Dale Watson - "Quick Quick, Slow Slow" (spotlight)

Today is the first Saturday of SXSW 2013, and it was a year ago today that I last saw Lee Dirks.  On March 10, 2012 I attended one day of SXSW  with Johan Bollen, Josh Greenberg, Margy Avery, Lee Dirks, and others.  They were on a panel about "data visualization and the future of research", which was a great success, but of course the highlight of the trip was city of Austin itself.  I won't try to explain SXSW, other than to say it's a big deal.  On the other hand, Austin is plenty of fun by itself, and the net result of SXSW for us was all ten of Austin's taxis were unavailable.

In the time leading up to SXSW, Lee acted as the social director, coordinating with everyone via email to compress a week's worth of activities into a single weekend in Austin: places to eat, drink, and of course catch some live music.  What to do on Saturday night was of course one of the main topics.  One option he put forward was:

I was thinking another road trip...down to Greune Hall (Texas' oldest continuously running dancehall) to see the Joe Ely Band.  If people like this idea, we'll want to jump on tickets now.

I replied:

Joe Ely? on a Saturday Night?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl1Zw3oqnkQ

to which Lee replied:

Well played on the Ely clip.  Well played, sir.
-jld

That's some pretty obscure fan boy humor, but Lee and I connected on that level.

Instead of seeing Joe Ely*, the group voted instead for catching the critically acclaimed, Austin-based, alt-country legend Dale Watson at the Broken Spoke.   Also an Austin legend, The Broken Spoke is on the outskirts of town, the kind of place that you assume only exists in movies.  Danette had been to the Broken Spoke on one of her business trips and had told me all about it.  So while I was somewhat prepared for what awaited me, the honky tonk that time forgot was an experience all its own.  The song that was playing when we walked in was "Quick Quick, Slow Slow".  I can't find which LP, if any, has this song; I don't know why that song stuck in my mind but it did, and it came to represent the entire experience for me.  We were there for maybe 2 hours, and towards the end Lee came up to me as I was standing by myself near the stage and asked with a smile "what do you think?".  I smiled and replied "it is everything I hoped it would be."

 Although we exchanged emails several times before he and his wife Judy died in an accident while vacationing in Peru in August 2012, that was the last time I saw Lee.   The tributes that followed were many and moving, with many focusing on his considerable impact and influence within the scholarly communication community.  While he and I had that connection, we always eventually steered our conversation to things like our mutual admiration of Joe Strummer and our shared frustration of how people use "bbq" as a verb and not a noun (e.g., "what you're doing is called `grilling'..."). 

I had less than 48 hours in Austin that weekend, but it was a great time largely in part due to Lee insuring we all had great places to go.  There were a lot of memories, including being Johan's "plus one" at a reception (he was insufferable after that).  Many of the folks are shown below, but I regret that I did not take any pictures that weekend -- who really thinks this will be their last opportunity to do so? 

Dale Watson - "Quick Quick, Slow Slow" --  This video is from 2009, but the point about places like The Broken Spoke is they don't change much, so this is pretty similar to the experience we had that night (although on March 10, 2012 the fiddle player was a woman).

Want more Broken Spoke?  This video describes how they make chicken fried steak.  We didn't eat there that night, but if I go back I'll make a point to. 


* It's been almost two weeks since I've mentioned The Clash, so I'll point out that Joe Ely sings back up on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" just so I can check that box.  I'll also mention that I could make the Joe Ely reference because Scott Kinkade introduced me to the music of Jimmie Dale Gilmore ~1992, but that's a story for another time.

The Rave Ups - "Positively Lost Me" (forgotten song)

I've previously mentioned the juggernaut that was the 1986 Pretty in Pink Soundtrack, but did you know that one of the arguably better songs from the movie did not even make the cut for the soundtrack?  "Positively Lost Me" was from the 1985 LP "Town + Country" by The Rave Ups.  The band was featured in the movie, in the bar scene where the four main characters meet up, and "Positively Lost Me" was one of the two songs they played in the background.

A perfect 80s pop break-up song, I love how the song builds a line at a time:

You lost a lot when you lost me

You lost a lot when you lost me
Six paperback books and a dying tree

You lost a lot when you lost me
Six paperback books and a dying tree
A looking glass and a diamond ring, yeah

You lost a lot when you lost me
Six paperback books and a dying tree
A looking glass and a diamond ring
You lost me and you lost some dreams

How did this song get left off the soundtrack?  How did this song not become a huge hit?

"Positively Lost Me": studio version with movie footage, 2011 live version (they still have it, all that is missing are Duckie & Iona in the foreground -- you didn't identify with Andie or Blane, did you?).

