MOG - waggle's Posts

'Tis early and still drunk

waggle — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:42:07 GMT

A few recent listening notes. Dig

Santogold – Santogold

dubby-reggae-new wave sound. Good stuff. She should be way bigger. Currently touring with Coldplay.

http://www.myspace.com/santogold

Listen to "Lights Out" and attempt to get it out of your head – perfect summer song. Aspects of it embody a new wave wet dream of sorts: Kate Bush fronting The Cars. The tune is supposed to be released as a single in August. If it doesn’t go top 20, there’s something seriously wrong with either the record industry and/or the listening public.

Little Jackie – The Stoop.

Whatever became of Imani Coppola? Who? Well, she had a minor hit in the late 90s. Anyway, more good stuff. 60s soul meets hiphop beats. Like Santogold, Little Jackie should be way bigger. I hope this doesn't go unnoticed by mainstream music biz.

http://www.myspace.com/littlejackiemusic

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

5 piece Seattle folkie-indie-strummy pop. I hear their tune "White Winter Hymnal" somewhere, but I don;t know where -- or at least samples from it. To continue on my theme of wtf -- why isn't stuff like this bigger? ugh.

http://www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes

Jamie Lidell - Jim.

Sure, blue-eyed soul is a cliche term, but I'm having trouble coming up with a better, more concise description. Catchy as f*ck. Recently Paolo Nutini explored similar terrotory as Lidell.

http://www.myspace.com/jamielidell

The Explorers Club - Freedom Wind.

Pet Sounds meets Smile. 60s hamony pop distilled: Beachs, Byrds, Beatles. Their band name should have started with a B as well. Hopefully, these guys won't linger in bed for 3 years like Senor Wilson did.

http://www.myspace.com/explorersclub

The Accidental - There Were Wolves.

Breathy dream pop from the UK. Give "I Can Hear Your Voice" a listen.

http://www.myspace.com/theaccidental

abudabu

Contemplating my navel while rainbow flies circle overhead.

waggle — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:45:24 GMT

Bubble Puppy, Moby Grape, Blue Cheer, The Doors...

huh?

After listening to Dead Meadow's Old Growth, Stephen Malkmus' Real Emotional Trash, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! I think a 60s garage-cum-psychedelia revival for aught eight is at hand.

So piss off Emo kids: it's time to jam and get heavy!

Dead Meadow - What Needs Must Be

Dig those ropey ponderous riffs featuring robotripping Tom Petty vocals.

Cave channeling Morrison? Do I hear Manzarek?

Curses, I couldn't find anything that relevant for Malkmus. Or did I? Trip on this for awhile.

later

Quick Notes from Mikey

waggle — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:54:29 GMT

A few fragmented thoughts about things I've been listening to.

1990s – Cookies

Indie pop band from Scotland. Jaded, dry, sarcastic tunes ala late 70s punk [Richard Hell] -- but updated with an OK Go sheen. Nice harmonies and cocky lead singing. Infectious cannot begin to describe this stuff.

http://www.myspace.com/1990sband

Ben Harper – Lifeline

Cool, mellow, soulful album. There are probably folks here who could give a better critique since I’m a novice Harper Fan. But I will say there’s not a bad track on this album. Well, maybe the 5 minute acoustic instrumental, "Paris Sunshine," might be a bit much, but it’s that sort of artistic indulgences that are sorely missing from the bulk of today’s charts.

http://www.myspace.com/benharper

Band of Horses – Cease to Begin

Indie tempered with a country feel. This band has a new but familiar feel to them. Nice music to drive to; nice music to burn a disk and give to your dad.

http://www.myspace.com/bandofhorses

Eisley – Combinations

Hard to categorize. Indie, but with 4 part lead female harmonies, which are smooth and not shrill. Good job. Thick, ponderous guitar riffs, lightened with soaring vocals.

http://www.myspace.com/eisley

John Butler trio – Grand National

Funky roots rock folk. The soundtrack to a jaunty autumn. May make jam bands hip again.

http://www.myspace.com/johnbutlertrio

Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

Indie folk rock with Dylanesque touches. On some of the poppier tunes there are touches of ELO’s Jeff Lynn. Radio needs more of this kind of stuff.

http://www.myspace.com/joshritter

Stars - In Our Bedroom after the War

Warm and lush Indie synthie pop with nice male/female harmonies, reminiscent of some of the New Pornographers' work.

http://www.myspace.com/stars

The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City

Literate eclectic rock. Zappa influences abound: challenging time changes, weird instrumentation, yet tongue firmly in cheek. All sung with wry female vocals.

