. Chavela Vargas is something of a legend in Mexico City where I live. She’s still making records at 91. Muse to both the Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (and reputedly also her lover), her endurance, depth of passion, outsized personality, and gorgeously fierce voice make here one-of-a-kind. She was …
. Scot-king songwriter, dark-hearted minstrel, troubled and temper-torn troubadour, bitter balladeer extraordinaire, roiling ace back alley jig picker Richard Thompson. I love this king of all the sad bastards with the golden hands, his records ooze delight and despair in the most organic and ornery of ways. Plays like the devil and knows all his …
. Although this video is listed as John Coltrane and Miles Davis, it should actually be listed as Miles Davis only. Coltrane was at this point simply the tenor man in Miles band, and as amazing as his playing is here the modal improvisations were more Miles’ innovation. It’s slightly disappointing to hear a different …
My appreciation for Bruce Springsteen happened much later than most people. It was 2005 to be exact. I was given a copy of “Nebraska” by Barton Carroll when we were touring with Crooked Fingers because I told him that I wasn’t a fan of Bruce. He told me to give that a listen and then …
Nils Lofgren is probably best known for his work with Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. There is no doubt he excelled in both roles, but he also has a fine legacy as a solo performer. Lofgren is widely regarded as one of the best rhythm guitarists in the history of …
. I didn’t think it possible, but recently discovered a friend on Facebook who’d actually never seen the unforgettable “OK Go on Treadmills” video. As an actual treadmill owner, I can’t even walk by (notice I didn’t say walk ON) my treadmill without OK Go’s one-take masterpiece immediately coming to mind. And it’s not just …
Fellow Swede-Ams, it’s time to stop the madness! Santa Lucia day, the most sexist holiday in the global Scandinavian calendar, is fast approaching, December 13. Please stop the needless subjugation of Scandinavian women through, coffee, coffeebread, candles and white robes. Every year a new generation is scarred for life, sometimes physically if real candles are …
Tenor and global heartthrob Josh Groban’s new record, “Illuminations” is produced by Rick Rubin and six of the songs are co-written by Dan Wilson, of Semisonic and Trip Shakespeare fame. Groban and Wilson collaborated on “Bells of New York City” (below). My only question is, why no cover of “Erotic City?” Semisonic always had rollicking …
. OK; write an intro for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s live version of “Prove it All Night,” Phoenix, 1978 (above). Shoot, just listen to it and you can hear that Bruce plays a better intro than I could ever write. Not to mention that the man has done some really great inteviews …
In 1977, the Jersey sound was getting hot. Some guy named Bruce Springsteen had put out a record called Born to Run in ’75 and while everyone waited for the next album (and then waited some more), the word was there were more bands out there in the “flats of Jersey”. The Sugar Miami Steve …
Like a Duracell 9volt battery to the tongue, Henry shows he’s always ready to confront and stimulate. If he had a third hand, it would be jostling what lies below his third arm. – Paul Johnson . . .
. A bombastic, guttural onslaught. Keith Moon appears as a mischievous child with a hand grenade, moving me to the commode when coffee and cigarettes have failed. Wipe this. – Paul Johnson . .
Here’s one for the iPod, Fireflies, a slightly less well known Fleetwood Mac song, one never captured in the studio. This version was recorded during a tour sound check and thrown into the mix on the long-forgotten Live (1980) album, a collection which, by the standards of the time and of live albums, was fairly …
A million souls have viewed these Jakarta college students and their a capella version of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.” This is just another fact to convince you that the world you remember is gone. You’re just a lurker in the new one.
