Some Quick Thoughts On Peter Ivers

A few days ago I started reading “In Heaven Everything is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers and the Lost History of New Wave Theatre,” by Josh Frank and Charlie Buckholtz (Free Press, $25). I had read something a couple of weeks ago that piqued my interest about Ivers and this book, although admittedly, I really knew nothing about him other than being peripherally aware of New Wave Theatre.

There are a couple of things that so far have really made an impression on me: First is the incredible wealth of talent that came Harvard during that era (the late 1960’s). Ivers’ classmates and friends included Harold Ramis, Stockard Channing. Doug Kenney, and Tommy Lee Jones. And those are just the bigger names that I was immediately familiar with.

The other thing that absolutely stunned me was a title bestowed on Ivers by none other than Muddy Waters. One night in 1968, Ivers and then-girlfriend Channing were at the Cambridge Blues Club in Boston, watching Waters perform. “At one point between songs, Muddy Waters gestured to Peter and began to speak about him,” the authors write. Waters tells the crowd about his previous encounters with Ivers, including times the two had played together. “Looking out over the small but devoted audience in the smoky room, Waters referred to Peter as ‘the greatest harp player alive.’”

A white kid from Harvard was “the greatest harp player alive”? No doubt about it, I wanted to hear this. Ivers’ music is sort of hard to find, even on the Internet. eMusic has a couple of his later albums, but they’re mistitled as being by “Pete Rivers.” After some digging, though, I managed to find a couple of things I wanted to share here. Both of Ivers’ songs here display his harmonica talent, which is quite amazing.

The other two songs are versions of “In Heaven (Everything is Fine),” the song that lent its name to the book I’m reading. David Lynch asked Ivers to write a song for the 1977 movie Eraserhead and “In Heaven” was what he came up with. The first version is the original from the movie; the other is the Pixie’s version, from a BBC broadcast.

I’ve Got a Sex Crush.mp3
Harmonica Solo.mp3
In Heaven (Everything is Fine).mp3
In Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator Song).mp3

Labels: "alternative", books, covers, movies, new wave

posted by aikin @ 9:15 PM 0 Comments

Cyndi Lauper's Blues

Cyndi Lauper dropped by the Howard Stern show this morning to promote her brand new album, Memphis Blues, a collection of old standard blues songs. She brought with her a collection of ace musicians, including hotshot blues guitarist Jonny Lang, and jammed a very credible version of “Crossroads.”

I use the word “credible” because Delta blues isn’t really the first thing that comes to mind when you think Cyndi Lauper. Like it’s hard to picture B.B. King doing “She Bop.” It just don’t fit. But like Cyndi told Howard, her music is based in the blues anyway. Which, technically, I suppose it all is. So, if you can ignore Cyndi’s Queens accent that leaks through at times, you can say she has done a credible job on her Memphis Blues album.

Along with Lang, Memphis Blues also has guest appearances from legends such as Allen Toussaint, Charlie Musselwhite, and the aforementioned Mr. King himself. She recorded the disk in Memphis, where she says they played a lot of it live: “It was a very big priority that we walk in and play live,” she told Yahoo news. “This album was all about the moment and what happens when the groove is exact and the key is right.”

Memphis Blues isn’t Pearl, but it’s an interesting and, yes, credible, homage to the genre by an artist you maybe wouldn’t have expected to go that way.

Crossroads.mp3

*edited for error corrections...

Labels: blues, covers, new stuff

posted by aikin @ 11:56 AM 0 Comments

‘If You Want Some True Lovin’, Make Sure Her Eyes Are Brown’

Even if you’ve never heard it, there’s something instantly familiar about the Swingin’ Neckbreakers’ “Brown-Eyed Girl.” Maybe it’s the sludgy riffing, maybe it’s the heavy garage sound, maybe it’s just that it kicks so much ass it sounds like something you must have heard before.

Actually, if you’re tuned in to your rock history, you’ll know the Neckbreakers’ “Brown-Eyed Girl” is a cover of the closest thing to a hit John Fogerty’s pre-CCR band, the Golliwogs, ever had. (On a side note, and aptly enough, the Golliwogs’ song charted highest here in Miami.)

As far as the Swingin’ Neckbreakers’ version, I had no idea until recently it had been around since their second album, 1995’s Shake Break. When the Neckbreakers originally released that disk, they were just coming off a tour behind their debut, Live for Buzz. Returning home after the European leg, they went straight into the studio. Still riding the momentum from the successful tour, they blasted out an album showing how far the band had come in two years. All Music Guide described Shake Break as “a straightforward brand of rock ‘n’ raunch that critics hate but nonetheless resonates perfectly with the average Joe who just wants to shake it down.”

This version of “Brown-Eyed Girl” is a perfect example of the Swingin’ Neckbreakers taking in their classic heritage, cranking the volume until the speakers crack, then spitting it back at you.

