Monday, December 31, 2007

Trolling the Underground : Happy New Year!

This is going to be a much shorter TtU than usual, because this time it is ALL about the music, and NOT AT ALL about discussion.

First off, many of you may not have seen this Blondie/Ramones post from way back. It was my 3rd TtU post! It highlights what these two bands were doing on Dec. 31, 1979.

As for this year, my first offering is from my earliest New Year's boot, and one of my earliest altogether. It comes from the man I trolled immediately after the Blondie/Ramones post, the incomparable Louis Armstrong. While I'd like to share his short,sweet instrumental Auld Lang Syne with you, it was unfortunately marred by an idiotic radio voice-over, covering the entire cut. Instead, I'll play a cut that embodies all that New Year's Eve is about - partying. Here's a rollicking number called Indiana from San Francisco's Downbeat Club 0n 12-31-54.

Besides Guy Lombardo, the musical act that made the most of New Year's Eve is doubtlessly the Grateful Dead. They threw a New Year's Bash almost every year they were around, and can you imagine a better party? I have to imagine, because I never saw one except on TV. One of the most famous was the 1978 New Year's Eve show from Winterland. The Dead came on after the Blues Brothers and the New Riders of the Purple Sage, played until dawn, and then served breakfast to the audience. What a way to bring in the year. Here's one of my favorite Dead tunes, Playin' in the Band, straight from the soundboard on that night. It's a fairly mellow rendition that starts with some characteristically quirky harmonies between Bob and Donna, but turns into a sweet jam.


To everyone reading this, I wish you a happy, prosperous and safe 2008.

And to 2007, I won't miss you. Feel free to kiss my ass on your way out.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

50 Greatest Rock Soundtracks of All Time

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From the folks at Conde Naste Media (they pub Vanity Fair and other snooty hooty shtuff):

The "Movies Rock" 50 Greatest Rock Soundtracks of All Time

Much to be discussed (and disgust, to be sure).




Cross-posted at Film Freaks Film Club
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Monday, December 17, 2007

Trolling the Underground : Christmas Under the Bridge



As you can guess, Christmas music is pretty much a find-it-where-you-can proposition where the underground is concerned. While there are a few artists that do special Christmas performances, few of those are likely to be recorded by stealthy means, and those that are broadcast are usually not by artists that people who record by stealthy means would listen to. I've never seen a Perry Como bootleg, for instance, and if I've seen any Anne Murray shows, I didn't take notice.

However, I do know of a few classic Christmas tunes, and searches on my fave boot sites for "Christmas" and "Santa" yielded results from the sublime to the ridiculous. As a result, the very first Trolling the Underground Christmas Collection is going to be a bumpy sleigh ride. There are some very happy songs, and at least one that is really rather sad. There are some funny songs here as well, including one that is funny mostly because it is just so, so bad (and I think you'll be surprised as to which one that is). A few are definitely good for putting that WTF?? look on the faces of friends, neighbors, and unwanted in-laws when mixed into your Christmas tunes! Serious or goofy, happy or poignant, hard or soft, there is something for everyone in this mix.

Two things before we get started. One, I wish I knew more about editing sound files - that way I could have clipped off some extraneous between-song chatter. Some of it may amuse you, though. If you know how to clip it and want to, go ahead. The rest of you can do what I do...... deal with it. Second, if you plan to put these on a disc, as they most certainly deserve, remember that they all come from different sources, and normalize the disc so that they all come out at the same level. Otherwise you're likely to be adjusting the volume a lot.

I put them in what I consider a nice order with a good balance of moods, although some of you may not want to use ALL of them (give them all a listen, though, they're worth it.) Use any or all in your collections as you wish.

Happy, optimistic cheeriness is always a good way to start a Christmas disc, so I'll begin with one of three Beatle-related cuts. This is, in fact, from the very last McCartney & Wings concert, recorded by Paul for a future release that never happened (with the exception of one released cut, Coming Up). Despite what I'm sure was a bittersweet occasion, the song still kicks us off with all requisite McCheesiness. From Glascow on December 17, 1979, this is Wonderful Christmastime.

