While we're on the subject of groovy, African-inspired music from frontmen of groundbreaking pop bands, allow me to offer Damon Albarn's "Mr. Tembo". It's a jaunty little guitar ditty about an orphaned elephant Albarn met in Tanzania. And it's irresistible. It features the Leytonstone City Mission Choir to give it a gospel feel, as well as a sample from the 1959 album Lions by comedian Richard Buckley.
My admiration of Damon Albarn's music has been well-documented on this site. I feel that -- like David Byrne -- he's a pioneer, unafraid to push boundaries and discover new sounds and musical styles to incorporate into his music. And one more similarity: Both Byrne and Albarn are pals with uber producer Brian Eno, who plays synths on Albarn's sublime "You and Me" and adds vocals on "Heavy Seas of Love".
Music excited me last night. After a too late cup of coffee, I was up watching "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" featuring another proud Emmaus High School, alum, Dane DeHaan. I digress. The musical act of the night came on after the break. It was David Byrne, who I always expect something a little left of center. He was with a backing group called the Atomic Bomb Band. Well, I was stirred by the funky groove and quirkiness of a song that I never remotely heard before, "Fantastic Man."
After a little snooping, The Atomic Bomb Band is an all-star lineup put together by David Byrne for a couple of gigs, and that's about it. It is made up of the Beastie Boys keyboardist Money Mark,LCD Soundsystem's Pat Mahoney, Kele Okerke from Bloc Party, the Lijadu Sisters, and Sinkane.
In 2013 Byrne put together a compilation of songs from William Onyeabor, a Nigerian electro-funk musician on the compilation Who is William Onyeabor? Onyeabor made music in the 70's and 80's and then became a born again Christian and pretty much turned his back on the music scene - refusing to speak about himself or his music. When wanting to put this compilation together, Obyeabor even put up a bit of a fight until finally being persuaded to allow his music to be exposed to groups outside of Africa.
They Atomic bomb Band is only doing four shows. Two in Brooklyn on May 2 & 3, May 6th in San Fransisco, and May 8th in Los Angeles.
I've been listening a lot this week to Dean Wareham's solo album. For the uninformed -- or uninitiated -- Wareham was the frontman for the much-heralded band Galaxie 500, and in the mid-90s he went on to form the late, great Luna. Musically, the solo stuff sounds a good deal like his previous work -- with thin, nasally vocals over hazy shades of the Velvet Underground. And the songwriting -- at least to my ear -- seems influenced by Frank Black. Overall, this is mature chill-out music -- sonically interesting and eminently listenable.
The track I'm most keen on is "Holding Pattern", which includes some nonsense lyrics about football scores and 70s schlock-rock bands. Enjoy!
It's a good question. And even on her best work, it seems the answer is no. Here's why: 1998's Celebrity Skin was Hole's most commercially successful album. And it was probably their most musically accessible as well. Borrowing from 1970s power pop and even Fleetwood Mac, Hole ditched the grittier, Riot Grrl sound of old and produced a pretty clean -- and pretty good -- album that found a welcome home in heavy rotation on alternative radio.
Dig a little deeper, and you learn that Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan had a sizable hand in the album's songwriting. Fair enough. But even so, the band's crowning achievement -- at least to me -- is the song "Malibu" and now I realize what a ripoff that track actually is.
The reason? It's basically Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart". At least, it's the exact same chords -- in the exact same pattern. Listen for yourself:
I discovered this when I learned "Love Will Tear Us Apart" on the guitar. It's E minor, D, B minor and A. Strum those chords long enough and you start singing "Malibu" -- it's the same song. At least Courtney Love knew what she was doing. She tips her hat to Joy Division at the 2:35 mark of the song when she sings "And I knew love would tear you apart." Credit where credit is due.
It's been a while since I last posted here. And in that time, I was busy with party preparations for a double birthday party for my kids, ages six and four. I was to be responsible for -- what else? -- the music. And while there were a few requests from my six-year-old, her selections alone wouldn't get us through the freeze dance portion of the party. So here's what I chose:
"Wake Me Up" - Avicii
Seems like a good, danceable tune to get a party started. And thematically, it's about the passage of time. Seems like a win-win.
"Safe and Sound" - Capital Cities
A dance party favorite in our house, although the kids don't actually know it by name. Still, its irresistible hook makes it a no-brainer.
"Let it Go" - Demi Lovato
The first request from my daughter. I couldn't make it the first song of the playlist because I wanted the crowd -- and all the little girls who adore Frozen -- to be assembled at the party before it came on. And when it did, it was a smash. Especially if you like to see six-year-olds belt out Disney girl-power anthems.
"Strawberry Fields Forever" - The Beatles
The second of my daughter's three requests. A bit of a come-down from the upbeat fare that preceded it, but I honored her wish. I'm not sure it worked.
"Fall Back Down" - Rancid
Surprisingly, this is one that we play a lot at home. Sure, it's bona fide punk rock, but it has a kid-friendly message: "If you fall back down, I'm gonna help you back up again/If you fall back down, I'm gonna be your friend." If there's an evil subtext lurking in there, I can't figure it out. And I can say that the kids kept dancing, so its inclusion was justified.
"Family Time" - Ziggy Marley
Another family favorite in our house (and our car, which is a sensible family station wagon). While the other kids probably didn't know this song, mine did and they all sung and danced anyway.
"The Magnificent Seven" - The Clash
This is one my four-year-old son likes hearing in the car, so I stuck it on here for him. And it worked great during the limbo and the obstacle course.
That concluded the dance portion of the party. Had it gone on, we would have enjoyed the following:
"Signal in the Sky" - The Apples in Stereo
"Yellow Submarine" - The Beatles (the third of my daughter's three requests)
"Song 2" - Blur
"Girl" - Beck
"New Life" - Depeche Mode
"Just Like Heaven" - The Cure
"Fantastic Day" - Haircut 100
"Midnight City" - M83
"Our House" - Madness
"Temptation" - New Order
"Fireflies" - Owl City
"Such Great Heights" - The Postal Service
"Whip It" - Devo
"When You're Young" - The Jam
"Crash" - The Primitives
"One Step Beyond" - Madness
"A Message to You Rudy" - The Specials
"Mass Romantic" - The New Pornographers
"Last Nite" - The Strokes
"It Must be Love" - Madness
"Polish Girl" - Neon Indian
"The Mother We Share" - Chvrches
"The Electric Version" - The New Pornographers
"Love Shack" - The B52s
"History Never Repeats" - Split Enz
