Take Me Back Tuesday

For what's new in the stores today, see the previous post.

Name three grammy winning artists that are on your playlists.

Bonnie Raitt
Coldplay
Chicago


Name three grammy winning songs that are on your playlist.

Every Breath You Take - The Police
Just The Way You Are - Billy Joel
What's Love Got To Do With It - Tina Turner

Name three grammy winning albums that are included on your playlists.

The Joshua Tree - U2
Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon
Unplugged - Eric Clapton

Not sure of which songs/artists were winners? Here's a great resource: Past Winners Database

What's New This Week

The first month of 2006 is going...going...GONE!

Here's what you can find in the new release bins this week:

American Guitar Master - Mike Bloomfield

I Remember Elvis - Wanda Jackson - reissue

The Complete Ghost - Willie Nelson

Willie Clayton - a bunch of reissues

Wilson Pickett - reissues

In Elven Lands: The Fellowship - Jon Anderson - What else would you expect from a former member of Yes?

Third - Big Star - reissue

Words For The Dying - John Cale

Legends - Neil Diamond

Do It Yourself - Ian Dury - reissue

The Soft Bulletin 5.1 - The Flaming Lips - reissue with DVD

Box of Pearls: The Janis Joplin Collection - Janis Joplin

Walking in L.A.: The Dance Mixes - Missing Persons

Trilogy - The Pogues - a 3-for-1 release!

Boz Scaggs - reissues

The Killer In You: Smashing Pumpkins Tribute - Various Artists

Reconsider Me: The Love Songs - Warren Zevon - PICK OF THE WEEK - Yes, he wrote about more than headless Thompson gunners and werewolves in London. Zevon wrote some tender, touching love songs, too (my favorites are Reconsider Me and Tenderness On The Block)

Music To Grow Old To

I've been invited by Cocaine Jesus and Perfect Virgo (The Old Farts) to join forces with them at Music To Grow Old To. How could I say no? My first contribution awaits your perusal.

Artist Of The Day

The Elected

The Elected, fronted by Blake Sennet (Rilo Kiley guitarist/co-songwriter and former star of Nickelodeon's classic series Salute Your Shorts), released its debut album, Me First, in 2004. Recorded sporadically at pal Elliott Smith's studio with Bright Eyes superman Mike Mogis and The Postal Service's Jimmy Tamborello, the album was filled with sparse, intimate gems - twinkling pop songs that recalled '60s-inspired West Coast pop, the blissful twang of Gram Parsons and the crumpled whispers of Neil Young.

The Elected is signed with Sub Pop Records and has three free mp3 files available for download from them. Click on the song titles to download.

Not Going Home - my favorite

Greetings In Braille

Go On

Psychedelic Sunday

Just who were The Beau Brummels, Nat? I know this question has been nagging at you for years, so it's high time I answered it for you. Besides, as Billy Joel said, "Well, you could really be a Beau Brummel baby, if you just give it half a chance."

This mid-60's band from San Francisco garnered only two hit singles, Laugh Laugh and Sad Little Girl, but according to Richie Unterberger of All Music Guide, they were "one of the most important and underrated American groups of the 1960s."

The song I'm posting, Laugh Laugh, was produced by Sly Stewart, better known as Sly Stone, who was a house producer at a small California label, Autumn Records, in the mid-60's. The American record companies were scrambling to respond to The British Invasion at the time, and this band's use of the harmonica, tambourine, and acoustic guitar coupled with the dreamy lead vocal and harmonies filled the bill.

This song is one of the hallmarks of my youth. When I hear it, I picture my older girl cousins in their go-go boots, un-Godly short skirts, and Gidget haircuts, dancing The Swim or The Froog or whatever the dance craze was at the time. I can hear the piercing screams that would inevitably erupt whenever they heard the word "Beatles." Pretty soon, the screams would come out when they heard "Raiders" or "Beau Brummels," too. There is nothing that even comes close to this insanity today, even when the recent boy band craze was at its peak.



Powered by Castpost

The Awesomeness Of The Young Chuck Norris

This was on SNL last week. One of the best ever, if you ask me.

And in case you don't have enough Chuck Norris facts, go here. Read and believe in the awesomeness of Chuck Norris.

If you have one to add, stick it in the comments!

