I've been listening to Bonobo's "Black Sands" album for the last couple days and I have to credit where credit is due. If I had given it more than a once over last year when it came out it would have easily made my best of 2010 list. Actually, it's not hard to see how it might have been at the very top of the list. It's an exceptional album. I posted "The Keeper" last May, but here's the title track from the album to give you another idea of its splendor. I'm also throwing in a track from Burial's amazing 2007 album "Untrue", well worth checking out. Have a great evening.
Took the weekend off, mostly to party. First it was Saturday night at the Phoenix which started slow but ended a little bonkers so thanks all, then Sunday was Lee's birthday so it was a balloon volleyball and twister extravaganza. Good times. Now back to the blog.
This is Gogol Bordello, a crazy gipsy rock band from New York who I know little about except that it appears that they would be nothing short of freakin' awesome to see live in concert. Crazy music being played by crazy people is always entertaining. These guys will be at Bonnaroo this year, which is cool as it seems that festival is largely jam bands so they'll stick out a little. I'm not going to it, just sayin'.
Gogol Bordello - Wonderlust King [Live On David Letterman]
The greatest cover ever? Quite possibly. Jimi Hendrix rejigged this song so well that Bob Dylan, the original songwriter, started performing it the same way. It's one of my favorite songs of all time, and one you've probably heard countless times before. Might as well give it one more listen, just for fun. It is Friday after all.
Tyler is only 19 years old and he's already very angry. Unusually cynical for so young. Can't say I blame him. I'd be pretty angry too if I was his age living in Los Angeles. If you can look past the darkness though, he's very talented. He produces and writes all his own stuff. Probably has a big future if he makes it. Good luck son. WARNING: this is not a pop video.
I haven't featured any Tom Waits yet. Today's as good a day as any, so here's a fine performance from The Old Grey Whistle Test circa 1977. Tom is definitely not for everyone. His gravelly style is brooding theatrical story telling at its finest. There are few smiles and little sunshine here. He seems to represent the every man, the blue collar worker, and has achieved cult status through it. Great stuff when you need a break from the incessant pop on today's mainstream music outlets.
Tom Waits - Tom Traubert's Blues [Live on Old Grey Whistle Test]
I've been absent again for a couple days, but I've been reasonably productive at the same time so I'm ok with it. I'll have a normal post with tons of links and such done for tomorrow but in the meantime here's a snippet of what I've been working on. I posted a bunch of "works in progess" on my Soundcloud page so you can see some of what I'm working on, and tomorrow night I'll hopefully record my Evolve Festival demo, which I'll post on Thursday, as long as it goes smoothly...
I'm not dead! I'm not even drunk. Just been running around doing stuff and been too lazy to write when I've been around. I'm also too busy to post anything other than this today, but I'm guessing you'll be too drunk to care or notice. Happy drinking for no good reason day, this one goes out to George, who is on the left coast where it's not noon just yet and he's already well into his daily rations. And hey, it's Coop's birthday today in the T-dot today too. Have a good one buddy.
Well I was hoping to have some news and such to post, but there really isn't anything worth talking about in the wake of the ongoing disaster in Japan, which now has nuclear complications. I'll just post a few funny old clips that I have kicking around. Here's some awesome Dub FX to help keep things on the level.
Dub FX - Love Someone [Live]
BONUS BEATS!
U-Tern - Style, Class, Flair
Creds to Mizz Maxine for finding these funky beats.
In case you somehow didn't know Japan was smashed up pretty good by an earthquake and resultant tsunami early this morning. I have a feeling this won't be the last of this sort of thing this year. The world is going through changes and it will be turbulent, but I'm confident we'll make it. I'm thankful that none of my immediate friends and family have been too affected thus far. I hope that continues. Here's some meditative tunes to relax to.
Chris Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., died fourteen years ago today. I would never wish to celebrate the end of one man's life here, but simply wish to recognize one of the great rappers of our time. You can hear at least one of his songs just about every night up at the Phoenix. What a legend.
As an aside, I watched Rango last night. Good movie, I recommend it. I also saw Restrepo a couple nights ago. Insane movie. All I could think was "what the hell are they there for?" Worth a watch.
I've been super busy the past couple days, and will continue to be over the next few days as I'm working hard on getting as much of my own music done as possible. With spring fast approaching I'm gonna want to get outside a little more so I want to get stuff done while I have an excuse to stay inside. With that in mind posts might be a little inconsistent over the next week. As if that's a change to the status quo...
So I know quite a few Foo Fighters fans, and I'm shocked and appalled that none of them sent me any of the new stuff. That's right. New Foo's! Here is the first video from the new album, which is awesome and big budget as you can see. You might recognize that crazy lookin' limo driver, because it's Lemmy from Motörhead. Groovy. Back to business.
Well this one is a little different. I've really only heard of Land Of Talk in passing before I saw this video. They're a cool little indie rock trio from Montreal, definitely Capital worthy. This is a great video nominated for a Juno in 2010, I recommend watching in HD. Enjoy.
Not much spare time tonight, so here's some Chateau Marmont. Not sure what they're about, but the video is pretty sweet so I thought I'd post it. More tomorrow.
Took yesterday off to spend more time working on my own tunes. I'm hoping to get some done soon, which I've been saying for ages, but I'm really starting to strip things down and take a more minimal approach. I should have a few new previews at least up by the end of the weekend. This track happens to have the same name as the last one, but Chase & Status bring the funk in this kick ass joint. Just one complaint, since when do four of a kind beat a straight flush?
It's almost spring! Technically we're still a good three weeks away, but I like to think of myself as an optimist, and hope that the worst of the cold is now well and truly over. You wouldn't know it looking outside, with the mountains of snow all but erasing any memory of what the green grass looks like, so I thought I'd plant a little on the blog today. This is blog version 4.0 and so far I think I like it. Let me know what you think.
To celebrate I thought I'd post a little Phil Collins for ya. I'm a big fan which might seem strange to some, but it's performances like this that I think are hard to argue with. Sure his stuff post '93 is a bit crap, but that's still five solid studio albums in there and that doesn't even factor in Genesis or anything live. I digress.
This cut is from the Live Aid show at Wembley Stadium in 1985, and it is particularly pleasing because he makes a rather glaring error right near the beginning of the song and yet goes on to finish it with such vigor that it rates as surely the best ever version of the song. It's a masterclass in performance in that regard, and a brilliant reminder that mistakes happen to the best of us, and often at the worst times. It's how you smile and soldier on, against all odds, that matters most.
