The Not-Pop Jukebox

In reposting from five years ago, I keep finding playlists that I created in Grooveshark that have all disappeared into an abyss never to be seen again. They included as many as forty versions of or thematically related songs that I spent hours curating. Ring of Fire was one of the first, and it was blessedly short!

Happily, the song and its covers have not paled over time. My family still sings it at full volume when shuffle blesses us with a version. Here's hoping the rest of my recreations go as smoothly! Here's the original post and the new video playlist with the addition of the actual original from Anita Carter and a couple of other great burning covers (don't miss DragonForce and don't look for Coldplay--this is the Not-Pop Jukebox, you know).

I feel that I should start with a disclaimer that I don’t watch American Idol. I do, however, like many of Johnny Cash’s songs and Ring of Fire in particular. It caught my eye that one of the contestants performed a very unusual version of that song last night and the wildly varying opinions led me to watch the video.

While I wasn’t crazy about the arrangement, the many posts and comments that I read expressing the opinion that Johnny Cash was spinning in his grave made me go looking for even more versions of Ring of Fire. I suspect that The Man in Black would have given the contestant a hearty pat on the back for taking such chances rather than being offended by the unusual interpretation. Of all of the country stars whose songs he could have chosen, I think Cash is the most likely to enjoy such a creative rendition.

Consider these versions of Ring of Fire, most of which were recorded while Mr. Cash was still alive (and, for the better-known acts, almost certainly with his permission). Try Grace Jones’ reggae-tinged version, Ray Charles’ soulful cover, or Blondie’s punk-country take on it. I’ve included Johnny Cash himself at the end (he's at the beginning, now), for a reminder of how it originally sounded. There’s a bit of nasty language in the Social Distortion cover, so if that will upset you then you may want to skip it.

Oh, my darlings, oh do I have something for you today.  I am, you see, in love.  With five German guys.  Don't tell my husband.

Hyperbole aside, not since I was introduced to Seeed have I geeked out over a new German band this hard. Combine three guys with what appear to be antique brass instruments, a head-banging bassist, and a drummer the drives them through it all and you get LaBrassBanda. One of the band members is listed as "Capt. Yossarian", which makes two literally references in two days if you're following my G+ posts as well! (Yes, blogging in two places about the same things is Catch 22, since you ask. /heavy hint)

In this video, you get the guys having a great time, some heavy-duty brass goodies, a Bavarian gent playing Tubissimo, a bunch of chair-dance-inspiring solos, and part of a Daft Punk cover. What more could you ask from less that seven well-spent minutes of your life? Now enjoy, dears, while I click the next song and see if I can get all their albums on-line.

Sometimes, you just want some funky drums. Thanks to Rusted Root, you can take a beat-heavy, Grateful Dead-esque Drum Trip, the first track on their 1994 release "When I Woke". Rusted Root lives in the genre I call "hippies", with the likes of Phish and WookieFoot. They're globally aware, world beat-influenced jam bands, all a mite more esoteric than strictly necessary. Rusted Root is also a lot of fun on songs like Drum Trip, Weave, and their better-known Send Me on My Way.

Sadly, much as I loved their first four albums (and the EP "Evil Ways"), when they took that long break after 2002's "Welcome to My Party" the seem to have lost something.  "Stereo Rodeo", released in 2009, seemed unfocused in comparison.   When they came out with "The Movement" a few years later the first song made me think they were back but, alas, the same dragging, badly-mixed sound dogged the rest of the album.  One of these days I'll post Monkey Pants for you, but for now take a Drum Trip back to Rusted Root's heyday instead.

The Libertines made decent rock, but the whole “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” concept rather went to the heads of some members, or at least to their egos. It's too bad, because songs like Narcissist prove that the group made a solid songwriting team. They actually managed to make a grungy, almost rockabilly song that doesn't wallow.

I like a little social commentary with my pop, so this song won me over to the Libertines' side of the fence (musically speaking, if not politically). While the band did meander into melancholy, The Libertines offered generally interesting, and often smart, lyrics as the cake to hold up their musical icing. They do a very old-school sound, with guitars straight out of the 70s. That's enough to earn them a spot in the jukebox!

For a new reboot, I'm going to start a new series: creepy songs about obsessive love. Stalker songs have long been popular, some more subtly than others. Night Vision Binoculars is not one of those songs.

I quite enjoy songs where the lyrics are in direct opposition to the feel of the music. Passenger has captured this juxtaposition with creepy, psychotic lyrics over bouncy, jangly pop music. Night Vision Binoculars sounds rather like a Vampire Weekend tune, but the lyrics belie the happy beat. I love it when they do that.

