The Not-Pop Jukebox

Housequake - Prince

2012-01-29T20:03:00.001-06:00

I greatly admire Prince, under certain circumstances. Generally those involve him holding a guitar. Housequake is not one of those circumstances.

With that said, the awful lyrics and cheesy loops of this song come together to make me laugh every time. Part of it is the squeezed, lemme-in-the-bathroom way he says "shut up" right at the beginning, part if the reference to green eggs and ham, and part is just how very, very dumb this song is.

It's like a perfect little portrait of Prince: outsized attitude with enough good stuff to keep you listening. Every time you're ready to toss it out the window another quip or flip of arrogance makes you pull your hand back for one more chance. Or does it not work that way for you?

Housequake by Prince on Grooveshark

Texas Kinda Attitude - Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

2012-01-27T18:27:00.002-06:00

In truth I wanted to post the Maryann Price cover of Texas Kinda Attitude with its quirky rhythms and jazzy chops but Grooveshark and YouTube both failed me. Heck, even the woman's own site wouldn't play the clip it promised.

And so I'm giving you the original Dan Hicks version, Hot Licks and all. I'm not sure what else to say about Texas Kinda Attitude except that the image of the very first line caught me and I had to listen to the rest. It's not my usual thing but I thing it's well worth a listen (or two).

Texas Kinda Attitude by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks on Grooveshark

The Tiki Bar Is Open - John Hiatt

2012-01-26T18:44:00.001-06:00

I know it's only Thursday but it's been a long week. Let's pop out for a drink, shall we? John Hiatt told me that The Tiki Bar Is Open, which sounds like just the thing. Maybe later we can go get a shot of Tanqueray.

The Tiki Bar Is Open is, in fact, a rockin', bluesy, country-flavored song about drowning your sorrows, finding companionship, and generally celebrating the joys of stopping for a bump on a sorrowful day. Before you start thinking it's a song promoting alcoholism, consider the last verse that points out that drinking is no solution and he hasn't had one for seventeen years. This is about going to the bar, not getting drunk.

This is the title track from the man's sixteenth album, out more than ten years, yet one that completely flew under my radar. If you listen to the whole thing you'll realize the real reason he's seeking out the tiki bar: he's mourning Dale Earnhardt. I know, I didn't see it coming, either.

That doesn't make this any less of an awesome song. Have a listen and let me know if you're as glad as I am that The Tiki Bar Is Open.

The Tiki Bar Is Open by John Hiatt on Grooveshark

Who's Gonna Take the Weight - The Haggis Horns

2012-01-25T19:09:00.000-06:00

You don't generally see terms like "Scottish" and "jazz-funk" together but that's what I've got for you today, my dears. The Haggis Horns have played with tons of famous people but they don't need some famous front-person to make you groove. I've chosen their cover of Kool & the Gang's Who's Gonna Take the Weight to share because it's a showcase kind of tune and because I could share the original, too.

Not only that but I found another sort-of-cover to throw onto the stack (hands up, those who remember stacking records on your turntable). Have a listen to the very different take that Groove Terminator offers, more electro-funk with hip hop sauce. I wish I could have found an album version of the Kool & the Gang original but the intro verbiage does explain the meaning of Who's Gonna Take the Weight and pretty well shows you that this predicament in which the world finds itself is nothing new. The live version comes from the late 70s!

Do tell me what you think, of any of the versions but particularly of The Haggis Horns. And, as a plug and an observation, Google + has turned into a prime source of new music for me, both in mentions from others and people sending me their stuff to review. If you've been avoiding joining a new social network, do give it a chance.

Ca Chante - SMOD

2012-01-23T19:10:00.001-06:00

What do you get when you combine three rappers from Mali with Manu Chao? Songs like Ca Chante that are not only in French but make you smile even when you aren't altogether sure what they're saying.

I don't know if I'd love this song quite as much if it weren't for the guy saying "whee!" in the background. I just picture some guy on a trampoline, listening to this song and bouncing in time. And, of course, there's the lovely guitars and the way their voices work together on the chorus. That's good, too.

Now, it just so happens that one of SMOD happens to be Sam, whose parents are Amadou & Miriam, deservedly famous in their own right. It's like the perfect world music trifecta, brought to you in full living color through the wonderfulness of YouTube. Isn't it great to be alive now?

