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It's our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices and PR agencies want you to be hearing. We post you decide.
As many of you may or may not know, The Idelic Hour comes beaming to you directly from my garage nestled above the legendary Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles. It's these beautiful and enchanting canyons of LA that are the inspiration for this week's Idelic Hour playlist.
As I look at the cover art of Joni Mitchell's 1970 release "Ladies of The Canyon," a pedigree of Californian artistry and songs come to mind more than our funky, bohemian neighborhood. Recently I've been posting segments of the super inspirational BBC documentary "Hotel California From Byrds to The Eagles" on my idleicsounds.com page as it feels like the spirit of the late 60's canyon scene has had a reemergence up here in the last couple years.
I have no problem laying claim to being at the very center of this revival. Bands have been piling in and out this garage for more than ten years. A couple of years ago I bumped into Alex Ebert wandering around the famous Zappa residence. It was on that afternoon he invited me into the pad across the street where he was recording and conceiving his new band Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros.
Now we in the "canyons" boast new comers like the "Zappa-esque" Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, The Mamas & Papas-like Best Coast, as well as groovy new harmonies from Local Natives, Jamie Drake, Harper Simon and Coconut Records.
Our friends The Caribbean return in a big way in 2011 with a brand new release on Hometapes."Discontinued Perfume" is out on February 22 and we've got the first track "Mr. Let's Find Out" below for your listening and right-clicking enjoyment.
To put "Discontinued Perfume" in the context of The Caribbean's previous work, and hopefully introduce the band to some new listeners, Hometapes and the band created a retrospective compilation for free download. It's called "Make the Day Out of Range" and it draws from The Caribbean's recordings between 2000-2008. It's available right here.
It's our 5th and last day with Carol Bui who has spent the entire week with us sharing music from her own collection that has informed her upcoming 2011 release, Red Ship, out on her own Ex Oh Records
Carol returns to DC next Wednesday at the Black Cat for a bit of a homecoming show, and you can grab some free tickets to see her live—on us! Til then, Carol has one last one for ya.
Fairuz - Oudak Rannan | Fairuz is from Lebanon and arguably the most popular singer in the Middle East today. She has been around for decades and enjoyed great success after collaborating with her son, Ziad Rahbani, an influential composer and producer.
'Oudak Rannan' is a traditional song and it translates roughly to 'The Banging of the Lute.' This was one of the first songs I heard when I first looked her up and it continues to be the most memorable for me. Before I knew anything about it, I thought it sounded rather dark and menacing, probably because of the slap bass in contrast to the yelping and her full soprano voice.
At the end there are loud, random drum hits that I originally thought sounded like gun shots and my reaction was 'wow this is so bad ass for such an old school singer'! Then I looked up the lyrics and turns out it's just a celebration of the oud, the arabic version of the lute.
It's a foot stomping, celebration kind of song, with a heavy debke (national dance of Lebanon) beat. Love it. It was a huge inspiration for the first song I recorded for Red Ship. "Mira: You're Free With Me."
As mentioned yesterday in this spot, our guest DJ all week Carol Bui returns to her old stomping grounds of Washington, DC (as opposed to her new stomping grounds of Tacoma, Washington) for a homecoming show at the Black Cat next Wednesday night (12/8.) Joining Carol on the bill are Kristeen Young and Lucia Lucia.
And as is so often with our Guest DJ/Takeover weeks, we've got a pair of tickets to put in the hands of one of you guys for next week's show.
Let us know why you should be chosen for the pair of tickets to see Carol next Wednesday night in the comments to this post and the most convincing of the bunch will take home the tickets for the show.
We'll close this one on Tuesday (12/7) at noon to give you plenty of time to conjure up your response—and remember to leave us a contact email address with your entry.
Remember, we've teamed up with ReadysetDC for all of our ticket giveaways so you can enter to win either here at TVD or at ReadysetDC.
The Top Five Reasons to Come to Poor But Sexy, Dirty Bomb, and JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound at the Velvet Lounge
So I recently moved away from Washington, DC to New York City, and I've had to take on two jobs to make the rent on our modest little nest here. That doesn't leave me with much time to spend on inspired blog posts about why you should come see my band, Poor But Sexy, at the Velvet Lounge on Friday, December 3rd.
Neverthless, I am pretty psyched to get back down to the District of Columbia for this show, so I am resorting to the most economical form of persuasive writing: the enumerated list. Here goes:
1. New Single: Cherry Delicious | This is track 4 from our record, "Let's Move in Together," which will come out mid-February. Come early to hear it live (we kick off the bill at 10pm sharp.)
2. Cowbell | If you listened to Cherry Delicious, you know that there is a prominent cowbell in there. Eric Axelson from the Dismemberment Plan is going to play it with us at the show. If you thought he was good at bass, just wait until you hear his bovine bell skills.
3. Dirty Bomb | A DC band with a concept album loosely based on the story of Jack Abramoff. I listened to the jams, and they are hot! If you read the interview with songwriter Andy Sullivan from the Express paper, you know that he has actually spent time chasing Jack Abramoff around federal courthouses. It's an inspiring reminder to always write what you know.
4. "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" | Our friends in JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound covered this Wilco song and made a video of it. It's undeniable! There was a contingent of hard core Wilco fans, however, that reacted like Catholic bishops if Tweedy was Jesus and JC Brooks had made 'The Last Temptation of Christ.'
Last time JC Brooks was in DC, they killed it for about two solid hours at the 9:30 club. This is a rare opportunity to see a band that works and works it all night, for the us...the audience. They hit at 12:00 am. Leave your coats in the car, because it's likely to get sweaty.
5. The Walkmen Suck | A band feud seemed like a good way to get the publicity ball rolling, so I just checked some newer Walkmen songs online to verify that they do, in fact, suck, before I slander them. Unfortunately, they don't suck. They are mature, accomplished artists, and apparently passionate performers. Luckily, their show at the 9:30 club is sold out. So we'll see you at the Velvet Lounge.
It's Day #4 with Carol Bui who's spending the entire week with us in advance of next Wednesday's homecoming show at the Black Cat and she's sharing the music from her own collection that informed her upcoming 2011 release, Red Ship, out on her own Ex Oh Records.
Connie Francis - Malaguena | Growing up in Vietnam, my parents didn't have much access to American popular music except maybe the likes of the Beatles circa 'She Loves You' or Elvis's 'Love Me Tender'. Connie Francis was another one of those few artists to make it out there, and her music made quite an impression on my Dad.
I used to look through his CDs and saw mostly Vietnamese contemporary singers with an occasional Hong Kong movie soundtrack. One day I heard a lady singing what sounded like a bullfighting song from his office speakers. Her voice was HUGE and sometimes tearful, I loved it and still love it. The singer was Connie Francis.
I asked my Dad about her and he said it reminded him of his early Vietnam war days. Malaguena is a Spanish folk song written by Ernesto Lecuona and is popular among marching bands and drum corps. It has been performed by many others as well—Ritchie Valens did an electric guitar solo version of it, Brian Setzer did one, Caterina Valente did a German version.
This is by far the most powerful rendition of the song I've ever heard.
It's our Thursday flashback, culled from the rare and ultra-obscure (and often bizarre) crates of 80’s vinyl, curated by our pal Gil:
Dog Police – s/t LP | Here we have a rather wacky American new wave group called Dog Police that was formed in Memphis, TN by band leader Sam Shoup. The core group was made up of three members that dressed up as..well…dogs. This inventive trio was active in the mid to late 80’s. Their music was a skewed new wave pop that reminds one of the wise-guy word play from the Los Angeles brother duo Sparks.
They entered into the MTV basement tapes competition in 1985 and came out victorious with an inventive and quite entertaining video of what would be their anthem tinged album title song. There was another video made for the song 1-800, which pokes fun at television marketing ads and their toll free 800 numbers.
They obviously garnered some attention in alternative music circles and were subsequently able to produce a lone full length album that was a private pressing. Not surprisingly, wild man Weird Al Yankovic was enamored by the group’s silliness and featured them on his short lived MTV music video show. A lost new wave pop obscurity.
Kimberley Rew, guitarist for British 70's art-rock band the Soft Boys and co-founder of Katrina and the Waves has a brand new 'Best Of' release compiling songs from his solo career that's currently available via iTunes.
But today, he's talking vinyl.
(And we've got an opportunity for one of you to win some RARE 7" vinyl in a giveaway...)
“Kimberley Rew is where pop and archaeology meet: the six-string guardian of old England, rocking the neolithic pathways just as the glaciers did before him. I can't remember a time before Kimberley, and I dread a world without him. Monster!” —Robyn Hitchcock
“The first record I bought was Duane Eddy's Dance with the Guitar Man in 1962. Needless to say recorded music WAS vinyl then and nobody thought any more about it. My parents like most people had a record player (a bulky wooden cabinet in the living room which my sisters and I would fight over after school) and a couple of dozen records—included were a few shellac 78s from the 1950s—that was the last of anything that wasn't vinyl for the next quarter century.
At school we got into bands such as John Mayall's Bluesbreakers—albums became very cool, singles the opposite. New albums were passed around, revered, analysed for evidence of 'progress.' Suffice it say they were ruinously expensive—thirty two shillings in 1967, six weeks' pocket money (allowance.)
Not undertaken lightly, a purchase would be treasured, sleeve notes memorised, including details like 'laminated with Clarifoil.' Mono or stereo were available—mono was uncool, but you were warned that your clunky radiogram needle could destroy a stereo record. Then college, then darkened rooms where someone would 'skin up' using an LP sleeve as a lap tray.
Finally I acquired money, pre-recorded cassettes, CDs. A music recording doesn't have to be a physical object at all now of course. But that came too late for me—I look round the room at shelves of LPs, singles, cassettes (many are collections of copies of the one or two decent tracks off disappointing album purchases.) Upstairs are boxes of many more of all of the above by the Soft Boys, Katrina and the Waves, etc.
So my music career corresponded with the album era and I still can't help writing it in 40 minute collections. That's a legacy and a half. Happy vinylling!” —Kimberley Rew
“I have great memories of touring Europe in the 80’s with Katrina and the band. It was wonderful to see the love of her audience and how the band ignited them. I remember how powerful “Walking on Sunshine” was at that time so it’s not surprise it has remained a classic till this day.” —Mick Fleetwood, Fleetwood Mac
“I have been a fan of Kimberly Rew's song writing for 25 years, and am dumbfounded by his guitar playing every time I see him play.”—Peter Buck, R.E.M.
The contest! | We've got an autographed copy of Kim's 7" above, "My Baby Does Her Hairdo Long" along with a mega-rare signed test pressing of the very first Katrina and the Waves' single, "Que Te Quiero / Machine Gun Smith" from 1983 on Silvertown Records.
Enter to win by leaving a comment to this post in regard to Kimberley, the Soft Boys, or Katrina and the Waves and the most insightful or incisive or just damn compelling of the bunch (right, it's scientific) will find the 7"s in his or her mailbox.
We'll give you a week to conjure up your entry and close this one out next Wednesday, 12/8. Remember to leave us a contact email address so we can award your brilliance!
Amidst the incessant touring (have they been in DC 3 times this past year?) they've got a new iTunes session which features the previously unrecorded song, "Fire & Water."
So, while this isn't a swoon-worthy LP, head on over to itunes to download the exclusive session and while you're at it, grab the deluxe edition of their debut, "Up From Below."
In the meantime, we've got two tracks from the iTunes session for your downloading pleasure.
It's Day #3 with Carol Bui who's spending the entire week with us in advance of next Wednesday's homecoming show at the Black Cat and she's sharing the music from her own collection that informed her upcoming 2011 release, Red Ship, out on her own Ex Oh Records.
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk | Surprisingly, the first time I heard this song was at the gym. It was in a dance aerobics class at the Gold's in Ballston and the song came on as we were cooling down. I had been meaning to check out this album because I was really into some of the earlier Fleetwood Mac stuff in high school and though I hate to admit it, the interest was sparked by Hole's version of "Gold Dust Woman" from the Crow City of Angels soundtrack. Yea, I loved Hole.
Then I grew to love Stevie Nicks and thought 'fuck Courtney for killing such a great song'. Anyway, I love this song because it's 'real savage-like' as Lindsay Buckingham says at the end. At least, I think it was him that said it. Funny, you wouldn't expect to hear a considerably obscure Fleetwood Mac song after Beyonce's "Deja Vu" or Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" in a BodyJam class.
As we tipped you to yesterday,Carol Bui is spending the entire week with us in advance of next Wednesday's homecoming show at the Black Cat and she's sharing the music from her own collection that informed her upcoming 2011 release, Red Ship, out on her own Ex Oh Records.
It's Day #2!
The Beatles - Martha My Dear | Hey, I'm not the first to sing about my dogs! This song is one of my favorite McCartney compositions. I remember reading somewhere that the White Album sessions were rather excruciating for everyone involved because the band brought in mostly 'scraps' of music, and much credit has been given to George Martin as a producer for filling them out nicely.
While I love the record, it's evident that many of the tracks didn't receive as much songwriting attention and care as others. I don't know whether to credit McCartney, Martin, or Martha the dog, but I love that a song about something people may consider frivolous turned out to be deliciously satiating rather than incomplete.
EDIT - Wikipedia says that it wasn't written about his dog, but the title was taken from his dog. *shrug*
Junip: And then there were three (Swedish obsessions that begin with J.)
If you’ve ever had ‘the spins’ after a long night of drinking, or listened to Nick Drake on a hot summer night with the windows open - you get it. You have probably heard Junip’s 2005 EP Black Refuge and waited patiently for the Nordic trio to come out with a full pour of folk-intoxication.
I can face it, 'Rope & Summit' is an impossible song to dislike. It doesn’t have any of the obvious electronica interjections that 'It’s Alright' possesses—it’s catchy, and pleasant. I am caught by other onlookers wiggling to its rhythm, we exchange a knowing smile, close our eyes and return to our respective shimmy space to pitch and yaw to the synthesizing effects of 'Sweet & Bitter.'
They gave us a taste of Fields and their four track May, 2010 EP Rope and Summit, and as a result their hungry turnout at Black Cat shocked me. Only a few months after Fields' release, everyone welcomed each song intro with joyous anticipation.
Junip has waited, and ridden Jose Gonzalez’s success. His famous vocals (and guitar), Elias Araya on drums, and Tobias Winterkorn on keys and synths—gorgeous.
As I listen to the easy sounds I think to myself, Junip may have come first, but these three friends were inevitably going to create this album no matter what came of Jose Gonzalez's solo career. I myself would not want to live in a world with a Jose-less Junip, or to ever look upon my collection to find Veneer not sitting proudly, nudging its slightly weathered sleeve against a new, shiny Fields.
Junip is one letter away from being one of my favorite drinks. I sip as I create my shimmy space, losing all inhibitions listening to 'Without You' and hopefully ride the dusty spins in 'In Every Direction.'
Add Junip to my mounting "Swede Obsession"; Jenny Wilson, Jens Lekman, and Junip
Just in time for the coming holidays, our friends at Windian Records have a batch of five new 7" vinyl releases arriving on store shelves tomorrow (11/30)—for those of you with good taste.
The first 150 of each single will be pressed on colored vinyl and with this new series, the label launches a subscription service with price breaks and bonus vinyl for all subscribers.
Head over to Windianright here for all your ordering and background info. And head below to preview all five of the freshly pressed singles.
M.O.T.O. 7" EP WIN20008 KISSING ALL THE WRONG ASSES Another anthem heavy straight-ahead Rock N Roller from one of the most highly respected underground punkers from Chicago. Paul Caporino continues his 20 plus years of releasing solid singles and LPs and does not fall short on this 4 song kiss off to the industry. 500 hand-numbered copies. 150 mixed color wax singles club only, 350 black wax.
JUNGLE FEVER 7" EP WIN20009 CRYIN' BLOOD Debut single from this San Diego power punk dudette/dude trio. Ramones like 3-chord DSPM guitar thrashing and speedy 4/4 drum bashing with a Girls-In-The-Garage vibrating groove. Songs about getting screwed over by that special someone, you know, Rock and Roll. This band is up to good things, more singles on the way. 500 hand-numbered copies. 150 mixed color wax singles club only, 350 black wax.
LOVER! 7" WIN20010 HOME ALONE A couple more perfect pop tunes from Memphis/Chicago transplant Rich Crook [Reatards, Lost Sounds, Knaughty Knights]. Lover! continues to churn out garage-pop thrashers and shows no signs of slowing down with a full LP release and European tour in January, 2011. The A-Side "Home Alone" is an ultimate example of what Rich does consistently, writes and records hook filled Rock and Roll in his room, alone. 500 hand-numbered copies. 150 mixed color wax singles club only, 350 black wax.
MAYBE, BABY 7" EP WIN20011 ALL I'VE GOT Debut single from this Washington, DC barely-legal duo. Sounds reminiscent of Angry Angles/Killed by death, these 4 songs whip and slash at 45 RPM! Very youthful and fun, what Rock N Roll should sound like without being a dick about it. 500 hand-numbered copies. 150 mixed color wax singles club only, 350 black wax.
SUPERDESTROYERS 7" WIN20012 YOU'RE BEING ERASED Debut single from these New Orleans punkers featuring Joe P [one of the many dudes that played keys for the SPITS]. Very cool sound with great street lyrics about NOLA, and the daily same old bullshit. 500 hand-numbered copies. 150 mixed color wax singles club only, 350 black wax.
First Laura Burhenn of the Mynabirds departs DC for the midwest and delivers one of our favorite LPs of the year.
Carol Bui swaps Washington, DC for Tacoma, Washington and subsequently is set to release her brand new LP ‘Red Ship’ in early 2011—and as evidenced by the first track we’ve offered here and others that I’ve previewed—she quite easily might have one of our most anticipated releases for the new year. The new tracks are exceptional. (And Carol's on the drums...)
So, what gives? Something in the water here?
Well, Carol returns to DC next Wednesday night (12/8) for a homecoming show at the Black Cat and in advance of that date we’re hanging out with Carol all week and going through her music collection to uncover just what she’s been playing and listening to as she put together ‘Red Ship’ (which was actually recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, so there’s hope for our region, hm?)
You’ll have an opportunity to win some tickets to Carol’s Black Cat show tomorrow, but beginning this morning, we’re counting down a few of the tracks that informed the new record.
Natacha Atlas - I Put A Spell On You | Natacha Atlas's take on the song by Screaming Jay Hawkins. I think this was the song that ultimately made me take up belly dancing. I love Natacha's more 'authentic' music, traditional Arabic arrangements and all, but this is such a fantastic fusion of blues, European drum loops, and sexualized orientalism.
The rhythmic theme of the song is a basic baladi beat I think (very common in Middle Eastern and belly dance music), and each 'dum' of the pattern punctures the song with thick, throbbing bass. Yes, I said 'throbbing'. The Egyptian bagpipe interlude and outtro are f*cking bad ass. The way she sings, even just 'la la la la', is so very hot. Amazing.
It's our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices and PR agencies want you to be hearing. We post—you decide.
