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Landfall – Please Remember Me Mr. Postman – Green Hornet Opera

27 Jan

Jimmy Buffett Has a Few Too Many Margaritavilles

Jimmy Buffett © David Atlas

Jimmy Buffett did not play his famous song “Landfall” during last night’s concert in Sydney, Australia. If he did it would have just been cruel irony. Buffett was released today from an Australian hospital after taking a sober plummet off the stage during his show Wednesday.

“Jimmy has been released from the hospital and is doing well,” read a statement on margaritaville.com.

The concrete floor did not provide much padding for Buffett’s head and the collision caused him to temporarily lose consciousness. Buffett is a trooper though and he has yet to cancel his next concert on the 29th. Get well soon Buffett. We need our only vacation troubadour to continue lecturing us on the importance of relaxation.

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Gladys Horton Dies

Gladys Horton, who co-founded Motown’s Marvelettes, died Wednesday night in Los Angeles. She was 66

The Marvelettes hit it big with their 1961 song “Please Mr. Postman” that characterized classic Motown style in both beat and dance. Horton sang lead in the band at only 15 years old

The song reached #1 on the pop charts and was an inspiration to later Motown super girl groups like The Supremes.

My condolences go out to her family. May she rest in peace.

Check out this old recording:

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Wait Kato Can Sing

Seth Rogen and Jay Chou star in the remake

Many reading this remember the old TV version of the Green Hornet where Bruce Lee played the ace kong-fu master, Kato. In the movie remake of the classic 60’s show, which is currently playing in national theaters, Kato is played by Taiwan’s Jay Chou, a 32-year-old rap and R&B star from Taiwan, where he is most known.

Chou, who has appeared in numerous Chinese films, added a music to Kato’s character, unlike Lee’s straight kong-fu approach.

“I hope to show Western audiences that Asians don’t just do kung fu, but also sing, write songs and play the piano,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press. “So I put the musical element into my Kato.”

Chou plays piano in the film and it ends with a Mandarin language song called “The Nunchucks” that he wrote 10 years ago, inspired by the weapon that his idol Lee made famous years ago.

“When I got a chance to play a hero, I told myself I couldn’t give up,” he said.

The movie has already spawned a promised sequel and Chou will stay on for the production of it, but afterwards he will return to what he loves, music.

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“I’ll Wait” 27 years – Talkin’ New York – Django Jazz

24 Jan

David Lee Roth Back in Studio with Van Halen?

It has been 27 years since the release of 1984, the zenith of Van Halen’s success. It has also been 27 years since David Lee Roth was kicked out of the band. 1984 was not only a tremendous success, but it was the boiling point. Van Halen did not release an album as good as 1984 in their band history. 1984 featured hits like “Hot for Teacher,” “Jump,” “Panama,” and “I’ll Wait.” The album only came up short to Thriller on the charts and, I mean, Thriller is pretty damn good.

2011 (MMXI – embedded Halen joke) may see an in-studio reunion between Roth and his former bandmates, the first since 1984 was recorded. There are no guarantees that smoking cherubs will be seen again, but this is good news for Halen fans. According to Stereogum, the album has started being recorded. No release date has been revealed yet.

Link: http://stereogum.com/624302/van-halen-recording-with-david-lee-roth/news/

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Dylan Comes to New York (50 YEARS AGO!)

I know, let that sink in. While not even Bob Dylan can confirm that January 24, 1961 is the exact date of his arrival to New York, most believe that the traveling, tremendous, troubadour first came to the big apple on this day 50 years ago. He was 19 years old and hit the streets of New York during one of the most brutally cold winters in its history.

Nice article profiling Dylan’s first days in New York in the Rolling Stone today.

Link: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/fifty-years-ago-today-bob-dylan-arrived-in-new-york-20110124

So hey Mr. Tambourine Man play a song for me.

http://www.mojvideo.com/video-bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/0aec69a1f90a26a1e20e

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Django’s “J’Attendrai Swing”

Fark Gem Alert. Credit to Fark for including Django Reinhardt on their happy birthday link list. Django would have been celebrating his 101’st birthday yesterday if he did not die back in 1953. Who was Django Reinhardt? He was a little known jazz guitarist who is known for his development of the “hot” jazz style of guitar playing. Little known to most people. To jazz guitar aficionados, that’s another story.  He created this style with two good fingers. After a caravan fire, his third and fourth digits were partially paralyzed but Django didn’t need them. Listen to this old-time jazz classic.

Buenos Aires Beatles – Juuurassic Paarkk – Holy Sh*t Reznor

17 Jan

Buenos Aires Beatles Museum Opens

Rodolfo Vazquez loves the Beatles. Well, I love the Beatles. Let me reword that sentence. Rodolfo Vazquez has an obsession with the Beatles. The 53-year-old accountant from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been in love with the Beatles since acquiring Rubber Soul when he was 10 years old. He has worked since then to amass the biggest Beatles memorabilia collection in the world. The Guinness World Records marked it as the biggest collection in 2001, when he had already amassed 5,612 items in the attic of his home. The collection has reached over 8,500 items and Vazquez wisely decided to move most of it into a bigger space.

The Beatles museum in Buenos Aires opened on January 3 and has already allowed Vazquez to share his wealth of Beatles’ gadgets and gizmos with 2,000 people. So, what does he have?

Here is a short list of stuff. Vazquez has acquired a brick from the Cavern Club, Beatles’ wig, toys, pictures, concert programs, and even a box of condoms with the name of John Lennon and Yoko Ono (yeah that is really disturbing).

What does the man with everything want more of in the Beatles’ world?

“What I am missing is to shake hands with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, hug them and chat with them a little bit,” he said in an interview with AP.

“It is what would complete me and I would be the happiest collector on earth.”

Paul, Ringo. I believe you know what to do next.

AP Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110116/ap_en_mu/lt_argentina_beatles_museum

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Jurassic Park Theme Slowed Down

Ever wonder what the classic “Jurassic Park” theme song would sound like if you slowed it down 90 percent. No? Well neither did I until I stumbled on a Gawker post that answered the question of what happens when you slow the “Jurassic Park” theme song down by 90 percent. Here is what it sounds like.

<span><a href=”http://soundcloud.com/birdfeeder/jurassic-park-theme-1000-slower”>Jurassic Park Theme (1000% Slower)</a> by <a href=”http://soundcloud.com/birdfeeder”>birdfeeder</a></span&gt;

It’s heavenly. If this version of “Jurassic Park” narrated my life, or any movie, it would be narrating one of the most epic and long scenes of amazing success, like the entrance through the Pearly Gates.

One commenter, JEMathews on Gawker wrote, “The human mind likes hearing resolved cadences, and slowing a piece of music down removes the context you’re used to hearing it in (like the fact that it’s really a terrible Bieber tune or a trite movie theme) and makes even the simplest chord resolutions seem like genius.”

He is absolutely right. Music is powerful, especially when you slow it down.

Here is the original.

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Reznor Golden Globe Recipient

Perhaps no exclamation explains Reznor’s Golden Globe win more so than “Holy Sh*t.” That is exactly what he tweeted after winning the award for his joint score for “The Social Network.” He wrote the score with Atticus Ross.

On the red carpet, Reznor explained to the New York Times that he was there to support the film. He also spoke of the Grammy Awards, which he never has attended even though he has won Grammy awards for his work with Nine Inch Nails.

He said, “Not to be disrespectful, but the weight of a Grammy feels much less important than the film side of this. The music business has very much done everything it can to lessen the weight and importance of music as art.”

Reznor is a smart dude. The Grammy awards have done an excellent job promoting poor, washed down, terrible mainstream music. Rarely do talented performers like Reznor pick up substantial awards. Reznor and Nine Inch Nails have won the award for “Best Metal Performance” twice which is seriously like honorable mention in summer camp Olympics.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at the nominees for the Grammy awards.

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Gorillaz Have New Cartoon – CSN Leaves RR and C – Chilly Music Proven

13 Jan

Gorillaz Sign On New Band Member

Back in November Gorillaz beckoned their fans to submit drawings for a new cartoon character they would add to their animated band. Do you know how hard it is to snatch up a new band member out of the cartoon realm. It’s much harder than simply drawing someone up. Gorillaz gave a broad description as to the appearance of the Evangelist, the new character. Basically, they said he was the opposite of the saturnine, gas mask wearing Boogieman character who has already appeared in some videos (see Stylo).

So, Gorillaz listeners took the call and over 5,000 submitted what they thought the Evangelist should look like. I would have just sent in a photo of Billy Graham. After sifting through submissions, Daman Albarn and Jamie Hewlett decided on a drawing by a user named Jirouta. Hewlett redrew it and this, my friends, is the Evangelist:

Ha...Doesn't look like the harbinger of right-winged christian theology

Well…that’s terrifying. Jirouta gets a framed, signed print of the photo in a gift pack (pretty awesome deal) and Gorillaz has their new cartoon member. He looks like what would happen if you dunked Benson from Regular how into the ocean…a radioactive ocean.

New Gorillaz character...part 2?

