Wednesday, December 22, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 228: The Curse Of Milhaven

The Curse Of Millhaven - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1996)

Nothing says Christmas like a murder ballad about a little serial killer! Nick Cave has touched on all aspects of humanity in his songwriting, but this track from his 1996 masterpiece, aptly titled Murder Ballads, is what drew me to him and his restless, slightly off-kilter brilliance.



I think this is an outtake from an unfinished Brecht/Weill musical!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 227: No Depression

No Depression - The Carter Family (1936)

This is why country music exists. This is why it survives. This is why I love it.



This is why we had a great alt. country magazine for a time.

JDIZZY's 365 # 226: Yesterday Once More

Yesterday Once More - The Carpenters (1973)

God, The Carpenters are so much better than we secretly thought they were when our mothers would iron clothes while listening to their records (or maybe that was just me)! What a voice. What a loss. What a body of work to leave behind.



A Great Cover from the greatest tribute album of the nineties!

JDIZZY's 365 # 225: In The Land Of Grey & Pink

In The Land Of Grey & Pink - Caravan (1971)

Nobody did soft prog better than Caravan. One of the originators of the Canterbury Sound, they explored jazz, rock and psychedelics on their first two albums, but embraced folk much stronger on this title track of their third. Greatest Hits packages are usually the way to see if you will appreciate an artist's work. In The Land Of Grey & Pink is quite substantial as an introduction to Caravan's completely distinctive sound. Grab Waterloo Lily, Cunning Stunts along with the previously mentioned duo as well. You'll want more after this little masterpiece, I can feel it.

JDIZZY's 365 # 224: Hickory Wind

Hickory Wind - The Byrds (1968)

Country rock possibly started in 1964 with The Beatles. "I'll Cry Instead" definitely had the feel of a honky tonk anthem played by a Merseybeat combo. Then, as they sometimes did at the time, the Stones took hold of that idea and ran with it on 1966's "High & Dry'. America then took the reigns as Dylan mustered up his arcane western answer to the summer of love with the John Wesley Harding LP. Still, it took the band that took Bobby to the top of the charts to bring about today's selection. All because of their newest member too. I take nothing away from what the Byrds did before Sweetheart of The Rodeo, nor do I dismiss the scattered brilliance of what came after. Still, Sweetheart created alt. country in one fell swoop, while giving us the father of the genre, Gram Parsons and his masterwork. A rumination of beautific nostalgia, there has never been a better country song than "Hickory Wind", and I don't think there ever will be. Amazingly enough, Gram even played it at the Grand Old Opry to a cascade of boos and catcalls. If only the music that passes for country today on Opry broadcasts sounded a millimeter as authentic as this.



Keith really should go solo more often!

Monday, December 20, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 223: Video Killed The Radio Star

Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles (1979)

How do you follow up the first music video ever shown on MTV? You join Yes, found Asia, and produce Frankie Goes To Hollywood, if you are Trevor Horn & Geoffrey Downes. Amen to this perfect pop confection and Amen to their journeyman spirit and storied careers that are only missing one thing : A US REUNION TOUR!!!!!!



PUT THE BLAME FOR ALL THESE COVERS & SAMPLES ON YOUTUBE, NOT VCR!!!







JDIZZY's 365 # 222: I Fought In A War

I Fought In A War - Belle & Sebastian (2000)

Stuart Murdoch's finest statement, made all the more poignant by the years of war that followed its release. If for some reason you've slept on this sixties psych folk pop band from the nineties, the time has come to rectify that situation.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 221: Equestrian Statue

Equestrian Statue - The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (1967)

Psych Pop at its finest from a band so out there and cutting edge that The Beatles put them in Magical Mystery Tour. Their albums are well worth your time, as is anything lead Bonzo Vivian Stanshill ever touched in his life. Meet the British Mothers.

