Laundry

Brooksville, Florida

Thanks, Dad.

Christina Aguilera - Dirrty

Best of 2006, Pt. 3

Christina Aguilera's cd Back To Basics came out this summer, and as a lover of the styles & music of pretty much the entire 20th century, I was pleased at her choices; namely, cleaning up (you can be "Still Dirrty" girl, but at least you don't look it anymore!) and going retro. "Ain't No Other Man" & "Candyman" are still my favorite songs from the cd.

Gnarls Barkley's Crazy is another song that accompanied me on these trips, and while I loved it, I wasn't as crazy about (...sorry) any of the other songs from the cd. Everyone kept referring to it as "disco," which to me, no. Modern disco is say, Scissor Sisters. This was just a good solid pop song.

I remember spending the summer blasting all of them while shooting pictures in two cemeteries in particular.

Sunset Cemetery, which is so far west of town that I think it's technically in Galloway, has a lot of really unique stones, and a striking crematory, dating from 1932. Kirkersville Cemetery is also on the National Rd. (Rt. 40) but all the way on the other end of Columbus, so far east as to be on the way to Zanesville. Kirkersville was one of the most beautiful places I shot this summer, as odd as that seems. It's hidden away from the world, and if you go all the way to the back of it, you feel like no one will ever find you. But in a good way.

Music - Weekly Mix #5

This week's mix has an actual theme. Weekly Mix #5 is entitled "Everything Old Is New Again" and features songs from the last 30-odd years that sound much, much older.

The Puppini Sisters – Wuthering Heights

Not the same version as last week's. A little longer, a little richer vocal performance. Oh my God, I love this song and this group.
If you really, really want it, you can get the CD through Amazon, but it's an import, and will set you back $40.49.

Christina Aguilera – Candyman

Yes, again, and this is the same version as last time. Still in love with it.
Buy Back To Basics.

Michael Buble' – Sway

A third one I've posted before. Beginning to notice a theme to my taste? I don't love Buble' like I love Connick, but then my love for Harry goes back a long way. He & I have been through so much together. Anyway, Mike. My friend griff feels that the musicianship on this track whips the musicianship on Dean Martin's version's ass. I agree, wholeheartedly. He feels, however, that Dean's vocals win over Mike's, and while I would give Deano the vocal win on any other song, I cannot award him a win here. There's something about Buble's voice – on his best songs, anyway – that's crisp and bright, and I always prefer those qualities, even over the richness and depth Dean brings. This is all simply a matter of personal preference, however.
Buy his debut album.

Harry Connick, Jr. – Sweet Georgia Brown

Speaking of Harry. His Eleven cd, recorded when he was yes, eleven years old, is totally underrated. The songs are all short, and there aren't many of them, and they are without any of his vocals (in this one instance, not a huge loss – it's not like it would have been the voice we know and love), but still. It's happy, upbeat, kick-ass Dixieland swing. You must give it a listen.
Buy Eleven

Jae Millz – I Like That (You Can't Take That Away From Me)

Jae Millz combines rap with Ella Fitzgerald's "You Can't Take That Away From Me" and creates something reminiscent of C + C Music Factory's old sound.
Buy the Take The Lead soundtrack

Gabin – Doo Uap Doo Uap

Or, French for "doo wop." Another modern song that samples Ella ("It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing"). Makes an interesting companion piece to the above.
Buy Gabin

Emiliana Torrini – Miss Celie's Blues

From what I gather (this is the only song I know of Torrini's) she's a Tori Amos-alike. That's ok though, because she betrays that not here. This is Shug's song from The Color Purple; Torrini sings it with style, sass and sweetness.
… I've looked everywhere and can't find it on CD. Enjoy.

Cherry Poppin' Daddies – Zoot Suit Riot

Swing's revival ten years ago made me very, very happy. Imagine my annoyance and puzzlement at the bizarre attitude I hear periodically that it's "hokey," "over," or "it's been done." Yeah, so has rock and roll, but no one rolls their eyes over that. Vive La Swing. This particular song from swing's decade-old revival features a shout-out to Brian Setzer & his orchestra, and that's just cool.
Buy Zoot Suit Riot

Big Bad Voodoo Daddys – You & Me & The Bottle Makes 3

From the Swingers soundtrack. …I suppose I should probably force myself to watch this someday. I'm just not a Vince Vaughn fan.
Buy their eponymous cd

The Brian Setzer Orchestra – Jump, Jive & Wail

This is what everyone calls "the Gap khaki commercial song." You know the one. Brian, a former Stray Cat, does swing music these days. A lot of it. It's damn good. I applaud him for bringing it back, doing what he loves, and never giving up.
Buy The Dirty Boogie

Bette Midler – Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Bette covered this Andrews Sisters song back in 1973, which never fails to mildly surprise me when I remember. To me, it never sounds old. It just doesn't date. Doesn't sound like '40s swing, doesn't sound like the '70s, doesn't sound like '90s swing. It's timeless.
Buy Experience the Divine: Bette Midler's Greatest Hits

Andre Williams – Jailbait

Ok, so I'm cheating. This goes all the way back to '56. You ask me, it sounds a hell of a lot older than that. For lack of any better musical term, it sounds very … noir. It's also hilarious. Be aware, a lot of his more recent stuff is like, filthy. And not in the cute Christina Aguilera way. As a reviewer on Amazon said of another Williams album, "This is music to get drunk and pick up strippers and steal a firetruck and rob a bank to."

Buy Mr.Rhythm

The Mamas & The Papas – Dream A Little Dream Of Me

This has always sounded vaguely '30s to me.
Buy Greatest Hits: The Mamas & The Papas

The Honeydrippers – Rockin' At Midnight

This project of Robert Plant's dates from 1985 but sounds more like the early '50s. It's not exactly what you'd expect from him.
Buy The Honeydrippers, Vol. 1 (before you ask, no, there's no Vol. 2. Dammit.)

Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hell

Oh my God, the horns. The horns.
The HORNS!!!1!
Ahem. Anyway, the Squirrel Nut Zippers have a public service announcement to make:

In the afterlife
You will be headed for the serious strife
Now you make the scene all day
But tomorrow there'll be Hell to pay

So, um, be good for goodness' sake.

Buy The Best Of The Squirrel Nut Zippers As Chronicled By Shorty Brown

Reel Big Fish – Hungry Like The Wolf

Okay, so technically ska. Still. Come on, it's close enough. It's also a hilarious "tribute," I suppose, to Duran Duran's New Wave masterpiece. Not to mention very good driving music.
Buy Duran Duran Tribute Album

Queen Latifah – When You're Good To Mama

From the Chicago soundtrack, conclusive proof that Latifah is a totally scorching jazz baby.

Buy the Chicago soundtrack

Michael Buble' – Come Fly With Me

Yes, more Buble'! This is a nice, crisp-like-a-green-apple cover of Frank's classic; remember what I said earlier, about Buble's sound on his best work? I would argue that the two songs I've put on this mix are his best work.
His debut again.

Harry Connick, Jr. – It Had To Be You

From 1989's When Harry Met Sally soundtrack, a sweeping, romantic big band arrangement of the 1920s standard.
Buy When Harry Met Sally. I mean it. Best investment you'll make.

And that's it for this week's mix, a mostly modern look at the good old days.

Music - Weekly Mix 3

A new week, a new heaping dose of musical whiplash. Time to change out the car cd!

You can click here to download the entire thing.

The Meters - Soul Machine

Another one from the knowledgeable Dan Phillips at Home Of The Groove. He’s fighting the good fight to help keep interest in New Orleans music alive; if you have any interest in funk, jazz, etc., give it a click, won’t you?

Anyway, here's hoping that so many things about New Orleans, including its music, manages to survive Katrina's ridiculously lengthy recovery process. Don't get me started.

Buy The Meters

Tony Bennett – The Girl I Love

From his 1994 MTV Unplugged cd. You know I love this stuff. By the way, Tony just turned 80 last week.

He is still going strong. I believe I’m going to have to buy the Duets album; as much as I like the above song, any of the samples playing on his website leave it in the dust.

Rock on, Mr. Bennett! That picture was taken last year; looks pretty damn good for 79 there, doesn't he?

Preorder MTV Unplugged Remastered

Def Leppard – Rock Of Ages

What happened to Def Leppard? They just sort of wafted away. Rick Allen did the heroic in re-learning to drum after losing his arm in a horrendous car accident, and that didn't even slow them down. But I guess lack of record sales is maybe a harder obstacle to overcome.

They did release a cover album, Yeah! earlier this year. It sounds decent – Lord, I'm a sucker for T. Rex songs in any incarnation – although, if you're going to cover an ELO song, why choose "10538 Overture"? Anyway, while it sounds worth a listen, a cover album isn't quite on a par with their glory days. Again, I ask, what happened?

Buy Pyromania

Del Amitri – Roll To Me

Underappreciated, in my opinion. It has a nice roll in its rhythm, and it's fun to sing with in the car.

Buy Twisted

Linda Ronstadt – You're No Good

I'm old enough to have liked this song when it was originally released. Granted, I was five. As a matter of fact, this is one of a group of songs I remember hearing in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office. (Al Stewart's "Time Passages" and "Year Of The Cat," and Dave Loggins' "Please Come To Boston" are others. The doctor must have liked the easy listening. Thank God there wasn't any bullshit "kid music" back in the day, or he would have played it, no doubt.)

I actually like all those doctor's office songs. Not Ashamed.

Buy Heart Like A Wheel

The Dresden Dolls - Coin Operated Boy

The Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer rocks the toy piano better than even Schroeder.


Well, she does.

A nice "Coin Operated Boy" is exactly what she wants; she explains that it's not just because of the obvious sexual angle, although, yes, that's surely part of it. She can even take him in the bath!

But also because in his pretty coin-operated voice, he'll tell her that he loves her, that he's thinking of her, straight and to the point; without complications galore.

With a boy that honest, one who at least feels real, she'd never cry at night again.

Been there, sister.

Anyway, I've gone and made this sound all Tori Amos, and look, I promise you, if it were, I'd stomp on the song and kill it myself. It's what I guess is called dark cabaret, and no, it's not Gothy. The song's quite bouncy, actually. Anyway, give its purple-and-black poignancy a try.

Buy The Dresden Dolls

Presidents of the United States of America – Cleveland Rocks

Yes, one of the many Drew Carey show themes. This is a worthy cover of the Ian Hunter song, and I enjoy it mightily.

Also, Ohio Pride, y'all. We take it where we can find it.

Buy Pure Frosting

Steely Dan – My Old School

I am making a real concerted effort not to ever use solely "OMIGOD" or "SQUEE" to explain why I love a song, because I like to pretend I have readers. If I did that sort of thing, I couldn't even kid myself about it.

But yeah, damn, I love this song so very very much. Every 5 years or so, I run across it in my music collection, and this thudding lump of musical "OH, YES!!" feeling hits me in the chest, and I must hear it immediately, like 42 times, before I'm okay listening to other things again. I had a college friend who accused me of having the music-listening habits of a schoolgirl – fall in love with a song, play it till all the flavor's gone out of its chewing gum, then toss aside carelessly, in other words – well, he was right. So whatever, Shawn. Are you happy now? You were right.

Anyway, Entertainment Weekly recently ran an article in which they grill Donald Fagen about the story behind this song. And who wouldn't be curious? When a guy says

California tumbles into the sea
That'll be the day I go
Back to Annandale

You have to wonder why he's so pissed at his alma mater. I mean, I make a face when people mention OSU around me, but this goes beyond a little annoyance. Turns out, as I remember it, the police raided his dorm room (campus boarding house? Eh.) and arrested a bunch of people on grounds of possession (Pot?? On a college campus?? In the '60s? GASP) and normally the school stood up for the students when this happened/bailed them out, whatever, but this time, the school didn't and just let the students twist in the wind. Among them was Fagen's girlfriend.

He was pissed. It was worth it if we got this song.

Buy Countdown To Ecstasy

Christina Aguilera – Candyman

Yeah, so I'm not supposed to have this yet, but her highly anticipated double album Back To Basics, due out the 18th, got leaked.

OMIGOD SQUEE!!1!

Ahem. "Candyman" has filthy, filthy, filthy lyrics, yes, but they kind of just make the song that much more fun. Like a sweet, cream-filled cake. The icing? Is that this song was inspired musically by "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." It's jumpin' retro swing, all three Andrews Sisters plus Bette Midler in one woman, a woman with a singing voice three times bigger than she is.

"Candyman" may just find its way onto my Top 20 of all time list.

Pre-order Back To Basics

The B-52s - Roam

I was in the mood for some good-natured, candy-colored chaos.

Buy Cosmic Thing

Peter Allen – I Go To Rio

More good-natured, candy-colored chaos; this is ridiculously catchy. It gets bonus theoretical points because Huge Ackman plays him on stage in "The Boy From Oz."

= LOVE

Buy The Very Best of Peter Allen

Raul Malo & Shelby Lynne – Takes Two To Tango

Until I heard this song, I'd never heard of him. I thought the male voice in this song belonged to Dr. John, just to fully betray my ignorance. This is very swingy, something I can't listen to in the car because I want to dance when I hear it.

If I'd like to learn more about Mr. Malo, what would you recommend I listen to? I'm all ears.

Buy Today

Tom Waits – God's Away On Business

More Tom Waits – now with 50% more throat gravel!

This is awesome. This is the musical equivalent of Yeats' poem The Second Coming. Tom, in this song, is himself the "rough beast, slouching toward Bethlehem." Slouching and wheezing while ominously approaching Bethlehem, cheerfully singing a warning that he's coming, because see, God's Away On Business.

And the rough beast has free rein till He gets back and checks His messages.

Buy Blood Money

Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald – I Won't Dance

From Waits to Fitzgerald. Ella's sweet voice, joining with Louie's raspy (though much mellower and more urbane than Waits!) one, mingling on the dance floor – they say they won't dance, sure, but how can they resist, with such sophisticated partners and swinging music? Musical champagne.

Buy Ella & Louis Again

America – Ventura Highway

Summer sunshine seventies traveling music. Perfect for the last month of summer. (Although, let's be honest, it'll be a good two months or more before it ceases to be murderously, tiresomely hot.)

Buy Homecoming

Wilco- I'm A Wheel

Speaking of T Rex, as I did above, this song has a very T Rexy edge to it. Maybe I'm crazy, but I sense a little Marc Bolan here.

Buy A Ghost Is Born

Suzanne Vega – Blood Makes Noise

This isn't anything like "Luka," or "Tom's Diner." This clips along with the steam pipes, clattering tools and engines of a factory. Really, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to represent the blood pounding out an incessant din on its way through her veins, but it works either way.

Buy 99.9F

Totom – Your Crazy remix

No, that's not a typo. It's a mashup of -- oh yes, another one featuring Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" – and Elton John's "Your Song," hence "Your Crazy." It's very well done. Initially found here at Some Velvet Blog.

Enjoy.