Under the Bridge

Someone Forgot Their Password?

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Which one of you was it? HMMM??

RIP Bo Diddley

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:06:00 +0000

What a huge loss today. He really did put the rock in rock and roll.

Bo Diddley December 30, 1928 - June 2, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:05:00 +0000

It is with great sadness that I learned that rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley passed on this morning. He was not only one of the inventors of rock and roll, but a legend that never outgrew his fans. I'm proud to have met him and shaken his hand.

I trolled him in much more depth here.

Rest in peace, Bo. You were awesome, you were necessary, and you will indeed be sorely missed.

Trolling the Underground: Astronomy Domine

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:55:00 +0000

I recently found this online in DVD format, and transferred it to .avi just for you. Here is Pink Floyd's very first television appearance, recorded on May 14, 1967 for the Look of the Week program. Evidently, they also did Pow R Toc H and an interview but this was captured during a re-broadcast and those two parts didn't make the cut. The transfer seems to have heightened the contrast in the picture a little - I'll have to work on that for future posts.

This is the original Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett on guitar and vocals. They play the song much like they later would on the Piper at the Gates of Dawn album. This means it's a little mellower and trippier than it would become with David Gilmour ripping into the solo the way he did.

The TtU Lyrics Quiz!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:00:00 +0000

As Miz UV has amply demonstrated, you all like these lyrics quizzes! Hers are always very popular, but for me, frustrating. This is not only because I never see them until they're mostly answered, but also because she and I have different tastes in music, and all my encyclopedic knowledge does me not one damn bit of good. So for this one, it doesn't matter what music you normally listen to, because for all of these questions, I've already given you the answers.

You see, all of these lyrics came from songs I've posted on Trolling the Underground. All of you can access those (I did not use any songs posted on the Wordpress blog, although I think there was just one. All of these songs came from here or my main blog.) And no matter your tastes, I'm sure you've been downloading them all and giving them a close listen.

Right?

Here they are:

1 - They bend the facts to fit with their new stories of why we have to send our men to war.

2- "Send back my dream test baby, she's my main feature."

3- Baby, let me check your valves, fix your overdrive. (Trampled Underfoot, Led Zeppelin, Fez)

4- Distant bells, new mown grass smells so sweet. (Fat Old Sun, Pink Floyd, Jodie K.)

5- We asked you what you'd seen. You said you didn't care.

6-She always liked to sing along. She's always handy with a song. (Dixie Chicken, Little Feat, Annie)

7- I'm one of nature's children. (....., Beatles, Fez)

8- When the fish scent fill the air, there'll be snuff juice everywhere. (Wang Dang Doodle, I posted the Ratdog version, Annie)

9- I will now receive my comfort, conjured by the magic power of wine.

10- And if Warhol's a genius, what am I? A speck of lint on the penis of an alien.

11- You're trippin' on a shoe lace - racin' to each new place...

12- But they've turned the nature that I worshiped in from a temple to a robbers den.

13-Give me your lips for just a moment and my imagination will make that moment live. ( A Kiss to Build a Dream On, my post was Louis Armstrong, Jodie K)

14- I talk on the telephone for hours with a pound and a half of cream upon my face! (I Enjoy Being a Girl, Tiny Tim, Miz UV)

15- If silence was golden, you couldn't raise a dime.

16- Eyes are moving but there's no life showing.

17- We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy like the hippies out in San Francisco do. (Okie from Muskogee, I posted a Grateful Dead/Beach Boys version, Annie)

18 - They put a jug beside him and a barrel for his stone.

19- There lies a land I once lived in and she's waiting there for me. (Question, Moody Blues, Miz UV)

20- The secretaries pout and preen like cheap tarts in a red light street. (Synchronicity II, The Police, Fez)

Go!

Just Cuz Nobody's Posted Since February

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Comic grabbed from here.

People Who Live in Glass Houses Shouldn't Roll Stones

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:14:00 +0000

The very picture of health, isn't he?

If you think that Natalie Cole was out of line in her criticism of Amy Winehouse, just check this out.

