I’m given to understand that The Housemartins were quite bit in the UK at one point. In the US, however, they never topped the charts and thus flew right under my radar for a time. Thankfully, a friend introduced me to them and songs like Sitting on a Fence quickly made them a favorite. For New Year’s Eve that’s all you get. Have a lovely 2013!
I don't know how many of you remember Safri Duo, the Danish drumming wonders who hit the scene big and then more or less disappeared. I do know that you'd likely never peg them as the movers behind Ritmo de la Noche. You'll be happy to know that I've brought you this Latin-flavored happy song for your jamming pleasure, today, just to fill that little gap in your musical knowledge...and you make you dance. So get to it.
For Stan Lee's 90th birthday I thought we'd have a song with pretty much every superhero and villain (and Abraham Lincoln and Care Bears) all fighting one another. If you thought my recent post of MC Frontalot was a geeky as nerdcore could get, The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny should open your eyes to the true reason the genre never took the world by storm.
In truth, Lemon Demon isn't really a nerdcore guy. He's more a geek who plays with music. That doesn't mean he isn't fun and that you shouldn't listen to more--quite the opposite, in fact. He just doesn't really rap, more spoken word and Devo-esque things like Knife Fight and Fancy-Pants Manifesto. He makes Stan Lee look downright jock-like.
In truth, Lemon Demon isn't really a nerdcore guy. He's more a geek who plays with music. That doesn't mean he isn't fun and that you shouldn't listen to more--quite the opposite, in fact. He just doesn't really rap, more spoken word and Devo-esque things like Knife Fight and Fancy-Pants Manifesto. He makes Stan Lee look downright jock-like.
While not a traditional Christmas song, or technically even a holiday song at all, Mike Doughty’s I Hear the Bells strikes me as a perfect song for the season. It’s got your usual bells and there’s snow in New York. The tempo stays upbeat enough for a cheery playlist of classics without being frenetic.
At it's heart, I Hear the Bells is song about perseverance but what better for Christmas chorus than "I can hear the bells are ringing joyful and triumphant"? All in all it's a beautiful song, one that includes the word ampersands, a favorite of mine, and it puts me in the holiday mood in a way that White Christmas just can't.
For this terrifically popular holiday, please do enjoy an off-beat song that still celebrates the sorts of things one loves about family, winter, and, naturally, ringing bells. Let me know if you think it’s as perfect a Christmas song as I do.
At it's heart, I Hear the Bells is song about perseverance but what better for Christmas chorus than "I can hear the bells are ringing joyful and triumphant"? All in all it's a beautiful song, one that includes the word ampersands, a favorite of mine, and it puts me in the holiday mood in a way that White Christmas just can't.
For this terrifically popular holiday, please do enjoy an off-beat song that still celebrates the sorts of things one loves about family, winter, and, naturally, ringing bells. Let me know if you think it’s as perfect a Christmas song as I do.
I bring you today the non-prophetic Nerdcore Rising from MC Frontalot. Not only does he specify that he recorded it in 2005 but it includes a great, cheesy compu-voiced verse. Sure, nerdcore never has overtaken the popularity of hip hop or rap, but that doesn't invalidate the entertainment value of MC Frontalot and the idea of having geeky, mostly-grammatical rap take over the airwaves.
If you're not familiar with MC Frontalot, you can listen to a pile of his stuff at Grooveshark. I'd particularly recommend Final Boss, Indier Than Thou, and Bizarro Genius Baby. But to understand the whole thing, start with Nerdcore Rising. If you're already a fan, drop me a recommendation, yo.
If you're not familiar with MC Frontalot, you can listen to a pile of his stuff at Grooveshark. I'd particularly recommend Final Boss, Indier Than Thou, and Bizarro Genius Baby. But to understand the whole thing, start with Nerdcore Rising. If you're already a fan, drop me a recommendation, yo.
It being the ten-year anniversary of Joe Strummer's death, I thought I'd post my favorite non-Clash song from him, this one with The Mescaleros. Get Down Moses gives you a great, ska-flavored groove and some fairly mournful lyrics about the state of modern society and how we could use another Moses.
I don't think we so much need more rules as people who actually follow the ones we've got. Get Down Moses, however, isn't Strummer looking for god. Consider the chorus:
That's not particularly clear without the line about carving a table out of LSD but, trust me, it's there. While I'm generally opposed to facile hippy trips I just can't resist the almost-ragga beat and that Strummer voice. It's bonus material for a Clash fan, which is what I am. Enjoy!
