The Not-Pop Jukebox

I've been wandering through National Public Radio's Road Trip Songs section, and stumbled across a Das EFX song I'd not heard in at least a decade: They Want EFX. My family enjoyed dancing around and hubby and I were entertained by all of the 80s references that completely escaped my little ones. The album, “Dead Serious”, was released in 1992 but the guys had been working together since '88. I don't know if they album name was intended to convince people that they weren't just a pair of jokesters, but listening to the songs should be enough to convince folks that the men had something to say, even if a lot of it was about themselves.

At any rate, enjoy another little bit of nostalgia, if one that's a bit further along the hip-hop time line than my Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick selection from the other day. Perhaps I'll manage to work my way into the current decade by next week. Until then, enjoy the trip.

Buy They Want EFX

DJ Zebra clearly knows how to bring out the sublimely ridiculous in the songs he combines. Few mash-ups, however, have reduced me to tears of hysterical laughter like The Good, The Bad, and The Clash. That's right, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly mashed with The Clash's Should I Stay or Should I Go. You can download 22 tracks or two entire album (32 tracks, total) of famous movie themes combined with well-known songs, including this one and a mash-up of the Beastie Boys's Sabotage with the Mission: Impossible theme, for free. What more could pop culture fans want from a DJ?

I’m in a nostalgic mood today, and nothing says “break dancing in the lunch room” to me like the combination of Inspector Gadget theme song and Doug E Fresh. To this day, a year short of the song’s 25th anniversary, I can’t hear someone say, “six minutes,” without thinking of The Show. Generally, I resist alerting Doug E Fresh to the fact that he’s on, but sometimes I do so without thinking.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the recording history of the man and discovered that he was on American Idol in 2007, reliving his past glories. He’s still around, and he’s a Scientologist who had a track on their all-star album (along with Isaac Hayes and Chick Corea, of all people). I’m not making any judgments about Scientology, tempting though it may be. It does bring to mind another old-school song, though: Living Color’s Cult of Personality. Then again, it may be that the song’s been on my mind since Obama’s inauguration. Since I’m critiquing neither religion nor politics on this blog, I’ll just leave it at that. I still love this song.

Buy The Show

Despite its name, Mushroom Jazz isn't, really. It's a nice groove, with a little sax, very few lyrics, and a decent beat. It also gets into your head and stays there, putting a little bounce in your step. After yesterday's long post, that's about all I feel the need to write, today. WookieFoot deserves a lot more attention than they get, possibly because of their Grateful-Dead-wannabe, hippie image. Their music is amazing.

As someone who grew up saving my dimes and quarters to buy 45s to play on my turntable, I admit to a musical weakness when it comes to some of the records I still keep and play. But honestly, how can you resist something as funky and horn-filled as KC & The Sunshine Band? I have a 45 with (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty on the A side and Boogie Shoes on the B. I’m actually surprised the grooves don’t go all of the way through the vinyl, by this point, no pun intended.

After decades of CD and cassette singles being craptacular substitutes for buying albums (since the cost only half as much), digital music has essentially revived purchasing just a single. What it hasn’t done is force you to get a second song, often one unreleased as a single which you would otherwise never have heard. That’s how I found some of my favorite songs, as a young(er) person. Then again, I couldn’t tell you what’s on the B side of That’s the Way (I Like It), so some of them obviously deserved the obscurity.

All of that was my rambling way of saying that today I’m in a disco-funk mood. Rather than add one of these better-known songs, however, I’m including the less-celebrated I’m Your Boogie Man. Enjoy, and get down!

Buy I'm Your Boogie Man

I wouldn't normally post two videos in a row, but I wandered across the Olle Hemmingsson Trio playing Sweet Georgia Brown, with a tractor for percussion. Not only does this offer a creative way to keep time, but the gents really play the heck out of the song. I don't know what song they play second, but it's well worth watching the video all of the way through. If only the guy recording it would stop making so much noise--he's a bit distracting.

I think I'll do my next Squidoo lens on Sweet Georgia Brown, because it's such a fantastic song and I'll bet there are a thousand Harlem Globetrotters videos available for extra entertainment value. It's a standard that nearly every string musician learns at some point or another, if they have any interest at all in the blues or jazz. It may take me weeks to compile a really good page worth of information on it, but at least I'll get to listen to the song about a thousand times. This video will definitely be spotlighted.

I’m on a bit of a tear with romantic songs, of late. This song takes me back to the beginning of my romance with my now-hubby, when we saw Keb’ Mo’ at the local blues festival (twice) and had his first three albums (autographed, thank you very much) in constant rotation. I don’t like any of the live versions of Dangerous Mood as well as I do the original studio one, which is faster and has a much stronger beat, but he’s such a great performer that I’m including both. The last time I saw him live, he played solo, with just one guy fetching his instruments (guitars, banjo, harmonica) back and forth. Even without the full band, he put on a rousing show, and he played my shouted request. I think I’ve included enough parentheses for you to realize that I’m a huge Keb’ Mo’ fan, but songs like this help to explain why.


