two takes
“Kung Fu” (C. Mayfield)
The Dirtbombs, live, New York (Southpaw, Brooklyn), 2008
*****
Curtis Mayfield, recording (Sweet Exorcist), 1974
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lagniappe
found words
Yesterday, in Cambridge, Massachusetts (where I am for my son Alex’s college graduation), sitting on a brick sidewalk in Harvard Square, a panhandler with a sign:
OBAMA’S NOT THE ONLY ONE
WHO WANTS CHANGE
what’s new
Black Dice, “Pigs”
Recording (Mr. Impossible, 4/12) & Video
I fell in love tonight. She left immediately when I played her this.
—YouTube comment
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Live (music starts at 1:40), New York, 2012
only rock ’n’ roll
This’ll wake you up.
The Men, “Open Your Heart,” live, SXSW (Austin, Tx.), 3/6/12
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More?
Here’s the whole show.
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
The pop music being made in the 1960s sounded nothing like that of the 1920s. But, today, the formula employed by The Men (and many other bands)—electric guitar + bass + drums + volume + energy—is the same one the MC5 was using when I first heard them in August of 1968, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, during the Democratic Convention. What, if anything, does it mean that pop music—some of it, anyway—has changed so little in the last 40 years?
passings
Michael Burks, singer, guitar player, songwriter
July 30, 1957-May 6, 2012
Here’s what I wrote when I first posted this clip (2/28/11):
When something is this lyrical, this convincing, there’s only one thing I want to do when it ends—hear it again.
“Empty Promises”
Live, Falls Church, Virginia, 8/21/09
***
Michael came to Alligator Records long after I left. But a few years ago I did some legal work for him and got to know him. Soft-spoken, gentle, warm: these are the words that come to mind. He collapsed at the Atlanta airport after returning from a European tour—heart attack.
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“Fire and Water”
Live, Denmark (Frederikshavn), 2010
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“Since I’ve Been Loving You”
Live, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 2010
***
“House of the Rising Sun”
Live, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, 2008
three takes
“Dream Baby Dream” (A. Vega [Suicide])
Neneh Cherry & The Thing, The Cherry Thing, 6/12
*****
Bruce Springsteen, live (encore), 2005
*****
Suicide (long version), 1980
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lagniappe
random thoughts
Who says sports are frivolous? Baseball offers a veritable Ph.D. program in life’s hardest lessons. Good fortune is fleeting. Nothing can be taken for granted—ever. No matter how smooth the sailing, the shoals of despair are never far away. Yesterday, going into the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs were beating the Reds 3-0. Exit starter Ryan Dempster; enter closer Carlos Marmol. He gives up a walk. Then another. The next batter reaches on an error. Then there’s a line drive. The next batter? He walks, too. By the time Marmol crawls back to the dugout, the bases are loaded, there are no outs, and two runs are in. If nothing else, the pain would have come and gone more swiftly if the Reds had finished things right there. But they don’t. They add just one more run, tying the game. The Cubs come to bat. Nothing. The Reds score again and, finally, it’s over. Reds 4, Cubs 3. No tale from Greek mythology could have made the point more emphatically: fate is pitiless.
passings
Levon Helm, drummer, singer, songwriter, actor, etc.
May 26, 1940-April 19, 2012
Live, 2/12, Woodstock, NY (Levon’s home)
“Ophelia”
***
“The Weight”
*****
“When I Go Away,” recording (Electric Dirt, 2009)
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lagniappe
Levon Helm will always hold a special place in my heart. He was as great of an actor as a musician. For me watching him play the role of my daddy in Coal Miner’s Daughter is a memory I will always treasure.
***
When I heard The Band’s Music from Big Pink, their music changed my life. And Levon was a big part of that band. Nigel Olson, my drummer, will tell you that every drummer that heard him was influenced by him. He was the greatest drummer and a wonderful singer and just a part of my life that was magical. They once flew down to see me in Philadelphia and I couldn’t believe it. They were one of the greatest bands of all time. They really changed the face of music when their records came out. I had no idea he was sick so I’m very dismayed and shocked that he died so quickly. But now my son [Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John] has his name.
***
He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation. This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I’m going to miss him, as I’m sure a whole lot of others will too.
passings
Jerry McCain, singer, songwriter, harmonica player
June 18, 1930-March 28, 2012
These tracks were recorded, in the mid-1950s, as demos in Jerry’s living room in Gadsden, Alabama, using a single microphone and a one-track home tape recorder.
“Geronimo Rock ’n’ Roll”
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“Rock ’n’ Roll Ball”
***
“A Cutie Named Judy”
***
“Bell In My Heart”
only rock ’n’ roll
The Cramps, live
California State Mental Hospital (Napa), 1978
only rock ’n’ roll
What’s old is new again.
Alabama Shakes, live
Pegasus Records, Florence, Alabama, 8/21/11
“I Found You”
***
“Hold On”
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lagniappe
Just Like Being There (2012)
music clip of the day 