I actually wanted to post Big Electric Cat (which I used as the soundtrack for my first student film way back when - seriously, listen to it...wicked), but embedding was disabled by request...so I'm Down, as also performed by Adrian Belew.
See belew.
Crazy busy week continues...but into home stretch.
Showing posts with label music videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music videos. Show all posts
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
California Sunlight, Sweet Calcutta Rain...
Another year has come and gone. My kids keep telling me: "You aren't getting any older, you're getting...well, um...yeah, you're getting older."
I believe I've told you this before - first rock concert I ever saw was Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same.
Well, technically, t'was the first concert film I ever saw...(first actual rock concert concert was The Stampeders at the Centre of the Arts in 1976).
It was a weekday matinee screening down at the Coronet (billed as Regina's first triple auditorium theatre! And long since torn down). I went with my school chum Bart Habermiller. We took the bus to get there. There was one other person in attendance, an older gentleman. Bart was a little creeped out. I didn't care.
The lights dimmed. The movie began.
It's a long film, and the extended fantasy sequences starring the band members interspersed between musical performances did make it feel even longer. Bart fell asleep halfway through, around the same time the one other patron eased themselves up out of their seat and walked out, muttering about being sooooo bored.
But I sat through it all. Entranced. Mesmerized. Awed. All those kinds of words. C'mon! It was Zep, man! One of my musical idols! Rock n' Roll gods!
And a band I would never have a hope in hell seeing in Buttkick, butcept on a movie screen.
Anyway, I woke Bart up as the tail credits rolled, and we shuffled back out into the late afternoon sun. Not California sunshine mind you, but I still did feel enlightened in some way...more informed and inspired and connected even to an exciting world that existed beyond the city limits of a small prairie town.
With all the internets and the youtubes today, all short bursts....clips and excerpts...from everywhere, I often wonder if such a singular seminal viewing experience is ever possible for our kids...one that opens their eyes and ears to the power and pleasure and possibilities of the rest of world.
Ohh it makes me wonder....it does.
If you discover what you're missing, even now, it's always possible to find it.
Now where's my cake.
I believe I've told you this before - first rock concert I ever saw was Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same.
Well, technically, t'was the first concert film I ever saw...(first actual rock concert concert was The Stampeders at the Centre of the Arts in 1976).
It was a weekday matinee screening down at the Coronet (billed as Regina's first triple auditorium theatre! And long since torn down). I went with my school chum Bart Habermiller. We took the bus to get there. There was one other person in attendance, an older gentleman. Bart was a little creeped out. I didn't care.
The lights dimmed. The movie began.
It's a long film, and the extended fantasy sequences starring the band members interspersed between musical performances did make it feel even longer. Bart fell asleep halfway through, around the same time the one other patron eased themselves up out of their seat and walked out, muttering about being sooooo bored.
But I sat through it all. Entranced. Mesmerized. Awed. All those kinds of words. C'mon! It was Zep, man! One of my musical idols! Rock n' Roll gods!
And a band I would never have a hope in hell seeing in Buttkick, butcept on a movie screen.
Anyway, I woke Bart up as the tail credits rolled, and we shuffled back out into the late afternoon sun. Not California sunshine mind you, but I still did feel enlightened in some way...more informed and inspired and connected even to an exciting world that existed beyond the city limits of a small prairie town.
With all the internets and the youtubes today, all short bursts....clips and excerpts...from everywhere, I often wonder if such a singular seminal viewing experience is ever possible for our kids...one that opens their eyes and ears to the power and pleasure and possibilities of the rest of world.
Ohh it makes me wonder....it does.
The Song Remains The Same
I had a dream. Crazy dream.
Anything I wanted to know, any place I needed to go
Hear my song. People won't you listen now? Sing along.
You don't know what you're missing now.
Any little song that you know
Everything that's small has to grow.
And it has to grow!
California sunlight, sweet Calcutta rain
Honolulu starbright - the song remains the same.
Sing out Hare Hare, dance the Hoochie Koo.
City lights are oh so bright, as we go sliding... sliding...
sliding through.
If you discover what you're missing, even now, it's always possible to find it.