Buy Dangerous Mood

While I may not like everything Martin Sexton has recorded, the few of his songs that I like rank among my most favorite songs. Of those, Diner tops the list. It’s bouncy, creative, and has just that little flavor of the bizarre that makes me love it. What else can you say about a song whose chorus begins, “Diner, my shiny, shiny love”?

With Diner, Martin Sexton makes you want to jump up and dance around, but gently rather than by using a driving beat. The song more coaxes you out of your chair with its goofy doo-wop back-up vocals and its sheer, syncopated joy. If you’re a fan of the sit-com "Scrubs", you may have heard this song in a dance montage during Season Two. If you’ve not heard it before, you’re in for a treat.

Buy Diner

I had intended to be witty, or at least obstinate, and post Devo’s A Change Is Gonna Cum (much as I may hate that spelling), as a response to everybody and their brother and other relatives posting Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come. Unfortunately, I don’t have "Smooth Noodle Maps" on my computer, here, and I can’t find it anywhere to include in this post. [Sigh.]

What’s a relatively apolitical girl supposed to do? Post a mash-up, of course! I humbly share with you all Macamuppt, from the apparently-defunct Pilchard.tv. Their blog had only a half-dozen posts on it in 2005 and their web site is 404, but you can still listen to, and download, the song at that link. If I keep finding entertaining versions of Mahna Mahna, I’m going to have to start a separate category for them. This one is The Doors, the Macarena, and the Muppets.

Thank heavens for the HypeMachine, which almost daily introduces me to new artists. Today, Cause=Time introduced me to Manu Chao and Bongo Bong, which led me to spend an hour listening to several of his tracks on LastFM and Grooveshark. Since I’ve already linked you to one song, I’ll add Merry Blues here. This one has an almost reggae sound, with a syncopated beat and some mellow horns, but is by no means representative of Chao's work, which spans a couple-three of continents and half a dozen languages.

As an aside, I must have gotten on a list of bloggers somewhere, because I received an e-mail asking for submissions to the Music Video Awards, to be a part of the Hollywood Film Festival in October, 2009. I don’t know anything about the festival, nor do I own the rights to any music videos to submit, but I thought that those of you who do might be interested in submitting something to get the word out, or to take a shot at winning something.
Buy Merry Blues

Portland, Oregon-based This Fair City described themselves and their first album, “Broken Surfaces”, thus in the e-mail they sent to me:

“[T]he album features haunting viola backed by strong guitar and wailing vocals. Think Fugazi mixed with Sunny Day Real Estate ala [sic] Eastern Block. [It's a] moody, salty-sweet mix of biting lyrics and rock chaos soften [sic] by the viola”.

Were the vocals and guitar crisper, I'd say that the Fugazi reference was right on the money. This Fair City displays a similar but even more disconnected sound. On some tracks, it seems as though the various members have chosen different songs to play that happen to be the same length, so little structure is there in the music.

This Fair City's most successful moments on their EP come in songs like Quite Frankly, when they mellow out and Jason Franklin sings with the band instead of fighting to howl the lyrics over the guitar. The seven-minute-plus final track, In Transit, has some nice moments, when everyone is heading the same direction and you can understand Mr. Franklin. It's the wilder opening tracks that don't hold up as well, with the instruments each doing their own thing and the lyrics buried beneath them. I found it difficult to catch enough words to select a quote for this review, in fact.

If This Fair City shifts their focus to sounding like themselves rather than trying to be an emo band playing post-punk, they may find their groove and have some interesting things to say. If you'd like to listen for yourself, you can head over to the Union Records site and download the album or just pop over to the band's MySpace page. Let me know what you think of This Fair City, if you do. I'm curious to hear how other people receive them.

Lou Reed sings the sort of strange and slightly twisted lyrics that catch my attention. He also has an unusual voice, much like Iggy Pop and David Byrne, and seems unafraid of making unexpected musical choices, also like them. While some folks think of him as a bit of a one-hit wonder, with Walk on the Wild Side, he's actually been performing, recording, and selling for decades. I was going to include Harry's Circumcision for today's post, but thought that it might be a bit of a downer for a lovely Saturday afternoon. Instead, try Sally Can't Dance, to which you can dance, if you feel so inclined. It definitely ranks as one of Lou Reed's more accessible tracks, even if the “Sally Can't Dance” album was widely panned with it first appeared in 1974. The latest digital remastering seems to have fixed some of the sound problems that plagued the vinyl and original CD re-release, although the band still sounds like they're recording in a tunnel, here. I still love the song.

