While the Avett Brothers have been around for quite awhile, they’ve only recently enjoyed success on a larger scale. It’s too bad that it’s only happening now…these guys are so amazing.
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Author Archives: Winston LaGrange
In light of PMK’s excellent birthday song choice, I will also pick a birthday song! Enjoy.
PMK’s recent posting of Weezer covering Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” got me thinking about covers, one of my favorite manifestations of music. Ranging from the extremely creative and excellent to the “Dear God, make it stop” variety, covers always offer up something interesting, much like a car accident. Well, only if it’s bad. Never mind.
A personal favorite is Richard Thompson’s variation on “Season of the Witch,” originally by Donovan.
You like System of a Down? I sure do.
You like Legos? Who doesn’t?!
Then you’re sure to enjoy System of a Lego.
Whenever I hear of celebrities trying their hands at music, I always get a bit squeamish. I instantly hear Eddie Murphy singing “Party All the Time” and then I can’t stop myself from doing “The Carlton”. Needless to say, I get strange looks when this happens.
On the other hand, there are some definite success stories (and I’m specifically not talking about Scarlett Johnansson covering Tom Waits). Phantom Planet, which featured Jason Schwartzman at one time, wasn’t half bad. Zooey Deschanel’s has enjoyed moderate indie success playing in the group She & Him.
Then there’s Dead Man’s Bones featuring Ryan Gosling of Half Nelson-fame. Check out the track below, My Body’s a Zombie for You (recorded in conjunction with the Flea-pioneered Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir). Apart from the content of the song, which initially enticed me to check it out, it’s good stuff!
It is, in fact, Friday, and while I need to take this Internet meme outside and drown it in a garbage can, I can’t let it die. Like a victim of Stockholm syndrome, I feel compelled to defend every possible version of this song. So here we go. And I’m sorry. So, so sorry.
[Disclaimer: This is old news.]
When I heard that Harmony Korine of Kids fame was making a movie starring the South African Zef phenomenon, Die Antwoord, I was dubious. Then I saw the film. I’m fairly certain that Harmony Korine has a machine of some sort that records the dreams of Die Antwoord’s Ninja and Yo-landi Vi$$er and then translates them into film. You be the judge.
Also, not suitable for work.
In light of the imminent apocalypse (more “information” on the May 21st doomsday can be found here), I thought that this public service announcement would behoove us all. Enjoy, but more importantly, learn.
We all know that beans and cornbread have a delicious relationship. But was it always so? Find out for yourself. And I challenge you not to tap those toes.
On May 11th, we celebrated the 110th birthday of Robert Johnson, the grandfather of the Delta Blues. Wait a minute…if Muddy Waters was the grandfather, then I guess that makes Mr. Johnson…the great-grandfather?
Either way, there’s no way anyone can listen to Johnson and not feel a weird sense of transported history. Apart from his palpable contribution to Americana, he also brings with him an amazing body of folklore.
* * *
Just now, I was trying to see how much I could figure out about Robert Johnson via Wikipedia. You know what?!? Robert Johnson didn’t care about Wikipedia. He was a man of the swamps. (It should be noted at this point that nothing I write can be corroborated.)
From what I heard, there were only 2 or 3 legitimate photos of Robert Johnson taken that still exist today. To boot, he sold his soul to the Devil at a crossroads. In my book, that’s pretty B.A. and I think that Mr. Danzig would concur.
And so, we salute you, Mr. Johnson. May your laments be the music to which we imbibe.
If you don’t listen to the track below, you’re an asshole. And you hate Robert Johnson.
Station 18 1/2 