Allman Brothers Band
So as you’ve been reading, my schedule has gotten pretty crazy. Why? Well I have a big deadline at work that is certainly curtailing my free time, but at the same time, it’s given me plenty of time to listen to music in the background. What I’ve needed is songs to keep me going.
That’s why Jessica is the perfect song today. I have always thought of it as great driving music. Granted, Field of Dreams did a lot to convince me (Watch here, scroll to 44 minutes in). I love Jessica, so I hope you it helps you through a long drive, or a long day…
The Allman Brothers Band Website
Purchase Jessica on iTunes: 
The Raconteurs
Those who know me know that I think The Raconteurs are the best band out there. This is probably the song that sealed the deal for me. While I had not been that impressed with their first album (though I’ve definitely come around), Consolers of the Lonely is a masterpiece, immediately appreciable. Jack White is obviously heavily influenced by late 60s and 70s rock, and Rich Kid Blues is clearly inspired by The Who. The crashing chorus is exhilarating and the interplay between White’s voice and Brendan Benson’s is rock beauty.
On a side note, until I figure out how this new schedule is going to work, my posts are going to be a bit on the light side.
Purchase Rich Kid Blues on iTunes:
Hasidic Reggae stars are so hot right now
Well yea, he obviously owes some of his success to his gimmick, but Matisyahu puts out great songs, and obviously is talented. He’s a really interesting guy, having a fairly secular upbringing followed by discovering Judaism, and embracing Hasidism. Actually, it is worth reading the Wikipedia entry on him.
King Without a Crown is a fantastic blend of rock, reggae, and jewish tunes, so enjoy it today…
Purchase King Without a Crown on iTunes:
Johnny Cash
Rick Rubin tells a story about approaching Johnny Cash in the early 90s, and offering the opportunity to do whatever he wanted. No other label was willing to do that for Cash, who had fallen out of popular appeal. They did four albums together before Cash died, and Hurt was on that final one.
It is of course, a Nine Inch Nails cover, which I think even Trent Reznor would probably acknowledge outdoes his own version. Actually, he comes close to that, in saying:
Wow. I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine anymore… I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. [Somehow] that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning — different, but every bit as pure. [Alternative Press, via Wikipedia]
The simplicity of Cash’s voice and a guitar is truly beautiful.
Purchase Hurt on iTunes:
He was a big man.
I discovered this (as well as a whole album full of Brazilian classics) on the City of God soundtrack. The movie, which follows the story of a boy trying to escape the most dangerous Brazilian ghetto to become a photographer, is deeply intertwined with the carefully chosen soundtrack. No Caminho Do Bem translates to In the Path of Goodness.
The song feels like a pair of corduroys: comfortable, loose, with lots of grooves. Also, if you haven’t already, check out the movie.
No Caminho Do Bem Lyrics (English Translation Here)
Unfortunately, this song isn’t on iTunes, but a Jazz version is available:
heh.. the seventies...
Shuffling through my iPod this morning, I was having trouble settling on something that felt right. Al Green to Michael Jackson to Anthony Hamilton, but nothing was working, until I accidentally stumbled upon The Mexican.
The Mexican has been sampled and remixed over and over again, but the original still stands strong, with Jenny Haan’s powerful vocals, and that great organ/ guitar interplay (on the album version). The live version of The Mexican is quite a bit faster, though who knows if that was a conscious decision, or a coked up accident.
On a side note, for a British band, Babe Ruth seemed awfully obsessed with baseball (The Mexican is off the album, First Base), which I’m totally down with, being a big baseball fan myself. Plus, reviewers must have been ecstatic when it came out: Babe Ruth Hits Home Run with The Mexican (ugh). Anyway, enjoy…
Purchase The Mexican on iTunes:
Of course, it's ironic that he basically blocked out his family for Family Affair
And, we’re back. When I was visiting my parents over the holiday, I ended up listening to a lot of Sly & The Family Stone (as my Thanksgiving post mentioned), so it wouldn’t be right to not pick them today. And what better pick would there be than Family Affair.
With Billy Preston and Bobby Womack on keys and guitar, the song has a funkier, darker sound than earlier Sly songs. It’s hard not to love it, so give it a listen.
Sly & The Family Stone Website
Purchase Family Affair on iTunes: