Rodrigo y Gabriela
Did anyone catch this on Letterman the other night? A mind-blowing display of guitar prowess. They’re a pair originally from Mexico City, but have been street entertainers in Dublin, Ireland, and Denmark and Spain.
Watch Gabriela’s finger fly, and watch them win over a crowd with “Diablo Rojo.”.
Check out their new album on Amazon.
Love is the Silencer
I mentioned in an earlier Matthew Ryan post that I’d remind you to pick up his new album, From a Late Night High Rise, when it was available. Well, it’s been out for 12 days, and let me tell you, it’s fantastic. The standout tracks for me personally are “Everybody Always Leaves” and the tune below.
I read an album review on Blog Critics.org. The reviewer wrote: “”Love Is the Silencer” will leave you wishing for some silence.” Different strokes for different folks I guess. I love it. The song is alive, it pulsates, it’s urgent, it’s retro, it’s futuristic. And “Love is the Silencer” is a damn cool song title too.
What do you all think. Whose side are you on?
Matthew Ryan: Love is the Silencer (mp3)
Buy From a Late Night High Rise on 00:02:59 (the label) or on iTunes.
SNL: D— in a Box
Saturday Night Live had a good night last night. Justin Timberlake was a great host and musical guest. The highlight was this Digital Short with Andy Samberg (by far my favorite on the show). Another instant classic….
Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake: D–k in a Box (it’s worth enduring the 30 second commercial)Boss Holiday Treats
A reader from New Orleans wrote me and mentioned that Dec. 14th was not only Ickmusic’s birthday, but also the very same day he saw Bruce and the E. Street Band at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee back in 1984. For the encore, Little Steven joined the boss for a great version of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away”. It went a little something like this… well, actually, it went exactly like this…
Bruce Springsteen & the E. Street Band:Drift Away(mp3) – Live, Memphis, TN, Dec. 14, 1984
Earlier that year, Bruce joined La Bamba & the Hubcaps at the Stone Pony for a couple of songs. La Bamba is Richie Rosenberg, who you’ve seen playing trombone on the Seeger Sessions tour, as well as on the Conan O’Brien show.Bruce with La Bamba and the Hubcaps:
Travelin Band(mp3) – CCR coverI’m Bad, I’m Nationwide(mp3) – ZZ Top cover (Live at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ – Aug 22, 1984)Speaking of La Bamba, Bruce, and the Conan O’Brien Show, here’s a great E Street performance of “Merry Christmas Baby” from 2002 (Conan joins in on guitar, which he does for all of Bruce’s appearances on Conan, right?).
Two Years of Ickmusic
This is a picture of the Millau Viaduct in France, the tallest vehicular bridge in the world. Pretty amazing if you ask me. It opened on December 14th, 2004. Guess what else opened on Dec. 14th, 2004? Why, this web site of course… Yep, today marks the 2nd birthday of Ickmusic. 429 different posts, 715 comments, and still plugging along.
Sing it with me: R-I-A-A Stay Awayyy, let me blog another dayyy
Looking back, here are a few milestones:
First Post & Song: Dec. 14th, 2004 – It’s Worth a Try | Song :
Quattro(Calexico)First Prince Mention: Jan. 5th, 2005 – Baby What’s Your Phone Number | Song:
777-9311(The Time)First Bruce Mention: Feb 1st, 2005 – Let There Be Chicks | Song:
Stolen Car(Patty Griffin)Long-Winded First Birthday Post: Dec. 14, 2005 – One Year of Ickmusic | Song:
Show Me Your Heart(Need New Body)First Christmas Post: Dec. 23, 2004 – Happy Merry Christmas Funtime | Song:
Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland(Grandaddy)So hey, thanks to all of you who stop by from time to time. I reiterate, leave a comment or shoot me an email from time to time. Let’s commune. Peace and Love. Adios…
I leave you with one request, and that is for you to watch, in its entirety, Tex Haper’s “Country New Wave.” You will not be sorry.
