| Home > music > The fingerprint inc. Guide to Surviving a Holiday Weekend |
| The fingerprint inc. Guide to Surviving a Holiday Weekend | | Date Created: Jul 04, 2007, 12:58 PM |
In the golden, olden days of the blog, I'd provide reading or listening material before each restrictor-plate qualifying session to help folks stay awake and provide a diversion during the 12-hour grind of single car qualifying at a superspeedway. It's been awhile, but with an extremely rare day off, I find myself antsy and completely uncertain what the hell to do with myself. So, here's this week's round-up of glorious sounds and other recommendations. The music links point you to Amazon.com, where you can listen to snippets of all the fine selections.
Enjoy.
|
 AMY WINEHOUSE, Back to Black
How to begin to describe the sound produced by a thin, big-eyed, tattooed, big-haired Jewish girl from England who opens her mouth and out comes the voice of a modern, soulful mash-up of a 60s girl group singer and an aging, boozy jazz singer? I'll try.
One of the perks of my job is receiving a monthly packet of CDs with new tracks by acts known and unknown. Ninety-five percent of the material is pure crap, but every few months a track reaches out and grabs my ear and is immediately transfered to iTunes for repeated plays. This month, it was a smoky remix of "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse - with a guest vocal by Jay-Z. I was immediately hooked. ("they tried to make me go to rehab, I say 'no no no...'")
Unlike the soothing, mellow retro sound of a Norah Jones or Alicia Keys, Winehouse' sound is as edgy and futuristic as it is nostalgic. Imagine a strong, ratty lil' thing that seems as ready and willing to kick your ass as to snuggle on the couch. Imagine a Phil Spector-esque production of a gospel-tinged 60s girl group blended with very modern topics - such as rehab - and you have Amy Winehouse.
I'll stop there - just click on the link and listen to the sound of what could be the future of pop music. (Check out the widget in the right hand column to sample the album.) Recommended tracks: "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good."
If you like Amy Winehouse: check out "The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster," the new record by Texas folk/soul singer Ruthie Foster. Key tracks: "Heal Yourself" and "People Grinnin' in Your Face."
|
 WILCO is back with Blue Sky Blue
Jeff Tweedy's own bout with rehab (unlike Winehouse, Tweety actually went) has left him with all of his faculties intact."Blue Sky Blue" is a slightly less experimental than the band's recent works, but is still a many-textured album with twists and turns from mellow, soothing ballads to spiraling, intertwined guitar solos that echo back to influences like the influential-but-forgotten New York combo Television. Recommended tracks: "Impossible Germany," and "Let's Not Get Carried Away."
If you like Wilco, check out Televison and their finest moment, Marquee Moon. Part of the 1970s gaggle of bands who helped create the monster that became punk rock, Television never got the recognition or success of peers like the Talking Heads, Ramones, or Blondie, but their melodic, twin-guitar attack remains very influential thirty years later. Recommended tracks: "Marquee Moon" (my fave pop song that lasts longer than 10 minutes) and "See No Evil" (which used to be a staple of R.E.M.'s live set.)
|
 THE BLACK KEYS "Magic Potion"
Blasting out of Akron, Ohio like a two-man army of distorted guitars and drums, the Black Keys offer a bass-guitar-free sound (ala the White Stripes) with a bluesy fury that is also catchy and hummable. Recommended tracks: "Your Touch" and "You're the One." (Dale Jr's favorite track is from their "Rubber Factory" disc: 10 A.M. Automatic.")
If you like the Black Keys: try Cold War Kids "Robbers & Cowards." This year's Next Big Thing is set to replace the Strokes as alternative's fave young combo. Recommended track: "Hang Me Up to Dry"
|
 Instant Karma: Save Darfur is the new compilation from Amnesty International with a butt-load of superstars covering John Lennon songs. It's a great cause and a superb line-up including Green Day, U2, R.E.M., Avril Lavigne, Lenny Kravitz, Los Lonely Boys, Black Eyed Peas and many others. But, like many similar efforts, the covers can seem sterile or contrived when taken as a whole. There are some gems - Green Day's version of "Working Class Hero" is stellar - but if you really want to feel the anguish of "Mother" ("Mother, you had me / but I never had you") or the message of "Power to the People," you're better off to start with Lennon's own best-of compilation, LENNON LEGEND.
|
 Scott Miller and the Commonwealth "Citation" Rock and country meet in a car crash of y'all-ternative songwriting from Knoxville, Tennessee's Scott Miller. Many of his lyrics have recently appeared as snippets in the header of this blog, and if we had more songwriters with the skill and imagination of Miller, the world would be a better place. To borrow an awkward phrase from one of the reviwers, Miller can "out-Springsteen Springsteen himself." Recommended tracks: "8 Miles a Gallon," and "Freedom's a Stranger."
If you like Scott Miller: try Uncle Tupelo's "Still Feel Gone." St, Louis has spawned Budweiser, the Cardinals and Uncle Tupleo. Often credited for creating the alt-country genre, this combo took folk, country and added a strong dose of punk to make great records before splintering into two super groups: Son Volt and Wilco. Recommended tracks: "Still Be Around" and "D. Boon."
RANDOM READING AND LEFTOVERS: |
|
|
|
All contents of this blog are the sole responsibility and views of the author.
They do not in any way represent the views, beliefs or corporate values of any clients of fingerprint inc.
This includes but is not limited to Anheuser-Busch or any other corporate or personal entities mentioned within.
| |
