Dr Who

Who could have guessed it 40+ years and still going strong. What? Dr Who of course.
Listed in the Guiness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world.
I still remember all of those first series that were shot in an abandoned quarry somewhere west of London, supposed to be everything from a Moonscape to the otherside of Mars. It was probably the cheapest series as well. Having said that it was always good fun. So check out some of the music.

Dr Who and the Daleks Remix


Here is the original Theme Music from 1963


And finally here is the ultimate Dr Who Title mix, all the Doctors, all the titles courtesy of ReverseThePolarity.

Also, in case you missed it, check out this version on twin teslas.

No Google on Survivor

It's just as well they don't have Google on Survivor. If they did you can bet Taj would be gone by now. I think she is having fun, and could get on quiet a ways. But why did she tell them she was married to an ex-NFL player. Good luck Taj.
Anyhow this is how she used to sing when she was in the wilds before.

SWV, also known as Sisters with Voices, is an American Grammy-award nominated female R&B/pop trio from New York. Formed in 1990, SWV had a series of hits, including "Weak", "Right Here/Human Nature", "I'm So Into You". The group disbanded in 1999 and pursued solo projects in different genres. SWV is currently ranked #100 on Top 500 Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years They have also gone on to sell over 15 million albums worldwide and 27 million including singles. SWV is also the third highest selling R&B girl group in the world.
SWV (an acronym for Sisters With Voices) was formed by three friends: Cheryl "Coko" Gamble-Clemons, Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons. SWV got their start when they sent a 5 song demo to over 15 major record labels in the U.S. They scored a record deal with RCA Records after producer Teddy Riley, a former member of Guy, heard their demo. With Riley's help, the group's 1992 debut album, It's About Time, went double platinum and produced several Top Ten hits. Initially the girls had named themselves TLC (Taj, Lele & Coko), but were beaten to the name by r&b girl group TLC just 2 weeks earlier. [Wikipedia]

Louis CK - The amazing world we live in

Lucky Louis on Conan O'Brian show. This is soooo true.
I can so relate to this. We never even had a phone until I was about ten years old.
My first flight was when I was in my twenties, and that was not good. It was of course a turbo-prop and we were packed in like sardines for a charter flight (2 weeks in Spain all inclusive for £40 each) and we had to land in Perpignan, France. If you have never landed there it is in a valley and they have to circle downwards to land. And everyone in the plane filled their barf bags. My sister flew in there on her first flight, some twenty years later, and she has never flown since. Now 40+ years later flying is a dream compared to those days. But either of those flights beats the Wagon Train by a mile.
And the concept of the internet being available on a flight, and people complaining because it goes down for a few minutes! Having started working with computers back in 1965 I can certainly relate. Then if the computer went down, it went down, and all you could do was call out for a tech and hope he was close by.

Po'Girl

What beautiful voices these young ladies have.
Po' Girl is a Canadian group whose style derives from jazz, folk, and country with a tinge of punk attitude. The style of music they perform is called "urban roots." Once based in Vancouver they are now back in the Eastern cities of Toronto and Montreal. The group consists of Allison Russell (singer/multi-instrumentalist), Awna Teixeira (singer/multi-instrumentalist), Benny Sidelinger (multi-instrumentalist). Po' Girl's music has been compared with that of The Band, Hazel Dickens,Tracy Chapman, Natalie Merchant,Elizabeth Cotton and Norah Jones. It showcases melodies from instruments as diverse as banjo, clarinet, harmonica, dobro, accordion, gutbucket bass. [Wikipedia]

Po'Girl performs Deer in the Night at Folkonmass House Concert in Lawrence, KS


And from the same concert "Shorty Town".


Want to hear more? Check them out at LastFM.

The Vassarettes

In case you have never heard of them, they are named for Vassarette®. Vassarette® was originally the Vassar-Swiss Underwear Company of Chicago. Who knew?
So anyway I saw a link to this band today, thanks Attu, and as I am always looking for something new in the music world I thought I would check them out. My original thought was that they had this gimmick of being the first bra band, and they probably wouldn't be that good. I was wrong, they sound good.



And just in case the concert vibe was too much for you check them out doing an unplugged version here.

