Friends Sharing Music

Fairfield Parlour - Bordeaux Rose A bit of progressive rock to...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:56:59 -0500

Fairfield Parlour - Bordeaux Rose

A bit of progressive rock to kick off your Wednesday morning.

Fairfield Parlour’s 1970 album From Home to Home is considered a progressive rock classic… at least by anyone who’s ever heard it. The album contains some great tracks, many of them in different styles (for instance, we’ve already covered “In My Box,” which sounds more like garage rock than progressive).

For whatever reason, this song has a tendency to get stuck in my head. It is now one of my most-played songs, according to iTunes, and is one of my perennial favorites.

Woody Guthrie - Do-Re-Mi Though he’d previously worked in...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:08:00 -0500

Woody Guthrie - Do-Re-Mi

Though he’d previously worked in broadcast radio and other live media, it wasn’t until 1940 that Woody Guthrie made his first series of recorded music and interviews. Folklorist Alan Lomax was his interviewer, and Lomax submitted several hours worth of recordings to the US Library of Congress.

At the end of this track, you can hear Lomax reciting the exact date of the recording— March 21, 1940— for the US Department of Interior’s catalog.

Lomax, whose entire collection can be heard in the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress, traveled the world for years, capturing glimpses of traditional music, stories, and lifestyles that would have otherwise been unchronicled and forgotten. You can read more about him, and his work, here.

Rickie Lee Jones - We Belong Together From the 1981 album...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:29:00 -0500

Rickie Lee Jones - We Belong Together

From the 1981 album Pirates, this elegant 5 minute masterpiece is said to be about the relationship between Rickie Lee Jones and Tom Waits. (The album, in fact, is more or less the result of their breaking up.)

This is by far my favorite song on the album (which garnered a 5-star review from Rolling Stone, and a #5 spot on the Billboard Charts). It’s a theatrical piece that pays no mind to keeping a steady tempo, or even a consistant style. This is Jones’ strong point— the ability to sing poetry without being tied down to a singular beat. The music starts out slowly, building until the midway point, and then dissapating again at the very end.

The song is both wistful and realistic. At first, the title lyric applies to the singer and her lover— “I think it’s better to face it / We belong together.” Jones compares Waits to old school rebels like Brando and Dean, and herself to Natalie Wood. And in the end, she has to let him go, because the rebel doesn’t stay tied down for long. He no longer belongs to her:

And the only heroes we got left
Are written right before us
And the only angel who sees us now
Watches through each other’s eyes
And I can hear him
In every footstep’s passing sigh
He goes crazy these nights
Watching heartbeats go by…
And they whisper —-
We belong together
We belong together

The Zombies - I Want You Back Again I wrote this song for you,...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:29:22 -0500

The Zombies - I Want You Back Again

I wrote this song for you, Friends.

Ok, actually, this is The Zombies, classic English band of the 1960’s.

Dear listeners, I shall try to overcome this flu and bring FSM back from the dead. …Like a ZOMBIE! And now we have come full circle.

…I need to lay off the TheraFlu. Less meds, more music coming at you. Thanks for not unsubscribing.

Of Montreal - A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger Recently I was...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:21:54 -0500

Of Montreal - A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger

Recently I was thinking how my life was lacking a good, catchy, indie-pop song that had the power to make the world seem worth living in again. I then discovered Of Montreal’s album ‘Hissing Fauna Are you the Destroyer?’ and this perfectly fitting track. Enjoy.

20th Century Steel Band - Heaven & Hell An amazing song by a...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:10:00 -0500

20th Century Steel Band - Heaven & Hell

An amazing song by a steel drum group doing funk.

You can find this song on volume 5 of the much-coveted Ultimate Breaks & Beats albums. The entire compilation— at 25 volumes— is definitely worth a listen. You’ll probably find the source for every sample you’ve ever heard in a classic hip hop or dance song. (For instance, Lyn Collins’ “Think (About It)”— found on volume 16— has been used by dozens of major hip hop players from N.W.A. to Run DMC.)

UBB albums only contain songs made from 1966-1984, spanning every genre from jazz to rock. The common denominator? Every song on UBB contains an iconic drum break, or danceable beat. Each volume only contains an average of 8 songs, and were released by Street Beat Records in the mid-’80s.

I can’t find much information on “Heaven and Hell,” but if you’re a Doug E. Fresh fan (lol), you might recognize this from 1992’s “Back in the Dayz.”

Louis Armstrong - The Skeleton in the Closet A Halloween treat...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:07:58 -0400

Louis Armstrong - The Skeleton in the Closet

A Halloween treat from Louis Armstrong to you from the year 1936.

Goldfrapp - Strict Machine The first song I heard at My Birthday...

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:24:00 -0400

Goldfrapp - Strict Machine

The first song I heard at My Birthday o’clock. Year 23 is going to be interesting.

Not to step on the toes of another FSM birthday from earlier this week. Man, if you’d been born a couple days later, one of us could have been the other’s dormant, parasitic twin. …That’s how it works, right?

