Desert Island Radio

Road trips often lead to interesting conversations and discussions and my recent trip to Utah and Colorado was no different.  On the 5.5 hour drive from Moab, UT. to Boulder, CO. the conversation turned to music.  It just so happened that both of the dudes on the trip were music junkies albeit with slightly different tastes.  The question arose, "If you were trapped on a desert island which ten bands or artists would you most like to have to listen to for the rest of your life?"  Thus the Desert Island Lists were born!

An interesting question for a couple of reasons.  One, you have to take into account the breadth of the artist's catalogue.  Even though I might love Ke$ha, she only has one album, and I risk wearing it out with repeat listens.  Two, hard rock might sound good now, but on a desert island you don't have anyone to headbang with.  Three, too many sad country songs could lead to depression.  As Buddha teaches I tried to take the "middle path" with my selections dabbling into a little of everything... minus rap music which I do listen to sometimes but can't get excited about when I'm alone.

My Desert Island List... in no particular order

AC/DC
Led Zeppelin
Bruce Springsteen
Willie Nelson
Johnny Cash
Merle Haggard
Son Volt
Wilco
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan

This conversation took place about a month ago but I was messing around on Pandora this morning and thought it would be cool to collect all 10 of my desert island favorites on one free station.  So I did, and I recommend you do the same thing.  Because you never know when you might become the next Lost character and my Blackberry does have the Pandora app.  The only problem is now Pandora is trying to find artists and songs LIKE my desert island list and I am often hitting the thumbs down button.  You can check out my Desert Island Radio here.  It's not perfect yet but even the suggestions that aren't on my desert island list are good.

Gogol Bordello

New words must be invented to describe the sound of Gogol Bordello from Brooklyn, NY.  If I had to put a label on their genre I would call it Alternative Gypsy Rock.  The band sounds like a mix of traditional Eastern European folk music by Borat with the angst of Kurt Cobain.  Their live shows include a troupe of live dancers that frolic around the stage while lead singer and guitarist Eugene Hutz works his mustache and the microphone.  The shouting choruses remind me of Irish drinking songs but the feel is totally Fiddler on the Roof.  

Gogol has been around since 1998 when the first members met at a Russian wedding in Vermont and started "jamming in A minor."  Since then they have played house parties, small clubs and other event spaces till now.  Their new album, Trans-Continental Hustle, has just been released and is available on iTunes as well as your local record store.

If you would like to see them live they will be playing two shows in the US (Baltimore 4/30, and Philly 5/2) before heading overseas to the UK, the rest of Europe and even Russia.  But if you go to their website you can follow along with updates, tweets and even some free song samples.

As of right now my jury is still out on this band.  I love their story and how they have risen through the ranks by word of mouth and playing small parties and venues.  The fact that they are the first of their kind is also awesome.  The music industry is always looking for something new and right now Gogol Bordello is it.

Weezer Raditude

I think Weezer was inspired by my blog.  

It's the title of their latest album that I saw today in Border's.  The CD can be ordered in a standard or deluxe version with optional tie die Weezer snuggie!  They are really taking Rad to the extreme with this offering.  You can listen to a couple tracks for free at lost.fm.com.  

RAD!

Smashing Pumpkins new free album

This week I heard on Detroit's new rock radio station, 93.9 The River, that the Smashing Pumpkins were releasing a new record called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.  The album is to be released one track at a time on their website, www.smashingpumpkins.com, where you can listen to and download each song.  

Today I visited their site and downloaded "A Song for a Son" which I think is the first song they have released.  The song sounds like a mix of Wilco type music and Pumpkins type lyrics and or course the unmistakable voice of Billy Corgan.  It may be that the music sounds different because Corgan is the only original member of the iconic alternative rock band that formed in 1988.  Guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain have all, at some point in time and for various reasons, left the band.  I think D'arcy may have even committed suicide?  

"Astral Planes" will be the second track released on their website but you can catch a live version of it at the Smashing Pimpkins myspace page.  It's a heavier track that "A Song for a Son" and sounds more like their old garagey/punk stuff.  I think the woman's voice backing Corgan up belong to Reyes (bass).  It's interesting that all their bass players have been female.  I wonder if Corgan does this on purpose.

The new line up, as presented on the bands myspace page, is Billy Corgan on lead vocals and guitar, Ginger Reyes on bass, Mike Byrne on drums and Jeff Schroeder on guitar.  Although I wasn't a huge fan of the Smashing Pimpkins back in the day, I did love "Today" and the whole Meloncholy and the Infinite Sadness double disc.  I am eagerly awaiting the rest of Teargarden by Kaleidyscope as it is released and would definitely go see this new line up in concert.  I think Corgan, although he is a notorious control freak in the studio, is a musical master of creativity.

Girl Talk is rad

You may have heard of him already but I just read about this artist in "Details" magazine's October issue.  They had a feature article on him that covered everything from his story to the controversial question of whether what he does is illegal or not.  His name is Gregg Michael Gillis, AKA Girl Talk.

