Artist Of The Day

David Vandervelde

Photo by Matthew Kanable, swiped from here.

When I heard Secretly Canadian artist David Vandervelde's new song, Target, I closed my eyes and pretended it was 1972. Aural images of T Rex and David Bowie soothed my weary soul. And after downloading and listening to scads of so-so mp3 files from the SXSW site, I was refreshed and rejuvenated by something that sounded so old, yet so new.

You can find out for yourself by downloading the song (free and legal) from Secretly Canadian by clicking here.

Of course, you can listen in a podcast way at left. Let me know what you think.

I'm Baaaaack

...but I've been too lazy/busy to blog. Is that a bad thing?

Road Trip

Off to see the folks again, so I'll catch you next week. Sorry, no Psychedelic Sunday this week! Just poke through the old ones and find something you'd like to listen to again. Perhaps The Dead or Spirit or Vanilla Fudge! Later, taters!

Tell It To Me Tuesday

Our theme today is:

What are your favorite music videos of all time and why?

First, some back story. (There had to be a catch, right?) Way back in 1981 before I was sent back to the states after living/working in Guam with the USN, I got hooked on a new, innovative show airing on the Nickelodeon cable network. This show, Pop Clips, aired little films and performances of songs and I thought it was a brilliant, new way to enjoy music. They didn't have many of these short films in rotation, but I can recall a few, including Rio by former Monkee Mike Nesmith. When I moved from Guam to San Diego in June of '81, I got the cable hooked up toot sweet and there was no Nickelodeon. I had to wait until "I Want My MTV" became the mantra to enjoy these "music videos" again. Funny, now I don't even care about MTV. Sometimes, though, I switch on VH1 Classic and watch those gems from the early days. But I am never going back to leg warmers. Ever.
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Take On Me - A-ha - One of the best videos ever, with the drawing-come-to-life animation and that sweet story-line. Watch it here.

Money For Nothing - Dire Straits - Another one with both live action and animation. And hey, it had the line, "I want my MTV!" Watch it here.

Rio - Michael Nesmith - The first one that caught my eye still gives me a little thrill. It's the humor, I'm sure. You can see it here.

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This - Eurythmics - Come on. Annie Lennox in a suit with that shocking, clipped do? That cow? None of that stuff looks like a sweet dream to me, but the video is cool. It's right here.

Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel - It's here. It's weird, but it's great.

Ana Ng - They Might Be Giants - Right here. TMBG is a cool band with cool ideas for videos. The clacking teeth creep me out, though.

Here It Goes Again - OK Go - The most recent on my list. I don't know how they did this stuff without falling and killing themselves! Here it is.

Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve - It's here. A walk down the street was never so cool.

Hurt - Johnny Cash - Just about the best video ever. Stark. Chilling. Heartwrenching. It's here.

Monday Podcast

SXSW Showcasing Artists

The SXSW 2007 is up and running, and is loaded with scads of free downloads from both new and established bands and artists. It's a Nat playground, I'm tellin' you! Today's podcast features 5 songs from downloads I grabbed there. Where, you ask? Well, click right here and I'll take you over there. You can search by genre or by an alpha listing, so go have some free fun! And if you're going to the festival...I hate you!

Seratonin - Simple Kid
From The Pasture To The Future - The Waybacks
Shot Through - Peter Case
Energy - The Apples In Stereo
You've Been Gone Too Long - The Black Hollies

Listen at left or here.

Psychedelic Sunday

The Seeds -Satisfy You
Pushin' Too Hard

You get two for the price of one today, since both of these songs clock in at barely over 2 minutes. The Seeds, a four-piece band out of L.A., released their first album in 1967, packed with garage classics. Pushin' Too Hard climbed the pop singles charts all the way to number 36 with some fuzzy guitar work, a fast-paced tempo, some groovy electric piano (and a short piece of that plays like You Really Got Me..listen closely), and two whole chords! Satisfy You, recorded later in their short career, has more of a Doors flavor, with a heavy-sounding organ and a driving snare beat.