http://www.myspace.com/thefieryfurnaces

Bettye LaVette - The Scene of the Crime

Soulful modern blues belted out with the Drive By Truckers as the backing band. The tune “Before The Money Came” sounds like Patti LaBelle fronting the Faces. Enough said.

http://www.myspace.com/bettyelavette

VHS or Beta – Bring on the Comets

Prog indie rock meets dancy 4/4 beats. There seems to be a rash of these bands around these days: Mute Math, Maroon 5, Muse, Keane, et al. And in keeping with the prog rock thang, I find this vocalist has a touch of David Gilmour in his higher register.

http://www.myspace.com/vhsorbeta

It was 40 years ago today...

waggle — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 16:09:23 GMT

http://beatles.com/sgtpepper/

Out There

waggle — Wed, 30 May 2007 02:35:00 GMT

Driving fast.

Driving fast through fog.

Driving fast through fog with a hangover.

A hangover caused by a good night of passion and discovery that leaves you a little giddy and with a smirk for what lies ahead.

For some weird reason this scenario sprang into my head from some visceral subconscious place when I first heard Fujiya & Miyagi's tune "Conductor 71." The atmospheric tonality, the ebbing rhythm, the pneumatic press-like drive brought my head to a nice place. A place of possibilities.

For "electronic" music I found it to be engaging and fun, rather than cold and distant. I like that. The type of music that makes you want to press the accelerator a little firmer and point the vehicle, without a map, into a direction you've never been. Out there.

In a way, this tune reminds me of Underworld's "Rez": the drive, the sleek synthetic patina, the thrumming ethereal gloss that flows over you.

Good stuff.

Rock and Roll.

waggle — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:22:08 GMT

Plain and simple, I dig the rock and roll. Keep it simple; keep it uncluttered, immediate, noisy, bombastic, and heart-felt.

Lately, I am really liking the trend coming out of the UK of guitar-oriented rock. In 2005, I dug Art Brut’s debut album, Bang Bang Rock and Roll and this year’s release by former Blur guitarist, Graham Coxon’s Love Travels at Illegal Speeds was just as tasty.

I find these releases to be the perfect tonic to the bloated, over-produced, dancetronic bleep-blorp background noise currently topping the US charts.

Continuing in this six-string electricfest trend is Brighton, England's Brakes’ album The Beatific Visions. The first single off this release is "Hold Me In The River."

Man, talk about a catchy guitar riff! C’mon, we’ve all experienced it: that electric three chord glee that lodges itself in your corpus callosum like some sort of sonic wedgie. To me this sums up the opening riff off Brake’s first single.

Give a listen and hail hail rock and roll.

The World's Greatest Collection of Vintage Concert Recordings

waggle — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 02:02:40 GMT

Man oh man, I was just turned on today to a fab new site: Concert Vault, The World's Greatest Collection of Vintage Concert Recordings.

That's right folks; this site has acquired the master tapes of hundreds of legendary concert recordings from the vaults of Bill Graham Presents and the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The tapes have been digitized and are ready to be streamed to your naked, steaming ears.

And they're free and it's perfectly legal. Registration is required.

I've already listened to Led Zeppelin from the Fillmore East in 1969; Fleetwood Mac from the Capitol Theater in 1975.

I'm currently listening to The Cars from the Palladium in 1978 as I type this.

The recordings are of soundboard quality and there is only a slight amount of high end swishiness, I assume due to compression so they can be delivered via the web.

This is exactly the type of web content that makes my monthly broadband bill worth playing.

http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/

Enjoy.

One of my Favorite Rock Christmas Songs

waggle — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 02:53:42 GMT

On some unnamed bit torrent site [heh], I saw that OK Go has covered The Kinks' Christmas classic, "Father Christmas," on a new KROQ holiday compilation. And it made me pine for the original.

A few years back, I think the SoCal ersatz ska band Save Ferris covered it as well on yet another KROQ Christmas album.

I've heard both covers and the Save Ferris one is better than the OK Go version. Then again, I confess to not being a fan of OG by any stretch of the imagination.

But for my milk and cookies, nothing trumps the original Kinks classic.

Bah humbug to you all...

Song Doppelgangers

waggle — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 23:29:47 GMT

So I'm flipping through the channels and settle upon VH-1. I see this young girl performing a vaguely familiar song, but I can't place it.

Anyway, much to my surprise I find out this performer is Hulk Hogan's daughter, Brooke. A bigger surprise is that she has a singing career, or at least is being pimped as a "singer."

Strike that.

It is of NO surprise that an attractive young girl has gained fame via a reality show, been offered a recording contract, and is being managed by her parents. It's deja vu all over again.

OK, OK, OK, to the crux of this post.

I finally figured out what Brooke Hogan's song "About Us" reminds me of -- Beyonce's "Check On It."

I don't know, but there is something similar about these songs. The chorus? The steam engine rhythm? The glossy production sheen?

But then again my ears have been battered and abused by death-defying volumes over the years.

Either that or the genre these songs represent is so mindlessly formulaic and boilerplate in nature that they are the nadir of creativity and the zenith of marketing within the current music scene.

So do you have any song doppelgangers?

Brooke Hogan's "About Us"

Beyonce's "Check On It"

The Danger Mousing of The Beatles

waggle — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 11:13:35 GMT

Upon hearing about the mashup known as Love a few months ago, I swore I could hear cash registers ringing in the various responsible parties’ heads.

Even from Tennessee.

In fact, I thought for a second I was hearing that bell chorus right before Brian May’s solo in Queen’s "Bicycle Race." lol

Anyway, after hearing Love, I must say the concept works.

I mean, how could it not?

Take, arguably, the greatest rock-era record producer to ever twiddle a dial, add to it the sum output from the greatest rock band of all-time, their music already seemingly ingrained into our collective DNA, whip to a three part harmony frappe with the latest and greatest digital technology, and, voilà, one instant double diamond disk ready to be devoured by the iPod generation.

OK, cynicism aside, even though I find it to be so damn fun, the stand out track on this collection, for me, is the mashup of "Drive My Car" / "The Word" / "What You’re Doing." Kudos Sir George and son for the mix on that mash is so invigorating yet efficiently done. Sure it doesn't have the pathos of the "Eleanor Rigby" / "Julia" mix nor the majesty of the "Blackbird" / "Yesterday" mix, but it's so damn catchy.

Can anyone here identify the sax behind the chorus of "Drive My Car" in this mashup? At first, I thought it was the isolated, and altered, saxophone from "Lady Madonna" that had doubled the guitar lines in that song.

For the purists out there who scoff at the idea of a mashup, I submit that The Beatles [and George Martin] invented the technique.

Lyrically, "I Am the Walrus" is a mashup of sorts: one part Lewis Carroll, one part LSD, and one part impish John Lennon. Written as a response after hearing headmasters were having school children spend their time analyzing Beatle lyrics. Lennon was said to have remarked after finishing the lyrics: "Let the fuckers work that one out."

Thematically, it could be argued "A Day in the Life" showcases a mashup of the song writing sensibilities of Lennon and McCartney. Performance-wise as well: Lennon with his dreamy, echoed lament-like delivery; McCartney with his immediate spot on singing, delivered at a workman-like pace during the bridge.

And of course, sonically, the masterful second side to the peerless Abbey Road is the great grandfather of all mashups. Nothing more really needs to be said about one.

Now what's this I hear about Felliniesque acrobats in spangled tights catapulting themselves around a Las Vegas casino while charging midwesterners $150 a head to watch?

lol

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss?

waggle — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 01:37:10 GMT

A few thoughts about The Who.

I've been a fan of The Who since my high school days. While other kids my age where into the hair band scene or the de jour synth-pop-dance-percolator artists [I use the term, artist, lightly], I just dug The Who. My locker was proof of my undying loyalty: Union Jack stickers abounded, the cover of their seminal album Who's Next affixed to its inner recesses where only I could relish it, and pictures of Pete Townshend in full flight were faithfully scotch taped to the inner door of ol' number 2387. Dammit when I was 16, I wanted to be Keith Moon and lived my life at the time accordingly.

I don't know -- maybe I was drawn to their power trio delivery, their crunchy pop sensibilities, their complex song cycles, or their sonic mayhem. Perhaps, I'm over analyzing things. Perhaps I dug them due to a simpler, baser reason: emergent testosterone was coursing through me and they represented youthful frustration and fury neatly packaged into 5:15 minute chunks.

But to me The Who were more than their image of aggressive no nonsense rock, more than the auto-destructive images of Pete Townshend and Keith Moon gleefully destroying their respective instruments in a mêlée of denouement and quasi ritualistic violence.

The Who were a mélange. At times they coyly crafted their songs to sound like the fuzzed out British invasion pop of The Kinks. At other times, it could be argued that they bested The Beatles in the realm of complex song cycles and motifs with their masterpieces Tommy and Quadrophenia. Yet their live sound simultaneously pointed the way for such riff-heavy acts as Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, while their aggressive, iconoclastic delivery provided the blueprint for such protopunk and punk acts as varied as the MC-5, The New York Dolls, The Stooges, The Clash, and The Ramones. Echoes of their influence can still be heard in Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Green Day, et al.

