tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382668002024-03-07T21:47:51.277-05:00THAT TRUNCHEON THINGa blog about musicFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-17271160121031608672008-01-29T15:55:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:05:35.179-05:00Goodnight, And Good Luck<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggC5bs1f3758L2aUuxkv_stPdiBEXi4zInb3a9HOkTdhNvOdXv1m_5uIa5TyQSCVOifKioRPknYlKJ3XRI0YLIZNSrVkEHysnYHz0twXKL_0Eikl5SYnJNamh6r9PyXrek_lPPbQ/s1600-h/murrow77.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161006124788718178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggC5bs1f3758L2aUuxkv_stPdiBEXi4zInb3a9HOkTdhNvOdXv1m_5uIa5TyQSCVOifKioRPknYlKJ3XRI0YLIZNSrVkEHysnYHz0twXKL_0Eikl5SYnJNamh6r9PyXrek_lPPbQ/s400/murrow77.jpg" border="0" /></a>So, I guess we have a bit of an announcement to make, and probably long overdue, although I suppose the deafening silence over the past month has been something of a clue to some of you, and this won't come as much of a surprise. (Thanks to those of you who wrote us offline to ask what the hell was up. We're touched that we were missed.)<br /><br />As we approached our first anniversary a couple of weeks ago, Rich and I started talking about whether we really wanted to keep this thing up. We've loved the ride that we've been privileged to take over the past year, and it's been a tremendous amount of fun sharing music and ideas, building a readership (ultimately about 10,000 folks a week, from every corner of the globe) and realizing that many of you came to visit regularly, or even every day. That's more humbling than we can ever express. But in the end, I think it's fair to say that <em>TTT</em> ended up being way more of a time commitment for both of us than we ever reckoned it would be -- we always said that we'd do this right, and update regularly, or not at all -- and as 2007 came to a close, and work and other life demands pulled on both of us, we independently started to question whether we still had the time or energy to do justice to the site. By the time we actually had the conversation over the holidays, it didn't take long to figure out that we had both reached the same decision -- that it's time to retire <em>TTT</em>, at least for the foreseeable future.<br /><br />So, that's what we're going to do. We'll leave the site up for as long as we can (hey, it'll be like a time capsule for music in 2007), we'll keep all the links and downloads active for at least another couple of months (grab those <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/search/label/Bootlegs">Classic Bootlegs</a> while you still can!), and who knows, maybe at some point one or both of us will catch the bug and start posting again. But with the turn of the new year, we find that we have other priorities that deserve our attention a little more than a music blog does. Each of us has two young children. Rich is thinking about writing a novel, and I hope he will, because I love to read anything he writes. And as of a few months ago, I've gone and fallen hopelessly in love, with the most beautiful, amazing woman I've ever met in my life. And there's some damn fine music in that, let me tell you.<br /><br />That's the story. Our thanks to everyone who ever visited, commented or threw us a link, to the other bloggers who reached out and befriended us over the past year, and of course, to all the great artists that we got to write about. And my personal thanks, one more time, to everyone who responded with such kindness and generosity <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/08/police-thieves.html">after my house was robbed last summer</a> -- I still get a little overwhelmed when I think about that.<br /><br />This was so much fun. Again, we thank you all for a great run.Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-11510741503293185222007-12-23T00:00:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:27.749-05:00Merry Christmas, Y'all!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PiuIUlo-HHOyhc9Pb55u7XySDE8NNT77fsTthnHQaQK14beU4i2I7SoGc9a7tEov0A-KRqQhysv1Zab4wDhaeLXUqClDKCbBHNmh2hdhyphenhyphenG2rK96aOOzCb1AAd6P9fnsN-P61/s1600-h/xmas6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PiuIUlo-HHOyhc9Pb55u7XySDE8NNT77fsTthnHQaQK14beU4i2I7SoGc9a7tEov0A-KRqQhysv1Zab4wDhaeLXUqClDKCbBHNmh2hdhyphenhyphenG2rK96aOOzCb1AAd6P9fnsN-P61/s400/xmas6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147017312735185250" border="0" /></a>Merry Christmas everyone, if indeed that's what you celebrate. I'm happy to report that Rich's house is in full-on X-mas mode, but before 2007 finishes circling the bowl, there's still time for a post or two from me. I had originally intended to develop some sort of a response to <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/12/franks-favorite-records-of-2007.html">Frank's predictably stellar year-end list</a>. We typically have only about 50% overlap, which I thought would give me entry to discuss those records that, in my opinion, he'd inexplicably left off. But I have to say that he pretty much nailed the three-point landing this year, so rather than simply stand by nodding, I thought I'd pull together a list of my favorite "under the radar" records of the year. So, without further adieu, here's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rich's Top Ten Favorite Off-The-Beaten-Track Records of 2007</span> (in no particular order):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-W7WL9BaVKDM4qbdoQPeb14y5ldCPQMrVUk497Skg2Ey6UYjH9SMSJxLYa7WIwg0YIco4kgx2wy_hwm74cem05KtwGtF5FmKwXD7G0oBfppwLmr5eCRWWifEY101I6yjXcROr/s1600-h/7303-joe-strummer-the-future-is-unwritten.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-W7WL9BaVKDM4qbdoQPeb14y5ldCPQMrVUk497Skg2Ey6UYjH9SMSJxLYa7WIwg0YIco4kgx2wy_hwm74cem05KtwGtF5FmKwXD7G0oBfppwLmr5eCRWWifEY101I6yjXcROr/s200/7303-joe-strummer-the-future-is-unwritten.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146950538878634194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Joe Strummer - The Future Is Unwritten</span><br />Sadly, 2007 was yet another year that Britney Spears was allowed to walk the earth, while Joe Strummer continues not to. One small consolation against that unexplainable set of circumstances was the release of Julian Temple's brilliant documentary <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">J</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">oe Strummer - The Future Is Unwritten</span> (the trailer of which is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg3md__8IaQ">here</a>). Even if you already own everything Joe and The Clash ever released, this soundtrack is still a must-have. It's filled not only with Clash and Mescolaros music, but with music that influenced Joe, like Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Bob Dylan, MC5, and Nina Simone. As a bonus, many of the songs are introduced and described by Strummer himself. <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> The Clash - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/zmspoqagw8.mp3">White Riot</a>" (Alternate Demo Mix)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZc7baAUchQkof4k_aUi2g_qNuWn4tgQMi8NUXoIIKjSgmFiEHDFTzI5JWcm4OQ-K2jg2pUVFLoKuBdSSvVgWQX1MASn5AsQRM2_4IYbha_4QdVoiSJ7acNT9gDygUbFLjG8u/s1600-h/kala-cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZc7baAUchQkof4k_aUi2g_qNuWn4tgQMi8NUXoIIKjSgmFiEHDFTzI5JWcm4OQ-K2jg2pUVFLoKuBdSSvVgWQX1MASn5AsQRM2_4IYbha_4QdVoiSJ7acNT9gDygUbFLjG8u/s200/kala-cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146960443073218786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">M.I.A. - </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Kala</span><br />I wrote about <span style="font-weight: bold;">M.I.A.'</span>s 2007 release <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Kala</span> <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/search/label/M.I.A.">here</a>. This is a record with worldly beats, political aspirations, feminine power, and punk rock attitude. M.I.A. is a reporter from a Third World CNN street beat bringing the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes from the world over right into your living room. You hear it straight from the people; from the aboriginie kids in "Mango Pickle Down River" to the Indian villagers in "Bird Flu." M.I.A. is the real deal. <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> M.I.A. - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/tn8agcq4kv.mp3">Bamboo Banger</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Kala</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJK1R4x8Xy6JMz_vewmxkfAlWSiEHWyIl4UyAdRJlc9KAfcGqGXaRlUUt6GBX0h5-ISdcSr6d6RLd9fiYcERi1-erXYsE5EEgJSOm6czE4rvehnfnRMvyepjSktIXWzLsFZqK5/s1600-h/burial-untrue.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJK1R4x8Xy6JMz_vewmxkfAlWSiEHWyIl4UyAdRJlc9KAfcGqGXaRlUUt6GBX0h5-ISdcSr6d6RLd9fiYcERi1-erXYsE5EEgJSOm6czE4rvehnfnRMvyepjSktIXWzLsFZqK5/s200/burial-untrue.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146965816077306098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Burial - <span style="font-style: italic;">Untrue</span></span><br />My initial take on this record is <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/search/label/Burial">here</a>, which has held up: "With skittering electronic beats, ghostly keyboard washes, and soul vocal samples manipulated near the point of torture, Burial's Untrue sounds like some kind of aural missive from the next world, crackling and popping in the rain. This music is both haunted and haunting." <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> Burial - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/rg0ttgx09g.mp3">Near Dark</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Untrue</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYdaUiCYU660dhGsfygqEyUvTaOtAXP8AWKSznN-PM5nQcIEVCkOJoK58PhAvF5ueY8yJ9oGuIut3eKGy1GbgK28VDCW7U_QxnMCDuBaGMXecl2AbhqPxmX8hVPHj-zM2RPSu/s1600-h/23.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYdaUiCYU660dhGsfygqEyUvTaOtAXP8AWKSznN-PM5nQcIEVCkOJoK58PhAvF5ueY8yJ9oGuIut3eKGy1GbgK28VDCW7U_QxnMCDuBaGMXecl2AbhqPxmX8hVPHj-zM2RPSu/s200/23.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146967473934682370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blonde Redhead - <span style="font-style: italic;">23<br /></span></span>My earlier <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/search/label/Blonde%20Redhead">post</a> on this record was entitled "The Sound of Dreaming," I think because the sound of this record feels like racing through some fever dream landscape where everything is familiar yet somehow disorienting. I can never quite grasp exactly what the lyrics are about, but that hardly seems to be the point. This is impressionistic territory, and it is a beautifully curious amalgam of guitars and whispered vocals. <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3: </span>Blonde Redhead - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/n5yyqv7d1e.mp3">23</a>" from 23<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg432MMYuFOflIX6G2sST4y9DFZ8IGGERPYpCfgab6MB2M8f4hJPz1M-22PV0j23hAcQRxVSRrv6G7IlK8aHehzZquMM1p-XnveZlldDJLZ9FCvzZBVtKfeu3ZDRUYMkuMVDKur/s1600-h/molson-salvationH.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg432MMYuFOflIX6G2sST4y9DFZ8IGGERPYpCfgab6MB2M8f4hJPz1M-22PV0j23hAcQRxVSRrv6G7IlK8aHehzZquMM1p-XnveZlldDJLZ9FCvzZBVtKfeu3ZDRUYMkuMVDKur/s200/molson-salvationH.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147001356931680530" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Olson - </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Salvation Blues</span><br />As described <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/search/label/Mark%20Olson">here</a>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Salvation Blues</span> represented something of a return to form for former Jayhawk Mark Olson. Divorced from Victoria Williams and returned from the ensuing wilderness, Olson rediscovered his muse, and his old friend Gary Louris. The music on this record is both sad and hopeful Americana, hearkening to <span style="font-style: italic;">Hollywood Town Hall</span>-era Jayhawks. And with Louris' contributions, these songs are more than enough to whet the appetite for the promised Olson and Louris collaboration scheduled for 2008. Hopefully, TTT will be around to blog about it when it comes out. <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3: </span>Mark Olson - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/kzuu1qxkrf.mp3">Clifton Bridge</a>" - from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Salvation Blues</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQ1pDz88td3X9djfdfUxvKYHsVjthq0BFOtVpvtgqc04aSOosDVMm_QDmKP_gpdq60fn6sFUS4wsV2S8oBVoxCWc1rwOvJlN2j_VhJy23uN0Iy-gkgmbcbJ_NRQZL41gFzW9i/s1600-h/Daft_Punk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQ1pDz88td3X9djfdfUxvKYHsVjthq0BFOtVpvtgqc04aSOosDVMm_QDmKP_gpdq60fn6sFUS4wsV2S8oBVoxCWc1rwOvJlN2j_VhJy23uN0Iy-gkgmbcbJ_NRQZL41gFzW9i/s200/Daft_Punk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147004681236367650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Daft Punk - Alive 2007</span><br />One of my favorite records of 2005 was Kraftwerk's live album, <span style="font-style: italic;">Minimum-Maximum</span>. One would not think that something as robotic and sterile as Kraftwerk would translate so well to a live recording. Daft Punk is also robot music, albeit music by robots apparently programmed for sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Daft Punk's live shows ain't nothin' but a party y'all, and this record is instant party, just add alcohol. Daft Punk is playing at my house. <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> Daft Punk - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/k1hfutb8k0.mp3">Around The World/Harder Better Faster Stronger</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Alive 2007</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlIinm5qH_8vdAEX8_8KmzLXrHcm8drE49Ub0dvujCi_qoxh4wDxmfQgvqokPMOYU69raGjNEH7D_yotGuwSmDq076AJREarHvqsst96sglrjTLvAxOKlmW_Z_5e4_WL0Hj37/s1600-h/Flying+Club+Cup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlIinm5qH_8vdAEX8_8KmzLXrHcm8drE49Ub0dvujCi_qoxh4wDxmfQgvqokPMOYU69raGjNEH7D_yotGuwSmDq076AJREarHvqsst96sglrjTLvAxOKlmW_Z_5e4_WL0Hj37/s200/Flying+Club+Cup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147008100030335282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beirut - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Flying Cup Club</span></span><br />Surprisingly young Santa Fe native Zach Condon's band, Beirut, sound nothing like its name. Beirut's music has nothing to do with Lebanon. Rather, it evokes the Balkans and Gypsy troubadours, Eastern European folk music, and Old World themes. Think ukuleles, accordions, trumpets, and melodies from another century. The prolific band's high point so far may just be this crisp release, which plays like a soundtrack from an old foreign film. Gorgeous. <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3: </span>Beirut - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/gdclgsg008.mp3">Nantes"</a> from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Flying Cup Club</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXmChsXZa7Pkj7Vm-yKxIBlI7nvmDkjqTYwooTzdmekRROSkAcmcy2rNtxAAk8jEu6gvPBAvgaTMwRFl6r8SnuDNyXC26k5H9hFVT7cJtowA5HQzWIgyDchx_DXwbxJ3BPeHy/s1600-h/victorious.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXmChsXZa7Pkj7Vm-yKxIBlI7nvmDkjqTYwooTzdmekRROSkAcmcy2rNtxAAk8jEu6gvPBAvgaTMwRFl6r8SnuDNyXC26k5H9hFVT7cJtowA5HQzWIgyDchx_DXwbxJ3BPeHy/s200/victorious.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147013172386711874" border="0" /></a>The Perishers - <span style="font-style: italic;">Victorious</span></span><br /><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/search/label/Perishers">Earlier</a>, I called this "a lush pop record that is a little reminiscent of Dire Straits to my ear, with a fair amount of Blue Nile mixed in (which is always a good thing). It's a fairly romantic mainstream sound that would appeal to fans of Coldplay and Travis; a sound you might not be surprised to hear in the soundtrack of some teenage television drama, which I understand has occurred. Don't let that turn you off. It's still a mature sounding record that deserves a broad audience. Very good stuff." <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3: </span>The Perishers - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/z6sz30thqr.mp3">Midnight Skies</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Victorious<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRvhNUVYPONk7Fq9Gl4GO1rpetnlzqg5ZYSujHMaou9rcoh9_aexdzulQj3hIDgATVAzptDDAhDWrUFtdq0Md16_AWbGl71RyDIcVsQYjafztVjdD4gMhAIABEVM66ixKsIt4/s1600-h/music_brief1-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRvhNUVYPONk7Fq9Gl4GO1rpetnlzqg5ZYSujHMaou9rcoh9_aexdzulQj3hIDgATVAzptDDAhDWrUFtdq0Md16_AWbGl71RyDIcVsQYjafztVjdD4gMhAIABEVM66ixKsIt4/s200/music_brief1-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147032916351371666" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Black Lips - <span style="font-style: italic;">Good Bad Not Evil<br /></span></span><span>I have to give to some love to my Dunwoody homeboys The Black Lips. They have <a href="http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A223948">shocked New York</a> and rocked everywhere else, and, in 2007, released the great psycho-psychedelic garage rock of <span style="font-style: italic;">Good Bad Not Evil </span><span>and earned the title "<a href="http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=2f2aaf87dff4ef1400e5ed5b4c06f55be51520b9">Hardest Working Band at SWSX.</a>"</span> With a live show heavy on such audience participation staples as urine, vomitus, and the odd flung beer bottle, this loud and rowdy band of brothers remind us what the spirit of rock and roll is supposed to be. Pure chaos. And since I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I love that they ask the question, "Oh Katrina, why you gotta be mean?" <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3: </span>The Black Lips - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/uz04gyxgcw.mp3">O Katrina!</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Good Bad Not Evil</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AMd8Gcl6lxQWUhzHF81LaEMjJaQnTvjjFrfOxc9Kqbh7mqKZLPQLxnz8hBifKWZLwTqLTe8-8b07SsAA57E6ZuWoSF68LnqucEIDUjPx6Qv9KhZDy5450mVl57DSSMHPL6x8/s1600-h/antidepressant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AMd8Gcl6lxQWUhzHF81LaEMjJaQnTvjjFrfOxc9Kqbh7mqKZLPQLxnz8hBifKWZLwTqLTe8-8b07SsAA57E6ZuWoSF68LnqucEIDUjPx6Qv9KhZDy5450mVl57DSSMHPL6x8/s200/antidepressant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147035437497174434" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lloyd Cole - <span style="font-style: italic;">Antidepressant</span></span><br />And last, but certainly not least, I'd like to end this post with a reference to what was the subject of not only my first post this year, but my <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/search/label/Lloyd%20Cole">first blog post ever</a>, Lloyd Cole's beautiful middle-aged manifesto, Antidepressant. This is unquestionably the perfect record for those of us rockers who came of age in the '80s and refuse to admit that we're middle aged, in spite of the fact that our years, when doubled, stretch beyond the average human life span. At this point, to paraphrase Lloyd's apt lyrics, "Declining issues lead advances two to one, in slow trading." Nevertheless, we can take comfort in the perfect folk-pop of <span style="font-style: italic;">Antidepressant</span>. "With my medication, I will be fine." <span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3: </span>Lloyd Cole - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/75jsea1w44.mp3">Woman In A Bar</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Antidepressant</span>.<br /><br />So that does it, I suppose. I certainly could go on, but that's what we've been doing all year. For now, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and healthy and prosperous New Year. And thanks for stopping by TTT in 2007. I hope that it was worth your while. Thanks -- RichRichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11437748836734006792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-56408885886462307792007-12-10T15:20:00.000-05:002007-12-12T13:49:29.056-05:00Frank's Favorite Records of 2007Time and current life circumstances (all of 'em good) won't permit me to do anything even remotely <a href="http://franksfavoritesoftheyear.blogspot.com/">as elaborate as in years past</a>, but here are the 20 new records released in 2007 that I enjoyed most, in alphabetical order. If either Rich or I posted a review here during the course of the year, I've linked to it, and if we didn't, I've linked to <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/music/">MetaCritic</a> or some other resource that will give you the critical lowdown. (And if I'm not mistaken, Rich will be along in a day or two with the records from his list that didn't make mine.) Music makes for great holiday giving, so get out there and support all of these magnificent artists by buying their records.<br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HcFelNEYL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HcFelNEYL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>RYAN ADAMS - <em><a href="http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/adamsryan/easytiger?q=ryan%20adams">Easy Tiger</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nANC23dbL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nANC23dbL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>ARCADE FIRE - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/03/kings-taking-back-throne.html">Neon Bible</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FE4JiWykL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FE4JiWykL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>THE AVETT BROTHERS - <em><a href="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/the-avett-brothers/emotionalism.htm">Emotionalism</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Qf9mAlPiL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Qf9mAlPiL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>ANDREW BIRD - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/03/yawny-at-apocalypse.html">Armchair Apocrypha</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gt%2BYLfjwL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gt%2BYLfjwL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>BRIGHT EYES - <em><a href="http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/brighteyes/cassadaga?q=cassadaga">Cassadaga</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Gy6VmqxML._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Gy6VmqxML._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>THE BROKEN WEST - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-cant-go-on-ill-go-on.html">I Can't Go On, I'll Go On</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IkyCIu0SL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IkyCIu0SL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>FEIST - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-her-heart-behaves.html">The Reminder</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d6/c7/62d3828fd7a0a3baba150110.L.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d6/c7/62d3828fd7a0a3baba150110.L.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE QUEEN - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/02/westway-to-world.html">The Good, The Bad & The Queen</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41QdiM7ueFL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41QdiM7ueFL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>NICK LOWE - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/08/not-too-long-ago.html">At My Age</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519w2R6EXvL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519w2R6EXvL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>THE NATIONAL - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/05/raise-our-heavenly-glasses-to-heavens.html">Boxer</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kTfGlR5PL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kTfGlR5PL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/09/truth-in-one-free-afternoon.html">Challengers</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d5/5d/b10890b809a0c99509cd5110.L.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d5/5d/b10890b809a0c99509cd5110.L.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/10/draft-plantkrauss.html">Raising Sand</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61n1I-qW0qL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61n1I-qW0qL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>RADIOHEAD - <em><a href="http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/radiohead/inrainbows">In Rainbows</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/f9/95/ce2262e89da0faf8d9394110.L.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/f9/95/ce2262e89da0faf8d9394110.L.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>RILO KILEY - <em><a href="http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/rilokiley/undertheblacklight?q=rilo%20kiley">Under The Blacklight</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61bs4g7UQDL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61bs4g7UQDL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>THE SHINS - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/01/listen-to-this-itll-change-your-life.html">Wincing The Night Away</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61IPAfsjlIL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61IPAfsjlIL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>SPOON - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/07/blow-out-that-cherry-bomb.html">Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ESou8t47L._SS400_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ESou8t47L._SS400_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - <em><a href="http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/springsteenbruceandestreet/magic">Magic</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/94/54/d830225b9da090fd15535110.L.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/94/54/d830225b9da090fd15535110.L.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>KANYE WEST - <em><a href="http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/westkanye/graduation">Graduation</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Fuvh7ULcL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Fuvh7ULcL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>THE WHITE STRIPES - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/06/for-those-of-you-who-may-live-in-cave.html">Icky Thump</a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/e8/d5/1f65793509a0aa77232a2110.L.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/e8/d5/1f65793509a0aa77232a2110.L.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>WILCO - <em><a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/05/maybe-you-still-love-me-maybe-you-dont.html">Sky Blue Sky</a></em>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-31418113650609164152007-11-27T14:00:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:28.122-05:00Classic Bootleg Series Vol. 23: Led Zeppelin - The Complete BBC Radio Sessions - Part 2 of 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPST0QhkKGjKWvFZiJsECo8bz-ZBQPDHdmqv-BPykLiVcvbH0I6cXe9s3Sg8EM9bhhq6ddUB5B5Iv7UQ1bU4-OINjMezzjPXhOm_yMobzOurE-zIns-zn3qrEqaPk1PZJz55uFA/s1600-h/led-zeppelin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPST0QhkKGjKWvFZiJsECo8bz-ZBQPDHdmqv-BPykLiVcvbH0I6cXe9s3Sg8EM9bhhq6ddUB5B5Iv7UQ1bU4-OINjMezzjPXhOm_yMobzOurE-zIns-zn3qrEqaPk1PZJz55uFA/s400/led-zeppelin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135694895199865490" /></a> Discs 1 and 2 (along with the artwork) are <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/11/classic-bootleg-series-vol-23-led.html">here</a>. And if you thought they were great, brace yourself for these -- the entire session at the Paris Cinema in London on April 1, 1971, recorded for John Peel's "Sunday In Concert" program on BBC Radio One. Simply spectacular. Be sure to play it nice and <span style="font-style:italic;">loud</span>.