Radiohead - Weird Fishes (Amplive Remix)

These Amplive remixes of In Rainbows are not exactly new and in the spirit of In Rainbows available in its entirety on Amplive's MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/amplive, warning its one of the noisy web pages.) Anyways, apart from a few moments towards the end, Amplive zeros on the best moments of the song and avoids superfluous remixery. By the way, Radiohead officially sanctioned this remix for whatever that's worth (oooh, even Radiohead's attorneys are cool.)

Radiohead - Weird Fishes (Amplive Remix)

Weird Fishes (Amplive Remix)

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Black Keys (by special request)

Akron, Ohio-based blues-rock duo, the Black Keys do pretty much one thing and do it extremely well with just guitar, drums and vocals. If I have a complaint with the Black Keys is that their songs have tendency to start sounding all like one song. Chulahoma is a tribute to Junior Kimbrough and they cover his songs, but it still sounds like the Black Keys. "Meet me in the City" is one of my favorites for the change of pace if nothing else.

Black Keys -- Meet Me in the City

Meet Me in the City

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Q-Tip -- Let's Ride

Here's another great song coming off the Q-Tip's first post-Tribe Called Quest album (and maybe his last solo album), who album cover is almost criminally narcissistic and just plain dumb looking. At the time of its release, Amplified got panned as being too inspired by Diddy, but the album still holds up. My knowledge of hip hop is far from encyclopedic, so bear this with a grain of salt but "Let's Ride" is some damn hip hop. And check out the video, this is about the last time I thought a Hummer seemed kind of cool.

Q-Tip -- Let's Ride

Let's Ride

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A Little Mood Music

I was originally just going to post some cool instrumentals, and then for whatever reason a little Al Green seemed appropriate. You might think of this post as like a mini-mix of mood music and some of the best soul music on the planet.

The band Dengue Fever I was surprised to find out has only been around since 2003, they sound a lot older than that. Mulatu Astatke is pretty much the biggest thing, musically speaking, to ever come out of Ethiopia (unless you count "We are the World"). I also included a song from Panic Buttons from the album The Funky Philly Sound. Since this is my blog, I thought I'd take a moment to mention that as far funk instrumental compilations go, there is such a thing as too much of a funky, groovy thang. Everything sounds, more or less, funky and you can dance to it. But what about when you don't want to dance? After 10 tracks, all of which could have made great instrumentals for television in the 1970's, I say to myself "Self, haven't I heard this before?" Funky tunes like "Hitch it to the Mule" are like cherry pie or chocolate cake--sometimes just a slice of a good thing is that much better.

And of course, everyone knows Al Green. The Reverend for about a half a decade produced album after album of some of the finest soul music ever. Now mind you, Al Green wasn't experimenting like some of his contemporaries--Mayfield, Gaye and Wonder. Instead, he perfected what he did best with the remarkable Hi Records studio band in Memphis (who some 30 years later would back Cat Power on The Greatest). So it's hard to say what the definitive Al Green album is. I suppose "Let's Stay Together" is his biggest hit, and the album of the same name is extraordinary. But for my money, my favorite album of his is I'm still in love with you for two reasons. Listen to the first 15-20 seconds of "I'm Glad You're mine" -- an amazing series of rimshots and snare drum before the strings come in. And secondly, listen to "I think it's for the feeling" the band, especially the organist, starts out red-hot and you can almost feel how excited Al is to start singing (he sort of whoops right before starting). Enjoy.

Al Green -- I think it's for the feeling

I think it's for the feeling

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Al Green -- I'm Glad You're Mine

I'm Glad You're Mine

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Hitch it to the Mule -- Panic Buttons

Hitch it to the Mule

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Mulatu Astatke -- Yegelle Tezeta

Yegelle Tezeta

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Ethanopium -- Dengue Fever

Ethanopium

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Stars

Behold a seriously heinous and half hearted attempt to get a little funky w/ jpeg files. Stars are playing on March 27 at the Vogue in Indianapolis. This is a pretty fine indie-pop band. Stars hail from Montreal and feature both male and female vocalists. Admittedly, Stars have their fey, Morrissey-type moments, nevertheless on all of their albums there are moments of pure pop bliss.

