Tom Jones – 24 Hours
On his new album due out November 25th (the 17th in the UK), Tom Jones covers “The Hitter”, one of my favorites off Springsteen’s Devils and Dust record. So I went to Tom’s web site to track it down. It’s not available yet, but I was quite taken with the title track, “24 Hours” – a very dark, somber track. It brings to mind a couple of tracks dealing with life’s finality from the perspective of Death Row – Bruce’s “Dead Man Walking”, and Steve Earle’s “Ellis Unit One“.
I’m not positive that the subject of “24 Hours” is a death row prisoner, but it sure seems that way: ‘I’ve got one more minute, 24 hours to go..”
Great song, and now I can see exactly how “The Hitter” will fit into the album, and how I’m confident that Tom Jones will do it some serious justice.
Check it out…
Update: And here’s “The Hitter”:
The Brimstone and the Boss – Happy Halloween
The Boss hath treated us to a cool Halloween treat. A new song and video, “A Night With the Jersey Devil”. Hop on over to his site to watch the video and download a free mp3.
Bruce as a possessed preacher. Recommended viewing!
Bruce Springsteen – “A Night With the Jersey Devil”
Happy Halloween…
Band of Horses recording in Muscle Shoals
I can easily say that for me, Band of Horses has had the fastest trajectory from off-the-radar status to obsessive, can’t-get-enough status of any band in a long, long time. And they’re just getting started, with only two studio albums to date.
A couple weeks ago, the boys made the pilgrimage to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a legendary town in the music recording spectrum. They have holed up at Fame Recording Studios to record their third album.
Keep up with the band on their blog. They just updated it with some great pics from Saturday’s Bridge School Benefit concert.
Fame studios has hosted the likes of Duane Allman, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and a bunch of others. Hell, even the Backstreet Boys, Liza Minnelli and the Osmonds have recorded there.
Here’s a legendary track that came out of Fame Studios…
Wilson Pickett w/ Duane Allman – “Hey Jude”
Z-Trip’s Obama Mix
I pretty much make a habit of asking my 4 year old who’s singing the songs I play on my iTunes. I just had this encounter while playing Prince’s “I Love You, But I Don’t Trust You Anymore“…
Me: Okay, who’s singing this?
Daughter: Umm, Bruce’s wife?Well played, my little music nut, well played.
I thought I’d pass along this Obama-inspired mix created by DJ Z-Trip…
Recently, Shepard Fairey and I threw some fundraisers for the Obama campaign. We called them “The Party for Change”…
I’ve been wanting to put the mix I’ve been doing at these shows online, in hopes of spreading the word to people who need to hear it most.
To download the mix, check out Z-Trip’s site.
One. More. Week.
Shocker: Prince Videos Online!
Wowee! The artist formerly known as one who embraced the internet but got all grumpy and now has no official internet presence (T.A.F.K.A…eh never mind) has a slew of videos available on MTV’s new video site, MTVMUSIC.COM.
Lordy only knows exactly how long it will be before the cease & desists hit MTV, but in the meantime, let’s embed legally while we can!
They even have the 17 + minute live video of “I Would Die 4 U” / “Baby I’m a Star” – the very same one I still have on VHS from a late 1984 Friday Night Videos. Prince in his prime. Huzzah!
Dire Straits in old ’92
Howard Stern and his gang were discussing their top guitarists the other day. Howard’s top three? #1: Jimi Hendrix. #2. Eddie Van Halen. #3: Leslie West. It’s pretty hard to argue against Jimi, but from there, all bets are off. Everyone’s got their opinion. Howard likes his Van Halen and he loves his Mountain from back in the day.
In my top 5 would have to go Mr. Mark Knopfler. His style of playing – those clean, distinct Strat solos – are, well, music to my ears. Think about it, how many times have you heard “Sultans of Swing” on the radio, and air-guitared along every time? Or finger-guitared in my case. I’ll shake my fingers around like I actually know what I’m doing. And those Dire Straits tunes, they never get old!
Looking back to 1992, it was the year after the release of Dire Straits’ final studio album, On Every Street, and their final tour was in full swing. This show could easily make it as a live album. Y’all will enjoy…
Dire Straits
Basel, Switzerland
June 28th, 1992
‘Ticket to Heaven’Part One
01 – Calling Elvis
02 – Walk Of Life
03 – Heavy Fuel
04 – Romeo And Juliet
05 – The Bug
06 – Private Investigations
07 – Sultans Of Swing
08 – Your Latest TrickPart 2
01 – On Every Street
02 – Two Young Lovers
03 – Telegraph Road
04 – Money For Nothing
05 – Brothers In Arms
06 – Solid Rock
07 – Theme From Going HomeArriving at Fort Nightly
A tip o’ the hat to Last.fm‘s recommendation engine, which graciously passed White Rabbits’ “Fort Nightly” through my ears last night. There’s something exotic – nay, sexy, my friends! – about this song. Maybe it’s the multi-rhythmic quality that drives the song. And by multi-rhythmic I mean White Rabbits employ two drummers. Bang Bang!
And the piano interlude at 01:28 make me think of a smoky French ballroom, where a Scarlett Johanssen-esque figure emerges through an ornate 15 foot archway, a glass of champagne in her hand – her gaze seductively fixed on you – er – I mean me. She walks up to me, leans into my ear – her perfume intoxicating – and whispers: “That’ll be $8”.
I hand her a ten, say “Keep the change” and hand the glass to my even sexier wife. [Editor’s Note: Hey, the Mrs. reads my posts. I’m not stupid, you know!!]
Photo credit: Lucy HamblinGreat tune. Five stars. What a first impression!
White Rabbits – Fort Nightly – from their 2007 (and latest) album Fort Nightly
Links: Official Site
Greg Brown’s Eugene
Boy, does this song hit me juust in the right place on so many levels. Greg’s low-down baritone narrative, and the purely American imagery his lyrics evoke, make me close my eyes, sit back, and just listen. The detailed vignettes he weaves together in this song are wildly entertaining, funny, thought provoking, and not without a hint of bittersweet sadness.
This song is about traveling this great country, and the freedom and independence a person can find in the outdoors. A song about fly fishing. A song about overcoming “the blandification of our whole situation.” A song about how “sometime you gottta go not look for nothin’.”
It’s a song that’s about going away from civilization and rediscovering this world, reminding yourself that when all the ugliness of mankind is stripped away, it’s a staggeringly beautiful world we live in.
It’s a song that makes me want to go back to the mountains of southwest Colorado and go fly fishing with my dad.
Greg Brown – Eugene
One Step Up
This album (Tunnel of Love) and this song are like a comfortable old blanket to me.
“One Step Up”.
Just because.AC/DC DVD – Let There Be Free Stuff
I’m giving away a brand spankin’ new copy of AC/DC‘s new DVD release ‘No Bull: The Director’s Cut‘. It’s a 1996 concert from a bullring in Madrid, Spain – Plaza De Toro De Las Ventas. I lived in Madrid when I was a kid, and I’m pretty sure I went to a bullfight there (about 21 years prior to this show). I’ll have to ask my mom.
I caught this on Palladium HD channel a few weeks back, and, well, it’s pretty sweet if you like to rock out with AC/DC once in a while, and really, who doesn’t?
So leave a comment below to throw your hat in the (bull)ring (*rimshot*).
You know how I love my haikus and my limericks in situations like this, but I’ll leave it up to you. Leave the typed equivalent of a belch if you want. Or maybe a link to a funny Family Guy episode. You decide.
The winner will be announced in a week. Good luck!
Check out the Trailer | Buy It