<br /><br />LED ZEPPELIN - <span style="font-style:italic;">THE COMPLETE BBC RADIO SESSIONS</span> (continued)<br /><br />Disc 3:<br /><br />01 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/bn33rf0viv.mp3">John Peel intro</a><br />02 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/euot6u19k8.mp3">Immigrant Song</a><br />03 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/i0h04yiazf.mp3">Heartbreaker</a><br />04 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/osvvxzyp06.mp3">Since I've Been Loving You</a><br />05 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/me1jj8cpjy.mp3">Black Dog</a><br />06 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/2afty51s95.mp3">Dazed And Confused</a><br />07 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/pxc7rfqku2.mp3">Stairway To Heaven</a><br /><br />Disc 4:<br /><br />01 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/yuxdvrq9du.mp3">Going To California</a><br />02 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/t50z3ux2en.mp3">That's The Way</a><br />03 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/6mbd14ryr5.mp3">What Is And What Should Never Be</a><br />04 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/c8mb2lepfa.mp3">Whole Lotta Love</a><br />05 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/al5d1vnlcn.mp3">Thank You</a><br />06 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/7t7u0lrl4n.mp3">Communication Breakdown</a>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-78947654251194042442007-11-23T06:45:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:28.288-05:00Classic Bootleg Series Vol. 23: Led Zeppelin - The Complete BBC Radio Sessions - Part 1 of 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwyfxtp2-qmAqDS_dHHYdwL4ZOgmXhADFiQNcrfVvbU_2nHI4pgwESpqmitHOLh43wW32wzlE4S2DZG7NChVvsQBSFwrokKDG4JbFMv5e_nYKQ3ruzoDlmIs_P9Gim2O23VKkcQ/s1600-h/4BB63340-1FD1-4FE3-81C5-CA4F68C91D2E.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwyfxtp2-qmAqDS_dHHYdwL4ZOgmXhADFiQNcrfVvbU_2nHI4pgwESpqmitHOLh43wW32wzlE4S2DZG7NChVvsQBSFwrokKDG4JbFMv5e_nYKQ3ruzoDlmIs_P9Gim2O23VKkcQ/s400/4BB63340-1FD1-4FE3-81C5-CA4F68C91D2E.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135429242882673282" /></a>Time to get the Led out. With all the hype surrounding the release of the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=08122799615">Mothership</a></span> collection last week and their <a href="http://ledzeppelin.com/reunion">reunion show in London next month</a>, not to mention Robert Plants's <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/10/draft-plantkrauss.html">recent solo triumph with Allison Krauss</a>, I've been listening to a ton of <a href="http://ledzeppelin.com/">Led Zeppelin</a> lately. That, in turn, made me realize that a Zep boot is long overdue in this series. There are scores of great recordings to choose from -- in fact Zeppelin probably joins The Beatles, Dylan and The Rolling Stones as the most bootlegged acts of all time.<br /><br />But while any number of live recordings by the mighty Led Zep would certainly qualify for "classic" status, it's this massive 4-disc box set released by Empress Valley, collecting all of their appearances on BBC radio between 1969 and 1971, that I return to most often. (Some of this material appears, in slightly different form, on the official <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07567830612">BBC Sessions</a></span> release in 1997, but this set is far more exhaustive and about twice as long.) The performances are consistently spectacular, and with one exception (the March, 1969 appearance on Alexis Korner's "Rhythm and Blues" program in the middle of Disc 1, which is muffled but still very listenable), the sound quality is equally fantastic throughout.<br /><br />We'll start with Discs 1 and 2, which compile the band's earliest (and bluesiest) sessions for various BBC radio hosts. Then I'll be back in a few days with Discs 3 and 4, on which you get the entire two-hour session that the band recorded for John Peel's "Sunday In Concert" show on Radio One in April of 1971, seven months before the release of <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07567826382">Led Zeppelin IV</a></span>, playing new songs like "Black Dog", "Going To California" and "Stairway To Heaven" to a small theatre audience (it's unsettling, in fact, to hear the latter get no reaction at all from the crowd), and at the absolute peak of their legendary powers.<br /><br />This is just essential stuff. If you're having any doubts about wanting to devote your bandwidth to such a massive set, listen to the first track on Disc 1, a raunchy troll through "You Shook Me" that confirms what a stunning live act Zeppelin was from the very beginning, and I guarantee you won't be able to pass up the rest. Positively jaw-dropping.<br /><br />LED ZEPPELIN - <span style="font-style:italic;">THE COMPLETE BBC RADIO SESSIONS</span><br /><br />Artwork:<br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/vopft495qb.jpg">Front</a><br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/uvcy0v8i2f.jpg">Back</a><br /><br />Disc 1 (1969):<br /><br />01 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/nn116h7f5d.mp3">You Shook Me</a><br />02 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/yg7e6y6rky.mp3">Communication Breakdown</a><br />03 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/sma0f6nyoe.mp3">I Can't Quit You Baby</a><br />04 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/zbkryf2m02.mp3">Dazed And Confused</a><br />05 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/dq0b8o1p73.mp3">Alexis Korner intro</a><br />06 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/e0ipd0dxtm.mp3">What Is And What Should Never Be</a><br />07 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/2qvgohe4sm.mp3">more chat</a><br />08 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/gx7m1288qa.mp3">I Can't Quit You Baby</a><br />09 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/7qvqpxlqos.mp3">more chat</a><br />10 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/0i9o38xck7.mp3">You Shook Me</a><br />11 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/jx9tlgpfyx.mp3">Sunshine Woman</a><br />12 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/t8fyctzts3.mp3">The Girl I Love Has Long Black Wavy Hair</a><br />13 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/5nfz10tirp.mp3">Communication Breakdown</a><br />14 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/736mk19k3z.mp3">Something Else</a><br />15 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/h5655mq06u.mp3">What Is And What Should Never Be</a><br />16 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/zd681u3z0n.mp3">Group interview with Chris Grant</a><br />17 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/4euis0od3l.mp3">Whole Lotta Love</a><br />18 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/jxh8pd11dk.mp3">Communication Breakdown</a><br />19 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/4ngxi27q5d.mp3">What Is and What Should Never Be</a><br />20 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/kmdryf4ye9.mp3">Travelling Riverside Blues</a><br /><br />Disc 2 (1969-1970):<br /><br />01 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/vlc8qvbnb7.mp3">Alan Black intro</a><br />02 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/pz3gqvhbpr.mp3">Communication Breakdown</a><br />03 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/4bz74umrrq.mp3">I Can't Quit You Baby</a><br />04 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/s2yz279agv.mp3">Alan Black interview</a><br />05 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/jieuqhzjuo.mp3">Dazed And Confused</a><br />06 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/o9tcsmi5ji.mp3">Interlude with Adrian Henry</a><br />07 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/x8eych54e2.mp3">White Summer-Black Mountain Side</a><br />08 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/4qesij0qa2.mp3">You Shook Me</a><br />09 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/csy6k0elu8.mp3">How Many More Times</a><br />10 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/756s5mx6u8.mp3">White Summer</a><br />11 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/4fnp02zujd.mp3">Black Mountain Side</a><br /><br />I'll be back with Discs 3 and 4 early next week. Turn this up LOUD and enjoy.Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-23995677343934877322007-11-21T17:21:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:28.446-05:00Bodysnatchers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjNpQu8tmXSP11oEu8mrWwSyotHViWQVfnEcN_BYKq4ftBiUiF0iOX9hvCF_07K8y8EQok9B8vjFVJeeGf-t8XgIboMsnNB27ca3cw9OEytNa0xyFyejFFdX-mYG1A9WShOcmNQ/s1600-h/radiohead-thom-thumbs_down.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjNpQu8tmXSP11oEu8mrWwSyotHViWQVfnEcN_BYKq4ftBiUiF0iOX9hvCF_07K8y8EQok9B8vjFVJeeGf-t8XgIboMsnNB27ca3cw9OEytNa0xyFyejFFdX-mYG1A9WShOcmNQ/s400/radiohead-thom-thumbs_down.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135427052449352306" /></a>The good folks at Stereogum have posted <a href="http://www.stereogum.com/archives/video/radioheadtv.html">video and mp3s</a> of the tunes performed during <a href="http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/">Radiohead</a>'s surprise in-studio webcast on November 9, including a cover of "The Headmaster Ritual" that is essential for Radiohead and Smiths fans alike. But for some reason, the band's wicked rip through <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.inrainbows.com/">In Rainbows</a></span> standout "Bodysnatchers" is not among the songs that you can grab at the 'Gum. To complete an iTunes playlist of the entire webcast, I did my own capture of "Bodysnatchers" and then ripped it to mp3 at a super-high bitrate to match the tracks at Stereogum. Consider it my Thanksgiving gift to all of you.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MP3:</span> Radiohead - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/jbh4u6bk6p.mp">Bodysnatchers</a>" (live in studio), from the November 9, 2007 "Thumbs Down" webcastFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-11138246374637608582007-11-16T00:01:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:29.080-05:00More Adventurous<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wy-Yy4bLEWZbA2a77l9kHuN2kt9zX1n7JgaH0Fy0OqLAZ5c17G3Dj5Y2M00tgsWQlblqBqprDrmbcnLhUmV93e3TBoKe32JXarZCd8v-oZdOhClGQQ03-qlKtyeKuUhAORVj/s1600-h/FE_2003_aechumph_010_p.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wy-Yy4bLEWZbA2a77l9kHuN2kt9zX1n7JgaH0Fy0OqLAZ5c17G3Dj5Y2M00tgsWQlblqBqprDrmbcnLhUmV93e3TBoKe32JXarZCd8v-oZdOhClGQQ03-qlKtyeKuUhAORVj/s400/FE_2003_aechumph_010_p.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132915670477124402" border="0" /></a>If we really wanted to bring you a knowledgeable discussion of electronica, we'd undoubtedly need to bring in a guest blogger. We're not. Now, I'm no connoisseur, but from time to time I encounter <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/search/label/LCD%20Soundsystem">entries into the genre</a> -- not that electronic music can really be accurately described as a single genre I realize, but bear with me, I'm using shorthand here -- that pique my interest. Here are a few:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvXjQ4FYVfUfMhIo3CPSKhC5GfW08n05rT0SPOnAXetpPazPFb_N_jaro4B2Cpn-7sO90Rv9mqCTBy5H4Di6yVhMu7GKzX4mylFvJNFvgrpFjYo1mWaeBsbLJ9d01cgjCGJtV/s1600-h/Andorra+Cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvXjQ4FYVfUfMhIo3CPSKhC5GfW08n05rT0SPOnAXetpPazPFb_N_jaro4B2Cpn-7sO90Rv9mqCTBy5H4Di6yVhMu7GKzX4mylFvJNFvgrpFjYo1mWaeBsbLJ9d01cgjCGJtV/s200/Andorra+Cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132923912519365458" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.caribou.fm/">Caribou</a> is the <span style="font-style: italic;">nom de guerre</span> of Don Snaith, who reportedly recorded his newest, <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=67385503082"><span style="font-style: italic;">Andorra</span></a>, a dense, multi-layered wonder of neo-psychedelic pop, at home. I can't claim these comparisons as original thoughts, but there are those who invoke Elliot Smith's vocals, Brian Wilson's melodies, and '60s psychedelia as reference points. Those people would be right -- all colored by a modern DYI aesthetic.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Andorra</span>, which I understand is something of a more pop-oriented departure from Snaith's earlier work, is a sonic tour de force -- one made for the headphones. It's a certifiable grower, albeit that rare grower with initial appeal. Be sure to check out the lushly romantic, Brian Wilsonesque "She's The One." Great stuff.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3</span>: Caribou - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/7unlxdah8c.mp3">Sandy</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Andorra</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DMYnO2qH32lF7TDTNtWy5v5T6itAAoMCKYQuGJfZKdHrMqsy5PK6X_ZsX6JJkLe1YW6k9P_Jc_Wo_t2dPqm89xL9dF3dtNwMKTpt75g56iRJT50ZhUH35coxZ4rKUO29YkYF/s1600-h/HDBCD002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DMYnO2qH32lF7TDTNtWy5v5T6itAAoMCKYQuGJfZKdHrMqsy5PK6X_ZsX6JJkLe1YW6k9P_Jc_Wo_t2dPqm89xL9dF3dtNwMKTpt75g56iRJT50ZhUH35coxZ4rKUO29YkYF/s200/HDBCD002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133284144311382882" border="0" /></a><br />I am completely blown away by UK's <a href="http://www.blogger.com/://www.myspace.com/burialuk">Burial</a>. Although I'm certainly not hip enough to discuss the meaning of British "Grime," "2-Step," "Garage," or "Dubstep," as I have variously heard this music described, I can describe the sound as something like a Ghost In The Machine. With skittering electronic beats, ghostly keyboard washes, and soul vocal samples manipulated near the point of torture, Burial's <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=502454548652">Untrue</a> sounds like some kind of aural missive from the next world, crackling and popping in the rain. This music is both haunted and haunting.