Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Once again it's on!
After you're done here, stop on by O's house for Part Two. But first...
glisten: Soul Hut 2
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OLIVER'S SELECTION
Afrique - "Kissing My Love"
O sez:Instrumental version of vocal songs are always a tricky balance. Afrique, which brought together the talents of drummer Paul Humphrey (an ill stickman), organist Charles Kynard plus guitarist David T Walker, takes on Bill Withers' funky/soulful "Kissing My Love." Humphrey has the easiest task: replicate the opening drum break that helps distinguish this song; Humphrey's a great drummer, one of those unsung studio stalwarts of the 1970s (who had some solid albums of his own, like Supermellow). Kynard's interpolation of Withers' vocals into what sounds like moog is a little more uneven. It's an acquired taste, shall we say, but the song just comes off so deliciously quirky and funky, I can deal with it.
J sez: As is almost ALWAYS the case, O's taste in drummers is excellent; Humphrey's work here is downreet exemplary. The funk guitar is enjoyable and burbling. Now that moog... well, I'm not sure I CAN deal with it. Perhaps it's just my love for the original but the synthetic phrasing on Bill's lyrics (specifically the "jumpin' and a-skippin'" part) just drives me nuts.
Funny thing too; electronics normally grace soul nicely but, to my mind, Withers' earthy style somehow hamstrings the fusion of African rhythms, Space Age Pop and Feel Good RnB. Ain't nothin' like th' real thing.
Buy the reissue of "Soul Makossa" cheap on vinyl... from Vinyl!
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Hand Kissing: A Guide for the Perplexed
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Of the five tracks Oliver graciously sent in, this is probably the one that came closest to missing me. Still a nice curiosity but when compared to the delightful dulcet tones of the Numba One Soul Bruddah... well, you can't hope to box with the immortals, yeh?
If nothing else, Afrique's cover put me of a mind to dig up some more obscure Withers for your ears. So that leads us to:
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JOHN'S SELECTION
Bill Withers - "Lonely Town, Lonely Street"
J sez: Bill Withers suffers from "Compil-itis"; everybody loves the greatest hits but relatively few take the time to really dig deep for more. Compil-itis is generally brought about by licensing issues, changing tastes and complex and unpleasant business and artistic leaps and missteps; others afflicted by this malady would include John Coltrane, James Brown, Elvis Presley and Bob Marley. Like gout; it's a great man's disease. At least Bill's in good company, right?
This overlooked pearl struts and pimpwalks with astonishing assurance; it's a hit in waiting. Waiting too long if you ask me. Give it a listen and tell me it's not a serious anthem on a par with "Grandma's Hands", "Who Is He (and What Is He to You)" and "Lovely Day".
Beats fuck outta "Lean on Me", f'sho.
Buy "Just As I Am/Still Bill", the double album reissue comp from Raven Records, from Amazon.
This is NICE and an excellent alternative to buying a best of album. You still get a good chunk of the greatest hits but you also get to be the only kid on your block with the Bobby Womack duet!
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Visit the official site.
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Withers continues to record; he recently performed a duet with Jimmy Buffet on the latters new album License to Chill.
So I guess that's good. Right?
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Meeting the Neighbors
I dropped off this article at betterPropaganda quite some time ago and figured I might as well drop it off on you as well. Stop by here first if you have any questions or if you're having difficulty understanding the reviews.
"One of the most exciting possibilities that musicblogging offers it's afficianados is exposure to new musical genres.
Filling a genre niche in the musicblogsphere requires an extensive music collection, a boundless enthusiasm for the chosen genre and a F'r REAL knowledge of the topic at hand.
Here's two musicbloggers that meet those requirements to a T.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Swung By Seraphim
Author: Jason Pitzl- Waters, "a local radio, club DJ and music writer living in Illinois"
Primary Genre: "Gothic, Darkwave, Deathrock, Industrial, EBM, Post-Punk, Death Disco"; basically the "darker musical genres"
Type: Individual
First Post: July, 2004
Update Frequency: About once every two days but there are occasional prolific bursts.
Music Format: Downloadable MP3. Rather than hosting the track on his own, Jason hotlinks to label and artist sites that offer promotional MP3's for DL.
Design Style: Clean, professional and easy on the eyes.
Ease of Use: Nicely laid out and very easy to navigate.
Writing style: Bright but spare. Jason generally provides each track with a band bio, a handful of published reviews on the artist, a paragraph of his own personal commentary and a handful of links. Does not link to a site that sells the music per se, though almost every article has a link that does provide access to online store fronts... and often to fan- or artist sites that provide _more_ downloads.
Anything else?: The requisite blogroll with a nice collection of label links and wikis to help neophytes learn more about the "dark side" of the radio dial.
John Sez: It's difficult for me to imagine an essayist who could engage me in Deathcore, much less convince me to listen to any of the stuff. Jason makes it look easy; he suggest "sounds like" matches with more accessible and less goth bands to steer you to your likely interests. Jason also makes a real effort to explore surprising depth and diversity in a genre that I had written off as power chords and cookie monster vocals.
Past Offerings: Cabaret artist "for the broken" Nicki Jane; "Pagan Goths" Inkubus Sukkubus; "two hot girls on keyboards, a Mick Jaggeresque singer, a guitar god, a flawless punk rock bassist, and an insessant drum machine" that make up Something About Vampires and Sluts; and "Trip Hop/Goth Industrial" band Collide.
What You're likely to find: The underground in an underground movement, music that your little cousin will be astonished that you're listening to no matter WHO you are, something challenging and adrenaline wired.
Bottom Line: By shining a bright light in a dark place, "Swung by Seraphim" has created a one-of-a-kind musicblog that could very well win over some converts to the Goth army.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Something I Learned Today
Author: Eric, a thirty two year old "married father living in Syracuse, interested in old punk rock, digital photography, and anything that makes me giggle like a little school girl"
Primary Genre: "Punk, Garage and Hardcore"
Type: Individual
First Post: May 2004
Update Frequency: Almost week-daily. Four or five posts a week seems average.
Music Format: Downloadable MP3s. Links stay up for about eight days or so and then are permanently removed.
Design Style: Simple blogger template. A little overly cluttered and claustrophobic; the text hugs the left margin for dear life and the font size is often unnecessarily small and difficult to read.
Ease of Use: Downloads are clearly labeled but the overall crush of words can make it difficult to scan the page.
Writing style: Rambling, familiar and occasionally a little too insular ("I may be the only person to actually admit I'm not gaga over [Greg Cartwright's] post Oblivians bands") but mostly does a good job of skimming the artist's background, bio and style.
Anything else?: Requisite blogroll linking to other musicblogs and personal interests.
John Sez: With only a few exceptions (The White Stripes and the Buzzcocks), I had never even HEARD of these bands. Presumably often lifting from vinyl, Eric is ostensibly preaching to the choir but kids who think of Avril as punk might also do well to play digital cratedigger and get a better sense of their roots.
Past Offerings: "Forgotten step child of the early 90's noiserock world" Tar; "straight ahead old school hardcore" band Christ on a Crutch; "perhaps the greatest political hardcore band to come out of the US", the Dicks and "a mix of Country, Blues, and just plain aggro", Mule.
What You're likely to find: Little known (even amongst fans) punk tracks that you're unlikely to find anywhere else.
Bottom Line: Fans of modern punk (or what passes for it these days on Clear Channel affiliates) have a new source to learn from and many a mostly forgotten artist has been given a second life.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There's dozens of opportunities for a creative musicblogger to dig out their own niche; would you believe there's no individually run musicblogs that specialize in Jazz? Or Classical? Or movie soundtracks? Or Country and Western? Or... well, you get the idea.
The pool is open and the water's fine. Jump on in!"
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Tuesday, September 28, 2004
We done went through the matter teleporter and stepped out with his peanut butter in our chocolate. The Wonder Twin powers have been activated and I'm watchin' th' big fella wobble around in the shape of an echidna while I've taken the form of a block of ice. Yes, the gloves are off; the belt is up for grabs and we's ready to ruuuuuummmmbbbbllllle!!!!!
