For Mason

Dearest Mason, although Paul McCartney and George Harrison were both Beatles, George Harrison was the only one who had a video in the 80s with singing animal heads.

I Got My Mind Set On You by George Harrison

…but my favorite George Harrison tune(if you were wondering) is “If Not For You” which he co-wrote with Bob Dylan. Dylan did a version on his New Mornings CD(I believe Harrison plays guitar on the tune too) while Harrison did a version on his classic All Things Must Pass CD.

If Not For You by George Harrison

If Not For You by Bob Dylan - this is my favorite version - love the Nashville sounding country guitars.

If Not For You by Olivia Newton-John - Here is the happy crappy Musak version

14 Tracks

14 tracks saluting ladies who experiment

14 tracks that make you wish you played the piano

14 tracks from the Echo Chamber

…you need to bookmark the site 14tracks.com and sign up for the newsletter. In short, through association with the website boomkat.com, these folks put together themed “mix tapes” of mp3s taken from new releases. Some of the mix titles are listed above. They mostly draw from the not so obvious new releases with a strong emphasis in dance music but they still have all kinds of other music represented too. The main page will feature the latest mix tape but if you go click the “Prev” arrow at the top, it will cycle you back through previous mix tapes(there are several). I like it because the genres are super specific - rather than just being a dance comp, it will cite specific clubs that are known for their unique playlists. Anyway, for a guy like me who finds it incredibly difficult to catch all the new releases and even more difficult to discover something worth listening to these comps have been a very welcome addition to my inbox - I’m genuinely excited when I get notification that a new one is available! You can preview all the tracks online(with an unobtrusive low hum every 15-20 seconds so your forced to buy the full track to listen to it cleanly).

My only complaint is that the songs and tracks are priced in pounds which don’t fare as well to our US dollar. Actually some of the comps who heavily feature non US music are even a little more cost prohibitive - again, due to exchange rate problems….of course you can download any single track for normally a pretty good price if your into singles.

The return of the old school

Gotta love the way this new Common track sounds - like it’s straight out of Planet Rock, straight b-boy style.

Universal Mind Control by Common(ft Pharrell): I wonder who did the music? I assume it was Pharrell since he is the producer about town but it doesn’t really sound like him so maybe it was Common or even someone else and Pharrell is just a guest vocalist. Anyway, great song to an album that hasn’t been released yet. I heard this on So You Think You Can Dance the other day.  By the way, fun fact about Common - he used to be a ball boy for the Chicago Bulls - you know, one of those kids who runs on the floor and wipes sweat off the court during timeouts or fetches player’s balls for them in warm up.

Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa - just as a reference point to the Common song. This song was composed from rerecorded parts of German pioneers Kraftwerk’s song Trans-Europe Express

Transeuropa-Express by P.L. (aka Peter Low or Pit Low): You knew it couldn’t be that easy. I’m not sure which track came first Bambaataa’s or P.L.s but one clearly influenced the other. I have read interviews with the producer of the Bambaataa one and he makes it sound like they replayed parts of it in the studio modeled after the original Kraftwerk song so I”m inclined to believe this Italian disco version one came after Planet Rock but who knows. The only fishy thing is the string sound from the P.L. track sounds a lot like Italian string sounds from that time period and the A.B. track’s strings are exactly the same which would be a little out of place(but not impossible) in the New York dance scene. This one came out in early 1982 while Planet Rock came out in 82 too. You decide.

Trans Europe Express by Kraftwerk: The original that inspired Planet Rock which in turn inspired the Common track…

…like Joy Division but Better Dressed

I think somewhere way back I promised a Certain Ratio post so here it is. They were a long time member of Factory Records which you’ll probably recognize as the label that had a roster of Cabaret Voltaire, ESG, OMD, Happy Mondays, Joy Division, James, Blurt, New Order, and Electronic(another Joy Division/New Order spin off band) among others. What I really like about them is the addition of funk in their sound - which at the time was a bit of a departure from most post punk bands. This song reminds me of a much cooler version of the Commodores “Brick House”. If you really like this type of music, you should listen to other bands like ESG, Liquid Liquid, Blurt, and the Big Boys(for more punk/funk).

Shack up by A Certain Ratio

…been a while.

So I have been neglecting this poor blog for a few weeks but no worries because I kept a list on my counter of songs/artists I wanted to upload at the time so I’ll be filtering through those in the next week.

So today’s post is about the TB-303(wiki here). It’s a monophonic synth with a built in sequencer that Roland made that was a complete failure at the time in the early 80s(marketed to guitarists). It was discontinued after a short production run but eventually made it into the hands of the early House electronic music creators and hip hop producers. Now it’s one of the most sought after vintage synths with a price on the used market that fetches thousands of dollars. The reason I bring it up is I’m going to build one soon thanks to a wonderful group online who has released PCBs and a bill of materials for the rest of us to build our own - but I gotta hurry because many of the original parts are also becoming just as rare of the synth itself. I figure it will be a good project for me and hopefully I can find a new applications for it besides what you hear here - but first let’s talk about the many very recognizable faces(acorss genres) of the TB-303.

