• Video

    Hope for Haiti Now

    Like many of you, I sat down and took in the two hours of Hope for Haiti Now last night – a music-based benefit organized by overall good guy George Clooney. It was broadcast on most TV and cable networks. This will shock you, but Fox News did not – I repeat, DID NOT – broadcast the show last night. That is completely surprising to – well – nobody.

    Well, those Fox News watching fu–tards missed out on some pretty cool moments last night. If you could make it through the awkward celebrity phone conversations with the general public, you saw the likes of Bono, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Bono, Mary J. Blige, Coldplay, Jennifer Hudson, Dave Matthews and Neil Young, Sting, Shakira, and of course the Boss (and many others).

    All of the performances can be purchased on iTunes or Amazon

    Here’s a look at my favorite moments from the evening:

    5. Bruce Springsteen – “We Shall Overcome”

    This classic spiritual was covered by Bruce on his 2006 Seeger Sessions record. Last night, Bruce brought out his backup singers, along with Charles Giordano on accordion and Curt Ramm on trumpet.

    4. Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris – “Hallelujah”

    I was pleasantly surprised by this. As covers of this Leonard Cohen song go, Jeff Buckley’s stands firmly above the rest. But Justin and Matt last night were spot on with their harmonies, and brought out the true beauty in the song – which is more of a lover’s lament than a song about hope, strength, and inspiration (the general theme of the night). I was most impressed by Matt Morris’s vocals.

    3. Shakira – “I’ll Stand By You”

    This song is one of my favorite Pretenders tunes, and Shakira nailed it, in my opinion. Of course, my opinion may have been different if she looked like Tiny Tim, but visually and aurally, it was fantastic – especially with the Roots backing her up.

    2. Sting w/ the Roots – “Driven to Tears”

    What a great version this was. The full, lush arrangement – Sting on acoustic surrounded by the Roots. Questlove, drummer for the Roots, mentioned on Twitter that he was really looking forward to this performance because he’s practiced drums to the Police since he was a kid.

    1. Wyclef Jean – “Rivers of Babylon” > Haitian traditional

    I’m a big fan of “Rivers of Babylon”, a song written by the Melodians in 1972, and covered by many, including Steve Earle. But when Wyclef shifted gears and launched into the percussive blast of his native Haiti, it was like a load being lifted from our shoulders. He sang in English and his native creole, sang about strength in the face of adversity, sang even about Anderson Cooper and CNN. It was a perfect ending to the night.

  • Folk,  Video

    Video: Steve Earle at Amoeba Records

    I knew I subscribed to Amoeba’s video RSS feed for a reason! Once in a while, they post a gem. Case in point today: Steve Earle.

    Here’s Steve’s 45 minute in-store performance from back in May. But be sure to check out the insightful 13 minute interview too, where he discusses his early years as a Nashville songwriter, his former drug habit, The Wire, Radiohead’s refusal to play “Creep”, and even Telluride, Colorado.

    In the words of Steve: Telluride is “too high to support intelligent life. I’ve seen that proven over and over and over again.” Good thing my folks only live there five months out of the year!

    In-Store Set List:

    Taneytown
    Rex’s Blues (Townes Van Zandt)
    Fort Worth Blues
    Pancho & Lefty (TVZ)
    Brand New Companion (TVZ)
    Rich Man’s War
    Lungs (TVZ)
    Copperhead Road

  • Video

    Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band on Jimmy Fallon

    Okay, so today, Howard Stern played this Nov. 5th clip of Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band on Jimmy Fallon’s show (with Sean Lennon on guitar). Now, I can’t say I’m familiar at all with her brand of avant garde music. There’s one person in my life who I know as a fan, and that’s Gonzo.

    It’s hard for me to consider this performance as anything but novel and a tad bizarre. But I have to know, what is the general consensus… what is your opinion of this performance? There must be some of you who enjoyed this? What say you, Gonzo?

    By the way, Howard and the gang thought the intro sounded like “Wipeout”.

  • Prince,  Video

    Video: Prince mini show on French TV (2009)

    Let’s face it, it’s been a long time since quality video footage of Prince has been readily available to the internet masses. So it was refreshing earlier today when I came across this cool mini-concert of Prince on a French TV show called Le Grand Journal.

    On the set list: “Dance 4 Me”, “No More Candy 4 U”, “1999”, and “Controversy”. The quality of the video is excellent,and Prince, his band, and his dancers appear loose and relaxed…they’ve been over in Paris for a week or two now –  I think with more shows to come over there.

    This may be one of  those here today / gone tomorrow videos, so enjoy while you can…

    Video is available here on Facebook.

    Here’s a 2011 performance too..

  • Prince,  Video

    Video: We All Wanna Be Prince

    I’ve seen this song all over the place the last few weeks, but I didn’t take the time to listen until tonight, when I noticed the video was out. And let me say, the video is cool and pretty chuckle-worthy at times. They capture the Dirty Mind thru 1999-era Prince – with the Prince dress-up, the ladies, the rampant horniness, and the song itself. Well done, Felix Da Housecat…

    Felix Da Housecat – We All Wanna Be Prince

  • Prince,  Rock,  Video

    Prince & Lenny – American Woman

    If you do a little digging, it is possible to track down some quality Prince video action online. This comes from the Pay-Per-View concert (Rave Un2 the Year 2000) that Prince broadcast on New Year’s Eve 1999. It was a few months after Prince had released the disappointing Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. The album was released on Arista, and was conceived by Clive Davis as a comeback/collaboration album, similar to what Supernatural had done for Carlos Santana a couple years earlier. It featured artists like Chuck D., Gwen Stefani, and Sheryl Crow, and well, it didn’t turn out to be the smash hit they were looking for.

    As for Lenny, he had just contributed his version of the Guess Who classic “American Woman” to the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack.

    And here, the two sashay to the stage in dramatic fashion, and do proceed to rock the house.

    [dailymotion id=x66l3y]
  • Rock,  Video

    Incubus & the Roots do justice to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy”

    ?uestlove warned us to set our DVR’s to catch Incubus perform Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” with the Roots on the Jimmy Fallon show. Only thing is, my computer is upstairs and my DVR is downstairs. If that doesn’t define laziness, I don’t know what does.

    Thankfully, Okay Player has the video available, and it has yet to be yanked by the Purple One and his web police goons. I just watched it, and I think this version kicks ass. Lead singer Brandon Boyd clearly knows the song inside and out, and does the song great justice, along with all the great players. Kudos too to Mike Einziger, who nails the guitar parts – including the classic finale solo. Obviously the kids along the railing didn’t grow up with the song like us older farts – they think the song’s over when Einziger starts his solo. Kids…

  • Rock,  Video

    Wilco video: Outta Mind (Outta Sight)

    I had nary a clue that Wilco had a video for “Outta Mind (Outta Sight)”, a tune from disc 2 of their 1996 album Being There. Tweedy looks like a young punk. And they appear to actually be jumping out their Wilco plane – for reals (as the kids say).

    It’s a fun one.