It’s Election Day…
Tuesday, November 7th is Election Day in this U.S. of A. I will be hitting the polls first thing Tuesday morning, and for what it’s worth, I encourage all of you American readers to do the same. Get out and vote, people!
Warning: Political Opinion Section following…
I try to keep to music 99% of the time, but given the times we live in, it’s impossible for me to not say anything.
I keep hearing that tomorrow is a referendum on George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Well no kidding. I thought the 2004 election was the same, but the very slight majority of my countrymen and women
were scared intodecided to re-elect GW, and to keep the Republicans in control of Congress. I still marvel at how people can listen to and watch our president and be swayed or impressed by him. It’s really beyond me. Many feel different, and that’s fine. I just don’t get it, that’s all.What’s even more stupefying to me is how people allow Bush and his puppeteers to manipulate them with fear. To listen to them tell us how they are the party that keeps us safe, while at the same time they strip us of our civil liberties (habeus corpus, bah, who needs it?), and foment the situation in Iraq by “staying the course”. God bless the brave troops who have been killed, maimed, and who put themselves in harm’s way every day, all for the tragically misguided policies of this current administration.
I encourage you to read Thomas Friedman’s recent New York Times op-ed. In part, it says:
What could possibly be more injurious and insulting to the U.S. military than to send it into combat in Iraq without enough men — to launch an invasion of a foreign country not by the Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force, but by the Rumsfeld Doctrine of just enough troops to lose? What could be a bigger insult than that?
What could possibly be more injurious and insulting to our men and women in uniform than sending them off to war without the proper equipment, so that some soldiers in the field were left to buy their own body armor and to retrofit their own jeeps with scrap metal so that roadside bombs in Iraq would only maim them for life and not kill them? And what could be more injurious and insulting than Don Rumsfeld’s response to criticism that he sent our troops off in haste and unprepared: Hey, you go to war with the army you’ve got — get over it.
The pollsters say the Democrats are in pretty good shape going into tomorrow. There may be a Democrat majority in Congress for the first time since the GOP took control in 1994. There could be hearings on Iraq. Imagine, this administration could actually be held accountable. They’re certainly not going to own up to any failures themselves. Bush, Rummy, or Cheney admitting mistakes? Please.
So make your voice heard, America, whatever your beliefs and political leanings. Yes, I am hoping more Americans feel the way I do (for the first time in 10 years). I am hoping we all collectively wake up, and get on the road to taking our country back. Bush and company think we’re stupid, folks. Let’s show them finally that we’re not.
That concludes my Political Opinion Section.
Here’s an election day song from the late Texas troubadour, Blaze Foley.
Blaze Foley: Election Day (mp3) – from Live at the Austin Outhouse, available on Amazon and iTunes.
Mojo
It’s Saturday, and the question you have to ask yourself is “do I have my mojo working?”
Webster’s Dictionary defines mojo as “a magic spell, hex, or charm; broadly : magical power ; works his mojo on the tennis court“. Webster’s had to throw in the thoroughly white-bread sentence example, didn’t they?
The Wikipedia definition is a little more detailed: “a term commonly encountered in the African-American folk belief called hoodoo. A mojo is a small bag, a type of magic charm, often of red flannel cloth and tied with a drawstring, containing botanical, zoological, and/or mineral curios, petition papers, and the like. It is typically worn under clothing.”
Other names for a mojo?
gree-gree (a Bantu word typically spelled gris-gris by people in Louisiana because of the state’s francophone origins), mojo hand, conjure bag, conjure hand, toby, jomo, and nation sack. In Haiti, the usual name for this sort of charm bag among those of African descent is a wanga, oanga, or wanger.
As for the song “Got My Mojo Working”, it was written in the 50’s by Preston Foster. Many people think he wrote it for Muddy Waters, who popularized the tune, but it was actually Ann Cole who released it first. Cole was an R&B / gospel singer from the 50’s and 60’s. Since then it’s been recorded by a ton of musicians, blues and otherwise… Jimmy Smith, Conway Twitty, Pinetop Perkins, Manfred Mann, Chuck Berry, Canned Heat, and a host of others.
Here’s a few that I like….
