Damn, we lost Farah Fawcett today and now The King Of Pop has passed away. Crazy... Here he is at his peak moonwalking and everything.
Sure he got a little nutty later in life, but he was an incredible talent in his day, and that's the Michael I was a fan of.
Here's Depeche Mode in a live performance on the UK tv show "Later With Jools Holland" from last May.
They still rock.
This cop can dance like it's nobody's business!
Hat tip to Mitchieville, who must have known I was overdue for some funny.
P.S. The song is "Nobody" by The Wonder Girls.
I usually post a babe and a music clip every Friday, just to get the weekend started with something fun. This week I'm taking care of both with one post. A catchy pop tune sung by a hot chick with a music video that looks like it was shot at the Playboy mansion.
What's not to like?
UPDATE: Embedding is blocked, so you'll have to click through to YouTube to see the video. I'd say it's worth the trip though.
UPDATE: I added a few sexy pictures of Katy just for the heck of it.
Here's the original version of "Gin And Juice" from Snoop D O double G, (complete with the NSFW explicit lyrics).
Now, if rap isn't your thing, maybe you should check out this redneck/hillbilly cover version by The Gourds, also with explicit lyrics, but with much more twang:
I think they're both pretty fantastic.
It's been a slow weekend news-wise, so here's a bonus music clip, one of my favorite Beatles tunes:
Favorite Beatles album? Hard call, but "Abbey Road" would certainly be vying for first place.
Electronic musician BT (Brian Transeau) with vocals by Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing from BT's album "Movement In Still Life":
The lyrics make no sense whatsoever, but that's part of the fun I guess. Cool tune.
If you dig this one you might also want to check out "Superfabulous" (featuring vocals by the lovely Rose McGowan) and "Somnambulist".
Since it's a holiday weekend, here's a bonus tune for ya. Gratis.
Tell me that doesn't have the perfect vibe for a nice backyard barbeque?
I know... you're thinking "that's The Beastie Boys?", but they really are very talented musicians. This one sounds like an homage to Santana if you ask me.
Fabulous track.
How's about some glam rock to help start your weekend?
Works for me. Great tune.
We're going old school again, with an instrumental hip hop jam from back when I lived in "tha hood".
Great tune. Mantonix could really put it together like nobody else.
If you like this one you'll also want to check out "Music Madness".
This is just brilliant.
The creator of this clip sampled audio and video from numerous YouTube clips submitted by other people and then combined them all into one song and video.
I'm really impressed. These people probably had no idea their clip would be used this way, and that's the beauty of it. Wouldn't you love to see the look on their faces when they see what somebody made with their little video?
There are several more tracks availble on the ThruYou website.
One of the greatest and most popular jazz tunes of all time.
Fabulous musicians all around. Dave is the guy on the piano. Check out his "Kathy's Waltz" for the sunshiney flipside to the smokey midnight vibe of "Take Five".
Here's a great way to start your sunny Sunday:
I heard the chorus in the Days Inn TV commercial, and thought it was a cute song my wife and daughter would enjoy. I like it too. What can I say? I'm a sucker for stuff like this.
My favorite band is Depeche Mode, and during their heyday they released an album called "Music For The Masses". The cover art, designed by Martyn Atkins, featured orange loudspeakers broadcasting the band's music from various locales:
The art for the accompanying singles "Strangelove" and "Never Let Me Down Again" also featured the speakers, but with the catalog numbers (BONG13 and BONG14) stenciled along the rim of the speaker:
I'm not really sure what the BONG thing means, some inside joke I'm sure, but they've been using it on all their singles since the very beginning. These iconic loudspeakers were also present in all the music videos for this album and hanging from atop the stage during the tour that summer.
Fast forward twenty years and now I'm a grown man converting my basement into a man cave and looking for some decorations to put in my game room.
Hey! Wouldn't it be cool to have one of those BONG PA speakers hanging up in here?
My uncle Jimbo just happens to be a fantastic artist, so once he agreed to help me I knew it was a done deal.
MAKING THE BONG:
First I found an old horn style loudpseaker on Ebay. It was a little dinged up, but that only made it look more authentic, like it had been on tour with the band or something.
At Jimbo's direction I sanded it smooth and primed it, then we spray-painted it orange. Jimbo's mad art skillz allowed him to created a stencil template in CorelDraw that was perfectly adjusted for the curvature of the horn.
Jimbo removed the stencil and touched up the lettering, then we applied a coat of satin clearcoat for protection.
Once the BONG was finished I designed a bracket to hang it in the corner up near the ceiling, and had a local hitch shop fabricate it for me. I mounted the bracket into the masonry with lag bolts, attached the speaker and viola, instant Depeche Mode shrine!
It's one of the coolest things I own. Thanks Jimbo!
