I told someone earlier today that I wasn’t going to do this. Changed my mind, because I’m unreliable like that. The first is just an example of the traditional approach to the Go Tell It On the Mountain standard.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0nAyWVp-hY[/youtube]
This? Well . . .
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg7uGL6Ku20[/youtube]
And now a chaser:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XzU5ZxQkF0[/youtube]
You’re welcome.
Warner wants more money from YouTube, and because it isn’t getting it, you’ll shortly have a tougher time finding music/videos from artists like Cher, Alanis Morrisette, The Raconteurs, etc.:
Warner Music Group ordered YouTube on Saturday to remove all music videos by its artists from the popular online video-sharing site after contract negotiations broke down.
The order could affect hundreds of thousands of videos clips, as it covers Warner Music’s recorded artists as well as the rights for songs published by its Warner/Chappell unit, which includes many artists not signed to Warner Music record labels.
Between that and Sony’s dedication to hating its own customers (i.e., making it impossible to easily embed videos from Sony artists), the music series here will have to shift from being mostly retrospective to a good bit more prospective. When it comes to new music, I’ve happily avoided the major labels for years.  Most of my favorite new artists – like Dan Reeder, Stereo Total, and Tanghetto – are on indy labels that don’t fight against the idea that the more people that hear their artists’ music, the better off they are. That doesn’t, unfortunately, solve for the problem of having most of the music I love – and want to share – stuck with the old major labels, but it’s a start.
A little different, tonight. First, from Yo La Tengo, Our Way to Fall:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3TOPNXVXD4[/youtube]
It’s just . . . it just is.
Second, I’m going to offer something a little different. A hypertext novella – These Waves of Girls, by Caitlin Fisher. There’s sound at that link, and just give it a second. Or a half hour. I’m loath to spoil it with too much introduction, so I’ll just offer that it’s a rather unconventional approach to telling one woman’s own story. You’ll know rather quickly whether it works for you. It did for me.
If you associate Guns N’ Roses with something beyond Paradise City and Sweet Child ‘O Mine, go out and buy Chinese Democracy. It’s like opening up a time capsule from 20 years ago, filled with things you’ve never seen yet feel so familiar.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG2mcOI4oME[/youtube]
I’m not exactly sure why I feel so compelled to recommend it, but the more I listen, the more I’m wanting to make sure that those who have long since written the album off don’t miss it.
Aqua’s Barbie Girl:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxn567bHny8[/youtube]
Garbage’s Stupid Girl:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N29vkIT3eo[/youtube]
Little Jackson’s Black Barbie (seriously, check it out):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOcYvczXMjw[/youtube]
No Doubt’s Just a Girl:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygqew4RxIg8[/youtube]
Not exactly a cover, tonight. Or even a traditional mashup (did I just say “traditional mashup?” Eesh.). Rather, it’s yet another cultural intersection piece. The first video is from Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit, and the song is Choli Ke Peeche (What’s Behind that Blouse?):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X4_YZJWWO4[/youtube]
Lyrics here, while you watch. Seriously, check them out – it’s hot. It’s about asking what the other will forsake for her, and her desire for him. Which brings us to the “cover”, the product of some enterprising young person with musical tastes that extend beyond Bollywood:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UVMxjaM2YQ&feature=related[/youtube]
I think it works pretty well, no?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTjKWq9Gges[/youtube]
Facebook is a strange place. Maybe it’s because it’s been 15 years since I’ve discovered what it is to connect with people online that I’ve very little patience for the learning cycles of folks who are (still) new to the concept. Or maybe it’s because I myself am learning something new – that sometimes there’s a good reason you’ve not kept up with people. Have seen a lot of names from high school lately (and yes, on balance, it’s been good, even tho’ it’s never the ones you really wonder about). Throws me back in the playlists. This is the result:
Hoodoo Gurus – Come Anytime
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MAzxtJ-IUQ[/youtube]
Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians – What I Am
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JNkBby9i6g[/youtube]
REM – Pop Song ’89
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXXfAjrqzrQ[/youtube]
Hello, I saw you, I know you, I knew you
I think I can remember your name…name
Hello I’m sorry, I lost myself
I think I thought you were someone else
Should we talk about the weather? (hi…hi, hi)
Should we talk about the government? (hi…hi, hi, hi)
A cover, by definition, offers a new take on the original work.  This is almost always interesting to me, even when it turns out that I prefer the original. Some covers, however, leave me wondering why the second artist even bothered. What surprises me in this case is the success that met the cover – people really dug it. Maybe you will, too. In a reverse from the usual order, I’ll present the cover first – The White Stripes’ 2004 take on Jolene:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE3-q-aoFZI[/youtube]
Now, I’m a fan of Jack White. I’m a fan of gender bending. I’m a fan of Jolene – an amazing song. And yet that struck me as an utter disaster.  Not even close to touching Dolly’s original:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGEubdH8m0s[/youtube]
Saw Slumdog Millionaire last week. It was a fine enough movie – I mostly agree with the review here (particularly the well-shot high-speed travelogue bit). But the soundtrack . . . brilliant. Like, picked it up right after the movie brilliant. It’s been in heavy rotation since, and I thought at least a few of you might appreciate it, too. Here’s one of my favorite tracks:
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