MOG - Jackpine's Posts

Howard Tate!

Jackpine — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 03:04:14 GMT

This Sunday night one of the best soul voices in history is playing a small show at Café DuNord (market and sanchez). Howard Tate is criminally overlooked but is a voice on par with Sam Cooke, Al Green or Solomon Burke. It’s rare enough to see a voice of this caliber and historical significance, much less at a small club like DuNord.

Here’s the short version of his story:

Howard Tate’s musical career began in 1966 with his debut record, Get It While You Can whose three hit songs – the title track, “Ain’t Nobody Home,” and “Stop” - garnered him critical acclaim. Rolling Stone called the album “a spectacular showcase of suave, muscular gospel-powered singing, heavily influenced by Sam Cooke, with a joyous, shrieking falsetto that became Tate’s trademark.”

Despite his successes, Tate was unhappy with how the music business was treating him in the early 1970s – Tate never saw a dime in royalties and felt like he was being taken advantage of – and soon decided to walk away from the industry and never look back. To all who knew him, Howard Tate completely vanished off the face of the earth for nearly 30 years. After facing hardships and spending a good part of the 1980s on the streets of Philadelphia, he turned his life around and began again as a minister in the early 1990s. Then in 2001, a musician Tate had toured with back in the 1960s ran into him in a supermarket, and within hours Tate’s old producer, Jerry Ragovoy, was calling – resulting in his return to the studio and the Grammy-nominated Rediscovered.

Music luminaries have recognized and celebrated Tate’s trademark voice throughout the years, with Elvis Costello calling him “the missing link between Jackie Wilson and Al Green.” Among the well-known musicians that have all covered songs originally recorded by Tate are Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Grand Funk Railroad, the Band and Ry Cooder.

Tate is now performing both in the U.S. and internationally with his eight-piece band and acoustic

If you go to his website - http://www.howardtate.net/ - you can hear a few songs from a recent live record, which show not only his voice but how it’s remained literally unchanged by time.

Disturbing trend of the day

Jackpine — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 01:41:51 GMT

I was doing what I do today and I ran across, simultaneously, the front doors of iTunes, Rhapsody and music.download.com. And across them all, one thing stuck out:

Rhapsody #1 Artist: Weird Al Yankovic Top 10 free mp3 on music.download.com: Weird Al Yankovic Top 10 iTunes album: Weird Al Yankovic

Are there really this many weird al fans out there? Or are the bulk of music consumers on these sites 12 year old male teenagers?

-Curious in San Francisco

Tanya Donelly's creeping country

Jackpine — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 00:14:12 GMT

Listening to Tanya Donelly's new record "This Hungry Life" right now -- I was a big fan of Belly back, uh, 14 years ago (is it really that long??). I haven't paid a lot of attention to her solo career, but holy crap this record is good. "New England" literally finds the same spot in the universe that Belly and Dolly Parton both occupy. There's a lot of country warmth here, and her unmistakeable voice. I probably just lost any trace of masculinity I previously harbored, but this is really beautiful music. "Kundalini Slide" is my favorite track so far.

Halloween at Carnegie Hall

Jackpine — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 19:21:45 GMT

Just got tickets for Halloween at Carnegie Hall - George Jones and Kris Kristofferson. As a friend says, it might be the best bill, ever.

whimsy puts me in physical pain

Jackpine — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 18:21:37 GMT

I have previously had a problem with the Decemberists; something about their arch cleverness and overtly stylized presentation just kinda left me cold. They hit me wrong the same way Tarantino does some times - like a parlor trick. (Don't get me wrong - i love tarantino, but who wants to watch Four Rooms, and the first Kill Bill just felt flat to me)

But then I heard the first song on The Crane Wife, "The Crane Wife 3," and it's all sorts of things I haven't heard in them before (and it makes me think I have to go back to their previous records and see what i didn't know I was missing). Great epic pop songcraft; really nice production and resonant vocal delivery. This is really good stuff.

test drive the new ford

Jackpine — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:56:56 GMT

I got to work this morning a little hungover from the Knitters show last night (yeah, I know, you can't teach an old dog not to drink jagermeister. Repeatedly.) And I wanted something to wake me up, musically speaking. So I put this playlist together.

Warning: it's not for the faint of heart. It has springsteen and seger alongside shooter jennings and john hiatt. It fully, finally and firmly ensconces me outside the hipsterocracy and mostly sounds like a car commercial. I'm going to listen to this tomorrow and think it sounds horrific but this morning it sounded pretty good.

(it's a rhapsody link so you have to have rhapsody, although I think even if you don't you can listen to some of the songs. not sure how that works)

this is why the world is fucked up

Jackpine — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 23:25:34 GMT

Now they're trying to outsource hippies.

Jon Auer is a big star

Jackpine — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 17:40:57 GMT

We threw our last big jackpine event for a while on Friday -- a tribute to Big Star with Jon Auer, Oranger, a bunch of other awesome people. And, it was Rose and my 6th wedding anniversary (and 16 years together, thank you very much!). Jon even serenaded us with "I'm In Love With A Girl" which was pretty amazing.

And thanks to the miracle of the internet and youtube, you can see it too!

Paul Weller has a very poor opinion of me

Jackpine — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:24:12 GMT

Not Just Another Monday

Jackpine — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 23:25:18 GMT

So there I was, mogging away, working at CNET, and then everything changed. I got a new gig, amd am getting ready to head back into startup land (with everything that entails - long hours, small group - and that makes me really happy). So I went on emergency vacation, took a week off, turned the phone off, and did nothing.

But that's not really true. I saw the Zombies and got to hang out with my pal Cyril Jordan of the Flamin Groovies, who I don't see often enough.

The Woggles and Mooney Suzuki played that show too. Lots of fun all around, plus there were go go girls. Nothing wrong with that.

i can't help it, i love the movie "wolfen"

Jackpine — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 08:51:47 GMT

So I'm sitting with rose and we're watching "Wolfen," a movie i love dearly. Albert Finney, produced by Alan King, Gregory Hines as a coroner, werewolves, evil indians led by Edward James Olmos (who are not so evil)... what more do you want?

We were at a wedding tonight, but we are not allowed to post pics of the bridal party (one of the bride and groom combo has a stalker) so here's me in a tux and rosie:

and here's last night with eitzel getting loaded at the sfist party.

Wolfen rules. Get into it.

Record Shopping in Chicago

Jackpine — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 06:11:29 GMT

Spent the past few days in Indianapolis (midwest music summit) and chicago. Indianapolis's fair Best Western Inn in Castleton apparently hasn't heard of the Internet. I wasn't able to mog for a few days. (am i obsessed?)

But I did get to go record shopping in chicago at a few places on Clark (and one rad comics shop). Check out this haul, all vinyl:

John Renbourn - Another Monday Fela and Afrika 70 - Zombie Studio 1 DJs compilation - awesome soul jazz comp Gun Club - Death Party Eddie Kendricks - boogie down Buddy Miles - Miles Ahead X - See How We Are Gentle Soul Ferlin Husky - Gone Nipsy Russell Comedy Sampler Zager and Evans - 2525 Exordium and Terminus treasure of the sierra madre and jungle jim original radio broadcasts (budget bin weirdness) and the best find I've listened to so far: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich - Greatest Hits

Going to be fun digging thru this stuff.

Back In Buckner

Jackpine — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 23:53:09 GMT

Richard Buckner is one of my favorites, despite a run of records that haven't really kept up the amazing pace he set with Devotion and Doubt and Since. He's back recording with JD Foster, the bass player (Silos, Syd Straw) and producer, who made those great heartfelt, rumbling and melodic LPs. And his new single is frickin' awesome, a total return to form. There's even a chorus, and it's catchy. He has always toyed with song snippets, raised notions that don't so much resolve as fade into the next one, but here he's created an almost-pop song. Check it here.

Lemon Chicken

Jackpine — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 01:38:13 GMT

So my mom asked me to send her my lemon chicken recipe, which is actually stolen, er borrowed, from a recipe my pal jon in minneapolis came up with. I couldn't remember how to make it off the top of my head, so I had to make it to actually remember. And hoo boy was it good. So here, I give you my favorite easy chicken dish (i know this is so not a food website, but I've been on my ass at home so long I haven't had a chance to check out any new music in a while!)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's so good.

Here’s what you need

Chicken breasts. I prefer the actual breasts, not breast fillets or tenders because I like too keep them thick so they don’t cook entirely through when you brown them.

Chopped green onions -- a bunch, more or less

Sliced green and red jalapenos (to taste)

Sliced mushrooms

Chicken flavor rice a roni or any wild rice / white rice herb blend. Whatever you like.

