The Not-Pop Jukebox

I wanted to let you all know that I've begun a page for The NPJ on Google+ where I'm posting some random videos with a little commentary and highlighting posts from the blog. If you're a member over there do let me know so I can get you circled!

As a reward for reading that self-promotion, please enjoy my favorite cover song, at least for the moment. It makes me smile every time, in part because it sounds like they're having so much fun and in part because it's a music-snob guilt-free way to listen to Wake Me Up Before You Go Go. Wham! never had it so good as Shawn Mullins makes it.

I've spent an inordinate amount of time on TastemakerX of late, finding new bands. ("What is TastemakerX?" you ask? Click over to find out and learn how to get started. There's no referral program so I'm not getting any sort of personal benefit out of it. I just think it's a nifty site.)

The point I mean to make was that today I bumped into Soul Rebels over there and wanted to share Let It Roll as both an example of the musical byways I've been going down and an example of some loose hip hop backed by a brass band that had me smiling.

The band seems to be having an awful lot of fun, though I can't help but wonder how many people are in the group, unless they all stopped playing their instruments for the call and answer portion. What I found of Soul Rebels on Grooveshark was inconsistent and somewhat...awkward. The band falls firmly into what I term jazz hop, however, with fine company like Spekulation and Janelle Monae.

Have a listen to Let It Roll. If you like it, wander over and try Shake Something (which is much smoother) or Funky Rebel (which is three-quarters instrumental). Let me know what you think, if you would be so kind.

I promise after tomorrow's wrap-up of 80s week on Google+ I'll let you get back you your regularly scheduled less-80s NPJ. But for tonight have Alexei Sayle and a pile of bizarre titled Didn't You Kill My Brother?. The song is wacky enough but, coupled with the video, it's a masterpiece of 80s madness. I tip my hat to Carey Platt for bringing it to my attention. "Hey! Hey, you! Didn't you kill my brother?"

I greatly admire Prince, under certain circumstances. Generally those involve him holding a guitar. Housequake is not one of those circumstances.

With that said, the awful lyrics and cheesy loops of this song come together to make me laugh every time. Part of it is the squeezed, lemme-in-the-bathroom way he says "shut up" right at the beginning, part if the reference to green eggs and ham, and part is just how very, very dumb this song is.

It's like a perfect little portrait of Prince: outsized attitude with enough good stuff to keep you listening. Every time you're ready to toss it out the window another quip or flip of arrogance makes you pull your hand back for one more chance. Or does it not work that way for you?

Today's song requires a bit of explanation, lest you watch it expecting something...gangsta. Shut Your Mouth (Or You're Gonna Get Murdered) is the first single off of the New Year's release "Songs in the Key of Murder" from the self-named murder rap duo MC Randumb and Jewish Dave.

Now, the whole point as I understand it, is to take violent and misogynistic rap to utter extremes. The Vegas-based gents have their tongues firmly in their cheeks but the language and imagery would be horrible for kids (and your boss) so watch where you play this.

The video for Shut Your Mouth (Or You're Gonna Get Murdered), on the other hand, takes the more-subtle humor of their sound and shoves it right in your eye. Considering how badly a lot of "stars" lip-synch I think this approach actually might catch on. Then the divas can stop pretending to sing and focus on jiggling around in bikinis like they're getting paid to do.

Whoops! I think MC Randumb and Jewish Dave got me all hyped up and ready to battle. At any rate, you can pick up the entire, foul-mouthed, eight-miles-over-the-top album at cdbaby or at iTunes. Just...don't listen to Murder 4 Fun without your headphones. And don't borrow Dave's.

I was going to save this for Mother's Day but in listening to Paul Simon's Loves Me Like a Rock I suddenly discovered Barack Obama's new theme song. 'Twas the verse that runs thus which inspired me:

And if I was President (was the President)
The minute Congress call my name (was the President)
I'd say "Who do,who do you think you're fooling?" (Who do you think you're fooling?)
I've got the Presidential Seal (was the President)
I'm up on the Presidential Podium
My mama loves me
She loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
She love me like a rock

Considering the recess appointment hoorah going on right now this seems particularly appropriate. Whether you believe Obama did the right thing or not, the amount of ire likely to come his way over the next several weeks or months may well have him reminding himself of the basic premise of this song.

And before you point it out, I know I posted Loves Me Like a Rock before. But how often to I make a political post? Let me ease into the new year and say something a little different. Sheesh, you slave drivers!

