Levi Goes *Pop*
I was recently implored to check out Pop Levi, whose music was described to me as “Bowie meets Prince.” Ummm…sign me up!
Only a year after his first full length, The Return to Form Black Magick Party, Liverpool’s own Levi Pop is set to release a follow up this summer, titled Never Never Love. Surprisingly, the Bowie meets Prince descriptor is somewhat accurate, although there’s a good helping of electro pop thrown in as well. It also reminded me a bit of what I’ve heard from Alan Wilkis.
I’ve listened to the album a few times now, and continue to enjoy it more with each listen, particularly the dance-oriented tracks. Here are two of my favorites:
Pop Levi – “Wannamama”
And the video for the title track, Never Never Love:
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=SNLkZJ7kALU 336 278]Never Never Love is slated for a July 15 release, but it appears that it will only be available as an import for now. But keep an eye out – I’m sure a US release (digital or physical) will follow.
Set List: Tom Waits at the Orpheum Theater, June 17
Because I’m super geeky about this kind of stuff, here’s the set list from tonight’s Tom Waits show at the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix. The first on his Glitter and Doom Tour, and my very first Waits experience. Much more to come in a future post, but wanted to pass along the set list…
Doesn’t get much better than a 8th row seat to a Tom Waits show…
Tom Waits
The Orpheum Theater, Phoenix, Ariz.
June 17th, 2008* This was the set list as I took it down that night. Any corrections? Hit me in the comments…
Lucinda / Ain’t Goin’ Down to the Well
Hoist That Rag
Come On Up to the House
Jesus Gonna Be Here
November
Black Market Baby
Rain Dogs
Trampled Rose
Goin’ Out West
Murder in the Red Barn
Anywhere I Lay My Head
Cemetery Polka
Get Behind the Mule
Eyeball Kid
Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis [TW on piano]
Picture in a Frame [TW on piano]
Invitation to the Blues [TW on piano]
Innocent When You Dream [TW on piano]
Lie To Me
Chocolate Jesus
Make It RainEncore
Way Down in the Hole
God’s Away On Business
Time
Tom Leaves the stage (click for a larger image). Not too bad for iPhone pics.
Summertime Bruce [R.I.P. Tim Russert]
I can’t add anything too insightful about Tim Russert that hasn’t already been said or written over the last 24 hours, but I wanted to give my 2 cents. I’ve always been an NBC guy. One of my earliest memories is watching Tom Brokaw on the Today Show when I lived in Spain in the mid-70’s. I was amazed that his eyes would follow me regardless of where I stood in the room. From that point forward, when I need a TV news fix, it’s always been NBC – whether the Today Show, the Nightly News, MSNBC, or Meet the Press. I’ve grown up with the gang – especially Brokaw.
Since Russert took over Meet the Press in 1991, and through every election year, I’ve admired his passion, his tenacity, his preparation, and his bulldog mentality in his Meet the Press chair. In an industry of egos & blowhards, Tim Russert was one of the good guys – and like a lot of ’em, he was snatched from us way too early.
Russert was also a huge Springsteen fan.
Last night, I watched Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams talk about Russert’s and Williams’ mutual love of Springsteen’s music. In the early days, Russert actually booked Springsteen and the band for a February 1975 show in the gymnasium at John Carroll University in Cleveland.
I don’t have that show, but I do have this excellent 1978 show from the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland. Bruce kicks off the show with “Summertime Blues”, which is what we’re all feeling right about now with Tim’s shocking passing.
“Summertime Blues”
Rest in peace, Tim. You will be missed.
Summertime Bruce
The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio
August 9th, 1978
Summertime Blues
Badlands
Spirit in the Night
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Factory
The Promised Land
Prove It All Night
Racing in the Streets
Thunder Road
Jungleland
Paradise by the ‘C’
Fire
Sherry Darling
Not Fade Away
Gloria / She’s the One
Growin’ Up
Backstreets
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Born to Run
Because the Night
Raise Your Hand
Twist and Shout
Bonus: (from the Palladium, NYC – 9/17/78)
Kitty’s Back
Point BlankNew Tunes: My Morning Jacket’s Evil Urges
Like a good consumer, I waited patiently for the release date of My Morning Jacket’s latest (June 10), and was pleasantly surprised that eMusic had it available on Day One [For the uninitiated, eMusic is a monthly subscription site that specializes in independent labels. I pay $10 a month for 40 downloads. So in essence, I just paid $5.60 for the new MMJ – nice].
