MOG - Editor's Picks

IDM . o de ba concrète

auralcumulus of MOG — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:27:44 GMT

Matmos is back ... maxing out their synthesizers : 100%

This time M.C Schmidt & Drew Daniel hold back their urges to sample the universe {no sounds of bible pages turning, liposuction surgery, dogs barking, cards shuffling, and acupuncture tools here} In fact, a microphone wasn't even used during the creation of the new album : Supreme Balloon

but one heck of a happy helium-filled hula -
squirm & squeak all you want.

They also released their first video from the album

"Exciter Lamp and the Variable Band"
//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
an homage to the experimental film-maker/animator/sound artist - Norman McLaren.

McLaren's "Neighbors" (1952)

Coachella Highlight: Death Cab for Cutie

amber of MOG — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:44:39 GMT

disclaimer: I am a bit of a Death Cab fan

On April 18th, I was lucky enough to catch Death Cab launching their Narrow Stairs tour at a small venue in Bremerton, WA. Although a teeny bit rusty, they brought it and entertained the crowd welcoming them back to public view.

So, I eyed their time slot for Coachella with antipation; will they have shaken off the cobwebs from not touring for over a year? Will they be everything we expect? The answer was "yes" and "no".

Never the chattiest group of guys, the band took the stage with confidence and proceeded to play a nice combo of old favorites sprinkled with some of the new material, always a risk because live shows thrive on the familiar being given to you like a gift by the artists themselves. The appreciation for "I Will Possess Your Heart" was loud and immediate, however, with it's driving bass line and rather creepy, stalker lyrics. I for one, was happy NOT to hear "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" for the first time since Plans came out...I am uber sick of that song.

As the show proceeded, the band loosened up. Ben made some jokes about being afraid to go to the front platform of the stage because Prince's people would whisk him off the stage. There was some breaking of the intensity of concentration. This is what we want to see; that our favorites are human.

As the temperature dropped a little, they seemed to find their stride. They broke out of the potential for rock and started playing some, perhap finding the beat of their own music inside themselves.

Afterwards, immediately following Death Cab, Rilo Kiley started up on a neighboring stage. All of the DCfC fans wandered over there, myself included. Now, I had seen Rilo Kiley up close and personal (post still cooking in my skull, BTW ) the Sunday before so I didn't see any reason to fight my way to the front, or even the middle of the audience. The played the same set list as the Seattle show anyways, but I have to point out, Jenny Lewis is sexy even from far away, even blurry.

Soooooooo....honesty time:

I must admit I had my rose colored sunglasses on; I was thrilled to be up front and to be experiencing one of my favorite bands again. I thought they were FABULOUS

Later that night, on our way home Henry brought me back to the ground by stating "Death Cab sucked ass." OUCH ! That damn European honesty. (Several of our group left the set for other shows before Death Cab loosed up) And it made me realize they weren't on their A game for this performance. B+ maybe, but not A. And it made me think back the... uh...quite a few times I've seen Death Cab. Their festival shows aren't as good as when inside. Of course they are best in a small intimate venue, but we can forget that for a while. Next time they play small venues will be on their way down and I hope they ride the wave a while longer. So we watch them where we can. And we like it. :)

The good news for Death Cab is there are fans who will always be there for them, even when they aren't hitting a home run. But I'd like at least a double later this month at Sasquatch. OK, boys?

The Diamond and the Pen

Bartleby of MOG — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:35:27 GMT

[John Coltrane - Olé / 18:14]

If per chance you were to meet a stranger on a moonless night would you think much of his telling you: The moon does not shine, it merely reflects? Now picture yourself reading the following review by the same stranger: "Foals’ sonics dominate the senses. But they alone don’t make an open-and-shut case for Antidotes." While you would have looked askance at the former, you are most likely to want to ponder on the short sentences of the latter.

The difference between spoken and written words does not totally account for your attitude. You have consciously waived your suspicions at the word "review." And indeed for a critique to work, you need to suspend your mistrust as you would your disbelief when reading a novel. No other form of criticism requires such "pre-faith" than the popular review, especially that of popular music. Doesn't Lester Bangs say that the reader must be willing to trust him?

Of course citing Bangs is already admitting that (rock and its declinations) reviews have their own legitimacy. Professional critics are endorsed not only by their readers but also by those who employ them and publish their words. An artist's view (or commentary) on another artist's work is easily accepted as it is tradesmen speaking of their common trade, as it were. The only credit a popular reviewer has is what his reader is willing to offer: trust.

For his troth what does the reader gain? In most cases, he will get a fairly descriptive account as well as an evaluation of an album. After all, that is what we expect more or less from perusing such critiques.—Admittedly, the synonymy between the two terms may be well overstretched.—The word itself comes from the French "revue" i.e. re-examination. The prefix assumes that the reader is already aware of the work being discussed. Which is seldom the case.

So what is the use of an album review when the reader has yet to listen to the music? Well, the obvious never fails to comfort: to present an artist's work to its potential public. Therein lies the crux of the matter, for how do you transcribe a sound. Other popular art forms (cinema, theatre etc.) have a plot, a script, actions all of which can be overlapped by using words. But music is already a language of its own. If "music is thinking noise," how would you make noise into words?

Of course, songs offer an anchor for commentaries as they deal with the same medium. But what about instrumental music? Take this piece by John Coltrane for instance. It starts monaurally with Reggie Workman's bass opening the "tercio de varas." Then McCoy Tyner joins in with his piano as the drums of Elvin Jones kick in. Coltrane's soprano sax calls up Freddie Hubbard's trumpet for entering the "arena." George Lane awaits behind the doors which open on his flute at around 1'51". Lane and Hubbard are Coltrane's "bandelliros."Thus begins the first stage of Olé. (Art Davis will join in later into the theme). This lazy metaphor no matter how evocative cannot describe the intricate interplays within the opening sequence of "Olé."

Another way to describe "Olé" is to stress its musical kinship to bop jazz, its rhythmic pattern (3/4) and the burgeoning modal scheme in which Coltrane's band improvises. But that would be jargon from which I'm not sure even professional can hear anything but a cacophonous and verbose assemblage.

Sound doesn't abide words. The popular reviews are thus condemned to impressionistic metaphors. If lyrics provide a glimpse of the substance, the style and manner will always slip the reviewer by.—That is if they don't want to sound pretentious or worse jabberwocky.

So what is the use of popular reviews? What is the use of the pen if it cannot tell anything the diamond plays? To me they make up the agora of music, a Speaker’s Corner where opinions rather than evaluation are exchanged.—Notes and stars kill all possible discussions.

Spontaneous music commentaries are a sort of ghettoblaster of the aficionados: to take away with you and shout out your likes and dislikes in the most civilised manner for the world to hear. So thank you for putting up with this boombox of a review of reviews.

She & Him Debut Album + Single Gets UK Release Via Double Six

mollifire of MOG — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:31:09 GMT

The lovely debut album from She & Him (Zooey Deschanel + Matthew Ward) will be released in the UK on July 14th. Volume 1 is brought to you by a sub-label of Domino Records called Double Six. The first single, "This Is Not A Test" will be released by Double Six as well, on July 7th.

Volume One Tracklist:

1. Sentimental Heart
2. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
3. This Is Not A Test
4. Change Is Hard
5. I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
6. Take It Back
7. I Was Made For You
8. You Really Got A Hold On Me
9. Black Hole
10. Got Me
11. I Should Have Known Better
12. Sweet Darlin'

More info on FACT Mag

http://www.myspace.com/sheandhim

"Change Is Hard" (Live on Craig Ferguson 5/1)

"Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" (Live on Conan O'Brien 4/22) :

Untouchables Show Beatdown, Bring It!

trigger of MOG — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:30:06 GMT

Untouchables show at Humboldt State University 1990. I was doing the requisite collegiate crowd surfing and my foot inadvertently hit someone in the head. It seemed like it hurt from the look on the guy's face. I felt bad.

I was up close to the front and a security guard (aka amped up college student) who saw the whole thing pulled me in and punched me in the face. Told me if I ever did anything like that again he would kick me out. Oh shit, it's on muthafucka.

I'm back in the crowd and I have a plan. The security guard is wearing a baseball cap. I'm going to sneak up to him and grab his cap. When he comes looking for it, I'll hold it up and he'll come over. Then my muscle packed friend Ken and I will kick his ass when he comes to get it.

Okay, I sneak up, grab his cap, and retreat back into the crowd. Success! Sure enough, he's scanning the crowd to see where the hell his cap went.

"Okay" I tell Ken. "When he comes over, we're gonna kick his ass!" "What?" Ken says. "WE'RE GONNA KICK HIS ASS !" I shout. "Huh?" Fuck. Ken can't hear me and doesn't understand what's going on. Here comes the security guard. Fuck. He looks pissed. Doesn't matter. I'm still gonna kick his ass and when Ken sees me goin' at it he'll step in and help me. Right?

"What the fuck you doin' with my cap?" Shit. "Someone threw it into the crowd and I got it for you" I shout. Okay, now I'm gonna kick some ass! Only problem is, I've never kicked ass before. I got in a fight once in 7th grade. After I punched the kid in the arm, he socked me in the face. I lunged at him, but I was instantly pulled away by students and teachers. No matter. I still have the fire. I can kick ass if I want.

