Kuwait - finally
January 21, 2008 | Filed Under Main, Music | 3 Comments
Got my passport in hand and fly out today. (yay!)
For my last day in Dubai… well, most of the day was spent sitting depressed in my room, doing laundry (4 hours!) and watching George Clooney movies. Later, I went back to Waxy O’Connors for dinner (and beer). Actually, Waxy’s has a terrific chef. His prime rib and roast duck breast are cooked to perfection, the vegetables are always crisp and fresh, and the bread-and-butter pudding is to die for. Pretty good stuff for “bar food”.
Then it was back to Rock Bottom for the rest of the night to see my favorite local band and drink “bullfrogs” (four liquors, blue curacao, and Red Bull). The band – King Gorilla – were in great form and much looser than last time I was there. I talked to the bassist – Mike – and he told me that they were all from Canada (Montreal) and had only been in country for two weeks (like me!). I wish them the best of luck on their stay and if anyone out is going to Dubai (you know you are), definitely look them up. And have a bullfrog for me…
Next stop – work!
Added to iPod
January 17, 2008 | Filed Under Music | 2 Comments
Today, I went to the movies and saw I Am Legend – which was good, but I still like The Omega Man better. I also finished my first book on this journey. I read Into The Wild. This is an excellent, well written and thoughtful story. Maybe I’ll see the movie, but I worry about Penn glorifying McCandless. Nature bites anyone who thinks they’re Her boyfriend…
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers – “As It All Began: The Best Of” Tracks picked by Mayall himself from 1964 to 1968.
Jeff Beck – “Wired” and “Blow By Blow” Actually, I thought I had these already. My favorite of his solo work.
Guano Apes – So I’m watching the German music video show (as opposed to the Russian or Arabic or International music video programs) and they are showing this kick-ass, live performance vid by a metal band with a woman shredding away on vocals. The song is called “Lords Of The Boards” from their album Proud Like A God. It’s on iTunes but it dates back to 1999. Don’t know where they are now. “Open Your Eyes” is also a good track.
Tom Jones and Neil Diamond – Not together. Just a smattering of the old 60s singles: “What’s New Pussycat”, “Sweet Caroline”, “Delilah”, “Solitary Man” and a few more. Come on! This stuff is classic!
Added to iPod
January 9, 2008 | Filed Under Music | 2 Comments
See – I can even do this in other countries!
Various Artists – Global Rhythm, Jan/Feb 2008 This arrived just before I left with another group of artists I have never heard before. Haven’t gone through the whole CD yet, but the Chicago Afrobeat Project and Laura Reed & Deep Pocket sounded pretty good.
Supperclub – “The Best of 15 Years” Ah, Supperclub…
Supperclub is a restaurant/club where you basically sit on beds while you are fed and entertained. There are five existing: Amsterdam, Rome, Istanbul, Bodrum and San Francisco. There are supposedly 8 more in progress including – you guessed it! – Dubai. When we first went in Amsterdam(2003?), it was the best experience of my life. Fun, sensual and excellent food. It was a full evening. An event! The second time (2006) was horrible. Service was slow and awful, it was not entertaining and the patrons were classless drunks. Total torture. A franchise spoiled? Maybe. But the music was always excellent (as I said, it was also a club) and they have been putting out CDs for a while. The classic is #3 – La Salle Neige. But this double-disc set is great as well. With discs like this (or Buddah Bar or Café del Mar), it doesn’t really matter who the artists are – as long as the tone and the groove work. And it does.
PS – For all the participants of the Christmas “covers” CD: please email me your set list. The songs didn’t come up upon transfer to the library and I didn’t have time to write them all in. NOW- I have time.
New Year’s Eve
December 31, 2007 | Filed Under Main, Music | No Comments
Five days left.
At this moment, I am playing with one of my Christmas presents from my lovely wife – an Ion USB Turntable! How else was I going to get all four discs of Palatine on to my iPod? So simple. So sweet to use.
Yet – time consuming. Everything happens in real time. But I have NOTHING else to do today. A little lunch and its back to recording. Tonight, our usual New Year’s extravaganza – champagne and movies.
Enjoy yours!
Added to iPod
December 26, 2007 | Filed Under Music | No Comments
Final.
For a while…
Robert Johnson - “King of Delta Blues”
Minutemen - “Double Nickels On The Dime” They jam econo. 46 songs - most under two minutes.
King Crimson - “In The Court of The Crimson King”
Patti Smith - “Horses” Still rocks. Saw her perform this whole album at BAM last year - plus my favorite Beneath The Southern Cross.
Various Artists - “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” Another perfect soundtrack.
Bill Hicks - “Arizona Bay” Bill Hicks is god. Wanna fight?
And - of course - all the Covers Christmas CDs. I must say, everyone did great work with this challenge. From Metallica’s “Whiskey In The Jar” to Nick Cave’s “In The Ghetto”. From Nirvana’s “The Man Who Sold The World” to Alanis Morissette doing “My Humps”. An excellent Christmas.
That brings us to over 9,300 songs or 28 days of music. That will have to do with ten days left…
Added to iPod
December 18, 2007 | Filed Under Music | 5 Comments
Last batch?
we’ll see…
The Doobie Brothers – A smattering of singles from the pre-Michael McDonald years. Mostly “The Captain and Me”. Not a Mike McDonald fan.
The Wild Colonials – “This Can’t Be Life” I had a Christmas single of theirs that I liked so I looked for more. Think of a less coy 10,000 Maniacs and a more vibrant Cowboy Junkies. Angela McCluskey has great pipes. Check it out.
Spinanes – “Arches And Aisles”
Zubin Mehta & the London Philharmonic – “Carmina Burana” Of course.
Aaron Copland – “The Copland Collection”
Jesus Christ Superstar – The first. A great rock record of the time. Only decent thing Andrew Lloyd Webber ever did. I mean it.
Throwing Muses – The Real Ramona
Cat Stevens – “Teaser and the Firecat” and “Tea For The Tillerman” Anyone who passed through the 70s, you need to have one or the other.
Charles Bukowski – “Poems and Insults” A real find a the local used CD store! A remaster of two 1971 LPs of Mr. Bukowski doing readings at the City Light Bookshop. I would have never thought to look for this. Never even considered something like this might exist (much like the Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas CD). That is why you have to take the time, folks. Flip through those CDs! Keep your eye open for good looking cover art or names you recognize. That is where the gold is!
Added to iPod
December 8, 2007 | Filed Under Music | No Comments
This is probably the second to last installation before I have to transfer the library to my new laptop for travelin’. This is what takes us up to just over 9,000 songs or 27 days of music.
Start with a few singles by Queens of the Stone Age. I don’t know this band very well but these tunes from their last three albums are good.
Bigger Thomas – “We Wear The Mask” Good record from this ska band we saw at the Warped Tour this year.
Squeeze – “Argy Bargy” and “Cool For Cats” Thought I had these already…
Lords Of Acid – “Our Little Secret” I guess you’d call it techno, but the Lords are so much more. You either know them or you don’t. I can’t explain it.
Basehead – “Play With Toys” From 1992. Laid back and soulful hip-hop with a good sense of humor.
Husker Dü – “Warehouse: Songs & Stories” Mostly the Grant Hart stuff.
Dumptruck – “Positively Dumptruck” Connecticut’s own from the early ‘80s.
Various Artisits – “Dubnology” Half of a four-disc set of dub remixes from Underworld, Dubstar, Loop Guru and others. Very chill music…
Added to iPod
December 2, 2007 | Filed Under Music | No Comments
FYI – the concert Friday was terrific. Grace and the band were in fine form and happy to be headlining finally. It may only be rock ‘n roll… but thank God something is. The highline Ballroom was also a very civil venue. An old man can sit at a table until the lead act comes on – thereby saving my bad knee from a total relapse. But WHY am I always near the crazy guy on acid? The one doing interpretive dance moves to every song (very similar to slam dancing at times). Outside of being annoying, crazy-guy-on-acid was scaring the young girls nearby – since they have probably never seen a crazy-guy-on-acid in person before. I can think of a dozen other shows where crazy-guy-on-acid would be more appropriate…
Armin Van Buuren – “Universal Religion 2008” Live from Ibiza with a cool DJ.
Flying Saucer Attack – “Distance” Lo-fi soundscapes from 1993. Nice record.
“Christmas Party With Eddie G.” One of the great Christmas CDs of our time.
Speaking of Christmas, I added more tunes to my Christmas playlist from a reggae Christmas album called “Natty and Nice”, a collection of global holiday songs put out by Oxfam and the Roches wonderful Chirstmas record “We Three Kings”. Also added song of my son’s ska tunes from bands like Reel Big Fish, Catch 22 and 311.
Grace Again!
November 27, 2007 | Filed Under Main, Music | 4 Comments
So with five weeks left in the New York Metropolitan area (and most of that the holidays), I have one last shot to see live music before I go. A quick run through the Village Voice showed only one possible option…
Grace Potter! She and the band are back in town on Friday, headlining their own gig.
Finally - I get to see them in their full glory.
Added to iPod
November 25, 2007 | Filed Under Music | No Comments
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and did not have to deal with 1) traffic jams, 2) airport delays or 3) cold turkey. (For me - two out of three ain’t bad.) I also hope no one shopped on Friday. The whole thing is a crock and for a consumer to worry about whether a retailer is making profit or not is totally bizarre (I blame the media). And the folks who work for retailers could certainly use a break from the two and a half months of Christmas. I haven’t shopped AT ALL yet. So there, Wal-Mart!
Les McCann & Eddie Harris - “Swiss Movement” Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1969.
Various Artists - “Nuggets” That first volume of old 60s garage music that came out years ago. From “I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night” to “Louie Louie”.
Manu Chao - “Clandestino”
Oranj Symphonette - “The Oranj Album” Cool but up to date jazz with a handful of movie themes.
Bobby Darin - “The Bobby Darin Story” The fun part of this greatest hits collection is that Darin put it together and talks on the record - adding intros and outros to each album side. Very cool.
Dave Edmunds - “Repeat When Necessary” His best piece of work. Stellar from start to finish.
Sly and the Family Stone - “There’s A Riot Going On” And there was. I have the greatest hits, but this record is something to itself. Bad vibes, hot tunes, anger and sadness create a heady concoction. A seminal piece of work for the end of an era.
Dead Kennedys - “Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables” More political commentary a decade later. Fast and furious, Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray and the boys served up California and the rest of the country on a plate and threw it against the wall. What fun! This is the 25th anniversary edition and comes with a DVD of the band live.
Palatine
November 21, 2007 | Filed Under Music | No Comments
… it’s finally here. For years I have searched Ebay for this record collection. It is a four disk set of the best of the Factory label - in my opinion one of the classic DIY labels in rock history. From 1979 to 1990, this was the Manchester sound. Happy Mondays, Joy Division, Durutti Column and This Mortal Coil - and many others - all came out of the Factory label with each album, single, video and event numbered. One of the Factory’s main impressarios - Tony Wilson - sadly passed away this summer.
This set was put out in a VERY limited release as CDs, LPs and 45s. The vinyl showed up yesterday.
I’m so excited. I think I’ll spend Sunday watching football and burning this.
Note To The Siblings: I’ve got my Christmas CD.
Added To iPod
November 18, 2007 | Filed Under Music | No Comments
Another Sunday – another Fantasy Football fiasco. I’m surprised that there are enough uninjured players to have a game. The whole league went deep into the talent pool just to have a warm body on the field. It’s ugly. Even as I watched today (45 mins. – tops), players fell like flies. Sports medicine is booming!
Brand X – “Product”
The dB’s – “Like This” and “Sound Of Music” Off the vinyl. I’m not sure if they are on CD or not, but these are essentials records.
Mahavishnu Orchestra – “Apocalype” This is the one with Michael Tilson Thomas. I was always taking this out of the library when I was a kid. I’m not sure why.
David Gilmour – The first album. Only one I’ve liked so far…
The Rolling Stones – “Flowers” and “Exile On Main Street” I noticed that my Stones collection was somewhat lacking.
Added to iPod
November 14, 2007 | Filed Under Music | 6 Comments
All right! The (recently) annual family Christmas CD has been decided. Last year, my brothers and sister exchanged CDs of our 15 favorite songs. This year it is our favorite cover songs. Not necessarily fifteen, but a full CD worth (I would say no less than 50 minutes). I have checked with the judges and they have agreed that covers of traditional songs counts. Therefore, one could do a whole CD of… Christmas songs! Not that I would, but it is possible.
And there may be a few covers in this lot:
Dropkick Murphys - “The Gangs All Here”
Memphis Minnie - “Hoodoo Lady: 1933-1937″ The greatest hits of one of the best female blues artists ever.
Billie Holiday - “All Of Me” Another best of.
R. L. Burnside - “Come On In”
Ray Charles - “The Genius Hits The Road” From 1960.
Neneh Cherry - “Homebrew” Love her! Also check out her album “Man”.
Beats International - “Let Them Eat Bingo” Fatboy Slim right before he changed his name.
Added to iPod
November 9, 2007 | Filed Under Music | No Comments
Well, that took a while. But just because I haven’t posted doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy.
Because I have been.
Busy.
November’s Global Rhythms CD. Mainly Latin sounds - both classic and hip hop – with new Manu Chao, Mala Rodriguez and a duo from Budapest called Katan (beautiful song). But it was a brief article in the magazine that brought me to:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela – This self titled album shows some serious acoustic guitar chops. I hear they are pure high energy in concert. From Mexico City, now living in Dublin. Check them out.
Steve Earle – “The Hard Way” Early Steve Earle.
Bruce Springsteen – Because I enjoyed “Magic” so much, I decided to add my favorite hits – mostly from “Darkness”.
Cheech & Chong – “Sister Mary Elephant” anyone? “Earache My Eye”? “Black Lassie”? Classic comedy.
Bad Religion – “New Maps Of Hell” Best live band.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Fever To Tell” Thought I had this one already.
Everclear – “So Much For the Afterglow”
10CC – “Best Of” From Rubber Bullets to Good Morning Judge.
Faithless – “To All New Arrivals”
Fatboy Slim – “Palookaville” That and some of the best known singles.
Robin Trower – For some reason, these songs were in my brain. Why? Don’t know. Had to by an import CD to get these tunes. All the best tracks from “Bridge of Sighs”, “Long Misty Days” and “In City Dreams”.