Saturday, October 25, 2014

Tesoro, Duran Duran at The Loft and U2's Latest

Hi kids!

Just a general re-cap this time of various musical goings-on the last few months.

I caught Tesoro (finally!) in September at Crossroads Park. For those of you not familiar, Tesoro is a local band that describe themselves as Latin Gypsy pop. (Think Gipsy Kings). They did a 90 minute set for about 200 of us that fortunately didn't get rained out. Great music, talented guys, and a great look too. (And I'll just add that I've harbored a crush on the bass player for some time.)



I also caught Duran Duran at the Loft in September as well. Not in person, mind you, but a concert film directed by the one and only David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, etc.) Hmmm, not exactly impressed. I think part of the issue is that this was filmed in 2011 and at least for me, already seems dated. Some other people in the audience apparently thought so as well because I heard someone say, "How old is this?" Much of the film consisted of material from an album they released in 2011, All You Need Is Now, and I think most of the audience were not familiar with the songs. Of course, the film also had some of their hits, such as "Hungry Like The Wolf", "Girls On Film", "Ordinary World" "Rio", and a nice re-imagining of "A View To A Kill", probably the best part of the set. The film was entirely in black and white, and much of the time the band members were obscured with various images that Lynch superimposed on the film. Terribly distracting at first but I guess I got used to it as the film went on. They also had several guest stars sing with them, including Kelis and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, which again, gave the film a dated feel. To be blunt, not worth my time. Duran Duran are WAY better in person.


Sunday, October 12, 2014

Reid Park ZHU

Let's talk about two very important topics: the new baby elephant at Reid Park Zoo, Nandi, and LA electronic producer ZHU (marvel at the shaky "zoo" connection I'm forcing into this post). First things first: how cute is that baby elephant? Take a look at her picture and feel your worries slip away: "Baby Elephant Cuteness Overload." The rest of the world also loves this little rascal; a video of little Nandi blowing bubbles made it to the top spot on mega-website Reddit a few weeks back!

But since this is a music blog, let's discuss ZHU. The secretive artist came into the electronic scene this year like a cloud of smoke, doing the remarkable feat of staying (halfway) anonymous in the internet age. ZHU wants his music, not personal life, to define his image, and has given fans a stunning first EP to back up this vision.



Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Changes in Band Lineups and the Ubiquity of Songwriters

Search the music of Ben Burnley, Jasen Rauch, and Rob Graves at www.freegalmusic.com with your library card number and PIN.

Major hard rock act Breaking Benjamin went through an unfortunate situation a few years ago – while on personal hiatus in 2011, lead singer and founder Ben Burnley sued his own bassist, Mark Klepaski, and guitarist, Aaron Fink, for collaborating with another artist in remixing an early Breaking Benjamin track, “Blow Me Away”, apparently without his permission. What happened next was the disintegration of one of the most popular mainstream rock acts today: Burnley eventually fired his two bandmates and gained complete control of the rights to the band after the lawsuit ended in 2013.

Already, the many, many Breaking Benjamin fans around the world were pretty saddened to hear the news that half of their favorite band had been essentially fired by their own lead singer.

We had hopes that the true band would stay together. Chad Szeliga, the drummer, stuck around for a little bit longer after that, promising the return of Breaking Benjamin, but left of his own accord in 2013 after Burnley had been given exclusive rights. The reason he gave was for “creative differences”.

After that second shock, we all wondered if Breaking Benjamin was over. Or, more correctly, how could this not be the end of Breaking Benjamin? Could they ever come back?

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Legends, Icons and Rebels




The other day I came across a terrific coffee table book in the library. "Legends, Icons and Rebels" covers amazing artists like Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Louis Armstrong, Bob Marley, Buddy Holly, Joni Mitchell, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Curtis Mayfield, Billie Holiday, Little Richard, Hank Williams, Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye, Carole King, Sam Cooke, Louis Jordan, The Beach Boys, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Patsy Cline, Otis Redding, Nat King Cole, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan.

The book comes with two CD'S that feature all of the aforementioned artists. The layout and look of the book is fantastic! Very vibrant and cool. Kind of like a picture book for adults. This is the type of book perfect for a rainy day like today. To order this book , Please click here.

Thanks for reading.

-Fred

Monday, September 1, 2014

Faithless on Freegal

Faithless was a successful and much-acclaimed UK dance group active in the 1990s and 2000s. Fronted by Maxi Jazz, one of the smoothest rappers you're likely to hear, Faithless produced electronic music highlighted by intelligent lyrics which took on contemporary political and social issues, at times stirring up some controversy.  In 2006 MTV refused to play the video for "Bombs," a single released by the band which was pointedly critical of US and UK military involvement in Iraq.  A trilogy of animated videos Faithless released in support of their last album, The Dance, also generated some internet buzz with its erotic and psychedelic imagery.

During their 15 year career, Faithless frequently used noteworthy vocalists as a counterpoint to Maxi Jazz's rapping, among them Boy George, Cat Power, Dido and Robert Smith.  The instrumentation in Faithless's music was created largely by Rollo Armstrong (Dido's older brother) along with a female DJ (a rare thing in the male-dominated world of the disk jockey) named Sister Bliss.  Since they recorded all but their final album on Sony (or one of its affiliates), Freegal offers us a nearly complete collection of their music.  Read on for a quick tour of highlights from the band's releases on our download service.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear

As I wrote in a previous blog post, I am a huge fan of Sia. The Australian singer's big break came by providing HBO with the epic closing number,"Breathe Me," for their hit show Six Feet Under. In recent years, producers and DJs have tapped the power of Sia's raw, incredible vocals to create smash hits including David Guetta's She Wolf and Titanium and Flo Rida's Wild Ones. This is in addition to Sia's writing credits for megastars Beyonce, Shakira, and Kyla Minogue among others...

