"There's a time in life for Hoagy Carmichael. There's a time in life for Claude Debussy. There's a time in life for Jerry Lee Lewis. There's a time in life for Destiny's Child. All these things have their moment." ~Elvis Costello
14 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: i'm just a human, nwh
N.W.H.: “I’m Just a Human” (1993)
In the same way that This is Spinal Tap hilariously sent up the conventions and pretensions of metal, Fear of a Black Hat took a booty-shakin’, gun-totin’, rival-hatin’ look at early 90’s rap. NWA, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Vanilla Ice and lots more are the butt of the humor. And here P.M. Dawn’s sound is lampooned for “I’m Just a Human”. This is the full version, not the film cut.
14 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: goddamn life, salim nourallah
Salim Nourallah: “Goddamn Life” (2012)
From Nourallah’s sixth album Hit Parade, which made a lot of power pop year-end top ten lists. This song is about giving a defiant middle finger to the adversity that “beats us all the time”.
14 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: bitter blue, shannon mcnally
Shannon McNally: “Bitter Blue” (2002)
From her 2002 debut. Shannon McNally has been doing her rootsy, country-tinged singer-songwriter thing mostly under the radar of radio for a decade now. Fans of Sheryl Crow or Lucinda Williams may find her worth a listen.
14 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: top ten singles
Week ending January 16, 1993
(Source: Billboard Hot 100)
14 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: justin timberlake
Had enough of electropop dance music? As its hold on the pop charts seems to loosen a little more with every passing month, a variety of musical styles have so far slipped into the vacuum: currently Top 40 slots are occupied by the reliable crossover country of Taylor Swift, the Americana-inflected folk pop of The Lumineers and Of Monsters and Men, and even actual rock music here and there, represented by Imagine Dragons and unlikely rock hero Pink.
Still, in the same way it took major artists like Rihanna and Britney Spears committing albums to the electronic dance pop sound for it to take such hold in the first place, it might take an artist of significant stature to toll the bell signaling its demise.
Like maybe Justin Timberlake.
If his new single “Suit & Tie” is any indication, Timberlake will be pushing the pendulum back in the direction of actual R&B-flavored dance music with his new album, expected later this year. In a perfect synergy of style and lyric, the song suggests a restoration of dignity and class to a genre that’s been caught up in stut-tut-tuttering vocal samples, warp speed drum sample fills and stabs of synthetic keys for a few years now.
Timberlake is squarely in R. Kelly territory, which means music in the tradition of the Al Greens, Barry Whites and Marvin Gayes of decades past. But where Kelly’s very good Write Me Back album of 2012 charted high but didn’t effect an overall stylistic change, Justin Timberlake’s gravitas as an artist could be enough to push the needle back toward a more organic sound.
If so, it would be a welcome return indeed.
(Note: be sure to listen beyond the 40-second intro)
14 Jan 2013 2 Comments
in General Posts Tags: beatles tour rider, the beatles
(Reprinted from MSN Reverb Music Blog and The Smoking Gun)
The Beatles had modest demands when they toured the U.S. in 1965 (The group’s standard three-page rider and a one-page contract for the tour’s Portland stop contain) no requirement of bendy straws, Rough Rider condoms, or Cristal for the Fab Four. Instead, the most influential band ever just wanted adequate police protection, a “hi-fidelity sound system with adequate number of speakers,” and “a platform for Ringo Starr and his drums.”
The backstage dressing room accommodations were also spartan: “four cots, mirrors, an ice cooler, portable TV set and clean towels.” As for ground transportation, the performers were not above sharing a ride: “Two (2) seven-passenger Cadillac limousines (air-conditioned if possible), with chauffeurs.”
…The four-page list of demands (is) modest by today’s standards. Dressing rooms? A fence to keep fans from rushing the stage from behind? Cots? What primadonnas those four were!
The fascinating thing is demand #5.
Remember, this is 1965 — mere months after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, and the band was demanding that all promoters extend racial equality to all the band’s fans. Say whatever you want about the way the ’60s are remembered through rose-colored glasses. Some people were walking the walk.
By the way, ticket prices for the Portland show: $6, $5 and $4.
