'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel

It's not very often you'll see me shilling for company on here, but I'll make an exception this time because it's a great deal for music lovers.

A few months ago I got an email about a new music service called Your Music. The basic selling point is that it sells CDs for $5.99, with free shipping. It works two ways. First, you can buy CDs anytime you want for six bucks a pop. The other way is a subscription service. You set up a queue, kind of like Netflix, with whatever albums you want. Every month on whatever your subscription date is, they send you the next album in your queue. I've got my queue loaded up albums that I've always meant to pick up, but that always get bumped down on the list of priorities when I'm CD shopping. It's kind of cool going to the mail box once a month and have somewhat unexpected new tunes to listen to.

If you're like I am, at this point you're thinking "There's got to be a catch." There is, but its a small one. If you don't have an album in your queue on your ship date, and your account is still active, you get charged six bucks for that month and you don't get anything. But thats only a problem if you don't have anything in your queue. And you can cancel your account at anytime with no minimum purchase to buy, so really you could sign up, order a bunch of CDs, and cancel your account a week later.

It's run by the same people who run BMG Music Service, so it has some of the same issues that subscription services have always had. The selection is good, but certainly not great. I've been surprised by some of the albums they did have though, and if you have a wide range of tastes, you'll have no problem finding things you want. I've even seen a few CDs on their website that have been long out of print through normal retail outlets. The other issue is that standard shipping takes about two weeks. So if you're doing last minute Christmas shopping, you'll have to spring extra for express shipping.

Cowboy Junkies - "Cause Cheap Is How I Feel" (mp3) from The Caution Horses

Fairytale Of New York

Over the past week, I've gotten a lot of hits from people searching for The Pogues' "Fairytale Of New York," which I mentioned in my review of their concert in Las Vegas in October. I can't say I blame them, its one of my all time favorite songs, Christmas or not. And while I normally wouldn't do requests like this, it's Christmas, the time of giving, so what the hell...

The Pogues with Kristy MacColl - "Fairytale Of New York" (mp3) from If I Should Fall From Grace With God

If you're like me and already have the song on at least three different CDs, you can watch the video, which Matt Dillon calls his favorite moment of his career.



Or if you're feeling weird, you can watch this video of Shane and The Popes performing the song on Irish television, with Shane's mum playing the role of Kristy MacColl. Seriously.

photo by JimmyOK

I Never Eat December Snowflakes

Tonight was the annual airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas. And I've got to say, I didn't remember how absolutely depressing it is. I realize it redeems itself at the end, but for 29 minutes, it is full of clinical depression (Charlie Brown), greed (Sally), vanity (Lucy), and even threats of violence (Lucy, again). How did this ever become the most beloved animated Christmas special of all time?

The episode was followed it was Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales from 2002, and it wasn't much better. The girl that Linus had a crush on who sat behind him in class was clearly schizophrenic.

Vince Guaraldi Trio - "Skating" (mp3) from A Charlie Brown Christmas

Christmas Celebration

A few years ago when I worked at Virgin, I came in one December morning and one of my fellow buyers had left this CD on my desk. I'm not the world's biggest Weezer fan, but he knew that I was a huge Christmas nerd. The two song CD is often billed as a fan club single, but I'm pretty sure it was actually sent out only as a promo (considering that's how I got it). "The Christmas Song" was released on MTV: TRL Christmas a few years ago, but the b-side, "Christmas Celebration," never saw an actual release. Which is a shame, because it's a whole lot more fun. Both songs were available for free on Weezer's website for years, but they apparently disappeared last December. So I'm making it today's monday morning b-side.

Weezer - "Christmas Celebration" (mp3)

One More Drifter In The Snow

Aimee Mann - One More Drifter In The Snow

Aimee Mann is one of those artists who can seemingly do no wrong. Even when she's not great, she's still very good. I'm not sure I've ever heard a song of hers that I didn't like. In fact, "Wise Up" is probably one of my favorite songs of the past ten years. But until now, I've never owned a single one of her albums.