Juice of a few lemons (oranges or limes can be substituted, but I have at least one lemon in there everytime) – you’re going to make the sauce with this so you need enough so it doesn’t just cook off. That’s why I’ll occasionally add white wine, but it changes the flavor to a more rounded, restaurant-y flavor. I like to stick with just lemon but both variations are good.

White wine (optional) Chopped parsley (or any herbs you like)

1. Start the rice cooking. 2. heat a sauté pan so it’s good and hot, pour in olive oil or vegetable oil (olive oil tastes better in this) 3. When the pan is hot and oil is shimmering drop in seasoned (salt n pepper) breasts. Brown on each side so you get a nice “fond” in the bottom of the pan. As they’re browned, pull out and reserve on a plate. You don’t want them to cook all the way through, that’s why you want the pan very hot. 4. in the pan add your peppers and onions, salt them so they release a little liquid. Stir a bit, pour in your lemon juice to deglaze the pan. Add wine if you want. Stir up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. While the sauce is cooking chop up the chicken into bite sized (big bites) pieces 5. By this point your rice is half done – throw in your mushrooms to the rice. 6. when the sauce starts to reduce, throw the chicken back in, cover. 7. cook the chicken through, then combine everything. Stir in chopped parsley. Serve!

Obligatory music reference #2: I did listen to the new Supersystem record today in the car and I totally dug it. herky jerky new wave fun on touch and go.

This is me chopping up seared ahi, so it has absolutely nothing to do with this recipe. i wanted to put up a photo of mark eitzel playing Guitar Hero at our house but our camera crapped out!

Your Lies

Jackpine — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 23:25:30 GMT

I just stumbled on Shelby Lynne's first record. I hadn't heard it, probably, since it came out back in 2000. I forgot how amazing "Your Lies" sounds, part mid-'70s Carole King / Neil Diamond pomp (thanks mike mcguirk, for that description from Rhapsody), part country soul, belted from gut. Listen to it at Napster's free song thingy.

I made a website last night

Jackpine — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 16:50:24 GMT

After reading Mog-o-sphere yesterday I saw two great photos of dudes playing the chapman stick. It got me inspired. Here, i give you:

dudewithachapmanstick.com

enjoy.

New Yo La Tengo Album Name is possibly the best album name ever

Jackpine — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 22:15:58 GMT

it is called I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

On a completely unrelated note that's a picture of Chuck Prophet taking a picture of me taking a picture of... How meta!

Turn Me On Dead Man

Jackpine — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 07:02:28 GMT

I walked back into work after my little 4 day vacation with more enthusiasm than I thought I'd have; after all, who wouldn't complain if their mail was full of CDs you actually want to hear? In the to-listen pile for tomorrow: new Turn Me On Dead Man (bay area band who are on Alternative Tentacles and are managed by a pal of mine), The Heads (another AT band but I don't know their stuff yet), Thea Gilmore (a name i've heard for a few years but one listen to the first song convinced me I need to pay attention -- something between Kendra Smith and PJ Harvey without the theatrics), Chris Thile, Towers Of London (don't know from the band photo, which looks very sisters of mercy times bad, but name evokes Vincent Price / Basil Rathbone movie so it can't be all bad*) and a few others.

Oh yeah, this was part of the shelf of movies available to us at Sea Ranch. Have you seen Drowning Mona? Did you make it to the end? Are you still human? Don't worry, it will be ok. I'll hold your hair for you while you cleanse yourself.

p.s. * yes it can totally be all bad.

Another unsolicited food post (I promise to get back to music soon)

Jackpine — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 05:19:51 GMT

One of my favorite restaurants in the world is St. Orres, located just north of Gualala at the southern tip of Mendecino county. After a day started at the farmer's market (finds of the day: fresh horseradish, organic olive oil, lemon basil and bbq tri-tip), we were ready for some good food.

After the best fresh oysters you can imagine (in a mignonette with cilantro and ginger), roasted red pepper soup and heirloom tomato salad (with pesto-ish salsa verde), I had pheasant with chanterelles and stuffed with pistachios and, I think, pancetta.

Rose had salmon with saffron sauce over garlic mashed potatoes. Yes, the potatoes have been shaped into a flower. The level of craftsmanship at this place is pretty frickin' amazing.

Oh, did I mention it looks like something out of a storybook?

Dinners are 3-course with one standard price ($40). How can you beat that?

