Tony Allen and Ginger Baker Poundin the Skins
Kudos to Jefito for throwing a Fela Kuti / Ginger Baker tune on one of his Friday mix tapes a couple months back. It made me aware of Fela and the Africa 70’s “Live” album with Ginger Baker. It was originally released in 1971 but was reissued late last year with a 16-minute bonus track – a Ginger Baker / Tony Allen drum jam.
Tony Allen was Fela Kuti’s drummer for many many years, and is active today in The Good, the Bad, & the Queen, which also features former Blur frontman Damon Albarn, and former Clash – yes CLASH – bassist Paul Simonon. Hidden Track caught one of their shows over the weekend, and has some sweet pics posted in their photo review.
So I’m a percussion kind of guy and can happily spend 16 minutes of my life listening to a fine Afrobeat / funkin’ drummin’ jam. Can you?
Ginger Baker & Tony Allen Drum Solo – Live at the 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival
Help Save Internet Radio
On March 2nd, the Copyright Royalty Board (part of the U.S. Library of Congress), released the new royalty rates that Internet Radio broadcasters have to pay, retroactive from 2006-2010. The new rates are so high that, for the most part, they exceed 100% of the revenue of most online radio stations.
What this means is Internet Radio as we know it is threatened big time. I can’t count the number of songs and artists I’ve been exposed to because of online radio. Great sites like Radio Paradise, Pandora, KCRW’s streams of Morning Becomes Eclectic, and Live 365 have been invaluable to me. To even consider life in this day and age without them is something I don’t even want to think about. It can’t happen!
The best defense against this is speaking out. You can help by going to Save the Streams.org, signing an online petition, and submitting an email or printed letter to your congressman. They have pre-written letters there for your convenience.Please , if you’re a music lover, and you agree that these sites have a right to fair royalty rates, help out and speak out.
Resources and reading:
Time Running out for MP3 Blogs? There have also been recent mumblings about the RIAA going after music bloggers by approaching their Internet Service Providers and having their accounts suspended or their sites taken down. Is this the beginning of the end? See what Jefito has to say about it. And check out Gizmodo’s Boycott the RIAA Month.
Fingers crossed.
Intervention
I’ll need an intervention soon to stop me from listening to this tune.
Arcade Fire’s “Intervention” is blowing my mind! I’d heard live versions of it before (on their KCRW appearance, for example), but never like this version on their brand new release, Neon Bible. I think the church organ does it. And the incredible lyrics which I never paid close enough attention to in the past. And the crescendo building.
I listened to this while I was running today. The hair was standing on my arms, and I muttered “WwwOW” before playing it again. To me, this song is of EPIC proportions… goose bumpage proportions.
Arcade Fire: Intervention
Buy: Neon Bible
Carbon/Silicon’s Crackup Suite
Mick Jones (formerly of the Clash and Big Audio Dynamite) and Tony James (formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik), are old friends from the Brit punk scene of the mid 70’s. They are alive and well these days, churning out new music as Carbon/Silicon.
Free new music.
Every now and then, new albums pop up on their web site with free mp3’s and artwork. Today was one of those days. 4 out of the 6 songs that make up their new album, The Crackup Suite, appeared this morning. You can read the rationale behind this project here on their web site bio.
Here’s one of the new tunes. I picked the strangest one.
You can download all four here. How does this one grab you?
Carbon/Silicon:
T.F. Madness(mp3)The Past and the Present: the Pogues in Boston
With St. Patrick’s Day quickly approaching, and the Pogues set to play two sold out shows at the Avalon in Boston this weekend, what better way to celebrate than with a Pogues show from the very same venue twenty years earlier? It was called the Metro back then, and this was the period when Joe Strummer played guitar for the band on tour (87-88). In the early 90’s when Shane MacGowan left the band, Joe would take lead vocal duties for a couple of years.
While the lucky folks in Boston get to enjoy the 2007 Pogues this weekend, the rest of us can live vicariously through them and the 1987 Pogues. If the crowd at this weekend’s show is anything like this crowd, one hell of a good time is in store.
Lucky bastards.
The Pogues (featuring Joe Strummer on guitar)
The Metro, Boston, Mass.
December 1st, 198701. Streams Of Whiskey
02. The Irish Rover
03. Medley
04. The Body Of An American
05. If I Should Fall From Grace With God
06. The Repeal Of The Licensing Laws
07. Lullaby Of London
08. South Australia
09. Bottle Of Smoke
10. Metropolis
11. The Broad Majestic Shannon
12. Dark Streets Of London
13. I Fought The Law (Joe on Vox.)
14. London Calling (Joe on Vox)
15. Fiesta
16. Turkish Song Of The Damned
17. Dirty Old Town
18. Sally Maclennane
19. The Sick Bed Of CuchulainnPOGUES/STRUMMER VIDEO ACTION: But that’s not all, folks. How ’bout St. Patrick’s Day, 1988? From a DVD? Some kind soul has the whole show up on YouTube. With guests Joe Strummer, David Byrne, and Kirsty McColl. It’s broken into 15 parts but well worth it. Here’s part 3, “If I Should Fall From Grace With God“, with a Joe Strummer interview leading it off. Check all of ’em out here.