For all its reference to restraining orders and the titular spying apparatus, it remains a feel-good tune. Unless, that is, you actually have a stalker, in which case it might lead you to invest in some heavy curtains and avoid leaving the house altogether.

It's time to plug the Not-Pop Jukebox back in, and what better way to do that than to go back to my first song and re-post the song with a new way to listen to it? As far as I can tell, no alternative to the wonders that were Grooveshark are going to arise and I miss posting so we're going with videos. The post went thus (I used to be more succinct):

I remember when Dance the Night Away was a old David-Lee-Roth-era Van Halen tune. I can admit that I rather liked it then; I'm old enough not to blush about my occasional enjoyment of hair band hits. But the song was due for an update. Along came the Forces of Evil in 2003, with their ska rendition of the song on the album "Friend or Foe".

I'll add to my original blurb that Dance the Night Away was Van Halen's first hit, when I was but a wee music fan, and that the story behind it could only have come from a group that paid their dues playing dive bars. Whoever that woman was that inspired the song, the world of rock and roll thanks you.

Thanks to a couple of fine folks over at Google+ I've been introduced to my new favorite rock band. Shaka Ponk is everything the mopy, post-grunge whiners strive to be. They're edgy, in-your-face, and unexpected. They're also great fun and, from the looks of the I'm a Lady video, put on one hell of a wild live show. Somehow I doubt they'll be touring North Dakota any time soon, from their native France so I'll have to satisfy myself with watching videos.

Rather than distracting, this video adds a lot of punch to the song and clarifies that it is not only the female singer proclaiming the title in the chorus. If you find I'm a Lady as headbang-inspiring as I do, if you find yourself jumping up and down in time to the beat, and especially if you're interested in the lead singer announcing he's a lady, try Lucky Girl next for more confounding of your expectations.

Due to a misremembered lyric this evening, I found myself following a trail of songs that included the phrase "red hands" in the title. Since I've all but abandoned you all I thought I'd bring you the whole, sloppy mess, dripping with indie goodness via Walk off the Earth and Harlem Shakes, angry post-grunge from Calling All Cars, and even some classic Melvins death grind.

Now, I'll grant you some of these aren't fantastic songs. The point of these lists, however, is to point out the wide variations artists can come up with on a theme, in this case being red-handed (as in guilty). Some of them take the red a wee bit more literally than others. I did actually nuke one song from the list that was painfully bad but I left things like The Bravery, which sounds like a bad Cure cover band, because it's not my thing but Red Hands and White Knuckles takes the concept in a different direction and so still rates a listen.

The Builders and the Butchers come at things from yet another side, doing an Americana song that's almost bluegrass. Their Red Hands brings some classic storytelling and instrumentation to the table but manages to stay far enough on the not-painful side of the twang line that it remains enjoyable. So there you have it, my dears: seven songs about people guilty of something to one degree of violence or another. Have a listen and tell me which is your favorite or if you have a Red Hand Song I've missed!

In case you were wondering, I've been doing pretty much all of my posting at Google+ these days. While that's been quite interesting for me, it does leave this lovely mess in a bit of a stagnant heap. I'm going to try to find a better balance but, for now, I wanted to add this lovely bit of good stuff from Chewing on Tinfoil in both places. Let me know what you think!

Today's songs all started with one that isn't even on it. I've not mentioned my love for spy music for some time but it's still there and a song like Undercover Agent for the Blues is right up that alley. Once I started down it, though, I thought I'd find more undercover songs.

Find them I did! While you get the Billy Joe White version of the original song (as I've never really been a fan of Tina Turner's voice), you can also listen to that ubiquitous 70s hit Undercover Angel as well as Snoop Dogg and Bootsy Collins going undercover for funk. Technically, Agent 13 doesn't have undercover as the first word in the title but I really wanted to include Undercover Ska and the song seemed to fit beautifully.

I've also included some rockin' Monster Truck, a little Two Door Cinema, and some badly-mastered Silver Bullet (are you still rapping back there? I can't hear you!) If that's not enough, I threw in OPM and their surprisingly enjoyable Undercover Freak. Have a listen to all nine and let me know if you've got a favorite undercover song that I missed.

I discovered today the next step in the the evolutionary arc of my favorite music. We've gone from Eilen Jewell's tasty rockabilly to Gin Wigmore's neo-soul update of the sound and now I bring you Ivy Levan. I don't know where this girl is going but, if she continues to knock this swingin' soul sound out of the park I can't wait until she gets there.