Stars

Elevator Love Letter

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Stars

Soft Revolution

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Stephen Malkmus

Stephen Malkmus is performing on March 22nd in my hometown of Indianapolis at the Vogue, which should be excellent. Malkmus is a former member of Pavement. In some circles, it could be said that Malkmus carried the grunge/indie-rock torch after Cobain died. Anyways in the 21st century, Malkmus ditched the rest of Pavement to go solo. He has a new album coming out shortly.

I was having trouble determining which Malkmus song to post--something not too slick like "Vanessa (from Queens)" or too weird like "Pencil Rot." So I settled on "the Oyster."

Stephen Malkmus

(Do Not Feed) the Oyster-- Stephen Malkmus

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Steely Dan

This Steely Dan was sort of prompted by my intermittent viewings of the movie Knocked Up, where at a dinner designed by the female protagonist to determine whether Paul Rudd's character is cheating on his wife, Seth Rogen and Rudd debate momentarily the merits of Steely Dan.

If I introduced this next sentence w/ the following: "There are two kinds of people in this world--those that love Steely Dan and those that hate the Dan and all that studio gimmickry and anal-retentiveness associated with the band's masterpieces throughout much of the 1970's and early 1980's" would I be trite, cliche or just a total ignoramus?

Well, as you might have been able to tell, I fall into the former camp. The Steely Dan are a strange concoction of sonic obsessiveness, dark and sardonic lyrics, and pretty much the best L.A.-based studio musicians working in the business. The Doobie Bros.'s Michael McDonald provided back-up vocals on much the Dan's albums in the 1970's, and, here's the thing (my street-cred be damned), McDonald provides the perfect counterpoint to Donald Fagen's odd and yet totally effective vocals.

For those w/out an opinion about the Steely Dan, the Steely Dan were comprised of Walter Becker (lead guitar) and Donald Fagen (keyboards) along with a varying array of top studio musicians--like Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on bass (Anyone who saw much of the History of Rock n Roll documentary on PBS in the 90's should remember that guy). I'm not going to pretend like my knowledge of studio musicians is encyclopedic, but in short it can be said that Becker and Fagen knew exactly what they were looking for and were willing to spend many c0ke-fueled nights to get it done. The song "Through with Buzz" is Fagen/Becker's declaration of their momentary distaste for the bolivian marcing powder.

The other song "FM" reminds me of growing up, riding around with my parents. (So does Steve Miller's "Fly like an Eagle" for some reason. It's the first song that I remember memorizing.) As a final note, I am a child of the 1970's, technically (born in march of 1979). While not actually being a part of or having the capacity to remember the Carter-era, there are certain songs/bands that forwhatever reason presses some sort of nostalgic receptors in my brain. Steely Dan is one of those bands for me. Other bands remind of middle school, high school (in particular, D. Matthew's Under the Table and Dreaming), college and time spent abroad (in Spain, I must have listened to Paul Simon's 2nd solo album Paul Simon close to 200 times.) I love this about music--how music helps me to remember .meaningful points in time in my life. ok, over and out.

"Through With Buzz" -- Steely Dan

Through with Buzz

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"FM" -- Steely Dan

FM

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Stevie Wonder

Since it is election season, I figured Stevie Wonder's "You haven't done nothin'" was appropriate and check out his performance on the 1975 Grammy's. But the reason for this post is "Sunshine in their eyes," which is a Stevie Wonder song that I had not heard until recently. I dig it.

"Sunshine in their eyes" -- Stevie Wonder

Sunshine in their eyes

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"You Haven't Done Nothin'" - Stevie Wonder

You Haven't Done Nothin

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"The Place and the Time" - Moby Grape

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The Moby Grape

I had hoped that the picture would be larger so the band members could be more clearly seen. Moby Grape were thought to be the next big band to come out of San Francisco. Skip Spence, the drummer for Jefferson Airplane (their music sounds a little/lot dated today, but for a moment in time the Jefferson Airplane were at the center of it all in San Francisco music scene of the late 1960's) became a guitarist, lead singer and songwriter. The debut album is excellent, but the marketing strategy taken by the record company was to release to radio stations 5 singles from the new album all at once. The marketing scheme failed miserably. But it gets worse, not only did the band never achieve the stardom, the accolades and the trappings of success that perhaps they were due, but Skip Spence, having done large amounts of acid, was literally going crazy. Spence was eventually institutionalized (not permanently) after attacking fellow band members with an axe. Cat Power covered "Naked If I Want to" on The Covers Record. "Naked If I Want to" is a great example of the Grape's ability to harmonize beautifully, while "The Place and the Time" is more representative of the psychedelic rock coming out of San Fran in those days.

