I'm sitting in my backyard with Emily Bate , trying to figure out today's song. I realized that besides Mr. Kevin Dunn , we're having kind of an old-timey week. So, hey, let's run with that. I heard this song for the first time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where Louis Jordan was described, in one of the intro videos as "the Father of Rhythm & Blues" and "the Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll." Ryan and I really liked this song and for some reason [...]
My baby just got home today from Mpls. I missed her so much and I'm really glad she's home. Ok, so she was only gone for four days. Ok, go ahead, make fun of me then. Nat "King" Cole's baby was Maria Ellington (no relation), but who did use to sing in Duke Ellington's band. Together they got married and had five kid-os. One of them was Natalie Cole. In closing, I have no idea who Mr. Tibbits is. [...]
I have a nine-year-old brother who is learning to play the saxophone. It's awesome. Last week, I walked into my parents house and he was totally playing this song…and playing it really well, at that—almost flawlessly! My mom was taking him through it, making him practice it over and over. Suddenly, I had a flashback to when she would help me practice clarinet. I would always end up in tears by the end of the night. Not fun. Your turn, buddy!!! "That sounds great," I said. "I took the A train today." "You did?" he asked. [...]
Prison Mail, Monday Mail : What is Monday Mail? About a month ago, this dude Brad from Casa Nueva Industries wrote to me about some guy named Kevin Dunn. Never heard of him, but I was intrigued. Read on: On May 18, Casa Nueva is releasing our biggest project yet: No Great Lost: Songs, 1979-1985, a definitive anthology of new-wave/post-punk provocateur Kevin Dunn. Based out of Atlanta, Dunn was one of the most influential and innovative figures on the fertile [...]
Dear OSS, It's beautiful and I've got two very dear friends in town. Thus, I'm going to post a few tracks today and be done for the week. I hope you can forgive me. My girlfriend is bagging disgusting dead leaves in our backyard and I'm typing this! See how dedicated I am! This is a classic James Brown funk song from the 70s. It's pretty self explanatory. It's about being a sex machine. Here, also, is an amazing cover by the British post punk outfit The Flying Lizards (best known for [...]
Since he was mentioned in yesterday's post , I figured today's as good a time as ever to talk about Little Richard (aka Richard Penniman). Tutti Frutti, au rutti. Good Golly Miss Molly. Ba wamp ba lu whop bam bop. We all know Little Richard. OR DO WE!? For example, did you know that originally "au rutti" was supposed to be "good booty!?" When I was in college, I had this class with one of my best friends, Kot . I really can't remember what [...]
I have a sort of complicated relationship with Ben Folds (Five), although obviously not as complicated as Sady Doyle's relationship with Rivers Cuomo . Mine is more about legitimately liking Ben Folds (Five) most of the time (a distinct time of not liking them occurs during the cheesiest hit song ever written about abortion, "Brick"). The real problem is that I have a hard time being able to figure out if the songs I do like fall in the guilty pleasure zone or not. It was only recently, thanks to a video [...]
Monday Mail Gets You Married. What is Monday Mail? Quiet Color really knows how to throw a party. Back in October, they had an anti-CMJ party featuring bandfriends Grandchildren and a pre-mega hype Sleigh Bells at the soon-to-be-reborn? Market Hotel . In January, they had a circus featuring aerial acrobats and indie rock, all under the same roof (that roof [...]
Local Music Party What's up with Local Music Fridays? I should start by saying that listening to a recording of Pony Pants can not even come close to actually seeing Pony Pants live (hint: they're in NYC on May 8 at Cake Shop). They have this completely unique set up, sound and energy that turns the room into an instant party. And it's the right kind of party. It's not a stuffy party. It's not the kind of party that reminds you that you're "too old for this." [...]
Orange Juice (not to be confused with Orange Drink , on plenty of levels) is a pretty hit or miss band for me, but when they hit they are dead on. Revisiting the band's unique brand of disco+post punk+campy lyrics actually makes me understand that Wild Beasts ripped them off quite directly. They really do have many, many similarities. Oh well, you could do worse. The band started out as youths in Glasgow as The Nu-Sonics, which is funny, because a friend of mine named his band [...]
I had been meaning to check out Harlem Shakes (Todd Goldstein aka ARMS is the guitarist) for ages. Finally did, and I'm not disappointed. On the contrary, I'm kind of addicted to their one and only full-length album Technicolor Health . The album is filled with hooky songs that recall a more poppy/more accessible Animal Collective (yes, even more acessible than Merriweather ). Not to say the album is perfect--it has its flaws. First of all, what's with referencing "game" and "the game" in [...]
Jarvis Cocker once said, "I'm not Jesus, though we do have the same initials." Nice one. I can't even remember who played this song for me first. Probably Ali. Isn't it always? This song is great. It's about a cross-class romance and comes off as a lyrically a darker version of "Uptown Girl". Why darker? In that song, Billy Joel flits about singing the praises and glories of dating an "uptown girl." This song, on the other hand, tackles the underbelly of a relationship like this. Working class boy meets privileged girl. Working class boy resents [...]
In '99 I was 16: Monday Mail. What is Monday Mail? Sometimes you have an itch and you just have to scratch it. Sometimes that itch is synthy music that's kind of emo. Apparently that's the itch I had to scratch today. This reminds me of lots of things. The Anniversary , The Postal Service , Pedro the Lion , even The Magnetic Fields [...]
Lush and Local: Local Music Friday What's up with Local Music Fridays? Sorry, I missed yesterday. I was putting all my energy into putting my apartment back together after the big shack up. Besides, I figured you'd still be playing that France Gall track on repeat. It's funny how you can live with people in a very small town and not meet them until you move to a [...]
Watching But I'm A Cheerleader last weekend also reminded me of this song, which is amazing. The original version was composed by Serge Gainsbourg (father of Charlotte Gainsbourg ) and performed by France Gall. It roughly translates to "Leave the Girls Alone," an obvious plea to a boyfriend or ex to stop fucking around. It's a classic " you'll get yours " song. There's a full translation here [...]
I've been hearing the buzz about Best Coast for a while now, but kept writing them off as the newest indie fuzz it-band. I've said it before and I'll say it again, throwing layers and layers of overdrive on something doesn't actually make it good. On the other hand, if it's already good, well, that's another story. While we're on the subject of the fuzz, I was contemplating the great fuzz trend of two thousand and ? on the train today. I wonder if all this forced overdrive is some kind of response [...]
BAD POP DAY! Monday Mail! What is Monday Mail? On a sunny spring day roughly eight years ago, a few friends of mine declared it "Bad Pop Day!" This entailed playing lots of 60s-sounding happy pop music (including Dressy Bessy and Apples in Stereo) and smiling. A few weeks ago, I received this message about the upcoming NYC Popfest: Announcing its annual event, NYC POPFEST presents NYC POPFEST 2010 May 20th – May 23rd. [...]
Delay and Drums: Local Music Friday What's up with Local Music Fridays? There was a hot minute where I was going to play some songs with Ribbons, but then the general whirlwind of life got in the way, as it sometimes does. It kind of bummed me out, because I really enjoyed spending some time learning the band's songs, as singer/guitarist Jenny Logan (who also plays bass in World Atlas ) did a great job writing them. The [...]
Jimmy Smith aka The Incredible Jimmy Smith was an expert Hammond B-3 organist from Philly. He played a very unique brand of Jazz that I instantly liked the first time I heard it, which was when I was young, because Smith is yet another Dad pick. He also played with a number of late great musicans. Frank Sinatra? Check. You know that Organ solo in Michael Jackson 's "Bad?" Yep, that's Jimmy Smith. When I was about 15 or 16, Dad took Sean and I to see Smith at The Blue Note. [...]
Oh! This just missed Good Week ! I will admit that I'm not a huge Morphine fan. Not because I don't like them, but just because I haven't had enough exposure. Much to my dismay, I was too young to catch the wave of college radio that swept them into popularity. This song got some mainstream radio play as well, which is how I came to know it. I didn't think much about it until I was in my friend's car in Ann Arbor, circa 2004, and this came up [...]
One Sweet Song
Princesse - Tell Me | MP3
Prince – Controversy (Mighty Mouse Re-Edit)
Beck - 'I Just Started Hating Some People Today' [Listen]
[LISTEN] Gotye (Passion Pit Remix)
Azealia Banks – ’1991′ & ‘Van Vouge’