I Learned to Dance in Mississippi - SCOTS

2012-01-22T13:40:00.000-06:00

How about an autobiographical number for today, one about learning to dance at Junior Kimbrough’s juke-joint in a Southern US state that shan't remain nameless. That's what you get with Southern Culture on the Skids with I Learned to Dance in Mississippi.

You also get a rollicking jam that makes you want to travel down to Mississippi and learn to dance there yourself. Well, it does me. In lieu of that trip I just chair dance vehemently or get the kids and have a little dance party in the living room. I highly recommend it for a snowy, blowy Sunday afternoon like this one. It's just the thing to take the chill off after a snowball fight...or during one.

I Learned to Dance in Mississippi by Southern Culture On The Skids on Grooveshark

Spoonful - Etta James & Harvey Fuqua

2012-01-20T19:59:00.001-06:00

Normally I'm not a bandwagon jumper but, in case you hadn't heard, Etta James died today at the age of 73. She's been such a part of my musical life over the years that I feel it's only right to share something more than At Last to help others remember just how amazing she was.

Spoonful, a duet with Harvey Fuqua about whom you hear almost nothing, gives you a good showcase of both her well-known voice and her style. She performed everything from Motown and blues to pop and gospel and spanned from naughty to nice. And Spoonful straddles a line that lands a bit on the naughty side but runs straight through Motown and blues to early-60s pop.

So spare a moment to remember Etta James and some of the other great voices that no longer bring us such treats. And then spare another to look for a new one that deserves some love, too.

Spoonful (feat. Harvey Fuqua) by Etta James on Grooveshark

Mashup of the Month: Addicted to White Lines - A Plus D

2012-01-19T12:49:00.000-06:00

Let's go old-school for January's MotM: Grandmaster Flash's wonderful, iconic White Lines, the 80s smash hit Addicted to Love from Robert Palmer, and Protection's (admittedly less-old-school) Protection mashed by the proto-mashers A Plus D.

Here they've taken two pillars of their genres of yesteryear and swirled them through the soup of a cheesy pop song from five years ago to make something that elevates the pop to art. Well, okay, not art. But it's a fantastic mix of old and new pop with the arms of early hip hop holding it all together.

Naturally, you can download Addicted to White Lines and a whole pile of other fantastic stuff for free from A Plus D's Bootie Mashup download page. If you're like me you'll spent an hour listening to and picking up half the songs on the page if you don't already have most of them. Rang-dang-diggity-dang-dang indeed.

Addicted To White Lines (Grandmaster Flash vs. Protection vs. Robert Palmer) by A plus D on Grooveshark

Revolting Cover Songs

2012-01-18T19:27:00.001-06:00

Let's go back to WTF song territory, today. While I salute Revolting Cocks for an excellent punk band name, hitting all the right buttons, I'm not a huge fan. Well, I may have listened to Beers, Steers, and Queers a few dozen times but other than that I don't know much about them.

I don't know much, that is, except their deliciously bizarre cover songs. The only thing that would improve the Revolting Cocks cover of Do Ya Think I'm Sexy would be Rod Stewart actually singing with them, for instance, particularly the part where the lead singer actually laughs at himself. They turned Let's Get Physical from a cheesy bit of arobicized fluff into a really creepy song that MC Randumb and Jewish Dave might cover one day.

And then there's their cover of Me So Horny. If you know me at all you know I'm a sucker for genre-bending covers. This one takes the original to a bizarre, Revolting place so wrong it's right. And so I'm sharing all three covers with you all today. I just couldn't pick my favorite. If you can, drop me a note and let me know!

Revolting Covers by legbamel on Grooveshark

Inception - Spekulation

2012-01-16T20:44:00.001-06:00

If you missed my recent post about Spekulation you'll have to visit that one to see what I said about him. That's because every album I find (or, in this case, am sent) offers a different sound. In the case of his newest release, a self-titled album that's half rap and remix and half instrumentals from the same songs, it's another new ballgame.

You can name your price on bandcamp but I thought I'd share my favorite song from the album. This one's less remix and more what I liked so much about "The Bite": actual instruments. And, yes, this album also includes Jason Parker on the trumpet.