What's the occasion? We here at the Hut have joined forces with O-Dub over at Soul Sides to bring you a week of goodness that we're callin'
Here's how we play: O-Dub has kindly offered up five fine fresh glistening hunkahunka burning love tracks, each one a tasty and rare cover of a well known song. Mr. Dub has also seen fit to grace each cut with a bit of background and wisdom, all in the service of our loving listeners. Cuz he's like that, yo.
How much would YOU pay for this expertise and booty-rompin' goodness? But wait! THERE'S MORE!
Never one to be outdone, the proprietor of th' Hut feels the need to get in on the action. To accompany all of Ollieollieoxenfree's ripe crate-dug fruit, we'll offer ANOTHER tangentially related musical gem to accompany the main course; a sort of aural tartar sauce if you will.
Two songs enter! Who will win? Why, YOU of course! A winner is you!
On the serious tip, big ups to Soul Sides for suggesting and arranging this phat fusion. We're mighty excited.
glisten: soul hut 1
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OLIVER'S SELECTION:
S.C.R.A. - "C.C. Rider"
O sez: This is from the Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly but we're not talking about Memphis or New Orleans: this is Australia. SCRA had two albums - this is off their first. Most of the songs are pretty low-key but their version of "C.C. Rider" is fierce. There's just a hint of Las Vegas, Tom Jones-style stage belting on there but no one's going to confuse this with a lounge act.
J sez: No doubt. So so gangsta (or as much as something with this much cowbell can get); the drums kick the door open and the guitars swagger in. The vocals seem a tetch off (I keep waiting for Jigga to jump in) and sure, the horns do seem a little more Blues Brothers 2 than 1 but they don't really blow the scene. This one's all about the percussion, f'r sure.
Gaze upon the album cover.
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JOHN'S SELECTION:
Leadbelly - "See See Rider"
J sez: CC Rider is a classic with a depth of history equal to "Proud Mary"; it's been famously covered by everyone from Ray Charles to Elvis to the Dead to Clapton. This version by Huddie Ledbetter from 1935 is as diametrically opposed to the S.C.R.A. cut as could be; they're hardly even recognizable as the same tune. Both takes are deadly but where the prior steps in with a tommygun, Leadbelly wields the tune like a switchblade: nakedly spare and wickedly sharp.
Buy "The Definitive Leadbelly", a three-disc/75 song set, from Amazon.
Twenty four bucks for three CD's is a good bargain; this is an overlooked collection.
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Explore this Huddie page.
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Not enough Soul Hut goodness for you? Can't wait for tomorrow's dosage? Rush on over to O-Dub's home and peek in on the first of five tracks I sent hisaway.
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Meeting the Neighbors
The Suburbs Are Killing Us is CONSTANTLY killing it with an assortment of music as random as... well, as us! Regularly eye-opening, always different and ridiculously broad in taste and opinion; Christopher Porter's musicblog is a musicgeek's musicblog, brimming with esoteric picks and surprising connections.
Recent online offerings include music from A.R. Rahman, Lonnie Smith, The Boogie Boys and Husker Du.
Never let em see ya sweat, Chris!
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What was the greatest motivation for you to create your site?
Since my back hurts, the World Cup of Hockey finals are on, and someone said it better than I could, I'll be lazy & quote Sasha Frere-Jones from his Gawker.com interview:"…someone's got to supply the mad love and raw justice, the garbage and the free food" and "The blog is a nice model for storage, too.... It's a public file cabinet."
MP3 blogs also remind me of Fanzine Nation, which I was part of in the late '80s and early '90s with Emily's Hip Pocket and Brassneck. Like fanzines, I like the sense of disembodied community that music blogs provide.
Also, after O-Dubs posted that salty "Down by the River" cover version by the Dutch Rhythm & Steel Show Band, I wanted to join the party. I got so many bags of chips to share and they were just getting stale in my basement.
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What's your Dream Job?
After pole dancer? Professional travel writer or a host on Globe Trekker.
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Recommend a few other music blog sites and give them a sentence or two of introduction.
I consider a music blog any site that directs me toward music, not just the ones posting freebies.
1. Sasha Frere-Jones
SFJ doesn't post MP3s, but he's like a hunting dog when it comes to pointing the paw at good music. Also, kid's got better flow than the Mississip.
2. Bliss Out
Simon Reynolds has his ear to the ground (and since the sidewalk is all grime-y & jank his cauliflowers are probably due for a good scrubbing). He makes theory seem like fun.
3. Catchdubs
Has the occasional MP3, but the main attractions, aside from that far-right design, are his linkz, which might seem to be built only for Cubans. Not the case. Nick's tastes are broader than Dom DeLuise's fanny. (When in doubt, fire off a Dommer.)
For MP3 blogs, I choose:
1. Moistworks
James is a longtime friend, so this may be cheating, but I really do admire his postings, especially considering he has just 7 fingers and but one hand.
2. Kittytext
As far as I know I've never seen this guy in person, but I bet he's very skinny. Like sapling-in-the-fall skinny. I'm talking Old Weird Harold skinny. And you can't beat Thin Lizzy Thursdays.
3. Scissorkick
Though I don't know him, Steve is likely a brother from another mother.
4. SoulSides
Oliver never loafs. Brah has the beat & then some.
5. Spoilt Victorian Child
Anyone who considered joining Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth---but ultimately didn't because of the club's call for bodily fluids---is a man after my own heart. Plus, tite tunes from all genres.
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Is there a major flaw in the way that music blog sites function that you'd like to see corrected?
More japes, less paste.
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Can you list a few bands that you enjoy listening to that might surprise your readers?
Since my blog is all over the place, I'm not sure anything I'd list would be a surprise---but let's give it a shot. I have a very high tolerance for pop-punk, I am a big fan of the Counting Crows (minus "Mr. Jones," which I can't stand), and I've learned to love Alanis Morrisette beyond reason. To me, the Crows & Alanis represent the pinnacle of a theory that I've been working on between shots and chasers, a genre that I call Pro-Mo---i.e., professional emo bands. In other words, bands that evoke the emo genre as personified by Dashboard Confessional---but without having punk-rock backgrounds. There are plenty of bands in this still-formulating genre that I abhor---Matchbox 20, Nickleback, etc.---but I'm still intrigued by this idea.
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Are you a proud member of the iPod Nation?
I rock the iRiver HP-20. Not only is it less expensive than the iPod, it has a built-in FM tuner and a built-in microphone (as well as an external mic jack), which is perfect for my journalism work. Now, instead of having unlabeled cassette tapes with valuable interviews cluttering up my house, I have unlabeled MP3 files with valuable interviews cluttering up my hard drive.
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Do you hope to someday make a living with something music or internet related?
I'm one of the lucky ones in that I already do make my living dealing with music. My day job is with JazzTimes and I've freelanced for several other publications.
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How difficult is it to maintain the site?
It's not a problem for me because I don't feel the need to post every day. Some days it can take a bit of time to do the research (find links, synthesize info) and make the prose somewhat worth reading, but other days it takes 5 minutes.
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Give me a good story about how one of the tracks that made it up on your blog got there.
I've been very fortunate to travel a bit this year, so I've posted several tracks from the places I've visited as an audio travel log. Also, when I was working on an article about the influence of jazz on the creation of ska, I used the blog like a notepad, posting the original jazz versions of tunes next to the usually uncredited ska versions. I even referred to my blog for info when I was writing the feature.
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Pick one musician and one question. Who is it and what do you ask?
Because of my day gig I don't really have this sort of desire anymore. That's not a bad thing. I just realized that most musicians, when you strip away the auto-tuners and the Waddy Wachtel overdubs, are pretty much regular folk. The one person I really wanted to interview, in depth and with no holds barred, was Studio One mastermind Coxsone Dodd. I tried many, many times earlier this year---even had an appointment with him in Kingston; he never showed up---and then he died.