Chinese Bluegrass: Red Chamber紅庭, Jaybirds

Always on the lookout for something different in the music world.
Well how about some good old blue grass, down home music done on some slightly different instruments.
This is really cool. Love it.



Katy Hill performed by Mei Han's Red Chamber with John Reischman and the Jaybirds at Vancouver Community College, May 2nd 2008. REDGRASS CD available at ASZA.
Featuring:
Mei Han - liuqin
John Reischman - mandolin
Trisha Gagnon - bass
Guilian Liu - pipa
Jim Nunally - guitar
Geling Jiang - sanxian
Nick Hornbuckle - banjo
Zhimin Yu - ruan

De Staat - The Fantastic Journey Of The Underground Man

A good sound and a great video. What more can you ask for?
De Staat are a band from Nijmegen, in the Netherlands.
As always if you want to hear some more you can listen to them at LastFM.



Video for De Staat's 'The Fantastic Journey Of The Underground Man'.
Directed by André Maat.
Produced by Pool Worldwide.
Song taken from their debut album 'Wait For Evolution'.
Out on Excelsior Recordings.

Party i Örebro 1993

Hot time in the old town. I was in Örebro once, pretty town. I have a friend from there, that is why I posted this video so he can see it and be homesick. He maybe can then explain to me what is going on.
Inslag om ett dataparty i Örebro 1993. Ur Tvärsnytt 1993-08-06.
Roughly translated "computer party in Örebro in 1993". But I have no idea what Tvärsnytt is. Something night.



Örebro is a city in the province of Närke, in central Sweden. Örebro is the seat of Örebro Municipality and the capital of Örebro County.
Örebro received its Royal Charter and city privileges not later than 1404.
Örebro literally means a bridge over gravel banks, which is how the geography looks, with the stream Svartån draining into the lake Hjälmaren. The location became a natural seat of commerce in the (Scandinavian) medieval time, and is mentioned in print in the 13th century. Old buildings from the early days include the foundations of the city church, a building which has undergone several modifications. The natural center of the city is otherwise the magnificent Örebro Castle, situated on an islet in the Svartån, and dividing the town into a northern and a southern part. This castle was constructed during the stewardship of Birger Jarl during the early 13th century and then modified and enlarged during the reign of King Gustav Vasa in the 1560s. [Wikipedia]

John Hammond

Let's get to the blues today, John Hammond is as fine an exponent of the blues as anyone else you may care to name.

John P. Hammond (born John Paul Hammond, 13 November 1942, New York) is a blues singer and guitarist. He is the son of the famed record producer and talent scout John Henry Hammond, Jr, which makes him a great-great-grandson of William Henry Vanderbilt and a member of the Vanderbilt family.
Hammond usually plays acoustic and National Reso-Phonic guitars and sings in a barrelhouse style. Since 1962, when he made his debut on Vanguard Records, Hammond has made twenty-nine albums. In the 1990s he recorded for the Pointblank record label. Hammond has earned one Grammy Award and been nominated for four others. His latest album, entitled Push Comes to Shove produced by Garrett (G. Love) Dutton, was released in February 2007. He also provided the soundtrack for the 1970 film, Little Big Man, starring Dustin Hoffman.
Although critically acclaimed, Hammond has received only moderate commercial success. Nonetheless, he enjoys a strong fan base and has earned respect from the likes of John Lee Hooker, Roosevelt Sykes, Duane Allman, Robbie Robertson, and Charlie Musselwhite, all of whom have contributed their musical talents to Hammond's records. In addition, he is the only person who ever had both Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix in his band at the same time, even if it was only for five days in the 1960s when Hammond played The Gaslight Cafe in New York. To his regret, they never recorded together. Hammond also deserves some credit for helping boost The Band to wider recognition: he recorded with several of their musicians in 1965, and recommended them to Bob Dylan, with whom they undertook a famed and tumultuous world tour.
Hammond has had a longstanding friendship with the songwriter Tom Waits, and has performed Waits' songs on occasion. For example, in 2001, he released Wicked Grin, an album entirely of Tom Waits compositions with one exception, the traditional spiritual, "I know I've Been Changed." Waits himself provided guitar work and backing vocals as well as producing the project. [Wikipedia]


