Music Quote of the Day


"If you really think about it, everything in this world tries to be music." -- Eugene Hutz

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Banjo Boy - Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand

What can I say? This song makes me smile. Another Utah band that makes my toes tap and my chair dance. Nothing too deep - just a good, fun time.

Banjo Boy by Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand from the 2005 album "Dream Big"



The official website for Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand

MySpace page for Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand

Saturday, November 29, 2008

The Piano Has Been Drinking - Tom Waits

This always, without fail, makes me laugh until I cry and I'm feeling the need for a little silliness tonight.


From a 1977 appearance on Fernwood Tonight, a comedic talk show parady created by Norman Lear and starring Fred Willard and Martin Mull.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Didn't It Rain - Sister Rosetta Tharp

Sister Rosetta was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas but there is some confusion as to whether she was born in 1915 or 1921 and she managed to always avoid direct confirmation of either. The daughter of travelling missionary Katie Bell "Mother Bell" Nubin, Rosetta began performing with her mother at the age of 6.

Sister Rosetta married three times. Her first marriage to minister Thomas J. Thorpe ended early in divorce because he couldn't accept her performing. Her second marriage to gospel booking agent Forrest Allen also ended in divorce. In 1951 she married Russell Morrison, the former manager of The Ink Spots.

Complications of a stroke she suffered in 1970 resulted in the amputation of one of her legs, but she continued to tour until 1973. She suffered another stroke in 1973, this time fatal. She died on October 9, 1973 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A remarkable woman and performer, she became the first nationally recognizable gospel singer, the first to take gospel music into secular arenas, and the first gospel artist to record with a major label.

Didn't It Rain by Sister Rosetta Tharp from a 1964 appearance on the BBC t.v. show "Blues and Gospel Train."



Musician's Guide biography of Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Galileo - Indigo Girls

Another good friend of mine sent me an email suggesting this song. He has impeccable taste (despite his dislike of Tom Waits and Nick Cave). I have always loved their harmonies and intertwined vocals.

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have known each other since elementary school just outside of Decatur, Georgia. They started playing together in high school, but then went off to seperate colleges - temporarily. They eventually both transferred back home to Emery University and by 1985 had started playing together again as Indigo Girls (a name they picked while going through the dictionary and deciding they liked the word "indigo").

Galileo by the Indigo Girls from the 1992 album "Rites of Passage"



To see the official Sony-BMG released video for Galileo (it's unembeddable, sorry, but I still recommend it), you can go straight to it by clicking HERE.


Official website for Indigo Girls

Indigo Girls MySpace page

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Bang Bang - Nico Vega

Yup, another one by Nico Vega. She is one of my favorite new voices. We've tried to track down an audio recording of this - even going so far as to contact the band directly about it - and apparently this video is the only existing recording of this song ... at least for now. Personally, I sure hope to find it on a CD someday so I can listen to it whenever/wherever I want.

Bang Bang by Nico Vega



Nico Vega's MySpace page

Monday, November 24, 2008

Jolene - Queen Adreena

Originally written and performed by Dolly Parton in 1973, the song Jolene tells the tale of a housewife confronting a beautiful seductress she believes is trying to steal her husband. The song was Dolly's first blockbuster, hitting #1 in 1974. It has been coverred by many artists over the decades, including The White Stripes, Sister of Mercy, Olivia Newton-John, Natalie Merchant, Cake, and this version by Queen Adreena (I love KatieJane Garside's voice).

Jolene by Queen Adreena was released in 2000 as a b-side for the single "Pretty Polly" from the album "Taxidermy"



Official site for Queen Adreena

MySpace page for Queen Adreena

Official site of Katiejane Garside

MySpace page for KatieJane Garside

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Baby Mine - Allison Krauss

The song Baby Mine was first featured in Walt Disney's 1941 feature length animated movie "Dumbo". It has been covered by many artists over the decades, including Better Midler in the 1988 movie Beaches (I was pregnant with my oldest when that one came out). This version by Allison Krauss, however, is my personal favorite. (Yes, I agree - a blurry still photo doesn't count as a video, but this blog isn't for my favorite videos, it's for the actual SONGS.)