As a musical lightning rod, I am pleased to say that Sia's new album, 1000 Forms of Fear, is a stellar pop album that differentiates itself from the pack with something few pop stars have: Sia. The "1000 Forms of Fear" in the title refer to the troubles Sia has experienced in recent years: alcohol and pill addiction, suicidal thoughts, diagnoses with Graves' disease, crippling depression...this album has Sia coming face-to-face with these challenges (with the listener a VIP seat in her therapy sessions). Sia's voice is a weapon as she combats issues of self-harm, empty love, and searching for hidden strength deep inside herself. Her voice will send chills down your spine as it dips to the lowest point of human darkness and soars to the loftiest heights. Read on to discover more about this fabulous CD.


Monday, August 11, 2014

Chris Isaak Puts On A Show

It's July 22 as I write this and I see some of you probably caught Chris Isaak at the Desert Diamond Casino on the 18th, because there are now waiting lists on all of his albums here at the Pima County Public Library. I was also at the show and wanted to share my review. This was my third time seeing Chris Isaak and his band, the first time being in 1991 at the county fairgrounds on a chilly night and the second time in 2011 at AVA on a very hot July night.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Tucson Live Music- What Summer Lull?...And into the Fall

The live music scene in Tucson typically slows down considerably in the Summer months.  This year, we seem to have ridden the wave of a fantastic Spring of live shows into an active Summer.  There have been plenty enough shows throughout town to get me out and about and musically enjoying my whole summer.  A few shows by Chicha Dust, a wonderful local cumbia band, have been among my favorite.

Heading into the Fall, here is a list of shows that have me excited.  In some cases, I even have tickets already!

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Man on the Run: Paul McCartney and his Tucson connections



I'm doing this post on one of our living legends of rock and pop music, Sir Paul McCartney. This is a musician who's musical career spans from the 1950s to today as he continues to put out albums and tours the country.

Paul McCartney is one of two living Beatles, and he continues to add and grow to his legacy every year. Aside from releasing a brand new album this year, "New," Paul has only contributed the song Helter Skelter to the Hurricane Sandy relief album "12-12-12," seen a fully released concert DVD from his band Wings put out titled "Rockshow" and had a biography published about himself and wife Linda, "Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s."

Monday, July 21, 2014

Beastie Boys: End Of An Era.


                                                   
Last month The Beastie Boys announced that there would not be anymore albums with them as a trio following the death of member Adam Yauch. They really went back to basics with their last album "Hot Sauce Committee. It was very reminiscent of earlier albums like "Ill Communication" and "Check Your Head".  Keep reading to learn a little more about the final album by the Beastie Boys. 


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Review of Hollywood Undead's Notes From the Underground

Under the ‘Genre’ column of my iTunes library, the songs that I have by the band Hollywood Undead are categorized as a bunch of different things, including ‘rap metal’, ‘alternative rock’, ‘nu metal’, ‘hard rock’, ‘hip-hop’, and ‘rapcore’, among others.

I don’t know about most people, but I don’t sort by genre. It’s way too unreliable, because what in the world is the difference between, say, metal/hardcore and metalcore? Then there’s melodic hardcore and melodic metalcore and nope, I’m not doing that.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

There Goes Gravity

Lisa Robinson has been on Led Zeppelin's private plane, in Mick Jagger's hotel room, had Lou Reed hanging out in her apartment and had Lady Gaga cook pasta. She went to CBGB's and Max's Kansas City nearly every night. She's interviewed John Lennon, Michael Jackson, and Bono. She currently writes a column for Vanity Fair and oversees the photo shoot for Vanity Fair's annual music issue. She's written about music for over 40 years and has just written There Goes Gravity:  A Life In Rock and Roll. I read good reviews of it and decided to give it a try and wasn't disappointed.  

Robinson starts off in 1975 with her joining the Rolling Stones' tour of the U.S and ends with her getting to know Eminem. Reading the book is like taking a historical tour of popular music. I'll be honest here and admit I skipped ahead a bit (although I went back and read the whole book) to the chapter on U2, my favorite band. As she does in the rest of the book, she pulls no punches and offers up what I think are valid criticisms of my "boys". (So, yeah, WHEN is that new album coming out again? Or as she says, "The more successful bands become the longer it takes between albums.") She also offers some very pointed criticism of Madonna (no real talent, only ambition.)

Sunday, June 29, 2014

MS MR (a guy, a girl, and electronica)

It's been just over a year since MS MR (pronounced Mis Mister) released their debut album, Secondhand Rapture. Just think: a full year I could have been listening to this wonderful electronic album! I first came across MS MR on a flyer for the Rialto Theatre back in April. The group opened for Grouplove in a show that I probably should have attended (alas, 20/20 hindsight and all that...)

A few days later, I was browsing Freegal and noticed MS MR as one of the featured artists. Not wanting to ignore the signs of the universe, I decided to give this group a listen...and now here I am writing a blog post inviting you to do the same.


Monday, June 16, 2014

Donna's Crayons

I've been hopelessly in love with the Queen of Disco since I first discovered Donna Summer's music back in the '70s.  Her disco-era releases remain fundamental to the genre, from the 16 minute "Love To Love You Baby" (which helped popularize the extended mix), the synthesizer-driven "I Feel Love" (which birthed Eurodisco--and still sounds cutting-edge today), to the best of her dance music "concept" albums (Once Upon A Time, a modern retelling of the Cinderella tale, and Bad Girls, which tackles prostitution from the perspective of a streetwalker).  While her releases following the "death of disco" became infrequent and disappointing, her last album, Crayons, made a good case for the immortality of the Queen.  Thanks to PCPL's partnership with Freegal, one can get free and legal downloads of not only the entire album, but also remixed versions and a "bonus" track originally released only on iTunes and the European edition of Crayons.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Browsing the Wealth of Freegal Offerings