Technorati tag: Norris

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 "Classic Rock" Bands (and your favorite song by each)

1. The Beatles - Please, they will always win with me. Hands down. Favorite ballad: In My Life; Favorite Rock Song: Back In The U.S.S.R.
2. The Who - Favorite song: Won't Get Fooled Again
3. Led Zeppelin - Favorite song: I have to say it's a tie - Stairway To Heaven and The Battle Of Evermore
4. Pink Floyd - Another tie (Ok, so I cheat) - Welcome To The Machine and Pigs (Three Different Ones)
5. The Police - De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da and So Lonely

And now, here's The Police do do do doing, just for you.


Powered by Castpost

Technorati tag: meme

Don't Trust Everything You See on eBay!

TToday at work, one of my fellow music-geek coworkers and I were discussing concerts we'd seen, and I mentioned seeing Harry Chapin in San Diego in 1977 and that I bought a book he was hand-selling to raise money for his anti-hunger campaign, and that he signed it for me right in the lobby of the San Diego Civic Theatre. The coworker thought that was cool, so I went to the basement bookshelves to retrieve the book and take it in for a grown-up show and tell. Just out of curiousity, I checked to see if there were any of the books on ebay. I didn't find one there, but there were a few used ones available at Amazon. What I did find at eBay was a "Harry Chapin Signed LP Verities & Balderdash." I thought I'd check it out to compare the signature.

Here's the signature I got from Harry:




Now, check out this eBay seller's item:




Why would Mr. Chapin sign his album cover as "K" Chapin and does this eBay seller really think nobody is going to notice this discrepancy? It's like good old "misfit$" didn't even bother to do any research! Wait, maybe somebody named K Chapin used to own this album and was attempting to ensure that none of his or her friends would steal the album from a precious collection. Maybe Harry's real autograph is on the back!

Yeah, right. And my name is Natalie Wood.

Technorati tag: eBay

Artist Of The Day

Beth Orton

Beth's new release, The Comfort Of Strangers, is just under two weeks away!

If you visit her site, here, you can watch the video and listen to the single, Conceived. She appeared on Letterman's show on Tuesday night, and, of course, I had bags under my eyes when I went to work yesterday. Though she started off the song rather tentatively, once she found her way in the vocal, she soared. It's a lush, catchy pop song, and it has become one of my favorite Orton tunes.

Now, here's one from her 2002 album, Daybreaker. The song was cowritten with Johnny Marr (The Smiths,) and features a backup vocal by Ryan Adams.


Powered by Castpost

You Have To See This

Don't ask questions, just go to Paula's post, here, and click the link in the post for a strange and wonderful gift. Do it. Now.

Flashback Photos

You seem to have enjoyed the shots in my post dedicated to my friend, Lisa, on her birthday. So, travel back in time with me, back to 1979, when disco ruled the airwaves (but not my turntable,) Mork & Mindy was my favorite TV show, and I had absolutely no fashion sense.

Fall 1979: I took a month's leave from my assignment in Guam to visit my aunt in the SF Bay area and my friend, Lisa, in the San Diego area. We hit Balboa Park to take part in the skating craze! I still have those skates (Nash cruisers) and the Levi's (collectible Red tag jeans, made in the USA!) I hope to be able to fit back into those jeans at the end of my stint in Weight Watchers. Now, cue the roller disco music!



Are you digging the Mork suspenders and the newsboy hat? (I still have the hat, too, but the suspenders are long gone.)



I almost didn't post this, since the sun has cast the light directly on my schnozola, making it appear to be the prominent feature on my face. Really, it's not that gigantic. Yes, the glasses are as big as a VW windshield. And yes, I really had a thing for those suspenders and the hat. Blame Robin Williams, ok?



Until next time, Nano Nano, everyone.

Take Me Back Tuesday

First, new releases are in the post below this one. Now back to our regularly scheduled Tuesday post.

Fallen , contributor at The Music Memoirs, is a Canadian. Since they are holding their elections, she's feeling a patriotic. Thus, there is a patriotic theme on this Take Me Back Tuesday.

Name three songs that make you proud to be a(n) (for me, it's American)......

America The Beautiful
This Land Is Your Land
The American In Me - Steve Forbert

Name three artists that make you proud to be a......
I'm happy I share American heritage with the following:

Patti Smith
Bruce Springsteen
Willie Nelson

Name three albums that make you feel proud to be a.....

We're An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
Automatic For The People - R.E.M.
Car Wheels On A Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams

What's New This Week

Finally, a week with a substantial number of interesting new releases!

