HOW LONG IT TAKES

MASENQO

2010-05-05T20:23:00.004-04:00

Listen to MASENQO by Mulatu Astatke/The Heliocentrics.

John here, dusting off the cobwebs.

Although spambots will no doubt write my entire digital biography from this information, I picked this track up on a free Strut World Music sampler from Amazon, and eventually bought the album. I like Strut’s curatorial approach (pretty sleeves and deeply researched liner notes), which by some magic process makes listening to vintage AfroLaserDisco an ennobling experience. That said, I was expecting to hear something akin to 2001’s memorable Nigeria 70 compilation (good times, good times), but instead got a mid-60s Ethiopian gentleman (Mulatu Astatke) piano jazzing over a Diesel store soundtrack (The Heliocentrics). What would be kinda boring piecemeal is enlivened by union. Enjoy!

Photo: stars.

YULE BRITANNIA!

2009-12-21T18:29:00.011-05:00

yule britannia!
if you want more britpop at christmas, take this!

Before rapping about this year's Christmas CD, let me register my surprise that this is the fourth time that we've done this online. It's the thirteenth mix CD I've made with Amy all told. The first one we did on the blog (and the thing that kicked off this blog in fact) isn't online anymore, along with a lot of the pictures, but the two after that, the South American pop one, and the rare groove one, both are available for download and still sound pretty good, if you ask me.

This year's mix is an unusual one, in that John and Corbett were full collaborators. I got the tiebreaking vote (and a little bit more sometimes), but there are certainly songs on here that made it solely because one of the other two guys insisted on it. Which might sound bad, but was actually nice. And to be honest, we were all mostly in agreement about most of the songs, and it all came together really easily.

That's because all of the songs are drawn from a period, basically 1995-1997, when the three of us (and our friends) were locked in a mutual Anglophilic music appreciation society. One of us would drive to Austin and bring back copies of Select to read, another of us would go online and scour any news of Blur's next album, or print out NME's single of the week entry and debate it with the other two the rest of the day. Then me & John would play it on our Monday afternoon radio show.

I think it would be wrong to say that our music taste was too insular (since at the same time we were building up our core catalogue in about six different genres), but it was certainly a time when we followed one particular music scene closer than we ever have or ever will.

The scene I'm referring to is "Britpop." And one particular era of Britpop, which the internet tells me is the "second wave." This is more or less the period of time when music coming out of the UK peaked in domestic popularity, and all of the bands signed on the backs of Suede's, & Oasis's, and Blur's early albums were putting out their efforts designed to capitalize on what, in England, really was a hysteria for the homegrown music sound.

And it was over and done with pretty quickly. By the end of 1997, the whole "Cool Britannia" era was more or less dead and buried, probably best represented by Radiohead's release of "OK Computer," which marked a new sound and a new wave of copycat bands. (Plus, I moved to NYC in the summer of 1997, so it's a natural bookkend for me anyway) (Plus, within a couple of years, the rise of file-sharing and the web reached a point where it became obvious that a single music scene, driven by a powerful music press (i.e., Melody Maker, the NME, Select, Q, etc.) was no longer feasible). Most of those press outlets barely exist anymore. And certainly not as tastemakers. This is covered better elsewhere, so let me just get to telling you about our Christmas CD.

For Corbett, John, our friends, and me, this period was really about a few bands. Blur mainly. Pulp, Supergrass, and Super Furry Animals. And, at the time, Oasis was very important too, but let me be blunt -- the music hasn't aged well. We had only one Oasis song (Whatever) on the first draft of the mix, and I decided to take it off to fit it onto one CD. And I immediately felt better about the mix, because I just couldn't stand to listen to Noel & Liam!

So with that exception, this mix reflects pretty well who we were actually listening to the last couple years of college. And we listened to this stuff a lot. Hours every day. Despite that, it's been years since I've listened to some of these songs -- a few songs on this mix I hadn't listened to since iTunes started keeping track in 2003! -- so it's been a welcome trip down memory lane the last week, trading song ideas with John & Corbett. And again, thanks to them for helping me put this together.

Happy Holidays, and see you in 2010! (Let's hope Liverpool stays unbeaten the next week, cos I won't be here again until January.)

Download the 2009 mix here.

IT'S NOT THAT EASY

2009-12-20T10:04:00.000-05:00

Listen to IT'S NOT THAT EASY by Reuben Bell And The Casanovas.

This is a special song for me, I've always had a soft spot for it. It's almost too pleading, maybe a little maudlin, but it strikes me as just on the right side of that line. Have a good Sunday!

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Portsmouth)

2009-12-19T10:25:00.001-05:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by U2.

Nothing much to say any more about these, is there?

THEME FROM THE CONVERSATION

2009-12-16T09:03:00.000-05:00

Listen to THEME FROM THE CONVERSATION by David Shire.

Apropos of nothing, I've always really liked this piece (track? tune?)

I went to the trouble of uploading songs this weekend, so why not share some with you?

Enjoy your Wednesday.

EGO TRIPPING AT THE GATES OF HELL

2009-12-13T20:02:00.000-05:00

Listen to EGO TRIPPING AT THE GATES OF HELL by The Flaming Lips.

A few weeks ago I rode my bike out to Staten Island (via the ferry of course). Since I was alone, I brought along my headphones and listened to tunes while I tooled around. You know how sometimes a song just clicks with you? I got to Ego Tripping..., and all of a sudden, a song I had heard a dozen times over the years, it was like I had new ears and was hearing it for the first time. And then the second, then the fifth, then the eighth--I just stuck it on repeat and listened to it for an hour straight! And it was really nice, almost euphoric.

It's funny how our brains work right? I definitely think our minds get old and stop working right, just like the rest of us. My mind is at least! Senescence starts a long time before senility. But it won't really matter as long as your mind's sharp enough and dynamic enough to have nice little experiences with music (and books, and people, and all that)

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Arsenal)

2009-12-13T13:01:00.003-05:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Dionne Warwick.

Boy was I nervous the last twenty minutes of that. In retrospect, there wasn't much to it was there?

The first half we were pretty terrible, though that was mainly because we had no centre forward and thus no way to keep the ball in a dangerous area. You saw as soon as we got Arshavin on the ball in the second half we were cutting Liverpool open pretty easily.

I think it's fair to say the Gallas / Gerrard incident should have been a penalty, but it wasn't clearcut, since Gerrard actually had lost possession. If you want a stonewall penalty not given, ask Alex Hleb or Dirk Kuyt. Plus, Gerrard was just diving again last week, so he got what he deserves if you ask me.

As for my team, I don't think we can do anything without any centre forwards (with our luck Arshavin is probably out for the season), but it's nice to win one of these big matches again.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Fiorentina)

2009-12-09T16:41:00.000-05:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by the Ryker's.

This is one I don't feel too too badly about, since I'm a little short for real songs at the moment. Liverpool lost to Fiorentina just a few moments ago, but thankfully we were all spared a Stevie G diving exhibition to go with it.

While you consider what some guy said on the internet about Ryker's ("This is one of the most under-rated hardcore bands ever. RYKER'S was the biggest band best hardcore band from Europe."), I'm going to get my voodoo dolls out and start hoping we can give Liverpool another loss this Sunday...

WHO CAN SEE IT

2009-12-03T23:18:00.001-05:00

Listen to WHO CAN SEE IT by George Harrison.

As promised, here's one more from "Living in the Material World." I'm not sure what I think about this one, except that it's another nearly great. But not. Worth a listen though. I think maybe what the Beatles brought to George, or maybe what George stayed sharp about around them, was the arrangements. George's best Beatles songs sound like they were recorded just the way they should be performed. By himself, maybe George's talents as an arranger slacked off. This one just seems not quite right, like he didn't quite capture its best side.

Enjoy your Friday & weekend too!

TRY SOME BUY SOME

2009-12-02T11:11:00.001-05:00

Listen to TRY SOME BUY SOME by George Harrison.