Walkin' Blues


Come on in my Kitchen


And finally today the Tom Waits classic.
Get behind the Mule

Spy Ware

Laughing my ass off. Here is what the poster has to say about this video.
I could not believe my eyes.
I have a friend who is kind of a conspiracy theorist. He was trying to convince me that the many of the digital TV convert boxes that our coming out have microphones and cameras built into them. Knowing a bit about electronics I bought one of these devices opened it up fully intending on proving him wrong. To my surprise was right. This device has both a miniature camera lens and what looks like a microphone. I was so shocked I took pictures and video Please send this out to every one you know who is using one of these devices.
Hear are the details on the device I bought.
Its the MAGNAVOX TB110MW9 Digital to Analog Converter


Then of course the conspiracy folk got into the act. And I believe they then deleted it when they realized they were being punked. But of course once it's on the internet it never goes away.

Then he follows it up with this one.


Well then I guess the Government is not quite ready yet, so they postponed the switch to June.

Thanks again mechanismstudios, this is priceless.
Thanks [Wired]

Best Speeches

Here is Mickey Rourke's amazing/wonderful acceptance speech upon winning Best Male Lead in the 2009 Film Independent Spirit Awards for his performance in The Wrestler. Uncensored, so cover your ears, kids.
One has to wonder if the thought of this is why he didn't get his much deserved Oscar.


And since he didn't get to make the best Oscar speech of last night, here is the next best thing.

"So heavy. Thank you very much. Thank you, my supporters. Thank you, all my staff. Thank you, my pencil. Thank you, Academy. Thank you, animation. Thank you my company, Robot. Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto. Thank you very much."

Now where have I heard that before?

Leonard Cohen North America Tour dates

Leonard Cohen has finally announced his North American Tour dates. Plus a new CD and DVD to be released next month of his London concert from last year.
Sadly I will have to settle for the CD/DVD, as soon as I found these dates I searched for tickets at my local concert venue in Oakland. That's when I got the bad news, the fat cats in Oakland are gonna make a killing on this show. The cheapest seats in the place, Row Z in the balcony, that's about as far away as you can get from the stage are going for $230 to $233 each. And just for comparison front row in the Orchestra section are a mere $1,280 each. Excuse me but that's fucking ridiculous. At least I have my memories of previous concert with Leonard, The Fox Theatre in Detroit back in 1993 where the tickets were a hell of a lot cheaper and of course the little gig on the Isle of Wight back in 1970.
So now, how can I get my hands on that CD/DVD?

Tour dates for the rich folk out there.

April 2 Austin, TX The Long Center
April 3 Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theatre
April 5 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
April 7 San Diego, CA Copley Symphony Hall
April 10 - 11 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theatre
April 13 - 14 Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre of the Arts
April 17 Indio, CA Coachella
April 19 Vancouver, BC GM Place
April 21 Victoria, BC Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
April 23 Seattle, WA WaMu Theatre at Qwest Field Events Centre
April 25 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
April 26 Calgary, AB Jack Singer Concert Hall
April 28 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
April 30 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
May 3 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre
May 5 - 6 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
May 9 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
May 10 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
May 12 Philadelphia, PA Academy of Music
May 14 Waterbury, CT Palace Theatre
May 16 - 17 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
May 19 Hamilton, ON Copps Coliseum
May 21 Quebec City, QC Pavillon de la Jeunesse
May 22 Kingston, ON Kingston Regional Sports & Ent. Centre
May 24 London, ON John Labatt Centre
May 25 - 26 Ottawa, ON National Arts Centre
May 29 - 30 Boston, MA Wang Theatre
June 2 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre

After thinking about this further I would offer another comparison. A couple of years ago we were in Paris and I took my wife to the Moulin Rouge. She had been so fascinated by the movie that she wanted to see the real place. Well we had a great evening there, a fabulous show we were at the front table and had a tremendous meal complete with a bottle of wine. And the cost of all this? Less than $500 for the pair!!!
True Leonard Cohen wasn't performing, but then again I don't think this show comes on DVD and we couldn't afford to import the French Chefs.

Live remote

OK, so this is what I want. Can you imagine the fun. A remote control for live sounds. I know one thing, the railroad near me would be a heck of a lot quieter.
But this is fun, controlling a live concert.



