goodolmike | Entries tagged with music

It's been a slow morning. All I've done so far is sit around and listen to music. What have I been listening to? Let me tell you.

James Brown - Funky Christmas

xxtapemakerxx hipped me to this one. It's really fun. I'll have this one in rotation for the next month. I was happy that JP identified it as "early James Brown" instead of saying, "Is this Kanye West?"

Scott Weiland - The Most Wonderful Time of Year

OMG What?! This album showed up on a site where I occasionally get my music. Under the album cover, it said, "Because you *know* you're intrigued..."

It's really fun! For most of the disc, he sounds really good. There were a few songs where he sounded affected and out of tune, but what do you expect from a 90's grunge rocker who can't stop doing heroin?

Morrissey - You are the Quarry Deluxe Edition

I have a few Morrissey Deluxe Editions, but I need this one. You Are the Quarry is so well-produced and catchy. The deluxe edition has a bunch of b-sides and comes with a bonus DVD. I found it on Amazon used for $6. Yes.

Years ago, I read the autobiography of Slash, the guitar player for Guns n' Roses. I couldn't get enough of it. I was fascinated by his stories about being in one of the most successful bands ever, his drug and alcohol problems/adventures and the rise and fall of the band. After I finished it, I wanted more, so I picked up a biography about Guns n' Roses' lead singer, Axl Rose. Though it wasn't quite as well-written, I loved it, too.

Years ago, Slash and Axl had a falling out and the band essentially broke up. You can still go out and see a band called Guns n' Roses, but they're a sad cover band that happen to have Axl for a lead singer. You can also go out and see Guns n' Roses minus Axl, but they call themselves Velvet Revolver. Without Axl, they are as equally non-compelling as Axl with a cover band. I love reading about all this, and I dream of them all finally getting over themselves and reuniting.

I was stoked to find out that now Duff, the bass player (and *FUN FACT* namesake for Homer Simpson's favorite beer), has written an autobiography of his own. I love it. Just started reading it, and I'm already half-way through.

I'm really in to a singer called Gotye. Last weekend,

xxtapemakerxx hipped us all to his music. It's effing brilliant. I think he's a big deal in Australia right now. He certainly is not big in America... YET.

( Click here for some of his music. )

In the late 80's / early 90's, I spent most of my social time with a church youth group. I made some good friends, but they kind of came and went. Towards the end of all that, my brother and I became really good friends with another set of brothers, Min and Dave. Min had fairly bland taste in music. Mostly, he listened to R&B tragedies like Babyface and Pebbles, but one summer he went to Korea for a few months and came back with something unique and interesting.

Musician Seo Taiji, from what I understand, is Korea's Elvis Presley. He was huge. The song below, Hayoga, was one of his biggest hits. It was cutting edge at the time for its use of rap and "heavy metal" guitar sounds.

In 1993, we listened to Seo Taiji incessantly. I don't speak Korean, so I could only guess what the songs were about. Occasionally, the guys would translate for me, and the lyrics were always much less interesting than the ones I imagined.

Even years after I stopped hanging out with Min, I continued to follow Seo Taiji's career. (And this was pre-internet. Imagine going in to a Korean music store asking for "Seo Taiji". The looks I got.) He got bigger and bigger over the years, went through a Cypress Hill-sound-alike phase, went though a Limp Bizkit-sound-alike phase, went through a Blink 182-sound-alike phase, retired, took a long break from music, did a comeback album and tour, and now I think he's on hiatus again.

It's amazing how I was thinking about all that, and within seconds I was watching their Hyoga video on YouTube. It's exactly as I remember it.

I did a little clicking and was happy to see that Seo Taiji is still making videos. This one is quite polished.

I love the band Fucked Up, but their latest release, a fake compilation called David's Town - 11 Original Hits From Byrdesdale Spa, UK!, totally slipped under my radar.

Apparently David's Town, which is a vinyl-exclusive compliment to their mainstream release David Comes to Life, was released on Record Store Day, back in April and is limited to 2,000 copies. My understanding is Fucked Up plays all the music, while lead vocals are provided by various band members and guest vocalists.

I got it in the mail yesterday and copied Side A in to iTunes. It's pretty fun. Check this video out. It's adorable. The guy and girl are Sandy (aka Mustard Gas) and Ben (aka Young Governor) of Fucked Up.

I have no plans for the whole weekend. So far, what that has resulted in is JP and I hitting every record store in San Diego. I picked up some great stuff so far.

At Record Haven, I picked up Billy Joel's Glass Houses, an Elton John compilation and the soundtrack to my favorite James Bond movie, Diamonds are Forever. On CD, I also got the latest Beastie Boys album and a Frank Black CD single.

At the hipster music store (M-Theory), I picked up The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs volume 3 (I have 1 and 2) and new Dum Dum Girls on vinyl. It's just an EP, but it includes their cover of There is a Light that Never Goes Out.

Also, online, I picked up the new Mogwai EP "Earth Division" and the new Tori Amos album.

yay.

I needed some new music, so I payed a quick visit to America's favorite music store, amazon.com. I picked up CDs by two bands that I feel are ultra-hipster, The Decemberists and The Fleet Foxes. They made turn out to be too hip for me.

I heard a song by Fleet Foxes the other day and really liked how it sounded. I figured they were good for a listen.

My friend Liz loves the Decemberists, but they never made it on to my radar. That was until the Decemberists' Jenny Conlee appeared on a show called Portlandia as a musician named "Sparkle Pony".

I'm a huge Prince fan, but I'm a little burned out on all of his major albums. However, I tend to pick up an oldie every once in a while and rediscover it.

One of my favorite Prince albums is 0(+>, aka "The Love Symbol Album", aka "Prince and the New Power Generation". The jewel box for the disc has the symbol painted on it. From over use, my original disc's case was scratched badly. When I found a new looking disc and case at Amoeba for $4, I was quick to pick it up. And the rediscovery began.

The biggest songs off this one are 7, Sexy MF and My Name is Prince. In my opinion, the album works. It's kind of a concept album about Prince's elusiveness and his new love for an under-aged belly dancer named Mayte.

Musically, this album is sort of a bridge between his more musical styles of the past (Lovesexy / Sign O the Times) and the straight up hip-hop sound he was transitioning to (Emancipation / Musicology). There are some real gems mixed throughout, like Love 2 the 9's and The Morning Papers.

Whatever happened to Tony M?!

Tony M was Prince's rapper at the time. He appears on most of the songs in 0(+> He was discovered on the set of Purple Rain, almost a decade before, as part of a dance troop called "The Gameboyz". To add a street edge to his live shows, Prince hired the Gameboyz as his dancers. Later, Tony M began rapping during Prince's live shows and later was invited to rap on a few albums.

Years after he was let go, Tony M, along with Prince's guitar player, reportedly sued Prince for songwriting credit. Ultimately they received a small settlement that didn't even cover their court costs. Lesson learned: Don't **** with Prince.

A few months back, I heard that Fucked Up was playing a show in LA. I didn't see anything about a show in San Diego, so I sprung for a $15 ticket. Turns out they had a show in San Diego the next night. So I wound up going to both.

Los Angeles

On my way up, I had dinner with Dave and Jason in Sherman Oaks. We had tacos at a hippie/vegan/organic place called Hugo's. Their Honey Chipotle sauce was a win.

The show, at the El Ray Theater, was great. And it was huge, compared to the San Diego venue. I'm guessing like 2000 people. The theater had great sound, was spaced out nicely and was air conditioned. But it didn't feel entirely like a punk show. It kind of felt like going to a U2 concert. I'm sure if I got closer to the stage, it would have been more engaging, but I would have certainly been kicked in the face the mosh pit. No thanks.

I ran in to some LJ buds, bought some flair and a 45. After the show, I hurried off to

xxtapemakerxx's house, which is half-way home. Crashed there and drove home in the morning. Good times.

San Diego

I almost didn't go. I was so tired from the night before, but I pushed through. The moment I finished my PBR, they started playing. The crowd was tiny but very cool. Damien, the singer, was in the crowd for a lot of the show. I rubbed his head and hugged him mid-song. It was that kind of night. This is more what I'm used to.

At the end of the night, Damien was hugging fans. I snuck in for a goodbye hug. Awesome.

Last night, Lizzie and I went see a David Bazan concert just outside of downtown San Diego. The wacky part is the concert was in someone's living room. He does this from time time to time; it's basically a win-win for everybody. He gets to play a small show with almost no cost for him to set up, a fan gets a concert in his/her freakin' living room, and guys like me get to see a cool show.

It was really fun. David sounded great, and he answered (very random) questions from the audience. The show was about $20 and included a free poster.

Oh, and a random celebrity showed up at the last minute and left part-way through the show. D-list character actor Adam Goldberg was there. We couldn't place him, but we knew he was somebody. Liz googled him later and figured it out.