JDIZZY's 365 # 220: The Universal

The Universal - Blur (1995)

If we could but journey back to those care-free days when Britpop ruled the world! As much as Oasis was the mid-nineties Beatles and Pulp were The Who, Blur was some strange lovechild of The Stones' swagger and The Kinks' overt "English"ness. Their greatest hits, released here in the States in 2000, showed us just what we'd been missing, letting us know that the band was so much more than "Song #2". "The Universal" will be forever tied to its Stanley Kubrick-inspired video, but for those of us that heard the song first, there was no getting away from that motif. It is a ballad of distance from the not-too-distant space age musings of a previous age. It is Ziggy Stardust as a lounge singer. It is flawless, and is the perfect conglomeration of everything Damon Albarn was at that point in his career. Yet, like Bowie himself, it gave no hint of the future flights of brilliance he would lead us on long after the fall of both the other bands that filled out the second coming of the British Rock Triumvirate.



Bedroom Blur?

Monday, December 13, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 219: Southern Accents

Southern Accents - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1985)

There has never been a better song about the young liberal southerner who is proud of his heritage than today's selection. It is the ultimate statement from one of rock's ultimate showmen. Mr. Petty has rocked and rolled with the best of them, but he is a hell of a singer/songwriter as well. Southern Accents is easily the Heartbreaker's best album, but Petty has explored this side in much more detail on his solo albums like Wildflowers. Still, like Jackson Browne in the Running On Empty days, it is always pleasing to hear a band pick up this most "solo" of genres and make it high art.



Once again, Johnny Cash sings the "true" American Songbook.

JDIZZY'S 365 # 218: Comfy In Nautica

Comfy In Nautica - Panda Bear (2006)

Panda Bear is the reason I am completely enamored with Animal Collective. He is the pop heart of this experimental outfit. Listen to today's track, from the beyond perfect Person Pitch,and hear the influences of The Beach Boys, The Hollies and other sunshine pop experts. Marvel at his subtle use of samples, here a Japanese folk group who soundtracked Akira. Finally, anxiously await the release of his new solo album Tomboy, which promises to blow indie blogger's minds all over again, and probably yours as well.



Here's a great remix from DJ Nic Sarno!

JDIZZY's 365 # 217: Paper Roses

Paper Roses - Marie Osmond (1973)

Why should we love Marie Osmond? For one thing, she beat the evil Anita Bryant in the billboard chart placing of this signature country song. For another.......... well, those Osmonds could surprise you when you weren't paying attention. Marie would continue to surprise in her country career and her early albums are well worth seeking out, as they are perfect examples of Nashville in the early seventies.

Friday, December 10, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 216: Crying

Crying - Roy Orbison (1961)

Roy Orbison
sang like an opera singer trapped in pop music. What else can you do in such a situation but make tearkerker ballads soar to the heights of Valhalla? In a career that lasted until his death in 1988, Roy Orbison never stopped turning heartbreak into high, beautiful art. He has influenced everyone in the rock genre that ever sang a sad song, and that's a mighty long line of people that followed in his wake. You can hear him in The Beatles, Bruce, and Ben, and that's just three of the B's. This is his greatest single,where his voice rises from a whisper to an impassionate scream of pain over a lost love who wants to be friends. They really don't make music like this anymore, and it is a damned shame.



A duet featuring Roy, A pop rock band whot took the song higher on the charts then Orbison and one of the best covers ever recorded: Here they are!





JDIZZY's 365 # 215: Wagon Wheel

Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show (2004)

....Wow, I am completely taken aback....:



So, although I was gonna write about how great this song is, with its references to towns along Interstate 81, now I am simply in awe of this group and their ability to finish something that "The Master" couldn't. I would love to write more...... I'm just kind of in shock!



Agit-punks Against Me faithfully cover this song? what is going on today?

JDIZZY's 365 # 214: Folkin' Around

Folkin' Around - Panic At The Disco (2008)

At first listen, this song sounds like a cover of a Dylan/Band outtake that you never heard. Then, you realize its those guys from the circus wedding video. I cannot praise Panic's second album Pretty. Odd. enough. It is the sound of emo punks discovering their parent's record collection and being blown away. If this album had come out in the late sixties, it would have been huge. Instead, it was a moderate hit that met with much critical success. It's a shame the band splintered after its release into Panic! and The Young Veins. I would loved to have seen where this foursome could have gone. The direction they were heading in was pop rock perfection.