Honorable mention: the brief snippet of "Rave Up, Shut Up" that also appeared in the movie.

Damian Marley - "Welcome To Jamrock" (spotlight)

In this post, in my best James Burke impression, we'll go from Bob Marley to "My Fair Lady". 

Riding around in the car earlier this week, 96.1 played a song that I had never heard before.  It was crossover of dub/reggae/rap, but with a hard enough sound to warrant play on an alt rock station. After parking, I pulled out my iphone and discovered that it was Damian Marley's  "Welcome To Jamrock" ("Jamrock" being used as an umbrella term for reggae, dancehall, and other Jamaican musical genres).  Although I had never heard it before, I discovered that it came out in 2005 and its YouTube video had 25M+ views, so clearly it had been important somewhere, but just not on the local alt rock radio.  So why did 96.1 play it:  experimenting with their playlist?  recognition from Damian performing at the 2013 Grammys (even though this song was not featured)?

I'm not sure why they played it, but I liked it.  Sampling the 1984 Ini Kamoze song "World a Music (Out In The Streets They Call It Merther)", the lyrics (slang and Patois delivered in a thick accent) were all but undecipherable, but upon reading the meaning is clear: Jamaica is gripped with poverty, violence, and despair.  Damian is the son of Bob Marley, and whereas his father had a hopeful, spiritual message for Jamaica, the son's message is one of bleak, gritty realism, e.g.:

C'mon let's face it, a ghetto education's basic
And most ah de youths them waste it
And when dem waste it, that's when dem take the guns replace it
Then dem don't stand a chance at all

What made my belated discovery of "Welcome To Jamrock" more interesting is that it was only a few days after really discovering "Safe European Home" by The Clash.  I've written a lot about The Clash, but I (and most others I believe) have overlooked their 1978 sophomore LP "Give 'Em Enough Rope".  It's not a bad LP, but it doesn't really have any memorable singles and is overshadowed by their first LP (by virtue of being first) and their third, 1979's iconic "London Calling".  The first song on the LP is "Safe European Home", and it is arguably the best song on the LP.  But the lyrics are nearly as indecipherable as "Welcome To Jamrock", so only last week did I really sit down and study them.  I've mentioned before where The Clash spearheaded punk's interest in reggae, but "Safe European Home" is the story of their bad experiences on an early trip to Jamaica, the reality of which did not match the tourism image:

Wasn't I lucky n' wouldn't it be loverly?  
Send us all cards, an' have a laying in on a Sunday  
I was there for two weeks, so how come I never tell  
That natty dread drinks at the Sheraton hotel?  

Now they got the sun, an' they got the palm trees  
They got the weed, an' they got the taxis  
Whoa, the harder they come, n' the home of ol' bluebeat
Yes I'd stay an' be a tourist but I can't take the gun play     

So despite both "Welcome to Jamrock" and "Safe European Home" existing for quite some time, I somehow managed to "discover" them both in the space of a few days.  Apparently little has changed in Jamaica in the nearly 30 years between The Clash's initial visit and Damian's dirge. 

The connection to "My Fair Lady"?  Danette pointed out the sly "wouldn't it be loverly" reference in "Safe European Home", "loverly" reflecting Joe Strummer's adopted Cockney, blue-collar focus.   How many punk songs do you know that sneak in a Broadway reference?

In addition to the "My Fair Lady" reference, the last minute of "Safe European Home" also gives us a preview of a song to come: note the the "Rudie, Rudie, Rudie, ... Rudie Can't Fail" lyrics, which would become a song of its own on "London Calling" ("Rudie" = "Rude Boy").  

Damian Marley: "Welcome To Jamrock"

The Clash: "Safe European Home" (studio), "Safe European Home" (live from the 1980 "Rude Boy" film; note that Joe Strummer often improvised lyrics during live performances)

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: "Safe European Home"

Ini Kamoze: "World a Music (Out In The Streets They Call It Merther)"

Audrey Hepburn: "Wouldn't It Be Loverly"

Julie Andrews: "Wouldn't It Be Loverly"

Mariachi El Bronx - "Cell Mates" (spotlight)

Some things you just have to listen to...  "Cell Mates" is the single off the 2009 self-titled LP by Mariachi El Bronx.  The twist is, in a sense, there really is no band called Mariachi El Bronx -- it is just the mariachi alter-ego of the punk band The Bronx.  How does a punk band decide to do mariachi music?  Prolonged cultural exposure, not unlike the observation I made about Danette and myself with respect to hip hop in the review of "My Philosophy".  Quoting frontman Matt Caughthran:

"[the LP] was something that was a part of us that we didn't really realize. I mean, being from Los Angeles and, you know, growing up and surrounded by Mexican culture, it just kind of happened."

