Way Back Wednesday: Huey Lewis & the News

The first thing you think of when you think Huey Lewis is probably, well, The News, but you also probably think of their smash hits "I Want a New Drug" or "The Power of Love" (the theme from Back to the Future). Those are some hot tracks, but my favorite Huey Lewis & the News song is "Do You Believe in Love?"  I was oddly obsessed with this song for many years, and I don't know why.  It's not a favorite song.  If anyone were to ask my favorite 80's song or to list 100 songs, this one wouldn't even come up on my radar.  But, it was a song that was stuck in my head for most of my college years and beyond.  It's a super catchy song and it's a happy song.  It was my "shower" song, my cleaning song, my "annoy my roommates" song.  It was the song I would sing when I was walking.  Down a one way street.  JUST LIKE THE SONG.

"I was walking
Down a one way street
Just a lookin
For someone to meet
One woman
Who was lookin for a maaaan."

Besides insinuating that I'm a prostitute, I do still love this song and may need to add it back into my repertoire.  I must admit that Huey Lewis is still hot.  Yeah, I said it.  Judge all you want, but I'd hit it. 

Maybe I really DO believe in love.


Call me, Huey.

New Single: Mastodon

Metaaaaal!  \m/ 

Mastodon is releasing their new album coming out on September 27th called The Hunter.  "Curl of the Burl" is a track from that record and if it's any indication of what's to come, it's gonna be huge.  Mastodon has some pretty cool shit planned for this record.  They are releasing it in several different configurations for fans, with limited edition copies and one that is going to use augmented reality.  Fans can put their face on the sculpture featured on the cover in 3D.  I love when bands think outside the box and try to give fans something cool to go along with the record!  It means they care; they really care.

New Music: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

Despite having been crushing on Stephen Malkmus since the early 90's when he was the frontman for my most favorite band Pavement, I never really got into his solo work.  I wrote about this before, but it begs mentioning again.  When the Pavement reunion happened last year, my passion for all things Malkmus was reinvigorated and just in time too.  He's got a new record out with his band the Jicks, and this time it's produced by Beck, who I also love. 

Mirror Traffic is a really good record.  It's got all the signature Malkmus poetic tricks mixed with Beck's twangy almost country production.  It's pretty apparent on a song like "No One Is (As I Are Be)" which has a very dizzy 60's ish melodic twangy thing going on.  Same with "Long Hard Book" where the Sweethearts of the Rodeo influence and Beck's latest mellowness really come through.  "All Over Gently" and "Fall Away" feel like Sea Change meets older Jicks tracks.  In a good way, of course. 

I'm sure that Malkmus hates it, but people are always going to compare his music to that of Pavement's.  While I think that there are songs on here that are very Pavement-esque ("Senator" and "Spazz"), this isn't why I love this record.  It's surprises like "Asking Price" that really get me; when he wails "the distortion is way too clear" I just melt inside.  Then there's "Share The Red" which gets me all emo.  I mean, come on...with lyrics like this:

"Have you no ear?
Have you no eyes?
You've got no idea of how to survive
Have you no tears?
Have you no heart?
You've got no idea what set you apart"

It seems like Malkmus has really grown up.  I feel like there is a certain cognizance of getting married, having a family and getting older in a lot of these songs.  In fact, his kids are even in the video for "No One Is (As I Are Be)."  (Cute!)  There are still bangers like "Tune Grief" and "Forever 28," which is a great example of a song about being young and getting old.  While I'm not driving a mini-van yet, I can still relate to the tone of the record and appreciate that he's allowed this part of his life come through.  I always pictured him being just too damn cool to give a shit, so it's nice to know that he does.  He even touches on the daily grind in "Gorgeous Georgie," which closes out the record leaving you wanting more and glad that there's a repeat button.  I have to admit that I loved almost every song on the record (just being honest), and am happy to welcome Mr. Malkmus and his Jicks back to my life.

Way Back Wednesday: Ashford & Simpson

Rest In Peace Nick Ashford.