The speaker is still functional and one of these days I'm going to rig up some sound effect or music clip to play from that thing when I press a little hidden button. Perhaps an air raid siren at high volume? A short clip from the BONG 13 single "Strangelove"? Maybe a really obscene fart sound? The possibilities are endless...
Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Welcome To The Pleasuredome album from 1984 still stands up well if you can get past the "gay thing" and the group's over the top campy style. Fortunately I have no problem with either and so I get to appreciate the great musicianship, great production by Trevor Horn, and what may be the perfect time capsule of 80's.
This was their one big hit in the US, but the title track Welcome The The Pleasure Dome and the subsequent album's Watching The Wildlife also deserve a listen IMHO.
It's time for another music clip, and I'm in a swinging mood, so here's an oldie.
This was featured in a Lexus commercial a few years back if I recall. Great singer, great arrangement by Stan Kenton, and a great band.
Here's some nice jazz for a mellow Easter Sunday.
Those guys are really talented musicians. They make it look so easy. Notice how the guitarists switch parts in the middle without missing a beat.
They have lot's of great tunes, but not many of them seem to be on YouTube. I did find one other song from this performance though, so click over and check out "Playing For Time" if you like their sound.
UPDATE: I also found "The Beautiful Game", "Panama Cat", and "Wind Of Change" from this same show at St. Lucia in Jamaica.
I've been a fan of Depeche Mode for decades now (man, I'm really getting old), so a new album by my favorite band is a real event.
Today I was lucky enough to score a bootleg copy of their upcoming "Sounds Of The Universe" release off the 'net and I just gave it a thorough listen on my Bose headphones. Here is my take on my favorite tracks so far, the lyrics for those songs, and sample MP3 audio clips you can check out:
"PERFECT"
This is THE stand out track on the album for me. It would seem to have been inspired by Martin's recent divorce. Strife and turmoil make for good art don't they? I really like the nice easy tempo, good rythym, great electronic vibe, and the wistfully sweet chorus. Hopefully this will be a single so we get to hear some remixes.
On another world by another star at another place in time
In another state of consciousness in another state of mindEverything was almost perfect
Everything fell into place,
The jury reached a different verdict,
Before the judge dismissed the caseIn a parallel universe
that’s happening right now
Things between us must be worse
but it’s hard to see just howAnd everything could have been perfect
Everything in the right place
Then I wouldn’t have to play the suspect
Accused, abandoned and disgracedI didn’t choose, I didn’t pull the trigger
It wasn’t me, I’m just a plain and simple singer
I heard the sound, I turned my head around
To watch our love shot downIn another lonely universe,
we're laying side by side
And no one's hurt and no one's cursed
And no one needs to hideAnd everything is almost perfect
Everything is almost right
There are never any conflicts
There are never any fights
This song is a classic of the early 90's Industrial music scene. The video... not so much. Pay attention to the music and ignore the cheesy visuals if you will.
Great rythyms, cool electronic vibe, and a bad attitude... What more could you want in a band?
Okay... I suppose better taste in music video directors would have been nice.
Coldplay's "Clocks" is a really great song, and this remix takes it in a completely new direction.
At first I didn't know what to think, but it's kind of growing on me... What do YOU think?
Mellow bossa nova flavored electronic music with vocals by a German woman?
Not bad...
I was in eighth grade when this record came out. I can still remember seeing the video on TV at my friend Gary's house early one morning as we were getting ready to walk over to school. It was mind blowing. A great pop song with a hard rock attitude and... and, well damn those dudes were just so frickin' COOL!
For the next year or two I simply wanted to BE Def Leppard's lead guitarist Phil Collen. I wanted to wear those clothes, be that cool, play that sweet black guitar and rock that hard. Was there another album released in 1983? If so I must have missed it. This was THE album of the year for me, without a doubt.
While perusing the random websites featured in Typepad's Recently Updated Weblogs list, I stumbled across a cool blog that featured some fresh new tunes. Here's one that caught my ear.
The sound reminds me of Phoenix and Talk Talk with a little Peter Gabriel sprinkled on top, and the video has some major Flock Of Seagulls meets Sgt. Pepper's mojo. Oh well, I'm a sucker for a good pop tune, especially one with an 80's vibe.
Here's the lyrics if you care to know them. I had to look them up, because the singers pronunciation had me mystified as to the chorus.
Walking on a dream
How can I explain
Talking to myself
Will I see againWe are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it
On and on and on we are calling out and out again
Never looking down I’m just in awe of what’s in front of meIs it real now
When two people become one
I can feel it
When two people become oneThought I’d never see
The love you found in me
Now it’s changing all the time
Living in a rhythm where the minutes working overtimeCatch me I’m falling down
Catch me I’m falling downDon’t stop just keep going on
I’m your shoulder lean upon
So come on deliver from inside
All we got is tonight that is right till first light
I checked out the rest of the album and there were several other good tracks. This one's a keeper.
