The Not-Pop Jukebox

I've got more "interesting" for you all today. Tango Conspiracy generally sticks with mellow but they have a great sound that includes some electro, some classical rhythms, lovely guitar, and an accordion. For a rainy, chilly, "what happened to spring?" Saturday afternoon, that suits me just fine. Enjoy a little Euforia and do explore their other videos as well.

A few weeks ago I read a book for which I did not particularly care. But at the end of that book was a list of songs that the author called his "soundtrack" for writing the story. You know the first thing I did was listen to those songs. Among a large number of things for which I also did not care was Trombada from the Brazilian percussionist Siri.

Trombada is a nifty little instrumental with horns and all sorts of interesting percussion things going on in the background. It's also fairly representative of his work: a lot of interesting and very little melody. If you like this one take a listen to songs like Placenta (but only with good stereo headphones) or the inventive N'água on Grooveshark. You know what I suddenly want? I want Siri to do an album with Chapmion, or a whole movie like "The Triplets of Belleville". I do believe that would make my musical life complete...for at least two hours.

Let’s take two songs that sound nothing alike but share a titular similarity and background vocals: Sam Cooke’s Chain Gang, long a song that I have loved, and The Pretenders’ Back on the Chain Gang. The former is a great Motown song and the latter a New Wave 80s hit. Sam Cooke literally sings about working on a prison chain gang. The Pretenders were a bit more esoteric in singing of broken hearts. But both songs include that great “ooh...aah” behind the lead singer.

So I ask you, my dears, which of these do you find more evocative? I confess to debating the inclusion of more chain songs like Chain of Fools from Aretha Franklin and BB King’s Chains and Things but I thought we should keep this a little more tightly focused on how well the individual songs work. I do have other chain songs and someday I’ll post a nice list but for today I want your feedback. Who does a better job making you think of a chain gang?

I had intended to do something about bunnies or hopping today but I bumped into Funky Jesus Music and it just seemed so, so appropriate to the day. I listened to this closely and, outside of one line about being "on our knees when we raise the roof" I found no actual, religious content. That seems to me just about perfect for a day that, for most people on this planet, is just another Sunday. And most of the rest of them are more interested in eggs, ham, and candy.

And so I offer you some Funky Jesus Music for Easter Sunday. I'll confess that I first listened to the song because I read the title as Funky Jesus Magic which, what with the whole "back from the dead" thing, seemed custom-made for today. But the song is a lot more hip hop and a lot less preachy that you'd have thought, given his previous membership in DC Talk (yes, I had to Google him). It's just some silly fun for the Easter Bunny.

Okay, one more sad song and then I promise no more until someone else dies. I was at the funeral today, normally something that I view as a lot of sentiment for the living and very little about the deceased. But they played Timsehl in my friend's memory and it absolutely stabbed me. And so I want to share it with you. I'm not a big fan of Mumford & Sons but this is a beautiful song. If you need a tissue, I've got a few in my pocket still.

Club d'Elf has two things going for it: a fantastic band name (one that misleads you to expect Tolkien techno, perhaps, but grand nonetheless) and a terrific mix of instruments. So although the band is a bit mellower than what I'd normally post here I thought I'd share something live from the band to show you just how good they really are. Here's the lovely and delightfully-long Africa to enjoy on a rainy, quiet Friday night.

Caldonia is one of my all-time favorite songs. I own several versions and have enjoyed a whole lot more at Grooveshark. But when I first posted about Caldonia years ago I didn't have a great widget where you could enjoy the song for yourself.

Today I offer you fifteen full versions of the song from BB King, James Brown, Willie Nelson, Gatemouth Moore, Albert Collins, and lots more. If that doesn't fulfill your Caldonia quota you can find more all over the place. Someday I'll write a whole article about the song but for today just know that this blues standard deserves its place in the canon of the genre. Enjoy!

A friend of mine died last night, and I’m at work struggling with my emotions. Knowing how much pain he suffered over the past several months I can’t help but feel that, as much as he’ll be missed, it’s no bad thing for him to be released.

And so I offer today a sad song that doesn’t wallow. Otis Redding gives us a song to sing in sorrow, a one that lets you celebrate at the same time. It perfectly suits the determined cheer and kindness that my friend showed no matter what cruel things his body and doctors were doing to him.

This is my own little way of saying goodbye, without the formality and grieving that will come later. Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song) will help me remember a courageous and wonderful man who can rest at last. Thanks for reading (and listening).