Hello music blog readers!  Just a short dispatch this week to let y'all know about the Freegal browse feature if you are not already aware.  I was poking around Freegal, and as opposed to searching directly for an artist as I normally do, I hit the "Browse A-Z" button so as I could peruse the catalog.  Lo and behold, it was a wealth of information!  Please read on to learn about the browse feature.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

The Day the Music Died

                   A blog about Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper

I love Netflix- I've been catching up on all kinds of movies I haven't seen in, well, ever. Or in some cases seeing ones I watched during childhood. Recently two music biopics I watched got me thinking about "The Day the Music Died" which was February 3, 1959- when a plane crash claimed the lives of musicians Buddy Holly, Richard Valenzuela "Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

The first of two movies I saw is "La Bamba" (click the link to order the movie) which is about the very short life of high schooler Ritchie Valens, who grew up in California. The film stars Lou Diamond Phillips and portrays the young musician's influence on the Chicano rock movement. When Ritchie died at the mere age of 17...  (17!) he already had songs like 'Donna' and 'Come on Let's Go' and 'La Bamba' as huge hits on the radio.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

C.B.G.B.

                                                                  
 CBGB was a club in New York in the late 70's that put The Ramones, Joe Jackson, Patti Smith, The Talking Heads,  The Police, The B-52'S and Blondie on the map. Sometime in the early 90's I watched a horror film called "Fear No Evil" that was made in 1981 and featured music by all of aforementioned musicians above.  This is how I discovered the CBGB music scene and it was truly an awakening experience on my 12 year old brain. Ever since then I have had a huge admiration for this time in music evolution that rocketed the first wave of alternative music into the mainstream.  Last year, a film on the CBGB scene was released. The library now owns the dvd for reserve. Please read on for more information

Sunday, May 25, 2014

A Review of Disturbed's The Lost Children

The term ‘b-side’ has come to stand for a recorded track that ultimately did not make the final cut of a studio album. When vinyl discs were still around, it just meant the track on the side opposite the disc’s A-side (what a concept), but now, they’re collectively known as just the bonus tracks, the special editions, the extra goodies that didn’t quite make the standard versions.

The connotation – often incorrect – may be that b-sides are not as “good” as the rest of the tracks because they aren’t as promoted or publicized. This isn’t necessarily the case, especially for die-hard fans, for whom b-sides are nuggets of pure gold. A lot of b-sides are even better than some of the tracks on the album for which they were recorded.

The Lost Children, a compilation of all of Disturbed’s b-sides since their debut album in 2000, was released the same year that they went on hiatus in 2011. Whether as a commemorative send-off for their fans, or as a ploy to just sell more stuff, the compilation was extremely helpful in that it organized all of Disturbed’s lesser-known songs into a cohesive collection instead of a spattering of bonus tracks over five studio albums and ten years.

It’s like the opposite of a “Greatest Hits” album. Even then, these b-sides are entirely enjoyable in every sense of the word. Not only are they more tracks from one of my favorite bands, for which there is no substitute – I’m always hungry for more Disturbed – but they provide a refreshing insight into the slight changes in tone, production, and musicality that have occurred over five studio albums. This I found to be the most energizing part of The Lost Children.

While still maintaining their true sound, Disturbed demonstrates how a seemingly random collection can come together and still make an impact as a regular studio album would.

Here’s the track list, and the respective albums from which each track came from:

1 Hell                                                               (Ten Thousand Fists, 2005)
2 A Welcome Burden                                      (The Sickness, 2000)
3 This Moment                                                            (Ten Thousand Fists, 2005)
4 Old Friend                                                    (Asylum, 2010)
5 Monster                                                        (Ten Thousand Fists, 2005)
6 Run                                                               (Indestructible, 2008)
7 Leave It Alone                                              (Asylum, 2010)
8 Two Worlds                                                  (Ten Thousand Fists, 2005)
9 God of the Mind                                           (The Sickness, 2000)
10 Sickened                                                     (Ten Thousand Fists, 2005)
11 Mine                                                           (Asylum, 2010)
12 Parasite                                                       (Indestructible, 2008)
13 Dehumanized                                             (Believe, 2002)
14 3                                                                 (No album, digital fundraiser single, 2010)
15 Midlife Crisis (Faith No More cover)                      (Believe, 2002)
16 Living After Midnight (Judas Priest cover) (Asylum, 2010)

As is immediately evident, there are more tracks (16!) than there are on a usual studio album (~10-12), which can only be a bonus. Secondly, a lot of the songs are from Ten Thousand Fists (2005); there are five tracks from TTF as opposed to four from Asylum. In contrast, the other three albums only spawned two b-sides each. To a degree, this gives The Lost Children a TTF flavor, though the newer sound of Disturbed in Asylum and pinches of old-school Disturbed are thrown in there.

A word on the 14th track, entitled “3”: this song was written and recorded as part of a fundraising effort for the West Memphis Three.  I think the most impressive aspect of the song is how it’s specifically geared towards the story of the Three. It was technically counted as a b-side from Asylum, but as it was sold specifically from the official Disturbed website for a limited time, I consider it an unrelated digital single.

The Lost Children starts off with the first (and only) radio single from the compilation, “Hell”, which sets the tone for the long rest of the album. Featured is a percussive, guitar-driven style infused with subtle electronic elements, and vocals very characteristic of the TTF record. I can be very honest, however, with how I understand that this was not included in the final cut. Every track from TTF was extremely strong and there was nothing too distinguishing from “Hell” to warrant its inclusion over another track.  In fact, TTF already had 14 songs on it, and the presence of 5 b-sides indicates the massive amount of material that the band had written during that cycle. With this in mind, it makes sense that “Hell” was left out and instead later used to front the b-sides compilation. The song is identifiably and uniquely Disturbed.

