Sly as a Loon
For some reason, I sat through the entire broadcast of the Grammies last week. Of course it was great to see the Boss perform “Devils & Dust” and sit in on the Wilson Pickett tribute (singing “In the Midnight Hour” with Sam Moore).
Watching poor Paul McCartney sing “Yesterday” along with Linkin Park while Jay Z “uh-huh”ed and “yeah”ed in the background was one of the sadder moments for me. I don’t get it. Watching the immodest and overrated Kanye West lose awards did put a smile on my face though.
But the jaw dropping moment had to be when Sly Stone shuffled out during a reunion / tribute to the Family Stone (along with the ubiquitous Joss Stone, John Legend, Fantasia, etc.). Hunched over, with a gold jacket and a giant peroxide Mohawk, he sang a few bars of “I Want to Take You Higher” and then was on his way. The man looked to be about 10 shades of crazy – priceless!!
So naturally I dug through my LP’s and dug out a great song Sly did with Jesse Johnson (former guitarist for The Time), ironically named “Crazay”.
Jesse Johnson Featuring Sly Stone:
Crazay(mp3) – Found on ‘Shockadelica’, Jesse’s 1986 album.- Check out a video of Sly on the Dick Cavett show, circa 1970, here on Screenhead.
- Buy Sly & the Family Stone music on Amazon.
Prince Unleashes his Fury
Okay, IckMusic has admittedly turned into a Prince blog the last several days. Juuust one more post and I’ll move on (maybe). There have been several requests for the mp3 to Prince’s new tune “Fury”. I can’t supply you with a link to buy the studio version yet because there apparently isn’t one available. If anyone comes across the song for sale, please let me know and I’ll get a link up here right away.
For now, a couple things:
Go pre-order 3121, which comes out on March 21st.
And here is an mp3 from Saturday night:
Prince:
Fury(mp3) from 02/04 performance on Saturday Night Live.Prince on SNL: New Song “Fury”
Here’s Prince’s first song last night on SNL. The name of the song is “Fury”. It’s a barnburner. Scorching guitar solos, dancing chicks. WOW….the ending is priceless.
Irresistible Prince
To round off my Prince posts before tonight’s SNL appearance, I want to drop another few your way, and also steer you toward the brand new video from his March 21 release ‘3121’. It’s called “Black Sweat”, and it’s vintage funky down n dirty Prince. I ripped a lil mp3 from the audio so you can sample it before you go to Amazon and preorder it. I assume this is one of the two he’ll be performing tonight. Hopefully with Steve Martin as host, there will be a Three Amigos skit and Prince will play the part of the Singing Bush (or Jefe).
Prince:
Black Sweat(mp3) – new **
Prince:Irresistible Bitch(mp3) – B side to “Let’s Pretend We’re Married”, found on The Hits : B-Sides
Prince:Let’s Work– Extended 12″ (mp3) – original version found on ControversyVideo: Black Sweat (need to use Internet Explorer for the Yahoo player)
Prince’s Old Friends
Here’s an early outtake from around 1985 (supposedly during the ‘Parade’ sessions). “Old Friends 4 Sale” is rumored to be about Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, two members of The Time that went on to much success as producers (Janet Jackson’s ‘Control’), and Big Chick Huntsberry, his former bodyguard. It’s a slow, somber, bluesy tune, one of my many favorites.
Prince:
Old Friends 4 Sale (#2)(mp3)- A reworked 1991 version was released on ‘The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale‘
- Neal Karlen’s Rolling Stone story & interview from 1985.
Prince on SNL this Weekend
On paper, this weekend’s Saturday Night Live is looking mighty fine: host Steve Martin with musical guest Prince. I’m going on 22 years as Prince fan. His output over the last many years by and large hasn’t done a whole lot for me, but I still buy everything he puts out, I’ll catch him when he’s on the tube, and I most definitely catch him live whenever possible.
Most likely because it’s tied to my adolescence and all the memories associated with it, I’m partial to Prince’s 1980’s output: (not in chronological order) ‘Sign o the Times’, ‘Purple Rain’, ‘Around the World in a Day’, ‘1999’, ‘Parade’, ‘Controversy’, ‘Dirty Mind’, the ‘Black Album’ and ‘Lovesexy’ (okay, 1989’s ‘Batman’ soundtrack, but that didn’t do it for me).
His 12″ maxi-single releases during this era were always something to look forward to, because they would be extended remixes of the album versions. One of the cool ones was Lovesexy’s “I Wish U Heaven”, which was stretched out to 10 minutes. The soft funky pop of the album version gives way to a couple of funky sojourns into Prince’s creative genius. I miss that era of being a Prince fan.
Prince:
I Wish U Heaven (Parts 1,2, and 3)12″ Maxi-Single Extended Version
– original version found on ‘Lovesexy’, a great album which spawned one of the more unfortunate album covers in musical history.Malo, Flaco and Earle
I love the Mavericks. Love the sound of lead singer Raul Malo’s voice. “All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down” rose out of my mp3 shuffle today. Tex-Mex superstar accordionist Flaco Jimenez adds his signature playing to the tune.
The Mavericks:
All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down(mp3) – from The Definitive CollectionThat led me to listen to Flaco’s early 90’s group the Texas Tornados. The group also consisted of Freddy Fender, Doug Sahm, and Augie Meyers.
