Tuesday, May 20, 2008
May... Showers?
A mix for a May that has seen seemingly endless rain of late.
1) Josh Ritter - To The Dogs or Whoever (Live @ 930)
2) C C R - Long As I Can See the Light
3) Jimi Hendrix - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Live)
4) Jackie Greene - About Cell Block #9
5) The Staple Singers - Slow Train
6) Bob Dylan - Day of the Locusts
7) Loudon Wainwright III - I Am the Way
8) Iris DeMent & John Prine - In Spite of Ourselves
9) John Prine - Long Monday
10) Bob Schneider - Blow Me Back to You (Live)
11) Bob Dylan - Beyond the Horizon
12) Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen
13) dEUS - Nine Threads
14) Georgie James - Cake Parade
15) David Gray - Shine
16) M M J - I'm Amazed (Live on SNL)
17) Tyler Ramsey - A Long Dream
18) This Is Ivy League - Crown of Love
19) Scarlett Johansson - Falling Down
20) J. Tillman - For an Hour with You
.zip the whole thing!
1) Again, live there is no one I enjoy more.
3) One of the greatest rock stories ever told. Pepper comes out and three days later Jimi's performing it on stage with The Experience. Pretty sick!
4) Speaking of sick, Jackie Greene is a master showman. A master. I thought I was going to see this rootsy, acoustic guitar balladeer, and I couldn't have been farther off. It was a crazy good time. It's too bad New Yorkers don't know the classic Hank Jr song "Family Tradition," because for me, that was the highlight. This song was a close second.
8, 9) Major Prine kick right now. Major.
10) "Big Blue Sea," one of my favorite songs, sounds best when it's just Bob and a guitar. This is one of those songs, and it may soon be a favorite. I'll let you know.
A mix for a May that has seen seemingly endless rain of late.
1) Josh Ritter - To The Dogs or Whoever (Live @ 930)
2) C C R - Long As I Can See the Light
3) Jimi Hendrix - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Live)
4) Jackie Greene - About Cell Block #9
5) The Staple Singers - Slow Train
6) Bob Dylan - Day of the Locusts
7) Loudon Wainwright III - I Am the Way
8) Iris DeMent & John Prine - In Spite of Ourselves
9) John Prine - Long Monday
10) Bob Schneider - Blow Me Back to You (Live)
11) Bob Dylan - Beyond the Horizon
12) Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen
13) dEUS - Nine Threads
14) Georgie James - Cake Parade
15) David Gray - Shine
16) M M J - I'm Amazed (Live on SNL)
17) Tyler Ramsey - A Long Dream
18) This Is Ivy League - Crown of Love
19) Scarlett Johansson - Falling Down
20) J. Tillman - For an Hour with You
.zip the whole thing!
1) Again, live there is no one I enjoy more.
3) One of the greatest rock stories ever told. Pepper comes out and three days later Jimi's performing it on stage with The Experience. Pretty sick!
4) Speaking of sick, Jackie Greene is a master showman. A master. I thought I was going to see this rootsy, acoustic guitar balladeer, and I couldn't have been farther off. It was a crazy good time. It's too bad New Yorkers don't know the classic Hank Jr song "Family Tradition," because for me, that was the highlight. This song was a close second.
8, 9) Major Prine kick right now. Major.
10) "Big Blue Sea," one of my favorite songs, sounds best when it's just Bob and a guitar. This is one of those songs, and it may soon be a favorite. I'll let you know.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Avril for Real
This month found me upended with a series of transitions. As of today, though, I'm 3 for 3. I'll let you decide just what that means.
I'd intended this one to be a driver; those of you with cars will have to let me know how goes.
1) Josh Ritter - Snow is Gone
2) Jackson Browne - Fountain of Sorrow (Live, Acoustic)
3) Cream - Badge
4) Blind Faith - Can't Find My Way Home
5) Van Morrison - Call Me Up in Dreamland
6) WILCO - Jesus, Etc.
7) Rod Stewart - Mandolin Wind
8) Elton John - Georgia
9) She & Him - Change Is Hard
10) Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
11) Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
12) Son Volt - Windfall
13) Bob Dylan - Time Passes Slowly
14) Bill Withers - Let It Be
15) Bill Withers - Can We Pretend
16) Aphex Twin - Avril 14
17) Bob Dylan - Idiot Wind (Bootleg Series Vol 2 Version)
18) Van Morrison - Warm Love
19) Van Morrison - Comfort You
20) Willie Nelson - My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
.zip the whole thing!
1) I'll hopefully have a second mix of his love songs up tonight as well.
3, 4) Fandango
5, 18, 19) VAN! Of late, c/o an almost academic approach to the rock doc, Van Morrison: Under Review, I've over-indulged on his 'prolific period,' '64 to '74.
13) Beg, steal, or borrow this one: New Morning is tha business!
14, 15) Fair assessment? I really get a hankering for Bill Withers just about every spring.
20) The Electric Horseman
This month found me upended with a series of transitions. As of today, though, I'm 3 for 3. I'll let you decide just what that means.
I'd intended this one to be a driver; those of you with cars will have to let me know how goes.
1) Josh Ritter - Snow is Gone
2) Jackson Browne - Fountain of Sorrow (Live, Acoustic)
3) Cream - Badge
4) Blind Faith - Can't Find My Way Home
5) Van Morrison - Call Me Up in Dreamland
6) WILCO - Jesus, Etc.
7) Rod Stewart - Mandolin Wind
8) Elton John - Georgia
9) She & Him - Change Is Hard
10) Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
11) Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
12) Son Volt - Windfall
13) Bob Dylan - Time Passes Slowly
14) Bill Withers - Let It Be
15) Bill Withers - Can We Pretend
16) Aphex Twin - Avril 14
17) Bob Dylan - Idiot Wind (Bootleg Series Vol 2 Version)
18) Van Morrison - Warm Love
19) Van Morrison - Comfort You
20) Willie Nelson - My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
.zip the whole thing!
