snuh (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} snuh) wrote,@ 2007-06-28 22:16:00 |
|
reelin' in the years...
It's continued to be a mild summer here in San Diego, so I've been listening to a lot of different music. I'd thought it would be a good excuse for a post to take a musical tour of the last nine decades. Some tunes have been overlooked, a few forgotten, a few overplayed - but I like 'em. In the case of the early songs, I picked what I considered the strongest performance of many different recordings by the artist.
1926 - This piece never fails to move me. There's something mournful, yet strength runs underneath this recording.
Duke Ellington: Mood Indigo - 5.45MB
1929 - Louis Armstrong plays like a man possessed on this version of Tiger Rag. I place his soloing on this recording against any modern day player in any genre of music.
Louis Armstrong: Tiger Rag - 5.78MB
1931 - The Boogie Woogie Man, Pete Johnson, with Big Joe Turner shouting vocals. Yep, that's your feet tapping in beat.
Pete Johnson: Roll 'Em Pete - 5.11MB
1940 - From allmusic:
A great way to start your day - some Java Jive to go with your morning coffee, from one of the premier vocal groups of its day.
Ink Spots: Java Jive - 5.65MB
1945 - In the nineteen forties, this Joe Liggins song sold more than any other in the decade, a pretty remarkable feat when you consider the classic releases of the day.
Joe Liggins: The Honeydripper, Pt 1 - 4.30MB
1945 - For me, Louis Jordan is one of the many early originators of Rock and Roll. It's too bad he's truly not getting his due, nowadays.
Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five: Caldonia - 4.88 MB
1954 - The sparseness of this song is haunting. Jim Jarmusch used it in Mystery Train to weave in disparate stories tied by time, yet constructed in a nonlinear manner, way before Quentin Tarantino used that trick in Pulp Fiction.
Elvis Presley: Blue Moon - 4.94MB
1955 - A classic R&B tune that never really got its props. Titus Turner belts one out in this bedrock of a song.
Titus Turner: Big John - 3.74MB
1965 - Never a big hit for the Temps, but it set the table for many to come. Never look back, someone may be gaining on you.
The Temptations: Don't Look Back - 5.28 MB
1970 - The Boston based, The J. Geils Band were one of the best live acts of the 70s. In 1984, lead singer, Peter Wolf, quit for a solo career, utilizing the production team of Don Covay and Michael Jonzun, who were otherwise known as The Jonzun Crew, to produce his debut album, which he had a minor hit with Lights Out, from the LP of the same name. Was married to actress Faye Dunaway for a short spell. Here's a white boy shot at reggae that'll keep you humming.
J. Geils Band: Give It To Me - 14.80MB
1972 - This Raspberries song is typical of the type of over-compressed sound that was popular of tunes of the day. They sounded better over transistor radios with tiny speakers, which was the way most people heard their favorite bands. This one hit #4 on the US Billboard Charts. Lead singer, Eric Carmen, went solo, leaving behind Power Pop for sappy ballads before he disappeared from sight (and ears) with his hit, All By Myself.
The Raspberries: Go All The Way - 4.59MB
1976 - I think by now most of you know my love of Tom Waits. Here's an early peek of what was to come in later years
Tom Waits: Step Right Up - 5.25MB
1980 - The Blasters hail from Downey, California and are the best exponent of true Rock and Roll. They still play with fire to this very day. If they come to your city, by all means, get a ticket and enjoy.
Blasters: Marie Marie - 3.88MB
1985 - Johnny Lydon/Rotten teams up with studio band, The Golden Palominos in this screecher. From Wikipedia:
The Golden Palominos: The Animal Speaks - 5.40MB
1993 - Morphine, a great band that was ended by the death of frontman and bassist, Mark Sandman (what a name for a guy that produced dreamy, ethereal music). Bare-bones Rock & Roll without any guitars and a two string bass. On July 3, 1999, Sandman collapsed on-stage during a performance in Rome, dying of a heart attack at the age of 47.
Morphine: Cure for Pain - 2.97MB
2001 - This London dance duo started a band after DJing at their own club. Suntoucher is a slow-burning dub groove.
Groove Armada: Suntoucher - 8.96MB
2005 - From allmusic:
Architecture In Helsinki: It's 5 - 3.18 MB
2005 - LCD Soundsystem's front man, James Murphy, looks like a cross between Pere Ubu's David Thomas and John Belushi. Perhaps the most posted song at The Hype Machine, outside of Daft Punk's oeuvre. But I like it and now Daft Punk is getting a much deserved resurgence.
LCD Soundsystem: Daft Punk is Playing at My House - 7.30MB
Even Kayne West sampled Daft Punk's Better, Stronger, Faster for his latest single:
2005 - Soulwax is an alternative rock band from Ghent, Belgium, of all places. When they're not creating music, they've gained some note for remixng cuts by LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk and Gorillaz.
Soulwax (Nite Versions remix): Miserable Girl - 5.38MB
Enjoy.
It's continued to be a mild summer here in San Diego, so I've been listening to a lot of different music. I'd thought it would be a good excuse for a post to take a musical tour of the last nine decades. Some tunes have been overlooked, a few forgotten, a few overplayed - but I like 'em. In the case of the early songs, I picked what I considered the strongest performance of many different recordings by the artist.
