There's no better time to take the pulse of a country than on the anniversary of its birth. My hopes were sky-high when Barack Obama was elected the forty-fourth President of the United States. The country had just endured eight years of a wartime President that took more vacation time than any other to date. The American people apparently were upset as I was - for the first time in years, there was a majority of Democrats voted into the House and Senate, which meant smooth sailing for our newly elected Democratic President.
Americans were well aware of the serious problems that awaited President Obama. Two wars, a Wall St. collapse that jump-started a worldwide economic meltdown and a healthcare system that only served those that could afford it, among other niceties. Barack had my vote after I heard him respond to a question about copay costs, he made mention of all those that couldn't afford any payments, that his healthcare plan would make room for those with no money. He talked about shutting down the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp and allowing those held without charge to have their due process.
Eight months later, President Obama has kept his promise to start closing Gitmo, but now is considering whether to issue an executive order to indefinitely imprison a number of Guantanamo Bay detainees. This is not acceptable - the law is applicable to one and all. President Obama stated he would govern by consensus, that despite a Democratic majority, he wasn't going to force bills down the throats of Republicans. Now, there's a problem with that, since the Republicans haven't offered to be part of any solutions, they're still walking in lockstep and doing nothing but obstructing anything that's been proposed. With insurance industry lobby money behind them, they're against any "socializing" of America's health care system. It's to the point that Obama is now offering to take the public option off the healthcare table.
Change we can believe in? You haven't done nothin' and with a majority at your back, no less. Mr. President, we don't need a consensus, We The People need help. July Fourth is the two hundred and thirty-third anniversary of the birth of the Union. We Americans have made it through the best and worst of times, we'll make it through this somehow. Happy Independence Day, peeps. Here's hoping things get better and soon.
Here we are, on Father's Day and I was trying to find a father-appropriate song that I can relate to. My dad wasn't ever around much, left our family for good when I was ten, so it’s not quite a sentimental day. Nonetheless, as I often remind my mom, he’s half of me, however good or bad that may be. In the Shel Silverstein composition, A Boy Named Sue, the protagonist has a future of brawling awaiting him because of an absent father whose only contribution to his entire life was naming him Sue, a feminine forename, which led to endless taunting from bullies and the ensuing battles that followed. After years of searching for his dad, they finally cross paths and commence with the mother of all fights. If you've not heard this one before, I won't ruin the ending - give it a listen.
Before my father left, the only advice he gave me was never get a tattoo, which was based on his experience of having to alter his own ill-named one, and to stay away from cigarettes, since he wasn't able to stop smoking them until his illness. Nowadays, he lives in Manhattan, suffering from leukemia and on his tenth year of recovery from laryngeal cancer, which caused him to have a laryngectomy. The doctors gave him one year to live, so he's in overtime right now. Our bond can best be explained by one of Facebook's relationship status notifiers - it’s complicated, but I still love him. Have a great day, dad.
So, what was I just saying, Right Here, Right Now by Jesus Jones on repeat for 3 hours while driving through the desert. Yes, in August, that's right... oh, readers - there you are! I was just messaging a friend about the upcoming Jesus Jones LA to Vegas Road Trip Challenge '09. Between setting up the particulars and dealing with mind-numbing finances, I've wandered away a bit, but here I am, back for yet another installment of the Friday Five, same as it ever was, same as it ever was...
Rock And Roll comes from the last Velvet Underground album, Loaded, a nod to their record label's request for an album "loaded with hits." It's an affirmation of the transformative power of Rock - when Ginny started shakin' to that fine fine music, her life was saved by Rock 'n' Roll.
There's been an undercurrent of Wu-Tang Clan in the last few Friday Five posts, probably because I've been listening to Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) pretty continuously for the last few weeks. Built around the 1978 martial arts flick, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, WTCANTFW includes sampled dialogue that quickly turns into earworm material. Get ready to go Tiger Style with the Wu-Tang.
When I'm looking for the latest and greatest, I turn to my Bro tumbledore, who sometimes posts as Danish Aziz over at thisrecording. He led me to Micachu (formerly Micachu & The Shapes) and the brilliant tune that's been part of my daily playlist, Golden Phone. Where's this band been hiding? It's chock full of snap and enough musical zigzags to keep my head dizzy for minutes.
Basically, this Van Morrison tune's the blueprint for the sound Bruce Springsteen adapted a few years later. It's so joyful, don't be surprised if you find yourself dancing along. By the way, did you know that Van was the inspiration for Fat Bastard? Now you do - and doesn’t that explain a lot?