<br /><br />Adding to the cool mystery of this one-man band is that no one knows who Burial is. And he (or she) aims to keep it that way, and keep the focus on the music. The music is certainly worthy of that focus. The songs on <span style="font-style: italic;">Untrue</span> flow from one to another with blurred distinction, and the whole record sounds very much like it is meant to be listened to in its entirety. Its sameness is never boring, but feels as deep (and as dark and cold) as the ocean.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3</span>: Burial - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/rg0ttgx09g.mp3">Near Dark</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Untrue</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqe7BEVw7edsxDP2OwDxaBYEpQ8iqM4qiAbnaUWLWX2AmqrFaoMw_0gQPRVKMdK6VDXBO77zudB8FT5UOIvIHZw2odcGEx5mNVM6uQumyxm_HqfQ2AkEhz0doWV_7FGEeMX2b/s1600-h/515n0+tM5cL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqe7BEVw7edsxDP2OwDxaBYEpQ8iqM4qiAbnaUWLWX2AmqrFaoMw_0gQPRVKMdK6VDXBO77zudB8FT5UOIvIHZw2odcGEx5mNVM6uQumyxm_HqfQ2AkEhz0doWV_7FGEeMX2b/s200/515n0+tM5cL._SS500_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133292111475716978" border="0" /></a>Camilo Lara's <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mexicaninstituteofsound">Mexican Institute of Sound</a> may come from south of the border, but it specializes in smashing musical borders via a latin dance party. In MIS's new record <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=68907684872"><span style="font-style: italic;">Piñata</span></a>, one can find aspects of Cumbia, Cha Cha Cha, Baile Funk, and other musical styles with which I have limited or no familiarity. Regardless, you don't have to be an ethnomusicologist to have fun with this stuff.<br /><br />Obviously, <span style="font-style: italic;">Piñata</span> is heavily influenced by Central American style, but it incorporates a club-friendly hip hop flair that will put the party right into your Margarita. If this doesn't get your toe tapping, I don't know what will. Go do a shot of tequila.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3</span>: Mexican Institute of Sound - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/mvnju2y0az.mp3">Para No Vivir Desesperado</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Piñata</span>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11437748836734006792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-12763573701445160142007-11-09T08:57:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:30.393-05:00From Sweden With Love<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-e0CZOONC1TqSNKasR07QFqlX3-oS4gmk-WNrtlRQ8DfUpdfPQfwkBo5piMBcrVNWXTF1J3i4lFO01fCNtetpqkNLDQXDU61AM6uEZdGFMhh4rpTjVS717lPxHn3uZP-tOi_6/s1600-h/pam_swedish_mballs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-e0CZOONC1TqSNKasR07QFqlX3-oS4gmk-WNrtlRQ8DfUpdfPQfwkBo5piMBcrVNWXTF1J3i4lFO01fCNtetpqkNLDQXDU61AM6uEZdGFMhh4rpTjVS717lPxHn3uZP-tOi_6/s400/pam_swedish_mballs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129943375896932290" border="0" /></a>It was my Aunt Joyce who traced one of the roots of my maternal family tree back to Sweden, which delighted me for no other reason than that it seemed somewhat exotic. I didn't buy a Swedish car just because of this, but Aunt Joyce's genealogical efforts in some small way may have helped close that deal. Musically, we're in the middle of something of a Swedish invasion on these shores, so while I wait for the new <a href="http://www.thehivesbroadcastingservice.com/">Hives</a> record to drop next week (why in the world hasn't <a href="http://www.saab.com/">Saab</a> used one of their songs in a commercial?), here's a quick look at a few new releases from my Swedish cousins.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx41V4ySt3NopFl8MkKJ4hMpVXM3sF__BwNRCU3SoX_1x9LutOOwiAiCpK_osOtYiNYSjr87U9Jtdp374bN3O3JujyxngGxXxmslF3ZSTxVMWWx86qBqI2qLleZorVcUtzCa4d/s1600-h/perishers178.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx41V4ySt3NopFl8MkKJ4hMpVXM3sF__BwNRCU3SoX_1x9LutOOwiAiCpK_osOtYiNYSjr87U9Jtdp374bN3O3JujyxngGxXxmslF3ZSTxVMWWx86qBqI2qLleZorVcUtzCa4d/s200/perishers178.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129923571802730386" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.theperishersmusic.com/">The Perisher's</a> <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=06700307222"><span style="font-style: italic;">Victorious</span></a> is a lush pop record that is a little reminiscent of Dire Straits to my ear, with a fair amount of Blue Nile mixed in (which is always a good thing). It's a fairly romantic mainstream sound that would appeal to fans of Coldplay and Travis; a sound you might not be surprised to hear in the soundtrack of some teenage television drama, which I understand has occurred. Don't let that turn you off. It's still a mature sounding record that deserves a broad audience. Very good stuff.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> The Perishers - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/z6sz30thqr.mp3">Midnight Skies</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Victorious</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKX4XNQuGikvCbDWFF5HFTsPVWHv5LsylrYOQqLgIz_-TLjWiG3NEfEsarl_aucmz76IhkTa8SHVViwuLou-rm691nqiVjIGxa_KIsWoh-vyj6MPsame268k5eH27SBSHPq4v/s1600-h/ShoutOutLouds.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKX4XNQuGikvCbDWFF5HFTsPVWHv5LsylrYOQqLgIz_-TLjWiG3NEfEsarl_aucmz76IhkTa8SHVViwuLou-rm691nqiVjIGxa_KIsWoh-vyj6MPsame268k5eH27SBSHPq4v/s200/ShoutOutLouds.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129929979893936034" border="0" /></a>On <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=67385503102"><span style="font-style: italic;">Our Ill Wills</span></a>, <a href="http://www.shoutoutlouds.com/">Shout Out Louds</a> channel The Cure in the latter's sunny, pop manifestation, setting tales of melancholy to jangly, imminently hummable melodic confections. For me, this record generates a fair amount of '80s nostalgia, but is most enjoyable without seeming overly derivative. Lead-off track "Tonight I Have To Leave It" was cooked using only a slight variation on the recipe for "In Between Days," and I'm ok with that. Songs like "Impossible" are damn near impossible not to sing along with after just a few listens. Shout Out Louds are a skilled bunch of musicians, with keen ears for melody and a talent for song structure.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> Shout Out Louds - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/od7ykaeypa.mp3">Tonight I Have To Leave It</a>" - from <span style="font-style: italic;">Our Ill Wills</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizB-Q2Z_6dK5dIE2Pn-48RRRFzYotXi5dcUEPw0xdnPtcXR-yOzmuoPiC2W8wePnqM7Qe-QL4fnpz64N_HhDPh9FmwJk_F9t-3kd6eqMS9i3fEqmximD4kVtyAhWXVg05I04XL/s1600-h/lekman384_91617a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizB-Q2Z_6dK5dIE2Pn-48RRRFzYotXi5dcUEPw0xdnPtcXR-yOzmuoPiC2W8wePnqM7Qe-QL4fnpz64N_HhDPh9FmwJk_F9t-3kd6eqMS9i3fEqmximD4kVtyAhWXVg05I04XL/s200/lekman384_91617a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129935967078346674" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.jenslekman.com/">Jens Lekman</a> is something of an anomaly. On his new release, <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=65660501602"><span style="font-style: italic;">Night Falls Over Kortedala</span></a>, he manages the seemingly impossible task of being twee and bombastic at the same time ("And I Remember Every Kiss"). He seems both earnest and tongue-in-cheek. He's Burt Bacharach and disco ("Sipping On The Sweet Nectar"), folkster and hipster. He's sweet, and maybe naively honest ("I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You"). He's clever with a lyric, and has a great sense of humor ("A Postcard To Nina"). He's a Swedish Jonathan Richman. He's a musical gentle giant and a complete breath of fresh air. This record is consistently smile-inducing, and often outright laugh-worthy, a thing of joy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> Jens Lekman - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/tngngmudh1.mp3"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Your Arms Around Me</span></a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Night Falls Over Kortedala</span>.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11437748836734006792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-26621680489322000832007-11-07T06:56:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:30.521-05:00Classic Bootleg Series Vol. 22: The Beach Boys - SMiLE<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5ZpeFi5I-ZiIIscULF27ug40ptIMa-X61Z4rtwGJwJr1LZfJTiqRDUFFfrJ1m-AJSSm6U1OKP62Qri57ih8a4HrsyVjaPUr3ef9UtkdOuG99C2N7G_itzs1b5jB_L_ac0DlUbQ/s1600-h/smile16beachboyssmile.l.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5ZpeFi5I-ZiIIscULF27ug40ptIMa-X61Z4rtwGJwJr1LZfJTiqRDUFFfrJ1m-AJSSm6U1OKP62Qri57ih8a4HrsyVjaPUr3ef9UtkdOuG99C2N7G_itzs1b5jB_L_ac0DlUbQ/s400/smile16beachboyssmile.l.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129063561903462562" /></a>Here's a <span style="font-style:italic;">mea culpa</span> for my woeful inactivity over the past few weeks -- what can I say, I've got stuff going on.<br /><br />For almost 40 years, the Beach Boys' <span style="font-style:italic;">SMiLE</span> was the Holy Grail of bootlegs -- the great lost album of the rock era, and the work that both confirmed Brian Wilson's absolute genius as a singer, composer and arranger, and propelled him into the mental illness that would cripple him for the next three decades. It was <a href="http://www.adriandenning.co.uk/smile.html">analyzed</a>, <a href="http://smilealbum.tripod.com/links.html">dissected</a>, <a href="http://www.thesmileshop.net/index.php/Main_Page">annotated</a> and <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/mn/smileshop/navpage.html">theorized</a> to death, and hailed as both an unfinished classic -- better even than <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=09463699402">Pet Sounds</a></span> -- and an artistic failure that didn't deserve to be completed in the first place. Of course, Brian finally recorded and released an updated and truly <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07559798462">triumphant solo version</a> of the record in 2004. So by now, most likely, you've heard <span style="font-style:italic;">SMiLE</span>. What you may not have heard, however, is <span style="font-style:italic;">SMiLE</span> sung by the Beach Boys circa 1966, which is something altogether different -- and, let's face it, what God and Brian (if, at the time, they weren't occasionally one and the same) originally intended.<br /><br />There are literally dozens of versions of <span style="font-style:italic;">SMiLE</span>: high profile bootlegs (by labels such as <a href="http://www.vigotone.com/vigotone/vigotone110-111.htm">Vigotone</a> and <a href="http://www.earcandymag.com/purplechicksmile-2005.htm">Purple Chick</a>), collections of the fragments that have seen official release (most notably in the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07777812942">Good Vibrations</a></span> boxset), scholarly reconstructions and frequently terrific fan mixes (seek out the ones by <a href="http://tela.sugarmegs.org/_asxtela/asxcards/BeachBoys_Smile.html">Wrightfan</a>, who just loosed his <span style="font-style:italic;">seventh</span> attempt at a definitive <span style="font-style:italic;">SMiLE</span> on the bootleg trading community, and a mysterious fellow who calls himself <a href="http://www.earcandymag.com/djmicsmile.htm">D.J. Mic Luv</a>) abound.<br /><br />This particular version -- the so-called "Millennium Edition" released in Japan on the Dumb Angel label -- isn't the best, or even one of my favorites (to use the take of "Our Prayer" -- one of the most sublimely beautiful harmony exercises in pop music history -- that degenerates into laughter is sacrilege in my book), but it is among the most difficult to get ahold of. And, if nothing else, this version closes with a truly gorgeous edit of "Surf's Up," among the most perfect pop songs ever written, complete with a purely instrumental pass through the first two verses that serves as an overture, the "Woody Woodpecker" horn punctuations, Van Dyke Parks' brilliant lyrical wordplay ("canvas the town and brush the backdrop," "the music hall / a costly bow / the music all is lost for now"), and that classic, haunting vocal from Brian. If I could only hear ten songs again for the rest of my life, "Surf's Up" would be one of them.<br /><br />THE BEACH BOYS - <span style="font-style:italic;">SMiLE</span> (Millennium Edition)<br /><br />Artwork (these are PSD files - download and open/print with a photo viewing program):<br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/i22y1dhhgg.psd">Front cover</a><br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/p9kx23op1r.psd">Inside cover</a><br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/mdmkz1e4of.psd">Back insert</a><br /><br />01 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/16fox2hk87.mp3">Our Prayer</a><br />02 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/r1snovpme5.mp3">Heroes and Villains (Barnyard Suite)</a><br />03 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/vas4itpd2j.mp3">Child Is Father Of The Man</a><br />04 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/u7ryy60dxd.mp3">Wonderful</a><br />05 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/m48ah4spjc.mp3">With Me Tonight</a><br />06 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/q549d3vebr.mp3">Do You Like Worms?</a><br />07 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/6a3ydfozv7.mp3">The Old Master Painter</a><br />08 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/kasupunv1y.mp3">Cabinessence</a><br />09 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/l2k3e796fr.mp3">Good Vibrations</a><br />10 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/6gpdoa4hed.mp3">Vega-tables</a><br />11 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/cgppukphe0.mp3">Wind Chimes</a><br />12 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/z5v4fkeczy.mp3">The Elemental Suite</a> (Look > Holidays > Mrs. O'Leary's Cow > Cool, Cool Water > Friday Night > Good Vibrations closing bit)<br />13 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/xkcvtoqu4j.mp3">Vega-tables (reprise)</a><br />14 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/zy28xyyboa.mp3">Surf's Up</a>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-83923064959280988642007-10-26T08:25:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:30.723-05:00Lucky Ones<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZPqTqv20cow2SXlnKf7SULvvb0m5uDohoY5aJp4KJE0kwttWGW2IrLFx4Kp9ZpeqCawl2cLV1bw63k1Wj1AMOvRgltlmXEwbUOx9RKi6lfIRTN9zgtbgEZCLow-mq8LzaQeG/s1600-h/up-kevin_lrg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZPqTqv20cow2SXlnKf7SULvvb0m5uDohoY5aJp4KJE0kwttWGW2IrLFx4Kp9ZpeqCawl2cLV1bw63k1Wj1AMOvRgltlmXEwbUOx9RKi6lfIRTN9zgtbgEZCLow-mq8LzaQeG/s400/up-kevin_lrg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124711220687810194" border="0" /></a>I'm not going to be able to offer much here that the indie kids don't already know. <a href="http://www.arts-crafts.ca/bss/">Broken Social Scene</a> are a band, er, a <span style="font-style: italic;">collective</span>, that I probably appreciate more than I actually listen to. When "It's All Gonna Break" popped up on my iPod this past weekend, I realized that's probably something that needs to be addressed. <a href="http://www.arts-crafts.ca/kevindrew/">Kevin Drew</a> is one of the founders of BSS, and for his first solo record, <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=82759027002"><span style="font-style: italic;">Spirit If . . .</span></a> (which still involves various members of the collective, including the always lovely Leslie <a href="http://www.listentofeist.com/">Feist</a>), he trades on the brand name as "Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew". Not a bad move, considering the fact that it's a pretty solid brand.<br /><br />Not unlike recent BSS records, <span style="font-style: italic;">Spirit</span> is often a beautiful, sprawling mess, with Kevin Drew at the epicenter, coaxing beauty from chaos. What is slightly different from the typical BSS output is the relaxed nature of the music. While the opening track, "Farewell To Pressure Kids," trades in the same bombastic, baroque, whirlwind rock that is BSS's stock in trade, halfway through, it downshifts dramatically and turns the sonic three-note motif into a mellotronic prayer. This is followed by the profane "tbtf" (abbreviation for "too beautiful to [expletive deleted]"), which is actually a very pretty, if slightly twisted, ode to adoration, and "F-ked Up Kid," an acoustic meditation with the perfect level of ambient electronica hovering in the background.<br /><br />And so goes this record. It's a ragged beauty, and it kind of reminds me of <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/10/free-noise-among-friends.html">Thurston Moore's new one</a> in the sense that, coming from someone who normally doesn't hesitate to unleash the noise, there is a fair amount of joy in melody and restraint. This is exemplified in song after song. It's not until the excellent "Back Out On The . . . " -- which would be at home in any Arcade Fire set -- that Drew turns the amps back up to 11.<br /><br />A generous amount of real care in the production is also apparent, which makes <span style="font-style: italic;">Spirit </span>a strong candidate for the headphones. All in all, <span style="font-style: italic;">Spirit If </span>. . . deserves heavy rotation on your playlist.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/pf11nkll59.mp3">Lucky Ones</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Spirit If </span>. . .<br /><br />And speaking of Canadian musicians, <a href="http://www.popheadwound.blogspot.com/">Pop Headwound</a> has news on the re-release of Destroyer's <span style="font-style: italic;">City of Daughters</span>, along with a couple of MP3s.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11437748836734006792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-28286851605582742072007-10-18T00:08:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:31.614-05:00Free Noise Among Friends<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlL1Aj1Xl4Uqo-BxIQu0rY5H8vV70snwNZMf9MEgqq3b6o_CWV7yekgPnvahI7M4Fjwzkk4WrzKVDPziHrvh5DNFC4OCSoNwSVnto3c75KGLCwoNL4yIZa8M4TLoha49TaPEdP/s1600-h/concert.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122478958680354434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlL1Aj1Xl4Uqo-BxIQu0rY5H8vV70snwNZMf9MEgqq3b6o_CWV7yekgPnvahI7M4Fjwzkk4WrzKVDPziHrvh5DNFC4OCSoNwSVnto3c75KGLCwoNL4yIZa8M4TLoha49TaPEdP/s400/concert.gif" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.sonicyouth.com/">Sonic Youth</a>'s chief noise merchant, Thurston Moore, steps outside the SY university on his new solo record, <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=60251744986"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Trees Outside The Academy</span></a>. The path doesn't lead too far from campus, but it does afford an interesting view of some familiar territory. <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Trees</span>' style and song structure provide easily recognizable signposts to most devotees, but its instrumentation diverges just enough to lend a healthy breath of fresh air. Here, SY's tortured guitars are largely replaced by their finger-picked acoustic cousins, which, instead of dueling against one another, are set against a backdrop of tastefully arranged strings. Moore's voice, usually a smooth counterpoint to the waves of guitar-violence delivered by his day-job band, slides very nicely into the groove of this decidedly laid back approach.<br /><br />The record opens with "Frozen Gtr," a song that would be at home on any recent SY record, and actually draws a hint of the ominous out of the violins. It's an excellent song to set the stage for this trip. Following that are "The Shape Is In A Trance," which is classic Thurston Moore, but turned way down, and "Honest James," which is probably about as close as Moore will ever get to folk music, but with lovely backing vocals by Christina Carter it's close enough.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Trees</span>, which was recorded at J. Mascis' house, and to which J. contributed some excellent guitar work, is a remarkably consistent record. There are only a couple of missteps, including "American Coffin," which opens with a fairly standard SY barrage of distortion and devolves into fairly amateurish piano improv, and "Thurston @ 13," which isn't a song, but a recording of exactly what its title suggests. Nevertheless, there are plenty of standouts to be found. "Wonderful Witches + Language Meanies" is an outright rocker that would've been perfect for wife Kim Gordon had it made it to a Sonic Youth record, and "Never Day" has a bit of a lilting melody that sails gently on a soft current of big sound. My favorite track is probably "Fri/End," which is bright and nearly reaches the point of "popness" as it shuffles along like some lost Pavement track.<br /><br />All in all, this is a very nice release that has achieved a pretty good rotation in my iPod. It's nice to know that even in middle age, a former youth can still be Sonic.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">MP3:</span> Thurston Moore - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/62nci955gx">Fri/End</a>" from <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Trees Outside The Academy.</span><br /><br />Check out the BBC's video interview about <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Trees</span> below and stream a few other tracks <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A26650640">here</a>.<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_sy8dXusuP4" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11437748836734006792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-43526637698578323472007-10-17T05:54:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:31.837-05:00Come Gather 'Round, People<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcEJ0T5QEGYKkPMrgm2Ihv3rhN7g3SoKYBSlk6qESaOM7YGlRjRz-T2IL48Un_JKI22fB6Oeo-RJoWCSmTj3ZPSuTVvpGsSZMYUDKVZw5jyelcUuFwaO3qcxdGj0xFNNehI2hLzw/s1600-h/bob_dylan.newport.64.color.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcEJ0T5QEGYKkPMrgm2Ihv3rhN7g3SoKYBSlk6qESaOM7YGlRjRz-T2IL48Un_JKI22fB6Oeo-RJoWCSmTj3ZPSuTVvpGsSZMYUDKVZw5jyelcUuFwaO3qcxdGj0xFNNehI2hLzw/s400/bob_dylan.newport.64.color.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122257578930290866" /></a>Since we launched this blog over 10 months ago (!), I've tried to bring the <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/04/classic-bootleg-series-vol-8-smiths.html">occasional</a> <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/06/every-night-my-dreams-same.html">bit</a> <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/07/one-after-909.html">of</a> <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/04/when-they-kick-at-your-front-door-how.html">BBC</a> <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/05/classic-bootleg-series-vol-11-neko-case.html">awesomeness</a> to my fellow, deprived non-Brits. It's impossible to share it all, or even all of the truly excellent stuff that seems to flow out of The Beeb on a weekly basis. But this one, I just can't pass up. About 10 days ago, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/">BBC Radio 2</a> broadcasted <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/musicclub/event_bobdylan.shtml">Dream Dylan Live</a></span>, in which they aimed to put together -- from recordings spanning his entire career -- their approximation of the ultimate <a href="http://bobdylan.com/index.html">Bob Dylan</a> concert. It's a neat enough concept as it is, but what made this program truly special was that it included four live recordings (obtained direct from the Dylan archives) that had never seen the light of day before. The end result is a really sweet listen. And some kind soul even made some artwork for it, which I pass along as well, in case you want to burn to CD and enjoy your Dylan in "take away" fashion, as they say in dear old Blighty.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">DREAM DYLAN LIVE</span> - BBC Radio 2 Presentation, October 6, 2007<br /><br />Artwork:<br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/zstsyg12f4.jpg">Front cover</a><br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/0tid5avohh.jpg">Back insert</a><br /><br />01 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/y396z6r5f1.mp3">Blowin' In The Wind</a>*<br />02 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/13djstqp5y.mp3">Only A Pawn In Their Game</a>*<br />03 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/cevsaezteg.mp3">The Times They Are A' Changing</a><br />04 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/g3jviqn3ab.mp3">Mr. Tambourine Man</a><br />05 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/krt8647dn0.mp3">Like A Rolling Stone</a><br />06 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/3mm5xslonx.mp3">Maggie's Farm</a><br />07 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/9grnzpk92c.mp3">All Along The Watchtower</a><br />08 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/6okbp5xo3e.mp3">Lovesick</a>*<br />09 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/4zn1rllxte.mp3">To Make You Feel My Love</a><br />10 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/t8mjezi115.mp3">Things Have Changed</a><br />11 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/rhm2v9f9eo.mp3">The Groom's Still Waiting At The Alter</a>*<br /><br />*Previously unreleasedFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-33803789598812971452007-10-08T21:35:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:31.898-05:00Killing The Blues<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXybnOtVASeMYJ305eR9BoszTNAAQ02Papa17kijVi_jeCZq4un2LiaRie0wW88rAwOX-BaULQujc9ttwpCjflNLnybLAAtrKAexfQkNSJ4ugKh_8bAVGlQPkJ8yavtTsT7EFGA/s1600-h/20070803_Plant&Krauss.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXybnOtVASeMYJ305eR9BoszTNAAQ02Papa17kijVi_jeCZq4un2LiaRie0wW88rAwOX-BaULQujc9ttwpCjflNLnybLAAtrKAexfQkNSJ4ugKh_8bAVGlQPkJ8yavtTsT7EFGA/s400/20070803_Plant&Krauss.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118591966077075602" /></a>One of the more intriguing projects that I've read about in recent weeks is the collaboration between <a href="http://ledzeppelin.com/">Led Zep</a> icon <a href="http://robertplant.com/">Robert Plant</a> and bluegrass goddess <a href="http://alisonkrauss.com/">Alison Krauss</a> -- about as unlikely a pairing as I probably could have imagined. But it seems Plant and Krauss have had something of a mutual admiration society in the works for a while, and after years of talking about it, finally went into the studio together this year, with an amazing group of studio musicians (world-class players like Marc Ribot, Norman Blake and Patrick Warren), and none other than the great T-Bone Burnett producing, to record a selection of Americana covers by writers like Tom Waits, John Prine, Gene Clark, Sam Phillips, Townes Van Zandt, The Everly Brothers and Mel Tillis.<br /><br />Well, I got an advance copy of the results -- a record called <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=01166190752">Raising Sand</a></span> -- over the weekend, and I have to tell you, I am positively blown away. It is, without question, one of the finest records I've heard this year, a captivating trawl through an eclectic selection of country, blues, rockabilly and vintage pop tunes, written by some true masters, and gorgeously recorded by Burnett. Stunningly, though, it's the singing on these tracks that really makes this project something special. You expect Krauss to sound like an angel, and she certainly doesn't disappoint. In fact, her performances on <span style="font-style:italic;">Raising Sand</span>, such as her languid take on Phillips' "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," are among the loveliest I've ever heard from her. But it's Plant's voice that truly astonishes here, with a warmth, beauty and delicate command that not only belie his years, but may truly mark the high point of his storied career. And the combination of the two voices -- at times Plant and Krauss trade leads, at others they are locked in sublime harmony -- is nothing less than mesmerizing, whether they're gliding elegantly through Prine's standard-in-the-making "Killing The Blues" or crooning like Gram and Emmylou on Gene Clark's "Through The Morning, Through The Night." Another highlight is "Please Read The Letter," a tune that Plant wrote with Jimmy Page in the late 90s, but that he, Krauss and these masterful musicians turn into something like a lost classic from 60s Nashville. Then again, literally every track on this record is a priceless little gem, simply not to be missed.