Being one of those people who refuses to see a movie if its a main topic of conversation, I've never seen Inception so I don't know how much the music owes to the movie. I do know that I like it and the lyrics as well. The lines "I may not catch mine but I'll never chase yours" really hit home with me.

Inception by Spekulation

Girls - Acollective

2012-01-15T17:17:00.000-06:00

Let's have some great indie music today. Israeli group Acollective has been kind enough to draw my attention to their album "Onwards", released in March of 2011. While the slower songs drag a bit for my high-bpm tastes, I found an awful lot to enjoy on this album. Girls, with its tuba-driven oom-pah and its images of sleeping alone, immediately caught my attention.

I'll likely post more from Acollective after I've had a few more listens to the album but I wanted to share with you all. You can pick up the whole 13-song album for $10 on their bandcamp site, linked below. Don't miss "Whisky Eyes" if you'd like to try before you buy.

Girls by Acollective

Shut Your Mouth - MC Randumb and Jewish Dave

2012-01-14T17:17:00.000-06:00

Today's song requires a bit of explanation, lest you watch it expecting something...gangsta. Shut Your Mouth (Or You're Gonna Get Murdered) is the first single off of the New Year's release "Songs in the Key of Murder" from the self-named murder rap duo MC Randumb and Jewish Dave.

Now, the whole point as I understand it, is to take violent and misogynistic rap to utter extremes. The Vegas-based gents have their tongues firmly in their cheeks but the language and imagery would be horrible for kids (and your boss) so watch where you play this.

The video for Shut Your Mouth (Or You're Gonna Get Murdered), on the other hand, takes the more-subtle humor of their sound and shoves it right in your eye. Considering how badly a lot of "stars" lip-synch I think this approach actually might catch on. Then the divas can stop pretending to sing and focus on jiggling around in bikinis like they're getting paid to do.

Whoops! I think MC Randumb and Jewish Dave got me all hyped up and ready to battle. At any rate, you can pick up the entire, foul-mouthed, eight-miles-over-the-top album at cdbaby or at iTunes. Just...don't listen to Murder 4 Fun without your headphones. And don't borrow Dave's.

Unvisible Zed - Gogol Bordello

2012-01-13T19:42:00.000-06:00

I seem to be lost in WTF Song Land these days. (Just wait until tomorrow, when we go back to murder!) For today let's have something a little more lighthearted: Unvisible Zed who Gogol Bordello has enjoying unintentional stripteases and fathering unvisible children.

You really have to listen to the lyrics on this one. Zed's a naughty man and his progression from Peeping Tom to baby-daddy makes for a pretty entertaining story. As ever, Gogol Bordello makes the music as least as much fun as the lyrics. Bonus!

Unvisible Zed by Gogol Bordello on Grooveshark

How Come My Dog Don't Bark - Dr. John

2012-01-11T17:38:00.001-06:00

I offer you today a song that goes from a silly, goofy little version of The Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime across a cheatin' heart and into psychotic, murderous territory. This version of How Come My Dog Don't Bark (When You Come Around) comes from Dr. John but it's a cover of the Prince Partridge original.

The song starts with a suspicion: I have the meanest dog ever but for some reason he lets you in the yard without a fuss. It's over-the-top with examples of how nasty this hound really is. And then the truth comes out: I've been spying on my yard and I've seen you and my wife. And my dog.

But then it takes a screeching left turn and descends into death threats both detailed and explicit. It might be one thing if they were simply against the betraying friend but the dog and the wife get treatment almost as bad. What I thought was a light-hearted song turned out to be something much darker.

Let me know if you find Dr. John's version of How Come My Dog Don't Bark (When You Come Around) as creepy as I do. Am I overreacting or do you find it surprising that anyone, much less a number of lesser-known bands that you can find on YouTube, would cover this song?

How Come My Dog Don't Bark (When You Come Around) by Dr. John on Grooveshark

Vitenam - The Tontons

2012-01-07T13:38:00.002-06:00

The Tontons have been around for a while, appearing at SXSW as far back as 2008 when they released their first EP. (Hey, that's four years, now!) But their 5-song release in October, 2011, "Golden", marks a much more polished and--dare I say--pretty sound.

The title track is great but Vietnam is the song to which I keep going back for more. Thus I'm sharing it with you today. You can pick up the whole set for $5 from their BandCamp profile, and it's well worth the investment. They offer enough horns, strings, and lyrical interest to stand out as up-and-coming in the indie world. Take a few minutes to check them out and do let me know what you think.

