I've Looked So Much....

Youth Lagoon - July (2011: The Year of Hibernation)

memory is more neat

when it disappears

By Lena Retamoso

(Translated by the author)

Panda Bear - Ponytail (2007: Person Pitch)

“I’ve looked on beauty so much

that my vision overflows with it.

The body’s lines. Red lips. Sensual limbs.

Hair as though stolen from Greek statues,

always lovely, even uncombed,

and falling slightly over pale foreheads.

Figures of love, as my poetry desired them

.... in the nights when I was young,

encountered secretly in those nights.”

By Konstantinos Kavafis (Greece, 1863-1933)

Poem: I’ve Looked So Much.... (Translated by Edmund Keeley / Philip Sherrard)

"This song makes me feel like being showered under thousands of shooting stars."

 - Lena Retamoso

Green Mountain

Björk - Unravel (1997: Homogenic)

To have, long between my hands, your shadow

Facing the sun

Your memory pursues me or drags me, harassing,

Without exit without stopping without refuge without a word without air

Time becomes a house of ill fame

In longitudinal felling of trees where your image dissolves in smoke

The bitterest taste that man’s history records

The dying brilliance and the shadow

The opening and closing of doors leading to the enchanted dominion of your name

Where everything perishes

An immense barren field bitten by weeds and interpretable stones

A hand on a severed head

Feet

Your brow

Your flood shoulder

Your downpour belly and lightning thigh

A stone turning another that rises and sleeps standing

An enchanted horse a stone shrub a stone bed

A stone mouth and that shimmering which encircles me sometimes

To explain myself according to rules no longer observed the

         mysterious prolongations of your hands which turn back

         with the menacing attitude of a modest room with a red

         curtain opening on to hell

Sheets night sky

Sun air rain wind

Only the wind which carries your name

By César Moro (Peru, 1903-1956)

Poem: Battle at the Edge of a Cataract

From the book of poetry: La tortuga ecuestre (Translated by Philip Ward)

Julianna Barwick - White Flag (2011: The Magic Place)

       “You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain; 

        I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care. 

      As the peach-blossom flows down stream and is gone into the unknown, 

       I have a world apart that is not among men.”

By Li Bai (China, 701-762)

Poem: Green Mountain (Translated by Kenneth Hope)

Intimate Voices

Philip Glass - String Quartet No. 3 (Mishima): Mishima Closing (1985: Kronos Quartet)

“    It is an enormous spider that now cannot move;

a colorless spider, whose body,

a head and an abdomen, bleeds. 

    Today I watched it up close. With what effort

toward every side

it extended its innumerable legs.

And I have thought about its invisible eyes,

the spider’s fatal pilots.

    It is a spider that tremored caught

on the edge of a rock;

abdomen on one side,

head on the other. 

    With so many legs the poor thing, and still unable

to free itself. And on seeing it

confounded by its fix

today, I have felt such sorrow for that traveler. 

    It is an enormous spider, impeded by

its abdomen from following its head.

And I have thought about its eyes

and about its numerous legs…

And I have felt such sorrow for that traveler!”

By César Vallejo (Peru, 1892-1938)

From the poem: The Spider (Translated by Clayton Eshleman)

RatTail - Gasmask (2009: Demo)

3

To all, I closed my heart without wanting to.

I have lost the little key.

Perhaps it has fallen in a channel

Or it floats, confused,

In the river that separates human beings.

But I am not afraid:

Maybe one day you’ll find it

Opening in a birthday

A surprise.

By Luis Hernández (Peru, 1941-1977)

From the poem: Intimate Voices (Translated by Lena Retamoso)

Waking Dream

Charles Trénet - La Mer (1946: La Mer)

“I dream with my eyes

open and always, by day

and night, I dream.

And over the foam

of the wide and restless sea,

and through the spiraling

sands of the desert,

upon a mighty lion,

monarch of my breast,

blithely astride

its docile neck,

always I see, floating,

a boy, who calls to me!”

By José Martí (Cuba, 1853-1895)

From the poem: Waking Dream

Ennio Morricone - E la donna creò l'uomo (1964: ...e la donna creò l'uomo)

Gentle willow

almost gold, almost amber,

almost daylight

By José Juan Tablada (Mexico, 1871-1945)

From the poem: Willow (Translated by Roberto Tejada)

Five in the Afternoon

Goran Bregović/Traditional - Ederlezi (1988: Dom za vešanje/Time of the Gypsies)

I. Cogida and Death

At five in the afternoon. 

It was exactly five in the afternoon. 

A boy brought the white sheet 

at five in the afternoon. 

A frail of lime ready prepared 

at five in the afternoon. 

The rest was death, and death alone 

at five in the afternoon. 

The wind carried away the cotton wool 

at five in the afternoon. 

And the oxide scattered crystal and nickel 

at five in the afternoon. 

Now the dove and the leopard wrestle 

at five in the afternoon. 

And a thigh with a desolate horn 

at five in the afternoon. 