Nick Ashford, the Ashford of Ashford & Simpson, passed away this week of throat cancer.  Very sad.  Ashford & Simpson is the married duo consisting of Nick and his wife Valerie Simpson.  I knew them mostly from their R&B hit "Solid" in the 80's and only just found out that they wrote some of my favorite Motown hits:  "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" for Diana Ross and "You're All I Need to Get By" for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.  They also wrote songs for Chaka Khan and Ray Charles.  Pretty impressive.  But what's more impressive is their sweet-ass 80's video for "Solid."  I am loving the Jheri curl and the hot ass leather pants. I also love that the gang of ruffians in the park turn out to just be a rag tag group of sashayers and backup musicians.  Don't we wish that all rainy days in Central Park ended like this?

New Single: Cinema Twin

I've been a fan of Zollie Maynard, one half of The Cinema Twin, since high school.  To be fair, we went to high school in the same town and he had a really great band that played all over.  After high school, he and the band moved to Atlanta where they were known as the Sightseers and signed to Brendan O'Brien's Shotput record label.  The band recorded a few records and then broke up.  Zollie moved to New York, got his degree and landed in Brooklyn.  That was where he reconnected with Jason Chimonides, an acquaintance from home, and The Cinema Twin was born.  When they released their first single "Red Gtr." it caught the ear of Robin Guthrie from the Cocteau Twins (ahem, one of my favorite bands of all time) and Robin liked what he heard so much that he started working with the band.  What resulted is an intricately layered melodic and sweet song that makes me feel happy and warm inside.  The three song single Red Gtr. is available via iTunes and features "Red Gtr.," "Sun Doesn't Know" and "Red Gtr. (Robin Guthrie version)."  Get it now!

The Cinema Twin (Jason and Zollie)

New Music: Cut Off Your Hands

It's hard for me to think of an album that continues to make me smile as much as Cut Off Your Hands 2008 debut You And I.  It is a magical piece of Wall of Sound goodness that is fun and poppy, and still one of my favorite records.  After three long years, I was so excited to hear that the band was finally releasing a new record.  From what I knew, the band had a bit of a rough go of it lately.  They had several line-up changes, had to scrap a version of the record and their drummer lost his hearing.  Uh, that’s pretty shit if you ask me.  So, I can imagine that it probably wasn’t easy to create something as happy peppy as You And I after all that.  Thankfully the band persevered and created a really good sophomore record.  Hollow shows the band progressing into something deeper than its poppier counterpart.  If You And I was an homage to the pop songs of the 60’s, then Hollow is an homage to the dustier rock songs of the 60’s.  Don’t worry, the record’s not all freedom rock, man; it’s more Echo & the Bunnymen meets Ocean Blue meets The Byrds…and it’s awesome.

At its core, Hollow is melancholic and full of raw emotion.  The juxtaposition of pop left over from the first record and the darkness of the new record creates wonderful musical tension.  You can still feel the pop undertone on songs like “Hollowed Out” and “All It Takes,” while the aptly titled “Fooling No One” is a full-on pop assault, proving that it’s not all dark days for these boys.  The best example of this is “Down and Out” which is my favorite song on the record right now.  I definitely like the darker, and somewhat softer, side of Cut Off Your Hands.  “Nausea” is full of sexy pleasantries with singer Nick Johnston giving his best Ian McCulloch.  And then there’s the very sweet love letter in “By Your Side” and the very lush “Oh Hell” which both channel The Byrds. 

Cut Off Your Hands know how to write great songs and are one of my favorite bands that haven’t seen (but deserve) huge success.  As they continue to evolve and mature into something even more great, I can only imagine that this will soon change!

Way Back Wednesday: The Go-Go's

When I was growing up, I was OBSESSED with The Go-Go's.  From the first time I heard "Our Lips Are Sealed" and won the album from D-103 (the radio station), I was hooked.  I was so excited when, in seventh grade, my friend Sharla's mom hooked us up with a chaperone to go see the Go-Go's live in concert.  It was probably one of the most exciting things to happen to me.  I remember buying a concert t-shirt. It was jersey style and it went down to my ankles, it was so big (and I was so small).  Cut to:  1986.  That same shirt now fit perfectly (either it shrunk or I had a massive growth spurt) and Talk Show was out and it was the JAM.  I was turning sixteen and about to get my drivers license.  My friends threw me a surprise birthday party at our friend Kyan's house and we were all doing "air" performances of "Head Over Heels" in his living room.  We took turns at who would be Belinda, and swapped the instrumentals.  I think we fought over the who would do the keyboard on this song (better than air guitar on this one).  We probably had one Busch beer and were "wasted."  I mean, we were 16. 