The Tune Weavers - Happy, Happy Birthday Baby Woo hoo! Today is...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:46:57 -0400

The Tune Weavers - Happy, Happy Birthday Baby

Woo hoo! Today is my birthday, so I decided to post a birthday song. A one-hit wonder from 1957, The Tune Weavers’ “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby” just struck a chord with me today even though I’m not “with somebody new.” Plus, I imagine that this birthday song gets posted on Tumblr far less often than birthday songs by, say, The Beatles, Altered Images, Stevie Wonder, or 50 Cent. Happy, happy birthday to me! And yes, I have the day off work. :)

Paul Simon - A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert...

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:26:00 -0400

Paul Simon - A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara’d into Submission)

Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs birthday party cheesecake jelly bean boom.

…Wait.

Aim - Landlord I went to my first yard sale a few weeks ago...

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:31:50 -0400

Aim - Landlord

I went to my first yard sale a few weeks ago (well, I say yard sale, it was some guy with a load of boxes selling stuff on the side of one of the busyist roads in Manchester, England) and after I had gone through the entire CD collection with a friend, laughing at all the hilarious album art from bands noone has or ever will hear of, I finally happened upon something that peaked my intrest. I bought the album ‘Flight 602’ by ‘Air’ soely because of the artwork on the box being a NASA space rocket and on the back a mission control room. And although the album doesn’t have any connection with space or science at all, I was pleasently suprised by the smooth electronic sound and catchy beats. Ohter notable tracks on the album are ‘Peir 57’, and the title track ‘Flight 602’.

I didn’t strike gold with this album, more likely bronze, or a very worn silver. But that’s still very good for £2 spent on the side of a road.

And upon inspection of the booklet inside I found out the album was actually made in Manchester, England too. It’s nice when you find out something was made where you live.

Patience & Prudence - Didn’t I This is quite possibly...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:39:00 -0400

Patience & Prudence - Didn’t I

This is quite possibly my favorite girl group of all time. Twee harmonies! Sunshine! Kittens! Matching dresses!

Sisters Patience and Prudence (their real names, 14 and 11 years old respectively, at the time of this recording), cut a handful of tracks in the 1950’s and then abruptly disappeared from the music scene.

Songs of theirs tend to pop up now and again, though… In 2001, “A Smile and a Ribbon” was featured in the film Ghost World. Bernadette Peters and Steve Martin took a crack at the duo’s signature song, “Tonight You Belong to Me,” in 1979’s The Jerk; the sisters’ own version appeared on the 2007 compilation album, A Date with John Waters.

“Didn’t I,” like most of P&P’s tunes, can be classified as fucking adorable. You can find it on a 24-track album called The Complete P&P. It’s out on compact disc, and I had to search for years before some kind soul posted the album online (although for the record, I would have bought it if I’d been able to find a single copy).

If you don’t like Patience & Prudence, you have a soul as black as night. Just look at them:

Queen - Soul Brother On a Queen high after watching this...

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:01:00 -0400

Queen - Soul Brother

On a Queen high after watching this week’s spine tickling episode of Glee. (Ok, ok, Lea Michele! Enough already! You are the most amazing ever. You are ruining me on all other forms of musical film. Glee has finally stomped out the flames Cop Rock left in my heart. But mostly because I thought a musical television show could never happen again. Happy now?)

Anyway, Queen were known to dabble in gospel strains every now and then (understatement), but “Somebody to Love” is one of a small handful of straight up Queen gospel tunes. Another is “Soul Brother,” the B-Side to 1981’s “Under Pressure.”

It’s no wonder this song never made it to an official album release— I’m not sure where they would have slotted in a gospel song on the disco infused Hot Space. Also, it sounds like this song was just an excuse to give Freddie some fun things to do with his voice. Like a lot of the B-Sides, this one’s a bit of a rough cut, but who doesn’t love a rousing rock gospel?

You’ll definitely catch a few loving tributes to “Under Pressure” in this song… but see how many more of Queen’s self-referential lines you can spot in “Soul Brother.”

The Zombies - Girl Help MeIt’s a little weird posting...

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:13:00 -0400

The Zombies - Girl Help Me

It’s a little weird posting overtly depressing songs on an internet forum for sharing music because it feels like no matter how good the song is, you’re probably broadcasting your emotional health and truth of any kind on the internet makes people uncomfortable. Luckily, I’m not in the business of telling the truth (ever) and I’m posting this Zombies song because it is amazing. I guess saying I’m “not in the business of telling the truth” and then following that with a statement about how I’m posting a sad song even though I’m not sad may ring a little hollow or at the very least confusing but all I really want to say is this song is equally great and infuriating in that it would be perfect were it not for that terrible cringey “your love cut my soul like the blade of a knife” bullshit and seriously, guys, I could think of like 30 better rhymes.

The Pfister Sisters - It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It...

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:32:11 -0400

The Pfister Sisters - It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

For those of you who have been playing along at home, you’ll know that some of the F’s here at FSM have a weakness for vintage crooners. We’ve covered plenty of stuff from pre-Nuclear America, so my interests were peaked when I heard the melodic strains of the Pfister Sisters on the overhead speakers at work.