A couple years ago, I opined that Nino Moschella’s “Are You For Real” was one of the best Prince songs I’d heard in ages. Well, Evil Urges has a couple of the funkiest Prince songs you’ve heard in a while, too. Listen to the title track, and especially to track 3, “Highly Suspicious”. Jim James is channeling the good ol’ nasty Prince falsetto here. It sounds like Prince fronting Cameo in their prime. Seriously, tell me you don’t hear that. Go to their MySpace now and click on “Highly Suspicious”. Stat.
Quirky, rich and offbeat, the new record is full of Jim and the band blurring the lines between genres: from their brand of southern jam-rock to some serious infusion of funky, soulful grooves. I don’t know how they do it, but My Morning Jacket manages to sound like a great 70’s band from the future. They’re futuristically retro, if I may. I mean, listen to “Thank You Too!”, and the seamless double shot of “Smokin from Shootin” and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Part 2”.
I have great respect for musicians that find a formula that “works” for them, and then continue to morph and tweak it on subsequent albums. Wilco has done it (compare Being There to Summerteeth to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)… Prince sure did it in the 80’s (especially from Purple Rain to Around the World in a Day – a huge leap). And MMJ is doing it – check out the transitions in atmosphere from It Still Moves to Z to Evil Urges.
Truly a groundbreaking band – and hands down one of the most impressive live acts I’ve ever seen. I look forward to letting this record seep into me.
Buy: Evil Urges
Official Site: MyMorningJacket.comNew Tunes: Alejandro Escovedo’s Real Animal
I’m new to Alejandro Escovedo’s music, but I’ve been familiar with him for years, as a much-respected roots rock singer/songwriter with a huge underground following. Not to mention he’s Sheila E.’s uncle (Sheila’s dad, Pete, is his brother). But I’ve never delved into the music until now. My loss, I know.
Real Animal is Alejandro’s eighth studio album since his acclaimed 1992 debut, Gravity. Prior to that, Alejandro was in San Francisco punk band The Nuns. After a move to Austin, he formed bands Rank and File and True Believers. But it’s his solo work that has garnered the respect of people from Springsteen to Lucinda Williams to Steve Earle.
So my first impressions of the album are very positive. I tend to gravitate toward the slower songs like “Swallows of San Juan”, “Sensitive Boys”, “Hollywood Hills”, and the beautiful “Slow Down”.
the past is gone
but it still lives inside of me
hold on tight
as we slip into this revelryslow down slow down
it’s moving much too fast
can’t live in this moment
when i’m tangled in the pastBut the rockers are growing on me too…the opening track, “Always a Friend” is a straight ahead rocker that Bruce and the E Street Band learned before they brought Alejandro out for an encore in Houston a couple months ago. And songs like “Chelsea Hotel ’78” and the tribute to Iggy Pop – “Real As An Animal” – sound great turned up loud and tearing down the road, making me temporarily forget about $4 gas and 15 miles to the gallon. We all need an escape in this day and age, and this album is a great side trip.
Buy: Real Animal
Official Site: AlejandroEscovedo.comMellencamp and T-Bone Burnett Hook Up
My opinion: if you throw T-Bone Burnett into a project, you’re going to get favorable results. Look at some of the production credits in his resumé:
Los Lobos – How WIll the Wolf Survive?
Wallflowers – Bringing Down the Horse
Counting Crows – August and Everything After
BoDeans – Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams
Elvis Costello – King of America
Robert Plant & Alison Kraus – Raising Sand
Bruce Cockburn – Nothing But a Burning Light and Dart to the Heart
The Soundtrack to O Brother Where Art ThouAnd oh so much more.
One new album bearing the stamp of T-Bone is John Mellencamp‘s Life, Death, Love and Freedom, due out July 15th on the Hear Music / Starbucks label. I have a ton of John’s older stuff, but haven’t really heard much of the stuff he’s put out over the last 10 years or so. And regardless of what John says about “My Country”, the over saturation from the Chevy commercials turned me off to the song immediately.