How many of you have George's second (proper) solo album, "Living in the Material World"? I never had it, even though I'm a big Beatlemaniac, love George, and the first song on the album, Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth), is one of my favorite George songs. Despite all that, I was somehow just convinced that the rest of the album wasn't worth having. Maybe due to the seriously crap cover.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally picked up the album, and...well, it's a mixed bag. I don't think there are any lost classics on there, but a few of the songs are perfectly decent. Actually, that's not right, they're nearly really good, but don't quite make it, which makes them more interesting, but more frustrating, than the average decent tune.

Try Some Buy Some is a good example. It was actually recorded during the "All Things Must Pass" sessions, and originally given to Ronnie Spector. George sped up the backing track slightly and sang his own version for "Living In the Material World." I like it, I like it a lot in fact, but there's something about it that doesn't quite come together. I think that it is written to pick up a huge momentum so that by the end you should have this big huge sound, but it never comes.

Incidentally, David Bowie recorded a pretty good version of this a couple of years ago. I might even like his version best.

BARON SATURDAY

2009-11-28T20:08:00.001-05:00

Listen to BARON SATURDAY by The Pretty Things.

You can only really blog this song on a Saturday, can't you?

That's fine, because I've been thinking a lot about David Bowie today, and the Pretty Things remind me a lot of him. I couldn't tell you exactly why. It's either because Bowie obviously owes a lot of his Ziggy-era sound to this group, or maybe it's because I first heard about the Pretty Things from some interview where Bowie himself was talking about how important an influence they were on him. (Though I may be imagining that interview.)

It doesn't matter -- you can play this track and hear for yourself why one might hear it and think of Bowie. This whole album, "S.F. Sorrow", is a real classic and you should buy/download it as soon as possible. It's the third and least-well-known record recorded at Abbey Road in the early part of 1967 (the other two being "Piper At The Gates of Dawn" and "Sgt Pepper's")

The band has some great earlier tunes too, that you can hear on the Nuggets II box set, among other places.

SOMETIMES I MAKE YOU SAD

2009-11-27T12:32:00.002-05:00

Listen to SOMETIMES I MAKE YOU SAD by Supergrass.

I'm still thinking that a Britpop Christmas CD would be a fun idea, though I haven't done much about it except write the occasional blog post. The other day, though, I did go back and listen to my old Supergrass tracks.

And while I don't think this particular track is significant enough of anything, I sure do like it!

Happy Friday, hope you've got a long weekend going on instead of a bloated day at the office (like me).

EUPHRATES

2009-11-23T18:31:00.000-05:00

Listen to EUPHRATES by The Main Ingredient.

Corbett was asking awhile ago if I knew the Main Ingredient, but I forgot to reply to his text. The answer is, Of Course! Euphrates is one of my all-time favorite R&B jams, and I spent a lot of hours last winter trying to squeeze it onto the 2008 Christmas CD, before I finally decided to keep that one a little older and rawer. Not smooth, like the Main Ingredient. Happy Monday, roll on Tuesday...

THE TIME IT IS TODAY

2009-11-18T18:34:00.001-05:00

Listen to THE TIME IT IS TODAY by The Association.

One more to tide you over for a few days. Is it just me, or was the Association semi-heavyweights in the classic rock canon, but now they've been relegated to a couple of tracks on oldies stations? I'm not in a good position to judge, given my total lack of interaction with conventional music-playing (ed: do you mean "I don't listen to the radio much," robot?), but this particular song I heard a lot when I was younger but I don't think I've heard it anywhere for years, except on my iPod. Just a (dumb, inarticulate) theory.

Unless John jumps in, this'll be it until I get back from Oklahoma on Sunday, at the earliest. Unless, of course, Liverpool loses on Saturday -- in that case I'll be iPhone blogging to get our next song up here!

WE'LL MEET AGAIN

2009-11-16T21:22:00.001-05:00

Listen to WE'LL MEET AGAIN by Vera Lynn.

Rest in peace, Grandma.

SHE TOOK A LONG COLD LOOK

2009-11-15T17:25:00.004-05:00

Listen to SHE TOOK A LONG COLD LOOK by Syd Barrett.

Is there anything more to this song than the first line? You know what I mean? It's the only part I really remember. It stays with me. A bunch of his songs are like that. They start with a great line, and then kinda meander. But you only really need that first great line. Not that there aren't other great parts too, just sayin'. Such as: (some reader knowledge assumed here)

"She was long gone long long gone."

"Lucifer Sam, Siam Cat."

"It's an idea someday"

"Wined and dined oh it seemed just like a dream."

"Trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro" (to be fair there a bunch of great lines in this one...)

"In the sad town, cold iron hands clap the party of clowns outside rain falls in grey far away, please please baby lemonade" (okay some other great lines in this one too!)

"Yes I'm thiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-iiiiiiiiiii-iiiiiiiinking"

"Maaaaaaisie." (Okay maybe that's not such a great line! Great delivery though.)

So concludes half-baked Sunday evening blogging.

CARE OF CELL 44

2009-11-08T19:51:00.002-05:00

Listen to CARE OF CELL 44 by The Zombies.

I could scarcely believe it when I checked, and there had never been any Zombies featured on this blog. So I want to play my favorite song, and the best one at that.

Today was a nice day. Perfect weather, and listened to the Flaming Lips and Syd Barrett. Took a bike ride to Staten Island. Lunch in Soho outside with the girls. Good times!

REACHING OUT FROM HERE

2009-11-06T08:08:00.002-05:00

Listen to REACHING OUT FROM HERE by The Boo Radleys.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned doing a Britpop compilation, and Corbett, John, and I have started trading song ideas. The best part being not knowing for sure if a suggestion is serious or a wind up -- we listened to a lot of borderline ridiculous music back then. Part of the charm I guess.

I'd certainly like to stick the Boo Radleys on anything to do with that period. I like the group a lot (though I'm not a "real" fan because their stuff from before Wake Up! tends to bore me), but I started listening through their songs and it's striking how few of them stand on their own. Like, as a single, or something you could stick on a mix tape. Most everything they did have strange interludes and appendages. Part of the charm I guess!

Reaching Out From Here is just about the straightest tune they ever released, so enjoy it and your Friday

LIMELIGHT

2009-11-02T10:55:00.000-05:00

Listen to LIMELIGHT by Carioca and His Cuban Percussion Orchestra.

I can't really tell you much about why I decided to blog this, except it never fails to put a smile on my face, a spring in my step. I guess it does have a sort of post-Wes Anderson movie soundtrack potential, but let's not think in those terms. Just a pleasant way to spend a couple of minutes, in exactly the same vein as Xavier Cugat, and leave it at that.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Fulham)

2009-11-01T10:47:00.002-05:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Leon Haywood.

Happy November everybody!

I honestly don't take great pleasure in these Liverpool posts lately. The YNWA series is supposed to be an occasional good-natured poke in the ribs, not a bi-weekly event!

That said, this is a nice snappy version, so at least it's good to listen to. Leon is from Texas, and is probably most famous among my generation for being the man behind the sample that drove "Nothin But a G Thang." See if you can spot the similarities in this one.

MAKE HER SAY

2009-10-29T11:54:00.002-04:00

Listen to MAKE HER SAY by Kid Cudi.

John back again. Like you, I travel with music. Before I leave, I load up an ipod with handpicked good stuff that current tastes predict will be enjoyed. At first, it’s great browsing albums or listening on shuffle, but after a few days, maybe a week, the power law takes over: 20% of the music, 80% of the time. By the end, there are a handful of very well explored songs in the rotation. That’s when an enjoyable, productive insanity blossoms and new theories develop. I first noticed this phenomenon when I was walking down the streets of Warsaw last Christmas thinking about how much I was thinking about ”Take A Load Off Your Feet” and wondering why other people weren't thinking the same thing. Most recently I discovered "Martha My Dear" is the sequel to "Penny Lane", and, for goodness sakes, the bass isn’t even the best part!