Buy Sally Can't Dance

Ever since I got Taj Mahal’s newest album, “Maestro”, I’ve been getting his version of Bo Diddley’s Diddy Wah Diddy stuck in my head. I can no longer hold back my love of this song, but to resist offending those of you who like other versions, I’ve included half a dozen takes on the song in a playlist below. I still like Taj Mahal’s version best, but this rollicking song makes me want to dance no matter who is playing it. One of these days, I’ll put it together with some other tunes that include the “I knew a girl…” concept. For now, enjoy the various versions of Diddy Wah Diddy, and let me know which is your favorite.

Buy Taj Mahal's Diddy Wah Diddy
Buy Bo Diddley's Diddy Wah Diddy
By the way, I love Grooveshark's widgets, even if they are fiddly to make.

David Byrne continues to pop up in collaborations across genres and styles. Today, I ran across Toe Jam, with The Brighton Port Authority (The BPA) and Dizzee Rascal, and felt that I had to share it with you all. It’s got a nice groove, a few horns, and that unmistakable David Byrne voice. The lyrics, as usual with Mr. Byrne, leave you somewhere between laughter and confusion. There’s also a funky little rap section from Dizzee Rascal. Altogether, it’s a bouncy little piece of fun. You can picture him lying back with his feet up, watching scenes unfold between his toes.

In fact, you can read David Byrne’s own explanation of Toe Jam and watch the video, here. Be warned, black-bar censoring of nudity is the point of the video. If you’re easily shocked, don’t click.

Buy Toe Jam

I’m grouchy today, and nothing new appeals, so I’m reaching back to Tower of Power, doin’ it the East Bay Way, for a nice, funky groove that I know I like. I discovered ToP when I lived not far from the East Bay in question, and was immediately drawn to the funk and the horns. I was going to post Spank-a-Dang, but I thought something with words might fit the bill better. If you like East Bay Way, try So I Got To Groove or Rhythm and Business. The band reminds me of the best parts of Kool & the Gang and Earth, Wind, and Fire, which should be enough recommendation for anyone who likes to get down and get funky.

Buy East Bay Way

Some days, you just want to hear more of an artist from whom you’ve only heard a little. In exploring Grooveshark, I decided that today was my day to hear more Cibo Matto. I started with Spoon, and thought it was as good a track as any of theirs to include. It showcases the horns and contrasts that hold through everything the ladies play. I knew a couple of the songs off their debut album, “Viva! La Woman”, but I wanted to hear more.

If you don’t know Cibo Matto’s music, imagine almost stream-of-consciousness lyrics about everyday subjects (things like Birthday Cake, Clouds, and Sugar Water) that veer off into observations that get bizarre and almost dream-like, as in Know Your Chicken, White Pepper Ice Cream, and the pseudo-rap Sci-Fi Wasabi. I fear that the ladies tread close to the pop line, with their “Stereo Type A” album, but the songs are varied, layered, and just altogether complicated enough, in my opinion, to escape that label. Besides, I like their sound, so I’m sharing them with you here, anyway.

Buy Spoon

I'm trying something new, as I explore the possibilities of Grooveshark for finding music. If the widget is as clean here as it appears on their site, and if I can find as many songs there as I have at imeem, I'll probably start using theirs exclusively. As a test, enjoy Procol Harem extolling the virtues of Fresh Fruit, for both you and your dog. I thought about posting Souvenir of London, but wasn't sure that a song about venereal disease, no matter how subtle, was quite to best start with a new service. After all, you can't download from them, right now, so it's not like you'll get a souvenir.

You can't buy many Procol Harem tracks individually, but you can buy Exotic Birds And Fruit on which you get As Strong as Sampson, as well.

[Edited to note that I really like the look of this widget, barring the easily-fixable fact that it's too narrow. Let me know if you've got a favorite music source/player that you love. I'm experimenting with the NPJ, so I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!]

While I generally avoid politics on my blogs, I can't help but find the lyrics to Pennywise's Competition Song particularly appropriate in the Hamas/Israel/Palestine conflict. Consider:

We separate ourselves by the color of our skin
By the country where we're born and the god that we believe in
We fight amongst ourselves, we obliterate ourselves (yeah, yeah)
We fight amongst ourselves, we obliterate ourselves (yeah, yeah)
And we compete until we die, even though we don't know why
We believe in ancient lies
And we compete until we die.

I can't help but think of this song when I hear of conflicts over territory and religion, especially so in this most recent flare-up of an on-going hot spot. Pennywise has captured a major source of frustration for people around the world who attempt not to identify themselves thus. Competition Song is pretty deep, belying the shallow reputation that punk usually has.