She's being panned by none other than Keith Richards (see his blog here) and Mick Jagger. Here's the stupidest part:

"When we were experimenting with drugs, little was known about the effects," Jagger said. "In our time there were no rehab centers like today. Anyway, I did not know about them."

Umm, sorry, mooselips. Acid may have been new in the 1960s, but cocaine and heroin were both old hat, and the dangers of both were well known. VERY well known. No excuses for you.

I don't know what's up Richards' ass. He's known for just spouting gibberish, so maybe it's that. Maybe he needs all of his blood replaced again. It certainly is a hypocritical stance for him, considering that it's been less than a year since he made that "joke" about snorting his dad's ashes, a "joke" that no one in the world had a moment's problem with believing. I mean, given his history, why would such a thing be hard to believe?

Jagger's a little easier to figure out. He has to put on this more conservative front now that he's got that entirely meaningless "Sir" in front of his name. I guess we have to expect a bit of hypocrisy from the aristocracy. His claim that they didn't know the dangers is self-serving, however. How could someone be so inspired by the blues without knowing what happened to the old cats that supposedly inspired him?

Now, it would be easy for me to get on my own high horse and say that this will change my buying decisions and I wouldn't listen to the Stones anymore, but what would be the point? I'm not ANYWAY. These guys have been dried-out husks for at least 15 years now. Sheer has-beens. Bill Wyman knew what he was doing when he made the Steel Wheels tour his last. He also knew what he was doing when he kept his mouth shut for all the years before that.

As for Mick and Keith, I have some advice for them, too. Look up Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry. They can teach you how to grow old with grace, and how to hold on to your place in rock history without making stupid, obnoxious, hypocritical asses of yourselves.

Defined A Decade?

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:20:00 +0000

Being a music geek means being comfortable with thinking up themes like "The Bands That Defined A Decade." I'm talking rock bands here. This is something I've been toying with for quite some time, and I'm always tweaking. For now, I'm settled on these picks.

The 50's - I'd love to just say Elvis and get it over with, but he's not a band, even though he was almost as big as one by the time he died. No, I'd have to pick Buddy Holly & The Crickets as the rock and roll band that defined 50's. No, they weren't first on the scene, but Buddy's sound as well as his songwriting took rock and roll to the next level.

The 60's - The Beatles - These guys were the 60's, hands down.

The 70's - Led Zeppelin - Possibly the rockingest band that has ever existed. Their legendary excesses even helped spawn the punk movement.

The 80's - Here's where it gets a little tougher to pick, but I have to go with U2.

The 90's - Another tough decade to wade through. I want to say Pearl Jam, but they only rode in on the coattails of Nirvana. Nirvana brought grunge front and center, and every band tried to be them.

The 00's - I cannot even pick a band who might define the first 8 years of this century. My first inclination is to pick The White Stripes, though, since their garage rock revival has spawned scores of imitators, and hoards of rock snobs continue to cry out, "If it ain't indie, its' shit."

Thoughts?? Contributions?

Trolling the Underground: The Night I Met XTC

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Ah, yes. I remember it as if it were only 18 and a half years ago.

It was May, 22, 1989, a Monday, and I was off work that evening. My friend Mike called to see what I was doing, and if I'd heard that XTC was going to do a live show at WXRT radio studios that night. I was just sitting around with a fellow who had been known at various times as Lima Bean, Big Bird, and Secord, and no, I hadn't heard.

Feel like going to see if we can meet them, asked Mike? Mike was an artist - a painter, and a damn good one, which of course meant that he was entirely unsuited to anything else resembling work. He had time on his hands, was good for finding goofy shit to do, and always needed a ride. Well, we had nothing to do that evening, and stalking rock stars seemed novel enough for a lark. Why not?

