Warmth of the Sun Giveaway
This Tuesday, Epic will release ‘The Warmth of the Sun’, a retrospective of three decades of Beach Boys music chosen by the Boys themselves – yes, even Brian Wilson (along with Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and Mike Love). To complement the release, there’s an 11-part series of free podcasts filled with interviews and quality Beach Boys tuneage being released over 11 weeks. You can subscribe to them in iTunes.
So naturally, it’s time for another Ickmusic give-it-away! A comment below puts you in the running. Pretty simple, hey? As always, points for originality. And extra points to anyone who can throw Brian Wilson and “warmth of the sun” into a limerick.
The Warmth Of The Sun (CD and Digital Album)
1. All Summer Long (new stereo mix)
2. Catch A Wave
3. Hawaii
4. Little Honda
5. 409
6. It’s OK
7. You’re So Good To Me (new stereo mix)
8. Then I Kissed Her (new stereo mix)
9. Kiss Me, Baby
10. Please Let Me Wonder (new stereo mix)
11. Let Him Run Wild (new stereo mix)
12. The Little Girl I Once Knew
13. Wendy (new stereo mix)
14. Disney Girls (1957)
15. Forever
16. Friends
17. Break Away
18. Why Do Fools Fall In Love
19. Surf’s Up
20. Feel Flows
21. All This Is That
22. ‘Til I Die
23. Sail On, Sailor
24. Cool, Cool Water
25. Don’t Go Near The Water
26. California Saga (On My Way To Sunny Californ-i-a)
27. California Dreamin’
28. The Warmth Of The SunCheck out the Beach Boys Official Site.
If I Was an Angel
Here’s a nice tune by NYC-based Rogue’s March. Led by gravelly-voiced singer Joe Hurley, the band has been packing them in at the Mercury Lounge and the Bowery Ballroom for years with their fusion of Irish-country-punk. They take the tempo down a bit for this one…
Rogue’s March – If I Was an Angel
Check out Joe Hurley’s Bandcamp.
Ick’s Odds and Ends
My name is Prince, and I can wear a towel on my head and still be cool.- Music like Dirt has amazingly impressive coverage of Prince’s last minute gig at London’s Koko on May 10th.
- There’s a cool exhibit by artist Sean Duffy coming up at Arizona State University. It’s called “The Grove’. What is it? 18 turntables. Each turntable connected to 20 different speakers suspended above. And the really cool part? It’s completely interactive, meaning 18 bozos like me can choose the LP’s playing on each turntable. Come check it out between June 2 and September 9. I will be.
- Stereogum has new Beastie Boy video action: “Off the Grid” and “The Rat Cage”.
Heartbreakers Friday
I ask you, what better way to kick off a weekend than with vintage Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers? Here’s a nice little set from early 1980 during a two night stand at the Hammersmith-Odeon in London town.
It’s nice to hear such great quality footage of a young and vibrant Tom Petty. He and the Heartbreakers still put on an amazing show, mind you, and every music lover should make it a point to see them live at least once – but this Tom Petty: the young, angry smartass – this is the live Tom Petty to behold.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
March 7th, 1980
Hammersmith-Odeon, London
FM Broadcast (KBFH)Anything that’s Rock n Roll
Even The Losers
I Need to Know
Don’t do me Like That
Cry To Me
Refugee
American Girl
Breakdown
Too Much Ain’t Enough
ShoutYouTubin’ Petty
- Check out this 1980 footage of Petty and the boys working through Eddie Cochran’s “Sometin’ Else”.
- Singing “Listen to Her Heart” in 1978.
- Weird Al “interviews” Tom Petty.
- Finally, a man named Mark, who is missing both arms, plays “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” with his feet. I hate feet as a rule, but this is pretty cool.
Jesse Malin and the Boss – Broken Radio
I just picked up Jesse Malin‘s latest album, ‘Glitter in the Gutter‘. I haven’t spent a lot of time listening to Jesse in the past, but I’ve heard good things about him, and he’s played gigs with Marah, a Philly band I really like. And the kicker is that Bruce Springsteen makes an appearance on the record, singing along with Jesse on a tune called “Broken Radio.”
So to start off, I’ll admit that for me, Jesse Malin will be an acquired taste. I listened to “Broken Radio” for the first time a few days ago. My first impression of Malin’s voice was that I was listening to Ryan Adams try to sing while someone was plugging his nose and squeezing his nuts. As I said, it may be an acquired taste. It got a bit better over the next few listens, though.
Jesse Malin showed up at the Tribute to Bruce a few weeks ago in New York City. I had caught the YouTube performance of him singing “Hungry Heart” with Ronnie Spector. And, um, wow. You can judge for yourself.
In Bruce news, he showed up over the weekend at a Brian Wilson show in Red Bank, NJ. He joined Brian in singing a great tune: “Love and Mercy” (and some guitar on “Barbara Ann”). Thanks Thierry for the heads up.
SoI ‘ll check in again here on this album when I digest it a little more. I have a feeling it’ll grow on me. But check out “Broken Radio”, see whatcha think…
Jesse Malin w/ Bruce Springsteen – Broken Radio
Jesse’s Official Site | MySpace
Forecast for Tuesday: Sky Blue Sky
For my favorite artists, I’m still a “have it / hold it” kind of guy when it comes to new albums. I have the need and desire to venture out to my local record store (can I still call it that?), pay my money down, and walk out with the new CD in hand.
Wilco is one of those artists for me. I’ve even shown some restraint in this digital age of album leaks and streaming previews, and avoided listening to their new album, Sky Blue Sky. I’ve only heard “What Light” and “Side With the Seeds”.
Like a lot of you, I like the butterflies in my stomach when I finally get through the plastic wrap, pull off those annoying little tabs, extract the CD, and insert it into my car’s CD player. Weird to think, but even CD’s feel old school these days, much like albums did when CD’s took over my life in the late 80’s.
So yeah, I’m a bit excited to listen to Sky Blue Sky all the way through. So if you can’t make it to the local record store, and you want that CD in hand, go ahead and pick ’em up here.
Buy Sky Blue Sky.
Photo credit: TBD
Sunday Video: The Blower’s Daughter
This song is 4-5 years old, but I just discovered its brilliance. Damien Rice sings “The Blower’s Daughter”…
Happy Mom’s Day, now listen to George Michael
A Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, including my beautiful wife and amazing mother, Myra. My own mom gave me the year off, as she’s currently traveling across England’s Lake District – on foot. She has my dad – the hiking fiend – to thank for that. My crazy pops hiked the John Muir Trail by himself, for crying out loud. My dad the sixty-something has a way of making this thirty- something feel very very lazy.
So I did the obligatory “mother” search in iTunes to see what I could post on this fine day, but nothing jumped out. I don’t think “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother” fits the occasion.
So instead, I’ll go with random stream of consciousness. I guess it’s the recent George Michael coverage. His older albums, especially ‘Faith‘ and ‘Listen Without Prejudice‘, really hold up to the test of time, in my opinion. This tune from ‘Listen‘ proves my point…
George Michael: Waiting for the Day
Photo credit: England’s Lake District taken by Nicolas Masse. See his Flickr site.
Neville Brothers live at the Vienna Jazz Festival
I had the good fortune to see the Neville Brothers a couple of weekends ago here in Arizona. That same weekend, Jazz Fest was kicking off in New Orleans. The Neville Brothers were once staples of the Jazz Fest scene, but this was the second consecutive year that they were no-shows. Some have attributed it to Aaron Neville’s asthma. He allegedly says that the climate aggravates it.
Today, Hidden Track passed along a link on the Time-Picayune site regarding the Funky Meters return to New Orleans (Art Neville, the eldest brother, is a member of both the Meters and the Neville Brothers). The article also mentions the continued absence of the Neville Brothers in New Orleans. The criticism catches fire in the comments section. Some of the residents of New Orleans apparently harbor some serious resentment toward the Nevilles, accusing Art of bashing post-Katrina New Orleans, and going as far as calling them traitors and exploiters of their home town.
I don’t know the guys personally, but I find it hard to believe that the Nevilles have anything but love for their home town of New Orleans. Aaron just buried his wife of 50 years there in January, for crying out loud. On this their thirtieth anniversary, I’m sure the Nevilles will be planning a triumphant return to the Big Easy.
But it was interesting to see any negativity directed toward the Nevilles, especially from their home town folks. I would think their lifetime of devotion and dedication to the city would set that issue straight.
So let’s go back to last summer’s Vienna Jazz Festival, and take in a great sounding set by the Brothers.
The Neville Brothers
July 7th, 2006
Vienna Jazz Festival, Austria1. Can’t Stop the Funk
2. Fever
3. Besame Mucho
4. A Change is Gonna Come
5. Bird on a Wire
6. Please Don’t Leave Me
7. Talkin’ Bout New Orleans
8. Foxy Lady
9. Big Chief
10.Louisiana 19271. Tell It Like It Is
2. Charlie
3. Yellow Moon
4. Shake Your Tamborine
5. Amazing Grace
6. Neville-ismSwitchin to Glide
The song playing on the clock radio when it goes off at 6:15 every morning can make or break the day for me. This morning, Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” was playing.
I don’t enjoy “Fat Bottomed Girls”.
So it was imperative for me to throw on another tune very quickly, and de-program the “song in my head”.
What better weekend song than “This Beat Goes On / Switchin’ to Glide?” Released on the Kings’ 1980 debut album ‘The Kings Are Here‘, the tune hit it big on rock radio, but the Kings ended up being put out to pasture in one hit wonder land.
The Kings – This Beat Goes On / Switchin’ to Glide