. . Not sure if this has been done elsewhere, or if there would be any interest, but I’ve always had a soft spot for great lyrical couplets. Elvis Costello is pretty much the master (and Dylan, of course) but it might be interesting to see a link where posters could put up their own …
East Portland blog loves the Beastie Boys as they are one of only two musical phenomena from back in the day which still send promotional emails. Here’s their latest. Read and learn, Philistines: BEASTIE BOYS HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE PART 2 TRACK LISTING REVISED, REPLACED ENTIRELY WITH SONGS ORIGINALLY RECORDED FOR HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE PART 1 …
In my book, music is supposed to be fun, and why not. But it also should reach out and grab my ears, arrest my attention, lock in and not let go until its finish. Much like a growling dog biting down on the leg end of your jeans, it’s music that must be attended to. …
Seattle trumpeter Thomas Marriott’s upcoming release on Origin records, Constraints & Liberations, is now available for preorder from Amazon (http://tinyurl.com/22rh3lh), and will be available in stores Nov. 16, 2010. The video above is the electronic press kit for Both Sides of the Fence, Marriott’s 2007 release (http://tinyurl.com/2aozvt7). The vid gives you a feel for Marriott …
If you love the Chicago Blues, you’ll count yourself lucky that Hubert Sumlin is still alive and playing guitar. His stunningly original and powerful technique, structured unlike any other in recorded blues, has many admirers but no successful imitators. As the lead guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf, he helped create a body of work that formed …
. I’ve always loved the sophistication of Joe Jackson’s “Night & Day” (1982) album — “Cancer” seemed like an ’80s update of Steely Dan, and “Steppin’ Out” showed Joe learning some melodic Cole Porterisms. I still like both those songs a lot, but at the end of the day, the album as a whole just …
According to Onion AV Club, in the true part of the Onion, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards says bandmate Mick Jagger has been “unbearable” since the ’80s and has a tiny penis which bored Marianne Faithfull. Richards states all this and more in his upcoming autobiography, Life. Click here. Thanks to Jon Chick for the …
This is the Max Raabe take on the old Britney Spears classic, Oops I Did it Again. According to the Wik, “Max Raabe (December 12, 1962 in Lünen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German singer and band leader of the Palast Orchester. He and his orchestra specialize in recreating the sound of German dance and film …
Boston! Come on. You can do better than this. This looks like socialist aerobics crossed with the worst high school half time show of all time. And why “Don’t Stop Believin”? Why not “More Than a Feeling” (Boston) or “Tonight She Comes” (The Cars), both from local bands? The next great flashmob will dance to …
It’s been getting colder at night, which really gets my Celtic blood pumping. With the sunlight fading and the ale growing darker, my senses are filled with the drifting sounds of pipe music and the lights that dance in the bonfire’s flames. It’s just this time of year that gets me thinking about fusion music …
Bjork could be rolling in ungodly piles of money just jiggling to formula bubblegum pop; her hotness is impossible to ignore and her vocal range is supernatural. But instead of settling, the empress of Iceland dares to be an rock’n’roll auteur, a colleague of Byrne not Beyonce. A cappella album? She’s done it. Jazz? Here …
Midday Veil released their first studio album recently, “Eyes All Around.” The first video, “Asymptote II” is lovely, joyous, innocent and drug-fueled. Expect great things from this young Seattle combo: . . Here is the press release. Read and learn, Philistines: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Translinguistic Other Recordings p.o. box 23326 Seattle WA 98102 MIDDAY VEIL …
Things are tough all over. Even legendary recordist Steve Albini, the famed audio technician behind classic releases from Nirvana, Liz Phair, Bush, Bedhead, Built to Spill, Bottomless Pit, Cheap Trick and dozens of others is having trouble paying the mortgage on Electrical Audio, his impeccably designed analog studio. Tim Midgett, guitarist, bassist and songwriter for …
This from John Moe via Facebook: “Norwegian Recycling is the mashup king. Survivor, Gnarls Barkley, Britney, so much here. Survivor? Survivor.” .
For name alone, I’ve always wanted to love Gogol Bordello. Rumored to be best heard live, they’ve got a big time video out now, “Immigraniada (We Comin’ Rougher).” I’ll leave it to you to decide if there’s a phenomenom aborning here, a Ukrainian Pogues, or just Yakov Smirnoff with a backing band. If Imigraniada strikes …
Not a bad clip at all. I wish that I had something enlightening to say but I don’t. I’ve got nothing against blues/rock encounters except that in my experience, rock always wins out. Not surprising when you consider the economics. The intermingling of the blues with rock is such a complex theme, with so many …