Ostensibly, The Blizzards's Trust Me I'm a Doctor is about a guy and his friends picking up a women in a foreign country by telling them they're doctors. Perhaps they pretend they're with Doctors without Borders, who knows? The pals back up each other's stories so can enjoy one-night stands. Now that doesn't sound like a very nice story but it does make for a fun song.

Trust Me I'm a Doctor was on the Irish band's 2009 album "The Domino Effect", their second and the last one they released. Apparently the song was a chart-topper (well, at number two) and the band had a great time being popular until the lead singer, Niall Breslin, left in 2010. That has pretty well ended the band's meteoric rise and Mr. Breslin doesn't appear to be doing much in the way of singing any more, having shifted to work behind the scenes with 19 Entertainment. Bummer.

At any rate, here's the video, wherein the boys display their indie-pop chops and seem a little more tense than one would think for a song about something to which you'd think they'd be looking forward. And they kill a piano, which is just wrong, but I'm pretending it had been badly damaged anyway and needed to be put out of its stringed misery.

It's been ages since we've had some British neo-soul from the delectable voice of James Hunter. We can hardly just leave him paired in two round of You Pick the Winner, can we? And so I offer today a fantastic take on starting a relationship: Kick It Around.

The song showcases both the great, almost-rockabilly, soulful sound of James Hunter and tells you a little story. You regular readers know I'm a sucker for a good story. It seems Mr. Hunter has met a woman in whom he is interested. Instead of keeping up the pressure and trying to impress her he simply asks her to kick around the idea of getting more involved with him. You have to respect a guy with enough confidence to stand on his own record. And I can't resist tapping my toes while he does so. Are you chair-dancing yet?

I’ve been a fan of The Housemartins for a couple of decades, now, give or take. And now that 80s pop music is a genre unto itself (and isn’t really “pop” any more, for the most part) I can confess that love. Yes, I’ve danced around to Happy Hour (and cheered at the nod from Barenaked Ladies). Yes, I’ve sung Me and the Farmer in the car at the top of my lungs. Indeed I once introduced friends of mine to the band and their band covered We’re Not Deep at the bar a month later. I was so proud.

And yet I haven’t posted them much. Perhaps I’ve let my snobbery get the better of me: I’ve been mocked for being a Housemartins fan. (Picture the sadness on my face here.) It turns out I’m not the biggest music snob I know. But I long ago cast off the shackles of genre superiority! And so I can admit that I love disco, that I own Olivia Newton John 45s (and the "Thriller" original issue on vinyl, thank you very much), and that, yes, I bought The Housemartins on cassette and CD.

So for today, enjoy Anxious, some classic 80s pop. It's old enough to be on the oldies station except that that target keeps moving backward in time. And if you love it, don’t be ashamed. Do your best nerd dance and shout along.

It's been ages since we had some fantastic Albert Collins around here. I Ain't Drunk might be more of a weekend sort of song but it's stuck in my head so you're getting it for a Thursday. Hey, it's almost Friday and Albert Collins is always fun. And who hasn't had an intoxicated friend try to offer this reasoning: "I ain't drunk, I'm just drinkin'"?

Naturally, between the silly bits you get this blues guitar master working his mojo on the strings. I can picture this one at a great blues bar, the whole audience jamming along and shouting with the band, "But you're so high!"

Many months ago I posted about The Alcoskalics and their Cup a'Joe but it never crossed my mind that the song might be a cover. Then I found hubby listening to Anthrax and realized that it was a coffee song. When I asked the name he responded, "Cupajoe." Naturally that got my mental wheels turning.

It came to pass that the two songs have nothing to do with one another. But I do have to wonder how the gents from Anthrax could have that much "aargh" for forty-six whole seconds if they haven't already had plenty of coffee. That said, it's a fun little song. It's too short for a whole post, though. So I've added a much slower coffee song to take the edge off, Cup o'Joe from Mobtown. It's a mellow instrumental with the words "Cup o'Joe" thrown in once in a while. Actually, you might have to go back to Anthrax afterwards. It's nice but it doesn't make me think, "Coffee!"

Long, long ago I posted about Red Hot Chili Peppers's Magic Johnson and how much I love the song. But I didn't have Grooveshark then so I didn't post the song. What a tragedy!

