MetaFilter posts tagged with Music and rock

A-trickling down the rocks

GavinR — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:59:11 -0800

Big Rock Candy Mountain is just a wonderful little song. I don't know many hobo tunes, but this one gets stuck in my head from time to time. It has been covered by Burl Ives, a drunken Tom Waits, and then was reworked as the theme song to the amazingly awesome animated TV show that is The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.

Uptime/Downtime

flatluigi — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:48:49 -0800

The Kleptones, mashup artists behind previously-posted albums such as A Night At The Hip-Hopera and 24 Hours, have just released their newest entitled Uptime/Downtime. In a word, it rocks.

Rock, rap, metal and folk music from Sápmi

taursir — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:42:14 -0800

SomBy were the winners of the Liet International 2009 song contest for minority european languages and cultures. Sámi rock, you say? But wait, there's more! There's Alit Boazu from the Norwegian side, and Tiina Sanila, a Skolt Sámi singer from Finland. And yes, there is Sámi metal, from the band Intrigue. There are plenty other Sámi musicians across Sápmi and outside of the genre of rock, of course. There's Amoc, an Inari Sámi rapper from Finland; Adjágas who are folky and bluegrassy at times; Niko Valkeapää, who is more ambient and electronic; and of course, Mari Boine, recently knighted for her long career of artistic work (translation). [Sound, MySpace warnings] Some more musicians from Sápmi that are possible starting points to discovering more on YouTube: Angelit/Angelin Tytöt - Who worked with Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame on at least one song, Ulla Pirttijärvi, Sofia Jannok.

All Tomorrow's Parties

Joe Beese — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:38:08 -0800

Rock band reunions normally involve, at minimum, a little live music. But as The Velvet Underground are not your typical rock band, maybe none of us should have been surprised that the reunion of The Velvets at LIVE from the NYPL on Tuesday December 8th had none.

Not Afraid of Americans

spaltavian — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:14:30 -0800

David Bowie's response to his first American fan letter. In 1967, 14 year old Sandra Adams wrote a letter to Bowie. According to Bowie himself, this was his first bit of fan mail from the States. The response, though brief, is funny and sincere.

Heard it from a friend

Joe Beese — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:47:42 -0800

"Just when we thought we had done it all, along comes an awesome video game, where millions of people around the world can interact with us, and our music. How cool is that?" says Kevin Cronin, lead singer of REO Speedwagon. (via)

LiveR Than You'll Ever Be

Joe Beese — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:59:33 -0800

40 years ago today, The Rolling Stones played two concerts at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. In the darkness of the audience was a man known to history only as "Dub"... [audio auto-plays] His recording of the later show was in stores by Christmas as LiveR Than You'll Ever Be. Reviewing it in Rolling Stone, Greil Marcus wrote: It is the most exciting record I have heard all year, fully the equal, in its own way, of Let It Bleed, and in some ways better. All qualifications aside, it is the ultimate Rolling Stones album. In addition to its unprecedented audio fidelity, LiveR made history by its influence on the Rolling Stones discography. Demand for the title pressured Decca into releasing an official live album from the tour - though some considered the eventual Get Yer Ya-Yas Out! spoiled by excessive overdubbing. Both the early and late shows can be heard in best-available sound here . And an extensive history of rock bootlegging can be found in Clinton Heylin's Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry. ( previously)

"Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound, funny, but it's folk/psych/prog/70s Korean rock to me

