothing between us, that she just had an innocent crush on this studly 37 year old father of 2 from Arizona. “Some things I just can’t control, babe” I coyly remarked. After the ladies came the latest cover subject of Rolling Stone, Zac Efron.
I also assured Zac that nothing was going on between me and Vanessa, ’cause she’s like totally his girlfriend in real life and stuff.
So is that a great segue into another installment of Old School Friday or what? Sometimes, we all just need a little Midnight Star, don’t we?
Midnight Star –
Freakazoid(mp3)Midnight Star –
No Parking on the Dance Floor(mp3)
.