I'm not qualified to evaluate this song as mariachi music, but it sure is fun.  And the b-side of this single?  A mariachi cover of Prince's "I Would Die 4 U".  That's right: a punk band masquerading as a mariachi band, covering Prince.

Mariachi El Bronx: "Cell Mates", "I Would Die 4 U"

What do they normally sound like?  The Bronx: "Shitty Future", "False Alarm"

Beyonce - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (the song remains the same)

I seem to have a Super Bowl tradition going, so no reason to stop now...

Super Bowl XLVII had Beyonce for the halftime show, and by all accounts it was very successful.  Although I'm not really a Beyonce fan, it did seem like a high-energy show.  It was surprisingly short on guest appearances, so I'll have to do my first (and probably only) Beyonce post.

She performed several of her big hits including "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", which is probably her biggest hit, crossing over into many other genres.  You've heard it countless times before, but did you know that:

• the iconic dance routine is based on 1969's "Mexican Breakfast"?
• it is the basis of a SNL skit with Justin Timberlake?
• there are not one but two bluegrass versions?  The Cleverlys and The Pigs
• The Daily Show featured a mariachi version?
• it was slowed down by Sara Bareilles?
• just for Danette's benefit*, Liza Minnelli did a version?
• it was used as an example in an NPR piece about how video making has changed?

I find the last bit the most interesting: rather than the theatrical, complex arrangements of 1983's Thriller, which was meant to be viewed on a large screen TV, modern videos are optimized for smaller, mobile devices.  This means lots of flashing lights, centering framing, and facial close-ups.  The contrast with Michael Jackson is interesting, because it was his 1993 halftime show that launched the current practice of A-list performers.  Prior to that, you were more likely to see "Up With People" at halftime (seriously, look it up). 

Now that you've learned about how the viewing devices influence video making, take another look:

Beyonce: "Single Ladies"

Enjoy it because Super Bowl XLVIII might not have a halftime show (however, I'm betting they do).




* Aside from the obvious icon status, Danette completely doesn't get Liza Minnelli. 

Ass Ponys - "Little Bastard" (forgotten song)

Do you remember this one?  Danette swears she's never heard it before, but I'm certain it got a tiny bit of airplay when it came out in 1994.  "Little Bastard" was the single from the Ass Ponys's LP "Electric Rock Music".  Not a lot of airplay, mind you, but it obviously stuck with me enough to remember some nearly 20 years later.

Based in Ohio, I don't think the Ass Ponys ever made it big.  Vocalist Chuck Cleaver later formed Wussy, who I think I've heard of but their biggest accomplishment seems to be the undying admiration of veteran rock critic Robert Christgau, who is entranced by Chuck's stories of off-kilter Americana.  I've never seem him praise an entire discography like that before.

Anyway, back to "Little Bastard": this quirky, jangly, catchy song (& video) is a perfect mid-90s time capsule.  It makes me want to grow my goatee again.

"He said, `don't call me little bastard / call me snake...'" 

Ass Ponys: Little Bastard

This Mortal Coil - "Song to the Siren" (the song remains the same)

I've already given a short summary of the history and focus of This Moral Coil in my review of their initial 1983 EP "Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust".  Originally the B-side to the EP, "Song to the Siren" was so well-received that it became the A-side to the 7" single.  In part through use in commercials, "Song to the Siren" became a moderate hit (in relative terms, anyway) for This Mortal Coil. 

Originally written by folk singer Tim Buckley, my first exposure was the TMC verison.  But I've only recently discovered the many other versions of this song.  Here is an incomplete list in roughly chronological order:

Tim Buckley - 1968, studio 1970: Danette pointed out the original, folk version is midway between Pat Boone's and TMC's. 

Pat Boone - 1969: No, really.  A disturbingly bland, lifeless version. 

TMC - studio 1983,  live 1983: The canonical version; Elizabeth Fraser turns in an achingly beautiful rendition.

Damon & Naomi - 2001: The former Galaxie 500 members give a trademark slowcore version.

Sinead O'Connor - 2010: Clearly inspired by the TMC version.

Bryan Ferry - studio 2010, live 2010: This sounds exactly like you'd expect a Bryan Ferry version to sound like. 

Brendan Perry - live 2011: Perry is 1/2 of Dead Can Dance, who were a central figure in the 4AD / TMC sound.