My favorite songs usually include a surprise, whether in the lyrics or the music. That holds doubly true for Albert Collins’s seemingly mellow blues song ...But I Was Cool. The first time I heard this song, I was enjoying the bluesy groove and wondering where the story was headed. Then the chorus hit me, and I knew that I had to have it. I’ve sprung this song on unsuspecting friends and co-workers, and nearly everyone has had the same reaction to it.

I hate to ruin surprises, so I won’t be more specific. Take a listen to Albert Collins, a true blues master and a performer who had a strong sense of timing. If …But I Was Cool whets your appetite, you can listen to more of his music for free at imeem or at Last.FM. I particularly recommend Mr. Collins, Mr. Collins. Then again, I’m a sucker for a horn section. The song is short on words but long on "jam".

Buy But I Was Cool!

Oingo Boingo put on one heck of a live show, and included two songs in those shows that didn’t appear on any of their studio albums. I would have loved to hear what the band did with Cinderella Undercover in a more formal setting, considering their creativity and energy. At least you can enjoy the energy of the live version on the first disc of their “Anthology” album, and, of course, here.

I’m holding off on posting Oingo Boingo songs because I know that, if I don’t restrain myself, I’d post one a week. For all that I enjoy newer music, some days it’s nice to return musically to an old friend and to hear intelligent, quirky lyrics backed by hyper horns, a great voice, and some clean 80s synth. Cinderella Undercover offers all of that in one wild package.

Buy Cinderella Undercover

I don’t know how I missed them earlier this year, but I’ve been enjoying OH SNAP!! (which apparently is properly written in all capital letters with two exclamation points). I wanted to share the video for I’m Too Fat To Be a Hipster, but I couldn’t find an official version. Instead, please enjoy their tribute to the 80s hair style, the High Top Fade. I have begun looking around for folks with high fades and things shaved into the backs of their heads, but so far I’ve only this video and my high school yearbook for sightings. At any rate, get moving with this old-school jam and start thinking about what you’d like your hair to say.

Buy High Top Fade

“It's a game, one I'm always bound to lose,
Still I play like I could win”

That about sums up the sentiments on the My Glorious EP “Leper” that the band recently released (and was kind enough to send to me for review). For the most part, “Leper” contains straight garage rock, as advertised. My Glorious seems to have experienced some pretty complicated relationship issues, however, and those have produced the rather nice ballads More Than Ever Before and If You Break.

My Glorious's most successful songs on “Leper” are the first and last, Give Me Time and Leave Me Alone, respectively. The former offers strong beats and guitars while the latter shows off a mellow groove and more relationship issues. The only thing on the six-song EP that didn't work for me was the chorus of Fire, which seemed jarring in comparison to the rest of the (otherwise quite interesting and somewhat disturbing) song.

In fact, if there's one complaint I have about My Glorious, it's that their choruses, taken as a whole, are too repetitive. They have generally intriguing lyrics, and they seem relatively strong musically, but half of the time they seem to be taking their cue from crappy AC/DC songs when it comes time to write a chorus. Still, for a freshman effort from a band that has been playing together for less than a year, “Leper” offers six songs that showcase the band's strengths as well as revealing their weaknesses. They show promise and I'll be interested to see what their first full-length album reveals.

You can listen to the whole EP on their MySpace page and find a long list of places to purchase their music there. Wait! My Glorious is from Vienna, Austria. I always forget that part.

As I'm rather in a time crunch today, I'm just going to throw up a song that I love. I was hoping to find a video for A.W.O.L.'s Coffee, as the manic energy seems to require an equally hyper performance, but I couldn't uncover one. Regardless of the relative obscurity of this song, Coffee gets me jumping every time I hear it. I'm also an addict of actual coffee, so this tends to be my theme song when I've had a cup or two too many, generally by early afternoon. Every day.

You can't get the individual tracks, but I'd recommend the whole album on which this song appears: "Ska: The Third Wave, Vol. 2". The Amazon page lists Eric Hemion as the artist for Coffee, even though my download names AWOL as the artist. Then again, you get The Bumblebee Tuna Song at the end of the album, my favorite Mephiskapheles song, and they list Jimmy Curtis as the artist. You'll just have to trust me that those are wrong. I'm guessing they've listed the "composer" rather than the actual bands.

After a musical drought yesterday, during which nothing struck my fancy, today I discovered not one but three new songs. Since two of them were from various blogs (and thus already recently posted), I thought Joan Osborne’s Spider Web would be a better choice. The song recalls a dream in which Ray Charles recovers his sight only to lose his ability to sing. Apparently, there are spider webs in his head, literally, as he reveals by removing his glasses. Altogether a creepy image, and one that created a lasting impression on me. I hope that you enjoy the song, if not the concepts, as much as I did.

Buy Spider Web