A lot of the press for One More Drifter In The Snow suggests that it's a throwback to the Christmas albums of the 40s and 50s. And while it does have a classic feel to it, it still seems very contemporary. Many of the songs have a kind of jazzy sound, but the arrangements make clever use of percussion, banjo and keys that keep it from being too retro. Apart from a brilliant and jaunty duet with Grant Lee Phillips on "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch," it's full of mellow, reflective takes on holiday standards, though there are a couple songs that will be new to most listeners . Unless you're a Frank Sinatra fan, you're probably not familiar with Jimmy Webb's "Whatever Happened To Christmas." And two originals are also included; "Christmastime," written by Mann's husband Michael Penn and Jon Brion, and perhaps the albums best song, "Calling On Mary," written by Mann herself. It's a bit melancholy, but never depressing. If such a thing is possible, I think Aimee Mann might have made the perfect Christmas album for people who normally don't like Christmas music.

Aimee Mann - "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (mp3)

Run Rudolph Run

I've read at least four books about The Rolling Stones, but until a few months ago, I had no idea that Keith Richards first solo release wasn't Talk Is Cheap. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but I always considered myself a bit of a savant when it comes to music trivia. Not knowing that tidbit felt like a significant chink in my armor. What if that question had come up at trivia night and I didn't know the answer? I'd be humiliated.

So what was Keef's first solo release? A 1978 single that paired covers of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" and Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come." If that question comes up at your next trivia night, a) you owe me a beer, and b) your quiz master is asking questions that are WAY too hard.

Keith Richards - "Run Rudoph Run" (mp3)

UPDATE 12/11/07 - This track is now available on iTunes. And evidently the single was released twice with two different b-sides, because the flip side of this version is a cover Toots & the Maytals "Pressure Drop," recorded with the Maytals themselves (it too is available on iTunes).

Black Friday

I've never understood people who get up at ungodly hours the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping. It seems to bring out the absolute worst in people. I don't care how great the specials are, you couldn't get me to set foot in a Best Buy or Wal Mart at five o'clock in the morning even if they were selling bundles of hundred dollar bills for a quarter. And if I needed any extra incentive not to join the holiday madness that takes place on this day every year, this article illustrates just how insane the annual shopping spree has become...

Brian Clark, 27, of Bristol left empty-handed after the televisions and
computers he’d eyed as Christmas gifts were snatched by earlier shoppers.
Alarmed by a recent shooting of a customer waiting outside a Connecticut
Wal-Mart store for Sony’s PlayStation 3, which are almost impossible to
find, Clark had tucked his Glock pistol in a holster under his jacket and
put extra ammunition in his pocket before heading out early Friday. “Not
that I’ll probably need it, but just in case. You never know these days,” he
said.

The article also perpetuates one of the popular myths about Black Friday. Every year you read how the day after Thanksgiving is no longer the busiest shopping day of the year. Ask anyone who has ever worked in retail, and they will tell you that is poppycock. The Saturday before Christmas might have higher sales, but "shopping" and "buying" are too entirely different things, and there are definitely more people out today than there will be on December 23.

As much as I love Christmas, this is the one day of the day of the year I can sympathize with people who hate it. And Miles Davis' contribution to the Christmas catalog, "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)," sums up those "bah humbug" feelings as well as any song I've ever heard. It has been released on a couple of different compilations, most recently Jingle Bell Swing. It is also available on Miles Davis and Gill Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings.

Miles Davis - "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)" (mp3)

post title by Steely Dan

The Feeling Begins

Frank Sinatra - A Jolly Christmas

I'm big on traditions, and during the holidays I have roughly a thousand of them. One of them is that the first holiday album I listen to every year is A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra. Once I get home from Thanksgiving dinner and start winding down for the day, I put this CD on, and that for me is the moment when the Christmas season officially begins. It's not just my favorite Christmas album, it is one of my favorite albums period.

The first time I bought it was a budget eight song cassette version in the early 90s. It quickly became one of my favorite soundtracks for driving around at night looking at Christmas lights. It just seemed to sound like everything I love about the season. A couple years later I found out that the actual album was six songs longer, and I upgraded to the CD.

The title really doesn't fit, because apart from the first track, a bouncy arrangement of "Jingle Bells," I really wouldn't call the album "jolly." Accompanied by a mostly string orchestra and choir, the album is a fairly mellow affair. But the arrangements (by Gordon Jenkins) are absolutely beautiful, and Sinatra was at the top of his game vocally throughout the 50s. In its LP form, it was split into two distinct sides. The first half is all what were in 1957 contemporary holiday tunes, and the second half is comprised of traditional Christmas hymns. The CD is rounded out by two Nelson Riddle arranged songs from a 1954 single.