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Could you see yourself still running your site in five years?
Sure, but with fewer updates---in fact, I can see that being the case next week.
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What's the best live show you've ever seen?
My memory is terrible, which is why I can't nail all the dates and I can't pick one. But lemme list a few names (in no particular order) that rise out of the fog:
1. AC/DC at Joe Louis Arena (?), Detroit, 1988.
When Angus kicked open the door of the phallic rocketship and ripped out a solo while being back-lit and smoke-shrouded? Holla.
2. My Bloody Valentine at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit (1991?) and at the Metro in Chicago (1991 as well?).
I wanted to puke at the Detroit show during "You Made Me Realize," the tune where they hold that one note for 20 minutes.
3. Rainer Maria at the Metro in Washington, D.C., 1998 or '99.
Restored my faith in the power of artfully shouted harmonies.
4. Gaunt at the Metro in Washington, D.C., 1998.
At 1 a.m. on a Sunday night they played in front of me, my future wife, the opening band, the bartender, and Bruce. They played 13 songs in 25 minutes. Despite the futility of the situation they crushed every tune. The lead singer died three years later.
5. Aphex Twin in Pontiac, Michigan, early 1990s.
He played with Vapourspace and Moby, and Richard D. James almost killed me. I had no drink or drugs in my system, and yet my equilibrium was so messed up because of the volume, the strobes, the general chaos, I could barely walk from the front of the stage to the back of the club. I was like a pinball bouncing off patrons & pillars.
6. Circle Jerks, City Club (?), Detroit, 1985 or '86.
My friend stage dove, was caught by the crowd, then got thrown back toward the band. He landed on Keith Morris' leg---which snapped or severely twisted. As Morris was being hobbling off the stage, and the Circle Jerks' drummer began a Neil Peart-like drum solo, I remember a bouncer violently picking up my friend by his skinny little neck and disappearing with him like he was a rag doll. Later in the year I saw a live video of a Circle Jokes show---and Keith was in a cast. The clip was shown on Back Porch Video , a production of the Dearborn High School A/V class, which was taught by former MC5 manager Russ Gibb.
7. Dinosaur Jr., Club Heidelberg, Ann Arbor, Michigan, late 1980s.
They were just about to implode, and the tensions were so friggin' out in the open for everyone to see. They were so loud that they ended up blowing up the P.A.
8. Big Black, Ann Arbor, Michigan, late 1980s.
Albini & Co. also blew up the P.A. in this University of Michigan cafeteria, so Steve-O started telling jokes that would make Redd Foxx blush.
9. Prince, Joe Louis Arena (?), Detroit, 1988 (?).
This was the Lovesexy tour, and his star was still blazin' like a thousand suns. Perhaps it was because of that intense light and the amazing show that we couldn't find our car after the gig.
10. Nellie McKay in Montreal, Quebec, 2004.
She was playing at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and while I had read about her I didn't hear her until this evening. It was just Nellie, her piano, and her wit, and it was the most fun I've had at a live concert in years. The album's fine, but this girl shines in front of an audience. Sometimes comedy is pretty---very, very pretty.
11. Various artists, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2004.
This outdoor music festival celebrated the divas of South African music (Miriam Makeba, Brenda Fassie, etc), and it was one of the most joyous concerts I've ever been to. This Hansa is for Thuli.
12. J. Geils Band, Pine Knob Music Theater, Pontiac, Michigan, 1981.
This was my first concert, the "Freeze Frame" tour. Since J. Geils was pretty much the house band of Detroit Rock City, I opted for them over Van Halen & Queen. Still don't regret it. In fact, a truncated version of the concert was later released as the "Showtime" LP, which has one of the oddest record edits ever. At the end of side one, Peter Wolf is doing his famous rap that intros "Love Stinks." He's cracking wise, really hamming it up in order to lead into the scream of "Love stinks!!!" But on this LP he only gets out "Love…" before the needle picks up---you have to flip it to side 2 to hear him yell "Stinks!!!" So tite.
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Do you have a message for youngsters who'd like to start their own musicblog?
Japes, japes, japes.
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Drop on by betterPropaganda and pick out a track to hype.
Dizzee Rascal - "Fix Up, Look Sharp."
You almost never hear vulnerability in rap and his raw voice sounds like a teenager's angst & insecurities transformed into waveforms.
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Monday, September 27, 2004
da Rizz
Scattershot fill-in glisten today while we jerry-rig up the Soul Sides tag team. Both of these cuts have been on the back burner for a minute but don't worry. Spice and flavor keep 'em fresh LONG past the sell-by date without a hint of preservatives. That's the Tofu promise.
glisten
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RZA - "Cherry Range"
I don't know if I've made it clear how much I like the RZA. His production is fascinating; he drops these strange flawed gems made of coke bottle bottoms and tarmac. Historians looking back for a musician to represent the era could do worse than the Rizz; really, who embodies hip hop both post- and pre-2000 more completely?
"Cherry Range" is all about that ONE extra bounce; you know the one: dunna, dunna duh duh; dunna, dunna duh duh; dunna, dunna duh _dee_; dunna, dunna duh duh; dunna dunna... DUNNA DUNNA! Oh FUCK yeah with that extra dunna! Makes me wanna holler!
This here is the shitty nitty gritty; a robotic monster with a highhat heartbeat on an elastic bass rampage spittin' the apocalypse: "You've seen Bird? You had beef with that chump/ And I heard he came home from a two-year slump/ Yeah, I heard, I got the pump in the trunk/ And when I see that crab, I'm-a dump in his lump".
That's that Clockwork Orange shit, son!
I also love that, perhaps appropriately for th' Hut, it's a dis track against radio payola. One thing that's not often touched on in discussions of musicblogs is that we feel free to post tracks that simply CAN'T be heard on post-Janet-tit-tay airwaves. "Range" is insanely hot but FCC sez it can't see the light of day because of a reference to "fucking airwaves"? Hell no! We wanna say what we wanna say, lay where we wanna lay! No pay for play necessar-ay.
Buy the much slept-on "Birth of a Prince" from Amazon.
Loads of genius on here: th' old school funk-riff "Grits", the lyrically brilliant sperm-cell-POV "The Birth" and the Holiday-centric "A Day to God is a 1,000 Years". Admittedly, the A-side is a little weak but this is still worth adding to any well-equipped collection.
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The RZA vs. Gold-fanged vampires
Be on the lookout for the Blade III soundtrack!
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The GZA/RZA/Bill Murray section of Coffee and Cigarettes was BY FAR the most amusing section of an otherwise worthwhile but somewhat confounding movie.
I mean, Jim, really: did the world need another, more inscrutable Blue in the Face?
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Mort Garson - Swingin' Spathiphyllumus
Speaking of Clockwork Orange....
This is a listener submitted track from Chris F. in Minneapolis. Chris offers a cut from Garson's 1976 "Plantasia", a collection of groovy moog tunes intended to be played to houseplants to help them GROW. Garson is no stranger to the offbeat; he produced a considerable number of canonical Zodiacal albums and a "Soundtrack for Sensuous Lovers" that combined electric noise and porn-style moans.
If I were a plant, _I'd_ sprout for Garson. It's germinatin' stuff!
This is sadly out of print but Chris has the whole album... anybody clamoring for more?
MUST have it on vinyl?
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Spathiwhatnow?
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Read this brief Garson bio and discography, courtesy of Space Age Pop Music.
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Learn more about the Moog at Synthmuseum.
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Meeting the Neighbors
#1 Songs In Heaven is only a fraction of the musical wonder that is London Lee but it's awful nice nonetheless. Lee regularly restocks #1 with piping hot soul music from all eras and all styles.
Recent offerings include music from Erykah Badu, Joe Tex, Charlie Rich and Little Willie John.
London! Reprazent!
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I'm a
Where did the name of your blog originate from?
It's the title of a song by Sparks. My other music site is called Pop Heaven so I thought it tied things together nicely.
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What are the criteria you judge a song by to decide if it's post-worthy?
Probably the same as every other mp3 blogger: Ones that I love and think a fair number of people might not have heard before. It's like going through your record collection with a friend and pulling out some old gem that you think they absolutely must hear. The main thing for me is to avoid posting too "obvious" tunes, I would never, ever post something like "Sex Machine" or "What's Going On?" for example. Luckily there are so many wonderful soul tunes that aren't that well known (especially in America, the English are a bit more clued into buried soul treasure) that the real hard part is choosing between them all.
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What song would you like played at your funeral?
"The Party's Over Now" by Noel Coward.
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What do you do for kicks when you're not posting?
Drink, smoke, read, have fun with my wife, watch English football (preferably while drinking)
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Do you have a favorite music critic?
I don't think about particular music critics that much, I'm not the sort of person who owns the collected writings of Lester Bangs or Greil Marcus. I like a lot of the stuff Marcello Carlin wrote on his blogs The Church of Me and The Naked Maja. Anyone who can devote hundreds of words to the ouevre of David Essex is dandy with me.
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Five desert island discs?
1. Sign O' The Times - Prince
2. All Mod Cons - The Jam
3. The Complete Al Green - Al Green
4. The Capitol Years - Frank Sinatra
5. 3+3 - The Isley Brothers
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What was the last track you heard that really changed your life?
Blimey... "changed your life" is such a huge concept to attach to a pop record. I can name the first one, which was "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight" by The Jam back in 1978, that changed a lot of my musical tastes at the time and, I think, changed me too as it led me to all sorts of other musical and cultural things. Maybe I would have got to them anyway, who knows? But I was a lot younger then, my life since has been changed by events, music has just been the soundtrack.
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How much does it cost you to maintain your site (in time/money/effort)?
Not that much time really. It probably works out to half an hour a day of actual work. Researching discographies and artist biographies takes the most time. Money? My hoster charges $9.95 a month. The music (so far) comes from albums I already own or would buy anyway. Effort? No effort at all, it's a total pleasure.
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Describe the space you do your writing in.
I usually write on the computer in my office at work (when I probably should be, er, doing other things like proper work) which is in the North End of Boston. I have a nice little room of my own with a comfy armchair for reading and a window that you can see the USS Constitution from.
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That old chestnut dinner party is at your house and you can invitethree musicians living or dead. Who are you inviting?
Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Amy Winehouse
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Is there any genre of music that you dismiss out of hand?
Is Hair Metal a genre? It had absolutely no impact whatsoever in the UK so I managed to avoid it at the time, but then I moved to the States and was like "you all listened to this shit in the 80s?"
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Are you much of a dancer?
I used to be. I started going to clubs and having a good boogie when I was about 17 and spent the best part of the next 20 years doing it. Now I'm 42 I don't so much at all, partly because there aren't many clubs that play what I want to hear and partly because my limbs aren't as rubbery as they used to be. But there are few moments in life as pleasurable as being on a dancefloor and getting caught up in some great track.
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Drop on by betterPropaganda and pick out a track to hype.
Superstar -King Britt
Am I allowed to just say "I like it"?
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HOW TO MUSICBLOG: pt. 1
I've been threatening to do something like this for a long time and I think it's right about time that I actually follow through.
Let's start out by making a few assumptions. You have a computer or have access to one. You have an internet connection or have access to a computer that you can store files on that has an internet connection. You have music or have access to music. You have a chunk of free time equal to or more than two or three hours a week you can devote to making a music blog. You know enough about computers to get done what you want to, even if you're no tech whiz. You have opinions and are fairly adept at expressing them.
If this is you, you can make your own musicblog.
Let's say you've been reading a musicblog (is it mine? It is? Do you like it? You do? You rock!) and you like the idea so you'd like to make one for yourself. You're excited to share music with your friends but even more excited to try to hip others to some of the supercool stuff you listen to. Great! Only problem is:
A): You don't know the first thing about how to host files.
B): You don't know how to make a blog.
C): None of your music is on your computer.
Let's address these problems back to front and figure out how to best approach them. The first thing that you need to know is how much hard drive space you have available. You're going to want a few spare gigs (at least one or two) to store your potential online collection. Make a folder ("musicblog") with a bunch of subfolders (by genre, style, whatever) so that you'll be able to keep track of where your music is and to find it. This will simplify your life later on.
Now you need a program to listen to and rip music to your computer. Chances are that you already have a program like this; if you don't, many are available online for free. I use iTunes to manage my music library (though I don't allow it to manage my files and I don't necessarily recommend you do either); you could also try winamp or musicmatch or any of a dozen others. Google around, find one and get used to it; use it a lot and experiment so that you don't run into trouble later on. Make your music program your friend. Everybody cozy? Great. Now set aside a day or three and rip anything you think that would be neat onto your harddrive, specifically to those folders we made earlier. When you're ripping, make sure that you take the time to fill in the album, artist and track name on the id3 info. That way you and your listeners will be able to keep track of exactly what it is that they're listening to. I can't stress enough how frustrating it is to play a downloaded track listed as 01 and not know who's playing.
What's that? All your music is on tape or record? Boy, do we need you! A lot of that stuff hasn't been reissued and is doubly exciting to hear! Go to this site or google "analog to mp3" or "records to cd" and you'll find all the info you need along with what you'll need to buy. It'll likely cost you less than fifty bucks.
Next you need to get that music online! To do that you're going to need two things: a hosting company and a blogging program. If you knew what you were doing, you could use the hosting company's site builder and just go from there; of course, if you knew what you were doing you wouldn't be reading THIS, would you?
Meet me back here tomorrow and we'll figure out how to connect with a blog and a host.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Tonight, we offer two songs that praise the gospel with guitar.
glisten: holy
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Sister Rosetta Tharpe - "Don't Take Everybody to Be Your Friend"
Rosetta is best known (and justly so) for her versatile and unique voice but what about that astonishing guitar pickin'? Sister can rip it UP! Plus she was really really a hottie. This is one woman who deserves greater attention and recognition by the Beyonces and Jill Scotts of today. I wouldn't turn down a cover album.
This particular track is a favorite; a world-wise treatise on trust that keeps the spiritual on the periphery in favor of hardknocknowledge.
Buy the "Complete works of Rosetta Tharpe, Volume Three" from Amazon.
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Read this brief bio of Tharpe (and listen to the accompanying MP3), then read this longer essay on Tharpe's stellar career.
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Listen to Tharpe's version of "Down By the Riverside" with accompanying choir.
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Elder A. Johnson - "God Don't Like It"
This un's a heartstopper: gutbucket gospel electric slide guitar in mono with a side of raunch and a heaping helping of elation. Lord only knows if Elder Johnson ever cut another track; regardless, this one's just about perfect.
"Now I wadn't talkin' 'bout anyone; I was just singin' my song."
Sharpeyed readers and longtime readers may remember the Willie McTell version of this tune posted on th' Hut waaaaaaaay back in February.
Buy "Gospel Evangelists: God's Mighty Hand" from Amazon or buy "God Don't Like It", a Document gospel sampler, direct from the label.
Both of these compilations contain this moving romp.
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Explore the Gospel Music Guitar Archives.
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Invest in a "a authenitcated and VALUABLE historical 1951 Fender Strat (VINTAGE)!!!"
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Meeting the Neighbors
Cocaine Blunts and Hip Hop Beats has been ably holding down the hip hop music blog game for a minute now and shows no sign of slacking. Packed with obscure white label action, Coke Blunts really satisfies.
Recent offerings include music from Blackalicious, Saul Williams, Yukmouth and Kanye West.
Kick it over here baby pop!
Where did the name of your blog originate from?
"Cocaine blunts / and hip hop tapes / rubber car keys / and id that's fake"
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What are the criteria you judge a song by to decide if it's post-worthy?
First criteria - it's gotta be dope and/or somehow interesting/relevant. And I usually only post stuff that's either completely under the radar if not downright out of print and unavailable. Otherwise, pretty much anything goes.
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What song would you like played at your funeral?
I want Biz Markie to DJ my funeral. He can use his discretion as far as song selection.
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What do you do for kicks when you're not posting?
Buy records, host a radio show of the same name on WRGW, drink mickeys malt liquor, fill space
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Do you have a favorite music critic?
I don't know his name, but whoever writes The Violently Racist Music site was seriously killing it for a minute. Too bad he seems to have abandoned the site recently.
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Five desert island discs?
1. Curtis Mayfield - Curtis
2. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
3. De La Soul Is Dead
4. The Coup - Genocide & Juice
5. Nas - Illmatic
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Do you consider yourself a "music journalist"?
I think "internet music journalism" and "music journalism" are two very different things. As of right now, I fall in the former category.
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What was the last track you heard that really changed your life?
Busdriver - "Imaginary Places"
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How much does it cost you to maintain your site (in time/money/effort)?
it's cost me about $150 so far. I maybe dedicate about an hour a day, three days a week to it; unless you count digging for music as site maintance, if so then I've dedicated about 12 years to it.
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That old chestnut dinner party is at your house and you can invite three musicians living or dead. Who's comin'?
Mike Patton, E-40, Sun Ra
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Is there any genre of music that you dismiss out of hand?
For the blog, anything that's not hip hop. For my life, never. Every genre has it's high points and low points.
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Which critical darling do you find most overrated?
Tie: Talib Kweli & Madlib
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Who's the most overlooked genius in the music industry?
Hands down: E-40 (autoload music on that link, folks!).
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Are you much of a dancer?
I'm a pretty big guy. Things could get messy when I dance. I mostly just pull up my pants and lean back.
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Drop on by betterPropaganda and pick out a track from their archives to hype.
Murs - "3:16"
Murs has always been really hit or miss for me. I like his persona and he's recorded some bangers, but he (like the rest of the living legends crew) rarely is focused enough to make a tolerable full length. This EP is the exception, presumably thanks to the influence of producer 9th Wonder. One of my recent favorites.
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spiffy
Some random finds and interesting news:
The Story Behind Prince's "Kiss"
Choice Quote:
"'I asked him what was going on. He said to me, ‘This is too good for you guys. I'm taking it back.' From that moment on, 'Kiss' became a Prince record."
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Feist!
I'd love to get these tracks; anybody got an MP3?
Finally got the album and it's wonderful. Again I ask: why no US release?
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Wonkette offers a complete transcription of the Jon Stewart "O'Reilly Factor" interview.
O'REILLY: ...you asked me why I was such a bad person, didn't you, or something like that? Wasn't that a serious question?
STEWART: Did I ask you why you were a bad person?
O'REILLY: Yeah, I think so.
STEWART: No, I wouldn't have done that.
O'REILLY: ... "scum of the earth, O'Reilly," I think that's the way you put it.
STEWART: No, I wouldn't have put it that way. I think it would have been, why do you have such je ne sai qua?
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My fellow Bukowski freaks should hustle over to RELEASETHEREALITY and catch th' hookup.
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Musicblog and Blogroll update over th' weekend.
me=slacker
There will be an excellent post late day (around seven or so) on Friday and then over the weekend I'm going to write up a passel of these motherfuckers so that this NEVER EVER happens again.
I'm having some things. Nice ones, honest.
Two more gospel tracks lateday tomorrow and then we'll discuss some Soul Hut (Tofu Sides?) collabo.
Leave a light on for me.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
glisten: holy 2
I think you caught me sleeping. How'd that happen?
Never you mind. Back to saving our souls.
The Trumpeteers are a Baltimore gospel group of no small renown, led by former Golden Gate Quartet member Joe Johnson.
These tracks are all circa late '40's, early '50's. Sorry there's not much documentation but I can't find too much of interest online.
But the music! Pure distillations of emotion! Astounding wellsprings of joy, utter despair and hope! I don't do it justice. Test drive and see what you think.
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The Trumpeteers - "This is a Mean Old World"
For such a bleak sentiment, this sure is a bouncy song! Bizarre harmonies and shiny happy strings make for an almost celebratory view of the brevity of life.
The Catholic Definition of Pessimism
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The Trumpeteers - "Lord, In My Soul"
Here's the opposite tactic: a heartrending dirge about faith in the everlasting.
That scream at two minutes... yipes.
Visit Crazy Meds for straight dope on straight dope to battle depression.
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The Trumpeteers - "Milky White Way"
Often imitated, never equalled; this was the Trumpeteers' signature track. Johnson's singing is assured, patient and gentle; he seems to be reasoning with his own doubts.
Read a brief history of "Milky White Way".
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These tracks all hail from a gorgeous two disc retrospective of the CBS Trumpeteers entitled "Milky White Way" from P-Vine Records.
I can't for the life of me find a link to where you could buy a copy. Anybody wanna help me out?
Monday, September 20, 2004
This week, we'll be dipping into th' Hut's Holy Water; providing fresh, sweet draughts of clean and refreshing gospel.
Here's a somewhat appropriate place to start given that it's an election year: a musical tribute to good ol' FDR. I make learning fun!
glisten: Holy Water 1
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Franklin Roosevelt - "Excerpt from the Second Inaugural Address"
Here's a brief bit of history, just to get us in the mood. This is circa 1937, the "happy valley" speech.
More's the tragedy that Roosevelt's dream of the US as "a good neighbor among the nations" becomes this in '04.
Read the complete speech.
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Explore this collection of political cartoons published during the FDR administration.
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Explore more documents and oral histories about FDR.
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Shake your head at the well-meaning but wiggity-wiggity-wack "The Roosevelt Rap".
I mean, really: "They had the same last name but that don't mean nothing; they were far enough apart they were fifth cousins."? Uhhhhh... no.
Let's hear some music about Roosevelt with a bit more soul, yes?
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Evangelist Singers - "Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt, Pt. 1"
"He wasn't no kin but good god amighty, he's a poor man's friend."
This fascinating history lesson was written by Otis Jackson, a member of the group.
Buy "Wings of Faith: Detroit Gospel 1946-1950", another excellent P-Vine Collection, from Amazon.
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Read this brief AMG bio of the Detroiters AKA Evangelist Singers of Detroit.
It seems as if an earlier incarnation of the band featured a young Milt Jackson.
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View the infamous "Unfinished Portrait" by Elizabeth Shoumatoff.
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Read about Benjamin O. Davis, "first Negro general of the United States".
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Willie Eason - "Franklin D. Roosevelt, A Poor Man's Friend"
Same song, utterly different sound.
The steel guitar is generally recognized as having a rich tradition in Hawaii but its role in Floridian church music is somewhat lesser known. Eason is one of the greatest of those working in the Southern tradition.
Buy "Sacred Steel" direct from Arhoolie Records.
Here's a review of the disc.
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Read this "Brief History of the House of God Steel Guitar Tradition" and this article about the steel guitar influence up North.
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Read this article about Florida Folk Heritage Honoree Eason.
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Want more? Try Roosevelt's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on FDR by Guido van Rijn.
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Meeting the Neighbors
Largehearted Boy is a glutton's feast, packed to the gills with a magically replenishing cornucopia of live shows, web-only releases and promotional giblets of all types. Styles for all tastes is the order of the day; if you can't find ANYTHING on there of some interest to you, I weep for your generation.
Recent offerings include music from Iggy and the Stooges, Miles Davis, Ladytron and Rilo Kiley.
David was kind enough to take some time off from updating the flood of info on his page and spare a few moments for the Hut.
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I'm a music lover and web developer in the American South (the "dirty south" as the Drive-By Truckers would say). The first post on Largehearted Boy was January 31, 2002. When Largehearted Boy began, there was little focus but soon content gravitated toward the things I love: music, pop culture and literature with an emphasis on music. The site offers artists who have enriched my life a little exposure; I'm just sharing the musical love. LHB is more "mp3 smorgasbord" than mp3 blog; I set a table every morning and let the readers decide what to download.
Where did the name of your blog originate from?
Largehearted Boy comes from a Guided By Voices song, "Unleashed! The Large Hearted Boy." I combined the "large hearted" into one word, and the rest is history. The blog would have been entitled "Kicker of Elves," but kickerofelves.com (based on another Guided By Voices song) was taken.
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Five Desert Island Discs?
1. Guided By Voices - Under the Bushes, Under the Stars: My favorite GBV release, brilliant from start to finish. Of course, for the desert island, I'd pack my UK release which has a bonus EP.
2. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue: Because you cannot live on indie rock alone.
3. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses: Sheer pop goodness and one of my favorite albums of all time.
4. The Amps - Pacer: Stripped down and powerful, this disc is Kim Deal at her best.
5. Stravinsky - Petrouchka/Le Sacre du Printemps: Primal and raw, Le Sacre du Printemps still sounds modern 90 years after its composition. Petrouchka is a lovely bonus.
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How much does it cost you to maintain your site (in time/money/effort)?
The total cost in time and effort is pretty minimal. I am blogging sites and music that I read and enjoyed before I started Largehearted Boy, so I'm not spending much more time online because of the weblog. I try to spend less than a half hour a day doing weblog-specific duties (redesign, tweaking, etc.). I could easily spend more time but work, friends and family (not to mention our new kitten) always take precedence.
The monetary cost is low. Hosting is cheap these days, less than $80 US a year, and I would be buying lots of new music anyway. The little bit of advertising on my site helps defray the cost of hosting.
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What are the criteria you judge a song by to decide if it's post-worthy?
I have to be a fan of the artist or enjoy the song. I try not to limit myself by genre, if you look at my daily downloads you have a pretty good idea of my cd collection.
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Which critical darling do you find most overrated? Who's the most overlooked genius in the music industry?
I think the Beatles' music can never live up to the hype that surrounds it. I appreciate their music (especially the very early releases), but don't worship at their feet. John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats is definitely the most overlooked musician working today. Outside of the indie world he is hardly recognized but I feel he currently the best living American songwriter.
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What song would you like played at your funeral?
Something irreverent, poignant, and catchy, "Golden Boy" by the Mountain Goats would be perfect. The last chorus would be a singalong, of course: "There are no Pan-Asian supermarkets down in hell, so you can't buy Golden Boy Peanuts."
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What do you do for kicks when you're not posting?
I'm a fervent reader, mostly into modern fiction, but I will read anything that crosses my path. I play inline and ice hockey, enjoy biking and love to travel. I have always loved to see live music; that's a huge part of my life. Luckily, the woman I married shares the same passion for music.
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Do you have a favorite music critic?
I have become a fan of Douglas Wolk through his intermittent mp3 blog, Lacunae. His reviews are listed in the left sidebar and he recently published a book in Continuum's 33 1/3 series, Live at the Apollo.
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What was the last track you heard that really changed your life?
I recently linked to a live performance of "Yarn and Glue" by Joanna Newsom. I had attended the show and had never seen her perform live. She walked onstage to open her set with an acapella version of this song and I literally tingled from head to foot. This song didn't change my life but it did have a visceral effect.
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Describe the space you do your writing in.
Most of Largehearted Boy is written on my home laptop in our living room, while sitting on the couch with my wife underneath a surreal portrait of us done by a friend.
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That old chestnut dinner party is at your house and you can invite three musicians living or dead. Who are you inviting?
John Coltrane, Bela Bartok and Carl Perkins; three musicians who helped change the direction of music.
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Are you much of a dancer?
My wife often jokes that people pay her family not to sing; I have been offered money to stop dancing. I'm much more likely to stand on the sidelines and drink a beer.
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Drop on by Better Propaganda and pick out a track to hype.
Iron and Wine - "Naked As We Came"
Sam Beam takes a break from form and raises his voice above a whisper on "Naked As We Came," the first single from Our Endless Numbered Days. Don't worry though; his trademark tight acoustic arrangement and the dark lyrical beauty always present in his music is still there.
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The King is Dead; All Hail the King
Sean from Said the Gramophone posts his last tracks for the foreseeable future today. Gramophone was, as I've said before, one of the main inspirations for me to create th' Hut. I am understandably sad to see him move on but wish him the best of luck on his European gallavantin'. You're the best, man!
Gramophone soldiers on tho' and I'm excited to see what new manager Jordan Himelfarb has up his sleeve.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Lazy bones and distracted mind mean a late, but large, update.
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glisten: Drunkard #10
19. Norman Blake - "Whiskey Deaf and Whiskey Blind"
Jowey - Typical old-school country fare here. Decent, but doesn't really jangle my bells.
Mark - See, Norm loses me right away when he wants to go to Florida. I'll just let him go. Bye Norm. Have fun down there, fryin' your ass off in Floribama. Other than that, this is pleasant enough little ditty. Not enough to hook me though.
Illovich - Stuff like this makes me suspect I'd like country music more than I let on. I guess this is more folk or bluegrass or something, but I think of country as commercialized bluegrass and folk, sort of. Shit, I just googled this guy... he was in Johnny Cash's band, and played on a Bob Dylan album too. It's funny, apparently in some circles this guy is really famous, but I've never heard of him, I guess that happens to most famous people.
Brooks - I really like this song. It sounds like a Traditional, but it's an original composition.
Norman is probably best known these days for his role in the soundtrack to O Brother but he's got one helluva career to boast about.
Norman (and his wife and collaborator Nancy) are also family friends and something special to see live. Strongly recommended.
Buy "Far Away Down on a Georgia Farm" from Amazon.
Not one of my absolute favorites but still exemplary work. Other standouts on the album are "The Cat Came Back" and "Give Me Back My Fifteen Cents".
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Read this interview with Norman.
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Learn to play guitar and mandolin with these instructional tapes from Norman and Nancy.
Heck, if you want to you can even buy the Norman signature model from Martin Guitars.
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20. The Louvin Brothers - "The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea"
Jowey - Great track! I grew up listening to country-gospel. Even if I didn't really like it, it's become a part of me. Another song about repenting the sin of drinking, though, which is a bit depressing, as I sit here drinking Southpaw Light. This one is especially tragic since the drunk was so wasted he missed his mother's death. I suppose the ending is a bit nicer, since he's in heaven with her. I especially love that 40's country-gospel harmony, nothing is sweeter.
Mark - This is an old joke. Of course the Louvin Brothers are kneeling in front of the toilet. Or toilets. I'm not sure how many brothers there are. This is pretty hilarious though. I swear to god that I'm going to be cursing those fucking Louvin Brothers the next time I'm bent over the bowl. Sonsa bitches.
Illovich - Country gospel holds little appeal to me. This track is like, if Patsy Cline was really annoying and preachy. The opening organ reminds me of the opening of "Don't Crush that Dwarf, Hand me the Pliers." Let's eat!
Brooks - I love the harmonies. I guess Johnny Cash played this song - and from my research there seems to be some kind of controversy regarding whether this song was written by the Louvin Brothers or by the Carter Sisters - even though the Carters have the song-writing credit. Regardless, it's a great song.
Buy the infamous "Satan is Real!" album from Amazon.
Better (and unjustly so) known for its cover than its contents, this is a real humdinger of a disc that every wouldbe hipster hayseed should be packing somewhere on the CD rack.
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Explore this Charlie Louvin page.
Totally unrelated, I was ecstatic to discover a link on the same page to the music of The Four Eagles, whose music I can't seem to find online or on CD anywhere. In any case, there's two tracks up here and you best believe I have this bookmarked.
Do yourself a favor and listen to the audio clips; they're spectacular.
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Read this illuminating article on Ira Louvin.
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Listen to a bunch of Louvin Realaudio tracks.
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21. Lord Buckley - "God's Own Drunk"
Jowey - Lord Buckley, one of the worlds few beat poet/comedian/rappers. I've heard better stuff by him, but this one had it's moment. His rant at the bear was especially funny but especially that part about the bear dance. "it was just like the jitterbug dance, it was so simple it evaded me." Say what you will about him, he certainly has excellent command of the English language.
Mark - After that last song, I was just about ready to pass off into a little drunken slumber. Then Lord Buckley comes on trying to tell me jokes or something and I'm just all confused as to who's talking to me, and what in the hell he's talking about. And who are the people who are laughing. So many questions. Ah. He's totally fucking with this peaceful little sleeper and waking up those creeping worms in my belly. He must hate me.
Illovich - God damn, what the fuck!?! This guy is out of his mind. I had never heard of Lord Buckley, but he's really cool. His monologue skills are on a level that is hard to explain-- I've heard lots of monologues that were supposed to be great-- mi'Lord is really on, a beatnik hipster that doesn't falter in his patter. And apparently, he was in a tuxedo, which must have made his live shows that much more surreal.
Brooks - Spoken word. I'm not familiar with Lord Buckley - and at first I'm not really sure what's going on. And about half-way through I realize that it's supposed to be funny - and it is somewhat funny. But I get the feeling that it's one of those things that's funnier when you see if performed in person. Apparently this guy was some kind of inspiration to Captain Beefheart and Zappa was a fan.
Buckley could be one of my favorite rappers.
Chronically underappreciated today, I would be MOST gratified (if ya'll dig on this wigsplittin' jive) to see all you little babies flip script to land more Buckley tunage and then tell your cats and kitties about it. Dig?
In a new internet era where hipsters, flipsters and fingerpoppindaddies are all about riffing on the lingo and gilding the English lily, Buckley deserves acknowledgement and insane props.
"Buckley's Best World," from whence this hep rant hails is sadly outta print but if this piques your interest, you could do worse than to go and buy "His Royal Hipness", the Lord Buckley best-of CD from Amazon.
If you ain't keen to Buckley's retelling of the Jesus story, "The Nazz", ("he was a carpenter kitty") you NEEDS to, Jack!
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Visit the official Buckley site.
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Dig on these transcripts of Buckley's "Mind Bubbles".
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Buy "Dig Infinity", the '02 Buckley bio that you can find reviewed in this ecstatic Salon article and discussed in this NPR show.
A choice quote from NPR: "In 1969, the comedian supposedly gave a thirtysix hour nonstop performance under the influence of LSD..."
FALL OUT!
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Explore a cornucopia of neat links and info at this L.B. fanpage.
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Thanks to all the guys for contributing to the Drunk CD! That's all she wrote for that one; I'm going to take the next week off from the "mix review" concept and drop a collection of classic gospel and spiritual music on you. Don't let that scare you off; these are tunes that will get you up off your ass and drop your jaw to the floor, I promise.
There might also be a few surprises in store, courtesy of the inimitable O-Dub.
Plus interviews with largehearted boy, the suburbs are killing us, number one songs in heaven, profiles of Swung By Seraphim, Something I Learned Today and more!
Also, keep an eye out over at Music 4 Robots for more concert review pieces.
It's a good time to be a To-ficionado!
Okay, I gotta get crackin' on answering my email; but first:
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Meeting the Neighbors
Radio KRUD starts with a few friends in their early twenties who get together and talk about the songs they love. There's no division by genre; if anything, there's a premium placed on eccentricity and obscurity and lack of hipster cache. One day, one of them decides to share with the world.
Their wide eyed excitement with the music that they love and discover is refreshing and beautiful and contagious and unjaded as all get out.
This is likely where musicblogging will go; into the colleges and the thousands of insular musicgeek cliques. I can't wait.
Recent offerings at KRUD include Old 97's, Meatloaf, Rick Wakeman and Spiritualized
Here's the two most prolific posters on KRUD, Glenn and Meaghan.
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I'm Glenn Fitzpatrick, 22 years old. I work as a customer service rep and student by day, musicblogger by night and I do my own stunts. I created Radio KRUD mostly on a whim one day after talking with an acquaintance about where they found all these really cool songs that they had introduced me to. They subsequently pointed me toward various friends and bargain bins at local cd stores and even specifically The Tofu Hut. From there I did some searching and found out about all the other musicblogs and when I realized that my friend Meaghan and I had been doing the exact same with our personal journals, I created Radio KRUD as a central place for my music recommendations/reviews. I invited her along with my friend Dave to co-blog with me as they both had unique taste in music. I chose "Radio KRUD" as the title after one of my friends once made the joke a few years ago "You're listening to Radio 'K' 'R' 'U' 'D' - don't touch that dial, it's got KRUD on it!".
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My name's Meaghan Quinn and I'm better known on the crazy interweb for my work in online comics. I'm 24 and have been forcing my musical tastes on my friends since the 80's when, thanks to my access to a recording studio, I made some of the first mix tapes ever (or so I claim). The first one had Roberta Flack and Simon & Garfunkle.
What was the greatest motivation for you to create your site?
Glenn: I used to occasionally post a song or two on my personal journal for my friends and while my taste in music can be rather eccentric at times I've got plenty of songs to cover a wide range of music, so I tried to bring out some of the groups that not many people might usually hear. It's really just an outlet to talk about what I find that I like or hate.
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Meaghan: Glenn. He got me posting songs in my livejournal to pay him back for doing the same. I've always been a mixtaper and giving my friends songs to listen to has always just been a rewarding experience.
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Recommend three other musicblog sites and give them a sentence or two of introduction.
Glenn:
1. I've recently discovered Fat Planet and I really enjoy how there they bring in songs from all around the world when I want to hear something with an international flavor.
2. Honey, Where You Been So Long has a great collection of old-timey blues songs.
3. Since I enjoy hearing what one artist can do with music from another, I like the selection of cover songs at Copy, Right?.
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Meaghan:
1. I have superfluous hearts for Spoilt Victorian Child and not just because it somehow reminds me of what I loved in highschool.
2. I check Soul Sides the most often because the old, forgotten R&B is not to be missed. I feel like every song I get from there I need to save and cherish. It's really the music blog with the songs most likely to introduce me to things I've never heard before by artists I've never heard that makes me want to put down money for.
3. Said the Gramophone is just really good songs. I run out of words, but I honestly am crazy about this blog.
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Is there a major flaw in the way that musicblog sites function that you'd like to see corrected?
Glenn: Hmm... I'd like to see more support from the music industry - personally, there's only so much indie music I can take before it all starts to sound the same to me. On one hand I want to promote the indies and groups that are underappreciated and unheard, yet on the other hand there are times that I'd prefer to talk about more mainstream groups and say just why their songs A, B, and C rock out, yet D, E, and F didn't. If musicblogging could be seen more like the promotional tool it can be rather than straight-up filesharing, I think musicblogs could have a little more credibility. On the flip side of the coin, with musicbloggers being much more indie-centric, I have a feeling that if I or anybody were to start posting more commercially produced songs that they'd end up being tossed on their ear out of the musicblogging party and ostracized for fear that everyone else would be seen as guilty by association by the recording industry. So, while I really want to post more commercially available songs for critique, I don't because I don't want to be "that guy" that gets the whole musicblogging party crashed.
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Meaghan: The only thing I wish there were an easy fix for is remembering where I get music from. I don't know who to thank for introducing me to Sondre Lerche, who was my first "musicblogging at work" purchase.
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Do you really think that posting music effectively promotes sales of the album?
Glenn: If it wasn't for the journal that led me to discover musicblogging; I never would have discovered how much I love sambas, Som Tres, or Trio Mocotó. If it wasn't for another friend posting online about how great Andrew WK's music is I never would have heard of him, much less gone out to meet him in person at a cd signing. Same goes for yet another friend and Belle & Sebastian. Through musicblogging I've found things that I never would have found otherwise. I keep the songs I download in a particular playlist all sorted by number of times played and when I go browsing for cds I take a look at that playlist and see what's at the top of the charts that I don't own and move on down the list. That way I'm always working on making my music collection legit. There's been times on occasion where I'd forget about a particular artist or song just because at one time they didn't really catch my attention, yet when I re-discover that song I find that it's just one of the greatest things in the world and want to run right out and buy their material ASAP.
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Meaghan: I just mentioned Sondre Lerche. After downloading "You Know So Well", I pretty much turned around and bought the album it was on immediately. I owe about half my music collection to highschool, where we were too poor to buy all the music we wanted and made do by only ever giving each other tapes all the time. We also hit up our parents collections and made do on very limited budgets. Then when I had extra money, I'd spend it on stuff that not only came recommended. It's like advertising - you don't expect people to immediately purchase what they see in an ad, you just put the idea in their mind and hopefully they remember it when they do go to buy something.
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Can you list a few bands that you enjoy listening to that might surprise your readers?
Glenn: Well, probably the ones that other people might think are most unusual would probably be Barry Manilow ("Copacabana") or Falco ("Rock Me Amadeus")... stuff like that might be considered to be embarrassing, I guess, as in "well, yeah, I did used to listen to Falco back in my college days, but I was just experimenting! *blush*". When you're running a musicblog I think your readers expect that your taste in music to be rather varied - if you're constantly posting the same sorts of songs over and over and over, they might as well be listening to the radio with the same dozen songs on rotation all the time.
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Meaghan: I love Frank Zappa and Frank Sinatra, Jethro Tull and Ludacris, Thelonius Monk and Pete Yorn, Lil' Jon and The Who, Ricki Lee Jones and Dave Brubeck. It'd be easier to list what I don't like (whiney rock and pop country).
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Are you a proud member of the iPod Nation?
Glenn: Of course! I myself have had the pleasure of owning several iPods of various generations and sizes since they've been introduced, tending to upgrade each model about once each year for one with more capacity. Right now I'm using a 40 GB 3rd generation iPod which I think I'll keep a bit longer just because I finally have one that can hold my entire music collection and still have about 5 GB of room to spare. Until Apple comes out with a newer iPod that does something new and revolutionary (perhaps tune in to internet radio stations via wi-fi?), I think I'll stick with the one I've got. The 4th generation ones (click-wheel versions) just don't have anything compelling enough for me to upgrade to quite yet. In any case, I'm still trying to think of a good name for my current one - what good is a friend you take almost everywhere, yet you have no name to call them?
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Meaghan: Don't I wish. iTunes is my best friend, but I've got my fingers crossed for Christmas presents.
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Give me a good story about how one of the tracks that made it up on your blog got there.
Glenn: I'm notorious for liking the song "The Spanish Flea" by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, and my friends used to joke with me about how I'm probably the only person in the world who would enjoy such a thing. So, I ended up posting it on Radio KRUD one day, and later when I was checking the links to the site I found this page where all I could read were "Radio KRUD", "The Spanish Flea", and "Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass". I was really curious about what they were saying about one of my most favorite songs ever, so I asked in a subsequent post if someone could please translate for me what they were saying, and surprise, surprise, it looks like I really am the only one who enjoys that song (see the 3rd comment). What amazed me was the reach I had with my site - I was able to post one song up online, and next thing I knew I was getting commentary about my choice in music from people in Finland of all places!
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Pick one musician and one question. Who is it and what do you ask?
Glenn: Lemmy from Motorhead, how come your vocal cords haven't shredded yet? I used to be able to sing like that occasionally...
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Meaghan: Peter Gabriel, Will you please stop being a perfectionist and just put out some of the hundred songs you've written in the past decade???
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Could you see yourself still running your site in five years?
Meaghan: I don't know about this site in particular, but I see myself still finding a way to impose my taste in music on as many people as possible for the rest of my life. But I'd love to keep doing it with Glenn and Dave for a long time.
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What's the best live show you've ever seen?
Glenn: Well, it's not one particular show, but rather an entire performance - about 3 years ago I went to visit Megs and we went to see Music Midtown. Several blocks are fenced off in downtown Atlanta for the concert, and several dozen bands perform across stages all scattered about. Not only was it mostly all major acts, but it's structured so that you can just wander around from stage to stage and see different groups perform and listen if any new bands catch your ear. For example, the bands performing that I went to see that I knew of at the time were Blue Oyster Cult, Bob Dylan, The Sugarhill Gang, Steppenwolf, The Wallflowers, Booker T. Jones, Ben Harper, and Run DMC; the ones we saw that I hadn't really heard of (and now am a fan of several of these) were Patti Smith, Bilal, Blueground Undergrass, Kansas, Ben Harper, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. All of those that I hadn't heard of were pretty much just the result of spur-of-the-moment hey-let's-go-see-if-these-guys-are-any-good wandering around. The performances were excellent, and the entire festival was only something like $40 for three whole days of rock! I've been meaning to go back since then for the festival, but never had a chance to.
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Meaghan: Jump, Little Children in the (now, thankfully defunct) Elbow Room in Columbia maybe three or four years ago. It was the best of concerts, it was the worst of concerts, it was South Carolina in the summer in a tiny, tiny room with the worst opening band I've heard (Virgin Wool). It was mixed badly; we were packed in; there was no air circulation and during the show the bartenders flung water from pitchers to at least make us feel like we weren't going to die. But the show was consequentially so full of life and energy and there was such a connection between the band and the crowd, it was just incredible. That and the guys all stripped down to their boxers to play. It just felt like we were all friends here and were all drunk, even though I don't think I was old enough to drink then. It was just fun.
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Do you have a message for youngsters who'd like to start their own musicblog?
Glenn: You need something to differentiate yourself from the many other musicblogs out there. Anybody can write about their favorite songs so try to make yours stand out in some way. There's always an audience for anything in musicblogging, so feel free to take it upon yourself to create your own niche. Searching for new material to post is like the old internet when it really was browsing - just see where you end up and what catches your eye.
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Meaghan: Knock yourselves out. There's room for all types here on the interweb!
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Drop on by Better Propaganda and pick out a track to hype.
Glenn: "Friends Seen and Unseen" - Charlie Hunter Trio
I had seen the album on the iTunes Music store recently, and browsing the Better Propaganda archives I recognized the album cover. Their song "Freedom Tickler" has enough energy in it to keep my foot tapping, but it's not over-the-top energetic to destroy a lounge-around sort of mood - it's got more pep than coffeehouse music, yet not something that you can get up and dance to. The brass gives their sound a more funky feeling than jazz group Soulive... it's probably more on par instrumentally-sounding with Action Figure Party yet without as many musicians. Don't ask why, but for some reason I feel like I should be wearing sunglasses when I listen to this song.
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Meaghan: "Fit But You Know It" - The Streets
Because a couple of my friends had already reccommended some of their other stuff to me and I'd really liked it. I have a sort of prejudice against anything other than southern rap but I really, really like The Streets and this song is just really good stuff. The dissonance and odd coupling of sounds is both unsettling and really listenable (and foot-tappable) and the lyrics are just cool.
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spiffy
Speaking of the Streets, spin by Radio Babylon and scroll down for some neat remixes.
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They Might Be Giants have created their own iTunes store, employing an excellent business model for grassroots needs and cutting the middleman right out. They're also smart and innovative enough to offer freebie downloads and package deals (13 bucks for two albums sounds a lot more reasonable to me) and web-only exclusives. The site is refreshingly clean and gimmick/animation/autoload music free, something some artists could really learn from (when I want to play and browse, I play and browse; when I want to buy, I want a SIMPLE BARE BONES interface).
I expect to see a great deal more of this sort of thing in the future.
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They love us in Italy. I think. Anybody provide translation? Babelfish suggests it's just a skim of the Morning News interview.
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I know it hasn't been a minute since I just shouted out to We Eat So Many Shrimp but they've gone BAZERK lately. Loads of new posts.
What specifically got me so excited?
This ESG freestyle.
Skip the beef and bravado and start at 6:30 on this track.
Motherfucker's HAWT.
