https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQSYlBiGEE
I caught this on the local jazz station a few days ago. Called “Christmas Will Really Be Christmas,” this 1967 tune is an extraordinary Christmas meditation which deserves some reconsideration in 2015. As one friend described it, “Damn man, this really is a stone groove. Totally dig it.”
My one regret this season is to only have been able to put on the suit once… twice, if you count putting it on for my nephew, for this photo. A couple of years ago, a friend gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, buying a suit and asking me to play Santa for an …
After Sgt. Pepper, many of us Baby Boomers became so, uhhh, “sophisticated,” that we began sneering at many of the early British Invasion bands who served as our first introductions to rock ‘n’ roll. So many superb bands, including The Hollies and The Zombies and The Searchers, got shuffed off by us in our unwashed …
Rebecca Jade understands the pure, indomitable magic of fifties R&B. Profoundly aware of the ebb and flow of her sound as well as the soul-derived beauty of the art, “Weather The Storm” is the first single from her upcoming record, A Shade Of Jade due out in 2016.
Jerome, Jerome, Jerome Blazé. Is that bla-zay? Can’t be, unless you’re the master of some sort of Australian irony. On JB’s (if I may please take such license) title track “Lone Pine,” JB makes a winning case for his art and electronica. Reviewing music is a little bit like screening resumes. And I almost round-filed …
Frank Sinatra in 1968 singing Laura Nyro’s “Sweet Blindness” (from Eli and the Thirteenth Confession) dressed as the 6th member of the 5th Dimension – let’s go down by the grapevine, drink my daddy’s wine, get happy! – Pat Thomas is the author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975.
The other morning I had to take my car in, and instead of Uber-ing home from the garage, I decided to walk the couple miles back to Venice; it was a blustery morning, and I headed into a strong wind, with not a small amount of trash and dust kicked up in the air. I …
“Ava taught him how to sing a torch song. She taught him the hard way.” —Nelson Riddle The idea is that Frank Sinatra’s impossible, unresolvable romantic relationship with Ava Gardner—for whom he left his wife at a time (1950) when it simply wasn’t done; to whom he was married for a brief, tumultuous period (1951–53*); …
John Trudell, poet, activist for American Indian rights, dies at age 69 RIP John Trudell. I’ll never forget hearing him speak 20 years ago in a basement hall at the University of Washington, at a time when the case of Leonard Peltier was getting renewed attention (which did not result in his pardon), and Trudell …
Correatown’s new collection of wet, somehow magical little stones has been glistening in the dabbled sunlight of it’s musical dawn for a couple of weeks now. I stumbled across them just now. Let me show you some?! This one, “Longshot” (below), is for when you’re having trouble smiling. See its color? That’s dandelion. If you …
This is a recent conversation between two unquestioned experts on Sinatra, Pete Hamill, author of Why Sinatra Matters, and Jonathan Schwartz, the writer and radio host who coined the phrase “Chairman of the Board” in regard to Frank. A pleasant remembrance. http://92yondemand.org/pete-hamill-with-jonathan-schwartz – Chuck Strom
Unleashed from Los Angeles, ELECTRIC PARLOR creates honest, raw music with a live feel to it. Inspired by the past and the hard, loud lessons learned by the crazed, inspired, burning forefathers and foremothers of rock and roll, this conquering band and their wild woman lead singer Monique Alvarez seek to catalyze a new sound …
If anyone hasn’t heard by now about the fantastically good year Stephen Curry has had so far, this video will satisfy all curiosity. The sequence is very instructive, if only to show how many shots Curry makes in traffic, sometimes while being knocked to the floor. If there was ever a reason to unload your …
Listen to the song above and you can be certain these LA kids are on to something. They’re having fun and so are we. The product of top notch songwriting and interesting progressive elements, here is a glimpse into the hearts of some of LA’s most happening creators. http://www.facebook.com/mleoband
