Song In My Head

"Out of Control" by U2. This clip is from a 1981 live show in Belfast... which begs the question: Has there been a band that's stayed relevant -- and current -- longer than U2? I mean, they're still going after more than 30 years, and they're still pretty darn good. And they've kept the same lineup the whole time. Name another band with the longevity and staying power of U2. I don't think you can.

Song In My Head

It's "Little Time Bomb" by Billy Bragg.

Wait, that's not on YouTube. It must not exist. Insane.

So now it's gonna be "Greetings to the New Brunette" also by Billy Bragg.

Billy Bragg never got the appreciation in this country he deserved -- he's a phenomenal singer/songwriter. His chord structures are clever and fun and his lyrics are smart. He probably never caught on because he's so English. His accent is the most obvious bit of Englishness, but so is the perspective of his lyrics. Regardless, I've always been a big fan -- and became an even bigger fan when he played a song for my wife and me at a New Year's Eve show many years ago.

Portugal. The Crime Victim

How's this for a bummer? Portugal. The Man reports all their equipment -- including vintage guitars, amps, keyboards, drums etc. -- has been nicked. It was in their touring van and a trailer, which was parked in Chicago, and now it's gone. The Portland band's lead singer John Gourley told the Oregonian that "basically every bit of money Portugal. The Man has made over the last five years was in that trailer." Sad. The band played Lollapalooza last night.

RIP Mashall Grant

Marshall Grant -- the bass player in Johnny Cash's original backing band -- The Tennessee Two -- has died in an Arkansas hospital.

Grant was in Jonesboro, AR, for a Johnny Cash festival that featured George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Roseanne Cash and John Carter Cash.

You can't match the music that Marshall Grant helped make. But one artist who recognized his immense contribution in song is Stan Ridgway -- the former frontman for Wall of Voodoo. His 1996 song "Luther Played Guitar" paid tribute to the great Luther Perkins, Cash's guitarist, but that was largely because both Cash and Grant were still alive at the time. Grant got plenty of respect in Ridgway's lyrics, with lines like "Put Marshall on the bass/I'll sing/And Luther plays guitar."

Keeping up with Damon Albarn

The former Blur frontman and Gorillaz founder is back in Africa, recording an Oxfam album in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is greatly exciting, as his 2002's Mali Music album was one of the decade's undiscovered gems.

There's more information on Stereogum, and a preview.

Albarn also recently completed an opera about a 16th century British alchemist, astrologer and spy named Dr. John Dee. "Saucy Jack", anyone?

Is This It?

Hard to believe it's been ten years this week since the Strokes phenomenal debut album Is This It. When it came out, it didn't sound like anything else, it made New York the epicenter of cool again, and it ushered in a new wave of like-minded bands from both here and abroad. In the years that followed, the Strokes never really captured the energy, spirit and impact of their debut, but their immortality was secure on the strength of Is This It alone.

Now there's a tribute album called STROKED... A Tribute to Is This It which you can download for free over at stereogum.com. I downloaded two tracks this morning: Real Estate's version of "Barely Legal" -- which sounds like Real Estate doing  the Strokes. The second track I downloaded -- and the reason I was attracted to the project in the first place -- is "New York City Cops" by Heems, who is one half of Das Racist. Apart from a sped up sample of the chorus from the original song, Heems' version doesn't resemble the Strokes at all. In fact, it's a rapped litany of victims of police brutality in New York.

The New Beasties?

I promised a blog entry on Das Racist. The hip-hop trio from Brooklyn have released two mix tapes and are set to release their first commercial release Relax next month. And dare I say it, these guys are the new Beastie Boys.

For now, let's count the reasons why you need to listen to these guys.

#1) Great references
They name-check Gerard Depardieu and Alexander Ovechkin in "Speaking in Tongues", and manage to mention conservative guru Dinesh D'Souza, Maya Angelou, W.E.B. Dubois, John Philip Sousa AND the 1987 movie Throw Momma From the Train in a song called "Hugo Chavez".

#2) A good sense of musical history
They tag everyone from A Tribe Called Quest to Cream. And that's just in one song -- "Who's That? Brown" from 2010's Shut Up, Dude.

#3) Narc (!!!)
The video for "Who's That? Brown!" is essentially an homage to the classic arcade game of our youth (and also references Frogger among other games) and it links to an online video game you can actually play.

#4) Great samples
Check out their use of Enigma's "Return to Innocence" from Sit Down, Man (which also references actors Mark Ruffalo and Sam Rockwell.)

And how about this use of Billy Joel's "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" in "You Oughta Know"? They manage to poke fun and pay tribute all at once. Priceless.

#5) The perfect balance of the juvenile and the profound
Take their breakthrough song -- an ode to American consumerism called "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" -- about getting lost at one of several combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bells in Queens. It's the musical equivalent of Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and it's pretty awesome.

#6) "Shorty Said"
This song makes me laugh out loud. Especially the string of Indian references Heems makes starting around 1:44. I have no idea what it all means but he just keeps piling it on -- it's sublime. If you want the full effect of Das Racist, play this song.

#7) Not just a one-trick pony
When you get tired of all the staccato raps, chill out with "Fashion Party" -- a track they did with the Boulder/ Williamsburg band Chairlift. And laugh at lines like "I'm at the fashion party/I'm wearing fashion clothes/I'm putting fashionable powders up inside my nose" and "The pope wears Prada/The devil wears Prada/I can't be bothered/I'm trying to holler."

I could go on. I just remember the days when I'd listen to Paul's Boutique and get lost in the references and the samples. And I know it's sacrilege, and Das Racist haven't stood the test of time -- yet -- but these guys are smart, funny and have the potential of doing the Beasties one better. Or at least they are poised to be to this era what the Beasties were to the 80s. There's just a whole lot here to like.