Day: February 5, 2010

Here we go…

First up, a request in honor of ‘s birthday! She asked me to track this down from last week’s Grammy Awards… A special tribute to Les Paul, featuring Jeff Beck on guitar, and Irish rockabilly kitten Imelda May on vocals (and, to answer our question — she sang live over a multi-track recording of her own voice doing backing vocals, as a tribute to the fact that Les Paul invented the multi-track recorder, and had recorded this song in 1951 with his wife doing all the vocals!): Jeff Beck and Imelda May – “How High The Moon.”

If you’d like to hear what Imelda May’s own stuff sounds like, here’s a track from her debut album Love Tattoo — an ode to the upright bass: Imelda May – “Johnny’s Got A Boom-Boom.”

Watched a documentary on HBO this week called “This is my Africa”, featuring various famous Anglo-Africans (including Chiwetel Ejiofor and Colin Firth — who was raised in Nigeria) talking about everything from food to language to music. Very cool. The section on music introduced me to the following Nigerian artist. Born Bukola Elemide in Paris, her family moved back to Nigeria when she was two. She perfoms under the stage name Aṣa (pronounced “Asha”), which is Yoruba for “Hawk.” Great sound — a mix of jazz, soul and reggae. This song speaks of the problems facing Africa, which everyone is ignoring. A very compelling mix of urgent, socially-conscious lyrics, with a laid-back sound. Aṣa – “Fire On The Mountain.”

Rob Zombie’s new album is out — the first one that he’s actually recorded with his touring band, instead of just doing all himself. It’s presented as a “sequel” to his solo debut, and the full title is Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool. This track is based around the brilliant fake movie trailer that he did for Tarantino and Rodriguez’ Grindhouse: Rob Zombie – “Werewolf Women of the SS.”

Massive Attack also has a new album, their first in seven years. I haven’t listened to much of it yet, but this track grabbed me pretty much immediately: Massive Attack – “Girl I Love You (feat. Horace Andy).”

…and lastly, a blast from the past which I heard again this week, reminding me of how much I like it. Delerium – “Silence (feat. Sarah McLachlan).”

There you go. Enjoy!