The bass-string struck up 

at five in the afternoon. 

Arsenic bells and smoke 

at five in the afternoon. 

Groups of silence in the corners 

at five in the afternoon. 

And the bull alone with a high heart! 

At five in the afternoon. 

When the sweat of snow was coming 

at five in the afternoon, 

when the bull ring was covered in iodine 

at five in the afternoon. 

death laid eggs in the wound 

at five in the afternoon. 

At five in the afternoon. 

Exactly at five o'clock in the afternoon. 

A coffin on wheels is his bed 

at five in the afternoon. 

Bones and flutes resound in his ears 

at five in the afternoon. 

Now the bull was bellowing through his forehead 

at five in the afternoon. 

The room was iridescent with agony 

at five in the afternoon. 

In the distance the gangrene now comes 

at five in the afternoon. 

Horn of the lily through green groins 

at five in the afternoon. 

The wounds were burning like suns 

at five in the afternoon, 

and the crowd was breaking the windows 

at five in the afternoon. 

At five in the afternoon. 

Ah, that fatal five in the afternoon! 

It was five by all the clocks! 

It was five in the shade of the afternoon! 

By Federico García Lorca (Spain, 1898–1936)

From the poem: Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías

Nymph - Snow Song (2010: Nymph)

CXXIII

I BREATHED enough to learn the trick,  

  And now, removed from air,  

I simulate the breath so well,  

  That one, to be quite sure  

   

The lungs are stirless, must descend          

  Among the cunning cells,  

And touch the pantomime himself.  

  How cool the bellows feels!

By Emily Dickinson (USA,1830–86)

From the poem: Time and Eternity

Luminous Spirituality

Broadcast - Tears in the Typing Pool
     (2005: Tender Buttons)

rain

make me a space

-there-

in your bed of brief water

By Lena Retamoso (Peru, 1978)

(Translated by the author)

Women and Children - Oranges
     (2006: Paralyzed Dance, Tonight)

“   Loving you is like losing oneself in a glowing 

garden, because your body has the color of summer 

and your black hair shines with 

sparks of gold.

    Loving you is like walking by the secret 

light, among the trees, when it is almost

the divine night and still the sun drags

its passion over the burning things.”

By Manuel Mujica Láinez (Argentina, 1910-1984)

From the book of poetry: Luminous Spirituality (Excerpt translated by Lena Retamoso)

Seven Days of Poestry

Surprise!  My good friend Lena Retamoso and I are teaming up to do a week's worth of posts.  Lena is an incredible poet and will be choosing poetry based on the songs I pick (I'm quite honored!!).  You can check out some of her poetry and other musings on her website (it helps if you habla español).  Also, I'll be putting links with information about the poems in the comment section of each post.  So without further ado, I hereby revive Pongo and Perdita for one more week!  Hope you enjoy!!

Jens Lekman - New Directions (2011: An Argument With Myself)

“…

In the end

We are only left with tomorrow.

I raise my glass

To the day that never arrives.

But that is all

we have at our disposal.”

By Nicanor Parra (Chile, 1914)

From the poem: The Last Toast (Translated by Miller Williams)

The Kinks - I Am Free (1965: The Kink Kontroversy)

“…And I love the thousands of men within me that are born and die each instant and do not live at all…”

By Martín Adán (Peru, 1908-1985)

From the book: The Cardboard House (Translated by Katherine Silver)

Gotta Go / Goodbye

I regret to announce that this is the end of this blog for now. I hope very much that you've enjoyed some of the music I posted. All of the mp3s will continue to be available here so feel free to sift through any old posts you may have missed.

As for me... I'm leaving the country and going far away. I'll miss you all!

Goodbye!

Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames - Getaway (1966: Getaway)

Paul McCartney - Goodbye (1968: Bootleg)

Randy Newman: Good Old Boys

For those of you who don't know... this blog is about to come to an end. I'll be going to Europe and putting this site on an indefinite hiatus. So before that happens I needed to post a few tracks from Randy Newman's 'Good Old Boys.' It's one of my very favorite albums even though I've only been listening to it for about 4 years. I hated Randy Newman before that as I explained here. But then my eyes were opened. I probably owe this to my parents but also to the fact that I was getting really into arranging/composition at the time... so when I heard this album for the nth time I started noticing that aspect of it. Since then I've let the light of Randy Newman penetrate my cold, dark heart. To those of you out there who detest him all I can say is, I understand... but boy are you missing out.

It's not really possible for me to pick my favorites from this album because I love all the songs so much... I'll post some tracks here and highly recommend getting the full thing!

Randy Newman - Rednecks (1974: Good Old Boys)

 - Here's Newman's hillbilly-bashing anthem... overtly sarcastic, satirical, mordant lyrics. Not many people would be brave enough to sing this... but he does it so well everybody wants to sing along!

