Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements (2008)

Precocious and provocative, this densely orchestrated melange of orchestral entanglements draws on a whole range of pop’s maverick stylists to create something as strange and compelling as I’ve heard all year. There are hints of the decadent, Isherwood’s 1930’s Berlin, splashes of solo Marc Almond and slatherings of vintage Scott Walker - the ghosts of Brel and Brecht stalk the hinterlands of this wonderful record, rubbing their hands at the prospect of another doomed tilt at the windmills of popular culture.

Det blev »I Feel Like Going Home« med Charlie Rich.

Det var när jag i går kväll kom fram till R i skivhyllornas countryavdelning och tankade över samlingen »The Most Beautiful Girl« till Macbookens jukebox som jag bestämde mig.

Charlie Rich behöver upprättelse.

Han borde vara en sångare som nämns när man pratar om sångare som Sinatra, Presley och Scott Walker men som på grund av tillfälligheternas spel, för lite flyt och för mycket sprit hamnade i skymundan på Sun-etiketten.

Under slutet av 50-talet och hela 60-talet fick Charlie Rich mest harva som huspianist i Sam Philips Sun-studio i Memphis. Först i början av 70-talet fick han några egna hits, som ändå mest blev angelägenheter för långtradarchaffisar som på de långa prärievägarna i Amerikanatten rattade in countrystationer.

Så det allra sista jag gärna gör, det är att ge Charlie Rich upprättelse.

"The Gentle Rain" is a song written by Brazilian composer and master-guitarist Luiz Bonfa, as the theme for the 1965 Brazilian film of the same name. English lyrics were written later that year by Matt Dubey, a Broadway composer and lyricist, for Astrud Gilberto to sing on her album The Shadow Of Your Smile.

The Gentle Rain- Astrud Gilberto

I've always liked how this song describes the love between the singer and the singer's beloved as very sweet and very sad. I have also always had a penchant for rain songs. It is raining today, and I am living in a hotel room for the next several weeks, and I am embracing the sadness of the rain. At least the view from my room is of a dense wood, and not the parking lot.

"The Gentle Rain" was widely-recorded on easy listening and jazz albums and became an instant standard.

Among many of the great versions is Scott Walker's take. The theme and sentiments in the song are so similar to those of Mr. Walker's oeuvre, he could have written it himself. 

The Gentle Rain- Scott Walker

Irene Kral was a jazz singer inspired largely by one of my favorites, Carmen McRae. Sadly, Wordpress froze my blog until I removed my posting on her genius years with Atlantic Records. Kral recorded a spare version of "The Gentle Rain" in 1977, with New Zealand pianist Alan Broadbent. This is an amazing somber version. Kral was dead within a year, a victim of breast cancer.

The Gentle Rain- Irene Kral

Oscar Peterson and his trio recorded a version with The Singers Unlimited, the a cappella group, who obviously, in this case, were not performing a cappella.

The Gentle Rain- Oscar Peterson & Singers Unlimited

Sarah Vaughn recorded a version on her Brazilian album Copacabana. I'm not normally a fan of her later recordings, as they are bit too sassy and brassy for me, but this one's pretty tight.

The Gentle Rain- Sarah Vaughn

Finally, an easy-listening version by the group Moody, who were session musicians. This has a light-funk feel. At one point it sounds like they're about to launch into "Camptown Races."

The Gentle Rain- Moody

I also found this video of a guy named Jerry Leake playing "The Gentle Rain" on vibes. Major props to you, Jerry Leake!

You can read it here: http://tinyurl.com/5fgaqm

You can read the JSOnline.com story here.

