06 December, 2008
Weekend Kinks: Lola +Bonus Tracks!
I haven't ever had a Weekend Music post of The Kinks? Really??? Time to fix that:
"Celluloid Heroes":
Muswell Hillbillies is one of my all-time favourite albums. "20th Century Man" is, IMO, one of the most brilliant songs ever written. Sadly, there's no version by The Kinks on YouTube, but there is a pretty ok live version (meaning video quality, not the quality of the performance) by Ray Davies (I'm guessing this is from his recent tour):
Labels: rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 9:06 PM ~~ 0 comments
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16 November, 2008
Weekend Wilco: Wishful Thinking
Because I haven't done one of these in AGES.
This is a gorgeous video and, while it goes without saying that I think it's a gorgeous song, I think Jeff Tweedy's lyrics are particularly appropriate to these days.
But if you're wanting something a little peppier to get you in the mood for Monday, try summa this:
(BTW, if you don't have Wilco's Being There, you really should. It totally kicks ass!)
Labels: Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 5:28 PM ~~ 2 comments
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06 June, 2008
Weekend T-Rex: a Two-fer
Because I'm in the mood for some glam rock, kittenz.
20th Century Boy, which has the distinction of being Simon's first most favourite song in the world. Actually, it is the version by Placebo that Simon went batshit crazy for the first time he heard it. I was watching Velvet Goldmine and he was curled up next to me, sound asleep. Then the opening riffs to the song played and Simon shot off the couch like a rocket and was glued to the TV for the rest of the movie, trying to pet the guys on the television screen. Whenever I played the soundtrack and it came on, he'd be up running around the apartment and howling along with the song. For a couple of weeks, I thought perhaps Marc Bolan had reincarnated as my kitty and ZOMG HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE?!?!??!1!?
...and Get It On (Bang A Gong), which has the distinction of being the first song I remember ever singing in public. Skipping along the aisles in the supermarket singing "GET IT ON! BANG A GONG! GET IT ON! BAAAANG A GOOOOOOONG!!!" Mom, realizing that it was too late to duck behind the produce or stuff me inside the freezer with the dreamcicles, quietly leaned down and said, "Why don't we wait and sing that one in the car?" She later had a talk with my babysitter about listening to FM radio when she's with me and the babysitter, in turn, talked to me about singing only the crappy rhymes I learned in preschool when I'm out with my mom, so that I don't give her a heart attack. Neither one of them explained what the song actually meant and why I shouldn't sing such a totally kick-ass rhyme like that at the top of my 5-year-old lungs.
I'd like to point out here that, unlike my TOTALLY LIVE SUPERMARKET VERSION, it's hard to find a video of this song on YouTube that isn't lip-synched.
Labels: rock 'n' roll, Simon, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 9:07 PM ~~ 0 comments
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18 May, 2008
Weekend Jeff Tweedy: Gun
Jeff Tweedy reaches back to his days with Uncle Tupelo for this awesome-packed acoustic version of Gun.
UT fans should check out Tweedy's hilarious story of seeing former UT bandmate/collaborator Jay Ferrar in Mexico.
Labels: Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 8:28 PM ~~ 0 comments
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03 May, 2008
Weekend Supertramp: Give A Little Bit and Dreamer
Give A Little Bit easily goes on my list of all-time favourite songs. It's a love song, but not in the hearts-and-flowers or moonlight-in-your-eye kind of way, which is probably why I loved it so much to begin with. It always struck me that this song was never really meant to be sung to your One True Love, but rather to...anyone. It's about reaching out beyond your own little world and trusting that someone out there is reaching toward you. At least I always thought that was what it was about. YMMV?
Dreamer is another of those songs that stuck with me and I sang it for days after I first heard it. (A couple of the guys on the Portland Timbers got me listening to Supertramp when the brought albums and tapes with them from England and Scotland...which makes me miss Willie Donachie and wonder what he's up to these days.) While Breakfast In America is probably Supertramp's best selling album in the United States, Crime of the Century, the album this song is on, is easily their best album.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I noticed that there are NO BARRE CHORDS in Give A Little Bit, which means I have at least a miniscule hope of learning to play it!
Labels: rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 9:38 PM ~~ 0 comments
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27 April, 2008
Weekend Clash: I'm So Bored With The USA + Train In Vain
Because I'm missing Joe Strummer today.