kkokkodalk — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:35:32 -0800

Boys dared to grow their hair and girls dared to wear mini skirts and in Korea indecency officers patroled the street with scissors and rulers, publicly cutting hair too long and checking if skirts were too short. Shin Joong-hyung, was there with his 70s hit, Beauty, as were other musicians and artists like Sanullim and the Key Boys. Shin's memorable hook from "Beauty" of "I look at her once, look at her twice, I want to keeping looking at her” matched with an addictive beat and guitar riff created the trend of "I _____ once, _____ twice, I keep wanting to ______" wordplay according to Jishik Shidae's E documentary on Shin (link to part two, giving video clips, photos and some of the music from the time). Shin was performing since the 50s, beginning his career entertaining US troops, and in the 60s in bands like Add4 and he continued to pump out popular hits that are still familiar to the ears of many Koreans today. For example, Beautiful Rivers and Mountains, topped the charts again in the 80s when it was covered by power vocalist Lee Sun-hee, and is now considered one of her greatest hits (song clip is actually from a 2003 performance in North Korea as part of a "Reunification Concert" where South Korean singers went to perform in North Korea). Shin, who is considered the godfather of rock and soul in Korea, was an influential guitarist and musician. He also wrote songs for and worked with other acts like the Pearl Sisters (1, 2). Another one of his great hits, Officer Kim Returning from Vietnam, was performed by Kim Chu-ja. Sanullim were also a force to be reckoned with. Even though they created progressive and psychedelic music, the trio were also responsible for many recognizable hit now part of the Korean pop music lexicon with hits and exploded onto the scene with "Oh, no! Already?" (linked above) from their first album. From Sanullim's first album: Restless Heart Open the Door Girl A couple of songs from Sanullim's second album: I Think It's Really Like That Dear One Leaving Me Lining My Heart With Silk The Key Boys were responsible for another one of the most recognizable Korean songs Let's Go to the Beach, a karaoke favorite and covered by numerous performers, including punk band No Brain in 2001. It wasn't just the boys who got to play, there were also female artists with a more pop sound like Kim Jung-mi and Yoon Si-nae Another song that most Koreans are familiar with: Song Gol-mae's 80s hit, You, Who I Accidentally Ran Into To see album covers read up some more info (including how much collectors are paying for some of these albums!) check out Belgian Psyche Van Het Folk radio show's collection of Korean psychedelic folk music and their labyrinthine links. Other folk-style acts to note: Yang Hee-eun Onions Kim Jung-ho One of Shin Jung-hoon's hits was One Cup of Coffee, (performed by the Pearl Sisters). Interestingly enough, one of the more current incarnations of Korean folk and psych tradition, Chang Ki-ha and The Faces, were able to escape unknown indie band status with another coffee-themed hit, Cheap Coffee. Chang Ki-ha and The Faces perform with an enigmatic, silent and stony-faced background dancer/backup singer duo named The Mimi Sisters," an obvious nod to the 60s-70s both in the naming convention and in their sometimes retro style of dress: Why Does that Man...? The Moon is Becoming Full Accept Me

Reuse, Recycle, and ROCK

ocherdraco — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:07:59 -0800

Electric Junkyard Gamelan is the brainchild of bandleader and composer Terry Dame, and fuses Dame's passions of composing, inventing and building. Originally inspired by traditional Gamelan music from Bali, the group recycles and repurposes everyday objects into musical instruments. While some of their songs do indeed resemble the hypnotic percussive melodies of a Balinese/Javanese gamelan orchestra (The Nutbutter Challenge), other tunes strike out into new, distinctly urban American directions (Ode to Fred Beans). Following the band's motto, "Reuse, Recycle and ROCK," instruments are fashioned from coat hangers and rubber bands, bed frames, old farm equipment, turntable platters, clay pots, saw blades and truck springs. The "Big Barp" rubber-band harp makes a particularly unusual sound. Watching the band play is a fundamental part of enjoying their music:

At the Cleveland Bridge Project (Part 2, Part 3)
"Cark Nogg" and "Big Barp" in Baltimore at the Metro Gallery
At the Chicago World Music Festival in Daley Plaza

Brooklyn Independent Television interviewed the band, with lots of great description about how they play; there's another great interview (with lots of great music) with David Garland on WNYC's Spinning on Air (where I first heard of the band). You can find photos of the band on Flickr to get a closer look at their instruments. Electric Junkyard Gamelan has three albums (Life on Marz, Live from HERE, and the self-titled Electric Junkyard Gamelan). Live in New York? They're performing tonight at Joe's Pub. Sources for the descriptions in the main part of this post: EJG's about the band page, this post on Music for Maniacs, and yesterday's epsiode description at Spinning On Air.