Now where's my cake.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I'm In Love With (The Music In) My Car
I was thinking about doing a 'year in my music' review last month, but as I started to put it together I was struck by how average and 'mainstream' so many of my choices were...and I ditched it. I mean, pretty much everything I was going to shout about was already on Q Magazine or Spin Magazine or Rolling Stone mags 'best of' lists (which got me wondering...have I become so uncool? Or have all the rags just gone more cool?). Anyhoo. Bo-ring.
But then I was reading an article recently that labelled some of the picks I was planning to highlight as 'recent discoveries', so I decided to do a quick revisit.
First the rules, pretty simple actually...cd's are ranked by the length of time a band or artists' disc spent in the cd player of my car (and who doesn't love their car + great tunes...I mean, really) --- most time in the deck wins.
Yeah, you heard me. This ain't about kudos for bragging about the obscure, hip, cool, rad music I came across... this is about what stayed in the player, playa.
So counting down, or up, the top five:
5) Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology - 3 weeks 4 days
Alt-country meets stadium rock... great cruising music... wrote about it HERE.... check out "Magick"
4) Bob Mould - District Line - 3 weeks 6 days
Beck - Modern Guilt - 3 weeks 6 days
A tie between two alt pop punk mavericks...wrote about 'District Line' HERE...'Modern Guilt' a little bit HERE (it grew on me)... check out "Gamma Ray"
3) Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid - 4 weeks 2 days
Courtesy Callaghan giving a thumbs up...hard to put a finger on what exactly I liked so much about this UK bands' folksy yet richly textured release, but it got played over and over and over...check out "One Day Like This"
2) The Killers - Day & Age - 5 weeks 1 day
Bit of surprise with this one, which after being casually tossed in for a quick 'let's give it a listen', just came out of the car a few days ago. Perhaps it was because of the cold, but I think because there was a whole lots of 80's 'Tears For Fearsy' and 'Human Leaguee' dance fun....check out "Human"
1) My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges - 7 weeks
TV on the Radio - Dear Science - 7 weeks
Yes, another tie. Kind of lame I know, but these were also the only two cd's I bought this year that spent considerable time in the deck, came out of the deck, and then went back in the deck again. So a bit of a cheat in that I combined their time spent in my vehicle's cd player, but whatever... they deserved it. Wrote about 'Evil Urges' HERE and 'Dear Science' HERE...both are brilliant...don't hesitate to purchase.
Other musical year end notes: didn't see a lot of live acts this year...Neil Young was special but the standout show would have to have been Kathleen Edwards and her band kicking out the jams for an hour at a folk festival. Her new cd Asking For Flowers with The Cheapest Key wasn't too shabby either.
And coolest 'very viral' music video of the year (I could take or leave the song)... Weezer's "Pork and Beans".
Just watch it and you'll understand what I mean.
Okay...we all good?
But then I was reading an article recently that labelled some of the picks I was planning to highlight as 'recent discoveries', so I decided to do a quick revisit.
First the rules, pretty simple actually...cd's are ranked by the length of time a band or artists' disc spent in the cd player of my car (and who doesn't love their car + great tunes...I mean, really) --- most time in the deck wins.
Yeah, you heard me. This ain't about kudos for bragging about the obscure, hip, cool, rad music I came across... this is about what stayed in the player, playa.
So counting down, or up, the top five:
5) Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology - 3 weeks 4 days
Alt-country meets stadium rock... great cruising music... wrote about it HERE.... check out "Magick"
4) Bob Mould - District Line - 3 weeks 6 days
Beck - Modern Guilt - 3 weeks 6 days
A tie between two alt pop punk mavericks...wrote about 'District Line' HERE...'Modern Guilt' a little bit HERE (it grew on me)... check out "Gamma Ray"
3) Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid - 4 weeks 2 days
Courtesy Callaghan giving a thumbs up...hard to put a finger on what exactly I liked so much about this UK bands' folksy yet richly textured release, but it got played over and over and over...check out "One Day Like This"
2) The Killers - Day & Age - 5 weeks 1 day
Bit of surprise with this one, which after being casually tossed in for a quick 'let's give it a listen', just came out of the car a few days ago. Perhaps it was because of the cold, but I think because there was a whole lots of 80's 'Tears For Fearsy' and 'Human Leaguee' dance fun....check out "Human"
1) My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges - 7 weeks
TV on the Radio - Dear Science - 7 weeks
Yes, another tie. Kind of lame I know, but these were also the only two cd's I bought this year that spent considerable time in the deck, came out of the deck, and then went back in the deck again. So a bit of a cheat in that I combined their time spent in my vehicle's cd player, but whatever... they deserved it. Wrote about 'Evil Urges' HERE and 'Dear Science' HERE...both are brilliant...don't hesitate to purchase.