Labels: rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 4:45 PM ~~ 0 comments
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20 April, 2008
Weekend Iggy and the Stooges: TV Eye
Just because!
Labels: rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 1:54 PM ~~ 0 comments
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13 April, 2008
Weekend REM (again): Supernatural Superserious
I just downloaded their new album Accelerate and I like it a lot. It's much more of a rocker than their last two or three albums, where they went in a direction that I just couldn't follow (like U2 did with Pop and half of their last several albums).
If you're still missing the jangly guitars and haunting melodies of early-80's REM, then you're probably not going to like this album so much. But if you liked the more rocking late-80's - early 90's REM, you should give Accelerate a spin.
Labels: rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 7:01 PM ~~ 0 comments
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30 March, 2008
Weekend Decemberists: O Valencia
Labels: music, Portland Rock, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 12:59 PM ~~ 0 comments
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24 March, 2008
Weekend Edith Piaf: Mon Dieu
Alas, the sands are all too swiftly flowing through the glass of my 4-day weekend. I'll close it out with a song that, despite my woefully inadequate comprehension of French, moves me to tears when I hear Edith Piaf sing it.
Labels: Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 4:41 PM ~~ 0 comments
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23 March, 2008
Weekend Flight of the Conchords: The Humans Are Dead
My birthday present to myself was the DVDs for Series 1 of Flight of the Conchords. Jemaine and Brit Bree Bret prove that funny is sooooooo sexy!
Come on sucker, lick my battery! Genius!
Labels: HAHA, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 3:06 PM ~~ 0 comments
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22 March, 2008
Weekend REM: These Days + Bonus Link
This is one of my favourite songs off of an album that is made up entirely of favourite songs. I cannot play Life's Rich Pageant and not dance wildly around and sing (badly) along with every song.
This particular clip is a live version of the song from their 1989 tour, where I saw them twice (for the Portland show, second row, center stage, thanks to my BFF Olivia, who got up at half-past ridiculous in the morning to wait in line for tickets). This was one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Michael Stipe had incredible energy, as did Bill Berry, Mike Mills and Peter Buck. Scott McCaughey from Young Fresh Fellows played keyboards on this tour as well, IIRC. Except for the moments where I stared longingly at Peter Buck's Rickenbacker guitar, I just could not take my eyes off of Michael Stipe all night. Simply amazing.
I thought about posting the video to Perfect Circle because it is such a hauntingly beautiful song. But, hey, links are nice too, aren't they?
Labels: music, rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 4:49 PM ~~ 0 comments
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21 March, 2008
Weekend The Who: The Seeker
(Continuing the celebration of my 4-day weekend...)
I've always thought of this as my "theme song" (well, except for the bit about asking Bob Dylan/The Beatles/Timothy Leary), especially during those times when I catch myself dwelling on those things in life that I've sought but never quite found. I dwell on these sorrows less and less, but this song still speaks to me and, well, today is as good a day as any to post it.
Labels: navel gazing, rock 'n' roll, The Who, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 9:26 PM ~~ 0 comments
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20 March, 2008
Weekend Tower of Power: What Is Hip
What the heck, it's the start of MY weekend! :-) ToP is one of my long-time favourites: R&B/Funk the way Ceiling Cat intended. Here's a clip of them back in 1973.
Labels: Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 10:38 PM ~~ 0 comments
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15 March, 2008
Weekend Morrissey: Tomorrow
Because it's time for some Mozza.
Labels: Morrissey, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 10:26 PM ~~ 0 comments
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09 March, 2008
Weekend Extreme: Hole Hearted
I remember the first time I saw this video. It wasn't too long after my mother died and I was in a period of drinking a bottle (or two) of wine every night and not being able to sleep, so I was up pretty late when this video came on. I had heard some of Extreme's stuff and sort of liked them, but I was totally hooked by the 12-string acoustic opening to this song. And then there was the abundance of Boston Bruins gear; what's not to like about a band who loves my Beloved Boston Bruins? So I watched.
Wait a minute. Did I just see Lyndon Byers? (former Boston Bruin for you non-hockey fans)
So I watched some more.
It IS Lyndon Byers!
And then.
OMG! That's Cam! As in Cam Neely. FOREVER THE LOVE OF MY HOCKEY LIFE.
