Friday, August 13, 2004
Gollee you folks done et up th' bandwidth.
But we're back. No promises on what the future may hold. Wait and see.
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glisten: Acap' CD 13 and FINAL
Adam - Back in junior high I tried out for the choir, though due to not having any talent (see track #18) I didn't make it, but I always respected those that could. Of course I was always mean to them, but such is junior high. However, I think it's high time I apologize. I'm sorry.
Spencer - If I were 54 & driving my Benz home in the rain after murdering & burying my wife or mistress 5 miles off the highway, this is what I'd be listening to.
So you think that the Rustavi Choir is Jeremy Irons' theme music?
Kevin - I miss being in my college chorale. Something about the overtones created by so many people singing together in one room just mellows you out. Not familiar with this composer, but i like the way this is paced.
As far as I could learn, Kevin, "Tsmindao Chmerto" is a Russian traditional folk song.
The Georgian Rustavi Choir is over thirty five years old and still touring.
Buy "Georgian Voices" from Amazon.
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Explore this excellently assembled Rustavi fansite, complete with loads of history and audioclips.
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More music of the Rustavi Choir is only one of many of the audio clips available at Universel's Course of Meditation audio section. Explore at your own risk.
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Spencer - uhm. hmm. ok.
Adam - What's that? The sound of Crowded House rolling in their graves? Well, truth be told, this is pretty well done for what it is. The percussion guy is excellent.
Kevin - Sixpence None the Richer did it better. Seriously, what's with the tendency for contemporary acapella groups working in western traditions to do little more than cover popular hits? How could this be creatively fulfilling for anyone?
Don't ask me Kevin. I just work here.
The Flying Pickets scored a number one hit throughout Europe with a remake of "Only You" and never showed back up on the charts. They're pretty much unknown (and mostly unreleased) in the States though one would assume that the climate for this sort of boomer nostalgia is pretty ripe.
You can't really argue that the band has technical merit, even if they push pretty hard on the cheese-o-meter. I'm a reluctant fan, drawn in by jawdropping covers of Terence Trent D'Arby's "Sign Your Name", Marley's "Buffalo Soldier" and a psychedellic swipe at Prince's "When Doves Cry" that has to be heard to be believed. Trust me, Dokaka has nothing on these guys.
Buy "The Warning" from Singers.com.
The "Billie Jean" and "Tainted Love" covers are must hears.
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Visit the Pickets official site.
You're allowed to giggle at the picture. I know I did.
Speaking of a giggle, this Taipei Times article labels the Pickets as a "popapella-cum-rockapella" act.
Though it's a catchy phrase, it sounds more like a fetish than a genre, no?
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Explore this Pickets' fansite.
It's something more whimper than bang but that's how we're ending our acapella series here. Big thanks to the boys for doing the review duties; starting Monday, we'll have two weeks of blue songs for you with four new reviewers.
But since we're done here, it must be time for a...
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NEW CD UP FOR GRABS!
This time the mix is THE NUMBERS GAME: ONE TO TWENTY.
Want to be a guest reviewer? Here's how we play:
If you want a copy of the next mix CD, email me at the address listed at the top of this page with "CAN I HAVE A CD?" in the subject line and a friendly request in the actual mail. The first FOUR requests I receive will get a response from me detailing the rules of review. Everybody else gets a nice pat on the head.
As soon as I receive the first four requests, I will update this post or leave a note in the next post to let you know that we're full up; however, professional music writers (anybody who publishes in a glossy mag or regularly in a daily paper) as well as other musicbloggers are STRONGLY DESIRED. I may toss an extra disc out if you show up late, so drop me a line, yes?
Please note that there is no charge whatsoever for this CD, _except_ you are going to be expected to write a track by track review... quickly. By quickly, I mean within a week after I mail the thing or more or less two or three days after you receive it in the mail.
United States players only please, unless you're willing to fedex me a check for shipping and handling (or buy me something off of my gift list, in which case you're in. Sorry to be American elitist; I'd love to be able to go global but it's just too damn expensive. Again, if you wanna pay for it then I'm happy to include and indulge my beloved overseas readers as well.
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spiffy
Thanks for all the feedback yesterday. You are somewhat more absolved of guilt but it'll be better for both of us if you keep up the jibber jabber.
Also, I'm on the lookout for some remixes of these acapella tracks. Outside of Darwin, I ain't seen hide nor hair. Anybody wanna give it a go?
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Here's one more stupidly obvious revelation: Dooce is brilliant. Lord knows you're all already reading her but if I catch ONE of you PUNK SONSABITCHES NOT READING THE DOOCE? I'm turning this blog around and we're going home.
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Got a spare two grand fouling your wallet? Then get me Johnny Cash's driver's license so that I may be the coolest motherfucker on the planet.
(via Traveler's Diagram)
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After the Quizno's success, what we feared most has happened: Joel Veitch has gone mainstream.
What a sell-out.
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Different Kitchen provides us with SlamBush which would be cooler if the cat could rap, but I guess that's the point. Why can't Twista get down with this? Or shit, Jada's clearly willing...
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So I warned you that I was knee deep in music these days. So not even taking into account the stuff I'm ALREADY listening to, the music that you nice people dropload on me and the stuff I find on other musicblogs, what could I possibly be listening to these days?
Well, there's the four disc John Lennon's Anthology, Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, NINE discs of Richard Pryor's stand up, John Lee Hooker Live at Newport, Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club, Ying Yang Twins Me and My Brother, two discs of the CompleteAl Hopkins and His Buckle Busters, American Primitive Vol. 1, Bill Cosby's I Started Out As a Child, Lenny Bruce's To Is a Preposition, Come Is a Verb, a great two disc set of Studio One Ska, the new Scissor Sisters, two great P-Vine Gospel releases, the complete works of The Fisk University Jubilee Singers, the new Dizzy Rascal Showtime, the World Library of Folk and Primitive Music: England and Scotland, Roland Kirk's Volunteer Slavery, Basement Jaxx's Kish Kash, an incredible Dirty Harry and DJ Green Lantern Tupac Tribute Mix Tape, that bitchin' Quincy Jones Hikky Burr... not to mention another THIRTY or so discs that I haven't even cracked yet (Chingy, DMX, Coltrane, El-P, Louis Jordan, Belle and Sebastian, NWA, Norman & Nancy Blake and Tampa Red are on the immediate back burner, awaiting a spin). Quite a few of these are replacements for old audio tape and not all of them are holding up quite as well as I would hope, but there's gold in thar!
Thank god for the iPod; I'm doing something like two new albums a day along with reviewing older stuff. My ears, they be a- ringin'.
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The book of the moment? The first volume of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's autobiography, Living to Tell the Tale. Inspiring, of course. Luc Sante's Low Life is in the curtains but given the density of Marquez's prose, I'm not sure I'll get to it. Looks interesting, tho'.
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Musicblogs are updated. Check out the new blood; there's plenty of nuggets of excitement that I don't have the time to highlight. So go hunting.
I'd like to see a few more new musicblogs that could fit into the "Bluegrass/Country/Folk" genre, okay?
Also, don't miss out on (now favorite listed) Red Lotus Radio, offering up a seriously eclectic mix of Iranian, Japanese, Uzbeki and Russian tunes (both traditional and poppish).
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Hey, anybody in the NYC wanna go see Nas at Summer Stage this Sunday at around 2:00?
Only ten bucks. Less if you're shameless.
I don't know if I'll be able to motorvate by myself but if someone set up a time to meet me there I'd love to check it... hell, I'll prolly still go but company would be nice.
Drop me a line.
