Sorrysorrysorrysorry, Tune-Up Fans, I know I’m a little late. Have a zippy Zippers track. This is probably my favorite Zippers song because it just so very, very weird and unsettling and just sort of, “…what?” I mean, “Camptown ladies never sang all the doo-dah day, no no no.” Well, sure…I mean…yes? They didn’t? Wait. That doesn’t make sense. I’m so confused. And yet…I’m dancing! Whee!
lively
REMIX WEEK! Salubrious Saturday: “Ain’t That Good News,” Sam Cooke meets Les Paul and Jeff Beck
StandardI absolutely like the original better than this version, but I have to testify to Paul’s and Beck’s smokin’ guitar work. (And as my baby is in fact coming home tomorrow, I really had no choice but to post this song). It gives an already rocking song a spicy southern, bluesy, rockabilly twang. It also has a nice build-up. But tinkering with Sam Cooke is the textbook example of gilding the lily. The original is pure uncomplicated happiness – probably because the instrumentation doesn’t rely on so many dominant seventh chords (not sure what that means? It’s the horn’s chord at 1:01 and 1:50, among other places. More on this here) but allows Sam to go there with his own voice. And those horns. I mean, come on. Without further ado, here is the man himself.
REMIX WEEK! Throwback Thursday: “Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, Adagio Moderato,” Edward Elgar Meets Venetian Snares
StandardI have listened to this Elgar cello concerto hundreds of times. I bought a cheapo bargain basement recording during one of the many trips my parents and I took to visit colleges. Years later, I bought this Venetian Snares album. It took me another year to put the two together: the beginning of “Szamar Madar” is so demented, I always skipped over it. One morning, while on the train to work, I listened to the entire thing and finally got to main meat of the piece and thought, “…wait…I know that line… …Holy $%&! that’s Elgar?!?” I was practically effervescent, I was so excited.
To save you the hassle, here’s a cheat sheet. The cello line arrives in earnest around 1:47; before that there’s only snippets. At 2:14: fasten your seatbelt. Venetian Snares takes a beautiful and somber Elgar cello concerto, adds cocaine, and puts it in a blender. My favorite part is at 2:54 when it smoothes out on top while the drums go bananas beneath. And after all that, it just sort of slowly fades away, like a bruise, and you’re left wondering what just happened. You have to love a band who hears Elgar and says, “yeah, that’s pretty…but what if we sampled the main cello lick, sped it up, and added a breakbeat beneath it?” I just can’t get enough.
Original Elgar, played by Yo-Yo Ma:
REMIX WEEK! Termagant Tuesday: “Suit and Tie,” Justin Timberlake meets The Stepkids
StandardI won’t lie – I’m not the biggest Justin Timberlake fan anyway. I think he’s a great vocalist and a great dancer, but his songs…meh. I am a big fan of barbershop-style harmonizations and jazz covers of pop songs. The Stepkids bring some Tony Bennett and Rat Pack-era Sinatra to an otherwise bland pop song; the guitarist even throws in a “Sweet Georgia Brown” lick at 2:56. They also look like accountants having a blast. And – it honestly sounds like this is the original song, and Timberlake covered it. Dig it.
Original Timberlake song:
REMIX WEEK! Modernism Monday: “Call Me A Hole,” Nine Inch Nails vs. Carly Rae Jepsen
StandardThis week on the Tune-Up will be devoted to mash-ups, remixes, and covers of other songs. A good cover or mash-up can elevate the song to a whole other level – it’s a real bit of genius. One of the best mash-ups I have ever heard is today’s offering. The DJ pomDeter took the music of that ear worm “Call Me Maybe” and layered the lyrics of Nine Inch Nails’s “Head Like A Hole” on top. The result is just brilliant. The lyrics are all about the corrupting influence of money on society. What better backing than that utterly fake, lab-created song? I’ve listened to this a hundred times at least and it still thrills me.
Original “Head Like A Hole” here:
Original “Call Me Maybe” here:
Salubrious Saturday: “Perpetuum Mobile,” Penguin Cafe Orchestra
StandardThis is one of my top twenty all-time favorite songs of any genre. It’s got a wacky time-signature (7/8 – to 8/8? Is that right?), an upbeat and focused sound, and it sparks my imagination and lets it run riot. I’ll be running riot around D.C. crossing errands off my to-do list today, so you can bet I’ll have this in the ‘phones.
Throwback Thursday: “Ecco La Primavera,” Francesco Landini
StandardEVERYONE! Wonderful news! We made it! We made it through the winter! Today is the first day of spring! I don’t think I’ve so keenly anticipated the vernal equinox in my entire life. Imagine how the poor sods who lived through winters in the 14th century felt when it came time for spring. No wonder this piece is so happy.
