Okay gents… here is a little change in direction for the song I had been working on… Originally planning for this to be more straight forward and folky but somehow ended up with this. Sort of a combination of the piano sounds on “We Are Abandoned…” mixed with drum stylings of “Autographs” but hopefully its a bit less repetitive and derivative. Vocals coming…once I finish my lyrics.
Thoughts?
[audio:https://hellocomein.com/soundbox/hellomusic_mike/BloodRedSkies_v2b.mp3]
The New York Times has a report this morning about an emerging scandal within the hip-hop sector as Timbaland, 50 Cent and Wyclef Jean are implicated in a steroids investigation. The article explains of the unlikely (yet not shocking) news:
“The spectacle of hip-hop now is so much greater than it’s ever been,” said Jeff Chang, the author of the hip-hop history “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.” “There’s always the battle aesthetic at work, this idea that you’re going to go up there and show that you’re badder than everybody else. It’s part of the swagger that hip-hop carries.”
While obviously used for gratuitous aesthetic purposes, I do wonder what 50 would sound like without performance enhancing drugs. It certainly didn’t help him outsell Kanye last fall.
Watching end of Packers\Seahawks game tonight and during some stats segment I heard a pretty familiar funky tune that I instantly recognized as a Sesame Street song. I remember Sesame Street always having really great guests and musicians drop by as well as pretty cool songs (and educational too!). Check it out below.
[youtube]HgocE-JfWFI[/youtube]
Slow day at the office so to speak… so here are a few things I’ve rediscovered this week. None are really all that ‘new’ to me per se, but sometimes you sort of just forget about things for awhile, until someone mentions or pops up somewhere (iPod, internet). Such is the case here.
1) They Might Be Giants — I remember how fun and crazy this band was when I discovered them back in late grade school (like most people my age did via Tiny Toons’ Particle Man). It’s amazing to think that this band has consistently put out quality records for over 20 years and really have never wavered from much from their quirky, lovable sound. Their forthcoming second children’s album Here Come the 123’s looks to be more of the same. Check out this great video from their first self-titled album.
[youtube]VJQnZZ-Wmao[/youtube]
2) Blonde Redhead — Definitely not old, nor new to me but the past video reminded me of this video from Blonde Redhead’s “Top Ranking” from last year’s 23 album. They’re coming here to the DC next week so I might just have to go.
[youtube]bMH1yFQFj5I[/youtube]
3) Daft Hands — Recently I became aware of yet another fad in YouTube videos…this one involving hand dances set to Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” The video is a highly coordinated series of hand motions spelling out the lyrics with hands and fingers (with the words drawn in sharpie). But the amazing thing is that if you search just a little, you will find more than a few imitation videos of other people coming up with their own versions, some even trying to outdo the original.
I have never quite understood this variety of ‘original content’ that surfaces on the site; in my mind it’s one thing to create your own short film or video or mash up etc. I get that…they’re often funny, sometimes painful, and most likely completely terrible. But when others create videos of themselves enacting the Crank Dat (Soulja Boy) dance or those old mash ups of that poor ‘Star Wars kid’ I do wonder what drives people to do that. I obviously feel old and out of touch so really I just want to feel young and hip again before they change whatever hip is.
Either way it’s not a new phenomenon by any means, but just interesting how one decent idea yields so many imitations. I suppose that with the ease of creating videos and music and sharing ideas (on crappy blogs like this one), anyone can have a voice, which ultimately inspires others to try it for themselves.
Anyway…enough rambling about the obvious…here’s the damn video.
[youtube]K2cYWfq–Nw[/youtube]
Here’s a short piece for NPR’s Song of the Day about Sunset Rubdown’s song “The Mending of the Gown” from Random Spirit Lover. To read the full review and hear the song go here.