I don't think we so much need more rules as people who actually follow the ones we've got. Get Down Moses, however, isn't Strummer looking for god. Consider the chorus:
You better take the walls of JerichoThat's right, it's about drugs.
Put your lips together and blow
Goin' to the very top
Where the truth crystallizes like jewels, in the rock, in the rock
That's not particularly clear without the line about carving a table out of LSD but, trust me, it's there. While I'm generally opposed to facile hippy trips I just can't resist the almost-ragga beat and that Strummer voice. It's bonus material for a Clash fan, which is what I am. Enjoy!
Warning to all easily-offended religious people: These are songs about Jesus in one way or another. Some of them are funny. Some are a wee bit more bitter. Commencing post in 3...2...1...
I thought that, it being Jesus Season or whatever you want to call a holiday timed to replace a pagan celebration despite historical...hold on...I'm smashing my soap box...let's try that again.
I found a bunch of songs in my collection and elsewhere that are, ostensibly, about Jesus. At the very least his name is featured in the titles. Because I'm feeling snarky, I'm amusing myself by posting them just before Christmas. If you choose only one song, make it Ministry's Jesus Built My Hotrod. If it's only two for you, include Tom Waits and his iconic Chocolate Jesus because nothing satisfies like a chocolate savior. Realistically, however, you should follow that up with Scanners and Jesus Saves. Trust me.
Please note that my inclusion of Soundgarden and Green Day in this list is in no way an endorsement of the music of either band. I am, however, recommending Robert Randolph and the Family Band, with Eric Clapton as they are here or without, though you probably could have guessed that by now. And you know Depeche Mode is in there somewhere. I mean, really, Personal Jesus: how could I exclude them?
If you have a favorite, non-religious Jesus song please do let me know! I'm bouncing to Ministry right now so I'm feeling much, much better.
I thought that, it being Jesus Season or whatever you want to call a holiday timed to replace a pagan celebration despite historical...hold on...I'm smashing my soap box...let's try that again.
I found a bunch of songs in my collection and elsewhere that are, ostensibly, about Jesus. At the very least his name is featured in the titles. Because I'm feeling snarky, I'm amusing myself by posting them just before Christmas. If you choose only one song, make it Ministry's Jesus Built My Hotrod. If it's only two for you, include Tom Waits and his iconic Chocolate Jesus because nothing satisfies like a chocolate savior. Realistically, however, you should follow that up with Scanners and Jesus Saves. Trust me.
Please note that my inclusion of Soundgarden and Green Day in this list is in no way an endorsement of the music of either band. I am, however, recommending Robert Randolph and the Family Band, with Eric Clapton as they are here or without, though you probably could have guessed that by now. And you know Depeche Mode is in there somewhere. I mean, really, Personal Jesus: how could I exclude them?
If you have a favorite, non-religious Jesus song please do let me know! I'm bouncing to Ministry right now so I'm feeling much, much better.
I bring you joyous news, this holiday season: Santastic VII has just been released. You can download the whole album for free from DJ BC's site but I thought I'd give you a particular recommendation because, well, Mojochronic's double-Ramones mash has been tickling me for days.
It's actually pretty rare that at mashup of holiday classics really works for me. In this case, however, not only have the songs been matched perfectly but the vocals have been combined in such a way that The Ramones sound as filled with Christmas cheer as those cheesy old chestnuts they're now backing.
Sadly, the version on Grooveshark is from four years ago and isn't nearly as polished as the new one that I linked above. Have a listen to get the idea and then download the new, extra-awesome I Wanna Be Dentated. Let me know if you agree, would you? And don't miss DJ Schmolli's Jingle Bells Pon de Floor while you're there.
It's actually pretty rare that at mashup of holiday classics really works for me. In this case, however, not only have the songs been matched perfectly but the vocals have been combined in such a way that The Ramones sound as filled with Christmas cheer as those cheesy old chestnuts they're now backing.
Sadly, the version on Grooveshark is from four years ago and isn't nearly as polished as the new one that I linked above. Have a listen to get the idea and then download the new, extra-awesome I Wanna Be Dentated. Let me know if you agree, would you? And don't miss DJ Schmolli's Jingle Bells Pon de Floor while you're there.
Do you have any idea how long it's been since I shared some Taj Mahal with you people? Well, I do, and I think it's high time you got to enjoy some more. To that end, I'm bringing you today not only a song that Taj Mahal co-wrote in 1968 but three covers of that song by such luminaries as The Blues Brothers and Albert King.
