Karl …So here's an all musical entry for your holiday enjoyment. I'll be back at full steam Tuesday.
HAPPY LABOR DAY: I could only find the audio for Billy Bragg's take on “There Is Power In A Union.” That's probably because that track is from Talking To The Taxman About Poetry. And the single from that LP was the gorgeous “Greetings To The New Brunette,” which features some swirly guitar work from The Smiths' Johnny Marr, backing vocals from Kirsty MacColl and some tasteful tambourine.
MORE SONGS ABOUT WORKING AND FOOD: Harmonium is killing music with working songs. The San Luis Obispo Tribune has an article discussing a few work songs, but primarily a playlist of some of the greatest songs ever inspired by a rumbling stomach.
SUMMER MIXES: Some Velvet Blog has posted a summer mini-mix; you can stream tracks there or jukebox them via the Hype Machine. The mix was sparked by The Tyde — which I heard and liked even before knowing that Ric Menck (who originally hails from my neck of the woods) was on drums. And if you don't jukebox the set, you might miss an earlier track on SVB — a “More Cowbell” mash-up! The accompanying post also has video of Christopher Walken and The Chambers Bros. “Time Has Come Today.” Back on subject, I note that the stock photo and illustration house Veer is for some unkown reason posting summer mix playlists, which you can then buy through iTunes.
THE BEATLES (and their survivors) have been given the green light to return to court for the latest round in a long-running, multi-million pound battle with EMI and Capitol Records over royalties. Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, together with John Lennon's widow Yoko ono, the estate of the late George Harrison and the Beatles' company Apple Corps, are also seeking to reclaim the rights to the band's master recordings. London's Independent counts down the Fab Four's Top Ten Lawsuits.
THE REPLACEMENTS: The Jefitoblog has posted a bootleg from The Ritz, in NYC, on July 27, 1987. You can jukebox it via the Hype Machine by selecting one of the media players at the top of the page at the link.
SHAKE IT LIKE A POLAROID PICTURE: Mat Weddle has raised the visibility of his band, Obadiah Parker, with this unpluggety cover of Outkast's “Hey Ya.” Obviously a different take than the original. As Andre 3000 tells Rolling Stone that the song was inspired by seeing The Hives, I thought I'd toss in that band's “Hate To Say I Told You So” as a bonus.
RONALD ISLEY, who sang such hits as “Twist and Shout” and “This Old Heart of Mine” as a member of the Isley Brothers, was sentenced on Friday to three years in federal prison for tax evasion. Isley fought the power and… well, you know…
THE GUILLEMOTS get a feature about the quirky band's sudden UK success in London's Independent on the eve of the Mercury Prize award for which the band was nominated. Frontman Fyfe Dangerfield: “I already feel like we've made it. I felt like we'd made it last December when we played to a sold out crowd of 300. But we've kept upping the stakes. After we supported Rufus Wainwright I didn't think we could top that, but then we did Top of the Pops, which was beyond surreal. Then, last month, when we played T In The Park, no one would leave the tent after we'd finished playing. And last night in Colchester we had a massive audience singalong and I even spotted someone air-drumming to a song!” There are plenty of tracks streaming via the Hype Machine, natch. Good stuff.
THE KINKS: Heather Browne gives a big thumbs up to the tribute album, This Is Where I Belong: The Songs of Ray Davies and The Kinks. She posted a few tracks — including covers from Fountains of Wayne and Jonathan Richman — which you can also stream via the Hype Machine.
PETE DOHERTY-KATE MOSS UPDATE: The supposedly sober supermodel still hopes for a Buddhist-inspired quasi-marriage to the troubled singer, telling friends, “I love him so much. He’s the sexiest man on the planet.” Meanwhile, Doherty is being kicked out of the flat he has trashed owing more than £10,000 in rent. The walls of the £350,000 pad are covered in blood and graffiti and used syringes and broken glass carpet the floor. So Pete shouldn't be expecting his security deposit back. Meanwhile, you can hear his collaboration with Mike Skinner on The Streets MySpace page.
CAR-EOKE: My iPod was in shuffle mode while I was driving around this weekend, but it didn't seem very random, serving up a heckuva summer mix. Loaded with more than a week's worth of music, the first ten songs it selected were: Cheap Trick – Hello There (seen at the end of this rare Japanese clip); The Ramones – Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio; The Buggles – Video Killed The Radio Star; The Lovin' Spoonful – Summer In The City; AC/DC – Back In Black; Belle & Sebastian – Sukie in the Graveyard; Carl Carlton – Everlasting Love; B-52s – Deadbeat Club; The Boy Least Likely To – Be Gentle With Me; and The Beach Boys – When I Grow Up To Be A Man. Later, it served up great transitions, like one from Blondie – Dreaming to The Clash – Spanish Bombs and a trifecta of: T. Rex – 20th Century Boy; Paper Lace – The Night Chicago Died and The Jackson 5 – ABC. Sylvia Hauser recently reminded me that “ABC” was the first 45 she ever bought. I had to confess my recent interest in the song was due to its appearance in the best scene in Clerks 2.
THE JERRY LEWIS MDA TELETHON is a Labor Day staple, but I didn't know if I was going to catch any of it this year. Fortunately, the magic of YouTube brings us Frank Sinatra's famous 1976 appearance (Parts 1, 2, 3). Part Two is where Ol' Blue Eyes springs estranged ex-partner Dean Martin on Jerry. There's also a more recent clip of the clearly unhealthy Lewis courageously struggling through his traditional rendition of “You'll Never Walk Alone.”