1) I'll hopefully have a second mix of his love songs up tonight as well.
3, 4) Fandango
5, 18, 19) VAN! Of late, c/o an almost academic approach to the rock doc, Van Morrison: Under Review, I've over-indulged on his 'prolific period,' '64 to '74.
13) Beg, steal, or borrow this one: New Morning is tha business!
14, 15) Fair assessment? I really get a hankering for Bill Withers just about every spring.
20) The Electric Horseman
Monday, April 14, 2008
"I love you, Paul."
"I couldn't agree more," the elfin Paul Simon replied, looking a bit like a balding Einstein, hair a flame of dirtied white recession. Simon's arms, flailing about above his head and muscular as hell, were the most striking of his anomaly of features: short, squat, perfectly manicured yet completely disheveled, vein-stretched arms, taught face, beer gut. Before he proceeded to tear into "Gumboots," he corrected himself, "If you could hear the voices in my head, you'd know that's far from true."
For two hours, last night, Paul Simon and a band of unequaled talent performed their third and final performance of songs from his albums Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. As part of an unheardof month-long residency at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, this week was devoted to spending some time "Under African Skies."
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the men's choral group from South Africa featured on Graceland, started off the evening with "Nomathemba," with heart-murmuring harmonies and frenetic dance moves that nodded equally to the Temptations and the Rockettes. Vusi Mahlasela followed with a stunted version of "The Boy in the Bubble," forgetting the words at one point. Nevertheless, his vocal quality and range were so stirring, it made the memory of his early stumbling melt with the coo cooing of his scat-filled rendition. By the time Paul Simon strolled on stage, the audience was so firmly engaged, his walk was followed with the intensity of a tennis ball at a Grand Slam final. The reverence with which he addressed the audience humbles me still. He seemed so at ease, though, at times, it appeared as though his fourth wall was actually some garage door window in Queens, and I was the lucky onlooker standing at tiptoe, peering through a tiny window at the rehearsal of a would-be great band, if only that lead singer could punch up the stage presence.
That said, this was Paul Simon's night. His music shone like the African sun. Those who performed with him seemed giddy with the opportunity, as we who watched trembled with excitement at the unique experience of seeing these songs come to life before our eyes. His rhythm section looked like they'd been created by Jim Henson. His own guitars seemed to want to swallow him whole. With pin drop acoustics the BAM made for an excellent venue for this, at times, 21-piece band to throw every sound from wee bird calls to what appeared to be an emptied fire extinguisher ratamat with drum sticks the size of sledgehammers.
The mostly static audience sat through performances by the beautiful Cameroon singer Kaissa and the equally beautiful and five-months pregnant Luciana Souza. It wouldn't last long though, David Byrne, iconic frontman of the Talking Heads, delivered "I Know What I Know" and "You Can Call Me Al" as thought they'd been tailored specifically for him. No one could resist the sheer jubilation of his and the band's performance. Clapping, dancing, and singing along, everyone was upended like puppets on strings by the magnetic grooviness of it all. Ladysmith's return was quick to quell the heartbeats. Their "Homeless" was tear-inducing, never more pertinent as images of those affected by the Tsunamis and Katrina floated to the surface of every last bass note. So drowned was I by this point, I was certain there'd be no respite. That is, until Simon rejoined LBM for those first notes of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes." Everyone was on their feet, dancing, singin' and swingin.' He finished us off with rousing renditions of "Graceland" and "That Was Your Mother."
Standing there, legs numb, maybe from the dancing, maybe from the experience of having some of the world's best musicians perform mere feet from my own feet, I was awash with thought and so excited to have been part of something I'll surely never see again. Not like this. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience and a night I will remember the rest of my life.
"I couldn't agree more," the elfin Paul Simon replied, looking a bit like a balding Einstein, hair a flame of dirtied white recession. Simon's arms, flailing about above his head and muscular as hell, were the most striking of his anomaly of features: short, squat, perfectly manicured yet completely disheveled, vein-stretched arms, taught face, beer gut. Before he proceeded to tear into "Gumboots," he corrected himself, "If you could hear the voices in my head, you'd know that's far from true."
For two hours, last night, Paul Simon and a band of unequaled talent performed their third and final performance of songs from his albums Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. As part of an unheardof month-long residency at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, this week was devoted to spending some time "Under African Skies."
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the men's choral group from South Africa featured on Graceland, started off the evening with "Nomathemba," with heart-murmuring harmonies and frenetic dance moves that nodded equally to the Temptations and the Rockettes. Vusi Mahlasela followed with a stunted version of "The Boy in the Bubble," forgetting the words at one point. Nevertheless, his vocal quality and range were so stirring, it made the memory of his early stumbling melt with the coo cooing of his scat-filled rendition. By the time Paul Simon strolled on stage, the audience was so firmly engaged, his walk was followed with the intensity of a tennis ball at a Grand Slam final. The reverence with which he addressed the audience humbles me still. He seemed so at ease, though, at times, it appeared as though his fourth wall was actually some garage door window in Queens, and I was the lucky onlooker standing at tiptoe, peering through a tiny window at the rehearsal of a would-be great band, if only that lead singer could punch up the stage presence.