Advertising Agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin, Germany
Creative Directors: Oliver Handlos, Matthias Spaetgens
Art Director: Michael Schmidt
Copywriter: Caspar Heuss
Director: Alex Feil
Production: Element E
Aired: December 2008

So, do you want one of these? Check out more information here.
LOEWE presented the Reference Mediacenter featuring a hidden CD and Blu-ray/DVD player, an FM-RDS stereo tuner, an analogue audio input, an iPod interface and two USB ports at IFA 2008.

Justin Townes Earle

In some respects, Justin Townes Earle seemed destined from birth to be a musician -- his father, Steve Earle, is one of America's most acclaimed singer/songwriters, and he was named in part for Townes Van Zandt, a close friend and mentor to Earle and an equally legendary tunesmith. But Justin also grew up learning the downside of the musician's life, and came up against some of the same demons that haunted his father. Born in 1982, Justin Townes Earle didn't see much of his dad through most of his childhood; after the release of his first album in 1986, Steve was often on the road, and a serious drug habit sidelined him through much of the early '90s. Despite it all, Justin developed an appetite for music, and in his teens began playing and singing with two different Nashville groups, a rock band called the Distributors and a bluegrass-influenced acoustic combo, the Swindlers. Justin also spent some time as a member of his father's touring band the Dukes, and sang one of his own songs, "The Time You Waste," on Steve's 2003 live album Just an American Boy. But Justin was fired from the Dukes after a dangerous appetite for drugs began interfering with his performances, and Justin told a Los Angeles Times reporter that he suffered his fifth major drug overdose, one which put him in the hospital for several days, when he was only 21. [CMT]

If you like Steve Earl, you are gonna love his son. A true talent. Look out for his new album Midnight at the Movies.

Here he is with an in store performance at Criminal Records, Atlanta, Georgia.
The Ghost of Virginia


From Justin's debut, 'The Good Life,' out now on Bloodshot Records -- An Americana
Music Association 2008 nominee!


Here he is with a performance at Brooklyn Pool, New York.

Balham, gateway to the South

For me it all started with the Goons, I used to listen to them on the radio as a kid. I was always a big fan of Peter Sellers, and really enjoyed most of what he did with the possible exception of the Pink Panther movies. This is a track from one of his LP's "The Best of Sellers" from 1959. This one always tickled me, because Balham is nothing like the description he gives on the record. Anyway see what you think about it.


Nobody was safe from the wit of Peter Sellers, in this clip he tags Shakespeare, Sir Laurence Olivier and the Beatles in one swift blow.


His finest hour, and one of the funniest movies ever. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. This is the US President talking to the Russian President about who is sorriest.


Then in 1980, a little while before he passed on, he did these commercials for Barclays Bank.


Two other movies of Peter Sellers I would recommend to you all are Never Let Go, in which he plays a straight role, no comedy in this one in fact he is a really scary psychopath. My other selection would be The Mouse That Roared, another gem that was before it's time. I'm sure the idea has been copied by various countries since.

Andrew Bird revisited

For those of you who don't know about Andrew Bird (those few people who live under rocks) here is how Wikipedia describes him.
Andrew Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Chicago and currently splits his time between Chicago and a farm near the town of Elizabeth in northwest Illinois. His musical proficiency includes competency in the violin, whistling, guitar, mandolin, and glockenspiel.
Trained in the Suzuki method from the age of four, Bird first attended Illinois Wesleyan University but graduated from Illinois' Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in violin performance in 1996. That same year he self-released his first solo album, Music of Hair. Vastly different from his later work, this album showcased his violin skills and paid tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues. Following this, his initial commercial exposure came through collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers, appearing on three of their albums (Hot, Sold Out, and Perennial Favorites) between 1996 and 1998. [Read more]
Here's something we don't see enough of. Two maestros get together and improvise.
Wow! Check it out, Yo Yo Ma and Andrew Bird.


And here is Andrew Bird on David Letterman. Is there anything he can't play?


And finally today, here he is giving a great performance of "Measuring Cups" on French TV.

Brilliance Personified

Matt Elliott is a guitarist and singer from Bristol, UK, who plays dark folk music. He also produced and recorded under the name ‘The Third Eye Foundation’.
Matt Elliott started recording with the band 'Linda's Strange Vacation' which included Kate Wright (Movietone) & Rachel Brook (Movietone/Flying Saucer Attack) around the same time Kate & Rachel formed Movietone, Brook & Dave Pearce formed Flying Saucer Attack & Elliott would be a part time member of both bands
He Recorded his first album under the name 'The Third Eye Foundation': 'Semtex' & released it on his own label 'Linda's Strange Vacation' with the help of the fledgling Domino Records
The next 3 albums proper were released on Domino Records in 97, 98 & 2000
As Third Eye Foundation Matt Elliott worked with bands including Hood, Yann Tiersen, Mogwai, Tarwater, The Pastels, Navigator, Urchin, Suncoil Sect, Remote Viewer, Thurston Moore, primarily as a remixer & in 2001 a compilation of remixes was released
In 2003 he released his first album under his name Matt Elliott, 'The Mess we Made'
The next 3 albums were released as a trilogy on French label 'Ici D'ailleurs'
[Wikipedia]

The album I am listening to is "Howling Songs". Utterly fantastic.
Why is this guy not a superstar? Not paparazzi fodder.

The Kübler-Ross model


I name this ship the Tragedy bless her

Miranda Lee Richards - Early November

First up I have to give a big thank you to Bolachas whose web-site review intrigued me enough to investigate this young lady. This album is totally awesome, so laid back and pleasant.

Miranda Lee Richards (born April 4, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter.
Her 2001 release The Herethereafter included original compositions such as "The Beginner" as well as a cover of The Rolling Stones 1967 single "Dandelion". Her single "The Long Goodbye" reached into the top five in Japan, and the music video for this song was in heavy rotation on MTV Japan.
Miranda Lee Richards grew up in San Francisco, the daughter of comic book artists Ted and Teresa Richards. She attended a performing arts high school, and then took up modeling after graduation. She moved to Paris to continue her modeling career, and hated it, moving back to San Francisco. She met Kirk Hammett of Metallica through a friend, and he gave her guitar lessons and taught her to play Mazzy Star songs. She recorded some demos in her basement which reached the ears of Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, who she joined briefly. After leaving them, she moved to Los Angeles, living in a tent out of a friend's backyard, while she met the many musicians who would grace her debut. [Wikipedia]

Check out the brand new video for "Early November" from Miranda Lee Richards. The single is off the BRAND NEW album, LIGHT OF X, available everywhere NOW!
LA residents - be sure to check out Miranda at Spaceland every Tuesday in February! Look for the album on Nettwerk.


Here Miranda explains the meaning of her new album, and a bit about her background.

Get you some drink

The koala story of the year. This is just too beautiful to just pass by. Normally koala's don't drink that much, they get their liquid from the Eucalyptus tree leaves which is their staple diet.
Good on ya mate to CFA firefighter David Tree who shared his water with the injured Australian Koala at Mirboo North after wildfires swept through the region.



John Campbell (New Zealand, TV3) reports on a rare good news story from the deadliest natural disaster in Australian history.

Idan Raichel's Project

Idan Raichel (Hebrew: עידן רייכל‎, b. September 12, 1977) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and a musician, widely acclaimed in Israel for his Idan Raichel Project (Hebrew: הפרוייקט של עידן רייכל), distinctive for its fusion of electronics, traditional Hebrew texts, Middle Eastern and Ethiopian music. Prior to the Project, Raichel was a keyboardist, collaborating with top artists such as Ivri Lider. His total sales stand at over 220,000 records in Israel and abroad. [Wikipedia]
Once again I have to thank my friend Hannibal for introducing me to another great world music record.
The Idan Raichel Project is a remarkable Israeli-Ethiopian collaborative that has become the biggest commercial success on the Israeli music scene in recent years.
Their albums are released on the Cumbancha label.
Check out their sounds.

Mima'amakim


If You Go


Ayal Ayale

Doctor Who on Twin Teslas

Saturday Jan 24 2009 ArcAttack performed at Chattacon 2009. Here they do the Doctor Who Theme on Twin Tesla Coils.
Awesome, takes me back to the early days of Doctor Who which was always on Saturday Night in the UK.
As soon as the music started my son would hide behind the couch, and he would only watch it by peeking around the couch.
I can't remember if it was the first or the second Doctor, it was in the mid sixties, probably the second one.
I wonder if he still watches it today?



Creators of the original Singing Tesla Coils, the crew of ArcAttack uses high tech wizardry to present music in a whole new light.
ArcAttack employs a unique DJ set up of their own creation (an HVDJ set up) to generate an 'electrifying' audio visual performance. The HVDJ pumps music through a PA System while two specially designed DRSSTC's (Dual-Resonant Solid State Tesla Coils) act as separate synchronized instruments.
These high tech machines produce an electrical arc similar to a continuous lightning bolt which put out a crisply distorted square wave sound reminiscent of the early days of synthesizers. The music consists of original highly dance-able electronic compositions that sometimes incorporates themes or dub of popular songs.
Joe DiPrima and Oliver Greaves are the masterminds behind the design and construction of the Tesla Coils while the music is developed by John DiPrima and Tony Smith. [ArcAttack]

Beerbottle Dominos

Check out this really cool video of beer bottles (ølflasker) being tumbled for a good cause. From what I can understand, my Danish was never that good, this was done by a bunch of mathematicians in Hulen, Denmark. I believe no Elephants were hurt in the course of this. It's amazing what some friends will do to get a pal a beer.
Hulen is situated in Dronninglund, Nordjylland, Denmark, its geographical coordinates are 57° 11' 0" North, 10° 16' 0" East and its original name (with diacritics) is Hulen.



Here is the original Danish description. Involverende en hulens masse ølflasker, en håndfuld matematikere, Uls sovepose, vores allesammens undlingsfrebar Caféen? og absolut _ingen_, jeg gentager _ingen_ offensive symboler! Thanks to Matematikrevyen for sharing this gem.

Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp this English electronic duo, formed in 1999, consists of singer-songwriter and musician Alison Goldfrapp and musician/producer Will Gregory. Prior to the band, Alison guested as a vocalist and songwriter with Tricky, Orbital, and Peter Gabriel, among others.
Goldfrapp’s 2000 debut album Felt Mountain featured minimalist electronic compositions that consisted of downtempo structures, classical sounding arrangements of strings and light, airy synths alongside Alison’s sleek, soft vocals.

Deep honey

Goldfrapp live at somerset house (07-13-2003) on the Black Cherry Tour. Alison Goldfrapp(voices) Angie Pollock(synth) Rowan Oliver (viola) Charlie Jones(bass) Davide Rossi (violin).

Yes Sir, I can Boogie

Two more versions below.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Dance music in the 21st Century.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979 in Middlesex, England) is a Multi-Platinum selling English pop singer and songwriter. Her music is a combination of mainstream pop, disco and 80s electronic influences.
She used to be in a band called “theaudience”, which had a couple of U.K. top 40 hits, and a top 20 albums, but disbanded after that. After, she rose to fame as the guest vocalist on the #1 (UK and Australia among others) track "If This Ain’t Love" in 2000 and since then has had much solo success, top 10 U.K. songs include:

Murder On The Dancefloor


Yes Sir, I can Boogie

See below for original 70's version.

Baccara

Let's go for some 70's nostalgia. Some true Euro-pop.
Baccara were a very popular Spanish dance-pop duo in the late seventies. The group consisted of Mayte Mateus (born Matee Matheos on 7 March 1951), and María Mendiola (born Marie Mendiola on 4 May 1952). Their music was a blend of pop and disco, with lyrics in English sung with the peculiar Spanish accent of the two singers.
Baccara’s most famous hits were “Sorry I’m a lady” and “Yes sir, I can boogie”, both of which topped the charts during 1977 in some European countries, including the United Kingdom.

Granada


Yes Sir, I Can Boogie

Fever

"Fever" is a song credited to Eddie Cooley and "John Davenport" (a pseudonym for Otis Blackwell). The song was a rhythm and blues hit for Little Willie John that crossed over and became a pop standard after being transformed, with additional lyrics, by Peggy Lee. In the interim, Ray Peterson and Earl Grant had singles of the song which became regional hits.
It was published in 1956 and originally recorded as a hit by Little Willie John that also made the popular charts as an early Rock'n'Roll song. In 1958, Peggy Lee's cover version was even more popular. The song became a signature song for Peggy Lee.
Elvis Presley recorded a near identical version to Lee's two years later for his 1960 album, Elvis Is Back!. [Wikipedia]

There are at least 88 recorded versions of this by 88 different singers. Don't worry they are not all here. Just 8, 2 guys and 6 gals. Pick your favorite.