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Raising Sand</span> is out on October 23. Run, don't walk, to your record store that day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MP3:</span> Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/if1stcncdv.mp3">Please Read The Letter</a>" from <span style="font-style:italic;">Raising Sand</span>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-88672711256806031212007-10-07T09:30:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:32.075-05:00Classic Bootleg Series Vol. 21: The Ramones - The Palladium, NYC, New Year's Eve 1979<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEt0XDb_ysBYGKQ_gZpi2iuFNsZoAG5I3-o5vYZHFpeiDbY61_AOS_YIxtQjJkjaWCexsPqaJuirR5KQGOCVI-bDjFFTkbuUTWc0iZ5wOsnK_qY-ykQriT3OpLaipyW58UTUA5xg/s1600-h/ramones.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEt0XDb_ysBYGKQ_gZpi2iuFNsZoAG5I3-o5vYZHFpeiDbY61_AOS_YIxtQjJkjaWCexsPqaJuirR5KQGOCVI-bDjFFTkbuUTWc0iZ5wOsnK_qY-ykQriT3OpLaipyW58UTUA5xg/s400/ramones.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118336239429304450" /></a>I've had <a href="http://www.ramones.com/index_main.html">The Ramones</a> on the brain this week, maybe because I've been making my way through the excellent live DVD, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=60349704832">It's Alive: 1974-1996</a></span>, that was released last Tuesday. It features some classic footage of Da Brudders in their punk-pioneering heyday, including a few old TV appearances I'd only had in bootleg quality until now, and is highly recommended.<br /><br />So -- and speaking of The Ramones in their heyday -- here's one of their most popular boots, a stereo soundboard recording from their show at The Palladium in New York on New Year's Eve 1979. The setlist hits the high points of their first four classic records, and even includes one song from <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=08122781552">End Of The Century</a></span>, their album produced by the <a href="http://www.courttv.com/trials/spector/">now-infamous</a> <a href="http://www.philspector.com/">Phil Spector</a>, which at the time was about six weeks from being released (and is still my favorite Ramones record).<br /><br />And, for those of you who weren't around back in the day, these guys didn't mess around, especially on stage. 32 songs in 66 minutes. Do the math. Gabba gabba hey.<br /><br />THE RAMONES - <span style="font-style:italic;">1-2-3-4 DIE</span> (Live at The Palladium, New York - December 31, 1979)<br /><br />Artwork:<br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/53fxpcve2k.jpg">Front cover</a><br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/yoot91xmzb.jpg">Back insert</a><br /><br />01 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/ulp0g43z4d.mp3">Blitzkrieg Bop</a><br />02 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/6tkn67ybaq.mp3">Teenage Labotomy</a><br />03 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/b17xtr2zre.mp3">Rockaway Beach</a><br />04 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/6rebo9azcd.mp3">I Don't Want You</a><br />05 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/fkthq040ln.mp3">Go Mental</a><br />06 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/goh2qjvqc0.mp3">Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment</a><br />07 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/hxgh69zfjp.mp3">I Wanna Be Sedated</a><br />08 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/alrbmg53a6.mp3">I Just Want To Have Something To Do</a><br />09 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/y19s8lr4ba.mp3">She's The One</a><br />10 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/syvh1511v9.mp3">This Ain't Havana</a><br />11 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/1yaoabvgfi.mp3">I'm Against It</a><br />12 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/6tjgt9zo1j.mp3">Sheena Is A Punk Rocker</a><br />13 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/51d4t5m4rx.mp3">Havana Affair</a><br />14 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/sdgpdn0fgq.mp3">Commando</a><br />15 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/6abv6c8q7z.mp3">Needles And Pins</a><br />16 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/bn5806dbie.mp3">I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend</a><br />17 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/4gn3uk094m.mp3">Surfin' Bird</a><br />18 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/1vhmaom0ij.mp3">Cretin Hop</a><br />19 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/k2oduodhu4.mp3">All The Way</a><br />20 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/p8edcqvmhj.mp3">Judy Is A Punk</a><br />21 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/lspfih2nt1.mp3">California Sun</a><br />22 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/fc8a6i9g90.mp3">I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You</a><br />23 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/fx8pyign03.mp3">Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World</a><br />24 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/qzbhuees6m.mp3">Pinhead</a><br />25 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/76b5ifeclg.mp3">Do you Wanna Dance?</a><br />26 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/m1rnf7icie.mp3">Suzy Is A Headbanger</a><br />27 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/scrhr8zed1.mp3">Let's Dance</a><br />28 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/7kn8y9uu6p.mp3">Chinese Rock</a><br />29 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/j92afeg3qe.mp3">Beat On The Brat</a><br />30 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/zl5gbgx252.mp3">We're A Happy Family</a><br />31 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/szxr18lr3y.mp3">Bad Brain</a><br />32 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/jezz5cx7tl.mp3">I Wanted Everything</a>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-86388336776265412682007-10-06T00:00:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:32.264-05:00You Might Have Succeeded In Changing Me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRRZw9d1s_RXs7ZL9GEHqB2kbI1rwHaXRnOFJf-IYSK7VKHZMvN91Wo3eHT91dOZ8LfYYQXvl7QrDdzNNCEJEn0-4QMSXcE2PKI-C6T9sVDN4GYJ4XMhRe7xL66px1uepL-lU/s1600-h/import_photos_944.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRRZw9d1s_RXs7ZL9GEHqB2kbI1rwHaXRnOFJf-IYSK7VKHZMvN91Wo3eHT91dOZ8LfYYQXvl7QrDdzNNCEJEn0-4QMSXcE2PKI-C6T9sVDN4GYJ4XMhRe7xL66px1uepL-lU/s400/import_photos_944.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5107683479861016658" border="0" /></a>Word on the street is that <a href="http://www.remhq.com/">R.E.M.</a> are putting the finishing touches on a great new record. To tide us over until it comes out, we have a new CD/DVD, <span style="font-style: italic;">R.E.M. Live</span>, to look forward to. It's the band's first live CD & DVD package, and it comes out October 16. Featuring 22 songs, it's a document of a February 27, 2005 concert, when the South's favorite sons played a show at <a href="http://www.thepoint.ie/">The Point Theatre</a> in Dublin, Ireland on their tour in support of <span style="font-style: italic;">Around The Sun</span>.<br /><br />Frank has already <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/07/classic-bootleg-series-vol-15-rem.html">waxed eloquent</a> on the meaning of this band to good post-punk Southern boys (<a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/09/talk-about-passion.html">and will do so again soon</a>), so I will not attempt to repeat him here. Suffice it to say that R.E.M.'s sense of mystery and Southern mythology, in a time of great and exciting upheaval in popular music, gave us in the American South something of which we were so proud. They were every bit the equal to that awe-inspiring band from Ireland that emerged at approximately the same time, and against whom they were often favorably measured.<br /><br />I will never forget my best friend Kenny, who at the time lived about 160 miles away, calling me on the day that <span style="font-style: italic;">Reckoning </span>was released. The phone rang. I picked up and said hello. Kenny sang into the phone: "Seven Chinese brothers swallowing the ocean . . ." Naturally, I tunefully responded, "Seven thousand years to sleep away the pain." "Oh good! You bought it," he said. That's devotion, people.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">YouTube:</span> Trailer for <span style="font-style: italic;">R.E.M. Live</span><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pt2TEDnK38o"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pt2TEDnK38o" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11437748836734006792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-34110251034556984622007-10-05T15:47:00.001-05:002008-12-12T19:06:32.400-05:00Ahhhhhhhh Hey, Hey, Hey!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97dOIqetJM9dMMBMc1QvuUe2jlRDspWxqU3wk9ayl0nDd75VIKeVNCsjkycMoxYNVrwACqASdATvNWPIGbC0xTcPKSATctROml0g6E4mdwAvu6aBtlud0PEsY5FZ_ngVXBfe0qQ/s1600-h/sm_Arcade_Fire_k_N5E9300.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97dOIqetJM9dMMBMc1QvuUe2jlRDspWxqU3wk9ayl0nDd75VIKeVNCsjkycMoxYNVrwACqASdATvNWPIGbC0xTcPKSATctROml0g6E4mdwAvu6aBtlud0PEsY5FZ_ngVXBfe0qQ/s400/sm_Arcade_Fire_k_N5E9300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117962141600982498" /></a>Apologies for the scant posts this week. If it isn't one thing these days, it's another. Plus, <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/08/police-thieves.html">post-burglary</a>, I'm still in the very early stages of rebuilding my digital music collection to a point where I actually have new stuff to share. Among the things that I realized, only yesterday, I had lost for good -- by which I mean, I had no version on CD to re-rip -- was "Cold Wind" by the Arcade Fire, a non-album track that only ever appeared on the final <em>Six Feet Under</em> soundtrack in 2005. But our buddy Scott happened to hear me mention this, and when I came to work this morning, there it was in my in-box. So thank you, Scott -- this is one I definitely didn't want to live without. And for those of you who don't have this in your own collection, here you go. It's so good it hurts.<br /><br /><strong>MP3:</strong> Arcade Fire - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/qbjyttq5os.mp3">Cold Wind</a>" from <em>Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends</em>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-8049793013919921682007-10-01T07:42:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:32.753-05:00In Rainbows<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2z88MvMyFooPWCdEvMx_3W_XF_XibN0k1fdUKKDjDJjKAV9iZWLUsltKb314dKp910qdiHF6cdJQgdnDDlCjL5BxOgmmE_lJiWmMStsm94P3706BZ1P32TsxvM2cDztrWnNGwKg/s1600-h/12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2z88MvMyFooPWCdEvMx_3W_XF_XibN0k1fdUKKDjDJjKAV9iZWLUsltKb314dKp910qdiHF6cdJQgdnDDlCjL5BxOgmmE_lJiWmMStsm94P3706BZ1P32TsxvM2cDztrWnNGwKg/s400/12.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116349828057933250" /></a>Holy crap, <a href="http://www.inrainbows.com/Store/Quickindex2.html">this</a> was a shock this morning. More info at <a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46015-new-radiohead-album-aaaaaaahhh">P4K</a>.<br /><br />I just forked over $80 for the deluxe DiscBox without even batting an eye.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MP3:</span> Radiohead - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/gqsgx0tagd.mp3">Bodysnatchers</a>" (live at Madison Square Garden, June 13, 2006)Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-5820121817629798652007-09-30T17:40:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:32.969-05:00Talk About The Passion<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGo7ZcaMcqFbZYwBTXj-tPZTVYqiFfpf3byfAVfMVL0erBH5rOWNec-lSEzuJqGNHy4p0YFl18LIdaxefJKZVTM_iXNKtU45N_KT-RrUYOzGbqBFmXVzvii1Jw0wtcib57OcxLQ/s1600-h/rem.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGo7ZcaMcqFbZYwBTXj-tPZTVYqiFfpf3byfAVfMVL0erBH5rOWNec-lSEzuJqGNHy4p0YFl18LIdaxefJKZVTM_iXNKtU45N_KT-RrUYOzGbqBFmXVzvii1Jw0wtcib57OcxLQ/s400/rem.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116130823380542882" /></a>A quick note (and shameless personal plug) for readers in our part of the world:<br /><br />On Sunday, October 21, 2007, the <a href="http://www.rootsweb.com/~gaahs/index.htm">Athens Historical Society</a> will present “<a href="http://remhq.com/">R.E.M.</a> in Perspective: An Athens History.” The event will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the historic Seney-Stovall Chapel at 201 N. Milledge Avenue in Athens, Georgia. The program will feature two previously unscreened vintage videos of R.E.M. and two panel discussions. The featured videos include an R.E.M. practice session recorded at <a href="http://www.wuxtryrecords.com/main.html">Wuxtry Records</a> in Atlanta, prior to the release of their first record, and an early performance at the 688 Club in Atlanta.<br /> <br />Biographer <a href="http://www.ijamming.net/">Tony Fletcher</a>, author of <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0711991138/ijamming">Remarks Remade: The Story of R.E.M.</a></span>, will open the session with his observations on Athens’ place in R.E.M.’s history. A follow-up panel will discuss R.E.M.’s Athens musical and artistic roots. Among the participants will be artist and filmmaker <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Herbert_(director)">Jim Herbert</a>, producer <a href="http://www.johnkeanestudios.com/">John Keane</a> and Wuxtry owner Dan Wall. Oh, and unbelievably, <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/07/classic-bootleg-series-vol-15-rem.html">yours truly</a>. A second panel will examine R.E.M.’s social, civic, political, economic and preservation impact on Athens and beyond. Scheduled participants are former Athens mayor Gwen O’Looney, community activist Tim Johnson, and historic preservation advocate Smith Wilson.<br /><br />I hope a few of you can make it out to the event. To put you in the mood, here's the 7" single on Hib-Tone Records, recorded in the summer of 1981, that started it all:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MP3:</span> R.E.M. - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/n8i70yuy88.mp3">Radio Free Europe</a>" (Hib-Tone single - A side)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MP3:</span> R.E.M. - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/tnds9dry2d.mp3">Sitting Still</a>" (Hib-Tone single - B side)Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-35422040983340322782007-09-27T18:09:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:33.279-05:00Prove It All Night<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBfiRGINBLbNhSxw_C-D3si7ai7_1ug7EwJq3bGSTd9giT-xEfk1sre99yG-jQQX_yhDQNivIN9lr9HXdddfqiYYOLoG055MIbac6AVmFNPrcBrBOuG2iWs9cWWAgaBdU8HDjfg/s1600-h/bruceNewsImage_magic.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBfiRGINBLbNhSxw_C-D3si7ai7_1ug7EwJq3bGSTd9giT-xEfk1sre99yG-jQQX_yhDQNivIN9lr9HXdddfqiYYOLoG055MIbac6AVmFNPrcBrBOuG2iWs9cWWAgaBdU8HDjfg/s400/bruceNewsImage_magic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115025126999860610" /></a>Diehard <a href="http://www.brucespringsteen.net/">Bruce Springsteen</a> fans probably already know that The Boss put the E Street Band through their paces at two open rehearsals at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ earlier this week, in advance of the <a href="http://www.brucespringsteen.net/live/">massive world tour</a> that starts in Hartford on October 2. (We're still waiting and praying for an Atlanta date in '08.) Tapes of those shows are now circulating, and while it's clear that the E Streeters have some rust to shake off (especially Clarence Clemons), there's also no denying the sheer thrill of hearing the band play together again, and you just know they're going to get nice and tight after a few dates. I'm not going to post an entire show, because only mediocre audience recordings are available (and TTT is all about the soundboard, baby), but here are the first two songs from the show just two nights ago, as Bruce & Co. open with their brand new single, then charge straight into a stone-cold classic from going on 30 years ago. Rust and all, it still brings a smile, and some goosebumps.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MP3:</span> Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/tnjm4zel2u.mp3">Radio Nowhere</a>" (live in Asbury Park, Sept. 25, 2007)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MP3:</span> Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/d3ph9z0i51.mp3">Prove It All Night</a>" (live in Asbury Park, Sept. 25, 2007)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=88697170602">Magic</a></span> is out on October 2, and you can already stream the whole record <a href="http://www.q1043.com/cc-common/news/sections/special/springsteen_bruce.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">UPDATE:</span> A. O. Scott profiles Bruce Springsteen and the <span style="font-style:italic;">Magic</span> album in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/arts/music/30scot.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">New York Times</a>.Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-78622974595981988852007-09-27T10:45:00.000-05:002007-09-27T13:29:19.829-05:00Look Out, Kid!A message from our good buddy Tim at <a href="http://www.babygotbooks.com/">Baby Got Books</a>:<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.dylanmessaging.com/assets/flash/message-embedded.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="528" height="400" bgcolor="#AD1A22" flashvars="messageID=4QOA-318F-9B59-X53Q-JV32&embedID=2287&"></embed><br /><br />Go <a href="http://www.dylanmessaging.com/index.html">here</a> to make a Dylan message of your own, "Subterranean"-style. The new <em><a href="http://www.dylanmessaging.com/about">Dylan</a></em> best-of collection is out on October 1.Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-85303141981502967342007-09-25T21:03:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:33.518-05:00Radio Cure<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0vZk_z0Zx6JPV6qYJvwR5SR8A5tFKWK7t4MO0J_d0A-B2VVTQ3lnOpxNxtSjIjvoA6M6KgPB8YRU8aqul8EL_UxuOeZoecAEwVl_knxrqRlUqjX3sZJjUJsxjtX366RZaRXYIXQ/s1600-h/header_jango_logo_156x71.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0vZk_z0Zx6JPV6qYJvwR5SR8A5tFKWK7t4MO0J_d0A-B2VVTQ3lnOpxNxtSjIjvoA6M6KgPB8YRU8aqul8EL_UxuOeZoecAEwVl_knxrqRlUqjX3sZJjUJsxjtX366RZaRXYIXQ/s400/header_jango_logo_156x71.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114327907778831730" /></a><a href="http://jango.com/">Jango</a> is a new webspace, currently in Beta testing, that allows users to set up, program and refine their own radio stations, by selecting favorite artists or genres, then share them with friends or other users. Songs stream in their entirety, the sound quality is nice, and once a user's preferences are established, the site even suggests other artists (s)he might like to try, <span style="font-style:italic;">a la</span> <a href="http://www.pandora.com/">Pandora</a>. Jango is currently available on an invite-only basis, but they've given us access for the first 100 TTT readers who want to sign up (for free, of course) and give it a spin. <a href="http://www.jango.com?r=342369665">Click here</a> to get started, and let us know what you think in the comments. (The only major bug at this point is that the Jango player has a tendency to crash the Safari browser, so if you're a Mac user, you'll want to use <a href="http://caminobrowser.org/">Camino</a> instead.)Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-48806612543346069442007-09-20T06:00:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:33.668-05:00Classic Bootleg Series Vol. 20: Neil Young - Chrome Dreams<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9TAtQ0ZS_sKfNA56PwCILczhUCgZFvKag476aafgCiJg1w5Zf21KKBGehvRYSzstUeI_tenmZu5wu2Re0pdYQZE1gUWr9YUHVpf7Edw2SXOw2C4pwzgUdTP955fnt333N6sHBg/s1600-h/Neil-Young.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9TAtQ0ZS_sKfNA56PwCILczhUCgZFvKag476aafgCiJg1w5Zf21KKBGehvRYSzstUeI_tenmZu5wu2Re0pdYQZE1gUWr9YUHVpf7Edw2SXOw2C4pwzgUdTP955fnt333N6sHBg/s400/Neil-Young.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112021642490846818" /></a>If you need to come back, come back strong, I always say.<br /><br />First off, my sincere thanks to all of you who expressed sympathy and offered music after my <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/08/police-thieves.html">recent burglary experience</a>. I never dreamed that TTT readers would respond the way they did to my misfortune, and it is no exaggeration to say that I was profoundly touched by the reaction and encouragement. So thanks, a million times -- as we say down south, y'all are the best. And once I get my musical bearings, I may take a few of you, especially you Atlanta locals, up on your generous offers. Special thanks, too, to my good buddy Rich, who carried the torch admirably during my 3-week hiatus. Rich, I'm prepared to shoulder some extra weight for a while to make it up to you. Thank you for being patient.<br /><br />Second -- and as I was just about to say when I was so rudely interrupted -- it's about time for some classic <a href="http://neilyoung.com/">Neil Young</a>. Neil's been in the news in recent weeks after <a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44965-time-for-yet-another-neil-young-album">announcing that he will release a new album</a>, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=09362499171">Chrome Dreams II</a></span>, on October 23. "Chrome Dreams <span style="font-style:italic;">Two</span>?" many of you may have asked. "When was there ever a Chrome Dreams <span style="font-style:italic;">One</span>?" And the answer is, there wasn't, because Neil's original <span style="font-style:italic;">Chrome Dreams</span> is one of those great lost albums, from the further reaches of rock history, that never saw the light of day, except to boot collectors. The detailed liner notes from this particular version (the "Rust Edition", which draws from the very best sources) tell the tale better than I ever could:<br /><br /><blockquote>Neil Young was on a creative high in 1975. By the end of the summer, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07599272262">Zuma</a></span> was finished, though still not released. Yet Neil carried on recording his new songs. Sometimes he recorded solo and sometimes with Crazy Horse. <br /><br />Lots of these songs would remain unheard by the public until quite a while later, but by late '75, Neil had already written and recorded versions of such future classics as "Like A Hurricane", "Powderfinger", "Sedan Delivery", "Pocahontas" and "Ride By Llama". He carried on recording in 1976. More great songs were put down on tape, such as "Will To Love", "Stringman" and "Campaigner". <br /><br />Some of us may feel that the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07599272302">Long May You Run</a></span> album with Stephen Stills robbed us of the natural successor to <span style="font-style:italic;">Zuma</span>, but Stills always suspected that Neil was holding back his best stuff for his solo album. That solo album was a work in progress throughout this period. Titles were reported in the press: <span style="font-style:italic;">Ride My Llama</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">In My Neighborhood</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">American Stars 'N' Bars</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Chrome Dreams</span>.<br /><br />When <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=09362484962">American Stars 'N' Bars</a></span> was released in 1977, Neil had scrapped most of the material he'd been recording since late '75, replacing much of it with a series of rough hewn cowboy songs. Fun stuff to be sure, but had Neil committed the latest in a series of difficult to explain career suicides? Who else, except maybe Bob Dylan, would sit on a stash of such quality songs and not let the public hear them?<br /><br />Tracks 1 to 12 of this compilation are thought to be the unreleased <span style="font-style:italic;">Chrome Dreams</span> album, readied for release weeks before Neil recorded those country hoedowns and rethought his strategy. Some of these song titles will be more than familiar to you, but the actual performances may surprise you.<br /><br />"Powderfinger" is performed as an unadorned solo acoustic song. "Sedan Delivery", a second song destined for <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07599272492">Rust Never Sleeps</a></span>, is presented in its pre-punked-up arrangement and, in many people's opinion, sounds all the better for that. You'll also find the definitive "Stringman", a song not given an official airing until Neil's <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=09362453102">Unplugged</a></span> set, heard here in a 1976 live performance enhanced by subtle yet beautiful studio vocal and guitar overdubs. "Hold Back The Tears" is another solo performance, longer and more ghostly than its later remake for <span style="font-style:italic;">American Stars 'N' Bars</span>. "Pocahontas" is the same performance as the one that made <span style="font-style:italic;">Rust Never Sleeps</span>, but in its original "naked mix". "Too Far Gone" wouldn't be officially released until the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07599258992">Freedom</a></span> album in 1989, yet here's a version from 14 years earlier, with Poncho Sampedro adding a tasty mandolin part.<br /><br />The other six songs from the album were released unchanged on the albums <span style="font-style:italic;">American Stars 'N' Bars</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07599272352">Comes A Time</a></span> and <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=09362484992">Hawks And Doves</a></span>, yet you may still be able to pick out slight differences in the mixes. "Homegrown", for one, would seem to have a little more fire in the guitars. Have a listen and see what you think.<br /><br />We've also chosen a select batch of bonus cuts to give you a further taste of just how creative Neil was during this fertile period. If the version of "White Line" (here retitled "River Of Pride", maybe because Neil forgot to sing the actual "white line" lyric) didn't make the <span style="font-style:italic;">Chrome Dreams</span> shortlist, then its continued circulation among collectors is something of a mystery. Maybe it was pressed onto acetate as a possible contender for <span style="font-style:italic;">Decade</span>, which Neil was also preparing at this time. Whatever the truth, it's a stupendous version of the song, recorded in 1975 with a loose and joyful Crazy Horse. Neil's remake for <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=07599263152">Ragged Glory</a></span> in 1990 may have been fine, but it doesn't quite capture the spirit of this earlier version. "Campaigner" did make <span style="font-style:italic;">Decade</span>, but not before losing one of its verses. You can hear the full-length version here.<br /><br />Three live cuts follow. "No One Seems To Know" is an aching piano ballad that Neil once described as Part 2 of "A Man Needs A Maid". It's first class, but remains unreleased. "Give Me Strength" dates from an earlier, ill-fated album called <span style="font-style:italic;">Homegrown</span> (an album that would have also featured "Star Of Bethlehem", the oldest cut in this collection) and is another lost classic. "Peace Of Mind" is heard as an electric rock song played with the Horse, and very different from the version Neil released on <span style="font-style:italic;">Comes A Time</span>. And, as a nod to <span style="font-style:italic;">Zuma</span>, we close with Crosby Stills Nash & Young. "Human Highway" was recording during the Stills-Young sessions in 1976. The song was always meant to be a CSNY track, but Neil had run out of patience by the <span style="font-style:italic;">Comes A Time</span> LP. <br /><br />Now you can have a glimpse of what might have been, which, come to think of it, is also true of the whole collection. <br /><br />- Jules Gray (May 20, 2004)</blockquote><br />NEIL YOUNG - <span style="font-style:italic;">CHROME DREAMS</span> (RUST EDITION)<br /><br />Artwork:<br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/pkdlm9k5ie.jpg">Front cover</a><br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/iis818lxg8.jpg">Inside cover</a><br /><a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/bihskt9xh5.jpg">Back insert</a><br /><br />01 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/e6kodyn13z.mp3">Pocahontas</a><br />02 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/kr4ittjcpn.mp3">Will To Love</a><br />03 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/vh3rivcstg.mp3">Star Of Bethlehem</a><br />04 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/mtc94j0uva.mp3">Like A Hurricane</a><br />05 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/axsb2i53ps.mp3">Too Far Gone</a><br />06 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/2vsoz2hvb9.mp3">Hold Back The Tears</a><br />07 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/co8adh6pfx.mp3">Homegrown</a><br />08 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/21f59yyn67.mp3">Captain Kennedy</a><br />09 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/ihuzcx9my3.mp3">Stringman</a><br />10 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/p2h1ghv7fd.mp3">Sedan Delivery</a><br />11 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/ksjppivyv8.mp3">Powderfinger</a><br />12 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/prdotfvabc.mp3">Look Out For My Love</a><br /><br />Bonus Tracks:<br /><br />13 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/h2e6jedh0y.mp3">River Of Pride</a> (a/k/a "White Line", Unreleased Studio Version, 27 NOV 75)<br />14 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/2etvsh2d05.mp3">Campaigner</a> (Unedited, Unreleased Studio Version, Summer 1976)<br />15 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/zcxuk6jtq4.mp3">No One Seems To Know</a> (Live, Tokyo, Japan, 10 Mar 76)<br />16 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/fcgf99isiq.mp3">Give Me Strength</a> (Live, Chicago, IL, 15 Nov 76)<br />17 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/78k841seem.mp3">Peace Of Mind</a> (Live, Chicago, IL, 15 Nov 76)<br />18 <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/py1szd146q.mp3">Human Highway</a> (CSNY, Unreleased Studio Version, April 76)Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-9128864182842303012007-09-18T14:30:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:33.975-05:00The Truth In One Free Afternoon<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1QNfZaWduXd-EanKCa62zGI-SkJb1NID7WDPjgHIFTQRkzp-WsEYX9HYrHReVUbj20VS7Rz23lBYY_c5i4UWoOuD40Ju-6ro84EYeFXIV65YzAPgjme7sLoXWaV4dmhIF28qmQ/s1600-h/new-pornographers-2007.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1QNfZaWduXd-EanKCa62zGI-SkJb1NID7WDPjgHIFTQRkzp-WsEYX9HYrHReVUbj20VS7Rz23lBYY_c5i4UWoOuD40Ju-6ro84EYeFXIV65YzAPgjme7sLoXWaV4dmhIF28qmQ/s400/new-pornographers-2007.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101159803716493938" /></a>On their fourth record, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=NPCHALLENGERS">Challengers</a></span>, <a href="http://www.thenewpornographers.com/">The New Pornographers</a> are all about dialing things back. That includes a fair amount of the exuberant energy that characterized their first three collections of ebullient, brilliantly-crafted pop music. In fact, <span style="font-style:italic;">Challengers</span> is largely a muted, mellow affair, more ornate and orchestrated than its predecessors, but also far more rooted in emotion than in the simple, knee-jerk thrill of a killer chord change or soaring chorus.<br /><br />But none of this is to say that <em>Challengers</em> isn't an excellent record. It is, in spades. On tracks like "My Rights Versus Yours" (<a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/06/cant-hardly-wait.html">previewed here</a> back in June), "All The Old Showstoppers" and "Unguarded", head Pornographer Carl Newman continues to display his quirky mastery of the classic pop form, now and then employing his fine falsetto to terrific effect. And as never before, the contributions from second songwriter Dan Bejar, while steeped in his singular styles of wordplay and vocal phrasing, are every bit as accessible and catchy as Carl's songs -- in fact, his NYC travelogue "Myriad Harbor" features the most infectious, sing-along chorus on the record.<br /><br />But of course, the Pornographers' not-so-secret weapon is the great <a href="http://nekocase.com/">Neko Case</a>. Her harmonies elevate every song (especially Bejar's -- she truly is the Emmylou to his Gram) into special territory, providing the thread that gives the Pornographers some sort of signature "sound". And the two tracks on which she sings lead, the title track and "Go Places," are the absolute highlights of <em>Challengers</em>. The former, especially, is among the loveliest moments of Neko's career. It's Carl's tune, but once Neko wraps her exquisite voice around it, imbuing it with her unique brand of beautiful melancholy, she makes it completely her own. By the time she sings, "Whatever the mess you are, you're mine, okay?", I'm ready to run away with her (for about the 87th time).<br /><br />And newest Pornographer Kathryn Calder (who also fronts the excellent <a href="http://immaculatemachine.com/home.php">Immaculate Machine</a>) has an upfront, chill-bump moment of her own on the gorgeous, twice-repeated coda to "Adventures In Solitude". Any young female singer who can step up and impress in a band that also includes Neko has my immediate respect.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MP3:</span> The New Pornographers - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/static/0gx61sqe7q.mp3">All The Old Showstoppers</a>" from <span style="font-style:italic;">Challengers</span>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11735627520269320521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-69317625611877387362007-09-15T00:01:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:34.072-05:00Something Apropos I Don't Know<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7AJAZVHgp3EaK9Fc12GNLAqyBke9zgUTcUMvXIL9AeeA-slJ5zMXYUFCpfGqn-OEa64ERcHM8VKjR1nTK8N7O-LiIuKLCzSEOnUITcS1p-7R1D391jk9u_tVO-r_3p9MKk0Q/s1600-h/andrew-bird-armchair-04-screen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7AJAZVHgp3EaK9Fc12GNLAqyBke9zgUTcUMvXIL9AeeA-slJ5zMXYUFCpfGqn-OEa64ERcHM8VKjR1nTK8N7O-LiIuKLCzSEOnUITcS1p-7R1D391jk9u_tVO-r_3p9MKk0Q/s400/andrew-bird-armchair-04-screen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110277428094265122" border="0" /></a>This is a confession. I am relatively new to <a href="http://www.andrewbird.net/">Andrew Bird</a>. While Frank can <a href="http://thattruncheonthing.blogspot.com/2007/03/yawny-at-apocalypse.html">claim something</a> closer to a personal relationship -- and Allen, another of our colleagues, is certainly on a backstage basis -- I (being the only contributer to this blog with a computer at the moment), until recently, only knew what I'd read about Andrew Bird, and own only his newest album, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=76798110582">Armchair Apocrypha</a>. That was remedied Thursday evening, when I caught up with Frank and Allen at Atlanta's <a href="http://www.variety-playhouse.com/">Variety Playhouse</a> for a full-on (sold out) Andrew Bird show. Thus, even though I feel least qualified to submit this post . . . here goes.<br /><br />To paraphrase Prince and Sinead O'Conner, nothing really compares to Andrew Bird, and I am extremely glad (tired as I was after hanging out with Neil Finn the night before) that I made this show. Andrew Bird is actually something of a musical savant. A classically-trained violinist, he is even more impressive building the loops that create the illusion that he is backed by a small orchestra, switching as he does -- often on a dime -- between the violin and guitar. His music is <span style="font-style: italic;">otherworldly</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>, although extremely sweet and surprisingly hooked-filled. Another aspect of his music that is somewhat unusual is his regularly featured whistling, which is on display far more often than even by Peter, Bjorn & John or Andy Griffith. The man can flat out whistle.<br /><br />As a live act, Bird constructs layers of loops at the beginning of each song, and it is actually a thing of beauty to watch him launch them into action, traversing the stage to different microphones, pedals, and rotating speakers. In this respect, he is perhaps more craftsman than showman, but nonetheless endlessly entertaining. Most importantly, although his music is decidedly off the beaten path, it's not terribly challenging; its relatively accessible and terribly enjoyable. Added to that is a great voice that is equal parts David Byrne, Bryan Ferry, and Jeff Buckley. Not a bad combination.<br /><br />Like growing up in Mississippi and having to see a hockey game live to appreciate its beauty, it really wasn't until I saw Andrew Bird live this week that I fully appreciated his <span style="font-style: italic;">incredible</span> talent. Now I can't stop listening to <span style="font-style: italic;">Armchair Apocrypha</span>, which, if you haven't heard by now, you simply must. And go see him live as soon as possible.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3: </span>Andrew Bird - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/290ytgvx3o">Dark Matter</a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Armchair Apocrypha<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">YouTube: </span><span>Andrew Bird</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - </span><span>"Plasticities" on the David Letterman Show<br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ktxy7ikUKjM"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ktxy7ikUKjM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></span>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11437748836734006792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38266800.post-11668824541847544342007-09-14T06:37:00.000-05:002008-12-12T19:06:34.264-05:00Don't Stop Now<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRsvCDw6va-En75QnFlz51LL9Z1tOvefPFwsbg-PIip0EvxutgvWb6gWerX1KAM4Ie0DBsIAhSuk794krpNnaJ52AiNsS1QRPL9SOarMTfdp7Ufy-qVZ2JvRlNmceAiyrVhE3/s1600-h/20070629_Crowded_House.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109651917647210258" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRsvCDw6va-En75QnFlz51LL9Z1tOvefPFwsbg-PIip0EvxutgvWb6gWerX1KAM4Ie0DBsIAhSuk794krpNnaJ52AiNsS1QRPL9SOarMTfdp7Ufy-qVZ2JvRlNmceAiyrVhE3/s400/20070629_Crowded_House.jpg" border="0" /></a>Atlanta was fortunate enough on Wednesday evening to be graced with the genius of Neil Finn and the re-formed <a href="http://www.crowdedhouse.com/s_home/index.php">Crowded House</a>. On a night that brought the old-timers (like me) out to the Tabernacle, Neil ("Full of Zeal") did not disappoint. Just when opening act Pete Yorn had me questioning why it is that I even like live music at all (with his thirty or so guitarists on stage, all playing the same thing and all, except maybe the Elvis Costello impersonator, apparently even more bored than I), Crowded House immediately reminded me of the joy of live music. </div><br /><div> </div>Neil Finn is simply one of the all-time greatest songwriters (if there is anyone better at turning a melody, his or her name is probably Lennon or McCartney) and performers, and the band was in excellent form. It being the last proper show on the tour (of sorts -- I believe they're playing the Austin City Limits festival today), Neil's voice was a little worn, but the crowd was able and more than willing to join in and help out on the vocals. Mr. Finn seemed to take no small measure of delight in this, repeatedly engaging the effusive crowd in impromptu sing-a-longs between songs, and taking the time to teach the backing vocals to his exuberant students before a couple of the numbers. Needless to say, it was a warm reception.<br /><br />The set (plus two lengthy encores) featured highlights spanning the band's incredible career, along with a generous dose of songs from their excellent new record, <a href="http://www.buymusichere.net/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=93&upc=88088215802"><span style="font-style: italic;">Time On Earth</span></a>. If you haven't picked this one up yet, add it to your list of things to do. It's a mature offering, almost somber in some places (perhaps not a surprising reaction to original drummer Paul Hester's 2005 suicide), and in many ways reminiscent of some of Finn's best solo work (e.g., "Don't Stop Now"), yet has a few instant classics ("She Called Up") that could easily have been featured on an early Crowded House release. In short, <span style="font-style: italic;">Time On Earth</span> sounds less like a reunion record than a band hitting a new found stride. Don't dream it's over, indeed.<br /><div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MP3:</span> Crowded House - "<a href="http://www.box.net/shared/mpotx4gpu3"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">She Called Up</span></a>" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Time On Earth<br /><br />(Expect the Classic Bootleg Series to resume next week!)<br /></span></div>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11437748836734006792noreply@blogger.com