To my delight, I found out The Pfister Sisters are not relics of the 1930’s— they are three (modern!) lovely ladies who put their own spin on the early sister acts, and have been doing so since the 1980’s.

They take a lot of inspiration from the Boswell Sisters, also a New Orleans group (who are said to be the inspiration for another legendary close harmony girl group, The Andrews Sisters). From their website:

Holley Bendtsen, Yvette Voelker, Debbie Davis and Amasa Miller comprise one of the few groups that represent the New Orleans swing era, with their recreation of The Boswell Sisters arrangements, and the only act featuring vocal jazz harmony. The Pfisters have sung with the Neville Brothers at Angola State Prison, with Linda Rondstadt and Jimmy Buffet at the New Orleans Artists Against Homelessness and Hunger concerts, with Vet Boswell of the Boswell Sisters in New York and New Orleans and with Maxene Andrews of the Andrews sisters on the wing of an airplane.

On the wing of an airplane!

While listening to The Pfisters’ 2003 album Change In the Weather, this imaginative, quirky arrangement of “It Don’t Mean a Thing” really caught my attention. Props to The Pfisters for breathing new life into an old standard.

Check out The Pfister Sisters’ albums, which you can get via CD Baby (links on their website), and their streaming selections on Myspace. Also, be sure to catch them live if you’re ever in New Orleans— I’ve heard from more than one source that they put on quite a show.

PfisterSisters.com & Myspace

Delaunay’s Jazz - I’m Confessin’ (That I Love...

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:32:00 -0400

Delaunay’s Jazz - I’m Confessin’ (That I Love You)

More adventures in recently acquired music…

I just bought a four-disc box set that includes a ton of Django Reinhardt’s best music from 1934 to 1952. The recording I posted here comes from the first session of the famed quintet that soon became known as the Quintette du Hot Club de France. In this early instance, they recorded under the name Delaunay’s Jazz. Here’s the classic lineup:

Django Reinhardt (lead guitar), Django’s brother Joseph Reinhardt (rhythm guitar), Roger Chaput (rhythm guitar), Stéphane Grappelli (violin), and Louis Vola (bass).

The Quintette brought variety to the big band era as a rare jazz combo featuring onlystring instruments. The two rhythm guitarists often filled the role of percussion. And even though Django seems to get all the love, Grappelli was no slouch on jazz violin (let that sink in… freakin’ jazz violin!). Enjoy.

Queen - Flick of the Wrist / Lily of the Valley In the early...

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:39:00 -0400

Queen - Flick of the Wrist / Lily of the Valley

In the early days, Freddie Mercury was known to write quite the vengeance song. This is my favorite of that genre, from 1974’s Sheer Heart Attack (also my favorite album).

Although Freddie was known to meld multiple songs together on an album, the pianos at the beginning of “Flick of the Wrist” are not from the track before it (“Tenement Funster”). They’re supposed to be more of a quick interlude between the songs. However, at the end of “Flick of the Wrist”, the very last “Baby, you’ve been had…” flows into the much more graceful “Lily of the Valley.”

Presented together, for your listening pleasure.

—-
More songs tagged Queen.

The Specials - Rat Race The Specials started off hot and this,...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:55:00 -0400

The Specials - Rat Race

The Specials started off hot and this, their 4th single, maintained that momentum in 1980. This also counts as an experience in recently-acquired music, since I bought The 2-Tone Collection: A Checkered Past within the last week.

I worked a late shift tonight and I figure this will catch most of you regular work-week 9-5ers before you leave for your Monday. Have a good week everyone!

Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You...

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:47:00 -0400

Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)

I don’t know if anyone can outdo Pete Shelley’s bitchin’ falsetto, but here’s yet another punk song that spawned many, many tributes.

From 1978’s Love Bites.

Clifford T. Ward - Jigsaw Girl Clifford T. Ward was never one...

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:43:00 -0400

Clifford T. Ward - Jigsaw Girl

Clifford T. Ward was never one for interviewing and promoting… He just liked to write, compose, and record from his own home, and let the music speak for itself. Ward did appear once on Top of the Pops, but really preferred to be out of the spotlight, just making music that made him— and his fans— happy.

In fact, Ward has been hailed as one of Britain’s preeminent songwriters… that few people have really even heard of. (Although surprisingly, there have been Clifford T. Ward conventions held even as recently as 2002, attended by a small group of his most ardent fans, and even by Ward himself, until his death in 2001.)

“Jigsaw Girl” was one of the minor hits from his 1975 album Escalator. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, just a really well crafted pop tune.

I think Ward falls into that category of gifted pop singer/songwriters (along the likes of Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Carole King, etc.), and it’s evident— and refreshing— to see someone who was just creating music because he liked it, and was quite good at it.

Let me also note that Clifford T. Ward was probably pop music’s nicest nice guy: married his high school sweetheart, wrote songs that referenced The Hobbit, and has an official fan club called The Friends of Clifford T. Ward.

Awww.