The Muppets Play The Beatles

So I’ve heard some of The Beatles’ remasters coming out next Wednesday (9/9/09!!!) and all I can say is that they’re stunning. I’ve heard a handful of tracks from all the albums — standouts from what I’ve heard seem to be “I Am The Walrus,” “I’ve Got A Feeling,” “Daytripper,” “She’s Leaving Home” etc — plus all of Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour in their entirety.

I’ll be sure to write up more once I have the full stereo box set in my possession next week. But in anticipation, here is a bit of Beatles-related ephemera.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVLkRixjHo8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZqXspiN-lg&NR=1[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjfdfU-uaPQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr7v5lLQhHQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfNg484cRCQ[/youtube]

Best Song I’ve Heard All Day: Unlikely Cover Song Edition

(parts 792 in a 1001 part series)

Lately I feel like this has become some sappy Flaming Lips fan blog, but this one was too good to pass up, and what can I say? I am fan.

Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I love a great cover song. One that’s not only a great performance, but one that makes you hear the original in a new light. One of my favorites from this year so far is The Flaming Lips’ cover of Madonna’s “Borderline.”

I first heard The Lips play this song at that pretty mediocre Earth Day concert earlier this year and it was fun to hear, but much like the rest of the set, underwhelming.

What I didn’t know was that the band not only has incorporated the song into their live set, but recorded it for a Warner compilation, Covered, A Revolution in Sound: Warner Bros Records with members of Stardeath and White Dwarfs. But judging from the rest of the music included, “Borderline” looks to be the standout.

The Flaming Lips’ version starts as a mellower approach to the song, dreamy and full of computerized glitches and chiming tones. But soon that epic noise rock side of the band really explodes, transforming it into a fantastic shoegazey stadium anthem. What I love about it is that it truly reinvents the song, peeling away the sheen and gauzey production of Madonna’s original and finding the nugget of a great pop song. Like most Madonna songs, this one is fully of great melodic hooks and really makes you appreciate the songcraft with fresh ears.

Take a listen here, and watch the great video that they made for it:

Who Am I Kidding? I’d Probably Eat That…

I am a huge fan of the website This Is Why You’re Fat, a brilliant blog that regularly shows photos of disgusting food concoctions that are so intensely bad for you that you have to question who would come up with this, let alone eat any of that junk. However, I regularly find myself admitting, “Who are you kidding? I’d probably eat that…” when I see some ungodly fatty meat invention. It’s not like I’d order it myself necessarily, or even make it at home. But I’m pretty sure I’d be game to eat anything on this site if it was served to me.

That said, LA Times and Huffington Post have tuned in on some buzz has been going on in the last few days about a new KFC product, the ‘Double Down,’ a hilarious “This Is Why You’re Fat”-like spoof on America’s obesity problem.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLwEZRf3www[/youtube]

And yet, it’s not a spoof. It’s real and it’s currently being test marketed in Providence, R.I. and Omaha, Neb.

It’s a “sandwich” of cheese, bacon and some sort of sauce, housed by two pieces of fried chicken breasts that serve as bread. It’s a wonder on the same level as the much derided KFC Bowls. America has spoken and I can’t wait to know what Patton Oswalt thinks.

But who am I kidding? I’d probably eat that.

UPDATE 8/27: In what might be the single greatest piece of writing in the now ubiquitous “KFC Double Down” genre of creative writing and criticism, Sean O’Neal of the AV Club, has a fantastic dystopic write-up. One of the many highlights:

Well naturally it’s exceeded expectations: Not only is its design a blow against “the tyranny of the bun,” it’s also the ultimate challenge to the rest of the fast-food industry to step up its game. KFC has seen your impotent Triple Whoppers and raised you bacon and cheese wrapped in two slices of fried chicken; put up or fold. And such escalation is a critical step toward engendering a citizenry so docile and addled with saturated fats that it has no choice but to accept whatever health care plan will cover their rapidly corroding insides.

Still, I’d probably eat one.

Best Song I’ve Heard All Day — Psych Pop Edition

(parts 731-733 in a 1001 part series)

I cannot express how much I am looking forward to the new Flaming Lips album Embryonic, which arrives in stores on October 13. From what I’ve heard of the pre-leaked tracks, the band sounds to be taking another sonic shift… a bit more psychedelia and noise than the last few albums. I was probably one of the few who thoroughly enjoyed At War With The Mystics, but I can see why people thought it was a bit too similar to Yoshimii and were subsequently underwhelmed.

Anyway here are all the songs so far…

Silver Trembling Hands:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiX-HDksbck[/youtube]

Convinced Of The Hex:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ3S-c-96ik[/youtube]

The Impulse:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk7kzIxcpSQ[/youtube]

See The Leaves:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVrVNZfGibU[/youtube]

Best Song I’ve Heard All Day: Panda Bear Edition

(part 721 in a 1001 part series)

For one reason or another, last year’s Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel by Brandon Cox’s side project Atlas Sound, never really caught on with me. Compared to Cox’s main musical outlet Deerhunter, and specifically 2008’s Microcastle, Atlas Sound just seemed more of the same.

After a bit of prodding from friend and occasional music collaborator (not to mention All Songs producer) Robin Hilton, I took another listen to that first record, as well as the new one Logos and fell in love.

My favorite track so far from Logos, “Walkabout” which features Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcMGACqsg5A[/youtube]

Old Things That Are New To Me: Treat Your Mother Right

Tonight I was watching last night’s Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and in a joke about NASA accidentally taping over the original tape of the moonlanding, they showed a brief clip of this beauty:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_rBidCkJxo[/youtube]

I don’t know what else I can say about this. It’s amazing. The end.

I Used To Hate This Song: Wilco’s ‘You And I’

…Now I kinda like it. This is one of my favorite quotes from the movie High Fidelity, still one of my favorite movies. Obviously, these are the words of record store owner Rob Gordon (played by John Cusack) as he admits to his ultra-hip music snob friends that he might actually be enjoying Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way” — a song he used to once loathe.

When I first heard Wilco’s “You And I,” a new tune featuring Feist on the latest record Wilco (The Album), I felt it was easily one of the most blandly treated songs in the band’s repertoire. On paper, this song — in which Jeff Tweedy and Leslie Feist coo a sweet duet to each other — seemed like a no brainer; a surefire win. What’s not to like?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USjuOWLyWIQ[/youtube]

To be honest, my first impressions were no doubt soiled (unfairly perhaps) by high expectations of what I want a Wilco album to sound like. This is now second Wilco album that, while a sturdy and and generally “good” record, seemed to fall a bit flat for me. It could be argued that the band’s stellar live concerts — with the band’s virtuosic musicianship and instrumental prowess and high energy — has become the best way to experience the band. It could also be argued that what I want from Wilco, may not be what Wilco wants from Wilco anymore.

The Album finds the band for the most part still in a relaxed mode, playing good, unfussy songs well. But it’s a far cry from the deconstructionist rock I fell in love with.

“You And I” in particular, at least on first listens, jumped out by not jumping out at all. It’s certainly the most calculated and straight-ahead song on the record: not offensive or even particularly bad, but dull.

But then I caught a couple homemade videos on YouTube of Feist sitting in with Wilco on tour to perform the song. And again, this past week, they took the song on the Late Show, playing the song for David Letterman:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4NPMjmZ-5A&hl[/youtube]

Suddenly, I was noticing fragments of the song’s melodies rattling around in my head and began to wonder if there was more to this song than I had thought. I looked up the song’s chords online, worked up the song on guitar within an hour — still is a really simple and unfussy song structure — and found that I really loved the chord progression.

The best part of the song to me is the bridge (mistakenly labeled as the “chorus” in that chord sheet link), where the song has brief, and subtle key change:

F Fmaj7
Oh, I don’t wanna know
Em
Oh, I don’t wanna know
C Am9
Oh, I don’t need to know everything about you
F Fmaj7
Oh I don’t wanna know and
C Bb Am Dm G6 G7
You don’t need to know that much about me

That C > Bb > Am > Dm > G6 > G7 progression fits just perfectly and truly makes the song for me. My only wish is that they would play that section more than once. Oh well.

Over the last few days, I’ve decided that “You And I” may be one of the best “songs” on the records. Even if the rather glossy production and uninteresting instrumentation might paint the song as a bit tepid sonically, I think there is something to be said about the overall restraint in the melodies, the beauty of Feist and Tweedy’s vocals and the way the chords snugly fit together. Well done Tweedy, well done.

Reblogging: Jazz Labels That Matter And The Dead Weather

I had a few more things I’ve written go up in the last week to shamelessly promote. Here’s a three bulleted rundown:

On Monday, All Songs Considered asked the question ‘Do Labels Matter?‘ While they discussed that in their show and blog, I helped spotlight two jazz labels that DO still matter for A Blog Supreme: Tzadik and Nonesuch.

Then today, we put up a ‘First Listen’ for The Dead Weather’s fiery new album Horehound. You can hear that here and read what I had to say about the record.

Here is the video for their single “Treat Me Like Your Mother:”

The Dead Weather – Treat Me Like Your Mother

Oh and if you haven’t checked out my John Vanderslice review on Song of the Day, here it is again.

Best Video* I’ve Seen All Day — Secret Agent Caper Edition

(part 703 in a 1001 part series)

*I’m fudging a little with my original concept of ‘Best Song’ I’ve heard all day, because really, this video outweighs the song for me. But what the hell…

I came across this great new video for Jenny Lewis’ song “See Fernando” from last year’s album Acid Tongue. Never really got into that record compared to her first solo effort Rabbit Fur Coat, but this song really works in this context. It’s a fun little homage to those old 1960’s spy action caper movies and tv shows.

Jenny Lewis “See Fernando” from Team G on Vimeo.

Nice little cameo from the lovely Watson Twins as well.