A whole freaking bunch of classic rock performance videos

Kattullus — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:55:36 -0800

My Beat Club has a whole ton of classic rock perfomance videos, mostly from old German TV shows Musikladen and Beat Club. Among the videos on offer are Small Faces' Tin Soldier, Chuck Berry's School Days, Ike & Tina Turner's River Deep, Mountain High, The Who's My Generation, Country Joe McDonald's I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag, The Everly Brothers' All I Have to Do is Dream, The Ramones' Sheena is a Punk Rocker, Mungo Jerry's In the Summertime, T. Rex's 20th Century Boy, New York Dolls' Looking for a Kiss, The Byrds' So You Want to Be a Rock n' Roll Star, Thin Lizzy's Whiskey in the Jar, Slade's We'll Bring the House Down, The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Purple Haze and so much, much more!

I'll do it as long as someone will publish it for me

Potomac Avenue — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:46:17 -0800

Greil Marcus writes Real Life Top Ten for the Believer Magazine, in which he lists "anything that remotely has to do with music, a dress Bette Midler wore at an awards show or a great guitar solo in the middle of a song that otherwise wasn't very interesting." But he's been writing this column online for just about 10 years. Not to mention the previous incarnation in Artfourm, some collected at Bnet. Not to mention that he started writing the lists in 1978: "The point was not to just be a list of records, but anything that remotely had to do with music, a dress Bette Midler wore at an awards show or a great guitar solo in the middle of a song that otherwise wasn't very interesting. At some point, Doug Simmons, the music editor at The Village Voice, said, "What if you made that into a real column, annotated each item?" I'd never thought of that. So I made it a monthly column for The Village Voice in around '86.... It's not a central focus, but it's a kind of organizing principle. I do it for fun. It keeps me looking, keeps me listening, keeps me alert. " Powells interview. "If I have an argument to make for the Top Ten, it's that you can find culture everywhere. Culture is always at work, it's always changing or manipulating or exploiting our perceptions and prejudices--what we want and what we're afraid of--and you can find very smart, dedicated people working on those premises in shopwindows, in advertisements, in painting and sculpture, in records, in performances. It's like being at an amusement park with these incredible surprises happening all the time. That's the sensibility, I suppose, that this column invoked when I was doing it as I should have." Artforum 2003 Greil's most recent book is "The Shape Of Things to Come" (video excerpt). Previously

Our Band Could Be Your Comic

interrobang — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:42:18 -0800

Metafilter's own COBRA! has been producing a great comic about a rock band for quite awhile; and now it's been released as a book! Get to know the Awesome Boys in Nowhere Band.

Long Distance Winners

ageispolis — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:36:44 -0800

Before Fleetwood Mac, there was Buckingham Nicks. Their seminal s/t album (1973) has never been released on CD. "So Keith [Olsen] and I started working together. This was in like ‘68, ‘69 probably. And that’s - from then on that’s when things started happening. That’s where Keith one day came and said, 'I’m bringing this couple down from North California, named Stevie and Lindsey. And I want you to play on their record.' I played on the Buckingham Nicks record. The three of us became very tight, tight friends. We were always together. And then I got my record deal, and they got theirs. And we all got mutually screwed at the same time." - Waddy Watchel Buckingham Nicks (1973) mp3s donated by Tom Moncrieff, former bassist for Buckingham Nicks. 1. Crying in the Night (S. Nicks) 2. Stephanie (L. Buckingham) 3. Without a Leg to Stand On (L. Buckingham) 4. Crystal (S. Nicks) 5. Long Distance Winner (S. Nicks) 6. Don't Let Me Down Again (L. Buckingham) 7. Django (J. Lewis) 8. Races Are Run (S. Nicks) 9. Lola My Love (L. Buckingham) 10. Frozen Love (S. Nicks, L. Buckingham) More music of Buckingham Nicks, including two live sets donated by Gary Hodges, former drummer of the band. (/index) And for some counterbalance, Fleetwood Mac before Buckingham & Nicks.

Now I Wanna Be Your Insightful, Respectable Rock Icon

Jon_Evil — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:57:42 -0800

You wouldn't expect Iggy Pop to be the poster boy for rock stars who age gracefully, but he seems to be doing a pretty good job of it. At the age of 62, he's released Preliminaires, an album steeped in French Literature and containing jazz standards, hardscrabble blues, and the Louis-Armstrong-meets-Tom-Waits hit, King of the Dogs. NPR's Fresh Air has this interview with a thoughtful, avuncular Iggy Pop