The security guard looks at me and says "better watch it before I kick your ass." Oh yeah? Here it comes bitch! Then he slinks away through the crowd. I'm left standing there with way too much adrenaline and no beat down. I look at the stage to watch the over-the-hill skankin' Untouchables and see the security guard take his position. "Okay" I think, "next time."

Country legend Eddy Arnold dies

Lester Jonze of MOG — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:17:59 GMT

NASHVILLE , Tenn. - Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs like “Make the World Go Away” made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday morning, days short of his 90th birthday.

Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville, said Don Cusic, a professor at Belmont University and author of the biography “Eddy Arnold: I’ll Hold You in My Heart.” His wife of 66 years, Sally, had died in March, and in the same month, Arnold fell outside his home, injuring his hip.

Arnold’s vocals on songs like the 1965 “Make the World Go Away,” one of his many No. 1 country hits and a top 10 hit on the pop charts, made him one of the most successful country singers in history.
Folksy yet sophisticated, he became a pioneer of “The Nashville Sound,” also called “countrypolitan,” a mixture of country and pop styles. His crossover success paved the way for later singers such as Kenny Rogers.

“I sing a little country, I sing a little pop and I sing a little folk, and it all goes together,” he said in 1970.

He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. The following year he was the first person to receive the entertainer of the year award from the Country Music Association.

The reference book “Top Country Singles 1944-1993,”’ by Joel Whitburn, ranked Arnold the No. 1 country singer in terms of overall success on the Billboard country charts. It lists his first No. 1 hit as “It’s a Sin,” 1947, and for the following year ranks his “Bouquet of Roses” as the biggest hit of the entire year.
Other hits included “Cattle Call,” “The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me,” “Anytime,” “Bouquet of Roses,” “What’s He Doing in My World?” “I Want to Go With You,” “Somebody Like Me,” “Lonely Again” and “Turn the World Around.”

Most of his hits were done in association with famed guitarist Chet Atkins, the producer on most of the recording sessions.

The late Dinah Shore once described his voice as like “warm butter and syrup being poured over wonderful buttermilk pancakes.”

Reflecting on his career, he said he never copied anyone.

“I really had an idea about how I wanted to sing from the very beginning,” he said.

He revitalized his career in the 1960s by adding strings, a controversial move for a country artist back then.

“I got to thinking, if I just took the same kind of songs I’d been singing and added violins to them, I’d have a new sound. They cussed me, but the disc jockeys grabbed it. ... The artists began to say, ‘Aww, he’s left us.’ Then within a year, they were doing it!”
Arnold was born May 15, 1918, on a farm near Henderson, Tenn., the son of a sharecropper. He sang on radio stations in Jackson, Tenn., Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis before becoming nationally known.

Early in his career, his manager was Col. Tom Parker, who later became Elvis Presley’s manager.

His image was always that of a modest, clean-cut country boy.

“You cannot satisfy all the people,” he once said. “They have an image of me. Some people think I’m Billy Graham’s half brother, but I’m not. I want people to get this hero thing off their mind and just let me be me.”

Survivors include a son and daughter.

Nick Cave & Bad Seeds Announce N. America Tour In Late Summer

mollifire of MOG — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:58:18 GMT

Has it really been more than 5 years since Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds toured America? Well then this upcoming tour in late-summer is long overdue! That's right, Nick and Co. announced a string of live dates in the US with 2 stops in Canada starting in mid-September. It's being reported that Cat Power and Spiritualized will be along for the ride too, as Nick and the Bad Seeds support their newest release, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! Here is the schedule, according to Prefix:

09.16 San Diego, CA: 4th & B
09.17 Los Angeles, CA: Hollywood Bowl
09.20 San Francisco, CA: Warfield Theatre
09.22 Portland, OR: Crystal Ballroom
09.23 Sept Seattle, WA: Showbox SoDo
09.26 Denver, CO: Ogden Theatre
09.29 Chicago, IL: Riviera Theatre
10.01 Toronto, ON: Kool Haus
10.02 Montreal, QC: Metropolis
10.04 New York, NY: WaMu Theatre at MSG
10.05 Washington, D.C.: 9.30 Club

"Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!":

Jammys Still Entertain Depsite No Phish Reunion

Charley Rogulewski of MOG — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:12:45 GMT

2000+ people gathered at the Theater at Madison Square Garden last night for what would be the seventh and final Jammy Awards show. But they all gathered to see one thing...jam band rockers Phish reunite. Despite rumors and the fact that all four members where on hand to accept the evening's Lifetime Achievement Award, they didn't. And in true Phish phasion, the band took their phans phor another joy ride.

(photo courtesy of Dino Perrucci)

While the crowd didn't get their 25-minute Tweezer jam, it did mark the first time the four dudes - bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell - were on stage together since their last performance in Coventry, Vermont, in 2004.

(photo courtesy of Dino Perrucci)

Phish were honored by a 40 minutes jam of their noodle-ly tracks by members of the Disco Biscuits, String Cheese Incident and Umphrey’s McGee, who billed themselves as the Headcount All-Stars.

However the highlight of the night was Trey Anastasio's speech during the Lifetime acceptance speech.

"I feel like as a musician we're servants," Anastasio told the audience, "and musicians from the beginning of time have been there to express the mood and the musical feelings in the air for whatever's going on in that particular culture. It's the greatest joy as a musician to be able to translate that, be part of something and watch the scenery around you. That's what it felt like to be in Phish all those years."

(photo courtesy of Dino Perrucci)

The following is a complete list of winners at the 7th Jammy Awards:

Live Album of the Year: Umphrey's McGee, Live at the Murat

New Groove of the Year: Cornmeal

DVD of the Year: Disco Biscuits, Progressions

Download of the Year: Phish, "Headphones Jam" Mimi Fishman Award:Rock
the Earth

Song of the Year: Keller Williams, "Cadillac"

Tour of the Year: the Disco Biscuits/Umphrey's McGee, D.U.M.B

Grahmmy Jammy: Lee Crumpton, Homegrown Music Network

Archival Release of the Year: The Grateful Dead, Three From The Vault

Studio Album of the Year: moe., The Conch

Live Performance of the Year: Gov't Mule and Guests, Bonnaroo

Lifetime Achievement Award: Phish

Track Off New My Morning Jacket Album Channels Montreal Indie Rock; Coming To U.S. This August

Charley Rogulewski of MOG — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:08:46 GMT

My Morning Jacket have made it to the big-time. This Saturday, May 10th, 2008, will mark the band's debut performance on Saturday Night Live. If that wasn't enough news to tickle you nose then perhaps the news that the Kentucky alt-rockers will be going on an extensive tour of the U.S., following their summer escapade in Europe is.

I'm listening to the band's new album Evil Urges and am on track 2 "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Part 1," which doesn't really sound anything like My Morning Jacket. It sounds like a token Montreal indie rock ballad that would make the Arts & Crafts label drool, but despite the difference I LOVE IT ! Very mellow and probably a minute too long. The rest of you suckers will have to wait till June 10th, to hear it.

My Morning Jacket U.S. tour dates:
8/18 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
8/19 - Council Bluffs, IA - Stir Cove
8/23 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
8/24 - Austin, TX - Stubb's
8/27 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theater
8/29 - Miami, FL - The Fillmore Miami Beach
8/30 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
8/31 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
9/2 - Charlottesville, VA - Charlottesville Pavilion
9/3 - Washington, DC - Constitution Hall
9/5 - Philadelphia, PA - Festival Pier at Penn's Landing
9/6 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion
9/19 - San Francisco, CA - Greek Theatre
9/21 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
9/23 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre
9/24 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
9/25 - San Diego, CA - SDSU Open Air Theatre
9/27 - Portland, OR - McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater
9/28 - Seattle, WA - McCaw Hall
10/2 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
10/3 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
10/4 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
10/9 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
10/10 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre

Who's Got My $350? Madonna Is Touring Again

Charley Rogulewski of MOG — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:07:28 GMT

On the heels of her successful debut atop the Billboard 200 with Hard Candy, Madonna is heading out another world tour. The pop queen will be taking her private jet across Europe and the US at the end on the summer up through Thanksigving. Dubbed the 'Sticky And Sweet' (get it, just like candy) tour, it will be the first tour under Madonna's ten-year multi-million dollar Live Nation contract, although the music conglomerate has worked with her on her previous tours. Her last 2006 tour supporting Confessions on a Dance Floor grossed $194 million, and according to Billboard it was the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist. More dates in Mexico and South America are suspected to pop up for the November-December.

No word if Justin Timberlake will be coming out on tour with her too, dressed in gimp wear. From the looks of the picture below...I don't think so.

Madonna's world tour dates:

August 23: Cardiff Millennium Stadium
August 26: Nice Stade Charles Ehrmann
August 28: Berlin Olympic Stadium
September 2: Amsterdam Arena
September 4: Dusseldorf LTU Arena
September 6: Rome Olympic Stadium
September 9: Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena
September 11: t London Wembley Stadium
September 20: Paris Stade de France
October 3: E. Rutherford Izod Center
October 6: New York City Madison Square Garden
October 7: New York City Madison Square Garden
October 15: Boston TD BankNorth Garden
October 18: Toronto Air Canada Centre
October 22: Montreal Bell Centre
October 26: Chicago United Center
October 30: Vancouver BC Place Stadium
November 1: Oakland Oracle Arena
November 4: San Diego Petco Park
November 6: Los Angeles Dodger Stadium
November 8: Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena
November 11: Denver Pepsi Center
November 16: Houston Minute Maid Park
November 19: Philadelphia Wachovia Center
November 22: Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
November 24: Atlanta Philips Arena
November 26: Miami Dolphin Stadium

Internet Music: Blessing or Curse?