That said, this was Paul Simon's night. His music shone like the African sun. Those who performed with him seemed giddy with the opportunity, as we who watched trembled with excitement at the unique experience of seeing these songs come to life before our eyes. His rhythm section looked like they'd been created by Jim Henson. His own guitars seemed to want to swallow him whole. With pin drop acoustics the BAM made for an excellent venue for this, at times, 21-piece band to throw every sound from wee bird calls to what appeared to be an emptied fire extinguisher ratamat with drum sticks the size of sledgehammers.
The mostly static audience sat through performances by the beautiful Cameroon singer Kaissa and the equally beautiful and five-months pregnant Luciana Souza. It wouldn't last long though, David Byrne, iconic frontman of the Talking Heads, delivered "I Know What I Know" and "You Can Call Me Al" as thought they'd been tailored specifically for him. No one could resist the sheer jubilation of his and the band's performance. Clapping, dancing, and singing along, everyone was upended like puppets on strings by the magnetic grooviness of it all. Ladysmith's return was quick to quell the heartbeats. Their "Homeless" was tear-inducing, never more pertinent as images of those affected by the Tsunamis and Katrina floated to the surface of every last bass note. So drowned was I by this point, I was certain there'd be no respite. That is, until Simon rejoined LBM for those first notes of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes." Everyone was on their feet, dancing, singin' and swingin.' He finished us off with rousing renditions of "Graceland" and "That Was Your Mother."
Standing there, legs numb, maybe from the dancing, maybe from the experience of having some of the world's best musicians perform mere feet from my own feet, I was awash with thought and so excited to have been part of something I'll surely never see again. Not like this. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience and a night I will remember the rest of my life.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Mars Bars! Mars Bars!
or How I Survived The Lenten Season
I gave up sugar for Lent - not all sugars, just the simple ones. And it was hard. I eat chocolate. Every day. As we speak, I'm eating a milk/white chocolate chip cookie from this place called Dessert Delivery: Say It With Flour in midtown. So, I needed something to satiate me during these forty days and forty nights spent trolling the dessert-free desert that is sugarless living.
I found the following:
Disc One - (Mostly) New Treats
1) The Dodos - Jody
2) The Acorn - Flood Pt. 1
3) White Denim - ShakeShakeShake
4) Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
5) Jamie Lidell - Little Bit of Feel Good
6) Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul
7) Ana Serrano van der Laan - Paradise
8) Stephany - Shame
9) Matt Weddle - Hey Ya (Acoustic Cover)
10) Mike Doughty - Fort Hood
11) Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
12) White Hinterland - Dreaming of the Plum Trees
13) Langhorne Slim - Restless
14) Lykke Li - Little Bit
15) Chris Bathgate - Serpentine
16) A.A. Bondy - American Hearts
.zip the whole thing!
Disc Two - Sustenance
1) Don Covay - Seesaw
2) Little Junior Parker - Pretty Baby
3) Gene Clark - Spanish Guitar
4) Roger McGuinn - Ballad of Easy Rider
5) Grand Funk Railroad - Feelin' Alright
6) Joe Cocker - Space Captain
7) The Grateful Dead - One More Saturday Night
8) Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night
9) Leonard Cohen - Came So Far for Beauty
10) Eric Clapton with Robert Cray - Old Love
11) Beck - Feather in Your Cap
12) The Spencer Davis Group - Keep On Running
13) Amy Winehouse - Monkey Man
14) Stevie Wonder - Keep On Running
.zip the whole thing!
Notes: Disc One
1) Thanks, Mike.
2) Hooray for chants, claps, and ukuleles. That's ukuleles, plural.
10) This is dedicated to The Real Theatre Company.
16) The chorus smacks of John Adams. Both are perfect.
Notes: Disc Two
10) I found some old tablature when I went home for Easter. This sticks out as one I loved to play and listen to for hours. As Rob Gordon might've said, "I'll stick that in the summer of 2003 pile, but I'll have to remember I played it for someone who'd never really appreciate it. Much the same, I don't think she ever really appreciated me." Woe is me, Rob. Woe is me.
11) Dude, the Deluxe Edition of Odelay rulz!
12, 13) Run, see Run Fatboy, Run! A friend said, "It looks cheesy and sappy." Well, it's both, but it's good. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
or How I Survived The Lenten Season
I gave up sugar for Lent - not all sugars, just the simple ones. And it was hard. I eat chocolate. Every day. As we speak, I'm eating a milk/white chocolate chip cookie from this place called Dessert Delivery: Say It With Flour in midtown. So, I needed something to satiate me during these forty days and forty nights spent trolling the dessert-free desert that is sugarless living.
I found the following:
Disc One - (Mostly) New Treats
1) The Dodos - Jody
2) The Acorn - Flood Pt. 1
3) White Denim - ShakeShakeShake
4) Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
5) Jamie Lidell - Little Bit of Feel Good
6) Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul
7) Ana Serrano van der Laan - Paradise
8) Stephany - Shame
9) Matt Weddle - Hey Ya (Acoustic Cover)
10) Mike Doughty - Fort Hood
11) Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
12) White Hinterland - Dreaming of the Plum Trees
13) Langhorne Slim - Restless
14) Lykke Li - Little Bit
15) Chris Bathgate - Serpentine
16) A.A. Bondy - American Hearts
.zip the whole thing!
Disc Two - Sustenance
1) Don Covay - Seesaw
2) Little Junior Parker - Pretty Baby
3) Gene Clark - Spanish Guitar
4) Roger McGuinn - Ballad of Easy Rider
5) Grand Funk Railroad - Feelin' Alright
6) Joe Cocker - Space Captain
7) The Grateful Dead - One More Saturday Night
8) Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night
9) Leonard Cohen - Came So Far for Beauty
10) Eric Clapton with Robert Cray - Old Love
11) Beck - Feather in Your Cap
12) The Spencer Davis Group - Keep On Running
13) Amy Winehouse - Monkey Man
14) Stevie Wonder - Keep On Running
.zip the whole thing!