I thought I'd take a look back at 2011 and see which posts were most visited over the course of the year. Naturally, older posts have the advantage of having had more time to accrue said visits but some get attention very quickly. Here are ten top posts, in no particular order:

Born to Love Volcanos—The Dead Milkmen
Zydeco Christmas—CJ Chenier
Post-Post Modern Man—Devo
Mashed Like Teen Spirit—Various DJs
Boogie Woogie Reveille—Various Artists
Jump in the Line and Shake Senora
Ça Va Chouia—Manu Dibango
Stone Rollin'—Raphael Saadiq
Cumbia Celtica—Salsa Celtica
Phone Number Songs—Various Artists

And the song most listened to on my blog in the entire past year at five times the visits of any other? The Sublime cover of Hong Kong Phooey. What does that tell me about my visitors? Not a thing, although it does tell me that an awful lot of people are looking for a picture of that crazy, kung fu dog and they're willing to listen to a wacky remake of this theme song when they find one.

What do the other ten tell me? That people have as varied a taste in music as I do myself. It does my heart good to see obscure people, older songs, and the strange comparisons my mind sometimes makes getting so much attention. Happy New Year and tomorrow I'll post a song. How about that?

When last I posted about Mexican Institute of Sound it was to share a great song and to note that there would be more coming. That was almost a year ago and I have yet to actually fulfill that promise. So for this gorgeous, sunny day I wanted to give you something ridiculously happy. Thus, I've selected La La La with its semi-electro flavor, its rockin', bouncin', horn-saturated, relentless cheer. Listen to the end for a bit of Mario, as well. That'd be the Italian plumber, not some guy named Mario playing an instrument or singing or anything. All in all, La La La is a terrific bit of goofy fun, just right for springing you out of your winter doldrums. (And, for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, it's a great little ditty for a lovely late Spring day.) And no, the song I wanted to post a year ago still hasn't popped up on Grooveshark. But I'll keep watch and if I see it somewhere I do promise to share. In the meantime, do let me know what you think of them, darlings.

From time to time I do hear current pop songs. Rihanna's S & M was one such song. But I'm not posting just because it's popular but, at about the 2:30 mark, I heard this little synth that made me wonder how much similarity there was between her song and Master and Servant from Depeche Mode. The answer? Not much. And yet for some reason the music for S & M reminds me of Depeche Mode. I'm sharing with you all today both songs. It may be just my inner DJ insisting that these songs go together so I thought I'd see if the two of them share the same flavor to you, as well. I don't mean subject matter: that's obvious. I'm asking about the music. Any thoughts?

Every holiday season I look for non-traditional versions of carols that make me smile or at least laugh at their bizarrity. Today I've taken my two favorite Christmas carols and done just that for you, dears. The swooping strains of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing was always the relief one needed from dirge-like renditions of Silent Night and psychotically happy tripe like Jingle Bells. And Angels We Have Heard on High makes me think fondly of my crazy Latin teacher in high school. The soaring pair of songs fly over the usual holiday fare and sound like they were actually written for people who M=can sing.

That's why the Bob Dylan versions of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing landed at first on the list today. I dare you not to laugh at his mush-mouth attempts, I double-dog dare you! As for the rest, well, they're mostly just for fun. I imagine singing the carols this way in a church setting which just amps up the entertainment value. The Reliant K version of Angels We Have Heard on High I included not because it's funny (which was what I expected from them) but because it's actually quite good...and fun. If you've a favorite rocked-out Christmas carol, please do share it with me. I'm always looking for more ways to torture my co-workers over the holiday season.

Finally, my darlings, I return to you all bearing the sunburned goodness of a worn-out parent fresh from the world of Disney in need of something very different. For that, I turned to LL Cool J. I considered posting Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Being Crushed by Buildings because the whole concept tickles me but thought it was a bit mellow and perhaps graphic for a sudden appearance. Maybe for Valentine's Day. In the meantime, enjoy this old-school nugget, You Can't Dance, complete with break dancing references and a classic line of 80s-style put-down lyrics. If that's not enough entertainment for a fine Friday night, then you'll just have to come back and try again for Saturday. I'm still trying to picture a can't-dance house and a can't-dance car.

As a tiny side note, this was the first song I can remember in which I could positively identify sampling of the nigh-ubiquitous (particularly in early hip hop and rap) Incredible Bongo Band. As I had the album it always cracked me up to hear it pop up in unexpected places. You know it's old-school now when you're listening to the Grandmaster Flash re-mix of their version of Apache. That's enough over-the-hill blather for one evening, I think. Can you tell I've missed you?

I heard Rum and Coca-Cola on the radio yesterday and it came to me that I'd never really listened to the lyrics. As I was mocking the pathetic attempts at accents for which the girls were famous I realized what they were singing: "Both mother and daughter working for the Yankee dollar."

Now, I'm fairly certain they didn't intend to write a song about getting drunk and picking up some hookers. I know it was about GIs on shore leave and all but I think they meant something much more innocent: soldiers were nice to the girls and had the money to buy them presents which their boy-next-door options did not. But it still sounds like The Andrews Sisters are singing about whores in Trinidad. As proof that I'm not the only one who thinks so, I give you this video. The description starts, "A song about alcohol and... prostitution? I'm sure it's all very innocent..." and then goes on to give the lyrics. See? Your grandparents were naughty, naughty people, as I've always said they were.