Tonight, I'm going with my BFF Michele to see The Go-Go's at The Greek.  Not only was she at the 16th birthday party, but she organized it.  First of all, I think it's so awesome that twenty-five years later we are still friends and are going to see the Go-Go's, but I also can't wait to be transported back to the old days and hear all my old favorite songs (I can't remember shit anymore, but I still remember the all words to their songs).  I wish I could say that things were much simpler back then, but it was high school and, as I'm sure you can imagine, there was a lot of trivial drama.  At least now we're old enough to buy our own booze!

New Single: Cymbals Eat Guitars

 
Cymbals Eat Guitars might win the contest this month for the band not named Pavement, but most inspired by Pavement.  Pavement's one of my favorite bands, so while hesitant, I do appreciate the homage.  Cymbals Eat Guitars have a new record Lenses Alien out on August 30th through Barsuk Records and they've released two singles for download on the internets.  "Definite Darkness" is probably my favorite of the two.  It's full of indie noodling, experimental loopiness and lush melodies.  You can download it from Pitchfork here.  If you're into the eight minute jam, you will probably like "Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)" and can download it here.

Cymbals Eat Guitars are hitting the road in September for a US tour with Hooray for the Earth and Beige on select dates:

09/20/11 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall*#
09/21/11 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg*#
09/22/11 - Hamden, CT - The Space*#
09/24/11 - Washington, DC - Black Cat*#
09/26/11 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506*
09/27/11 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl    *
09/29/11 - New Orleans LA - One Eyed Jacks    *
09/30/11 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's (Upstairs)*
10/01/11 - Austin, TX  - Emos*
10/02/11 - Denton, TX - Dan's Silverleaf    *
10/04/11 - Tucson, AZ - Hotel Congress    *
10/05/11 -  San Diego, CA - Casbah    *
10/06/11 - Long Beach, CA - Alex's Bar    *
10/07/11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo    *
10/08/11 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill*
10/10/11 -  Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios*
10/11/11 -  Seattle, WA - Crocodile    *
10/13/11 - Boise, ID - Neurolux    *
10/14/11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby    *
10/15/11 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive    *
10/17/11 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr*
10/19/11 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street    *
10/20/11 - Madison, WI - High Noon    *
10/21/11 - Chicago, IL  - Lincoln Hall*
10/22/11 - MOKB Presents: White Rabbit Cabaret Indianapolis, IN*
10/23/11 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern*
10/25/11 - First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA *#
10/27/11 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom*#

* With Hooray For Earth
# With Beige

Video: Islands in the Stream

As some of you may already know, I am absolutely fascinated by Jim James from My Morning Jacket and his fancy fashion sense.  I found this video on Stereogum of him performing one of my favorite songs from 8th grade "Islands in the Stream" with the adorable Neko Case as an encore for their Pittsburgh show on August 10th.  Naturally, Jim is wearing his fave trench coat in the middle of August and during the first part of the song he has a towel draped over his head.  Love this guy. 

Move over Kenny and Dolly, I want more from these two!!

New Single: Feist

How Come You Never Go There by Feist

Feist is back with a new single and a new full length album Metals, due October 4th.  "How Come You Never Go There" makes me feel like I am listening to her perform in a smoky lounge.  Feist is laying on a piano in a full length black cocktail dress, mesmerizing the crowd with her sultry vocals.  I'm drinking a Manhattan or a Pink Lady at the bar, swaying to the music while guys that call me "Dame" hit on me.  Not complaining...the song is pretty wicked and guys are hitting on me.  Sounds like a fine night to me.

