Category: helloMike

For quite sometime, I’ve kept a list of every concert I’ve attended. Detailing the kind of information that only obsessive music fans would care about: what the venue was, who was the opener, if there were special guests etc. Although its a somewhat unnecessary activity, it really doesn’t take too much time to write some basic info in a book and spreadsheet I put together.

Over the years, the list has accumulated into quite the database of information that can tell me that my first concert was Paul McCartney at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in 1993 (though I clearly don’t need a computer to remind me of that), or that I’ve seen the jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood seven times, or that I saw the Ray Brown Trio literally 6 days before Ray Brown himself died.

One thing this list also tells me is who I still HAVE NOT seen in concert. Obviously that would and should be larger than the list of artists I have seen, but I try to narrow it down by those bands and artists who are still actively touring, still together (reunion concerts don’t typically get added to my list), and those still alive (no Beatles dream concert fantasies here).

Here are five artists or bands that I would try VERY hard to see in concert (within reason… I’m not at a position where I’d drop boatloads of cash to fly across the world to see some band).

1) Jon Brion — Known more for his stellar production with artists like Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann and recently even Kanye West, and for his eclectic film scores (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Punch Drunk Love, Magnolia etc), Jon Brion has become a cult figure in recent years for his weekly vaudevillian live performances at his club Largo in Los Angeles. Brion serves as a one-man band at these shows, playing all the instruments and constructing songs from the ground up with help of looping pedals.

What makes these performances so amazing according to what I’ve read and heard, is that he often takes requests from the audience who call out for cover songs both well-known and obscure. Along with the occasional surprise guest stopping by to play a song or two (Apple, Nickel Creek, Mann have all been known to show up), Brion creates a fantastic atmosphere where people can watch his amazing instrumental and arranging skills, while singing along to Beatles songs at the same time.

[youtube]XeDbha9yaZc[/youtube]

2) Paul Simon — A few years back Paul Simon was touring in support of his great, yet underrated album You’re the One, and was stopping by Kansas City. I waffled on whether I should attempt to get tickets to see him (with my dad who is a huge fan of Simon), but ultimately waited too long and it sold out.

While I love the music of Simon and Garfunkel, I was never keen on forking over a crapload of money to see their recent reunion because ultimately that just seemed like the kind of nostalgia-filled singalong I wasn’t interested in witnessing.

His solo shows however, I would LOVE to see because of the depth of material from his early 70’s albums, not to mention Graceland, Rhythm of the Saints and all of that. Since parting ways with Art Garfunkel all those years ago, Simon has always surrounded himself with the industry’s best stage and studio musicians — tapping jazz greats like Michael Brecker, Cyro Baptista, Steve Gadd, among others.

Probably should’ve scalped tickets to that one.

[youtube]KVReOgeL-kg[/youtube]

3) Sigur Ros — Of all the recent bands I’ve wanted to see the last few years, Icelandic rock band Sigur Ros always ends up being that intangible “one that got away.” Some of that can be attributed to the mystique of their beautiful, ethereal music, but it could also be because I keep bloody missing them. In 2002, there was a fantastic week where Lawrence Kansas had this perfect storm of bands worth seeing who all happened to be coming through.

If I remember correctly there was Jurassic 5, Charlie Hunter Duo, Bob Schneider, Aimee Mann, and The Flaming Lips opening and backing Beck. AND Sigur Ros, if I recall, the same night as Hunter and Schneider and sandwiched between Mann and the Lips\Beck shows I was already going to. Since I didn’t live in Lawrence at the time, making the trek during the college school week three days in a row was unfeasible sadly and I had to pick and choose…

I don’t regret choosing Mann and the AMAZING Lips\Beck show (which still stands in my top five shows ever list if I ever created one), but when I narrowly missed Sigur Ros again a few years later I was mildly more miffed. The band was playing in Bethesda Maryland, literally the day I moved to Washington DC and it was impossible to score a ticket, let alone find a way to get out there. (That show was webcast on All Songs Considered, which made it that much more painful to have missed it.) After seeing a video of their recent show at MoMA in New York, I was convinced to not to miss them again.

