Category: Music

A little bit later in the day than I had hoped, but fear not — here’s a fresh installment of Friday Music.

Some old school first — and I mean really old school. This is the first hit single by a cartoon character, laying the groundwork for the Archies and the Gorillaz to come. Betty Boop (AKA Helen Kane) – “I Wanna Be Loved By You.” Boop boop be doop.

Sticking with the cartoon theme momentarily — I’m one of the few people who really liked the final failure from Fox Animation Studios, Titan AE — but then, I’m a sucker for space opera. One of my favorite sequences is the beauty shots of the starship soaring through the nebula, paced by the “wake angels”, following along like dolphins after a ocean-going vessel. The whole scene was set to this piece of music, and as cheesy as it is, I really like it: The Urge – “It’s My Turn To Fly.”

When I was living back east, I was out with the Jaffe brothers one day, and was handed a CD on the street by a record marketing guy. The CD was by a new artist named Stella Soleil, and her album, Dirty Little Secret produced one single, which sunk quickly — so I guess the handing-the-CD-out-to-random-people-on-NYC-streets marketing plan didn’t pan out. That said, I really, REALLY liked the album, and still own it. This is the single which failed to ignite, which is also pretty damned cool, mixing alternative dance and middle-eastern instrumentation with some great lyrics. Stella Soleil – “Kiss Kiss.”

Speaking of middle eastern, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything from Natacha Atlas, so I need to remedy that forthwith. This is a track from one of her early albums, Diaspora. Like pretty much everything she does, it’s very cool: Natacha Atlas – “Iskanderia.” She’s got a new album, Mish Ma’oul, which I’ve picked up but haven’t listened to yet. I wanted to share the gorgeous shot of her from the cover, though. Holy gods, this is HAWT.

I did get a chance to listen to Eye To The Telescope, which is the debut album of KT Tunstall (I posted her “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” song, remember?). There aren’t any songs on it that are as strongly Alt-Country as “Black Horse”, but the rest of the album is a mix of quiet singer-songwriter stuff and alternative-pop uptempo numbers ….very “Lilith Fair,” all things considered. I like it. Here’s another track from the album – KT Tunstall – “Another Place To Fall.”

One of my favorite one-hit-wonder songs from the 80s, and not even really a hit, come to think of it. I just like the instrumentation on this, and the psuedo-noir lyrics about L.A.’s seemy underbelly: David + David – “Welcome to the Boomtown.”

Under Electric Light is a band from Canada that I discovered this past week. They’ve got a few EPs out, and are currently working on their debut album. I really like their sound — so much that I’m going to give you two different tracks from them. I hope you like them. Note: As I’m putting these up, I’m having trouble connecting to their website — trouble that I didn’t have 10 minutes ago, when I first checked to make sure the links still worked. So, I’m putting these up anyway, in the hopes that the website problem clears up. If you can’t get through, try again later. The two tracks: Under Electric Light – “Night Out.” and Under Electric Light – “The City.”

Lastly: Today is the 30th anniversary of the Soweto uprising in South Africa. So, I’ve decided to post something by my favorite South African band — Johnny Clegg and Savuka – “Tough Enough.”

There you go, kids. Enjoy.

First things first. With the discussion of “Mahna Mahna” that occurred on several friends’ journals yesterday, I had to track this down: It’s a mash-up of Cake’s version of “Mahna Mahna” with Kanye West’s “Golddigger.” It’s goofy, it’s silly….and it oddly works. DJ Lenlow – “Kanye Mahna”

Now, we move on to a couple of songs which make me think of Summer….now that we’re in June (4 days from my birthday, in fact), it’s Summer to me (despite the fact that it’s still Spring until the 21st). The first song is a brilliant piece by Norman Cook (AKA Fatboy Slim). He took a snippet of Jim Morrison vocals (from Morrison’s “American Prayer” solo poem recordings) and worked it into a phenominal electronic track. It starts slow and builds…and once the tempo kicks in, I was hooked. Fatboy Slim – “Sunset (Bird of Prey)”

The second summer-track is my favorite song from the Rolling Stones. Featuring what I consider to be Keith Richards’ best guitar work, and a stand-out performance by back-up singer Merry Clayton (who was a Gospel-trained singer who had once been one of Ray Charles’ Raylettes), which manages to eclipse Jagger’s main vocals. Rolling Stones – “Gimme Shelter.”

While we’re on the “classic rock” stuff, I’ll post this, which is my favorite song from Harry “I can’t live, if livin’ is without you” Nilsson. Most of you probably know this song from its appearance in Martin Scorcese’s Goodfellas, where it formed part of the “Henry tweaking hard on Coke” montage. (That’s where I first discovered it, in fact) Nilsson – “Jump Into The Fire”

I discovered this recording this week, and of course, with the week I had, it turns out that this is from a group that has since broken up. Naturally. I love this, though. It’s part of a Peel Session from the BBC, so this was recorded live in the studio. Field Mice – “Annoint.” I’ll need to track down some other stuff. At least with the band now defunct, there’s a set limit of what’s available. :)

A few weeks ago, I posted a track from the forthcoming album by Midlake — a song called “Young Bride”, which quite a few people liked, based on comments and emails. Here’s another track from the same album, and it’s just as beautiful. I need to get this album. Midlake – “We Gathered In Spring.”

A really cool, jazzy downtempo electronica track by Skopic, who apparently is somebody like me, who just produces stuff out of his house. This is very nifty. Skopic – “Allow.”

Lastly, for fans of the non-English stuff, I have another francophonic delight for you, from the French group, Prototypes. Punky, electronic-tinged pop, in French. I like it. Prototypes – “Je Ne Te Connais Pas.”

There you go…another 8 tracks for you to enjoy. More next week.

Friday Music resumes it’s normal schedule — welcome to those new readers out there. Hope you like it.

First things first — I need to get this out of my brain. Since Heartland, it’s been impossible for me to hear this song without picturing and dancing to it: DJ Kool – “Let Me Clear My Throat.”

Speaking of , I scoured the Intarwebs looking for anything by the group she was talking about, The October Project. I finally found the following, hosted on the band’s own site. It’s very pretty, and I’m definately interested in checking out more stuff from them: The October Project – “Eyes of Mercy.”

On the subject of new music — Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has a solo album coming out next month, and tracks from it have been leaked. I’ve always been a fan of his compositions and his haunting voice, and it looks like this solo album will be on my must-purchase list. Thom Yorke – “Black Swan.”

I can’t mention “haunting voice” without thinking of Rufus Wainwright. This is one of my favorite songs from him, from his 2001 album, Poses. Rufus Wainwright – “Grey Gardens.”

We’ll shift gears to something more upbeat — and a track specifically for , in honor of her recent difficulties in catching the series finale. I’m a big fan of both electronica and spy-movie music, and this is a good mix of the two: Michael Giacchino – “Theme from Alias.”

A little bit of second-wave Ska to get your ass moving on a Friday, by my favorite band of that era: The English Beat — “Mirror in the Bathroom.” “Can I take you to a restaurant that’s got glass tables — you can watch yourself while you are eating…”

“Engine, Engine Number Nine, On the New York Transit line. If my train falls off the track — pick it up, pick it up, pick it up!” One of my top-5 hip-hop tracks of all time, and one that is forever locked into a time and place: singing along to it as it played at a tattoo parlor in the East Village, where the Jaffe brothers (the owners of the game company I was working for at the time) were getting new ink. BlackSheep – “The Choice is Yours (This or That).”

There you have it. More next week. Enjoy.