"8:05" - Moby Grape

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"Naked If Want to" - Moby Grape

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So You Say You've Lost Your Baby

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Gene Clark

Who is this handsome hunk you say? It is none other than Gene Clark. Still don't know who the hell Gene Clark is? Your ignorance is forgiven. He was one of the original members of the Byrds. I found this album recently at the Indy CD & Vinyl in Broadripple. "Elevator Operator" reminds me of the Grateful Dead or Moby Grape, while "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" is a little hard to describe. I have no idea really who the Gosdin Bros are. According to the liner notes, CBS and Gene himself had high hopes for solo success and gold records but it was not to be, handsome though he certainly was.

Elevator Operator

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The Beta Band

Some bands start out almost too good (no, not Hootie). The Beta Band on Heroes to Zeros seemed to know it too--look at this album cover, it just sucks. Anyways, their third and final album was ok. "Lion Thief" was a return to form in my opinion and without a doubt the best song on the album.

Lion Thief

Heroes to Zeros

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Steak for Chicken

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The Ballad of Rip Van Winkle

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Adam Green

Adam Green of the Moldy Peaches (who recently reunited with Kimya Dawson for an obligatory performance on Live! with Regis and Not Kathy Lee) has got a new album coming out in the very near future. The Moldy Peaches made the most impact on me on their very first album. Since then, Adam Green has continued to record albums. He was the first to focus the spotlight on Jessica Simpson, when she was nothing but a second-rate pop-diva-dimwit.



Like I said, Adam has a new album coming out. He's also got a new video for the first single "Morning after Midnight" directed by Boca Raton's finest auteur Todd Smolar.

In My Room

Ok, speaking of really beautiful Beach Boys/Brian Wilson songs and cold weather, what better to place to be that in your room or somewhere comfortable and warm. Like "Warmth of the Sun," this Beach Boys tune "In My Room" is just so sad and beautiful. Brian Wilson expressing his love of solitude.

In My Room

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Warmth of the Sun

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Thinking Warm Thoughts

After about the 5th time, I think I finally got this figured out. So I've been posting a lot today to hammer out my blogging deficiencies. Anyways, it's ridiculously cold outside and those in colder climates need to think warm thoughts. I remember first hearing this Beach Boys song "Warmth of the Sun" on the Good Morning, Vietnam Soundtrack and always thought it was one of those beautiful and forlorn Brian Wilson tunes.

Best Friend

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Unfortunately, the video makes the English Beat look a little silly, but I Just Can't Stop It is like the only ska album I'll ever own (seriously, i hate ska music, except for this album). And a couple of noteworthy things about the English Beat: 1.) there are pretty much the only band in which a white and a black dude shared the mic (besides those later Anthrax-Public Enemy and Jay Z/Linkin Park collabs) and 2.) two members of the group eventually became part of the Fine Young Cannibals (I'm still really sick of "She drives me crazy," for the record.) Anyways, the whole album is great, and the perfect sunny song on this very cold winter day.

This Time

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Please Excuse My Blogging Skilz

The previous post from this morning looked so bad I had to prove it to myself that I could do better "this time." This DJ Shadow tune pretty much sounds if the Shadow just dropped the needle down on some long-forgotten funk record, or maybe he's like sooo good now that he needn't bother scratching anymore. Anyways, this sounds vintage and unsullied by unnecessary remixing.

49 Bye Byes

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Rich Woman

Raising Sand

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Alison

My Aim is True


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Alison

So in an effort to let keep this short and let the music speak for itself, the theme of this post is Alison. So of course, the Costello classic, which is arguably a little slow and melodramatic, does prove the point that Elvis on his very first album was a fully-formed artist equally as capable with lounge/cabaret singing as he was with punk music. Next, there's The Still's ode to Alison Krausse, except that they misspelled her name. And then, of course, I've included a track off the new-ish Robert Plant and Alison Krausse album "Rich Woman," which belongs in the next Tarantino movie. Lastly, for good measure, there's Crosby, Stills and Nash "49 Bye Byes"--one of the more underrated CSN tunes and a great showcase for Stills once-great voice.