For the MP3, I picked what is hands down my favorite song on the album. It's actually my third favorite song ever (behind "Hotel Womb" by The Church and "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys). There is something about the way he says "Merry Christmas" at the end that just hits me. I'm pretty sure it's that exact moment that set me on the path to becoming a huge Frank Sinatra fan.

Frank Sinatra - "The Christmas Waltz" (mp3)

"It's that time of year when the world falls in love,
Every song you hear seems to say 'Merry Christmas,
May your every New Year dreams come true.'
And this song of mine, in three quarter time,
Wishes you and yours the same thing too."

post title by Peter Gabriel

Thanksgiving

If you're one of those people who hates the entire holiday season, you might want to avoid Page 300 for the next month or so. From now until New Years Day, I plan on posting a new holiday themed song daily. I probably own more Christmas CDs than most people own CDs period, so having enough material certainly won't be a problem. I'll try to concentrate on songs you might not have heard before, or at least versions you won't hear four times a day on whichever of your local radio stations switches to an all Christmas format tommorrow. To start things off, here is the one of the only Thanksgiving themed songs I know, from one of my all time favorite movies, Holiday Inn.

Bing Crosby - "I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful For" (mp3)

I was working part time in a record store in 1998 when we got the soundtrack CD in stock, and I was ridiculously excited about it. I'd been trying to find the soundtrack forever, and the fact that it was released at a budget price of six bucks (four after my discount) was icing on the cake. For the next year, an excerpt from the appropriate Irving Berlin song went onto my answering machine as the outgoing message for every holiday.

post title by Glide

All Together Now

To wrap up our "Eight Days A Week" of Fab Four covers, we've got a medley of Beatles songs by an actual Beatle. For his homecoming concert in Liverpool on June 28, 1990, Paul McCartney debuted a medley of two Lennon-written Beatles tunes, along with John's first solo single. Although he announces it as "something special, especially for Liverpool," it became a fixture of his setlists for the rest of the tour. It was released later that year on the All My Trials single.

Paul McCartney "Strawberry Fields Forever/Help/Give Peace A Chance (Live in Liverpool)" (mp3)

Helter Skelter

The new Beatles album Love isn't the only high profile release hitting the shelves tommorrow. Oasis is releasing their band selected "best of" album Stop The Clocks just in time for for the holiday shopping season as well.

Oasis is one of those rare bands where the b-sides are often better than the actual singles. Their 1998 b-sides collection The Masterplan makes a strong case that they could be the best b-sides band ever. But if that isn't enough to convince you, take a look at the tracklistlisting for Stop The Clocks. Four of the nineteen tracks on the album we're first released as b-sides. The band's live cover of "I Am The Walrus" is well known, so for today's monday morning b-side we have their second dip into the Beatles catalog, "Helter Skelter." Sung by Noel, it was released on the Who Feels Love single in 2000.

Oasis - "Helter Skelter" (mp3)

For No One

I first heard Rickie Lee Jones when I was nine. It was a rainy night, and I was lying on my bed listening to the radio in the dark when they played "Chuck E's In Love." I've never really been a fan of hers, but I remember that moment like it was yesterday. It's strange how sometimes a song can become stuck in your memory for no particular reason.

The only Jones album that I own is It's Like This, a collection of covers released in 2000. I grabbed a promo copy of it when I worked at Virgin because she covered a Frank Sinatra song on it. And while her take on "Cycles" is really good, my favorite song on the album is her version of The Beatles' "For No One." Accompanied by just piano and organ, its an incredibly intimate performance. It might be heresy to say it, but I think I like it even better than the original.

Rickie Lee Jones - "For No One" (mp3)

It's All Too Much

It seems like any artist who doesn't regularly record cover songs eventually does a covers album. I'm pretty sure its a requirement in the rock star manual or something. For The Church, the inevitable trip into other people's catalogs took place 19 years into their career with A Box Of Birds. Among the eclectic set of covers was their take on the George Harrison's "It's All Too Much." One of six new songs used in Yellow Submarine, The Beatles recorded it in 1967 at De Lane Lea Studio, one of the few times prior to Let It Be that the band didn't record at Abbey Road.

The Church - "It's All Too Much" (mp3)

And while we're counting down the days to the release of Love, The Beatles are now streaming the album in its entirety here.

Up With Montana

I have a sad confession to make. I couldn't even hum you my alma mater's fight song, but I know the words to the University of Montana fight song by heart. It's not that I don't love my Blue Raiders, but I grew up in a Grizzly household. Both my parents went to Montana (and in a weird twist of fate, both my step-parents did too). I think my mom must have sang "Up With Montana" to me as a lullaby, because that song is ingrained in my head.

