The Not-Pop Jukebox

Let's pit a legend against a relative newcomer, today, with two takes on the theme of Under My Skin. In one corner we've got Gin Wigmore: part Amy Winehouse, part Dusty, part Mae West. In the other corner is Frank Sinatra: he's Frank Sinatra. He needs no build-up on my part.

Though I've Got You Under My Skin has long been a favorite of mine, I have to say that Gin Wigmore really rocks this song. Of course, I tried to stack the deck with the version from my favorite Sinatra album--Sinatra at the Sands--where he's wailing it with Count Basie but...I don't know.

Thus I'm posting the both of them here, my darlings. Have a listen to both takes on Under My Skin and let me know which you like best or if you can't decide, either. Also, look for more Gin Wigmore in the relatively near future.

You know what warms the cockles of my frozen heart, here in the most painful part of winter (the end, I hope)? Punk from around the world, that's what. Today I bring you Superman Is Dead, all of the way from Bali. Kuta Rock City proves they have enough authentic chops to open for any modern-day punk band. I don't even know if they still exist any longer, as I could find no evidence of their having released an album in several years, or whether they're still signed with Sony. This one's been out ten years but it never gets old, to me.

If anyone ever wondered what song drew me to The Aquabats, he or she may be relieved to find the answer here: Super Rad! In the depths of my ska obsession (I write as though I have somehow moved past it), I stumbled over what I like to term geek ska. Really, what's geekier than a bunch of guys in matching spandex shirts pretending they're superheroes?

And so I bring to you The Aquabats in all their self-mocking glory. Rather than just offering the song I've included the video. One of these years I'm going to be brave enough to be an Aquabat for Halloween but, until then, I'll just enjoy watching their wonderful antics and jamming to their music. Next time you're in trouble, you'll know who to call.

It's been far too long since you've had anything from The Connells, my darlings. Naturally, I'm here to remedy that.

Slackjawed is just a great rock-and-roll love song about a lover returning. "I've been standing, slackjawed, since you were here." Yeah, it sounds better in context, trust me. Have a listen and let me know what you think.

While Bassic probably strikes you as something quite a bit more mellow than the usual fare, here at The NPJ, I have to say that I quite enjoy his musical endeavors. Perhaps it's because I've following a lengthy conversation about original music in video games, but I have to say that I can really picture Rise and Shine as the opening music to an epic story. Then again, I might use this as my alarm clock. Maybe I could have an epic day!

Whatever the case, have a listen to Rise and Shine. If you're looking for more from Bassic, click over to Grooveshark for plenty more. In particular, I'd recommend Every Man Can Be His Own Rocketship and Omniom from his latest release.

For Friday, let's have the answer to yet another (not) oft-asked question: what do you get if you cross Cajun and Latin music? Naturally, the answer is The Iguanas. I'm not entirely sure who took the wheels off of Benny's Cadillac, but apparently he's not getting them back. Have a listen and see if you can enlighten me, once you've stopped dancing.

I started out the day intending to share with you the BB King version of Knock Me a Kiss. Thankfully for all of us, I stopped to listen to the original before I posted. Much as King rocks, Louis Jordan owns this song. How can you listen to that chorus and not make a smoochy face? Even Ella Fitzgerald couldn't outdo him on this one.

So, as we approach the weekend, I offer this up to you all as the perfect serenade song. Follow Louis Jordan's pouty approach and I can guarantee the object of your affection will knock you a kiss after the second chorus! [Please note that this guarantee is not backed by anything other than my own snark and that video evidence of your having tried and failed will be required by me.]

I was waxing philosophical elsewhere about the start of my love affair with swing music and I realized I hadn't shared with you what I consider the pinnacle of swing: Benny Goodman's take on Louis Prima's Sing, Sing, Sing. While normally I wouldn't add a static video like this, I'm led to believe that this wonderful version includes the legendary Gene Krupa on drums.

Say what you will about swing music, you just can't beat the energy and sheer joy of Sing, Sing, Sing. I found several other versions, featuring anything from saxophones to guitars on the melody, but none of them could touch Benny Goodman's mastery on clarinet. From the full blare of horns behind him to the solo sections every moment is gold.

The original Louis Prima version, of course, had words. It's a little hat tip to The Music Goes 'Round and Around. I have to say, however, that I much prefer the instrumental version, as nonsensical as it makes the name. Have a listen and tell me if this one didn't make you want to dance your fool head right off.