(other than with a ham steak)

obligatory music related comment: um, we listened to Beulah on the way there. And I found a Fruit Bats CD i'd never listened to. Hey! They're pretty good!

pork tenderloin is for the byrds

Jackpine — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 01:44:36 GMT

Ah, vacation. Marinated pork tenderloin, corn and roasted red pepper relish, fingerling potatoes, dill and chive butter and grilled jumbo prawns marinated in crystal hot sauce and lemon juice. And the whole thing with cab sauv from Annapolis winery (even though i only got a sip-- thank you vicodin, for making my vacation wine-free). I had loaded up the iPod with a ton of stuff before we left (for whatever reason, I never actually filled it up to capacity until last week) and we heard all sorts of good music to accompany dinner. Alejandro Escovedo (new stuff from the Boxing Mirror), Hawkwind (not exactly dinner music, but everyone needs Hawkwind on their iPod), Simply Saucer, The Byrds, Crooked Fingers, Kelley Stoltz (some demos I got before Sub Pop picked him up from me -- the stuff he hasn't put out is so freakin' good, I hope he releases this in some form), Solomon Burke and George Jones.

Memo to self: when playing iPod on shuffle during dinner, please remove The History of Avant Garde Electronic Music from the repertoire. Thank you.

Ham Steak

Jackpine — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 18:10:09 GMT

Excuse the non music related post, but this is what happens when I go on vacation:

Sea Ranch and Big Star

Jackpine — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 23:35:25 GMT

One of my favorite things to do is throw tribute shows to my favorite bands. What more could you ask than having one of your heroes (as in John Doe) covering one of your other heroes (as in the Replacements /Paul Westerberg)? That happened last month when I threw a tribute to the Replacements. Well, I'm lining up another one, and this one is going to be a doozy. Sept 15 at 12 Galaxies in San Francisco, Jackpine Social Club presents a tribute to Big Star. Artists booked so far include Jon Auer (yeah, he's even in Big Star now, and has been for 10 years. Also known as 1/2 of the core Posies), Oranger, Chris von Sneidern, Pat Johnson and a ton of other people. It's going to be fun, although this time I will not be on stage attempting to sing (which I unfortunately did last time, thanks to too many spirits and Dan Carr of the Court and Spark).

I'm off to Sea Ranch, where I plan to spend the entire weekend in the hot tub.

My wife the guitar hero

Jackpine — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 05:34:14 GMT

My co-workers have been going nuts about Guitar Hero, the Dance Dance Revolution for the indie rock set. It's a Playstation game that has its own guitar-shaped controller and the game basically has you moving your hands over color-coordinated buttons on the fretboard (not corresponding to actual notes -- apparently if you actually play guitar, this game is harder) while hitting a "strum" button. You "play" along with "Iron Man," "I Love Rock 'n Roll," "More Than A Feeling," etc.

If I'm a player, the wife's a hater when it comes to video games. But after I unwrapped this game, one glance at the song list made her want to try it. About two hours later I was still trying to get back on the console -- she had already killed the first 2 rounds of songs (hardest artist to play - Queens of the Stone Age) and was on to "Ziggy Stardust" and more.

Pretty cool concept and the girl loves the game. Check it out:

We're heading up to Sea Ranch this weekend and I'm guessing we're bringing it along.

Box full of tapes

Jackpine — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 05:13:58 GMT

In my initial excavations, I couldn't find anything really esoteric or exotic (i.e. mix tapes from high school or before), but I did dig up a few cool tapes a friend of mine from Minneapolis made for me a few years ago, right after I moved from minnesota to San Francisco. This particular tape was called "Songs for a New Job." Check it out:

Prince - Rock 'n' Roll is Alive (And it lives in Minneapolis) The Wandering Eyes - It's A Cheatin' Situation, Lovin' On Backstreets, Cheatin' Traces Alejandro Escovedo - Two Angels, I Wish I Was Your Mother Mary Lou Lord - His ND World Paul Westerberg - Seein' Her, Men Without Ties

Side B: Elvis - There's a Honky Tonk Angel The Highwaymen - The Devil's Right Hand, Here Comes That Rainbow Again The Gourds - Gin and Juice Glen Campbell - A Man With True Grit Andy M Stewart - The Ramblin' Rover Tom Waits - Highway Cafe Randy Newman - Happy

Henry Fonda just hopes we never have to hear "His ND World" again.

So what do I remember from this one? First off, "Here Comes That Rainbow Again" is pure Kristofferson schmalz, but I've seen him do it live a few times and it never fails to bring the audience to tears (it's a simple tale of human kindness, taken from the "Grapes of Wrath" milieu). The Gourds' "Gin and Juice" was funny at the time. Probably not so much anymore. Elvis's "There's A Honky Tonk Angel" makes me want to dig up another tape I have somewhere of him, toward the end of his career, probably high on more pills than i'll take this whole back injury session, doing "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" for about 13 minutes straight (even the band tries to make him stop at one point). Alejandro Escovedo doing "Two Angels" makes me want to find a cassette player right now -- I forgot I had that.

I'll post another tape tomorrow. Somewhere I have the "tape that changed my life" -- it had Dead Kennedys and the Suburbs on it, I remember that much.

Still back in black (on my back)

Jackpine — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 06:37:19 GMT

So I'm still basically flat on my keister, thanks to our old friend the herniated disc. And the combination of vicodin and skelaxin (don't ask me -- i don't know what it's supposed to do, either) creates the worst ADD you can imagine. Just keeping my attention focused here long enough to type this is sillier than it should be (I'm otherwise occupied attempting to watch "Cache" by Michael Haneke, which so far seems pretty great, albeit the exact wrong movie for Johnny ADD here, what with its predilection for 4 minute static shots of building facades).

But, all of this is lead-up to my actual music topic, which is -- I just got this old computer online again, and started to dig through the My Music folder. I forgot how much stuff is on here that I didn't move to my laptop (which is where the iPod borrows its guts from). So much good stuff:

The Hollies greatest hits The Posies Frosting on the Beater Charlie Rich Pictures and Paintings Colin Blunstone Some Years Iggy Pop Television

It's funny that we're far enough along now that I'm actually finding old mp3s I forgot I had, like a box of cassettes on a shelf in the garage.

Which reminds me, I found a box of old cassettes the other day. Tomorrow I'll go dig em out, but here's a topic to ponder (Hyman, you listening?): dig up your oldest mix tape you can find, one either you made or someone made for you, and post the song list.

I'll dig one up tomorrow and post.

Okay, back to the couch.

Dr Zhivago's Traing

Jackpine — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 07:29:47 GMT

I injured my back on Sunday night (some combination of a previously herniated disc and waking with a start due to a bad dream -- yeah, I know, I'm falling apart) so I've been flat on my ass the past couple days, not really listening to anything. But today was especially a bummer, as I was supposed to interview Nicolai Dunger on Studio C. We had to cancel the session instead. His most recent record on Rounder was pretty interesting, with Mercury Rev his backing band. But I've always been partial to "Soul Rush," his 2001 record. You can check samples of all his stuff here. Van Morrison comparisons aside, the guy's got a great soulful voice and intensely creative vocal phrasing.

What I Love About Mog

Jackpine — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 22:50:14 GMT

One thing I really love about this thing is that if you're not paying attention, and your iTunes is on shuffle, sometimes it can look like you have just terrifying taste. (either that or sometimes you just need to play "Rich Girl" 8 times in a row)

What the Hell Is A Honeycut?

Jackpine — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 23:12:33 GMT

When you think of Quannum, you usually think Lyrics Born or Blackalicious or whatever. I do, anyway. But when Lydia over there sent me this Honeycut record, which is Bart Davenport ("Bart Davenport's on Quannum?" is a very popular rhetorical question these days amongst SF mission types) and a couple pals doing something akin to Squeeze with (help me out here -- if I say "killer beats" or whatever I'm just going to sound like the 36 year old dork from minnesota that I am).. killer beats. I don't know. Listen to it on their MySpace page. I think it sounds pretty great, if a bit dated in a "that's cool, it sounds so 1994" kind of way.

The track to beat is called "Shadows," but they haven't posted that one yet. That totally sounds like Paul Carrack's vocal on "Tempted" in a brit pop blender with... uh... killer beats.

I Only Like Slow Songs

Jackpine — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:00:37 GMT

My increasing tendency to sop up laboriously slow and methodical roots music like it was jalapeno-vinegar gravy (that is to say, I'd lap it up with cornbread from my plate and yours, and a straw if need be) is quickly becoming the stuff of parody. So when I saw the description on the new Lambchop record that "they take a mellow and contemplative Leonard Cohen-like turn," I almost didn't play it at first, like it would just be courting the prurient side of my being. But I suppose liking Leonard Cohen a bunch is a lot better than most things. I'm about 3 songs in so far and, yeah, it's gorgeous, slow and laden with soft pillows of feedback-y texture. And Kurt Wagner's deep voice murking through it all. Pretty stuff, check out "Paperback Bible" here.