Brown-Eyed Girl.mp3

Labels: covers, garage rock

posted by aikin @ 7:00 AM 0 Comments

Jewel’s ‘Needle and the Damage Done’

I like to – every now and again – throw a curveball at you with something I post. I sure don’t want you getting bored or complacent and thinking you can tune in any ol’ time and just pick up some oddball garage rock or a classic rock ROIO.

Hence today’s post.

I know very little about Jewel. I’ve heard the song that made her famous: “You Were Meant For Me” (ha! Tell me that song’s not in your head right now!); I know she can yodel; and I know she’s really attractive. Beyond that, I dunno....

So it came as a surprise to me to learn that she regularly performs the Neil Young classic “The Needle and the Damage Done” when she plays live. I found out about this yesterday, when Jewel was on the Howard Stern show. At Howard’s request she played her version of the song he said “wrecks him every time.”

Without a doubt Jewel brings something different to her version of “Needle.” She doesn’t have the intimate feeling of loss that drove Young to write the song, but she struggled a lot on her way to where she is and I have no problem with her putting her own emotions to such a heavy song.

To my knowledge, although Jewel regularly performs “The Needle and the Damage Done” live, it has never been officially released. The track here is a YouTube rip – it is not from the Stern show, btw; I don’t know where it was recorded. On a quality note, I’ve found some new software that pulls stuff from videos at a higher bit rate, bringing a slightly better sound than previous YouTube stuff I’ve posted.

The Needle and the Damage Done (Neil Young cover).mp3

Labels: acousticness, covers

posted by aikin @ 7:00 AM 2 Comments

Nudedragons Live in Seattle, pt. 2

Alright, then. As promised, part two of the Nudedragons April 16 set at the Showbox Theater in Seattle. This half includes an extended version of “Slaves and Bulldozers” as well as a cover of the Doors’ “Waiting for the Sun” to wrap up the show.

Beyond their August appearance at Lollapalooza, Soundgarden have no definite tour plans. According to a Billboard article the band is considering offers to appear at as-yet-undetermined U.S. and European festivals. However, the article continues, “a tour routing is still a work in progress, due to [drummer Matt] Cameron's prior commitments to play with Pearl Jam in the spring and summer.”

Nothing to Say.mp3
Loud Love.mp3
Blow Up the Outside World.mp3
Pretty Noose.mp3
Outshined.mp3
Slaves and Bulldozers.mp3
Encore:
Get On the Snake.mp3
Big Dumb Sex.mp3
Waiting for the Sun (Doors cover).mp3

Remember I mentioned yesterday that the zip sets were divided differently than the posted sets. Anyway, the second part is right here.

Labels: covers, grunge, live music

posted by aikin @ 7:00 AM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

This seriously has to be one of the largest mailbox dumps I’ve ever done. Sixteen songs – and that’s after I deleted a good number I didn’t want to post. What’s funny is I started off thinking this was going to be an unusually small post because I had to go through about 20 e-mails before I ran across something I liked and wanted to post.

Like always, I was happy see big names like the Dead Weather and MIA reaching out to bloggers to help promote their respective albums. I’ve seen both of these tracks posted on other blogs the last few days, so I apologize I’m a little slow getting them to you.

Besides the Dead Weather, of course, some other tracks you should pay particular attention to: The Ex-Girlfriend’s Club and Best Coast both fit loosely into the garage / psycho-fuzz genres I like and can recommend.

A lot of bands sending out music seem to be shooting for summertime pop-hit type of stuff. Sometimes that can come across like they’re trying too hard, but the couple I picked here – The Like and Sonny and the Sunsets – are bearable, if not downright decent. The Like also went for a purposefully lo-fi sound, recording their album direct to analogue tape.

Finally, I usually shy away from remixes, but I went with this remixed cover of Ice T’s “Colors,” from the movie of the same name. I was just talking with someone the other day about the 1988 flick, a classic directed by Dennis Hopper and starring Robert Duvall and Sean Penn. If I still have the soundtrack, I may get that up as an OST OCD post soon.

Like always, follow the links for more info.

The Dead Weather
Rock / Blues / Gothic
From: Nashville, Tenn.
Band MySpace
Die By the Drop.mp3

Sonny and the Sunsets
Indie / Beach-Pop
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
Too Young To Burn.mp3

Pearly Gate Music
Tropical / Concrete
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
Big Escape.mp3

MIA
Other
From: London & Southeast U.K.
Band MySpace
XXXO.mp3

Ganglians
Showtunes / Celtic / Roots Music
From: Sacramento, Calif.
Band MySpace
My House.mp3

Pete Covington
Alternative / Psychedelic / Pop
From: New South Wales, Australia
Band MySpace
Balloons.mp3

The Like
Pop / Garage
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Fair Game.mp3

Sleigh Bells
Electronic / Rock
From: Brooklyn, N.Y. & Florida
Band MySpace
Infinity Guitars.mp3

The Ex-Girlfriends Club
Garage / Rock / Glam
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Your Prescription.mp3

Lana Del Ray
Glam / Surf / Hawaiian
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Diet Mtn. Dew (demo).mp3

Yelawolf
Hip Hop / Ghettotech / Southern Rock
From: Gadsden, Ala.
Band MySpace
Good to Go (ft. Bun B).mp3

DJ Troublemaker / King Fantastic
Punk / Funk / Crunk
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Colors (Ice T cover).mp3

Best Coast
Surf / Pop / Gospel
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Far Away.mp3

Katelyn Dawn
Indie / Pop / Acoustic
From: Toronto, Canada
Band MySpace
Puzzle Pieces.mp3

Luna is Honey
Pop / Rock / R&B
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Who Wouldn’t.mp3

Lisa Jaeggi
Soul / Folk / Freestyle
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Oh Lady You Shot Me!.mp3
~~~~~

(pictures, top-to-bottom: Dead Weather, MIA, The Like, Lana Del Ray, Best Coast)

Labels: "alternative", acousticness, blues, covers, electronic, folk, funk, garage rock, glam, hip-hop, indie, Jack White, pop muzik, RnB, rock

posted by aikin @ 6:02 PM 1 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

I just realized that the last time any of you heard from me I was on my way out of town to see BugGiRL. For all any of you know I never made it back. But I did. The BugGiRL show was great – they gave it their all despite the small crowd. If you get a chance, definitely you need to see them live.

I’ve really had a lack of posting inspiration lately, so I thought the best solution would be to hit up the mailbox. It turned out there were a few gems hidden there. Straight away I need to mention Long Island’s Roast Beef Curtains. The band’s name alone is hilarious if you realize what exactly a roast beef curtain is. Besides that, there are the lyrics to “5th Base Girl”: “My fifth-base girl likes Diet Coke and glory holes.” I actually laughed out loud the first time I heard that.

The Burnt Ones wear their Johnny Thunders influence proudly, with reverby, echoey vocals and the almost patented Johnny Thunders lo-fi recording style. As a matter of fact, I like these guys so much I tossed in a bonus track, a cover of Motörhead’s “Damage Case,” which was a special Record Store Day download.

A couple of other things: I saw Ke$ha on SNL last night and I wasn’t really impressed. I’m sure she’s this summer’s Kelis. The Clucks’ cover of “Tik Tok” is interesting and at least as good as the original. Also check out garage rockers Thick Shakes for more of that tasty lo-fi rock ‘n’ roll I know you love.

As always, follow the links for more information

Thick Shakes
Garage / Punk / Pop
From: Jamaica Plain, Mass.
Band MySpace
(Baby) You’re a Starfish.mp3

Midnite Theory
Alternative / Hip Hop / Other
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Angel On Sunset.mp3
** now with correct links! **

Clucks
Indie / Rock / Garage
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
Tik Tok (Ke$ha cover).mp3

The Roast Beef Curtains
Reggae / Dub / Punk
From: Long Island, N.Y.
Band MySpace
5th Base Girl.mp3

The One AM Radio
New Wave
From: Los Feliz, Calif.
Band MySpace
Credible Threats.mp3

Norman
Indie / Folk / Rock
From: Willamette Valley, Ore.
Band MySpace
Hell, If I Love.mp3

Terese Taylor
Experimental / Black Metal / Folk Rock
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
My Shine, Doesn’t Shine.mp3

The Futureheads
New Wave / Indie
From: Sunderland, UK
Band MySpace
Struck Dumb.mp3

Burnt Ones
Minimalist / Psychedelic / Rock
From: Indianapolis, Ind.
Band MySpace
Gonna Listen to T-Rex (All Night Long).mp3
Bonus: Damage Case (Motörhead cover).mp3

~~~~~
(pictures, top-to-bottom: Thick Shakes, The Roast Beef Curtains, Terese Taylor)

Labels: acousticness, covers, folk, garage rock, indie, new wave, pop muzik, rock

posted by aikin @ 1:29 PM 2 Comments

'We'll Park At 7-11 And Look For Some Beef'

I have, over the past couple of months, gotten a lot of hits on a Runaways post I did more than two years ago (the links are still up if you want to check it out). Oddly, the referrals are almost exclusively from Google images, which made it hard for me to figure out at first. The conclusion I finally came to is that the spike in hits has more or less coincided with the attention to The Runaways, which opens nationally April 9, and people searching images for the band.

Whatever the reason for the uptick, as always, I welcome it and, as always, I hope that people visiting my blog for that particular post will look around and decide to come back.

With that, never let it be said that I’m not a whore: If one Runaways post is good, two has got to be even better.

I did some searching and found Flaming Schoolgirls, an oddly named disk that is a collection of outtakes from the Queens of Noise and Live in Japan albums. Originally available as a Japanese import, the Cherry Red label released it in the U.S. in 1980. Flaming Schoolgirls features the classic Runaways lineup of Lita Ford, Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Jackie Fox, and Sandy West.

I picked a couple of what I think are pretty representative songs from the album: “Don’t Abuse Me,” a Joan Jett-penned song, features Cherie Currie on vocals (Joan would rerecord it later for her Bad Reputation album); Joan herself is out front on the live version of “I Love Playin’ With Fire.”

In an interesting choice, there are two Beatles covers on Flaming Schoolgirls – “Strawberry Fields” and “Here Comes the Sun.” Yeah, that’s what I thought too. But Joan’s version of “Here Comes the Sun” is really not bad and it’s a rare occasion to hear her accompanied by just piano and strings. What kept going through my mind as I listened is, Thirty years down the road, there would be kids the same age Joan was then, singing their little hearts out on American Idol, maybe trying the same song, and not even coming close to turning in as good a performance. Yet ironically, I doubt Joan could have even “made it to Hollywood.”

Don’t Abuse Me.mp3
I Love Playin’ With Fire.mp3
Here Comes the Sun (Beatles cover).mp3

Labels: Beatles, covers, glam, outtakes, rock

posted by aikin @ 7:00 AM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

Happy SXSW week to you and yours. Once again I will not be attending, although I recently wondered if I could have gotten a record label or PR firm to cover my airfare and bar tabs while I whore myself for whatever bands they have in attendance. On the other hand, I harbor a dislike for much “indie” music and can see where it may have ended up as a “Fear & Loathing on 6th Street” type of occasion. “We were somewhere over Louisiana when the drugs began to take hold...”

Anyway, as you might guess, my inbox was full of notices about appearances at SXSW. Probably the majority of the bands in today’s post will be there, but I can’t be arsed to dig up schedules for you. If you like the band and you’re going to be in Austin this week, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

This is a pretty small inbox purge because a lot of the stuff I received was electronica or whiney, self-indulgent indie/emo stuff or some mash-up/remix of the two genres, and I’m really not in the mood to hear that.

The top stuff today is easily The Choke and The Ex-Girlfriend’s Club. Both bands bring the garage rock sound that I so enjoy. Also, if you think back to my last mailbox post, you’ll recollect Pack A.D. Well, as the fates would have it, The Choke are on tour with Pack A.D. You’ll definitely want to check out that bill if they come to a town near you. The Koot Hoomi track comes from a Hall and Oates tribute album the group did. It’s called The Dark Side of Hall and Oates and is bizarre enough that it warranted inclusion here.

As always, follow the links for more information.

The Choke
Garage / Punk / Soul
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Tuff Kids.mp3

Shaka Ponk
Rock / Electro / Experimental
From: Berlin, Germany
Band MySpace
Do.mp3

Cary Ann Hearst
Folk Rock / Southern Rock / Roots Music
From: Charlotte, S.C.
Band MySpace
Are You Ready to Die.mp3

April Smith
Melodramatic Popular Song / Pop / Folk Rock
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Movie Loves a Screen.mp3

Koot Hoomi
Experimental / Indie / Acoustic
From: Tempe, Ariz.
Band MySpace
Maneater (Hall and Oates cover).mp3

The Ex-Girlfriend’s Club
Garage / Rock / Glam
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Devil Eyes.mp3

~~~~~
(Pictures, top-to-bottom: The Choke, April Smith)

Labels: acousticness, covers, electronic, folk, garage rock, glam, indie, pop muzik, rock

posted by aikin @ 12:40 PM 0 Comments

'Through Being Cool'

When I was back there in seminary school....

Oh wait, that’s a different story. How about “when I was back there in high school...”

... I saw Devo make their network television debut on Saturday Night Live. Although many of my tastes were very white bread and mainstream, I was also drawn toward music that was outside of that box. In the harsh world of high school, those tastes were seldom met with approval.

Such was the case when, the Monday after their October 1978 appearance on SNL, I went to school raving about this band who had quirkily covered “Satisfaction” and had the gall to appear dressed in yellow jumpsuits like some freaks from another planet, while preaching de-evolution. And all this just a week after the Stones themselves had graced the stage at Studio 8H.

SNL was still relatively new and hip then, so everyone watched it and everyone had seen Devo and everyone hated them. Those of you who are still just a few years removed from high school will remember how fear of the unknown and different is a potent virus that pervades every school, everywhere. So of course a couple of weeks later, when I showed up at school sporting a Devo t-shirt, it was greeted with hatred and derision by the cool kids rocking their Mahogany Rush tees.

tl;dr? I’m posting Devo, not Mahogany Rush.

This is a collection of live Devo, recorded at various venues and at various dates, from the 1978 SNL appearance through a 1988 performance of “Girl U Want.” Unfortunately, other than rough dates, I don’t have any additional information on where the songs come from.

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.mp3 ~ SNL, 1978
Mongoloid.mp3 ~ 1978
Uncontrollable Urge.mp3 ~ 1978
It Takes A Worried Man.mp3 ~ 1980
Gates of Steel.mp3 ~ 1980
I Saw Jesus / Through Being Cool.mp3 ~ 1981
Working In A Coalmine.mp3 ~ 1981
Smart Patrol / Jerkin’ Back and Forth.mp3 ~ 1981
Patterns.mp3 ~ 1982
Girl U Want.mp3 ~ 1988
That’s Good.mp3 ~ 1988

Labels: covers, live music, new wave, TV

posted by aikin @ 11:32 AM 2 Comments

'How'd a White Boy Get the Blues?'

Is it too early in the day to star drinking whiskey? ‘Cause dammit that’s what Popa Chubby makes me want to do.

Popa Chubby (more on the name in a bit) plays the kind of raunchy blues / rock-a-billy / old-school country that you want to hear in a bar, not sitting on the couch in your living room at 10 in the morning. Last year he released his 19th album, Vicious Country, a disk that not only showed off his talent on the guitar, but also paid tribute to the legendary music that has influenced him along the way. The album, while not attracting much mainstream attention, continued to build on the legend that is Chubby.

Ted Horowitz came out of the Bronx, raised on Clapton, Hendrix, and the Stones. By the time he was in his early 20’s, he had found his love for the blues, but had also found his way into occasional work with Richard Hell. Ted’s first big break was winning a national blues talent search sponsored by KLON, a public radio station in Long Beach, Calif.

I’ve found two versions as to how Ted Horowitz became Popa Chubby. The first comes from something Chubby himself said. He was jamming one night with Bernie Worrell of Parliament-Funkadelic, he says, and, “He was singing a song called ‘Popa Chubby’ and he pointed at me.”

“Popa Chubby basically means to get excited. The core of my music is about excitement. I think music should make people feel alive.”

The other version – unsourced, I might add, but on the Popa Chubby Wiki page – claims the name is a variation of the term “pop a chubby.” My guess is that, as usual, the truth is somewhere between the two versions.

Popa Chubby’s 20th album, The Fight Is On, is due out March 22. If you can’t find it your local big box retailer (haha!), you can order it from the Popa Chubby website. In the meantime, here are a couple of things from the Vicious Country LP. The woman on vocals is Galea, Chubby’s sometime bass player and longtime collaborator.

Break Me Down.mp3
Satan is Real / Straight to Hell (Hank III cover).mp3
Harper Valley P.T.A. (Jeannie C. Riley cover).mp3

Labels: alt.country, blues, covers, rockabilly

posted by aikin @ 11:00 AM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

I figure the last day of the month is as good a time as any to dump out the mailbox. Start fresh next month and all that.

A lot of stuff from bands that are going to be at SXSW next month. I’ll be not attending again this year, so who plays or doesn’t play isn’t going to much affect me. Just send me good music if you want me to post it. Kthx.

I’m gonna jump right in with my pick of the litter. The Pack A.D., from the home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, are a duet – guitar and drums a la Jack and Meg – and take a similar, garage/blues approach to their music. Singer Becky Black has garnered more than a few comparisons to a certain legendary 60's whiskey-throated blues shouter. I really liked this band and look forward to hearing more of their music.

A couple of other things that are interesting: Patrick Bower’s “The Dark Lord (of Love)” has a weird, dark sound to it and made me want to hear it more than once. Moneybrother’s “Born Under a Bad Sign” is another of those tracks I almost passed on, but, after a couple of listens, decided to include. It’s a sort of poppy, dancey, type of thing. Maybe like something from the first Killers album or something. Just know that it’s not a cover of the Albert King classic.

The very last song on today’s list, “Sleepwalking,” I decided to include sight unseen. That is to say, I didn’t even care if the music was up to my usual rigorous standards. Everything Is Made In China, or EIMIC as their friends call them, come from Russia. When was the last time you heard a Russian pop band? Exactly. So they get a mention just for that.

As always, follow the links for more information.

Blunt Mechanic
Indie / Folk / Punk
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
Less Beat.mp3

Becca
Rock / Pop / Acoustic
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Kickin’ & Screamin’.mp3

Nick Jaina
Folk / Pop / Indie
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Sleep Child.mp3

Cast Spells
Acoustic / Country / Folk
From: Chicago, Ill.
Band MySpace
Pioneer Scalps.mp3

Patrick Bower
Indie / Folk / Pop
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
The Dark Lord (of Love).mp3

The Pack A.D.
Garage / Rock / Punk
From: Vancouver, Canada
Band MySpace
Crazy.mp3

Resonant Soul
Alternative / Rock / Indie
From: Toledo, Ohio
Band MySpace
House of the Rising Sun (Animals cover).mp3

Velvet Davenport
Psychedelic / Pop
From: Minneapolis, Minn.
Band MySpace
Get Out.mp3

The Dig
Rock / Indie / Pop
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
You’re Already Gone.mp3

Shellshag
Punk / Rock
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Resilient Bastard.mp3

Friday Mile
Indie / Rock / Pop
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
FYI.mp3

Moneybrother
Rock / Pop
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Band MySpace
Born Under a Bad Sign.mp3

EIMIC
Rock / Other
From: Moscow, Russian Federation
Band MySpace
Sleepwalking.mp3

~~~~~
(Pictures, top-to-bottom: Becca, The Pack A.D., Shellshag)

Labels: "alternative", covers, folk, garage rock, indie, pop muzik, pop-punk

posted by aikin @ 12:02 PM 1 Comments

Doug Fieger: 1952-2010

I read this morning that Doug Fieger, lead singer for the Knack, had died Sunday at his Woodland Hills, Calif., home after a battle with cancer. He was 57.