Randy Newman - Guilty (1974: Good Old Boys)

 - This and 'Mr. President' (which you can hear here) are tied for my favorite tracks. The orchestra on this song kills me. I remember taking a composition lesson and the teacher asked me to bring examples of the kind of stuff I wanted to learn. I brought in this song and she said, 'oh that's so simple' and was uninterested in it. I think she was missing out. It may be simple but when those dissonant chords come in at 0:40 I'm really not interested in anything else... music, film, drugs, girls, life, death, time... it all falls away. And the drum fill at 2:08 is my favorite drum fill ever. I don't know who the drummer is exactly... but it's either Jim Keltner (who was often the drummer for John Lennon, George Harrison, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, even Fiona Apple on 'When the Pawn'.... seriously, this guy is a hero) or Andy Newmark (who also played with John Lennon and George Harrison as well as Sly and the Family Stone, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, etc.). The drumming on the album is a work of genius... it doesn't really stand out but if you really listen you'll understand. And if you can figure out who played drums on the specific tracks you'll get 100 P&P Points as well as my undying love. Don't even get me started on the other musicians on this album!

Randy Newman - Birmingham (1974: Good Old Boys)

 - As some readers may remember... I/we listened to this song about a billion times when traveling through Birmingham. He paints such dazzlingly brilliant pictures with his lyrics and the music is so beautiful... I rarely like American Copland-esque harmony... but I love the way he does it on this record.

Randy Newman - A Wedding in Cherokee County (1974: Good Old Boys)

 - It's songs like this... simple, poignant, beautifully performed... that prove that there never has been and never will be anyone like Randy Newman again. If you're reading this you're still alive... so enjoy him while you can!

Guest Post: Pett-ay, Pett-ay, Pett-ay Good

By Brady Miller

Who's the best rocking Tom out there?  Tom Jones?  Nope. Tommy Lee? Hell no. The answer is Tom Petty, and that's final.

I first discovered Mr. Petty on MTV, way back in the eighties--he was wearing a big hat and glasses whilst serving up Alice like a birthday cake. "Don't Come Around Here No More" is certainly not his best song (nor is Southern Accents among his best albums), but it did catch my ear and make me a fan at an early age.  Over the next several years he released a couple masterpieces in Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers, sandwiching a very good album, Into the Great Wide Open.

Although many of Petty's greatest songs came in the late seventies and early eighties ("Breakdown", "Don't Do Me Like That", "The Waiting", and my co-favorite "Here Comes My Girl"), his late eighties/early nineties period represents the peak of his oeuvre, IMHO. Not only did he release a boatload of great tracks during this time, but they were all parts of good-to-great albums.  Here are some highlights from that period, along with some stuff from another favorite Petty album of mine, Highway Companion.

Full Moon Fever - This was the first non-Heartbreakers album, essentially a super-slick collaboration between Petty and producer/songwriter Jeff Lynne. It's an absolute masterpiece through and through, with only one dud ("Zombie Zoo") and three larger than life rock anthems ("Free Fallin'", "I Won't Back Down", and "Runnin' Down a Dream").  Here's my favorite track:

Tom Petty - Yer So Bad (1989: Full Moon Fever)

This one's right up there with the best Petty songs ever: it's uber-simple, concise, with carefully crafted (and hilarious) lyrics. It also features one of Petty's best hooks, and that's from a guy who really mastered the art of a memorable rock chorus.

Into the Great Wide Open - Jeff Lynne also produced this Heartbreakers album, and perhaps went a little overboard with the layered production. I love it though, especially the way that the drums were pieced together by stacking separate tracks over each other (I know Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch hated recording this one). It's not an amazing album overall, but it's still a really good one...I may have a soft spot in my heart for it, since it was also one of my first ever cd's.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - King's Highway (1991: Into the Great Wide Open)

I don't know why I like this song, but I just do.  It makes me really happy, even though it doesn't really stand out from a lot of his other stuff.  Sue me.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Makin' Some Noise (1991: Into the Great Wide Open)

This is one of my favorites of Petty's annoying rock songs about nothing at all.  Again, I'm not sure why I like it.  I certainly dig the opening guitar riff and the hilarious cowbell, but I guess overall it just makes me feel happy.  That's what music's all about, eh?

Wildflowers - Here's the real shit.  This is one of all time favorite albums, a bona fide desert island pick and one that after almost 20 years of regular listening hasn't gotten old in any way whatsoever.  I think every song is great, except for 2 which are absolutely horrible ("Honey Bee" and "Cabin Down Below")--I just pretend those don't exist.  Not only is the music amazing, but the production is absolutely top-notch: just check out the richness and detail in the acoustic guitar and vocals throughout, and feel the warm, deep, woody punch of the drums. Ridiculous...it's a perfect album to test your audio equipment on.  Here are some highlights:

Tom Petty - You Don't Know How it Feels (1994: Wildflowers)

This was a huge hit.  It was also accompanied by one of the best music videos ever, at a time when the quality of MTV was circling the drain.  One of the best drum tracks in history, and as usual, a killer hook.  I also love the inclusion of a signature one note Mike Campbell guitar solo.

Tom Petty - To Find a Friend (1994: Wildflowers)

Wildflowers features a whole bunch of very focused, lyrical acoustic numbers.  They really showcase Petty's ability to write simple, concise, and beautiful songs.  Songs like this one right here really tie the album together while still standing tall on their own.

Tom Petty - Crawling Back to You (1994: Wildflowers)

Okay, this song makes me want to cry every time I hear it.  It's just beautiful, and the third verse after the guitar solo just kills me.  Kills me.  Some of my favorite lyrics ever:

"I'm so tired of being tired

Sure as night will follow day.

Most things I worry about

Never happen anyway."

Just fucking great.

Highway Companion - this album came a bit later, and strongly echoes the vibe of Wildflowers.  I love it through and through, even though it loses a bit of steam toward the end (before finishing up nicely with "The Golden Rose").  I suppose what I like best about Highway Companion is that it offers up a lot of nice hooks and great lyrics without feeling emotionally heavy at any point--it's a perfect driving album and just feels good.  That's it.  Points to Petty for achieving exactly what he set out to do on this one.

Tom Petty - Square One (2006: Highway Companion)

...is a great second track after a nice dirty-ish, bluesy opener.  It's quiet, crystal clear, and beautiful, with strangely phrased verses that really fit in well with the title (i.e., they feel appropriately square).  I like it.

Tom Petty - Down South (2006: Highway Companion)

Here's another simple, country-rock tune that is filled with funny but very carefully written lyrics.  It's cute, poignant, and feels good all the way through: "Gonna im-press all the women / pretend I'm Samuel Clemons / wear seersucker and white linens."

"Big Weekend" and "This Old Town" are also just great, simple songs that have funny lyrics and great hooks.  I love 'em...not much more to say (not that I've really said much anyway, other than "I like Tom Petty").

Anyway, that's all, except that I think everyone should watch the Peter Bogdonavich's documentary about Tom Petty called Runnin' Down a Dream.  It's the shortest four hours you can spend in front of a tv, and it'll get your blood pumping over and over again...you may just want to start a rock band and go on tour yourself.

Guest Post: Portrait of a Sunday Afternoon

By Alyssa Staker

We are all familiar with Harry Belafonte's 1956 "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)", but here are some of my favorite songs from Harry's 1966 "In My Quiet Room" that truly capture the magical sounds of his voice. I would also like to note that the entire album is fantastic and if you have some time you should definitely listen to it, while sipping something delicious.  Enjoy your lazy Sunday afternoon...


Harry Belafonte - Quiet Room (1966: In My Quiet Room)

Harry Belafonte - Portrait of a Sunday Afternoon (1966: In My Quiet Room)

Harry Belafonte - Raindrops (1966: In My Quiet Room)

Hot Love / Don't Blow Your Cool

Summer... finally... ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

Justus Köhncke - Hot Love (2004: Kompakt 100)

Jimi Hendrix - Long Hot Summer Night (1968: Electric Ladyland)

Stay cooool....

The Fiery Furnaces - Tropical Ice-Land (2005: Ep)

The Caravelles - Don't Blow Your Cool (1964: Don't Blow Your Cool)

Use it, Abuse It

Rhymefest - Devil's Pie (2006: Blue Collar)
 sampled:
The Strokes - Someday (2000: Is This It)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Go! Team - Everyone's a V.I.P. to Someone
(2004: Thunder, Lightning, Strike)
 sampled:
The 5th Dimension - Stoned Soul Picnic
(1968: Stoned Soul Picnic)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jens Lekman - A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill (2004: You Are the Light EP)
 sampled:
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - (Love is Like a) Heat Wave (1963: (Love is Like a) Heat Wave)
 and
The Shangri-Las - Remember (Walkin' In the Sand) (1964: Remember (Walkin' In the Sand))
 which was TOTALLY ripped off in the McCartney/Harrison lead vocal section of this John Lennon/Beatles/Threetles song:
The Beatles - Free as a Bird (1995: Anthology 1)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Gianfranco Reverberi - Last Man Standing (1968: Preparati la bara!)
 - This is from the soundtrack to 'Viva! Django'... the sequel to 'Django' which inspired 'Sukiyaki Western Django.' I'm sure you can tell what this led to.

Ponies in the Surf

A brother/sister duo from Bogota, Colombia... they make quiet, pretty acoustic music. I'm not really sure how serious they are about their band... their last myspace login was last January, they release albums very infrequently and they rarely tour (I consider myself very fortunate to have caught them playing at the cake shop a few years ago). But at least they recorded three fantastic albums... I'm very thankful for that. Here's some samplings:

Ponies in the Surf - Ventricle (2004: A Demonstration)

Ponies in the Surf - Je t'aime (2004: A Demonstration)

Ponies in the Surf - Mimi Come Home (2005: Ponies on Fire)

Ponies in the Surf - Bad Crowd (2008: See You Happy)

Ponies in the Surf - Ponies in the Surf (2004: A Demonstration)

Thanks to Mike for giving me their EP in Boston.

La quatriéme chose

France Gall - La quatriéme chose
(1972: 5 minutes d'amour / La quatriéme chose)
 - Kind of sounds like it could make a good tv theme song...  maybe something like this:

Tripping Daisy - Friends/Sigmund and the Seamonsters
(1995: Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits)

France Gall - Un prince charmant
(1965: Un prince charmant)

France Gall - Frankenstein
(1972: Frankenstein / Les petits ballons)
 - The last song she recorded by Serge Gainsbourg

France Gall - A Banda
(1968: A Banda)
 - auf Deutsch!

Some Beatles Outtakes

The Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand (Take 9)

The Beatles - This Boy (Take 4)

The Beatles - I Should Have Known Better (Take 11)

The Beatles - In My Life (Alternate solo)

Army Dreamers

Kate Bush - Army Dreamers (1986: The Whole Story)

Joanna Newsom - On a Good Day (2010: Have One On Me)

The End of the World

I'd be totally fine with the world ending right now if God would just pipe this song in through the clouds...


Claudine Longet - The End of the World
     (1967: The Look of Love)

Why Paul McCartney's Solo Career Is a Disappointment...

(or Why Paul McCartney's Solo Career Sucked (And continues to suck))

It's because he lost the ability to write complete great songs. He clearly had this talent during the years he was with the Beatles... but after Abbey Road was recorded it seems like he lost the passion/desire/ability to make every part of his songs good. I'm saying that during his solo career he'll sometimes come up with a great chorus for example but then the verse will pale in comparison. There's no bad section in 'Oh! Darling' or 'You Never Give Me Your Money.' So what happened? My guess is that at first he was reacting strongly against the Beatles' process of writing and recording. Bad move, stupid. He probably put more effort into the Beatles' material for a couple of reasons: it was always going to be judged very critically, he was competing with John Lennon to some degree, etc. When the Beatles split he experimented by not polishing the recordings as much, playing/recording everything himself, producing himself (this is especially key since he was able to have free reign over his music... something he didn't quite have before). Incidentally in 1997 the surviving Beatles reunited to work on the Anthology project. Taking this look back at the Beatles recalled to him the rigorous work that the four of them had put into their recordings. This inspired him to try and get back to that process... he released 'Flaming Pie.' But it was too late. The album is one of his better efforts after 1980 but by this point he had lost the magic.

Nevertheless! He still managed to pen a number of excellent songs.

Paul McCartney - Every Night (1970: McCartney (Remastered 2011))
 - Such a great pre-chorus/chorus... verses... not so great.... but the chorus definitely makes it worth listening to over and over.

Paul McCartney - Momma Miss America (1970: McCartney (Remastered 2011))
 - So awesome that he recorded this all by himself. I mean, he's a genius, I'm not denying it. Too bad the song kinda loses it's drive midway through.... still.

Paul McCartney - Ram On (1971: Ram (Remastered 1993))
 - Ok... so Ram is definitely his best album. Hands down. And this is one of the only songs of his that I really love all the way through. It's brilliant... Grizzly Bear would have killed to write this.

Paul McCartney - Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (1971: Ram (Remastered 1993))
 - Goddamnit... He makes me wait two full minutes until the song gets good? Bullshit. He used to write songs that were great and OVER by the two minute mark. Whatever Paul... it's worth it because at 2:10 the songs gets incredibly great and stays that way.... so thanks, I guess.

Paul McCartney - Heart of the Country (1971: Ram (Remastered 1993))
 - Here's another that's good pretty much the whole way through. Not quite as interesting or original as 'Ram On' but still an awesome song.

Paul McCartney - Monkberry Moon Delight (1971/1993: Ram (Remastered 1993))
 - This song makes me wonder if I got the title of this post right. It's an amazing song, a powerhouse vocal performance... so good in fact, that Screamin' Jay Hawkins couldn't resist covering it. Awesome fucking lyrics too. Here's the 2012 mono version... I think I like it better than the stereo.

Wings - I Am Your Singer (1971: Wild Life (Remastered 2018))
 - "Who's Wings? ...They're only the band the Beatles could have been." Wild Life was their first album... and they recorded it super fast, most of the songs being recorded in one take. Not surprising that it didn't pan out too well for them. But this is a really nice track... mainly because Linda's beautifully clear and simple voice is featured.

Wings - Band on the Run (1973: Band on the Run (Remastered 1998))
 - This one's in the same category as Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. He makes you wait pretty much the exact same amount of time before the song gets amazing.... what's with this guy?

Wings - Mull of Kintyre (1978: Wings Greatest)
 - Yet another uneven song... but it's got a nice melody. Again... I feel like if he just tried a little harder with this one it could have been great. And yea... I know the song's about Scotland... but those bagpipes sound like shite.

 Paul McCartney - Check My Machine (1980: McCartney II)
 - McCartney II was his third solo album. Wings had just broken up and these songs (again) were recorded quick and not taken seriously. It's a cool album though... it's got some good electronic instrumental tracks and is overall experimental, dancey and poppy. Nothing really good enough to post though... except for 'Check My Machine.' I really like this one though I may be the only one. This was the first thing he recorded for the album while he was quite literally checking his machine (recording equipment). The song didn't make the album proper... but was released as a bonus track later on. The only thing is that it goes on a bit too long (Thanks to N for inspiring me to listen to this album with fresh ears).

Paul McCartney - Little Willow (1997: Flaming Pie (Remastered 2020))
 - I'm really only including this song because I know it's hard to believe that he could go 30 years without writing a great song... well... believe it. This song is ok though.

So there you have it. I bet you agree with me now. If you have any favorites that aren't on this list I'd love to be convinced that I missed a good one... but it's not gonna be easy.

Also see: Why George Harrison's Solo Career Sucked

I Will Wait For You

Weather.com says it's going to rain for the next 44 days...   I guess we'll just have to wait it out.

Ólöf Arnalds - Englar og Dárar (2006: Við og við)

Connie Francis - I Will Wait For You (1966: I Will Wait For You)
 - A cover from Les Parapluies de Cherbourg by Legrand/Demy.  First heard this song in an episode of Futurama of all places.  I never really liked that show... but I guess there was nothing else on.  When I saw this particular episode I was blown away by the devastatingly beautiful ending.  Apparently it was based on the story of the faithful dog Hachiko.  Basically it's the story of a dog who's owner died and the dog would wait at the train station for him each day for 9 years right when the train arrived.  Stream/download the Futurama take on this here if you want, you won't be disappointed... skip to 20:03 for the ending.

The Second Delirium

"I dreamed of Crusades, voyages of discovery that nobody had heard of, republics without histories, religious wars stamped out, revolutions in morals, movements of races and continents: I used to believe in every kind of magic."

Maison Neuve - Under Skies of Fire (2010: Demo)

The Small Faces - My Mind's Eye (1966: My Mind's Eye)

Happy 101st Super Awesome Happy Post!!!

Hooray... let's celebrate!

Nico - I'm Not Sayin' (1965: I'm Not Sayin')

Hospitality - Argonauts (2009: The General EP)

Os Tincoãs - Na Beira do Mar (1973: Os Tincoãs)

Envelopes - Boat (2008: Here Comes the Wind)

Jorge Ben - Magnólia (1974: A Tábua de Esmeralda)

Chhoun Vanna - Crying Partridge/Birds are Singing (But My Lover Will Not Return) (?)

Eternal Summers - Light Switch (2009: Eternal Summers)

George Sibanda - Dali Ngiyakuthanda Bati Ha-Ha-Ha (195?)

Sandie Shaw - Love Me, Please Love Me (1967: Love Me, Please Love Me)

The Tough Alliance - Take No Heroes (2005: The New School)

Stan Getz - Aguas de Março (1976: The Best of Two Worlds)

Françoise Hardy - J'aurais voulu (1963: Françoise Hardy - Le premier bonheur du jour)

My Two Toms + The Pickle Horses - I Was at School (2002: An E.P.)

Tahitian Moon

How long's it been since you've heard this one?

Porno for Pyros - Tahitian Moon
(1996: Good God's Urge)

Something in common...

These songs are blood relatives:

Curtis Mayfield - Pusherman (1972: Superfly)

Marvin Gaye - Got to Give It Up (1977: Got to Give It Up)

The Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue (1980: Emotional Rescue)

Spoon - I Turn My Camera On (2005: Gimme Fiction)

Mucho Tiempo Más

It's the third week in May... a very optimistic time of year.

Bel Divioleta - Mucho Tiempo Más (2006: Espejos)

Avi Buffalo for All

Avi Buffalo started making headlines last year because they made good music and were really young. Haven't heard of them? Here are a few great songs from their debut album:

Avi Buffalo - What's In It For? (2010: Avi Buffalo)
 - They hit it big with this one.

Avi Buffalo - Summer Cum (2010: Avi Buffalo)
 - My favorite recording on the album.

Avi Buffalo - Jessica (2010: Avi Buffalo)
 - Awesome song... I wish I could hear Neil Young do a version of this.

Oh, you have heard of Avi Buffalo? You've heard these songs a million times? Here's a few versions of Jessica that you maybe haven't heard:

Avi Buffalo - Jessica (2009: Daytrotter Sessions)
 - This recording is the closest one I have to capturing their live sound... the first time I saw them they made this song really loud and heavy... it was amazing.

Avi Buffalo - Jessica (2009: Myspace rip)
 - This one has been up on their myspace page for a while now... really cool and odd sounding harmonies.

Avi Buffalo - Jessica (2009: What's In It For? 7")
 - An even stranger version...  sick of this song yet? I'm not.

Harp + sichord = Ennio

Here are a few tracks from one of Ennio Morricone's earlier scores: Le monachine (The Little Nuns). It features the harp and the harpsichord throughout which I think is an incredibly beautiful texture. The other instrumentation includes upright bass, drums (with brushes), church organs, piano, nylon string guitar, vibraphones, flute, etc... good organic and pure sounding instruments. I've never seen the rather hard-to-find film that goes along with this score but here's a little description to get you in the right mindset: "Italian nuns raise a quiet ruckus to stop a major airline from flying over their village in this gentle comedy. They are upset because the noise from the jets creates a vibration that is threatening to crumble a much-revered ancient fresco. It also interferes with the quiet of their cloistered lives and so the Mother superior and two of her underlings journey to Rome to have a chat with the owner of the airline." Sound pretty wild and intense to me :) With this score though I bet it's fantastic.

Ennio Morricone - Al convento (1963: Le monachine)
 - This is the music I wake up to when I need to set an alarm.

Ennio Morricone - Fughetta nell'orto (1963: Le monachine)
 - I think Ennio was listening to a lot of Bach when he was writing this stuff.

Ennio Morricone - Mistico ma non troppo (1963: Le monachine)
 - A brilliant study of instrumentation and arranging.... such a beautiful piece.

Guest Post: I like my vinyl like I like my men...

By Alanna Gluck

...Old fashioned!

My record collection is limited, to say the least; all but two of my LPs are recordings from before 1960. A discard from the Astoria Public Library purchased for $5 at the Brooklyn Flea, "Yes Sir, That's My Baby!: The Golden Years of Tin Pan Alley 1920-1929" has not left my turn table for eight months. Sophie Tucker, Al Jolsen, Gene Austen and Rudy Vallee remind me nightly that times may change but classics are always in style.

Take it from Louis, circa 1927, and blame it on love.

Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra - Ain't Misbehaving
(1977: Yes Sir, That's My Baby!: The Golden Years of Tin Pan Alley 1920-1929)

Nino Rota

Some of my favorites from Fellini's favorite coconspirator:

Nino Rota - Tema della strada
(1954: La strada)

Nino Rota - Finale
(1960: La dolce vita)

Nino Rota - Titoli di testa
(1957: Le notti di Cabiria)

Nino Rota - L'illusionista
(1963: 8¹/₂ )

Nino Rota - Amarcord
(1973: Amarcord)

Nino Rota - Addio del matto
(1954: La strada)

John Lennon

I guess it's lucky that the most critically acclaimed pop songwriter in history wrote about such beautiful things:

John Lennon - Mind Games (1973/2010: Mind Games)

John Lennon - Watching the Wheels (1980/2010: Double Fantasy (Stripped Down))

John Lennon - Love (1970: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band)

John Lennon - God (1970: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band)

John Lennon - Instant Karma (1975: Shaved Fish)

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

This album came out a few days ago and I've been listening to it a lot. It's not as good as I want it to be... but it's still very good. The production, particularly on Robin Pecknold's voice is incredible. But the songs are a little uneven... a lot of them have great moments that transition into mediocrity. Still, I'm sure it's gonna get great reviews and it deserves them because the first song on the album, 'Montezuma', is outstanding in every way. I posted it a couple days ago but I'm putting it up again... listen to it! There's a story behind this album that Pecknold put so much time into making it that his girlfriend left him. Then, when she heard it, she understood and now they're trying to work things out. Well... if that's really true, it's 'Montezuma' that changed her mind.

Fleet Foxes - Montezuma (2011: Helplessness Blues)
 - wow

Fleet Foxes - Battery Kinzie (2011: Helplessness Blues)
 - this is another good one.. single-worthy I'm sure.

Fleet Foxes - Blue Spotted Tail (2011: Helplessness Blues)
 - Spare, really beautiful... nice lyrics.

Guest Post: Prince Can Play

By Alanna Gluck

Little Red Corvette, Nothing Compares 2 U, 1999, Let's Go Crazy, Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, KISS!!! I can't take it any longer!!! I must get up and dance!!!!.

It's clear that his velvety ruffles get us...well, all ruffled, but i feel that a great deal of Prince's talent is overshadowed by our idea of Prince as an "artist", a character, or a novelty act that pushes our comfort zone just to the point that we, collectively, can handle it. 

His genius, both in musical ability and music business is undeniable.  Prince has produced ten platinum albums, thirty Top 40 singles, has his own label and recording studio, writes, self-produces and plays most if not all of the instruments on his recordings. Not to mention his aptitude for public relations and general self-promotion. 

Like I said, GENIUS.

In a 2004 show-stealing performance at the Rock n'  Roll Hall of Fame honoring fellow inductee George Harrison, Prince shared the stage with Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Ferrone and Dhani Harrison (George's son), taking part in an all-star rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". 

If you must, skip ahead to 3:32, but take it from Prince, "your extra time and your..." is worth it!

His purpleness may get in the way, but without a doubt, Prince can shred ax.

And, because one taste of Prince is never enough, here is one of my all time (and more current) favorites from the royal canon (its. just. so. funky. ugh!).