A couple of Spotify samplers for Sinatra anniversary week. The first recreates (almost) the singer’s last recording project, now out of print: Everything Happens to Me, a self-selected anthology of the songs that meant the most to him. No ring-a-ding-dings here; just the deepest ballads and most penetrating readings from his later years. In the …
In September 1998, shortly after Frank Sinatra’s passing, the jazz critic Francis Davis described Sinatra’s career in The Atlantic as a two-decade procession of taking songs off the market, meaning that once Frank had recorded them, his interpretations were immediately accepted as definitive and thereby discouraged other singers from recording them afterward. I thought of …
Meet conscious hip hop dynamo Sheik aka SK with his fresh single “The Breather”. Dubbing his unique style ‘New School Poetry,’ Sheik’s sound is a clusterfunk of afro punk, jazz, hip hop, soul and blues. “Music is better with no makeup on, people always relate to raw shit whether it’s a love song or a …
One of the more hilarious BBC clips I’ve ever seen, as The Faces thoroughly exploit the fact that TOP OF THE POPS used to insist on canned backing tracks, while ALSO insisting on live vocals (cf. several tracks from The Who’s ca. 2000 BBC cd compilation, which feature live Roger Daltrey vocals atop the familiar …
Only took me about 30 years to find this album by Millie – the very first known Nick Drake cover version – a jaunty rocksteady / ska version of the song “Mayfair” was recorded before Nick’s own version that appears on Nick’s debut album, Five Leaves Left. Must be heard to be believed. – Pat …
Sometimes a town is a soccer town. Sometimes a town is a basketball town. Some towns are even hockey towns (though, admittedly, most of those are in Canada). What many people don’t realize is that even if your town doesn’t have a professional team, it is still also very much a football town. In spite …
Lou Barlow has shared a video for “Nerve,” a candid cut from his recent solo album, Brace the Wave. Directed by video maker and musician Adam Harding, the video focuses on a broken relationship with video images mirroring lyrics, shots of broken musical gear, a mix of personal footage from Barlow’s past dating back to …
This is the music video for which I’ve waited years: the all-doggy video. I really wish pugs were featured in this video, but the French Bulldogs shown here are very cute and using that breed is a way of expressing political solidarity with France after the recent Paris massacre. The song is “Happy” by JES, …
my old pals in 7 YEAR BITCH (i did their logo) have released another record – 20 years later! it’s a live gig played at the club called “MOE” back in the mid-1990’s at the height of ‘grunge mania’ in seattle. this band was at a powerful peak at this point and were one of …
One more time. Films that purport to show Planned Parenthood selling baby parts are deceptively edited fraud. They spin the truth into lies. If you believe these videos, as Republicans in Congress apparently did, you’re a dunce. Planned Parenthood is not selling baby parts. They are allowed by law to let mothers donate fetal tissue, …
“16 shots, 14 months. 16 shots, 14 months. 16 shots, 14 months.” I attended a protest rally on Black Friday that was easily attended by more than 5,000 people. The protest closed down Chicago’s “Mag Mile”, which is the high-end downtown shopping mecca. We congregated at the majestic Chicago Tribune building and proceeded north. Why …
“Easy Way Out” by The Post will be released shortly in December and will ward off the chills as would a shot of it’s subject matter. If you prefer your rock and roll straight up, you will enjoy this potent foursome as they crank out an amped-up ode to the ritual, sometimes habitual. The Post …
another item that recently sold from Ringo’s warehouse of memorabilia. this is (strangely) the VERY FIRST rock and roll logo/brand/id/trademark in history (note: even elvis didn’t have a logo). the story on it is even more peculiar. according to Bodhi Oser’s amazing little book, “BAND ID, The Ultimate Book of Band Logos” (chronicle books, 2008), …
Born in 1963, celebrated actor John Stamos would have attended this high school prom sometime in the late 70s or early 80s, shortly before his acting career began on General Hospital in 1982. E! Online UK tweeted out this photo today, claiming it to be Stamos’ actual prom photo. Stamos grew up in Cypress, a …