New Greencards: Viridian
Lost in the shuffle (to me) this week was the release of the Greencards‘ new album. Rank Carol Young’s voice right up there with my favorite female singers (e.g. Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin). Her singing is effortless and sweet to the ears.
The new album, Viridian, is a great mix of pure American music as performed by the trio – two Aussies and a Brit – who live in Austin, Texas. The trio lay it down with a mandolin, a fiddle, and an electric bass. Yeah, bluegrass instruments, but the Greencards can’t be nailed down as a bluegrass band. They veer into a rootsy territory too. Probably a lot to do with their hometown of Austin.
The album opener shows what the Greencards are all about. A laid back feel, great vocals / harmonies, and talented musicianship. Dig it!
The Greencards: Waiting on the Night
Buy: Viridian
Check out the Greencards’ Official Site
Related: A previous Greencards post with links to a full live show in Telluride.
A Monday Mixed Bag
Happy Monday. Joy joy! A few odds and end here:
WILCO streamed their new album, Sky Blue Sky, on their web site over the weekend. Pretty cool idea to hold a special listening party for their fans. I’m sure people have grabbed, ripped and torn the show into mp3’s, but I’m not pursuing. I’m exercising patience. But they do have an mp3 from the album available on their site. It’s called “What Light”. If you want to download it, go to their web site. If you want to hear it right here, right now…..
Wilco – “What Light”
A READER threw a request my way for a Clash show I posted way back when. You can download the individual mp3’s here if you want. It’s May 9, 1981 in Lille, France. Highly recommended for all Clash City Rockers. RIP Joe Strummer. Here’s a taste of the show….
The Clash – “Bank Robber“
TOMORROW IS A GREAT DAY here in the U.S. for new releases in DVD and CD land.
1. Borat! I’m a big fan of Da Ali G Show, but I still haven’t seen this movie. That will change now. Borat – Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is released to the masses on DVD.
2. Arcade Fire‘s new CD, Neon Bible, is released. I love the energy this band exudes, and you can’t beat Win Butler’s voice, IMO.
Buy: Neon Bible
3. Ry Cooder is an American musical treasure. Tuesday sees the release of My Name is Buddy, a collection of depression-era / dust bowl ballads from the vantage point of Buddy the Cat, Lefty Mouse, and Reverend Tom Toad. I’m not kidding.
A Referral for Matt the Electrician
I’ve been spending a good amount of time with Matt the Electrician. No, my marriage is not in jeopardy. Matt the Electrician is Matt Sever, a singer / guitarist / songwriter from one of America’s music hubs, Austin, Texas. Matt has been playing his gigs and building his fan base since the late 90’s. His latest CD, One Thing Right, is a clever, melodic ride through the neo-folk alt-country landscape. His bio likens his voice to “a young Paul Simon wrapped around a Tom Waits heart.” I dig his voice. It has a nice light sandpapery feel, sort of Jakob Dylan-ish in my opinion. Quite pleasing to these old ears.
It’s a good sign that it was difficult for me to select one song off the album. There are several I really enjoy: “Held Together”, “On the Radar”, “My Dog”… but this one takes top billing at this space in time.
Matt is launching a west coast tour soon (including an April 5 stop at the Rhythm Room here in Phoenix). He’ll also be popping up around town at SXSW, which starts in a few days.
Matt the Electrician:
In the Waves(mp3)Buy One Thing Right (also available on iTunes).
Matt the Electrician’s Tour Dates | Official Site | MySpace
Dry Lightning
Imagery… You want imagery, you listen to this song and read these lyrics.
Well the piss yellow sun
Comes bringin’ up the day
She said “ain’t nobody gonna give nobody
What they really need anyway”Well you get so sick of the fightin’
You lose your fear of the end
But I can’t lose your memory
And the sweet smell of your skinSick. Absolutely sick what this man does with words and music. These words have moistened my eyes more than once. Didn’t think I was the sensitive type, did ya?
Yeah, I’m starting to itch for Bruce. Since the Seeger Sessions tour ended a few months ago, he’s been off the radar a bit. Rumors have started to pop up about him recording in Atlanta and Nashville, but nothing definitive. The man leads a low profile life, you gotta respect him for that.
So because it’s been quiet on the Boss front lately, I thought I’d share this Ghost of Tom Joad gem, live from the Joad tour back in 1996.