Jeff Mangum: Starlight Crypt

msalt — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:23:31 -0800

In 1997, reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel mastermind Jeff Mangum performed a now-legendary set at Athens, Ga. coffee shop Jittery Joe's. One week only on Pitchfork.tv Previously 1 2 3 In the Aeroplane Over The Sea: Pitchfork review (10.0) Youtube: - 14 song playlist - Holland, 1945, live 10-14-97 - Song against Sex, live 4-12-98

100 Best Icelandic Pop & Rock Albums

Kattullus — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:14:58 -0800

100 Best Icelandic Pop & Rock Albums all streamable in full for free. Icelandic state broadcaster RÚV and Icelandic subscription music website tónlist.is have published what they, their team of experts and the Icelandic public consider to be the 100 best Icelandic rock and pop albums of all time. Björk, Sigur Rós, Múm and The Sugarcubes don't need much introduction but below the cut there are short description of the other artists. [via RÚV] 200.000 naglbítar: Name means 200000 Nippers (as in the tool for removing nails, this is a Halldór Laxness reference). Rose to fame in the mid 90s with an anthemic pop song about a woman who's hiding the fact her husband beats her up called Hæð í húsi (A Floor in a House). Their second biggest hit was Brjótum það sem brotnar (Break That Which is Breaks, as in the nihilist idea that nothing that can be broken should be left unbroken). They made an album with Lúðrasveit verkalýðsins (The Laborers' Marching Band) who also featured in Heima, the recent documentary about Sigur Rós. Ampop: Starting life as an electronic duo, they added a drummer to the line-up and became more melodic. Apparat Organ Quartet: The world largest quartet, comprised of four organists and one drummer. The band's main songwriter is Jóhann Jóhannsson started out as the keyboard player in goth-rock band Ham (see below) but has now become a respected composer. Baggalútur: The band version of Icelandic comedy website Baggalútur, which is the Icelandic equivalent of The Onion. Bjartmar Guðlaugsson: Folky singer-songwriter who was incredibly popular in the late eighties. He started out as a lyricist for others, including Björk at one point. Björgvin Halldórsson: A popstar in Iceland since the late sixties, with countless hits. His only album in this list is an album of children's music he made with guitarist Gunnar Þórðarson (see below). His son, Krummi, is the lead singer of Mínus (see below). Botnleðja: Started out as a catchy pop-punk band in the vein of the Buzzcocks, they went to write more complicated rock songs. Toured abroad under the name Silt, which is a direct translation of their name. Bragi Valdimar og Memfismafían: Bragi Valdimar is a member of Baggalútur (see above) and Memfismafían (The Memphis Mafia) is a collection of various other well known Icelandic musicians, including members of The Sugarcubes, Hjálmar (see below) and many others. The album Gilligill is a collection of humorous children's songs. Bubbi Morthens: The Icelandic Bruce Springsteen. Started out as a singer-songwriter whose songs were about life as a working class Icelander but he's since explored countless different musical styles. He founded Utangarðsmenn (see below) around the time he was first becoming popular as a solo artist. He later went on to found new wave bands Egó (see below) and Das Kapital. He later formed GCD (see below) with Icelandic sixties rock legend Rúnar Júlíusson, member of Hljómar (see below) and Trúbrot (see below). He's also worked extensively with singer-songwriter Megas (see below) as well as releasing a great number of solo albums. Dikta: A tuneful indie rock band. Dr. Gunni og vinir hins: Dr. Gunni is a long-time fixture on the Icelandic music scene, having been one of Iceland's premier alternate rockers in the late eighties and into the mid nineties. Abbababb! is his best selling album, a collection of children's songs, the breakout hit being Prumpufólkið (The Fartpeople). Egó: Iceland's premier New Wave band, founded by Bubbi Morthens (see above). Ellen Kristjánsdóttir: Sister of KK (see below), she's mainly an interpreter of other people's songs. The album on this list, Sálmar (Hymns), is a collection of traditional Icelandic Christian songs. Elly Vilhjálms: Sister of Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson (see below), who she sings with on the one album she has on the list. Iceland's premier female singer of pop and jazz standards in the sixties and seventies. Emilíana Torrini: Probably best known in the Anglophone world for singing Gollum's Song over the end-credits of The Two Towers, Emilíana Torrini has had a long solo career and has co-written a number of songs for other recording artists, including Kylie Minogue, and collaborated with Paul Oakenfold, Gus Gus (see below) and Thievery Corporation. Ensími: An alternative rock band. One of their albums, not on this list, was produced by Steve Albini. FM Belfast: Electro band with three singers. Features Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason of Múm. On the album How to Make Friends they cover old school techno smash Pump by Snap. Fræbbblarnir: Iceland's first punk band. For some reason their selected album, Viltu nammi væna? (Do you want candy dear?) is not playable. GCD: One of many popular bands founded by Bubbi Morthens (see above) this time as a collaborative project with bass guitarist and singer Rúnar Júlíusson, former member of Hljómar (see below), Trúbrot (see below) and many other bands. The name comes from what are supposedly the three most common chords in rock songs. Grýlurnar: New wave all-girl band. Made Iceland's all time most popular movie Með allt á hreinu (Everything Clear) with the band Stuðmenn (see below). The movie featured both bands on a tour of Iceland competing for popularity. The lead singer of Grýlurnar, Ragnhildur Gísladóttir, went on to join Stuðmenn. Gunnar Þórðarson: Former member of Hljómar (see below), Trúbrot (see below) and many other bands. Primarily a guitarist and songwriter his solo works have been collaborative, such as Himinn og jörð (Heaven and Earth), which features a number of singers, such as Björgvin Halldórsson (see above) and former Hljómar and Trúbrot singer Shady Owens. GusGus: Started out as an artistic collaborative, with music only being one part of what they did, but soon the band aspect became the main focus. Countless people have at one time or another been members of GusGus, including Emilíana Torrini (see above) and Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson lead singer of Nýdönsk (see below). Through the years their music has progressed from trip-hop to electro. Ham: Iceland's foremost goth rock band. They never quite managed to record a proper full-length album, but their defining statement as the live recording of their final concert, released as Ham Lengi Lifi! (Long Live Ham!) The principal songwriter was Sigurjón Kjartansson, who was also one of the two main singers (singing in an operatic style), the other being Óttar Proppe, who growled. They were fiercely loved by their followers (including Björk) while they were active but never widely popular. Sigurjón Kjartansson later went on to become one half of Iceland's most popular comedic duo, Tvíhöfði (Biceps or Doublehead). Ham always had a streak of humor in them, covering Abba's Voulez-vous and The Motors' Airport. Hjaltalín: An indie pop band whose cover of Þú komst við hjartað í mér (You Touched My Heart) by Páll Óskar (see below) was a huge hit in Iceland last year. Hjálmar: Iceland's finest reggae band. Members of Hjálmar later went on to back Megas (see below) as Senuþjófarnir (The Scene Stealers). Hljómar: One of countless Beatlepop bands which sprang up around the world in the early sixties. Singer and bassist Rúnar Júlíusson had the distinction of also being in Iceland's national soccer squad and dating, and later marrying, Miss Iceland. Hljómar featured under the name Thor's Hammer on the second volume of garage rock compilation series Nuggets. Hrekkjusvínin: A supergroup of folk and rock musicians who came together to make a children's album in 1977, starting an Icelandic tradition of serious rock musicians making children's music in Iceland. All lyrics on their only album, Lög unga fólkins (The Young Folks' Songs), were by novelist and poet Pétur Gunnarsson, all music was by Valgeir Guðjónsson of Spilverk þjóðanna (see below) and later of Stuðmenn (see below) and Leifur Hauksson of folk group Þokkabót. The lyrics were quite subversive and anti-capitalist but despite that (or perhaps because of that), the album instantly became a classic of Icelandic children's music. Jeff Who?: Icelandic indie rock band. Jet Black Joe: Rock band whose music has often been compared to grunge. They were very popular in the early nineties before disbanding. The lead singer, Páll Rósinkranz, went on to be a singer of Christian spiritual music before reforming the band in this decade. KK: Folk and blues musician. Real name Kristján Kristjánsson, he's the brother of Ellen Kristjánsdóttir (see above). Lay Low: Stage name of Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir. She's a singer-songwriter who plays slow, atmospheric music. Magnús Þór Guðmundsson: A long time fixture of the Icelandic music scene, first as a member of the band Change. He released a number of solo albums, including the one on this list, Álfar (Elves). Mannakorn: Seventies rock band. Maus: Indie rock band popular in the nineties and into this decade before they disbanded. Roger O'Donnell, keyboard player of The Cure, played with Maus on the album Lof mér að falla að þínu eyra (Let Me Fit Your Ear). Megas: His public image in Iceland is some combination of Bob Dylan, George Bataille and a bum. Starting out as a folk singer with an eponymous album in 1972, he would later explore a number of musical styles. He