Texas Tornados:
Adios Mexico(mp3) – from The Best of the Texas TornadosThat song led me, for obvious reasons (you’ll know when you hear both tunes), to Steve Earle. If you take Adios Mexico’s traditional Tex-Mex accordion riff, strap a NASA booster rocker to it, and turn the amp up to 11, you get this:
Steve Earle:
What’s a Simple Man To Do(mp3) – from JerusalemSunday with The Stands
I was watching the Isle of Wight Festival on INHD a few weeks ago, and stumbled upon a Liverpool-bred band that’s right up my alley: The Stands. Folky, Byrds – Beatles – Dylan influenced pop-rock. These guys are great live, has anyone out there seen them?
I got a hold of their second and latest album on the Liberation Music label, Horse Fabulous. Here are few selections:
The Stands:
I Will Journey Home(mp3) |Mountains Blue And The World Through My Window(mp3) |Nearer Than Green(mp3)UPDATE: Thanks to Bob in the first comment below who pointed out that the Stands exist no longer (bugger!). The band’s El Guapo, Howie Payne, decided to part ways. Here’s a little snippet from the Wikipedia entry:
On Thursday, 24 November, 2005 Howie Payne posted the following message on the band’s forum:
“I thought I should be the one to break the news that after much thought I have decided to no longer continue with the stands, it has been a wonderfull few years or so but over the last months my heart has been slowly being drawn towards the idea of change and musical pastures new, there has been many changes leading to many reasons, recent times have been both creative and difficult in equal measure, I guess in order to seek clarity I want to now take the time to take some time to get some fresh air and move onto something new, we all thank each and every one of you all for all your support, taking the time to listen to our records and coming to see us play, it’s been a pleasure, thank you so much to you all. Howie.“
Well son of a …. ah well, I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open for Howie’s next musical escapade. Someone track him down and tell him I need an update.
- Buy Horse Fabulous on Amazon UK.
- The Stands Official Web Site
- The Stands used to be: Howie Payne: lead guitar/vocals; Luke Thomson: guitar, Dean Ravea: bass; and drummer Graeme Robinson)
See Marah Live
“It’s mind-boggling that here-today-gone-tomorrow bands with half as much talent have gone platinum, yet Marah’s crackers-for-dinner, starving-musician tale is still waiting for its happy ending. Radio success or not, the sold-out Iota crowd clearly knew what was up when the show was announced, and folks were being turned away at the door early in the evening. The lucky fans who arrived in time got everything they wanted and more: nearly two hours of sweaty, honest, heartfelt rock ‘n’ roll.” – Washington Times review of last week’s show in Arlington, VA.
I am gearing up for this
Monday’sduh – Tuesday Marah show at the Rhythm Room here in Phoenix. I haven’t seen them live since the summer of 2000, when they played the now paved-over Long Wong’s in Tempe. It was one of the finest, most exhilarating live performances I have ever witnessed. Dave and Serge Bielanko are something to see. Bare bones, spirited, genuine guys, they pour their heart and soul into their shows.They just started out on a tour, so check out the dates below, and if they’re coming to your town, do yourself a HUGE favor, and go see them. If the Phoenix show is any indication ($9!), tickets are ridiculously cheap.
Here are a few tunes from the 2000 Tempe show…
Marah:
Faraway You(mp3)Sleepwalk (Santo & Johnny Cover) / Reservation Girl(mp3)Can’t Hardly Wait (Replacements cover)(mp3)
Live from Long Wongs, Tempe, AZ August 12, 2000- Check out their CD’s, including their latest, ‘If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry’, on Amazon.
- Marah’s Official Site
- Factoid: Marah’s fans include Stephen King, Nick Hornby, and Bruce Springsteen. Bruce brought Dave & Serge on stage for an E Street Band encore, where they joined in on “Raise Your Hand”.
Tour Dates
Wed 01/18/06 Houston, TX Continental Club
Fri 01/20/06 Austin, TX Continental Club
Sat 01/21/06 Dallas, TX Sons Of Herman Hall
Tue 01/24/06 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
Wed 01/25/06 San Diego, CA The Casbah
Thu 01/26/06 L.A. Echo
Sat 01/28/06 San Francisco Cafe Du Nord
Tue 01/31/06 Eugene, OR John Henry’s
Wed 02/01/06 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
Thu 02/02/06 Seattle, WA Crocodile Cafe
Fri 02/03/06 Vancouver, BC Richard’s On Richards
Sat 02/04/06 Bellingham, WA Night Light Lounge
Wed 02/08/06 Minneapolis 400 Bar
Thu 02/09/06 Milwaukee, WI Mad Planet
Fri 02/10/06 Lansing, MI Temple Club
Wed 02/15/06 Indianapolis Birdy’s
Thu 02/16/06 Lafayette, IN Lafayette Brewing Company
Fri 02/17/06 Chicago, IL Abbey Pub
Fri 03/17/06 Austin, TX Antone’sState of Independence, I have a dream
Former Pretenders drummer James Hood and Grant Showbiz (who later produced the Smiths and Billy Bragg) formed Moodswings in 1989. Moodswings is electronic, chill, semi-ambient, kick back and relax music. All the songs on their albums basically blend together and make for a very satisfying listen. Their first release, Moodfood, was released in 1992. Tracks 8, 9 and 10 are the “Spiritual High” trio (parts 1, 2 and 3). Chrissie Hynde was recruited to sing Part 2 (State of Independence). Part 3 features an excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. I’ve always found the King excerpt quite poignant and powerful. It really fits well into the song.
Moodswings w/ Chrissie Hynde: Spiritual High (Pts. 1, 2, 3) from Moodfood (1992)
Spiritual High, Part 1
Spiritual High (State of Independence), Part 2
Spiritual High, Part 3
