For no real reason, The Futureheads' Robot makes me picture Bender from Futurama bouncing around, drunk, singing this at a karaoke bar, cigar in...what do you call those things, claws? Whatever, that's how I think of this song, and that's no bad thing.
It's just the right thing for cranking up your Saturday night, however. Have a listen and let me know what you think of Robot. If you like it, try Hounds of Love or Favours for Favours. (Yes, they're Brits.) Let me know what you think!
It came to me the other day in posting about G3rst that I have almost as many Star Wars-related mashups as I do versions of that one Nirvana song. I thought it high time I shared them all with you all. Rather than blather about them individually, let me just tip my hat to DJ Zebra, FAROFF, G3rst, Party Ben, and Ithaca Audio for their creativity and ability to make me smile.
The links all over that last sentence are to the pages where you can snag your very own copies of these Star Wars mashups. Have a listen and let me know if you have a Star Wars mashup that I’ve missed. Carnival music, Daft Punk, and Joey Starr just aren't enough for one list! Besides, I’m always up for a new twist on the Imperial March or the cantina scene…unless it comes from George Lucas.I completely forgot this beautiful piece of lunacy. While it's not a mashup, it does crack me up and it is LFMAO dancing to the cantina band song. That's good enough for me!
About a month ago I blathered on about Mad Anthony and how they reminded me of The Toadies. I also noted that the song I included wasn't the reason why. For today, I thought I'd share City as both a great example of why I like the band and why I still say they owe a musical debt to the older alt-rock band.
Be warned, Mad Anthony loves the city in their song a lot, enough that they feel the need to use an expletive to explain just how much. Repeatedly. But if you're okay with that I highly recommend a listen. The bitter energy of the track makes you want to jump up and down about it with them, and the lyrics, as you know I love, explain the vehemence of the chorus.
If you like City have a listen to Boob. I almost posted the latter as I think it's the best song on the album but I just couldn't bring myself to use it as the title song. I'm shy.
With a name like The Not-Pop Jukebox, I couldn't resist listening to Jukebox the Ghost. When I heard The Popular Thing I knew I had a winner to share with you all, perfectly fitting with my theme. The lyrics run thus:
If you want to do the popular thing
Well, then, follow away
But if you want to find something unique
You can't look that way
That's pretty much my philosophy in finding great new music to share with you all. As an added bonus, The Popular Thing is a bouncy, perky, pop sort of tune, pretty much the opposite of its lyrics. I know you love it when bands do that, my darlings.
Have a listen and let me know what you think of the song and of Jukebox the Ghost in general. And if you've got some other songs about following your own path I'd love more recommendations, particularly if jukeboxes are involved.
Despite my deep-seated desire to add an apostrophe to their name, Zeds Dead has been changing my opinion of dubstep lately. Until I found them, what I'd heard labeled as dubstep had been slow in the extreme. Anyone who's read more than half a dozen of my posts knows that's not my thing.
But with songs like Rumble in the Jungle Zeds Dead has shown me a new, funkier side to the genre. (Or is it a sub-genre? I can't keep these labels straight.) Whatever you call it, have a listen to Rumble in the Jungle, dance your booty off, and then, if you like it, try Here Comes the Boom. Oh, and drop me a note if you know of other up-tempo dubstep I might like.
It’s not often you find a song about being an Internet troll. Technically My Circuitboard City isn’t, either, at least not explicitly. And yet you come to the lines, “I can’t wait to wallow in self-pity in my circuit board city tonight.”
I can’t help but think of your basic hater hating on some forum somewhere because the world has refused to cater to him or her yet again. And so whenever I’m socializing on-line and I read something particularly “poor me” I think of The Wombats and this song. Of course, I also have this image of little robot trolls living under circuit board bridges in a Tron-like city whining and fussing, though the song couldn’t be much less like Daft Punk.
Disregarding my flights of fancy, have a listen to My Circuitboard City and let me know what you think. Is this the perfect troll anthem or am I off my rocker?
I don't actually know how anyone could not like Three Legged Dog. Firewater puts enough attitude and enough bounce into the song to get anyone moving. And then there's the "woo woo".
Sorry, I don't have any more to add except that my kids get a great swagger going when they're singing this song. I admit they may have learned it from me.
Hands up, those of you who have thought to yourselves, “Gee, I wish The Proclaimers had done 500 Miles way faster.” Now hands down, those of you who are big, fat liars. If anyone is left, have I ever got a mashup for you.