I'd been a fan for about six years at that point, having learned of XTC when I left the rural clime of my childhood and went to college. Bloomington, Il. wasn't exactly what anyone would call urban, but being in school exposed me to people from all over the state, including Chicago and St. Louis, so I heard a lot of new things. Our campus radio station, WESN, had a "new releases" format, and I became acquainted with XTC's freshly pressed Mummer album through my weekly three-hour show. I didn't like it, and it's still one of my least favorites.

I heard much better stuff at parties, though. Drums and Wires, Black Sea, and English Settlement were all getting a lot of play on campus, and that stuff was easy to love. Rough, loud, and angry, it was also thoughtful and clever, with a sly joke thrown in for those listening carefully. With their attitude and their skill, they were one of very few bands that could bring the punk rockers and I to the same place.

I'd never had a chance to see them, however, because they stopped touring entirely due to frontman Andy Partridge's near crippling stage fright a year prior. While they continued to produce albums over the years, even kicking up quite a stir when their song Dear God hit the radio, they never set foot on a stage.

That didn't go too well with their record label, as it didn't help increase sales. They were in danger of getting shelved when they had a bit of a hit with their Oranges and Lemons album, and the single King for a Day. The personnel changes and the maturation of the band members had smoothed over the band's rough edge, and their newer, more harmonic approach was getting radio attention. They had to capitalize on that momentum while they had it, so a compromise was reached. In lieu of a traditional tour, they did a tour of radio stations in America's major cities, and on MTV, where they could do interviews and play "live" without all the live show rigmarole, and without an audience. They could get some media exposure without going crazy.

We looked up WXRT in the phone book for the address, and took off. I was cursing myself for having lent my Black Sea CD to an out-of-town friend, as it was the only one I had (in 1989 my CD collection was barely beginning). I brought along my LP of Black Sea, instead.

The station was easy enough to find, and we were not at all surprised to find that about 20 or 30 others had the same idea. It was a mellow crowd, though, and everyone just sat around and listened to the the radio and waited. By the time the show started, we had a little XTChead community going, and we listened to it all as the sun set. Then, after the show, we just waited.

And waited.

Well, they must not have minded, because rather than call the police to chase us away, they came out to greet us. Andy's legendary shyness had made us wonder quite a bit. When they came out the side door, there was a brief, awkward moment when he saw us all and took in the panorama of the parking lot, but his face warmed up and he immediately became approachable.

The others, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory, were quietly polite and signed all the autographs that were requested, but Andy surprised us. He wasn't just tolerant. He was downright gregarious, talking and joking with fans as if it were his heart's desire, although we were pretty sure it wasn't. As he was getting the lion's share of the attention, the others were able to slip away from the crowd - after signing the inner sleeve of my LP, of course. As I got closer to Andy, they started coming around and dropping hints at him that the car was waiting, and to our surprise he blew them off rather than begging off from us. As the girl in front of me got his autograph, Colin came by and made another request that Andy break away, in a rather cryptic way so as not to offend us. Andy looked at us and said something very sarcastically spy like, as if it were a code, which got the crowd laughing at Colin's expense. He went away and didn't bug Andy again.

I remember asking him what comics he'd enjoyed the most as he signed my record jacket. I'd read that Andy was a comic book fan (and several of his song titles indicated so) and I was in the prime of my collecting days at the time. He expressed a strong fondness for the works of classic artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko (the guys who helped put the Fantastic Four and Spiderman, among others, on the map) and then looked at me and said "Adam Strange" in the same way that someone my age might look at me and say "Speed Racer." And then he was on to someone else.

That was my first experience with meeting someone I listen to, and I've been lucky enough to repeat it several times with folks like Adrian Belew, Bo Diddley, Marcia Ball, Charlie Musselwhite, Stanley Jordan, and Mose Allison.

These recordings are fairly easy to find, and seem to make the rounds on the bit torrent sites. They all sound great since they were either recorded from the FM broadcasts or taken from the radio station's tapes. I haven't tried to get them all, but I do have a couple from Boston and the one from WXRT. They all include the interviews and acoustic versions of some of their more popular songs. In fact, XTC being a rather open minded band, there is a website called XTC4U that offers many choice live shows for free download. You don't need to know BT for these, either, they're just point and click downloads. There are some real gems there. Go get you some!