I grabbed the cable remote and frantically tried to rewind MTV. Mind you, this was in 1991 and TIVO would not be on the market for another eight years or so. Unsuccessful in my attempt to rewind MTV, I stayed up for a few more hours, hoping "Hole Hearted" would come back up in rotation. But the wine finally worked its magic and I passed out fell asleep with two Boston Terriers snoring at my feet. I watched MTV for the next several nights, VCR at the ready, and finally snagged a recording of it.
(For the curious, Lyndon Byers appears at 1:45 and Cam Neely FTLOMHL, appears around 1:48 in the video.)
Labels: Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 12:59 PM ~~ 0 comments
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02 March, 2008
Weekend Wilco: California Stars
This is one of my (many) favourite Wilco songs and it just kicks my ass when they play it live. Sadly, I missed the concert this was shot at. I had checked and checked their site for a Berkeley date and then figured it would be later in the year and forgot about it. I found out about the show exactly six hours before it was supposed to start. My friend, who is a huge Wilco fan (and knows I am as well), never bothered to tell me about it.
He is now dead to me.
Anyway, uh, enjoy! And also, never miss an opportunity to see these guys live! The current lineup is so fantastic (OMG Nels Cline is an amazing guitar player!). And have I mentioned that I have a HUGE crush on Jeff Tweedy? Oh, yeah, it looks like I may have mentioned it once or twice. (hee!)
Labels: music, rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 5:01 PM ~~ 0 comments
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24 February, 2008
Weekend U2: Gloria
No NOT the G-L-O-R-I-A version! The version that, the first time I saw the video about 25 years ago, the chorus stuck in my head for weeks. All due respect to Van Morrison, whom I adore, there is just something I've always found particularly charming about this song.
Labels: rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 4:40 PM ~~ 0 comments
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17 February, 2008
Weekend Young Fresh Fellows: Picture Book
Still feeling some PNW nostalgia, but this week we'll go a bit farther north to Seattle. These guys did some great pop in that classic vein of the Kinks (an especially edgy Kinks, actually) and were one of the best live acts I've had the pleasure of seeing.
I'm pretty sure I was at this show! (I was resurfacing after a very horrible year right about this time.) And I most certainly have fond memories of Bohemia After Dark. (edit: I WAS at that show! Completely Grocery was on the bill and I remember seeing them open for YFF.)
Labels: music, rock 'n' roll, waxing nostalgic, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 9:31 PM ~~ 0 comments
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10 February, 2008
Weekend Dead Moon: It's OK
Eh, I'm still in a nostalgic PDX music mood. I had a hard time deciding between this one and 54/40 Or Fight, which is also a totally kick-ass tune. But It's OK is the song I put on when I'm feeling very low and lonely and not very clever at all and I need to cheer up. Pearl Jam did a good cover of this song as well.
Labels: Dead Moon, Portland Rock, rock 'n' roll, waxing nostalgic, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 5:25 PM ~~ 0 comments
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03 February, 2008
Weekend Dharma Bums: The Light In You
I know I've said this before, but Portland had one seriously awesome music scene in the mid-to-late 80's and early 90's (there is still some really great music coming from PDX, but I'm feeling nostalgic today). The Bums were my most favourite. I was so heartbroken when they broke up and for years held onto hope that they would come to their senses and get back together. As many times as I've been dumped in my life, I think THEIR breakup is the one breakup that I've never completely gotten over.
Fans of The Decemberists will recognize John Moen in this video. This was from their third and final album, "Welcome". Jeremy had cut off his hair by then but was still incredibly hot (as was Eric). John and Jim were, as always, ridiculously adorable. I had crushes on all of them at one time or another.
Hope you're on the mend, Jeremy!
Labels: music, Portland Rock, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 3:33 PM ~~ 0 comments
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27 January, 2008
Weekend XTC: Mayor of Simpleton
Because this song's been stuck in me head all week.
Labels: music, rock 'n' roll, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 7:20 PM ~~ 0 comments
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20 January, 2008
Weekend Who: So Sad About Us
This version, performed by Pete Townshend with Paul Weller, is one of my favourite versions of the Mod Who Classic, and one of the best moments of their Royal Albert Hall show (it totally made up for Bryan Adams completely effing up "Behind Blue Eyes").
Labels: music, rock 'n' roll, The Who, Weekend Music
~~ victoria on 9:31 PM ~~ 0 comments
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