Wilco - "Red-Eyed and Blue/I Got You (At the End of the Century)"
"When we came here today
We all felt something true
Now I'm red-eyed and blue"
Those last three lines in one of my favorites from Being There really struck me yesterday as I was looking at footage from Wilco's five night "play every song from every album" stand at the Riviera Theatre on You Tube. (The clip above is from the second night) My never ending/cold/flu/beast tackling the east died at the same time as two of my favorite music entities--No Depression magazine and my favorite bar Magnetic Field.
No Depression was one of the few places over the past eight years that wrote in depth pieces about artists I truly cared about. (Five pages on the Minus 5???!!?) They covered music that was true--intelligent rock/country/R&B that would never go out of style. And now due to the downturn in the music industry and the magazine world, they're closing up shop.
Magnetic Field...gosh, what haven't I said about this place on this blog? I'm sure I'll have more to say once the bar closes at the end of March. (And after Bunnie England has its last gig their on Friday March 14th--come on down!) But it was definitely a sad day when I was asked by one of the owners to write the release about the bar closing. On the plus side, the release I wrote is easily the most disseminated piece of copy I've had in my entire career. Not that that makes me feel any better about losing the place where I've lost most of my liver. At least I've 30 more days to enjoy doing that.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Song of the Week 2/15/08
R.E.M. - "Supernatural Superserious"
Holy crap. This song is AWESOME. Pleasepleaseplease let the rest of Accelerate be this good. It's such a joy to hear them rock like its 1994 or 1986 all over again. I could not stop listening to this song--15 times in a span of three day in my iPod alone. And that doesn't count the video:
And might I suggest this fun video site too?
Holy crap. This song is AWESOME. Pleasepleaseplease let the rest of Accelerate be this good. It's such a joy to hear them rock like its 1994 or 1986 all over again. I could not stop listening to this song--15 times in a span of three day in my iPod alone. And that doesn't count the video:
And might I suggest this fun video site too?
Song of the Week 2/8/08
The Dismemberment Plan - "The Ice of Boston"
Back in August I posted a link to my friend Michael Boyd's Patient Boy blog where he deemed a song that myself and my bandmate in The 5th Joe S. co-wrote called "Drunken Agreement" was his song of the week. That song somehow inspired Mr. Boyd to invite me to take part in his own solo show, set to take place in October during Magnetic Field's Monday night local music showcase. The song he wanted me to provide the vocals for was called "The Ice of Boston" by the now defunct D.C. band The Dismemberment Plan. I'd heard the band's name, but had never heard any of their music. My first time through "The Ice of Boston" I thought to myself, "Damn, Boyd knows how to pick a song that plays to my strengths." "Boston" is a humorous song about pursuing a lost love (okay, I get that) that features weird spoken verses (yup, I can do that) and then screamed choruses (oh yeah, I got that down). It, quite simply, is a song designed for me to sing.
That gig in October didn't happen, but it finally got rescheduled for the night of February 11th. After one rehearsal, I had a good feeling. After a second rehearsal, I knew it was going to kick ass. And it did. I don't think I've ever had a prouder moment on the Field's stage than talking/singing "The Ice of Boston." So thanks Boyd, for seeing a talent in me I didn't even know I had.
BONUS: The day after Boyd and I first rehearsed the song, I decided to look it up on YouTube just to see how frontman Travis Morrison handled it live. And I found four very distinct examples.
1) 1997 Brownies, NYC
This was the same year the song was released on The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified, and the band sticks to the original.
2) 2002 Halloween, San Diego
At this point the band had established their gag of having fans crowd the stage and singing along. Morrison is still somewhat invested and enjoys the song.
3) 2003 Final Tour, Seattle
I can see why the band decided to call it quits--watch the disdain Morrison has for the whole entire spectacle of the song.
4) 2007 Reunion Show for Cal Robbins, Washington D.C.
Perhaps reuniting for a good cause of helping the son of J. Robbins made Morrison tolerate the song, as he kind of actually gave something in his performance. Of course, the fans give a whole lot more.
Back in August I posted a link to my friend Michael Boyd's Patient Boy blog where he deemed a song that myself and my bandmate in The 5th Joe S. co-wrote called "Drunken Agreement" was his song of the week. That song somehow inspired Mr. Boyd to invite me to take part in his own solo show, set to take place in October during Magnetic Field's Monday night local music showcase. The song he wanted me to provide the vocals for was called "The Ice of Boston" by the now defunct D.C. band The Dismemberment Plan. I'd heard the band's name, but had never heard any of their music. My first time through "The Ice of Boston" I thought to myself, "Damn, Boyd knows how to pick a song that plays to my strengths." "Boston" is a humorous song about pursuing a lost love (okay, I get that) that features weird spoken verses (yup, I can do that) and then screamed choruses (oh yeah, I got that down). It, quite simply, is a song designed for me to sing.
That gig in October didn't happen, but it finally got rescheduled for the night of February 11th. After one rehearsal, I had a good feeling. After a second rehearsal, I knew it was going to kick ass. And it did. I don't think I've ever had a prouder moment on the Field's stage than talking/singing "The Ice of Boston." So thanks Boyd, for seeing a talent in me I didn't even know I had.
BONUS: The day after Boyd and I first rehearsed the song, I decided to look it up on YouTube just to see how frontman Travis Morrison handled it live. And I found four very distinct examples.
1) 1997 Brownies, NYC
This was the same year the song was released on The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified, and the band sticks to the original.
2) 2002 Halloween, San Diego
At this point the band had established their gag of having fans crowd the stage and singing along. Morrison is still somewhat invested and enjoys the song.
3) 2003 Final Tour, Seattle
I can see why the band decided to call it quits--watch the disdain Morrison has for the whole entire spectacle of the song.
4) 2007 Reunion Show for Cal Robbins, Washington D.C.
Perhaps reuniting for a good cause of helping the son of J. Robbins made Morrison tolerate the song, as he kind of actually gave something in his performance. Of course, the fans give a whole lot more.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Medic! Medic!
Yeah, been letting the blog lapse for a couple weeks. It may be a couple more as I'm battling this wicked bronchitis/flu. Hopefully I'll return to posting by the first weekend of March.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Song of the Week 2/1/08
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Runnin' Down a Dream"
There's no escaping the Super Bowl, and there was no escaping this song this week.
Damn Fox Sports.
Mike Campbell still rocks like a mofo, even if they made him cut his solo short.
There's no escaping the Super Bowl, and there was no escaping this song this week.
Damn Fox Sports.
Mike Campbell still rocks like a mofo, even if they made him cut his solo short.
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