MOG - Kate's Posts

Osibisa

Kate — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:00:47 GMT

Lately, my life is filled with coincidences. Sometimes I get lucky and these moments of serendipity revolve around music. This year I have been exploring the catalog of the band Osibisa, and as always, discovering that the connections between me and the music go beyond a simple appreciation of their sound.

Begun in 1969, with a sound they describe as "criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness", Osibisa's core crew consisted of three highlife musicians from Ghana and three Caribbean musicians as well as the Nigerian percussionist and sax player, Lasisi Amao. After falling for Osibisa's first two albums, I visited my parents and discovered a trove of their albums, all mysteriously signed by someone named "Loughty".

I should have known. When I asked my dad about the records he said "Osibisa? Of course! I used to host a radio show with Loughty (Lasisi Amao)." Just when I think I can out-cool my dad, he brings me right back down to earth. Damn.

Fans included Art Garfunkel (who covered the song "Woyaya") and George Clinton, who had this to say about the band: "Osibisa was like Funkadelic back in the '70's... the difference between the two bands is Funkadelic took you to the Mothership and Osibisa took you to the Motherland." With album covers by Roger Dean and their first two albums produced by Tony Visconti, Osibisa melded Western space-rock explorations with African jazz and funk. My current favorite Osibisa album is their second, "Woyaya", and it was incredibly hard to figure out which song to share. I settled on the following, "Survival", for Loughty's wild vocal intro and the obvious joy and fun expressed here:

Here they are live in the UK, 1974:

I let my ears take my vacations for me

Kate — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:27:12 GMT

I know it's been a while since i've made a post. I've been busy, yes, but i've also been overwhelmed by all this wonderful new (and old) music and unsure how to fit it all into one post. But i'll sure as hell try! First up, Nicky Hopkins' 1973 album, The Tin Man Was a Dreamer. Hopkins was a piano and organ player who had a hand in some of the greatest albums of all time. He began his career with Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages, and subsequently played one everything from The Who's My Generation to the Stones Exile on Main Street. The Tin Man Was a Dreamer is full of catchy, piano-driven songs that take full advantage of the all-star band Hopkins put together for this recording: George Harrison, Mick Taylor and my favorite Plastic Ono Band member, Klaus Voorman.

Next up, a taste of The Shortwave Set:

Their 2005 debut album, The Debt Collection, has been in constant rotation this month. It sounds like a bunch of rowdy Victorian kids got lost at a circus. Laptop-ukulele-piano-glitch-folk is the best genre description I can come up with. Check out the list of collaborators on their upcoming album: Danger Mouse, Van Dyke Parks and John Cale! I can't wait. Listen to more here: http://www.myspace.com/theshortwaveset

I've also been jamming to the 1972 album by Syreeta Wright, simply titled Syreeta. Known initially for her songwriting and collaborations with former husband, Stevie Wonder, Syreeta came into her own with this incredible record, featuring Stevie, as well as Minnie Riperton and Deniece Williams. The combination of her powerful and sweet voice with some superfunky arrangements makes this a must-have album for anyone who has an interest in 70's soul and funk.

Lastly, by appointment to her majesty, The Queen, Sir Richard Bishop. Of course, being Sir Richard Bishop, the Queen in question is in fact the Hindu goddess Kali. Probably known best for his work in the Sun City Girls, Bishop's solo guitar albums are likely to take you on an around the world tour of styles, from ragas to Robbie Basho-esque folk and desperate country picking. His newest album, called "While My Guitar Violently Bleeds" consists of three intensely different songs, each longer than the next. If there is anyone whose music could lead me into a trance state, it is Bishop. He manages to achieve both intense violence and utter stillness and peace with each song, almost a melding of Nels Cline and Ravi Shankar.

You can download two songs from Bishop's 1998 album, Salvador Kali, here: http://www.revenantrecords.com/index.php?section=mp3s and more from his personal site here: http://www.sirrichardbishop.net/audiovideo.htm

Damn, i've only made it through four artists. I'll be back...

The Felice Brothers

Kate — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:15:56 GMT

Someone's finally taken up the mantle of The Band. Introducing The Felice Brothers... Three brothers from upstate New York create songs that invoke dusty back roads, Dylan songs heard through a swinging screen door and the bittersweet feeling of dying summer light.

Usually I shy away from artists that wear their influences so prominently, but not this time. From heart-wrenching tales of drug abuse (Rockefeller Druglaw Blues) to breaking hearts (Going Going Gone ), The Felice Brothers manage to draw from their musical forebears while remaining lyrically centered in 2007. I can't stop listening to this record- it's exactly what I want from American music right now- the outlaw sound of border towns and rainy days spent with whiskey and old records. Go catch a show by these boys, currently touring America for the first time in their '87 school bus.

More songs and tour info here: http://www.myspace.com/thefelicebrothers You can buy their album, Tonight At the Arizona, on vinyl (comes with the CD as well!) from Rough Trade or Amazon UK.

La Bise Aux Hippies

Kate — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:31:16 GMT

I don't think there is much I can say about Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot that hasn't been said already. I can, however, offer up a swingin' video that you probably haven't seen: A 1967 duet between Bardot and Sacha Distel with Gainsbourg miming guitar.

If you like this, pick up the DVD Divine B.B., a compilation of tons of wild Bardot music videos, available here.

I got the Tuvan Rocksteady Gypsy Blues, baby!

Kate — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:54:55 GMT

The other day, I thought to myself, man, I wish there was a band that blended blues, swingin' country, rocksteady and klezmer music with some Tuvan throat singing! Okay, I didn't really think that, but if I had, my prayers would have been answered by Hazmat Modine.

Creators of a true melting pot of a debut album ("Bahamut"), Hazmat Modine hail from New York, but sound like the world. Fronted by two Harmonica players and aided by instruments as diverse as the hammered dulcimer, tuba, ancient Chinese mouth organ and the claviola, their music sounds incredibly familiar and yet totally original. Check their performance on Russian television performing "Yesterday Morning":

Bandleader Wade Schuman met the throat singing group Huun-Huur-Tu several years ago and their friendship led to the band's presence on three of the songs on Bahamut. In the following song, listen for the throat singing trademarks: a high, fluttering whistle mixed with guttural undertones.

Bahamut is one of those albums that people hear and absolutely have to have. These days, when American music is exemplified by pop punk and the Billboard charts are dominated by manufactured Disney teens, why not take a hit of Hazmat Modine? “If you want to be faithful to the music forms that made American music great,” proclaims Hazmat leader Wade Schuman, “you have to be faithful to what made it great, not to the music forms themselves. American music is, by its essence, music that comes out of the so-called melting pot of different cultures banging up against each other. And that was the creative aspect.” (quote from Rock, Paper, Scissors). Listen to more Hazmat Modine (and find out when they are touring near you) on their website: http://www.hazmatmodine.com

Around the World in 40 Songs

Kate — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:28:19 GMT

Summertime gets me in the mood for a different kind of musical experience: funky compilations from around the world. Since I am not getting to travel at all this summer, i'm going to have to do my voyaging via music.

First stop: Panama! My grandfather was born in Panama, while his father was there helping to build the canal, so i've always been curious about the country. This is the ideal musical introduction for lovers of deep grooves like myself. Compiled by the folks at the UK's Soundway records, Panama! Latin, Calypso & Funk On the Isthmus, 1965-75 is THE summer album. From James Brown covers ("New Bag" by The Exciters) to what some consider the origins of Reggaeton ("Racombey" by Lord Cobra), Panama has an incredible musical history that has yet to be fully discovered. Pick it up at Dusty Groove.

On to Italy! I just received a postcard from Italy yesterday- a friend of mine has spent the past 8 years traveling around the world, from Alaska to Tibet, and every once in a while I get a slightly cryptic, very poetic missive from him. Trying to alleviate the feeling of wanderlust I get when I hear from him, I put on Arriva La Bomba, a compilation of trippy Italian covers and soundtracks. The album includes Giorgio Moroder's version of "Mah Na Mah Na", a song made famous by The Muppet Show, as well as the coolest Deep Purple cover i've ever heard "Hush", done by a band called I Colours. Grab it over at Lost-in-Tyme.

A short hop over to France, with So Young But So Cold: Underground French Music 1977-83, on the Tigersushi label. This compilation of No Wave music is chock full of artists I had never listened to before, like The (Hypothetical) Prophets, consisting of Bernard Szajner (thought by some to be the Brian Eno of France) and Karel Beer. Cold synth sounds and spoken word vocals, I see The (Hypothetical) Prophets as a companion to New York No Wave bands of the same era, like Lydia Lunch and Teenage Jesus & The Jerks. Play this at a vodka-fueled late night party.

Finally, we head over to my favorite musical continent, Africa. Booniay!! A Compilation of West African Funk was a must have because it includes a track from William Onyeabor, whose song "Better Change Your Mind" was my soundtrack last summer. According to the liner notes from another excellent compilation, Nigeria 70, "William Onyeabor studied cinematography in Russia for many years, returning to Nigeria in the mid-70s to start his own Wilfilms music label and to set up a music and film production studio. He recorded a number of hit songs in Nigeria during the 70s, the biggest of which was "Atomic Bomb" in 1978. "Better Change Your Mind" is taken from the same album, and, as well as slating the power-crazed nations of the world, the second half settles into a unique slice of stripped down spacey, lo-fi funk which is unlike any other Nigerian music being made at the time. William has now been crowned a High Chief in Enugu, where he lives today as a successful businessman working on government contracts and running his own flour mill." Someone's got to write a biography of this guy. Booniay!! was compiled by the L.A. reissue label, Afrodisiac Records. The current vogue for digging up lost African funk gems has resulted in a huge amount of these compilations, and for the most part, they are quite good. Booniay!! is no exception. From the Ivory Coast (Brigth Engelberts and the B.E. Movement) to the Ghanian highlife musician Gyedu Blay-Ambolley, think of this album as a musical history dance party. Buy Booniay!! here.

Who is Asha Puthli?

Kate — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:05:45 GMT

I asked myself that question the second I heard her voice. According to her website, Asha Puthli is "the original Indian diva of jazz, soul and funk". Well, knock me over with a feather, what could be cooler than that?

How could I not have heard about Asha before? Her albums from the '70's have been sampled by everyone from The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay Z to The Neptunes, Redman and Dilated Peoples. She has performed and recorded with The Rolling Stones, Alice Coltrane, Roy Ayers and Django Reinhardt!

Asha was born on Bombay, India. Blessed with a four-octave soprano, she began her career singing jazz standards and eventually landed in New York. John Hammond tried to get Asha a deal with CBS Records, and when that failed, got her some incredible session gigs, which is how I discovered her. I recently got ahold of The Peter Ivers' Band cover of "Ain't That Peculiar" with Asha on vocals (available on 'Knights of the Blue Communion', which deserves a post of its own). After the chart success of "Ain't...", Hammond sent Asha to Ornette Coleman. She appears on two tracks on "Science Fiction", one of Coleman's tightest albums. This being the 70's, Asha's unusual voice and outre style allowed her to make several glam/funk influenced solo albums, the first of which featured covers of songs by J.J. Cale, George Harrison and Bill Withers. Her third album, 'The Devil is Loose', is perhaps her most well known album, and can be seen as a prototype for the punky disco girl beats of everyone from Blondie to Goldfrapp. Here she is performing 'The Devil is Loose' in 1978.

Asha did fusion before fusion was fashionable, and is still entrancing audiences today, appearing on Bill Laswell's 'Asana OHM Shanti' album and working on a new release of her own.

Buy Asha's records at Dusty Groove.

Vinylaholics Anonymous

Kate — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:55:51 GMT

Hello, my name is Kate and I am an addict. A vinyl addict. I first realized I had a problem when I was 16. I should have known it would be impossible to save money while working in a record store. As time goes on my addiction has gotten worse, and recently I reached an all-time low. On vacation in the northwest, little did I know that I would almost go broke (my wallet and my back) buying records. Damn you Oregon and your incredible record stores! Why did I need to buy 32 LPs?

This is bound to be an incredibly long post, so i'll just talk about half of my purchases and why I was impelled to buy them: Can: Ege Bamyasi and Soundtracks. These were my biggest splurges, and completely worth the 18 bucks I paid for each of them. Now i've got two of my favorite Can songs ("I'm So Green" and "She Brings the Rain") the way they were meant to be heard. Holger Czukay, the Edge and Jah Wobble: Snake Charmer. Recorded in 1983, this EP isn't as amazing as some of the other Holger albums i've got, but redeems itself with a taste of Jaki Leibezeit's drumming and the disco funk of the second track, "Hold On To Your Dreams". Extra Golden: Ok-Oyot System. To quote The LEC's great MOG introduction to the band, "Extra Golden is comprised of the two guitarists of Golden (ethnomusicologist Ian Eagleson and Alex Minoff of Weird War), and Otieno Jagwasi and Onyango Wuod Omari of the Nairobi, Kenya based benga band Orchestra Extra Solar Africa." Read more about their jammy meld of DC rock and Kenyan Bengan music here.

Finally realizing that there is no way my dad will ever give me any of his reggae albums, I have slowly started collecting a few of my favorites, including the debut albums by and Now I can dork out to fullest extent and listen to Mutabaruka's dub poetry while wearing my old "Check It Tour 1983" t-shirt.

I was totally excited to find a couple Dr. John records that I didn't have, "Desitively Bonnaroo" and "Anytime, Anyplace". It turns out that "Anytime..." is a pretty rare record from '74 and I am having trouble finding any information on it at all. AND, as I discovered when I got home and played it, my copy is made up of two side A's! If anyone has any background info about the record, I would love to hear it. Keeping with the Doctor theme, I grabbed a couple Dr. Hook records and a pristine copy of Shel Siverstein's "Freakin' at the Freaker's Ball". I wish I could find a picture of the inner sleeve, which shows a nude Silverstein throwing his own head at a topless lady. The same poet we all grew up with has a very dirty, very funny sense of humor. Here's a sample of the lyrics to "Freakin'":

Where all the fags and the dykes they're boogyin' together The leather freaks are dressed in all kinds of leather The greatest of the sadists and the masochists too Screaming "Please hit me, and I'll hit you"

The FBI are dancing with the junkies All the straights, are swinging with the fogies Across the floor and up the wall We're freakin at the freakers ball Y'all, we're freakin at the freakers ball

Everybody's kissing each other Brother with sister, son with mother Smear my body up with butter Take me to the freakers ball

Can you sense a theme in my vinyl purchases yet? Hold on, i'm not quite done yet.... I was digging through a dusty pile of Styx and Barbra when I came across Harry Nilsson's "The Point". A concept record that seems tailor made for kiddy story time. Since I am not a mom, i'll just play it for myself when i'm feeling cranky :) I also got "Nilsson Schmilsson" and "Son of Schmilsson", which both came with posters. Which begs the question: would I rather have a bathrobe-clad Nilsson or a Dracula Nilsson on my wall? There is a recent documentary called "Who is Harry Nilsson? (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)", which I am dying to see. Bear with me, darlings, for I about to go off on a tangent: In 1971, a movie starring Dustin Hoffman came out, called "Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?". Hoffman plays a neurotic, bathrobe-wearing singer-songwriter and in one of my favorite scenes, appears at the Fillmore East (in front of an audience actually there for a Grateful Dead show). Dustin Hoffman also appears in the Nilsson documentary. So, it appears that the '71 movie has a character based on Nilsson, then the documentary about his life took its title from said movie. Connection #7,314: while looking up info about "Who is Harry Kellerman" I came across this photo of Shel Silverstein and Dustin Hoffman: I had forgotten that Dr. Hook and The Medecine Show are Dustin's backing band in the movie. Yes, I actually sit around and ponder coincidences like this.

I'm Up To My Ears

Kate — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:22:54 GMT

I am taking a little vacation for the next week so I thought I would make one last post before I happily turn off my computer.

This has been a really good week for me and music. Last night I came home to a crazy good mix sitting in my mailbox: Cody B sent me 2 CDs of soulful women. Damn, Cody, it is SO ON! I can't wait to start your mix.

Then I read this post by Hermes. I am always on the lookout for good female hip-hop and Mala Rodriguez truly fits my bill. I used my wiley ways and got a copy of her new album,Malamarismo. One of the songs features another favorite of mine, Julieta Venegas on vocals. Hear more songs here.

Besides those recent acquisitions, I have also been digging on the following: Chet are from British Colombia. Think Jeff Buckley/Antony meets Bonnie Prince Billy. Their latest release, Fight Against Darkness was the perfect aural companion when I drove along the foggy San Francisco beaches last weekend. Color Filter are from Japan. Everything about them- from their Simon and Garfunkel album cover to their nail-bitingly adorable cover of Fool on the Hill give me that unbearable feeling, you know the one: when something is so damn cute you want to bite something. Listen to Color Filter's song Fruit here. Seabear are from Iceland. Like many Icelandic bands, their music has a sort of honeyed melancholy to it. Tinkling toy piano, lush vocals and strings make for a sweet, lift-your-dark-mood kind of album. You can download a few Seabear songs here. After a little Seabear, I have to wake myself up again. And what better to do that with than a nice, loud German Krautrock compilation? Worth getting for about half the songs on the mix, especially I'm Hiding My Nightingale by Margareta Juvan and Can and the super afro-funky Negresco #4 by Motherhood. Get it from the super rad music blog, A Pound for a Brown, here. Finally, the above photo is of Marsha Hunt. I wish that there was a Marsha Hunt revival like the recent Betty Davis one, so I could finally find some of her albums! Most famous for having a child by Mick Jagger, Marsha Hunt had several bands in the 60's and 70's, including Marsha Hunt's 22 (creators of the most awesome song in the world Beast Day) and Marsha Hunt and White Trash. The only songs I have been able to get a hold of are her incredible cover of Walk On Gilded Splinters and the aformentioned Beast Day. If anyone out there has ANY MARSHA HUNT (her album, Woman Child, for example) please hook me up. Have a superfunky week...

Arthur & Yu

Kate — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 20:03:38 GMT

Serge and Jane, Nancy and Lee, Isobel and Mark... my list of favorite male/female musical duos just got even longer with the addition of Arthur and Yu. The first band signed to Sub Pop founder Jonathan Poneman's new label, Hardly Art, Arthur and Yu are releasing their debut album, In Camera on June 19th. Not since last summer's Nobody & Mystic Chords of Memory infatuation have I found another record so perfectly suited to a Northern California summer. The opening track, Absurd Heroes Manifestos, sets the mood with verses sung back and forth between Arthur (Grant Olsen) and Yu (Sonya Westcott). It's a perfect opener for an album full of train-chugging guitar, tinkling Old West keys and a subtle dose of tamborine.

In Camera's pervading feeling is that of sitting next to some talented friends at a foggy beach bonfire, listening to them harmonize to old Velvets songs. That the songs on In Camera sound so perfectly lo-fi makes sense when you find out that they were originally intended as the demo for a future record, but later considered perfect for release as is. The echoey vocals bring to mind a western as directed by Robert Altman more than they scream "demo".

Live, all instrumental duties are ably handled by Olsen and Westcott: guitar, drums, keyboard and percussion. Impressive when considering the dozens of bands like The Polyphonic Spree and Arcade Fire that crowd the stage with their many members, when more of an impact could be made with less people.

The following song, Come to View (Song for Neil Young) was created without Young in mind, but as Olsen says "the Neil Young aspect only came into it at the very end and it helped to wrap the lyrics up. I was meandering with the notion that a lot of the political problems of the '60s had come full circle with some sort of cocksure swaggery. And I was wondering about the reactionary response to these same problems. As I was having trouble answering that question- and not feeling very good about it- Neil Young's newest album, Living With War, was given to me."

Download a few Arthur & Yu songs here: http://obscuresound.com/?p=1056

Booze, Beats and Broads

Kate — Tue, 22 May 2007 17:23:36 GMT

Welcome to the Germany of Annika Line Trost and Gina V. D'Orio. Together they are Cobra Killer. This is a Germany filled with exploitation movie broads, high heels tracking blood across the floor, wine bottles littering the rooms and the perfect soundtrack to accompany it all.

Originally spawned from Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore movement, Cobra Killer released three albums. I hesitate to call them a fully Electroclash or Digital Hardcore band, because their sound can veer so sharply from folk (the mandolin heavy album Das Mandolinenorchester) to sampling and programmed beats (76/77). Here is Mund Auf Augen Zu:

Trost and D'Orio have managed to maintain Cobra Killer while releasing their own work and touring extensively. D'Orio came out with her ode to the ocean, Sailor Songs in 2003. You can here songs on her Myspace page here. My current favorite song, "In Diesem Raum", comes from Annika Line Trost's second solo album, Trust Me. The combination of big band horns, a 60's strip club beat and the hypnotic psych that can only come from Germany makes me very happy.

I will leave you with a few words from the band: "We have known each other since the golden teenager year 13 where we had been swinging through the Berlin 6T's scene, playing in bands like the Lemonbabies or the Sophisticated Troublemakers, collecting coloured pills in beautiful tiny boxes started to be interested in the sound a tv-set makes after throwing it out of the hotelroom. We fight the lack of blood, that is surrounding all of us; by sitting in the deep red wine cellar, cutting the barrels with sharp-edged tools and powerful saws to make the blood flow..Sometimes we also watch Das Boot.”

Soul is a state of mind...

Kate — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:59:48 GMT

It's been days of sunshine and warm weather, and rather than enjoying it, what do I crave? Some mysterious gloom, a smoky, velvet-walled bar and a chanteuse at the keys. Most bloggers would suggest a little Amy Winehouse fix, but I am getting a little tired of her. Where could I find someone who wrote her own songs, had an incredible band and made interesting soul music that wasn't stuck in the big-bouffant '60's? Soul Sides to the rescue. Oliver Wang wrote an excellent primer on retro-soul and included Alice Russell in the mix. I was instantly captivated by a track off her 2005 album "My Favorite Letters" called High Up On the Hook. Originally a collaborator with Quantic, Russell has released 2 albums under her own name. The first, "Under the Munka Moon" was quickly followed by "Under the Munka Moon 2", a rarities compilation that included her superior cover of The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army". The best thing about Russell is the breadth of her collaborations: everything from an upcoming Massive Attack project to the reggae-tinged song Hurry On Now with TM Juke. This of course means that I get to search out even more of her music! I don't know what I like better, the volcano-inducing power of Russell's voice, or the mind-blowing array of musicians she has found to be her backing band. This music is the real thing, thick, funky, spread-it-like-peanut-butter soul. Want a taste? Click here for a live version of Seven Nation Army or here for Alice's Myspace page.

MOG Wars 2: The Vampire Chronicles

Kate — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:20:20 GMT

They don't tell you that you can't see yourself in the mirror. They don't tell you that you can't eat garlic without getting totally grossed out. Where's the damn handbook for first time vampires? Do you know how hard it is to get all gussied up for work, and then try and check yourself out and this is all you see?

I guess I should start at the beginning. Back in October, I was the victim of a bloody CD-impaling. What I didn't know at the time was that I was killed by a CD tipped with vampire saliva. Super gross. So imagine my surprise when instead of waking up in heaven, being fanned and fed grapes by Richard Feynman and Tim Buckley, I wake up after 3 days! I should have cleaned the cobwebs off my ceiling if I knew I was going to be hanging up there like a damn bat. It sucks being a vampire. And I don't mean that in a punny way. It really really sucks. If your friends ever try to pressure you with ideas of rad black clothes and late nights with Keifer Sutherland, don't listen. I don't want to suck on the necks of strangers, so here I am stuck with bags of chicken blood in my fridge. Hello, bird flu! But I digress. Months have gone by, my friends have stopped calling and my co-workers barely look at me anymore. Late last night, I heard a knock on my door. When I opened it, no-one was there. Instead there was a package, addressed to Kate Doe. I knew immediately that this was to be a repeat performance, but this time, I couldn't die. Some dude named Ponchoandy thought he could...

oh shit

I guess vampires can die after all.

The tracklisting: 1. Intro/Swing Lite- Alright: Luke Vibert & BJ Cole 2. Bionic Woman/Crash and Burn Girl: Robyn 3. 45.000$ (Guapa Pasea): Gecko Turner 4. Circus C-Mon & Kypski: C-Mon & Kypski 5. Gender Studies: The Soft Pink Truth 6. Computer Camp Love: Datarock 7. The Bionic Jam: The Baldwin Brothers 8. The Day Before You Came: The Real Tuesday Weld 9. Maybe Lately: Miracle Fortress 10. Stupidly Happy: XTC 11. Interlude 1/Thrupenny Bits: Colossus 12. Bheer: Panjabi MC 13. Verbal: Amon Tobin 14. Losing You: Courtial 15. Orange Meet Lemon: Michael Andrews 16. How I Feel: Wax Tailor

The Blue Man Group (no, not THAT one!)

Kate — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:56:38 GMT

Last month I was incredibly excited to find out that Tinariwen had a new album out. My excitement was tempered by the fact that I couldn't find the damn record in the U.S. Then, today I came upon the excellent world music download site (.99 cents a song, no DRM) Calabash Music. And there was Aman Iman, Tinariwen's new masterpiece. For those not in the know, Tinariwen is composed of Tuareg rebels who fought for independence from the government of Mali. Since 2001, they have traveled the world performing their songs of resistance and hope. Originally, Tinariwen was little more than a few friends who got together to jam around a campfire, but exposure to electric guitars led to the creation of a new style of African music- one which hypnotizes and grooves with hints of rap and psychedelia. And while their music is not funk by any means, the group's bass player, Abdallah, could easily be at home playing with Parliament, James Brown, or for that matter, any band Bootsy Collins has played in! I was lucky enough to be backstage when Tinariwen played at the Santa Monica Pier, and I danced and cheered and wished they could play all night. Swathed in layers of blue cloth, now used solely for celebrations, the Tuaregs were traditionally known as the "blue people" for the way the indigo dyed their skin. For an excellent biography of the group, as well as quite the history lesson on Tuareg revolutionaries, go here.

Watch Tinariwen performing "Arawan", a tribute to the Tuareg leader Ahmad Baba Massufi, a 16th centruy Malian writer and political philosopher.

Top That!

Kate — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 12:15:32 GMT

Perhaps I am one of the few people out there who have an extreme love for the very '80's movie Teen Witch. Perhaps by posting the following video, other Teen Witch lovers will come out of the closet and join me in celebrating the ultimate in bad movie raps. My best friend and I have a plethora of Teen Witch stories, from watching it in a very creepy motel in Van Horn, Texas, to her calling me to gloat that she spotted Radar at the local karaoke bar. Top that, stop that, I don't really give a... about that.

Dadmog #5: Toots!

Kate — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:08:16 GMT

My dad has been doing a lot of traveling lately, but luckily he had a couple days at home and wrote up this post about his recent experience with Toots Hibbert at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Enjoy!

Pops and Toots onstage in Cleveland.

Toots Hibbert is one of reggae music's great pioneers and practitioners, whose career began as a singing barber. He made his first recordings with his trio, the Maytals, for the legendary Coxson Dodd at Studio One in 1962, sounds inflected with deep gospel yearnings and unflagging energy. He shot to international stardom in the '70s thanks in large part to his tumultuous in-studio scene in The Harder They Come, the 1973 film that jumpstarted Jamaica into the world's consciousness.

On Feb. 27, I had the great honor of being invited to host a two-hour onstage interview with my old friend Toots at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in frigid Cleveland, Ohio. He was brilliant, funny, angry, revelatory, humble, and deeply appreciated by the standing room only audience. In between telling his musical history, he sang about a dozen songs accompanied only by his acoustic guitar.

Before the show I asked him if I could inquire about his birthday in our interview. "Yes," he readily agreed, "but not the year." So imagine my surprise when I opened with that question and he answered without hesitation, "1945."

I had brought a whole bunch of his early 45s with me, and a turntable was set up onstage. He didn't want me to play most of the songs, however, saying virtually every time: "Don't play that. I hate that song!" "Why, Toots?" "Dem nevah pay me."

When it came to "54-46," a song that one encyclopedia claims is the greatest reggae song ever composed, Toots groaned. "No, not that one. I REALLY hate that one!" "But Toots," I cried, "Every time I have seen your shows for the past 32 years, you sing that song." "No, mon, I hate it. Dem nevah pay me." By this point his tag line was becoming almost a call-and-response with the increasingly amused audience. "Okay, then tell me about 54-46, which was your prison number when you were put behind bars for a year on phony ganja charges." "Well, first of all - it wasn't my number." "It wasn't!?" "No, mon, I nevah have no number. I just made it up." The crowd howled. And by the time someone on the side of the stage held up a sign saying "ten minutes left" we had only come to 1972. But, heck, the evening was filled with incredible stories and great music, and some people waited in line for an hour after just to shake his hand. It was a night on which he was shown enormous respect, admiration and love, and he clearly deserved it all. And it was one of the most unforgettable events of my life.

His work has largely been in the ska vein, but when he sings a ballad, such as the title track of his album Just Like That, with which he ended our presentation, (it's his "Waiting in Vain," and my favorite song of his) he can make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Sitting just a few feet away from him, experiencing the power of that magnificent voice at such close range, my whole body was vibrating. He's as funky as James Brown, at 61 he can still do the splits, and he's got the body of a weight-lifter combined with the gentleness of a teddy bear. I put him in the same class as Marley, Tosh and Cliff, a true Reggae immortal, and if you love soul music, let Toots be your connection to its Jamaican cousin.

His 2005 Grammy winning duets collection, True Love, is a nice place to start, as he recasts much of his major catalog with folks like Bonnie Raitt and Willie Nelson. We're going to be together again at Hollywood's House of Blues on April 11, and already there have been increasing calls from folks who were at the Rock Hall that night to have part two, and finish up the 35 years of his life that we didn’t get to cover on that magic evening.

You can find links to Dadmogs #1-4 on my MOG page.

CANstravaganza!

Kate — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:44:17 GMT

I'm loving all the music news on MOG lately. I don't have to go searching for a gossip fix anymore. But you know i've got to keep true to my freaky musical roots, so here's a post for all you krautheads out there. This is the first post i've ever done about Can, mostly because I love them so much I can't really (and don't want to) articulate that love.

Yesterday a little birdy gave me an iTunes gift certificate and I went to town. I found out that my hard drive is irrevocably dead, and my 60 GBs are forever gone. And it's okay. In addition to my analog revolution, my digital finds have been incredible.

I wanted to get more familiar with current projects by Damo Suzuki, Holger Czukay and Jaki Leibezeit. I had a few of Holger's solo albums, and have been constantly hoping Damo takes his Network to the U.S. again. But I was clueless as to what my favorite drummer has been up to. It turned out that although iTunes doesn't have a single Can album available, they do have quite a few Jaki Leibezeit projects. I bought "Oblique Sessions", which features Jaki, Pierre Bastien and Pascal Comelade. Bastien invented the Mecanium, an "orchestra ensemble of musical automatons constructed from meccano parts and activated by electro-motors, that are playing on acoustic instruments from all over the world", and can create intense sound loops. This is used to great effect on the album, helping create everything from a Spaghetti Western style song to a cover of the Can track "Shikaku Maru Ten". The Harmonium Mecanium To get a good idea of what the Mecanium sounds like, Bastien has mp3's available on his website. Next, I scored a 9-minute song by Sixtoo with Damo Suzuki. Sixtoo is a DJ on Ninja Tune Records, and try as I might, I really didn't dig any of his other tracks. "Storm Clouds and Silver Linings" is a keeper though. Damo goes from whispers to deep frog-like growls, and the beats are heavier than anything i've heard him on so far. You can grab a copy of the song on the Press Random music blog here. Last, I got the 1999 Holger Czukay album, Good Morning Story.

In addition to snippets of short-wave radio, several songs are based on Can samples, which I wasn't sure about at first, but now am loving. You can hear the title track (my personal favorite) here. So many groundbreaking musicians have gone on to create utterly mediocre music, and although the members of Can do have their 'meh' moments, I will continue to devour their work as long as they create it.

MOG is being invaded by muppets!

Kate — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:12:14 GMT

Now that we have Animal, the Swedish Chef, Statler and Waldorf on MOG, I thought i'd share something I found on Wikipedia:

Who Were the Muppets Based On?

-Marry Banilow, based on Barry Manilow -The Cobble Stones, based on The Rolling Stones (the Cobble Stones' lead singer, Mick Swagger, was also based the Rolling Stones' lead singer, Mick Jagger) -Cookie Monster's alter-ego Alistair Cookie, based on Alistair Cooke -Count von Count, based partly on Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula -Polly Darton, based on Dolly Parton -Dr. Feel, based on Dr. Phil -Placido Flamingo, based on Plácido Domingo -Donald Grump, based on Donald Trump -Spamela Hamderson, based on Pamela Anderson, was featured on the short-lived Muppets Tonight program -Sherlock Hemlock, based partly on Sherlock Holmes -Joe Hundred Guy, based on Joe Millionaire -An Anything Muppet based on Kate Pierson of The B-52's, who appeared with REM, when they sang the song "Furry Happy Monsters" -Ethel Mermaid, based on Ethel Merman -H. Ross Parrot, based on H. Ross Perot -Pat Playjacks, based on Pat Sajak -The Sesame Street Beetles, based on the Beatles -Meryl Sheep, based on Meryl Streep -The Benedictine Monkees, based on The Monkees (Muppets Tonight) -Bruce Stringbean, based on Bruce Springsteen -Johnny Trash, based on Johnny Cash -Trianglebob Trianglepants, based on Spongebob Squarepants -Vincent Twice Vincent Twice, based on Vincent Price -Babwa Wawa, based on Barbara Walters -Nine Inch Snails, based on Nine Inch Nails -Dr. Teeth, based on Dr. John -Janice, based on Janis Joplin, Carly Simon and Mick Jagger -Sgt. Floyd Pepper, based on The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Pink Floyd -Lewis Kazagger, based on Howard Cosell, of ABC's Wide World of Sports -Flo Bear, a bear who writes fiction, named for French author Gustave Flaubert -David Finch, a bird in the sketch "Twin Beaks", named after Twin Peaks creator David Lynch -Don Music, singer-songwriter-pianist, based on Elton John -Dicky Tick, TV host, based on Robin Leach -Frank Lloyd Left, based on architect Frank Lloyd Wright -My addition: Animal, based on Keith Moon?

It's the year 2055. The Beatles have been cloned and raised on a steady diet of electronica...

Kate — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:38:21 GMT

My newest discovery is sating my trip-hop/electronica appetites until the new Portishead album finally comes out. I haven't been to Europe since 2003, but that's okay because when I play Marsmobil, it is dusk at a riverside cafe in Venice, not noon at a flourescent-lit office in California. Although people at work do look at me a little funny when I light a cigarette and pour myself numerous glasses of Chianti! Marsmobil is the Italian multi-instrumentalist Roberto Di Gioia and the French singer Martine Rojina. Di Gioia is a famed keyboard player who has toured extensively with jazz musicians like Art Farmer, Dave Holland and Gary Peacock. Marsmobil was created as a way to meld Di Gioia's love of analog '60's sounds with futuristic beats and vocals. Fans of Air, Goldfrapp, Gainsbourg and Talk Talk will dig the atmospheric trip through space and sound Minx takes. The album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios. A fan of the Beatles since age 4, their influence on Di Gioia is most apparent in the track Reversed Mantra. Mangia Amore takes full advantage of Rojina's cool-to-the-point-of-ice voice while simultaneously making the listener want to dance the flamenco and eat to the point of bursting. Lastly, the track most reminiscent of Air, circa Talkie Walkie, is Sovatex 2055, proving that you can't go too wrong with a little piano, some effects pedals and a spacey theme.

It's Over, It's Just Begun

Kate — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:54:37 GMT

I don't even know where to begin. I haven't been very excited by music lately. I sit in my dark little basement apartment, christmas lights and candles brightening up the room and listen to my vinyl. Thank god for my LPs. My hard drive with ALL of my music on it died. And no, I did not have a backup. Until I become a rich woman, I have to suffer through the loss of all those zeros and ones. The only way I can get many of those files back is to pay an exorbitant price to a data recovery company. It has taken me several weeks the get over this loss. Now I just think- digital files don't really mean anything to me. I can't hold them in my hand like I can a record. I have weeks worth of Dylan bootlegs I will never get back. And that's okay. I am resigned to my loss now. There is something so comforting about vinyl. I went to Goodwill a few days ago and found a live Leo Kottke record. Took it home and lavished loving care upon it. Cleaned it, set it reverently on my Technics, opened a beer and sat outside listening to the 12-string sounds float from the speakers. I haven't lost a friend, an animal, a house. Just files. Files and files. Fuck digital. My analog revolution has begun.

Konichiwa Bitches!

Kate — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:41:18 GMT

Swedish people are rad.

Nostalgia Strikes Me Down

Kate — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:25:28 GMT

Coming of age in 90's L.A., it wasn't too hard to find a band that spoke to my conflicted feelings about my hometown. This band was known as Possum Dixon. Known for their incredible live shows and catchy art rock, Possum Dixon managed to capture the darkness and light of L.A. in each of their songs. Back in August, I made a post about my brother and his band, Counsellor. He's got some great new songs up, and a new project, Pill Module. Celso Chavez, the former guitarist for Possum Dixon is the singer, while my brother plays bass. They have a few songs up on Myspace, and are just starting to play shows around L.A. The song "Hurt to Feel You" has been in my head for weeks now. It's got everything i've been in the mood to hear lately: handclaps, full orchestral sounds and slightly depressing, nostalgic lyrics. I'm really excited to see where this band goes, so keep an eye on their progress, and if you're on Myspace, please stop by and say hi!

Is It Summertime Yet?

Kate — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:51:34 GMT

Wandering around the labyrinth of grooves that is Quannum Records, I discovered something familiar sounding yet completely unknown to me: Curumin. Steeped in the best of '70's Brazil, with vocals reminiscent of Seu Jorge and Tom Ze, Curumin has created a warm and funky record that I will be playing a lot this summer. Achados E Perdidos has been out since 2005. The title means "Found and Lost", which can easily apply to the musical references apparent in each song. Just look at a list of his influences: "Well, basically Afro-American music. What happened with the African music after the diaspora: the mixtures and recombinations of this music here in America (including South America)... samba, soul, salsa, funk, reggae, hip hop. From Stevie Wonder to Originais do Samba to Lebron Brothers to Augustus Pablo to Jorge Ben to Meters to Tim Maia to Cedric Brooks to De La Soul to Black Rio and the originals too, like Fela, Peter King, Lafayete, Geraldo Piño and here we go!" Let's get this guy on MOG! Luckily, I found a track to share with you on the Promonet site, which has kindly provided legal MP3's to all MOG users:

Buy at iTunes Music Store

Buy at Insound

Ballads of the Book

Kate — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 22:26:09 GMT

There's an album coming out in a few weeks that i've been getting pretty excited about. Thought up by Roddy Woomble of the band Idlewild, Ballads of the Book pairs lyrics by some of Scotland's best writers with music by artists like Vashti Bunyan, Mike Heron of The Incredible String Band, Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap, and King Creosote. Most thrilling to me is the inclusion of Alasdair Gray, the author of one of my favorite mind-bending novels, Lanark. Gray designed the cover as well as writing "A Sentimental Song", performed by Lord Cut-Glass (formerly of the band The Delgados.) Gray is not the only writer whose inclusion in this project gets me in a tizzy. Ian Rankin, Ali Smith and Edwin Morgan are just a few of the other incredible authors involved. Being stuck in California, I am still trying to figure out a way to see the documentary that will be broadcast on Scottish TV around the album's release. And any of you Glasgow moggers (are there any out there?), look out for a series of concert performances of Ballads of the Book. The concept of pairing musicians and authors is one that I hope gets replicated in other countries as well. I can think of so many U.S. partnerships that I would love to hear (Tom Robbins meets The Flaming Lips, Margaret Atwood and Cat Power, Charles de Lint and Vetiver.... I could go on and on). Read more about the release and see the full track listing here.

RIP Robert Anton Wilson

Kate — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:54:48 GMT

The author Robert Anton Wilson passed away this morning. Although sad, I am heartened by Wilson's own opinion of death: "Various medical authorities swarm in and out of here predicting I have between two days and two months to live. I think they are guessing. I remain cheerful and unimpressed. I look forward without dogmatic optimism but without dread. I love you all and I deeply implore you to keep the lasagna flying. Please pardon my levity, I don't see how to take death seriously. It seems absurd." (taken from his last blog post) Since I first read The Illuminatus Trilogy in the 10th grade, I have devoured every RAW work I could get my hands on. His curiousity about the world beyond this world and experiments with language and life continue to be an inspiration. For further reading, check out: http://www.rawilson.com/ Reality Is What You Can Get Away With Cosmic Trigger Principia Discordia

The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda

Kate — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 19:26:25 GMT

Last week I hung out with my family in L.A. Another houseguest, Richard, was visiting from Connecticut. He always brings freaky goodies, and this visit was no exception. Among the DVD's he gifted us with was Ira Cohen's 1968 psychedelic masterpiece The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda. The film was recently remastered and re-released by Arthur magazine, with two alternative soundtracks by Acid Mothers Temple and Sunburned Hand of the Man. J. Hoberman in the Mar. 16, 2006 Village Voice: "Part 'Dr. Strange,' part 'Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome,' 'The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda' is so High '60s that you emerge from its 20-minute vision perched full-lotus on a cloud of incense, chatting with a white rabbit and smoking a banana.... 'Invasion' is a languidly opiated costume ball in which an assortment of masked and painted bohos, some sporting outsize elf ears, loll about a candlelit, Mylar-lined set, blowing soap bubbles and nibbling majoon. ...In lieu of action, Cohen uses all manner of superimposition and prismatic image-splitting; his big effect, however, is the deliquescent Mylar reflection. What saves 'Invasion' from preciosity is the vague menace of Angus MacLise's improvised pan-piping, tabla-tapping, creature-yipping score. Although this masterpiece of Tibetan-Moroccan-Druidic trance music was reissued on CD several years ago, it truly blossoms in conjunction with the exotic smorgasbord served at Cohen's psychedelicatessen."

Sorry neo-hippies, you will never be as wild as your '60's counterparts.

The Great Vinyl Haul of 2006

Kate — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 01:43:56 GMT

Hey everybody! I'm on vacation here in Hell A and I thought i'd celebrate the end of JSGuntzel's "Month of the Phonograph Record" by talking about the records I got a few days ago. My uncle's neighbor moved up to Portland and gave him all her vinyl and my brother and I were given free reign to take whatever we wanted. Free vinyl = happy Kate! Here is some of what I scored: Terry Riley: Shri Camel and In C: Finally I have some more Riley vinyl. Larry Coryell & Philip Catherine: Twin-House Guitar Duos: I have a huge soft spot for Larry Coryell, who has been described as "the most inventive and original guitarist since Charlie Christian." Erik Satie: Piano Music performed by Aldo Ciccolini. Ciccolini is my favorite interpreter of Satie's music. Ry Cooder: Borderline. Mary Wells' Greatest Hits Patrick Sky: Sky was a folk singer on Vanguard. I haven't listened to this record yet, but if I were to judge it strictly by the record label, it's gonna be good. Staple Singers: Be What You Are Djurdjura: Groupe de Femmes Algeriennes: A pretty well-known Algerian record that got a lot of play on world music shows in the early '80's. Bruno Hoffman: Music for the Glass Harmonica: Hoffman rubs the edges of glasses with his fingers to create music. Need I say more? Itzhak Perlman & John Williams: Violin and Guitar duo. Ike & Tina Turner: River Deep - Mountain High: Oh, Phil Spector, you were once so amazing. Why'd you have to go and commit murder? The Youngbloods: Earth Music: You can't go wrong with Jesse Colin Young. Well. maybe you can, but this is a fantastic record. I was also given a copy of Fly by Yoko Ono for Xmas by Spencer. It comes with a badass Yoko and John poster. Aaaaaand, I bought this: Aluminium is an avant-garde classical music project by Jack White. 10 White Stripes songs done orchestral by a British orchestra. My vinyl copy is #317 of 999. I'm not a huge W.S. fan, but this record is beautifully done. You can hear selections here: http://www.alumiiinium.com/ Happy New Year!

The Obscure Folkie Files

Kate — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 19:41:04 GMT

Lately i've been noticing that Folk music is getting a lot of press. Specifically, old, obscure Folk albums that have been "rediscovered" and reissued. Some worthwhile, some just as terrible as the day they were released. I thought any mention of my personal favorite obscure folkie was still missing, but then I started researching this post. His name is Harry "Suni" McGrath, and he released three rare records of beautiful, 12-string fingerpicked guitar. I only have one, "Cornflower Suite", and I have been playing it at least once a week since I found it in my parent's records when I was 15. I am a huge fan of acoustic guitar. This is probably due to the fact that "Cornflower Suite" was my gateway record. From there I got into Larry Coryell, Leo Kottke, Gabor Szabo, and countless other incredible guitarists. Suni was a student of the blues musicians Reverend Gary Davis and Mississippi John Hurt. After the release of his last album, "Childgrove", in 1972, he disappeared out of the public eye. I've been trying to find more information on what he's been up to all this time, but haven't had too much luck. However, after 33 years, Suni's back! He has a track on the guitar anthology "Imaginational Anthem", and a 7", both on Tompkins Square Records. And any of you Ohio Moggers can see one of Suni's first performances in 35 years: Feb. 3rd at The WEB Coffeehouse in Yellow Springs, OH. I may just have to figure out how to get myself to that show.

I Feel Like Smashing My Face In A Clear Glass Window

Kate — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:54:08 GMT

After spending my entire life ignoring Yoko Ono's musical contributions, thanks to my buddy Spencer, I have finally succumbed. When I was a child, I would flip through my Dad's copy of "Grapefruit", a book of instructions for art and life by Yoko and John. I grew up much more aware of her contributions to the art world, and am cursing myself for not listening to more of her music until now! It all started with a road trip. After spending Thanksgiving in L.A., I picked up Spencer and we headed up the 101 to Berkeley. He made me a couple of mixes for the road and the song Death of Samantha blew my mind. I must have listened to it 50 times this week. I needed more more more, so today I got another Spencer-authored mix- this time all Yoko. The guitars on her '70's tracks are wonderfully twangy, and all preconceived notions of her only making screamy performance-art type music are out the window now. For those of you interested in popping your Yoko cherry, here is the tracklisting: 1. Coffin Car- from "Feeling the Space" (1973) 2. Loneliness- from "A Story" (1974) 3. Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him- from "Double Fantasy" (1980) 4. Dogtown- from "A Story" (1974) 5. Woman Power- from "Feeling the Space" (1973) 6. It's Time for Action- from "Blueprint for a Sunrise" (2001) 7. I Felt Like Smashing My Face In A Clear Glass Window- from "Approximately Infinite Universe" (1973) 8. Talking to the Universe (Cibo Matto remix)- from "Rising Mixes" (1996) 9. Yang Yang- from "Approximately Infinite Universe" (1973) 10. I'm Not Getting Enough- from "Blueprint for a Sunrise" (2001) 11. Ask the Dragon (Ween remix)- from "Rising Mixes" (1996) 12. Kite Song- from "Approximately Infinite Universe" (1973) 13. Why- from "Plastic Ono Band" (1970) 14. Walking on Thin Ice- single (1980)

DadMog #4: Little Richard- The _True_ King of Rock and Roll

Kate — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:04:10 GMT

I spent last week in Los Angeles, hanging with my family. Along with the cooking, laughing and listening I did, I was finally able to coerce my dad into writing another "DadMog". Hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I did: It's 1985, we're in a radio studio in Santa Monica with the architect of rock and roll, Little Richard himself, and he can't stop talking about Buddy Holly's schlong. "He was so huge. I never seen nobody that big in my life. He was huge, huge, Huge. Huge, huge, huge. HUGE!!" Then he adds, as a gratuitous postscript: "I loved Buddy."

Richard's dressing room in Alan Freed's gigantic stage shows in New York in the mid to late '50s was, in the singer's own words, a raving bordello of big names. "They should have had 'Little Orgy' written on my door at the Brooklyn Paramount," he laughed.

The occasion for this conversation was the publication of his autobiography, written by a Irish podiatrist, Dr. Rock, called "Little Richard: The Quasar of Rock and Roll." You don't hear a lot of Richard on the airwaves anymore, but a casual perusal of his extraordinarily influential catalog reveals a broad range of styles in addition to his adrenal-ripping piano-pummeling hits. Proto-soul and gospel stand proudly alongside the easy lope of "Send Me Some Lovin'," and irresistible dance raveups like "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Rip It Up," "She's Got It" and "Lucille."

I tell him that I could never figure out the line in the latter where he shouts, "I asked my friends about her, but all....what?" A look of recognition passes across his handsome unlined 50-something face. "Ah, we had to cover them up so that Pat Boone and those others wouldn't be able to cover them. I was saying, '...but all their lips was tight'."

Pat Boone is to rock and roll what imitation margarine is to fine French cuisine, but his versions of songs by Richard, and black groups like the El Dorados ("Crazy Little Mama") often outsold the originals. Most mainstream AM radio stations were black-averse. It took Hollywood to help change that. Richard co-starred in what many observers, myself included, believe was the greatest rock and roll movie of the founding era, Jayne Mansfield's "The Girl Can't Help It," whose title song was performed in a rollickingly erotic rendition by Richard. As a tightly corseted Mansfield enters a nightclub, her waist impossibly small and her massive mammaries threatening to burst over the top of her strapless silver gown, Richard leers, "She walks by, the bread slice turns to toast/she's got a lot of what they call The Most..." Cut to a milkman delivering a bottle whose top bursts explosively as Jayne passes by. You get the idea.

That film also featured Eddie Cochran, the Platters, and other early stars. "To me, the first videos were made at that time." Richard also was featured prominently in most of Alan Freed's ground-breaking black and white rock movies, most of them knocked out in just four or five days by bent-nosed producers making a fast buck on what appeared to be a brief fad. "I always wanted to be a movie star in my home town," explained Richard. "And I felt that I was when I was movin' from city to city, a movin' star."

His frenetic yells, bat shrieks and banshee howls inspired more than one rock band, but most especially the Beatles and Paul McCartney. With the Stones and the Beatles in tow, Richard came out of a brief, religious, retirement in 1961. In Hamburg, "Mick Jagger slept on the floor of Bo Diddley's room, because my room was full as always. I was yelling next, NEXT!" I ask if Paul really learned that yell from him. "Oh, yes. I was going 'Woooooo! Woooooooooo! And Paul would go, 'wooogh,' a sound like someone being punched in the solar plexus. "And what", I inquire, "do you think Mick Jagger learned from you?" "Oh," coos Richard, a delicious smile spreading his features, "How to walk!"

After his initial burst of years of top ten hits designed to send Fifties parents into paroxysms of horror (the only time I heard my very conservative Irish Catholic mother swear was when I would play Richard's 45s over and over, and she'd shout upstairs, "Turn off that god-damn booga-wooga jungle music!"), Richard started to ask for his money. "And they stopped playing my music. That's what happened. That's the way it was." When he claimed to have seen a huge bright light pass over a stadium he was playing in Australia, thinking it was Sputnik (which, if visible, would have been only the tiniest pin-prick of light), he decided to quit the business, and threw all his diamonds in the ocean. (Thirty years later, regretfully, he demands, "Whatever fish got my rings - give them back!!") He returned to the States and entered a southern Bible college, arriving in an ostentatious Cadillac. "As a kid, I met Lloyd Price in Macon, GA in the Douglas Theater. He had a black and gold Cadillac. I wanted that Cadillac so bad. In my town, the only person who had a Cadillac was the funeral parlor, you had to die to ride!" Then, turning to the London Weekend Television cameraman who was filming our interview, he addressed a newcomer then making his initial splash on the music scene: "Prince, I had a purple Cadillac before you was born, baby! Prince is me in this generation. I love him."

Richard was also a pioneer in gender-bending stage appearance, one of the first men to use heavy makeup and eye-liner, sequins, spotlights and other attention getters. Among his main influences was a flamboyant pianist named Esquerita. "He was inspired by me to be in show business. I met him at the bus station in Macon, Georgia. I would sit there all night and watch people get off, (you know what I mean), and I said, 'Oh, boy!' He got his hair style (a heavily pomaded pompadour) from me, but he taught me how to play piano, with 'One Mint Julip' by the Clovers."

His musical interests had started much earlier, however, at age 6, with his brothers in a gospel group, The Tiny Tots Quartet. Other influences included Mahalia Jackson and the Clara Ward singers, Ruth Brown, Sister Rosetta Tharp, and New Orleans rock legend Fats Domino. (Today it's almost unimaginable that fifty and more years onward, the founding class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is still mostly amongst us: Richard, Fats, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry.)

For young people who love to dance their butts off, the fever-pitch rhythms of Little Richard have never lost their luster. Today, live, he may not be leaping atop his piano anymore, but his pipes are as good as ever, the blood-curdling high notes intact and terrifying. If you've only heard a couple of his hits, his body of work is well worth (re)visiting, the very spirit of Rock and Roll itself.

If you would like to read the rest of the MOG posts by my pops, here are the links: #1: Fela Kuti #2: Lord Buckley #3: Nina Simone

Am I Willing to Die for My Country in Order to Get 5 Free Music Downloads?

Kate — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 19:53:03 GMT

The U.S. Navy knows me really well. So well, in fact, that they just sent me a truly unbelievable offer. I can get 5 FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS just for filling out a simple form at navy.com/action. But that's not all- in order to receive these downloads, I have to be willing to be called by a Navy recruiter "to verify my information". Thank goodness they also let me know that it is okay "to feel free to ask questions". Wow- could it be that the Navy saw my MOG page and said to themselves, "this girl knows her stuff- she would be a great addition to our new department of 'Navy Music Bloggers'"? Could it also be that they chose to target me because my father is a Vietnam Vet., who is vehemently anti-war? I am just blown away by the superior marketing intelligence at work.

The Greater Antilles Sampler

Kate — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:11:46 GMT

In the world of compilation albums, it is very hard for me to find one that I enjoy all the way through. Then I found The Greater Antilles Sampler. Designed as a 99¢ introduction to the Antilles label, Island Records' now defunct in-house jazz/funk/electronica/dub label, this 1976 record is 22 tracks of some of the most incredible music you've never heard. Normally I wouldn't bore you guys with the track listing, but this is too fantastic of a record not to give you all the details! Side A 1. Northern Sky- Nick Drake. 2. R.F.D.- Quiet Sun. Quiet Sun was Phil Manzanera's progressive jazz and rock group prior to Roxy Music. 3. Never Too Far- Tim Hardin. This song features Peter Frampton on guitar. 4. Take It While You Can- Grimms. This band includes members of the Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python and Scaffold. If anyone has the entire Grimms album, Rockin' Duck, please please please hook me up! This song contains one of my favorite lines: "My mama used to tell me, now she was very wise, remember son that living is dying in disguise'". 5. The Time is Right- Gay & Terry Woods. The Woods were founding members of Steeleye Span. 6. Albion Sunrise- Albion Country Band. Essentially a folk supergroup, ACB featured Martin Carthy, Ashley Hutchings (of Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention), John Kirkpatrick and Simon Nicol (Fairport Convention) among others. 7. Cajun Theme- Allen Fontenot & The Country Cajuns. 8. Roses for a Sunday Morning- Country Gazette. A Bluegrass group featuring Byron Berline of The Flying Burrito Brothers. 9. Just as the Tide Was A'flowing- Shirley Collins & The Albion Country Band. 10. Grey Daylight- Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick. 11. Pull Down Lads- June Tabor.

Side B 1. I Get A Kick Out of You- Gary Shearston. A funky, folky version of the Cole Porter standard. 2. Benzaiten- Osamu Kitajima. Experimental rock performed with classical Japanese instruments. 3. Evensong- Fripp/Eno. From the second Robert Fripp/Brian Eno collaboration, "Evening Star". 4. Sad Sing- Tom Newman. This song features Mike Oldfield, Mick Taylor and Neil Innes, among others. 5. Love Without Sound- White Noise. Read Julian Cope's review of this wild 1968 electronic album here. 6. Irin-Ajo- Winwood/Kabaka/Amao. From the album "Aiye-Keta", Steve Winwood's collaboration with the Traffic percussionist Remi Kabaka and Abdul Lasisi Amao. 7. Tibet- Don Cherry Trio. Don Cherry playing gamelan, gong and something called the rkan-dung? How awesome is that? 8. Cloudless Sky- Morning Glory. From an album featuring six pioneers of progressive jazz, including John Surman and John Taylor. 9. Experiences #1- John Cage. From a Cage EP released through Brian Eno's Obscure Records. 10. White Light- Tibetan Bells. 11. Hallelujah- Portsmouth Sinfonia & Choir. Formed by a group of Portsmouth art students, this live track is an example of their attempt "to take classical music out of the hands of the 'tuxedo-Nazis' and return it to the people."

I found my copy of The Greater Antilles Sampler at Goodwill for $1.99. Do a little digging and i'm sure you can find one too!

Los Abandoned on Conan!

Kate — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 22:19:52 GMT

A couple cool pieces of news: This Thursday night, my good friend David and his band Los Abandoned are going to be on Conan O'Brien!!! So please watch and tell me how it is, 'cause I don't have a TV. And... I have a new skin on my page, made my my lovely friend and fellow MOGger, Cassie S. She is an incredible fine artist, and you can see examples of her paintings here. So really this post is a shout-out to all the wonderful artistic people I have in my life constantly reminding me of the importance of creative outlets.

The Octopus Project/Black Moth Super Rainbow

Kate — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 18:55:35 GMT

I just got a fantastic new album, "The House of Apples & Eyeballs". It is a collaborative release by two wonderfully avant instrumental groups, The Octopus Project (from Austin) and Black Moth Super Rainbow (from Pittsburgh). The way the record was made reminds me of what i've heard about how Portishead creates their music: tracks were sent back and forth from band to band, becoming more fine-tuned and altered with each exchange. The resulting record goes from Can-esque chilled out freakiness to downright danceable beats. The mix of hallucinatory fuzziness with fat, funky rhythms is exactly what i've been looking for out of a new record. Listen to "Spiracle" and go buy the record here.

5GB of Love

Kate — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 23:07:45 GMT

I'd just like to give a shout-out to my Ipod. He's called "Blue Melody" and it's his 5th birthday today. He looks kinda like this:

He's lived a hard life so far, but he still works after 5 long years. Blue has no case, his face is grey and scratched and he can only hold 5GB, but I love him.

Adventures in Record Shopping

Kate — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:18:04 GMT

Yesterday, I went record shopping for the first time since August. Time (and money) have not allowed me the luxury of spending a whole day scouring dusty bins for sonic treasures, like I finally got to do with Spencer all afternoon. Here are some of my finds:

On Vinyl: Gogol Bordello: "Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike" Larry Coryell: "Spaces", with John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous, and Billy Cobham. This album is so freaking good. Larry Coryell looks so young on the back cover that it's hard to believe he can play such incredible guitar. Gabor Szabo: "High Contrast". This is pretty much a collaborative album with Bobby Womack. Super jammy. Genghis Tron- "Dead Mountain Mouth": So, i'm a total dork and I bought this record because it had a picture of a burning Geodesic Dome on the cover. How rad is that? The music itself is kind if screamy electro-metal. Could be useful after a stressful day. Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66: "Equinox". Muddy Waters: "Can’t Get No Grindin’". Bola Sete: "Ocean" and "Jungle Suite" (2 great solo guitar albums).

On CD: Rita Lee: "Build Up". Basically another Mutantes record. Lovely. Balkan Beat Box. Bert Jansch: "The Black Swan". This album makes me so happy. Beth Orton sings on 3 songs, and some of the guest players include Noah Georgeson, Helena Espvall (Espers), and Devendra Banhart (or as my brother likes to call him, Pretenda Bonehard). I bought the record without ever having heard a second of it, because I knew I would love it. And I do. Jansch has managed to create a folk record that sounds old and new at the same time. By including some of the younger musicians who revere the Pentangle and respect Jansch's history, this record serves as a fantastic introduction or a welcome surprise. I can't think of too many older folkies who are managing to stay this contemporary. Zazou/Bikaye/CYI: "Noir & Blanc". This one Spencer bought and I fell in love with as soon as he played it for me. Go read more about it here. I did buy a couple of other amazing things, but i'm saving those for some future (longer) posts. Now if only the weekend would last just a little bit longer, 'cause i'm not quite done lying in front of my stereo and blissing out!

Slim Gaillard

Kate — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 23:09:50 GMT

Mac Vouty! In the course of reading Bawston Sean's post on super-strange songs, I was reminded of the wacky musician I turn to when my life gets too ordinary: Slim Gaillard. Slim was an innovative jazz singer and guitarist who created his own version of jive talk that he dubbed "Vout". Many people are probably familiar with his specific form of patter due to the song "Yip Roc Heresy". According to the website conelrad.com, "Yip Roc Heresy" was attacked by a Los Angeles DJ named Ted Steele (among others) as a degenerate example of Bop Jazz "full of bawdiness and references to narcotics." In fact, the track was basically the menu from a Middle Eastern restaurant sung vouty-style! Listen to "Yip Roc Heresy". Slim was born in either Detroit or Cuba (the truth is probably Detroit) in 1916. His father was a ship's steward who once forgot a young Slim on the island of Crete, and by all accounts gave his son a wild and adventure-filled childhood. Along with the guitar, Slim could play the piano, tenor sax and vibraphone. His greatest skill, however, was taking in the collective fear the world was experiencing from things like integration and the threat of nuclear war, and turning that apprehension into humor. Songs like "B.19" ("If you want to take a flight, the biggest plane you've ever seen, the... B.19! Load your bombs into the wings- in case somebody sneeze.") chastized the government war machine, while "Matzoh Balls" and the skewering of Desi Arnaz's Babalu ("Babau Orooney") poked fun at every ethnicity- including his own. In 1936, Slim recruited the bassist Slam Stewart. Slam's incredible bass playing formed the backdrop to Slim-penned hits like "The Flat Foot Floogie" and the "Groove Juice Special". The duo performed together until 1942, when they both entered the service. Slim served in the Air Force until 1944, then continued with his music career until the '60's. He ended up doing quite a bit of acting, in TV shows like "Charlie's Angels" and "Mission Impossible" as well as the cult film "Absolute Beginners" (which also starred Bowie, Sade and Ray Davies). Slim died in London in 1991. If you can find it, one of the greatest recordings i've heard is "Slim's Jam", a session that included Slim & Slam, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. You get a feel for what it was like to kick back with a bunch of serious jazz cats who were capable of moments of intense hilarity. Listen to "Chicken Rhythm" and "The Groove Juice Special".

I am a casualty of the MOG War

Kate — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 18:16:58 GMT

The Time: Friday, 5 P.M. The Place: A deserted driveway mailbox in Berkeley, CA. The Murderer: that1guy The Murder Weapon: A finely honed CD capable of decapitation. The Track Listing: 1. Miguel Mendez: Fond Memories 2. Built to Spill: Carry the Zero 3. ATDI: 198D 4. Silversun Pickups: Common Reactor 5. Pinback: Penelope 6. Maximo Park: Postcard of a Painting 7. Black Keys: 10 A.M. Automatic 8. The Recital: Do You Fall Better 9. RJD2: Incorporate Anthem 10. Karate: The Same Stars 11. All Night Radio: Daylight Till Dawn 12. The Wordplay: Conduits For Culture 13. Sunny Day Real Estate: Guitar + Video Games 14. Minus the Bear: Absinthe Party 15. Ugly Casanova: Things I Don't Remember 16. DFA1979: Black History Month 17. Simon and Garfunkel: Crimson + Clover The Conclusion: Despite the fact that I am now a ghost, I am a ghost with a great soundtrack.

Make-Up and Weird War

Kate — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 21:04:46 GMT

This post is intended to be a brief introduction into the strange and wonderful world of Ian Svenonius (as well as his bandmate, the bassist Michelle Mae). Based out of Washington, D.C., Ian Svenonius has spearheaded many bands, including The Nation of Ulysses, Cupid Car Club, Make-Up and Weird War.

This July, his book "The Psychic Soviet" was released. It is a small, plastic-covered compendium of Svenonius's essays, "intended for street use", almost like a Situationist primer. Rock and roll, radicalism and rebelling against the sleepy middle-class are among the many topics discussed. So toss that dogeared copy of Rimbaud you use to impress people, and slip a copy of The Psychic Soviet in your pocket instead. So what are Make-Up and Weird War? Make-Up made soul-screaming, punk-infused R&B with distinct garage fuzziness. Nothing makes me happier than the sound of Svenonius wailing like a preacher on Ecstasy. The band had highly developed personal style, as evidenced by the above photo, even when performing in a tiny basement club. I highly recommend picking up the live album Untouchable Sound. Here's a link to a short track called RU A Believer?. Weird War takes a more 60's influenced approach to music and style, albeit the 60's of Acid casualties, war and religious cults. Titles like "Crystal Healing" and "Earth, Mama, Woman, Girl, Child" fool you into thinking you're about to hear some hairy freak folk. Instead you get danceable psychedelia with lyrics like "Why do guys like girls like that? Why do girls like guys like that?". Svenonius talks about the Weird War lyrics in a recent interview with Chord magazine: "I don't actually like rock and roll lyrics that are political, because lyrics are almost irrelevant in rock and roll. What lyrics are is just an incantation, a kind of spell. A political band isn't a band with political lyrics. A political band is a group that's creating a narrative that guides the culture towards, well, towards destroying the ruling class, in whatever way." Go listen to Girls Like That now.

Eglantine Gouzy

Kate — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 18:06:19 GMT

I first heard Eglantine Gouzy last year, on the compilation "Four Women, No Cry". Gouzy's song "Zone A" has been a staple of Kate-mixes ever since. The production is extremely spare, and the lyrics go from spoken-word to sweetly sung. Somehow the simple words "C'est la Zone A" are vocally toyed-with enough to make you wish the song was twice as long. Gouzy lives in Paris, and sings in both French and English. Her new album is called "Boamaster" and is out on the Ireland-based Osaka Recordings label (http://www.osaka.ie). She excels at creating intimate music within her very own genre, something that could be labeled "electro-acoustic-art-folk" if you felt the need for labels. The song "Cowboy" sounds like what would happen if Bjork was from Texas rather than Iceland. I think her stuff is so good it's worth paying the import-price, but it's always hard for me to grasp the sound of something i've never heard before by just reading a review, so here is a link to "Zone A" and "Cowboy": Eglantine Gouzy You can also check out more on her myspace page: www.myspace.com/eglantinegouzy Enjoy!

Japanese Flutes and Will O' The Wisp

Kate — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 23:56:13 GMT

Last night Putty and I went to see Spencer Owen play a cool little intimate show. The venue was a live/work space called, appropriately, The Living Room. Since I work with Spencer and get to have lots of great conversations with him about everything from Laurie Anderson to Bob Dylan, I knew what his musical taste was like, but had yet to hear his music. I don't exactly know how to describe what he does except to say that it includes the melodica, awesomely spastic dancing and intelligent, unusual lyrical content. After Spencer came Bird by Snow, consisting of Fletcher Tucker and Spencer. Fletcher wrapped himself in Christmas lights, played beautiful guitar and sang in a voice that reminded me of Tim Buckley at his froggy best. I bought the Bird by Snow record and was also given a cd of Japanese wooden flute music. When I got home my apartment was cold and quiet. The air and space needed warming up, so I put on the cd and spaced out. I was immediately reminded of one of my favorite unexpected musical occurrences:

Side A, song #4: "Can't Get Over Losing You" on Leon Russell's "Will O' The Wisp". The album is a bluesy love story directed at Russell's future wife, Mary McCreary, so the sudden appearance of Minoru Muraoka's wooden flute intro comes as a surprise. After repeated listens, the flute comes to serve as a kind of zen garden for your brainwaves, lulling you into a dreamplace only to have the music suddenly grab you by the arms and swing you around in a twangy dance. J.J. Cale's soft Tulsa guitar and McCreary's soulful vocals only enhance the trip. For those of you in the Bay Area, Leon Russell plays on Tuesday, Sept. 26th at the Independent in San Francisco. Pink Nasty (http://mog.com/Kate/blog_post/1748) opens. You can usually find "Will O' The Wisp" quite cheap on vinyl. For those of you without the album, and to satiate the curious, here is a link to Can't Get Over Losing You.

Dadmog #3: Nina Simone

Kate — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 22:22:29 GMT

The following is the third edition of a MOG by my pops. Hope you enjoy! "It was a chilly rain-swept night in Greenwich Village in late October 1961. Nina Simone was playing at her home club, the Village Gate, and some college classmates and I had driven down from Westchester to see the diva. That evening, there were but seven people in her audience, in a place that held about 300. Gowned elegantly, Nina took the stage before an all but empty house and proceeded to play an entire set for us and an encore. Now, that's class! It was an evening I shall never forget, one of the most emotionally thrilling and intimate performances of my life. She featured several songs from her then-current album "Nina at the Village Gate": Olatunji's gently transformed lullabye, "Zungo" and the similarly-themed "Brown Baby" by Oscar Brown, Jr.; plus the subtly gay Rogers & Hart tune "He Was Too Good To Me". That last one wrung us out like rags.

Nina was trained as a classical pianist, but when seeking work she was told she had to sing or she wouldn't be hired. Her first, and only real hit, was "I Loves You Porgy", which she sang on the Ed Sullivan show, introducing her to a nationwide audience. Her vocal range was narrow but deep, and when she punched out an epic like the Brecht-Weil "Pirate Jenny",everyone else's version (vide: Judy Collins almost laughable attempt) fell abashedly by the wayside. She was the mistress of venom on "Mississippi Goddamn", a Sixties spit in the eye at the capital of entrenched racism; the heroine of heartbreak as she played live just hours after Martin Luther King was shot down, instantly composing "Why? (The King of Love is Dead)"; the tempest-tost tearjerker in her Carnegie Hall version of the two-timed lover in "The Other Woman".

A few days ago, a friend of my son's said, "Hey, Nina Simone sounds just like Antony (and The Johnsons)". "No, pal", I remonstrated, "exactly the other way around".

