The Current Music Blog: July 2, 2009 Archive

Today In Music History: Eno Embarks On His Own

Posted at 6:12 AM on July 2, 2009 by Steve Seel

1956 - Elvis Presley recorded 'Hound Dog' at RCA Studios, New York. Take 31 was the version that was released.
1962 - Jimi Hendrix was honorably discharged from the 101st Airborne Paratroopers, after breaking his ankle during his 26th parachute jump.
1969 - Working at Abbey Road Paul McCartney recorded "Her Majesty'. Then Paul, George, and Ringo record 15 takes of 'Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight". John Lennon was absent, in the hospital in Golspie, Scotland, following a car accident the previous day.

Today 1973, Roxy Music's synthesiser player Brian Eno quit after personality clashes with the bands singer Bryan Ferry. According to legend, Ferry was unhappy that Eno got much more attention than he did - both onstage through his outrageous costumes and makeup, and offstage through his talents for sonic innovation in the studio. Eno's departure only set his career free, though; he would go on to be one of the most sought-after producers in rock n' roll, producing breakthrough albums from Devo to Talking Heads to U2. We played a tune from his first release as a solo artist, "Needles In The Camel's Eye."

Music To Go With Your Wookie Costume

Posted at 10:18 AM on July 2, 2009 by Steve Seel (3 Comments)

All this weekend, the CONvergence science fiction and fantasy convention is taking place in Bloomington, for those who want to spend at least a part of their holiday weekend indoors wearing chain-mail or a Boba Fett helmet. From what I understand, it's a big party - billing itself as it does as "a celebration of the funny side of science fiction and fantasy."

So fantasy and sci-fi was our topic for the 9:30 Coffee Break today. Our favorite requests:

1) David Bowie, "Starman"
2) Queen, "Flash Gordon Theme"
3) The Faint, "The Geeks Were Right"
4) Leonard Nimoy, "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"
5) Led Zeppelin, "Ramble On"
6) "Theme from Mystery Science Theater 3000"

Lots of spacey Bowie songs to pick from, not just "Space Oddity." "Starman" has always been a fave of mine. I loved hearing the dialog featuring Ming the Merciless at the beginning of the Flash Gordon Theme; as for Zeppelin, you get a few choices of Middle Earth-referencing tunes in their catalog, and "Ramble On" refers to Mordor and Gollum; and as for Leonard Nimoy - what's that? You didn't know about his "Ode To Bilbo Baggins?" Well shoot, the video is gonna blow your mind then:

Comment on this post

Grab some Moondagger for free!

Posted at 10:10 AM on July 2, 2009 by Barb Abney

Randolph J. Chabot is Daestro. Today on our Song Of The Day podcast You can grab the tune "Vermillion Plaza" from the Moondagger record, for free!

If you're a new subscriber to the Song Of The Day podcast, you'll also receive new music from Tiny Masters of Today, Mos Def, British Sea Power and local music from Little Man.

Follow Deastro:
on MySpace
on Twitter
on his blog