Morning. If you’re not typically an early riser allow me to make a case for it and a dumb one at that. It’s 7:50 a.m. as I write this and HBO’s got the 1989 Fred Savage starring video game themed blockbuster The Wizard on and in HD, no less. Why is this relevant to what I’m doing here? Well, it isn’t really – but to my surprise the girl playing Fred Savage’s friend in the film is none other than a young Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and solo career fame. And if you’re a video game nerd you’ve probably seen the movie already, but if not it’s like a commercial for the classic Nintendo system. There’s a montage on right now, in fact, that has shown clips from R.C. Pro Am, Rad Racer, and Contra. The Power Glove even makes an appearance. Yes, it’s that nerdy. And it’s kind of fun/creepy hearing Jenny Lewis scream “He touched my breast!”
Anyway. First up is a tune from Scottish band Travis. This band’s hit and miss for me. Most of what I’ve heard from them is kind of laid back brand of BritPop/alternative – not out of place with the likes of Keane, Coldplay, or Snow Patrol but all too often I feel like Travis is only pushing the pedal a quarter of the way to the floor. Not bad, mind you. Just not always my thing. But then there’s this song. It’s called “Happy to Hang Around” and it’s on the band’s 2003 album 12 Memories and it’s gloriously moody right from the start:
Love that song. Well, I’ll leave you with a bit of comedy at the expense of Tears for Fears. Some dude apparently has taken the video for the classic “Head Over Heels” and changed the lyrics to reflect what’s literally going on in a fairly ridiculous video. It’s a clever idea and a good laugh. Take a peek:
Hey hey hey. A couple days ago I linked to a live performance of a new Thursday track, but today Spin magazine has the actual studio version up for your streaming entertainment. So check out “Friends in the Armed Forces,” which coincedentally features guest vocals from the former singer of the yesterday-mentioned Quicksand (Walter Schrieffels). After that, make sure you go listen to the full new single from Mastodon over at their MySpace page. The tease on the band’s home page the other day didn’t do the song justice – you gotta hear the whole thing. It’s nasty. And has banjo.
Now I’m actually going to leave the rock behind today to gather some moss. There’s a story behind this, so take a walk with me for a sec. You see, there was a period of at least a month or two when I was in the sixth grade where I took the only real interest in hip-hop that I’ve ever had in my life. Why then, you ask? Well, I think it’s because I used to sit with a few black kids at lunch that year who would constantly freestyle rap at our table. And I guess I just wanted to keep up. Thankfully, this story does not include any instances of me trying to pre-date Slim Shady and drop some verse at the table myself. No, I somehow managed to save myself that particular embarassment. But even though I started watching “Yo! MTV Raps” and listening to hip-hop on the radio it didn’t translate to my making purchases to give my tape collection a little color. In fact, I can recall owning only one hip-hop tape during this phase. And that tape was Slick Rick’s 1988 opus The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. Here’s a taste:
That song is called “Children’s Story” and, in a way, it reminds me of the opening theme of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” but decidedly darker. Decidedly. I think I was drawn to Slick Rick largely because of the storytelling nature of this song. Unlike a lot of today’s hip-hop, “Children’s Story” manages to feature slang without leaving me feeling like I need a translator to understand what the hell the artist is talking about. I also like Rick’s pseudo-drawl, which is likely attributed to the fact that he was born and raised in London before moving to New York when he was ten. Let’s listen to another one from The Great Adventures. Here’s “Mona Lisa”:
Thematically, both of these songs circle around the idea that one would be wise to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, Rick was apparently writing what he knew, because he was no stranger to trouble. In the mid-nineties, Rick spent five years in prison for attempted murder and for “hassling with Immigration Services over his residency in the U.S.” The situation got worse in 2002, when he was jailed for over a year as a result of heightened homeland security looking to enforce a 1996 law that called for foreigners convicted of violent crimes to be deported. Things picked up again in 2006 when Rick was threatened with deportation once more, but a silver lining came in the form of NY governor David Paterson who in May of last year unconditionally pardoned Rick for his crimes in 1990. Whew. You can read more here, if interested. Or just watch this:
Slick Rick continues to record with others but hasn’t released a solo album since 1999’s The Art of Storytelling. There’s a video for a song off that album called “Street Talkin” that Universal won’t let me embed, but I’m not too upset since it’s about as cliche ridden as you could get, sadly. Cars. Money. Jewelry. Champagne. It even features Outkast, because everyone knows you can’t release a hip-hop single these days unless it features somebody. (Why is that?) If you want to see for yourself you can click here, but even aside from the visual idiocy it’s just not that great of a song. I’d stick with the old stuff and just wish Rick the best. And, yes, the eyepatch is real.
So it just dawned on me early this morning that I could have written about Quicksand yesterday. That’s not to slight Queensryche at all, but I think more people know about them than Quicksand and I’m not convinced it shouldn’t be the other way around. Oh well. Some other time…
Here’s another side note: I had some trade credit at a local used book/CD/DVD store and picked up the 1995 remastered version of Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard of Ozz album last night. Holy crap, this thing sounds fantastic! So many good tunes on that record as well – “Crazy Train”, “Suicide Solution”, “Mr. Crowley,” etc. But check this out, and I apologize if it’s old news to you but I had no clue, apparently there was an additional “remastering” of the record done in 2002. I put that word in quotes there, because it’s an inappropriate description of what the album is. Due to a feud between the original bassist and drummer (Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake, respectively) and the Osbourne clan (i.e. Sharon) over unpaid royalties, the original bass and drum parts were removed and re-recorded by then band members Robert Trujilo and Mike Bordin. Insane! Apparently there was no mention of this either on the original packaging and only revealed in the liner notes and the fact that Daisley and Kerslake were Photoshopped out of the original band photo! Nuts! If you’re bored sometime, read the fan reviews on Amazon for this one and/or the 2002 Diary of a Madman release which was given the same treatment. They’re not kind.
Now then. Gonna hit up R pretty quickly here. First up is a Rolling Stones song I recently realized I love. It’s called “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” from 1971’s Sticky Fingers. Classic stuff. And probably in at least one Martin Scorsese or Wes Anderson film. Maybe not. I’m just playing the odds:
And now for something completely different. Here’s Hank and the Rollins Band with “Low Self Opinion” from 1992’s End of Silence. Seventeen years later and I can still remember almost every damn word from this song. I also always thought guitarist Chris Haskett was extremely underrated in the halls of Shred Central Station. Anyway, get ready to pounce:
All for now. Oh wait, one more thing! Normally I wouldn’t even bother making fun of something like this, but I can’t resist. That band Hoobastank has a new album coming out and it bears the honor of having one of the worst titles I’ve ever read in my entire life. Are you ready for this? Okay. Here goes: For(N)ever.
Yep. For(N)ever. And that’s something that will be horrible for all eter(N)ity.
Yo to the Yo. Let’s do some business up front. Did you know that comedian/actor/author/genius Steve Martin plays the banjo? Did you know that he’s releasing an album with some very talented guests? Did you know that you can download a song from said album for free right here? It’s a real deal bluegrass song, too. Don’t expect laughs, just expect quality. I’ve mentioned previously that Mastodon has a new record coming out in March and you can catch a glimpse of the artwork right here. Even better, they’re giving a peek at the new single “Divinations” today as well. Go here for that.
Now then. We’re on the letter Q and surprisingly enough I’ve already featured Q bands Quasi and Queen on this blog and have given reference to Queens of the Stone Age on at least one occasion. So that’s like at least two thirds of all Q bands available right there. What are we left with? Queensryche, of course! And thank goodness, because I had wanted to write about them. I picked up another copy of the group’s great 1990 album Empire sometime last year and it’s still just as good now as it was 18 years ago (God that makes me feel old. Wow.) The production on this album sounds really good. The guitars are crisp and full and everything sounds like it was given room to breathe. Have another listen to the track “Jet City Woman.” The opening bass line just sounds great and of course Geoff Tate’s vocals are in fine dramatic form as always:
And let’s not overlook the fact that Queensryche is a pretty awesome name for a hard rock band. But you know what? It wasn’t the band’s original name. Originally they were apparently called – get ready for this – the Mob. How many different ways does that suck? Jeez louise. Thank God they changed it. Of course, for many Queensryche’s ultimate accomplishment came with 1988’s epic concept album Operation Mindcrime. I never exactly figured out the story of the record (not even upon seeing them perform it live in it’s entirety) but then I was still a kid and all I really cared about was that the tunes were good. Here’s “Revolution Calling” and no, Heath, it has nothing to do with Ron Paul:
So, yeah. There’s a doctor named X. There’s a nun. There’s some weird drug. Needless to say, this example of actually putting thought into lyrics stood out a bit in the 80’s hair metal heyday. And that might be why Queensryche is still going strong. They even put out a sequel to Mindcrime in 2006! How impressive is that? I haven’t heard any of it, but still….I’d like to. They even put out an album of cover songs in 2007, which might normally be the nail in the coffin for most bands, but Queensryche’s already announced that their next concept album, American Soldier, will be out later this year. So to take us out here’s the band’s cover of a song from Jesus Christ Superstar, of all things, off of Take Cover. Enjoy:
Morning. We’re at the letter P today and that can only mean one thing: Potachos. Hungry? I know. Actually, I’m going to throw a little love to New York based brawlers PRONG. There was a good year or two in the early nineties were I was all about Prong. Beg To Differ (with it’s awesome Pushead cover art) and Prove You Wrong were both constants on my stereo during those days and I even had the good fortune to see them open up for Ozzy once in Charlotte. Furthermore, I just like the name Prong. If you’re in a metal band you could do a lot worse than to name your band that. Musically though, Prong had a lot going for it back then. Not unlike how I felt with Helmet, there was something about Prong’s brand of heavy that let it dip it’s pen in Alternative’s company ink. They weren’t thrash, they weren’t industrial, but they had elemnts of both every now and then. And sometimes they could get downright jangly. Listen to the intro to “Prove You Wrong” and you’ll see what I mean:
Really, the way that song starts it wouldn’t be that big of a leap for it to go into Primus territory or something kind of wierd and funky instead of heavy and anthemic. But I’m glad Prong kept it heavy, because they did it quite well. For more on Prong, check out this article which documents the 15th anniversary of the band’s great 1994 album Cleansing. Here’s “Another Worldly Device” from that one:
See what I’m saying about the Helmet link? They could’ve been good tourmates based on that tune. Maybe they were, I don’t know. At any rate, I leave you today with the kings of P related metal. I’m talking Pantera, of course. I never quite sold my soul to this band, but their influence on modern metal is undeniable and for one moment in my life this next song completely ruled my entire little world:
