I was flipping through some stacks of vinyl last night (desperately trying to organize them . . . to little avail) when I came across Upstairs at Eric's, the fantastic debut by Yazoo (Yaz). I can't even remember the last time I played it and probably should have put it on, but I was immersed in the latest records by Steve Earle and Billy Bragg (and a pretty intense 3 OT hockey game). It's not like I haven't heard it before. What I haven't heard, though, is the new Alison Moyet record (The Minutes) which came out last month. Need to get on that one as I hear it's quite good.
13 June 2013
12 June 2013
12 June 2013 - Primitive Radio Gods - Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand
So far, I think this is the longest titled song we've featured on this blog. A Top 10 hit in 1996, it certainly isn't the hit song with the longest title of all time (we won't even go there), but it is long enough to be frequently abbreviated or abridged.
The song itself is very simple, with a heavy drum and bass accompaniment alongside mournful lyrics and a repeated sample from the B.B.King song "How Blue Can You Get?" But all these simple components together make a very dense and complex song that draws you in again and again.
The song itself is very simple, with a heavy drum and bass accompaniment alongside mournful lyrics and a repeated sample from the B.B.King song "How Blue Can You Get?" But all these simple components together make a very dense and complex song that draws you in again and again.
11 June 2013
11 June 2013 - Tilly and the Wall - Reckless
When Tilly and the Wall's first album Wild Like Children came out in 2004, I knew I had to check it out. The Omaha indie poppers had a lot of buzz at the time due their record being the first release on Team Love Records (co-founded by Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes). Oh, and instead of having a drummer, they had a tap dancer. Sign me up! Here's a fun video from that debut.
10 June 2013
10 June 2013 - The Association - Never My Love
This is quite possibly the most beautiful song ever written and performed.
From 1967, here are The Association, with a pure and simple tribute to undying love and patience. But as simple as the lyrics are, the song is very musically dense, with multipart harmonies throughout and a six piece band. I encourage you to listen more than once.
What I love about this band is that, nearly 50 years later, they're still together and still playing this song. They've lost a little bit in the voices - age will do that to you - but not much, and the harmonies are still there. This performance is from 2012.
From 1967, here are The Association, with a pure and simple tribute to undying love and patience. But as simple as the lyrics are, the song is very musically dense, with multipart harmonies throughout and a six piece band. I encourage you to listen more than once.
What I love about this band is that, nearly 50 years later, they're still together and still playing this song. They've lost a little bit in the voices - age will do that to you - but not much, and the harmonies are still there. This performance is from 2012.
07 June 2013
7 June 2013 - Garbage - I Think I'm Paranoid
About a year ago, I made the statement that Garbage owes a huge debt of gratitude to Curve. I stand by that statement.
But we're not talking about Curve today. We're talking about Garbage, which started off as a great studio experiment, featured three great producers (Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, Butch Vig) from the American Midwest and an attractive, charismatic female lead vocalist playing fuzzy rock music.
But they became more than that. They became Shirley Manson's band of hitmakers in their own right. That woman has fantastic stage presence. They became identified as musicians, not as producers. And they sound great, don't they?
Even all these years later, they still sound great. And Shirley Manson still has the strong stage presence.
But we're not talking about Curve today. We're talking about Garbage, which started off as a great studio experiment, featured three great producers (Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, Butch Vig) from the American Midwest and an attractive, charismatic female lead vocalist playing fuzzy rock music.
But they became more than that. They became Shirley Manson's band of hitmakers in their own right. That woman has fantastic stage presence. They became identified as musicians, not as producers. And they sound great, don't they?
Even all these years later, they still sound great. And Shirley Manson still has the strong stage presence.
06 June 2013
6 June 2013 - Siouxsie and the Banshees - Cities in Dust
It's time for some more 80s Thursday goodness. Here's a classic Siouxsie and the Banshees video from 1986's Tinderbox. I'd like to say this is the first song of theirs I heard, but they didn't exactly hit my teenage radar until I saw the Peek-A-Boo video a few years later.
05 June 2013
5 June 2013 - Run DMC - King of Rock
Sure, they didn't know music history so well ("there's three of us but we're not the Beatles"?! Of course, John Lennon was dead by this time...) They might have smack talked a whole lot of sucker MCs. They might have gone through two needles on every jam they played.
But Run DMC were hip hop pioneers - the first consistent hitmakers of the genre - the first to bring actual instruments and not just turntables into their music - the first to popularize adidas - the first to use Larry "Bud" Melman in a music video - and with good reason. Run - Joseph Simmons - and DMC - Darryl McDaniels - played off each others' rhymes with seamless ease. And they had a fair amount of anger in their music, too. Hip hop before Run DMC was happy, and talking about how they were the best MCs, and dancing. Until Run DMC started calling out sucker MCs.
But Run DMC were hip hop pioneers - the first consistent hitmakers of the genre - the first to bring actual instruments and not just turntables into their music - the first to popularize adidas - the first to use Larry "Bud" Melman in a music video - and with good reason. Run - Joseph Simmons - and DMC - Darryl McDaniels - played off each others' rhymes with seamless ease. And they had a fair amount of anger in their music, too. Hip hop before Run DMC was happy, and talking about how they were the best MCs, and dancing. Until Run DMC started calling out sucker MCs.
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