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The former lead singer of Madness takes a stab at a song from the former lead singer of The Smiths. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s still a fun listen.
Filed under: Rock and Pop and Alternative and Songs and Artists and Videos and Less Talk, More Music Comments: 2 Comments |
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After tumbling down the remix rabbit hole in the mid to late ’80s, the unthinkable happened: the scene changed on me. By the early ’90s all hell was breaking loose in the clubs. House music pretty much wiped my favorite kinds of dance records off the map (mostly dance oriented rock, or DOR as they once called it). That, combined with my remix hero Shep Pettibone’s sudden retirement, left me in no man’s land. EMF producer Ralph Jezzard made some nifty mixes, but he didn’t make enough of them. I slowly stopped paying attention to remixes at that point. Then one day my old DJ buddy Paul MacDonald sends me a dozen cassettes with assorted remixes and such on it. One of them was called Techno Mixes. Techno, at one point, meant New Order and Nitzer Ebb. By this point it meant Orgy and Moby. This new techno frightened and confused me, but I pressed on. Most of the tunes were pretty harmless, really. They stole lines from movies, TV shows, educational films, what have you, and surrounded them with shrieking synthesizers. There was a tune called “Sesame’s Treat” that amused me. “LSD is the Bomb” had a cool drum track, and someone even sampled the theme to “Halloween” for a song. Meh. And then I heard “It’s Grim Up North,” and my jaw hit the floor. Officially credited to the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, “It’s Grim Up North” is the KLF in disguise (though not really in disguise). Released in late 1991, the band had made some inroads on the American charts earlier that summer, but “Grim” was playing a completely different sport than their Top Five hit “3 A.M. Eternal.” Those songs were bouncy: “It’s Grim Up North” was industrial grit, complete with screaming steam whistles. Bill Drummond’s lyrics are nothing but lists of cities in northern England (you can find a list on the song’s Wikipedia page), spoken in bleak monotone. And then, after pummeling and pounding the listener for eight minutes, the drums give way to the hymn “Jerusalem,” steam whistles still screaming in the background. Hell, yes. The song didn’t convert me to the then-new techno scene, but it did serve as one hell of a last hurrah to my golden age of dance. “Sesame’s Treat,” on the other hand, hasn’t held up so well. Filed under: Pop and Alternative and Electronica and Songs and External Music and Ruby Tuesday Comments: None |
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There’s plenty of videos online featuring people, entire bands, what have you doing their own take on the “Super Mario Brothers” theme song (the best damn video game theme song ever, period), but here’s a super-cool jazzy version as played on piano. The damn tune never gets old, no matter how you choose to play it.
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Here’s a guy cranking out the classic “Lulu’s Back in Town” on the ukulele, one of the best instruments ever created by man, bar none. Dig it.
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He may have spent the last several years as a punchline to jokes about the wimpy singer-songwriters of the ’70s, but I always thought this was the sweetest, saddest farewell song, so I can’t imagine any more appropriate manner in which to bid farewell to Dan Fogelberg, who succumbed to cancer after a hard-fought battle of several years. This isn’t the best version of the song, but it’s the only one on YouTube that’s actually by Fogelberg, and, believe me, it wouldn’t be much of a tribute if I put up one of the random amateurs who’ve decided to “pay tribute” by covering the song.