New Music: The Horrors

When I first heard The Horrors, it was because I fell in love with their gothy dark antics on their 2009 album Primary Colors.  It was in the tradition of those Joy Division influenced bands that I can't seem to get enough of and I was into it.  Critics loved it too and it was even nominated for a Mercury Prize in the UK.  Many times, this kind of pressure fucks with bands' heads and they try to recreate the same thing for their follow-up.  Not with The Horrors.  Instead, they took what was good and made it better, creating one of my favorite records this year, Skying. 

I literally cannot get enough of this record.  It makes my big black soul smile and brings a sort of moodiness to the summer days that makes me feel like I'm in Northern England on a winter day.  The evolution of their sound, while still dark and moody, almost makes Primary Colors seem boilerplate.  There's balance between the shoegazy crushing guitars and the rich psychedelic landscape of melody and romance, resulting in a sort of brit-poppiness and hooks that are catchy as hell.  I can't help but hear an homage to Psychedelic Furs and Echo & the Bunnymen alongside bands like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club or Sonic Youth. 

Skying is like a sonic roller coaster; it takes you really high, really low and surprises you along the way.  Opener "Changing the Rain" is slow and steady with luscious serenading keyboards that suck you in, creating a sense of calm and peacefulness. This peacefulness continues until "I Can See Through You," which is like a giant wave of synth, bowling you over. God, I love that song!  Then there's "Endless Blue" which tricks you with a soft melody and suddenly rips into banging, crushing guitars.**

**Note from Jeannie:  I'm not sure if The Horrors know of The Wedding Present, but this song is so reminiscent of David Gedge's patented crushing guitars, that they might owe him a big giant "Thank You."  Just sayin.

That said, it's probably my favorite song on the record.  A close second, tied with "I Can See Through You," is the first single "Still Life."  It's one of those songs that you can listen to over and over and not get sick of. And, it's what I like to call Jeannie-Emo or "Jemo."

"Under a sky, no one sees
Waiting, watching it happening
Don’t hurry give it time
Things are the way they have to be
Slow down, give it time
Still life, you know I’m listening
The moment that you want is coming if you give it time

When you wake up
When you wake up
You will find me

When you wake up
When you wake up
You will find me"

Seriously?  Love it.  Other favorites are "Wild Eyed" and "Moving Further Away."   But, I have to say that the record as a whole is pretty freaking fantastic and I've been listening to it NON-STOP since they started streaming it pre-release.  Now I am just looking forward to September when they are hitting the US to tour.  Gloomy FTW!

Way Back Wednesday: Cypress Hill

In honor of their 20th anniversary of their first record, Cypress Hill performed at the Troubadour on Saturday night.  My friend Janette was nice enough to let me tag along as her plus one. (Yay, thanks Janette!)  Initially, they were going to perform their self-titled debut from start to finish and then throw in some hits at the end.  Instead, they reconfigured the set list and just did all the hits.  Ok, well that works too!  We got hits like "Hand on the Pump," "I Wanna Get High," "Dr. Greenthumb," "Insane In The Brain," "How Could I Just Kill A Man" and "I Ain't Goin' out Like That."  Whether you know it or not, Cypress Hill was in the forefront of a lot of cool shit back in the day.  They were the first Latino rap artists to go platinum.  Remember "Jump Around" by House of Pain?  Well, DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill produced that song and gave us that legendary song.  College wouldn't have been the same without it.  And, you'll never know how many hits they have until you go and see them live and realize that they can fill a whole set with songs you know and love.  Not many bands can do that.  Happy anniversary Cypress Hill!

Theophilus London

I've written before about Theophilus London and his sexy grooves.  I'm a fan.  And, after seeing him perform in the scorching valley sun on Friday at the Warner Brothers Records patio, I might be his stalker.  It couldn't have been easy to perform in the 90 degree heat, to an LA crowd (which are known for being less than enthused for shows) and in the middle of the day, but he did it with as much gusto as if he was at the Garden. He performed six songs, including "Last Name London," "All Around the World," "Girls Girls $" and "I Stand Alone."

Enjoy!