Elvis Presley

Updated 1-5-2012 for the one that was removed.

Peggy Lee


Beyonce


Rita Moreno and Animal (From the Muppets)


Christina Aguilera


Hildegard Knef

Also updated 1-5-2012.

Nina Hagen


Michael Buble

Thriller - Jake Shimabukuro

For someone who is not a fan of Wacko Jacko I sure have lots of versions of Thriller on this blog.
But it is an interesting tune, and the video was groundbreaking. It would seem it has a life of it's own
Here is Jake Shimabukuro's version on ukulele performed live on KFOG's morning show. Jake has to be the premier ukulele player in the world.

Natacha Atlas

Natacha Atlas (Arabic: نتاشا أطلس‎; born March 20, 1964) is a Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and North African music with Western electronic music. She once termed her music "cha'abi moderne" (an updated form of Egyptian pop music). Her music has been influenced by many styles including Arabesque music, drum 'n' bass and reggae.
[Wikipedia]
I have to give a big thank you to my friend Hannibal from Hungary for introducing me to Natacha, no I didn't really meet her, I mean introducing me to her sound. Just amazing. Her sound is just an evocative glimpse into the middle east.

Natacha Atlas's cover of "I put a spell on you" with Sonia's belly dance

The original of course was by Screaming Jay Hawkins.

And from the old musical "Damn Yankees" the irresistible "Whatever Lola Wants". This is a clip from the movie of the same name.


And finally her very unique version of the Jacques Brel classic Ne Me Quitte Pas

The Guggenheim Grotto

Here's a band I have been following for a while.
I had read somewhere they counted Leonard Cohen as one of their influences, which was enough to raise my antenna.
The video is pretty cool too, reminiscent of early Peter Gabriel and / or Talking Heads.

Check out the music video for the song "Her Beautiful Ideas" by The Guggenheim Grotto from their new album "Happy the Man."
The Guggenheim Grotto is a Dublin, Ireland based band whose music is a decidedly upbeat mix of timeless pop, folk and soaring melodies.
More information.
Courtesy of United For Opportunity




Produced, Edited and Directed by Aaron Copeland and Johnny Fitzsimons.

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is a multi-Grammy winning, primarily instrumental group from the USA, that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion and jazz, sometimes dubbed "blu-bop." The band formed in 1988, initially to perform once on the PBS series Lonesome Pine Specials. The Flecktones have toured extensively since then, often playing over 200 concerts per year. Each of the current members of the quartet has released at least one solo album. The band's name is a play on the name of the 1960s rock band Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. [Wikipedia]

The band consists of Béla Fleck, Victor Wooten, Future Man and Jeff Coffin.

Lover's Leap - live at the Quick


And this track has to be my all time favorite. It is the track that turned me on to Béla Fleck. I will be eternally grateful to the lady who ran "The Wooden Nickel" in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I was a regular, but never knew her name, and she asked me one day if I had heard this CD "Béla Fleck and the Flecktones". She played me a track, called Sinister Minister. And that was it I was and still am hooked on Béla Fleck.

Sinister Minister Recorded on July 4th 1998 at the Spectrum de Montreal during the Jazz Club du Maurier series of the 19th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal.
Part one

Part two

The day You Tube died

While I was preparing the previous post I ran into an all to frequent event.
You Tube had removed a video I had linked to. Here.
All because of the greed of the Music companies.
I take my hat off to gogonotcrycry for her videos regarding the stupidity and greed of the WMG and others.
Who knows, maybe they are just hinting for a bailout from the government.

The Day The Music Died - 50 years ago

The Day the Music Died refers to a plane crash occurring just after 1:00 a.m. local time on February 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa, United States. The crash killed three American rock and roll musicians: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson. The term was popularized by Don McLean in his 1971 song "American Pie".