If you could make Rick James even funkier, would you? DJ Zebra would. In fact, he did, by mixing him with LCD Soundsystem. I know, I didn't think it was possible, either, but here it is.

You can't get just Superfreak Is Playing at My House, but you can download a whole album's worth containing DJ Zebra's best of 2005 from his site. Naturally the Mashup of the Month is included.

I have for you today the answer to that age-old question: what would you get if you crossed Jim Bianco with E? It's Mark Martyre. Aren't you glad I cleared that up for you?

Mr. Martyre bills himself as "folk" but he's pretty far into indie territory, to me. The sparse nature of the instrumentation lets his lyrics and his voice shine, certainly. I just tend to mentally hook "folk music" with "hippies and Americana" so those very lyrics slide him right out of the genre.

I've chosen to share Lauren Bacall from "Down, Record" because it snagged me from the first line: "Age is a terrible thief". As always, my love for the warm, rough voice of someone who can actually sing and play led me to replay this one several times, toes tapping along with each one. And who hasn't spent a night or ten watching black and white movies, all alone?

If you like Lauren Bacall, do click over to Mark Martyre's bandcamp page and have a listen to the rest of the album. It's beautifully done in so many ways. My only quibble is no credit for the woman who sings back-up with him. She was lovely, too.

Stick it out through the tympani-heavy into (for which you simply must have stereo headphones) and coast along through the first verse of Sabia Que and you'll be rewarded with a song that builds and builds until, three minutes in, you're in the middle of a rock song. Marcelo Fruet and Os Cozinheiros (that'd be "The Cooks" for those of you not fluent in Portuguese) cover a lot of genre territory, from jazzy tunes to traditional Brazilian to straight-out rock. Sometimes they throw the whole mess into a single song.

From what I can tell, Sabia Que means "knew", though it seems to be followed in the song by "no". As I couldn't find anywhere with the lyrics much less a translation, I can't really put that in context. I don't, however, much care about what they're singing when I'm dancing around my living room, which is what I was doing by the time I got to the end of the song. If you like Marcelo Fruet & Os Cozinheiros, try Song for Tom and Adeusaloucura, both handily available on Grooveshark where you can, for some reason, find only two thirds of their new album "Aion".

It's Friday, and you know what that means: a short post basically saying, "Hey, guys, here's a great song!" While, as a rule, I'm not a fan of Theophilus London and his misogynistic bull, I have to give him credit for All Around the World. It's a dance jam that, like so many songs these days, should have ended about 2:15 or at least skipped about 30 seconds there in the middle. Seriously, people, if you're going to get people dancing don't stop and noodle around long enough for them to decide they really need a trip to the facilities or another drink. Keep them on the floor!

This public service announcement brought to you by The Not-Pop Jukebox. Let's all just hope musicians take it to heart.

It's that obnoxious day when relationships are shoved down our collective throats, regardless of the ostensible religious reason for marking the fourteenth of February in the first place. I'd like to continue my tradition of posting anti-Valentine songs with a story from Red Elvises.

Hanky Panky Kind of Love takes a stroll on the boardwalk with a girlfriend into a sordid tale of lust and betrayal. That sounds about right for today, doesn't it? Should you prefer a story of pity sex with an ex, try last year's Deadeye Dick post of Sentimental Crap. Yup, that's me--all about the hearts and roses. Happy Valentine's Day!

I bring you, this evening, a song that I love but which--at the same time--makes me cranky. Cold Women with Warm Hearts shares the ethos of If You Want to Be Happy: find a woman other men won't want and she won't cheat on you.

Now that's an utter simplification of the message of Cold Women, but even while I'm jamming to the hardcore blues beat of it this niggling little voice in the back of my head keeps reminding me that songs that assume women are inherently unable to resist any man that hits on them are too prevalent and too frustrating. At least, in this case, it's about cold women with warm hearts and there seems to be some dedication to actual affection for the women in question, unlike Jimmy Soul's offensive but catchy tune.

The first time I heard this song it was Magic Slim & the Teardrops performing it but I've decided to share Albert King's version with you because, well, horns. Surely you know by know, my dears, that I cannot resist the horns. Toss in some great blues guitar and Albert King's rough-and-tumble voice and it's a guaranteed winner, as far as I'm concerned. So, for tonight, viola!

