The Current Music Blog: June 5, 2009 Archive

Today in music - Bob graduates, Dee Dee checks out

Posted at 8:29 AM on June 5, 2009 by Jim McGuinn

1946 - Fred Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) is 63.
1947 - Singer Laurie Anderson is 62.
1956 - Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) is 53.
1956 - Kenny G still tortures us at 53
1961 - Teri Nunn takes our breath away at 48

1956 - Elvis Presley went on the "Milton Berle TV Show" doing his hip-gyrating act. From then on, cameras would only show him from the waist up.
1959 - Bob Dylan graduated from high school in Hibbing, Minn. The name on his diploma was Robert Zimmerman. He'd been the leader of a high school band called the Golden Chords.
1974 - Sly Stone married Kathy Silva during a Sly and the Family Stone concert in New York.
1977 - Alice Cooper's pet boa constrictor was bitten by a rat it was trying to eat for breakfast. The snake died. Cooper held a public audition a week later to find a replacement for the snake, which was featured in his act.
1979 - Bluesman Muddy Waters, age 64, married Marva Jean Brooks on her 25th birthday.
1983 - U2 performed a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colo. The concert was recorded as released as an EP and a video cassette, both called "Under A Blood Red Sky." Footage was also used in the "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" video.
1993 - country star Conway Twitty died of a ruptured blood vessel in his stomach after completing a show in Branson, Mo. He was 59.
1995 - guitarist Kelley Deal of The Breeders pleaded guilty to drug possession charges. She was sentenced to treatment in a rehabilitation center.
1996 - an arrest warrant was issue for Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli after he disappeared from a drug treatment facility in Los Angeles. He turned up at another treatment center six days later.
2002, guitarist Dee Dee Ramone of The Ramones was found dead at his home in Los Angeles. He was 50.

The sound of "Car Crashing" for free!

Posted at 9:42 AM on June 5, 2009 by Barb Abney

The Alarmists are no strangers to our studios. They were here in 2006 and 2007.

They're releasing their latest, The Overhead Left next Tuesday. Today on our Song Of The Day podcast. You can grab the tune "Car Crashing" for free!

Catch The Alarmists on The Local Show with David Campbell this Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m.

Their CD release show is next Friday, June 12th, at the Varsity Theater with The 757s and Coach Said Not To.

If you're a new subscriber to the Song Of The Day podcast, you'll also receive new music from John Vanderslice, Akron/Family, Superchunk and Steve Earle.

Next week we will be featuring new music from Viva Voce, Dirty Projectors, Jarvis Cocker, Polly Scattergood and local music from Solid Gold.

3 songs from the "Brit pop ruled the world" era

Posted at 1:07 PM on June 5, 2009 by Barb Abney
Filed under: My Three Songs

Manida Sry from St. Paul picked today's My 3 Songs set because...

"These are some of my favorite songs from the 90s when Britpop ruled the world! Well, to me they did, anyway.

Blur - "Parklife"
Pulp - "Disco 2000"
Suede - "Metal Mickey"

Make your "My 3 Songs" requests here.

Random Vinyl: The McGuinn Edition (week of 6/1-6/5)

Posted at 2:09 PM on June 5, 2009 by Jill Riley
Filed under: Random Vinyl

Every weekday at 6:30 a.m., we sift through our vinyl collections and play a randomly chosen track. The Current's Program Director, Jim McGuinn, sat in this week for Steve Seel. He shared some wax delights from his own collection.

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Monday: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Six O' Clock" - A great song about the Random Vinyl hour at hand, and a great band too, led by John Sebastian (who later scored a solo hit with the theme to Welcome Back Kotter), that created some of the most effervescent '60s rock - today we'd call it Indie Pop - and you can hear elements of their sound all over the new music on the Current.

Tuesday: Jerry Reed, "Lord, Mr. Ford" - A little tribute to the car industry, from classic country picker Jerry Reed, also a buddy of Burt Reynolds (see his non-Academy Award Winning performances as "Snowman" in all those Smokey and the Bandit films) who passed away last year, Reed was a clever singer and songwriter and great guitarist.

Wednesday: Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery, "Night Train" - A classic cut of soulful jazz from The Dynamic Duo, a nice 1966 Verve Records album.

Thursday: Kris Kristofferson, "Jesus Was a Capricorn" - Speaking of clever, this ode to everyone needing someone to look down on is a standout title track to Kristofferson's 1972 album. A few years before A Star is Born, and judging from the photos on the back, a band that would be right at home touring with Ryan Adams today.

Friday: Motorhead "Ace of Spades" - There are rock stars, and then there are rock stars' rock stars. Like Lemmy. From seeing the Beatles at the Cavern to roady-ing for Hendrix to playing in Hawkwind, Lemmy was already a legend when Motorhead formed in 1975. Bridging metal and punk and offering some of the most ferocious bass attack, this live classic from No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith is a wonderfully kind and gentle way to greet 6:30 AM and say "Hey, get up, it's Friday - time to pillage!"