By way of Ed Rants, and along with several quality links about early American popular music, Folded Space posts twenty mp3s (in the public domain) of Progressive Era musical hits, including “Come Josephine in my Flying Machine,” “That Haunting Melody,” “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny,” and “Over There.”
Category: Music
Forever Young.
Salute him when his birthday comes…a very happy 65 to the freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. May your heart always be joyful, may your songs always be sung. Update: My fellow Americans: The State of the Dylan is strong.
New Wave, L’Ancien Regime.
Quiddity points the way to some offbeat rumors concerning the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s forthcoming Marie Antoinette: “An unofficial soundtrack listing has been floating around the internet, claiming that in addition to the Bow Wow Wow songs [“I Want Candy,” “Fools Rush In”], the movie also features music from Gang of Four, Windsor for the Derby, Radio Dept., Aphex Twin, Air, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, New Order (whose ‘Age of Consent’ appears in the trailer), Squarepusher, Adam and the Ants, the Strokes, and Phoenix.“
No Mercy Shown.
This is why events unnerve me…By way of Ed Rants, the new trailer for Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette is out, and it maintains the New Order conceit of the teaser. (Although this time the background ditty is “Ceremony,” not Age of Consent.”)
Don’t choose poorly.
“The Grail Stakeholder will be allowed one sip from the vessel of a beverage of the Grail Stakeholder’s choosing, which beverage to be provided by the Grail Stakeholder at the Grail Stakeholder’s sole expense. The Grail Stakeholder may thereby gain eternal life and the healing of all physical ailments. However, because the Grail Finders cannot be held responsible for the mysterious powers of the Grail and all that, the Grail Finders shall not be held responsible for any failure on the part of the Holy Grail to give eternal life to the Grail Stakeholder, or to alleviate physical ailments, and the Grail Stakeholder hereby warrants to make no claims of any kind against the Grail Finders in the event of such failure.” Looking for a long-term investment? Here’s your chance to own a 2% equity share in the Holy Grail, courtesy of punk rocker and Grail-seeker Rat Scabies. (As sent along by my friend Aimee.)
Don’t Look Back.
According to Dark Horizons, Heath Ledger will replace Colin Farrell as Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes’ forthcoming Bob biopic I’m Not There. Purportedly also playing Dylan in the film are Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Richard Gere, and Julianne Moore.
Settin’ my dial on the radio.
“Don’t call it a comeback, he been here for years, rocking his peers, putting ’em in fear, making tears rain down like a monsoon, explosions overpowerin’, over the competition LL Cool J is towering. LL Cool J — stands for Ladies Love Cool J.” On the eve of the premiere of his new XM “Theme Time Radio Hour” (which premieres Wednesday,) Bob Dylan shares some of his early show playlists (organized around themes such as the weather, mothers, drinking, and cars) and his on-air comments about some favorite selections.
See how they snide.
Man, you should have seen them kicking Scott McClellan. In related news, “I’m the Decider,” to the tune of I am the Walrus.” (Where did I find this? The walrus was Paul.)
A Well-Respected Man.
Big doings in our lively little village: Friday night, I caught one of rock’s greatest and most influential ironists, the inimitable Ray Davies of the Kinks, in town for a weekend stand at Irving Plaza. A spirited and well-preserved 61 (Having gone to so many Dylan shows, where Bob has settled into a late-period rasp behind the keyboards, I’m always surprised to remember that time has been kinder to many of Dylan’s contemporaries), Davies offered up two sets of rollicking good ditties ranging all the way back to 1964’s seminal breakthrough “You Really Got Me.” Here’s the setlist:
Set One: I’m Not Like Everyone Else | Where Have All The Good Times Gone | Till the End of the Day | After the Fall | 20th Century Man | Oklahoma U.S.A. | Village Green | Picture Book | Animal Farm | Johnny Thunder | Sunny Afternoon | Dead End Street | Apeman | Next Door Neighbor | Creatures of Little Faith | Over My Head | The Tourist | Low Budget
Set Two: Stand-Up Comic | Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After) | A Long Way from Home | The Getaway (Lonesome Train) | Tired of Waiting for You | Set Me Free | All Day and All of the Night
Encore: You Really Got Me | Lola
All in all, a very fun evening. Looking quite a bit like Jonathan Pryce these days (particularly in his Miss Saigon period), Davies enlivened the older-leaning, fan-heavy crowd with mid-song banter and fraternally condescending anecdotes about his Kinks companion and younger brother Dave. (“He’s still a big kid, really.”) To be honest, I’d would’ve preferred to hear less of the early Brit-Pop standards and more of Davies’ grimly funny ballads of class and character. (For example, “Shangri-La“, “A Well-Respected Man“, “Dedicated Follower of Fashion“, “Celluloid Heroes“, or “Waterloo Sunset“) But, with a back catalog as long and rich as Davies’ (and a new album to promote), there are always going to be songs you don’t get to hear on a given night. (And besides, the one-two punch of “Sunny Afternoon” and “Dead End Street” was a nice, wry combo of essential Davies.)
The Lion (Finally) Sleeps Tonight.
Hush, my darling, don’t fear, my darling, the Lindas have been done right. By way of Ed Rants, Vidiot tells the story of Solomon Linda and his 1939 hit song, “Mbube” (a.k.a., “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,”) for which his family has — at last — been paid.