W♥M (Archive)

Back to Back Ass Kicking: Steroid Maximus and The Red Elvises

Having already cluttered up my own journal with musical reminisces, I thought I would stick my head in here and bring you something from the flip side of Monday.  This week, I'm mellow and well rested, but most of the time, I need hearty helpings of bitterness, anger, and Vietnamese iced coffee (whistles innocently) to get me going.

For that I give you Steroid Maximus and The Red Elvises.

Venture Bros: Brock+Hunter

Chain Reaction

Steroid Maximus started out as a side project for Foetus' J.G. Thirwell to do strictly instrumental tracks and was introduced to me as the "Kick-Ass 60's Spy Movie" music genre.  At this point, though, you're probably much more familiar with J. G. Thirwell's work doing the soundtrack for Venture Bros, which has (as far as I can tell) totally replaced his need to actually make more albums under the moniker.  A lot of the existing Steroid Maximus discography appears in the first season of the show.  The included clip doesn't really showcase the music so much, but it does have Brock Samson's transsexual mentor and Nick Fury/Hunter Thompson knock off.  And really, isn't that just what you need on Monday?

Boogie On The Beach

Six String Samurai - Buddy vs. The Pin Pals

The Red Elvises are best known for their work on the soundtrack of Six String Samurai, and the film seems to be the pinnacle of achievement for both the band, and the director.  After the soundtrack and I Wanna See You Bellydance, the Red Elvises slipped into a period of bad dance music which would make the baby Jesus cry.  The never gave up, though, so by their most recent album, they may have emerged from this terrible stupor and started rocking again.  Lance Mungia, on the other hand, somehow got attached to an ill conceived Crow 4 with Angel's David Boreanaz, Edward Furlong, and ever-present bad-assed character actor Danny Trejo.  They have all seem to have found work after this monstrosity, but as near as I can tell Lance himself was beaten about the head and neck and then left to die, as his famous character was, just outside of Las Vegas.

--W.

Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus

 

 

Depeche Mode LA Signing (1989)

 

Rhino Records, in association with Reprise/Sire, released all of Depeche Mode's albums in a deluxe format, similar to all the Cure and R.E.M. re-issues that you may have seen in stores.

I've only got Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion on these deluxe package, and both DVDs have a retrospective documentry on the respective albums plus 5.1 and Stereo mix of the album's songs plus extra b-sides and oddities. Extra details for the audio nerds: DTS 5.1 (24bit/96k)/Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (24bit/48k)/PCM Stereo.

Although these re-releases are nice, they are also quite pricey (retails for $24.98), I don't really recommend them unless you're a hardcore fan or if you're a deluxe collector. Oh, I have to also point out that the album's been "remastered".

 

 

Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus

So the video that I've picked out to show is from the infamous Wherehouse Records (remember those stores????) signing in Los Angeles. It attracted more than 15,000 fans! If you watch the news footage, that looked INSANE.

Depeche Mode was supposed to be there for a guarantee four hours of signing, but came and went very quickly, because by that time, the crowd was going to burst into a near-riot situation (they had to call in the riot police).

PS, expect a "Enjoy the Silence" coverama over at cover lover soonish!

jaklumen wrote: Apr 30, 2007 at 6:55 PM PM

[this is good] By the way, depechemode.com is maintained by Daniel "Brat" Barassi, who's been on the BONG mailing list for years now and is well-known for his seemingly bottomless collection on all things DM.

You can access the mailing list, and get details on the MODEified project (cover songs produced by fans) at www.commline.com. Head on over and say hi to Rob and BRAT, among some other great DM fans.

As for the deluxe edition remasters, I've been tempted to replace my copy of "Music For The Masses" with one of them since my copy is badly scratched. $25 doesn't seem too bad for all the extra material-- but then, I'm a pretty hardcore fan.

vu Links: www.depechemode.com | www.depeche-mode.com | www.rhino.com

The Icicles

RELEASES [2001] Pure Sugar EP [2005] A Hundred Patterns [Apr 2007] Arrivals & Departures COMPILATIONS [2005] Cwistmas Twee Compilation [2005] Microindie Sampler [Jan 2007] Patty Duke Fanzine Compilation discography courtesy of theicicles.com

The Icicles - Margie

If you like sugar sweet indie pop, you really should check out the Icicles. They're from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and they've just released a second album called Arrivals & Departures (13 April 2007), which I don't have yet.

I did check out their e-card and the samples are pretty good. I believe, judging from the new pictures, that they did gain a new member in the band. (It's hard to tell because they don't have a wikipedia page - someone please get on this!)

The Icicles - I Wanna Know

You can download "La Ti Da" (a song from the new album Arrivals & Departures) on their website, as well as some other songs they've released for free. The radio live song is very low quality - so I don't recommend listening to it.

According to the band's biography page, they've mentioned that they sound/influenced by The Concretes, Camera Obscura, Heavenly, The Softies and Tiger Trap.

PS, because you're buying almost directly from the band (via Microindie Records), the cost for a full length is pretty cheap at $10 per album.  I've bought stuff from microindie in the past, they usually ship right away and you get your package in two or three days depending on where you live.

vu Links: www.theicicles.com | www.myspace.com/theicicles | www.fanaticpromotion.com

Tying Tiffany - LCD Soundsystem is Playing at my House

RELEASES [2005] Undercover [May 2006] Honey Doll (12" only) [Aug 2006] I'm Not a Peach (radio promo) COMPILATIONS [2005] L'Inde² Le Palais - Extreme Metissage [Nov 2005] Full Body Workout vol.2 [2006] Future-Clash (Progression 1) [Jul 2006] Ocean Dark Selection 2.0 [Nov 2006] Air V - Jeux Dangereux [Mar 2007] The Air Collection discography courtesy of discogs.com

 

 

Tying Tiffany - LCD Soundsystem is Playing at my House

Tying Tiffany

Have you noticed that the vox search engine's improved? It searches both tags & text now.

I'm sure you have all heard of LCD Soundsytem's "Daft Punk is Playing at my House" (listen to the original: shugobot and the remix: xanadistic & devin306).

Have you heard of this song called "LCD Soundsystem is Playing at my House"? I thought it was a cover song, but it's more like an electro-dance-stripper song. It's actually a pretty good song, I put it on a compiliation CD mix to a friend and he couldn't stop listening to this track.

The song is by a Suicide Girl called Tying Tiffany, from Italy. I was doing "research" on the suicide girls website and I noticed that she posted on her blog on March 21, 2007 @ 08:05 AM that her new album is done and that it will be released by I Scream Records. I couldn't see the album artwork (if that is the picture she posted?) because I don't have a paid account.

 

Honey Doll

 

vu Links: www.tyingtiffany.com | www.myspace.com/tyingtiffanyy | suicidegirls.com

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Ode to a Superhero

 

 

Emo Philips on UHF

This entry is in response to Jason's Emo Philips entry. Emo made a guest appearance on "Weird Al" Yankovic's film UHF (1989). I am including the video clip - enjoy the blood!

Plus, this Weird Al song is fitting for anticipation of the new Spider-Man movie and that whole "Ode to..." thing. The song is a reconstruction of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel, which I'm sure you've all heard. But in case you haven't, here's a direct link to Billy Joel - Piano Man (I had to give you the direct link because it requires you have to login to listen to it - but you can get around this by disabling scripts).

I've been listening to Weird Al since Dare to Be Stupid and I can tell you that Weird Al writes two kind of songs: the parody and tribute songs. I like his tribute stuff, which is almost all original music and idea. For instance, "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" is kind of a rip off of Harry Chapin's 30,000 Pounds of Bananas.

Weird Al's other style is, which is what he's best known for, are the parodies of popular songs. The only thing that's smiliar are the music, everything else is pretty much original. This "Ode to a Superhero", "The Saga Begins" ("American Pie") and "Amish Paradise" ("Gangsta Paradise") are some of my favorites.

 

 

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Ode to a Superhero

Weird Al Yankovic

So, anyway, trivia time: Weird Al changed his trademark looks of mustache and glasses around 2000. He got LASIK eye surgery and shaved his mustache so now he looks pretty normal. He actually looks creepily strange because I'm too used to his geek look.

Weird Al is also one of the few artists that understand and have adopted to the series of tubes that is called the internets. He released a song called "Don't Download this Song" (which is legally available for download) which poked fun at the RIAA... but also brings up the trouble of the digital era.