Now, to the music. You can get the acoustic GreatFire/Dear God/Big Day medley at XTC4U, so I won't post that, nor will I post any of the interview. While it was all pretty interesting, and the band members were all in a jovial, wisecracking mood, we're about the music here at TtU. So I'll share two musical cuts.

The first is the other medley they did - Senses Working Overtime/Grass/Love on a Farmboy's Wages. The acoustic guitar and lack of thundering drums gives Senses an entirely different sound, and that difference extends to the second track I'll share tonight as well. That track is the show's finale. It starts with them coming back from a record, chatting for a moment, playing an acoustic version of The Mayor of Simpleton (one of their best "pop" tunes, IMO), and saying goodbye.

While Dave Gregory has since then bid the others adieu, Andy and Colin are still together and have stated plans to continue recording. Here's to more music from, and more success to, XTC.

Music Hath Charms........

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:11:00 +0000

Found here at Froggy's.

At last, the taser industry has given us what we've been screaming for - the combination Taser and MP3 player! Never again feel the embarrassment of trying to disable your opponent with an accidentally-grabbed iPod! Now you can listen to your favorite tunes and disrupt central nervous systems with only one gadget!

Of course, this begs the question...... What would be the MOST appropriate song to listen to while stunning someone into a jelly-like state?

For me, Shock to the System by Yes was the first song to jump to mind, followed very quickly by Peter Gabriel's Shock the Monkey. Or maybe......

Big Electric Cat - Adrian Belew?
Electric Avenue - Eddie Grant?
Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment - The Ramones?
Shock & Awe - CSNY
Electric Guitar - Talking Heads?
Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) - Jimi Hendrix?

What tune would YOU like to groove to while disarming your attacker?

Trolling the Underground : Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:25:00 +0000

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.

50 Greatest Rock Soundtracks of All Time

noreply@blogger.com (O' Tim) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:27:00 +0000

.
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
.

Trolling the Underground : Christmas Under the Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:48:00 +0000

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.

Cheezy's Musical ABCs

noreply@blogger.com (Cheezy) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:54:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:22:00 +0000

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

O' Tim's ABCs of something completely different

noreply@blogger.com (O' Tim) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:47:00 +0000

.
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.

Joe the Troll's ABCs of Music

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:01:00 +0000

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.

The Soundtrack of Jefe's Life

noreply@blogger.com (Jefe) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:12:00 +0000

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!

The soundtrack of my life

noreply@blogger.com (O' Tim) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:02:00 +0000

.
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.
.

The Hartnoll Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (Cheezy) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:38:00 +0000

Popular music is full of siblings who have made music together, and a lot of them have had rather tempestuous relationships. The fightin' Gallaghers from Oasis spring to mind, as do the Davies brothers from The Kinks. And, going even further back, I believe the Everly Brothers didn't speak to each other for the odd decade or two.

An exception to this rule are Paul and Phil Hartnoll from the seminal electronic act, Orbital. Hmmm... Must have been all the E they took. It's hard to stay angry at someone when you're pilling your tits off.

Despite the lack of any high-profile familial bust-ups, it's a truism of life that all good things must come to an end. And so, after four memorable appearances at Glastonbury, seven great studio albums, and a stonkingly good valedictory tour in 2004, Orbital broke up. Along with the likes of Leftfield, Underworld and the Chemical Brothers, they will be remembered as one of the most vital and innovative electronic bands of the 90s.

(If you're unfamiliar with their work, check out these videos for a taster - The Box and Halcyon).

But what are the Hartnoll boys doing nowadays? This year has provided us with the answer, so it's time to don my metaphorical music reviewer's hat and give the following pair of CDs a listen:

Long Range - Madness and Me

I saw Phil Hartnoll's Long Range at The Big Chill back in summer 2006, so I was expecting a CD of their new material pretty soon afterwards. I didn't think I'd have to wait over a year anyway!
Not to worry - it's here now. And it's got all the ingredients for a great dance album. Filthy basslines? Check. Insistent beats? Check. Heart-fluttering melodies? Check. The title track is a particularly beautiful piece of music.

