This is not music criticism. On this blog, you will only read about music we like.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
PS I Love You: "Facelove" from Meet Me at the Muster Station
Video for "Facelove":
Website: PS I Love You Myspace
To order the disc: PS I Love You: Meet Me at the Muster Station
Friday, January 14, 2011
All Hail the Bar Band (and Casey Neill and the Norway Rats)
By: Jim Desmond (like the founder of this fine blog, a true believer in rock’n’roll and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I appreciate John asking me to write here. I too once lived in Nashville, 1978-81. And my favorite bar band there was Tim Krekel and the Sluggers.).
Some more old stuff, and some really old stuff.
More than Sonny Liston
Some like K.K. Downing
More than Glenn Tipton
Some like Jim Nabors
Some Bobby Vinton
I like 'em all.
* * *
But I especially like K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton. I can't remember whether I was watching Bert Sugarman's Midnight Special or Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, but it was past my bedtime in 1979 when I saw Rob Halford drive a Harley Davidson out onto the stage as Judas Priest pounded out "Hell Bent for Leather". To the extent it's possible, my tastes back then -- I was not yet old enough to drive to the record store -- were more pedestrian than they are today, although I was not as self-consciously proud of my vulgar leanings then. Judas Priest would have played that song -- with Glenn and K.K. trading leads, as was their practice -- and the show would have cut to commercial. I was transfixed by the spectacle to the point that I can't remember who played next. Probably Christopher Cross or the Atlanta Rhythm Section or some such. Maybe it was something good though. There was a lot of great music that came out that year. 'The Wall' was everywhere, and all the cool people were listening to 'London Calling' (I knew one Clash song then). The Police and Joe Jackson were actually becoming famous. But 1979 saw some classic albums by less famous bands like The Specials, Joy Division, and Gang of Four. It would be some years before I'd ever hear of these people. Johnny Rotten already had formed a new band. Cheap Trick did their Budokan record.
For me, though, 1979 happened when Judas Priest came back for their second song, 'Green Manalishi'. To me, it was, and in many ways remains, pure heavy metal. And I don't even know what the hell a manalishi is. Oh, and to the extent you don't know, K.K. Downing is the one who looks like David St. Hubbins.
It would be decades before I came to know that this song, with such ridiculously awesome lyrics like "the night is so black that the darkness cooks", was a freaking cover! Of a Fleetwood Mac song! It was from the Peter Green version of the band, and is just a phenomenal piece of psychedelia. I found a beautifully stretched out version of it, which is below.
I love it when bands cover other bands' songs, especially, as here, where they respectfully rearrange a great song and then play it like they mean it.
Anyway, Judas Priest was a true music milepost for me. And it ended up being the only brush I had with parental censorship. A year or so later, I asked my mom to take me to the mall so I could go to the Record Bar and buy a new album. She waited in the car while I ran in, and in a couple of minutes I came out with my copy of "British Steel". My mom looked sourly at the hand with the razor blade emblazoned with "JUDAS PRIEST".
"What is that? Some sort of devil worshiper music?"
"No maam."
Gregg Allman: Low Country Blues (NPR First Listen)
They'll have it streaming on NPR's All Songs Considered until January 18, when the disc will be available for purchase. Highly recommended.
Link: Gregg Allman: Low Country Blues (NPR First Listen)
Here's Jim Fusili's WSJ article about the making of this album:
Allman's Latest Blues Were a Source of Hope
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Old stuff Friday: Saxophone Edition
Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band made the sax a featured instrument, and its player, a celebrity. I was fortunate to see the gang kick off their Thunder Road tour, and springboard to national attention, at the Bottom Line in New York in the summer of '75.
Horns, particularly trombones, were part of the ska scene in Jamaica in the '60s, and were a part of the second wave ska revival in England in the late 70s and early '80s. But one group from Birmingham, The English Beat, made the sax part of its signature ska/pop sound. This first video appears to be from the Notting Hill Festival in London.
And here is their anti-Thatcher "Stand Down Margaret, which in concert often was fused with the old Prince Buster sex romp "Whine and Grine".
And finally, for one of the most innovative uses of the sax, Morphine. Mark Sandman, the visionary behind Morphine, decided that all riffs that normally could be played by a lead guitar could be played better, and "chunkier", by a sax. So he formed a three piece with himself on bass, and Dana Colley on sax. The music from Morphine ended in '99 when Sandman died of a heart attack on stage.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
New Sounds of Scotland: Bwani Junction, Astral Planes, Wake the President
The focus here is on bands unlikely to have had any airplay in the states, and may not even be signed to a label.
The first band is Bwani Junction, from Edinburgh. Yes, they are named after the old Hollywood movie of the same name. I'm not sure whether bands enjoy having bloggers comment on possible influences, or at least bands with similarities, but it inescapably comes with the territory. One potential touchstone is Vampire Weekend, but I submit that the boys could have just as well listened to West African 70s psych bands on their own. At times they also sound like a good Seattle band called Minus the Bear.
Website: Bwani Junction Myspace
Facebook: Bwani Junction Facebook
"Two Bridges" is my favorite of the Bwani Junction songs to which I've listened, but I like the others as well. Try out "Goodnight Grievo" and "Bianco" on the Myspace page. Their Facebook page has some videos.
At this point Bwani Junction isn't fully cooked, but it is a band with a lot of potential. I may try to kick someone at Sub Pop to give them a look.
The next band is a Glasgow band with a harder edge. They are now called the Astral Planes but when they recorded "Doris Day" (a single) for Say Dirty Records they were known as Paper Planes. Without researching in detail, I think it likely to be the only Glasgow rock band fronted by a woman from New Jersey.
Website: Astral Planes Myspace
The last band for this post is Wake The President. The lead singer/songwriter and lead guitarist are twin brothers, and they also founded and run a small label named Say Dirty Records in Glasgow. Their 2009 album, "You Can't Change That Boy", from which the first song below is taken, was one of my favorites of the year, and I still play it a couple of times a week.
Website: Wake the President Myspace
J Mascis: "Not Enough" from Several Shades of Why
Link: J Mascis: Several Shades of Why at subpop.com
Odd Box Records Blog Top 20 of 2010
01 Kid Canaveral – Shouting At Wildlife (Straight To Video)
02 Trash Kit – Trash Kit (Upset The Rhythm)
03 Super Wild Horses – Fifteen (Hozac)
04 Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (Young God)
05 Betty and The Werewolves – Tea Time Favourites (Damaged Goods)
Don't recognize the labels, which tells me that these may not all be available in the US, or they may be 2009 or 2011 releases here, you know how that goes...
LINK: Odd Box Blog Top 20 of 2010
Monday, January 10, 2011
Lower Dens: "Holy Water" from Twin Hand Movement
Enjoy:
Website: Lower Dens (follow the link to their myspace page for a few MP3's from the 2010 album)