Samuel

I have a strong distaste for most kid’s music. I find it condescending and I think that second rate musicians often find themselves recording bad music for kids because they could get published recording real music for people. This offends me, in no small way, because I believe that children have every ounce of capacity they need to enjoy real music. So, when I make kids CDs I make them out of music that wasn’t designed for kids. Here’s the playlist for a new car CD I just burned for Arthur for a trip to Portland we’re leaving on in a few. A note to other parents; I have not vetted these songs for any small use of profanity or adult themes. In “Took A Trip On A Gemini Spacecraft” David Bowie says “I grabbed my space gun and I thought about you”. Yes, that is what he was talking about. This doesn’t bother me. If it bothers you, you should stay clear of this playlist. But none of the songs have refrains that I would not want to hear at the top of a two year olds lungs again, and again, and again.

I Love Rock and Roll Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Hound Dog Elvis Presley
Super Disco Breakin’ Beastie Boys
I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship David Bowie
Video Killed the Radio Star The Buggles
Golden Years David Bowie
Soul Bossa Nova Quincy Jones and His Orchestra
Big Rock Candy Mountain Harry McClintock
99 Luftballons Nena
I Can’t Explain The Who
The Unforgettable Fire U2
‘Ol ‘55 Tom Waits
Low Rider War
Mr_ Jones Talking Heads
I Missed The Bus Skankin’ Pickle
You Can Dance If You Want To Men at Work
Stomach Vs. Heart Barenaked Ladies
Turn The Wheel Hot Buttered Rum!
Over The Rainbow Johnny Mathis And Ray Charles
Good Golly Miss Molly C. C. R.
Let It Be The Beatles
Over to My House The Inkwell Rhythm Makers

There is an MP3 in this post. Last night I went to see Hot Buttered Rum at the McDonald Theatre. They were opening for the Everyone Orchestra, but really I think they were the better act. They play progressive bluegrass, tinged with jazz rock / jam band aesthetics but by and large focused on Appalachian bluegrass roots. They’re based in San Francisco, but spend a lot of time touring the country in a Bio-Diesel Bus.

Here is a tune that I took from the free and band sanctioned Internet Archive (which I assume means that the recording is free to trade so long as I’m not making any money, which I’m (really) not) recorded January 9th of this year at the Filmore in SFO. They played this number last night , and once the second verse started and I recognized that it’s about Obama’s election, I was moved to tears (and crazy-jumping-up-and-down-dancing).

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I recommend going to their website and buying a lot of their music, and going to their shows whenever they pass through your area. This band is HOT!

Great post at Monitor Mix asking the question “who is the essential rock and roll singer?”. Peep the link for Carrie Brownstein’s answer. I think she’s wrong; Mick Jagger is it, despite his blues influence.

Asking questions such as these — those of essentialness — is reductive, but also interesting. Whoever is at the nexus of our musical tastes becomes a litmus test; he or she helps categorize and map our own relationship to music. For instance, if Joe Strummer is your quintessential punk singer, your other punk records form clusters around that sound, either deviating from what you consider normative or emulating it. But if TV Smith from The Adverts or Ian MacKaye in his Minor Threat days possess the essential punk sound for you, your notion of what punk music is might be entirely different from that of the Joe Strummer person. At the very least, what typifies a specific genre for us influences our preferences.

via NPR: Monitor Mix.

Hey. I don’t usually do the music blog thing, but I have to share this. Every time I hear one or the other of the following two songs, I think of the other. Lyrically, musically, and just in terms of the overall aesthetic sense, these songs belong next to each other. It’s almost as if the two are telling the same story from different angles. Check the tunes out and see for yourself.

Four days until the election, here’s a special treat; one of my favorite mash-up artists has released a recording of a ‘party for change’ for free download. It’s a little under an hour, and it’s really good. The ‘Yes We Can’ section about 20 minutes in was particularly well cut.

Follow the link for a free download, and groove out.

And thanks to Chris, AKA Nightcap, for hipping me to this mix.