The only exception to this tale of excellence is the song 'Your Face', in which Long Range 'succeeds' in sounding like some godawful German heavy metal band from the 80s. I don't know what Phil was thinking of there, but the result is complete shit.

Nevermind, things get back on track with the excellent Just One More and it doesn't detract from what's a very promising debut from this band.

8 out of 10.

Paul Hartnoll - The Ideal Condition

Wow, this is an entirely different kettle of fish. It's been said that Paul wants to get into making soundtracks for movies, and it certainly sounds like it. Much of the material comes across like the soundtrack for a movie - a bloody good one.

A lot of The Ideal Condition couldn't be described as house music - or, indeed, dance music of any kind - so a lot of Orbital fans probably won't like it. But personally I love the airy, orchestral, almost pastoral sound of tracks like 'For Silence' and 'The Unsteady Waltz'.

There are still harder, clubbier tracks (and the poppier 'Please' featuring the distinctive vocals of The Cure's Robert Smith) but the overall feel is sweeping and grandiose. For example, 'Nothing Else Matters' is one of the most beautiful electronic tracks I've heard in ages, and the final track 'Dust Notes' reminds me of the sort of grand, overblown orchestral piece that wouldn't sound out of place on the Floyd's 'Atom Heart Mother'.

In other words, it's fookin' brilliant.

9 out of 10.

So there we have it. A narrow points victory to Paul.

The feeling back "in the day" was that Paul was probably the real brains behind Orbital. I think this was mainly due to the fact that Phil, during the live shows, used to cavort around and wave his arms around and generally look like he was having just as good a time as the audience - while Paul generally kept his head down and seemed to be doing most of the 'knob twiddling'.

Despite this public impression, I reckon these albums show that the talent in the Hartnoll family was shared around fairly evenly.

Manic Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 22:07:00 +0000

It's the last Manic Monday before the official kickoff of the Bigassed Neverending Commercial Holiday Joy Season! Spend, spend, spend!

Blues:

Acoustic Blues - Paul James (reissue)

Explorer - Duke Robillard (reissue)
New Blues For Modern Man - Duke Robillard (reissue)

Country/Folk:

Live Shots - Joe Ely

Greatest Hits - Keith Urban

Old Town School Of Folk Music, Vol. 4 -Various Artists

Rock:

Angel Down - Sebastian Bach - I guess he has time for music now that his gig on Gilmore Girls is up.

A bunch of Holiday Gift Packs are coming out on Capitol Records, each from a different artist (i.e. Pat Benatar, Blur, Blondie, etc. Each features a CD and DVD.)

Ask Forgiveness - Bonnie Prince Billy

Fly Me Courageous - Drivin' N' Cryin' (reissue)

Awakening Live - Melissa Etheridge

Genesis - a bunch of reissues of their 80's stuff on Rhino

Dose - Gov't Mule

Y34R Z3RO R3MIX3D - Nine Inch Nails

Colorado 88 - Phish (and more live Phish, too)

Jukes - Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes - Springsteen light is reissued this day.

Joshua Tree - U2 - 20th Anniversary reissue

The Brit Box: U.K. Indie, Shoegaze, and Brit-Pop Gems of the Last Millennium - Various Artists - Rhino's gift box in a cool-looking package. 78 songs. Stone Roses, Smiths, New Order, Supergrass, My Bloody Valentine, and many, many more artists.

Jesse Winchester - reissues

That is all. Now enjoy the turkey this week, if you're in the USA, and if you like turkey.

Contrast Podcast Needs YOUR Vote!

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:57:00 +0000

As you may or may not know, I participate in a weekly podcast, Contrast Podcast, produced by the fab Tim Young. Each week, he assembles a themed podcast featuring songs introduced by the participants. This week, the theme was Random Shuffle, so each participant shuffled a player and submitted the first song that came up, with a short intro. My song this week was Summer's Coming by Sean Watkins. Next week, the theme is 1986, so I've chosen a song, recorded an intro, and emailed it off to Tim to be part of the podcast next week.