In 2006 Fieger had two tumors removed from his brain. He began undergoing chemotherapy in March of 2007 after a PET scan found a possible cancerous growth in his brain. He remained optimistic, saying, “You can't lie down. You can't stop your life.”

The Knack is often maligned as “one-hit wonders” for their phenomenal success with “My Sharona.” Although “My Sharona” was an insane hit, spending six weeks in 1979 as Billboard’s number one song, Get the Knack itself also became a huge success. The album went platinum in just two months and spent five weeks as number one, going on to worldwide sales of 6 million. It also spawned three other hit singles, although of course, none of them matched "Sharona's" success.

I think the Knack happened to come along at an opportune time in music history. They had the classic “two guitars, bass, and drum” line-up and made poppy, new wave music just as that style started to break. But they leaned enough on rock that they didn’t alienate fans who wouldn’t listen to the electronic new wave music that was waiting in the wings. Ultimately, the Knack would become so popular, they were hit with a backlash in the form of a “Knuke the Knack” campaign. Whether as a result of that backlash or because of weak material, none of the Knack’s five successive studio albums would come near the success of Get the Knack.

Good Girls Don’t.mp3
I Knew the Bride (Dave Edmunds cover).mp3
My Sharona (demo).mp3

Labels: covers, current events, demos, new wave

posted by aikin @ 8:24 PM 2 Comments

‘Is There Anybody Alive Out There’

I thought I’d pass along part of something I found the other day: A “recording of indeterminate origin” from last year’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame induction concert.

If you’ll recall, there were shows October 29 and 30 at Madison Square Garden honoring the Rock Hall inductees. The recording I’ve got is from the first night’s show, recorded – in that time-honored method – by someone in the audience. The sound, while obviously not professional quality, isn’t bad. According to the notes that came with the file, this person started the night with a “limited” (read: “no”) view seat in an area that also had terrible sound. He soon “realized it wasn't going to be very good [and] quickly relocated myself to one of the expensive seats and luckily its rightful owner never showed up.”

This enterprising person managed to capture the entire show for posterity, from Tom Hanks’ opening remarks to the Bruce Springsteen-led closing performance of “Higher and Higher.” Rather than repost the whole thing, I decided I’d go with a theme and just repost Springsteen’s portion of the show. This was, to me anyway, the most compelling, with guest performers ranging from John Fogerty to Billy Joel. The only stumble is the version of “London Calling,” which sounds forced. Otherwise, the performances are solid. “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” with guest guitarist Tom Morello, hits the middle ground between Springsteen’s original and Rage’s thrashing cover. There’s also an amazing 12-minute version of “Jungleland.”

Again, this is an audience recording, so the sound isn’t pristine, but it is well listenable and proves beyond a doubt that the E-Street Band is one of the greatest bar bands ever.

Tenth Avenue Freeze Out.mp3
Hold On.mp3 ~ with Sam Moore
Soul Man.mp3 ~ with Sam Moore
The Ghost of Tom Joad.mp3 ~ with Tom Morello
Fortunate Son.mp3 ~ with John Fogerty
Proud Mary.mp3 ~ with John Fogerty
Pretty Woman.mp3 ~ with John Fogerty
Jungleland.mp3
Fine Fine Boy.mp3 ~ with Darlene Love
Da Do Ron Ron.mp3 ~ with Darlene Love
London Calling.mp3 ~ with Tom Morello
Badlands.mp3 ~ with Tom Morello
You May Be Right.mp3 ~ with Billy Joel
Only the Good Die Young.mp3 ~ with Billy Joel
New York State of Mind.mp3 ~ with Billy Joel
Born to Run.mp3 ~ with Billy Joel
Higher and Higher.mp3 ~ with ensemble

Or, if you're feeling particularly lazy, you can click here and get the whole thing at one time.

Labels: classic rock, covers, live music, Springsteen

posted by aikin @ 10:55 AM 0 Comments

'I Thought This Was Love, But This Ain't Casablanca'

I heard something the other day that I didn’t realize was so seminal. You know I loves me some Australian rawk, but I was not aware of Aussie punks The Saints.

The Saints, who started playing together in 1974, were considered contemporaries of the Ramones, and actually released their debut, (I’m) Stranded, about six months before Never Mind The Bollocks came out. Bob Geldof was even once quoted as saying, “Rock music in the Seventies was changed by three bands: the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and The Saints.”

So how did I not know about The Saints? Who knows. Although once I located their debut disk, some of the songs did sound familiar. Probably I’d heard them and not known who it was. There’s also the possibility that, because the band had relocated to the U.K. by 1977, (I’m) Stranded got lost in the punk shuffle and never got the acclaim it deserved.

By the time The Saints got ‘round to recording their second album, they had started to move beyond punk, which they already thought was becoming over-hyped and too commercial. “New uniforms; we all look the same,” they would sing.

Subsequent albums would take The Saints in a more blues-rock direction and through just over 20 different members. Chris Bailey is the only one to have been with the band throughout their 36-year history. Various members still reunite with Bailey for the occasional one-off reunion gig, although they haven’t released a new album since 2006.

(I’m) Stranded stands as a punk rock benchmark. Listening to it now, I can’t believe this album came out pre-Pistols. The buzzsaw guitars are 100-percent Stooges / Ramones / pure punk raunch. The Saints’ take on “Kissin’ Cousins” turns it into a sleazy incest fantasy far removed from the hillbilly innocence of Elvis’ original. “Night In Venice,” which was the original album closer, sounds like Night in Seattle as it presages grunge nearly 15 years before the world would hear about Kurt Cobain.

This is truly a remarkable album and is as fresh and vital now as it was 35 years ago. If you, like me, have somehow missed out on it, you need to somehow get hold of it and treat yourself to it.

Kissin’ Cousins.mp3
Night In Venice.mp3

Labels: Australian, covers, punk

posted by aikin @ 8:36 PM 3 Comments

Say It Ain't So, Lily

Gossip around the tabloids has it that Lily Allen is chucking the music biz. There is no truth to the rumors that she is giving it up to be with me.

Lily on Wednesday told the BBC that she plans on taking “one or two years off from recording and performing music.” Her last scheduled performance is a March show with Dizzee Rascal at the O2 Arena in London. She also told the Beeb’s Radio 1 that she plans on setting up a fashion shop with her sister and working with new bands. “I’m just going to concentrate on doing some behind the scenes sort of stuff,” she said.

I’ve got say that Lily Allen taking a break from music will have no major impact on my life. However, I can admit to having been a casual fan since I saw her on Saturday Night Live a couple of years ago. I thought she was adorable looking and I kinda dug her infectious, pumped-up, ska-type music. And I have a weakness for girls with British accents.

Over the last couple of years I’ve picked up a handful of her songs here and there, but I never got around to buying a full album. I think what scared me away were tunes that veered away from ska and more into Pink territory. To be honest though, I haven’t really hated anything I’ve heard from Lily Allen.

Anyway, to see her off, I’ve rounded up a few live and non-LP tracks. And Lily, if you get bored with all this new found free time, there’s always a chip butty waiting for you in Apt. 104.

Everybody’s Changing.mp3 ~ Keane cover – non-LP
Naïve.mp3 ~ live, BBC Radio 1
Oh My God.mp3 ~ Kaiser Chiefs cover – non-LP
LDN.mp3 ~ live, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., Feb. 16, 2007
Blank Expression.mp3 ~ Specials cover – live, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., Feb. 16, 2007.

Labels: covers, live music, pop muzik, ska, unplugged

posted by aikin @ 7:00 AM 1 Comments

Tony Rome

The other night I happened to watch the 1967 Frank Sinatra classic, Tony Rome. The film was interesting in a couple of ways: First, it features Sinatra the way that I’d grown up imagining him: Tough, quick with a one-liner, and having to always dodge women who are non-stop throwing themselves at him.

The other interesting aspect is that Tony Rome shows a Miami completely different, yet remarkably the same, as the Miami I know. I laughed when I saw some of the Miami Beach structures in the movie that probably weren’t new then and are still standing today, only now they actually are home to the sort of low-lives the fictional PI was chasing 40 years ago.

The Tony Rome title track is ridiculously catchy and poppy, while being cool in a retro, Tarantino kind of way. Steven Van Zandt has it in rotation on his Underground Garage channel on SiriusXM radio and I figured if it’s cool enough for Little Steven it’ll probably do for this site. Besides, it’s been stuck in my head since I watched the movie.

Frank’s daughter Nancy sang the title track for the movie; her second go with a movie theme song, following on her earlier success with the title track for You Only Live Twice. Lee Hazelwood, who wrote most of Nancy’s earlier hits, also penned this sultry classic.

Also, just for fun, I’m including a not-too-bad cover of the Beatles’ “Run for Your Life,” which Nancy recorded for her 1966 album Boots.

Tony Rome.mp3
Run for Your Life (Beatles cover).mp3

Labels: Beatles, covers, movies, pop muzik

posted by aikin @ 6:52 PM 0 Comments

From Below Sea Level, California

From the Licorice Pizza files of “maybe you haven’t heard of these guys but you should have” comes a band from the deserts of Southern California.

Throw Rag comes from California’s Salton Sea, a barren, sub-sea level wasteland located more or less south of Los Angeles. Sean Wheeler – aka Capt. Sean Doe – has fronted the band since its formation in 1993. Capt. Sean, Dean McQueen, Franco Fontana, and Chango Von Streicher make up the current incarnation of Throw Rag.

The early versions of the band were compared to the Pogues, playing a kind of Irish folk-punk. This style was evident on their debut disk, 2001’s Tee Tot. It was just after the release of Tee Tot that Throw Rag starting getting national attention, grabbing opening slots for bands such as Green Day. They also got on board the 2002 Warped Tour.