Notes: Disc One
1) Thanks, Mike.
2) Hooray for chants, claps, and ukuleles. That's ukuleles, plural.
10) This is dedicated to The Real Theatre Company.
16) The chorus smacks of John Adams. Both are perfect.
Notes: Disc Two
10) I found some old tablature when I went home for Easter. This sticks out as one I loved to play and listen to for hours. As Rob Gordon might've said, "I'll stick that in the summer of 2003 pile, but I'll have to remember I played it for someone who'd never really appreciate it. Much the same, I don't think she ever really appreciated me." Woe is me, Rob. Woe is me.
11) Dude, the Deluxe Edition of Odelay rulz!
12, 13) Run, see Run Fatboy, Run! A friend said, "It looks cheesy and sappy." Well, it's both, but it's good. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
When I saw this commercial during the Oscars, I leaned to one of my roommates and said, "I love the look of this commercial. I'd really like to work with this director some day. I saw the commercial again tonight at the movies, and of course I Googled it. Famed photographer, Bruce Weber directed it. So, way out of my price range, but I love it. Apparently, girl who steps on the birthday cake in her wellies is causing quite a stir.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Fever of Fevrier
February has come and gone, this a leap year, and I've come out relatively unscathed comparatively speaking. That said, this month has found me faced with the possibility of leaving fair New York for perhaps fairer surroundings. Regardless, I will soldier on.
This is the first February I've had in New York that didn't involve some social or physical breakdown (aka break-up/illness). The only fever I've had this month has been for that of music.
1) Eels - Taking a bath in rust
2) Man Man - Top Drawer
3) Jackie Paris - Make Me Smile
4) Jack Johnson - Hope
5) nada surf - Are You Lightning?
6) The Staple Singers - The Weight
7) The Everybodyfields - be miner
8) Dirty on Purpose - Lake Effect
9) Mystery Jets (feat. Laura Marling) - Young Love
10) Paul Westerberg - Waiting for Somebody
11) Oliver Future - Stranger Than the Stranger
12) She and Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
13) Throw Me The Statue - Your Girlfriend's Car
14) Ryan McPhun and The Ruby Suns - Maasai Mara
15) The Panderers - Come On
16) Arizona - Through the Soot
17) Chris Walla - Sing Again
18) Baron Von Bear - Live off the Land
19) Sheryl Crow - Love Is Free
20) The Format - Janet
21) Bonnie "Prince" Billy - My Life
22) Phosphorescent - I Am A Full Grown Man (I Will Lay in the Grass All Day)
.zip the whole thing!
Eels, which I didn't discover until DJing in Ireland, is fabulous, and his release this year, Useless Trinkets, is a gem of a discovery. So many wonderful tracks, I find one suits just about any mood. I hope to see Man Man perform. This ragamuffin group seems just so exciting; I can't imagine their live show as anything but shockingly unique. As for JJ, around Patagonia, there's a saying, WWJJD, and I think he slept through the recording of his latest album. This may be the only standout. I heard the Staple Singers' "Weight" when listening to a bunch of other Stax recordings including Stax Does Motown and The Beatles, and this version really does it for me. Paul Westerberg, a favorite, gave this song to personal hero Cameron Crowe for Singles. It's been used, to great effect in the trailer for Smart People.
So many of these songs make me think of people in my life - past, present, future. Most of them make me think of girls. "Stranger Than the Stranger" and the story behind it - Austin band writes songs of loneliness once relocating to LA - made me think of Miles. Sheryl Crowe, homegirl's got it goin' on. She's still someone I use as a sort of weather vane. I really got into her music during my junior year of college. I was encouraged to seek out the music of my 'homeland' by a rather inspirational poetry professor, and I somehow came to fellow St. Louisan Crowe's cannon. I still think she's pretty good. She's no Zooey Deschanel, though. She and Him, her collab with M Ward just tickles me pink. I think she's the beeskuhnees, dacatspyjamjams. And how about The Format's break up? So sad to learn of that. But Bonnie Bill's so cool to do a Frank cover. So cool. I leave you with Phosphorescent. Saw him last night at Union Hall. Such presence. Eyes like tractor beams. As he travels westward, may you catch his gaze, or better still, may he catch yours.
February has come and gone, this a leap year, and I've come out relatively unscathed comparatively speaking. That said, this month has found me faced with the possibility of leaving fair New York for perhaps fairer surroundings. Regardless, I will soldier on.
This is the first February I've had in New York that didn't involve some social or physical breakdown (aka break-up/illness). The only fever I've had this month has been for that of music.
1) Eels - Taking a bath in rust
2) Man Man - Top Drawer
3) Jackie Paris - Make Me Smile
4) Jack Johnson - Hope
5) nada surf - Are You Lightning?
6) The Staple Singers - The Weight
7) The Everybodyfields - be miner
8) Dirty on Purpose - Lake Effect
9) Mystery Jets (feat. Laura Marling) - Young Love
10) Paul Westerberg - Waiting for Somebody
11) Oliver Future - Stranger Than the Stranger
12) She and Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
13) Throw Me The Statue - Your Girlfriend's Car
14) Ryan McPhun and The Ruby Suns - Maasai Mara
15) The Panderers - Come On
16) Arizona - Through the Soot
17) Chris Walla - Sing Again
18) Baron Von Bear - Live off the Land
19) Sheryl Crow - Love Is Free
20) The Format - Janet
21) Bonnie "Prince" Billy - My Life
22) Phosphorescent - I Am A Full Grown Man (I Will Lay in the Grass All Day)
.zip the whole thing!