Its rivalry weekend in college football, and while the rest of the country is watching Ohio State and Michigan battle it out, I'll be at the annual Griz/Cat satellite party. It's the 106th meeting between Montana and Montana State, and this year it doubles as the Big Sky conference championship game. GO GRIZ!!!

"Up With Montana" (mp3)

"...And the squeal of the pig will float on the air
From the tummy of the Grizzly Bear."

UPDATE: Grizzlies 13, Bobcats 7

Beatles and The Stones

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have written some of the greatest songs in the history of rock and roll, so it's almost hard to believe that their songwriting partnership didn't begin until their manager locked them in a room and refused to let them out until they had written a song they could release. The Rolling Stones started out strictly as an R&B cover band, depending on other writers for their first few singles. For their second single, they turned to a new songwriting partnership that had recently had some success on the charts, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. According to legend, Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham ran into John and Paul on the street and begged them for a song they could release as the follow up their first single, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On." The two showed up at the Stones rehearsal space half an hour later and sang them "I Wanna Be Your Man." The Stones recorded it two weeks later, and in November 1963 it became their first top ten hit.

The Rolling Stones - "I Wanna Be Your Man" (mp3) from The Singles Collection: The London Years

post title by The House Of Love

Tomorrow Never Knows

This summer I had a little car accident... my Saturn versus two Jeep Cherokees. Not surprisingly, I lost. My consolation prize a couple of weeks of physical therapy and muscle relaxers. The first couple of days on flexeril I was incredibly loopy. I kept thinking that it would be fun to to take advantage of my doped up state by breaking out the old 4-track and recording some psychedelic masterpiece. It was a nice idea, but what I ended up doing was sleeping a lot.

It's hard to believe that "Tomorrow Never Knows" was actually the first song The Beatles recorded for Revolver. The album is often cited as the point where the band really started experimenting in the studio, but that they started with its most radical track is surprising. It's also surprising that a song with lyrics adapted from the Tibetan Book Of The Dead and built largely around tape loops has been covered so often. The All Music Guide lists over 60 different artists who have recorded their take on it, including Phil Collins, Junior Parker, Diane Reeves and David Lee Roth. Seriously. Diamond Dave.

The Mission UK - "Tomorrow Never Knows" (mp3)

The Mission recorded their version in 1986 for the "Severina" single. It was later included on the singles compilation The First Chapter.

Eleanor Rigby

It's been said that if you're going to cover a song, you should make it your own. I don't think anyone could argue that Aretha Franklin didn't do that when she covered "Eleanor Rigby" in 1969. In fact, she did it quite literally by singing the song in first person. The arrangement is also radically different, converting it from a somber ballad into a driving soul number. It might not be for everyone (especially Beatles purists), but there's no denying that it's a powerful performance. It's available on the album This Girl's In Love With You.

Aretha Franklin - "Eleanor Rigby" (mp3)

Photo of the Eleanor Rigby statue in Liverpool, England.

Terrible

I cant decide which version of U2's "One" is worse.



Or...



UPDATE: Turns out before he was serenading people at Bank Of America corporate meetings, Manhattan bank center manager Ethan Chandler was a solo artist. You can listen to his album here. The dream never dies...



post title by Insane Clown Posse

Eight Days A Week

When I was in Las Vegas last month, I really wanted to catch Love, the new Cirque De Soleil show done in collaboration with The Beatles. But since my inspiration for the trip was to see The Pogues (which had already set me back sixty-some bucks), my budget simply didn't have room for another show, especially one with $100 tickets. Fortunately, next Tuesday the Beatles will release the soundtrack to the show. Produced by George Martin and his son Giles, the Love CD features 26 new remixes and mashups, assembled from bits of 130 different Beatles songs. So while I wasn't able to see the show, I'll still be able to hear it.

Right now, you can preview four tracks from the album in their entirety on the Beatles website. "Strawberry Fields Forever" sounds remarkably similar to the Anthology 2 version until the end, when bits of several other songs make appearances during the outro. "Octopus' Garden" starts out with Ringo singing over the orchestral intro of "Good Night" before going into a more familiar version of the song. "Lady Madonna" get the remix treatment, with the riff from "Hey Bulldog" inserted as the middle break. The final sneak preview is a gorgeous "Eleanor Rigby"-ish acoustic take of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," augmented by a new string arrangement done by Martin.

To celebrate the release of the first "new" Beatles material in ten years, for the next week I'll be featuring a different Beatles cover every day. Starting things off is Robyn Hitchcock's acoustic (and seemingly unrehearsed) take on a Sgt. Pepper's classic. It was released on the 1992 promo CD Live Death.

Robyn Hitchcock - "A Day In The Life" (mp3)

Diamonds Are Forever

I am a huge James Bond fan. I have been ever since my family first got cable in 1979, when HBO was running a Bond festival. Every Saturday night, we would gather around a big bowl of popcorn in the family room to watch whatever 007 film they were showing that weekend. Later that year we went to see Moonraker in the theater, and that began a tradition. Since then I've gone to see every new James Bond movie with my dad. This Friday, I'll be taking off early from work so we can catch a matinee of the 21st entry in Hollywood's longest running film franchise, Casino Royale. To celebrate, today's monday morning b-side...

Cinerama - "Diamonds Are Forever" (mp3)

David Gedge has always had great taste in covers, so it wasn't surprising when he covered "Diamonds Are Fovever" in 2001. He formed Cinerama in 1998 partly to explore his interest in film music, so taking on John Barry's classic bond theme was a natural fit. It's available on the Health And Efficiency single.

In Your Honor

Happy Veteran's Day! It seems like I've made this a much of a history blog as a music blog this week, but I like theme posts. And since there aren't a lot of modern day patriotic songs not sung by Toby Keith, a trip into the previous century is necessary. Besides, whenever I think of Veteran's Day, I think of my grandfathers, both of whom served in the Navy during World War II. So we'll set the wayback machine to the 1940's...

What are now known at US Savings Bonds were called war bonds during World War II. They were a massively successful effort at funding the war; half the US population purchased over $185 billion dollars worth of bonds. In addition to financing the military efforts, they also had a huge impact on forties pop culture. Posters and magazine advertisements promoting the the purchase of bonds, like Norman Rockwell's famous Four Freedoms series, are some of the most sought after art work of the period. Entertainers appeared at bond rallies across the country, and some of the most popular songwriters of the day contributed by writing songs promoting war bonds.

Bing Crosby - "Road To Victory" (mp3)

"Road To Victory" was recorded on October 7, 1943 for Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall show. Written by Frank Loesser, it's available on WWII Radio Broadcasts Volume 1. Each of the five CDs in the series has two complete half hour shows recorded between 1943 and 1945, and they provide an excellent example of what the musical variety radio shows were like in the forties.

Frank Sinatra - "Buy A Piece Of The Peace" (mp3)

Sinatra recorded this war bond advertisement for the Treasury Department Music For Millions show on September 9, 1945. The fact that is was geared towards post victory efforts is obvious in the lyrics. It was released on Frank Sinatra Sings The Songs Of Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, an excellent (though out of print) collection of radio recordings made between 1943 and 1950.

post title by Foo Fighters

In The Cool Of Evening

Lisa Papineau - Night Moves

I used to have this ritual that everytime I gave blood, I'd always swing by Tower Records afterword to check out the listening stations. It was a little treat to myself for doing something good, and also a way to expose myself to bands I may not have heard yet, or to hear more of bands I had heard. Over the years I've discovered a lot of great music this way. Now that Tower is closing, I guess I'll have to find a new post-bleeding ritual. But a few weeks ago, my bi-monthly bandaged listening trip sent me home with the debut solo album by Lisa Papineau.

You'd be forgiven for think Papineau is French. First, there's her name. The press material for her album references it being recorded in France. She's best known recently for her vocals with M83, and on the last two AIR albums. And her music just has a vague European feel to it. But she grew up in New England, and first caught people's attention with Pet, who were the first signing on Tori Amos' Igloo label. Night Moves is a long way from her rock days with Pet. It's closer to her current band, Big Sir, though more electronic and less groove oriented. Most of the album is fairly mellow, and the couple of perkier numbers remind me of Venus Hum. But if I had to describe the album in one sentence, I'd say it sounds like Beth Orton with less guitar and more sequencing. It's definitely a "chill" album, perfect for winding down at the end of the evening.

Lisa Papineau - "Out To You" (mp3)
Lisa Papineau - "Diamonds And Pearls" (mp3)

post title by Nat King Cole

Election Day

It's Election Day here in the US. To celebrate, here's a campaign related treat from days gone by.