About a year ago, I posted a song from Gabin. I promptly forgot all about it until today, when I went looking for the song Mr. Freedom from their album of the same name. I then realized that I'd posted another of the duo's songs on my Scat Singing and Nonsense Songs page. For some reason I never connected the three songs, even though two of them appear on the same album.

Lo the price we pay for individual mp3 downloads and free on-line feeds in this day and age. Had I purchased the whole album then I could have been enjoying both songs from "Mr. Freedom" plus great tunes like The Other Way Round all of this time instead of finding myself wanting to buy it now when I already own one of the tracks. You'd think I'd have learned to do more research before I buy a single song but apparently I dropped the ball on this one. Please learn from my lesson and enjoy the fruit of Gabin's labor on me.

I apologize for the dearth of posts this week. In a plea for forgiveness, I bring you the Daddy Day Mix to tickle your ears. It's got a little something for everyone. I've included Was, Not Was with Dad I'm in Jail as a classic, Go Daddy O from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as a two-fer for you swing fans, Mindless Self Indulgence yowling about Daddy, and Howlin' Wolf, Clifton Chenier, and James Brown. Don't miss Angelique Kidjo's Papa, while you're here.

All told, I've gotten together a baker's dozen male-parent-related tracks, skipping the ones that are sappy, cruel, or explicit. I did include Papa Legba, not because it's about a father but because, well, look at my name. My children have requested that I include If I Could Fart Like My Father as well, sheerly for entertainment value, so it rounds out the list below. Happy Father's Day to you dads out there.

For those of you in the grip of World Cup fever, I bring you a song that's tangentially about football (that's soccer to you US folk out there). The late, great Kirsty MacColl took a game and a lying dirtbag, shook them with her inimitable gift for words and her love of Central and South American rhythms, and cooked up this fabulous song for what turned out to be her last album. Her sound bounced among many genres but the common thread was her wicked sense of humor. Even sadder songs displayed her flair for language. If England plays Columbia this year, may you hear this song in your head as you watch the action. Happy World Cup season!

It's a grey and dreary day here, so I needed a little cheering up. Happily, I knew precisely to whom I should turn. Moxy Fruvous does it for me every time. I'm including their version of the Spiderman Theme because, well, they do a relatively faithful sound with their own twist on the lyrics. If you haven't heard them I recommend having a listen. They sound like an a capella group here but most of their songs include some guitar and the occasional other instrument. Try The Mitosis Waltz, Huge on the Luge, and The Greatest Man in America. They are more satirical and political than your basic band, but that was their shtick and, hey, at least they can sing and be funny at the same time.

It's Mother's Day here in the US. I had intended to post Suicidal Tendencies's I Saw Your Mommy for today's song but I thought that might be a little off-color, even for me. Don't get me wrong--I love the song. I've instead compiled a list of eighteen Mom songs with I Saw Your Mommy at the top and a track filled with bonus cheese at the end. But I had to include a versions of Momsense as well. While Anita Renfroe did it first, this woman did it best, whoever she is. I haven't found her name anywhere so if you know it please, please share! Until then, have a watch and a laugh.

And now for something completely different:

While I'm a fan of Tom Waits in general, it's mostly because he writes such quirky lyrics. The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) stands as one of his best but I would never have posted it here because it drags so sadly. Along came Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks to play the song with Mr. Waits. Suddenly, they transformed it to a tongue-in-cheek bit of piano bar mockery. It's not quite up-tempo but it's no longer an incoherent rant from a drunkard but a...well, it's still pretty much incoherent but with a sly eye-wink tone that's a great deal more fun. For contrast, I'm including both versions here. I'll leave it up to you to decide which fits your mood better on this Friday night.

I've had an infuriating morning and I was all ready to post a fast and furious song about being mad when I encountered Kitten Is Angry. I cannot hold onto my inner cursing when listening to this song. It's about the least angry song you can imagine. It gives you mental images of a fluffy kitten attacking lint. Here I am, all ready to hear some adrenaline-fueling, hardcore punk when I make the mistake of clicking on Lemon Demon. All of those horrible bits of stupidity that created my mood are now down the drain and I'm laughing. I'm pretty sure that liking this song marks me as a complete geek, but I'm also sure you already knew that I was so where's the harm in sharing this little piece of fluff with you all? Be warned. If you're in a bad mood it will be completely wrecked by the Tai Kwon Do kitten.

All the Freaky People takes you pretty far out of my usual niches, but I absolutely love this song. It's like someone crossed Barry White, George Clinton and Parliament, and a bunch of politically-aware rappers and hippie jam bands. It's lovely, unexpected, and simply a terrific song. I wanted to share it with you all, particularly as it's from their first album. That means that you can be pleasantly surprised by three more albums and a couple of live ventures after you groove on this one. Check out Michael Franti and Spearhead and I hope that you like them as much as I do.