Jon O of MOG — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:32:29 GMT

I just learned that April 19, 2008 was Record Store Day, an opportunity to celebrate independent record stores. As record stores slowly vanish across the country, it is revealing that April 19 came and went with little fanfare. Perhaps, like me, the event was invisible to you, too. And I’m sorry I missed it, because I value the place of music stores in our culture. But it got me thinking about how music is accessed and sold these days.

I’m not fond of vinyl — I don’t miss the pops and clicks, or the way that dust balls would build up in front of the needle and cause the sound to crackle — but those large album sleeves allowed for some wonderfully inventive packaging back in the day that can’t be done with CDs. I remember the surprise of opening Alice Cooper’s School’s Out. The cover was the surface of one of those old grammar school desks and lifted up like the lid of the desk to reveal the interior. The record was nested inside a slinky pair of pink girl’s paper panties, which you had to slip off to play the record. Then there was Jethro Tull’s Thick As A Brick, packaged with a fictional small town paper, “The St. Cleve Chronicle.” It was a crafty satire of a provincial newspaper replete with articles, TV listings, advertisements, a crossword – even a lascivious connect-the-dots puzzle – all oozing with irony. It read like a novel, with the same characters reappearing in different sections.

The Internet offers a wonderful way to discover, sample and purchase music, no doubt about it. It’s a great improvement over the experience most of us have had of buying a new CD and finding out you only like two of the ten songs. And the Internet has really expanded the opportunity for independent artists to reach a wider audience than ever before. But in making snap judgments after listening to a snippet of music online, we also lose the ability of songs to grow on us. We’re like kids dazzled by neon crayons, and we risk passing over subtler but richer hues. There is the danger that music becomes less about artistry and more about commodity.

Another problem is the reduced audio quality of MP3s, a digital format whereby much of the original audio signal is discarded in order to compress the file size and facilitate digital storage, downloading and other transfers. We’ve sacrificed quality for convenience. I confess, though, I love being able to shuffle songs on my iPod. The unpredictability keeps the music fresh for me. But it’s not without a price.

As we increasingly rely on downloadable music, I worry about what we lose. I still like the experience of going to record stores: the physicality of the merchandise, the role of chance and being exposed to something accidentally. Erykah Badu has a marvelous music video of the song “Honey” from her recently released album. An anonymous customer (actually Erykah, but her face is never shown) browses vinyl in a record store, and different classic album covers come alive with images of Erykah. It’s a witty video that captures the magic of the experience. The video ends with a message scrolling across the bottom of the screen: “Support your local record store!!!!!” I couldn’t have said it better.

Colin Meloy at The Fillmore

agntdoctorAndrew of MOG — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:26:34 GMT

So, one guy, his guitar, sultry lighting, and an accoustic set should equal a passive, relaxed evening of music and ambient sounds, right?
Wrong.
So wrong with Colin Meloy.

Through an hour long set, then fifteen minutes of encores, Meloy had the audience practically eating out of the palm of his hands; hungry for more each time, Meloy pushed his music and talents to a limit that can only be reached in a live setting. His voice carried strong and true, ringing at all points of the large Fillmore auditorium. His guitar's twangy, folksy sounds filled the space. And the celtic and irish feel to his tunes made you want to move to the beat in any way possible, even if it was just by swaying back and forth.

Playing wise, Meloy uses every inch of the guitar and his vocal range, creating a plethora of different noises, sounds, and melodies. Some of the songs Meloy played use the most beautiful keys and chords I have ever heard. Combined with Meloy's smooth, strong voice, the outcome is a range of ear pleasing songs. His guitars are not instruments; only extensions of himself that he uses to create this sound from inside him. His quirky ways, like having to stand on his tippy toes to tune his guitar, bring out his different and yet extremely effective playing style.

Along with superb musicianship, Meloy creates a very personal and intimate relationship with the crowd. Talking directly to us as individuals, and yet addressing everyone at once, Meloy made jokes, responded to questions yelled out, and provided witty and amusing anecdotes to either go with songs or accompany a theme. Every time a certain person near the front yelled something at him, Meloy would respond "Inside voice, man. You could work in show biz."

It was wonderful to see Meloy able to make fun of himself, laugh at himself, and play around with his music. Seeing that he does not take himself too seriously was refreshing and made the night all the more memorable. Meloy had everyone in laughter as he sang "The Perfect Crime #2" and repeated "perfect" about ten more times than he usually does in the song, walking back and forth on the stage between mics humorously.

From singing electric guitar solos himself, getting the audience to do it, or merely saying mid-song "This is the guitar solo part", the overall style and feeling of the concert was unique, different, and wonderful. A powerful accoustic set, rendered intimate and personal, yet still large and maginificent in a musical way.

Meloy mixed it up with a few songs of his own, old and new, a cover of Sam Cooke, and songs from his band The Decemberists. At the end of the set, all of us were screaming and chanting for more, stomping our feet and clapping our hands, until Meloy came back on, finishing with the epic "Mariners Revenge Song". What a way to end. And who knew this song, usually performed with about 7 instruments, could sound so powerful on accoustic guitar?

Maybe it was the antics of frontman Colin Meloy. Maybe it was the audience filling in for other band members singing roles. Maybe it was the entire crowd stomping and clapping like real mariners on deck, in time with the music.

Whatever it was, Meloy brought it out of us in the best way.

MOG Exclusive: Stream Previously Unreleased Live "Behind Blue Eyes" By The Who!

Michael Goldberg of MOG — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:01:40 GMT

Here's the sixth great live track from The Who album, “View From A Backstage Pass." We're featuring one every weekday.

The folks who run The Who’s fan club have this great two-cd set of live recordings. Disc one is all from ’69, ’70 and ’71 including tracks recorded at The Grande Ballroom in Detroit and the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Disc two was recorded at a variety of venues in ’73, ’74 and ’76.

I'm gonna be streaming songs from the album over the next month. To get the CD and other cool stuff, you need to join the fan club which you can do here:
http://www.thewho.com/service.php?module=subscribe&fcsc=EML0329

Check out The Who's website:
http://www.thewho.com

Give a listen to "Behind Blue Eyes," recorded at the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, December 13, 1971.

Adele Is Divine In New Video - "Cold Shoulder"

mollifire of MOG — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:41:44 GMT

I feel like I need to add some cheer to this place after that last post. So here is the brand new video from Adele! The song is "Cold Shoulder" and the icy blue video creates a stark contrast to the warmth in Adele's voice:

She may not be the bad girl Amy is, but that voice! Yeeeow!
I also adore the bare drum breaks that accompany her words. A scrumptious song.

The Tallest Man On Earth - Where Do My Bluebirds Fly

daaavid of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:04:52 GMT

I came across The Tallest Man On Earth a few months back by chance. After a few listens to some of his songs I had found upped around the web I got a hold of Shallow Graves.
It's a classic. I feel really guilty about copying every review I've read about him and comparing him to Bob Dylan, but it's the first that comes to mind.

Where Do My Bluebirds Fly is one of the best songs I have heard in my life.

Get big on this.

Finding Music in the Least Likely Places

Torch of MOG — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:37:34 GMT

I made an investment recently that I never expected to lead to an expanded sonic palette - Rock Band.

While this game is a well documented group endeavor, I didn't expect it to deepen and expand my passion for music, doing so in various way.

"Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. I sum up":

The Pixies - Wave of Multilation: To be honest, The Pixies were one of those bands; I had heard of them, but I'm pretty sure I had never actually heard them. I am definitely digging Wave, so I am sufficiently inspired to investigate them further.

Garbage - I Think I'm Paranoid: Garbage fan? Yes. But that was really limited to the Garbage album and the Why Do You Love Me single. It was nice to find something to connect the dots.

RHCP - Dani California: The Chili Peppers can be a hot/cold band for me. I love songs like Otherside and Under the Bridge, but despise tracks like Suck My Kiss. Despite this, my feelings toward Dani California were generally lukwarm... at least until I was strumming along in Rock Band! Being an actual guitarist, I started feeling the groove and have been digging it since!

Hole - Celebrity Skin: I know, some of you are thinking "Hole?!? Has he lost his mind?" I don't blame you; I probably would have said the same thing a few weeks ago. But for some reason Courtney has wiggled her way into my cortex and just won't let go. Sue me...

Flyleaf - I'm So Sick: This is my "discovery" from the game and apparently I'm having the same reactions as others. Putting everything aside though, I am into Flyleaf. Maybe it is my affinity for female frontmen [sic] for rock bands? I'm not sure, but they have gone into the "Listened to and Liked" column in my music tracking spreadsheet! Right now, I can't get enough of them.

I may never be able to belt out a five-star Chris Cornell, but with guitar, bass, vocals, drums, AND musical introductions Rock Band is proving well worth its weight in gold records.

--Torch

Beck's New Album Out This Summer...Can It Be Free Too?

Charley Rogulewski of MOG — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:05:54 GMT

So the Internet has been a buzz with word that Beck is releasing a new album he worked on with producer Danger Mouse, aka the fro-top of Gnarls Barkley. Yeah, it's great news and all, but with all this NIN , Radiohead and Coldplay free tunes business as of late...simply the fact that Beck's whipping out this album this summer doesn't get my little heart pounding like the word...FREE.