G3rst does good work but never so much as on 500 Miles of Motivation. He’s taken The Proclaimers, sped them up to a frenetic pace that makes the original sound like a lullaby, and laid it over Sum 41 to create something wildly motivating. Sure, it’s a little fast for World Sauntering Day, but you can saunter when you’re done listening, if you can slow down again.
Like each Mashup of the Month, you can download 500 Miles of Motivation for free from the G3rst web site where you’ll also find such delights as Dub of Fire, Hotel California in Fire and Flames, and We No Speak Cantina. I’m still going to do a Star Wars Mashup post and that one will definitely be on it. In the meantime, enjoy 500 speedy miles!
Here’s a quick Friday sort of question for your Monday: am I the only one who finds Pearl Necklace to be indescribably filthy? Perhaps I’m just reading undertones to a perfectly innocent song but I can’t help but ascribe a dirty intention to the gents of ZZ Top when it comes to this song. Tell me, my darlings, do I have a nasty mind or do you hear a double entendre in this one as well?
Imagine, if you will, a young Robert Downey, Jr. in a movie with Rodney Dangerfield. Certainly, this movie requires watching at least once, correct? Now imagine further that an enormous Oingo Boingo fan, all unawares, does so.
In case you have no clue to what I’m referring, it’s Back to School and I was the fan in question. Somehow Danny Elfman’s involvement with the movie had escaped my attention. Imagine my delight when I recognized his signature sound in the score. That was dwarfed by the party scene, when the whole band appeared onstage and performed Dead Man’s Party.
I both hoped and feared that would presage a rush of popularity for the band but, outside of some massive radio play for that song and Weird Science, nothing much changed for them. Their albums were as hard as ever to find (back in the dark days of pre-Internet radio) and their biggest fan base stayed out in California where I happened to be living at the time.
I’ve stayed faithful to my love of Oingo Boingo and of Dead Man’s Party and I’ve passed that love on to my offspring. They know all the words and we sing along with gusto in the car which has, as I’m sure you imagine, led to some fantastic looks at stop lights when I’ve got the top down.
Have a listen to Dead Man’s Party and, if you’ve never seen Back to School, look it up on Netflix or something. It’s not high cinema but it’s a fun flick and you get some truly epic 80s fashion along with great music and an adorably-young Mr. Downey, Jr.
It’s been some time since I posted about Spekulation so I thought I’d throw you another great jazz hop track, replete with topical lyrics and horns. Depression Era Music comes from his EP of the same name. As I mentioned last September, it’s free to download from Bandcamp.
For me, the flow on this one is well nigh perfect. It bounces along, with topical lyrics crisply spoken enough to be understood and enough to say to make you want to hear them. Horns burble behind them with drums bounding beneath the whole thing, carrying it to its close.
Considering the subject matter, a condemnation of just about everyone for the mess in which the world finds itself, Depression Era Music remains a wonderfully enjoyable song. The tone is less accusatory or angry and more wry chagrin. Have a listen and let me know what you think of Spekulation, would you?
How about a groovy bit of Bart Davenport to kick off your weekend, with a reminder that you were not Born to Suffer, or at least that he wasn't. Enjoy the imagery and the voice. I'll get back to you with something more substantial tomorrow.
Many moons ago, I shared with you Shirley Bassey's cover of Get the Party Started and how much I loved the song she performed with Propellerheads. Yet here it is, three and a half years later, and I still haven't shared History Repeating.
Obviously, it's past time I rectified that lapse. Please enjoy this James Bond theme without an appropriate film, a perfect intersection of Dame Shirley's oeuvre and some slammin' electro from a duo that sadly only ever released a single full-length album. If you enjoy History Repeating do check out the rest of their work, handily available on Grooveshark. I particularly recommend Echo and Bounce.
If you've all been missing out on the no-guitar metal/goth band van Canto, it's time to remedy your oversight. What better introduction to how the band works than a great cover of Metallica's Battery accompanied by the original for sheer entertainment value?
Van Canto covers and writes metal and fantasy/goth tunes with a great twist: these German geniuses sound like a madrigal group that got a really kick-ass drummer. They aren't, though. None of them is classically trained. Those harmonies are just them, figuring it out for themselves.
I chose Battery because it showcases how they take the name of the songs or bands they cover to make some of the guitar sounds in lieu of actual instruments. (For a very goofy example, try their cover of Manowar's Kings of Metal.) They don't always do that but it's a lot more fun when they do.
So take a listen to Metallica and then van Canto performing Battery. Let me know which you like better!
It's time for some old-school rhythm and blues, a boogie woogie oldie that's certain not moldy. The Treniers bridged a gap from swing to rock and roll to R&B, 'way back in the 1940s and into the 50s. I'm decided to give you Go! Go! Go! because it's an excellent example of that bridge. They also performed some much-naughtier songs, including Uh Oh (Get out of the Car) about a girl who won't "treat me right" and Poon Tang which purports to be about hugs and kisses but is sung from the point of view of a soldier coming home after a long absence.
In part this is a part of my on-going effort to prove that all of those stories your elders tell you about being so chaste and pure are a load of bunk and in part its to draw a oft-overlooked group that influenced a large number of acts to your attention. If you like Go! Go! Go! have a listen to some of their other songs and do let me know what you think.
Last year's "i want! i want!" from Walk the Moon slid under my radar until recently but I'm so glad it finally pinged my musical sensibilities. Their catchy, danceable, indie pop makes me bounce around the living room like a goon with a big grin on my face, none of the songs more than Jenny, which has been stuck in my head for days.
Maybe it's the witty lyrics ("Jenny's got a body just like an hourglass" followed by sand metaphors and then a "I won't take it from you, I'll let you give it to me" at the end). Maybe it's the fact that the guys sound like they're having a great time. And maybe it's the fact that I've watched a fair few live videos and it's not the production that makes Walk the Moon sound great.
They released a version called Jenny's Got a... on the "Anthem" EP in 2008 but their sound is so much more polished on "i want! i want!" There's more drive to the drums, more jangle to the guitar, and the keyboards really shine. Have a listen, and if you like this one try I Can Lift a Car and Tightrope. The enunciation in the latter really makes the chorus.
The Prickly Purple One celebrates his birthday and you know what that means: Prince for all! Today, enjoy the funky, wacky title track off the "Musicology" album released in 2004. Say what you will about the strange little man, he can put together a groovy song when he puts his mind to it.
As so often happens with self-indulgent musicians, this one goes off the rails a bit and could have been trimmed back to 3:50, right after "don't you ever touch my stereo". He'd already fit in "we're jukebox soldiers", which I would take to mean that they love The NPJ except, well, technically it didn't exist then. Pft, details.
At any rate, Happy Birthday, Prince! May you keep getting funky and bringing the old school for many years to come. And, for what it's worth, I still think you and Robert Randolph should play together.
It's high time you all boogied down with Clifton Chenier. I haven't posted a single thing from him this year and here it's almost half gone! So for this lovely summer evening go Ride 'Em Cowboy and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow I'll have something a little more timely.
After a wild weekend it's always good to mellow out with some old-school electronica. There's nothing that fits that bill more than Yellow Magic Orchestra, pioneers of the electronic genre and the inspiration of so much of what came in the 80s. I had a tough time picking a song out of their extensive catalog because so many of them are almost iconic.
I finally settled on Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please) because it's just ridiculous enough to be fun without being unlistenable. YMO often comes across as a slightly off-kilter Devo, if you can imagine such a thing, but without the flower-pot hats. Other times they're more like Modern English but without the smarmy.
If you like Tighten Up have a shot at Rap Phenomena and U-T. If you enjoy those take a listen to Hi-Tech Hippies, a personal favorite. And if you're already a fan of Yellow Magic Orchestra drop me a recommendation, would you?
I have for you today six gallons of awesome sauce in hermetically sealed jars, ready to pour over your Saturday night. Don't crowd, now, there's plenty of Boban i Marko Marković Orkestar to go around!
In case you hadn't heard, this mass of gypsy horns has a new album coming out June 12 on which they have this version of Cinnamon Girl remixed by Dunkelbunt. As much as I like saying Dunkelbunt I'm not sure how much involvement, if any, he had in the rest of "Golden Horns".
Whatever the case, I defy you all to pour some of this over your evening and not find yourself dancing. It's a ridiculous amount of horn-filled joy, something by which you know I am often overcome. If you care for Hava Nagila you'll find a wild and wooly version on the album as well.
"Golden Horns" is, in fact, a best-of album for Boban i Marko Marković Orkestar. From the first song you'll find yourself wanting the throw your arms in the air, perhaps wave them like you just don't care, and shouting "oi" or something to that effect from time to time. You can sample more of the record via Flip Switch PR. If you've been missing the massive blare of a rockin' gypsy horn section in your life, I highly recommend giving these guys a try.UPDATE: How's this for triple-awesome? For once I beat NPR to a great story. They did a fantastic piece about the Markovic Orkestar on July 3rd. I was grinning the entire drive home. Usually I hear great stuff from them but this time I did it first! Okay, I'll quit, now.