Gotta come home though, and between immigration and customs at JFK, while praying more bags will magically appear, searching for an empty $5 smart cart, and hoping the taxi line will be quick, an out-of-bounds song returns. It sounds right and says welcome home. A week ago for me, it was “Make Her Say”, by Kid Cudi. Enjoy!

Photo: satellite dish.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Arsenal)

2009-10-28T17:42:00.000-04:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Chet Atkins.

Ha ha you got beat by the kids! Actually, that's not really true. We had some kids but a lot of first teamers too. Seemed like an open enough game from my snatches of streaming clips. I'd write more but I need coffee, ta

THINGS WE SAID TODAY

2009-10-24T18:54:00.002-04:00

Listen to THINGS WE SAID TODAY by The Beatles.

It would be a huge stretch to say that I could listen to Chet Atkins all day. I have a lot of affection for him, mainly because this random one-off album that he did with Mark Knopfler somehow became one of the albums we listened to more than anything growing up. But there's no denying that his ideas about taste neutured a lot of great music in Nashville. If you listen to his productions or his solo recordings, you'll eventually forget what it's like for music to thrill or threaten.

Nothwithstanding that, he was obviously a great musician and he could do a lot of neat things with songs. I've never been a huge fan of the Beatles original,* but this cover of Things We Said Today is the dog's unmentionables. I love how he interprets the main melody.

* Though like everything else, the new remaster sounds fantastic.

TRACY JACKS

2009-10-21T16:58:00.000-04:00

Listen to TRACY JACKS by Blur.

About a month ago, I was thinking a little bit about what to do about this year's Christmas CD, since I haven't really dug into any new music or genres this year like I have in the past (country, Jamaican, South American, rare groove, or what have you). So I had the thought that maybe I could go back to Britpop, since it's been a long, long time since I've listened to any of it or since anyone has really thought about it. And we know Britpop (and we're talking the prime-to-decadent period from 1995 to 1997) pretty well. I thought getting Corbett & John on board to help put something together might be fun.

But, I never did anything about it, except load up this track, which is probably my favorite non-obvious Blur track, and therefore one of the best tunes ever recorded.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Lyon)

2009-10-21T07:34:00.002-04:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Wing.

I was watching the games last night on tape delay, and since I was at work later than expected, I only watched the last part of Liverpool's match, after Lyon's equalizer. With Manchester United coming up this weekend, you can't even be sure they've hit bottom.

Well, their problems are there for all to see, so instead let's talk about the music. After this weekend's loss, I figured I needed to freshen up our collection of anthems, so I went through my notes and archives and uploaded another 15 versions -- so don't worry, we'll make it through the end of 2009 at least!

One of the links I came across was to a woman named "Wing." I dutifully downloaded the album, and hit play......................................And I must say, this is possibly the worst thing I've ever heard in my life! Really, listen to it! ('hey, this milk is rotten, have a drink!')

It is comically, comically poor. So I had to find out a little more about this lady. At first I figured that "Wing" was google proof, and I wasn't even sure if that was the name of the artist. It really sounds more like a karaoke mistake than a singer.

But it turned out to be pretty easy to track her down. I found a link to her personal web page where the album on which this song appears is for sale. Except it's SOLD OUT! Sold out! Seriously, listen to this tune again and tell me how it's sold out!

I went to her "about" page and it all started to make a little sense. Wing is a woman from Hong Kong who emigrated to New Zealand who loves to sing, apparently. So much so that she managed to record herself performing. And somehow, this music got a following, traveled across the Pacific, and was picked up by the fellas from South Park, who wrote an entire episode about Wing and her music. Here's a clip from that episode, and keep in mind that the singing on that clip is actually Wing! The worst singer on earth, and she's now selling out jazz clubs in New York. What a wonderful and odd world we live in.

So, the moral of the story is, be careful Man United! Stranger things have happened.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Sunderland)

2009-10-18T17:04:00.002-04:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by The Crowd.

My sympathy for Liverpool is increasing as they reveal themselves to be less than what I thought they might be. It's clear by now that they're not challenging for the title. They are 5 or 6 teams that look better than them at the moment, including Sunderland, who thrashed them 1-0, albeit with the aid of a ridiculous goal that hit a beach ball on the way in and never should have stood.

Straight after the Liverpool match (which I kept an eye on as I was watching Arsenal beat Birmingham), I took in the OU-Texas game, and couldn't shake the feeling that being a Liverpool fan is a little bit similar to being an Oklahoma fan these days. Undoubtedly one of the most storied clubs/programs in the sport, a lot of recent success but a lot of frustration recently too. Both have men in charge who are undoubtedly competent but can rub outsiders the wrong way. When Rafa's scrappers scrapped the Champions League trophy, there was a lot of placing of Rafa on a pedestal with Shankly and Paisley by a lot of Liverpool fans, which seemed premature at best to me. To me, Rafa's Liverpool will always flatter to deceive.

Until pretty recently, I would have rejected any comparisons with my football team. Bob Stoops won the National Championship in 2000 and it felt like for a long time that the next one was only a matter of time. At least for me, I've never really questioned that he was the man to do it (I'm sure the bloom was off the rose a long time ago in the hothouse talk radio atmosphere back home, though). You have to wonder, though, even accounting for the bad luck he's gotten (Bradford's bad shoulder being the equivalent of a bouncing beach ball in the Liverpool game), whether this Oklahoma program is going to make it back to the top any time soon. Having said that, I'm almost a little relieved we won't suffer another title game debacle this year. My nerves couldn't handle that again!

SPLASH 1

2009-10-14T13:06:00.002-04:00

Listen to SPLASH 1 by 13th Floor Elevators.

This week is OU-Texas week, which has made...no difference to my life this year. Last season, I was pretty good about following every game where possible. This year, well, you might accuse me of being a fair weather fan, because we've lost a couple of games and I haven't even seen any of them, except for the Tulsa game. There are a few extenuating circumstances -- I was at a wedding for our first loss, I had a dinner engagement for the Miami loss, we've not been on free TV a couple fo the weeks, but it is what it is. I half-jokingly said after the Florida game last year that I was boycotting the team for awhile, but it's turned out to be true.

Anyway, why are we discussing this? I have a song for you, by Austin's own 13th Floor Elevators, clearly the best thing to come out of that town ever. But my digression has used up all of my blogging energy, so you'll just have to be in the dark about the song. Roll on Saturday.

O MY SOUL (ALTERNATE VERSION)

2009-10-09T19:34:00.003-04:00

Listen to O MY SOUL (ALTERNATE VERSION) by Big Star.

So you're in luck, since this song is awesome. I've always been really partial to the original version of this song, though it's hard to consider it among the very best Big Star songs. Which are about melody, and this one is about raw power. It puts the power in power pop, for sure. Anyway, I'm not gonna babble on long, I just thought some of you might like to hear it, from the new boxed set.

FIRED UP

2009-10-07T15:48:00.002-04:00

Listen to FIRED UP by Moe Tucker.

I don't know what it emans when you get confused about days of the week. Should I be happy that I was thinking it was Tuesday instead of Wednesday? Does that mean I'm a day closer to the weekend (yippee!) or that I wasted a few hours operating under the assumption that the entire work week laid in front of me (boo!)

I wish I was fired up, pissed off, instead of just vaguely confused. Maybe the song will help?

Anyway, one of my oldest friends from junior high, Meredith Meyer, went to L.A. and became a famous singer, and she's in New York next week for a few shows. I'll probably bug some of you directly about going out Sunday night (the 25th) for her CD release party (if I haven't bugged you already). Click here for more info.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Chelsea)

2009-10-04T20:09:00.002-04:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by The Knickerbockers.

This is kind of a companion to the song I posted the other week by the same group. Here we have the Knickerbockers more predictably going back to Merseybeat stylings.

I can't say I'm surprised that Liverpool lost to Chelsea, but I also can't say it's of any deep significance. If Liverpool wins their home games agains tthe big four and beats everyone else, they'll do well. Losing away to a big four team is going to happen to a lot of teams this season.