Eels, which I didn't discover until DJing in Ireland, is fabulous, and his release this year, Useless Trinkets, is a gem of a discovery. So many wonderful tracks, I find one suits just about any mood. I hope to see Man Man perform. This ragamuffin group seems just so exciting; I can't imagine their live show as anything but shockingly unique. As for JJ, around Patagonia, there's a saying, WWJJD, and I think he slept through the recording of his latest album. This may be the only standout. I heard the Staple Singers' "Weight" when listening to a bunch of other Stax recordings including Stax Does Motown and The Beatles, and this version really does it for me. Paul Westerberg, a favorite, gave this song to personal hero Cameron Crowe for Singles. It's been used, to great effect in the trailer for Smart People.
So many of these songs make me think of people in my life - past, present, future. Most of them make me think of girls. "Stranger Than the Stranger" and the story behind it - Austin band writes songs of loneliness once relocating to LA - made me think of Miles. Sheryl Crowe, homegirl's got it goin' on. She's still someone I use as a sort of weather vane. I really got into her music during my junior year of college. I was encouraged to seek out the music of my 'homeland' by a rather inspirational poetry professor, and I somehow came to fellow St. Louisan Crowe's cannon. I still think she's pretty good. She's no Zooey Deschanel, though. She and Him, her collab with M Ward just tickles me pink. I think she's the beeskuhnees, dacatspyjamjams. And how about The Format's break up? So sad to learn of that. But Bonnie Bill's so cool to do a Frank cover. So cool. I leave you with Phosphorescent. Saw him last night at Union Hall. Such presence. Eyes like tractor beams. As he travels westward, may you catch his gaze, or better still, may he catch yours.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
This is new music for 2008.
The January Man
1) Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
2) Barton Carroll - Brooklyn Girl, You're Going To Be My Bride
3) Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - Pierce Avenue
4) Bon Iver - Skinny Love
5) Sia - Playground
6) Dr. Dog - I'm Standing in the Light
7) Patrick Watson - The Great Escape
8) The Hot Toddies - HTML
9) Nada Surf - I Like What You Say
10) Bell XI - Flame (Chicken Lips Mix)
11) Eric Lindell - Lay Back Down
12) Cat Power - Metal Heart
13) Drive-By Truckers - 3 Dimes Down
14) Anna Kramer & The Lost Cause - All Those Pretty Things
15) Liam Finn - Second Chance
16) Low - Breaker
17) Sia - Buttons
18) MGMT - Electric Feel
19) Ruby Suns - Tane Mahuta
20) Arizona - Fairly Light Mix 1
21) Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - January Man
22) Bonnie "Prince" Billy - World's Greatest
The January Man
1) Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
2) Barton Carroll - Brooklyn Girl, You're Going To Be My Bride
3) Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - Pierce Avenue
4) Bon Iver - Skinny Love
5) Sia - Playground
6) Dr. Dog - I'm Standing in the Light
7) Patrick Watson - The Great Escape
8) The Hot Toddies - HTML
9) Nada Surf - I Like What You Say
10) Bell XI - Flame (Chicken Lips Mix)
11) Eric Lindell - Lay Back Down
12) Cat Power - Metal Heart
13) Drive-By Truckers - 3 Dimes Down
14) Anna Kramer & The Lost Cause - All Those Pretty Things
15) Liam Finn - Second Chance
16) Low - Breaker
17) Sia - Buttons
18) MGMT - Electric Feel
19) Ruby Suns - Tane Mahuta
20) Arizona - Fairly Light Mix 1
21) Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - January Man
22) Bonnie "Prince" Billy - World's Greatest
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Ok, jerks. Here's the latest. I think this mix has reached its potency. Its potential. I am jiving on a couple glasses of wine, and I've just finished reading Diablo Cody's s.p. for Juno. It puts the silent "n" in "damn good."
Let me know, there again, if I can hook you up with any of these songs.
Something for a New Year
1) Randy Newman - Political Science
2) Coconut Records - It's Not You It's Me
3) Rivers Cuomo - Lover in the Snow
4) Ryan Adams - Starlite Diner
5) Coldplay - 2000 Miles (The Pretenders cover)
6) Tom Waits - There's a Place for Us
7) Bob Dylan - The Man in Me
8) George Harrison - If Not for You
9) The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You
10) Barry Louis Polisar - All I Want is You
11) Ryan Adams - Perfect and True
12) Warren Zevon - Searching for a Heart
13) Matt Costa - Never Looking Back
14) Elvis Costello - Imagination (Is a Powerful Deceiver)
15) Joy Division - Atmosphere
16) The Moldy Peaches - Lazy Confessions
17) Cat Power - Sea of Love
18) Stephen Malkmus & Lee Ranaldo - Can't Leave Her Behind
19) Josh Ritter - The Temptation of Adam
20) Van Dyke Parks - Keep Me in Your Heart (Strings Only)
21) Randy Newman - A Few Words in Defense of Our Country
1), 20) - Randy Newman is one of my favorite songwriters, and he's by far my favorite satirist. These two figurative gems, crafted from the man's mind's ore, are truly just gorgeous takes from two different eras of political conflict in our young country's existence. Freakin' amazing how pertinent track one (1972) is today, and just gut-wrenching how true track twenty-one (2007) rings today.
2) Jason Schwartzman just might be the most talented guy my age. Go, go, Schwartz! Go! Hey, ask your cousin Nic to make another Leaving Las Vegas. I miss him, but I like money.
9), 16) Adam, my old friend, who was always much cooler than me, probably still is, introduced this band to me - along with the Gadjits - when we were juniors in college. He brought this CD back from Christmas break... and then our dorm burned down. Coincidence? I don't think so. Kimya... you are incendiary.