Okay, lets start with Acid music - the TB-303 sound IS ACID. That shifty lead sound being filtered all to hell is something you hear in every house/acid song and it all starts with the 303. The first influential group from the genre is widely considered to be Phuture. Listen to the this track by them and hear the 303 really kick in about 1:15 into it(it’s faintly heard before that).

Acid Trax by Phuture: This is considered classic Acid - not to be confused with the later Acid music that came along in the 90s which combined the 303 with effects like distortion to produce more mind bending sounds (and the soundtrack for many many raves). Just as another geek tidbit, the drums you hear here are analog drums and likely are also of the Roland ilk. They made the Tr-606, TR-808, and Tr-909 drum machines that synced up easily with the 303 bass synth. The TR series was suppose to be drum accompaniment while the TB 303 was suppose to be bass and they were both marketed to guitars and keyboardist for an early one man band sound. Anyway, when you hear songs or musicians refer to “808″ or “909″ they are talking about the drum sounds you hear on a track like this.

Itchiban Scratch by Chris “The Glove” Taylor. -Early electro at it’s best.

Jam on It by Newcleus - I know this looks really dated, but I’m 95% positive I saw some really hip kid rockin the exact same look in a fashion magazine sometime recently.

Unknown Youtube clip - I found this one really inspiring. The clip here is part 3 of a 3 part series of a guy showing how he makes music influenced by Ethiopian music. In part 1 he uses a TB-303 to show how he constructed the bass line and a TR-606 to make the drums(with triangle & doorbell overdubs later on). It’s really amazing to see him pull this tune together so quickly.  I posted the third video because it wraps up with the finished song - the bass is the 303.

Jam by Suitandtieguy - another random youtube clip. Here a guy is creating some crazy electro/hip hop beat with the 303, a drum machine(the multi colored push button thing at the beginning) and a slew of pedals.

Antena & the Scr***m Poles

…one of the great things about living in Austin is hearing absolutely random good music any time of day on the radio(unless you happen to be listening to John Ailey in which case the music is only good to fall asleep to).   I consider myself very lucky for having KUT, KVRX, and KOOP programming to listen to on the weekends. I tend to like the stuff they play late at night because…well that’s when I’m up. Anyway, Saturday night programs are my very favorite with Stronger than Dirt on KOOP followed by Rick McNulty’s Saturday night programming over on KUT. I’m on my third weekend in a row of calling one of them to catch a song title or ask about a release. A few weeks ago, I got turned on to the Scrotum Poles from Scott’s fill in on Stronger than Dirt and this week it was a wonderful new discovery of the band Antena from Rick.  I love that all the DJs are true music lovers and not only do they have name/title info, but they can make recommendations of similar artists and tell you interesting things about the bands.  Chatting with these guys makes my week although - I’m a pretty boring guy so that might be part of it.

To Climb a Cliff by Antena - I believe one of the guys from the Pet Shop Boys dubbed this “Electro Samba” or something like that. I have to say that it sounds especially contemporary now for a band that was making records in the 80s on the Factory Record label(the one with Joy Division & Happy Mondays). The lead singer eventually split from the band and made several records under the name Isabelle Antena which aren’t bad either.

Various songs by the Scrotum Poles - I heard Pick the Cat’s Eyes Out(the second song in this clip) on Stronger than Dirt and knew I had to learn more. They sound A LOT like the Television Personalities and seeing as how I have a soft spot for DIY punk, I am certainly glad to have been turned on to this. Actually, I had to call the station because they couldn’t say “scrotum” on the air so they said “S** Poles”. I went nuts trying to find a band called the Shit Poles(or maybe I misheard and it was the Shit Holes, etc) until the DJ straightened me out. He also recommended a collection called Messthetics(several volumes) on the Hyped 2 Death record label. The Messthetics comps are early/rare DIY punk/post punk stuff from the UK while they have a Homework comp series for US bands of the same genre, a Teenline compilation series for American powerpop, and a Hyped to Death comp series for US punk. After listening to some of their stuff on the web I have to concur this is a very very very good series for music off the beaten path. According to the DJ, you can’t find these in stores so you have to order online, but it appears as though the label prices their discs fairly and luckily it doesn’t suffer from the weak dollar like import series record labels do(talking about you Soul Jazz Records).

NEWS FLASH - Legend Tom Waits to tour with three dates in Texas!

I missed this News Flash from back in March when it was first announced but I’m trying my best now to get tickets. Tom Waits is going on a short tour of the South/Southwest and is playing three shows in Texas. I’ll be in a studio recording during two of the shows, but the third show is in Dallas on a Monday 6/23 and I think I’m going to try and find someone to watch the baby and go. Anyone want to skip work and go check out Waits in Dallas?

Find tour dates here:

Tom Waits is notorious for an erratic (at best) touring schedule. He won’t tour for years and years and then he might go out and hit a few dates in Europe and a handful in the states - then you don’t hear from him again for another few years until he comes out of hiding to do a live soundtrack of a play and then it’s back into hiding again… He played Austin’s SXSW festival nearly ten years ago(a last second add) - a show in which a much younger version of yours truly showed up very(very very very) early to try and get in only to be greeted by a long line who were already camped out. At the time, it was Wait’s first shows in the area since his 1978 Austin City Limits taping….and maybe it was the last time Austin will see Waits.

via: Houston Chronicle entertainment section blog writer:

Waits’s last Texas performance came at Austin’s Paramount Theater during SXSW 1999. Music biz insiders wrangled many of the tickets, too many for one overly-ardent fan who heckled him as a sell-out, and an even gloomier note would toll the next night, when Waits’s friend and occasional promoter Don Hyde was fuckstomped by La Zona Rosa bouncers in a stupid melee following an Alejandro Escovedo concert. Waits vowed then never to play Texas – his father’s native state – again. He kept his word for nine long years, but then again, why should a whole state have to pay for the actions of a few Austin lunkheads?

So there it is - if your from Central Texas, don’t hold your breath waiting for him to come back. If your from anywhere else in Texas, you should be informed that Wait’s last trip to Texas before the SXSW show was in the late seventies when he opened for Bonnie Rait. In other words, if your a Waits fan this is your one and maybe only chance to see him anywhere nearby. Be there!

Step Right Up by Tom Waits - I know Mason found this song in particular funny.

The Piano Has Been Drinking (not me) by Tom Waits:

Innocent When You Dream by Tom Waits

Maxwell Street was the Spot

…I don’t want to be the “only the lost bluesman are any good” guy, but I have to give respect where it’s due and this guy deserves a lot of praise. In a nutshell, the Maxwell Street Market in Chicago was known for it’s live street performers in the 60s - specifically as a hub for blues performers. Similar to how 52nd street was for jazz cats in New York, the blues scene in Chicago centered around Maxwell’s and the king of those mid 60s blues jams on the streets was Robert Nighthawk who pulled up a chair on a streetcorner and played some of the nastiest slide guitar licks Chicago has ever seen(even in a town that was home to Muddy Waters!).

Eli’s Place by Robert Nighthawk - This is an interesting video. I believe it comes from a documentary capturing the scene there in the mid 60s. The audio certainly comes from the same performance that was captured on Robert’s Live on Maxwell Street Album(a really excellent live blues album - one of the best in fact) and it appears as though the clips are mostly spliced together but at least the beginning of the performance seems to be filmed from the audio although it doesn’t quite sync up during the solo section. Anyway, technicalities aside this is a really interesting video that captures the raw blues just as you would have heard them on the sidewalk in Chicago.

Anyone else remember the 8 track?

…we had this one and I think I listened to the title track a zillion times:

Abracadabra by the Steve Miller Band - of all the music my parents would listen to while I was growing up, I think Steve Miller was the one I remember the most(and some of the outrageous Alice Cooper & Frank Zappa album covers too). My Mom had a thing for psychedelic jam music and when you write a song with lyrics like “time keeps slipping - into the future” complete with space sound effects you were pretty much guaranteed to be in heavy rotation at my house growing up. I remember listening to this 80s Steve Miller track in the car and rewinding it many many times. To me this song completely reminds me of the 80s - from childhood nostalgia as mentioned and also from the 80s production aesthetic. The completely synthetic synth keyboard riffs, the blues guitar fills, the dry instrumentation, and the chorus effect on the vocals in certain parts. This screams 80s.

How I chose to take back one my favorite songs

….before you heard Iggy Pop’s songs chopped up into bits to sell whatever shiny new product was on TV, Iggy Pop was dangerous and making the type of immediate music that needed to be made - not the kind of guy you would want to be with on a luxury cruise with. Anyway, I always hated how this song managed to be mangled into the main riff and the “la, la, la” part when the whole song is so good…so here it is in it’s entirety.

The Passenger by Iggy Pop - in lieu of a good live performance of this one or a suitable video, I thought I would link to this one which is set to classic scenes in cinema…I guess if the music has to carry something, it’s better for it to carry something of substance rather than poorly made cars or overpriced cruises….

Sixteen by Iggy Pop - this is NOT the guy who corporate America wants to align with. Now can I have my deviant heroes back please?