Posts tagged good music
let the party roll
May 20th
I think we all recognize that much of the contemporary music we enjoy is often rooted in something from the past.
Oh. And by contemporary I mean any decade’s music. It’s not just today … but yesterday’s … and it will be so tomorrow.
And, yet, on occasion … in every decade someone comes along and bottles up something from way way back and makes it relevant today. Now that, my friends, is always special.
Ok.
“Let the Party Roll.”
I don’t know how I missed this song and Chuck brown … but … well … I did. But I guess this falls under the ‘better late than never’ heading.
Chuck Brown died on May 16th. Maybe that is why they were playing his video for ‘let the party roll’ and I saw it the other day. Chuck was a nifty bluesy based guitarist and singer who I found out was called “the Godfather of Go-go.” After I saw that I had to do some research because I had never heard of ‘go go’ and found out that ‘Go-go’ is an offshoot of funk music seemingly tied to the Washington, D.C. While its musical classification influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.
Well.
I don’t really care what its called because it has a great blues groove with not only some funk but also contemporary smooth rock. I also know this song would be perfect music on any party soundtrack for us older folk. Great performance video with some awesome cameos from celebrities:
Let The party roll: http://vimeo.com/3179938
Enjoy.
marley and me
May 6th
Well.
This is about Damien Marley but … to begin with … I am not sure I know one person who doesn’t like Bob Marley’s greatest hits cd. 
You may not like to listen to reggae day in and day out but taking time for an hour of the ‘best of the best’? … once again … I do not know one person who doesn’t enjoy it. I was fortunate enough to see Bob Marley and the Wailers (at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion of all places … of which it was a slightly different experience than seeing the Bruins play basketball in that the entire pavilion was filled with smoke – ceiling to floor – and you could get high without ever smoking anything on your own).
Anyway. Luckily for us good ole Bob had a healthy libido and a fertile soul because he has a slew of children still making music.
Damien ”Jr. Gong” Marley has a new song called “affairs of the heart.”
Affairs of the Heart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT2789urycI&ob=av2n
Damien is the youngest of the Bob brood.
His first release <Mr. Marley I think> and then his major debut Halfway Tree not only showed he wasn’t Bob reborn but also kind of showcased an evolution of the traditional reggae … some great reggae like rhymes overlaying a really unique blend of music … a classic reggae at its core incorporating threads of hip-hop, r&b and dance club styles. He is continuing his trend by crossing a bunch of stuff into reggae. He is doing what pop collaborators are doing with dance and hip hop but instead with reggae … and he is doing it by himself. And while this song I think is kind of a crossover and feel good he continues to take on the bigger social issues of poverty in his Jamrock style (he does a song called Welcome to Jamrock … an older song … that is tough love and reggae at its best).
Anyway.
Affairs of the Heart is a reminder that reggae is alive and well. And that Bob’s legacy is alive and well.
public radio music surprise
Jul 25th
It’s an 11 hour drive from San Francisco to Portland Oregon. You can listen to a lot of music and check out a boatload of crappy music stations. So when I wandered into the bottom end of the dial and the public radio station was ending a talk segment and moving into music I almost skipped over expecting either some random African metal drum timpani yodeling group or maybe some sung poetry scat thing but when the opening chord to Night Train (Bruce Cockburn) came out of the speakers I stuck around to hear what they had to play. What an awesome three song set. Three great songs and three great deliveries (Cockburn’s and Adams songs are particularly good). Here you go:
- Bruce Cockburn “Night Train” from 2003 Charity of Night album. Great driving song because it uses that train chugging along the tracks beat and has this beautiful sparse guitar picking across the top of the rest of the band chugging along behind the vocal. He will never be an opera singer type voice but he has that rustic sound that fits perfectly with the overall feel of the song and driving and … well … big countryside. And after such a nice simple clean almost forlorn feel it ends with this really messy guitar overlay. It’s a 6 minute + song and it doesn’t feel too long. Oh. And Bruce adds in a nice female voice to fill in under his vocals which smooths a couple of portions of the song and adds in a nice softening element.
‘Night Train’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYxnNG2dxMw
- Carrie Rodriguez “I made a Lover’s Prayer.” I am fairly sure this is a remake (but I am too lazy to check). While it is slightly different than the first and the third in this three song set it fits in the middle perfectly just like the marshmallow middle in a moon pie. It is a simple song. It’s a beautiful song. It’s a heartfelt song. And she has always had a great voice and sang okay songs (I have always wondered if she would ever make it big) but in this song it’s like she found the perfect song to sing.
‘I made a lover’s Prayer’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOk6CpAfXcw (I couldn’t find a studio version to link to and the beginning of the video will give you a headache but she plays a sweet guitar)
- Ryan Adams and the Cardinals “Cold Roses”. Ok. Ryan Adams is maddening. He writes so much stuff and at least half of it is crap you want to give up on it. And then a song like this comes on the radio (and I even had this cd and didn’t realize it was there). Cold Roses is everything great about Ryan Adams. Beautifully crafted song. Multi layered with a variety of different instruments and Ryan’s voice kinda keeping it moving along melodically with those wistful words he writes (the type when they are written well are impeccable). But. What makes this song is this guitar that almost sounds like they asked old Neil Young when he was playing Cortez the Killer and asked him to sit and jam. It is this kind of clean jangly strong sharp sound that weaves in and out (or someone could suggest it has a little Grateful Deady type guitar feel). Awesome song.
‘Cold Roses’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7qMaiFNTPM&feature=related (this is the full song … the last minute of this song will show you synchronized guitar playing at its best)
- This is a bonus ‘cold roses.’ It is only a 1:24 live clip but it captures the guitar sound AND if you want to hear possibly the most amazing live vocal harmonizing this clip is worth listening to – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3swTRypEUEQ
Awesome set.
