Alliteration Monday: The Beastie Boys

Discoveries Worth Sharing: Is this real life?

Another sweet offering from Eclectic Method.

Discoveries Worth Sharing: You Don't Know

As a coda to yesterday's post, one of Greenwich's own recordings:

"You Don't Know" -- Ellie Greenwich -- 1965

Obits: Ellie Greenwhich (1940-2009)

Another Brill Building great departs from us today. Some of her amazing credits:

And my favorite "splatter platter" ever:

Beat.Connection: Alright alright alright

"So Fresh, So Clean" -- Outkast -- 2000

"Before the Night is Over" -- Joe Simon -- 1977


This doesn't really qualify as a sample so much as a clever adaptation, which might explain why Joe Simon doesn't have songwriting credits on the Outkast hit (via allmusic, if it can be trusted). Also, it's cool how the pizzicatos make the original sound so classy, especially given the hook of the modern interpretation ("so fresh and so clean, clean").

Alliteration Monday: Kool Chip & Chuck Chillout

Starts goofy, gets uncomfortable, winds up somewhere in between.

Alliteration Monday: Girls

Wednesday is the new Monday.

Favorite Songs of the '00s, #3: "You, Yes You," Beauty Pill

Allow me to preface this post with a clarification: “You, Yes You” was released in 2003, not 2009. In other words, before the “text-message-heard-‘round-the-world” shock of the summer came into our respective inboxes, this song still had a wry lick of humor to it rather than coincidental sincerity. Certainly, the loss of Michael Jackson has more substantive disappointments attached to it than something as trivial as a line in a song, but I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bit saddened the edge is now potentially lost.

In reality, “Michael Jackson” was pretty much the most overplayed punch line in the book before he died. Yet, the status quo dictates that any dig at a man whom everyone acknowledges was both strange and misunderstood is no longer acceptable. Untimely tragedy, for better or worse, can do that whenever adulated art and/or celebrity enter the equation.

And maybe it’s neither Chad Clark’s (who wrote it) nor my place to judge when Jackson’s youthful spirit truly “died,” but I think we can still be forthcoming about the quirks of the star’s adult life: It may be unacceptable to stomp upon Michael Jackson’s grave, but I’d like to believe we can still dance on it a bit.

To that end, and as any luck would have it, the sentiment should still be intact. And that’s really what this one has going for it—pure charm. I’ll vouch for the warped strings at the end, and Clark’s distinctive coo, but if you aren’t smiling at some point during the song then this post has pretty much been in vain.

(To see the previous "favorite song" entry, click here.)

Earplugs (or 5 reasons why you should go see): Bat for Lashes

1) Maybe it's just the 9:30 Club's soundsystem, but Bat for Lashes' New Age-conquers-the-dance-floor stylings sound nothing short of epic live: Towering helpings of fuzz-free bass beats lend the sort of power to their set that justifies a giant mural of a howling wolf as a stage backdrop (sort of like this) and other interspersed kitsch.

2) Natashan Khan (the only full-time member of Bat for Lashes) has an outstanding voice: Imagine Björk's set of pipes, but with an understanding that "less can be more" and you have the gist. Rarely have I heard an artist end a song with a wail as potent as Khan's, and yet she grins so unassumingly after doing so...

3) Surprising instrumentation like autoharp, harmonium, and a harpsichord really fill out the sound, bringing nuance to the aforementioned brawn of the low-end. It's one thing to incorporate such eclecticism into your album, but to carry a harpsichord around with you on an international tour warrants admiration.

4) Touring members Charlotte Hatherly and Sarah Jones know how to carry a tune. The middle section of "Siren Song" (featured below) kills live. Absolutely slays. No joke.

5) Khan typically writes pretty compact songs. While such thriftiness can occasionally leave a longing for "more" by the end of a piece, it's always refreshing to encounter an artist that has a realistic grasp of an audience's attention span.

Samples:
"Glass" -- Two Suns (2009)

"Siren Song" -- Two Suns (2009)


Remaining U.S. Tour Dates:
17th August 2009 - The Loft @ Center Stage, Atlanta
19th August 2009 - The Parish, Austin
20th August 2009 - The Loft, Dallas
22nd August 2009 - Bluebird Theatre, Denver
26th August 2009 - Neumo's, Seattle
27th August 2009 - Wonder Ballroom, Portland
29th August 2009 - Outside Lands Festival, San Francisco
31st August 2009 - The Music Box Theatre @ Fonda, LA

Alliteration Monday: The Juan Maclean

One of the better songs about the final frontier.

Happy Birthday

Worth Watching.