So news that Beck went into the studio with Danger Mouse back in December to work on a few tracks which quickly became an album's worth of 10 songs...doesn't excite me so much. Nor does the idea that, according to MTV , Cat Power lends her chops on back-up for a track. And the fact the album is only a little over 30 minutes only validates my point exactly...it should be FREE . I don't really care that the music on the new yet-to-be titled effort bridge "economy and experimentation...while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse's shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism and orchestration." The word I want to see in there is FREE .

Give me (and the rest of the world) this album for FREE . Come on Beck, I've paid for your last four albums so you should really just hop on the band wagon and cough that shitz up for $0. The stickers from The Information cover art were fun and all, but, you know what else is fun these days (and the last 8 years), not having to open up my wallet for music...

...unless it's his September 20th show at the Hollywood Bowl with special guests Spoon and MGMT . I'd pay to see that.

For Clinic, "Do It!" Is Business As Unusual On Their New Release

Augusts1 of MOG — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:08:39 GMT

One could say that Clinic’s new album, Do It, has all been done before — by the band themselves, in fact. But that’s not a bad thing. This is not to say that it is a predictable recording either. It is frenetic, curious, offbeat and full of big rock riffs. The band has honed their chops to a point where they really come across even more lucid than before, despite their somewhat unhinged approach.

The quirky “fab four” from Liverpool, England have released four previous albums beginning with their Internal Wrangler in 2000. One would think that after five albums, their style would get dull. But to be honest, Clinic sound like no other band on the planet. Much of this is due to their penchant for vintage instruments like their trademark use of a Philips Philicorda organ combined with unusual “off” chord progressions. So for them to release an album that is a “typical” Clinic album is really still saying quite a bit.

The album begins with “Memories,” a big, brash, loud-quiet-loud romp that would make Pixies proud. The guitars start in with a huge thrashing march, along with gigantic pounding drums, beating tambourine & pulsing maracas as Ad Blackburn yells “HUH“ repeatedly; then the song segues into pulsing organ & snake-rattle synth as Blackburn sings with his trademark lisp. It’s a fun song that makes you want to beat the hell out of some inanimate object or at least get up and jump about the room in wild abandon.

“The Witch” was the obvious pick for the lead single with its catchy, twitchy staccato surf guitar, along with a punchy bassline, some plinked keyboards, and snappy snare. It’s quite similar to “The Return Of Evil Bill” off their debut without being a retread.

"The Witch":

The punkabilly hoedown “Shopping Bag” is one of my favorites. It has the most unique freakout of clarinet spasms that do their best to be out of tune and yet fit perfectly into the psychotic feel of the song. If your schizophrenic grandpa went on a spur of the moment shopping trip while on crack, this is what it would sound like. The rest of the band slash and burn through the song with driving guitar, bass & drums. Don’t even ask me what its about, since most of the lyrics are indecipherable due to Blackburn’s raging, acidic falsetto vocals. But does it really matter? Ultimately, it doesn't, since Blackburn’s voice is basically another instrument that adds to the atmosphere of Clinic’s music.

The only real departure from their previous recordings is the final song, the aptly named “Coda.” It’s a lilting anthem that starts with morse-code-like organ, swooshing 'n' spacey synthesizers, methodic melodies, plodding drums, washes of harp and Blackburn’s melancholic “ooh”ing. Soon frenzied guitar adds to the tension. The song has some historical significance to the band (maybe), as Blackburn intones, “This record is a celebration of the 600th anniversary of the Bristol Journal (?), a celebration of sheer joy...” before he lapses back into his lisping incoherency. The peals of chiming bells at the end just add to the pomp and circumstance of the song.

"Corpus Christi"(a track I didn't write about but like):

I could go on describing these songs but if you’ve heard any of Clinic’s other albums, then you know what you’re in for, and if you haven’t, what are you waiting for? For Clinic, Do It is business as usual. But fortunately for us, Clinic’s business is still quite unusual.

http://www.clinicvoot.org/

Neil Young Ditches DVDs For Futuristic Blu-Ray Tech For Release Of Ongoing Archives

mollifire of MOG — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:49:32 GMT

Neil Young compiled an archive of his music, spanning 45 years of his musical career and filling 5 volumes - and he plans to keep adding to it! Young says it started off as a DVD concept, but he wasn't pleased with the navigation options of DVD technology, stating:

"I thought DVD would be good enough, but you couldn't navigate around materials whilst listening to the music, and I thought that that's what my fans would want to do. Also we were defeated by technology with the sound. Now with Java you can listen in the best possible quality that we have today."

Uncut Mag got a preview of the interactive platform Young went with instead and reported:

Based around an interactive “filing cabinet”, [Neil] Young and [L.A.] Johnson revealed how fans will be able to play songs and access pertinent material – photographs, newspaper clippings, in essence Young’s own memorabilia – while they listen to what is playing.
Young, in jovial, chatty form, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, demonstrated the use of an interactive timeline, while also informing us that should he find any more archive material to share, it will be enabled to automatically download to what will eventually be a collection of ten Blu-Ray discs.

Kiss her once for the kid

satisfiedmind2 of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:08:05 GMT

Bob Dylan's words with Jeff Buckley's ridiculously beautiful voice is a potent combination that is capable of stopping you in your tracks...I know,its happened to me multiple times.

Long intro on this, but once the song starts it will break your heart...in a good way...in the best way possible actually...so stay tuned.

The Police Announce FINAL Concert Ever! Plus Donate $1 Mil To Planting Trees In NYC

mollifire of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:48:15 GMT

"Woop Woop - it's the sound of The Police..."
The Police will sound off for the last time with a concert in NYC in August. The band will play its final concert ever, a fundraiser benefiting arts programming on public tv stations WNET and WLIW in NY. In addition to the concert proceeds going to a good cause, Sting and The Police will contribute $1 million to the MillionTreesNYC project, which the city will match! The MillionTreesNYC initiative plants trees all over NYC .

The exact date of this final performance has not yet been announced, nor have the ticket or venue info. There's a lot of mystery here, but if you need to see The Police perform ever again, start booking those flights and hotels in NYC !

More info on Billboard.com

More about MillionTreesNYC:

What a Beautiful Buzz - Album Review of Rolling Stone's Shine A Light

sageturk of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:35:18 GMT

Rating 9.2
Summary The most necessary unnecessary album of the year.

For all the Rolling Stones have accomplished, and that list is as extensive as the items Keith Richards has personally injested, none is more impressive than what Scorsese's Shine A Light makes clear: the Stones are outliving and outperforming their critics and chroniclers.

Their peers had the good sense to be canonized: The Beatles went out in ego and flames, Dylan went reclusive - but the Stones, the goddamn Stones, they just stick around, front and center, having the best damn time of them all.

It makes for a boring story - but for one hell of a good show.

As a critic, the Stones are maddening. Through sheer longevity they wring cliche like water from stone, through sheer virility they beg rhetoric - "What more can be said?", "Where does one begin?" - and in doing so leave their detractors (and their worshippers) impotent. The Stones don't need you, they don't need me - they don't need the music and music doesn't need them. There is no symbiotic relationship - only perfect unity. And if that seems a little dramatic, just listen to Jumping Jack Flash - it's impossible for that song not to exist, and seemly impossible that it can still sound so good, so relevant, and so alive.

When you're dealing with the Stones, you're not dealing with a band or a song or a performance - you're dealing with a fact of life. Like sex or death or pain. Only...minus the death in the Rolling Stones' case. And probably 3 times the sex.

So there's an album here from the film Shine A Light. It's full of well-trod songs. These songs sound good. But why does it exist? The only thing more timeless than music is making a buck, so is it simply that? If you love the Rolling Stones, why bother? If you've never heard the Rolling Stones (and sad to say a majority of music listeners out there probably haven't...sorry guys) why care?

The answer is simple: These songs have existed in infinite varieties for ages, but never has the world needed them more. The song that exists metaphysically on your cd or vinyl or harddrive isn't nearly as important as the version Mick is somewhere this very instant generating from baser elements - transmuting from oxygen and swagger - and Shine A Light is your closest circuit to that raw intimacy.

The album is aptly named - as you listen, little lights are constantly going off in your head - little blips of understanding. Never has the inescapable relation of Blues to Rock (and basically everything else) been so clear. Never has Mick Jagger's desperate attempts to be a bona fide' bluesman been so heartrending because it matches our own desire to truly know pain as much as avoid it. Never has the lived in voice of Keith Richards seemed so authentic - despite his recent pop-culture ubiquity. And with the inclusion of pivotal guest stars (an starstruck Jack White, a stripped down Christina Aguilera, an impossibly raw Buddy Guy), never has the eternal nature of music itself been so clear - the Stones are but a Universe inside a Universe and so on forever in both directions.

The Stones are not the best band of all time. They're not the best band today. Every success includes an embarrassing misstep. But the Stones of today are not the Stones that made "Black and Blue". One of the critical factors to the Stones remaining a contender in the eternal Greatest Of All Time is their misteps. One step forward, two steps back just means you do alot more walkin' to get where you're going and less circles when you get there. The Beatles may have been more technically perfect - but it's the earthier Stones still in the business of shaking the floorboards.

As the poster boys for late night one-liners about overstaying one's welcome or performing well past your use-by date, Mick Jagger and company - though the purveyors of the truest bluest rock and roll - have made the ultimate stick-it-to-the-man punk move by not doing anything at all - they just keep going.

With a collective age of 255 years, how that's even possible truly boggles the mind, but some type of pact with unholy Satan is probably the best guess.

Bonus Treat

A game my friends and I indulge in is "Beatles Vs. Stones". Check out the examples below and feel free to leave your own in the comments.

The Beatles are lawn bowling The Stones are ten-pin.

Beatles: Leonardo da Vinci. The Stones: Van Gogh.

Beatles: Tom Hanks Stones: Johnny Depp

Beatles: Thomas Jefferson Stones: Andrew Jackson

Beatles: Jeff Gordon Stones: Dale Earnhardt

Beatles: Michael Jordan Stones: Charles Barkley

Beatles: Martin Luther King Stones: Malcolm X

Beatles: Paul McCartney Stones: John Lennon

Beatles: Zack Morris Stones: A.C. Slater

Beatles: Bill Nye the Science Guy Stones: Beakman's World

Beatles: Doug Stones: Rugrats

Beatles: Luke Skywalker Stones: Han Solo

Beatles: Betty Stones: Veronica

Beatles: McDonalds Stones: Burger King

Beatles: Superman Stones: Batman

Thanks to Client #9 over at the AV club for alot of these

'Weeds' Season Three Soundtrack/DVD Out June 3rd!

AstridQ of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:34:52 GMT

This soundtrack is definitely in that whole Grey's Anatomy/OC realm but seems a bit better. Has tons of great bands on it: Beirut, Illinois, Oh No! Oh My!, etc. Check it out! Season Four of 'Weeds' premieres June 16!

Track Listing:
01. Randy Newman – ‘Little Boxes’
02. Page France – ‘Chariot’
03. That 1 Guy – ‘Buttmachine’
04. Beirut – ‘Scenic World’
05. The Dresden Dolls – ‘Girl Anachronism’
06. Ween – ‘You F**ked Up’
07. Oh No! Oh My! – ‘Walk in the Park’
08. Illinois – ‘Nosebleed’
09. Great Lake Swimmers – ‘Your Rocky Spine’
10. Mr. Smolin – ‘The Earth Keeps Turning On’
11. Kevin Nealon – ‘Just

The Accidental's There Were Wolves

jenny of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:46:49 GMT

My other review at Pure Music this month was of a new side project from Sam Genders of Tunng and Stephen Cracknell of the Memory Band, two immensely talented guys who, as it happens, complement each other well.

Here's the beginning, follow the jump for more:

The Accidental There Were Wolves (Thrill Jockey)

In their separate ways, Stephen Cracknell (also of the Memory Band) and Sam Genders (also of Tunng) have long explored the boundaries between folk and other genres. Cracknell's Memory Band follows fairly traditional folk melodies and instrumentation, but he is not afraid to slip a Carly Simon cover or an old R&B song into the mix. Tunng adds a shaker or two of electronic experimentation to its pristine folk melodies, and with Bullets, the band turned noticeably toward the pop side of things. So when the two of them get together, as in the Accidental, you can expect folk elements but not folk songs, pop melodies but not exactly pop songs.

More here: http://www.puremusic.com/86a.html

If you like Tunng at all, I don't see how you can fail to see the charms of the semi-title track, "Wolves," but you tell me.

Some thoughts on Danny...

LaserBurn of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:54:43 GMT

When I heard the news that E Street Band keyboardist Danny Federici had died at age 58, it took quite a few minutes for the reality to sink in.
When it did, there was only one thing to do: Call the biggest Springsteen fan that I know, my old pal and former colleague Nancy. Nancy and I were like family, which is the same context in which I have always viewed the E Street Band.
Even more than the music, the band represents the noble idea of sticking together, through thick and thin, forever. That's a pretty lofty notion to take in, especially if you've run into a bad relationship, bad marriage, single-parenthood, health issues or any of the myriad struggles that make life so challenging.
So, anyway, Nancy picked up the phone and we started reminiscing about the band's history and then our own. She and I have been to a few Springsteen shows together and through more than a few adventures at work. Without her presence, I never would've had a chance to do what I love.
After the shock wore off, she got feisty:
"This pisses me off," she is telling me, "because these guys are the good guys. Hey, tramps like us..."
The E Street Band didn't do drugs, didn't carouse irresponsibly. They don't fit into the new tabloid mentality. Federici's three-year battle with melanoma had been kept so low-key that attentive fans such as Nancy and I weren't aware of it.
He had joined the band in 1969, according to the biographical information in the forward to a new Springsteen volume, For You: Original Stories and Photographs by Bruce Springsteen's Legendary Fans.(www.Foryoubruce.com)
Federici played with the Boss in the seaside juke joints with Child and Steel Mill. "In Danny's case," the Chicago Tribune's Louis Carlozo writes. "greatness is understood, measured in the sublime flicker of his organ-playing hands."
After 40 years in the band, Federici's hands are still, but I'm optimistic that, like all families, the E Street Band will find a way to persevere. It gives hope to the rest of us.

Neil Young's Entire Collection on Blu-ray

trigger of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:38:56 GMT

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/neil_young.php

Yeah, Neil Young's entire collection will be available on Blu-ray with dynamic web updates.

"He's also excited about the way Java allows for sophisticated navigation through a large collection of content."

Nice, Neil Young is excited about Java. I never thought I'd see the day.

Modest Mouse Joins R.E.M. And The National On Tour

Charley Rogulewski of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:32:16 GMT

Modest Mouse is heading out on a late spring/summer tour with REM and the National. (On the indie front this tour almost compares with the mini traveling festival that is Kanye West's tour.) Just thought I'd fill you in. There isn't any new album they're plugging. Modest Mouse are still touring in support of We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.

Fri 23-May Vancouver, BC Deer Lake Park
Thu 29-May Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
Sat 31-May Berkeley, CA The Greek
Sun 1-Jun Berkeley, CA The Greek
Tue 3-Jun Morrison, CO Red Rocks
Thu 5-Jun St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Fri 6-Jun Chicago, IL United Center
Sun 8-Jun Toronto, ON Molsen Amphitheater
Tue 10-Jun Raleigh, NC Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
Wed 11-Jun Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
Thu 13-Jun Mansfield, MA Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
Sat 14-Jun Wantagh, NY Jones Beach Theater
Wed 18-Jun Philadelphia, PA The Mann Center for the Performing Arts
Thu 19-Jun New York, NY tba
Sat 21-Jun Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre

Another COACHELLA Post... Cinematic Orchestra gave it All That You Give !!!

Lizziegreeneyes of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:39:54 GMT

An apt band name in The Cinematic Orchestra. They wrote a soundtrack to the film Man with a Movie Camera (many of these songs then reworked for the album Everyday); but it's their music, more than a lot of other bands, that paints a cinematic picture for me. It's landscapes lush, cityscapes crackling, it's deserts dry & characters are always welcome ;)

On Saturday, as the sun was readying itself to set, most of the crew headed in the direction of Death Cab for Cutie ... but this greeneyedsistergirl had her greeneyes on the prize... the prize being THE Cinematic Orchestra.

There was no question for me, & try as I did to tear at least one of the gang away from DCFC (Amber - you were thinking of Manchester Orchestra - they'll be a Lolla), I flew solo this round... it actually made for the perfect Cinematic experience though. I was floating off to another time & place as I listened to each & every song, no distractions, just the music & the setting sun & the palm trees.

They opened with my favorite song from the group, All That You Give. (YAY italics) !!! It's lush, full of longing & sadness; literally a song to get lost within, a song for those we miss, a song of hope for the future.

With Jason Swinscoe at the healm, these artistes could do no wrong for me that evening. The sun set so gracefully on their faces, as the lights became brighter. & with the palm trees as their backdrop, the view was that much more impressive.

They played some tunes from their latest studio album - Ma Fleur & some older standards... it was perfection. So much so that when Stuart McCallum flew solo with To Build a Home, (stripped down & mellow), Swinscoe, the bassist & vocalist Heidi Vogel swayed with arms around each other... as soon as I get my pics uploaded to my home computer - I will post a few pics from the set... my camera doesn't rock it the way Amber's does, but I took some halfway decent shots in the absence of our resident photog gal !!!

The other standout performances came from Tom Chant (on sax & oboe) & Ms. Vogel.

He, the epitome of cool in his Blues Brothers getup... ray bans, fedora, black pants & white shirt (buttoned down thanks to the heat of the desert... She, sparkling in her vocals & her silver & black color block dress. Sure I missed Fontella Bass (the most amazing vocalist I've never had the pleasure of seeing live), but I have her on the studio albums & I have her here on this video...

If you ever have the opportunity to see this group live, kiddies - RUN , don't walk to the ticket counter & sign on for an evening you will never forget.

Here's a snippet of As the Stars Fall from the show....

Tom Waits does YouTube Press conference - says he dated your Mom!

david hyman of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:18:57 GMT

No lie. Tom Waits just released this important press conference in what appears to be designed as a video for youtube release, spread virally through the tentacles of the interweb....

50 Cent Victimized On Stage In Africa; Suspect Arrested

MrFrost of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:21:15 GMT

In a bold move, a fan jumped on stage and snatched jewelry off of 50 Cent's neck and ran into the night on Sunday. The concert took place in Angola, Africa and the video is all over the internet (see below).