I have to admit, I’ve somewhat recently become a fan of Yes. For years, I disliked them because they represented everything that was wrong with Rock before Punk came along and straightened things out. I found the music pompous, overblown with lyrics that cause Led Zeppelin to look like Flaubert in comparison. But one day, I found myself humming the melodies to their tunes and wondering just what the hell the lyrics of I've Seen All Good People were trying to say. Around this time, Buffalo 66 hit the theaters - Vincent Gallo used Yes music to great effect in the film, especially Yours Is No Disgrace. My oldest bud, Richard, who has worked in the music industry forever, swears up and down that vocalist Jon Anderson is hiding a serious case of dementia and often forgets where he is while onstage. Hopefully, that’s not the case, as I’d like to catch them in concert one day. Yes is one embiggening band, d00ds and d00dettes.
Yes, I know the temperature in Death Valley averages over 120°F in August, one sec... Well, have a great weekend and don't forget, it's Fathers Day - give old dad a call. I might even post again for the occasion.
I've had a few items sitting around that for one reason or another didn't fit into any sort of theme. Because of that, I'm bringing back "odds & sods" so some worthwhile tunes get airing.
A lot of people were wondering who Less Than Zero was written about, especially after the line, "Calling Mr. Oswald with the swastika tattoo." Xenophobic Americans assumed it was Lee Harvey Oswald, the man labeled John Kennedy's assassin, in fact it was about Oswald Mosley, an extreme right-wing British politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists (Eric Clapton supported him, btw).
While playing the Warner Theatre in Washington DC, February 28, 1978, Costello gave a special US performance of Less Than Zero that has been called "The Dallas Version." Below are some of the lyrics Elvis sang that night:
Janet takes her clothes off in succession, while her husband rides a bumper in the President's procession. She`s sees him on the screen as she looks up from giving head. When he's had enough of that her lover throws her on the bed to teach her she`s alive and suddenly he`s dead.
Calling Mister Oswald, calling anyone at the scene, If you were taking home movies there`s a chance you might have seen him. They've got a thousand variations, every witness in a file. Janet puts on some coffee and she comes back with a smile. She says, "I hear that South America is coming into style."
A pistol was still smoking, a man lay on the floor. Mister Oswald thought he had an understanding with the law. She`s got rubies on her fingers, Janet turns and looks away. Her mind upon a basement out of the USA. She says, "Let`s talk about the future now we've put the past away."
Before, the show was available solely through bootlegs, this one comes from the recent My Aim Is True reissue.
Back in 1968, David Bowie was struggling to find an audience, lack of album sales for his first record caused his label Deram to drop him. New Musical Express wrote, "A listener strictly accustomed to David Bowie in his assorted '70s guises would probably find this debut album either shocking or else simply quaint."
His manager at the time, Kenneth Pitt, shopped around a rough demo tape that led to a one-album deal with Mercury Records. That's where this early version of Space Oddity is culled from. The familiar version was re-recorded the next year to take advantage of the publicity driven by the Apollo 11 moon landing. I usually prefer barebone demo performances of popular songs, I get a better feel for the tune this way, as with the case of Space Oddity. For fans of the Stylophone, no worries, it's still there in the mix.
Mick Jones of The Clash once sang, "I wasn't born so much as I fell out", which is a notion I can get with, since my family isn't very emotionally demonstrative. That's not as bad as it sounds, since we all love each other, so I was surprised when out of the blue, my mom started letting me know that she cared for me. I was pretty perplexed and answered with eyes arched as she was waited for a response that wasn't soon forthcoming. After a few more tries, there was an explanation that she'd read in my blog how one should tell someone that you care about them. It was one of those "D'oh" moments in life, caught in a web of my own weaving.
So, on that note, it's a good time as any to mention how thankful I am on this Mother's Day to have a mom that passed down the love of music of all sorts to her son. My earliest memories involve hearing the hits of the day playing on the radio that sat by the crib, I can remember the first time I'd heard songs that would soon become part of the fabric of my life. All this eventually led to me being mom's go-to guy for the telephone version of Name That Tune, I get to sit idly by as she hums an assortment of notes that bear no resemblance to any musical scale I've heard before. Though I express exasperation, I don't mind, as mom and I get to share a moment together bonding over music.
Here's to mom and all the mothers out there reading this - enjoy your day! Oh, before I forget... that was The Spinners backing Elton John on Mama Can't Buy You Love - mom, you still owe me twenty bucks. No, I'm not letting this one go, square that bet, pronto!
