The Not-Pop Jukebox

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.

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.

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!

While I've listened to and loved a lot of Lou Reed in my day, Harry's Circumcision is the one song I will recommend without hesitation when his name is mentioned. I've not actually heard anyone else mention it but to me it's the perfect distillation of Lou Reed's sense of humor and lyrical style.

In his memory, I want to share it today. Even if you aren't a fan, listen to the story he tells. Then spare a moment for the guy who could tell it.

I try not to overwhelm you all with awesome, Danny-Elfman-filled goodness but some days I just have to share. While Everybody Needs finishes out the theoretically solo 1984 album, "So Lo", we all know it was a record contract dodge and the rest of Oingo Boingo is backing him.

The real question about this album is, "What is it that Everybody Needs?" As with so much Boingo, this album as well, the answer is usually, "A release." It's often, "A way to escape my life," and sometimes, "To know that I'm not the only one." Considering the depth and breadth of bad behavior Elfman and Co. explored over the years, you'd be hard pressed to find something you know better than to do that you keep finding yourself doing that isn't shared by plenty of others.

Of course, now we have the Internet and need Oingo Boingo much less. We can get that reassurance via a simple Google search that will bring us thousands of results to soothe our sense of deviance. Personally, I still like to go back to the old-school way and let Danny Elfman tell me I'm okay.

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?

By now I've likely raved enough about Salsa Celtica that you've been chomping at the bit for more--if you haven't already gone out and bought a couple of albums. Today I'm doing a double post of the Scottish salsa band. Here you can listen to the exuberant Yo Me Voy which, given the verve with which they toss it into the song, means less "I'm leaving" and more "I'm outta here!"

The other song I've posted on my Google+ NPJ page. That one is El Agua de la Vida and has the added benefit of combining the bagpipes and horns with fiddle all at the same time.

Regardless of the specific instrumentation, you get the salsa music hot enough to make you want to wear one of those awesome loose skirts and really shake your hips with interludes of pipes just spicy enough to make you wonder if haggis could possibly be all bad. Let me know if it is, would you? I love Salsa Celtica but not quite enough to actually try it.

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

Lest you have the idea that only male people can be the black sheep of their families, I bring you today three amazing songs titled Black Sheep from three fantastic ladies. You'll find the saucy, sparking thump of Gin Wigmore, the rockin' drive of The Barettas, and the smooth, guitar-rippled, stringed groove of Oi Va Voi. These women show you that there's more than one way to be a Black Sheep. If you have to be a sheep, be a black one! Let them show you how.

For a Friday flash post, let me share with you the sort of thing I love for a band to do. Let's Get Funky and Blanc Garcon go in two utterly different directions. For someone familiar with the scrungy, filthy grunts of the former the latter was a total zydeco surprise. I listen to full albums for new bands whenever possible because I never know when one of them will pull just this sort of switcheroo. Enjoy!

Let us consider, today, the problem of being a narc. It’s an unhealthy and, essentially, untenable position. Thankfully, you can consider both perspectives by comparing Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad, in which The Clash tells you about a so-called friend who got a little too involved in her job, and Working Undercover for the Man. The latter comes from the ever-inventive They Might Be Giants and details what may have been Julie’s thoughts…though somehow I find that unlikely.

Whether you’re a fan of police dramas or just of great music, have a listen to Julie’s Been Working and Working Undercover. Let me know which you like better or if you think this would have made a better Perfect Pair post than letting You Pick the Winner.

John Brown's Body is known for mixing other genres into their music, blurring genre lines and broadening what one might consider reggae. To me, that's all to the good. Take, for instance, This Is Drum and Bass. The song is clearly a response to the genre so named but it's also a sparse instrumental with naught but ephemeral vocal flourishes and a smattering of horns. It is, however, undeniably a reggae tune.

The reason I chose to post John Brown's Body today was not just to draw the band to your attention, in case you've missed them, but because I've been listening to "Kings & Queens", their latest album. You can listen to Shine Bright on The NPJ's Google+ Page. In the meantime, tell me if this isn't a great refutation that Drum and Bass can fit only into a simple genre definition.

It's been ages since I shared some Portugal. The Man. As I've been grooving to the "Evil Friends" album I thought it high time I brought him back to your attention. To that end, have a listen to Atomic Man, a song which has gifted me with the insult "after you hell will be easier". If you like this one, try Modern Jesus or Purple Yellow Red and Blue. The latter is the one that brought me to the album in the first place and well worth your attention.

I find myself in possession of the new Gogol Bordello album, "Pura Vida Conspiracy". Naturally that means I've been listening to it for ages and have come to a decision: you need this in your life.

As proof, I offer Malandrino, a song which not only shows the mellower side of the band that comes out much more strongly on the album but which also builds up in to a flailing, wailing, horns-screaming danceable smile factory. Seriously, by the time it was over I was panting and grinning like a maniac. This is Gogol Bordello at their best, my darlings, and I want you to hear it. So click, already!

Pura Vida Conspiracy

While the sound is more Florence + the Machine, IAMEVE has begun something similar to Janelle Monae with her story cycle, "The Everything Nothing". The first EP is subtitled "Act 1" and contains six songs which tell a story I'm not quite sure I follow, yet.

In part it's the videos. The two I've watched in full seem to contradict the songs. In Throw Me a Line, for instance, IAMEVE spends her time throwing off the lines by which she's bound. Nonetheless, I'm intrigued by this, the beginning song of the story, and how she goes from here to Temptress. Whatever the case, it's a great introduction to a new artist who's trying to make something different. Have a listen and let me know whether you think the video fits the song better than I do.

As you can see, when DJ Zebra decided to work with a band he didn't screw around. He went out and found a mass of musicians, with horns and pipes and drums and the whole nine yards. There he stands, out front, with his guitar. Who knew he had such non-electronic chops?

Well, of course I did when I posted their first single from the eponymous album, Plus Rein ne Marrete. But I didn't quite realize what an enormous, glorious mess the whole thing was. I thought there were discreet loops building this enormous sound. I was utterly wrong. As an apology, please enjoy Funk-sur-Mer, which convinced me to finally get my poop in a group and buy the album
, mainly by making me dance around my living room like a fool and, once or twice, squee like a little girl.

Honestly, I can't say enough good about the unexpected combination of Zebra and Bagad Karaez. You have to hear it for yourself. Now lets hope this player actually works, because I'd feel terrible if you couldn't actually do that. [EDIT: Apparently you can listen to the whole thing instead of just Funk-sur-Mer. Do it, do it now!]

If you took Jane's Addition, bred them with the Violent Femmes, and had the babies raised by The Black Crowes you might end up with something like Goliathon. You might also end up with some monstrous mess that I'm not going to help you clean. But this is about Goliathon.

At root, Goliathon is a pretty straightforward rock band. With a saxophone. That doesn't mean that their driving set pieces are dull or predictable, however. I'm sharing Jettison as a prime example of the quality wail Chris Probasco brings to most songs. If you enjoy this one, do give the instrumental Kebab a try as well.

I find it shameful that more people don't know what a stellar voice Bobby McFerrin has. Heed the lesson, those of you yearning to have just one massive hit: it will haunt you for the rest of your life. For a true taste of the compositional and vocal talent this man possesses, try Bang! Zoom! instead. It's jazzy and layered and lovely and wouldn't chart on a dare. That's just how I like my favorite music, you know. With luck you'll like it half as much as I do, because that's still a lot.