50 Cent is on the right in a black shirt, the fan is dressed in a yellow shirt.

It's now about 36 hours later and all is well, 50 Cent has his chain back and the fan's mother has already turned him in to the police. Bruno Carvalho is expected to face criminal charges and the authorities have thanked his family for their cooperation.

As for 50.... I'm sure he'll be a little more careful on his trips to the motherland...

Mtv News

Chemical Wedding world premier SCI-FI-LONDON 2008

King Sara of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:27:54 GMT

So, last week was the SCI -FI-LONDON film festival which I have been helping organise, and on Sunday night we hosted the world premiere of CHEMICAL WEDDING , the bastard love child of Bruce Dickinson and Julian Doyle.

The film was brilliant - totally like the old Hammer Horrors. I mean, 2 stars in Empire magazine, but that magazine is SHIT . The film is totally a cult classic, but new. A new cult classic.

At the Q&A session after (which we weren't meant to film), I was amused that Simon Callow, Julian Doyle and Bruce Dickinson went into great detail about the difficultly of getting Simon to urinate on academics and about sending cum by fax...

It is a modern world...

Anyway, before you ask - yes, I did meet them, and yes, Bruce is as awesome in real life as you want your heroes to be.

I uploaded a clip I took, sorry for the quality but it was the best I could do. I suspect you'll get the whole thing in glorious technicolour when you buy the CHEMICAL WEDDING DVD .

87 years of perpetual motion

steve simon of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:29:27 GMT

Fellow Moggers, i had the incredible fortune to see Dave Brubeck and his son Chris play last night at a private event for the great work of SFJazz(http://www.sfjazz.org/). there were under 100 people there, and he shuffled out to great applause, sat down at my friend's piano and played an improved twinkley little opener that had Dave's distinctive style written all over it. he then told a great little story of his early years in SF when he lived near 18th and castro, and continued between each tune to tell funny little anecdotes that were relevant to what he was about to play. His son Chris is a lovely and inventive bass player, and he also played a very cool clarinet solo toward the end of the great Count Basie ode, "Basie Band back in town". other highlights were a great "Someday My Prince Will Come", a beautiful japanese influenced jam and the crowd pleasing encore of "three To Get Ready"

I can't tell you what a special, wonderful night we had; Dave is as vibrant and talented as he was 40 years ago. if you get a chance to go see this great legend, please go!!

KCRW'S TOP TUNE: TODAY, MAY 6

Robin Danar of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:05:12 GMT

Here's something you guys might find interesting. Every day, KCRW features a free download they call "Today's Top Tune". Each day, a new song is featured for just 24 hours on kcrw. com and iTunes. I've gotten a lot of great stuff that I didn't know before from these guys.

Today (Tuesday, May 6th) it happens to be my version of "The Last Waltz/Such a Night" (featuring Julianna Raye on vocals) from my "ALTERED STATE S" CD. I don't know what made them pick that tune, but i LOVE that they did! enjoy.

You can also download my version of the Bill Withers classic "Use Me", featuring Pete Yorn and Kinky, from my Myspace page.

Lykke Li comes to America!!!! YEEEEAHHHH!

indiepixie of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:04:06 GMT

So the little sassy Swedish pixie, Lykke Li, who has the voice of an angel and the temerity of someone far older than her 22 years, released her EP today in the US.

Her tour kicks off in Philly tonight and she comes to NY tomorrow and Thursday. I'm gonna be front row, eyes wide- I haven't been so intrigued in a female artist for a while.....(I think Anna also feels the same way?)

Anyway, I've posted a song to share "Dance. Dance. Dance." ....do you too feel like it's the perfect ode to summer?

sugar and spice and all things nice? here's a gorgeous sun-drenched video of hers as well....

p.s. for a weird, cooky mixtape, my friend Long Vo recommended this "Hood Internet Vs. Lykke Li: http://www.thehoodinternet.com/2008/05/hood-internet-vs-lykke-li.html

p.p.s. check outpitchfork's review & song as well.

Death To Vegoose?

Charley Rogulewski of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:09:55 GMT

In 2005 the people who brought you Bonnaroo launched yet another music festival, this one in Las Vegas called Vegoose. Jack Johnson played it. Daft Punk played it. Widespread Panic played it. Rage Against The Machine played it. Arcade Fire played it. The Shins played it. Lots of bands played it in the three years it ran. But for the average concert goer...two full days of music followed by Sin City all-nighters during Halloween weekend could have felt like too much.

Today Billboard.com is reporting that there will not be a Vegoose in 2008. Jonathan Mayers, president of Superfly Presents, which co-produces Vegoose with A.C. Productions added, “We’re not saying it’s killed, it’s just not going to happen in 2008.”

Mayers further elaborated that, “Over the last few years we’ve built some great relationships out there. We’re really studying the model out in Vegas as to what makes sense. I think there is a model out there to do other events in Vegas, it’s just different.”

Following Bonnaroo, without Vegoose looming in October, Superfly (along with Another World Entertainment) will be able to put more attention towards their latest festival, the inaugural Outside Lands festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco Aug. 22nd-24th.

Could this be the start of festivals dying off in the U.S.?

MOG Exclusive: Stream Previously Unreleased Live "Substitute" By The Who!

Michael Goldberg of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:13:11 GMT

Here's the sixth great live track from The Who album, “View From A Backstage Pass." We're featuring one every weekday.

Check out The Who's website:
http://www.thewho.com

Give a listen to "Substitute," recorded at the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, December 13, 1971.

Elvis Costello & the Imposters - Momofuku

Spencer Owen of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:22:35 GMT

Elvis Costello & The Imposters - Momofuku
(Lost Highway, 2008)
6.5 out of 10

By the chorus of "Turpentine," the third song on Momofuku, I was grinning and actually laughing to myself. Ten minutes into the new Elvis Costello record with his Imposters, it seemed, for some reason, as if he hadn't had this much fun making a rock album in his life. Or maybe — I'd bet on this — I just hadn't had this much fun listening to one this year. Summery harmonies (led by Jenny Lewis, former child-star) crown Costello's still unweathered voice; the tunes are exuberant, expert, and easy; exceptional opener "No Hiding Place" even makes an ending move out of the late-'70s Fleetwood Mac playbook.

These opening three numbers (or side A of the four-sided vinyl release, now two weeks old on the occasion of the CD issue) are the best of what Momofuku has to offer. Since there's nothing even close to unlistenable present here, and the tone remains playful throughout, it could be quite a bit worse. The facts, as I call 'em, cast Momofuku in the role of Costello's weakest pop effort in two decades, but he'll have to slip more than this to deserve a serious judgment. For the most part, Momofuku is no less than a pleasure.

Okay, maybe it's showing: Elvis Costello is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. He's blessed with a remarkable consistency of quality when leading a rhythm combo with his original material. At times, Get Happy!! and Trust have each sat in the #3 slot of "all-time favorites." When I Was Cruel was a post-2000 benchmark, a stellar set, especially for a man who'd been at his craft for a quarter-century; in fact, Costello's hardly ever put out any subpar pop records, and the last one was Spike in 1989, which happens to have about an album's worth of good songs on it. In the '90s, he slowed down the pop output considerably in favor of various collaborations and non-pop dalliances with arguable quality ratings; perhaps that's the magic trick.

Momofuku is Costello's solo-McCartney record, a breezy catalogue of the sounds that have made him who he is, albeit with a bit more noise and higher standards than Paul tends to display. "Mr. Feathers" is the only song that directly evokes Mr. McCartney, the kind of piano-based moment that people throw the words "cabaret" and "parlor" at, when they likely mean Beatles and Harry Nilsson; though "Harry Worth" takes a sideways hit at the Latin accents McCartney occasionally works with (and does it better). "Flutter and Wow" is a mid-tempo 6/8 soul burn at the midpoint, to which I'd give higher marks if it weren't for the semi-unwelcome borrowing from the Beach Boys' "In My Room" for the verse's opening motif; luckily, Costello's not normally one to hang a song on a fragment, and it goes very nice places, the best places since the opening trio, in fact.

The penultimate "Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve" sinks the album below "pleasure" for four minutes with an unfortunate excursion into Bible imagery and a dirgey country tune without any country signifiers in the arrangement. Thankfully, "Go Away" swoops in at the close to re-elevate the mood with a classic Attractions-style (if slower) garage-rock track and Jenny Lewis duetting on the choruses. And though Momofuku stands lacking the mood dynamics of some of his better albums or the blatant consistency of others, it will nonetheless bring a hardcore like me, and likely even casual fans, back to the beginning at least several more times before the newness wears off and a few favorite songs stick.

-Spencer Owen

Steve Winwood - Blender Theater 5-4-08

OldRockr1 of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:15:05 GMT

I was lucky enough to get some tickets for this release party / preview show last night at NYC 's Blender Theater. Having gone to the Clapton & Winwood show in February and awaiting the Petty & Winwood tour in June, I was pretty much looking forward to this show.

Steve and a very tight band (guitar, drums, percussion, sax) ran through most, if not all, of the excellent new Nine Lives CD along with mixing in some classics such as Can't Find My Way Home, Had To Cry Today, Light Up and Leave Me Alone and a few others.

