Prince y Grupo Fantasma
AP Photo / Mark J. TerrillThis past weekend in Pasadena, the National Council of La Raza’s ALMA Awards took place. Our very active little purple man was there, performing with 11-man Latin juggernaut Grupo Fantasma from Austin, Texas. Things seems to be falling into place for GF. They played with Prince at a Golden Globes aftershow party earlier this year, and had a weekday gig at Prince’s 3121 Club at the Rio in Vegas. This past weekend, not only did they back up Prince at the awards show, and play an aftershow with him in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel, but Prince also flew down to Austin to join them at a private party. There’s money well spent. Pay for Grupo Fantasma and get Prince thrown in for free? Not a bad deal.
I’m trying to figure out why Prince is crossing the country at the last minute to play with an 11-man Latin band. I’m convinced that he’s banging one of their sisters or cousins. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that Prince will move mountains for a little poonanny! I mean, didn’t he spend like 6 months in a studio with Kim Basinger convincing her she could sing?
The ALMA Awards will air Tuesday night on ABC at 8pm East / 7 Central (check your local listings, yada yada).
Grupo Fantasma –
Saca la Basura(mp3) – from Comes AliveGrupo Fantasma’s Official Site | MySpace
Wilco Video: You Are My Face
Wilco’s new CD, Sky Blue Sky, goes everywhere I go, and it’s really woven itself into my psyche. If you don’t have it, do yourself a favor. One of my favorites from the album has popped up in some live video action. My man Nels Cline – subject of my one and only interview thus far, kicks it into high gear with his guitar solo… I’m also LOVING Tweedy’s vocals on this tune, particularly in this part:
I have no idea how this happens
All of my maps have been overthrown
Happenstance has changed my plans
So many times my heart has been outgrownIt is Hot
It’s Saturday night, it’s Arizona, it’s June, and it’s going to be over 100 degrees here for the next four months! Let’s fire it up with a Saturday night hot mix! Can you feel the sizzle people….
Little Village – She Runs Hot For Me – from Little Village
Arcade Fire – Old Flame – from Arcade Fire
Buena Vista Social Club – De Camino a la Vereda – from Buena Vista Social Club
Link Wray – Fire and Brimstone – from Link Wray
Stevie Wonder – I Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer – from Where I’m Coming From
Prince – Hot Thing – from Sign ‘O’ the Times
The Time – My Summertime Thang – from Pandemonium
And do check out this amazing video of what happens when you take a pride of lions, a herd of water buffalo, and a couple of crocs, and throw ’em together near a watering hole in a South Africa preserve. You won’t believe how it ends.
New Philly Phunk: The Blue Method
I’m liking a CD I was recently sent, by Philadelphia funk outfit The Blue Method. Catchy, hooky, fun-kay music. They’re releasing their second album, Kill the Music, Vol. 2, later this month. If you’re in the Philly area, go to the World Cafe on Saturday, June 23rd for their CD release party.
Dammit I know my funk, and these boys got it! They lay it down thick, my friends, and that’s a beautiful thing. From the head bobbing “Get Back Home” (below), to the laid back groove of “…And How Does That Make You Feel”, to the retro power soul of “Spinnin” (which you can hear on their MySpace site), to their tribute to the Godfather of Soul in “Let Me See You”, I know a lot of you out there will enjoy this.
Check out their links below and pick up their new CD when it’s available….
The Blue Method –
Get Back Home (The Bounce)[mp3]The Blue Method’s Official Site | MySpace
Prince: Buy My Smell!
Here’s something I could not be less enthusiastic about: Prince will be releasing his new fragrance, 3121, on 07-07-07! Ssssnnnnnniiiffff…. owwwwwaaaaa!! Yip yip – yooooooo! And he’s marking the occasion by playing an exclusive mini concert on the 8th floor of a &@# Macy’s department store! $250 gets the first 1,400 people the Ultimate Prince Xperience: a ticket to see Prince at Macy’s in Minneapolis, a bottle of his perfume, and a ticket to see him at the Target Center that night.Perfumes, Macy’s, multi-thousand dollar tickets to see him play in the Hamptons … jeez P, just release an album and go on a normal tour ferchrissakes. You’re losing me here…
Sorry, I may be bitter that I won’t be in London this summer for his 21 night stand. To give some credit where credit is due, he has kept those ticket prices low at a respectable 31 pounds.
He’s also playing seven nights at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood next month, but that seems to be a more exclusive / VIP affair. Tickets prices are rumored to be not so respectable to common folk like many of us. Still waiting to see ticket info (and not looking forward to finding out).
Take it, Fela…
Fela Kuti w/ Ginger Baker – Ye Ye De Smell (mp3) – from Live!
About the Eau de Purple (from this article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune):
Purple reigns over all of the senses for Prince. The artist-musician has created a fragrance for women, called 3121. The name matches the name of his Las Vegas club and most recent album title, and it originates from the address of a home he rented in Los Angeles.
The perfume will be launched on July 7 (7/7/7) at 12 a.m. with a 24-hour online charity event, including a Prince performance. Watch and buy at www.3121perfume.com. 3121 will also be available at select Macy’s stores. Prices start at $31.21 and go up to $70. Seven percent of sales will be divided between seven charities. It’s clear Prince likes numbers (and colors and symbols).
The bottle is purple, and cut in the shape of an emerald-cut diamond. The 3121 logo is 22K gold.
The scent is floral with many undertones. It probably does smell like purple.
Live: Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, 1999
I. Am. A. Slow. Reader.
I’ve always enjoyed reading books. But damned if it doesn’t take me an eternity to read one. Especially over the last decade, as the internet has consumed any free time I previously devoted to books. And maybe it has something to do with reading immediately before bedtime. Four, five pages and I’m too tired to go on.
