Out of the blue comes a video from The Rowdymen, Too Little Too Late from the criminally underrated Gas, Liquor and Fireworks. Any excuse for me to post Rode Hard and Ode to Possum again (see bottom of post).
Here's a couple of older ones, as well as my favourite Rowdymen tunes of all time at the bottom on Soundcloud.
Gil Scott-Heron died May 27. I'm a million miles away from being an expert on jazz, soul, funk, blues or poetry, but GSH was the guy. I've never heard anyone like him, and I wonder if he shouldn't be revered the same way Leonard Cohen seesm to be. Anyway, if you've never heard The Revolution Will Not be Televised, you're excluding a major piece of important music history, but you can hear it below.
Anyway, here's an intriguing quote from the man regarding hip hop music:
"They need to study music. I played in several bands before I began my career as a poet. There’s a big difference between putting words over some music, and blending those same words into the music. There’s not a lot of humor. They use a lot of slang and colloquialisms, and you don’t really see inside the person. Instead, you just get a lot of posturing."
I've been meaning to pass on something about Torontonian Royal Wood for quite a while, and now he's soliciting suggestions for covers. I don't think there are a lot of Canucks offering Mr. Wood's blend of pop mastery and balladic expertise. I's tough to pull off his brand of music without getting cheesy, I'd say Ron Sexsmih and Lyle Lovett have pulled it off, and Wood's in that kind of territory. If you have any ideas for some songs for him to interpret, let him know on his FaceBook or Twitter. Here's a cover of Foster the People's Pumped Up Kicks he did recently.
The Cars will be performing on Jimmy Fallon Tuesday, May 24, pushin' the new album Move Like This. Is the album a triumphant return to the 80's top of the pop heap? Well, it doesn't sound a million miles away from Heartbeat City to me, but then it's the first three albums that I love. Nevertheless, Sad Song, Free, Too Late, and Hits Me sound cool enough to call the reunion a success to me. What do you think? The whole thing is streaming here or here.
I went to see Pixies for their Doolittle concert recently, and it was a good time, noisy rock and roll show. My only complaint would be that at times the vocal effects were a little overwhelming, kind of like the dry ice fog clouds that obscured the band, the entire stage, and much of the crowd for Into the White.
But hey, that's quibbling, Doolittle is one of my favourite albums of all time, and that's the first time I've seen a band perform their whole record in sequence. It's an interesting idea, an audience member is compelled to listen to their least favourite songs along with their most favourite (or the hits). I had a friend who once said that the bad songs on a record make the good ones better. I don't know if that's true, but I know I am still intrigued by the idea of an album as a whole as a particular art form. If you missed the show and would like to make up your own mind about Pixies doing Doolittle in Winnipeg, check out Teenage Dogs in Trouble to get sorted.
What with Lovering and Santiago musing about the possibility of new Pixies music, I've also been thinking, What if they don't? I'll never get the amazed feeling of excitement that I got listening to Brave New Waves and hearing Monkey Gone to Heaven again. I don't know how likely it is that a new Pixies album would match my wonder upon doling out the shekels for Doolittle on vinyl and discovering a whole new world. But Frank Black/Black Francis has put out a lot of really good music that has a lot more dimensions than Pixies, bringing in touches of country, rhythm and blues, 80's synth pop with Grand Duchy, and singer-songwriter/storyteller flourishes. None of his albums have blown me away, but every disc has grown on me, and every one has a few stupendous songs and a few more good ones. I think it's time we shoved the new Pixies album hopes to the backburner and appreciate FB's work on its own merits.
The Hold Steady's Craig Finn recently appeared on the Minnesota Public Radio produced program Wits with Chuck Klosterman. He played a couple of beautiful songs which you can enjoy below - and the sound quality is superb.
You can also check out The Hold Steady's Live Jim Beam Live Music Series Video from the House of Blues in Cleveland. It's pretty fine, too, though a lot noiser than the Finn alone stuff.
mp3s will be posted for a limited time and are for promotional purposes only. If you like it, buy the albums, go to the shows, buy the t-shirts - support the artist so they can keep on keepin' on. Artists - if you would like an mp3 or video removed, please contact me directly at chrisyakchart@hotmail.com.
If you've got something Scruffy should hear, same email. Snail mail is cool too.
Scruffy the Yak 34 Allenby Cres Winnipeg Mb R2C 3J4
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