Today, I remedy that little problem by gifting you the glory of a song about a basketball player. Nay, I offer a tribute to the basketball player. Magic Johnson always seemed like such a teddy bear of a guy to me, dunking or no. And what I wrote 'way back then still holds true. And there are still a couple of F-bombs, so keep it turned down if you're at work or some kid's birthday party or something. Otherwise, "Does anybody want some Magic Johnson?!"

Anya Marina makes me think of Coeur de Pirate in English. That's a good thing. They have such light voices and such strong songwriting that I can't help but love them both.

Ms. Marina did not come to my attention until recently, likely because she seems to be most popular on TV shows. I don't watch a lot of TV. But it surprises me that her last album, "Slow and Steady Seduction: Phase II" didn't chart (at least not that I could find). Perhaps it's because her lyrics are a bit darker and a quite a bit wilder than your usual radio fare (try Sociopath for an example). Whatever the reason, I definitely think more people should give her a listen.

As someone who dances her best in bare feet, and as a fan of the song, I thought Barefootin' a fitting celebration of the return of barefoot weather here in the frozen north. Forget the flood--let's dance! In seeking the original from The Undertakers, a version I sadly did not find on Grooveshark, I bumped into covers from Jimmy Buffett, Wilson Pickett, Lee Dorsey, Johnny Winter, and The Boomtown Rats. Then there were versions from Pinetop Perkins, Cliff Bennett with The Rebel Rousers, and The Doc Thomas Group.

Naturally, I've included every last one of them here. Some of them work better than others, whether with a country flair, a guitar rock bent, or just a great soul sound. I started with my favorite of the group for sheer energy but the song bears repeating so do have a listen to more than one. Let me know which cover of Barefootin' you like best or if you have another version I haven't shared.

'Twas not long ago that I promised more Pale Young Gentlemen and today I make good on that pledge. The Crook of My Good Arm introduced me to the band just after "Black Forest (Tra La La)" was released. It was all over The Hype Machine for a couple of days and then...nothing. Well, we'll start there on the album and I'll take you to a few other lyrically-obscure songs in the future.

For some reason this one reminds me of that foolish M. Night Shymalan movie "The Village", which feels like an insult considering how the movie turned out, but there it is. You should know by now the bizarre connections my brain makes. At any rate, enjoy The Crook of My Good Arm and do have a listen to more Pale Young Gentlemen when you get a chance. They're definitely worth the finding.

I'm not generally an R&B fan. My brother loves the stuff so I've heard my fair share of what I call "Ooh, Baby, Baby" music. But when I heard Marsha Ambrosious's I Hope She Cheats (with a Basketball Player) my reaction went something like this:
[snort] That's not funny.
[snicker] Cheating is wrong.
[chuckle] Bitter, indeed!

It helped that I heard said song during an interview with Ms. Ambrosious on NPR this evening. She was refreshingly unpretentious and pointed out that, while the exact words may not occur to all of us, the sentiment certainly has in that awkward, my-heart-is-still-broken-and-yours-isn't period after a break-up. It's not nice, it's not particularly healthy, but it's the sort of unkind thought many people have, even just fleetingly, when they see an ex with someone new.

As an added bonus, she has a very nice voice, and she's lovely.

I thought to myself earlier, "There must be a great ska or punk cover of Purple People Eater out there." Yet when I sought one what I found was a weird Jimmu Buffet version and the usual suspects (Ray Stevens, Dr. Demento, and Alvin & the Chipmunks) but I also found these three bizarre gems. Judy Garland gives a rather breathless swing version for which the first half were written alternate lyrics. I wouldn't say she was intoxicated for this one but it isn't the cleanest performance I've ever heard her give. It's a lot of fun, though.

The Big Bopper, on the other hand, took our horn-headed little friend and introduced him to the Witch Doctor, and then George Thorogood, well, he covered Purple People Eater, actually. It's strangely faithful to the original except for that guitar solo. If you have another great, other-genre cover I'd love to hear it.

Yummy! Let’s have some rockin' blues in the tradition of BB King. Dave Hole may not have a name as evocative but he’s got some quality guitar blues chops and a great sound. I’m giving you Keep Your Motor Running because it’s one of my favorites and an example of just how much fun Dave Hole can be.

You can, naturally, find a whole pile and a half of his songs at Grooveshark, should you wish. For my traditionally-brief Friday post that's about all I have to say about it. Enjoy, and let me know if you did.