1. We Approve Scott Walker's plan of having a bus-rail hybrid called Bus Rapid Transit.  We encourage Walker to use the money from the priviatization deal and guranteed federal income for MCTS to create three or four routes that does not touch Milwaukee County, but touch the four county metro area of Milwaukee well.  The North Shore Exponent believes there should be a line that runs up to Germantown, a line from the lakefront to Waukesha County, a line from the South Shore to Racine, and a line up the North Shore Cooridor.  What makes a bus-rapid transit system different is, it runs in a special bus-only  lane, and it works like you go on the subway in Chicago or DC, you pay ahead, and you just hop on.  When I was on vacation in Las Vegas I rode their Bus Rapid Transit line and it was good.  A cost-effective alternative to light rail.
2. Improve the current bus fleet and get new busses.  I really think MCTS needs to fix its current fleet, and get some new busses.  Madison has six hybrid busses in its fleet, and I think Milwaukee could use some new hybrid and regular busses to replace an aging fleet.
3. Improve and modernize bus stops.  One thing is have machines in which you can insert a dollar bill or credit card and you can get your bus pass or tickets.  Milwaukee should have that like many other big cities that have machines you can buy your bus pass ahead of time.  Also, there should be modernization of bus stops, even on some heavily trafficked sections of Milwaukee a chance to put electronic information where the next bus would be coming.
4. If we want to innovate, we need to keep the salaries of overpaid transit managers and unneccessary overtime in check.  Today's TMJ 4 in Milwaukee has exposed the wastes of MCTS manager's pay and overtime and we need to keep taxpayer dollars in check.
5. After bus rapid transit and improving the core of MCTS, then we can think if we need a light rail line from Waukesha to Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee as long its cost effective, then do it.  We do not need taxpayer funded lobbying abuses if we want light rail.  This is a problem in Chicago and with the Southeast Wisconsin RTA.

The county has the potential to reap huge financial benefit from such an arrangement as the lease of the airport could bring in a huge amount of revenue and at the same time reduce the overall size of the operations that the county is running. More money coming in, less going out, that's the direction we need to take Milwaukee County.

Walker's proposal estimates that the county could see $25 million per year from the deal which could be used to help fund the county transit system. I'd rather see the money go directly to tax relief but would take this option to fund transit over the County Board's proposed sales tax increase.

From the JS Online piece:

Supervisor John Weishan Jr. said he’ll oppose a privatization consultant study..............
“I wish (Walker) would put as much effort into lowering health care costs in Milwaukee County . . . rather than some fantasy about privatizing the airport,” Weishan said.

Weishan's statement is hypocritical and ludicrous. If he was consistent he'd want to put the decision directly to the voters via a referendum (as he does with the sales tax increase). He talks about lowering health care costs in Milwaukee County while at the same time attempting to triple the county sales tax. Does Weishan believe that increasing the cost of everything in the county by another 1% will lead to lower health care costs?

Once again Scott Walker is leading the way in innovation in Milwaukee government. As always the County Board is trying to stand in his way as they toe the line of the status quo.

Scott Walker - Fire Escape in the Sky (1981)

This compilation, put together by Julian Cope is widely regarded as the definitive Scott Walker collection. Glorious orchestration, the ‘voice’ and a cracking collection of songs that cast a long shadow over the eighties, influencing to varying degrees Marc Almond, Billy Mackenzie, David Sylvian and more recently, Divine Comedy and My Life Story. If you never listen to another piece of music, listen to ‘Montague Terrace in Blue’ …

We need to have a private firm to spend the money better to help Milwaukee's Airport and top investment in order to have people take Milwaukee as serious or more serious than Chicago.  If Cook County is taxing the hell out of its businesses and its people, Milwaukee should take advantage of their mistakes and make Chicago pay for its economic killing mistakes.

Writing this prompted me to give it a serious spin, which I must've omitted to do before. It's actually not bad, in a dark and wacky lo-fi-Ulver-with-infusions-of-electronic-Scott-Walker-bits way. Not sure if it's a masterpiece though. Look at me, I'm a requests-whore.

Universal Music has launched a new UK music download store called Lost Tunes (www.losttunes.com) which is dedicated to exclusive tracks, rarities, hard-to-find recordings and “overlooked classics” from the vast Universal catalogue.

An opening batch of 134 download albums will be available exclusively through the Lost Tunes site – including The Walker Brothers’ Live In Japan, three albums by British post punk band Comsat Angels, R&B favourites Nine Below Zero, and Bill Fay’s eponymous album.

Other initial selections include albums by Joni Mitchell, Scott Walker, Marianne Faithfull, The Flying Burrito Brothers, David Ruffin and Caravan.

A new collection of eight previously unavailable tracks by early 1990s Liverpool band The La's will be available from September 1. The rare recordings include a John Leckie/Steve Lilywhite mix of ‘Come In Come Out’ and a John Leckie/Bob Andrew mix of ‘Way Out’.

A further 500 exclusive download albums are scheduled to be available from the store over the next six months, including never-before-released gems from the archives of the Trojan, Fiction and Decca labels.

