Name: Natalie Location: New England, United States
I'm older than I care to accept, so I refuse to act my age.
Comment policy: Any and all comments accepted, but if you spam, your comment will go "bam."
About the Music:
All mp3 files are for sampling, but if you like the artist, please go buy their work! I include links, but you can hit up your local merchants, too!
What, That's Not Enough?
Christmas Blues - Jorma Kaukonen - In 1996, Jorma released a Christmas album with 80% original material. That's quite a surprise, since so many artists rely on covers of old favorites with, perhaps, one or two original songs. Most of the album is mellow, but this song is a little more electric. Jorma Kaukonen - Christmas Blues
Because Nov 29th marked the 6th anniversary of George Harrison's death...
Top 5 songs by George Harrison (Beatle, solo and Wilbury inclusive)
1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - A tough call, since Something is on of my favorite Beatle songs, but wins by a nose. 2. Something - Probably his most covered tune. Sinatra called it "the best lovesong ever written."
3. Isn't It A Pity?
4. Here Comes The Sun
5. What Is Life
Runners Up: You, Bangla Desh, Dark Horse, Within You Without You, Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth), and the Cream song, Badge, which he cowrote with Clapton.
Low captures the wall of sound style, with layer upon layer of treats for our ears: jingle bells jingling, Mimi Parker's lovely voice, and muted tympanic banging, all atop a very subdued under-layer of their signature slow-core indie rock. It seems the band was road-weary here, even approaching cynicism, but they managed to turn it around:
On our way from Stockholm It started to snow And you said it was like Christmas But you were wrong It wasn't like Christmas at all By the time we got to Oslo Snow was gone And we got lost The beds were small But we felt so young It was just like Christmas It was just like Christmas
Indeed. I know how that feels. I still feel so young and small when I go to bed at my folks' house. And it does feel just like Christmas.
It has become one of my favorite Christmas songs ever.
It's been awhile since I talked about The Weepies here, but now that their song All That I Want gets stuck in my head every time I see that JC Penney Christmas commercial, I thought I'd share the whole thing here. You only get a snippet in the commercial. I love Deb Talen's voice, and Steve Tannen harmonizes perfectly with her (in life, too, since they just became parents of baby Theo.)
Ahhh, Christmas in a retail store. We hear those same Jim Brickman, Josh Groban, and Celine Dion holiday tunes over and over again until we're actually excited to see the valentines arriving in the back room. There are only a smattering of tunes I don't get sick of, including Linus & Lucy from Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas. No, it's not actually a Christmas song, but since it's on the Charlie Brown cd and all of the music is randomized in overhead play, we get to hear all songs on the programmed choices.
Anyway, I thought I'd spend from now until Dec. 18 posting a Christmas song a day (seems like a random date, but we're having a "destination Christmas," so I will be separated from blogovia for about 10 days.)
Notice I didn't use the term "holiday." I might throw in a Hanukkah song or two at the appropriate time, but are there any besides Adam Sandler's that don't suck? And are any of them NOT novelty songs? I know there have to be some Jewish songwriters who could create something that portrays the spirit of Hanukkah without making it a joke, so why don't they get crackin'? Heck, Barbra and Neil did CHRISTMAS songs, for cryin' out loud. So did Barry Manilow.
For the most part, I'll play original songs from mainstream and indie artists, so it'll be stuff you probably won't hear while you're strolling the mall, the drugstore, or the grocery. (I know, the damn music is everywhere, lulling you into a buying frenzy, right?) I might slip in a more well-known song here and there, but it will be an outside-the-box version. You can right click the songs and save them to your hard drive, and then you can create a new Christmas mix cd of tunes you don't hear everywhere else.
So, here we go!
Today, I'll kick things off with a song that originally appeared on Jethro Tull's folk-laced Songs From The Wood. Funny, when I first gave that album a spin in 1977, I thought this song sounded Christmasy. Surprise! Tull released a Christmas cd in 2003, and, lo and behold, a retooled Ring Out Solstice Bells is included. I don't know why they bothered to rerecord it, though, since the original is great. In this newer version, though, Mr. Anderson takes the opportunity to end the song with a nice flute solo.
Why Don't You Just Drop In? - Giles, Giles, & Fripp
The Brondesberry Tapes album was pre-King Crimson Fripp, along with Peter and Michael Giles, released in 1968. This song eventually evolved into a piece, The Letters, on King Crimson's album, Islands, according to Bruce Eder of allmusic.com. (I can't vouch for that, having never heard Islands.) I love the little touch of Beach Boys harmony at the 1:15 point, even though it's not exactly psychedelic. What follows that, though, is a bit of fuzz guitar brilliance, which foretold the future of Fripp's career. Enjoy.