Steve stuck mostly to the B-3 but ventured out on guitar (he is really a fine guitarist) and on mandolin for a great version of Back in the High Life. Throughout show Steve's voice was excellent (he doesn't seem to age) and the band was really good. The arrangements are very "jammy" which my friend was not overly crazy about, but which I loved.

Check out the Petty shows in June and July. I think he should tweak the setlst a bit to mix in the oldies a bit more for the areana crowds. Personally I love the new CD so whatever he plays is OK with me.

All in all a great show.

Amy Winehouse Unable To Finish Theme Song For Bond Movie

mollifire of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:06:37 GMT

Mark Ronson said, "I’m not sure Amy is ready to work on music yet." He also told the press that it would take a "miracle" to finish Amy Winehouse's theme song for the upcoming James Bond movie. NME reports that things fell apart during the recording sessions and that Amy never finished the song.

Full story on NME .com

Love Is A Losing Game (in the studio):

New Radiohead Video Deals With Human Slavery & Trafficking

mollifire of MOG — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:21:37 GMT

Radiohead teamed up with MTV to create a video about human trafficking and exploitation. 2 stories are presented simultaneously and set to their song "All I Need." It just premiered today:

NME quoted Thom Yorke as saying:

"They've produced a video of two parallel stories running, one of a little boy in the West and one of a little boy in a sweatshop in the East, and the boy (in the West) ends up buying the shoes from the sweatshop. It's actually quite powerful.
"It's the sort of images I have in my head anyway. Sometimes when you're walking down the high street and you're looking at the incredibly cheap [shoes), you sort of think, 'Hmmm, well how did they manage to make that so cheaply?' It sort of reminds me of one of my preoccupations, so I'm touched that the music goes with that. I think it's great."

Mog Blog #15: Ain’t No Easy Way

Sclerodactyl of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:46:32 GMT

So about a month ago I was listening to local radio when I heard that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club would be making their way through town. I immediately rushed to the ticketmaster website, and then to all the local (largish) venues to try and find show/ticket information. Nada, nothing, zilch. No one had any information (at least not the usual suspects) and I was left in the dark. A few weeks later I found out it was not a “regular” show and it was not at a place where I would have ever expected. Turns out it was a private show sponsored by Jack Daniels and tickets had to be won and were not for sale. I tried my hardest the week before the show, listening to the radio, working my connections, trying desperately to get some tix to see BRMC do their thing live. Once again, nada, nothing, zilch. In an act of desperation the night before the show, I logged onto the dreaded MySpace for the first time in about 5 months and reduced myself to begging for tix via a MySpace message. Much to my delight and surprise I got a reply from Dan (who shall now be referred to as Dan the Hero) who put in contact with tour manager Grant (who shall now be referred to as Grant the Savior). A round of blackberry-tag later, Grant confirms that I am on the guest list with a pair of tix for the show and I couldn’t be happier…. Not the safest way to score tickets, but it sure was a good fight.

The show itself was all I could have asked for. London’s own The Duke Spirit opened the show and won over a new fan. In advance of the show, local radio had been playing a song by The Duke Spirit, and I have to admit I was not so impressed. When I got to the live show however, I was won over by how tight the band was and how strong lead-singer/new-rock-goddess Liela Moss’ voice was outside of a recording studio. It was very refreshing to see that the band outperformed their recorded material by a mile.

After the opening act, I didn’t win a BRMC -autographed guitar, but I still was excited for their set – and they didn’t disappoint. The band took to the stage and came out flying, playing two tracks from their latest LP Baby 81 in succession: 666 Conducer and Berlin. Rarely taking time to address the audience, the band instead chose to pummel us with rocker after rocker. A brief cool-down came in the form of some acoustic songs, largely from the Howl LP (Fault Line, Shuffle Your Feet), courtesy of Mr. Peter Hayes. The full band quickly switched back into rock mode and played out the set, ending with a blistering version of "Whatever Happened to My Rock & Roll (Punk Song). They also tore through a 3 song encore (Spread Your Love, Steal A Ride, and All You Do Is Talk), much to the delight of everyone in the over-stuffed house.

After the show, I was hanging out on the back patio and saw Pete Hayes mingling with the crowd. After fending off some local groupies, he ducked inside but returned shortly with his guitar. I didn’t pursue him to see what was happening, but I can only imagine groupies were being softly serenaded somewhere. Instead I chose to stay near the backstage door and have a chat with Grant the Savior, who was kind enough to put me on the list for the show & hook me up with a set-list after the show. A good conversation with some traveling road stories ensued and I made sure to let Grant the Savior know how much I appreciated the tix to a great show.

Once again, Thanks Dan the Hero for pointing me in right direction and thanks to Grant the Savior for letting me be one of the 750 people in the place that only held 600.

Courtney Love Rushed To Hospital At 3 AM

Charley Rogulewski of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:54:48 GMT

Courtney Love demanded some needles over the weekend. Not really, but you can only imagine....

Love was rushed to LA's Cedars Sinai hospital at 3am Friday morning with major chest and throat pains. She thought she had laryngitis, turns out it was only strep throat.

Doctors asked about drugs and then had her consult with a psychiatrist, NME is reporting.

After "90 hours in bed" and some major "throwing up," which lead her to the hospital, Love decided she really needed a cigarette because, you know, that's the next best thing to chicken noodle soup to nurse you back into shape. TMZ cameras caught the whole thing and youcan watch it here.

And the queen of idiots is...

1,900 Polish Guitarist Can't Go Wrong

Sturgell of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:20:43 GMT

Over 1900 Polish guitarists gathered at the Wroclaw market square in southern Poland to play "Hey Joe", a Jimi Hendrix classic, during the sixth annual "Thanks Jimi Festival".

Event organizer guitarist and music teacher Leszek Cichowski says the festival ‘was just an idea ten years ago during a small music workshop in the town of Zakiew in southwestern Poland where 16 guitar players performed together: ‘Last year we had in the market square in Wroclaw 1881 guitar players. So we beat our world record . We had 1951 guitar players and again it’s the best in the world.’

Leszek says that putting together such a musical extravaganza is a real exercise in logistics: "All guitar players should be in one place and they should play one song together which is not shorter than five minutes. We performed 'Hey Joe' as a record song.

More Here

Tom Waits Plans Summer Tour! People Envy Happiness Dogs Though Sense Courage Knowing Jubilation Knows Better Assests!

contrabandwidth of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:34:44 GMT

Tom Waits has annouced a summer tour! Hooray! Here is his rather humorous press conference and dates:

Upcoming Shows & Events - Tom Waits
Tour - Orpheum
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 9:00 PM Phoenix, US Tour - Orpheum Wednesday, June 18, 2008 9:00 PM
Phoenix, US
Tour - Plaza Theatre
Friday, June 20, 2008 9:00 PM El Paso, US Tour - Jones Hall Sunday, June 22, 2008 9:00 PM
Houston, US
Tour - Palladium
Monday, June 23, 2008 9:00 PM Dallas, US Tour - Brady Theatre Wednesday, June 25, 2008 9:00 PM
Tulsa, US
Tour - Fox Theatre
Thursday, June 26, 2008 9:00 PM St Louis, US Tour - Ohio Theatre Saturday, June 28, 2008 9:00 PM
Columbus, US
Tour - Civic Auditorium
Sunday, June 29, 2008 9:00 PM Knoxville, US Tour - Moran Theatre Tuesday, July 1, 2008 9:00 PM
Jacksonville, US
Tour - Saenger Theatre
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 9:00 PM Mobile, US Tour - Alabama Theatre Thursday, July 3, 2008 9:00 PM
Birmingham, US
Tour - Fox Theatre
Saturday, July 5, 2008 @ 9:00 PM
Atlanta, US

A Kiss with a Fist Is Better Than None

Joxley of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:43:37 GMT

Feisty Florence and The Machine is the latest retro inspired songstress to emerge from the UK indie scene. This unsigned maiden sings the blues with a brutal panache and crafts sultry songs that verge from the frenetic to the unspeakable delicate. Highlights on her myspace page include the rampant energy of _Kiss with a Fist_ and the stripped back cover of Cold War Kids _Hospital Beds_. Already chums with Lightspeed Champion and Kate Nash, I wouldn't be surprised if she exploded in the next few months.

Dear Marmaduke, 10th May continued...

chandlersford of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:13:07 GMT

I must continue for the story is nearly at it’s climax and the events of yesterday are fresh to my mind and I dare say all but forgotten to Bob Minge.

After his revelation that he had been aware of my situation and deliberately guided me to find the first part of the clue. You see his order cannot offer solutions or answers, merely guide the person to find them for themselves. I studied the clues afresh.

88 gives an interest in 45
The bingo gave me the number 45 - half way there.

Along the 58km from 1890
The Northern Line – As the School Mistress said it is 58 km long and dates from 1890.

17 down and 15 up
Gave me Charing Cross the station I reached to find the man from Achtakataka and maybe a veiled reference to the cross of the Christian Crusaders.

Now I had to decipher the rest…
“You are close now Mr. Er…”
“Randolph” I clarified once more.
“You are close, so close! The one you love will present a challenge and an answer! Now it’s time to…” He stopped momentarily and finished his tea before standing up, climbing on the café table and shouting at the top of his voice “Achtakataka!” he yelled as he totally disrobed revealing only a loin cloth. He jumped from the table and ran out the door leaving me bewildered as two customers looked on.