Genre-bending bands rule! Now that I've gotten that sweeping generalization out of the way, I'll provide you with proof in the pudding rather than an exception to the rule: Punch Brothers and Who's Feeling Young Now?. While they could be categorized as a bluegrass band, they tend as much toward the indie sound as they do toward the twang. And the voices? More Pale Young Gentlemen than Soggy Bottom Boys.

Have a listen to the joy that is Who's Feeling Young Now? and, if you like it, try Soon or Never which couldn't be more gorgeously harmonized. There's a whole great whack of their stuff on Grooveshark so settle in for a good listen. Now don't say I never brought you anything nice.

Today we have a rare coming together of a great song name and a great band name that produced a song actually worth hearing. I've been giving The Atomic Bitchwax a good listen for the last couple of days and I'm here to report that stoner metal is a stupid genre name. Oh, and they rock.

Last of the V8 Interceptors starts out with a digitized voice, ostensibly that of our new, insectile, alien overlords. Then they all shut up and get on with jamming. I did enjoy a few of the tracks on which they sang but, for the most part, the instrumentals hold up far better.

You can definitely hear the influence of the 70s on The Atomic Bitchwax, but it sounds like they've been listening to some quality, hardcore rock for decades. If you like Last of the V8 Interceptors, have a listen to Crazed Fandango and Cast Aside Your Masks.

I'm back in town, finally, after essentially six days without music. To celebrate my return, let's have the ever-adorable and talented Tristan Clopet tell us a story about his experiences out of town in Summer in Sussex. Okay, I don't know that this is autobiographical. It is, however, a wonderful song with much cheer about returning home. I promise something a bit meatier tomorrow, text-wise, but at least Mr. Clopet will give you something into which you can sink your aural teeth in the meantime.

It just so happens that a great post-punk garage band came to my attention just as I'm preparing to leave town for a few days. In the spirit of travel, enjoy the high-energy rollick of The Worsties and Let's Go. I've got the song in my head as I'm flailing about trying to finish packing and ready to get this show on the road.

Next week sometime perhaps I'll post the song that Ted Kelly brought to my attention on Google + but that's a brand-new video and you know I like to delve. Besides, I'm too hyper to right a proper review.

Do a little head banging a little jumping up and down, and generally get your rock on in the meantime. This player will give you the whole playlist even though it only shows Let's Go, by the way. I'll come back with a burning desire to post and a backlog of blather, so be prepared.

As a fan of great big rock, and great big bands, I didn't expect to love Sirsy. Yet here I am, with a little-bitty two-person band. That's because Sirsy sounds more like five people than a duo.

They're a sneaky pair, is Sirsy. Each of them plays two things at a time (well, if you count vocal as "playing") and every once in a while Melanie Krahmer pulls out her flute and jams a bit. Listening to a recording might leave you thinking they've been paired with studio musicians to round out their sound so I've included a video for you.

Of course, the reason Sirsy came to my attention was the new album they have coming out March 5th. You'll just have to wait on that one, as I couldn't find any of the songs to share. For now, have a little Revolution and find out the sound to which you should be looking forward when I finally get my digital hands on a song to add.

Damn Glad has a new album out, their third, titled "It's Always Something". I've been giving it a good listen and was struck by a few things.

First, this is some good, quality rock in the late-70s tradition. Even the voice of Matt Kurzban hearkens back to good ol' stadium rock of yesteryear. The trio knows how they want to sound and they seem to achieve it pretty consistently.

Second, Force Quit is followed by Make It So. Now, in listening to the former you discover that they're referring to forcing a program closed with the task manager. The latter has absolutely nothing to do with Star Trek, as far as I can tell. And yet the combination of force (as in The Force) and Captain Picard's signature phrase make me believe that these are geeks of the deepest stripe.


For all I know, Damn Glad has never watched The Empire Strikes Back nor would they know Data from Wesley Crusher. But in my mind they're hard-rockin', sci-fi fans which endears them to me as much as their retro sound. If these two don't interest you, I'll direct your attention to Please, Louise, which will have you tapping your toes, bopping your head, and trying to place exactly who Mr. Kurzban sounds like. And then you'll realize it's a song about a shotgun wedding, essentially. Talk about retro!