She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride) is one of those songs that fooled me when I first heard it. I presumed it was a blues standard and that most musicians would have recorded it at some point or another. Imagine my surprise at discovering that the song wasn't much older than I was!
To me, that's a mark of how timeless She Caught the Katy really is. Of course you can't blame a girl for presuming a song about riding a mule to be of a bygone era rather than hippy heyday, can you? No, you can't.
Regardless of its age, it's a song that has made its way into the blues lexicon, and deservedly so. Taj Mahal still does it best, in my opinion, but have a listen to The Blues Brothers, Albert King, and a rockin' take on it from Widespread Panic. Let me know what you think!
She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride) is one of those songs that fooled me when I first heard it. I presumed it was a blues standard and that most musicians would have recorded it at some point or another. Imagine my surprise at discovering that the song wasn't much older than I was!
To me, that's a mark of how timeless She Caught the Katy really is. Of course you can't blame a girl for presuming a song about riding a mule to be of a bygone era rather than hippy heyday, can you? No, you can't.
Regardless of its age, it's a song that has made its way into the blues lexicon, and deservedly so. Taj Mahal still does it best, in my opinion, but have a listen to The Blues Brothers, Albert King, and a rockin' take on it from Widespread Panic. Let me know what you think!
You're having some holiday cheer today whether you like it or not. Don't blame me, blame Voodoo Glow Skulls and It Dies Today for recording two different and entertaining versions of Feliz Navidad.
I ran across them while building a 28-song holiday extravaganza for something else entirely. Neither made the cut but I had to share them with someone. That means you, my dears! I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, even if you're not the x-mas kind, because everyone could use more punk this holiday season.
I ran across them while building a 28-song holiday extravaganza for something else entirely. Neither made the cut but I had to share them with someone. That means you, my dears! I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, even if you're not the x-mas kind, because everyone could use more punk this holiday season.
It's been ages since I posted some Eels for you all. Heck, it's been over a year since I even posted E! Let's have some more-upbeat E for today, shall we?
Mark Everett made some beautiful, melancholy music on his own and with the Eels. Every so often, though, he pulls out a whole lot of attitude and channels his inner Beck to make rollicking rock that make you get up and dance. Heck, listening to Souljacker, Part I you can hardly credit that it's the same guy!
Every once in a while you can hear that distinctive voice, however. It's just often enough that you don't start thinking the Eels got a new vocalist for the album. (I checked, just in case. They didn't.
If you like Souljacker, Part I try Tremendous Dynamite or Rotton World. And if you want more of the E sound try I Like the Way This Is Going, a lovely love song if ever there was one.
Mark Everett made some beautiful, melancholy music on his own and with the Eels. Every so often, though, he pulls out a whole lot of attitude and channels his inner Beck to make rollicking rock that make you get up and dance. Heck, listening to Souljacker, Part I you can hardly credit that it's the same guy!
Every once in a while you can hear that distinctive voice, however. It's just often enough that you don't start thinking the Eels got a new vocalist for the album. (I checked, just in case. They didn't.
If you like Souljacker, Part I try Tremendous Dynamite or Rotton World. And if you want more of the E sound try I Like the Way This Is Going, a lovely love song if ever there was one.
Irish Steph is not, as the name might lead you to believe, an Irish woman. He is, in face, male and French. That doesn't hold him back from making...well, great electronica that isn't particularly Irish--except IRA's Tweed. I heartily recommend the latter if you enjoy Leprechauns Love Disco and, really, how could you not?
To make you all (and me) feel better about your rumor-mongering co-workers and family members, I thought I'd share with you a song about gossip all of the way from Mali. The amazing Amadou & Mariam have their own trouble with nattering neighbors but they had the wherewithal to write Wily Kataso to express their frustration.
I think I'm going to keep a shortcut to this on my desktop. The next time one of the guys come whispering around the corner I'm going to hit play, and the time after that. Eventually either they'll be so enamored of the song that they'll ask what it is and I'll point them to this post or they'll think I'm listening to the same song all of the time and they'll stop coming 'round to tell tales out of school.
If you've got a mess of gossips in your life, know that people all over the globe have the same woes. Let Amadou & Mariam cheer you up with Wily Kataso. Maybe learning to tell your blabby buddies off in a different language will work.