PSYCHIC CITY

2009-09-30T16:39:00.003-04:00

Listen to PSYCHIC CITY by Yacht.

John again with some WiFi for your HiFi! I came across this tune the other day and thought you'd like it. Their other stuff is worth an ear too.

Photo: branches.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Fiorentina)

2009-09-30T09:49:00.002-04:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Katherine Jenkins.

I didn't get to see what happened in this match until after midnight, because Arsenal was on tape delay broadcast at 10 PM and I was avoiding the news until then.

It's not really my problem, but it does look like Liverpool's best chance of success this season is to not play anyone good.

That being said, I was really more interested in Fiorentina. Those purple jerseys put me in a nostalgic mood. They've not really been around in Europe for several years, but they were a decent force to be reckoned with in the late 90s right when I was getting fully into things. Welcome back purple people!

THE PLACID CASUAL

2009-09-29T18:31:00.004-04:00

Listen to THE PLACID CASUAL by Super Furry Animals.

Here are two things I'm not: Placid and Casual. Maybe once upon a time, or maybe even next weekend, but not right now. At the moment, I'm wound pretty tight. There are few more boring things than talking about work (except maybe throat-clearing introductory phrases about how you're not going to talk about work), so let me tell you about my weekend in Chicago without talking about why I was there.

It went something like this: terminal, bus, car, (traffic), hotel, (look at documents), restaurant, small talk, work talk, (look at more documents), go to bed, wake up, lie back down, get back up, go on a walk, lie back down, get up, breakfast, work talk, go to big office building, sit in conference room, small talk, work talk, nervous talk, (sit in other conference room), impassioned talk, sit in conference room, waiting, history talk, work talk, eat lunch, waiting, talking, waiting, talking, go back to hotel, go upstairs, go back downstairs.

Okay, that wore me out just typing it out and I'm only at 5 PM Friday. The rest was a little more fun but no less tiring.

The Placid Casual shouldn't be new to many of you, but hopefully you'll greet it as a long lost friend, which is always a nice thing to do.

AMAZONA

2009-09-18T09:38:00.002-04:00

Listen to AMAZONA by Roxy Music.

Howdy folks, it's Friday, and what better time for a new song? Last night I met up with Oren for a few minutes to catch up on things. He's just been signed to write a script for a major studio production, so he was deservedly in a good mood. Me, I read so many cases at work yesterday that I've literally gone crosseyed. But that didn't stop me on the way home seeing Bill Murray (or a bum who looked just like him) out on Sixth Avenue looking like he was quite happy with Oren's burgeoning career (or something).

My schedule these next couple of weeks depends mostly on me finding some clever way to squeeze in about 18 hours of work a day plus get my customary 8 hours of sleep. Ho ho!

STONE IN LOVE

2009-09-07T20:48:00.002-04:00

Listen to STONE IN LOVE by Journey.

We went to Ned and Jeralyn's wedding this weekend. From what I remember, it was a lot of fun. On Sunday morning, we went to breakfast and I drank a large orange juice first, then had a full breakfast, plus a side of bacon extra. After breakfast, we went back to the hotel and Amy volunteered to drive some friends to the train station. I stayed behind. Instead of going back in the hotel, I decided it would be a good idea to take a nap in the grass. I managed to find a good spot, but then I looked off in the distance and saw a KFC/A&W restaurant. I thought maybe I was still hungry, so I walked over there. At first I ordered some chicken, but immediately changed my mind, so I asked for a large root beer float instead. For some reason, it took a few minutes. And then, when they brought it to me, it was gross. I was lukewarm. I don't know how you ruin a root beer float, but they did. I threw it out. Then I decided I would walk over to Walmart and see what was going on there. Right by the entrance, they had a claw game, and I tried to get Amy a Pikachu doll, without success (I also spent a couple of bucks failing to get an OU mini-football). Then I wandered around. I decided to buy some new shoes. Then I went over to the CD section and looked around. I looked over all of the $5 CDs, and couldn't decide whether to get Jerry Reed's greatest hits, or "Escape" by Journey. I settled on "Escape." About that time Amy called and said she was back from the train station. So I left Walmart and walked back to the hotel. And that's how this song got to you.

WISHFUL THINKING

2009-08-27T12:40:00.003-04:00

Listen to WISHFUL THINKING by The Knickerbockers.

Ran across this little gem the other day and thought, why don't I share it with you? Yes, you, sitting right there. This is from the same LP (the only LP, I believe) that spawned that perennial lost "Beatles" classic, Lies. This one is more of a lost Walker Brothers classic, if such a thing were possible.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Aston Villa)

2009-08-24T19:14:00.003-04:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Jerry Reed and Koko.

This year is shaping up quite a bit differently thus far isn't it? It does remind me of seasons past when Liverpool would finish very strongly and my Liverpool friends would spend most of their time bemoaning their awful August/September period which took them out of the running. Liverpool has had 4 or 5 seasons like that the last ten years.

SPLASH 1 (NOW I'M HOME)

2009-08-23T16:36:00.001-04:00

Listen to SPLASH 1 (NOW I'M HOME) by The 13th Floor Elevators.

Since I had to go back into my backroom to fix the previous post, I thought I might as well share another tune here. I hope everybody's doing fine! I had a vacation beard about two hours ago, and now I don't. Now I'm home, indeed.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Tottenham)

2009-08-16T14:06:00.001-04:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by J-League Supporters.

I wouldn't have posted today, except I knew I had one more of these songs already queued up.

Liverpool's loss was a bit of a surprise, and I feel bad for (soccer) John, but them's the breaks. I'm looking forward to seeing the highlights, but as I read somewhere, if you're sending on Voronin to rescue the points, you've got bigger problems than just one match. Anyway, time will tell when the next post here will be, but it certainly won't be for another week at least.

GOLDEN PHONE

2009-08-13T14:22:00.004-04:00

Listen to GOLDEN PHONE by Micachu.

John here. I'm poking my head up to share a nice tune I heard recently in an advertisement for Brooklyn Bowl, which looks fantastic. Golden Phone is short and catchy, and that’s enough.

Photo: tree face.

2009-07-16T10:09:00.002-04:00

This is becoming an alarming trend, but I have another excuse. My computer is officially zonked, so i can't upload more songs even if I wanted to. When it gets sorted out, I'll figure out what to do here next....

Until then, go to the beach!

LET ME TALK TO YOU

2009-07-08T21:05:00.002-04:00

Listen to LET ME TALK TO YOU by Ray Price.

This has become one of my favorite country albums, bar none. I can't say it's among my favorite albums full stop, despite the bloggerly temptation to do so, but the songs have such depth and sophistication, at the same time it sounds so loose and un-self-conscious musically. If I was one of those blogs, I'd definitely post the entire album...

MUSICAWA SILT

2009-07-06T08:57:00.000-04:00

Listen to MUSICAWA SILT by The Daktaris.

Hi all, we'll be getting back to regular programming soon enough, but I've been trying to enjoy patriotic festivities and also finish my (paid) work. Hope you all had as much fun as we did this weekend. Here's a funky number to tide you over. Also, you can go to our "radio station" on blip.fm and listen to hundreds of our picks there...

POP THE TRUNK

2009-06-28T22:00:00.003-04:00

Listen to POP THE TRUNK by Real Live.

I've got a bit of a problem, in that I've almost run out OF songs to blog. My blogging technique this year has been to set aside half a day every month or so and just upload a ton of tunes I'd like to share. Once you do that, and tag them online, the blogging is really easy. But I haven't set aside that time for awhile, and it's finally caught up with me. So it might be another light week.

Anyway, metablogging is super boring, so here's the song.

Pop the Trunk is from Real Live's 1996 album "The Turnaround." This is what they call on the underground scene. And when you're on the underground hip hop scene, you can be hard to find. Especially if you have a google-proof name like "Real Live."

