The Current Music Blog: February 11, 2008 Archive

The Stream 02/11/08

Posted at 9:01 AM on February 11, 2008 by Barb Abney

Here's the full list of Grammy winners.

More details on Portishead's forthcoming release Third.

There's talk of a "greatest hits" release from Radiohead due later this spring.

Today In Music History:
1941 - Sergio Mendes was born.
1956 - Elvis performed "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Blue Suede Shoes" on "Stage Show".
1962 - Sheryl Crow was born.
1965 - Ringo Starr married his long-time girlfriend Maureen.
1985 - The Police won 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music' award at the Brit Awards.
1989 - Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" was #1.

Live Blogging 02/11/08

Posted at 9:35 AM on February 11, 2008 by Barb Abney

10:40 a.m. Hot Chip
The band are playing First Avenue on April 18th.
More..

10:30 a.m. Jason Collett
Here's To Being Here was released last week.
He's playing The Turf Club on Friday, March 28th.
More...

Song Of The Day Info - Bell X1
Today on our Song Of The Day Podcast we're featuring Bell X1 with the tune "Rocky Took A Lover"
From their forthcoming release, Flock which will be released next Tuesday.
You can pre-order the album now.
These guys are former bandmates of Damien Rice (in the band Juniper.)
Learn more about them here.

9:55 a.m. Smashing Pumpkins
Earlier this month Zeitgeist went Gold.
They recently released a digital EP.
More...

9:30 a.m. Gnarls Barkley
Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse to release Odd Couple in April.
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9:20 a.m. Local Music - The Owls
They'll be performaing at The Whole Music Club this Friday night.
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9:10 a.m. Bon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago will be in stores next week.
You can pre-order it here.
Catch his in-store at the Electric Fetus Wednesday.
More...

"My 3 Songs" for Monday 2/11/08

Posted at 12:07 PM on February 11, 2008 by Bill DeVille

Lucas Malone in Minnetonka picked the tunes for today's set. He simply wanted some positive thinking with a few happy (non-gloomy) songs to scare winter away...

LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum
The Rapture - Whoo! Alright
Talking Heads - Artists Only

I hope your set works Lucas...it's COLD!

Any Song can be a Love Song

Posted at 4:21 PM on February 11, 2008 by Mark Wheat (6 Comments)

Knee deep in Valentines Day requests, I can think of little else this week.

Do you have a song that is romantic for you, but that would not be recognized as a love song by anyone else? Is it possible for such a thing to exist, or has the commercialization of this "holiday' programmed us all to only be able to recognize romance in certain sounds or strings of words?

Some people express regret that the proliferation of candy and flowers has drained the romance from songs that they love, cheapening the whole idea of a great love song, but don't get sucked into that vortex! I always get an extra degree of satisfaction out of presenting this show because of the potential for it to create those "driveway moments," like it did for Jacqui (our overnight DJ) last year. Her special song had been used in a candy commercial so it had lost some of its aura;

"Wheat played my wedding song, Iron & Wine's cover of "Such Great Heights," on the show show 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. You saved my song! You dug it out from the dumpster of commerce and buffed it to its original wedding-day shine! "

A lot of the requests start by saying; "It might not be the "greatest love song but...it's ours!" Of course the name of the night should not be
exclusive to those songs that have sold the most or get the most votes, (as some of our recent discussions have concerning Greatest Bands etc...) But I've realized that those people who have special songs which qualify as love songs are lucky! What about all of you who have special songs with your partner that do NOT qualify, but for some reason, of time, place, or genre have become special to you.

We'll hear all the cliches this week about what love is, but perhaps the only thing we can all agree on is that it is different for all of us, how wonderful is that! As all the card writers and advertisers play with all the metaphors and euphemisms for love, can a song or piece of music be romantic, a symbol or expression of love without being designed to be so?

We wrap up these discussions on a Thursday night too, between 8 and 9 p.m., so that will be part of our annual "Greatest Love Songs of All Time," Perhaps I can enlist your help to put a unique touch to this years show.

Personally, I feel that any song can be a love song. Do you have a song that is romantic for you, but that would not be recognized as a love song by anyone else?

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120 Minutes from the Crypt

Posted at 9:35 PM on February 11, 2008 by Jacquie Fuller

I'm a bit of an old-timer and am only now discovering the true, hidden wonders of You Tube. But tonight I really struck gold. There seems to be a pocket of folks who, in the 80s, took to recording hours and hours of MTV's 120 Minutes. These same folks, now old timers like me, have apparently uncovered their stash of VHS tapes from their parents' basements, and are posting them on You Tube.

You must understand. This is great, and more spiritual than, "Oh, that's what the girl in The Cocteau Twins looked like." And it's also deeply, deeply disturbing. Peruse at your own risk.

I have, for twenty years, had a song in my head. It's called "The Real Sheila," and was by a long defunct Bay-area band, Game Theory. When I say this song has been in my head, I mean it--I haven't actually heard it in 20 years. And I haven't been able to track it down, on vinyl, tape, download, anything (I did find a CD on Amazon for $100, which I did not buy.)

On a lark, I typed the song into You Tube, and found the video, complete with the 120 Minutes logo at the bottom of the screen. I was amazed and delighted to find that the song still sounded really good, and really fresh! What was even more miraculous--I still knew all the words! After twenty years!

But I was also a little horrified. To appreciate the song, I had to close my eyes and not watch the video, which was so painfully 80s that I was surprised to not see someone playing drums covered in milk, or a wine glass shattering to the floor. I did, though--when I peeked between my fingers--see someone pass a ball through an empty picture frame (oh my god) and some women with unruly perms and bangs as tall as German Shepherds. Friends, it was not pretty.

Once you get past the horror, though, it's kind of fun to watch these folks' homemade 120 Minutes archives. For one thing, it makes you appreciate how far videos have come (from Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" robots to Bjork's "All is Full of Love," for instance.)

And if you don't have time to browse, The Tripwire digs up a new "flashback" video every Friday.

But, really--if you don't want to be traumatized like I was--you're better off just listening to The Current. You'll get your occasional fix of The Cure and New Order and The Smiths, without the ridiculous hair.