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 Road Warriors 44 Coldplay’s long-awaited fourth album is due for release in 2008, and while no details have been released about a tour, the band has just announced that there will definitely be one. Keep up with progress on the band’s website Since the release of their debut album in June of 2007, SoCal rock band Revolution Mother have been tearing up the road. Now, they have just announced a tour beginning in January along with Tiger Army and Dear and Departed. Here is the confirmed itinerary: With Social Distortion With Tiger Army and Dear and Departed Funk/Soul artist Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings will hit the road in 2008 supporting their latest album, 100 Days, 100 Nights on Daptone Records. Here is the list of upcoming tour dates: Jan 03 Ft. Lauderdale FL - Culture Room After supporting Interpol on their US arena tour, Los Angeles band Liars will be headlining their own tour beginning in January. Here is the list of confirmed shows so far: Fri 1/25 @ Slim’s - San Francisco CA |
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For your yuletide entertainment, may I present… * Band Aid * Band Aid II (and sorry it’s of rather crap quality, but since it’s a crap version of the song, it’s actually rather appropriate) There. If that doesn’t get the song stuck in your head for the rest of the day, nothing will. Happy Holidays! |
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There’s something quite appropriate about the Trash Can Sinatras performing “Obscurity Knocks” on “Onion World with Rich Hall” because, wow, talk about an obscure talk show; frankly, I’d never even heard of it until I accidentally stumbled upon this clip on YouTube. I was familiar with Rich Hall, of course, because of his tenure on shows like “Not Necessarily the News” and “Saturday Night Live,” but this series…? Nothing but pops and buzzes. And, apparently, I’m not the only one hearing those sounds. IMDb.com refers to it as having premiered in 1989, but Rich Hall’s Wikipedia entry claims it ran from 1990 to 1991. Though when it aired is uncertain, the wherever is at least confirmed as having been The Comedy Channel, which merged with the HA! Network in 1991 to form what we now know as Comedy Central. Apparently, Hall must’ve had a really jones for Scottish music at the time, as he managed to score an appearance from Kevin McDermott’s Orchestra as well, but let’s focus on the Trashcans for the moment, since there’s every reason to believe that I wouldn’t be writing this very posting if it wasn’t for them and their music. That’s not as ominous as it sounds, honest. I don’t have a “I was on the verge of suicide until I heard ‘Hayfever’” story or anything like that. But I joined the E-mail list dedicated to the band’s music way back in the mid-’90s, and through that list, I met none other than David Medsker; he refuses to take credit for my entire journalistic success and regularly praises my writing ability, but the truth of the matter is that I very likely wouldn’t be a full-time, work-at-home writer today if David hadn’t gotten me an in at Bullz-Eye.com. So, thanks, David. Stupid holidays. They make me too damned sentimental. Oh, and by the way, if you’re wondering what the hell ever happened to Rich Hall…well, oddly enough, he’s apparently pretty damned successful in the UK. In addition to his accomplishments under his own name, which include several TV series and specials on the BBC, a couple of books, and even a play, he’s also carved out a musical niche for himself by playing a comedic country musician named Otis Lee Crenshaw. Who knew? Filed under: Rock and Pop and Alternative and Songs and Artists and Videos and External Music and Less Talk, More Music Comments: 2 Comments |
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Rare is the girl that has been able to positively school me on music — no offense, ladies, but most girls simply don’t have the passion for it that I have — so when one comes along that can teach me a few new tricks, the lessons have been memorable ones. It is with this piece that I salute Jen Mueller, a onetime college sweetheart who made me one of the best mix tapes I have ever received. Yes, it was an actual tape. Hey, it was 1987. We didn’t even have CD players back then. No, we didn’t add using an abacus. Shut up. Anyway, to make things even more interesting (for her, anyway; frustrating as hell for me), she covered the track listing in blue marker so I could not read the names of the songs or the artists. Listen and learn, that was the lesson. Luckily, I knew most of the songs or artists — The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears, World Party, Paul Young, Dream Academy, The Stranglers and a killer Thompson Twins mix spring to mind — but a couple of them left me positively baffled. There are songs called “Dark Intentions” and “Deep Blue Sea” that I’m still trying to track down 20 years later, but I was able to weasel the artist name out of one of the unknowns: The Bluebells. Never heard of them. Little did I know, they had broken up two years earlier, though the song she gave me, “Will She Always Be Waiting,” sounded light years ahead of its time. Big, technicolor strings, lotsa jangling acoustic guitars, and harmonies by the pound. It was wonderful. Still is, in fact. I recently came across a copy of the record that “Will She Always Be Waiting” called home, the 1984 album Sisters. It’s clearly a vinyl transfer — I’m pretty sure there’s even a small skip towards the end — but that actually makes it sound even better to me. Thanks, Jen. My life’s a little better for having you in it, even if for a brief period. I hope you’re doing well. |
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The one-continuous shot gem “Lucas with the Lid Off” from 1994.
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Well, we know there won’t be a wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance for Super Bowl 42. Well, at least we hope not. Legendary American rock band Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will be playing the event, which takes place February 3 in Phoenix. While we’re on the subject of big events, Plain White T’s have been announced as a performer at Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve show on December 31. The band will also be performing in Boston on January 14 before heading to the UK for some tour dates. Florida rock band Yellowcard had to cancel some tour dates in Europe due to band member Longineu W. Parson’s grandmother’s illness. Parsons is very close to his ailing grandma, who raised him. Tickets are fully refundable but the shows are expected to be rescheduled. Rockers Three Days Grace are hitting the road for a US tour beginning February 15 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Joining them on the tour will be Breaking Benjamin and Seether, and more info is available at www.threedaysgrace.com Another New Year’s Eve show just announced is Velvet Revolver, who will be performing at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The band is also headlining the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on December 12 with Alice in Chains, and in February will head to Australia for more shows. Here are all of the confirmed (more…) |
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I’ve had the soundtrack to “Once” sitting on my desk since about May, but I refused to listen to it before I saw the movie. It’s not your typical soundtrack, and in fact some people (wrongly) consider it a musical. In truth, it’s somewhere in between a soundtrack and a musical. It’s really a movie about music. A couple scenes are shot in musical style, but that’s about it. This, for those who don’t care if I totally spoil the movie’s finest moment, is the movie’s finest moment. Guy (not his name: the two leads don’t have names, they’re just Guy and Girl) finally gets into a studio with Girl and some fellow Thin Lizzy-loving buskers, and proceed to bang out a song that just builds and builds and builds until it explodes. How can someone with Glen Hansard’s talent go so long without anyone knowing his name? Dunno, but in an interesting side note, he was a guitar player in the Commitments as well. Gotta go and watch that again.
Filed under: Rock and Pop and Songs and Videos and External Music and Seen Your Video Comments: None |
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Does anyone even watch these things or even care about them anymore, for that matter? Who knows? At any rate, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse are leading the pack of Grammy nominees this year. Who will win? If Kanye doesn’t sweep everything he’s nominated in, will he once again throw his worn out race card? Will Winehouse show up drunk and disorderly? Again, does anyone care? I remember when I was a kid, the Grammy Awards were always sort of fun to watch. But it’s been a long time for me since it’s been that. For years, it’s just felt like nothing more than an opportunity for the industry to pat itself on the back than anything else. And with the state that the music industry is in nowadays, it feels even more desperate. That, and no one I personally give a shit for is going to win anything undoubtedly. Hooray. |
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The stamp image will be unveiled next Wednesday — Sinatra’s birthday — at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, Calif. |
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While MySpace hosts plenty of original artists doing original music, there’s room for a lot more than that. Yeah, we’re talking about cover bands. Or “tribute bands,” as these tireless warriors of dollar beer weeknight gigs at every damned dive across America fancy themselves. And who’s to argue with these groups? Their work ethos, their dedication, their initiative to set up MySpaces, for gosh sakes, is not to be denigrated. Not here. Really, if you’re that into Depeche Mode so much that you’d devote your leisure time to covering their music, we’re not going to dump on that. It’s really pretty easy to find cover bands on MySpace that you can make fun of yourself. Or, if you’re into the oeuvre, seek out a nearby show because you wanna be rocked. Here’s the process, using AC/DC as an example: First Google “MySpace AC/DC cover band.” If that gets you nowhere, just hit a fan MySpace. Then look at their friends. The cover bands will be there. In the case of AC/DC, you get groups like New Jersey’s Dog Eat Dog, or Kansas City’s finest–KC/DC, naturally. Happy hunting. Really, get into this. Listening to the music is a fascinating study in musical anthropology, addictive stuff. Once you get your fill, jump over to YouTube and not just hear the stuff, but watch things like dueling Journey cover bands interspersed with actual Journey videos and the latest incarnation of Journey with the original members and the myriad lead singers they’ve found to replace Steve Perry, some of them found on–you guessed it–YouTube, as Schon confessed here. As Perry once put it, it goes on and on and on and on-n-n. |
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