Dinosaur Jr. - Over It

I can't remember if this video made it up already or not. Sorry for the repeat if so.

Michael Jackson - Billy Jean

At his prime as a perfomer and singer

Sadness

More new music

I probably will stand alone in liking Spinnerette, the new band featuring ex-Distillers frontwoman Brody Dalle along with drummer Jack Irons (early Red Hot Chili Peppers albums, Pearl Jam) and some guys from Eagles of Death Metal. But I think even though the video is stupid that this is a good pop song. I make no apologies. I like it and I think everyone ought to.



If you don't know The Distillers, they were unfortunately and inaccurately compared to Hole (as all female-fronted loud bands tend to be now). I think a more apt comparison would be Joan Jett. Rock and roll swagger with pop sensibilities. Here's a sample:




And oh yeah....The Original Lone Wolf

The Clash - Charlie Don't Surf

It feels like a Clash day for me. At the top of my list for bands I wished I could have seen live is The Clash.

New music, and the ONLY music (by that I mean Danzig)

So Marty's been pointing out to me--rightly--that there is in fact some good new music. I decided to look for some, but I cheated a little. These are new bands featuring people from old bands I love.

First, from the ashes of McLusky comes Future of the Left.



In case you never listened to McLusky, permit me this glance backward:




I'll have some more tomorrow.....but for now, Danzig......

Neil Young - Pocahontas

Here's a track from the Neil Young Unplugged performance that I mentioned in my last post. Neil Young was one of the few artists that everyone in my immediate family could agree on, so this album and his others got a lot of play at home when I was growing up. How can you go wrong with a song that imagines sitting around a fire with Pocahontas and Marlon Brando?

Pearl Jam - Porch

Marty got me thinking about all of the MTV Unplugged shows. One that stuck out for me was Pearl Jam's. I was not their biggest fan at the time, but to see them rock out, especially in this song really made me appreciate their music more. It helped that at the time I was impressed by Eddie Vedder's histrionics. Nothing like rock stars acting like rock stars - throw in a little protest for good measure.

Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson - Folsom Prison Blues

I'm pretty grateful that I grew up in a time when acoustic performance shows were all the rage on TV. MTV Unplugged alone had some great ones... Nirvana and Neil Young immediately come to mind. This performance from the VHI Storytellers series is probably the most listened to live album in my collection. Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson casually trade their songs like a couple of old timers telling fishing stories. Each songwriter seems impressed with the other's work, but there also seems to be a little bit of one-upmanship going on. Beyond the songs and the classic stage banter, what really makes this an album that I keep reaching for is the sound made by mixing two life-weary voices with Willie Nelson's amazing guitar play. It's clear that he's making up his solos as he goes along, tossing in jazz chords and runs in the middle of country songs with very little effort. Johnny Cash seemed about as impressed as I am...

The Ventures - Walk Don't Run

On Sunday, guitarist Bob Bogle of The Ventures passed away at the age of 75. The Ventures were said to be the band that launched a thousand bands. There instrumental, guitar driven rock was influential on many of today's artists, a fact that is corroborated by their 2008 induction into the rock and roll hall of fame. "Walk Don't Run" was their first major hit.

The Black Keys - Your Touch

The diner scene in this video is pretty funny. This song is off of their 2006 release, Magic Potion. It's their only album I own. I keep meaning to check out the rest of their catalog....

son volt - catching on

Son Volt will release American Central Dust on July 7th. It seems Farrar is continuing his everyman commentary on contemporary America. While he is not the voice of his generation by any means and his more recent albums have not aged that well, I still think he offers a good voice of dissent. Hopefully I will have a track from the new album in July, for now this is "Catching On" from Son Volt's best album to date - Trace. If you want to hear a track from the new ablum, go to http://www.sonvolt.net/

Brooklyn Murders Auto-Tune

I know I already ranted about Auto-Tune in an earlier post. The overused vocal effect has dominated hip hop music for the past couple of years, giving the tone deaf the courage to "sing" instead of rap. Well it seems like the tide is finally turning and here are a couple of examples from just this past week.

First, Jay-Z released his new single, D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune). The beats and backing track are nothing to write home about, but the lyrics provide a biting critique of the Auto-Tune abusers. Like he says, "this is assault with a deadly weapon." Let's hope he just killed some short-lived careers. I also have to mention that Pitchfork wrote that with this song, Jay-Z has officially joined the Grumpy Old Rappers Club. Sometimes the hipsters over at Pitchfork confuse the "new shit" for plain old shit...


Then there's Mos Def and his performance on Letterman this past Monday night. He keeps it simple, and soulful without singing a note. I've gotta believe that this brand of hip hop will make a comeback...

Cat Stevens - On the Road to Find Out

See you all in Greensboro

EELS - Fresh Blood

Hombre Lobo was released last week. I wonder what E is up to with this album.

Magnolia Electric Co - Leave the City

Packing up, getting ready, reflecting.

Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin'

A summer anthem from years ago.

Janet Jackson - Got 'Til It's Gone

I think this single still stands up 12 years later. Janet Jackson's hushed voice, the Joni Mitchell sample, and Q-Tip laying it down... it's just sexy. This video is close to perfect too.

Angry Johnny & the Killbillies

I saw these guys at a bar in Roanoke last Thursday. Angry Johnny was an artist from western Mass. (he painted the cover of Dinosaur Jr.'s "Where You Been") and he's been putting out "bloodgrass" records since 1996 (with his debut, Hankenstein). It was a great show; they played 3 hours. Here are some performances of the show they did in Norfolk the next night. The mandolin player is killer. Angry Johnny's lyrics are wicked awesome; I wish the sound on "Drunken Frenchman Built My House" was better, but give it a listen anyway.

Dinosaur Jr. - I Want You To Know

This is the new single from DJ's upcoming release, Farm. I honestly can't remember them playing this when we saw them a few weeks ago (maybe I was still in the afterglow of Mike Watt), but the song's got me pretty excited to hear the rest of the album.