For year's end, Tim's doing a Contrast Podcast Festive 50, and asking folks to submit their favorite 5 songs of 2007. I would love it if any of you would join in the fun. Here's what to do:

1. Decide on your 5 favourite tracks of 2007 and put them in order from 1 (your favourite) to 5 (your fifth favourite). (Note: he's a Brit, so favourite=favorite. Yes, I'm a smartass.)
2. Send this list to me at tim.young@rhul.ac.uk with ‘Contrast Podcast Festive 50’ in the message title by the 27th November.
3. This is open to all contributors and listeners to the podcast .. so spread the word. The more votes we get the better it will work.
4. Three lucky list-makers (pulled out of the hat randomly) will win a copy of the ‘The Trucks – Titties ep’ including my remix!!
5. I will then put the lists together to make a chart and invite contributors to introduce songs that they have liked.
6. The podcast will go out from 18th December to 1st January with a countdown of the top 50 .. hopefully!

If you are shy about recording an intro when/if your song makes the cut, I can do one for you. So, come on, help us out!

What did I submit? It was tough, since there are many songs I couldn't get enough of this year, but my list is:

1.You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb - Spoon
2. Right Moves - Josh Ritter
3.Boy With A Coin - Iron & Wine
4.Down In The Valley - The Broken West
5.Head Like A Hole - Giant Bear (NIN cover)

The Oldies but Moldies.

noreply@blogger.com (Joe the Troll) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:52:00 +0000

Nat of local fame recently discussed the five oldest records in her collection. That got me rooting through the old lp collection, and reminiscing quite a bit. I was all about the black vinyl disks when I was a kid.

My answer, therefore, would have been much too long for a comment, so I'll list mine here.

First of all, there is a lot missing from this collection. After all, I wasn't always about the music I dig now. In elementary school, my collection was chock full of K-Tel collections with names like Fantastic!, Dynamite!, and Out of Sight! I also had everything Kiss yarked up until the under-the-belt combo of the horribly inept Kiss Alive II and those solo albums. Egad, those solo albums. This stuff, along with other mistakes, was purged from the collection when I reached middle school, and never missed. Thus, this answer to Nat's question involves just those that survived.

There are two from those days, and I am certain that they predate any of the Kiss albums I bought, anyway. They were both, of course, inspired by my older brothers' collections, and the first was the only band that they both had.

Hours upon hours were spent in my room, using the little record player my parents had bought in the 50s - you remember, the little portable ones that were self contained and made their own case. I pored over the record cover - the first "real" one that was my property. I seem to remember there being a poster with it, but that's long gone now.

I remember digging this because it was one my brothers didn't have, yet it had all the songs that I liked from the albums I'd heard, and a few new ones. It also gave me a chance to hear different versions, since it was a live album. See how early this whole thing started?

The next one was heavily inspired by my eldest brother M___'s collection.

At the time, live music was more of an economic decision than an artistic preference. A single lp cost about $7.00, but you could get a double album for $10.00, and a triple like this for about $13.00. More bang for your buck. Any of them were a big investment for a 4th grader in the day when a copy of The Flash was only a quarter. And thanks to both the radio and my brother's records, I was really into the Beatles and McCartney both. This three-disc set not only gave me new versions of songs I knew, but also a lot of new songs, as well as live versions of Beatles songs! This is one I'd like to replace on CD.

It's interesting to note that while I played the hell out of these records, they are still in fantastic shape. I'd even say the McCartney is close to pristine, despite getting played for years longer than the Grand Funk. I was careful with my music to the point of neurosis, I guess. My reverence started at a very early age.