Not even online shopping. It's not that I'm a member of any anti-shopping movement, such as Buy Nothing Day, but I couldn't be bothered to fight crowds and wait in long lines just to save a few bucks here and there on crap we don't need. What? I'm missing out on $200 laptops at Wally World? Oh, wait, they're crap? And the widescreen Polaroid tvs? I thought they made cameras and film? Kohl's sale started at 4am. Even at half-off, most of their stuff is overpriced (and they ALWAYS have a "biggest sale of the season" sale going on, so is it really sale-priced?)
No, instead, I slept in, had some quiet time with coffee and the paper, and made crepes at the request of my 10-year-old son. We filled them with strawberries and blueberries, so he named them "I love you berry much" crepes. He also asked for a crepe with bananas, which he labeled "banana slamma." When I suggested a savory crepe to use leftover turkey, he recommended swiss cheese and a moniker of "Swiss Gobbler." I think he has a future in the restaurant biz.
And later on, we're going bowling. Don't even get nit-picky on me and insist that I'm "buying" lane time, so I'm really shopping.
The poll is still open, but it is now located in the sidebar. Polls close Dec. 15! Vote for your favorite song, and the countdown will be on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1. Thankyouverymuch.
It's almost time for the second Annual Psychedelic Sunday countdown to get underway, so I need your votes!
Here goes:
And after you vote, you can listen to today's song, Sunday Morning, from The Velvet Underground. This is from the 1967 classic album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, and leads off the album with a lovely piece of dream-pop. Enjoy!Listen at left orhere.
It's another word association, so whatever song/album/artist comes to mind when you see these words
turkey - Thanksgiving Day- Ray Davies patriotic - You're A Grand Old Flag country - Garth Brooks homeless - Brother Can You Spare A Dime - Thea Gilmore (and lots of other artists) cold -Cold, Cold Heart - Hank Williams shopping - Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles crazy - Crazy - Patsy Cline diet - Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen - Hey, we make the rockin' world go 'round!
This live cut from Mountain's 1972 live album, Live - The Road Goes On Forever, clocks in at 17:34, while the studio cut of this song is a mere 5:50. What does that spell? J-A-M. Normally, I don't get into extended jams. Once a song passes the 8 or 10-minute mark, my attention wanders and I get impatient. I never would have made it as a Deadhead or Phish Head.
What you'll hear is Leslie West's fabulous guitar work, and Steve Knight's skilled keyboard work. The late Felix Pappalardi's pounding bass stands right up with the rock greats, but this probably isn't the finest example that can be heard of his work. I will get in trouble with the hubby if I leave out the signature drum part from Corky Laing, so there, I said it.
I love the way the two guitarist play off each other at the 12-minute mark, but I still think this is one jam that lasted about 5 minutes too long.
Listen at left or here, if you have 17 minutes to spare!
Our youngest loves to rock out to The Trans-Siberian Orchestra's cd, The Lost Christmas Eve, any old time of the year, particularly his favorite, Wizards In Winter. We decided, rather last minute, to take him to his first real indoor concert. So, the first half of yesterday's show at the DCU in Worcester, MA had him a tad worried. The band, errrr orchestra, was performing Christmas Eve & Other Stories, their first album, which doesn't include his favorite piece.
Not to worry. After a masterfully narrated show, featuring a brilliant light show, blistering guitar work Alex Skolnik and Chris Caffery, powerful vocals from Jennifer Cella and Andrew Ross, and the aforementioned narration from the very-pleasing Bryan Hicks, the band ripped into a music-only second half. Our son got his wish early into this portion of the show and was dazzled by the light show and the sheer musical perfection of his favorite TSO tune. Of course, he still insisted on wearing his ear plugs.
This show had everything and then some: blazing pyrotechnics that, I'm sure, caused some consternation to a crowd in a city where 6 firefighters were lost several years back, and so close to The Station night club in Rhode Island that burned to the ground, killing 100. To feel the warmth of the shooting flames from about 25 yards away can be a bit unnerving. Once I got over that, I enjoyed the extra kick from the flame bursts, the digital snowfall, and the brief, controlled fireworks. Very, very cool.
And although displays like that are often used to compensate for lackluster music, that was not the case in this TSO show. Those guys can play (sometimes sounding a bit like Queen), and their entire orchestra is top-notch. I'm particularly impressed by the keyboard artists, who competed in some one-upmanship in a duel. The crowd was leaning toward big cheers for Bob Kinkel, who used home-team advantage by playing the opening keyboard part of Boston's Foreplay/Long Time until Mee Eun Kim drove us all wild with her take on Linus & Lucy from Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas. I'd go again.
Top 5 albums that have been in your collection the longest
Wow, that would mean a trip to the basement and a shuffle through the records! I'm up for it.
In this corner, the Brits, who invaded the USA in the early 60's. Notice the glaring omission of the Fab Four, whose records did not survive repeated plays on a turntable. The DC5's belonged to my dad, but I lifted them from his bin quite a long time ago. (With mom's permission blessing, of course.)
