Back when I was a young lady, I would tune the radio dial to 105.3, Live 105. In the early eighties that was all I listened to, and lovely music like this track, from The Jam, would emanate from the speakers, and I would wonder about British boys, so far away, worrying about their mums. Paul Weller's lyrics were so poignant and beautiful, drawing the picture of the hard life that existed for many of Britain's working class during the Thatcher era:
Rows and rows of disused milk floats Stand dying in the dairy yard And a hundred lonely housewives clutch empty milk Bottles to their hearts Hanging out their old love letters on the line to dry
So I shall give one to you! It's kind of a anthropomorphized one, which is a bit My Little Ponyish, but whatev. I never got into unicorns, or horses, or ponies, and I was too old for My Little Pony. That was all my sister's action. Me, I was all about the books, and Barbie, for way too long. I don't know what the deal was with that. My sister and I just used to trash them, except for one, we would always have one good Barbie each.
Our cousin came to visit one time and fell apart because of the fact that we didn't have enough good ones for her to play with. We'd chopped the hair off the rest, or tried to dye their hair with that temporary hair dye-in-a-mousse, or did their make-up very poorly with pens, stuff like that. They were all very ratty indeed, and I'm sure we'd had no plans at all to share the two good ones. Camille, though cried foul, and said "You never have a goodBarbie for me to play with!". It's one of those childhood moments that I remember quite vividly, because Camille was always just hangin' tight, so this must've been an issue that really chafed. I really hope that my sister or I let Camille play with a nice Barbie, but I don't know. Unfortunately little girls aren't all unicorns and rainbows, they often are sharp little teeth and scratchy fingernails.
Jamie Lidell's unicorn, while a little odd (it's a unicorn / human hybrid) gets to have a cool serenade, and that's groovy, so I don't mind adding this particular unicorn to my "likes" list. Lidell and the unicorn have some fun interactions, most definitely! I am a fan of Lidell's previous release, and if this is what the rest of the tracks off of his new album, JIM, are going to be like, it could end up being an album that I really might end up liking a lot.
"Party people, what's your Zodiac sign?" -"U.N.I.T.E.",The Beastie Boys. Unfortunately there was no video made for the song, so I chose another one to post below, "Body Movin'". It has the classic Beastie Boy sense of humor, spoofing the 1960's comic book and film character, Diabolik, a ruthless master thief. In the first few "appearances" Diabolik ( created by Angela and Luciana Giussani in 1962) is a just a cold hearted villain with no compunctions about icing anyone, but later on he is portrayed as a Robin Hood type. He uses a series of lifelike masks to fool his opponents,and always drives a black 1961 Jaguar E-type (his lady drives a white one).
I had originally chosen the lyric in my title in order to introduce a certain project I had the pleasure to be involved in. My good friend Steffen (the Bedazzler) is a video editor and he asked me and my husband to help him with this project. We really had a lot of fun doing it, it was filmed well over a year ago, Steffen was quite busy in the meantime, but he has finished it, and it looks great! Click on your sign, and see if there is an aspect of your personality present! (can you spot me? bonus points if you can!)
My last post mentioned David Byrne and the Talking Heads, so today I had to include one of their best songs. In the George W. Bush era "Life During Wartime" has a renewed meaning, and the paranoiacal lyrics make some sort of sense. The Talking Heads are always fun to listen to because David Byrne's lyrics are fascinating, witty, and dreamy. This video is taken from the amazing concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme (Caged Heat, Silence Of The Lambs, Philadelphia, Neil Young:Heart Of Gold). Love the choreography.
Brazilian music has been something I've really enjoyed for many years now, I was first introduced to it by a compilation put together by David Byrne of Talking Heads fame, called Brazil Classics: Vol.1 Beleza Tropical. That album introduced me to some of the great Tropicalia artists, and some simply gorgeous music. I still love to listen to it. Ever since then, I enjoy hearing about new music from that Portuguese speaking nation. Cibelle is Brazilian, but has moved to England, and often sings in English. No matter, whatever language, she's a marvel. Here she has chosen a Tom Waits tune.