12), 20) Another songwriter hero of mine. I've been listening to "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" a lot lately.
15) Control. The only other movie this year I've seen twice.
17) I loved Robert Plant's cover of this when he was with that supergroup, The Honeydrippers in the eighties [Page, Plant, (Jeff) Beck, Setzer, Schafer (... yes, Paul Schafer)]. I used to listen to it incessantly at swim meets. What do you think that says about me?
19) Most beautiful song of the year. Mr. Probst, you're right. Paste Mag has a great vid of JR talking about the crafting of this one.
Let me know, there again, if I can hook you up with any of these songs.
Something for a New Year
1) Randy Newman - Political Science
2) Coconut Records - It's Not You It's Me
3) Rivers Cuomo - Lover in the Snow
4) Ryan Adams - Starlite Diner
5) Coldplay - 2000 Miles (The Pretenders cover)
6) Tom Waits - There's a Place for Us
7) Bob Dylan - The Man in Me
8) George Harrison - If Not for You
9) The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You
10) Barry Louis Polisar - All I Want is You
11) Ryan Adams - Perfect and True
12) Warren Zevon - Searching for a Heart
13) Matt Costa - Never Looking Back
14) Elvis Costello - Imagination (Is a Powerful Deceiver)
15) Joy Division - Atmosphere
16) The Moldy Peaches - Lazy Confessions
17) Cat Power - Sea of Love
18) Stephen Malkmus & Lee Ranaldo - Can't Leave Her Behind
19) Josh Ritter - The Temptation of Adam
20) Van Dyke Parks - Keep Me in Your Heart (Strings Only)
21) Randy Newman - A Few Words in Defense of Our Country
1), 20) - Randy Newman is one of my favorite songwriters, and he's by far my favorite satirist. These two figurative gems, crafted from the man's mind's ore, are truly just gorgeous takes from two different eras of political conflict in our young country's existence. Freakin' amazing how pertinent track one (1972) is today, and just gut-wrenching how true track twenty-one (2007) rings today.
2) Jason Schwartzman just might be the most talented guy my age. Go, go, Schwartz! Go! Hey, ask your cousin Nic to make another Leaving Las Vegas. I miss him, but I like money.
9), 16) Adam, my old friend, who was always much cooler than me, probably still is, introduced this band to me - along with the Gadjits - when we were juniors in college. He brought this CD back from Christmas break... and then our dorm burned down. Coincidence? I don't think so. Kimya... you are incendiary.
12), 20) Another songwriter hero of mine. I've been listening to "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" a lot lately.
15) Control. The only other movie this year I've seen twice.
17) I loved Robert Plant's cover of this when he was with that supergroup, The Honeydrippers in the eighties [Page, Plant, (Jeff) Beck, Setzer, Schafer (... yes, Paul Schafer)]. I used to listen to it incessantly at swim meets. What do you think that says about me?
19) Most beautiful song of the year. Mr. Probst, you're right. Paste Mag has a great vid of JR talking about the crafting of this one.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
I'm just going with it... There are several mixes I've not posted just from being busy.
This is sort of the longest running one. Based on the title, I think I made it somewhere around the first of November. I don't think anyone downloads these mixes anymore. If you want it, just leave me a comment.
Souls for Saints
1) Ryan Adams - If I Am a Stranger
2) Eels - Manchild
3) Eels - Bad News
4) Jackson Browne - These Days
5) Bob Dylan & The Band - Forever Young
6) Levon Helm - The Mountain
7) Jeff Tweedy - Simple Twist of Fate
8) The Allman Brothers Band - Blue Sky
9) The Rolling Stones - Salt of the Earth
10) Ollabelle - Soul of a Man
11) Norah Jones - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
12) Dr. John - Wade in the Water
13) Jack Johnson with ALO - I Shall Be Released
14) Antony & The Johnsons - Knockin' on Heaven's Door
15) John Doe - Pressing on
16) Jeff Buckley - Satisfied Mind
17) Aphex Twin - Avril 14
18) Nicole Reynolds - In the Morning
19) Devendra Banhart - At the Hop
20) Bob Dylan - Sign On the Window
She's heavy on Dylan and his covers, but she's pretty good. I'm going to fall asleep to her right now.
This is sort of the longest running one. Based on the title, I think I made it somewhere around the first of November. I don't think anyone downloads these mixes anymore. If you want it, just leave me a comment.
Souls for Saints
1) Ryan Adams - If I Am a Stranger
2) Eels - Manchild
3) Eels - Bad News
4) Jackson Browne - These Days
5) Bob Dylan & The Band - Forever Young
6) Levon Helm - The Mountain
7) Jeff Tweedy - Simple Twist of Fate
8) The Allman Brothers Band - Blue Sky
9) The Rolling Stones - Salt of the Earth
10) Ollabelle - Soul of a Man
11) Norah Jones - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
12) Dr. John - Wade in the Water
13) Jack Johnson with ALO - I Shall Be Released
14) Antony & The Johnsons - Knockin' on Heaven's Door
15) John Doe - Pressing on
16) Jeff Buckley - Satisfied Mind
17) Aphex Twin - Avril 14
18) Nicole Reynolds - In the Morning
19) Devendra Banhart - At the Hop
20) Bob Dylan - Sign On the Window
She's heavy on Dylan and his covers, but she's pretty good. I'm going to fall asleep to her right now.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Watch Donovan sing "To Sing for You," the plain, somewhat plaintive song with its obvious message, as Dylan chidingly chimes in with "Hey, that's a good song, man." Ripping the axe from Don's hand, Dylan snarls his way through a searing, sneering version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." One can't help wondering if Dylan was sending his contemporary sing/songwriter some sort of message. Then again, Dylan steadfastly denies writing songs with a message.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Last night, at The Beacon Theatre, I attended a concert promoting the release of Todd Haynes' new film, I'm Not There. The Roots were last to perform; they received a standing ovation - and rightly so - after their stirring, sousaphone-infused rendition of "Masters of War." I haven't been to a show this good in a long, long time.