Fortunately, heads know about Real Live and plenty of people have talked about how great the record is. I heartily recommend the whole album, and this track in particular. As does Oh Word:

"The Passaic, New Jeruz native and disciple of Marley Marl known to the world as K-Def could not have chosen a more appropriate year than 1996 to drop his full-length collaboration with Larry-O. ... At the time many hip hop producers were content to mimic the booming orchestral beats of Buckwild or the instantly recognizable, whistle-clean pop ditties of Puff Daddy. K-Def and Larry-O stand out because they create smoldering, cinematic gangster symphonies as a matter of course, and this is evident in the frantic car chase of the title track and the dramatically funky "Pop The Trunk." Their music is spellbinding yet cohesive, their chemistry is rehearsed to perfection but feels unforced, and the overall vibe of Turnaround is cool and focused even though the music exudes bombast and the lyrics celebrate excess."

A bum is me

2009-06-26T09:27:00.001-04:00

Just checking in. Been neglecting the blogs this week, but there's no issue (besides laziness)

Be back today, tomorrow, next week, whenever I get my act together!

THE MONKEY

2009-06-23T17:56:00.000-04:00

Listen to THE MONKEY by Dave Bartholemew.

Here's one that so nearly made it onto this past Christmas CD (in fact, after typing that opener, I had to go back and make sure it WASN'T on the CD!). I had it on most of the time I was organizing songs, but at the very last minute decided to take it off, since I didn't feel like it fit well enough in the spot I was trying to fit it into. Even so, it's a cute, fun song. Last time we were up in Maine, for Amy's dad's birthday, I went into this gift shop of the lobster pound we were having lunch at, and totally and completely incongruously, the shop had a fairly huge collection of random and obscure CDs for sale. Groups I just had never heard of from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. I ended up getting about $80 worth of CDs, hoping for some gold. I got mostly not-gold, but The Monkey was on one of the comps, and it was an immediate hit in the car, when it came up on the trip home (around Hartford, IIRC). So that's the story of how I got the song. Afraid you'll have to google for any REAL info about it, as I am heading out now...

HERE'S WHERE YOU BELONG

2009-06-21T21:52:00.001-04:00

Listen to HERE'S WHERE YOU BELONG by West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.

Third selection of three from this group. It's Sunday night, so no requirement to be expansive about it. But, while I'm here, Happy Father's Day, Dad!

PIECES

2009-06-18T08:39:00.001-04:00

Listen to PIECES by The Stylistics.

I came across this exquisite bit of Philly Soul the other week. It's one of those songs you're sure you've heard before (and I'm sure you have), but for me personally I wasn't familiar with it. It's as gentle as a cool breeze, and now I'm wandering the internet looking for the album it came from. Why is it that everything recorded in 1972 sounds so damn good?

TRANSPARENT DAY

2009-06-16T01:27:00.000-04:00

Listen to TRANSPARENT DAY by West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.

I kinda thought that anybody reading this blog would be familiar with the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, but maybe not. I know some of you heard this particular song up at (Not)Big Pink a year or two ago, but let me give the briefest of synopsis for the WCPAEB (as they're known among the cognoscenti. possibly).

They were a psych pop collective based in LA. The driving force behind the group was a guy named Bob Markley, who seemed to be a bit of a self-deluded asshole. He was from Oklahoma. Anyway, they had a fairly healthy rotation of members through their first three (and only essential) albums, including a lot of fringe and not fringe at all characters on the LA music scene (notably Hal Blaine & Van Dyke Parks, but then they played on everything).

Richie Unterberger calls them the most "average psychedelic band." Which kinda fits, as long as you realize the highs are extremely high and the lows are extremely low. Transparent Day is one of the highs.

TRACY HAD A HARD DAY SUNDAY

2009-06-14T12:34:00.002-04:00

Listen to TRACY HAD A HARD DAY SUNDAY by West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.

I know how Tracy feels. Oh, I don't have it so bad. I feel a lot better than I did a few days ago, but I've got a lot of work left to be done before tomorrow, and I'm just struggling to keep my energy levels high enough to get it done. So normal service is just about resumed!

There should be more West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band on the internet, so I'm just doing my part.

Heal The Pain

2009-06-12T07:39:00.008-04:00

Listen to Heal the Pain by George Michael.

It seems that a challenge has been issued to come up with a few worthy singles from George Michael's sometimes maligned Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. One. Challenge accepted!

Now, I'm not saying I think this album is some kind of major lost masterpiece, but I do think it's a compelling time capsule from 1990 (please don't tell me that is really almost TWENTY years ago), with several songs ripe for mining. Let's face it, the guy knows his way around a catchy pop song!

Here's one of my favorites, Heal the Pain. Apparently none other than Macca shares my affection for this tune! I just found out that George Michael recorded a version of this song featuring Paul McCartney in 2005. Well, it is pretty Beatley. Ok Bill, thanks for letting me post that!

PRAYING FOR TIME

2009-06-11T13:59:00.004-04:00

Listen to PRAYING FOR TIME by George Michael.

I'm stuck at home today, unable to shake off this cold (or swine flu) that's been dogging me all week, and hoping I can be more productive between naps than sitting miserable in my office. Mixed results so far, except for the naps.

Anyway, Laura was pestering me to do a retrospective on George Michael's "Listen Without Prejudice" album, but I honestly have no idea why. I've never claimed to think it was a criminally underrated secret masterwork, or anything like that. I told Laura that she should do the series if she wanted, but she's too busy chasing twins around to follow through!

Having said that, I have said that I liked the opening track on the album (today's selection), because I remember hearing it on the ferry between Copenhagen and Gothenburg and being relatively moved by it. This was in 1996, after nearly being sick in Dusseldorf, on a fairly pathetic trip by myself up to Norway, where I got rained on for three days and subsisted on a diet of sugar waffles I had packed in my backpack.

With the weather the way it is today (blah), my head the way it is (and blah), I'm naturally drawn to this song. I even had a sugar waffle for lunch! Good times.

STRUNG OUT

2009-06-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

Listen to STRUNG OUT by William Bell and Mavis Staples.

Been a little too busy to really focus on what the next song is. So it helps when you have one of the best soul duets evah all queued up just ready to be published. So here you go, and say a little prayer of thanks to soul-sides for tracks like this.

HOW LONG

2009-06-07T23:02:00.000-04:00

Listen to HOW LONG by Ace.

This is a double dip sort of blog entry. First, Stu blipped this song awhile ago and encouraged me to find the mp3 version for him. Given my mastery of 70s AM radio, of course, I already had it. But now I've uploaded it for him.

Second, I was just at the Abbey on 105th Street with Corbett discussing a couple of things, (a) the awfulness of The Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics, with lead vocal by Paul Carrack, and (b) how funny this photo is. So here's the photo, and a much better song with lead vocals by Paul Carrack

MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION

2009-06-06T11:13:00.000-04:00

Listen to MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION by Parliament.

No need for any explanations of this one. Downright spiritual. Enjoy your weekend.

MEDICINE MAN

2009-06-05T10:53:00.000-04:00

Listen to MEDICINE MAN by Freddie Robinson.

Here's another one from our Christmas CD. Freddie Robinson is a guy who hip hop really did right by, I think. "Off The Cuff" is a great sounding record, with good players, good playing. Under different circumstances, that would be that. But thanks in great part to crate-digging hip hop artists, his name is still out there and people keep going back to his tunes. De La Soul has sampled him, the title track to this record was used to great effect by Ice-T for Pulse of the Rhyme, and so on.

Today's track is a pretty great raunchy cover. Super funky.

THE SAME THING (MAKES YOU LAUGH, MAKES YOU CRY)

2009-06-03T22:52:00.002-04:00

Listen to THE SAME THING (MAKES YOU LAUGH, MAKES YOU CRY) by Sly and the Family Stone.

I had heard this one at least once before in college, but then it had totally dropped off my radar. Then we were visiting our friends Freddie & Janelle in Jersey City and Freddie had this playing over his internet radio. I was making notes, and put it on our Christmas CD a couple of days ~~letter~~later. It wears well, too. If only he could have kept up this level of tunefulness. Too much to ask for anyone, I think.

EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING

2009-06-01T18:35:00.000-04:00

Listen to EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING by Phoenix.

This a band I have basically totally missed until now. I used to read I Love Music pretty regularly, and Phoenix was always a group that got a lot of praise, even when they weren't making a dent with the larger public. I mean, Air's backing band, playing electrodiscopop tunes? Sometimes I exceed myself, or the other way around. I even missed them when they got on SNL a few months ago, and Amy tapes every episode!

Bygones and all, now I've "discovered" them and I'm in a slightly proselytizical phase. Please listen without prejudice (see what I did there Laura? :)

POPCORN

2009-05-31T10:20:00.000-04:00

Listen to POPCORN by The Fairfax High School Marimba Band.

Real time blogging. I've head this sitting in my drafts pile for awhile, and I think it's time to share it. Especially since I've now listened to it four times in a row (Thanks, WFMU)! Trying to decide what to blog next week, I guess y'all will find out soon enough!

STICK HEAT

2009-05-29T07:43:00.000-04:00

Listen to STICK HEAT by Toe Fat.

What's there to say about Toe Fat? That they have about the dumbest name ever thought of? I think that's probably a good shout. You have to give this tune thirty seconds to clear the dumb ukelele bit, then you get into pretty decent Sabbath-y, Deep Purple-y riffing. The vocals are proto-hair metal. All in all, it's an interesting track, veeeery much of its time (1970).

NITTY GRITTY

2009-05-27T22:50:00.000-04:00

Listen to NITTY GRITTY by Doug Sahm.

When I picked this to post on the blog a few weeks ago, I was really excited about it. Now I'm less so. So I'm posting it more in hope than expectation that it'll blow your doors off. It's basically a good-timey Texas tune. Very eager to be liked.

Most of you will recognize Mr. Sahm, if at all, from the Sir Douglas Quintet (a great band name, by the way), but he had a long and fruitful post-stardom recording career. This is from that long and fruitful part.

IT'S OVER

2009-05-24T18:48:00.000-04:00

Listen to IT'S OVER by Los Dug Dug's.

Not a bad time to play more Los Dug Dug's. I had someone write in saying they had been looking for Yo No Se forever and was glad we had it. Happy to oblige! There's more out there, just so you know!

I'm kinda disturbed by the news that Jay Bennett has died at 46. I'm pretty sure he led a much, much harder life than I did, but his specific recent complaint--that he had had been too hard on his knees, ignored them in the vain hope they'd 'fix themselves,' to the point he had destroyed his hip joint and needed a total replacement--well...it sounds vaguely familiar. Anyway, it's also timely in that Corbett had been provoking me into giving Wilco another listen, Wilco being a band I've found incredibly annoying ever sense Bennett left. So now instead of listening to the new Wilco album, I'm going to play "Being There" instead. Peace to his family.

KAA YE OYA

2009-05-24T10:56:00.000-04:00

Listen to KAA YE OYA by Hugh Masekela.

I didn't end up getting to meet Mr. Masekela the other week at the Ubuntu fundraiser (though I got a couple of nice photos). Here's a relatively rare selection to take you through the end of your weekend.

JOM

2009-05-22T12:53:00.001-04:00

Listen to JOM by Lamine Konté.

Senegalese movie music. Mr. Konté passed away a couple of years ago. To the extent he was known in this country, it's probably for "Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants." As much as I enjoy (parts of) that album, you can imagine that's not really his career highlight. Here's a nice obituary that sums his career up rather better:

Paris, 02/10/2007 -
The Senegalese musician Lamine Konté died in the night of 28/29 September 2007. Konté will be remembered as one of the first artists to put a modern spin on the kora. He also goes down in music history as the man who set the work of some of the greatest poets from Africa and the African diaspora to music.

Konté eventually set up a new home for himself in France in 1971, where he caused a stir with his innovative style of kora-playing, recording three key albums: La kora du Sénégal (volumes 1 & 2) and Chant du Nègre, chant du monde. The two volumes of La kora du Sénégal are a veritable ‘tour de force’ of harmony and dexterity, fusing traditional Socé melodies with mbalax, Afro-Cuban rhythms, jazz, soul and R&B. On Chant du Nègre, chant du monde Konté creates a stirring musical and vocal accompaniment to texts written by famous African literary figures.

Konté wrote some memorable film music in his time (including scores for Jacques Champreux’s Bako l’autre Rive, Jean Mazel’s Du Sénégal aux Amériques and Souleymane Cissé’s Baara). But one of the most outstanding highlights of his career was his collaboration on Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (originally a soundtrack to a documentary, this became a conceptual double album released in 1979 on which Wonder sang in Bambara). Konté once said that "working with such a remarkable figure was simply unforgettable – and all the more so when you think that this brilliant musician dares to do film music when he’s actually blind!"

Lamine Konté, an elegant, secretive and discreet figure loved and respected worldwide, was also passionate about history and an avid reader of Jean Diwo. In March 2005, Konté had taken to the stage in Paris to celebrate his 60th birthday with fans, friends and kin. Two of his cousins, Abdoulaye Diabaté and Moussa Cissokho (griots turned musicians like himself) joined Konté on stage on this occasion, Diabaté manning the piano, Cissokho pounding away on the sabar (a traditional drum) and Konté picking up his guitar and enchanting the audience with his mesmerising vocals. An evening as magical and unforgettable as the man himself!

TONIGHT I'M GONNA GO DOWNTOWN

2009-05-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

Listen to TONIGHT I'M GONNA GO DOWNTOWN by The Flatlanders.

Hard to believe it's been this long on the blog and none of us have ever posted anything from this album before! I know I speak for a few when I say this is is one of the best albums you could ever hope to listen to. Probably the best thing that ever came out of the Rolling Stone Album Guide we used to read religiously...

JERUSALEM

2009-05-18T11:53:00.001-04:00

Listen to JERUSALEM by Ana y Jaime.

It's my understanding (but not being Colombian, one I can't confirm) that Ana y Jaime are a famous folk duo in Colombia, like Simon & Garfunkel or Crosby Stills & Nash.

But being American, I know I had never heard of them when I picked up this album. I'm glad I did, though, because it is fantastic all the way through. This track, which we put on our Christmas CD a couple of years ago, is about my favorite. It's from their debut album, when the two of them (siblings, by the way) were still teenagers. Impeccable.

SAI DA FRENTE

2009-05-17T07:43:00.000-04:00

Listen to SAI DA FRENTE by Escola De Samba Mocidade Independente De Padre Miguel.

A little Sunday school (of samba) for you. No words, just beats.

CUMBIA EN DO MENOR

2009-05-15T11:02:00.000-04:00

Listen to CUMBIA EN DO MENOR by Lito Barrientos Y Su Orquesta.

This track needs no accommodation. If you can't start dancing madly to this (or at least tap your feet or shake your head), you need to take a look at yourself. This is off the uniformly excellent "Colombia! The Golden Age Of Discos Fuentes - The Powerhouse Of Colombian Music 1960-76" compilation.

Something that Quentin Tarantino could have easily put on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack and it would have been a classic with a whole generation.

CUMBIA CARNAVALESCA and COCALECA

2009-05-13T23:03:00.001-04:00

Listen to CUMBIA CARNAVALESCA by Lucho.
Listen to COCALECA by Lucho.

A short detour to Panama for you. I shared one of Lucho's Christmas songs over the holidays, and talked a little about how my grandfather had insisted on playing him that record every Christmas Eve. He wasn't a particularly sentimental guy, so this act of blatant nostalgia really made an impression. So now part of his legacy is my thing for this Panamanian organ music. For those of you without that backstory, this stuff might not be to your taste, but give it a shot. It is pretty fun if viewed through the right lens.

TOMORROW NIGHT

2009-05-12T22:54:00.000-04:00

Listen to TOMORROW NIGHT by Elvis Presley.