When I wish I knew how to sing, this is how I wish were able to. Adele has a pure, gorgeous tone, and a certain heartbreaking timbre at times. Her album is currently only available on iTunes, but will be available in wider release after June. I put two videos below to give a better example of her talents, "Cold Shoulder" is her latest video, and "Daydreamer" is a live, acoustic performance that is a perfect showcase for her melodious voice.
Gosh, this is a lovely song! I'll endorse it even though my favorite planet is Jupiter, and Pluto is not officially a planet anymore. Really, the little orb got the interstellar shaft, didn't it? This little gem is by Clare and the Reasons.
That is the question! Rammstein leaves it up to you to decide whether or not "You have me" or 'You hate me " is the message, as that is what "Du hasst/hast mich" can mean depending on the chosen spelling. Hasst means have , and hast means hate. The song itself is about wedding vows. I'm not so much into Rammstein, but was impressed by how the performer in this video really gets into it. The way the video is compressed has made his hands turn pixelated at times, but I kind of think it adds to the over-all look of the piece. It's rather intense, and then at the end, there is a bit of levity, and whoop of joy.
Ruben Fleischer's videos has been permeating my blog. Why? Because they're simply superb, they're innovative. He comes up with creative ideas, sharp imagery, sometimes simple, sometimes more complex, and they're always colorful. In this one there is so much fun stuff going on, I love the break dancing, old school style, with the cardboard.
This comes to you via a very witty, as usual, post from Forksplit . You must read her post, and the rest of her entire site, as she is very, very funny, and hugely talented.
Grime first emerged from 2-step breakbeats, and is considered a type of hip-hop that was spawned from UK Garage and dancehall. There is a marked West-Indian and Jamaican influence, which separates Grime from the average U.S. hip-hop, and that difference could make it sound fresh to ears here, even though the genre has been around since the early 2000's. Some of the popular artists in Grime include Dizzee Rascal, who's first album, "Boy In Da Corner" won the 2003 Mercury Music Prize, Shystie, Lady Sovereign, Wiley, GoldieLocks, and The Streets. One of the things that I like about grime is that there is a nice assortment of female rappers involved in Grime, a good thing indeed. Dizzee Rascal has his latest album, "Maths and English", out in the U.K. since last year, finally being released on April 29th, here in the U.S.
The Gossip rule! Beth Ditto is a powerhouse, in every meaning of the word: voice, attitude, ideas, and ACTION! Lady even sang for the Queen Elizabeth, how about that? She agreed to keep the panties on for that performance, but it must have been a nailbiter... Listen up! (They have a live album out this week, Live In Liverpool,that's why I posted this old fave)
Miguel Farias, friend and photographer extraordinaire, is one of the featured artists in a major art show opening this Friday, April 18th at the Mission Center For Latino Arts. "The Question is Known:(W)here Is Latin American/ Latino Art?" Included are prints from Miguel's "Seaview" series.
Man, I have been waiting for this video! I don't even know where I heard this song first, but I loved it right away. Estelle's album isn't going to be released until April 29th , can't wait, until then, I'll be coming to my own blog and pressing repeatedly on the play button for this vid!
Wow. I am just knocked out by the talent that this rapper has. Gist has what it takes. This video embodies the spirit of the tune with simple, cleanly shot imagery.Gist's expressive hand gestures really punctuate his lyrics, adding a lot of charisma. I love the beautiful children's faces, and the smiles through-out.
Alex Itin made this gorgeous video as a birthday present to himself. He used two copies of Moby Dick so that he could paint/draw on both sides of each page for months. He then used some sound found on YouTube of Orson Welles reading from Moby Dick for a failed Italian T.V. film, some Led Zeppelin, some drummers performing Bonzo and the end result is an amazing piece of art that we can all enjoy. It's just wonderful.