Vietnam by The Tontons

Let It Whip - Dazz Band

2012-01-06T12:21:00.000-06:00

In 1982, Dazz Band released what many likely think was their one and only hit: Let It Whip. Clearly they've forgotten Joystick from a year later but let's focus on one songs at a time, here. Let It Whip brought them massive radio play and a Grammy and it's the song for which they are best known.

For me, this song falls in a nostalgic category occupied by Earth, Wind, & Fire, KC & the Sunshine Band, and a whole pile of other disco funk. But as my life edged into the 80s this sound expanded to include people like Midnight Star.

Dazz Band bridges the disco-to-80s-music transition and Let It Whip exemplifies that slide. (Not the Electric Slide, silly!) And so I offer it to you today, for you edification or guilty-pleasure remembrance. Happy Friday!

Let It Whip by Dazz Band on Grooveshark

Love Me Like a Rock - Paul Simon

2012-01-05T17:58:00.001-06:00

I was going to save this for Mother's Day but in listening to Paul Simon's Loves Me Like a Rock I suddenly discovered Barack Obama's new theme song. 'Twas the verse that runs thus which inspired me:

And if I was President (was the President)
The minute Congress call my name (was the President)
I'd say "Who do,who do you think you're fooling?" (Who do you think you're fooling?)
I've got the Presidential Seal (was the President)
I'm up on the Presidential Podium
My mama loves me
She loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
She love me like a rock

Considering the recess appointment hoorah going on right now this seems particularly appropriate. Whether you believe Obama did the right thing or not, the amount of ire likely to come his way over the next several weeks or months may well have him reminding himself of the basic premise of this song.

And before you point it out, I know I posted Loves Me Like a Rock before. But how often to I make a political post? Let me ease into the new year and say something a little different. Sheesh, you slave drivers!

Loves Me Like a Rock by Paul Simon on Grooveshark

Gimme Gimme Gimme - Yngwie Malmsteen

2012-01-04T12:59:00.000-06:00

How many of you would believe that Yngwie Malmsteen, metal god, would cover an ABBA song? And of you few that would, how many would suspect that he'd pick Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight)? Yet here I am with proof that it's precisely what he did.

Of course he changed the words a bit to "Gimme, gimme, gimme your love after midnight", the big chicken. And in truth it's a pretty good cover, with plenty of wicked licks but true enough to the original that it's readily identifiable. Naturally, Mr. Malmsteen isn't the only one to have covered this iconic and--let's be honest--guilty pleasure of an ABBA song.

Here's I've got not only the original Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight) but the Yngwie Malmsteen cover, passable versions from Erasure and A*Teens, and a great R&B cover from the Nils Landgren Funk Unit. I'll be digging into that last to see if they have anything else that entertains me as much as this one did so if you like it keep an eye on this space! And do let me know what you think of these various covers.

Gimme Gimme Gimme a Cover Song by legbamel on Grooveshark

Looking Back: The NPJ Best of 2011

2012-01-03T13:14:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd take a look back at 2011 and see which posts were most visited over the course of the year. Naturally, older posts have the advantage of having had more time to accrue said visits but some get attention very quickly. Here are ten top posts, in no particular order:

Born to Love Volcanos—The Dead Milkmen
Zydeco Christmas—CJ Chenier
Post-Post Modern Man—Devo
Mashed Like Teen Spirit—Various DJs
Boogie Woogie Reveille—Various Artists
Jump in the Line and Shake Senora
Ça Va Chouia—Manu Dibango
Stone Rollin'—Raphael Saadiq
Cumbia Celtica—Salsa Celtica
Phone Number Songs—Various Artists

And the song most listened to on my blog in the entire past year at five times the visits of any other? The Sublime cover of Hong Kong Phooey. What does that tell me about my visitors? Not a thing, although it does tell me that an awful lot of people are looking for a picture of that crazy, kung fu dog and they're willing to listen to a wacky remake of this theme song when they find one.

What do the other ten tell me? That people have as varied a taste in music as I do myself. It does my heart good to see obscure people, older songs, and the strange comparisons my mind sometimes makes getting so much attention. Happy New Year and tomorrow I'll post a song. How about that?

