The Current Music Blog: July 28, 2009 Archive

Today In Music History: The Killer on Steve Allen

Posted at 6:11 AM on July 28, 2009 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Birthdays:

Drummer Simon Kirke of Bad Company is 60.
Bassist Marc Perlman of The Jayhawks is 48.

1945 - Rick Wright (keyboards, Pink Floyd) was born. Wright died in Sept of 2008 at age 65 from cancer.
1954 - The first press interview with 19-year-old Elvis Presley was published in the 'Memphis Press- Scimitar'.
1969 - Police in Moscow reported that thousands of public phone booths had been vandalised after thieves were stealing parts of the phones to convert their acoustic guitars to electric. A feature in a Russian youth magazine had shown details on how to do this.
1979 - "I Don't Like Mondays" gave The Boomtown Rats their second UK No.1 single. Bob Geldof wrote the song after reading a report on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children playing in a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego. Her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays, this livens up the day."
1987 - The surviving Beatles sued Nike and Capitol Records over the use
of the song "Revolution" in TV commercials.

1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis made his television debut on "The Steve Allen Show." How could we not play The Killer to mark the occasion? "A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" seemed appropriate.

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Alice Golfs!

Posted at 7:49 AM on July 28, 2009 by Steve Seel (4 Comments)

If you were listening to me and Jill this morning, here's the photo we were referring to of Alice Cooper golfing. Wow ...

Good for Alice for having healthier addictions these days.

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My ears are shot, but I'm smiling... Thx Dead Weather!

Posted at 10:20 AM on July 28, 2009 by Jim McGuinn (2 Comments)

Whoa. Having seen most of their respective prior bands (White Stripes, Raconteurs, Greenhornes, Waxwings, Kills), I knew that the members of the new "supergroup" Dead Weather could deliver onstage, but I guess I wasn't really ready for what hit the sold out crowd at last night's First Ave gig. An onslaught of blues-rock seldom witnessed since the glory dayze of early Led Zeppelin, Dead Weather came on dark and mysterious, backlit and ferocious. Alison Mosshart stalked the stage like a feral cat, often climbing onto the monitors and mounting the speakers, towering over the audience and both taunting and enticing a reaction. Dean Fertita has morphed from a Kinksian guitarist in his former band-life to a formidable presence on guitar and vintage organs, Jack Lawrence prowled and held down growly basslines from his semi-hollow blasting through a fuzzbox and a fully cranked Ampeg 8x10 rig. But even at the back of the stage you couldn't stop staring, as Jack White is this generation's consummate rockstar - making even a basic beat exciting, showing off his prowess and obvious Bonham/Moon schooling in the art of drums as foreground. Playing songs from their recent debut Horehound, it was hard to believe that this band has only played a few shows together - the interplay and exploration between all four was thrilling, no more so than when White left the kit behind to strap on a guitar and duet with Mosshart, at one point sharing a mic so close on "Will There Be Enough Water" that if I were Mrs. White I'd be a little worried.

While on the one hand there's little "new" about the music Dead Weather makes (unless you count the white-boy rapid fire hip hop lyrics in the middle of "Treat Me Like Your Mother" fused with the blues as innovation), it's been a long time since we've seen or heard anyone melt faces and own the stage quite like this, basically re-invigorating "Classic" Classic Rock, perhaps the most tired genre possible. And while there were definite highlights in the set (basically, the radio singles "Cut Like a Buffalo," "Mother," "Hang You Up from the Heavens," and Dylan cover "New Pony"), the show only lagged when the material wasn't first rate. Give these guys a few more productive weekends to craft more great songs, and they would be an unstoppable force.

Side projects don't often last to multiple tours or albums, but here's one combination among the Jack White aresenal that we hope keeps coming back around.

Listen next week for a Theft of the Dial as we turn the controls over to the Dead Weather...

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Song of the Day: Tennessee trio offer up a "Wild One"

Posted at 11:07 AM on July 28, 2009 by Jim McGuinn (0 Comments)

Today on our Song Of The Day podcast we're featuring a trio from Tennessee called Those Darlins. A trio of sassy ladies who know how to hootenanny with wild abandon, there's something to this music that just makes you smile. They recently released their debut, Home and you can grab their tune "Wild One" for free!

If you're a new S.O.D. subscriber, you'll also receive new music from Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Eyedea and Abilites, Other Lives and Moby. Later on this week we'll be featuring new music from Zee Avi, Generationals and new local music from The Blind Shake.

Those Darlins "Wild One" from Tugboat Productions on Vimeo.

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3 AWESOME tunes 7/28

Posted at 1:25 PM on July 28, 2009 by Jim McGuinn (0 Comments)
Filed under: My Three Songs

Katie Dixeie from North St. Paul picked today's My 3 Songs set...

"Because, they're AWESOME :) "

Caesars - "Strawberry Weed"
P.O.S. - "I Made It From Scratch"
The Kinks - "Waterloo Sunset"

Make your "My 3 Songs" requests here.

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Cover-to-Cover: All week it's Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs

Posted at 1:35 PM on July 28, 2009 by Jim McGuinn (0 Comments)

About two years ago Matthew Sweet and the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs teamed up for Under the Covers, a love letter to the rock and roll of their childhoods, growing up in the late '60s. Lovingly crafted covers of artists like Neil Young and the Beatles, plus some of their quirkiest faves, and a good time was had by all.

Now back with Vol 2, the duo moves forward a few years for a loving look at the early '70s. It's a fun listen all the way thru, and this week we'll take double dips into the collection for a flashback in time from two power pop classicists - hear em each weekday this week around 1:30pm.

Here's a clip of them doing "Cinnamon Girl" from the first Under the Covers...

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Ticket Pre-Sale Alert! Monsters of Folk at the Orpheum Theater on October 29th

Posted at 2:32 PM on July 28, 2009 by Lindsay Kimball (2 Comments)

Monsters of Folk are coming to town! I know it kind of sounds like a monster trucks running over acoustic guitars, but this a "super group" of sorts. Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis teamed up with My Morning Jacket's Jim James and singer/songwriter M. Ward for a new project. They've got a self-titled album that will be released on September 22nd and a tour to follow. Catch them at the Orpheum Theater on October 29th. Tickets go on sale on August 8th, but click here, and you can access the pre-sale and get tickets early!

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