Category: Music

Here we go again….

As I said in a post on Wednesday, I picked up Radiohead’s new album, In Rainbows, and I’ve been enjoying it. I highly recommend that you go to the website and purchase it (especially since you can set your own price, and it all goes directly to the band). As a “radio-single” sample, here’s my favorite track: Radiohead – “Bodysnatchers.”

I also picked up Bruce Springsteen’s new album, Magic, this past week. Absolutely amazing. I was a huge Springsteen fan by the time Born in the USA was released, thanks to a friend’s older brother leaving his LP collection at home while he was in college (this was also where I discovered Steely Dan). As huge a hit as Born was, I had always preferred his earlier work…and none of his later albums seemed to recapture that sound. Until now. Magic is easily the best, most uniformly solid Springsteen album since Born to Run, in my opinion. Here’s my favorite track, a lament to a fallen soldier. Bruce Springsteen – “Gypsy Biker.” He never directly references Iraq in any song on the album, but there are lyrical pointers — such as this song’s opening line: “Speculators made their money on the blood you shed.”

More new music. Fact #1: Kylie Minogue is going to appear in the next Doctor Who Christmas special, “Voyage of the Damned” (see promo image here.). Fact #2: Time Lords have two hearts. Fact #3: Kylie’s newest single has leaked to the internet. It’s title? Kylie Minogue – “Two Hearts.” Possible tie-in? Christmas single? Hmmmm…..

New-old music: I picked up an interesting album recently: Masterworks Reworked, an import in which various electronic acts and DJs do remixes of classical compositions. Some interesting stuff. For example, the following: Jazzelicious – “Ravel’s Bolero.”

Slipping sideways through the New-Old, some more “Baroque Pop” from Patrick Wolf: Patrick Wolf – “The Libertine.”

Moving solidly into the “old” — well, the 80s at least. First, the closest thing that I’m going to do to a Halloween-themed post this year: Oingo Boingo – “Dead Man’s Party.”

And, lastly, one of my favorite tracks from the period, which, typically, often seems ignored in the “TOTALLY AWESOME 80’S RETRO WEEKEND” radio broadcasts that pump false nostalgia down the throats of a willing public: The Fixx – “Red Skies At Night.”

There you go, kids. Hope you liked this week’s selections.

Another mixtape of Teh Interwebs:

First, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the launching of Sputnik: Lou Reed – “Satellite of Love.”

Katerine Gierak is a French rock singer who records under the name Mademoiselle K. Her first album, Ça Me Vexe was released last year, and in addition to having a very sexy album cover, has the merit of featuring good music as well. Here is the title track, whose title, for the non-Francophones among you, means “That Upsets Me”: Mademoiselle K – “Ça Me Vexe.”

Kate Nash is a singer/songwriter from London whom I discovered earlier today, thanks to a post by . I’m fascinated, and I want to hear more. Kate Nash – “Foundations.”

I’ve posted this before (waaaay back in the early days of Friday Music), but it came up in coversation last night, and it has a tendency to get stuck in my head, so here it is — a cover of a song from 1968. The original vocal version of the song (by Barbara Acklin) never became a hit, but the instrumental version, called “Soulful Strut” hit the top 10, and can still be heard on oldies radio today. This version is a cover of the vocal version, recorded in 1992, which was a minor success: Swing Out Sister – “Am I The Same Girl.”

Some goofiness in honor of Friday: Todd Rundgren – “Bang on the Drum All Day.”

A major gear-shift — away from goofy pop songs and into musical scores from film. This is my favorite piece from the score of Last of the Mohicans, which is the track that plays during the final chase up the mountain: Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman – “Promentory.”

Moving into the more modern, yet still instrumental — a really excellent bit of dub techno. The only nitpicking drawback: It is based around a sample of “Ja Ren Qu (The Beauty Song)” from House of Flying Daggers–which is a Chinese song–and yet the group decided to title their track with a Japanese name. Learn the difference, guys. Still, an excellent bit of music: The Others – “Bushido.”

One of my favorite tracks from Donald Fagen’s first solo album, 1982’s The Nightfly. The song is a synth-heavy version of Latin Jazz, with Fagen wryly providing sarcastic lyrics that mix the traditional caribbean-paradise expectations of the format with the realities of Juntas and Bannana Republics: Donald Fagen – “The Goodbye Look.”

Lastly, one of my favorite tracks of the early 70s soul movement — not very well known, outside of its occasional use in soundtracks (I first discovered it via the 1995 Hughes Brothers film, Dead Presidents).The Undisputed Truth – “Smiling Faces Sometimes.” (The file is mislabeled as “the Dramatics” — trust me, there were only two versions of this song, The Undisputed Truth, and a 12-minute version by the Temptations. This is the Undisputed Truth.)

There you go. Hope you liked this week’s selections.

Another big week — Here we go:

First off, a couple of tracks for my brother, who specifically requested two artists: Echo & The Bunnymen, and The (English) Beat. More than happy to oblige, so I chose my favorite song from both. This first one, featuring one of the best guitar hooks in all of “college rock” (in other words, “alternative” from the 80s before the label was coined), I discovered on Songs To Learn And Sing — the US major-label debut that was essentially a “best of” collection of their UK releases: Echo & The Bunnymen – “Rescue.”

Second, the opening track of Special Beat Service, my introduction to the band, given to me as a dubbed cassette copy in the early 80s by my Uncle Dennis. As it was the first song I heard, it became my favorite. The (English) Beat – “I Confess.”

While on the subject of “alternative” songs I listened to heavily in High School, here’s one from my senior year — a solo effort from Pato Banton, who appeared on the above-mentioned Special Beat Service in a track with Ranking Roger called “Pato and Roger a-Go Talk.” This track features his unique narration on the virtues of marijuana over cocaine: Pato Banton – “Don’t Sniff Coke.”

Gotta stick with the 80s for one more track, because sometimes you just desperately need some over-the-top cock-rock in your day. (Alright — a confession: I loved this guy at the time, and still do. I’m weak.) Billy Squier – “Everybody Wants You.” (Ugh — I feel so dirty.)

Moving on to some new stuff– Here’s a track from Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. Not their newest stuff, but rather a track that featured on their “Thou Shalt Always Kill” E.P. They take the beat from UK rapper Dizzee Rascal’s big hit “Fix Up Look Sharp” (which was, itself, a sample of a Billy Squier track — see? A smooth seque…), and use it to lambast those who would use hip-hop for commercialism rather than art: Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip – “Fixed.”

A track from Iron & Wine, the stage and recording name for Florida-based folk rock singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Iron & Wine – “Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car.”

This is the B-side from the new single from Bloc Party. Not only is it nifty-cool, but it also references the English Civil War, making it double nifty-cool. Bloc Party – “Cavaliers & Roundheads.”EDIT:Now hosted on my server, so if you couldn’t get to it before, you can now.

Another great Mashup from DJ Lobsterdust — this one featuring a core of Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney’s “Say, Say, Say”, with Rhianna’s “Umbrella”, plus Nelly Furtado, NIN, Mary J Blige, Diana Ross, Rick James, and The Temptations. Holy Crap. DJ Lobsterdust – “SaySayism Allstar Jam.”

Enjoy!