Next comes a quiet, sweet acoustic tune, one of the first I thought of when I conceived this project, as it is one of the oldest Christmas tunes done by a rocker that I know. This is Greg Lake at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham, England on November 6th, 2005. The song is called I Believe in Father Christmas.

Taking a turn toward the serious, I have the first of two duets from Bruce Cockburn's annual Christmas shows, which always seem to have plenty of guest stars. This was from a radio show on December 12, 1993, and features Bruce with Jackson Browne. Not a huge fan of either, I was attracted by the title of the song - Rebel Jesus. Obviously, this is not a deck-the-halls kind of tune, but rather a far more thoughtful song that Browne takes a few pains to keep from being misconstrued. What do you think of it?




Fourth, we go to the WTF? file for a twist on an old favorite. How could I see, and not include, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by Twisted Sister??? 'Twould be a sin. And it seems that, in this version, Ol' Santa was getting more than just a little kiss! Mommy sounds like she'd be worth a trip down the chimney any old night. This comes from Trädgårn', Gothenburg, Sweden, on November 13, 2007.

I was looking to include in this collection a cut from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show that our very own Nat saw recently with her son. In particular, I wanted to find the song that her son liked the most. Well, as the song says, two out of three ain't bad. While I was not able to find a recording of the show that they saw, I did find several others, including this one from Hershey, Pa. on November 4, 2007, just a few days before the target show. The song is the one I sought, Wizards in Winter, a bombastic instrumental piece that might actually be a little cheesier than the McCartney song, but has a few cool solo passages and definitely swings the pendulum back from the bizarre.

Getting quiet again, we move to a secluded piano somewhere played by an obviously worn-out John Lennon in November 1970. He had finished a grueling writing and recording project for the Plastic Ono Band album, and was kicking back with Yoko and trying to hash out ideas for what would eventually become the Imagine album. The recordings from this show the very rawest, earliest kernels of the ideas he would soon begin working with. There are two versions of a song called Happy Christmas, with neither being fully developed but one more so than the other. This is that version. While I'm sure it will never be a holiday fave, it is a nice snapshot of John Lennon the Songwriter fiddling and farting about with part of an idea.

Once again, how could I resist downloading a Christmas song by Kiss? Even if it was the no-makeup-only-two-original-members Kiss that played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne, In. on December 26, 1987. Unlike the Twisted Sister tune, however, I think you'll find this version of White Christmas to be different than you're expecting, considering the source.

I had to go hunting for this next one as well, since I knew it but didn't already have it in my collection. I didn't think I'd be able to get it, either, since the torrent was old and so poorly seeded, but a few extra seeders came out of nowhere to help me get all three discs worth in no time (unlike the Kiss and Twisted Sister tunes, I wanted to get ALL of this)! While it isn't a traditional Christmas song, it has been around long enough to be a traditional rock and roll Christmas song, and it is a short little rocker indeed. From the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park (somewhere in England, presumably, as this is a BBC recording) on December 24, 1977, here's the Kinks with Father Christmas.



Plunging headlong back into the absurd, next is the Beatles, fresh from what must have been one hell of a night of partying, attempting to record their annual Christmas Message for the Beatles Fan Club on November 11, 1965. From what I've read, they would record four or more ten-minute sessions in order for the editors to get one floppy single's worth of Beatle banter to use for the fan club. You can tell that the boys are full of good intentions, with the glaring exception of John, but are stretching for ideas. Some of this was actually used, but I don't know what. I'm betting that it wasn't the bit about babies being sliced, frozen, and packaged. I don't know if they were on drugs when they recorded this, but I certainly hope to God that they were. You'll get some chuckles from it, and its inclusion in any party listening will CERTAINLY derail a conversation or two.



The next song comes next because of the beautiful segue that it starts with. Even though that segue was actually referring to a different song, it works just fine coming from that Beatles clip. It also serves as a fine counterpoint tune in any collection of religion-based Christmas songs. From the Greek Theater in Los Angeles on June (yes, June!) 1, 2001, here is Spinal Tap describing Christmas with the Devil.

The penultimate song goes back to being serious, and to making one think not about sugar plums, but about the serious and sad things that offset the shinier aspects of the season. Then again, what would you expect from Lou Reed, sleigh bells? Not hardly. This is Lou's duet with Bruce Cockburn from Christmas with Cockburn on December 20, 1992. It's called Christmas in February.

Rounding out these dozen selections is a traditional tune, but not a traditional Christmas tune. Nonetheless, it is a song that fits right in, and lifts the spirit (which will need a little lifting after Lou gets done with it). It's from the only gospel band I have in my collection, and the only one I've seen live. I speak of the legendary vocal group the Blind Boys of Alabama. When I saw them open for Peter Gabriel several years back, I was dumbfounded when, amidst their wonderfully harmonized gospel songs, the music for House of the Rising Sun began to play. What a strange selection for this group, I thought. I was even more dumbfounded when instead of House, they began to sing Amazing Grace! Never before had I seen the obvious - that the two sets of lyrics had exactly the same meter, and were musically interchangeable! Astounding, it was. I've been looking for a recording of that arrangement ever since, and still haven't found it. This arrangement, however, from the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Or. on July 5, 2007, will show you what I mean. Rather than the organ riff of the version I saw them perform, this is a bluesy guitar-backed rendition that ends this collection on a high note both musically and spiritually.

I hope that a lot of you will download and enjoy this collection, and I hope you'll let me know what you think of the songs and the order I put them in. And please, let us know what your mother-in-law thinks of the Twisted Sister tune!

Merry Christmas to all of you.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Cheezy's Musical ABCs

I think I'll do mine featuring mainly dance/house/electronica acts, of which I am still very fond:

Aphex Twin
Basement Jaxx
Chemical Brothers
Daft Punk
Evil Nine
Future Sound of London
Groove Armada
Hoxton Whores
Inner City
Junior Jack
Frankie Knuckles
Leftfield
Mylo
Narcotic Thrust
Orbital
Plump DJs
Q-Tip
Roni Size
Stanton Warriors
Tiesto
Underworld
Sven Vath
Crystal Waters
X-Press 2
Yello (pictured)
Zero 7

Nat's Musical ABC's

No, I wasn't tagged, but I'm playing along, and I'm using all alt-country/Americana/roots artists. (don't quibble with me about the categorization, some of the picks fall loosely within the range, or have at some point in the career.)

1. Ryan Adams
2. The Byrds
3. Calexico
4. Drive-By Truckers
5. The Eagles
6. Five Chinese Brothers
7. Gillian Welch
8. Heartless Bastards
9. Indigo Girls (whew, "I" could have been tricky!)
10. The Jayhawks
11. The Knitters
12. Leftover Salmon
13. Mary Gauthier
14. Neko Case
15. Ollabelle
16. Patty Griffin
17. Quicksilver
18. Robinella
19. Son Volt
20.Tim Easton
21. Uncle Tupelo
22. Varnaline
23. Wilco
24. Texas Tornadoes (ok, so I stretched it)
25. Yonder Mountain String Band
26. Dan Zanes

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

O' Tim's ABCs of something completely different

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Joe has made this impossible for me, so I am going to go with painful counter intuition on my ABCs:

1. Anthrax
2. Beastie Boys
3. Chicago
4. Daughtry
5. Everclear
6. Fugasi
7. Notorius B. I. G.
8. Hagfest (amazing what you can find with Google)
9. Illiterate Puppy (sounds bad to me)
10. J. Lo (okay, not rock, but still painful - NRBSP)
11. Korn
12. Loverboy
13. Megadeath
14. Nickelback
15. Ozzy Osbourn
16. Linkin Park
17. Queensryche
18. Lee Ann Rimes (NRBSP)
19. Slipknot
20. T-Pain (NRBSP)
21. UGK (NRBSP)
22. Jon Bon JoVi
23. Lil Wayne (NRBSP)
24. XCon4God (another Google winner!)
25. Yngwe Malmsteen
26. SwiZZ BeatZ (NRBSP - I’d fall asleep but for the fucking subwoofer)

BONUS: I simply have to throw in .38 Special for a “number” band.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Joe the Troll's ABCs of Music

1. Mose Allison
2. Jeff Beck
3. CSNY
4. Dr. John
5. ELP
6. Bela Fleck
7. Grateful Dead (I hated choosing between them & Peter Gabriel)
8. Hot Tuna
9. Iron Butterfly (not actually a big fan, but "I" is a toughie.)
10. Jethro Tull
11. King Crimson
12. Little Feat
13. Mahavishnu Orchestra
14. National Health
15. Anders Osborne
16. Pink Floyd
17. Queen
18. Max Roach
19. Steely Dan
20. Taj Majal
21. U.K.
22. Violent Femmes
23. The Who
24. XTC
25. Yes
26. Frank Zappa

Well, I guess I saw both extremes on this one. There were several letters where I had to choose between ones I like a lot (like with "G") and at least one where I had to choose between bands I didn't care that much for. I mean, Iron Butterfly is OKAY, I guess. They come out ahead of anyone else I can think of that starts with "I" (that being the Indigo Girls, Insane Clown Posse, the Isley Bros. and Tommy Iommi. Yeesh).

I don't normally like to tag people, so I'll just tag O'Tim, because he'll love it.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The Soundtrack of Jefe's Life

See O'Tim's post below for the details. This was way too fun!

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Hidden - Supersuckers

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Something - The Beatles

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Thank You - Led Zeppelin

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
True Love Way - Kings of Leon

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Linger Awhile - Lester Young

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Pay for What You Get - Dave Matthews Band

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
One and Only - Teitur

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Have Thine Own Way Lord - Johnny Cash

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Hush - Tool

10. WHAT IS 2+2?
Lil' Liza Jane - Fats Domino

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
You're All That I Want - Kiss

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Lonesome Head - David Fathead Newman

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Yesterday to Tomorrow - Audioslave

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
In Dreams - Roy Orbison

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Exanthem Fumble - Black Market Flowers

16. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Abraham - Jack Kerouac

17. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Melatonin - Radiohead

18. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Marmaduke - Charlie Parker

19. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
I Left My Heart in San Francisco - Tony Bennett

20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Mrs. Rita - Gin Blossoms

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Got You Where I Want You - The Flys

22. WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
Let it Die - Foo Fighters


It's crazy how well some of these line up! My personal favorites were that my life's purpose is to linger awhile, and that my biggest secret is Mrs. Rita. Ah, she was a minx!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The soundtrack of my life

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Here’s a meme I've not seen before, and it's pretty cool. By posting it here I am tagging all the authors of Where The Vibe Is, and anyone else is welcome to post their results in comments.

The rules:

1. Put your music player on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the Next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT (this is in capital letters, so it is very serious).

BEGIN

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Crosseyed And Painless – Talking Heads

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
LaGrange - ZZ Top

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Jammin’ – Bob Marley

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) - The Doors

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Feelin’ Alright – Traffic

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Conservative Christian, Right Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males - Todd Snider

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Achilles Last Stand - Led Zeppelin

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

10. WHAT IS 2+2?
Give Back The Key To My Heart - Wilco

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I Second That Emotion - Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Laugh Laugh - The Beau Brummels

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Home At Last – Steely Dan

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Eyes Of The World - String Cheese Incident

16. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
A Wolf At The Door – Radiohead

17. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Let’s Work Together - Canned Heat

18. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I Need More Love – Robert Randolph & The Family Band

19. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
That’s How AIDS Began - Todd Snider

20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
After The Goldrush – Neil Young

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Salt Of The Earth – Rolling Stones

22. WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
The Man Who Loved Life – The Jayhawks


I'm thoroughly amazed at how some fit in so perfect, while others might have fit better under a different question. I'm also amazed that no Dead showed up, but I did get the Jerry/Merle Motown cover and the String Cheese version of "Eyes." This is cross-posted at my personal blog Much That Is Hidden.
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