The Way Things Go

I saw the full length version of this quite awesomely, hypnotically Rube Goldberg type of experiment. Hopefully this works. If it does, thank you barry.

David Crosby

If Only i Could Remember My Name

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Crosby and Garcia

One of the more under-rated musicians of the 1960's is David Crosby. He is not an incredible lyricist nor a guitar or piano virtuoso. But in the early to middle part of his career (before he got whacked out on hard drugs) his vocal performances with the Byrds, CSN(Y), Jackson Brown, Jefferson Airplane and Jerry Garcia are extraordinary. Crosby also had impressive ability to sidle up to those who really could play their instruments. The two songs posted reflect that fact--as they rely less on Crosby's voice and more on Garcia's searing guitar playing.

Crosby had made his mark with Byrds in Los Angeles. In the mid-sixties, Los Angeles was the place to be, but by the late sixties the scene had migrated north to the San Francisco Bay. And Crosby, ever the scene-ster, had moved north and in some way or another had ingratiated himself with the biggest bands from the Bay Area--Jefferson Airplane and the Dead. By 1970, the Haight Ashbury had long been overrun by dirty hippies, and the Airplane and the Dead had relocated outside the city to Marin County. For a brief moment in time, Crosby, the Dead and the Airplane jammed together in this tranquil, agrarian utopia. "The Wall Song number 1" comes from these sessions.

Crosby's first solo album If only I could remember my name was apparently not well received at the time, written off as a half-baked jam session. And for some time, the album wasn't even available on CD (now it's available on iTunes), which is weird when considering the hippie star power featured on the album--Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. Maybe by 1970, the music press had had enough of anti-war songs, and so "What are their names" never became the anti-war anthem it might have been had it come out a few years earlier. (Or maybe it's that it sounded too much like a Jefferson Airplane tune, or perhaps it is because there are no vocals for the first 2 minutes and 43 seconds?)

David Crosby with Jerry Garcia, Grace Slick, others

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Re-introducing the Beachwood Sparks

It's fine line between being purposefully (painfully at times) obscure and just being plain obvious. So that said, until I get better idea, I'm aiming to post tunes that unfortunately too many people just never heard. So today I'm providing a tune "Ghost Dance 1492" off the Beachwood Sparks final EP "Make the Cowboy Robots Cry."

I really like country rock, especially that which came out of California from 1965-1975 or so--the Byrds, David Crosby, Flying Burrito Bros, Moby Grape, Neil Young, etc. The Beachwood Sparks, using banjos, harmonicas, organs and high harmonies, sort of reflect the music of that time period. But then again, they sort of don't whether it's due to their production or an occasional weird keyboard riff. Atypical of most of their music, "Ghost Dance" doesn't really sound "country" at all. I really love that sort of underwater vocal effect (it's a leslie organ; I had to look that up) that is used here (also used beautifully, more recently, on "Carousel" on Iron & Wine's Shepherd's Dog).

So check it out.

Ghost Dance 1492

Millenium-Era Psychedelic Rock

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First Post Ever!

After years of bullshitting about music over emails and commenting on other blogs, I've decided to start my own.  In future posts, I really hope this blog provides a window on the music I'm listening to--whether it's new records, overlooked (by me at least) gems of recent years and unsung old school classics.  Sad to say a lot of the new music I've been listening to has been coming from iTunes, and so that music can't be made unavailable.

So this first post is meant as a test as much as anything else, and this song "Map Ref. 41N93W" was playing when I first sat down to do this...Anyways, I should back up by saying in the pre-blog era I read books like the Spin Alternative Guide, Rolling Stone Album Guides (there have been two editions since the early 1990's) as well as the All Music Guide's "Rock."  Using those guides, I discovered a lot of music that otherwise I would have missed.  Especially the Spin Alternative Guide, which poured heaping praise over the British post-punk band Wire, and for good reason, the first two Wire albums (Pink Flag and Chairs Missing) are great.  At that point, Wire began experimenting with art-rock and goth on its third album 154 and, after purchasing it, I swore myself to never buy another Wire album.  But there are actually two quality songs--one of which is Map Ref. 41N93W (the longitude and latitude coordinates, I believe, of NYC).  Ok, over and out.

Map Reference 41N93W

Wire

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