In addition to classic rock and pop titles, the Lost Tunes store will also feature rare reggae, blues, and soul albums – and hard-to-find tracks from the Verve, A&M, Motown, Vertigo and Stax catalogues.

All of the downloads on the Lost Tunes site are available as 320kpbs MP3s, without digital rights protection. The tracks will work on any MP3-compatible fixed or portable device, including iPods, MP3 players and mobile phones.

According to Universal, the site is designed to help music fans rediscover old favorites and find new ones. It features a "smart search" facility, with music sorted into eight genres and 38 sub-genres ranging from progressive rock, electronica and jazz fusion, to world music and spoken word.

Universal insists Lost Tunes – dubbed “the home of rare music” - will not attempt to compete with larger services such as iTunes, but will cater for people looking for older and more obscure tracks.

“We wanted Lost Tunes to replicate the experience of going to a favourite local record shop where browsing and discovering music is a real pleasure and an adventure,” said Universal Music’s Azi Eftekhari.

Shopping at Lost Tunes won’t be cheap though. Individual tracks are priced at 99p, while albums cost anything from £5.99 upwards.

1. "In the end, the plague touched us all. It was not confined to the Oran of Camus... And through the fog of the plague, most art withered into journalism. Painters left the easel to scrawl their innocence on walls of manifestos. Symphonies died on crowded roads. Novels served as furnished rooms for ideology..."
- Pete Hamill voor 'Blood On The Tracks' van Bob Dylan (1975)

2. "Narcissus in Metamorphosis, tearing at his well-known image, behind which he hides his unknown face. Grey rains and trains cascading crying strings..."
- Keith Altham voor 'Scott 3' van Scott Walker (1969)

3. "The Supreme and I are one - all we outlast..."
- Sri Chinmoy voor 'Birds Of Fire' van Mahavishnu Orchestra (1972)

4. "Visions of Pentangular faithful squatting, swollen-eyed and morning-mouthed, outside garish Wilson Picketted shop windows..."
- John Peel voor 'The Pentangle' van The Pentangle (1969).

5. "The Art Of Noise suddenly realised... that waking in the middle of a dream, even the worst, one feels dissappointed [sic], even cheated of the best in life. But pleasant, fulfilled dreams are actually as rare, to use Shubert's words, as happy music. Even the loveliest dream bears like a blemish it's [sic] difference from reality, the awareness that what it grants is merely illusion. This is precisely why the loveliest dreams are as if blighted. Such an impression is captured superlatively in the description of the nature's theatre of Oklahoma in Kafka's America."
- Paul Morley voor 'Who's Afraid Of The Art Of Noise' van The Art Of Noise (1984)

(schaamteloos gepikt van The Uncut Book of Revelations Volume One, Allan Jones, 2007, IPC Media.)

In een volgende aflevering: The King Lives + de beste Beatles lp covers parodieën.

Two things: Mr. Sykes called me "a writer" and omitted the last sentence of my post because it was "somewhat tasteless". Given his history with the McGee family, I could certainly understand. I'm honored to think this was worthy of his airtime.

The Walker Brothers - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement

Joel Alme - The Queen's Corner

I don't know what the proper solution to fixing up the parks is. But I smirk when I hear the idea of naming rights in bathrooms as suggested by Supervisor Coggs in this article. What company would shell out $500 to put its name on a urinal? Doesn't Kohler already have that covered?

I personally like the idea of naming the facilities after politicians. The Lee Holloway toilet has a nicer ring to it. Don't forget to wash your hands in the Michael McGee sink. Just don't drop the soap.

Nite Flights - The Walker Brothers

Versión de Nite Flights por David Bowie

If You Go Away ( la versión inglesa de Ne Me Quitte Pas)

Loss of Love

Arnold Dreyblatt

Animal Magnetism (Tzadik 1995)

http://www.mediafire.com/?njyjz1mn45n

I have spent an hour or two pondering life while listening to the rich drones of Arnold Dreyblatt. I first encountered the name while paging through an issue of Your Flesh where Jim O' Rourke listed his favorite albums of the year and christened Animal Magnetism the best of 1995. Being the bleating sheep that I am, there was an immediate order placed at the Wall to Wall Sound and Video in my godforsaken town. I expected something akin to the Scott Walker, Roy Montgomery and Rafael Toral listed in his love letter, but was pleasantly surprised to hear that it wasn't quite like anything else on that minimalist list.