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Long Time Gone

Crosby Still and Nash have parted ways with producer Rick Rubin and Columbia records after planning on releasing an album of cover songs. It seems that the folk band lost patience with the producer, who was working to complete other projects before delving into the CSN covers album.

CSN had previously stated that Rubin was quite picky in his song choices. In an interview with Spinner, David Crosby said, “We write down a list of songs we think are potentials, learn them, make up our version, and sing them for him. He’ll like maybe one out of eight, so we go back to the drawing board and learn another eight or 10. It’s a very slow process.”

I haven’t heard anything about CSN releasing this album independently or on a different label. Until then enjoy CSN performing “Ruby Tuesday.”

Link: http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/11/crosby-stills-and-nash-covers-album/

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Music and Science!


According to a study from The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital — The Neuro at McGill University, scientific pleasure can be released by listening to music. The study, released in the Nature Neuroscience journal, proves that listening to music releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked with pleasure. You see, music is not just murdering our hearing.

The report was released in article from yesterday’s Science Daily.

“The team at The Neuro measured dopamine release in response to music that elicited “chills,” changes in skin conductance, heart rate, breathing, and temperature that were correlated with pleasurability ratings of the music. A novel combination of PET and fMRI brain imaging techniques, revealed that dopamine release is greater for pleasurable versus neutral music, and that levels of release are correlated with the extent of emotional arousal and pleasurability ratings.”

Hooray for science. The article is an interesting read and certainly proves that music is a vital part of human nature. I mean we did not need a genius to tell us that music is pleasurable, but it does help to have the scientific proof!

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110112111117.htm

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Coldplay’s Touch of OCD – A Tribute Band Longs For Full Authenticity – Aerosmith, I Don’t Really Care

10 Jan

Okay, now everytime we sit on this couch it needs to be in this specific sitting order.

Chris Martin Talks New Album

Coldplay fans will probably have to wait until the end of this calendar year for the release of the band’s fifth studio album that lead vocalist Chris Martin says may begin with an M and be two words. May I suggest More Manic.

In an interview with BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, Martin said that the album will explore “love, addiction, OCD, escape and working for someone you don’t like.” Yeah! Fight the establishment.

Martin also described how the album will be representative of “what happens within the group.” Anyone smell volatile group relations. It would seem that this interview subtly portrayed portentous happenings. Well, if my ramblings are true, I’m sure Jay-Z wouldn’t mind forming a group with Chris Martin. Recently he said that Martin was a “‘a brother from another mother” and lauded him as a true musical genius. Well, I don’t know if I would go that far.

It will be difficult to eclipse the success of Coldplay’s last release, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. But, Coldplay has a large following and anything is possible.

Link: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chris-martin-says-new-coldplay-disc-is-about-love-and-ocd-20110110

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Good Luck With That

Tribute bands often attempt to clone the look of their heroes in an attempt to be more authentic. Somehow echoing the band’s sound is not enough. But, Pyromania, a Dallas-based Def Leppard tribute band, may be taking their search a little too far.

In a flyer (above), the band wrote they are looking for a “one arm drummer (no prostetics).” I presume this statement means they are looking for a drummer with one arm who does not wear a prosthetic replacement. You would think that someone in the band would have done a quick spell check before posting the flyer. Come on guys.

Def Leppard is of course famous for their drummer Rick Allen who overcame the complete amputation of his left arm at 21 years old. Even without his left arm (which he lost because of a car accident) he is still able to pour some sugar on anyone.

Pyromania also requires the drummer to have a “flame retardent kit & stick.” Pyromania, the correctly spelling of retardant is retardant. And, remember folks, “seriose inquarys only!” So, if you lack an arm and an ability to spell correctly, Pyromania is looking for you. Actually, scratch that, let me add to the flyer that the drummer needs to also be semi-literate. Yes, someone who can spell to write future flyers.

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Problems in Aeroland

Steven Tyler, who is currently a judge for “American Idol,” wants to get Aerosmith together for a new album but he cannot find guitarist Joe Perry.

“I’m trying to rally the guys together,” he told Rolling Stone. “We’re having trouble getting Joe [Perry]. I don’t know where he is, but just come down to L.A. at the end of January sometime. I’ve had enough downtime.”

Joe Perry does not like Steven Tyler. The two barely talk off stage and Perry has made it clear that he thinks “American Idol” is absolute garbage and he would be ashamed if Aerosmith was linked to the show at all.

Do I really care about the ramblings of these two musicians? No, no I do not. So, instead of making this story a story, I am going to turn this over to Acoustic Affairs a German guitar trio who perform an awesome acoustic cover of Aerosmith’s “Dream On.”

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