Baby Mine by Allison Krauss from the 2007 album "A Hundred Miles or More"



Listen to the wind, little baby boy, you'll hear Nonna whisper how much she loves you.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Caroline, London 1940 - Sleep Station

New Jersey's Sleep Station is the brainchild of David Debiak. Sleep Station's releases have been called both concept albums and rock operas by critics, but according to Debiak they are neither. "Every record I have done as Sleep Station," he says, "has been thematic in its nature, not trying to tell a story but just create a mood."

Caroline, London 1940 by Sleep Station from the 2004 album "After the War" released on Eyeball Records.



Sleep Station on Eyeball Records

Sleep Station MySpace page

Sleep Station on Facebook

Thursday, November 20, 2008

A Cheat - The Blue Hawaiians

A friend of mine (the same guy who turned me on to Stew a few years ago) suggested this song today. It seems to fit thematically with the previous song, so how could I resist posting it right now? Yay!

L.A.'s The Blue Hawaiians' music is a bit of this, a bit of that, and a bit something else entirely with a touch of the Las Vegas strip and an overriding surf guitar sound that brings to mind images of dark waves hitting the beach on a moonless night.

A Cheat by The Blue Hawaiians from the 1997 album "Live at the Lava Lounge" (also available on the 1999 album "Savage Night")



The Pascal Records artist page for The Blue Hawaiians

The Blue Hawaiians' MySpace page

Can She Excuse My Wrongs - Sting and Edin Karamazov

If there is such a thing as former lives, one of mine was undoubtedly in the late Rennaisance. Written by John Dowland and first published in 1597 (yes, that's right - 1597) in the "First Booke of Songs or Ayres", this version of Can She Excuse My Wrongs performed by Sting and Edin Karamazov on the 2006 album "Songs from the Labyrinth" gives me goose bumps.

Can She Excuse My Wrongs by Sting and Edin Karamazov


This is one of my most favorite CDs ever! (And, really, the only thing by Sting that I like enough to own.)

Click here, here and here to learn more about life and compositions of John Dowland. It's really quite interesting.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Sing! Sing! Sing! - Benny Goodman Orchestra

Hot jazz! The Benny Goodman Orchestra with Gene Krupa on drums(da-yum!), Harry James on trumpet, Lionel Hampton on vibraphone, and Teddy Wilson on piano.

Sing! Sing! Sing! by The Benny Goodman Orchestra from the 1937 Warner Brothers movie, "Hollywood Hotel" directed by Busby Berkley.



More about the song, "Sing Sing Sing" from AllAboutJazz.com (good read!)

More about the movie, "Hollywood Hotel" at iMDB.com

In a Shanty in Old Shantytown - The Washboard Serenaders

Vaudeville, jazz, scat, and some kickin' beats from a washboard - such a happy way to start the day.

In a Shanty in Old Shantytown by The Washboard Serenaders from the 1933 11 minute Vitaphone short film, "That's the Spirit," about a haunted pawn shop come to life.



I've tried to find out more information about this group, but could find sadly little. They were in 2 films as The Washboard Serenaders in the 1930s, the guitarist (and I believe founder) is Teddy Bunn, and they had a revolving group of musicians that performed with them. Another name they used during this time (and recorded under) was The Washboard Rhythm Kings.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Jimmy - The Kolin

The Kolin is a great indie trio out of Budapest, Hungary. I wish I could tell you more about them, but everything I can find is in Hungarian. I have been able to gather that, besides being a great band, they are also some pretty darned good filmmakers and sound engineers. Check out their website for more on that.

Jimmy by The Kolin from the 2008 album "Yell into the Kazoo"



The Kolin myspace page

The Kolin official website

Monday, November 17, 2008

Wind River - Andrew Vasquez

The summer of 2007 we took the family on a vacation to Yellowstone National Park. We listened almost exclusively to this CD as we drove through the park. It was a very relaxing and soul restoring time spent together. Whenever I feel the stress of the world creeping in, I put this on my iPod and return to that place of calm.

Wind River by Andrew Vasquez from the 1997 award winning album "Wind River"



Andrew Vasquez Sr's MySpace page

Bijou - Stew

A dear friend turned me on to this one several years ago. It gets into my head and teases the darkest corners of my imagination.

Mark Stewart, better known by his stage name "Stew", is a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, California. In the 1990s he formed a band called The Negro Problem and later went on to do his own solo stuff under the name Stew. Since 2004 he and his partner, Heidi Rodewald, have been producing the musical stage play "Passing Strange" for which he won a Tony Award.

Bijou by Stew from the 2000 album "Guest Host"



Stew's official website

Sunday, November 16, 2008

I Believe - Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson was born in 1911 and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. When she was 5 years old, her mother died, leaving her and her brother to be raised by her very strict Aunt Duke. She moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1927 at the age of 16 as part of "the great migration." She joined the Greater Salem Baptist Church Choir and began touring with Johnson Gospel Singers, one of the earliest professional gospel groups. She made her first recording in 1931 and continued recording and performing until 1971.
Mahalia died in Chicago in January, 1972 of heart failure and complications of diabetes. She was 60 years old.



The song "I Believe" was written in 1953 by Erwin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman after they were contacted by singer Jane Foreman who was upset about the Korean conflict starting so soon after World War II ended. She wanted a song that restored faith and hope in a troubled world. They gave her this.


I believe for every drop of rain that falls
A flower grows
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night
A candle glows
I believe for everyone who goes astray, someone will come
To show the way
I believe, I believe

I believe above a storm the smallest prayer
Can still be heard
I believe that someone in the great somewhere
Hears every word

Everytime I hear a new born baby cry,
Or touch a leaf or see the sky
Then I know why, I believe

Friday, November 14, 2008

Mahogany - Pinhead Gunpowder

I've always loved this song. Written by Michael Masser and Gerald Goffin and originally recorded by Diana Ross for the 1975 movie "Mahogany", it's been stuck in my head ever since the first time I saw the movie a gazillion years ago. It rears its head every once in awhile to ask me the questions we should all ask ourselves every so often: "Do you know where you're going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you know? Do you get what you're hoping for? When you look behind you there's no open doors. What are you hoping for? Do you know?"



Mahogany by Pinhead Gunpowder from the 1995 album "Carry the Banner"



Yes, pop-punksters, that is Billie Joe Armstrong of Greenday.

Pinhead Gunpowder fansite

Pinhead Gunpowder MySpace page

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Night of the Lotus Eaters - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

A performer whose art speaks for itself.

Night of the Lotus Eaters by Nick Cave and the Bads Seeds from the 2008 album "Dig! Lazarus, Dig!"



Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds website

Nick-Cave Online

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Myspace page

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

My Baby's Taking Me Home - Sparks

Sparks recorded their first album, in 1971 under the name Halfnelson (they changed their name to Sparks not long after and re-released that album in 1972). I first discovered Sparks in the 1980s and my musical tastes have been colored by them ever since. They have this habit of taking music as we know it, and turning it on it's ear ... inside-out and upside-down. Sort of like Andy Warhol did to pop art.

Get ready for a brilliant little earworm!

My Baby's Taking Me Home by Sparks from the 2002 album "Lil' Beethoven"



Sparks' official website - I highly recommend reading their Sparkography. It's deliciously written!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Eli's Place - Robert Nighthawk

Born in Helena, Arkansas in 1909, Robert Lee McCollum started playing harmonica as a teenager and began the life of a travelling musician. In 1930, he met a distant cousin by the name of Houston Stackhouse who taught him to play the guitar and the two began travelling together, playing wherever they could to make money. In 1932 they found themselves playing a wedding for none other than Muddy Waters.
Robert was involved in a shooting incident in 1935 that sent him on the run, fleeing the Delta (he did not know the shooting was not fatal), and changing his name to Robert Lee McCoy (his mother's maiden name).
While he recorded up through the mid-1960s, 1936-1939 were Robert's most productive years as a recording artist, recording 25 sides as a featured artist for Vocalian and Decca Records, as well as many sides as a session player. He took the name Nighthawk from his song "Prowling Night Hawk", recorded during this time.
Thoughout his career, he worked with artists such as Jimmy Rogers, John Lee Hooker, John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, and Willie Dixon.
When in Chicago, Robert enjoyed playing in the open air market on Maxwell Street, setting up on corners and in alleys, playing music on the street for money. These perfomances caught the eye of guitarist Michael Bloomfield and photographer Mike Shea who filmed the Maxwell Street performances for a documentary of Chicago blues entitled, "And This Is Free."
Robert had been suffering from ill health and in November of 1967 he was admitted to the hospital in Helena, Arkansas where he died on November 5th of congenital heart failure, 25 days before his 58th birthday.

Eli's Place by Robert Nighthawk from the documentary "And This Is Free" (originally released in 1964, re-released in 2008 by Shanachie Entertainment)



More info on Robert Nighthawk here (CascadeBlues.org)

AND

here (BadDogBlues.com)

Monday, November 10, 2008

L'Amour - Carla Bruni

Supermodel, singer-songwriter, first lady of France ... I want to sing like this when I grow up.

L'Amour by Carla Bruni from the 2003 album "Quelqu'un m'a dit"



Carla Bruni's MySpace page

Carla Bruni's official website

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Earth Intruders - Bjork

It's my youngest's birthday today. She LOVES Bjork and she LOVES this song, so this is for her.

Earth Intruders by Bjork from the 2007 album "Volta".



Official Bjork website

Bjork MySpace page

Bjork Facebook page

Schottische

My grandma taught me this dance when I was a little girl about 6 or 7 years old. I've been thinking about this memory a LOT these past several weeks.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

I See Fire - Ramona's Got a Peppy Voice

I seem to be on a bit of a Scandanavian kick these days, as is evidenced by my choice of yet another band from Sweden. If X, The Violent Femmes and The White Stripes had an orgy and created a child, this trio out of Stockholm would be it.

I See Fire by Ramona's Got a Peppy Voice


MySpace page for Ramona's Got a Peppy Voice

Friday, November 7, 2008

It's Over - The Auto Dropouts

This band is a brand spankin' new discovery to me and I am liking them a lot! Based in Stockholm, Sweden, The Auto Dropouts call themselves, "A co-operating mammoth with people involved from several places on the globe. A playground for grown up kids."

It's Over - The Auto Dropouts



The Auto Dropouts MySpace page

AND

The Auto Dropouts Website

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Baderie Assid Recovery Project - Kid Madusa

Kid Madusa is Lindsay Heath of Salt Lake City, Utah. She is an amazing bundle of talent and artistic expression. I had the privilege of performing with her this past summer as part of Chimera for the Utah Arts Festival. Not only is she musically brilliant and absolutely beautiful, she is an incredibly sweet and wonderful person to boot!

The Baderie Assid Recovery Project by Kid Madusa


MySpace profle for Kid Madusa - Check out her other stuff, too. It's all fantastic.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Snow - Loreena McKennitt

I opened the blinds this morning to a world blanketed in the quiet softness of a morning snow.

Snow by Loreena McKennitt from the 1987 album "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" on her own Quinlan Road record label.



Loreen McKennitt's official website.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Schoolhouse Rock!

It's election day. The day we all, as citizens of this country, have the privilege of exercising our right to elect the men and women who will lead us, write our laws, and defend our constitution.

The Preamble - First aired in 1976
Written and performed by Lynn Ahrens


This is an event - an opportunity - that so many take for granted. As ashamed as I am to admit it, even I used to take it for granted. Then we moved to a new town and had to register to vote there. I did this with all the enthusiasm of making the address change at the post office. Then a couple weeks before the mid-term elections, I received a letter in the mail notifying me that my citizenship was in question and requesting documented proof of my citizenship. Proof!?! I was born in another country, yes - to a US serviceman and his wife, both of whom were born and raised in the USA! Before I could vote in that election, I had to send in a copy of my "notification of a citizen born abroad" papers. At the time, I found this very amusing and just a little irritating. Still, I provided the necessary documents. Then I waited for my voter card to arrive in the mail. I waited and I waited and I waited. It arrived ON election day. That evening, card in hand, my husband and I drove to our polling place to cast our ballots. My name was NOT on the list! I was told to go stand against the wall while they took my card and made a few calls. After close to 20 minutes, they finally found the information they needed to allow me to vote - provisionally.

It was an odd sensation, standing back and watching all these other people schlepping into their booths to cast their votes while all I could do was watch from a distance. I was so afraid that I was not going to have a voice in that election. I understood how my great-grandmothers and the women who came before them felt.


Sufferin' 'Til Suffrage - First aired in 1976
Music: Bob Dorough Lyrics: Tom Yohe
Performed by: Essra Mohawk



The right to vote is something I will never exercise grudgingly again. I will carefully and considerately and proudly cast my ballot, letting my voice be heard. Because I can.


I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College
written by: George R. Newall and Bob Dorough
performed by: Jack Sheldon



Happy Election Day! Now go let your voice be heard! Vote!




The UNofficial Schoolhouse Rock website

Monday, November 3, 2008

Woke Up This Morning - Alabama 3

Oh, yeah! It's an Alabama 3 morning, for sure! I woke up with "Monday Don't Mean Anything" in my head, which led immediately to "Woke Up This Morning" from
Alabama 3's 1997 debut album "Exile On Cold Harbor Lane" released on the One Little Indian/Geffen record label. Woke Up This Morning (The Chosen One mix) became the theme song for the HBO series The Sopranos which premiered in 1999.




Here's an accoustic studio performance of the same song (with a slightly different spin) from SXSW 2008 - Larry Love and Devlin Love on vocals, Rock Freebase on guitar, The Mountain of Love on harp.



Check 'em out! Be converted! Proselytize and Presleytize!

The official website for Alabama 3.

Monday Don't Mean Anything - Alabama 3

All the people in the house sing! Monday Don't Mean Anything by Alabama 3 from the 2007 album M.O.R.

Kate Nash sits in on vocals for this 2008 T In the Park performance.



Here are a few links for ya - Click away!

Alabama 3 official site

Alabama 3 MySpace page

Devlin Love Music MySpace page

Kate Nash Music MySpace page

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Rain - The Beatles

I woke up to a gorgeously rainy morning today. And here it is lunchtime and the rain is still coming down. *happy sigh* I have a fire in the fireplace and The Beatles in my head. Life is good.

Rain was released in 1966 as the B side for the single "Paperback Writer". Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the album "Revolver" which was released a couple months later, although neither song was included. Both songs were later included in the compilation album "Hey, Jude" (US - 1970). The final verse of this song includes John Lennon singing the first part of the first verse, "When the rain comes, they run and their heads," then played backwards for the final mix. This was one of the first - if not the first - recordings to use this technique.

This footage is part of a 1966 promotional film for The Beatles directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.



Official site for The Beatles.

Lord, I've Been Changed - Tom Waits

Have I mentioned how much I love this man? I do so much!

Lord I've Been Changed by Tom Waits from Orphans:Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards, disc 1 released in 2006.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Start Wearing Purple - Gogol Bordello

Yes, purple is my favorite color. Especially now. Da-da-da-da-DA!

Who knew a Russian wedding in 1998 would eventually lead to this? (I, for one, am so glad it did!) They were banned from several of NYC's infamous dives, including CB/GBs, for being too over the top. Imagine that! Gogol Bordello's current line-up of immigrant punks come from Ukraine, Russia, Scotland, Israel, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Florida and Vermont.



Are you dancing, yet?

The Official Gogol Bordello site
AND
Gogol Bordello's MySpace Page