UPDATE: Here's the video for "We Are The People."
Now that I can finally look outside and see the ground without two feet of snow on top of it, it's time to roll out the Led Zeppelin, which always makes me think of summertime. Here's one of my favorites:
If you are so inclined, check out the original version by Robert Johnson recorded in 1937.
French Indie rockers Phoenix are one of my favorite bands. I really enjoy their mellow 70's-80's vibe and the summery sheen over most of their songs.
Exit Question: When it's 90° out will I be posting music with a wintery feel?
I can recall seeing the Geico Caveman airport TV spot for the first time and thinking "Man, I've got to get that tune!". Well, after a little Google-ing I found the name of the band (Röyksopp) and had the MP3 in no time flat.
I don't think they ever made an official video, but luckily somebody put the song to some footage of Lamborghini's racing around and put it on YouTube, so here goes:
Still a great tune. The lyrics make no sense at all, but then again English is probably not their native tongue. Röyksopp is from the Norwegian town of Tromsø, way up in the Arctic Circle, where I bet they are even more anxious for summer than I am.
UPDATE: Found a sweet panoramic photo of Tromsø. Looks chilly, but highly defensible should anyone care to invade. Click to embiggen.
UPDATE: Here's a link to the official video, which is for the "Someone Else's Radio Remix" version of the song. The video is a pretty unique style of technical animation. I belive it is by Tomas Nilsson, or at least it looks like his work. You can buy the remix on Amazon for $0.99.
Okay. I'm really going to feature some major tolerance and diversity on this one... A French band singing in Japanese, with a video featuring lesbian ballerinas.
F.Y.I. The dancers make out for a moment at about 1:35, in case you want to skip (or skip to) that part.
Air is one of my favorite bands. They have a mellow 70's vibe that warms up their electronic sound nicely. Other recommended tracks include Modular Mix (great homemade video!), La Femme D'argent, and Cherry Blossom Girl (which features some nudity btw).
Ulrich Schnauss is an avant-garde electronic musician from Germany. This is my favorite track from his 2001 album "Far Away Trains Passing By".
I got my teenage daughter hooked on Ulrich Schnauss's music, and now she listens to it constantly on her MP3 player. In fact, it inspired an interest in all things German, and she recently began learing the language. Pretty cool...
I've gotten some ribbing for the last couple of tunes I posted being light and poppy or even a little feminine, so now I'll go the opposite direction. Nitzer Ebb is pretty hateful and venemous souding by comparison, and never more so than in "Hearts And Minds".
Those guys could really kick some ass in the studio. Listen to the sinister souding break at 2:55, that's some awesome industrial soundscape right there. Twenty years old and still a great jam.
So, I've been posting a variety of cool tunes via YouTube and I decided it was time for some classic 80's stuff. So, I went searching for a video for "Perfect Way" by Scritti Politti. I couldn't find the actual video anywhere, but I did stumble across this bit of wierdness:
Now, on one hand I'm glad to have all the lyrics, because some of them had never made sense to me and I'm grateful for twenty four years of confusion being put to an end. On the other hand, what the hell is up with the Japanese? Sure the chick dancing is kinda cute, but a maid costume with pink fluffy ears and paws? I just don't get it...
I believe Japanese people are descended from aliens from outer space. Let me know if you've got a better explanation.
P.S. Don't miss Frankie Goes To Hollywood "Two Tribes", The Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams, Depeche Mode "Just Can't Get Enough" or the Duran Duran "Girls On Film" videos by the space aliens while you're getting your freaky deaky on. Don't click on the J Geils "Centerfold" link though... that is liable to get you arrested.
It's 14° outside my house... I'm sick and tired of snow and cold and rock salt coating my truck and summer can't get here fast enough.
UPDATE: I guess embedding is disabled on this clip, so just CLICK HERE and watch it on YouTube.
Great song.
Here's one of my favorite old school hip hop tracks from "back in tha day". Listen for the awesome break twenty seven seconds in.
Back when this record was released I was finishing up high school, and living in "tha hood". I wasn't a fan of Just-Ice so much as I was a fan of his producer Mantronix's complex beats and chopped up electro style.
Good tunes, good times.
Nick Gillespie at Big Hollywood does a great job explaining why nobody should give a crap about "The Boss" or his upcoming (and inevitably lame) Superbowl halftime show:
[...] Here’s a guy who went from making love in the dirt with Crazy Janey out behind the dynamo off of the backstreets near Thunder Road during the freaking Ford and Carter years to bitching and moaning about unemployment and factory shutdowns during the booming 1990s, when his entire musical universe was populated by hobos walking along highways with hats in hand and mumbling about unions, Pinkertons, and the WPA. Like most self-absorbed rock stars, the turning point came early, the moment he started writing songs about how hard it was to be…a rock star.
Be sure to go read the rest. It's way past time we put Springsteen out to pasture.
Recoil is the solo project of former Depeche Mode sound wizard Alan Wilder. His 1992 album Bloodline is a masterpiece of electronic music, and was years ahead of it's time. One of my favorite tracks from Bloodline is "Edge To Life", featuring vocals by Curve's Toni Halliday.
They never made a video for this song, so I whipped one up with PhotoStory. Nothing elaborate, just the photos and graphics from the album cover. Check it out:
UPDATE: Embedding the video was causing some browsers to crash, so I changed it to just a link.
I still love that track, even sixteen years after it's release. Kudos to you Mr. Wilder.
Electronica + bossa nova + Astrud Gilberto = magic.
It has a very summery mood, which is something I could use about now, since it's only 11° outside.
P.S. The vocals on "The Garden" are taken from Gilberto's track "Berimbau".
Who said rock 'n roll was dead? Oh yeah, it was Lenny Kravitz... Well, he's wrong. Here's proof.
Kind of glam rock-ish isn't it? I think they are like Queen plus Gary Glitter with a little dash of early U2 every now and then. Other good songs to check out are "Starlight" and "Map Of The Problematique".
Oh great, a confluence of my favorite band and my least favorite politician... Here's an excerpt from a recent interview with Depeche Mode's Andrew Fletcher:
Q: In the studio, a "No On Prop 8" sign can be seen taped to one of the studio windows (this is a reference to the California proposition against gay marriage). On the sign is written the tag line "Unfair & Wrong". The first single is called "Wrong". Coincidence?
A: There is no coincidence. "Wrong" was actually written before that. An interesting thing was that in Santa Barbara, our studio was right next to the Obama headquarters. We actually nipped next door, and got some freebies, so we had badges and everything. It was quite cool.
Q: Are any of you actually registered to vote in the US?
A: We're all British citizens.
Q: Was there any sort of thought to persuade fans, or is it just that the band had an opinion, and nothing more?
A: You have to remember that Dave lives in America, and is married to an American. Martin was married to an American. I'm really into politics. We were quite aware of Obama, and the whole election was happening while we were in America. We were very pro-Obama, and we felt the excitement.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am still a little bit disappointed. First because I've never known the band to talk politics before, and second because I'd assumed their years in America and seeing the differences from the UK would have taken some of the luster off of big state Socialism. Not so much I guess...
Maybe they are like most other liberals I've met, intellectual lightweights who are ruled by their emotions... I don't know what Obama's ever accomplished, he just makes me feel good. Perhaps they'd like to feel more at home when they're over here with lot's of people "on the dole". Or are they are like most other celebrities appear to be, vapid airheads who go along with whatever happens to be cool at the moment? Obama would certainly qualify, he's the new "in thing" isn't he? He's almost a cult figure, a new messiah for the masses of dumbasses.
I love the band for the music, so I guess their political naïveté should be irrelevant to me, but I'd still prefer to enjoy their political silence from now on.
One of my all time favorite albums is Depeche Mode's 1986 masterpiece "Black Celebration". I was in high school and already a big fan of the band, but when I heard that album it was so much richer than anything they'd done before that I became forever hooked on their sound.
I've been posting YouTube clips of some of my favorite songs, but I couldn't find a good video of this one anywhere, so I quickly put together my own little clip using Microsoft PhotoStory and the various pictures and icons featured on the album cover. Nothing too artistic, but it conveys the mood of the album and the aesthetic of the time I guess, and the main thing I wanted to share was just the music anyways.
Then of course the upload was rejected by YouTube due to their copyright policy, which explains why I couldn't find any clips already available I suppose. This quick little project was becoming a pain in the butt, but since the clip was already done I decided to just host the file right here on the blog. This is the first time I've tried to host & embed a multimedia clip on Typepad, so apologies if it's buggy or slow to load.
UPDATE: Embedding the video was causing some browsers to crash, so I changed it to just a link.
Depeche Mode - Black Celebration 320.wmv
Great album, great tune, great band. At least that's my opinion. What do you think?
P.S. While I had the pictures up I decided to go ahead and whip out a video for "Here Is The House", which was my second favorite song from the album and also has no good representation on YouTube.
Another song I just can't get tired of. Featured in the Doubletree hotels "Branches" TV commercial, and now featured on my Zune about every other day.
You like? I knew you would. Fun song.
P.S. Googlers searching for the MP3 file of this song should just go to Amazon and buy it for $0.99 like I did. It's an easy way to snag those hard to find tunes.
Good stuff. Trust me, just give a listen.
Kind of like a new Marvin Gaye track isn't it? I'm loving this tune.
Here's the most recent song I just can't get out of my head...
Ha ha! Now you've got it stuck in YOUR head too!
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