In 1960, Frank Sinatra was very involved in helping to get John Kennedy elected President. He was an active campaigner for JFK and performed at countless Democratic fundraisers. If you believe the rumors, Sinatra even acted as the middle man between Joe Kennedy and the mob to help deliver the union vote in West Virginia and Chicago. After Kennedy won the election, Sinatra was given the task of personally planning the inauguration gala. As part of his efforts to elect the nation's first (and only) Catholic president, he re-recorded his 1959 hit "High Hopes" with special lyrics as a Kennedy Campaign song.

Frank Sinatra - High Hopes (Kennedy Campaign Version) - (mp3)

post title by Arcadia

Up In Arms

Tommorrow the Foo Fighters will release their first live album, Skin And Bones. Recorded on this summer's acoustic tour with an expanded lineup, the album basically gives the live treatment to the second disc of In Your Honor (the acoustic stuff), and expands on it with kinder, gentler takes of a few favorites from their catalog. For these shows, the band was augmented by former Foos/Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear, violinist Petra Haden, former Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffee, and percussionist Drew Hester. The album will be followed up with a DVD on November 28, which will feature five additional songs. If you can't wait three weeks for the DVD, pick up the album at Best Buy, who will have an exlusive bonus preview of the DVD included for people who buy the album.

In Your Honor wasn't the first time the Foos have turned down the volume. When they recorded their second album, The Colour And The Shape, they recorded two versions of "Up In Arms." Unable to decide whether to use the slower, quiet version of the song or the louder, faster one, they decided to use both. For the album, the first minute of the quiet version serves as the intro to the fast version. The slow version was issued in its entrirety on the Monkey Wrench single, and it is today's monday morning b-side.

Foo Fighters - "Up In Arms (Slow Version)" (mp3)

Night On Fire

"Remember remember the fifth of November..."

Tonight in the United Kingdom, they will celebrate Bonfire Night. The annual celebration takes place every November 5, and commemorates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot, in which Guy Fawkes and his group of co-conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliment and kill King James I. Unless you are a history major, the fact that anyone in the States has ever heard of Guy Fawkes is probably due to V For Vendetta. I'm usually not a huge fan of comic based movies, but this was one of my favorite films this year.

Before V For Vendetta was a movie, it was a graphic novel. And before it was a graphic novel, it was serialized over three years in the British anthology comic Warrior. It was during that period that writer Alan Moore approached former Bauhaus bassist David J about setting an episode of the comic to music. "This Vicious Cabaret" was the result, and it was released in 1984 on an EP which also featured three instrumental tracks from the soundtrack to a fictional VTV broadcast. David J explains the writing of the EP in detail on his website.

David J - "This Vicious Cabaret" (mp3)

The EP was issued on CD in 1986 on the singles collection On Glass, and recognizing a great opportunity for a tie-in to the movie, the V For Vendetta EP was reissued this summer with two new tracks.

post title by VHS Or Beta

World Gone Wrong

In this week's Entertainment Weekly, they review the new Broadway musical based on the music of Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin'. Not surprisingly for such a harebrained idea, they panned it. Reading the review, I thought it was a bizarre thing for Dylan to be involved with. But his Victoria's Secret commercial was a weird idea too, and that worked in a strange kind of way. Then today I got the link to this video from a friend. I no longer think this musical is just a weird idea, I'm pretty sure it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Ever.

On the bright side, there should be no further argument from music scholars about what the low point of Bob Dylan's career is... this is definitely it.

Day Of The Dead

Today in Mexico, they are celebrating Dia de los Muertos. Actually, they were celebrating it yesterday too. In researching this post, I learned that the Day of the Dead is actually two days, and has been since the Spaniards merged the holiday with their own All Saints and All Souls days (November 1 and 2). In the same "if you can't beat them, join them" style that turned the pagan Winter Soltice celebration into Christmas, the Christian conquistadors took the the Latin American festival honoring the deceased from its original date in early August and merged it with their own holiday.

Because it happens right after Halloween and features a lot of skeleton art work, many people think of Day of the Dead as a morbid occasion. But as anyone who attended the excellent Dia de los Muertos festival at Cheekwood last Saturday knows, its actually like a more festive take on Memorial Day. I'd post some Mexican music in honor of the holiday, but the fact is I don't have any. The closest representatives I have to Latin America in my world music collection are from Cuba and Brazil. So I'll give you this instead...

The Church - "Day Of The Dead" (mp3) from Sometime Anywhwere