I think I'm going to keep a shortcut to this on my desktop. The next time one of the guys come whispering around the corner I'm going to hit play, and the time after that. Eventually either they'll be so enamored of the song that they'll ask what it is and I'll point them to this post or they'll think I'm listening to the same song all of the time and they'll stop coming 'round to tell tales out of school.
If you've got a mess of gossips in your life, know that people all over the globe have the same woes. Let Amadou & Mariam cheer you up with Wily Kataso. Maybe learning to tell your blabby buddies off in a different language will work.
I've decided that the world is not fair. I know, perhaps I might have noticed that a few years earlier, but I have specific proof. In Germany, Laing is pop music. In Sweden, apparently, Mando Diao is pop music. In America I get auto-tuned women gyrating or auto-tuned men gesturing without shirts.
If you need aural proof, here is Motown Blood, a grimy, grungy, punky song that puts most of the Top 100 here in the US utterly to shame. And this was from Mando Diao's first album in 2002. If you need proof of how much we're missing out on not being better invaded by European pop, have a listen to Dance with Somebody or Go Out Tonight. Tell me it's fair that people on the other side of the pond get to have this on the radio while we vacillate between Black Eyed Peas and Kesha. Now pardon me while I go have a quality pity party and then listen to some more of this to cheer myself up again.
If you need aural proof, here is Motown Blood, a grimy, grungy, punky song that puts most of the Top 100 here in the US utterly to shame. And this was from Mando Diao's first album in 2002. If you need proof of how much we're missing out on not being better invaded by European pop, have a listen to Dance with Somebody or Go Out Tonight. Tell me it's fair that people on the other side of the pond get to have this on the radio while we vacillate between Black Eyed Peas and Kesha. Now pardon me while I go have a quality pity party and then listen to some more of this to cheer myself up again.
Rather than a memorial post when someone dies, today let's have a post on a living musician's birthday. I know many people don't like Tom Waits. Maybe it's the voice like Louis Armstrong on a five-day bender. Maybe it's the oh-so-caustic wit. But in dismissing him they miss out on gems like Step Right Up.
The song is a compilation of the sorts of pitches with which people have been targeted for centuries, many of them modern, infomercial tag lines but some you can picture an eighteenth-century barker calling out to passing long-skirted ladies and their top-hatted beaus. Well, not in Tom Wait's voice, perhaps. I don't think he'd draw a lot of takers, somehow.
Whatever the case, I'm posting Step Right Up in honor of his birthday. Here's hoping he's enjoying some cake or a slug of whisky...or both...right now.
The song is a compilation of the sorts of pitches with which people have been targeted for centuries, many of them modern, infomercial tag lines but some you can picture an eighteenth-century barker calling out to passing long-skirted ladies and their top-hatted beaus. Well, not in Tom Wait's voice, perhaps. I don't think he'd draw a lot of takers, somehow.
Whatever the case, I'm posting Step Right Up in honor of his birthday. Here's hoping he's enjoying some cake or a slug of whisky...or both...right now.
I absolutely cannot resist the energy and cross-genre flailing that Dusty inspires with Loco para la Pista. Should you be wondering, my rudimentary Spanish skills translate that into "Crazy for the Track", which pretty well fits my attitude about as well.
There are no lyrics to give you a hint, however. It's just relentless beat beat beat, and then horns, and then beat beat beat. Then horns. Then...you know. Loco para la Pista is just my kind of song: it's fast, furious, and fun. I thought it high time I share it with you, my dears. Enjoy the carnival flavor and Latin rhythms, and do let me know if you liked it.
There are no lyrics to give you a hint, however. It's just relentless beat beat beat, and then horns, and then beat beat beat. Then horns. Then...you know. Loco para la Pista is just my kind of song: it's fast, furious, and fun. I thought it high time I share it with you, my dears. Enjoy the carnival flavor and Latin rhythms, and do let me know if you liked it.
For those of you who missed it, Dave Brubek died today just one day short of his 92nd birthday. If you're not a jazz fan you may not be familiar with his work but you're missing out on some amazingly creative music. Take this opportunity to get out on the Internet and have a listen.
To get you started I'll share a song of his that I've loved as long as I can remember, an increasingly long time. Blue Rondo a la Turk showcases Brubek's fascination with unusual rhythms and the sorts of flights that make up great jazz in between. Have a listen and spare a moment of silence for one of the most talented musicians of the 20th Century.