The Definitive Collection - Louis Armstrong

Black Cadillac - Rosanne Cash - Co-PICK OF THE WEEK

Greatest - Cat Power

Hot Piece Of Grass - Hayseed Dixie

Your Daughters And Yous Sons - The Duhks - reissue

Al Green - reissues

Keys To The World - Richard Ashcroft

Stay In The Shade - Jose Gonzalez

Heavy Ornamentals - The Gourds

Legendary Covers As Sung By Elton John - Elton John

Very Best of Lisa Loeb - Lisa Loeb

From A Compound Eye - Robert Pollard - It's a double album!

White Limousine - Dunkan Sheik - Gee, did he work this out in advance with Rosanne Cash? Is it car-album release day?

Tales From Turnpike House - Saint Etienne

Behind The Levee - The Subdudes - PICK OF THE WEEK

On the Outside - Starsailor

T Rex - reissues

There You Are Again - Livingston Taylor

Brave and Bold - Tortoise and Bonny Prince Billy

Rock & Roll Is Dead - The Hellacopters

Modern Drummer's Top 20 Drum Tracks of the 70's

Although I'm not a drummer, I'm married to one, mother to another, and have been a rockin' and a rollin' since the mid-60's. Modern Drummer's March 2006 issue includes an article ranking the Top 20 Drum Tracks of the 70's. There are some tasty songs with some brilliant drum banging listed. I'll share them:

• 20. Max Weinberg - Born To Run - from Springsteen's Born To Run
• 19. Robbie McIntosh - Pick Up The Pieces - from Average White Band's Pick Up The Pieces.
• 18. Richie Hayward - Dixie Chicken - from Little Feat's Dixie Chicken.
• 17. Neil Peart - 2112 Overture/The Temples Of Syrinx - from Rush's 2112.
• 16. Frank Beard - La Grange - from ZZ Top's Tres Hombres.
• 15. Phil Ehart - Carry On Wayward Son - from Kansas' Leftoverture.
• 14. Joey Kramer - Walk This Way - from Aerosmith's Toys In The Attic.
• 13. Ian Paice - Burn - from Deep Purple's Burn
• 12. Butch Trucks/Jaimoe Johanny Johanson - One Way Out - from The Allman Brothers Band's At Fillmore East.
• 11. Chuck Ruff - Frankenstein - from Edgar Winter Group's They Only Come Out At Night.
• 10. Carl Palmer - Karn Evil #9 - from Emerson, Lake, & Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery.
• 9. Billy Cobham - Stratus - from Billy Cobham's Spectrum.
• 8. Don Brewer - We're An American Band - From Grand Funk Railroad's We're An American Band
• 7. Pierre Van Der Linden - Hocus Pocus - from Focus' Moving Waves
• 6. Danny Seraphine - Make Me Smile - from Chicago's Chigago II.
• 5. David Garibaldi - Soul Vaccination - from Tower Of Power's Tower Of Power.
• 4. Keith Moon - Won't Get Fooled Again - from The Who's Who's Next.
• 3. Bill Bruford - Roundabout - from Yes' Yes, Fragile.
• 2. John Bonham - Stairway To Heaven - from Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin IV.
• 1. Steve Gadd - Aja - from Steely Dan's Aja.

I don't necessarily have a problem with these choices, but there are some I'd definitely deep-six for others, and Peart would definitely rank higher than #17. I'd have picked Bonham's work on Rock And Roll, from the same Led Zep IV album just for the sheer stamina he exhibits in playing that song. And although Don Brewer's overly-long drum solo in Grand Funk's T.N.U.C (from their On Time album,) I think it's pretty amazing. Perhaps it's considered too indulgent to include in this list, so the writers chose We're An American Band instead. Of course, We're An American Band has that cowbell to satisfy that SNL "more cowbell" need. Speaking of cowbell, missing from the list is Al Bouchard's drumming in Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper. (might be a moot point, since Eric Bloom, the band's lead singer, claims that he played the cowbell in the song anyway. Read it here.)

Discuss amongst yourselves, if you wish.

Oh, and Modern Drummer has some mp3 files available here. I'm fond of the Carmine Appice work (Vanilla Fudge) at the bottom of the page, as well as Brian St. Clair's work with Local H. They're free files, so grab what you like!

At the risk of sounding like the blogosphere's version of Casey Kasem, here's the song at Number One on the countdown. It's Steely Dan's Aja, featuring the drum styling of Steve Gadd, session performer extraordinaire with 8 pages of credits on AMG. (see here.)

Powered by Castpost

Psychedelic Sunday

Today on Psychedelic Sunday we take a journey to the (queue the echo effect) center of the mind, a dark, perhaps scary place, depending on the number of chemicals you may have ingested in your youth.

On this journey, your host will be The Amboy Dukes, a Detroit-based hard-rocking band mostly renowned for producing two things: this song and a solo career for Ted Nugent. Before he brought us Surviving Nugent and even before he caught the Cat Scratch Fever and chased the Great White Buffalo, the Nuge was just a simple guitar playing teen, out to wang dang some sweet, well, you-know-what the word is. (If not, click here).

Come along, if you dare, and journey with Nuge and the rest, to the land inside of your mind. And along the way, enjoy the blistering guitar of one young Ted Nugent.



Powered by Castpost of course.

Today's Your Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Lisa, my best friend of almost 30 years! Yes, we met on May 28 or 29, 1976 (I don't know exactly which day I arrived, but I was later than most of the rest of the recruits in our company due to the cheap way they sent me down there: by train!) in Orlando, FL at the Naval Recruit Training Center, which was part of NTC Orlando. NTC closed in 1995. (see history, here, if you like.)


Lisa is second from the left in front. These are the some of the babes of Company 3068 (minus me, of course.) They let us swim and use paddle boats, but we didn't realize there were gators in that water!



Lisa is the tall one, next to Tigger and I'm in the middle on the other side of Tigger. Aren't we hot in our uniforms? (Of course, it was late July in Orlando, what did you think I meant?)


Lisa meets up with her sweet, but diminutive mom at Disney World after 8 weeks of boot camp. I love this photo.




After we graduated from boot, I spent a weekend with Lisa and her family in Howey-In-The-Hills, FL. We returned to Disney, but Lisa's cool Camaro didn't make the trip back to the house.



We moved on to NTC San Diego together (which has also closed.) Here we are in the barracks, drinking coffee. I have no idea what's in that bag besides coffee!



Lisa at Ocean Beach in San Diego. It was Beer Night! (Who was over 21 and got us alcohol?)


Here we are at Balboa Park, one of our favorite hang-outs.


This is from 1979, when I visited Lisa while I was on leave from Guam.

Fast forward to 2004....


Here we are at Lisa's house in California. Still friends after all this time.

Hey, Lisa, remember this one blasting from our 8-track players?


Powered by Castpost

Happy Birthday, sista! And many more!

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 "Pop" Songs

My top 5 in this category is constantly changing, so I'll pick 5 of my all-time favorites. There are just too many great songs!

• Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet - Matthew pens such great pop tunes. This one's got everything: crunching guitars, a great beat, the "ahhhhhh" backup, catchy lyrics, and Matthew's perfect vocal. It doesn't get much better than this!
• Another Nail In My Heart - Squeeze - Britpop in top form! "And here in the bar, the piano man's found another nail for my heart" certainly isn't a bouyant lyric, but that's the beauty here. How can anyone feel so sorry for themselves when the music in the bar is so danceable?
• I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren - Reportedly written about Todd's friend, Carole King, and how he realized his actual feelings for her when he saw that light in her eyes. Perfect song all around.
• We Can Work It Out - The Beatles - It takes only 2:15, to prove that simple can be effective in pop. Very little instrumentation, simple lyrics, and a lovely harmony part are all you need. (Or is all love all you really need?)
• God Only Knows - The Beach Boys - My favorite Beach Boys tune. Period. The layered harmonies in the last 40 seconds alone are enough to put this on my list.

Here's Todd Rundgren's I Saw The Light. Now go out and have a great day!

Powered by Castpost

Toothpaste For Dinner Again

From Toothpaste For Dinner

Heard On "Lost" Tonight

Imagine my surprise watching Lost tonight when Charlie and Hurley, looking through a bunch of old records in the bunker, come across this 1977 out-of-print Pousette-Dart Band album! And you hear a clip of the lovely song, Fall On Me! Is JJ Abrams or someone else in the production company a PDB fan?

In case you don't watch or you missed the show, here's the song, which Sayid referred to as "depressing." It's a ballad and a love song, but it's certainly not depressing. "If you're going down, hold onto me." The guy's offering a helping hand, and that's anything but depressing.



Powered by Castpost

By the way, Jon Pousette-Dart is still putting out records and touring with the PDB. Tour schedule is here, on his web site.

Artist Of the Day

The National


Click here to download Cold Girl Fever, a cut from their latest album, Alligator, at their official website.

You can also listen to All The Wine right here:


Powered by Castpost

Take Me Back Tuesday

New release post is here. Now, on with this week's Take Me Back meme.

Name three songs that chase away the rainy day blahs.

She Loves You - The Beatles - Come on now, lose yourself in this one and you'll forget about the rain. Heck, you might even smile after it's done playing.

If I Had $1,000,000 - Barenaked Ladies - Instead of dwelling on the rain, think of what you'd do if you had a million bucks to blow today. Would you buy a nice Chesterfield or an ottoman?

Taste The Last Girl - Sons & Daughters - You'll be bouncing around the house, forgetting you had the blahs in the first place.
Don't believe me? Listen right here:


Powered by Castpost

Name three artists that cheer you on a rainy day.

The Beatles
Barenaked Ladies
The Subdudes

Name three albums with sunny titles.

Burning In The Sun - Blue Merle
Sunrise Over Sea - The John Butler Trio
Sunny 16 - Ben Folds

What's New This Week

It's another rather sparse new release week!

Diva La Grande - Candye Kane

Bluegrass Heaven, Vol. 1 - Various Artists

Tales Of the Psychic Wars - Blue Oyster Cult - reissue

The Cream Of Clapton - Eric Clapton - 19 song Compilation of Clapton covering his career from Cream throughout his solo work. PICK OF THE WEEK
Here's a cut from this release, originally on Clapton's superb 1977 release, Slowhand. Cocaine, a J.J. Cale song, features a steady-groovin' guitar hook and a funky break mid-song. It's one of Clapton's best singles.


Powered by Castpost

Stars: Best of 1992 - 2002 - The Cranberries

The Very Best of Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow - reissue already?

Little Light - Grooovelily

Everything Is Possible: The Best of Living Colour - Living Colour

Grooves In Orbit - NRBQ - reissue

Benefactor - Romeo Void

Sparks - Sparks - reissue

Trilogy - The Pogues

Strange And Beautiful - Aqualung - DualDisc release

Windy City Breakdown - Johnathan Cain

Jesse Winchester - reissues

Fanetiks - Jules & The Polar Bears - Jules Shear's 1978 album finally makes it to cd.

Beth Orton's "Conceived" Video

Click here to watch the trippy puppet-filled (what, the Muppets were busy?) Conceived video from Beth Orton's new album, The Comfort Of Strangers, due out Feb. 7th. She'll be appearing on Letterman on Tuesday, January 24th, as well. (set those DVR's or VCR's or whatever you're using these days!)

If you want to watch the video in Real Media instead, click here. I'm all about choice, ya know.

Psychedelic Sunday

This week I'm taking a break from the 60's garage sound, to offer you post-psychedelic Byrds tune, You Ain't Going Nowhere. This Dylan-penned song kicks off The Byrds' genre-busting Sweetheart Of The Rodeo album and sets the tone for the whole thing (which is more of a Gram Parsons record than a Byrds record, if you ask me.) By all accounts, this album is the daddy of all future country rock, though the release Parsons' own International Submarine Band's Safe At Home preceeded it by about a month.

Listen to You Ain't Going Nowhere below and hear the influence on The Eagles, Poco, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, and The Jayhawks.

Powered by Castpost

Artist Of the Day

Press Photo

Sugarland

Although I usually don't cover mainstream contemporary country artists, Sugarland is up for the Best New Artist Grammy this year, so I decided to take the plunge. The band consists of powerhouse vocalist Jennifer Nettles, singer/songwriter Kristen Hall, and folk/rocker Kristian Bush, half of the beloved (by me) Billy Pilgrim (the male counterpart of Indigo Girls, if you ask me.) Together, they are just a wee too twangy and contrived to be a sensation, but hit country radio is loving them just fine. You can listen to them at their site, here.

I prefer to visit their careers before Sugarland's existence. So, have a listen to Jennifer Nettles singing in her former Athens, GA-based band, Soul Miner's Daughter. Quite a strong performance.


Powered by Castpost

And here's Billy Pilgrim's Sweet Louisiana Sound, from their 1995 release, Bloom.



Powered by Castpost