I decided to run after him, leaving behind the confused customers and the shouts of the man behind the counter. “Oi That’s £1.30 you owe me for the …” But it was too late. I was once again chasing the secret guardsman of the Achtakataka By George sect out of the café, down the street and back towards Charing Cross. As he ran the crowds in front parted in sheer astonishment as a near naked foreign man of no slight proportions ran as fast as his fat legs and huge belly could go and I followed. At one point as I gave chase an old woman hit me with her handbag and called me a dirty bugger! But I was on to something. I didn’t know what Duke but I must complete the journey and save my family from ruin and Isabelle from that twat Tattler.

My God he was fast and as we neared the Station I lost sight of him through the sea of people leaving the tube, for it was now rush hour.

I climbed a lamp post and spotted him heading down The Strand towards Cockspur. He momentarily turned back and shouted “Balls! Mr. Randolph Balls!” as he got his loin cloth caught on some railings and it began to unweave! A single thread stretched back before finally he was completely naked and still running through the streets of London towards Pall Mall.

Again I lost sight of him. I looked everywhere and again climbed a lamppost, nothing! Damn the Chinese Monkey Brain Eating San Francisco Traders Aunt!
How can a naked man just disappear in the middle of Cockspur?
A single thread! That’s it a single thread caught on the post – The Strand we have run down The Strand and the clue is unweaving and unraveling as surely as his loin cloth!

Cockspur that’s the ‘rum’ in the clue and Cockspur leads to Pall Mall. What the hell is the next part of the clue?

I stopped and took out the piece of paper which had survived, as I, such a series of events. ‘Rum brings a mallet and ball’

Mallet and Ball? Mallet and Ball? I repeated to myself as the passers by looked me up and down “Balls!” I shouted to myself and realised why Mr. Minge had shouted it aloud.

Pall Mall in London is derived from the name of an old mallet and ball game! That’s it!

I again started running, reading the tiny piece of paper as I went, bumping in to people and nearly getting myself killed on the roads.

‘From 1824 crowned with the money for the cold’

That’s the next part of the clue – what in the world of Aboriginal clicking language does it mean though?

A little American Gothic

mocha louder of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:30:24 GMT

I can’t help it – the look of a record always plays into the way I listen to it. The band logo, the cover art, the design, the album title –

I’m not always right when I think these things, and sometimes I’m surprised, sometimes even pleasantly.
I’ve heard many good songs by bands that don’t know how to put together a good looking album, but in the case of American Catastrophe, I’m hoping in sounds I get something at least close to what I see…
The design, the style, the title… it’s all screaming out Sixteen Horsepower meets Sackville… and I like where that might go.

Excerpts hits immediately with a dark lounge southern swamp swing and Nick Cave vocals. I’m happy so far…

Definitely hints of the Sixteen Horsepower / Woven Hand bands floating through here, alongside some Bad Seed beauty, but with a little more jazz flowing along the edges. Dark lyrics and dark moods dig and chug through the melodics, which pull at the same strings that you find Mick Harvey pulling, and the vocals, as they move out of the Cave, they move against a deeper Mark Lanegan memory, and I’m looking for the whiskey, watching for crows.

There are some breaks in the depths, as the band moves out of gothic slo-core into dirty rock grittiness. Moving from Low to Tom Waits, moving from Molasses to early Sonic Youth.

Epic and enchanting anthems that push you so deep you drown in the rhythmic energy. Journeys of the soul never sounded as good as they do here. Barry Adamson doing Johnny Cash. Pulling out songs that could fit easily on Nick Cave’s “The Firstborn Is Dead” and then attaching to them a hard almost Joy Division darkness, and then pushing it all against a backdrop of eerily ghost town destruction sounding guitar work and toms that roll like the first Sonic Youth album before hanging the head down low back into Cave’s territory.

From a deep Tindersticks melody to a harsh lost highway to a train bound for parts unknown, American Catastrophe just don’t let go for a second, carrying you along with them through every dirt road and haunted willow tree that hangs lost by every dark roadside in America.

Viva Los Años Vegas!

John Madden of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:35:28 GMT

When it comes to cover versions, I don’t know that there are hard and fast rules for a good one, necessarily. Staying completely faithful to the original is, well, pointless: if you’re not going to bring something new, why bother? Stray too far and you alienate fans of the song. The important thing, as with life, is to have fun – and in doing so, show enough love of a song to, for the four minutes or so that it lasts, make it your own. Everclear have a ball on ‘The Vegas Years’.

It’s no secret that I love cover versions. I’ve said it bunches of times how great it is when a band does a great song, that isn’t theirs well. I like to hear a new spin on things, I like knowing what a band likes. Occasionally I’ll do a web trawl for MP3s, only specifying ‘cover version’ to see what hits. I keep a playlist on my iPod – other than ‘New Stuff’ it’s the only one I update regularly – of my favourite covers at any given time.

So it was a real treat to wrap my Sennheisers around Everclear’s ‘The Vegas Years’, a compilation of cover versions recorded by the Portland, Oregon rock band over the past fourteen years.

While we’re here, it occured to me while researching this piece how freaking awesome Portland is as a musical city. With the possible exceptions of Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul, is there any other city with more great bands per head of population? I know I’m going to be corrected on some point here, but still: Everclear, The Shins, Elliot Smith, Weinland, Gossip, The Kingsmen, The Dandy Warhols, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, M. Ward, The Stolen Sweets – and the list goes on. It’s a murderers’ row.

Anyway. Everclear completists – and from what I understand, there are plenty out there – will have a lot of these tracks already, as at least half of the album has previously appeared across a number of b-sides; as well as the soundtrack to ‘Detroit Rock City’ (‘The Boys Are Back In Town’). ‘Rich Girl’, ‘Kicks’ and ‘Land Of The Lost’ are new; as are the versions of ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ and ‘Southern Girls’. ‘This Land is Your Land’ contains new guitars and keyboards, because the original mix got lost.

The album is sort of an alternate retrospective of Everclear – the majority of songs being b-sides and contributions to compilations, they all fit with where the band was at a given time – though with that said, it doesn’t give you any real insight into, say, Art Alexakis’ much publicised history with drugs, or any of the personal and professional problems that the band endured. In a way it’s almost a purer retrospective than a regular best of – in performing cover versions it becomes all about the music; there’s no trying to interpret lyrics (because they’re not theirs); it’s not a revelation of the band’s dark secrets – it’s a collection of songs that they think rock.

‘The Vegas Years’ is fun and summery – it’s best served with blue skies, burgers and beer. The performances are enthusiastic, interesting and a refreshing spin on some alt-rock and classic rock greats. Be warned – should you listen in the car, I can’t imagine it’s even remotely possible to drive slowly to the ‘Speed Racer’ theme – probably best to keep that one for public transport or video game driving only (and if the Wachowski Brothers don’t use it for the movie, they’re missing out). The versions of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and ‘867-5309 (Jenny)’ are solid live tracks too – they make you feel like you’d want to go to an Everclear show. The rest of the songs will make you want to drive fast, sing along and dance like a fool – and probably even two at the same time. This one will be in my rotation until the clouds come by again.

Track Listing
1. Rich Girl (Originally by Hall & Oates)
2. Our Lips Are Sealed (Originally by The Go-Go's and Fun Boy Three)
3. The Boys Are Back in Town (Originally by Thin Lizzy)
4. Bad Connection (Originally by Yazoo)
5. Kicks (Originally by Paul Revere & the Raiders)
6. Pocahontas (Originally by Neil Young)
7. Night Train to Memphis (Originally by Roy Acuff)
8. This Land Is Your Land (Guthrie)
9. American Girl (Originally by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
10. Brown Eyed Girl [Live] (Originally by Van Morrison)
11. Southern Girls (Originally by Cheap Trick)
12. ‘Land of the Lost’ Theme
13. ‘Speed Racer’ Theme
14. Live Intro
15. 867-5309 (Jenny) [Live] (Originally by Tommy Tutone)

I hit the gate and I hops on my Schwinn

Lyrikhan of MOG — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:33:37 GMT

I don’t think anyone ever really goes to other people’s pages to check out their self-made widgets, but it you happen to have been so lucky as to have perused my page you will have seen that I proudly state my first album as MC Hammer’s “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em” which I received for Christmas when I was 8. You couldn’t resist the Hammer back then, no matter what age (yeah, I had some parachute pants). Of course, an 8 year old first hearing a song like “Soft and Wet” will open up the eyes a bit, but I digress. About three or four years later I got my first taste of REAL hip hop when my older sister picked up Snoop’s “Doggystyle” and Biggie’s “Ready to Die”, which I would sneak from her CD collection to go listen quietly in my room whenever I could. Of course albums such as these deserve max volume but I was attempting to not freak my parents out too much. It wasn’t that they ever censored what I listened to, but at the time it seemed “parents just don’t understand” was a proper motto for what coming out of the rap game. “Doggystyle” swung me more to the west coast rappers, and my true Biggie listening would come a bit later. So soon I was listening to Dre’s “Da Chronic” and Pac’s “All Eyez on Me”, but it was the smooth vocals of Snoop (whatever happened to those, Snoop?) I loved most at this time, and I found similar silkiness in Snoop’s old 213 mates Warren G and Nate Dogg with “Regulate….G Funk Era”. I don’t think I knew anyone that didn’t know every lyric to “Regulate” back then. Well I don’t happen to see any posts about Warren G on MOG so I’ll pop it's cherry with “This D.J.”. Mount up and bump it.