First of all, here at A Rollerskating Jam, we celebrate all things roller skate. When you come across a roller skating jam, well, then, you've hit the jackpot. Mrs. Rollerskate is in love.
Remember the day when all you wanted was a sweet beatbox? I do, and my brother was the one who had it. Later on I saved up and bought myself a janky Sharp soundsystem, but it was good enough for me. I recorded all sorts of music off of the radio (remember doing that?), and it also had turntable. My mom said there was "something wrong" with the sound on my Jesus and Mary Chain album, and I haughtily notified her that it was "supposed to sound like that" as if I was straight out of the pages of High Fidelity. This video made me think of those days. It has a great sense of fun.
I've been waiting for this with bated breath. The Breeders released their new album, Mountain Battles, on Tuesday. There are a lot of wicked tracks on it such as "German Studies", "It's The Love" and "Walk it Off". Check out a live performance from the South By Southwest festival, recorded for the show Austin City Limits.
Fireworks and Spoon! The album came out ages ago, but this video was only released last month. It's got some cool montage work, and the song is , of course, groovy, because it's Spoon.
Hot Chip has released their third album , Made In The Dark, and once again it's a winner. It follows the success of the 2006 Mercury Prize nominee, The Warning. This video has very interesting choreography, Japanese game show references and the presence of the Joker.
The good people at Sticker Robot have teamed up with Shepard Fairey to print the best sticker ever. You want it, you need it. Show the rest of the world that you support the man that carries a new vision for the United States. I am just so excited about Barack Obama. (Many thanks to Reuben and Elaine)
In 1969 funk /soul group The Winstons released a Grammy Award winning record, "Color Him Father", with a B-side track titled "Amen Brother". That B-side includes six seconds of drumming that nearly everyone has heard. It is known as the "Amen Break". It is at the core of huge hits like N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton". Drum-and-bass and jungle are an entire musical subculture based on the six second drum loop that is sampled from the middle of "Amen brother". This documentary, by Nate Harrison, tells all about the origin of the break, the history of its use, and looks at the future of sampling and copyright management.
Original versus New. Take your pick! This song, Chick Habit , written by Serge Gainsbourg, was recently re-popularized by the Quentin Tarantino film, Deathproof, in which it was performed by April March (real name Elinor Blake), an American Indie -pop singer. Each version has it's merits. For some it may be simple to decide the winning choice, for others, not so easy.
Tidbit- Serge Gainsbourg was married to Jane Birkin, for whom the much coveted Hermès "Birkin bag" is named for. Together they had a daughter, actor/singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. The two also had a famous hit song, "Je t'aime... moi non plus" (links to Wikipedia).
Ledisi comes from Oakland by way of New Orleans. She began singing in the Big Easy at the age of 8 with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. She later moved to Oakland, where she was nominated for a Shellie award for her performance in the Wiz, and she later had an extended performance run in San Francisco's famed beach Blanket Babylon. Since 1990 she has been singing with groups (Anibade) and on her own. In 2007 she signed with the Verve label, and Lost & Found was released . The track "Alright", below, helped to get her nominated for a Grammy in the category for Best New Artist in 2007.
Lyrics Born is one of the Bay Area's best MC's, hands down. He came on the scene with Lateef as Latryx, one of their famous tracks was "Lady Don't Tek No". April 22 sees the release of his new album, "Everywhere at Once" LB's live shows are incomparable, with the live backing vocals of his wife Joyo Velarde, and impeccable musicians. If you haven't had the opportunity to see one of these live shows yet, make it a priority now, you won't be disappointed.
Pete and the Pirates make me proud to be a Lady Pirate. The goodness never stops in this video. I like the split screen action with top hats, and am pleasantly baffled by the gapped teeth vs. match display. Oh! The ditty is nothing to shake a stick at either....
The Candomble religion practiced in Brazil is based in African traditions with elements derived from Christianity. Practitioners worship a number of gods or spirits known as Orixas derived from African deities.