Girl Talk is simply a man on stage with a laptop, at least that's what he wants you to think.  It's what is on the laptop that so many college age and young professionals have been talking about around campuses and water coolers.  Gillis is a master at mixing (called "mashup") unrelated vocal and instrumental tracks often times pitting rap lyrics against the background of classic rock or pop songs.  He then creates his own playlists of these mashes and plays them on stage for concertgoers.  The best part is you can also get on stage and take your turn dancing with Girl Talk.  That's right, he's not concerned about fans on stage, which makes most of his concerts look like a rave type dance/college house party.  To keep his laptop dry, he told Details, he wraps it in plastic wrap before each show.

Born in 1981, Gillis grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. and attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. where he studied biomedical engineering.  After college he started working at a biomedical firm while still producing his mashup creations.  It got to the point that he was using vacation days and leaving on weekends to play shows in London, Paris, New York, etc. and then coming back to tissue samples at work, without telling any of his co-workers.  Finally, Gillis quit his job in 2007 to become a full time musician. 

Girl Talk's latest album "Feed the Animals" was released in 2008 on the Illegal Art label.  You can check it out on his myspace page (linked above) or you can download it for whatever price you want to pay for it at www.illegalart.com .  

All of the info here comes from the Details article, the wikipedia page and his myspace page.

Jack White news and more from the bottom of the Detroit River

Jack White and his other side project Dead Weather have announced a Detroit show at the Fillmore on July 25th.  The stop comes in the middle of a 25 show US tour this summer.  Their new album, Horehound, will be released in Europe on July 13th and in the US on July 14th.  You can check out the tour schedule, album news and more at their website, www.thedeadweather.com .  Thanks to google news and their website for all the info and picture above!

In the Darkest Depths of a Dirty River

About two weeks ago the coast guard was doing some routine maneuvers in the Detroit River and came across a very valuable statue that has been missing since 2001.  Apparently it had been chucked into the Detroit River by the thieves.  At first they were unable to bring the sculpture to shore but on May 6th they surfaced the piece of art only to discover it was a statue that had been stolen from the Grosse Pointe War Memorial.

"The Nude" in full view after being recovered from the Detroit River.

The bronze statue weighs in at a hefty 600 pounds and stands about 5 feet high.  It was sculpted by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (1880 - 1980).  A Philadelphia born sculptor known for her works in bronze and who studied with renown French sculptor Auguste Rodin.  She has won countless awards for her sculptures, a few while still a student.  Her early sculptures seem to fetch the highest prices.

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) helped train Harriet Whitney Frishmuth in the art of sculpture during her early years.

It has not been determined whether the statue will return to the War Memorial or if it will stay at the Dossin Museum on Belle Isle.  The museum is dedicated to preserving the hidden treasures of the Detroit River and houses the anchor from the famed wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  Whatever happens to it I am glad they found it, but also concerned about some of the other things that could probably be at the bottom of that unforgiving river.

Thanks to candgnews for the informative article and to wikipedia for the info on Frishmuth and Rodin.

New Bob Dylan album

I am a huge Bob Dylan fan and I liked his last album "Modern Times" but according to Rolling Stone's article his new album is totally different. They said it sounds a little more country and "border town," whatever that means.

Either way I am going to buy it and I would encourage you to do the same. Bob Dylan is a wordsmith and essential figure in Rock and Roll history.

Music genres I could live without

I was searching through iTunes the other day and I think there are way too many music genres these days.  I remember when there was Rock, Metal, Alternative, Country, Pop and Rap.  Then they started to break those up even more.  It started with rap.  There was gangsta' rap and hip-hop.  Then they made East and West Coast versions of each of those.  Now it seems like every genre has done the same.  Here are some examples.

Rock sub-genres

- emo

- indie

- punk

- pop

- shoe gaze

- jam

- alt-rock

- hard rock

- folk rock

- acoustic rock

- classic rock

- electronic rock

and on and on

How about Country

- alt-country

- swing

- new 

- nashville sound

- bluegrass

- newgrass

- traditional

- Texas

Let's try rap

- east coast

- east coast gangsta

- east coast hip-hop

- midwest

- dirty south

- crunk ... lil jon

- booty shakin' ... 95 South

- west coast

- west coast gangsta

- west coast hip-hop

- underground

- gangsta

- hip-hop

- bubble gum

- break beat/dance

Eventually every artist will have their own genre so they can all be different.

Willy Porter

This guy has Leo Kottke-esque guitar playing skills and a Dave Matthews-ish voice.

Rad Guitar Website!

Recently one of my friends, Jeff Keen, avid guitarist and purveyor of all things awesome, started a website designed to offer free guitar lessons and advice.  The website is www.lesson-share.com and is up and running right now!  Check it out and become a member (just like me).  I hope to post some cool stuff on there as soon as I take the time to figure out how to download video on to my new computer.

Right now there are a couple lessons from Jeff himself that deal with some sweet bluegrass licks. I highly recommend that all of you visit the sight!