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown:
Got My Mojo Working(mp3) – from Standing My GroundElvis Presley:
Got My Mojo Working(mp3) – live, unkown location, date. Listen for Elvis’ F-Bomb (the MF-Bomb to be precise).Professor Longhair:
Got My Mojo Working(mp3) – from Go to the Mardi Gras- Here’s a cool resource for all things mojo: http://www.luckymojo.com/mojo.html
- Mojo Trivia of the Day: “Mr. Mojo Risin” is an anagram of Jim Morrison. Never knew ‘dat.
Mixed Nuts
Because I’m too tired to come up with a quality post (I couldn’t even come up with a good title – “Mixed Nuts”? Sheesh), I thought I’d hand you off to a few fine folks…
THE WHO at A Cultured Left Foot: Howzabout hearing a complete show by the Who? It took place October 3rd, 1975 in Stafford, UK. I’m sending you over to Stuart’s site, A Cultured Left Foot, where he has the full show for download. As you’ll also see, the man loves his football (yes, soccer to us Yanks), and he knows how to write about it too.
The Who: Live, Oct. 3, 1975 – Part One | Part TwoTALKING HEADS at Jefitoblog: Who wants a Talking Heads show? Jefito has a full 1978 show available in his latest Bootleg City post.
Talking Heads: Live, Sept. 16, 1978
THE RAMONES / CBGB’s: John at Crooks and Liars has a video of the Ramones at CBGB’s.
RIP Freddy Fender
I won’t pretend that I know much about Freddy Fender’s music, but I do have a few songs by his supergroup of the later years, the Texas Tornados, and have heard a few by Los Super Seven.
But it’s always sad to lose a music legend, regardless of our familiarity with them, because their work touches countless others’ lives. The song below has touched my life. My 2 year old is a music lover as it is, but it takes something special to really get her going. “Guacamole” does the job.
So in memory of Freddy Fender, take a listen to a great one by the Tornados.
The Texas Tornados (Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez, Augie Myers and Doug Sahm):
Guacamole(mp3)- Buy the Best of the Texas Tornados.
- Freddy Fender’s All Music profile.
Whole Lotta Love in Copenhagen
Today, we have rockin’ Prince, and we have blues Prince. Coming from a 2002 aftershow in Copenhagen, Denmark, the man is all over his guitar here. May I recommend that you turn this m$%#@er up loud, and enjoy?
Prince:
Whole Lotta Love(mp3) (Led Zep cover)
The Question of U(mp3)Live from a Copenhagen aftershow, October 26, 2002 (Hit n’ Run Tour).
Buy the newly released Ultimate Prince.
The Prince Forum: Ickmusic’s new Prince forum is up & running. For you Prince freaks, get on over and register. It’s worth your while, trust me.
Ickmusic Maintenance tonight (Sept. 3)
Ickmusic will be down temporarily tonight at
9:00pm8:00pm PST (AZ and CA time). I’ll be upgrading my WordPress version. Hopefully I’ll be right back up and running. If not, it’s been great! See ya!Update: It went off without a hitch. Back in bid-ness.
Grab Bag of New Stuff
Here’s a little cleaning out the ol’ closet project I’ve been meaning to get around to. We music / mp3 bloggers receive a lot of correspondence from bands, labels, promoters, etc. I try to
give everything a fair listen, but honestly, there aren’t enough hours in the day. That damn day job gets in the way, my friends.So here’s a few that have caught my attention over the last few months… take some time and give them a listen.
Hard Fi Remixes
I’m really glad I was turned on to Hard-Fi. They have that Brit-punk sensibility that I enjoy so much. Definitely check out their CD Stars of the CCTV. One thing the Brits love is their house music remixes. You know, bump bump bump bump… I flip on Radio One on Sirius every once in a while and the odds are good I’ll hear me some house beats. Is it still called house? Well, listen to these remixes of “Hard to Beat”, and correct me if there’s a better term.
Hard Fi “Hard to Beat” Remixes: Ashley Beadle (Real | WMP) ; Axwell Mix (Real | WMP) ; Minotaur Shock (Real | WMP); Hard to Beat Mix (Real | WMP)
Tobias Fröberg
How’s this for an intro. Tobias is “the sweetest carameliest 1974 summerlovin spoonful of Scandi candy that’ll sticky your lips all year.” Worth a listen for sure!
When the Night Turns Cold (mp3)
Love and Misery (mp3)For Those Who Know
FTWK is a psychedelic band from Austin, Texas, who released a self-titled EP that came out last year, and caught a lot of attention in Texas. Comparisons have been made to the Jesus and Mary Chain, New Order, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine. You can download the entire album for free at http://www.for-those-who-know.com and at http://www.myspace.com/forthosewhoknow.
The Majestic Twelve
From Wilmington, North Carolina, the Majestic Twelve are giving away their CD, ‘Schizophrenology’, on their web site. You can also hear them on http://www.myspace.com/themajestictwelve. Worth checking out, if only for “Condoleezza, Check My Posse.”
The Primms
Andy of the Primms sent a nice email recently. They’re a UK band recently transplanted to NYC (that’s them pictured above). They have a residency at Pianos coming up in September, “deafening the good people of the Lower East Side every Thursday at 10pm.” I really like what I’m hearing from these guys.
Official Site: http://www.sonicbids.com/theprimms
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/primmsHem
Ready for some laid back folksy sounds with real nice vocals courtesy of Sally Ellyson? Check out Brooklyn’s Hem.
He Came to Meet Me (Real | WMP)
Not California (Real | WMP)Official Site: http://www.hemmusic.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/hemPinto
My man Andreas from Sweden wants you to hear his band, Pinto. The man likes Tom Petty, and you’ll hear it in Pinto’s music.
Never Leave (mp3)
MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/pintopintopinto
Offical Site: http://www.pinto.se/ (more free mp3 downloads)Well, that’s it for now. I’ll try to put more of these together more often, just to support the musicians out there. They’re doing their best to live that dream, so check them out….
Highway Companion CD Contest
Who wants a brand spanking new copy of Tom Petty’s ‘Highway Companion?’
Leave a comment below with your best description of Tom Petty in 5 words or less (the man or his music). The most original, creative, and/or humorous wins a free copy. Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact you. Nobody will see it but me.
I’ll pick the winner on Monday evening. Good luck! (U.S. and Canada only, sorry world)…
POT SWEETENER: I’ll also throw in Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ set from this year’s Bonnaroo Festival.
Quickies
While I prepare another earth shattering music post, here’s a couple of items to check out…
- Supergroup Golden Smog (members of Wilco, Jayhawks, Soul Asylum) returns Tuesday with another record, ‘Another Fine Day’. The first single is called “5-22-02.” It’s quite enjoyable and you can check it out over at So Much Silence.
- I encourage all alpha males to head over to Iowa Hawk to cast your vote for Miss Hoosegow 2006, your choice for the loveliest of the incarcerated females at the Polk County Jail in Des Moines, Iowa (I agree with the majority of voters thus far).
An Ode to eMusic
Yeah, I figured it’s time for a shameless plug. Hear me out though… eMusic.
eMusic is an online music store that focuses on independent record labels. I had never signed up for one of these subscription music services (Napster, Rhapsody, etc.), but when I found myself paying a buck per song on iTunes or MSN Music a bunch of times per month, I decided to give eMusic a try (especially given their support of the indy labels).
I signed up for the basic plan, $9.95 per month for 40 downloads. I find that to be a pretty sweet deal. If you’re a regular music blog reader, you like to be exposed to new music. The cool thing for me is it’s exposing me to a bunch of new artists. I just recently started running again, so my new favorite thing is to download a bunch of tunes I’ve never heard off of eMusic, load ’em up on my iPod, and hit the treadmill. Now I actually can look forward to my exercise because I know I’ll be checking out new music in the process. Today I listened to the new Raconteours (awesome), old Fugazi (one of those bands that I’ve never really exposed myself to), the Black Keys, and A.F.I. (great for bursts of energy).
Anyways, enough of my sales pitch, but I’m serious, you’ll love it. You can check them out for free and get 25 free downloads in the process. If you don’t like it (and you will like it, trust me), you can cancel and keep the tunes. Yes, I do get a couple of bucks if you sign up, but this will definitely benefit you more than it will me. Try it out…..