There are many improbably combinations that our minds can conjure: Peanut butter and cauliflower puree, scallops and butterscotch or Kevin Spacey in a Bobby Darin biopic. Most of these flights of fancy are purely the result of narcotics. However, I cannot explain Kevin Spacey's unfortunate foray. However, if you had suggested that you could combine Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians with Tom Waits' Rain Dogs, I would accuse you of putting your mustard in my chutney.

Thankfully, Arnold Dreyblatt's Animal Magnetism does exactly that. It takes the textured waves of minimalist composition and the musician play like a band made out of junkyard instruments. This is somehow funky in its clunky and hypnotic sort of way. It is a strong, muscular album that removes minimalism from the realm of lanky miscreant and makes a dance party out of it. I haven't yet been so far gone to attempt an Arnold Dreyblatt dance party, but give me a ring and we shall see what we can muster up.

This is the sound of music hitting ecstatic peaks and mining mournful valleys. This is the sound of repetition taken to new places. This beats the pants off those moments where I pleasured myself with sounds of a single string. It is a joyful cacophony that makes me realize all that is wonderful about music.

Not exactly 'asked', more encouraged. It seems people get interested in my tales of woe surrounding a magazine I started.

Perhaps not 'woe' (I hate inverted commas and I've used them plenty in this first post), perhaps tales of the rollercoaster of running a project set up out of love and a desire to help the people who matter most in this world get a break from the advertising hungry, big label hugging music publications of yore without any tiny element of business sense.

This sudden burst of inspiration could be triggered by a desire to get said magazine wider coverage, it could be a result of my own personal narcissism, to get more relevant results when you type my name into Google (although if you look at Google images, the first result is of me clearly telling a fabulous joke - I come in ahead of Gareth Gates too, which is nice).

Searching for myself on Google, aside from the obvious personal insecurities this may or may not highlight to the casual reader, it gives me a chance to take a glance back at my personal triumphs and tribulations of what <John Peel Quote>we'll laughably call my career</John Peel Quote>.

For example, I noticed that in 2006, when I did the odd bit of scribing for the still excellent music website Twisted Ear, there is a list of what we/are my favourite albums of that year. They were, in a particular order:

1. Joanna Newson - Ys
2. Scott Walker - The Drift
3. Kazoo Funk Orchestra - Midnight Finger Painter
4. Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche
5. The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
6. Fucked Up - Hidden World
7. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
8. Coachwhips - Double Death
9. Calexico - Garden Ruin
10. Venetian Snares - Cavalcade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms

Which, although I tend to wildly vary my musical tastes at times, is a pretty accurate reflection of how I feel 2006 probably was for music - not that great. If I were to rewrite the list, the lovely Joanna would still come first as Ys is probably one of the greatest records ever made. No ifs, no buts, any record that has an orchestral score written by Van Dyke Parks is well deserving of greatness.

What I feel would change is Calexico and The Flaming Lips would drop off to be replaced by Alela Diane's The Pirate's Gospel and Trunk records' amazing compilation Fuzzy Felt Folk would rocket up the chart to number three (because The Drift is a phenomenal piece of work).

As much as it pains me, the genius of Venetian Snares would probably drop off the list too, if only to squeeze in Bill Wells & Maher Shalal Hash Baz's quite astounding Osaka Bridge. Other notable mentions from 2006 go to David Shrigley and his spoken word record Forced to Speak With Others, Grandmaster Gareth's The Party Sounds of Grandmaster Gareth, Wisby's Dirty Fan Male and Yppah's You are Beautiful at all Times.

In fact, what do all these changes tell us about music in 2006? That is was pretty good? Or is there a different lesson to be learnt? The fact that no matter how forward thinking you are, the more you look for the next great record, there is probably a huge trail of ingenious music lying hidden in the past.

Currently listening to: Dawn of the Dead - unreleased incidental music (Trunk)

Superstar duo The Last Shadow Puppets' 2nd single embraces what all duos of past have created, perfect pop singles.  Clocking in at only two minutes and twenty-one seconds, "Standing Next To Me" evokes vintage chorus lines and to-the-point lyrics.

The music video itself mirrors a time and period that The Last Shadow Puppets embrace so effortlessly that you might almost forget that this duo is from 2008 and not 1968.

MP3: “Standing Next To Me“
Website: http://www.theageoftheunderstatement.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thelastshadowpuppets
Purchase: The Age of Understatement
Label: Domino