"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." - Rajneesh
"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." - Mark Twain
"Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together." - Pearl S. Buck
"Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own." - Aristotle
"The one thing children wear out faster than shoes is parents." - John J. Plomp
"For the hand that rocks the cradle - is the hand that rules the world." - William Ross Wallace
The Beastie Boys just remastered Check Your Head, so it seems natural to revisit one of the better tracks off it. They played instruments for the first time on this album, along with a new sound that laid the blueprint for things to come.
After making his bones with angsty music, Conor Oberst is smoothing it out with his latest collection, the just released Outer South. More upbeat and Pop-filled than his earlier work, you'll either love his new, more accessible sound or hate the SOB sellout. Listen and decide for yourself.
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band: Nikorette
Is it about a stunt motorcyclist or a close friend destroying a relationship? Only Thom Yorke knows...
In 1962, the foundation of the War was laid when The Creators formed in Long Beach, California. Six years later, after recording singles with Love saxophonist Jay Contreli, they backed then-LA Ram Deacon Jones' foray into the music business and changed their name to Nightshift. While playing the Rag Doll club in North Hollywood, the band was approached by record producer Jerry Goldstein and former Animals lead singer, Eric Burdon, to back the vocalist in his latest project, War. They recorded Eric Burdon Declares "War", spawning Spill the Wine, which later found new life on the soundtrack of Boogie Nights. After another studio recording, world tours and live album, Burdon and the group went separate ways. Most bands disappear after losing their front person, instead, War turned into a hit machine, with a string of top-ten singles and numerous gold records. No doubt influenced by their massive success, their later recordings got a bit commerical, which took the luster of their earlier earthy output. Slippin’ Into Darkness, from their second album, All Day Music, finds the band in fine Funk form.
When Rick James wasn't busy smacking Charlie Murphy around, he was cranking out nonpareil gut-bucket Funk, like today's selection, taken from the 1981 12" vinyl release. This one gets the party started right and quickly.
Since playing on Saturday Night Live last week, music blogs have been abuzz posting tunes from French band Phoenix. Here's one that's not been beat into the ground, courtesy of Post Punk.
Copenhagen's Laid Back is one of those marvelous one-hit wonders that turned out a classic song and then disappeared. Prince liked it so much he cloned it with Erotic City - I wonder if His Royal Badness ever gave them proper credit?
Recently, discussion turned to what was the first song you'd downloaded from the Net. In my case, it was this gem from Cake concerning the ancient radiation of faintly glimmering radio stations haunting dismembered constellations. When it comes to lyricism, I likes my imagery.
Crazy times, brothers and sisters. When I was wee lad, I'd ask my grandparents about the Great Depression. They'd answer the realization of having lived through one didn't come until years later, after it had been tagged with that label. All they knew - employment was scarce and money tight, sorta sounds a bit like right now. Here's hoping everyone is holding up okay, it's jarring to hear of so many job losses piling up. How about some music to put our minds on more pleasant thoughts?
David Byrne is on record saying this song was written about a girl he knew in high school that used to take LSD while behind the field of a Yoo-Hoo factory. I love the line, "Missing enough to feel alright: and she was" - there's a good sense of freedom there.
Superfantasticfridayfivebonus: This video finds the Talking Heads absolutely playing their asses off in a groove that would give Sly and The Family Stone a run for their money. I feel they're at their best in this rip snarling performance.
Here's Duke Ellington and band during the Cotton Club era, a time when they played with exceptional fire. Ellington composed The Mooche to show off Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton's pioneering use of the plunger mute on trombones - it gave off a "wah-wah" sound, about four decades before Jimi Hendrix came on the scene.
Always on the lookout for new bands, Foals came to my attention via tumblr molodoichelovek. They formed in Oxford, England, in 2005 and describe themselves sounding as infinite substance trepanning. With that type of account, it's probably best you listen for yourself.
Mark Oliver Everett - AKA A Man Called E, Mr. E, or simply E. Whatever name you use, he's the person behind the Eels. You may know his father Hugh Everett III, was a quantum physicist and at the age of nineteen, Mark discovered him lying dead in bed. His sister Elizabeth, a schizophrenic, committed suicide in 1996 and two years later, his mother died of lung cancer. His rough life caused E to examine his feelings through music, where he tackles themes of mortality, mental illness, loneliness, unrequited love and dark humor. In today's selection we get twenty miles of hard road, thirty-three years of tough luck, forty-four skulls buried in the ground, crawling down through the muck.
I don't have to say much about Stevie Wonder other than to enjoy one of the better cuts from his Songs In The Key Of Life album. Of late, I just can't stop playing it, which is why it's on the Friday Five.