To get you started I'll share a song of his that I've loved as long as I can remember, an increasingly long time. Blue Rondo a la Turk showcases Brubek's fascination with unusual rhythms and the sorts of flights that make up great jazz in between. Have a listen and spare a moment of silence for one of the most talented musicians of the 20th Century.
Fidlar feels, to me, like an old coat that I found in the back of my closet, one that I thought I'd lost at some house party twenty years ago and that immediately recalls the sort of rose-tinted tinted memories (mostly fueled by hours of social coffee drinking and the occasional, massive night of excess) of that summer between high school and moving away to college.
Fidlar, and particularly No Waves, are distinctively California, to me, for no real identifiable reason except that the only musicians I knew then sounded a whole lot like this. The 80s has just drawn to a close and grunge was on the upswing. I was leaving all I knew in a few, short weeks and the music we shared was all I could take with me.
Now that sounds maudlin as heck, but in reality it's the very high-energy sound of the band that reminds me of those crazy nights. Even sober we were nuts and music like this fueled us almost as much as the seven pots of coffee we shared in the wee hours. The boys in Fidlar are too young to have been there--heck, they might be too young to have been alive then--but if they're any indication the peculiar flavor of NoCal in the summer has spread from the good part of the state to LA.
No matter their ages or places of origin, No Waves is a fun little post-punk jam. If you like it, have a listen to Max Can't Surf and West Coast.
Fidlar, and particularly No Waves, are distinctively California, to me, for no real identifiable reason except that the only musicians I knew then sounded a whole lot like this. The 80s has just drawn to a close and grunge was on the upswing. I was leaving all I knew in a few, short weeks and the music we shared was all I could take with me.
Now that sounds maudlin as heck, but in reality it's the very high-energy sound of the band that reminds me of those crazy nights. Even sober we were nuts and music like this fueled us almost as much as the seven pots of coffee we shared in the wee hours. The boys in Fidlar are too young to have been there--heck, they might be too young to have been alive then--but if they're any indication the peculiar flavor of NoCal in the summer has spread from the good part of the state to LA.
No matter their ages or places of origin, No Waves is a fun little post-punk jam. If you like it, have a listen to Max Can't Surf and West Coast.
In any given day I listen to a lot of dreck. You know I wander in the bizarre backwaters of music. Often a song makes me click away with all the haste of a frigid spinster faced with a porn pop-up. Less often something makes me say "ooh" only to fall apart after the opening riff.
Every once in a while, however, I find something that grabs me. Those are the things I bring to you, my dears, the ones that keep me grooving, the musicians who deserve another listen because they're doing something grand. Today, Ghosts of Dixie did that for me so I'm sharing them with you.
They've only got four songs on ReverbNataion but you can download them for free. To entice you to listen I've only included Malicious here. It's got a nasty little beat, a minute-long instrumental intro, and some voodoo-licious lyrics for some swamp-boogie goodness. You can't ask for a lot more than that on a Sunday morning, now can you?
Every once in a while, however, I find something that grabs me. Those are the things I bring to you, my dears, the ones that keep me grooving, the musicians who deserve another listen because they're doing something grand. Today, Ghosts of Dixie did that for me so I'm sharing them with you.
They've only got four songs on ReverbNataion but you can download them for free. To entice you to listen I've only included Malicious here. It's got a nasty little beat, a minute-long instrumental intro, and some voodoo-licious lyrics for some swamp-boogie goodness. You can't ask for a lot more than that on a Sunday morning, now can you?
It's still a little early for it, in my world, but I've mentioned before how much I love Angels We Have Heard on High and I've found a completely different version for you all to enjoy. Johannes Linstead takes a lovely, acoustic jazz run through the song, strong on melody but with plenty of noodling to add interest to your holiday background music.
Linstead has a new album out, too, called "Tales of a Gypsy
". That one isn't on Grooveshark yet but it's well worth a listen. The glowing reviews will attest to that, if you don't trust me (but I know you do, darlings). The new album shows a lot more fire and fun than some of his older work.
For now, let's stick with a new take on something we already know and love. Okay, I do and you're stuck with me here. Merry Season to you all!
Linstead has a new album out, too, called "Tales of a Gypsy
". That one isn't on Grooveshark yet but it's well worth a listen. The glowing reviews will attest to that, if you don't trust me (but I know you do, darlings). The new album shows a lot more fire and fun than some of his older work.For now, let's stick with a new take on something we already know and love. Okay, I do and you're stuck with me here. Merry Season to you all!