1926 - This piece never fails to move me. There's something mournful, yet strength runs underneath this recording.
1929 - Louis Armstrong plays like a man possessed on this version of Tiger Rag. I place his soloing on this recording against any modern day player in any genre of music.
1931 - The Boogie Woogie Man, Pete Johnson, with Big Joe Turner shouting vocals. Yep, that's your feet tapping in beat.
1940 - From allmusic:
The Ink Spots played a large role in pioneering the black vocal group-harmony genre, helping to pave the way for the doo wop explosion of the 50s. The quavering high tenor of Bill Kenny presaged hundreds of street-corner leads to come, and the sweet harmonies of Charlie Fuqua, Deek Watson, and bass Hoppy Jones (who died in 1944) backed him flawlessly.
A great way to start your day - some Java Jive to go with your morning coffee, from one of the premier vocal groups of its day.
1945 - In the nineteen forties, this Joe Liggins song sold more than any other in the decade, a pretty remarkable feat when you consider the classic releases of the day.
1945 - For me, Louis Jordan is one of the many early originators of Rock and Roll. It's too bad he's truly not getting his due, nowadays.
1954 - The sparseness of this song is haunting. Jim Jarmusch used it in Mystery Train to weave in disparate stories tied by time, yet constructed in a nonlinear manner, way before Quentin Tarantino used that trick in Pulp Fiction.
1955 - A classic R&B tune that never really got its props. Titus Turner belts one out in this bedrock of a song.
1965 - Never a big hit for the Temps, but it set the table for many to come. Never look back, someone may be gaining on you.
1970 - The Boston based, The J. Geils Band were one of the best live acts of the 70s. In 1984, lead singer, Peter Wolf, quit for a solo career, utilizing the production team of Don Covay and Michael Jonzun, who were otherwise known as The Jonzun Crew, to produce his debut album, which he had a minor hit with Lights Out, from the LP of the same name. Was married to actress Faye Dunaway for a short spell. Here's a white boy shot at reggae that'll keep you humming.
1972 - This Raspberries song is typical of the type of over-compressed sound that was popular of tunes of the day. They sounded better over transistor radios with tiny speakers, which was the way most people heard their favorite bands. This one hit #4 on the US Billboard Charts. Lead singer, Eric Carmen, went solo, leaving behind Power Pop for sappy ballads before he disappeared from sight (and ears) with his hit, All By Myself.
1976 - I think by now most of you know my love of Tom Waits. Here's an early peek of what was to come in later years
1980 - The Blasters hail from Downey, California and are the best exponent of true Rock and Roll. They still play with fire to this very day. If they come to your city, by all means, get a ticket and enjoy.
1985 - Johnny Lydon/Rotten teams up with studio band, The Golden Palominos in this screecher. From Wikipedia:
The Golden Palominos were an American musical group headed by drummer and composer Anton Fier, first formed in 1981. Apart from Fier, the Palominos membership was wildly elastic. While the Palominos records usually featured a core set of musicians and emotional feel though the bulk of an album, various guest appearances would result in some stylistic changes from track to track.
The Palominos' album, 1985's Visions of Excess, would sound vastly different, leaning towards songs more in a folk vein, with a sound in some respects pre-dating the emergence of the alt-country genre by a few years; However, in an example of a stylistic jump, one song, "The Animal Speaks", featured a pronounced, punk-like electric guitar part and vocals by The Sex Pistols' John Lydon.
1993 - Morphine, a great band that was ended by the death of frontman and bassist, Mark Sandman (what a name for a guy that produced dreamy, ethereal music). Bare-bones Rock & Roll without any guitars and a two string bass. On July 3, 1999, Sandman collapsed on-stage during a performance in Rome, dying of a heart attack at the age of 47.
2001 - This London dance duo started a band after DJing at their own club. Suntoucher is a slow-burning dub groove.
2005 - From allmusic:
The Australian indie pop ensemble Architecture in Helsinki hails from Fitzroy, Melbourne, and counts multi-instrumentalists Cameron Bird, James Cecil, Gus Franklin, Isobel Knowles, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, Tara Shackell, and Kellie Sutherland among its ranks. The band's musical arsenal is even bigger than its roster, featuring instruments as diverse as analog synths and samplers, glockenspiel, tuba, clarinet, and recorder along with the more predictable drums, bass, and guitar. Architecture in Helsinki began playing in 2000, crafting a mix of indie, electronic, and pop that they recorded and occasionally performed live.
2005 - LCD Soundsystem's front man, James Murphy, looks like a cross between Pere Ubu's David Thomas and John Belushi. Perhaps the most posted song at The Hype Machine, outside of Daft Punk's oeuvre. But I like it and now Daft Punk is getting a much deserved resurgence.
Even Kayne West sampled Daft Punk's Better, Stronger, Faster for his latest single:
2005 - Soulwax is an alternative rock band from Ghent, Belgium, of all places. When they're not creating music, they've gained some note for remixng cuts by LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk and Gorillaz.
Enjoy.