[youtube]AOiuQ45PGvc[/youtube]

There are countless other artists on my list as well, but surely those are stories for a different day. What are other musical artists or bands you still have not seen?

Welcome to Volume Two of Mixtape Pollution 2008… This is the second disc of a mix I made (and still am burning copies) for this mixtape club I’ve been a part of for the past year.

This collection is more about sound than lyrical themes but when strung together sounds like one long story arc.  While seemingly diverse in artist and genre, all the songs to me hit a singular cinematic mood throughout and are a bit darker in tone than the first set of songs.

You can read and listen to Volume One here.

1) “A Silhouette Of Doom” by Ennio Morricone
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/01_Morricone_ASilhouetteOfDoom.mp3]

I’ve always been a big fan of genre films: film noir (Double Indemnity), post apocalyptic science fiction (Planet of the Apes, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Children of Men), zombies (Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later), martial arts (Fists of Fury) and of course the western…specifically the ‘Spaghetti Western’… specifically Sergio Leone. 

One of the things that makes Leone’s films so great (and there are many reasons, too many to list) is the musical scores of composer Ennio Morricone.  While he most known for the music in films such as The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West and Fistful of Dollars, Morricone also scored other films like The Untouchables, and Cinema Paradisio and countless others.

This lesser known work, “A Silhouette of Doom” from the 1966 film Navajo Joe (starring Burt Reynolds of all people) was later brought back with much more prominence in Quentin Tarrantino’s fantastic genre\exploitation film Kill Bill. The piece, whether you hear it in either of these films or as a stand alone piece, instantly transports you to a very distinct time and place (fictional or not) with its use of thundering timpanis, echoing trombone, and omnious piano notes and dischordant orchestra.  Simply a stellar piece of music.

2) “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” by Nina Simone
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/02_Simone_DontLetMeBeMisunderstood.mp3]

While Ella, Aretha, Billie and Sarah are among my favourites obviously, but when it comes to jazz and soul singers, for me it all comes down to Nina Simone. There is something about Nina’s dark, gruff and brooding, yet soaring and transcendent voice that seems so real and impassioned. Originally written for Simone, is most known for a rendition by the Animals, but I love this version for its great arranging of strings.

3) “Blue Veins” by The Raconteurs
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/03_Raconteurs_BlueVeins.mp3]

From the first distant echoes of backward-looped guitars and Jack White’s wailing vocals, this song somehow seemed destined to follow Nina. Compared to the White Stripes, The Raconteurs have never quite lived up to the promise of such a supergroup for me. But with the band in full-on Zeppelin mode, this song shows how to take a dark blues-driven song and modernize it with the touches of pop production.

4) “The Rip” by Portishead
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/04_Portishead_TheRip.mp3]

The new Portishead album does a good job of sounding like Portishead, while straying from the ‘trip hop’ sound they practically invented, but had become tiresome after a decade of hearing lesser imitators programmed as mood music in trendy clothing stores. This song actually first caught my ear in a video that Radiohead posted online showing a stripped down version that maintains the intricate arpeggiated chord progression and ghostly melody. When the synth comes in to double the arpeggios, and the drums begin to intensify, this song is solidifies it’s place among the year’s best songs.

[youtube]zPPH1qg8Qo4[/youtube]

5) “Green Grass Of Tunnel” by Mum
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/05_Mum_GreenGrassOfTunnel.mp3]

Mum is among my favorites when it comes to cinematic electronic music. Its glitchy percussive sounds and swelling instrumentation coupled with a fragile affected voice (reminiscent of Sigur Ros), is tailor made for a ethereal montage in a film.