Primal Scream: Sex and Drugs are back?

Jackpine — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 20:15:34 GMT

I know this is a few months old, but I just heard the latest Primal Scream single, "Country Girl," and man, is it good. Stones-y, a little raunchy, blissfully catchy.

The video is here and does exactly what the video should do -- it's all about a hot girl in a cowboy hat who (to paraphrase my pal Jon who sent me the link) does drugs, drinks, and kicks everybody's ass. All this video needs is a kickboxing robot or a giant alien lizard and it'd be the greatest film ever made.

(Depending on where you work it might not be safe for public viewing, as she does throw up, go to the bathroom and such. But it's on the Columbia records website so apparently if you work for Sony you can watch it wherever you'd like.)

What the hell is a Ill Lit?

Jackpine — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 23:01:51 GMT

Speaking of Badman Records, I was going through my CDs and saw a copy of "Tom Cruise" that the former Badman band Ill Lit sent me a while ago. And I had to play the first song "Across Country" again, and now I'm just stuck on it.

It has that expansive feel I like, the kind of slow, patient build that Wilco and Grandaddy both do equally well (and there's a little of each in this song, although it's not derivative). Luckily Underrated magazine posted an mp3 of the song here. So you can dig on it, too.

What the hell is a Mark Mallman

Jackpine — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 17:30:21 GMT

Mark Mallman

I went to Il Pirata here in SF this weekend to bid farewell to Badman Records Dylan and Sue, who are on their way to Portland. And they gave the city a great farewell present, inviting Minneapolis' Mark Mallman to play.

If you haven't seen Mallman, the set-up is simple: one drummer, mallman on keyboards and vocals, everything else is on pre-recorded tracks. But Mallman is a mod Meatloaf. No, wait. He's Minnesota Freddie Mercury. No, none of this is right. But those influences are there, along with healthy doses of '70s power pop. This is summer FM radio fare, unabashedly embracing .38 Special at the same time as early new wave. But then wait, he's on top of his keyboard, humping it. No, wait, he just called his dad and had him talk to the crowd through a cellphone speaker (he wanted the crowd to back him up that his filthy voice mail message was "OK").

Did I mention he also once played the longest song, ever. For, like, 62 hours. It's true, he did it at First Avenue in Minneapolis. Mallman is insane.

You can check out free tracks here. (Look in the right column. "I Just Want to Play Piano" is a hoot.

What the hell is Studio C?

Jackpine — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 21:20:32 GMT

People are asking me, "what is this studio c thing?" Well, it's my podcast show on CNET (soon to be on mp3.com as well). You can listen to it here. This week the guest is Lloyd Cole. Next week is Oakley Hall, then Sir Richard Bishop, Penelope Houston, David Bazan of Pedro the Lion etc etc. The artist does 3 songs acoustic and I ask questions. That's about it. Lloyd does a brand new song "How Wrong Can You Be" for the first time, along with "2cv" from Rattlesnakes and "Undressed" from his first solo record.

Hope you dig it.

Dan Penn

Jackpine — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 00:30:55 GMT

A few years ago (when I was working with Mog-men Michael Goldberg and David Hyman) I took an afternoon off to go to Village Music in Mill Valley, CA and see Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham do an in-store performance. (Nick Lowe did one too that afternoon, which was great, of course, but this was Dan freakin’ Penn for chrissakes!) We went down to Slim’s that night to see the duo as well, and both of those shows are in my Top 10 all time (well, as one single unit, plus Huey Lewis stood next to me at the in-store and was a genuinely nice fellow). Here were the guys who wrote “I’m Your Puppet” (hit for James and Bobby Purify), “At The Dark End of the Street” (hit for James Carr), “Do Right Woman” (hit for, duh, Aretha Franklin) and a ton of others, singing these songs the way they intended them, with Penn’s own voice a stellar instrument. No less than Jerry Wexler commended Penn’s voice as one of the best soul voices around; this about a white boy from Alabama.

