The Current Music Blog: November 30, 2007 Archive

The Stream 11/30/07

Posted at 9:11 AM on November 30, 2007 by Barb Abney

Morrissey is suing NME.

The Arctic Monkeys have released secret, limited edition material.

Take a listen to Johnny Greenwood's (Radiohead) music for the film There Will Be Blood.

Today In Music History:
1915 - Brownie McGhee was born.
1929 - Johnny Horton ("The Battle of New Orleans'') was born.
1955 - Billy Idol was born.
1968 - Sly & The Family Stone released Everyday People.
1994 - Tupac Shakur was shot five times during a robbery in New York.
1999 - Charlie Byrd died of cancer.

Do the Shuffle

Posted at 12:32 PM on November 30, 2007 by Tony Lopez (5 Comments)

The Shuffle gods continue to shine on me this week. What popped up on your player?

“Night Comes On,” Leonard Cohen
Like Dylan’s and Joni’s (to name only two), Leonard Cohen’s lyrics have been mined for meaning until there is almost nothing left to excavate. I’ll take the easy way out and say this is a song about resisting the lure of Death’s warm embrace. I’m a Leonard Cohen fan because if it hadn’t been for my wife, I would have continued to resist his embrace.

“Radio Cure,” Wilco
Wilco make their second appearance in as many weeks with a song from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the album generally acknowledged to be their masterpiece. Here's a clip from "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart."

“Old Dan Tucker,” Bruce Springsteen
A song with a rich and illustrious history, “Old Dan Tucker” has been performed by Civil War re-enactors and grampaws on the old Porter Wagoner television show. Bruce and the boys burn the barn on this version from We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.

“Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” Nina Simone
Nina Simone follows with her famous rendition of this classic Scottish folk song. This was recorded at The Town Hall in New York City in 1959.

“Mecanica de Amor,” Mi Son
I’m not entirely in love with this song but it just seems to work coming out of “Black Is the Color.” Sometimes a different context helps me better appreciate a song.

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"My 3 Songs" for Friday

Posted at 3:45 PM on November 30, 2007 by Steve Seel

No "Y" chromosomes in the mix today (save for the submitter): Max Page of Cohaset MN writes, "I didn't really plan out a theme for these songs; I just like them a lot. After throwing them together, though, I realize that they are all by intriguing ladies of song. Good enough theme for me!"

1) Feist, "Brandy Alexander"
2) Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Phenomena"
3) Bjork, "It's Oh So Quiet"

Max, you remind me of the tremendous charms of Feist's "The Reminder" -- I hadn't familiarized myself with this song to the degree of some of the others, but it's yet another winner. So why did this disc get dissed to the degree it did this year? I mean it wasn't totally slagged or anything, but a lot of folks were just disappointed that it wasn't as strong a follow up to "Let It Die" as they might have liked. I don't know. I think it's really, really strong.

Step right this way to submit your three song set. We play them every weekday at noon.

For Enjoying The Snow -- Before You Have To Shovel

Posted at 5:41 PM on November 30, 2007 by Steve Seel (9 Comments)

So yes, somebody's gonna get a big pile of snow dumped on them this weekend, whether or not it's the Twin Cities metro or somewhere else close by (see what MPR Meteorologist Paul Huttner has to say about it on his Updraft blog). One way or another, winter will have arrived on Saturday. So what music comes to mind? Given that this is my favorite season, I thought I'd hog a bunch of blog real estate here and assemble some personal recommendations (in no particular order), which will be utterly, stupidly predictable for those who are familiar with my tastes (not to mention a bit precious, but here goes):

Sigur Ros, "Glossoli" -- Distant lights, vast horizons and perhaps an aurora in the sky to boot
Tom Waits, "Bend Down The Branches" -- It's that "Salvation Army Band out in the snow" sound, I think, that does it for me
David Sylvian, "Let The Happiness In" -- A beautifully chilly "pull your coat-collar up around your neck" song
Matt Pond PA, "New Hampshire" -- Images of going home, and with a hoverering kind of atmosphere
Daniel Lanois, "Ice" -- from his "Acadie" CD; it sounds like skating in slow motion, and if you make your ears squint a little, Lanois could even be Bono on the choruses
Low, "Laser Beam" -- How on earth do you settle on just one Low song for a winter list? You can't, but this is at least one possibility. Or you could just put on any one of their records and let it play from start to finish
Cocteau Twins, "Blue Bell Knoll" -- If you're going to go driving in a winter landscape, there are few better soundtracks than this tune
Red House Painters, "Have You Forgotten" -- A certain swear word (that would sound stupid edited) at the top prevents this one from being a radio hit, but that can't stop me from recommending it; just listen to how Mark Kozelek drops those references to Chrismas ornaments and snows, and just try to resist being hypnotized
The Innocence Mission, "Birds of My Neighborhood" (entire album) -- An incredible masterpiece of melancholy whose sheer wintry beauty will make your jaw drop, and it even has a song called simpy "Snow"
Richard Buckner, "On Travelling" -- I can't describe why it's winter music; just check it out

And the most obscure selection of all:
David Byrne, "Winter" from Music for The Knee Plays of Robert Wilson (vinyl only; never released on CD) -- A perfect title for a perfectly beautiful, desolate instrumental short that is nearly impossible to acquire but well worth the effort (as is the rest of the album); if you ever find it while used record shopping, buy it

I could go on (and I probably will at some point, since I can't resist) ... but maybe you have some ideas.

We'll come up with the "shovelling" list later (starting with Rogue Wave's "Endless Shovel?)

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Guest DJ Set 11-30-07

Posted at 9:10 PM on November 30, 2007 by Mark Wheat

LCD Soundsystem made it on to many of our end of year Top 10's with the Sound of Silver.
This mix only just came out on cd and is officially considered to be a single, remember the album is dead! It was originally commissioned by Nike to be a workout mix and was only available on iTunes, go out for a run withya buds in and see if it works! LCD have been touring the world this year with Arcade Fire but just had to cancel a festival performance in Mexico, keep up with their expeditions here.
James Murphy, the man behind LCD, has also just done a Fabric mix. 'fabriclive 36', but I wanted to feature this instead because, as we have discussed on Musicheads before, I think there's a special significance to the length of this set. 45 minutes seems to be a 'good length' for a period of concentration, exertion, enjoyment, anything really, that's why so many great albums are that long, soccer halfs, american football periods (when you include the commercials), the useful time of an hour long meeting or an exercise regime. I believe it's biologically imprinted on us and everything would be better with the world if we split everything we do into 45 sections, try it.