Honeytrap - We Have Band

2011-12-31T17:00:00.001-06:00

We Have Band is one of those groups that gets an automatic first listen for having a clever name. Happily, they do enough interesting with their music to keep me listening from time to time. (Note that, should they have gone the LOLcat route of "We Can Has Band", they'd have gotten an immediate pass instead.) Try Honeytrap for a burst of great, 80s-style, Casio keyboard goodness and enough energy to keep you grooving the whole way through. We Have Band combines styles to make this indie group worth a revisit. One of these days I'll post Oh! for you to enjoy. Until then, have a listen to Honeytrap and let me know what you think. Happy New Year!

Honeytrap by We Have Band on Grooveshark

Just Another Day - Oingo Boingo

2011-12-30T20:12:00.000-06:00

You poor dears have been left without an Oingo Boingo song for far too long. Let's remedy that with a fantastic Danny Elfman creation like Just Another Day. In fact, let's listen to Just Another Day on this, just another Friday.

Just Another Day by Oingo Boingo on Grooveshark

Dance Godammit - Sparks

2011-12-29T22:03:00.001-06:00

If I didn't tell you the age of the album from which Dance Godammit came you'd likely assume this was some quality 80s music. I knew that "Hello Young Lovers" had been released in 2006 and I still think maybe they wrote it for "Music That You Can Dance To" and just decided not to include it in 1986. Whatever the date of origin, have a listen and enjoy the retro 80s sound of Sparks being Sparks. And if, like me, you immediately want to listen to The Violent Femmes singins "Dance Motherf*r Dance", well, that seems like a perfectly good follow-up to me.

Dance Godammit by Sparks on Grooveshark

Swagger - Bombs Away

2011-12-28T12:35:00.002-06:00

When I posted my Mashup of the Month for December I mentioned Bombs Away and panned much of their music but explained that I quite liked Swagger. I wouldn't have posted the song, however, if it hadn't been for the fact that I happened upon the official video for it. It turns out that Bombs Away is a couple of white boys from Australia and they--or at least their writer and director--have a pretty goofy sense of collective humor. And so I thought I'd share with you all the light-saber-wielding duo chasing a hipster around an urban environment. As so often happens, I don't know what the video has to do with the song. I see little "doing something funky with your hands" going on but there's a lot of bouncing and a whole bunch of silly. Enjoy the song and the video. I'm not sure I could sit through a whole album of their work but Bombs Away definitely gets a nod from me for not taking themselves too seriously. Tomorrow we'll be a little more serious as I've got some great, brand new music to share.

Merry, Merry Christmas - Koko Taylor

2011-12-25T18:37:00.002-06:00

As a non-traditional holiday celebrant let me offer you Christmas fans something non-traditional for your evening's listening pleasure. Koko Taylor has a lovely, bluesy, soulful little tune wishing you a Merry, Merry Christmas which fits the bill perfectly. It has two whole merries; what more could you want?!

As a reward for suffering through yet another season of mindless commercial grubbing followed by an orgy of food and family that left you feeling slightly nauseous for one reason or another, tomorrow I'll bring you something extra strange. Merry Christmas!

Merry, Merry Christmas by Koko Taylor on Grooveshark

Sugar Rum Cherry - Duke Ellington and Wynton Marsalis

2011-12-23T19:56:00.000-06:00

Let's try a jazzy take on a classical holiday favorite: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies as interpreted by Duke Ellington. As I'm going to take tomorrow off (I won't be home much and certainly you all have better things to do than spend your Saturday waiting for my erudition and fabulous taste) I thought I'd give you a two-fer.

In this case, you get not only Duke Ellington and his Sugar Rum Cherry but Winford Marsalis with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra doing a slightly more hep version of the same song with bongos. I don't know about you, but I like Sugar Rum Cherry more than the original and not just because it would taste better. Let me know what you think!

I'm going to wax philosophical, here on a holiday season Friday night. I was looking at my post list, enjoying how much some of the weirder songs I've posted have been heard, when I realized how happy it makes me to know that not only are there still hundreds of songs I want to add to this running list (as we approach 900 posts) but that I keep getting new music from wonderful people.

So there's my holiday message to you all: thanks for being along for the ride and I hope you've as much to be happy about this season as I do.

Sugar Rum Two-fer by legbamel on Grooveshark