Over the years I had a few personal encounters with her. On KCRW in the mid-eighties she did a live interview in which she broke down weeping about all the inequities of the music biz-mess. When I asked her if she was familiar with Bob Marley, she nearly jumped down my throat. "Hell, yes!" she said. "I even wrote a song about him", which she then sat down at our studio piano to sing. It was just a little short thing with the oddest lyrics: "You took my teeth, doo'n doo do, you took my eyes, doo'n doo do- that is why Bob Marley died, that is why Bob Marley died, you took his teeth." I've yet to figure that one out, but it was sung with such uncompromising passion, I still can't get it out of my head a full twenty years later.

A few months after our interview, my wife and I invited her to dinner. When I arrived at her Hollywood Boulevard apartment, a block from the beginning of the Walk of Fame, just west of LaBrea, she opened the door and in a snarly voice, without preliminaries, demanded, "Can you find me a boyfriend?" I demurred that that might be a rather tricky proposition at this late hour, and she seemed disappointed. We drove back to my home and as we were about to have dessert at 8 p.m., she stood up and said, "I've got to go home. It's past my bedtime." That was the last time I saw her.

Her autobiography is highly detailed in disasters and mental challenges. A recent issue of the magazine called Fader shared fascinating first-hand accounts of Nina's influence, and encounters with her, by her ex-husband and several famous musicians, and is well worth seeking out for some alternate history.

I have yet to find another female singer who can move me quite the way Nina does. Her early Colpix period has several masterpieces, especially each of the live albums at the Gate, Newport and Carnegie Hall. The late sixties RCA era finds her idiosyncratically covering several pop hits by George Harrison and Leonard Cohen, and even "Ain't Got No" from the Broadway musical "Hair". My wife Mary's favorite album is "Nina Simone and Piano" on which she limns hair-raising horror-show readings of "Everyone's Gone to the Moon"and "The Desperate Ones". This is not easy-listening music; her paid-for-with-blood-and-tears works are calls to arms, and once you hear them, you too will never forget them. She is truly an Artist for the Ages."

Can

Kate — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:20:10 GMT

I loooooove Can! They're my favorite band!

Bireli Lagrene

Kate — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:40:43 GMT

Bireli Lagrene at 12 years old

Bireli Lagrene was a 13 year old guitar prodigy when he recorded his first album, "Routes to Django" in 1980. I first heard Bireli four or five years ago when a friend of mine came back from Paris raving about a small club show she had seen. The intimate show was Bireli jamming and improvising with a couple of other musicians, and the incredible virtuosity he displayed caused her to return to the U.S. and buy every record of his she could get her hands on. We would sit on her back porch, smoking and drinking red wine, freaking out on the talented sounds wafting from the speakers. Since the release of "Routes to Django", Bireli matured and began to step away from emulating Django Reinhardt (which wasn't a bad thing, considering the skill it takes to sound even a little like Django). On some of his more recent albums, Bireli showed he could swing from be-bop to Brazilian with ease. He has played with everyone from Jaco Pastorius and Stephane Grappelli to Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. I highly recommend the albums "Live in Marciac", "Swing '81" and "Gypsy Project". I haven't actually heard a Bireli album I didn't enjoy, and if you love jazz guitar you owe it to yourself to check him out.

Here is an MP3 of a young Bireli jamming on I Can't Give You Anything But Love

Sonic Fabric

Kate — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 17:20:59 GMT

I first discovered Sonic Fabric in an issue of "Fiberarts" magazine a couple of years ago. I've been saving up to buy enough yardage to make a dress ever since. Sonic Fabric is woven from recycled audio cassette tape and is the creation of Alyce Santoro. On her website: http://www.sonicfabric.com , Alyce talks about how to "listen" to the fabric: "Sonic fabric emits sound when you run a tape head over it. Because the tape retains its magnetic quality through the weaving process, it acts as a big wide band of tape. I had no idea when I first conceived of this project that the fabric would be "listenable"... the point for me was just to get as many of my all-time favorite sounds onto the recording. So I made a collage of layered samples from my collection using an analog 4-track recorder. When you run the tape head over the fabric you are reading 4 or 5 strands of tape at once ... in other words, 16 or 20 tracks all mixed together. It sounds kind of like scratching a record backwards or radio static." Alyce created a sonic dress and tape head gloves that were worn and played by Phish percussionist Jon Fishman at a 2004 Phish concert. The fact that the fabric actually looks beautiful, with a kind of metallic sari cloth look, is just an added bonus. You can buy Messenger bags and Tibetan Prayer Flags made from Sonic Fabric on the website.

Dillinger Girl & Baby Face Nelson

Kate — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 17:57:24 GMT

In the spirit of some of my most beloved musical duos (like Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan and Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood) come Dillinger Girl and Baby Face Nelson. Named for famed bank robbers, the faces behind the masks belong to the Belgian-born Portuguese singer Helena Noguerra and Federico Pellegrini: "The French Cowboy". Their album "Bang!" is out on UJazz records, but right now is an import-only release. I think it is well worth seeking out. The music is sung in a mixture of French and English laced with self-depracating wit and an obvious good time. "Super Believe", their version of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" turns the song into a sparsely arranged a cappella samba. I much prefer "Bang!" to the newest Nouvelle Vague album, if only because Helena and Federico sound like they are having the time of their lives singing together. Also, they recorded the record in Tuscon, Arizona for a real dusty, Bonnie and Clyde on the lam feel. You can listen to 4 tracks here: http://www.myspace.com/dillingergirlandbabyfacenelson and while you're at it, check out "The French Cowboy" as well: http://www.myspace.com/thefrenchcowboy

McCabe and Mrs.Miller

Kate — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 17:44:44 GMT

Last night I was re-reading "Laid Bare" by John Gilmore. It's a kind of first-person 'Hollywood Babylon', detailing Gilmore's friendships with everyone from Lenny Bruce and Janis Joplin to James Dean and Dennis Hopper. The book got me thinking about one of my favorite periods of American movie-making, the 1970's. Movies like "The Parallax View" and "Harold and Maude", that paired social commentary with unusual soundtrack choices. These days, most of the new movies that come out have soundtracks that play like the director's hippest mixtape. One movie that exemplifies the best things about '70's film/soundtrack combinations is "McCabe & Mrs.Miller". Directed by Robert Altman, starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie and featuring songs by Leonard Cohen, the movie was an anti-western that took place during the Gold Rush. Altman doesn't treat the film as a conventional western, instead he shows typical western characters (whores, outlaws and lawmen) but manages to turn the stereotypes upside down. The film is bathed in a kind of daguerreotype haze, which works in concert with the three Leonard Cohen songs featured. Altman obtained the rights to the entire record "The Songs of Leonard Cohen" and ended up using the songs "Sisters of Mercy", "The Stranger Song" and "Winter Lady". Until the recent DVD re-release, all the copies i've seen were cursed by a muddy dialogue/music track. I was lucky enough to see an Altman-hosted screening of the movie at LACMA a few years ago, where I could finally hear all the lines I had previously missed. If you haven't managed to explore Altman's 1970's oeuvre, start with "McCabe & Mrs.Miller", then move on to "Brewster McCloud" (starring Bud Cort and Sally Kellerman), "Nashville", and "3 Women". Altman directed 13 movies in the '70's- so there's a lot to check out. And there's always a little movie called "MASH" as well.

MOG Party Music

Kate — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 16:47:26 GMT

Some of you have been wondering what we played at the MOG party this Friday especially because it is always hard to please us jaded music lovers. Well, other than the two DJ's we had (one was super amazing and one was ehhhh...) I made a really long mix. Normally I hate reading other people's descriptions of the mix they just made, however, due to popular demand, here are some of the songs I played:

Pussy- Brazilian Girls Si Si Je Suis en Rock Star- Bill Wyman (thanks Fistula Spume!) Wordless Chorus- My Morning Jacket Armagideon Time- The Clash Crazy- The Kooks Dirty Whirl- TV On the Radio Do the Whirlwind- Architecture In Helsinki Super Believe- Dillinger Girl & Baby Face Nelson Ghetto Ways- Scissors for Lefty Get 'em High- Kanye West Psychotic Reaction- Count Five Burn- Pink Nasty Independent Room- Fugazi vs. Destiny's Child Young Folks- Peter, Bjorn and John Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games- Of Montreal Giddy Stratospheres- The Long Blondes El Estuche- Aterciopelados Road to Zion- Damien "Jr. Gong" Marley Pounds of Soul- Betty Bibbs Druganaut- Black Mountain Honey Don't- Carl Perkins Planet Queen- T.Rex Love Child- Diana Ross & The Supremes Handclapping Song- The Meters Come On Little Girl- The Melodians Knock 'em Out- Lily Allen Pump Up the Doorbell- White Stripes vs. Eric B. & Rakim El Son Reggae- Les Nubians Laisse Autant Le Vent Tout Emporter- Les Breastfeeders Shimmy Shimmy Ya- Ol' Dirty Bastard

There was 4 hours worth of music, but I don't want to bore you guys with that long of a list- so hopefully this gives you some idea of what we rocked out to! I tried to include as many genres of music as possible...

Fishing With John

Kate — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:39:45 GMT

A comment left by Jpop12 sparked this post. He asked if I had ever heard The Lounge Lizards first album. Well, that got me thinking about Mr. John Lurie. Some of you may remember his zany TV show, "Fishing With John", from 1992. "Fishing with John" only ran for 6 episodes, and each one was more oddball than the next. Tom Waits puts a fish down his pants in Jamaica, Matt Dillon proves himself to have no sense of humor in Costa Rica, (sample dialogue: JOHN - Matt? MATT - Yes, John? JOHN - Still with me, Matt? MATT - Yes John.) Dennis Hopper and Lurie spend a surreal holiday in Thailand searching for a giant squid. The word "surreal" basically describes the whole series. Neither Lurie nor his guests know ANYTHING about fishing, so it's really just a show of stream-of-consciousness conversations. It's like watching a couple of eccentric uncles shoot the shit at a family reunion (but with fishing poles). You can watch a few choice scenes on YouTube, or buy the whole thing on a nice Criterion Collection DVD.