"The Winter Dance Party" was a tour that was set to cover 24 Midwestern cities in three weeks. A logistical problem with the tour was the amount of travel, as the distance between venues was not a priority when scheduling each performance. For example, the tour would start at venue A, travel 200 miles to venue B, and travel back 170 miles to venue C, which was only 30 miles from venue A. Adding to the disarray, the tour bus used to carry the musicians was ill-prepared for the weather; its heating system broke shortly after the tour began. Drummer Carl Bunch developed a severe case of frostbitten feet while on the bus and was taken to a local hospital. As he recovered, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens took turns with the drums.

The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa was never intended to be a stop on the tour, but promoters, hoping to fill an open date, called the manager of the ballroom at the time and offered him the show. He accepted and the date of the show was set for February 2.

By the time Buddy Holly arrived at the ballroom that evening, he was frustrated with the tour bus and told his bandmates that, once the show was over, they should try to charter a plane to get to the next stop on the tour, Moorhead, Minnesota. According to VH-1's Behind the Music: The Day the Music Died, Holly was also upset that he had run out of clean undershirts, socks, and underwear. He needed to do some laundry before the next performance, and the local laundromat in Clear Lake was closed that day.

Flight arrangements were made with Roger Peterson, 21, a local pilot who worked for Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, Iowa. A fee of $36 per person was charged for the single engine Beechcraft Bonanza B35 (V-tail), registration N3794N (later reassigned). The Bonanza could seat three passengers in addition to the pilot.

Richardson had developed a case of the flu during the tour and asked one of Holly's bandmates, Waylon Jennings, for his seat on the plane; Jennings agreed to give up the seat. When Holly learned that Jennings wasn't going to fly, he said, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up." Jennings responded, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes." This exchange of words, though made in jest at the time, haunted Jennings for the rest of his life.

Ritchie Valens had never flown in a small plane before, and asked Holly's remaining bandmate on the plane, Tommy Allsup, for the seat. Tommy said "I'll flip ya for the remaining seat." Contrary to what is seen in biographical movies, that coin toss did not happen at the airport shortly before takeoff, nor did Buddy Holly toss it. The toss happened at the ballroom shortly before departure to the airport, and the coin was tossed by a DJ who was working the concert that night. Valens won a seat on the plane.

Dion DiMucci of Dion & The Belmonts, who was the fourth headline performer on the tour, was approached to join the flight as well; however, the price of $36 was too much. Dion had heard his parents argue for years over the $36 rent for their apartment and could not bring himself to pay an entire month's rent for a short plane ride. [Wikipedia]

The Plane Crash in 1959, The day the music died.


Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform Peggy Sue live In New York On American Bandstand. In A Rare Video.


Ritchie Valens sings Donna, I cannot find any vidoe of Ritchie performing. I don't think it is appropriate to use any of the clips from the movie. Although Lou Diamond Phillips did a good job in the movie, his singing was not Ritchie.


The Big Bopper on Dick Clarkes Bandstand.


Related Buddy Holly posts:
The 49th anniversary
When Buddy met Elvis
World Tour 1958
My first rock n roll concert

Jason Bajada - Ten Days In Miami

After two independent albums, Puer Dolor and Up Go The Arms, Montreal singer-songwriter Jason Bajada has joined MapleMusic Recordings for the release of his third album Loveshit. Though the first two albums earned him accolades as one of Montreal’s best songwriters, listeners will be privy to Bajada’s best work yet with Loveshit. “This really does feel like a first record because the other ones were never quite what I was looking for. With this one we nailed it,” says Bajada. “I’m happy with what comes out of the speakers now.”
A heartfelt portrait of a rollercoaster relationship and its demise, the album showcases Bajada’s knack for dealing in dark subject matter, while delivering catchy pop melodies. Indeed, music blog More Nights notes that his live show is “full of sad songs, but somehow always manages to put a smile on my face.” These mesmerizing performances have landed him sold-out shows, headlining slots in Berlin and the opening spot on a tour with Quebec superstars Dumas and Charlebois, including two nights at famed Paris venues La Cigale and Le Bataclan.
[Maple Music Recordings]
Jason Bajada is another new name to me. I like this video, and the song. Unusual concept. But I have to wonder if they really thought about the CD title? Is it pronounced "Loves hit" or "Love shit"? Your call.