By 2003, Throw Rag had signed with punk label Better Youth Organization and released the far noisier psychobilly-meets-Motörhead album Desert Shores. This is widely considered their break-out album, and got decent MSM reviews: Throw Rag takes the anything-goes attitude of early Damned,” wrote Billboard, “and grafts it to the purposefully sloppy riffs of boozy bar punk to get a record that celebrates punk’s cut-loose mentality that’s frequently lost in the dead-serious world of rock’n’roll rebellion.”

The follow-up to Desert Shores – 2005’s 13 Feet and Rising – continued in the punk-a-billy direction and featured a who’s who of punk legends: The Circle Jerks’ Keith Morris; Jello Biafra; and godfather to them all, Lemmy.

This afternoon’s music is from the 13 Feet and Rising album and happens to be the tune featuring Lemmy: a cover of Merle Haggard’s “Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down.”

Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down (Merle Haggard cover).mp3

Labels: covers, psychobilly, punk

posted by aikin @ 5:05 PM 1 Comments

Steven Tyler Done With Aerosmith?

The gossip around the Internet is that Steven Tyler is leaving Aerosmith. That move, which would for all intents and purposes break up the legendary band, seemed to be confirmed in an interview Joe Perry gave the Las Vegas Sun newspaper.

“Steven quit as far as I can tell,” Perry told the paper in an interview published Friday. “I don’t know anymore than you do about it. I got off the plane two nights ago. I saw online that Steven said that he was going to leave the band. I don’t know for how long, indefinitely or whatever. Other than that, I don’t know.”

Most of Aerosmith’s recent world tour was canceled in August after Tyler fell from the stage at a Sturgis, S.D., concert and broke his shoulder. The band members were unhappy with Tyler over the incident. However, Aerosmith salvaged the final leg of the tour, including two shows in Hawaii and one at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before more than 50,000 fans.

Perry told the Sun he hopes to keep Aerosmith together, with or without Tyler, but he was so stunned by recent developments he doesn’t know what’s going to happen.

Meanwhile, talk on the AeroForceOne message boards was mostly about Tyler’s selfishness and the idea that “he's not Rod Stewart that split from the Faces while still in his 30's and had a whole career ahead of him.”

There’s no confirmation or denial from Steven Tyler at this point, other than a statement he made in an interview with Classic Rock magazine regarding his future plans: “It's definitely going to be something Steven Tyler, working on the brand of myself — Brand Tyler.”

In my opinion, Aerosmith is past their prime and would do well to call it a day. They haven’t been able to keep it together like the Stones have and they haven’t been able to consistently turn out rock music on a par with their earlier successes. The slick pop of albums like Just Push Play is an embarrassment to the band and to those of us who used to be fans.

Here are a couple of things from the 1991 Pandora’s Box compilation.

Lord of the Thighs (live-1978).mp3
I Wanna Know Why (live-1978).mp3
Chip Away the Stone (alt version).mp3
Helter Skelter.mp3

Labels: Aerosmith, classic rock, covers, current events, live albums, outtakes

posted by aikin @ 11:27 AM 1 Comments

Trippin' with Toni Basil

You know how sometimes, in old movies, the credits roll as the film opens? Well, I was watching Easy Rider (1969, my friends – it’s officially an old movie now) the other day and as the opening credits went across the screen, I saw a familiar name: Toni Basil.

I can’t honestly say if I knew she was in the movie and had forgotten, or if it came as a bit of a surprise. While I know she is a choreographer of some renown, to me, Toni Basil is, was, and always will be the “Oh, Mickey, you’re so fine” girl.

In case you didn’t know – or like me, you maybe forgot – Toni plays “Mary” in Easy Rider. Near the end of the film, when Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda finally arrive in New Orleans, they visit a brothel where they meet Mary and another girl, Karen (played by Karen Black). The four of them go to the Mardi Gras parade, and then visit a cemetery, where they drop acid. In your Mr. Skin moment, there is a little bit of Toni Basil nudity here. There is also an interestingly filmed representation of the group’s trip.

Easy Rider was probably Toni’s biggest role; prior to that she had a few parts where she was credited – if she was credited at all – in roles such as “Dancer” or “Pajama Girl.” She also had a few small roles following Easy Rider, mainly in classics such as Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood; and Angel III: The Final Chapter. I think it’s safe to say Toni found much more success as a choreographer.

But let’s not forget Toni’s musical career. Her 1982 album Word of Mouth and the smash hit “Mickey” firmly established her as one of the greatest one-hit wonders ever. Something else I didn’t know about Toni Basil until I started researching around: Most of the members of Devo played on the Word of Mouth disk. If you can believe what you read, Toni and Devo bass player Jerry Casale were dating at the time and Toni had been a long-time Devo fan.

One of the songs Toni chose for her album was “Be Stiff,” which was a Devo rarity. The song was initially released on their 1978 EP, Be Stiff. Devo wouldn’t officially release the song again until their 1990 compilation disk Greatest Misses. Toni’s is a fun version, with her pop vocals over Devo’s edgy new wave instrumentation.

Be Stiff.mp3

Labels: covers, movies, new wave, pop muzik

posted by aikin @ 5:00 PM 1 Comments