American Tour - The Dave Clark 5
Weekend In London - The Dave Clark 5
And over here, the Americans and the pop sounds that are a soundtrack of my childhood:
Sonny & Cher's Greatest Hits - Sonny & Cher - Don't you dig Sonny's suit? Maybe he got it from the JC Penney catalog from this post. And it's Miss Cher, pre-plastic surgery!
The Monkees - The Monkees
Neon - The Cyrkle - This one belongs to my hubby, but since we're married and all, it is in my collection.
What are yours?
Note: This post has been edited due to my own brain fart.
Right here. Come on, it's just for fun and just because I'm lazy today. Joe calls this blogsturbation, but so do tons of other folks. Enough links for ya?
Ok, I've seen the trailers for Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium for several months now, and I'm convinced that with this much hype (billboards, web site, trailers featuring feel-good songs like a cover of Pilot's 70's classic Magic), it's got to reek of major suckage. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the trailer here. Anyone else have that suspicion? And that goes double for the Fred Claus movie. The Vince Vaughn of late seems to be taking career dives. No? It's just me? Ok, just call me a hopeless cynic then. ------- Wednesdays seem to be "Asshole Customer" days for me. Today I got another earful when I could not grant an additional 30% off an item that was already on sale for 20% off (but she could, in fact, get 30% off the regular retail of her most expensive item.) The coupon policy is clearly stated in the eensie print (sale prices cannot be combined with coupons, etc.) that nobody reads, and I'm sure it is my fault, since I set corporate policies and I am obviously omnipotent. I'm just glad that after Nov. 15, I will be working only on Tuesdays and merchandising the new releases. Of course, the memo will surely be sent out to customers that "Asshole Customer" day will now be observed on Tuesdays, just so I won't miss it! -------- Red Sox mania continues. We just got a big ship of T-shirts, overpriced glassware, caps, etc. and these are not items we usually stock in a bookstore. I'm waiting for when they get marked down to half off, which I think will be coming in a few weeks. Hey, I get to use the Red Sox tag one more time for this post! WOOT! Schilling is resigned, so now we wait for Lowell. --------- I am not a country music person, at least not contemporary country, but my boss let us attack the promo shelves for cds and I picked up the new Little Big Town (along with the Bruce Hornsby/Christian McBride/Jack DeJohnette cd that came out earlier this year, Colbie Caillat's (daughter of Mac's Rumours co-producer, Ken Caillat)Coco, and The Saw Doctors'The Cure), and it's not half bad. Some guy at work said they were "the Fleetwood Mac of country music." I don't know about that, but there's some good harmony and decent songs, written by the band. I should post one later on, so if you want to hear it, stand by. (UPDATE: I did some online research and found out that Lindsey Buckingham performed with Little Big Town om CMT's Crossroads show, so I guess the FM comparison is valid. You can see a clip here.)
Today's Tuesday Tunes mixes music with politics. These two have intertwined for centuries, with mixed results. What song makes the best political statement to you? Do I go all 60's on you and choose something Dylan, or do I keep it current? Tough choice. I'm going to have to go with Bruce Cockburn's If I Had A Rocket Launcher, on the lyric "if I had a rocket launcher, some son of a bitch would die." His anger and frustration at the regime in Nicaragua in the 80's is the same frustration and anger I feel toward what is going on in the Middle East. What's your favorite "folk" song? Well, this is where I go with Dylan, although there are tons of other great political folk songs to choose from. Blowin' In The Wind is my favorite. How do you feel about candidates choosing pop songs for their campaigains? I despise it. The candidates look like dorks, no matter what song they choose, and the song immediately loses a coolness factor with me. I did vote for Clinton the first time, but I hated that he used a Fleetwood Mac song, and I hated that FM performed it at the inauguration. It's going to take years to disassociate Clinton from that song for me. Care to answer for yourself? Go ahead, make my day!
Since we just set our clocks back to Standard Time here in the US (well, most of us), it's getting dark so very early. It is a sad time of year for those who feel the effects of SAD (seasonal affective disorder.) The extended darkness will be around until after winter, so turn on all the lights and warm up to the music!
The Herd earned a Top 10 spot in the Brit charts in 1967 with this song, but they were barely known in the US. Just nine years later, though, Herd's original lead singer would go on to chart-topping almost overnight success here with Frampton Comes Alive.
The opening bells might lead you to believe you're about to rock out to AC/DC's Hell's Bells, but once the piano kicks in, it's obvious that this song is not quite that loud and in-your-face. There's some fuzz guitar, the pleasant voice of Frampton, some requisite Beatles-style trumpet, a little orchestral bombast, and a great funky percussion part.
So, enjoy Frampton before he came alive. Listen at left or here.
Raising Sand - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Psychedelic Sunrise - The Chesterfield Kings Chrome Dreams II - Neil Young Easy Tiger - Ryan Adams The Shepherd's Dog - Iron & Wine
Runners Up: The Distant Future EP - The Flight Of The Conchords; Sloe Gin - Joe Bonamassa; Nothing Means Everything - The Dykeenies
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