JDIZZY's 365 # 213: Hey Ya!

Hey Ya! - OutKast (2003)

This is the song that finally made hip hop cool for your parents. How could it not, with that infectious tune, sixties beat and deep lyrics that most of us have never analyzed. It just goes to show how insanely brilliant Andre 3000's side of Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below is, and although Big Boi is only featured in the video, it gave the group its biggest hit. Taking nothing away from the power of songs off of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Atliens, Aquemini, Stankonia and Idlewild, this kills off any sterotype left about hip-hop's relevance and power. It is truly the people's music, and it is a people with no color, creed or national origin. It is what George Clinton always hoped for, "One Nation Under a Groove".



Britpop, punk, country, and slowcore ... Told you it was universal!







JDIZZY's 365 # 212: Common People

Common People - Pulp (1995)

Here, ladies and gentlemen is the finest moment of the Britpop movement. Pulp's performance of this ode to "class slummers" at The Glastonbury Festival in 1995 is as critical to its popularity as The original British Invasion was stoked by The Beatles appearing on Ed Sullivan. How could Jarvis Cocker ever follow this up? He chose not to, instead becoming a Ray Davies for our generation, which is never a bad thing to do.




BHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

JDIZZY's 365 # 211: Surf's Up

Surf's Up - The Beach Boys (1971)

How strange for us, that generation whose parents raised them on the music of the 1960's, when we discover Smile. Usually, after years and years of hearing Hawthorne, Ca's best singing their odes to cars, surfing, and the romanticism of teenagers, we are exposed to Pet Sounds. It tends to stop us in our tracks, realizing through the magnificent singles and album tracks that Brian Wilson was just as in touch with turning modern pop into "Classical" music as Lennon and McCartney were. Then, we begin to hear whispers of something more, something shrouded in mystery: A Lost Album, that eclipses everything being made in 1966, months before Sgt. Pepper changed the way we heard music.
Smile is as good as those forty years of myth-making imagined. When the finished version was released in 2004, it was praised, loved and cherished. The album that the evil Mike Love hated was a commercial and artistic smash. Yet, it wasn't a surprise. In the late sixties and early seventies, The Beach Boys released tracks from the session across a wide spattering of formats. With Brian becoming a mental and physical recluse, they were forced to go back to these tracks to get his compositions on their releases. They hit on the majestic "Surf's Up" in 1971. Using original backing tracks, enhanced by new vocals singing Van Dyke Parks' lyrics, they worked hard to complete this ode to the loss of the California Dream. But they couldn't finish it. Something long forgotten was missing in the ending coda.
Here is where the story takes on an air of myth, yet it reportedly truly happened. Brian Wilson, absent from the entire session because he didn't want to resurrect old ghosts, stormed into the studio, reciting the lyrics to "Child Is The Father To The Man", the missing lyrical finale to Smile's proposed centerpiece.
The fact that "Surf's Up" was released was a miracle. The fact that it is the best song The Beach Boys ever recorded cemented Smile's legend, which kept us waiting for the the day when Wilson's "Teenage Symphony To God" would take its place among the greatest music the western world has ever produced.



.............wow............, Vince Gill is sick!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 210: A Salty Dog

A Salty Dog - Sarah Brightman (1993)

One upon a time there was an English prog band named Procol Harum. They wrote an amazing song called " A Salty Dog", which pretty much ruled in every way possible with its seafaring imagery and all around awesomeness. Then, in 1993, along comes Andrew Lloyd Webber's ex-wife with a water-based concept album that oddly enough, features this song. You don't expect West End divas to cover such material. You really don't expect them to nail it. Ms. Brightman captures the entire point of the song almost as good as the venerable Harum. It opened my eyes to here strange, strange career which I have enjoyed from latter day concept albums to Christmas music . Yep, I know, I wrote her off too, but you really should listen to her records. You'll be surprised how cool she is, like if Kate Bush was on Broadway.



You know, maybe people just sing this song really well. Here's Dream Theater's former drummer Mike Portnoy singing it for his fabulous former side project, now "only" group, Transatlantic!

Monday, December 6, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 209: Lady Willpower

Lady Willpower - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (1968)

There has always been a part of me that loves MOR pop rock. I would include the mighty Gap, along with Blood, Sweat & Tears (after their first album) and The Grass Roots as the finest examples of the genre. Gary Puckett wanted to write his own songs with his band, but with a record contract in their face, they recorded the triumvirate of Jerry Fuller-produced classics "Woman, Woman", "Young Girl" and "Lady Willpower". "Lady.." wins out here because, although the three songs are essentially the same, Willpower is less creepy and more positive than the former two. Of course the selling point is Gary's baritone, which is often overlooked in rock vocalist lists, but is one of the all time greats. He's still out there today on the oldies circuit and there are worse things you could do than go and enjoy an hour or two with some great music.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 208: Virginia Grey's Ragtime Memories

Virginia Grey's Ragtime Memories - Price & Walsh (1966)

This is probably the rarest song on the 365 . It came to me on a complete fluke, while listening to my Grocer Jack channel on Pandora. The song stopped me in my tracks, and I instantly looked it up on Amazon and purchased the disc it came from. This is some heady psych pop, ladies and germs. This duo would go on to write "Temptation Eyes" for The Grass Roots, as well as other hits for various artists. However, this demo for a psychedelic album that was never released shows that beneath the popular surface of late 60's music, many geniuses wallowed in obscurity. It is why reissues like these are so important. This album seems to be gone from Amazon now, but you can purchase it from their UK store. I can't recommend this haunting tale of a faded star that is today's choice or its counterparts enough.

Friday, December 3, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 207: Avenging Annie

Avenging Annie - Andy Pratt (1973)

Thank you Velvet Goldmine for putting this song in your film, but not on the soundtrack. You forced me to go internet exploring for years, eventually finding out about Mr. Pratt. Andy Pratt put out one perfect album and a number 78 single before disappearing back into obscurity. He still plays today, and his work is in dire need of discovery, as evidenced by the lack of songs available on youtube and his albums being out of print. Remember friends, if Todd Haynes likes it, it's gotta be good!



Roger Daltrey covered it quite well, but didn't sing in Annie's voice!

JDIZZY's 365 # 206: Killing The Blues

Killing The Blues - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (2007)

Roly Salley plays bass guitar for Chris Isaak. He also wrote one of the best songs ever written. It took the golden god of rock and the voice of an angel to make the world notice it. Their version is more produced then his, but it is timeless in a way that makes the tune even stronger, with Plant's weathered but still majestic voice weaving betwixt Krauss' perfect instrument. It is quite an honor when people cover your work. It's even more so when they perfect it.

JDIZZY's 365 # 205: Helpless

Helpless - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970)

Those harmonies can end wars, I kid you not. While the foursome never bettered the Deja Vu album, no conglomeration of these insanely brilliant artists ever bettered the foursome. Once again, no kidding can be heard in my voice.



Course, you can't really beat this version either!

JDIZZY's 365 # 204: Jesus Of Suburbia

Jesus Of Suburbia - Green Day (2004)

When did it become cool to hate Green Day? I completely missed that bandwagon. I must have been thinking of my formative teenage years, which I'm pretty sure were soundtracked by Dookie from '94-'96. Insomniac had its moments of joy too, then Nimrod came around during my senior year and presented us with the perfect graduation song. Warning popped up to keep the party going in College. Then, at 24, alienated and confused by the first four Bush years, Green Day stepped up with a Rock Opera and said through it that we was not alone. American Idiot is probably the stopping point for many a fan of the band. It's where they became our generation's Who, giving us our Tommy. It's also the best writing they have ever done, as well as the most honest. For those who don't appreciate the theatricality of Green Day's last six years, I suggest you take out your old cassette of Kerplunk! and weep about what might have been. For the rest of us, let's bask in this multi-part movement of Punk Rock Opera Glory!!!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 203: Time

Time - Tom Waits (1985)

Any songwriter of merit would weep if they wrote a song like this. I believe Tom stopped pounding on his beat-up old typewriter, swigged a long sip of whiskey, smoked a full flavored cigarette and knew his previous moments of brilliance had just led up to this moment and that his future of never-ending relevance and artistry left from this song's station. This is the track you put on when no one but Mr. Waits can soothe your aching soul. In my many journeys to its acoustic core, it has never disappointed.

JDIZZY's 365 # 202: Every Day Is Like Sunday

Every Day Is Like Sunday - Morrissey (1988)

Living in the Wisconsin resort town aptly called Wisconsin Dells in the middle of winter was a sobering experience for me. Every morning, driving to work, I was greated by the sleeping giants of amusement parks, water slides and various other tourist traps closed for the season. I was told that the population was in the millions during the summer, but in the cold days of February, only about 2,000 inhabitants braved the weather. Moz ran through my head the entire time I was there. His paeon to being trapped in a coastal town during the wrong months summed up my experience perfectly. I don't think he ever sang, wrote or gelled better than he did on Viva Hate, coming off of The Smiths high, announcing a solo career that would still be going strong over twenty years later..... Just not as strong as this.



COLIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JDIZZY's 365 # 201: Ferry Cross The Mersey

Ferry Cross The Mersey - Gerry & The Pacemakers (1964)

The Beatles wrote many a song about their hometown's streets, fields and girls. Oddly enough, they never hit on the river that flows there, into the Irish Sea. It must have been because that geographical location was already well spoken for by late 1964. The Pacemakers were one of many Merseybeat bands that found success in the wake of Beatlemania. They just happened to pen the movement's anthem in the form of this ballad. It is a sentimental longing for home that pulls the right amount of heartstrings to make it universal. The Pacemakers' catalog has plenty of quality entries, but this piece is right up there with The Fab Four's best.



After The Hillsborough Tragedy in 1989, Paul McCartney himself sang on a tribute version of the song.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 200: Baker Street

Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty (1978)

It seemed like Gerry Rafferty was done in 1978. Legal battles over contracts for his former band had left him unable to record for three years. Now, with his second solo album finally coming to fruition, he had to deliver something. Turned out all he needed was a saxophone solo by Raphael Ravenscroft. A global phenomenon after its release, Rafferty never replicated its success. Sometimes the perfect single really is the beginning of the end, although he does have a wealth of solid material to peruse. However, the saxophone was cool again, and that's all that matters (Even if the riff might have been stolen!).



Get it Mr . Grohl!!!

JDIZZY's 365 # 199: Careless Whisper

Careless Whisper - George Michael (1984)

Release on Wham!'s album Make It Big, this was George Michael's first solo single in the UK, and showed beyond the shadow of a doubt that Andrew Ridgeley was completely expendable. Michael would go on to craft some of the greatest contributions to the recorded British legacy, but none would ever match the excitement that this recording demonstrated to all 21 countries where it topped the charts: This is a major talent that we almost slept on. No one would surprise us this much until Justin Timberlake's solo debut.



This is kinda perfect!

JDIZZY's 365 # 198: Long Lankin

Long Lankin - Steeleye Span (1975)

What does a band do when competing with the folk rock reign of Fairport Convention in Britain? Well, if you are Steeleye Span, you make a few pop singles that get you on Top Of The Pops, and then you RAWK!!!!!! What has always made Steelye stand out from the pack is how they truly put the rock in their beloved genre. No example of this is clearer than this eight minute-plus murder ballad. Electric Guitar replicates traditional instrumental passages so flawlessly that it sounds like these ancient songs were written with a stratocaster in mind. Steelye is largely unknown in America, at least more so that Fairport. Commoner's Crown, their seventh album, is the perfect introduction to their impressive catalog, and its content might even do my purpose for posting one better: It might become one of your favorite lps, regardless of genre.

JDIZZY's 365 # 197: Peacebone

Peacebone - Animal Collective (2007)

Never has experimental music been so poppy! Animal Collective can veer from perfection to unlistenable on the same album, never caring if the general public follows. Oddly enough, they always seem to, as they have become one of the most successful indie bands out there. Let's hope they always continue to keep the balance, perfectly manufactured here on their best single, which starts with pointless noise and turns into sunny Am gold. Mark my words, these guys have "career artists" written all over them!



Fantabulous cover!!!!!!

JDIZZY's 365 # 196: Long, Long Time

Long, Long Time - Linda Ronstadt (1970)

Gary White was a bass player who was a member of such forgotten bands as Circus Maximus (with Jerry Jeff Walker) and The Lost Sea Dreamers. He was also an incredible songwriter. In 1970 he played on Linda Ronstadt's seminal, underrated second album Silk Purse. She must have felt the same about his work because she recorded three of his songs for the disc, including today's selection. The album wasn't the huge hit Capital was hoping for, as they were trying to follow-up her success with The Stone Poneys' rendition of Mike Nesmith's "Different Drum" "Long, Long Time" stalled at number 25 on the charts and the album never rose over 103. Retrospect has been much kinder to the song. It is Linda's purest work. Her voice feels every line of pain that Gary stitched into his lyrics, and the Nashville studio cats backing her up weave a gentle pillow for her to cry on. Linda's strength was that at her peak she sang every song like she had written it. It is a feat severely lacking in most non-writing performers today. Studying her body of work should be part of every American Idol's competition process.



Here's a lovely duet with Bobby Darin I couldn't resist posting.

Friday, November 19, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 195: Deacon Blues

Deacon Blues - Steely Dan (1977)

Steely Dan capture a loser's defiance towards his failures perfectly in today's selection from one of the best albums ever made, Aja. Steely Dan were the kings of character sketches and studio perfection. Try as you might, you will never hear a note out of place on any of their songs. Instead of sounding AOR and over-polished, it has always given Steely Dan an air of mystery and, oddly enough, street cred. They have influenced artists as diverse as Bobby Conn and Mika, and since their 2000 comeback, have been going strong in both group and solo work between Walt and Donald. Let's hope these last ten years was just a preview for what is to come.



I almost put up a cover, but no one could ever make this song any better.

JDIZZY's 365 # 194: When Will I Be Loved?

When Will I Be Loved? - The Everly Brothers (1960)

Cadence Records
were so angry that The Everly Brothers had left them for Warner Brothers that they put out today's song as a single after they had already had a hit at Warner with "Cathy's Clown". It didn't set the charts on fire like " Cathy..." had done, but it has proven to be one of their strongest and most revered releases ever. The ultimate romantic query for the lonely, it has been covered by everyone from John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen to Linda Rondstadt, who made it a number two hit, barely kept out of the top position by the wiley Captain and Tennille. The Everly Brothers are sometimes looked over by today's music fans, but they are ripe for re-investigation. Their harmonies inspired Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Fleet Foxes and countless others along the mystery train. Their Cadence run of singles is ultra impressive and the more sophisticated releases for Warner are full of hidden treasures. Hunt away, my music spelunkers!

JDIZZY's 365 # 193: Maybe

Maybe - Andrea McArdle (1977)

The power in this little girl's voice is mind boggling. Andrea started a long tradition of Annies with this original recording, but I don't think anyone's ever bettered it. An orphan wondering what her parents who gave her up are doing should never sound this beautiful, but it works on levels that transcend its genre and subject matter. This is the single reason why, as a child, I wanted to be performer..... there, I said it. I've often talked about how Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar and Tommy are my favorite musicals. Followed by Sweeney Todd, Annie is right up there at number four.



By Jove, she's still got it!