31
Friends will attest to the fact that the past few months have found me neck deep in all things related to the HBO serial drama The Wire. For those not familiar, the show is a fascinating take on the overtones an undertones of life and the inner workings of the modern American city (Baltimore, Maryland). Far from pretty the show has, over the course of four seasons, tied together complicated plot lines more akin to literature than television. This show ain’t checkers, it’s chess.
The music: Unlike, say, The Sopranos, The Wire changes up it’s opening credits theme song each season. The first season used The Blind Boys of Alabama’s spirited take on Tom Waits “Way Down In The Hole” while the second made use of Waits original off his ‘87 album Franks Wild Years.
Much of The Wire’s innovative use of music can be credited to music supervisor Blake Leyh who also writes the music blog Ten Thousand Things.
DOWNLOAD:
MP3: Tom Waits :: Way Down In The Hole
MP3: The Blind Boys of Alabama :: Way Down In The Hole
———-
Amazon: Tom Waits - Franks Wild Years
Amazon: The Blind Boys of Alabama - Spirit of the Century www.hbo.com/thewire ++ www.blindboys.com ++ www.tomwaits.com
+ Artists available through eMusic’s 25 Free MP3 offer.
——————————————————————————————————
+ Visit The Hype Machine for additional Tom Waits MP3s.
filed under: Music | comments off | read more...
19
Robyn Hitchcock’s 2006 album Olé! Tarantula was such a strong comeback it re-kindled my interest in The Soft Boys 2004 reunion album, Nextdoorland, which then whetted my appetite to dig out their second album, and opus, 1980’s Underwater Moonlight. Whew - that was a mouthful. I had some of this album on cassette, but in ‘02 Matador re-released it with some interesting bonus tracks from the era tacked on to the end of disc one, plus a fairly decent second disc of demos..
Being that I was five years old at the time of Underwater Moonlight’s release, I came to know of the group, not directly, but through their influence on much of the (more interesting) music of the mid-late ’80s and nineties. A new wave, post punk cross-breed, this Byrds and Captain Beefheart obsessed group must have seemed incredibly out of place at the time, which is most definitely why they never achieved any of the acclaim of their peers. As it would play out vocalist Robyn Hitchcock would go on to inhabit cult-like status with his work withthe Egyptians.
If you’re a fan of Hitchcock’s latest incarnation, the Venus 3, or his past projects give these neo-classics a download. I’m sure I’ll be listening to a few of these flying cross-country back to the east coast for the holidays this evening. Cheers.
Elsewhere: Nice audio interview with Hitchcock on NPR’s World Cafe December 7, 2006 .
DOWNLOAD:
MP3: The Soft Boys :: I Wanna Destroy You
MP3: The Soft Boys :: I Got The Hots
MP3: The Soft Boys :: Old Pervert
———-
Amazon: The Soft Boys :: Underwater Moonlight
filed under: Music | comments off | read more...
17
Roy Orbison, like many pioneering rock & roll artists of his generation, has the dubious honor of countless greatest hits collections bearing his name — all of them of varying quality. I know this because I have owned several over the years. One of the more interesting of Orbison’s ‘best of’ collections is the 1987 greatest hits package In Dreams. What makes this set interesting is also what makes it so controversial among Orbison traditionalists.
In Dreams is indeed a collection of Orbison’s most beloved tracks, but, and this is a big but, they are all re-recordings of the originals. Admittedly, there is nothing on the package material that identifies this fact — but other than that you are left with a phenomenal set that I personally find myself listening to as often as the originals. The sound, and T-Bone Burnett’s production, of the ‘87 set have more bottom to them without losing the ethereal feel of the originals.
But why re-record? Allegedly David Lynch asked Orbison to re-cut the song “In Dreams” for a scene in his film Blue Velvet , which he later decided not to use. The prevailing school of thought is that either a) Orbison liked the results enough to re-record all his old hits with modern technology, or, b) and more probable, Orbison and his team realized if they re-cut the tracks and repackaged them they stood to gain 100 percent of the profits. Readily available in record stores used section — if a fan of the haunting master crooner — do consider picking up Orbison’s late ’80s redux.
Below is the brothel scene in which Lynch used “In Dreams” in his early calling card film Blue Velvet. Dean Stockwell’s lip-sticked lip-synch is as disturbing as it is unforgettable. A classic Lynchian celluloid moment.
DOWNLOAD:
MP3: Roy Orbison :: In Dreams (1985)
———-
Amazon: In Dreams: Roy Orbison’s Greatest Hits
+ Roy Orbison catalog available through eMusic’s 25 Free MP3 offer.
——————————————————————————————————
+ Visit The Hype Machine for additional Roy Orbison MP3s.
filed under: Music | comments off | read more...