New Music!

[Gazoo]

Agreeing with Dave just now: That new Pete Yorn track is quite good.

[mshray]

Agreeing with Dave just now: That new Pete Yorn track is quite good.

me too.

..and I know these things...

[darryl]

Someone (Geoff?) inquired recently about an acoustic-guitar instrumental version of "Stairway to Heaven", iirc. Turns out it's that Spanish-guitar duo KFOG's been playing lately, Rodrigo y Gabriela or something like that.

it was kind of nice sounding.  Reminds me once of hearing a harp (the classical instrument!) player at Stonestown Galleria doing Stairway a long time ago.  By the time it was over, a bunch of young headbangers has assembled around her!

We won a chance to see Rodrigo y Gabriela do a private concert in the KFOG Playspace.  Kind of a hassle, driving up from San Jose for a 1PM show that was only a 3-song set.  [Arrive by 12:30PM, pay $12 for parking, drop off kid w/ brother & sister-in-law who had to take long lunches to watch him.]

But that said, it was still great to see them play up close.  Amazing technique and fun to watch and hear.

Some video clips here (interrupted because I forgot to clear the card beforehand -- gah):  http://darryl.phanfare.com/album/140428

I've also loaded up the http://darryl.phanfare.com/ site with photos and videos we've taken over the past several months.  Bittersweets in Redwood City was a fun show, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was great, Snow Patrol, Bumbershoot.  Lotta stuff there.  Enjoy the good footage, ignore the crappy.  :-}

[RGMike]

on the VIP Beach Music show I'm hearing the new song by the much-admired John Legend -- it's called "Save Room For My Love" and it's basically the Classics IV's "Stormy" with new lyrics. WTF?

[RGMike]

on the VIP Beach Music show I'm hearing the new song by the much-admired John Legend -- it's called "Save Room For My Love" and it's basically the Classics IV's "Stormy" with new lyrics. WTF?

I have to follow up on this one -- there's an article about Mr. Legend in the new EW, and the song is mentioned several times. The writer, a Margeaux Watson, makes no mention of the fact that the song has a stolen melody (we're not talking about a brief sample here -- it's the entire song). In fact, she calls it a "romantic, Sinatra-esque groove". Am I to assume that Ms. Watson is quite musically clueless?

[princessofcairo]

on the VIP Beach Music show I'm hearing the new song by the much-admired John Legend -- it's called "Save Room For My Love" and it's basically the Classics IV's "Stormy" with new lyrics. WTF?

I have to follow up on this one -- there's an article about Mr. Legend in the new EW, and the song is mentioned several times. The writer, a Margeaux Watson, makes no mention of the fact that the song has a stolen melody (we're not talking about a brief sample here -- it's the entire song). In fact, she calls it a "romantic, Sinatra-esque groove". Am I to assume that Ms. Watson is quite musically clueless?

yes, she sounds clueless. i heard the legend song in the movie theatre last night. i thought, "hmm...someone has remade stormy!" then i remembered your post.

[RGMike]

on the VIP Beach Music show I'm hearing the new song by the much-admired John Legend -- it's called "Save Room For My Love" and it's basically the Classics IV's "Stormy" with new lyrics. WTF?

I have to follow up on this one -- there's an article about Mr. Legend in the new EW, and the song is mentioned several times. The writer, a Margeaux Watson, makes no mention of the fact that the song has a stolen melody (we're not talking about a brief sample here -- it's the entire song). In fact, she calls it a "romantic, Sinatra-esque groove". Am I to assume that Ms. Watson is quite musically clueless?

yes, she sounds clueless. i heard the legend song in the movie theatre last night. i thought, "hmm...someone has remade stormy!" then i remembered your post.

it reminds me of a woman (name escapes me) who used to be a music crit for NY Magazine. She reviewed a They Might Be Giants album and wrote that "Istanbul Not Constantinople" was "the silliest lyric they've ever written". She didn't know it was a cover of a song from the '30s ('20s?).

[princessofcairo]

on the VIP Beach Music show I'm hearing the new song by the much-admired John Legend -- it's called "Save Room For My Love" and it's basically the Classics IV's "Stormy" with new lyrics. WTF?

I have to follow up on this one -- there's an article about Mr. Legend in the new EW, and the song is mentioned several times. The writer, a Margeaux Watson, makes no mention of the fact that the song has a stolen melody (we're not talking about a brief sample here -- it's the entire song). In fact, she calls it a "romantic, Sinatra-esque groove". Am I to assume that Ms. Watson is quite musically clueless?

yes, she sounds clueless. i heard the legend song in the movie theatre last night. i thought, "hmm...someone has remade stormy!" then i remembered your post.

it reminds me of a woman (name escapes me) who used to be a music crit for NY Magazine. She reviewed a They Might Be Giants album and wrote that "Istanbul Not Constantinople" was "the silliest lyric they've ever written". She didn't know it was a cover of a song from the '30s ('20s?).

flap, flap, flap, they call it the flapper.

[princessofcairo]

no mistaking ben taylor's parents!

and i thought punk bakker was the perfect carbon copy!

[Gazoo]

Individual ballots for the Stylus Magazine best-of-2006 poll:

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/stylus-magazines-top-50-singles-of-2006-individual-writer-lists.htm

I have two other ballots to complete in coming days -- one for Idolator, one for the Voice's Pazz & Jop -- and am wondering whether I should go with the same songs for consistency's sake, or if I should try and spotlight some other stuff instead.

[RGMike]

Father Guido Sarducci records "the worst Xmas song ever":

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/18/DDGLAN0IM11.DTL

[ggould]

Father Guido Sarducci records "the worst Xmas song ever":

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/18/DDGLAN0IM11.DTL

here's the MP3 link:
http://www.sfgate.com:80/blogs/sounds/sfgate/chroncast/2006/12/14/Xmas_Bulbs.MP3

[RGMike]

Father Guido Sarducci records "the worst Xmas song ever":

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/18/DDGLAN0IM11.DTL

here's the MP3 link:
http://www.sfgate.com:80/blogs/sounds/sfgate/chroncast/2006/12/14/Xmas_Bulbs.MP3

TANC: someone else nominates Macca's "Wonderful XmasTime" as worst:

http://www.retrocrush.com/archive2006/worstxmas/index.html

[Gazoo]

Not new music, but a new compilation, with some eccentric and interesting entries:

http://www.discogs.com/release/844213

Sunshine '70s (Gut-Active Records)

1-01      Bill Withers      Lovely Day
1-02    Supremes, The    Automatically Sunshine
1-03    Sister Sledge    Thinking Of You
1-04    Real Thing, The    You To Me Are Everything
1-05    Osibisa    Sunshine Day
1-06    Robert Palmer    Every Kinda People
1-07    Bellamy Brothers    Let Your Love Flow
1-08    Captain & Tenille    Love Will Keep Us Together
1-09    Alessi Brothers    Oh Lori
1-10    Bobby Goldsboro    Hello Summertime
1-11    First Class (3)    Beach Baby
1-12    David Dundas    Jeans On
1-13    Albert Hammond    The Free Electric Band
1-14    Clout    Substitute
1-15    Stephanie De-Sykes    Born With A Smile On My Face
1-16    Blue Mink    Good Morning Freedom
1-17    Raydio    Jack & Jill
1-18    Billy Paul    Let 'Em In
1-19    Moments, The    Dolly My Love
1-20    Isley Brothers, The    Summer Breeze
2-01    Pilot    Magic
2-02    Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel    Here Comes The Sun
2-03    Mungo Jerry    In The Summertime
2-04    Johnny Nash    I Can See Clearly Now
2-05    John Paul Young    Love Is In The Air
2-06    Edison Lighthouse    Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)
2-07    Starbuck (2)    Moonlight Feels Right
2-08    David Soul    Silver Lady
2-09    England Dan & John Ford Coley    I'd Really Love To See You Tonight
2-10    Ricky Nelson (2)    Garden Party
2-11    Duncan Browne    Journey
2-12    Korgis, The    If I Had You
2-13    Dean Friedman    Lucky Stars
2-14    Pentangle    Light Flight
2-15    Orleans    Dance With Me
2-16    Lindisfarne    Meet Me On The Corner
2-17    Climax Blues Band    Couldn’t Get It Right
2-18    Stretch    Why Did You Do It?
2-19    Ian Dury And The Blockheads    Reasons To Be Cheerful Part 3
2-20    Typically Tropical    Barbados

[RGMike]

Not new music, but a new compilation, with some eccentric and interesting entries:

http://www.discogs.com/release/844213

Sunshine '70s

Clearly this is a British compilation. Talk about a twin-spin:

1-13    Albert Hammond    The Free Electric Band
1-14    Clout    Substitute

Let me know what you think of Clout's version of "Substitute" -- a big hit in the UK, Gloria Gaynor rushed out a cover of it in the States, and the result was neither version did very well here.