is also considered one of the Iceland's best poets. His lyrics are written according to traditional Icelandic poetics, but his subject matter is routinely very subversive and has been from the very first. His life has been just as controversial, having often been on the brink of death from ODing on drugs. Á bleikum náttkjólum (In pink nightgowns), which he made with Spilverk þjóðanna (see below) in 1977, is widely acknowledged to be his masterpiece, a caustic punk-influenced rock album that routinely tops Icelandic album best-of lists (along with Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós, Homogenic and Debut by Björk and Lifun by Trúbrot (see below)). Referenced in the song Iceland by The Fall. Mínus: Hardcore punk band fronted by Krummi, son of Björgvin Halldórsson (see above). Mugison: Experimental singer-songwriter from Ísafjörður in the Westfjords. Nýdönsk: Pop band who were very popular in the nineties. Olga Guðrún Árnadóttir: Though she later went on to be a playwright Olga Guðrún Árnadóttir is to this day most famous for her 1975 children's album Eniga Meniga. All the lyrics were written by novelist Ólafur Haukur Símonarson. Páll Óskar: Brother of Sigrún Hjálmtýrsdóttir, singer of Spilverk Þjóðanna (see below). Páll Óskar is most famous as a singer of disco songs but he's done all kinds of other music. Shocked some Icelanders in the early nineties by being very open about his homosexuality. He also had a long-running Dr. Love type show where he educated a generation of Icelanders in matters of the heart and pants. Pétur Ben: Singer-songwriter and trained composer. Purrkur pillnikk: Early Icelandic punk band, fronted by Einar Örn Benediktsson, later singer of The Sugarcubes. Purrkur pillnikk's motto, það skiptir ekki máli hvað þú getur heldur hvað þú gerir (it doesn't matter what you can but what you do) became the call to arms of a whole generation of Icelandic punk bands. Bass player Bragi Ólafsson would also found The Sugarcubes with Einar Örn. Quarashi: Icelandic rap band who had a minor worldwide hit with Stick'em Up. Sálin hans Jóns míns: A pop band that has been very popular for the last twenty years. Spilverk þjóðanna: Folk-rock band. Stuðmenn: Iceland's all-time most popular pop band. Originally started as a joke by Valgeir Guðjónsson of Spilverk Þjóðanna (see above) and Jakob Frímann Magnússon in 1970. The name Stuðmenn was their idea for the worst possible bandname, stuð meaning both shock (as in electroshock) and good times and menn meaning men. A translation of the name would be something like The Good Time Guys. Valgeir and Jakob fleshed out the joke with members of Spilverk Þjóðanna (see above) and put out the album Sumar á Sýrlandi in 1975 which they performed anonymously in animal masks. After releasing a follow-up to the unexpectedly popular Sumar á Sýrlandi the band was shelved for a while as Valgeir focused on Spilverk Þjóðanna. In 1982, after Spilverk þjóðanna had quit, Valgeir wrote an album's worth of songs that he thought would fit Stuðmenn. Instead of just releasing an album the band decided to make a movie about a fictional band, called Stuðmenn, who would tour Iceland in competition with the all girl new wave band Grýlurnar (see above). The movie, Með allt á hreinu (Clear on Everything), became a massive hit and remains to this day Iceland's all time most popular movie. Stuðmenn went on to release a slew of popular albums and is still playing, after a hiatus in the nineties. Sykurmolarnir: The Icelandic name for The Sugarcubes. Todmobile: Popular rock band in the nineties. Trúbrot: Sixties rock supergroup, made up of members of Hljómar (see above) and Flowers. Lifun was their masterpiece, a concept album about the human lifespan that is unusually short for a prog rock concept album. Lifun routinely tops Icelandic rock album best-of lists. Utangarðsmenn: Very popular punk band founded by Bubbi Morthens (see above). Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson: Popular singer in the seventies. He died shortly after releasing his most popular album, Hana nú, in a car crash in Luxembourg. The song Söknuður (Sorrow) has become a standard at funerals. Þeyr: One of Iceland's best punk bands. One of the many bands to have members later go on to found The Sugarcubes. The band worked with Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke but the resulting material was never released. For some reason the album that's on the list, Mjötviður mær, is not playable. Þursaflokkurinn: A folk-rock band fronted by Egill Ólafsson of Spilverk Þjóðanna (see above) and Stuðmenn (see above). [Full disclosure: One of the guitarists in Maus is a friend of mine, Valgeir Guðjónsson is my first cousin, once removed, Baggalútur once made fun of me, I once worked in a bookstore with Ham's Óttar Proppe and I once worked with Höskuldur Ólafsson of Quarashi and Árni Vilhjálmsson of FM Belfast doing groundskeeping and MeFi's own svenni is in FM Belfast.]

