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Category: Music Page 25 of 29

Midweek Makeover: Every Bomb You Drop

By

On August 13, 2008

In Music, Society

The absolutely ridiculous rhetoric we’ve been seeing this week (from *all* corners) over the Russia-Georgia conflict has shocked even this cynic.  Shocked me right back into the 80s.  Apparently no one – especially those who were comfortably ensconced in the US – remembers what a batshit insane time it was, with two very small groups of men holding our continued existence in their hands.  I really thought those lessons were mostly learned.  Apparently not.

Here’s a cover of that time, from Sting.  Do we really need to review this?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A18K7OM7tWA[/youtube]

Every bomb you make
Every job you take
Every heart you break
Every Irish wake
I’ll be watching you

Every war you bill
Everyone you’ve killed
Every grave you fill
All the blood you spill
I’ll be watching you

Oh can’t you see
You belong to me
We are billed to pay
On that judgement day

Every empty plate
Every word of hate
Those you subjugate
Those you violate
I’ll be watching you

Just Walk On By

By

On August 10, 2008

In Music, Personal

. . .

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XIIivxCtzM[/youtube]

10:15/Saturday Night: Just a Girl (at the Olympics)

By

On August 9, 2008

In Cycling, Music

The Olympic women’s road race starts off at 2a EDT tonight (Sunday, actually).  In honor of that, here are some of my favorite tracks from women’s races I’ve hit in the past couple of years.

Tori Amos – Cornflake Girl

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A9PiGyxlhU[/youtube]

The Racontours – Steady, As She Goes

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7aOWIFgIZQ[/youtube]

No Doubt – Just a Girl

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygqew4RxIg8[/youtube]

Weekend Music: The (Other) Children’s Hour

By

On August 8, 2008

In Music

I’ll let you sort the connection.



Weekend Music: Children’s Hour Edition

By

On August 8, 2008

In Music, UK

The plan, at the moment, is to stay up to watch the Olympic men’s road race (cycling), which runs well past 3am EDT.  So given 1) the events of the day, and 2) that I’ll have the time, later, I think I’ll make this a double header.  The first edition will start off with actual children’s songs, from different generations.  The second edition?  More about children than for them.

The first comes from the Animaniacs, and fits well with the Olympic theme I seem to have, today:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDtdQ8bTvRc[/youtube]

The next comes from a special Sesame Street effort by Fiest:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fciD_II7NI[/youtube]

And finally, a song/video that I will always hold near and dear – Rupert and the Frog Song:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auCDOERZyE[/youtube]

Midweek Mythbusting: Running the World

By

On August 6, 2008

In Cycling, Music, Personal, Policy, Politics, Society

The Olympics are already on my nerves, so we’re going to take a brief detour from the weekly makeover.  What happened?  Well, some silly cyclists wore some silly masks when they got off the plane in Beijing, which made everyone act silly (I’m trying to be nice here).  The national coverage and local conversations that followed were not . . . encouraging.  And while all us chickens are pecking at our own little circles, without ever looking up, I’m reminded:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Her2M_zZDEI[/youtube]

Yes, that’s Jarvis Cocker’s Running the World.  Listen to it.  Understand it.  Remember it.  Probably not kid safe, but they’ll learn it soon enough.

10:15/Saturday Night: Bryant Park

By

On August 2, 2008

In Music, Travel

There are, against all standards of decency, occasionally reasons that one has to attend events in the Times Square neighborhood of New York.   There also are, sadly, a dearth of decent hotels in the area.   The W there sucks, and I hope you wouldn’t even consider the Marriott.  The best option, if you must be near, is the Bryant Park Hotel.  And this might be your soundtrack:

Thievery Corporation’s Le Monde, in the lobby:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb8lPWvVMBk[/youtube]

Alizee’s Youpidou, on the dance floor:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeycewNFrtE[/youtube]

And a good late night cover of My Funny Valentine at last call:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fhp9r1B–U[/youtube]

Weekend Music: Critical Mass Edition

By

On August 1, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Music, Ride Report

Just back from my semi-annual check-up on the DC Critical Mass crowd.  Unsuprisingly, DC did not live up/down to the examples recently set in Seattle or NYC.  It was a mostly positive affair that I’ll write more about later.  I’ll say now, tho’, that the hipster simply didn’t represent like I expected them to (in fact, the only clearly ID’able one I saw didn’t take part in the ride at all – he was busy loading his Pista into the back of his . . . SUV! at 14th & R St.).  Anyway, in honor of the evening –

We start with the setting – Dupont Circle at 6pm.  Lily Allen’s LDN is apropos, no?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORosVxIg8Tg[/youtube]

As we get rolling on the ride, I look around to see who’s with us.  All sorts, really, but one stands out.  She may well be proof of time travel, looking like she’d been snatched out of Ready for the World’s Oh Sheila video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SX-vZk5DUY[/youtube]

Props to her, though – could you pedal with 4 inch heels?  No, you could not.  So up and around Thomas Circle, swing across U, and back down to the Capitol.  We crash the party that the local DC skate/rollerblade club had going on.  Much fun, sometimes towing the skaters, sometimes getting pushed.  The guys on the tall bikes (triple stacked!) wanted to try something with the tour buses, but they ran away.  So we were left to:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQVM7jsUlJc[/youtube]

Shortly after, I and a couple of other guys parted ways with the pack, and headed home.  An excellent start to the evening.

Midweek Makeover: Peeling Back the Layers

By

On July 30, 2008

In Music

One of my favorite things is coming across a cover that compels you to look for the original.  In tonight’s example, we have the Black Eyed Peas’ remake of Sergio Mendes’ “Mas Que Nada.”  Whether you can stand the obnoxiousness of the Black Eyed Peas or not, their music has become omnipresent, and it was hard to escape this in the year after it came out:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucD0gTr66ho[/youtube]

When I first heard it, it set off a faint echo of the original.  I must have heard a few times before, but I never really nailed down the artist so I could pick it up.  And so it faded from memory.  And then the cover came out.   To the BEP’s credit, they plainly labeled the original artist (Sergio Mendes) and a quick search yields the original.  Which has to be one of the most stylin’ bits of music I’ve ever heard:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fX0zx9dF6A[/youtube]

10:15/Saturday Night: Expectations Edition

By

On July 26, 2008

In Music, Personal

You know, I’m not sure what I want this to be.  At first, it was going to be all about the Mighty Lemondrops, Cure, Joy Division, etc.  But sometimes I’m just not feeling it.  So, today, you get something very different.  I’ve been poking around the fan remix/”vidding” scene, lately, and came across some great stuff.  Those of you who know, will dig.  Those of you who don’t, well, enjoy the music and the pretty girls.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=MlagO1h3ens[/youtube]

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