Best of 2011

It's on its way... and I think it's a list with a few surprises on it... including a last minute choice for album of the year!

Watch this space!

Happy Chanukah

I just wanted to say a quick Happy Chanukah!  What better way to celebrate than in song (...and no not Adam Sandler's "Hanukah Song.")  I thought something from three nice Jewish boys from Manhattan would be suffice.

Song In My Head

One of the more unique things about the legendary post-punk band The Fall is their willingness to do cover songs. They've released nearly 30 studio albums, and virtually every one includes a cover song. The one that's in my head today is "There's a Ghost in My House", originally done by Motown's R. Dean Taylor in 1966 and popular in Northern Soul clubs. Here's The Fall version from 1987, which peaked at #30 on the UK charts.

Forgotten Songs

There's a lot of lousy music lists out there... you know, the 100 best guitarists of all time, or the 500 best songs from the 1990s. (Really? Were there 500 good songs in the 1990s?) But I recently read a pretty creative list in a magazine published by the folks who bring us NME and Uncut of the 500 Lost Songs You Need To Hear Now.

Rather than counting down 500 songs in some contrived way, the lengthy list is broken down into sub-categories, for example "Soul" and "Punk" and "Krautrock" and so forth. But there's also subcategories encompassing specific artists -- like #191 to #182, all reserved for Blur. ("Young and Lovely" tops the Blur sub-list, and I can't disagree. You can really hear the band take a huge creative step forward with the songcraft of that tune.)

Other notables: At #340, it's Wire's "Outdoor Miner" from 1979, a song that was pretty much on the soundtrack to my live circa 1995. And somewhere between 252 and 281, The Clash make the list for "This is England", which is a phenomenal song despite being on the universally panned Cut the Crap LP.

Matisyahu Shaved!

Ok, so it's not quite like Atlas Shrugged. But the world's only Hasidic reggae superstar is now clean-shaven. However, he says he's just as religious as ever.

For memory's sake, here's his 2005 breakthrough tune "King Without a Crown".

Song In My Head

"Spanish bombs, yo tequierro y finito Yote querda, oh mi corazon"

Ice Cube, Design Icon

Here's a little-known fact about Ice Cube: He studied architectural drafting. Yep, he never thought he'd make it as a rapper so he was preparing for a fallback career. And that's just one nugget out of an interview he did with the New York Times as part of a film he appeared in about mid-century designers Charles and Ray Eames. Check it out here.

Not so fast...my FAVORITE Supergroup

Ok, there are super groups, and then there is Me First and the Gimme Gimmes!  Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are a mix-up of new-school punk band members. Drawn together by a mutual love of '60s and '70s music, the Gimme Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band, covering random acts such acts as Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, and John Denver.  Singer Spike Slawson (of the Swingin' Utters) originally formed the Gimme Gimmes in 1995,with NOFX bassist Fat Mike, Lagwagon singer/guitarist Joey Cape, No Use for a Name guitarist Chris Shiflett and Lagwagon drummer Dave Raun. Never originally aiming to put out a record, the band made appearances on punk compilation albums through much of the early 90's.

 In 2004, the band tackled a set of classic rock hits, easy listening numbers, and even "Hava Nagila" on the "live" album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah, which included enhanced video footage of their actual perfamrnace at the Bar Mitzvah.

In 2011, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released the Australian-themed Go Down Under EP, featuring a great version of INXS' "Never Tear Us Apart."  They followed it up with an EP of Japanese covers titled Sing in Japanese - which is yes, all sung in Japanese.

Here's just a sample.  I picked Bill Withers, "Ain't No Sunshine."

A Not So Super Supergroup

ELP, Asia, Cream, Electronic, Audioslave, Them Crooked Vultures, The Good the Bad and the Queen, The New Pornographers -- let's talk Supergroups. Here's one you might not know about -- Tinted Windows. The band featured guitarist James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins, bassist Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, drummer Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick and vocalist Taylor Hanson of Hanson. In 2009, they had a single - "Kind of a Girl" - that really didn't go anywhere. Here's the video.

Video Vault

Here's the video for "Scarecrow" by Pink Floyd. This 1967 Syd Barrett classic and its bizarre video of the band members carrying around a stick-figure scarecrow through the English countryside before falling victim to a serious case of the slow-motions. Musically, it's a pretty direct line from this to Robyn Hitchcock and early Blur, don't you think?

Video Vault Friday!

OMG!  This might be the greatest video I have ever seen!  Poor Rick James.  He is so tied hand-in-hand with Dave Chappelle.  It's no wonder, he is almost a caricature in this video.  From the moment he stumbles out of the car drunk, to where he stops in the bedroom, pauses, and opens up his shirt to show the bare chest, you know what you are in for: hot tubs, limos, winking at the camera, to attempting a menage a trois, Rick does it all! I think :51 seconds in is my favorite moment.  You can stop watching the video at the second hot tub scene, for it looks like Rick was willing to let the cameras roll and make this a porn shoot!  The only thing missing in this video is the coke when he enters the bathroom.  Enjoy!

Song in My Head

Do you know of an artist you like, but do not have anything by them?  Joe Jackson is one of them for me.  I think the guy is talented.  Coming in with some of the early "new wave" artists from Britain, Joe covered various genre's with his Look Sharp! album, to the reggae infused Beat Crazy to the Cole Porter influenced Night and Day.  I heard "Steppin' Out" the other day, and it's been in my head.  It's not my favorite by him, but if you truly listen to it, it's an interesting mix of a driving synth, Prince stylized drumming, with a classical piano.  He's a talent that kind of just disappeared.  He showed up helping out William Shatner in one of our favorite's, his cover of Pulp's "Common People."  I also know Joe is against all the anti-smoking campaigns around New York and other major cities.  Interesting fellow.