Meet Josevaldo Jr., known as Jr., and watch as he explains the aspects of his fascinating religion.
Check out this What's Happenin' "minisode" . Seriously, this was one of the best shows going, it had a great message, good role models and I loved watching it. Until I saw this, I forgot how much I loved it. Dee's (Danielle D. Spencer) deadpan, sarcastic delivery is fantastic. Today Danielle D. Spencer works as a veterinarian, and has played the role of veterinarian in films As Good As It Gets (1997) and Peter Rabbit and the Crucifix (2001).
That's kind of what this reminds me of, except for the bolder tones. It only refers to female fashions anyhow. It grows on you. Metronomy's tune "Radio Ladio"
So, this is pretty rad. (I've never stopped saying that, by the way) It's some footage from a show, Graffiti Rock, that was supposed to be like a B-Boy version of Soul Train. It was produced by Micheal Holman and featured the NYC Breakers. There is a recent focus on it because of a new film coming out called Planet B-boy. Current Planet B-Boy schedule: NOW - New York, NY. Landmark Sunshine NOW - Los Angeles, CA. Imaginasian NOW - Pasadena, CA. Laemmle NOW - Irvine, CA. Edwards Cinema NOW - San Francisco, CA. Lumiere NOW - Berkeley, CA. Shattuck Cinema NOW - San Diego, CA. Landmark Ken Cinema NOW - Washington, DC. Landmark E Street 4/04 - Austin, TX. Landmark Dobie 4/04 - Boston, MA. Kendall Square 4/04 - Chicago, IL. Century Center Cinema 4/04 - Phoenix, AZ. Harkins Valley theater 4/11 - Denver, CO. Mayan Theater 4/11 - Minneapolis, MN. Lagoon 4/11 - Miami, FL. South Beach 18 4/11 - Brooklyn, NY. BAM 4/11 - Fairfax, VA. Regal 4/18 - Philadelphia, PA. Landmark Ritz 4/18 - Portland, OR. Regal Fox Tower 4/25 - Atlanta, GA. Midtown Art 4/25 - Seattle, WA. Varsity Theatre 4/25 - Baltimore, MD. The Charles Theatre 4/25 - Detroit, MI. Main Art 5/02 - St. Louis, MO. Landmark Tivoli 5/09 - Madison, WI. Sundance Kabuki 5/16 - Houston, TX. Angelika
A Bjork premiere. Her new video , Wanderlust, was done in 3-d , so, it lacks it's full amazingness for those of us who don't regularly have red and blue glasses atop our heads. (I just got rid of my last pair, thinking them obsolete, too.) Rumor has it, the directors are fond of mushrooms, and this accounts for the video, the idea for which they came up with while on the hallucinongenic fungi.
My parents were nearly technological Luddites during the 80's, one phone, no touch tone, no answering machine, no cable television, etc. My siblings and I missed out on a lot of important cultural reference points because of the lack of cable, and it certainly left me feeling like I was on shaky ground during recess conversations. I never knew what was happening on TV shows anyhow, since it seemed we pretty much just watched public television shows. I had no clue what had occurred most recently on Alf, or Silver Spoons, and I just acted like I thought that Ricky Schroeder was just the biggest dreamboat ever.
But, when MTV hit the air, I knew I had problems, because it was something that I knew I had to see. It was all over the news, it was revolutionary! I really liked music! Luckily one of my brother's friends, a certain lovely lady named Staysea, recorded several hours of MTV for him on VHS. We watched that tape over and over. It was actually a great tape, because it was when they played a really eclectic mix of music. These videos were on it:
Seriously, my eyebrows have not been waxed since I was married in September 2007, 6/23/08 THEY'VE BEEN DONE (I know a miracle must've been performed at Lourdes or something!)but somehow my wonderful husband seems to think I'm the bee's knees anyhow. I think he's awesome too. We like to eat delicious cheese. I love music, all kinds, new and old. This is the tale...
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