I don't know if she's a fan of Janelle Monae but her look has a lot in common with yet another of my favorite songstresses. Her thematic EP does as well, though she's chosen a completely different story. Watch Hot Damn and see if you don't fall in love with that sultry beat and those retro dresses--and Ivy Levan's great voice.

If you want more, I've posted Money on my G+ page. I welcome your thoughts on either site!

For today let's enjoy the pop-y Apples and Oranges from Suite 709, a nice song about opposites attracting. For contrast, add The Phoenix Foundation and their slightly more out-there pairing of Apples and Tangerines. This, my dears, is pop versus indie drawn starkly with just song titles. The music just makes the point more sharply.

Suite 709 is sweet and predictable, a "you and me against the world" song that could have come from any of the past four decades. It's a good song, it's just not great. The Phoenix Foundation takes the same concept and skews it, moving the point of comparison just far enough to take away that anticipated theme and make you pay a bit more attention. That doesn't make it a great song, by default, it just makes it more engaging.

But that's my own prejudice writing there. I ask you, my darlings, to listen to both songs and let me know who you think does a better job with the concept of incomparables coming together. In other words, you pick the winner.

A few months back I panned the development of the Swedish band Mando Diao but I'd not yet checked out the side project Caligola that two of the members have been pursuing for a couple of years. I finally got around to it and I'm here to report that they've gotten over the mopey turn the band has taken.

Take, for instance, the disco-fueled Forgive Forget, just indie enough to be modern while tweaking my 70s sensibilities. This is more a return to the energy of Long Before Rock 'n' Roll and much more to my liking. I'll be following them with interest but for now just enjoy this taste of their sound.

Despite their vintage-y, 80s sound on No You Didn't, No You Don't, The Courteeners are a strictly modern band. Sure, they might sound like a cross between The Housemartins and Vampire Weekend from time to time but that's really all to the good. Real life's been kicking me in the rear of late but I haven't forgotten you all. Please consider this rollicking good time of a song my peace offering and a promise that I'll be back more in the near future.

Voodoo is, hands down, the slinkiest, sexiest thing I've heard this month. I consider a capella to be a guilty pleasure because, so often, it's creative arrangements of songs done by a hundred other people. I admire their talent and their teamwork but it's so rare for me to find really great original a capella song (hence my adoration for Throat Culture).

Right into the middle of my preconceptions came Street Corner Symphony with and entire album of original work. They picked Voodoo as the first single and in about twelve seconds you can hear why. As a bonus, you get a lot of slinky, burlesque moves and old-school suits. You don't need them, however, unless you want to see the guys and gals who are making all of that hip-swinging music just with their mouths. Even in context, did that sound dirty?

I often feel like I don't get Coeur de Pirate's videos. It's like the songs go one direction and the videos another...and then an abrupt ending. Take, as a case in point, Ensemble. You get the great instrumentation, the little-girl voice, the lovely Beatrice Martin, and overall a wonderful tune. And then you watch the video and you wonder, "Have I gotten this whole song wrong?"

So you check the lyrics, just to make sure. You were right: the song has nothing to do with an evil twin or high school. One presumes the man in the song is the yo-yo dribbling guy making out with some woman but what about him? And then it's over.

Do yourself a favor: watch the video once, just to see what it's like, and then listen to Ensemble without it. Coeur de Pirate has a gift for making perky songs about painful topics, of which this is a great example. Let me know if you think the video fits better that I do.

http://not-pop-jukebox.blogspot.com/2012/11/golden-baby-coeur-de-pirate.html

Yet again, I'm bringing you an odd introduction to a band via a song that really doesn't well-represent their sound. No-One Will Believe Me When I'm Dead has a country vibe, enhanced by the mouth harp and the slight twang. It's a conspiracy-theory sort of tune, but for all that it really does give you the idea that The Phoenix Foundation has something to say.

And so I'm sharing a romping, stomping number from what's mostly a solid indie band because if anything will induce you to find more from The Phoenix Foundation it's No-One Will Believe Me When I'm Dead. Don't believe me? Have a listen!

While in general I find Babyshambles to be, well, a bit of a shambles, I thought in honor of Left Hander Day I'd share Deft Left Hand. I'd say this is my favorite of their songs. As so often happens to me, I keep coming back to the band because I'm such a sucker for a great name and you have to admit they've got that going for them. If only more of their songs were like Deft Left Hand and less like Baddie's Boogie (which isn't), I'd have posted them long ago.

Whatever the case, celebrate Lefty Day by raising your Deft Left Hand in salute. If you think I've been unfair to Babyshambles, give me some song recommendations that prove me wrong. I'm always willing to eat a little crow.