Prince - Musicology (2004: Musicology)

--a note from Pongo: Where the hell does Prince throw his guitar at the end of that video?!?--

Sun Wind Sky Truth Beginnings Salt Earth Broad Never Kindess Sadness Open Forever

The Beginning:  Fleet Foxes - Montezuma (2011: Helplessness Blues)

The Middle:  My Morning Jacket - Golden (2003: It Still Moves)

The Ending:  Elvis Perkins - While You Were Sleeping (2007: Ash Wednesday)

Sail Away!

Sail Away... an album by Randy Newman released in 1972. It's his second best album in my opinion as well as in the opinion of most critics. His best, and my favorite, is Good Old Boys. I'm shying away from posting from that for some reason... maybe because if you're gonna like Randy Newman then you're already gonna know that album. Anyway, here are a few tracks from Sail Away... if you don't have the album and you like these songs... get it! Every single song is just as good as these:



Randy Newman - Sail Away (1972: Sail Away)
 - "In America you get food to eat, won't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet"

Randy Newman - Memo to My Son (1972: Sail Away)
 - The song sounds to me like it could have been on Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot... that's a big compliment.

Randy Newman - God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind) (1972: Sail Away)
 - Nice story.

New La Strada EP

by J. Silverman

In the spirit of sharing I would like to offer you (my friends and family) a chance to download the new La Strada EP. If there's anyone reading this who doesn't know me (and I doubt there is), this is the band I was in from 2007-2010. It was a big part of my life and a whole lot of fun. We recorded these last four songs after we decided to split up because we loved the songs and really just wanted to enjoy the process of recording them. It was rushed but with the very generous support of our label (Ernest Jenning) we were able to complete it. It comes out today! ...And to anyone out there who ever came to see us play... I sincerely thank you. Much Love!

La Strada: In Motion EP (2011) (right click the link and choose 'Save as...' or 'Download linked file')

Delicate Steve('s label) not into file sharing

I've been officially asked to take down the download links to all the Delicate Steve songs I've posted except for the song 'Butterfly' which is already 'officially' available as a free download. Everyone's got their own views on the whole file sharing thing but this is my blog so I'll say what I want: sharing is caring and anyone who's making music to earn money or even to make a living... is doing it for the wrong reason.

Delicate Steve's album is really great... so anyone who wants it please let me know and I'll 'buy' you a copy. In the meantime listen to Butterfly... it's one of the best on the album:

Delicate Steve - Butterfly (2011: Wondervisions)

p.s. Whoever is scared of this blog doing any damage... you can relax, it only gets about 5 hits a day : )

p.p.s. Definitely check out this live video of an amazing song that's not from his album:

*Update 08/21/11: A friend of mine was at a Delicate Steve show a couple months ago and told him about my blog and that some of his music was asked to be taken off. He told her that I should just put it back up. I had no part in that interaction and certainly did not ask her to ask him that. However, I think since I now have the permission of the creator of the music... I will put the music back up. It's a good thing if more people know about this great music. If you want to support him... go see him live! That's where the real fun is anyway. You can see his tour dates here. And here's the original post.

E Viva Caetano!

These are my two favorites by the Brazilian juggernaut:

Caetano Veloso - Lost in the Paradise
(1969: Caetano Veloso)

Caetano Veloso - Fina Estampa
(1994: Fina Estampa)
 - written by the Peruvian juggernaut Chabuca Granda.  Killer string arrangement.

Out of Our Heads

The Rolling Stones released Out of Our Heads in 1965... it was their 3rd album (4th in the US).  I think it's one of their best... simple songs (both covers and originals), gritty, solid performances... a great all around rock and roll album.  Some of their biggest hits were on it (Satisfaction, The Last Time)... but you've heard those enough already:



The Rolling Stones - Mercy, Mercy (1965: Out of Our Heads)

The Rolling Stones - That's How Strong My Love Is (1965: Out of Our Heads)

The Rolling Stones - Play with Fire (1965: Out of Our Heads)
 - this one's my favorite

- Links removed to comply with the DMCA.  Apparently the Rolling Stones feel they can make more money by asking me to remove these links from my defunct and obscure blog; that's fine, hopefully they'll give something to charity.  Or they're just really into following the rules... I thought the Beatles were supposed to be the 'good boys' and the Stones the 'bad boys'?

Neil Young Gettin' Old

It seems to me that the most brilliant artists have a golden period and then lose their magic touch with the passing of time.  A few examples: Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, David Byrne... and in more recent times: Arcade Fire, Wilco... I know not everyone will agree with me... but it's a fact: the output of these artists has been diminishing in quality since they peaked.  So it's a very special thing when a musician like this manages to pop out a great song whilst wallowing in the winter of his career.  Neil Young managed to pull that off with his song 'The Way.'  A song that could only ever be at the end of an album... it sounds like it could have been on After the Gold Rush.  This is what these artists should be doing... reflecting on their experiences and sharing their wisdom:

Neil Young - The Way (2007: Chrome Dreams II)