This one was a gift from my other brother, R__ . His idea was always to get me music that I wasn't listening to, and broaden my horizons. In this case, however, it's no wonder the lp is in great shape. With the exception of one song, Do You Feel Like We Do, I never warmed up to it. As a kid, I thought maybe I just wasn't "getting it", because this was such a monstrously popular album. I figured I'd like it better as I matured. I didn't. The main reason this is still in the stacks is the fact that I've never found a used record store willing to buy another copy of the damn thing.

The next one was my own decision, made around 6th or 7th grade, and one of the few to escape the "used record store" purges of the 1980s that removed a LOT of records from consideration here.

This is still a great album. When it first came out, my young mind was baffled by Bohemian Rhapsody, but it grew on me in exactly the way Frampton did not. And the first side is simply one great song after another. In fact, I cannot for the life of me explain why I don't have this on CD, especially since good Queen boots have thus far eluded me.

Finally, we come to one that I'm sure I got in 7th grade, as another gift from R___. This time he got it right, as I was ready, largely because of Queen, to start exploring the more progressive rock bands, and Kansas was a terrific primer. While songs like Dust in the Wind are commercial enough for a young listener to consider "normal", songs like The Spider and Paradox challenged me to follow the melodies and rhythms in a way that hadn't happened before. This album prepared me for a lot of bands I listened to later, such as Yes, ELP, and King Crimson, which in turn paved my way toward jazz. Not only that, but it was also a lyrical departure from the teen love that most of the radio fare consisted of, and that meant a lot to me. I wanted something more intellectual than the usual party fare of the day. And look at that cover! The next record R___ got me for a gift was Wish You Were Here. He really hit the nail on the head that time, eh?

Trivia Quiz - Names

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:35:00 +0000

The standing rule: No Googling!

Who is the artist referring to in the song? (Give me the artist/song title, people!) No, these are not the exact lyrics, since what fun would that be? (and none of these are super-obscure songs, ok?)

1. She should wake up, since he's got something to say to her. It's late September and he should be back at school, you know.

2. She made a food (CORRECTION, the word is FOOL) of everyone. She broke the rules, but the world was just waiting for her.

3. This bloated hairy thing winnin' a grammy must not get back together with Glenn Frey.

4. This guy had a hard run, runnin' from her window, and he's on his bended knees asking her not to come around anymore.

5. She need not put out the red light or sell her body to the night.

6. This country boy never learned to read and write so well, but he could play guitar.

7. All he wants to do when he wakes up in the morning is see her eyes.

8. Her phone number was 867-5309.

9. He's crawling up my wall, black and hairy, very small.

10. He looks at the night, and it don't seem so lonely. How can he hurt when he's holding you?

The More Difficult BONUS question:

11. She feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China.

Manic Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Natsthename) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:00:00 +0000

I have been lax in posting these weekly updates, so it's time to get back to it! I just know you're all dying to get the new Britney Spears release this week!

Blues:
John Lee Hooker - I Feel Good [Deluxe Edition]
The Starkweather Boys - Archer St. Blues

Country/Folk:
Larry The Cable Guy - Christmastime In Larryland
The Highwaymen - Folk Hits Collection
Various Artists - Bearded Ladies

Rock/Pop:
Blue Rodeo - Small Miracles
Blues Traveler - Cover Yourself
Cake - Cream Of The Cake
Chad & Jeremy - Greatest Hits
Ellen Foley - a couple of reissues - You know, Meat Loaf's chick singer from Paradise by the Dashboard Light
Robert Fripp & Brian Eno - Unreleased Works Of Sterling Genius
Gerry Goffin/Carole King - Goffin & King: A Gerry Goffin And Carole King Song
Joy Division - reissues
The Kinks - The Kinks Greatest 1970 - 1986
Pure Prairie League - reissues
Leon Russell - reissues
Britney Spea....never mind
The String Cheese Incident - a bunch of live on the road cds
Tegan & Sara - reissues
The Texabilly Rockets - Bop Potion No. 5
Sid Vicious - Sid Lives
Gary Wright - Human Love - reissue of a 2000 release
Various Artists - Tribute To Prince - artists include Ice T, Gary Numan, and a bunch of people I never heard of

In other words, nothing much came out this week.