The very first moments of “A Welcome Burden” immediately introduce a sound differing from that of “Hell”, and indeed, the second track is a b-side from The Sickness, Disturbed’s successful debut album with one of the most distinctive  sounds of the five studio albums. David Draiman’s vocals are a blend of harshness and smoothness, complementing the grooves that the guitarist and drums set down. Rather than melody, the driving rhythm of the song is its strongest point.

“This Moment” is technically a b-side from Ten Thousand Fists, but it was also featured on the soundtrack to the 2005 Transformers movie. The chorus is definitely a ‘grower’, as it took me several listens to truly appreciate it; it might, however, take more to win over listeners to Draiman’s grating vocals. Still, once the chorus got into my head, it didn’t leave for a long while.

At this point, The Lost Children sounds recognizably like “old” Disturbed. The onset of “Old Friend” adds the sophistication of “new” Disturbed into the mix; the guitar riff relies less on sheer rhythm and instead more on straight-eighth picking. Instances of double-bass drums are heard, always a welcome ingredient in metal. The song picks up with the bridge, where the band’s assertion that the song is about the TV show “Dexter” is confirmed with the lyrics “my hunger to destroy / when I was just a boy / pulled me deeper into something that I now enjoy”. Again, the placement of “Old Friend” reinforces the idea that The Lost Children is a melting pot of sounds and tones, something to contrast with the three previous tracks.

“Monster” and “Run”, from Ten Thousand Fists and Indestructible (2008), respectively, turn up the variety with insanely catchy choruses (missing from the four previous tracks). In fact, had The Lost Children released another single, I figured that “Monster” would be it, but no second single arrived. I’ve always wondered why either of these two didn’t make their respective albums, especially with the solid well-roundedness of “Monster”. On the other hand, while extremely catchy, “Run” stands out in The Lost Children, but might have been run-of-the-mill (pun intended) if placed into the final cut of Indestructible.

The seventh track, “Leave It Alone” demonstrates, in my opinion, the ingeniousness of Dan Donegan, the guitarist. Whilst slightly lackluster in the vocal department, the song had me tapping my foot in odd places. A careful listening told me why – the song switches between 5/4 and 4/4 time signatures. While not special in itself, I’ve always respected musicians who can pull off time signature changes mid-track, much less willingly write songs that do so.

Next, “Two Worlds” returns to the percussiveness of the TTF sound, with a chorus that’s not easy to forget. Still, that might be its only distinguishing point, and being on the TTF cycle, it’s easy for the track to get lost in the mountains of material.

The driving bass line that opens up “God of the Mind” snaps us back to the days of The Sickness, once we thought we were comfortable with a bunch of b-sides from post-2005 Disturbed. Everything about the ninth track stands contrary to the sophistication and sound of Indestructible and Asylum. The lyrics don’t make sense, there’s no cohesive overall idea, the riffs are different; yet there’s somehow an attractive quality in it.

It contrasts enough with the rest of the b-sides that we begin to appreciate both sounds; I feel that this is part of the strength in The Lost Children – the tone is changed up enough to keep the listener engaged. Even nonsensical lyrics are welcomed. Not everything can be deep and meaningful, after all.

“Sickened” (again from TTF) is the track I feel most conflicted about. Part of me wants to immediately say it was snubbed from the standard edition, since from the bridge onwards, and especially the last minute of the track, never have I heard a more expressive Disturbed sound. Aided by a continuous, wailing background guitar solo, Draiman sings “sickened / from wanting you”, after an awesome bridge/breakdown that exemplifies the tightness of the guitars and drums. When I step away from the track, however, I find “Monster” to be a better overall b-side for TTF. In the moment, “Sickened” is the best Disturbed song ever, but that evaporates once the track ends. I really don’t know what to think.

But moving on: up until here, all the previous tracks had been available online as bonus tracks on special editions of their respective albums. An incentive, then, for purchasing The Lost Children, was the inclusion of a never-before-released Disturbed track, entitled “Mine”.

Hey, whatever works.

As the only song exceeding five minutes, I had big expectations for this brand-new track. I ended up being both disappointed and pleased with the new song. The verses are absolutely groovy – there’s no better eight bars to head bob to than the ones presented in “Mine” – but I found myself craving more of that instead of the extended instrumentals with clips of conspiracy-theorist news reports playing in the background. However, the song has a clear significance – it’s about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict – which I appreciate, since it’s an honest message from Draiman about the futility of the hostilities. Coming from their latest (and supposedly greatest, but definitely most sophisticated) album, Asylum, too, the song incorporates a vast array of elements. In particular, Believe-like tones and a prominent bass are found during the bridge, and driving guitar work is once again ever-present. I enjoyed the song, but would not place it among the standard tracks of Asylum.

“Parasite” represents Indestructible even more than “Run” did. The guitar riff and vocals are recognizably from that cycle. While the chorus is nice, the lack of a substantial bridge makes this song bleed into itself, and it can easily become passed off as just a forgettable song from Indestructible.

Luckily, one of the strongest tracks from The Lost Children – one of the best b-sides, the All-Star snub of the Disturbed music library – comes in the form of “Dehumanized”, making the first appearance for their sophomore work, Believe (2002). Although everything about the track is beautiful, the chorus is especially what makes this track stand out. “If I offer you my soul / will you carry me away?” soars over the smooth guitar and bass work, characteristic of the Believe cycle; Draiman’s voice is also softer and less harsh.

The fast-paced and aggressive track “3” immediately follows up, featuring a very rhythmical chorus and a shredding guitar solo not usually found on Disturbed tracks. Although the solo is what I remember this song for, Draiman’s hard-hitting voice is the driving force in this one. The fact that it was written for a specific cause in mind made this song all the better.

The Lost Children closes out with two covers of legendary bands, namely Faith No More and Judas Priest. It’s a fitting tribute to the older metal bands to place these covers at the end; Disturbed reminds their fans that about the pioneers of the metal genre and their sources of inspiration. That’s what covers, after all, are meant to do – pay homage and respect to the heroes.

Listening to the entire b-sides compilation is a relatively long affair – all 16 tracks together clock in at just over an hour – and so I’d imagine that, for anyone other than a Disturbed fan, The Lost Children isn’t as appealing as say, the most popular singles Disturbed has released, i.e. “Down With The Sickness”, “Inside The Fire”, “Stricken”, et al.

Still, that’s okay, because no one would go hunting for b-sides before they listened to the most prominent tracks from a band. Once they were through with those, assuming they were hungry for more, they’d go through the rest of the standard library, and, assuming they still loved what they were hearing, only then would they feast upon the bonus tracks available.

And at that point, they would become true “fans”, since they dug deep into the history, music, and alternative sides of the band. These are the people to whom The Lost Children was released for.

It is a b-sides compilation, after all.  Here’s to hoping that Disturbed returns from their hiatus in the future, stronger than ever and with more material to blow me away.  I found a copy at a local library branch. You can also search the library’s catalog for it.
~Bryan

Monday, May 12, 2014

A Mystery Solved: 20 Feet From Stardom

"There's some band, the Rolling somebodies or other and they need someone to come down and sing..." So begins the end of a mystery I've wondered about for years. I've always loooved the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter", most especially the female vocal that belts out the line, "Rape, murder....it's just a shot away." I always wanted to be her and wondered who she was. That VOICE belongs to a woman named Merry Clayton, who also sang backup with Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, The Bee Gees and many others. My favorite part of 20 Feet From Stardom is where Clayton talks about being called in the middle of the night to sing backup on "Gimme Shelter". Clayton, who was pregnant at the time, goes down to the studio in her nightgown, hair in curlers and sings it out of the ballpark. The film isolates her vocal track on "Gimme Shelter" and shows both Clayton and Mick Jagger listening to it all these years after it was recorded and let me tell you, it isn't spine tingling....it's bone chilling. I so wish I could include the audio clip here, but if you're interested you can look it up on YouTube.

Clatyon released several solo albums (which are available on our download site, Freegal) but never achieved success as a solo singer. Her eyes well up with tears as she says she thought if she wanted it bad enough and worked hard enough she would be a star. Several others interviewed in the film also express surprise and dismay that Clayton never became a big star.

Merry Clayton is my favorite part of the film, but I don't want to give short shrift to the other women who are featured in the film, especially Darlene Love and Lisa Fischer (who now tours with the Stones, singing Clayton's parts). I suspect most of you are somewhat aware of Darlene Love's story; signed by Phil Spector, he was more than happy to use Love's voice on all sorts of songs but she was never given full credit, her voice often being labeled as someone else's. Love became so frustrated she quit singing for nearly twenty years and ended up cleaning houses to support herself and then slowly got back to to singing, with early support being given to her by David Letterman and Bruce Springsteen.

I found Lisa Fischer's story quite fascinating. Singing since she was a child, she became a backup singer for Luther Vandross (who himself started out as a backup singer for David Bowie!). She ended up recording a solo album and won a Grammy but decided that being a solo artist wasn't quite her thing. There's a clip in the film of her singing with Sting and it's mind blowing. Chris Botti refers to her as a "freak of nature". Her voice is amazing.

I would encourage you to watch the bonus material on the dvd as well. There's a great interview with Clayton, Fischer and Love that shows just how small the "backup singer" community is.

This film won the Oscar for best documentary in 2014 and it's easy to see and hear why.

Until next time...
GingerMusicKid



Sunday, May 4, 2014

Foster the People: Supermodel

Artist: Foster the People
Album: Supermodel
Genre: Indie Rock
Available through: Freegal (three free downloads a week with your library card)
Highlight Tracks: "Are you what you want to be?", "Best Friend," "Fire Escape"

Listening to the new Foster the People album"Supermodel" reminds me of another band that became megastars off their first pop album, MGMT. Just as the MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular" was defined by the dance hits "Kids," "Electric Feel," and "Time to Pretend," the summer of 2011 belonged to Foster the People's ultra-catchy single "Pumped Up Kicks." The song was so good (who can forget those background whistles) that many people did not realize the song was about a school shooting. Just look at the power of a singalong chorus and infectious hooks: a dance floor of people dancing to horrific themes!


Friday, April 25, 2014

The Isley Brothers: A Funky Family

It was the summer of '79, and Tucson’s disco radio station, 13-KHYT, just couldn’t play the Isley Brothers often enough. It seemed every time I tuned in, there was the churning funk of “I Wanna Be With You,” with its vocoder hook repeating the title over and over, alternating with a semi-whisper of the Isleys chanting “You and me, babe, gettin’ it on, you and me.” Even though I loved disco, I grew to hate the tune, and generally avoided the Isley Brothers’ music whenever I could.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Downtown/4th Ave Open Mic Night Roundup

For a change of pace this week, I have decided to write about open mic nights in the Old Pueblo. This will not be a comprehensive review of Tucson open mic nights, but a brief look at three open mic night opportunities in and near downtown.  Please read on to learn more about Sunday Acoustic Open Mic at The Hut, the new(ish) Tuesday Open Mic Night at Maker House and the long-enduring Wednesday Night Open Mic Night at Sky Bar.

Friday, April 4, 2014

A Light That Never Goes Out: Morrissey's Autobiography


http://librarycatalog.pima.gov/search/X?t:(AUTOBIOGRAPHY%20MORRISSEY%20)+and+a:(MORRISSEY)


I have always been a huge fan of Morrissey. The king of intellectual alternative rock.  I did prefer his work with The Smiths as opposed to his solo work. Because Morrissey is the enigmatic character that he has always been, I was eager to learn everything I could about him and analyze every lyric that he had ever written. He has always been notoriously strange, private, asexual, and sarcastic, while blessed with a razor sharp intellect that I believe could only be rivaled by Sting. Finally there is an official autobiography on the life of one music's most interesting artists. Please read on to learn more...

Monday, March 31, 2014

A Review of Bullet For My Valentine's Temper Temper

Temper Temper, the 2013 release from metalcore/hard rock band Bullet For My Valentine, is the perfect example of what happens when a previously innovative band proceeds to sell out.

What’s wrong with that? What exactly is "selling out"?

I don’t have a perfect definition, but from what I understand, after seeing bands who have avoided it and bands who have succumbed to it, selling out is what happens when a band creates "mainstream" (I hate to use that term, but it’s most accurate) music for the sake of popularity, selling albums, selling tickets, or all of the above. Creativity is lost in exchange for new fans. Staleness, simplicity, and "catchiness" are thrown out there in an attempt to catch the attention of the majority of listeners who will skip a song if it doesn't appeal to them the first time. The end result is subpar music.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Chris Isaak: In Love Again

I still remember the first time I heard Chris Isaak, way back in 1990. I was working in the back room at
Main and the radio was turned on at low volume. I heard this haunting melody, this voice, and wondered, "Wow, what is that?" It was "Wicked Game", a song I'm sure most of you have heard. The video is also pretty famous (or infamous; I always like to say every American male of a certain age is familiar with the video!) I remember going to Zip's to pick up the cd that Wicked Game was on (Heart Shaped World), but they didn't have it. They did have the album that was released previous to Heart Shaped World, the self-titled Chris Isaak (1986). There are some great tracks on that one, including "Blue Hotel", "You Owe Me Some Kind of Love" (awesome video), "Lover's Game", and "Lie To Me". In some ways I think this album has held up better over the years than Heart Shaped World.

Here's my "I met Chris Isaak" story. "Wicked Game" was quickly becoming a huge single...

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Pharrell's GIRL: A Recap of 2013

Pharrell's new album, GIRL, is nothing but a highly polished recap of the great year he had in 2013. And why not? The longtime musician and producer (of acts like the Neptunes and N.E.R.D.) was constantly in the spotlight with a string of smash hits and television appearances. Pharrell spent the better part of the year dominating the radio waves with the two biggest songs of the summer, Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." He continued his airwave domination the fall with his contribution to Despicable Me 2, the top-tapping hit, "Happy." This sugary sleeper hit is on constant radio rotation to this day. After listening to GIRL twice through, my simple review of the album: if you loved (or can still tolerate) the above songs, GIRL deserves your weekly Freegal downloads and a spot on your playlist. But if the thought of blurred lines and lucky robots makes you nauseous, stay far, far away from this one. Read below for some critiques of the individual tracks!


Thursday, February 27, 2014

Alio Die: Italian Ambient Music

Last time 'round I was touting Freegal as a good source of dance music singles, but there's another side to my love of this service: ambient music.  I've barely begun to dig through the virtual crates of ambient electronic music Freegal offers, but I've already found a good deal of stuff released by one of my most recent musical loves, Alio Die.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

From Jazz to the Origins of Rock and Roll

I've been playing a lot of jazz lately and really getting back into some classic and amazing acts of the mid 20th century.

What is jazz? Jazz has its origins all over, from New Orleans Jazz in the early part of the 20th century, and incorporating blues and soul, ragtime, swing, and African influences among scores of others. Jazz hit high notes during the prohibition era when speakeasies would recruit jazz musicians to liven up the joints. Long before rock and roll in the 50's and heavy metal and Miley Cyrus came along threatening to corrupt youth, jazz was considered immoral and threatening old values in America; strange how times have changed.

My own introduction to jazz probably came early from listening to my parent's playing NPR radio, where jazz lives.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Warren Zevon - The Album, the Man, the Mortality


While straightening the CDs at Himmel Library, I came across Warren Zevon the first major release by, of course, Warren Zevon.  Some 20 years ago, this album was a favorite of mine.  Somehow, it did not make it through the transition of my music collection into the digital world, and I had not heard many of the tracks in a long while.  I checked out the CD and immediately realized why I had so much fondness for this CD and this artist.  It also compelled me to re-watch the VH1 documentary about the making of Zevon's final album, The Wind, recorded following Zevon's diagnosis of terminal lung cancer in 2002.  Read on to find out more about both of these great works.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Review of Red's Until We Have Faces

Is there a thing where the best songs on an album go first, and then the rest fill in behind? Obviously not. I can think of albums in which the best songs go first, albums that put the good songs at the front and at the end (tapering off in the middle, if you will), albums that disperse their good songs evenly throughout, and – the best type – albums that don't need to worry about any of that because every single song seems like the best one on the album. So there's no generalization to be made about where an album's best songs are put.

But Until We Have Faces, the album released in 2011 by hard rock band Red, made me think for a moment that some artists or record labels might do just the former – filling in the track listing with an extremely front-heavy balance and then leave the ending to taper off with a whimper.

I love Red, and, in fact, UWHF is my favorite album by them, ahead of even their epic 2009 work, Innocence & Instinct, and their 2006 debut End of Silence. Their 2013 release, Release the Panic, was, unfortunately, just terrible.

But UWHF ultimately got me thinking about track listing orders and where the best songs are put. The usual front-end-heavy album can go like this:  Tracks 1 and 2 lay it down – the songwriting is great and the listener is drawn in. Tracks 3 through 5 usually become the radio singles, with catchiness and simplicity as the name of the game. Then, somewhere around track 6 or 7, the listener begins to lose sight of whatever it was that made the first couple of tracks good – and then halfway through track 10, the listener realizes that a bunch of filler songs just went by and the only draw-in was a cool moment here or there. By track 12, or whenever the album ends, the album feels like it has songs bleeding into each other, and the only punctuation is a track radically different from the others in style (e.g. an acoustic or ballad on a metal album). It's all hypothetical and it's all relative, but it can happen.

Here's the track listing for Until We Have Faces:

1. Feed The Machine
2. Faceless
3. Lie To Me (Denial)
4. Let It Burn
5. Buried Beneath
6. Not Alone
7. Watch You Crawl
8. The Outside
9. Who We Are
10. Best Is Yet To Come
11. Hymn For The Missing

"Feed The Machine" is a hard-hitting and aggressive song that starts off with a heavy drop-A riff, matched in intensity by an insanely melodic chorus with some ingenious chord changes and then a symphonic instrumentalist ending that slowly fades out. All in all, a fantastic song. I don't know of an album out there that has such a quality track as its opener. (But then again…my knowledge. It is limited, after all.)

So far, so good. It gets better. "Faceless" was the first radio single off the album, and the song that got me really into Red after only having heard "Death of Me" (from I&I) years before. The riff matches the density of that of the first track, and the verse and chorus are perfect matches for each other as the flow alternates between a guitar-driven rock groove and a smooth, melodic chorus. The bridge I am not too fond of, but the rest of the song still kicks butt. As far as title tracks go, this is it for UWHF.

Then comes my all-time favorite Red song and one that I can listen to for hours: "Lie To Me (Denial)" did not fare too well on the radio, but it fared incredibly well on my iPod. I'm not sure how to describe the beginning, but it's some sort of interaction between electronics and high strings, the sort of 20-second song intro that can be qualified sometimes as 'white noise'.  I'd just say that that'd be the product of not listening close enough. I mean, honestly, it's very cool stuff.

The track really picks up with the entrance of the guitar in a pre-riff, whereupon the strings are turned up and general epicness ensues. The main riff comes in and I am sucked in for the rest of the ride. Complex is the adjective to describe "Lie To Me"; there's so much going on between instruments, vocals, and the lyrics. "I'll still be here when you see / you're not alone" is a line that isn't spectacular in itself, but it's one that made this song stick with me. And I shouldn't forget about the strings – they are the heroes, giving the hard rock / heavy metal feel a whole other dimension in a genre that can get a bad rap for hosting poor musicians. I say that this song blows a lot of the songs out there out of the water, especially in terms of musicianship and songwriting. Really, if there's one song on this album to listen to all the way through, it's "Lie To Me (Denial)", and then "Faceless" if you're intrigued.

But remember what I said about the best coming first, leaving the rest of the songs to follow? Until We Have Faces is a prime example. Track 4 is (still) a very good song entitled "Let It Burn", but the very feel of the entire album changes as soon as the track starts and the middle strings play their little pre-guitar-entrance intro. It's just not heavy. Not even an element of suspense exists, as it did in the first three track intros – that in itself isn't bad – but it doesn't live up to the potential and feeling that the first three tracks left behind. The guitar plays two simple four-chord power-chord progressions and then cuts out, leaving the strings as the main melodic instruments. No complex riff, as seen in the first three tracks.

But okay, variety is good. The song turns into an absolute lyrical and melodic monster and in no way disappoints. The chorus is simply amazing in terms of lyrics, but especially in terms of the melody that the singer gets going. In general, I'm just noting how the three hardest-hitting, unique songs were put up front, and then the softer metal songs were almost told to just file in behind.

Maybe it's a little bit of a stretch. But let's keep going. Next up is the track "Buried Beneath". I'd say that this is the threshold of where my favorite songs on the album end – these first five tracks are my favorites and could make a high-quality EP in themselves. They are all amazing, contrast extremely well, and make hard rock and metal look really good in all aspects of music. If the album were cut short here, I wouldn't be writing this blog about the order of tracks, but, of course, modern music labels push their bands to make more and more music and write whole albums in two year intervals. Results may vary.

So "Buried Beneath" is another song with a string-driven melody, with the guitar only playing an accompanying part as a simple four-chord progression instrument. There are hints of guitar movement at the end of the fourth chord, just as sort of a fill to return to the root. Other than that, the name of the game is again a captivating melody from the singer. There's something about the chorus of this one that makes me include this track into my list of favorites; it's not something I can describe without referencing the stereotypical "great lyrics, great melody". Maybe it's the monster hit to begin the chorus. Maybe it's those four chords that are insanely catchy. I'm not sure. Describing music is hard sometimes.

According to my opinion, we've passed the best-song threshold and move into the realm of good songs, but not the best. What do you know? It's track 6 now, the point when songs can begin to bleed into each other. You'll notice that I write less about each ensuing track, for probably deducible reasons.

Track 6 is called "Not Alone". The gradual fade in of a soft, soothing trio of piano chords, clean guitar and long, drawn-out string lines is the polar opposite of the aggressive riff that kicked off "Feed The Machine". I mean, what happened? Still, the singer (his name's Michael Barnes) has an amazing enough voice to carry a fantastic verse and chorus. Later in the song, the drums pick up and the guitar comes in (on – surprise – simple power chords again!) and the song rises a little. However, I get the hint of staleness that was nowhere even near being present in the first three tracks.

The first seconds of the seventh track, "Watch You Crawl", had me excited again when I first listened to it. The guitar riff was back! It was very rhythmical and groovy, and a riff was all I wanted after the snoozefest-guitarwork of the three previous tracks. Remember the hit-and-miss cool moments I described in my hypothetical album? This is it. The riff brings your mind back to the album, but it's still a far cry from the riff that started "Feed The Machine". A sixteenth-note pattern keeps the verse going, but as soon as that ends, the chorus falls on its face, and, more than that, it simply does not flow with any of the rest of the song. It seems out place, especially when it proceeds to not mesh well at all with the admittedly-strange bridge. Worst of all, when the beginning guitar riff comes back, the riff itself seems out of place.

Track 8 is entitled "The Outside". It's actually a very cool song, so UWHF doesn't completely go down the drain. After all, this is one of my favorite albums – even the lesser tracks are great songs. "The Outside" still, however, doesn't compare to "Lie To Me" and the beginning of the album. The same goes for track 9: "Who We Are". The drums are unique and the chorus is huge, but the complexity and musicality that went into the first three to five tracks is somehow missing.

Track 10, "The Best Is Yet To Come", is where the staleness begins to set in: the major chorus and uplifting sentiment is a cool contrast to pretty much everything else on the album, but after the second chorus, we're just given a lot of time to listen to soaring strings and 'woah-oh's over and over again. The last lyric is repeated several times: "I still believe the best is yet to come", which is a line that gives the title a lot of real meaning, but it's something that lacks substance. Obviously, this entire matter is highly opinionated, but that's my take on how the last half of this track goes – it simply has no effect on the listener. I could even stretch it to say that the whole last half of the album fails to impact the listener in the way that the first half did.

Finally, we've reached the end of the album. Track 11 is called "Hymn For The Missing" and I'd imagine it to be the most polarizing song on the album. By that, I mean it's either a perfect ending to some, or an unfortunate ending for others. The song is entirely piano and vocals, with some strings thrown in there – essentially a slow, emotional ballad to close out the album. Remember the radically different track, sometimes an acoustic on a metal album? This is it. I'm going to be honest – at five and a half minutes, I can barely get through the whole thing. In fact, I might have only listened to it all the way through once or twice. Still, it seems like it belongs on a totally different album, not one that started off with the heavy-hitting "Feed The Machine".

If "Hymn For The Missing" had opened the album and been followed by "Feed The Machine", the band could justifiably be called crazy because that makes no sense. Also, had "Best Is Yet To Come" closed out the album, anyone reading the track list would be confused because nothing would be yet to come after that track. (I'm joking.)

So track listing orders are definitely purposeful to some degree. Red came out with fiery hard rock, and then gained a more melodic (and stale) side as the album progressed. Was that their intention? Or did they just put what I thought were their better songs up front to keep the listener listening? How much would the album change if the producers just hit the randomizer for track order? Would the listener have lost interest earlier?

Try it, I guess. I shuffled UWHF on a whim and here's the order I got: 1. Watch You Crawl 2. Hymn For The Missing 3. The Outside 4. Feed The Machine 5. Not Alone 6. Best Is Yet To Come 7. Who We Are 8. Let It Burn 9. Buried Beneath 10. Faceless 11. Lie To Me (Denial). It's safe to say that I would have stopped listening after "The Outside", or at least skipped those first three tracks. I mean, that's no way to start off an album.

So the placement of stronger tracks up front seems to have been purposeful, but I would have preferred a dispersion-type album, where the strong tracks are mixed throughout the album. FTM is a stronger opener, but "Faceless" and "Lie To Me" don't have to come directly afterwards.

I still enjoy each and every track on Until We Have Faces, even the filler late-album tracks that don't even compare to their best work. Really, the quality of each individual song is what really matters, and the track listing shouldn't even be a topic of discussion, unless you want to tell a story – as in a concept album – or give the album a certain flow. Other than that, any order will do. I just felt that the high standard set by the first five songs was not met by the last half of the album, and would have preferred a more balanced approach. And thus concludes my review of Red's Until We Have Faces and some musings on the way in which songs are ordered on an album.

~B.H.

Friday, January 31, 2014

Under The Ivy: The Life And Music Of Kate Bush



http://librarycatalog.pima.gov/search/X?t:(under%20the%20ivy%20the%20life%20and%20music%20of%20kate%20bush)+and+a:(thomson)

I have posted about Kate Bush before, but she is so awesome that she requires more than just one post. During one of my catalog searches looking for good blogging material, I was overjoyed to discover that the library owns the biography of Kate Bush: Under The Ivy. Continue reading to learn more....


Sunday, January 19, 2014

How This Freegal Flew, or, Three Immigrants' EDM

I've discovered that Freegal is a good source of dance music singles.

This is an important discovery for me as I really like dance music, and I've always loved the single. I used to spend many hours (and dollars) in record stores digging through bins of vinyl singles, checking the little 45 RPM 7" singles for rare b-side tracks, and the big 12" singles for otherwise unavailable extended and/or remixed versions. Then record companies decided that singles "cannibalized" sales of full LPs (making me the oddball in the crowd who'd take great pride in placing every single associated with a given album next to the LP on my shelf). After 2000 the singles bins began to disappear from record stores. By 2010 record stores had disappeared as well (for the most part), so I've been lost at sea here in the desert, unable to find or buy the music that once kept my feet dancing. However, there's some hope for the dance single in the digital age, with online retailers both big and small beginning to sell .mp3 and higher quality .wav tracks, but the collections and browsing functions always seem haphazard, making any new vendor of dance singles welcome just because each one broadens the palate of options just a little.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

HAIM - Days Are Gone

2013 was a big year for the HAIM sisters (Alana, Este, and Danielle Haim...you might guess how they named the group). They released a critically acclaimed debut album, Days Are Gone, performed on Saturday Night Live and Austin City Limits, played some of the world's biggest festivals (Glastonbury, Treasure Island), and performed with huge names like Phoenix and Mumford and Sons. So why the sudden rush of popularity? In my opinion, HAIM produces stellar pop rock in the vein of Fleetwood Mac and Genesis, but with the smiling, no-drama persona of the Von Trapp family. Another critic wrote how refreshing it was to review a mainstream band so "uncool." The girls seem to just love playing music and asking you to sing along. I would agree: the music video for lead single, "The Wire" has the girls leaving groups of heartbroken men in their wake, consoling each other with manly three-way calls and scattered bottles of wine! Silly, toe-tapping fun for everyone.