Category Archives: music

Billy Strange Has Raised His Hand and Asked to Leave the Room — R.I.P.

Posted on by wolffkurt

“This is the part of the song where Billy Strange raised his hand and asked if he could please leave the room.”
(Lee Hazlewood, from his version of “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”)

Bandleader/arranger/guitarist Billy Strange passed away yesterday (Wed., Feb. 22) at age 81.

While not exactly a household name, in the music world he was a major player. And over the years, on his own and as a member of L.A.’s famed Wrecking Crew, he worked with some of the biggest and best names of mid-20th century pop music, including Elvis Presley, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Lee Hazlewood, the Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Watch a clip of Billy in action.

 

More Billy Strange songs

Steely Dan “Aja” Tribute

Posted on by wolffkurt

“Sometimes vanilla just tastes so good.”

A friend of mine (Nate Cavalieri) once said that. He was talking about a Steely Dan video he was sharing. I always remembered it, and thought it made perfect sense in relation to that band’s sort of uber-polished, borderline-bland, radio-friendly pop sound.

Personally I’ve never fully settled on where I stand with Steely Dan. On one hand their sound is ubiquitous radio pop that’s overly crisp, with all the dirt washed off and creases ironed out. The sound can be cloying, and as we all know it’s been impossible to escape for decades.

On the other, man, when you really listen to some of those songs, they’re impressive. In terms of the writing, yes, but especially the production.

And from that perspective alone, an album like Aja deserves its accolades.

Toronto indie-rock band The Darcys today paid tribute to Steely Dan by releasing their own version of Aja–a song-by-song re-creation of the classic 1977 album, though done in their own moody, fuzzy style.

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Leonard Cohen Talks Songwriting with Jarvis Cocker

Posted on by wolffkurt

photo from Consequence of Sound

Leonard Cohen was recently interviewed by Jarvis Cocker, in advance of the release of Cohen’s first album in many years. And the finely dressed master had some great quotes regarding his music, and the art of songwriting.

For instance, how does he do it? Even Jarvis can’t help but dig for hints of Cohen’s writing inspiration. Cohen, however–craftily, and probably wisely–deflected such direct questions.

“We’ve got to be very careful analysing these sacred mechanics because somebody will throw a monkey wrench into the thing and we’ll never write a line again.” He added that “now and then something invites you to animate it, which you try and do with grace and illumination.”
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Best Albums of 2011

Posted on by wolffkurt

Barn Owl

I threw together a Top Ten list of the best albums of the past year for the CBS site Street Date. It’s a fun task, but not always easy, as anyone who’s done it knows–you inevitably miss a few things, and weeks or months (or more) later, you may come to regret your choices. Either way, though, it stands as a capsule of where your head is at at a specific point in time. Here’s where mine’s been at lately.

My Top Ten albums of 2011

Mermaid Parade

Posted on by wolffkurt

One of the bands that’s been slowly burning its way into my consciousness the past few years is Phosphorescent. It started with their head-turning 2009 album To Willie, which contained all Willie Nelson songs redone with a laid-back approach that both pays tribute to Nelson’s own songwriting and arrangements, but also brings the music inside the circle of 21st century indie-rock. Meaning, Phosphorescent does a fantastic job reinterpreting Nelson’s music with arrangements and voice born from the alt-country side of the tracks, and makes the classic songs like “Too Sick To Pray” and “Pick Up The Tempo” feel fresh all over again.

Listen to the lead track, “Reasons to Quit”–a Nelson song that may have not grabbed your attention before; in the hands of Matthew Houck, however (he’s the main force in Phosphorescent)–with his gently raspy voice that sounds on the verge of breakdown–it’s a clear standout, capturing a moment in time where the characters are teetering on the edge between too much and not enough.

OK, not teetering anymore, they’re slipping into darkness.

Reasons To Quit

“Wish You Were Here” Reissued

Posted on by wolffkurt

After breaking into superstardom with their 1973 masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon, the members of Pink Floyd faced a daunting task. How does anyone follow up a release like that? Many a great artist has faded in fear at the prospect.

The result, though, as we all know, was the 1975 album Wish You Were Here. Though initially receiving some mixed reviews, fans and critics eventually agreed it was another masterpiece.

It’s also the next Pink Floyd album getting the royal reissue treatment from parent label EMI. Both a two-disc ‘Experience’ version and massive, five-disc ‘Immersion’ box were released this week, each featuring the remastered original album plus significant bonus material.

See my full Wish You Were Here reissue review on CBS Street Date.

David Bazan: Some albums you can only hear once

Posted on by wolffkurt

I’m a fan of Pedro the Lion, and so I was curious about David Bazan’s solo album, Curse Your Branches. It came out in 2009, and I grabbed a copy from Amazon.

Bazan’s album is a tough one. “It’s hard to be a decent human being,” he sings on the lead track, “Hard to Be.” OK, fine, no problem there, we can all relate. But then it sort of goes deeper into darkness, or, you might say, downhill. Not that dark isn’t a good thing–I’m all for it. But there are some hard, head-on-the-pavement truths his characters are facing in these songs that are pretty tough to hear.

Alcohol, fatherhood, and God

Maine Music and Dick Curless

Posted on by wolffkurt

I was in Maine last week on a family trip, and while it was great to visit with family, eat great food, and chase the girl (our daughter) around the back deck, it also presented a great excuse to dig out some of my old Dick Curless records. Now when you think of Maine, likely it’s a vision of lobsters, not country music, that jumps out. But if you have a soft spot for old-school blues-based honky-tonk, Curless just might change that perspective. A native of northern Maine, Curless got his start working around Maine, Mass., and New England in the ’50s, then broke out nationally in the ’60s and went on to a respectably successful music career on a variety of labels (Tiffany, Tower, Capitol, Rounder). He even had one bona fide hit with the song “Tombstone Every Mile.”

Read more about Dick Curless

Video: Midlake’s “Bring Down”

Posted on by wolffkurt

Midlake lead singer Tim Smith at SXSW in 2010

 

Midlake performed at SXSW 2010, showcasing their new album The Courage of Others. It’s the best album of 2010, and their SXSW showcase was the best live show of 2010. And it’s only March.

 

UPDATE: A quick taste of Midlake, the epic song “Bring Down,” from their 2010 album The Courage of Others.

 

See more Flickr photos of Midlake and other bands.