Preachers and Talking Heads (Covers Month Post #3)

Another great song and great cover:

I have to admit,"smarmy" is the first word that comes to my mind
when I see this photo.

GOOD (ORIGINAL) SONG: Take Me to the River by Al Green, from his album "Al Green Explores Your Mind."
This song is classic R&B/soul amazingness. It's clearly a "woman done did me wrong" sort of song, but with some baptismal overtones. I like the little dedication in the beginning.
Al Green (or the Reverend Al Green, as he is known now) is a living legend. He is one of the most famous soul singers of all time. He sold more than twenty million records! Insanity. Like me, he was the sixth child in his family, and unlike me, was the son of a sharecropper. In 1974, at the height of his career, things changed. Supposedly after a horrible incident with a girlfriend of his (who gave him serious burns and then killed herself), he became a preacher at Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Memphis. He still does some recording, but his role as preacher remains first and foremost in his life. Perhaps this song was a hint of future baptisms to come...
His voice, high and strong, is sooooo good. I'm sure he is a fantastically charismatic preacher.

Gooftacular.

GOOD (COVER) SONG: Take Me to the River by the Talking Heads, from their album "More Songs About Buildings and Food"(great album title).
Theirs is quite a different version, which I can appreciate. I mean, what good is a cover song, really, if you don't take it and make it your own? The beat is fantastic. They make the song kinda trippy, especially with that organ in the background (I think that's what that is). The Talking Heads understand this.
I have a special place in my heart for the Talking Heads. They rose to fame on my very street, at the late, great CBGB on Bleecker Street (about four blocks from where I grew up). David Byrne, the lead singer, still continues to make awesome music, although the band itself broke up in 1991. Their sound is hard to pin down, but Byrne's voice is very distinctive. They're famous for using odd instruments and combining all sorts of influences. I love them.

If you like these songs, you might also check out:
Marvin Gaye
Otis Redding
Jackie Wilson
Brian Eno
Tom Tom Club
Television

Over and out,
Anna

The Viking of 6th Avenue

New York has been home to many weirdos, freaks, characters, and oddballs (including me). One of the greatest?
MOONDOG!!
A.K.A. "The Viking of 6th Avenue"

I'm seriously considering dressing up as Moondog for Halloween.
Unfortunately, most people would just assume I was a Viking.
Dang.

Seriously, folks, this man was a MUSICAL GENIUS. And also, probably, totally bonkers. Which is one of my favorite combinations ever.
Background? Moondog (born Louis T. Hardin, in Kansas) was a blind jazz musician who moved to New York City in the 1940's and lived (by choice!) as a street musician, mostly on 6th Avenue, dressed as Odin, the Viking god. 
H'amazing.
Anyways, he had a genius for mixing traditional elements of jazz, like saxophone and flute, with native American percussion and ambient city street noises, like honking horns. His music is instantly identifiable by its unusual rhythms, characteristic lack of any instruments other than woodwind and brass (with a few exceptions), and funny names. Some of his songs also have male choruses and such. Those are good ones, too. If you're curious, watch the Jens Lekman video I posted at the bottom of this post.
As I have mentioned before, I am not a huge jazz fan, but this guy's music is just incredible. And different. Because of his talent and his strategic busking location, he managed to catch the attention of many famous musicians of his time, like Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Leonard Bernstein, Toscanini, and Philip Glass.
You HAVE to give him a listen.


GOOD SONG #1: Bird's Lament by Moondog
This song was written in honor of Charlie Parker. Such great saxamaphone.
GOOD SONG #2: Get a Move On by Mr. Scruff (with heavy sampling of Bird's Lament by Moondog)
What an awesome remix! And look at that video-- hilarious! Most of his videos have that goofy animation, actually. Another wonderful human being.

GOOD SONG #4: All is Loneliness by Moondog, sung by Janis Joplin.

Oh yeah, and he invented the Trimba.

(How did I find out about Moondog, you might ask? I was at a Jens Lekman concert in 2007 in NYC and he covered Moondog's song "Paris." You can watch him sing it at that VERY SAME concert here on this GOOD SONG VIDEO. Gotta love youtube!)

Over and out,
Anna

Big Bird Has a Band?

So, what with SXSW (that's the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, for those of you who don't pay attention to these things) coming up, there are a lot of new bands getting talked about now. One of them is the band Yellow Ostrich. Despite the fact that Big Bird is a yellow ostrich (I think),  the band has nothing to do with Sesame Street. There is no link (although nothing could beat THIS link).

Hmm... they don't LOOK like Jim Henson creatures.

Despite the lack of Sesame Street cred, they are a really great band, with a ton of indie rock street cred instead. The band is basically the brainchild of Alex Schaaf, although now it includes Michael Tapper (from We Are Scientists!!) and Jon Natchez (from the bands Beirut AND Bishop Allen!!). They're based out of Brooklyn (who isn't these days?). Their music is pretty simple stuff-- a lot of looped vocals, drums, and fun guitar riffs-- but it's super catchy and I'm diggin it.

For example,
GOOD SONG: Hold On by Yellow Ostrich

It's just a very happy-making song that I have been enjoying blasting out my car windows as spring approaches...

If you liked this song, you might also check out:

Dr. Dog
Broken Bells
The Whitest Boy Alive
Throw Me The Statue

and I'm struggling to think of anything else that is even mildly similar.

BUY THEIR MUSIC HERE: Yellow Ostrich

Over and out,
Anna

Love and the Lack Thereof: February Post #6

Hey all!
I'm back, and so are the love songs.

This time the GOOD (LOVE) SONG is (drum roll please):

I'll Be Your Mirror by The Velvet Underground and Nico

The original hipsters.

A little bit about the Velvet Underground & Nico, for those who don't know:

They were a NYC-based band managed by Andy Warhol (you know, that artist). Lou Reed and John Cale were the most famous members of the group, I'd say (note: one of the Christmas songs I posted was by John Cale). Nico was a German fashion model/singer who collaborated with them on their famous first self-titled album (otherwise known as "The Banana Album"), but later parted ways with the band (for personal and professional reasons). Although they only released a few albums together, the band has been incredibly influential in the rock 'n roll world and their music is still relevant... and beautiful, like "I'll Be Your Mirror."

The first time I heard this song it was actually a live version of Lou Reed singing it instead of Nico, and surprisingly enough, it works quite well both ways. The lyrics are really moving. It's about a lover who sees the real beauty and worth of their loved one, and wants them to see it, too.

"When you think the night has seen your mind,

that inside you're twisted and unkind,

let me stand to show that you are blind.

Please put down your hands

'cause I see you.

I find it hard to believe that you don't know

the beauty that you are.

But if you don't, let me be your eyes,

a hand in the darkness, so you won't be afraid."

These are the words of not just a GOOD love song, but a GREAT one. Real love needs both people to be mirrors to each other, to witness to the beauty and dignity of the other (and also, I would say, to be mirrors of the greatness of Another...). 

If you liked this song, you might also check out:

older stuff like:

Lou Reed's solo stuff

The Stooges

The Kinks

The Pixies 

Patti Smith

and new stuff like:

The Secret Machines

Razorlight

Shearwater

Yo La Tengo

and many more...

Over and out,

Anna

Ice Day

So while putzing around on the internet today, enjoying my day off from school because of insanely icy roads (thus an "ice day" instead of a "snow day"), I discovered a fantastic singer. And her last name is Ices! Ice day! Ices! Get it?
I like that.
To tell the truth: her real last name isn't Ices. I don't know what it is. Her name, Lia Ices, is a pseudonym, and she keeps her real name under wraps.
Turns out she and I have something in common-- we both went to NYU. That's where our similarities start and end, though, I think.
She has this unbelievably beautiful voice-- haunting, achey, sort of angelic. And she is incredibly beautiful, to boot. Some people get all the luck, right?

She's like Giselle's more artsy, talented sister. 

Her album, entitled Grown Unknown (on the Jagjaguwar label, which is almost always spot-on), isn't actually out yet. It will be released on January 25th. But you can still listen to her music here:

GOOD SONG #1: Grown Unknown by Lia Ices. The title track. Has fun hand-claps, her amazing vocals, violin, and beautiful guitar. Definitely worth a listen.

On her upcoming album, she collaborates with Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver), who is also hyper-talented. Their voices meld really well. The collaboration is kinda a no-brainer, since they have a similar sound/musical aesthetic.  Check it out.

GOOD SONG #2: Daphne by Lia Ices with Justin Vernon.

Talented, but definitely not related to Giselle.

If you liked these songs, you might also check out:

Feist
My Brightest Diamond
Cave Singers (they're touring together soon)
Bon Iver
Volcano Choir
Cat Power
Nouvelle Vague
Bat for Lashes

BUY HER MUSIC HERE: lia ices

Over and out,
Anna

"No One Ever Does It Like That Anymore"

Despite the fact that Mark Ronson was born in London, I think of him as being a New Yorker. Considering that he went to Collegiate High School in NY, then New York University (my alma mater!) and began his career in my glorious hometown, I don't think that this is a stretch.  He is such an enormously talented DJ/turntabelist/producer, I want him to be a New Yorker. The way he combines different musical traditions/band/sounds in his songs is just plain genius. Granted, his work can be a little hit-or-miss (or mostly miss, if you don't like hip-hop that much), but the stuff of his that DOES work is great.

Ronson, hard at work. 

His new album "Record Collection" just dropped a little while ago, and is a ton of fun. Ronson features of some of the songs, but an insane number of people are involved too, as usual. The record is technically by "Mark Ronson & The International" so I guess "The International" includes all those other folks.
The two best songs on it, that both have amazing videos are:

GOOD SONG #1: Bang Bang Bang (odd mash-up of old commercials, weird Japanese TV-show, and 80's style "futuristic" fun... oh yeah, and Q-Tip!!!)

GOOD SONG #2: The Bike Song (feat. Spank Rock)

One thing that I find interesting about him, though, is that as much as I love a lot of his fun singles (like the ones above), some of my FAVORITE songs of his are his short little instrumental bits that come in between songs on his album, like "Missing Words"  and "Selector" (from this latest album) and "Inversion" and "Diversion" from his previous album "Version."  Inversion is competing with "Can't Hardly Wait" by Justin Townes Earle as my #1 played song.

Anyhoo, hope you enjoy.

If you like these songs, you might also like:

(Note: OK so, since Mark Ronson has no particular style, these rec's run the gamut)

Calvin Harris
A Tribe Called Quest
M.I.A.
Adele
Lily Allen
Duran Duran

BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: MR & the Int.

Over and out,
Anna