Tags: Picture of the day
1. Cover Me has another cover of an entire classic record. This time, he does Highway 61 Revisited, featuring covers by The Waterboys, Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Levon Helm . . . It leans heavy on the classic rock this time around.
2. I liked last year’s releases from The Cool Kids, but I was never a huge fan. Still, I recognize that many of you probably were, so I’m passing along the information that you can cop their new mixtape, Gone Fishing, at their website for free. Here’s a couple tastes:
3. Dr. Mooney is doing a Bob Dylan giveaway, and he’s posted a bunch of cool Dylan covers, including one by Jim James. Check it out.
4. Finally, the LA Times’ great comics blog has an interview with the dude who thought up The Joker! Check it out!
Tags: Go away, Superheroes
Yeah, he’s from Pulp. You know that. You probably also know that his 2006 debut was a solid effort. But do you know that Jarvis Cocker’s sophomore release, “Further Complications,” as the title hints, is as full of the wry wit of his prior work? He’s more “rock” on this release, with a harder edge and rougher guitar, but other than that, this is what you’d expect from Cocker.
From the outset, the title track is pure rock and roll, a radio-ready guitar tune guaranteed to get you singing along in the car. Other standouts include what I suspect will be the first single, “Angela,” (glam rock more similar to Pulp than Cocker’s solo album), and “Homewrecker!”, retrorock with a sax line. Some of these, like “Angela” and the ambiguously titled “Fuckingsong,” have been played live for about a year now, so he’s tight and has already worked out the kinks on them. He could have done with a little more such field testing “Slush,” a track that clearly needs some work. Hang with this long-player, though, because at about 3:30 it starts to kick in.
I’ve read some fan sites saying that Jarvis went “pop” or “sold out” on this one, but to them I say: Have you ever heard Pulp? It was pretty mainstream stuff. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with sounding mainstream, by the way, as long as you’re also good. Some fans also complain that the record was produced by Steve (Pixies; Nirvana) Albini, one of the biggest alt-rock producers in the business. To them I say: There’s a reason Albini is so well known. He’s great. So suck it up.
Sometimes babies are scary and freakish, not cute.
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (vampire weekend cover)-Lykke Li (YSI)
Tags: Baby Violence, Covers, Picture of the day
There’s this great saying that the definition of true ignorance is contempt prior to investigation, and I’m glad to say, today, that I am not ignorant. Peace, Love And Cold Hard Cash arrived as part of a press kit, without a proper CD box, and with lots of glossy hype, promo materials saying they’d played with “Grammy winners” Arrested Development, and a picture of a white guy with dreads. It screamed “Pay attention to me!” and I was tempted to toss it because so many of these kinds of submissions, frankly, suck. But I am true to my word, and I promise to listen to every submission, so I popped it on in.
I was pleasantly surprised!
The Capitalist Hippie Complex is a 10-piece hard rock/funk/hip hop band, with a sound not dissimilar to Rage Against the Machine or Spearhead. Lyrically, they mix radical politics with humor and heavy drinking (etc.). The album sounds like it was recorded live, a jam-filled party for commies, hippies, and college kids. They seem like they’d be particularly fun to see live. So, if they’re coming through your area, check ‘em out. Tell them I sent you.
Is it “Mother’s Day” or “Mothers’ Day”? I dunno. So I have two posts, one for each punctuation type. This one is short. It’s just Mother and Child Reunion, a song by Paul Simon, as covered by Pie, Jack Johnson, Goodland, and Juggling Sons.
Tags: Covers, Mothers Day
THE TOP 15 Mother Tunes! Yeah, I’m missing “Mother Nature’s Son,” Genesis’ “Mama,” and so many others, but this is my top 15, not yours. Suck it up.
15. Every Mothers Son-Lynyrd Skynyrd. (As covered by Drive-By Truckers.)
OLDEST MAMA! (Gave birth at age 67.)
14. Hey Mama-Kanye West
HARD WORKIN' MAMA!
13. Mama Couldn’t Be Persuaded-Warren Zevon
COLD MAMA!
12. Mama Tried-Merle Haggard. (As covered by Old ’97s.)
POLITICAL MAMA!
11. Mama Kin-Aerosmith.
MAMA DEAREST!
10. Dear Mama-2Pac
SCARY MAMA!
9. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Trad)-Van Morrison
OCTO(+5)-MAMA!
8. I Still Live With My Moms-Thurston Howl III.
MAMA'S JUGS!
7. Take Your Mama Out-Scissor Sisters. (As covered by The Zutons.)
EVIL STEP-MAMA!
6. Mama Said Knock You Out-LL Cool J. (As covered by Lagawagon.)
LL COOL J COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT MAMA?
5. Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby-Rolling Stones. (As covered by The Records.)
COUGAR MOM!
4. Mother-Pink Floyd (As covered by Electric Fuzz Band.) Best use of a sigh in a rock ballad.
SEXY MAMA!
3. Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)-Jay-Z.
ZOMBIE MAMA!
2. Mama’s Pearl-Jackson 5.
ZAPPA MAMA!
1. Mother-John Lennon. Because bitter sarcasm and gut-level honesty is always at the top of the list. Here it is covered by Neutral Milk Hotel (YSI).
Tags: Boobies, Covers, Hip Hop, Mothers Day, Zombies
Tags: Picture of the day
Apparently, Birdsong and Bertha were missing from the zip file. So here they are.
Birdsong (YSI)
Bertha (YSI)
Tags: Covers, Grateful Dead, Ryan Adams
You know Johnny Polygon’s Group Hug EP is a street tape when it opens with Ed McMahon and a sample from an Ice-T song. No way he’s got the licensing money to make this legit . . . Then Johnny comes in, reeling off one liners right and left:
Every priest wants to get blown at least once/Every right family got a Japanese son/They adopted to get discounts on Nissans/Everybody needs a shoulder to lean on/’Cept for me and R. Kelly, we use ‘em to pee on/If you’re fifteen and you don’t know the difference in between/Gettin’ pissed on havin’ sex/Then you deserve to get peed on next/Are you pissed off yet?
That’s just a few bars from “DopestFlyestOGPimpPlayaHardcoreMuthafucka,” the first track of off the Group Hug EP, on which Polygon does his best Eminem/Obie Trice/sent-here-to-piss-the-world-off vibe, but it’s followed by “The Riot Song,” where he channels Sly Stone over a laid-back funk beat, and then, later, he offers “Do You Love Me,” with a late-’70s Kool and The Gang popstyle. Johnny Polygon’s been around for a while, rapping since age 14, but it wasn’t until he had the forture to get signed by DJ Green Lantern that people really started to get to know him. He’s got a full-length due later this year.
This versatile EP gets my absolute highest recommendation.
More from Johny:
Black President (with Nas) (YSI)
Here he is with a weird promo message featuring the Saved By The Bell crew.
Here’s his “Lose Control’” video (more of a photo montage), which is a song that is not on the Group Hug EP.
Tags: Hip Hop