Ziggy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo

fire&wings — Sun, 03 May 2009 12:53:06 -0800

Of all the pretenders to the throne of "British Elvis" in the pre-Beatles UK music scene, none had the swagger or moves quite like Vince Taylor. His stylings, pitched halfway between Gene Vincent and Pressley, found success in the early 60's, especially in France. The man who Joe Strummer described as "the beginning of British rock'n'roll," was on the verge of stardom in 1963, but already hooked on a cocktail of Preludin, speed, LSD and alcohol, he instead fell apart. Believing himself to be the apostle Matthew or the son of God, he gave sermons on stage while wrapped in a white sheet, ate only eggs, and carried around a map of Europe, trying to point out to people where the UFO's would land. David Bowie, living in London in 1966, met and was transfixed by this already burnt out, drug addled heartthrob who had "fallen into a chasm too deep to ever climb out of." Inspired by the rock star who "thought he was some composite between the Son of God and an alien," he put pen to paper. The song? Ziggy Stardust. From the late 1960's it was all downhill, and although Taylor emerged sporadically for various comebacks, a few albums (including 1972's "Vince is alive, well and rocking in Paris") his later years were for the most part a blur of incoherent performances on small scale tours and periods spent in religious communes and psychiatric wards. He died in 1991 after a short period working as an aircraft mechanic in Switzerland. --- Vince Taylor: * There's a Whole Lotta Twistin' goin' on * Shakin' All Over * Peppermint Twist * Too Much * 20 Flight Rock * What I'd Say * Brand New Cadillac (audio only)

KISS Burger

Joe Beese — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:57:13 -0800

KISS Burger. Our Meat... Your Mouth.(via)

The Year of Led Zeppelin

Joe Beese — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:56:45 -0800

The Year of Led Zeppelin: A (completed) quest to listen to every Led Zeppelin concert in a year

1969

Joe Beese — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 08:52:41 -0800

"Proud Mary". "Born on the Bayou". "Green River". "Bad Moon Rising". "Lodi". "Fortunate Son". (previously) If Creedence Clearwater Revival wasn't the greatest American band, they probably had the greatest year of any American band.

Queens of Noise

Joe Beese — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:37:30 -0800

Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Cherie Currie, Sandy West, and Jackie Fox are The Runaways. Joan Jett and Lita Ford had successful solo careers and are still rocking hard. An achievement in Guitar Hero II is named after them. Cherie Currie went on to an acting career and is an award-winning chainsaw artist. (previously) Her memoir is the basis of the upcoming movie starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. Jackie Fox earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard and works as an entertainment attorney. Sandy West never stopped mourning the breakup of the band. She died of lung cancer in 2006, aged 47.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones

Joe Beese — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:44:15 -0800

Rock critic Dave Marsh called it "part of rock and roll legend." Truman Capote said "I've never seen anything equal to it." And the film can not legally be shown unless the director is physically present. The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972 Brown Sugar Bitch Rocks Off Gimme Shelter Happy Tumbling Dice Love In Vain Sweet Virginia Loving Cup [rehearsal] You Can't Always Get What You Want All Down The Line Midnight Rambler Bye Bye Johnny Rip This Joint Jumping Jack Flash Street Fighting Man NOTE: YouTube videos I link to tend not to live very long. I say to whoever's narc-ing on them: Karma is a bitch, too.

Ron Asheton, R.I.P.