I think this is my favorite song on the Sun Sessions, and therefore just about my favorite Elvis. I say this without looking again at the tracklisting, so I may be embarrassing myself here, but I can definitely say this is the one I've listened to the most in the last couple of years.

PERSONS AND FACES

2009-05-11T01:28:00.000-04:00

Listen to PERSONS AND FACES by We All Together.

We had this as the opening track on our Christmas CD a couple of years ago, and I do like it quite a lot. The Beatles by way of Badfinger or Gilbert O'Sullivan is apparent here. They were from Peru, and I gotta think to have made a name for themselves there in music they had to have been pretty connected, pretty privileged, but on the other hand, to get a following in the rest of the world took some genuine talent and luck. I can hear all of that in this accomplished, wistful little tune.

GOD DON'T NEVER CHANGE

2009-05-11T00:53:00.000-04:00

Listen to GOD DON'T NEVER CHANGE by Blind Willie Johnson.

One more bit of ancient Americana before the week kicks off in earnest.

"Blind" Willie Johnson was an American singer and guitarist whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals. While the lyrics of all of his songs were religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. Among musicians, he is considered one of the greatest slide or bottleneck guitarists, as well as one of the most revered figures of depression-era gospel music. His music is distinguished by his powerful bass thumb-picking and gravelly false-bass voice, with occasional use of a tenor voice.

I'LL BE RESTED (WHEN THE ROLL IS CALLED) and WOKE UP THIS MORNING (WITH MY MIND ON JESUS)

2009-05-10T09:58:00.000-04:00

Listen to I'LL BE RESTED (WHEN THE ROLL IS CALLED) by Blind Roosevelt Graves.
Listen to WOKE UP THIS MORNING (WITH MY MIND ON JESUS) by Blind Roosevelt Graves.

A "joyful noise" for you this Sunday morning. Happy Mother's Day!

HEAVEN KNOWS (WHERE I'VE BEEN)

2009-05-08T14:45:00.003-04:00

Listen to HEAVEN KNOWS (WHERE I'VE BEEN) by Lambert & Nuttycombe.

Out of nowhere, Corbett made a comment to me the other day that was nice but over-generous: that Lambert & Nuttycombe was "my greatest discovery." Of course, he meant only as between our circle of friends. But even so limited, it wasn't quite true. For sure, I was the first guy I knew to download the album, but I really only seized on a couple of tracks and stuck with them.

So after he had brought them back up, I decided to have another listen to the album. And now, I'm hooked hard. Take this song, Heaven Knows (Where I've Been). I tell you, this one ticks every box for me. It's succinct, the singing is very structuring, the melody moves in interesting ways, and with the harmonies, the arrangement (particularly the ending), there's plenty of small dramas.

By the way, it sounds a little like a Grizzly Bear song doesn't it? It's more of a Grizzly Bear song than even the "Horn of Plenty" songs are. I've got Grizzly Bear on my mind a little bit, since I finally downloaded their new album (caveat: will still buy, go to the concert if I can get tickets, etc). I like it, but I really do wonder if we've not seen the best of them. Like the album closer (which you can stream here). It's a pretty song, but for some reason it sounds very Radiohead/Coldplay/U2, an "important" stadium rock style album closer (caveat no. 2: not that I've ever heard the end of a Coldplay album!). I might be overreading things a little bit, I admit.

U.R.A.Q.T.

2009-05-06T19:23:00.000-04:00

Listen to U.R.A.Q.T. by M.I.A..

Just in case my wife ever visits these days, this one is for her.

YMAELODI A R YMYLON

2009-05-04T19:15:00.000-04:00

Listen to YMAELODI A R YMYLON by Super Furry Animals.

Why don't people talk about Mwng more? I mean, stupid question, it's all in Welsh, but for me, it's Super Furry Animals' second-best album after Guerrilla (you can't argue with all of that, but whatever). Less argument that this is the catchiest, poppiest track on Mwng. That ascending chorus still gets me every time.

CLEAR SPOT and SUN ZOOM SPARK

2009-05-02T19:08:00.001-04:00

Listen to CLEAR SPOT by Captain Beefheart.
Listen to SUN ZOOM SPARK by Captain Beefheart.

No real justification needed for Captain Beefheart. As I get more into this Blip.fm thing, I find myself wanting to upload songs for the blog so I can then play them on the Blip station. You see, it can only play what it can find on the internet. So if I put it on the internet, it can find it!

I'd have to think about this, but these two tracks are probably just about the two songs you'd need if you're interested in hearing Beefheart, but not bothered to become a fan.

LOST IN MY WORLD

2009-04-30T01:54:00.003-04:00

Listen to LOST IN MY WORLD by Los Dug Dug's.

This one starts off quiet for a fair amount of time, but you've gotta stick with it, because it ends up being a very engaging, interesting pop song. The exotic flavor of their Mexican accents helps it along, but it's not a novelty--far from it. This band had talent.

SUDDENLY

2009-04-28T01:53:00.002-04:00

Listen to SUDDENLY by The Bee Gees.

Odessa-era Bee Gees. You really can't emphasize enough how interesting a career the Bee Gees had. Been listening to Andy Gibb a little on Blip.fm, and it's just amazing that the same group that did Shadow Dancing did this track, much less Massachusetts or what have you.

L'ONDE AMÈRE

2009-04-26T16:49:00.000-04:00

Listen to L'ONDE AMÈRE by Guy Chambers & Sophie Hunter.

Outsourcing today to Wikipedia:

Guy Chambers (born January 12, 1963 in London) is an English songwriter and record producer best known for his long partnership with Robbie Williams.

The Isis Project, a French language album written with lyricist Keren Ann and vocalist Sophie Hunter is Chambers's own personal project, written as an 18th birthday present for his daughter Isis while she was four at the time. The track "L’onde Amere" also features on Keren Ann's album Nolita, released by Sleeper Music in 2005.

TO REIKO

2009-04-24T16:50:00.001-04:00

Listen to TO REIKO by Brush.

Nothing to say about this 'cept I like it. Especially the Japlish.

MRA

2009-04-22T19:44:00.000-04:00

Listen to MRA by Hugh Masekela.

So....I think there's a chance that we might get a chance Mr. Masekela next week. Small chance, but it could happen. Pretty cool, eh? Plus, it gives me an excuse to post this song that's been sitting around in my drafts for months now.

WHAT A DAY FOR ME

2009-04-22T16:53:00.001-04:00

Listen to WHAT A DAY FOR ME by Harumi.

If you want obscure, though, try this bit of Japanese psychedelia:

Recorded by Tom Wilson (who else?) for Verve in 1967 and 1968 in New York, this set originally appeared on a double LP (which has been reissued on both vinyl and CD by Fallout). This is one of the wildest and most unbelievably ambitious recordings to come from the psychedelic era. Harumi (a mystery man who recorded one more album before vanishing into the ether) could write pop songs and sing them. He also sounds like he did a lot of acid.

WOT'S UH THE DEAL

2009-04-20T16:40:00.000-04:00

Listen to WOT'S UH THE DEAL by Pink Floyd.

Rare Pink Floyd, stoner heaven. This is from the "Obscured By Clouds." Hard to believe that this is sandwiched between the masterpieces of "Meddle" and "Dark Side." Cos this ain't no masterpiece. However, it is one of the last times the Floyd did a spaced out folky track without all the later "paranoia" and "big ideas," which is a relief.

WAKING FOR WINTER

2009-04-18T16:41:00.000-04:00

Listen to WAKING FOR WINTER by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci.

I could listen to Gorky's all day, so when I went for a track of there's to play, I decided to look for when I don't listen to as much. Which was a pleasure and a joy. I settled on Waking for Winter, a pleasant and joyful little ditty with a typically odd interlude.

THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN US

2009-04-16T16:51:00.000-04:00

Listen to THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN US by Suede.

I laugh when I think back to how much time we spent on albums like this. Can Suede produce a masterpiece without Brett Butler? Were they the first Britpop band? Is Brett Anderson a legit songwriter?