Prince at the Super Bowl
It’s official. The NFL has locked down Prince as this year’s halftime entertainment at the Super Bowl in Miami (Feb. 4th). In one year’s time, Prince will have appeared on American Idol, set up a regular gig in Vegas, and performed at the Super Bowl. Not something I could have predicted.
Thanks to Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”, I guess Prince will probably keep his ass-less pants in a Minneapolis closet. Not that he would ever shock on that level again. The raunchy Prince is a thing of the past. “Sexuality”, one of his great early songs from 1981’s Controversy, is being performed these days as “Spirituality”. And I’m not kidding. But that’s not to imply that the man can’t rock and funk the shit out of a place. He can still do that like no other. But
damndang, sometimes I miss Prince “I sincerely wanna fu-k the taste out of your mouth” Rogers Nelson.Ah well, I’ll be watching. Here’s the commercial…
New Johnny Cash Releases and a Giveaway too
On October 31st, Mercury/UM released Johnny Cash in Ireland, an hour long concert DVD of a 1993 performance at the Olympia Theater in Dublin. He is joined by his wife June, the Carter Family,and Kris Kristofferson. If you’re a Cash fan, then you probably want to have this.
the approximately one-hour-long concert showcases Cash singing many of his greatest hits–“I Walk The Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Get Rhythm,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “(Ghost) Riders In The Sky,” “Daddy Sang Bass” and “Ring Of Fire” plus “I Still Miss Someone.”
He also sings with wife June Carter Cash (their classic duet “Jackson”), son John Carter Cash (“No Use In Treatin’ Me This Way”), Kris Kristofferson (“Big River” and “Long Black Veil”), and The Carter Family, who perform their own gems too–“Keep On The Sunny Side,” “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” and “Wabash Cannonball.” In addition, John Carter Cash solos Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and Irish popster Sandy Kelly joins Cash, Kristofferson and The Carter Family on “Forty Shades Of Green,” the Johnny Cash-penned tribute to Ireland.
So who wants this DVD as an early Christmas present? Look at me, December 11th, I haven’t even started my Christmas shopping, and here I am giving away a DVD on my site. Ah priorities…
GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment below. I’ll randomly choose a winner in a few days, and get the DVD shipped off to the winner before Christmas.
UPDATE: We gotta winner! See here.
Another cool recent release is Johnny Cash – At San Quentin: Legacy Edition. It contains the full show from San Quentin Prison and a 1969 documentary of the event.
Here’s a promo for the boxed set….
Johnny Cash: I Walk the Line (Audio stream: WMP, Quicktime, Real) – live in San Quentin (“man you in the wrong place to bend over, don’t you know it? Get up from there with that camera!”)
Buy Johnny Cash In Ireland – 1993
Buy Johnny Cash – At San Quentin: Legacy EditionSunday Video: Cibo Matto
On MTV’s Oddville show from the mid 90’s. Notice a wigged Sean Lennon…
Coast of Malabar
I had this one on an old mix CD I recently pulled out. It’s nice to unearth a gem like this once in a while. You don’t get better than a Ry Cooder traditional ballad with the Chieftains backing him up. Beeyoootiful….
From The Long Black Veil (1995)
Koop Island Blues
I heard this on Radio Paradise yesterday, and was instantly forced into stress-free relaxation mode. Koop is a group from Stockholm, Sweden, led by Magnus Zingmark and Oscar Simonsson. They’ve got some very cool jazz and swing vibes going on. As it’s put in their bio: “the swing of the 1930s, the exoticism of forgotten orchestras and entertainers performing on late 40s yacht cruises to Jamaica.”
They have Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano singing on a few tracks on their latest album, Koop Island, including this song. Her voice just puts me in a nice place.
Koop:
Koop Island Blues(mp3)Buy Koop Island (only available as an import in the US).
Watch a short YouTube clip of Koop with Yukimi Nagano.