I leave you with this Q&A with Al for June 28, 2006:

Tim Sloane of Ijamsville, MD asks: Al, which of these purchasing methods should I use in order to make sure the most profit gets to you: Buying one of your albums on CD, or buying one of your albums on iTunes?
I am extremely grateful for your support, no matter which format you choose to legally obtain my music in, so you should do whatever makes the most sense for you personally. But since you ASKED… I actually do get significantly more money from CD sales, as opposed to downloads. This is the one thing about my renegotiated record contract that never made much sense to me. It costs the label NOTHING for somebody to download an album (no manufacturing costs, shipping, or really any overhead of any kind) and yet the artist (me) winds up making less from it. Go figure.

DISCOGRAPHY [1983] "Weird Al" Yankovic [1984] "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D [1985] Dare to Be Stupid [1986] Polka Party! [1988] Even Worse [1988] "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits [1989] UHF [1992] Off the Deep End [1993] The Food Album [1993] Alapalooza [1994] Permanent Record: Al In The Box [1994] Greatest Hits Volume II [1995] The TV Album [1996] Bad Hair Day [1999] Running With Scissors [2003] Poodle Hat [2006] Straight Outta Lynwood discography courtesy of wikipedia.org

 

vu Links: www.weirdal.com | www.dontdownloadthissong.com

Liked Jaymay? How about Erin McKeown

Shakespeares got a gun

A couple of years ago, I bought some tickets to go see Dan Bern.  I'd never bought one of his albums but a good friend kept sending me bootlegs of unreleased stuff and the crap to quality ratio finally hit the point that I thought that if I saw him live, I'd probably get to hear a bunch of really fun stuff.  I mean, how could I not after listening to a song like "Shakespeare's Got a Gun"?  Really, that one is just the tip of a very small icerberg.

In person Dan Bern seemed to be shitfaced and self indulgent in the sort of way you can be when you're up at three in the morning on a college campus talking about current events, and I was would have felt totally burned (pun only slightly intended) by the whole experience, if Erin McKeown hadn't opened up for him.

Grand is a less introspective-folky and more early rock 'n' roll, expository album than her previous ones, and I think long time fans took it as the harbinger of an eventual sell-out (which may or may not have happened on We Will Become Like Birds but I've talked to fans of that one, too).  Still, I like the album from wall to wall, and I heartily recommend it and her. 

--W.

Slung-Lo

Erin McKeown

Ode to Billie Joe

 

Castillo Kids - Ode to Billie Joe

This is part of a series of "lots of covers" of the same song that I'm doing. The first was Moon River and the second is Dream a Little Dream. I am told there is a Miss Piggy version of "Dream a Little Dream", which would've been nice to go with the Muppets Movie entry earlier.

So, we have here today, Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe". I don't think I know too many movies that were adapted from a pop song, but this song was made into "Ode to Billy Joe" (note the spelling of "Billie").

If you listen to the song, you can speculate that the character was secretly seeing Billie Joe. Her family was discussing his suicide at the Tallahatchie Bridge over dinner. The song never quite tells you why he killed himself, but the movie tried to explain why (I won't tell you since it will spoil the movie if you haven't already seen it).

So here's some covers of this popular song. I will quickly go over them:

• Castillo Kids' version is pretty cute. They're 13, 10, and 8 years old. Their influences include The Beatles, Spongebob Squarepants and Pokemon.
• Bobbie Gentry is the original singer and songwriter. This song basically put her on the map.
• Bobbie Joe Spears has a Country-Western take on the song.
• Jill Sobule is best known for her "I Kissed a Girl" song. She wrote a tribute song to Bobbie Gentry, naturally called "Bobbie Gentry". But unlike Beth Orton's song (which is misspelled as "Bobby Gentry"), Sobule's version stole the music and rhythem from "Ode..."
• Sinead O'Connor decided it was best that this Southern song be transported to Ireland, where there is a Celtic feel to the music. I can't really picture Sinead in the harsh cotton fields, if you ask me.
• Lee Hazelwood is one of the rare guy-singer to take on this song (since the song looks like it was from the perspective of a girl).
• Sheryl Crow, well according to this live song, she claimed that she is influenced by Gentry.
• The Enoch Light Singers is the most DIFFERENT of all these covers. What was originally a sad song about the suicide of Bobbie Joe is now a delightful-feel-good-song of the year. Too strange!
• Wayne & Wax mashup is an interesting take because it took Tommy McCook and Lou Donaldson's version of "Ode..." and put it together with the original song. The result is a very slowed down version. I don't really like it as much because it feels artificial, but it's worth checking out.

Bobbie Gentry - Ode To Billie Joe

Jill Sobule - Bobbie Gentry

Sinead O'Connor - Ode to Billie Joe

Billie Joe Spears - Ode To Billie Joe

 

 

Wayne and Wax - Odes to Billie Joe

Sheryl Crow - Ode to Billie Joe

The Enoch Light Singers - Ode To Billie Joe

Lee Hazlewood - Ode to Billie Joe

 

vu Links: wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbie_Gentry

 

A Group Called Smith

Let's Get Together

Smith

I discovered this band first a few years back when I was going through a friend's record collection. Gayle MacCormick's vocals blew me right out of the water on first listen, and I was completely shocked to find they were a one-record wonder kind of band.

But man, what a record. It opens up (after a 20-second lead in, so if you click and there's no audio, give it a second or twenty) with a bluesy, soul rock rendition of "Everybody Get Together," here titled "Let's Get Together." Where the original was an anthem for its time, Smith's version just kicks butt.

Baby It's You

Smith

Then just recently when I was watching Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse: Death Proof, there's a stellar scene in a bar where Jungle Julia does a seductive little hair-dance in front of the jukebox to none other than "Baby, It's You." But hold a tick, that's not the Beatles or The Shirelles going to town -- it's Smith. Probably my favorite rendition of the song. Listen out for Gayle's incredible voice belting "Baby, it's you!" around the 2:37 mark. 

All around, a fantastic rock record from 1969. Sad to say, it's a bit on the hard side to find -- it's going for as little as $88.88 USD on Amazon. I was lucky enough to adopt my friend's recording, but I've seen a couple records floating around thrift shops and Salvation Army locations. But if you do find one, don't miss it.

--Gus

News: The Pipettes Announced North American Tour

 

 

The Pipettes - Your Kisses are Wasted on Me

 

 

The Pipettes - Your Guitars Are Wasted On Me

Everybody's favorite girl-trio just announced their North American tour and special US-only EP. And guess what ???? They are NOT SKIPPING MINNESOTA! Unbelievable! The 7th Street Entry is a TINY venue, there's probably only a maximum of 200 people in before they break some sort of fire code.

Anyway, their limited tour dates:

June 1 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
June 2 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
June 3 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
June 4 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
June 5 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
June 7 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
June 8 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
June 10 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
June 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
June 12 - San Francisco, CA - Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop
June 14 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
June 15 - Vancouver, BC - Plaza Club

And for an added bonus here is the cover to The Pipettes EP "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me" out on June 5th!

The sad news? "We Are The Pipettes" LP will not be domestically released until August 28th (even though all the hardcore fans probably already have a copy!) :/

Since they are releasing Kisses, I have include two different versions of this song. I sort of like the Guitars version.

vu Links: www.thepipettes.co.uk

Arrah and the Ferns - Emo Philips

Emo Philips

Arrah and the Ferns

In 2005, Arrah Fisher and Carl Stovner signed up for an open mic. The only problem was they didn't have any songs written nor did they even have a name. So, they quickly wrote some tunes and asked their vegan buddy David Segedy if he wanted to join. He agreed and they came up with a band name, Arrah and the Ferns (I couldn't find how they concocted the name). They released their debut last year on Standard Recording.

They kind of remind me of Those Transatlantics, The Hush Sound, and Belle & Sebastian (those are the first bands that came to mind when I first listened to the album, so if there are other artists they sound like, go ahead and post what you think). They describe themselves as "a three piece folk/pop band from Muncie Indiana who play guitars, drums, bells, recorders, saxophones, wurlitzers and banjo-lins (half mandolin half banjo) in the hopes of making people dance, smile, and maybe even feel a little better about life."

They recorded a live show that's apparently available on DVD but you can only purchase it at a store called Village Green Records in Muncie, Indiana. There's a stream on Musicnation.com featuring a live video of "Emo Philips" from that show. It's also on YouTube, but they mentioned that the aspect ratio got messed up due to the 'tube not recognizing widescreen/letterbox videos and converts them to 4:3.

The song "Emo Philips" is named after a Canadian comedian by the same name, but it's not about him. Arrah explains the story behind it on The Good Beer Show podcast around 26:50 into it.

Jason :: Official Site | MySpace | iTunes | Amazon | Demos and Live Show | Sonic Bids Press Kit