Gosh.

Still, good tune, this.

SAY GOODNIGHT TO THE LADY

2009-04-14T19:34:00.000-04:00

Listen to SAY GOODNIGHT TO THE LADY by The Pernice Brothers.

Another group that holds to their aesthetic. I don't have the critical energy to define just what it is the Pernice Brothers are about (pick up a back issue of the Big Takeover for that, right Philip?). But it's almost captured by this chorus: "We were happy / we were sad."

I would change it to "We sound happy / but we are sad." Fixed.

The music dried up

2009-04-13T23:04:00.003-04:00

Well, not really. In fact, the blog seems to be ticking along nicely lately, plus I might have just discovered a new, fun, easy outlet, but still, there's no question that over the last several months I've disengaged from music in a way I never have previously. Some of it is clearly contingent (work has been busy), some of it is the previously-mentioned slow computer, some of it is just being preoccupied with other hobbies, but some of it may be that dreaded calcification of musical influences and references and ...passion that seems to come naturally to lots of people. As an illustration, I've kept track of my new-songs-by-quarter for years now, and the first quarter of 2009 was unprecedentedly meager:

First quarter of 2004 (1Q04): 380 new songs imported into iTunes
1Q05: 824 new songs
1Q06: 857 new songs
1Q07: 684 new songs
1Q08: 1,717 new songs
1Q09: 176 new songs

That number for 2008 is a little skewed--I downloaded a ton of Beatles covers, more to have than to listen to, but the drop off is still dramatic. On the other hand, most normal people can't digest 3,600 new songs a year--that's nearly ten tunes a day--so maybe I should just spend a year or two with what I've already got!

SHAKE THE DISEASE

2009-04-12T16:45:00.000-04:00

Listen to SHAKE THE DISEASE by Depeche Mode.

One of the first tapes I ever owned. We were coming off a few years of being embargoed from popular music, and this tape struck me as being pretty wild and risque at the time.

Later, I thought I'd be embarrassed by both of those first two sentences.

But not really, though, amirite? "Catching Up" is a solid comp. I've been listening to it some lately, and it holds up. As for the wild and risque part, well, some allowances have to be made for when you're 12, but the songs ain't popcorn, despite what the Joy Division fans would say. Plus, you have to admit that Depeche Mode held firm to their semi-goth, pseudo-sadoreligious* aesthetic, even when they were out of fashion. Credit where credit is due.

* what blog posts are for: to make up fittingly nonsense words.

AVIGNON

2009-04-10T16:52:00.001-04:00

Listen to AVIGNON by Pinback.

I've had Pinback on here before, a few years ago. IIRC, I was slightly dismissive of the band. Well, the name is pretty dumb, but they're full of tunes. I'm sharing Avignon, but it could be a dozen different ones worth hearing, in my opinion. Pleasant and nice.

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Chelsea)

2009-04-08T18:47:00.000-04:00

Listen to YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Johnny Cash.

I didn't see that coming. Sorry fellas!

DREAMIN' MAN

2009-04-08T16:44:00.000-04:00

Listen to DREAMIN' MAN by Neil Young.

This one came up on random the other day, and I liked it. That's why it's here.

FULL CIRCLE SONG

2009-04-06T16:45:00.001-04:00

Listen to FULL CIRCLE SONG by Gene Clark.

Oren gave me a copy of "Musicophilia" by Oliver Sacks a few weeks ago. I highly recommend it. I'll steal a blurb so I don't have to describe it:

"Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain" examines the extreme effects of music on the human brain and how lives can be utterly transformed by the simplest of harmonies. With clinical studies covering the tragic (individuals afflicted by an inability to connect with any melody) and triumphant (Alzheimer's patients who find order and comfort through music), Sacks provides an erudite look at the notion that humans are truly a "musical species."

The consistently interesting thing about the book is how there are musical parts of the brain that can keep working when every other part of the brain doesn't, like the Parkinson's patients who can't will themselves to move but can get around freely when they hear a song.

Sacks also discusses how people can retain songs over a lifetime and recall them fully and completely under certain circumstances, even when they're senile. Not really surprising, but I do have a minor anecdote. The other day, I was riding the subway, listening to a different song, when all of a sudden the Full Circle Song started playing in my head. And it was so overwhelmingly moving, I can hardly tell you. I had to go home that night and find it on iTunes so I could listen to it a few times in a row. Strange, because I had only listened to it maybe three times in three years (and have never had the Byrds reunion album it's on also), and hadn't really identified it as a favorite -- I didn't even know I knew the melody. But I have now.

OVER & OVER

2009-04-03T19:44:00.000-04:00

Listen to OVER & OVER by Fleetwood Mac.

Opening track of "Tusk," which I am continually amazed has become one of my favorite albums in the last few years. I even like Mick Fleetwood's dorky drum flourishes on this song. (Actually, he's so restrained that his dorky flourishes in the last thirty seconds really make a satisfying payoff. Well constructed.)

Also, Happy Birthday Mom!

HALF A WORLD AWAY

2009-04-02T16:43:00.001-04:00

Listen to HALF A WORLD AWAY by REM.

I'm decidedly not a fan of REM. But I try to not be dogmatic about these things, and this track started showing up on my iPhone a few months ago, and I kept listening to it. In fact, I like this song a lot.

It certainly reminds me of being a teenager -- everybody had this record, whether they were just hearing REM for the first time or they thought the band had finally sold out. But I wouldn't be still playing it just for nostalgia -- it's a good tune, a good album track.

THE OLD ONES

2009-03-31T04:40:00.000-04:00

Listen to THE OLD ONES by the Bats.

The Bats are a great band, especially if you like them. I mean, even an impartial observer can appreciate their sound & their longevity. However, that's more something to admire than love. On the other hand, if you really like anything by the Bats, then you're in Kiwi heaven, because they've been so consistent for years and years.

The Old Ones is off "Fear of God," from 1991. I'm not sure it counts as their best record (I'm personally not enough of an aficionado), but the point is, it doesn't matter, since it's pretty good, just like everything they've done.

HURRY UP JOHN

2009-03-29T16:51:00.005-04:00

Listen to HURRY UP JOHN by The Idle Race.

Just about to watch the second half of the basketball today, but I've had this one playing all afternoon, so why not let you hear it to?

This is the last track on the last Idle Race LP before Jeff Lynne joined The Move. You can hear a few Lynne-ish touches in there, but no space choirs just yet. It's a pretty excellent alternative universe single.

AIN'T IT STRANGE

2009-03-28T15:49:00.000-04:00

Listen to AIN'T IT STRANGE by Dr. Dog.

And we're back! I just deleted about six months worth of mp3s on the server so things should be running a little quicker now.

I've had this song queued up for a little while but just today I snapped a photo that kinda fits it. Because it's a little strange--a little hard to figure out exactly what's happening there.

Also, Dr. Dog seems kind of like a Laura-style groop, but maybe I've got that exactly backwards.

2009-03-27T16:11:00.001-04:00

Hi folks!

Just checking in for a second to say thanks to Laura for an excellent week of Spring songs (especially Raffi, I have to say!).

I don't have anything ready yet but may in a little bit or over the weekend. One thing I need to do, no question, is to delete some songs off of my server--it seems like Laura's photos (which she loaded onto the server) are taking forever to load. Or maybe that's just me.

As I said, back soon with more, have a good weekend...

COME NEXT SPRING

2009-03-26T01:00:00.004-04:00

Listen to Come Next Spring by Scott Walker.

It seems mother nature is cruelly laughing at my spring posts, since this week has been especially cold here in NYC. But, as Scott Walker so dramatically reminds us in today's song- there's always next year.

The elusive Scott Walker - I doubt anyone reading this really needs a refresher from me on this topic. So please enjoy his usual over-the-top Scottness in Come Next Spring.

Well, this is the end of my little spring song series but I'll be back in a month or two to break out some summer tunes!

Photo: Crocuses.