The video is from a DC show earlier this year. The sound quality is right on.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
1) Satyajit Ray – Charu’s Theme
2) Talking Heads – This Must Be the Place (Live)
3) Stevie Ray Vaughan – Little Wing
4) Tom Petty – Square One
5) Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
6) Eric Clapton – Motherless Child
7) Neil Young – Homegrown
8) Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, & The Foggy Mountain Boys – Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms
9) Ryan Adams – My Love for You Is Real (Live)
10) Ray LaMontagne & Damien Rice – To Love Somebody (Live)
11) Ray LaMontagne – So Long Away
12) Taj Mahal – Corrina
13) Dr. John – Such a Night
14) Ceu – Lenda
15) Rufus Wainwright – Instant Pleasure
16) The Be Good Tanyas – Midnight Moonlight
17) The Shivers – Beauty
18) The Allman Brothers Band – One Way Out
19) Dr. John – New Island Midnight
20) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Jungleland
Bonus:
Helen Highfield – Easy to Be Hard
Laura Sessoms – Frank Mills
.zip the whole thing!
2) Talking Heads – This Must Be the Place (Live)
3) Stevie Ray Vaughan – Little Wing
4) Tom Petty – Square One
5) Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
6) Eric Clapton – Motherless Child
7) Neil Young – Homegrown
8) Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, & The Foggy Mountain Boys – Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms
9) Ryan Adams – My Love for You Is Real (Live)
10) Ray LaMontagne & Damien Rice – To Love Somebody (Live)
11) Ray LaMontagne – So Long Away
12) Taj Mahal – Corrina
13) Dr. John – Such a Night
14) Ceu – Lenda
15) Rufus Wainwright – Instant Pleasure
16) The Be Good Tanyas – Midnight Moonlight
17) The Shivers – Beauty
18) The Allman Brothers Band – One Way Out
19) Dr. John – New Island Midnight
20) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Jungleland
Bonus:
Helen Highfield – Easy to Be Hard
Laura Sessoms – Frank Mills
.zip the whole thing!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Augustus Gloop
1) The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix)
2) Golden Smog - Radio King ::: Jeff Tweedy, Live in a living room
3) Iron and Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
4) Josh Ritter - Wait for Love
5) Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane ::: (Live 5/13/07)
6) Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness (Live at Monterey, 1967)
7) Donny Hathaway - You've Got a Friend (Live)
8) Marvin Gaye - Piece of Clay
9) Citizen Cope - Holdin' On
10) Damien Rice - Rootless Tree
11) Grateful Dead - Brokedown Palace
12) Josh Ritter - Wait for Love (You Know You Will)
13) Taj Mahal - Queen Bee
14) Freedy Johnston - Bad Reputation
15) Cat Power - Lived in Bars::: (Live 11/11/05)
16) Fionn Regan - Be Good or Be Gone
17) George Fenton & Ravi Shankar - Partition / End of the Fast
18) Bruce Hornsby - Wondering Where the Lions Are
19) Bob Dylan - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
20) Mike & The Mechanics - Looking Back Over My Shoulder
21) Elvis Costello - Alison
22) The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
23) Jose Gonzalez - Teardrop::: (Live)
24) Billie Holiday - Let's Do It
25) Judy Garland - What'll I Do (Live on The Judy Garland Show)
26) Brenda Lee - Break It To Me Gently
27) Joan Armatrading - Down to Zero
28) Van Morrison - Virgo Clowns
29) Ray Charles - I Can See Clearly Now
30) The Beach Boys - I Was Made to Love Her
31) Patty Griffin - Heavenly Day
32) Lucinda Williams - Are You Alright?
.zip AUGUSTUS GLOOP HERE.
"This is a pretty good mix," I caught myself saying just minutes ago. I make these mixes just about every week, fully intending to post them sooner than ever I do, and then a month passes and you fine folks get sort of a month's worth of greatest hits from those weekly trial mixes.
And so I give you Augustus Gloop, named thusly because I found myself scarfing hoards of chocolate whilst watching the husky little Augustus fall in a river of the stuff late one night in the first week of this month, August. I may be failing at this whole giving up chocolate thing, but at least I am trying.
1) I think this was on the Motown 1s remixed CD. I love the control room, I love little Michael's "Yeah, yeah!" in the beginning, and I love how smooth it sounds.
6) The "got-ta, got-ta, got-ta" part hits my heart like the bullets of a machine gun's ray. This summer marks the fortieth anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. God save us.
7) A recording will occasionally come along and make me say, "Damn, I wish I was there for this!" This is one of those recordings. Play it in the morning on your way to work, or to work out, you'll sing along. You may even attempt to sing in harmony.
8) One of my favorite poems is William Blake's "The Clod and The Pebble" from The Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Add "Piece of Clay" to that list.
9)
I've been watching Prime incessantly. The scene in which this plays is one of the more beautifully shot. This film speaks to me in so many ways. It tells of a lot which I've been dealing with lately, and it does so around some of the very (apparently picturesque) streets where I deal with those things - namely mother/son relationships, art vs. work, New York, breaking up, and ... breaking up... in and around SoHo and the West Village.
10) Speaking of, "Suddenly I'm down in [Union] Square. Look around. Your face is everywhere." I was prompted to pull this oldy but goody out when a tiny tot with a Freedy t-shirt sold me cookies at the Greenmarket by my house. Check out Noah Baumbach's brilliant Kicking and Screaming.