A couple of notes - the best way to keep up with the goings on here is through your newsreader, here's the feed: snuhthing/anything rss. While I'm at it, I've been spending a lot of time over at my tumblr, where I post all sorts of interesting images, videos, links and music. I have to admit being surprised how something that started out as a lark has taken off in such a big way. If you enjoy snuhthing/anything, you should like this as well. The feed: snuh.tumblr rss.
Now that I have all of that out of the way, what's up with everyone - what's your weekend plans?
Yeah, it's a repost, but it's just right for April Fools Day.
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right." - Mark Twain
"Fools live to regret their words, wise men to regret their silence." - Will Henry
"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools." - Ernest Hemingway
"A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will."- Spanish Proverb
"That's the penalty we have to pay for our acts of foolishness - someone else always suffers for them." - Alfred Sutro
"I have great faith in fools - my friends call it self-confidence" - Edgar Allan Poe
"Old fools are babes again." - William Shakespeare
"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever." - Chinese Proverb
"Any fool can write a novel, but it takes real genius to sell it." - J. G. Ballard
"Fools gain greater advantages through their weakness than intelligent men through their strength. We watch a great man struggling against fate and we do not lift a finger to help him. But we patronize a grocer who is headed for bankruptcy." - Honore de Balzac
"You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time." - Abraham Lincoln.
"You can fool too many of the people too much of the time." - James Thurber
"Every fool finds a greater one to admire them." - Bioleau
"When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap." - Cynthia Heimel
I have to admit - I've come down with Spring fever. Flowers have begun to bloom, warm breezes tickle the nose as the sweet air brushes against my face. Leaves are returning to the trees, birds are chirping away madly, blood's rushing through the veins with new vigor. Hibernation has ended - let's all celebrate Mother Nature's miracle!
A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King, But God be with the Clown Who ponders this tremendous scene This whole Experiment of Green As if it were his own! - Emily Dickinson
When it comes to St. Patrick's Day, I like to put together a mix that's not just relevant to the celebration, but something one can listen to all year long. On that note, here's this year's mix, music from Ireland's best Pop bands of the last quarter century. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it more than the hangover you're going to suffer through the following day.
"Beware the Ides of March!" Coming after the second Friday the 13th in two months, it has a sense of foreboding, a double whammy of bad portent. Julius Caesar was assassinated on this day back in 44 BC, eventually peeps started to conflate the historical act with The Ides of March, which in actuality refers to the festival dedicated to the god Mars - Romans considered this an auspicious day on their calendar.
Outside of straightening out the superstitious, it's also a great excuse to post a rare White Stripes tune and a trippy, rambling bit of stream of consciousness from Iggy Pop. But just to be on the safe side, beware of men bearing daggers - especially long sharp ones.
What level of ego is sufficiently necessary to distinguish our individuality - how much is too much? Societal mores teach us that we should put others ahead of ourselves, but for a myraid reasons, that proves to be an irrelevant task for those with an inflated sense of self. These are the special people the universe and our theme revolves around, the silly solipsistic amongst us.
In Greek mythology, Narcissus was cursed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Luckily, not bound by spell, modern day narcissists freely decide to indulge in affairs of their heart. For the self-absorbed, there's never been a better time to be alive. With our technology, one can construct virtual shrines to self-worship on the web, sites where a thousand pictures say one word - "Me".
Here's a collection of tunes of the preoccupied, egocentric and vain - they'll enjoy it 'cause it's about them.
"Vanity keeps persons in favor with themselves who are out of favor with all others." - William Shakespeare
"Because that's what narcissism is all about; looking in the mirror everyday and thinking, 'Damn, I'd like to shag myself.'" - Eddie Izzard
"A man's own vanity is a swindler that never lacks for a dupe." - Honore de Balzac
"The vain being is the really solitary being." - Berthold Auerbach
"Vanity plays lurid tricks with our memory." - Joseph Conrad
"If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now." - Douglas Adams
"Self-love seems so often unrequited." - Anthony Powell
It's that time of the year again, ladies and gents, Valentine's Day, where we celebrate the vast unknown that is otherwise called love. Yes, we humans yearn for the mysterious irrational magic that causes us feel that we're not alone in this great big scary world. Many times we reach and fall painfully short, but that doesn't stop us from trying again and again. Love is powerful stuff, it's launched a thousand ships and hundreds of thousands of songs; here's but a few of them to help commemorate the holiday - Happy Valentine's Day, peeps! And don't forget to tell someone you care about them, 'k?
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