So, twenty-four years after their last studio recording, and twenty-eight years after the untimely passing of their soul, drummer Keith Moon, The Who have released a brand spanking new album. To be honest, I haven't heard it.

And to be even more honest, I'm not sure I want to hear it.

Am I being a dismissive twat?

Anyway, as a result of this new material, I've taken to listening to the classic Who again. And by classic, I mean, the recordings made by the original lineup, circa 1964-1978. I must confess the bulk of this material truly does stand the test of time. Their message is still timely, their power undiminished. As I listen now, a person nearly two decades older then when I first encountered them, Who music strikes me as music that challenges you. You cannot sit unphased by it -- the complacent need not apply when approaching this band.

The Breakdown

waggle — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 07:49:22 GMT

Out of all the stellar acts to come out of the Memphis soul powerhouse, Stax records, Rufus Thomas is, by far, my personal favorite. This is saying quite a lot considering that the legendary label had a roster of such luminaries as Booker T. & the MGs, Isaac Hayes, and Albert King, just to name a few.

The pinnacle of Rufus’ career occurred rather late in life when he recorded classic soul/funk songs for Stax records in the 60s and 70s. Regardless of age, he was known as the “the world’s oldest teenager” and his contagious dance songs reflected this youthful energy. His songs were ones of good times: danceable in nature, solid in backbeat, punchy with horns, and irresistibly funky. If a part of you ain’t moving while any of his platters are spinning, get your pulse checked.

His most famous songs were “Walking the Dog,” which was later covered by Aerosmith and “Do the Funky Chicken.” The latter’s dynamic performance of Rufus leading 40,000 people in doing the funky chicken was captured for all time in the classic music documentary Wattstax.

For my money, Rufus’ “The Breakdown” is one of my favorites. “The Breakdown” was written to accompany a specific dance, much like his “Do the Funky Chicken” or the “Push and Pull.” Given Rufus’ stage charisma and his tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, whether he meant for these dance crazes to seriously take-off is a moot point. The point here is to get people out of their seats, on the dance floor, and to get down and get funky.

So here’s Rufus’ classic “The Breakdown” from the film, Wattstax.

To check out some more classic Rufus, I’d recommend you see the aforementioned Wattstax and the soul documentary Only the Strong Survive.

Also the compilation, "The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin'" is a good primer to the much treasured "world's oldest teenager."

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ha4gtq9znu48

Peace.

The Dan.

waggle — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 09:10:03 GMT

Hey, peeps, as you might know, I dig Steely Dan. Their music is a tasty mix of jazzy licks, R & B rhythms, pulp novels, and Roget's Thesaurus all enwrapped under a smooth pop patina.

Here's a clip I ripped from their DVD, Classic Albums - Steely Dan: Aja. This clip is about the recording of their seminal radio hit "Peg." It's a gas listening to Chuck Rainey's take on that tune's awesome bass track. Other interesting bits include Becker and Fagen's review of the various guitar solos recorded but never used on the track.

So kick off your high-heeled sneakers, grab some Cuervo Gold, and the fine Colombian and make tonight a wonderful thing...

Pop Music

waggle — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 08:47:42 GMT

It’s much maligned and sometimes dismissed as being too lightweight, too transient, too inconsequential, but, folks, I love a good pop tune. Out of all the musical stylings of the last half century, the pop song is my favorite. Its opening bars draw you in, its first verse beguiles you, and its hook-laden melody under the chorus captures you. And at the moment of maximum saccharine overdose, its counter-melody, the bridge, refreshes your musical palate, readying you for a return to the chorus and eventual fadeout.

Such concise brilliance is the three and half minute pop song. For my money, you can keep your musical virtuosity. Twenty-minute jams bore me. From the nadir of daily life, nothing is more of tonic than a good shot of three-chord, one-million calorie, two-hundred or so seconds of glee.

Yes and?

Well, I have recently rediscovered a song out my past that I had all but had forgotten. It was never a hit in the U.S. It probably sold poorly, in fact. The song was called "Starry Eyes." It’s by a long-forgotten British “New Wave” group of the late 1970s, early 1980s called The Records. They’re your basic power-pop archetype: chiming open chord guitars; quirky, charming vocals; head-bobbing backbeat.

The who?

No, not The Who, The Records….

Theirs were songs of simple structure: classic verse, chorus, verse pattern. Their musicianship was stunningly average, lyrics, quasi-adolescent. Vocals and harmonies were adequate, yet earnest.

The subtle joy of a good pop song is that it's not only greater than the sum of its parts, but ultimately transcends them. So unified are its components, it could be said to be almost gestalt.

Peace, Mike..