New Music: Mariachi El Bronx

Riddle me this sample SAT question:

Punk Rock : The Bronx

Mariachi : The Bronx

Does it compute?  Actually, it does.  You might know The Bronx as a gritty, crass punk rock band.  I love them; “Heart Attack American” from their first record has a permanent residency on my playlist.  So, how did they go from Warped Tour punks to La Fonda mariachi?  The story goes that they were asked to perform acoustic for Fuel TV and they thought that punk bands unplugged was really lame.  So, rather than sucking it up they decided to infuse mariachi, and voila! Mariachi El Bronx was born.  I’m told that they really dove deep and studied several different kinds of mariachi, taking the new challenge very seriously.  What resulted is a truly amazing record that is just as punk rock as it is mariachi and is truly amazing.

Their second release, Mariachi El Bronx (II), opens with “48 Roses ” – a love song about having a cauldron of women to choose from.  Despite being very Bachelor-esque, it really encapsulates the romantic nature of mariachi.  You can almost hear “Revolution Girls” blaring from bars and restaurants along Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana, the perfect song about losing your innocence south of the border.  The sweetest love song on the record is “Fallen,” which is almost doo wop and could easily be a staple at weddings.  Not what you'd expect from a bunch of gringo punkers.  “Norteno Lights” actually incorporates Spanish and is muy magnifico: 

“Como te llamas

Como te llamas

That’s where I see you in my dreams

Now on the street by chance we meet

This twist of fate is crueler than it seems

Como te llamas

Como te llamas

Are you too beautiful to speak?

Just give me one single word

Before you turn and walk away from me”

Singer Matt Caughthran’s raspy voice makes you feel as though he’s been singing in cantinas his whole life.  Despite the fact that the lyrics are in English, I find myself almost saying that I could hear any of these songs being played by “real” mariachi bands.  But, Mariachi El Bronx are as real as it gets and deserve to be treated as such.  Mariachi El Bronx (II) brings me back to my days of vacationing in Mexico (pre-beheadings) and makes me yearn for all my old stomping grounds.  I feel as though I am sitting on the deck of Calafia enjoying margaritas or eating brunch at La Fonda with an amazing ocean view and settling in on Mexico time.

I LOVE this record!!  And, I got to see them perform last night at La Cita in Los Angeles and it was a fun, sweaty mess of a show.  They were incredible live and may want to keep up this mariachi moonlighting full time.  I highly recommend checking them out when they open for Foo Fighters this fall.  It’s worth getting there early!  In the meantime, get "48 Roses" below:

 

 

Way Back Wednesday: Pat Benetar

Pat Benetar had such an impact on my musical journey.  When I was in middle school, my friend Sharla and I were OBSESSED with her.  We joined Columbia Record Club so that we could get all of her albums.  We spent our summer and all of our free time listening to them, logging the lyrics and wishing we were as cool as Pat.  Sharla's parents had mirrors hanging on the wall of their living room and we would clear enough space so that we could perform Pat Benetar songs in the mirror for hours on end.  Neither of us could come close to matching Pat's amazing vocal talent, so we would lip sync and pretend that we were on Solid Gold performing and dancing to her songs.  We even went so far as to do our own "episodes" of Solid Gold that we would record on cassette.  There is one very special Christmas episode that we recorded where my live rendition of "Carol of the Bells" ("Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells...") made ears bleed throughout the county (imagine an out-of-tune and baritone BUMMMM......BUMMMM.......BUMMMM).  Pat Benetar, I am not.  It's a good thing cassettes are dead!

New Single: The Drums

  The Drums - Money by WorkItMedia

Okay seriously, this is the funniest song I've heard in a while.  Usually funny songs aren't that great, but this one is.  The Drums had an electro-pop hit a couple of summers ago with "Let's Go Surfing." With lines like this, I can't wait to hear more!

"I want to buy you something
but I don't have any money
I want to buy you something
but I don't have any money"


"And, if I had a car, I would trade in my car
If I had a gun, I'd trade in my gun"

I mean, come on!  Pretty hilarious.  I can't speak for gold diggers, but most girls I know would laugh and swoon pretty hard if a guy sang this song to them.