17) Can't stop watching this movie! This photo has haunted me.
20) We all know I'm a humongous fan of Paul Carrack. He's the definition of "male pop vocals" - at least in my dictionary. Well, I'd forgotten about this one until loading up on my favorite cheesy pop for the dance parties in my hotel room during my recent trip to Allentown, PA. Another song for the morning. Let it replace your coffee, if only for a day.
22) The first of TV commercial head-turners. Amstel Light:
25) The second: Diet Coke.
29, 30) Along with the earlier Hathaway track, it was a month for covers. I love both of these very much. Ray can do no wrong, and The Beach Boys do alright by this one. I think I love the roughness of it, the under-polished quality, however deliberately so it may have been done.
32) Caught this on Allentown's NPR station and was reminded of how much I loved this album. When she's on... she's on! This song couldn't have hit me at a better moment either. By the end of it, I found myself lying on my bed, face down, having a cry while my Shakespeare in the Park roommate was in the shower. Thanks Lucinda. Catharsis never felt so good.
1) The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix)
2) Golden Smog - Radio King ::: Jeff Tweedy, Live in a living room
3) Iron and Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
4) Josh Ritter - Wait for Love
5) Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane ::: (Live 5/13/07)
6) Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness (Live at Monterey, 1967)
7) Donny Hathaway - You've Got a Friend (Live)
8) Marvin Gaye - Piece of Clay
9) Citizen Cope - Holdin' On
10) Damien Rice - Rootless Tree
11) Grateful Dead - Brokedown Palace
12) Josh Ritter - Wait for Love (You Know You Will)
13) Taj Mahal - Queen Bee
14) Freedy Johnston - Bad Reputation
15) Cat Power - Lived in Bars::: (Live 11/11/05)
16) Fionn Regan - Be Good or Be Gone
17) George Fenton & Ravi Shankar - Partition / End of the Fast
18) Bruce Hornsby - Wondering Where the Lions Are
19) Bob Dylan - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
20) Mike & The Mechanics - Looking Back Over My Shoulder
21) Elvis Costello - Alison
22) The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
23) Jose Gonzalez - Teardrop::: (Live)
24) Billie Holiday - Let's Do It
25) Judy Garland - What'll I Do (Live on The Judy Garland Show)
26) Brenda Lee - Break It To Me Gently
27) Joan Armatrading - Down to Zero
28) Van Morrison - Virgo Clowns
29) Ray Charles - I Can See Clearly Now
30) The Beach Boys - I Was Made to Love Her
31) Patty Griffin - Heavenly Day
32) Lucinda Williams - Are You Alright?
.zip AUGUSTUS GLOOP HERE.
"This is a pretty good mix," I caught myself saying just minutes ago. I make these mixes just about every week, fully intending to post them sooner than ever I do, and then a month passes and you fine folks get sort of a month's worth of greatest hits from those weekly trial mixes.
And so I give you Augustus Gloop, named thusly because I found myself scarfing hoards of chocolate whilst watching the husky little Augustus fall in a river of the stuff late one night in the first week of this month, August. I may be failing at this whole giving up chocolate thing, but at least I am trying.
1) I think this was on the Motown 1s remixed CD. I love the control room, I love little Michael's "Yeah, yeah!" in the beginning, and I love how smooth it sounds.
6) The "got-ta, got-ta, got-ta" part hits my heart like the bullets of a machine gun's ray. This summer marks the fortieth anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. God save us.
7) A recording will occasionally come along and make me say, "Damn, I wish I was there for this!" This is one of those recordings. Play it in the morning on your way to work, or to work out, you'll sing along. You may even attempt to sing in harmony.
8) One of my favorite poems is William Blake's "The Clod and The Pebble" from The Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Add "Piece of Clay" to that list.
9)
I've been watching Prime incessantly. The scene in which this plays is one of the more beautifully shot. This film speaks to me in so many ways. It tells of a lot which I've been dealing with lately, and it does so around some of the very (apparently picturesque) streets where I deal with those things - namely mother/son relationships, art vs. work, New York, breaking up, and ... breaking up... in and around SoHo and the West Village.10) Speaking of, "Suddenly I'm down in [Union] Square. Look around. Your face is everywhere." I was prompted to pull this oldy but goody out when a tiny tot with a Freedy t-shirt sold me cookies at the Greenmarket by my house. Check out Noah Baumbach's brilliant Kicking and Screaming.
17) Can't stop watching this movie! This photo has haunted me.20) We all know I'm a humongous fan of Paul Carrack. He's the definition of "male pop vocals" - at least in my dictionary. Well, I'd forgotten about this one until loading up on my favorite cheesy pop for the dance parties in my hotel room during my recent trip to Allentown, PA. Another song for the morning. Let it replace your coffee, if only for a day.
22) The first of TV commercial head-turners. Amstel Light:
25) The second: Diet Coke.
29, 30) Along with the earlier Hathaway track, it was a month for covers. I love both of these very much. Ray can do no wrong, and The Beach Boys do alright by this one. I think I love the roughness of it, the under-polished quality, however deliberately so it may have been done.
32) Caught this on Allentown's NPR station and was reminded of how much I loved this album. When she's on... she's on! This song couldn't have hit me at a better moment either. By the end of it, I found myself lying on my bed, face down, having a cry while my Shakespeare in the Park roommate was in the shower. Thanks Lucinda. Catharsis never felt so good.
Monday, August 27, 2007
I know I already posted this video earlier this summer, but seriously, dude's the coolest! That Kanye has a great sense of humor. Will Oldham's giggling at the antics of my hero ZG cracks me up.
Kanye West - Can't Tell Me Nothing
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