Low Millions: “Eleanor” (2004)
From the only album released by the Los Angeles band fronted by singer/guitarist Adam Cohen, son of singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen.
Songs You May Have Missed #263
19 Dec 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: eleanor, low millions
Songs You May Have Missed #262
19 Dec 2012 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: nellie mckay, the big one
Nellie McKay: “The Big One” (2006)
Nellie McKay is a songwriter of many styles and moods. She’s clearly in a pissed off mood here.
McKay’s Geoff Emerick-produced 2004 double-disc debut, Get Away From Me (a play on Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me) was a breath of fresh air. Her Doris Day look and pose on the cover seemed at odds with the Parental Advisory sticker below her picture.
McKay is said to be the first woman to release a double album as her first release. Originally, her contract with Columbia called for 13 songs, but McKay aggressively lobbied her label for a double album, including bottles of wine, a PowerPoint slide show, and a mock photo of her threatening Emerick with a gun. (Allmusic).
“The Big One” is from Pretty Little Head, her second album, released on her own label. It too was a double and included a 44-page color booklet. McKay bounces cheerfully between crooner jazz, reggae, rap, and songs that sound like full-fledged Broadway-style production numbers. Stylistic diversity, ambitious arrangements and intelligent lyrics are hallmarks of her work.
Truly one of the brightest lights in pop music, McKay seems to have a long road ahead of her as an artist. Given that she seems to enjoy careening her music career like a bumper car, it should be fun for everyone.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/08/11/songs-you-may-have-missed-459/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2024/08/31/songs-you-may-have-missed-753/
Songs You May Have Missed #261
17 Dec 2012 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: jesus was way cool, king missile
King Missile: “Jesus Was Way Cool” (1990)
King Missile is basically New York-based poet/performance artist John S. Hall and a revolving cast of musicians who come up with sympathetic settings for his droll, mostly spoken word narratives.
“Jesus Was Way Cool” was a big college radio hit for the band and one of their two best-known songs (along with 1992’s “Detachable Penis”, an unlikely MTV and alternative radio hit). Interestingly, it was at a 1991 concert that Hall joked to the audience that the title of their next single would be “Detachable Penis”. He later decided to go ahead and write the song.
The band first came to my attention when a girlfriend lent me a mixtape with the title “Way Cool Tape”, which not only served as my introduction to King Missile but to John Hiatt as well. Wish I could have a look at that tape today–I’d like to see what other treasures it may have contained.
When several years passed after their 1998 Failure album, I’d assumed the band broke up. Turns out John S. Hall was attending law school. He has since opened his own practice specializing in entertainment law.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/01/29/songs-you-may-have-missed-310/
Songs You May Have Missed #260
17 Dec 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: the head and the heart, winter song
The Head and the Heart: “Winter Song” (2011)
From one of the most well-received Americana/indie folk albums of last year, the prodigious self-titled debut by Seattle band The Head and the Heart. It’s an album of beautiful harmonies, confident performances and lyrics that belie the youth of the band members, who are all in their twenties.
Songs You May Have Missed #259
17 Dec 2012 2 Comments
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: mind mischief, tame impala
Tame Impala: “Mind Mischief” (2012)
From a record that made several 2012 year-end best-of lists, Tame Impala’s Lonerism album. The band clearly shoots for a psychedelic late-60’s sound. Sounds a little like a Revolver outtake.
Songs You May Have Missed #258
13 Dec 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: i've got a line on you, mr. skin, nature's way, randy california, spirit
Spirit: “Mr. Skin” (1970)
Led by guitarist/singer Randy California, Jay Ferguson (of the later solo hit ‘Thunder Island’) and bald-headed drummer Ed Cassidy (to whom ‘Mr. Skin’ is a lyrical nod) Spirit was one of the more experimental bands of the late 60’s and early 70’s, enjoying rabid devotion from their fans but lacking the wider success their music deserved.
Comprised of members from disparate musical backgrounds (pop, rock, jazz, blues, classical, folk) the band melded these influences into a mystical and eclectic mix. Indicative of how ahead of their time they were is the fact that ‘Mr. Skin’ first appeared in 1970 (on the pseudo-sci-fi concept album The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus) but did not chart as a single until ’73.
Their albums often had a slow-burn quality about them too: their 1968 record, The Family That Plays Together, re-entered the charts four years later, while Twelve Dreams enjoyed FM radio play years after its singles fell from the charts.
Their highest-charting single was the now largely forgotten straight-ahead rocker ‘I’ve Got a Line On You’ (#25 in 1969)
Their hippie-esque anthem of the following year (and B-side to ‘Mr. Skin’) ‘Nature’s Way’ got some serious FM airplay despite not charting as a single itself. Dig the kettle drums on this one:
The three songs sound like three completely different bands, but are merely three sides of one very versatile and adventurous one.
Randy California was given his name after being invited by Jimi Hendrix to join his band. Jimi, who in 1966 went by the name Jimmy James, called his band Jimmy James & the Blue Flames. Since they already had a Randy in the band, Jimi referred to the two by their home states. Bass player Randy Palmer was “Randy Texas” and the former Randy Wolfe became “Randy California”, which he decided to keep.
In a sad epilogue, California died in Hawaii in 1997. He and his family were swimming off the coast when Randy and his 12-year-old song were caught in a riptide. Though California was able to push his son close enough to shore to save him, he himself was swept out to sea. His body was never found.