Landini (c. 1325 – 1397) lived through some pretty monumental things. He survived the Black Death, initial and successive outbreaks of which killed about half the population of Europe. He survived the so-called Little Ice Age, which made warm summers unpredictable and caused so much rainfall that crops failed. He survived the Hundred Years War between England and France, lived through the near collapse of the Catholic church as an institution, and the rise of the Ming Dynasty and attendant isolation of China.
Somewhere in there, amidst all that unhappy uncertainty, he wrote this little tune about the return of spring. I can imagine it might have taken a little bit of faith.
—
Ecco la primavera,
Che’l cor fa rallegrare,
Temp’è d’annamorare
E star con lieta cera.
Noi vegiam l’aria e’l tempo
Che pur chiam’ allegria
In questo vago tempo
Ogni cosa vagheça.
L’erbe con gran frescheça
E fior’ coprono i prati,
E gli albori adornati
Sono in simil manera.
Ecco la primavera
Che’l cor fa rallegrare
Temp’è d’annamorare
E star con lieta cera.
Spring has come apace
To waken hearts to gladness;
Time for lovers’ madness
And to wear a happy face.
The elements together
Are beckoning to mirth;
In this delightful weather,
Delight pervades the earth.
The grass in fresh rebirth
Helps meadows come a-flower,
And every branch and bower,
Is decked with kindred grace.
Spring has come apace
To waken hearts to gladness;
Time for lovers’ madness
And to wear a happy face.
Salubrious Saturday: “Roadrunner,” Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers
StandardA Daily Tune-Up Haiku: “It’s 65 Degrees and Sunny So I’m Going For A Really Long Run”
The Modern Lovers
Wrote this song. …Ok, good talk.
It’sniceoutsidebye!
—
PS: To all my friends running the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon today, including the inimitable K-Smash: crush some pavement!
Worldly Wednesday: “Wonderlust King,” Gogol Bordello
StandardThis is my all-time favorite Gogol Bordello song. There are others they wrote with lyrics that are more apropos to the current crisis, but I just can’t get enough of the energy of this one. It sounds so fantastically, bravely defiant.
Gogol Bordello was formed in 1999 in New York City by Eugene Hütz. “Gogol” references Ukrainian writer Nikolai Gogol who purportedly “smuggled” Ukrainian culture into Russia in the mid 19th century.
U.S. military troops are relatively close to Ukraine, and the U.S. government has pledged money and technical support. Russia is using equipment placed in Crimea to block the cell phones of Ukrainian politicians. Meanwhile, over at The Atlantic, there is a great piece that posits whether conflicts like this are going to be more common in a post-“war on terror” world.
Finally: hello to my readers in Georgia! Welcome to my blog! მოკითხვა ჩემს მკითხველს საქართველოში! მოგესალმებით ჩემს ბლოგზე!
—
Back in the day, as we learned,
A man was not considered to be
Considered to be fully grown
Has he not gone beyond the hills
Has he not crossed the seven seas
Yeah, seven seas at least!
Now all them jokers kept around
Just like the scarecrows in hometown
Yeah, scarecrows in hometown
From screen to screen they’re travelin’
But I’m a wonderlust king
I stay on the run
Let me out
Let me be gone
In the world’s beat up road sign
I saw new history of time…
New history of time!!!
Through Siberian woods
Breaking up their neck
Chinese moving in, building discotheques
Trans-Siberian sex toys and whatnot
Yeah, and why not?
Well at least it’s something different
From what they got in every other airport
Я не еврей, но кое-что похоже
Соврать не даст ни Юра, ни Сережа!
Simple because I’m not a total gadjo
Да я шут, я трюкач, ну так что же?
I traveled the world
Looking for understanding
Of the times that we live in
Hunting and gathering first hand information
Challenging definitions of sin
I traveled the world
Looking for lovers
Of the ultimate beauty
But never settled in
I am a Wonderlust King!
I stay on the run
Let me out
Let me be gone
In the world’s beat up road sign
I saw new history of time…
New history of time!!!
And presidents
And billionaires
And generals
They’ll never know
They’ll never know
What I have owned!
What I have owned…
I am a Wonderlust King!
Termagant Tuesday: “Roses on the Platform,” Yulia Pashkovska
StandardMan, I wish I had Yulia Pashkovska’s voice. Her tone is so full and warm without being overwhelming. Pashkovska was a major Ukrainian jazz singer in the 1960s. I can’t find much on her, at least in English, so if you have any background on her, *please* share; I’m dying to learn more.
Speaking of more, here’s what’s happening in Ukraine now. Ukrainian soldiers have rejected Russian demands that they pledge allegiance to the Kremlin, gold and oil prices rose as a reaction to the crisis, and the U.S. has suspended trade and investment talks with Russia.
Location of Russian troops and weaponry, as of Monday, 3 March
The Daily Tune-Up 