Other musical year end notes: didn't see a lot of live acts this year...Neil Young was special but the standout show would have to have been Kathleen Edwards and her band kicking out the jams for an hour at a folk festival. Her new cd Asking For Flowers with The Cheapest Key wasn't too shabby either.
And coolest 'very viral' music video of the year (I could take or leave the song)... Weezer's "Pork and Beans".
Just watch it and you'll understand what I mean.
Okay...we all good?
Monday, January 08, 2007
It's 'Just' That 'Everybody Hurts'...in a good way
This is a bit of a limp out post on cool music videos, but whatever...
I remember when MTV hit the television airwaves in the early 80's. I found them fascinating. A chance to finally hear AND 'see' the bands and musicians I was into at the time. And for a kid living out in the middle of nowhere (with no real opportunity to see any of the bands in person, this was a big deal). I used to head down to the one bar in my town that had a satellite feed to sit from 4-7 and sip happy hour drinks and 'watch the vids'.
Sure there was a lot of crap. Or a lot of videos that were just 'commercials for songs'. But there were also some wicked mini movies set to music. And for a beginning film student, that was the biggest attraction.
Here's a list of VH1's 100 Greatest Music videos compiled in 2001 just to give you a frame of reference.
Most lists are topped by M Jackson's 'Thriller', and Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' or 'Express Yourself'... and P Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer always rank high. And they were all groundbreakingly original at the time, but it The Police's 'Every Breath You Take' and Don Henley's 'Boys Of Summer' that resonated for me the most way back when...
Jumping forward in time, Marilyn Manson messed with my mind with his video for 'Beautiful People'...
And REM's 'Everybody Hurts' was an instant classic...
But Radiohead wins hands down. Check out any of their vids like 'There There', 'Fake Plastic Trees', 'Knives Out', 'Street Spirit', 'No Surprises', 'High And Dry', 'Rabbit In Your Headlights', 'Paranoid Android', 'Karma Police', and you won't be disappointed. All brilliant.
If I had to pick just one, however, it's their classic video for the song 'Just'...
A story set to music with a beginning, middle, and a 'What da...?' ending, this work of art ultimately defined the 'music video' for me.
So what do you think the man lying on the ground said?
I remember when MTV hit the television airwaves in the early 80's. I found them fascinating. A chance to finally hear AND 'see' the bands and musicians I was into at the time. And for a kid living out in the middle of nowhere (with no real opportunity to see any of the bands in person, this was a big deal). I used to head down to the one bar in my town that had a satellite feed to sit from 4-7 and sip happy hour drinks and 'watch the vids'.
Sure there was a lot of crap. Or a lot of videos that were just 'commercials for songs'. But there were also some wicked mini movies set to music. And for a beginning film student, that was the biggest attraction.
Here's a list of VH1's 100 Greatest Music videos compiled in 2001 just to give you a frame of reference.
Most lists are topped by M Jackson's 'Thriller', and Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' or 'Express Yourself'... and P Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer always rank high. And they were all groundbreakingly original at the time, but it The Police's 'Every Breath You Take' and Don Henley's 'Boys Of Summer' that resonated for me the most way back when...
Jumping forward in time, Marilyn Manson messed with my mind with his video for 'Beautiful People'...
And REM's 'Everybody Hurts' was an instant classic...
But Radiohead wins hands down. Check out any of their vids like 'There There', 'Fake Plastic Trees', 'Knives Out', 'Street Spirit', 'No Surprises', 'High And Dry', 'Rabbit In Your Headlights', 'Paranoid Android', 'Karma Police', and you won't be disappointed. All brilliant.
If I had to pick just one, however, it's their classic video for the song 'Just'...
A story set to music with a beginning, middle, and a 'What da...?' ending, this work of art ultimately defined the 'music video' for me.
So what do you think the man lying on the ground said?
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