Enjoy by listening at left or here.

Bands That Should Reunite

Fighting off a bout of extreme boredom at work today, I found myself messing around on the computer we have in the center of our line of registers. Its purpose is to serve as a quick look-up guide for items that won't ring up, or to answer a quick question for a customer, but many of us have learned we can bypass the internet blocks our company has in place to arrive at a few sites: MSNBC, NPR, and wikipedia. Since the icy roads, high wind gusts, and overall "brrrrr" factor is still hanging around from yesterday's storm, the customers were just not coming in. So, I was not shirking any work or ignoring customers while I played on the computer. OK?

Anyway, on MSNBC, I found an article, 5 Bands That Should Reunite. The author's picks are Van Halen, ABBA, Talking Heads, Sly & The Family Stone, and The Supremes. I'm all for Van Halen's return, and they have already announced a tour which will kick off later this year. Of course, it's not quite the same, since Michael Anthony is being replaced by Wolfgang Van Halen, son of Eddie and Valerie Bertinelli. I'm also on board for a Talking Heads reunion. David Byrne is still cranking out good stuff and the rest of the band seems willing to reunite. Both of these bands may still have something new to offer!

But the rest? At best they'd have one of those sad reunions with the band members trying to look good in outfits of days gone by, performing their greatest hits, and trying to stay in key and maintain dignity. Sly already performed on one of the awards shows last year, and he was on and off stage in about 3 minutes and barely looked alive. And The Supremes? Do we really need Diana Ross upstaging "the other two" one more time?

I'd like to see The Police on their tour, but I have this fear that it's going to be lame. At least when The Eagles reunited, each member performed some of their solo stuff (and there was lots to choose from with a band packed with so many big players.) The Police would have only Sting to fall back on for other material, and I'm sure Andy and Stewart don't necessarily want their tour to be The Sting Show.

I'd love to see Pink Floyd reunite and check their egos at the door. Roger and David could produce something awesome, I just know it.

I'd also love for The Bangles to get together again. Hey, girl groups are the rage and this one would not make me want to puke.
How about you? Who would you like to see reunite?

Tell It To Me Tuesday

This week's theme:

What are, in your opinion, the best songs about pining or unrequited love?

Layla - Derek And The Dominoes - The Layla in the song is Patti Boyd, wife of Clapton's buddy, George Harrison. Boyd, of course, did eventually split with George (IDIOT!) and married Clapton. That marriage lasted all of 10 years.

I Want You To Want Me - Cheap Trick - "I want you to want me.I need you to need me.I'd love you to love me.I'm beggin you to beg me." Sounds like pining to me!

Don't You Want Me - Human League - "Don't, don't you want me. You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me.Don't, don't you want me." Ever hear of stalking? Hmmmm? I'm just sayin'.

I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt - Ouch. You can't make you heart feel something it won't. So brutally honest.

Somebody's Crying - Chris Isaak - " know somebody and they cry for you. They lie awake at night and dream of you. I bet you never even know they do, but somebody's crying." Another big ouch!

All I Have To Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers - 'Cuz all they can do is dream!

Wow, add this to the anti-love songs in the podcast below and it's a real valentine killer!!

Monday Podcast - Anti-Love Songs

A little "anti-love" for you today! (No, don't read anything into that, I'm just tired of the whole Valentine's Day blitz.)

It Ain't Easy To Love A Liar - Blue Mountain

Song For The Dumped - Ben Folds Five

Friends In Low Places - Garth Brooks

Waltz #2 (XO) - Elliott Smith

Oh Well - Fiona Apple

You're Breakin' My Heart - Harry Nilsson

Warning: not safe for work or "sensitive" ears.

Listen left or here.

Psychedelic Sunday

The Grateful Dead - Viola Lee Blues

It seems appropriate to feature The Dead today, in honor of their Lifetime Achievement Grammy, 40 years after the release of their debut album.

Viola Lee Blues, written by Noah Lewis, appeared on The Grateful Dead's 1967 self-titled debut album as a 10:01 closing song. This mid-tempo, loose number, exudes a free-wheelin' improv groove, and set the stage for a future with Dead Heads in tie-dye, smokin' 'em if they had 'em. Chances are that if you're one of those folks who were lucky enough to see a Dead show, you've seen them perform this song: it remained a staple in their live performances for the duration of their career as a band.

Two versions for you: the original album cut and the 3-minute edited version, included on a re-release of the album.

H/T to Mark and Mrs. Mark for sending it my way.

Listen left or here.

I *Heart* Making Hearts

Make your own digital candy hearts and save some calories (those things taste crappy anyway!)

For Battlestar Galactica fans:

For my podcast fans:

For fans of bad taste and inappropriate humor:

For Senators and Congresspeople:

I dare you to make one and post it on your blog now!

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 albums that get you into "that" Kinda Mood

Nope. Private stuff. Can't do it. Sorry.

What if, instead, I name 5 really excellent "background music" choices? Makeout music!!

5. Life, Love, & The Blues - Etta James - Etta's got a powerhouse voice and sexy delivery.

4. Deep In The Night - Etta James - Ok, so I'm a sucker for Etta James.

3. It Tears Me Up: The Best of Percy Sledge - Percy Sledge - Come on, what could be more romantic than "When A Man Loves A Woman?"

2. Love Songs - Otis Redding - "Try A Little Tenderness." That trumps the Percy Sledge song.

1. At Last - Etta James - Now you know the secret: sweet soul music.

Upcoming Releases

The Innocence Mission - We Walked In Song


My favorite band from Lancaster, PA (and, in fact, from my very high school,) The Innocence Mission, has a spankin' new release due out on March 13.
Tracks include:
Songs:

1. Brotherhood of Man 2. Happy Birthday 3. Love That Boy 4. Into Brooklyn, Early in
the Morning 5. Lake Shore Drive 6. Song for Tom 7. Since I Still Tell You My Every
Day 8. A Wave Is Rolling 9. Colors of the World 10. Over the Moon 11. My Sisters Return from Ireland

All songs by Karen Peris

They've posted clips on their myspace page. Go have a little preview!

What A Wonderful World.mp3

Tell It To Me Tuesday

This week's question has me scratching my head!

If you could have heard the deathbed confession of one person from history, who would you pick and why?

Janet says it's OK to pick more than one person, so I'm taking the liberty of doing so.


Franklin D. Roosevelt: About this Social Security thing: What were you THINKING?
JFK: Marilyn? Really?
Elvis: What's with the rhinestones?
J. Edgar Hoover: How many dresses do you own?
Errol Flynn: Sooooooo, flamer or not?
Hitler, Saddam, and others like them: Why do you believe that killing people gives you more power?

What would you ask?

The Monday Podcast

Rickie Lee Jones

Tomorrow's new releases include this intriguing new offering from one of my favorite female artists, Rickie Lee Jones.

From New West Records:

What will certainly be most striking to some fans about THE SERMON ON EXPOSITION BOULEVARD (to be released in February 2007) is that it rocks harder than any album the two-time Grammy Award winner has ever recorded. “Nobody Knows My Name,” the striking opening track, might best be described as “minimalist pure pop punk rock,” and the evocative, riff-‘n’-hook-filled, stream-of-consciousness rant titled “Falling Up” follows in a similar decidedly art-rock manner.

Today, I offer you a podcast walk through the career of Rickie Lee Jones.

Danny's All Star Joint from Rickie Lee Jones

Young Blood from Rickie Lee Jones

The Horses from Flying Cowboys

Falling Up from The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard

Elvis Cadillac from The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard

Podcast at left or here.

Rickie Lee Jones site is here.

New West Records is here.