The Current Music Blog: February 15, 2007 Archive

One more day of The Buffering Stream :( 2/15

Posted at 7:16 AM on February 15, 2007 by Hans Eisenbeis (3 Comments)

Mark Wheat Saved My Marriage!

Posted at 8:58 AM on February 15, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller (3 Comments)

They’re called "driveway moments" - when you’re so riveted by the radio, you sit in your car just listening - but they needn’t happen in a driveway. Sometimes they happen in the parking lot of the Uptown Kowalski’s.

Remember this blog about a week ago - all my whining about advertising ruining cherished songs? Well, Wheat played my wedding song, Iron & Wine’s cover of “Such Great Heights,” as part of his 50 Greatest Love Songsshow last night (clearly, some of you love that song, too!) He started the song just as I pulled into a parking space at the grocery store.

All day long I’d been telling folks how the husband and I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day. You know, being my cynical self: it’s too commercial, it’s meaningless, I feel like it doesn’t belong to me, it’s just there to make single people feel bad and married people feel pressured ...

But then ...

Maybe it was hearing my name mentioned on air (seriously - that never loses its thrill, even when you work on air.) Or maybe it was Wheat just reminding me that, yeah, it was my wedding song. Or maybe the Valentine’s Day vortex finally sucked me in. I felt like I couldn’t get out of my car - I had to stay and listen to the song in its entirety. And I did. I sat there, much to the chagrin of folks who really wanted my parking space, and I listened. And I called the hubby - who was still stuck in class at the U - and held my phone up to the car speaker so he could hear it, too. And I felt like my bones were made of vanilla pudding.

(Even better—M&Ms never so much as crossed my mind. Not even the pink, red and white ones.)

Wheat! You saved my song! You dug it out from the dumpster of commerce and buffed it to its original wedding-day shine! Oh, the redemptive power of public radio! Glory, glory! Pass that contribution basket right on over here!

Later, the old man and I sang along our best Kirsty and Shane impersonations as Mark played "Fairytale of New York" (so FUN to call your husband a scumbag), then snuggled on the couch to Neil Young's "Harvest Moon." This Anti-Valentine ended up having a pretty sweet evening after all.

Was that entire set not quality radio, y’all? They were your picks, and they made for one heck of set. I have to admit--it made me feel smug and wonderful to know we have such smart listeners. Not that I ever thought otherwise--but you really blew me away last night!

I couldn’t stay up for Danny’s set, but I’m going to listen right now, because I still love a good breakup song.

What did you think of last night’s sets? Did you hear one of the songs you suggested? It’s the second-to-last day of our Member Drive, which seems a good time to ask about your Driveway Moments. What has The Current done for you lately? And what will you do for The Current?

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Black Lips free download

Posted at 10:05 AM on February 15, 2007 by Christina Schmitt (23 Comments)

Today's Song of the Day free download is the Black Lips' "Not a Problem." The young guys from Georgia mine the Nuggets-era sound on this song, but I think this release only hints at how raw and awesome they are live.

The Black Lips opened up for the Dirtbombs at the 7th Street Entry last spring, and when they first began their set, I thought, “Yup, the next generation of whipper snapper garage rockers.”

Then they got to me. Maybe it was the one guitarist’s gold teeth; maybe it was the singer’s mustache, maybe it was the way they seemed genuinely into their music, while being eccentric and kind of unstable. It gave me hope for the future.

Since then, I’ve read about them in Vice magazine (the Black Lips record is on Vice Records label), which claims them as their house band right now because they’re a great band who also occasionally get kicked out of clubs. I’ve read reports about vomiting and other bodily fluids (kind of gross, true). But aside from the opening scream -- its bite muted by production -- and the raw scream-singing found in the chorus, the song sounds like uncomplicated Byrds-inspired garage rock. Check out the free download. I wonder if I’ll ever get tired of that garage rock?

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Everyday Sunshine, again?

Posted at 3:15 PM on February 15, 2007 by Barb Abney (3 Comments)

Fishbone is set to release a new album in April. I am a huge fan of 1991 era Fishbone. I must admit, I haven't kept up with them since. We can reaquaint ourselves with Fishbone here.

Hooray for POS on reaching a larger audience! He's currently out on the road with K-OS. It was just announced that he'll be hitting the traveling trail with the punksters on The Warped Tour.

Hope you bought your tickets early... Coachella is SOLD OUT!

Keeping in touch with The Hold Steady while they're out of the country... The guys just posted a video someone made for their boyfriend using the tune "First Night".

Tunes On The Telly Tonight..
Nas on Letterman

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What's your favorite ELO song?

Posted at 3:20 PM on February 15, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (16 Comments)

Come on, you all have one....

ELnO will be playing our fabulous listener appreciation party on the 27th. (Details here) They are taking requests for the set list, so let's hear it. What do you want to hear as you shake your disco-loving groove thang at the Varsity Theater? I've already put in for "Turn to Stone". And "Xanadu" is (hopefully) a given.... so what else?

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