6) “Teen Love” by Peter Bjorn & John
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/06_PBJ_TeenLove.mp3]

The rise of Swedish bands has seen high exposure the last few years thanks to bands like The Concretes, Shout Out Louds and naturally Peter Bjorn & John. All share a similar stylistic love of British pop, washes of shoegazey guitars and sweet melodies. This song just screams early 60s British Invasion especially as Peter sings here, channeling John Lennon’s vocal cord tearing turn on songs like “Revolution.”

7) “Gold Sounds” by Pavement
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/07_Pavement_GoldSounds.mp3]

I think that Pavement and Stephen Malkmus, much like Dylan was in the 60s, has been so studied and analyzed to the point of overanalysis. What can be said that hasn’t been yet? His lyrics are ironic, witty, elusive, his delivery sorta lazy and monotone. Perhaps because his influence and reputation was so huge on lo fi indie bands that you hear it everywhere, you sorta forget how great the music is sometimes.

8) “Helpless” by Crosby Stills Nash & Young
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/08_CSNY_Helpless.mp3]

A timeless classic that never gets old…even when it’s on the radio a bajillion times. Instantly sets a mood and never falters from that.

9) “Long, Long, Long” by The Beatles
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/09_Beatles_LongLongLong.mp3]

While early on George Harrison’s songs with The Beatles did not seem to hold up compared to the tunes written by Lennon and McCartney, George really came into his own near the end. George initially didn’t have the lyrical gifts of John or the melodic genius of Paul, so his songs sorta paled in comparison (obviously “Taxman,” “Think For Yourself” and a handful of others stand out here and there). But through experimenting with Indian music and finding his way in bluesier influences, George really found a niche and came into his own. “Long Long Long” is one that really hinted at what was to come for Harrison and is one of my favorite lesser known Beatles tunes.

10) “Don’t Do Anything” by Sam Phillips
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/10_SamPhillips_DontDoAnything.mp3]

It’s amazing to read about how far Phillips has come since her early days as a Christian contemporary artist and songwriter. Her last few albums, which I have only come to find in the last couple years, including her latest, are full of great songs and rich production. This is among my favorites for this year.

11) “Weird Sisters” by Sparklehorse
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/11_Sparklehorse_WeirdSisters.mp3]

Is it strange to feel warmth and comfort in Mark Linkous’ pain and anguish? But there is a beauty in the depression that can be heard in the dark brooding melodies and, again, inspired production. I have learned a lot as a musician and producer by listening to these records over and over.

12) “Sentimental Heart” by She & Him
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/12_SheHim_SentimentalHeart.mp3]

Obviously at this point it’s a cliche to say that most actors do not make good musicians. But this is definitely not the case for She & Him which is the collaboration of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, who create a lovely and earnest collection of country-inflected folk songs. Zooey’s voice is good, not great but there is an honesty to it all which allows the project to feel legit.

13) “I’ll Bring The Sun” by Jason Collett
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/13_JasonCollett_IllBringTheSun.mp3]

Jason Collett may not be as well known as other members of Broken Social Scene who have gone solo, but his first solo album teams with poppy nuggets and alt-country-ish rock songs. This is one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard in a long time… really reminds me of a more power-popish version of New Order’s “Age of Consent.”

14) “Apartment Story” by The National
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/14_National_ApartmentStory.mp3]

With that deep and sullen voice and interlocking guitars and drums, The National feels like both a throwback to early 80s post punk and to modern indie rock at the same time. The band can be fast and upbeat and slow, introspective and disaffected, yet I go back to Boxer frequently and always find more to admire in their approach.

15) “He Needs Me” by Shelley Duvall
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/HelloShuffle/MixtapePollution2008/15_Duvall_HeNeedsMe.mp3]

I have written about this song in the past, from both Altman’s film Popeye and PT Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love. This is the Jon Brion-reproduced track from the later film. There is an innocence to this song that is hard to shake…perhaps due to Duvalls role in Popeye and maybe even in The Shining. A great way to end.