Kanye’s updated Billie Jean
For the 25th anniversary of Thriller, the reissued CD includes some contemporary versions by the likes of the ubiquitous, overrated and overhyped Will.i.am, Fergie, Akon, and Kanye West. Ol’ Kanye offers up “Billie Jean 2008”. After hearing it, all I have to say is: “Wow!” Like, “Wow, what a piece of shit!” Adding a signature Kanye beat and uttering a couple of “Uh Uh”s is talent? They thought this would enhance the reissue of one of the greatest albums in music history? Not to these ears.
It made me think of the Live Earth performance where Kanye joined the Police for “Message in a Bottle”. It made me think of the awards show (AMA’s or Grammys?) where Jay-Z barked in on Paul McCartney & Linkin Park singing “Yesterday”.
Maybe it’s cross-genre synergy they’re shooting for, but it does nothing to showcase the talents of a good rapper / MC. Watch these, and tell me, does screaming “Yeah” and “Uh Huh” over otherwise great tracks enhance them in any way? Are there really people out there who hear & see these who think to themselves: “Woww, Kanye/Jay-Z is a genius, man!!”
I don’t get it.
“Billie Jean 2008” (Kanye West Remix)
P-Funk: Um, Yeah, I’ll Have Some of What They’re Having
I have one of these sweet little Apple Airport Express gizmos that allows me to play my iTunes on any stereo inside or outside my house. So when it was time to string up the Christmas lights this past weekend, my 4 year old girl and I fired up the iTunes, set it to shuffle, and took to the front yard with wild holiday abandon.
What I didn’t realize was that earlier in the day I had filtered my iTunes to show me only “parliament”. So what ensued was 90 minutes of the P-Funk discography on shuffle. Okay, no one – not my 4-year old or my passing neighbors – realized the intensity of this Spontaneous P-Funk Christmas Light Hanging Ceremony, but I sure funked out in delight for an hour and a half.
It made me rediscover some of the gems of their catalog, including some tunes that jumped out at me for their uncharacteristic qualities. Like this song. This isn’t the P-Funk your ears expect. You hear it, and you’re wondering what it is you’re listening to. A mellow, otherworldly, fantasy-like rhythm; Peter Chase’s melodic, bird-like whistling solos. What a cool little P-Funk nugget.
Parliament – I Just Got Back (from the Fantasy, Ahead of Our Time in the Four Lands of Ellet)
Buy: Up for the Down Stroke (1974)
Prince: available for a Bar Mitzvah or Sweet 16 near you
Prince Roger$ Nel$on may not believe in Christmas and birthdays, but he sure makes himself available for the almighty dollar!
How ’bout a U.S. tour, purple guy?
From The Miami Herald’s Scene in the Tropics section…
OK, so now we’ve officially seen it all. And heard it all, thanks to Jeffrey Soffer, heir to the Turnberry throne, who threw himself a 40th birthday spectacular (to the tune of $2 million, we hear) in the Turnberry Aviation hangar Saturday night at Opa-locka Executive Airport. Besides the elaborate open bars, flowing Veuve Cliquot and gourmet food, all tied together in that inimitable, over-the-top Karla Dascal way, Soffer hired Prince — the Prince, his purple highness — to perform a private concert for a few hundred of his closest friends. KC and the Sunshine Band opened. It wasn’t just a quick sampling of Prince’s greatest hits, either. It was a mind-blowing, full-blown concert (he sang Cream, Purple Rain, 1999, U Got the Look, Controversy, Let’s Go Crazy, I Feel For You, Nothing Compares 2 U and several others), featuring marvelous backup singers, dancing twins, a brass band and a legend who seemed to be in his element performing for such an intimate crowd. He also spoke to and made eye contact with fans. At one point, Prince invited dazed and dazzled audience members to join him on stage for a group dance. Spotted in the crowd with the rest of us: DJ Tracy Young; movie director Brett Ratner, who told us that he was working on his next flick — the story of Playboy titan Hugh Hefner; Ingrid Casares with A-Rod; Rony Seikaly; Jorge Perez, and Soffer family friends James Caan and George Hamilton, who joined the elder Soffer, Donald, on stage to wish Jeffrey a fab 40. (The two actors were also spotted at the opening of Michael Mina’sBourbon Steak at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club last weekend.) Meanwhile, Prince, who was staying at The Setai, was also seen with a bodyguard Friday night at Macarena, where he hung out for three hours.
My E Street Radio Segment
For those who want to listen in on my Sirius radio debut…first, random notes about my segment….
- Sirius removed my web site plug! I didn’t see the harm in a mention of Ickmusic, but apparently they did. I was well on my way to getting a million people to donate a dollar. Sort of a bummer, but oh well.
- In my last segment, while introducing “Drive All Night”, I didn’t realize I uttered the nonsensical string of words: “…the relationships came and go“. Wonderful usage of both past and present. Meant to say “came and went”, but ’twas not to be. What a clod.
- They didn’t play the CD quality version of “Riding in My Car” that I requested. Instead we got a lower quality bootleg version. And then they went straight into the introduction to “Deportee”. Sort of awkward.
- I talk pretty fast as it is. But the way the recording software works (cutting out the pauses) makes me sound like I’ve snorted a Tony Montana-size pile of booger sugar and slammed 5 Red Bulls. I don’t talk that fast.
But overall, I really enjoyed myself. If you’re a Boss fanatic, you should do it too. Call Sirius at 877-33-SIRIUS and put your name in. You can get your 30 minutes of Boss Geek Zen too.
Meet Tiken Jah Fakoly
It’s news stories like this that jump out at me and remind me about the power of music. Tiken Jah Fakoly is a very popular reggae artist in Africa. He’s also very outspoken and apt to speak his mind – qualities that those in power aren’t too fond of in western Africa (and the rest of the world for that matter).
Tiken was born in Côte d’Ivoire, but makes his home now in Mali. Since the early 90’s, his brand of politically and socially active reggae has made him an icon to the oppressed people of the region, and throughout Africa.
Last week, at a concert in Dakar, Senegal, Fakoly spoke out against Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade: “Mr president, if you love Senegal, leave power!” He then launched into “Quitte Le Pouvoir”, which means “leave power”.
The president’s critics say Senegal’s once-bright democratic credentials have been tarnished by Wade’s political maneuvers to position his son to succeed him, the detention without trial of critical journalists and the diminishing power of parliament.
Here was the government’s response to Fakoly’s statements in the concert:
“Following the discourteous statements by the artist Tiken Jah Fakoly regarding our government, the artist is declared persona non grata in Senegal,” read an Interior Ministry ruling broadcast on state television. [Reuters story]
They kicked him out of the country!
I admire people like Tiken. It takes a shitload of courage to speak your mind in many parts of the world. In the struggling nations of west Africa, Tiken Jah Fakoly is one of those leading the charge, risking his neck for the right to stand up for what he believes in.
Tiken Jah Fakoly – Quitte Le Pouvoir – from Coup de Gueule
Tiken Jah’s Official Site
RIP Dan Fogelberg
Photo by Henry Diltz Pete’s Comments:
While I was never familiar with the Dan Fogelberg catalog, it was his biggest hit, “Same Old Lang Syne”, that always connected with me. Who can resist the story line? Running into a former lover in a grocery store on Christmas Eve; grabbing a six-pack of beer and sitting in the car, toasting to the good times past, and saying goodbye all over again: “Just for a moment I was back at school / And felt that old familiar pain /And as I turned to make my way back home / The snow turned into rain.” Zowwww. Ouch. The song, and that line in particular, has always tugged at the heartstrings over the years. Michael Brecker’s saxophone finishes the bittersweet song with a warm snippet of “Auld Lang Syne.”
The song was a big hit in the U.S. in early 1981. Fogelberg said it was a true story of a mid-70’s encounter in a Peoria, Illinois grocery store with a high school girlfriend of his. The song apparently wrote itself.
Dan passed away Sunday at the young age of 56 after a battle with prostate cancer. [AP Story on Yahoo News]
My thoughts & prayers to Dan’s family and friends.Dan Fogelberg – Same Old Lang Syne
BUY: Check out The Very Best of Dan Fogelberg
WEB: Dan’s Official Site
REALITY: Dan’s message to us…
To each and every man….
I cannot encourage you strongly enough to get a DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) and a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test EVERY YEAR.
The medical community suggests this for men over 50, but men with a family history of prostate cancer should start getting tested at age 40.
The PSA test is a simple blood test…it only takes a minute or two. The DRE, okay, every man squirms at the thought of this exam, but hey, it too takes only a minute or two, and IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Prostate cancer can be very slow growing or very aggressive, but detected early while it is still confined to the prostate gland, it can usually be treated and cured successfully.
Once it spreads beyond the prostate it is called Advanced Prostate Cancer (PCa). At this point it becomes imminently more life threatening and harder to treat. Do yourself and your loved ones a huge favor and GET CHECKED REGULARLY. I promise you, you DON’T want to go through what I’m going through if you can avoid it.
Education and awareness are key, I urge you to follow the link below to the Prostate Cancer Foundation web site and read up on how best to protect yourself and reduce your likelihood of contracting this terrible disease.
Michael’s Comments:
When I was a very young man my uncle gave me a 45 rpm of the song “Leader of the Band”. To this day that song holds a special place in my heart and I have to stop and listen when it comes on.
The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument
And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
I’m just a living legacy
To the leader of the bandDan Fogelberg lost his battle with Cancer this morning at the age of 56. Our condolences go out to the Fogelberg family, friends and fellow fans.
Afrofunk falls into a Deep Sleep
Ickmusic’s crack Canadian correspondent, Cam, returns….
A few years ago, at my frigid first outdoor festival of the year, the tropical sounds of Mr. Something Something caught my ear. I thought they were great. Having seen Antibalas, Femi Kuti, and listened to his father Fela, I knew a little bit about Afrobeat, at least enough to consider it one of the finest forms of music made for dancing. It’s awesome to see and hear live, and great to hear recorded, but ideally in a venue with lots of room to move!
The band website states that founders Larry Graves and John MacLean “settled on the unbeatable dance rhythms of Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Ghana as the most natural gathering place for the elements that would ultimately make up the Mr. Something Something sound”. Good choice! Mr. Something Something couple those dance rhythms with another common theme of Afrobeat artists, that being a tendency to be outspoken politically and socially active.
Mr. Something Something recorded their first, self-titled album in 2004 and followed it up with the critically acclaimed The Edge in 2005. These they followed up with live performances that invariably got great reviews from critics, turtles, and dancing concertgoers alike. They also found time to guest on at least two other projects.
Finally, late in 2007, Mr. Something Something has again delivered with Deep Sleep. The new album brings a different flavour to the already strong Mr. Something Something sound: that of Ikwunga The Afrobeat Poet. It’s hard not to get lost in the hypnotic effect of Ikwunga’s rich voice, and his verses by turns hearken back to life in Africa or lament the current state of global trade. Without romanticizing its subjects, Deep Sleep makes me want to travel; exotic sounds mingle with the names of often distant locales. It’s definitely worthy of many more listens.
Enough rambling. Something about this next tune reminds me, in a good way, of Linton Kwesi Johnson:
Mr. Something Something –
Abankwa(mp3)Mr. Something Something –
Di Bombs(mp3)
Visit Mr. Something Something’s Official Site.
Zany for Zeppelin: Paris 1969
I have to say, the Led Zeppelin reunion has me all geeked up. As someone who was all of 10 years old when they decided to call it quits after Bonzo’s death, count me in on the side that hopes they do tour (especially after hearing the rave reviews from Monday’s O2 Arena show).
I read Lefsetz’s thoughts on the rumored tour, and while I understand how he doesn’t want Zeppelin to fall into that category of mega-corporate-money-making-reunion-machine, at the expense of people’s memories of Led Zeppelin in their prime – I would like to see these legends together in front of me. I know it can never be the true Zep without Bonzo, but this will just have to do, ya?
So I got my grubby hands on this great 1969 French radio broadcast. The lads had descended on Paris during their tour supporting Led Zeppelin I (listen to Plant introduce the “new” song “Heartbreaker”, from II). I had never listened to a Zeppelin show this far back. It’s a fascinating and wholly satisfying document of a legendary young band with so much ahead of them – so much groundbreaking music in store for us. The French broadcaster likes to hear himself talk, even mid song at one point – but it’s brief and isn’t much of an annoyance at all.
I didn’t discover Led Zeppelin until 1987, during my senior year of high school. The great thing about timeless music like Zeppelin is that there’ll always be a 17-year old somewhere discovering their music. As long as there are living, breathing human beings with ears and the means to play music, the Hammer of the Gods shall live for eternity! Mwaahahahahaha! Ahem.
Uh, enjoy.
Led Zeppelin
Olympia
Paris, France
October 10th, 1969Good Times Bad Times / Communication Breakdown
I Can’t Quit You Baby
Heartbreaker
Dazed And Confused
White Summer / Black Mountainside
You Shook Me
How Many More Times=========
=========
- Visit Led Zeppelin’s Official Site
- Read David Fricke’s Review of the London O2 Show.
Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
Folks, my hosting plan renews on the 14th of this month, and – wellll – I could use some help. This is my first ever plea – if any of you have a few dollars you can kick in to help with the costs associated with running ol’ Ickmusic, I certainly would appreciate it. You can donate whatever you wish through this Paypal link.
So here are some classic Temps to sing me out of this one… Thanks everybody!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9qUZHIpJAw]
Keith Richards – Run Rudolph Run
Jump over to iTunes to download Keef’s re-issued 1978 single “Run Rudolph Run” (his first solo single). Just out today…