So my intent is to do my first book review, since I was just sent Chris Salewicz’s new book, Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer. But since it may take me while to get through it, I wanted to at least make you good people aware that this book is out there. Chris Salewicz was a music journalist in the seventies, covering the exploding punk scene for several publications, and befriending many of the bands, including the Clash – so he has a unique insider’s perspective on Joe Strummer.
Joe’s been gone for more than four years now. He left us too early at the age of 50. Shitty thing is, he was just hitting his stride again with the Mescaleros. After a long hiatus, he had formed the band in the late 90’s, and released Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, their debut album, in 1999. A tour followed, and as you’ll hear, Joe was back in prime form. With healthy doses of Clash favorites, old reggae songs, and new Mescaleros tunes, the live shows were great.
Interspersed between the songs is the classic Strummer stage banter. Before launching into Toots & the Maytalls’ “Pressure Drop”, he introduces it this way:
“We’re doing it by a Clash arrangement where we fuck the whole song up completely. But what can you do? I’m a great believer in tradition.”
Enjoy the show. I should have a quality book review to you by, oh – let’s say, Christmas.
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros
Theater of the Living Arts
Philadelphia, PA
November 24, 1999Download ZIP (mp3)
Intro
Shouting Street
Diggin’ The New
X-Ray Style
Rock The Casbah
Ishen > Brand New Cadillac
Tony Adams
Trash City
Nitcomb
The Road To Rock n’ Roll
White Man In Hammersmith Palais
Safe European Home
Yalla Yalla
Rudie Can’t Fail
London Calling
Pressure Drop
Tommy Gun
Island Hopping
Forbidden City
Junco Partner
Straight To Hell
I Fought The Law
Bankrobber
White RiotKermit Ruffins Cooks!
A fixture in the New Orleans music scene, both pre and post-Katrina, is Kermit Ruffins. Every Thursday night, a club in the Bywater section of town – Vaughan’s – becomes Kermit’s place. The fact of the matter is that every Thursday, Kermit cooks. And I’m speaking literally and figuratively. Sure, Kermit cooks on stage with his band, the Barbecue Swingers. But when he’s not on stage, Kermit’s cooking outside – off the back of his red pickup truck. He sets up his barbecue, and grills it up for anyone who’s hungry. How cool is that?
Kermit Ruffins is a trumpet player, and started off as an original member of the Rebirth Brass Band. He and his high school buddy Phillip Frazier co-founded the group in 1982. Ten years later, he formed the Barbecue Swingers. Not surprisingly, Kermit’s biggest influence is another pretty decent New Orleans trumpet player: Louis Armstrong.
A few weeks ago, a reader friend of mine, Cove, was nice enough to have Kermit sign his new CD for me at one of his Vaughan’s gigs. Many thanks, Cove. I’ll be back to the Big Easy for next year’s Jazz Fest, God willing, and you will certainly be seeing me scarfing down some quality Kermit Ruffins barbecue outside of Vaughan’s on a Thursday night!
Kermit’s new CD, Live at Vaughan’s, comes highly recommended. It’s bursting at the seams with that New Orleans flavor: the great music, the rich atmosphere, the boisterousness. Support Kermit and pick one up today…
Kermit Ruffins – “Hide the Reefer”
BUY his new CD, Live at Vaughan’s: on Amazon| at the Louisiana Music Factory
Check out his Basin Street Records profile.
Live: Gary Numan 1980
I know very little about Gary Numan. I’ve always been a fan of “Cars”, but beyond that, not much exposure to ol’ Gary. But I’m always seeking to paint in the bare spots of my musical canvas (like that?), and God knows, we all need to take a trip back to 1980 once in a while for some classic synth-heavy new wave.
So a quick Numanology:
- Born Gary Anthony James Webb in Hammersmith, West London in 1958.
- Put together a band in the late 70’s called Tubeway Army.
- 1979’s The Pleasure Principle included his biggest hit, “Cars” – and was completely devoid of guitars.
- Two of his biggest influences are David Bowie and Marc Bolan.
- He’s a flying nut, and was once arrested in India for “spying” during a flight around the world.
- He’s seen a resurgence in his career over the last decade, as time and perspective have him labeled by some as the “godfather of electronic music.”
Enjoy the show…
Gary Numan
Live in Santa Monica, CA
BBC Rock Hour, broadcast September 7, 1980Airlane
Me I Disconnect From You
Praying To The Aliens
M.E.
Films
We Are So Fragile
Are Friends Electric?
Conversation
Metal
Cars
I Die, You Die
Down In The ParkGary Numan’s Official Site
Buy 1980’s Telekon
New Video: Paul McCartney’s Dance Tonight
Here’s a world premiere of Paul McCartney’s new video for “Dance Tonight”. Amazing how he does it. Instantly familiar and catchy. He’s Paul McCartney fer cripe’s sake.
His new album, Memory Almost Full, will be released on June 5th. Preorder / buy it here.
Paul’s Official Site.Electric Miles – London, 1971
Allow this to push you into the week in mind blowing fashion…
Miles Davis
Royal Festival Hall, London
November 13th, 19711. Directions
2. What I Say?
3. Sanctuary
4. It’s About That Time
5. Honky Tonk
6. Funky Tonk
7. SanctuaryLineup:
Miles Davis (tp)
Gary Bartz (soprano & alto sax)
Keith Jarrett (keyboards)
Michael Henderson (bass)
“Ndugu” Leon Chancler (drums)
Charles Don Alias (percussion)
James Mtume (percussion)