Dr-Baa — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:17:02 -0800

Ron Asheton, influential guitarist and bassist for The Stooges and Destroy All Monsters, has passed away at age 60.

godWEENsatan

Bageena — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:23:17 -0800

Maybe you remember them from their 'hit' single "Push Th' Little Daisies", or from their appearance on MTV's Beavis and Butt-head. Maybe you know them from their appearance in the film "It's Pat" or from their contributions to the "Road Trip" soundtrack or even from their appearance at Chef Aid on South Park. My hope, however, is that you don't know Ween, allowing me the opportunity to let you taste the waste. Ween is often described as an 'Alternative Rock' band, although their music spans nearly every genre you can concieve of. Formed in 1984 in Pennsylvania, Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo (better known as Dean and Gene Ween), have released over a dozen albums, hundreds of songs, and contributed to several other bands. Their music is often ecclectic, strange, and beautiful. Their love of drugs, feces, and music (not necessarily in that order) is legendary. Their music can be and often is hilarious, but they have a serious side too. Nearly breaking up after a 4 year hiatus, Ween returned with a vengence last year with the release of both the "Friends EP" and "La Cucaracha". This holiday season, Ween released the CD/DVD album "At The Cat's Cradle, 1992". Dean Ween has channeled his love of fishing into a new online fishing show called Skunked. Meanwhile, Aaron Freeman is working on his photography. A little something for everyone, maybe Ween can shrug Mefi's nearly-constant mantle of 'Your favorite band sucks'. Maybe not.

glimpses of the African Rock n' Roll Years

nickyskye — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:45:01 -0800

Clips from the BBC documentary, The African Rock n' Roll Years - Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3 l Part 4 l Part 5 l Part 6 - a six-part series mixing interviews with key artists, concert footage and news archives, the series examines and explains the "styles that make up the continent's music, and the political and social pressures that led to their development." BBC documentary details. Found in YouTube member, Duncanzibar's, good collection of mostly African music videos. Details of the full documentary: "Episode 1: WEST AFRICA: Praise Singers and Superstars This is the story of how the musical caste lost their monopoly, taken over by state intervention and a craze for Cuban music, which helped to create one of the most exciting music scenes in the world today. Featured artists include Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Salif Keita, Orchestra Baobab, Rokia Traore, Ali Farka Toure and Daara J. Ep 2: SOUTH AFRICA: Rhythms of Resistance South Africa's vibrant music scene developed in the apartheid era, when songs were used as a way of hitting back against repression. Featured artists include Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Thomas Mapfumo from Zimbabwe and newcomer Thandiswa. Ep 3: COASTAL SOUNDS: Sierra Leone to Cameroon This programme explores the effect of calypso on the 'palmwine' styles that developed in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. It tells how music from Sierra Leone and elsewhere affected the massively popular highlife dance styles of Ghana, and how palmwine music was also to influence the makossa dance scene in Cameroon. Featured artists include Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Osibisa, Alpha Blondy, Angelique Kidjo and Manu Dibango. Ep 4: CENTRAL AFRICA: Congo Jive Some of the most infectious dance music in Africa came from Kinshasa on the Congo river, as guitarists and band-leaders mixed local and Cuban influences to create the rumba and soukous styles that shook up dance floors across Africa and beyond. Featured artists include Franco, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Ray Lema, Pepe Kalle, Konono No 1 and Corneille. Ep 5: LUSOPHONE AFRICA: The Lisbon Legacy Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde were cut off from neighbouring states because the language of their colonisers was Portuguese and not French or English. The musicians developed distinctive styles; from the high-energy rhythms of Angola to the sad-edged blues and European-influenced ballads of the Cape Verde islands. Featured artists include Cesaria Evora, Manecas Costa, Mariza, Bonga and Mabulu. Ep 6: NORTH AFRICA: Rai Rebels and Desert Blues The programme follows the careers of rai stars like Khaled and the Arabic rocker Rachid Taha, and also the great female singers who have emerged from Islamic North Africa and from further east in Christian Ethiopia. Featured artists include Tinariwen, Khaled, Rachid Taha, Souad Massi, the musicians of Jajouka Amina and (from Ethiopia) Gigi and Aster Aweke." Each clip is about 1/7th the length of the original series but still worth watching. Lots of music, examples, so one can seek out music by those musicians and very listenable music history.