But this tune has me looking forward to the new album. Mellencamp calls it a collection of “modern electric folk songs”. He also credits Burnett with “finding the soul of each song”. I give Mellencamp credit for hooking up with Burnett – I look forward to hearing the results. They’re off to a great start with this one…
John Mellencamp – My Sweet Love
- Pre-Order: Life, Death, Love and Freedom
- Official Site: JohnMellencamp.com
New Tunes: Sergio Mendes – Encanto
I can’t claim to know much about Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes, beside the fact that I love this song from his 1992 album Brasileiro…
Mendes has been active in the music industry since 1961, when he formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio. In 1965, he moved to New York City, and a year later formed Brasil ’66, which hit platinum with its debut, Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 – featuring “Mas Que Nada”.
Fast forward to Tuesday, June 10th, when Mendes will release his latest, Encanto (nice cover up there, eh?). Along for the ride are Latin sensation Juanes, Natalie Cole, Ledisi, Herb Alpert, and the ever-ubiquitous will.i.am, who recommended his buddy Fergie to sing on the will-produced track, “The Look of Love” – a Burt Bacharach track that Mendes originally recorded with Brasil ’66 in the late sixties.Now, it’s up to you to decide whether will and Fergie enhance the song, or poison it. My personal opinion: I think they’re starting to wear out their welcome; like they’ve hit their peak. But that’s one opinion. Here it is:
Sergio Mendes feat. Fergie – The Look of Love (streaming) – also in Quicktime
Another tune from the new album:
Sergio Mendes – Funky Bahia (streaming)
Links: Official Site | MySpace | Buy the album | eCard |Youtube EPK
Dreaming about…C.W.?
While we wait for Michael – King of the Friday Five – to post his latest (Michael – you okay??), I pose one question to you all…
Why did I have a vivid dream about “Convoy” singer C.W. McCall the other night?
The dream: I was reading an article about a new album or a new tour by C.W. Next thing I knew, I was on the phone calling his house, and his wife answered. I asked if C.W. was available. She asked who was calling, and I gave my best dream-induced explanation of who I was (I was still Pete and with Ickmusic.com, a music blog, blah blah blah).
The next second I was knocking at the front screen door of a modest home in a middle class neighborhood. I could see into the window to the left. There was C.W. McCall, sleeping in recliner. He was shirtless, and he had a large beer belly. End of dream.
I’ll have my random music dreams occasionally where I’ll be at a Prince or Springsteen show – sometimes even performing on stage. But C.W. McCall?? Ah, the ways of the human brain.
Is this too much information?
New Tunes: Teddy Thompson
This, my friends, is a fall in love at first listen type of tune. Teddy Thompson is the son of Richard and Linda Thompson – both well respected musicians in their own right. So Teddy comes from good stock.
“In My Arms” is beautiful, sunny harmonies, a killer B3 solo, a catchy hook… It’s got it all!
It’s June – summer has descended upon us north of the equator. So may I nominate “In My Arms” as a great kick-off-the-summer tune? I can? Good.
This is the first single from his new album, A Piece of What You Need, which comes out June 17th.
Teddy Thompson – In My Arms
Some tour dates:
Jun 6 – Pittsburgh, PA – Three Rivers Arts Festival
Jun 7 – Detroit, MI – Detroit Festival of the Arts
Jun 10 – Chicago, IL – Schubas
Jun 11 – Chicago, IL – Schubas
Jun 12 – Madison, WI – University of Wisconsin Terrace
Jun 14 – Covington, KY – Molly Malone’s
Jun 15 – Nashville, TN – 3rd and Lindsley
Jun 17 – Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle
Jun 20 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Jun 21 – Philadelphia, PA – North Star Bar
Jun 27 – Bristol, UK – Fiddler’s Club
Jun 28 – Pilton, UK – Glastonbury Festival Q Magazine Stage
Jul 5 – London, UK – Kenwood House opening for Rufus Wainwright
Jul 8 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
Jul 9 – Los Angeles, CA – Coronet TheaterFirst Listen: The Orchid Highway
Upon opening the case of The Orchid Highway’s self-titled debut you get a sense of exactly what you are in for. The image of floor to ceiling stacks of vintage amps, guitars and keys sets the expectation that is fully realized when you hear the ringing opening barrage of “Sofa Surfer Girl”. Reveling in tried and true FM Rock with shades of psychedelic and pop leanings this record delivers ten solid tracks with absolutely no filler. Check out the lead off single “Next World”.
The Orchid Highway – Next World (MP3)
Buy The Orchid Highway: Amazon | iTunes
Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace
