Hello. This is a song-a-day blog. It assigns wondrous tunes to your ear canals. It may include dazzling photographs or videos. It has also been known to promote good health. It keeps coming 'til the day it stops.
This group is....too outrageous to explain. You see the picture, you understand. Love Missile F1-11 is the defining song of the group. You may recognize it from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Sigue Sigue Sputnik features such members as Yana YaYa and Neal X. May this song melt your face.
Okay, it's Sunday night and once more I've lagged on my blog duties. I have two spectacular songs for those of you waiting with bated breath: Whales Waves Goodbye by Freescha and Oppressions Each by Brightblack Morning Light. Both are mellow and perfect for a Sunday evening affair. Freescha is the real winner here, so if you don't have an imeem account, get one.
Smoke and Mirrors by The Magnetic Fields is a must-have. The lyrics are quite good, I suggoost you look them up. The song appears on the album Get Lost (1995). Sometimes they sound like Joy Division, but their roots are based in Stephin Merritt's singer/songwriter yearnings. Check out the albums Holiday and 69 Love Songs for a taste of their range. If you're asking me, Holiday is the one to buy.
Fire on the Mountain by The Grateful Dead. Now, if you're a deadhead, don't expect to love this because it's not all jammy and fruity(but it's Dead at the core). If you hate the Dead, don't be repelled. It's only a little sugary. Mostly it's glorious.
Everybody likes this song. Naked Eyes, who didn't do much else, bang out (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me. It couldn't sound more like the 80's if it tried. And they didn't even write the song, Burt Bacharach did. Note: one of them looks like John Cusack.
Song o' the day: Dirt Road Blues from 1997's Time Out of Mind by Mr. Robert Zimmerman. His voice was still bearable then. Not anymore, Bobby, not anymore. Singin' ain't your game. Being a witty radio personality, now that you can do. That's right. Bob has a show on XM where he tells grizzled stories and plays music straight from his own collection.
This song is catchy nonesense, and the video makes it even better. Something about this dancing birdie just gets to me. The Real Tuesday Weld present: Bathtime in Clerkenwell.
The 13th Floor Elevators live in a time of their own as well. Was that too easy? Well, they do. The swinging 60's never sounded so alive as when Easter Everywhere is pumping through your speakers. And surprisingly, they're not British. The band shuffled 9 members in and out over their 4 year span, one of which was an electric jug player (Tommy Hall). If you have a place in your heart for psychedelic jams, this is your band.
Featured in The Life Aquatic playing nothing but Bowie covers, Seu Jorge is a Brazilian singer/songwriter. Tive Razao is the song today off the 2004 album Cru. Apparently he did a collaboration with Thievery Corporation called Hare Krishna which you can hear here. It's ok, I like my pick better too.
Judy Garland (born Frances Gum) started life in showbiz early. At age six she was performing in vaudeville with her two sisters, stealing the show in "The Gum Sisters" act. I have a serious soft spot for Judy, which is why she gets TWO SONGS today. Zing! Went the Strings Of My Heart is from her sensational and legendary concert at Carnegie Hall in 1961. The second is maybe her most well known song next to Over The Rainbow. Below is a video where she belts out the heartbreaking notes of The Man That Got Away with that ravishing voice of hers. Divine, darling, just divine.
In honor of The Flaming Lipsand their performance tonight at The Greek with Ghostland Observatory and some other band that sounds like a worse version of The Flaming Lips, I'm posting a song from my favorite album of theirs as the song of the day. Ego Tripping is on Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. Hearing this album was like having a light bulb go off in my head. Every song is my favorite. It was pressed on red vinyl. It's wunderbar. Enjoy it.
That's really his name. A name destined for music, right? He's in The Decemberists but I think his solo project is much more interesting and ambitious: Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble. This song, Teardrops, sounds like something the Velvet Underground would have recorded 40 years ago, but quirkier and with no vocals and with someone in a gorilla suit.
I'm developing a nasty habit of neglecting the blog on Saturday. It's a fun-packed day and night, what can I say. So part one of the Sunday Series is Mental Invasion by DJ Cam. Let's see, how can I put this: hypnotic, scratchy and itchy. No no no. Beat-tastic. Listen to this Frenchie scratch live. Check for part 2 later.
So here we go. Today I found out about Fol Chen. The band members remain anonymous by choice, but tomorrow night they're playing a show at the Echoplex, divulging their identities! Here is the song "No Wedding Cake" and the slightly-unsettling-but-still-fun video. If you like it, you can download their new album for free. I strongly suggest you do.
This Los Angeles based band is Geoffrey Halliday and Ryan Sweeney. They are making some of the most original and imaginative stuff out there. Hands is the band and Windows is the song. It is on the Cities EP and they are currently working on a new album. I've seen them live many times and am always impressed. Cheers to these talented gentlemen!
How High the Moon was written in 1940 with music by Morgan Lewis and lyrics by Nancy Hamilton. No wonder the female vocal sounds so right. This "live" version in the video below is Les Paul and Mary Ford. And here is another version by Arvell Shaw. Watch Arvell go!
I just saw the film Moon and it was prettay, prettay, prettay, pre-tty good. More importantly, it had a great score by Clint Mansell. Check out this song, beautifully paired with earth/moon/Sam Rockwell landscapes. It's long but it is worth sitting through.
I missed a day! To make up for it, I'm going to post 2 songs today. The first pick is Lookout Joe by Mr. Neil Young. It's off the album Tonight's The Night. Also, if anyone knows how to upload mp3s onto a blog, please enlighten me.
Billie Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan, sang with Decca records for many years. Early in her career, before her voice was filled with pain, she recorded Did I Remember? and over 70 years later, it's as enchanting as ever.
Kraftwerk is no Neu! in my book, but they are some talented, synth pop-producing Germans nonetheless. So, I give you The Telephone Call and my endorsement of www.yooouuutuuube.com.
This song is the opening explosion on Brian Eno's 1974 record Here Come the Warm Jets. The lyrics could serve as my life philosophy. If you don't know this song/record, you're welcome. And if there is a god, it is Eno.
Said Virgo - Casino Versus Japan (Erik Kowalski). Expect many a song from this artist because he's one of my favorites. Of course his music is difficult to find on the internet, but it's worth searching for. Rupert Pupkin turned me on to this delicious ambient mind melt. Have a lovely day.
Steven Patrick Morrissey is more emotional than you will ever be (and he's always a mouthful). The man can also parody himself like no other. I mean, just look at this picture. Anyway, the song of the day is from 1994's Vauxhall And I and it's called Now My Heart Is Full. It's a classic Morrissey ballad with a tad of that vicious wit. Also, do yourself a favor and listen to "King Leer" from his album Kill Uncle. If I knew how to put the mp3 up, I would. Soon, my pretties, soon. Until then, here's a sweet live version with a badass standup bassist.
Hitting the charts in 1953, Mess Around is a Ray Charles classic. The scene below is also classic. Check out an excellent live version of the song here.
+Eno+-+Here+Come+the+Warm+Jets+(1974).jpg)