Anyway, last year Proper American released the US version of “Moments From This Theater Live,” which captures a show from that tour. I bought it a few years ago when it was released in the UK. It’s great. No, let me restate that – it’s pretty much essential, and damn near everyone I’ve ever played it for has run out and picked it up themselves. But my favorite Penn record is a hard to find little number called “Nobody’s Fool.” It’s his first solo record, barely released at all. A friend estimated the number of extant vinyl copies at less than a grand. It was reissued by a German label a few years ago, but it’s out of print again. Here’s the title track (which’ll be up for about 24 hours, then I’ll take it down). A one-of-a-kind record.

Sleater Kinney on "Indefinite Hiatus"

Jackpine — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 23:05:24 GMT

From Sub Pop: Esteemed friends and supporters of Sleater-Kinney:

I bring this information to you with a bit of heavy heart as all of us here at Sub Pop are exceptionally proud to have worked with Sleater-Kinney over the last couple of years. We were/are fans first and conspirators/supporters second, and we remain tremendously grateful for the opportunity to work with such inspired, motivated, enthused, fun, decent and thoughtful people.

They also managed to make one of the best rock records Sub Pop’s ever released.

The statement below is directly from the band. Yes, it’s brief, and no they won’t be doing any interviews.

After eleven years as a band, Sleater-Kinney have decided to go on indefinite hiatus. The upcoming summer shows will be our last. As of now, there are no plans for future tours or recordings.

We feel lucky to have had the support of many wonderful people over the years. We want to thank everyone who has worked with us, written kind words about us, performed with us, and inspired us.

But mostly we want to extend our gratitude to our amazing fans. You have been a part of our story from the beginning. We could not have made our music without your enthusiasm, passion, and loyalty. It is you who have made the entire journey worthwhile.

With love and thanks,

Sleater-Kinney

The dates below will be your last chance to see the band. Avail yourself of the opportunity.

Sleater-Kinney Jul 29 Mellwood Arts Center, Louisville,KY Jul 31 Starlight Ballroom, Philadelphia,PA Aug 01 930 Club, Washington,DC Aug 02 Webster Hall, New York City,NY Aug 04 Lollapalooza (Grant Park), Chicago,IL

True West

Jackpine — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 23:44:11 GMT

My pal Russ Tolman was in the band True West, who were contemporaries of the Dream Syndicate, Green on Red and other “Paisley Underground” acts. They’re reuniting in Seattle later this summer for their first show together (in this lineup) since 1985 (albeit with a new rhythm section). “Hollywood Holiday” is a great mid-‘80s single in the Dream Syndicate mode (Steve Wynn is a buddy of Tolman’s, and co-produced the first ep). I like “Steps to the Door” – great echo-y psych with long twisting guitar lines and lots of reverb. Listen here.

Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken

Jackpine — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 19:50:51 GMT

I've been prepping for a Lloyd Cole interview tomorrow morning, re-listening to all his records, and I'm (a little) surprised how much "Bad Vibes" from 1994 holds up and almost sounds better now than it did then (although his band is Matthew Sweet, Fred Maher and Robert Quine, so it's kinda hard to get better than that). Also, "Mainstream" from 1987 is quite a great record too, once you get past the bits of '80s production. "Rattlesnakes" is still the best -- you can't beat "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken."

One of Cole's consistent themes is a sort of irritation with misguided youthful smugness and idealism -- but he never said it better than here.

looking like a born again living like a heretic listening to arthur lee records making all your friends feel so guilty about their cynicism and the rest of their generation not even the government are gonna stop you now but are you ready to be heartbroken? are you ready to be heartbroken? pumped up full of vitamins on account of all the seriousness you say you're so happy now you can hardly stand lean over on the bookcase if you really want to get straight read norman mailer or get a new tailor are you ready to be heartbroken? are you ready to be heartbroken? are you ready to bleed? what would it take what would it take to wipe that smile off of your face? are you ready to be, are you ready to bleed? are you ready to be heartbroken? are you ready to bleed? (heartbroken) well you better get ready now baby are you ready to bleed?, ready to bleed?

Oakley Hall

Jackpine — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 00:24:55 GMT

Oakley Hall mix elements of Spacemen 3 (see “Confidence Man” on Gypsum Strings) with VU (same) and folk and roots elements, like the understated banjo on “Spanish Fandango” or harmony singing reminiscent of X’s country-esque turns. Contemporaries are My Morning Jacket, Will Oldham.

Gypsum Strings just came out on Brah! Records. Dude in Oakley Hall used to be dude in Oneida.

Listen to em here. I think these guys are great. Live show is killer too.