As the whole world knows by now, the new Radiohead album was released today, one day early, for download.
Upon first listen, “Lotus Flower” is the song that I kept hitting “repeat” for. And then I saw the video, directed by Garth Jennings and now I am fully obsessed.
Here you go, today’s download. But I’m betting you may have already done that.
I’m back in NYC, where there is gorgeous faux-Spring weather. And nothing says faux-Spring like a little romance. Since it’s common knowledge that romance always goes best with a great guitar lick, here’s Mickey & Sylvia’s “Love Is Strange.”
In a month or two, once full blown Spring happens, I’ll post one of my favorite sexxxxxxxy songs by a solo Sylvia….because nothing says full-blown Spring like doing “it.”
Mi Madre
One of my earliest memories is my mother singing “Besame Mucho” over and over again. Today is her birthday and in Margauxville, this momentous occasion is marked with my personal favorite version of the song by Cesaria Evora.
I’m giving everyone that birthday gift, right here.
¡Feliz cumpleaños, Mami!
I know people will think today’s song is a joke post, but it’s not. I admit that Kevin Federline’s “America’s Most Hated” may have started off that way to me way back when, but over the years, I’ve come to love it. For reals yo.
Check it. And if you do want to make fun of it, the lyrics will definitely help you out.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Because this day lends itself to ‘pairs,’ there are two songs for today: The Shangri-Las’ “GIve Him a Great Big Kiss” and The New York Dolls’ “Looking for a Kiss.” They may seem unrelated on first glance, but just wait. Opposites attract music-wise, too.
Of course, they’re both New York City related, because, as you must be fully aware by now, NYC is my true Valentine.
The Shangri-Las were the tough, bad girls of the girl group era. They were two sets of sisters, not at all demure, and came from the rather rough neighborhood of Cambria Heights, Queens. At the height of their popularity, they were touring with The Beatles and The Zombies and were doing ads for Revlon. One of their touring backing bands, The Fabulous Iguanas, included a really young Iggy Pop on drums. Pretty cool.
They are a real link to the punk era. They’ve been cited as influences by countless bands and covered by or referenced in songs by Blondie, The Go-Gos, The Damned, The Slits, Sonic Youth, Superchunk, Belle and Sebastian, Amy Winehouse and a ton of others. It’s actually pretty amazing. In the 70s, they reunited for brief stint, recording (but not releasing) songs for Seymour Stein’s Sire Records and even played CBGBs.
And of course they were dear to The New York Dolls. I don’t need to tell you how influential a band they were. “Looking for a Kiss,” is from their (amazing!) first album and that perfect opening line of “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” is lifted here, in equal perfection.
So, Happy Valentine’s Day. Download them here and here.
Here’s how my mind works: it was really hot earlier, crazy hot, and I was flipping through heat songs in my head. As I was doing so, I got tired and decided to rest. And then I thought, maybe Small Faces “Lazy Sunday” would be a good call.
But then, because I am hoping not to repeat artists (although I haven’t yet committed to that), I thought, “Well, if I’m going to do Small Faces, I’d rather share ‘Itchykoo Park,’ since I love that song more.”
And so, without further ado, “Itchykoo Park.” Don’t just download the song here. Also watch the video. Priceless.
Today, still far away from New York, I had “The Sea” by Morcheeba in my head. And just now, as I was writing this, I discovered that they’re playing tonight in NYC at Irving Plaza. Weird.
Not the sea I saw today, but the sea I see everyday in my mind.
If you have a seashell in your house, put it up to your ear. I think you’ll hear this.
I’m out of the country for a short trip and I have far dodgier internet than I had hoped. I’m sure all my legions of fans would be devastated if my post-a-day didn’t happen, so I’ll be sending special prayers out to the World Wide Web God. Maybe you could do the same.
But back to the point. A vacation! I don’t even remember the last time I did something crazy like take off a few days. Cibo Matto obviously gets the nod today. So while I have a strong internet connection, here’s their awesome “Working for Vacation.”
Enjoy!
I was supposed to be at this totally awesome Neil Young Tribute at Carnegie Hall tonight. Instead, a friend of mine will be there. Hopefully with a Flipcam. Since I can’t be there in person, I have to have my own personal tribute and listen to Neil Young all day.
Once I drove from Florida to South Carolina and only listened to one song on repeat the entire time. Granted it’s a 14 minute song, but still, that’s a ton of times. The trip was CRAZY and I will undoubtedly write about it on my real blog one day, but for now, I will give you the song in question, “Change Your Mind.”
“Change Your Mind” as a concept is near and dear to my heart, both about my own mind and about others’. As a song, it’s hypnotic and incredibly overlooked. I don’t understand why. Judge for yourself, here.
©Paul McDonough
Earlier today, I came across some photos of New York City in the ’70s today that blew me away. Unfortunately, I discovered these photos by Paul McDonough after his most recent show ended, but check them out – they’re amazing.
As anyone who’s been reading me knows, there’s pretty much nothing I love more than New York City. (You can read some of my love stories to New York here and here.)
And, because I love you as well, Gil Scott-Heron’s wonderful “New York City” (circa 1970s) is downloadable right here.
margauxville 