Continue reading NPR Song Of The Day: Sunset Rubdown, ‘The Mending Of The Gown’
Like many, I was skeptical when I heard that Conan O’Brian, Jay Leno and David Letterman were returning to air without their writers last week (Daily Show and Colbert Report return tonight). Without the writers around, could these shows really have enough to fill their hour slots? Would guests be willing to appear even though most have seemed to show support for the WGA? Could Leno maintain the same level of unfunny he has had since the mid-nineties?
But it was nice to catch of Conan and Letterman (with kick ass strike beards taboot) acknowledge there was a strike going on instead of pretending like nothing was going on. They genuinely seemed to show their support for their writers while also ensuring the rest of their staff is not laid off in the process.
The late night show do have some noticeable time to fill — with Conan reportedly spinning his wedding ring to set his own personal time record — but I was also pleasantly surprised with a couple pretty funny segments:
First,Conan wandered the halls aimlessly with his guitar and amp in tow, playing “Sunshine of Your Love” for anyone within earshot. Conan later showed some more of his showman chops the other night, covering Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon Over Kentucky” while fronting the Max Weinberg Seven. Check it out below… pretty awesome.
[youtube]b9lXcUL2GQw[/youtube]
It’s hard to know if Conan, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert et al will be able to maintain their high levels of quality now that they’re back, but you can tell that Conan at least is trying to make the best of the situation and try some new things.
Let’s hope that the studios finally come to their senses and give the writer’s what they want soon because I’m not sure I can take more reality shows and writer’s videos on youtube.
Wrote about Thao And The Get Down Stay Down’s song “Beat (Health, Life and Fire)” from her album We Brave Bee Stings and All for NPR’s Song of the Day. To read the full review and hear the song go here.
Wow. Here’s an oldie. That is, a 90s power pop gem from the olden days when college radio didn’t completely suck and I actually listened nightly to 105.9 the Lazer from Lawrence, Kansas. In those middle school days of the early to mid-nineties, grunge was on its downslide.
But with power pop bands like Weezer and Matthew Sweet combining elements of crunchy garage rock and that California slacker vibe, it was still a good time to be a fan of popular rock music. And shockingly enough, it was PLAYED on the radio, so kids like me were able to, you know, hear it.
I had all but forgotten about Matthew Sweet and his single off of 100% Fun, “Sick Of Myself” until about two months ago, when some blog posted a live studio performance by Death Cab for Cutie covering this song. But once I refreshed my memory, I was reminded how much I enjoyed it when I used to own this album. It’s a perfect combination of simple chord changes, driving beat, sad sack outlook, and killer hooks that will have you singing along.
By today’s standard, it’s not experimental, challenging or even all that original, but who gives a crap? That does not diminish it’s status as a very agreeable rock confection; one I certainly wouldn’t turn off if it popped up on my car radio. That is if a) they played this sort of thing on the radio b) I had a car.
[youtube]CRF_qOJfaDs[/youtube]
Other random thought: Was this video really directed by Roman Coppola?
We’ve got one last EP coming soon…but due to holidays and weddings and life and such, we’re running typically late. Stay tuned. Also expect some news soon about what’s in store for 2008. (oooo mysterious…)
This band is doing everything right these days. Last night while many of us were preparing to ring in the new year (midnight GMT), Radiohead put on a live video webcast presentation of In Rainbows. The hour long private studio performance, titled Scotch Mist, was also run on the cable channel Current TV.
The songs have all made their way to YouTube and can also be listened to individually. Paraphrasing Greg’s sentiment about the the “thumbs_down” webcasts (from awhile back) these seem to both pull back the veil of the band and also add to their mystery.
Somehow though, it gives great insight into how the band works and performs away from the stage.
Highlight for me: “House of Cards.”
[youtube]2yZBE5qLw8Y[/youtube]
Other videos:
15 Step
Bodysnatchers
Nude
Weird Fishes\Arpeggi
All I Need
Faust Arp
Reckoner
House of Cards
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Videotape
Also, if you haven’t read it yet, also check out Wired’s great feature conversation between Thom Yorke and David Byrne, as well as Byrne’s amazingly informative essay on the current state of the music business. Both excellent reads.