It`s Samuel Barber`s 100th birthdate-”Adagio for Strings” time!
The Adagio for Strings is everywhere! March 9th was Samuel Barber`s (1910-1981), the composer of the 
Adagio for Strings, centenary year. You probably best remember the piece from Oliver Stone`s 1986 film Platoon, about the Vietnam War. David Lynch used it in Elephant Man as well.
Arturo Toscanini premiered it with the NBC Orchestra in 1938. Toscanini had memorized the enchanting string work after Samuel Barber sent him the score. I believe you can still get this original inspired performance. The Adagio is used at many funerals too; but was not used at Franklin Roosevelt`s, as the rumor goes. However, when they first announced his death on the radio, they were playing the Adagio for Strings.
For just $9.99 you can get 29 works of Samuel Barber on itunes. This includes the Adagio. The 100th Anniversary of Samuel Barber Adagio, on EMI. There`s a stillness and distance in the strings, as if a tragedy has just occurred, and you`re trying to make sense of it… *(the image is by Carl Van Vechten, from The Library of Congress, Prints and Photographic Division)
Why are the ‘narcocorridos’ of Tucanes de Tijuana so popular?
Minstrels in the Court of the Kingpin by Josh Kun appeared (Arts & Leisure) in Sunday`s New York Times. The band, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, sing narcocorridos, which are songs extolling drug traffikers or romanticizing 
the lifestyle. “The people want to hear narcocorridos,” said Mario Quintero, the lead singer and songwriter of Los Tucanes.
Quintero says in this article, that he use to write anti-drug songs, but they did not sell well. But the Mexican government is starting to crack down on this type of music. Quintero claims that he is just writing about what he sees on the news. Oddly enough, many people have sympathy for these drug traffickers (such as El Muletas or El Teo) , and romanticize them as heroes.
How would you explain the popularity of narcocorridos? It reminds me of the grassroots popularity of robbers and gangsters (Bonnie and Clyde or John Dillinger, say) in the 1930s.
Crazy Heart wins for best song and best actor!
Well I was very pleased that The Weary Kind got Best Song at the Oscars last night and Jeff Bridges got Best Actor for his portrait of a Country & Western singer/songwriter, who`s in the twilight of his career. If you haven`t seen this movie yet, you`re in for a treat. And even better is the Deluxe Soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett and Stephen Burton.
As you listen to the soundtrack you may want to refer to my review of it.
It`s good to know these artists` biographies and something about their discographies. Country artists like George Jones have literally 100s of records out, along with many tall tales that are most interesting to chew on. One famous one is when George Jones drove a tractor lawn mower to town once just to get liquor. *(the photo is Bad goin` to a gig, I believe in New Mexico somewhere? Love that SUV and old tweed Fender amp-have one myself.)
Bad Blake is a composite of many Outlaw Country greats (check out theSOP.org too while you`re over there!). Can you name some of the artists who were included in his character?
Never on Sunday-My Five Favorite Songs from the Academy Awards
Here are my five favorite winning songs from the vaults of the Academy Awards. There were many great ones to choose from, but these five had unknown value, in terms of subjective sentimentality and/or historical connections. I was growing up during the 1960s, if this tells you anything…
1. Windmills of Your Mind-1968-Music: Michel Legrand Lyrics: Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman. The very best for me! From The Thomas Crown Affair. Had Steve McQueen. Complex melody with challenging images. I have the sheet music and have tried recording it a few times.
2. The Shadow of Your Smile-1965-Music: Johnny Mandel Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster. From the movie The Sandpiper with Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. Tony Bennett has a great version. I will view The Sandpiper soon. Need to hear the original version from the soundtrack.
3. Never On Sunday-1960- Composer: Manos Hadjidakis. From the movie Never on Sunday. Melina Mercouri plays a ‘hooker with a golden heart.’ Greek culture fest! This one was a staple of party-rock band The Potatoes (1987-1992), that I once played in. A crowd pleaser!
4. High Hopes-1959 Music: James Van Heusen Lyrics: Sammy Cahn. From the movie A Hole in the Head. Frank Sinatra changed the lyrics around and JFK used it as his 1960 campaign song. Chills come over me when I hear this one. Historical slideshows bleep o`er my eyes as John shakes hands with Americans all across our land!
5. Arthur`s Theme (Best that you can do) -1981-Music: Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Christopher Cross Lyrics: Peter Allen and Christopher Cross. From Arthur. A drunken rich cad, Dudley Moore with this great ditty superimposed. Christopher Cross made it big in Austin and was a favorite of ours…Gotta Run!
“The Weary Kind” is a Shoe In for Original Song!
Well the Academy Awards are coming to town on Sunday night. Obviously, Avatar will sweep many of the categories. I`m looking at music related categories this morning, and I suspect that Avatar will win in Sound 
Editing and Sound Mixing. Inglourious Bastards, you might remember, pulled some punches to your eardrums too. Avatar will probably win in Original Score also. I`ve only seen half of the movie so far?
For Original Song I think The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart) is a shoe in. That entire soundtrack is a must have for all of us. The movie-muse is with T-Bone Burnett! It will be interesting to take a look at the sales figures for this soundtrack after say, one month. I do wonder why a song from Up In the Air, Goin` Home by Dan Auerbach, was not included in the Original Song category.
Okay, so Up In the Air and Crazy Heart are my two favorite films for 2009. I`m no Avatar NUT myself, but what can you do. I`ll root for the underdogs and good tunes anytime!
Lester Bangs Waxes on the ‘State of Rock’
Somebody ran this Lester Bangs tidbit on YouTube through my Facebook ‘Home’ the other day. Since then I`ve watched it twenty times or so, and am really getting` a BANG out of it! Lester casually CRUCIFIES Rock Stars with the 
greatest of ease. He hammers nails into Jethro Tull, Bryan Ferry and most of all, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Trying to find a date, but I would guess around 1973 or 1974, maybe later? It`s when he was working as an editor at CREEM.
Excellent paisley shirt, you can`t find em like that anymore. In the last segment he speculates about the condition of Rock, its health or lack of. This was a recurring theme with Lester. That is: exactly where were we (this would be in the mid-`70s, people) in the Rock Continuum? Why wasn`t a savior coming along at that time? As Lester says, “you had Sinatra in the `40s, Elvis in the `50s and The Beatles in the `60s.” What would the next Renaissance look like?
When you come to the 1970s, nada? Emptiness. It`s interesting to think on why this condition existed. Of course, you have to chew on every word of Lester Bangs that you can find, if you want the answers. Let`s see, what was so bad about Jethro Tull, Lester? Students, turn to page 128 in your Bangs Reader, Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung. A piece called Jethro Tull in Vietnam…
Is Neon Indian`s “Psychic Chasm” the music of tomorrow?
“Neon Indian works because it`s intrinsically aligned with the Carles zeitgeist, where the avant-garde and psychedelic shamanism dovetail headlong with conspicuous consumerism, altbros and instant gratification.” Shawn Murphy-Groovemine
Huh? My exact sentiments when reading this quote taken from Shawn Murphy`s review of Neon Indian`s 
Psychic Chasms (Lefse Records). I believe he`s saying that you get the best of both worlds, avant-garde and psychedelic pop. I will link several most interesting reviews of Psychic Chasms for you. Neon Indian is on to something!
I will rewind the tape for you, to frame what a marvelous discovery I zoomed in on yesterday. I was combing the racks for a platter of new music, something fresh as a bowl of fruit from tropical Tahiti. I sampled around 20 different record at Waterloo`s ipod listening stations. No cigar! Finally, I came upon Neon Indian, and Whamo! Bingo! I found it! Deadbeat Summer was the first track I heard. Oscillating synthesizers, sound effects and surreal lyrics…
Heard they`re from Austin. Cover looks like Russian Constructivist artist Popov? Or Kandinsky? Can`t find a credit? The 1980s psychedelic movement has been mentioned…Jesus and Mary Chain? More keyboard oriented than guitar. Alan Palomo is the mastermind behind Neon Indian. This is post-modern cartoon music, or…
TGIF! Classic Rock with Jethro Tull`s “Benefit”!
For me, the third effort of Jethro Tull is their best. For me, Benefit is solid gold classic rock. That`s right, I prefer the 1970 record over 1971`s concept album, Aqualung. A new sound emerges with Benefit. Now with Martin 
Barre`s exquisite electric guitar work, rock merges with folk to give us something new. Also, the bass player, Glen Cornick, leaves the band after this record. For me, Glen Cornick, with his long hair and headband, helped to define Jethro Tull`s image.
I wore the vinyl grooves of Benefit out when still in high school. Learned the guitar lick on To Cry You A Song and the Teacher. Teacher is the best song-listen for Glen Cornick`s bass here. “Hey man, what`s the plan, what was that you said? Sun-tanned, drink in hand, lying there in bed. I try to socialize, but I can`t seem to find. What I was looking for, got something on my mind.” I could identify with that line as a troubled young man.
Jack Shadoian from The Rolling Stone butchered it. Here`s a link to his original review posted on August 6, 1970. You don`t see those kinds of scathing reviews anymore in rock criticism. Rock critics got down back then! Moribund Art! Robert Christgau loathes the flute-playing Ian Anderson too? Well, I beg to differ. Listen for the backward flute on With You There To Help Me.
Be sure to add Benefit to your collection. Send me a comment to the question: Why are people either hot or cold when it comes to Jethro Tull?
Billy Idol In Super Overdrive Live-A Scorcher at Chicago`s Congress Theater!
The DVD Billy Idol In Super Overdrive Live is getting some rotation this morning on my ancient 1999 Sony 
Trinitron TV. It`s a scorching live concert of Billy last July at Chicago`s Congress Theater, where air conditioning is non-existent! The heat put a fire under the band though, and I must say, the super-virtuoso guitarist, Steve Stevens, is every much Billy`s equal.
I`m an `80s man myself, and waxed nostalgic when Billy sings many of his hits, such as: Eyes Without A Face, White Wedding and Flesh For Fantasy. Naturally, Rebel Yell is a crowd pleaser that will lift you off your custom-designed ergonomic computer stool, bring you to your feet, and prod you to flick a left over rusty Bic lighter, a relic of a keepsake, that`s dear-to-your-heart for no apparent reason.
Funny, I had a part-time job at Old Navy many moons ago, and The Gap People would constantly rotate Rebel Yell. So, when I hear that song it`s like I`m stocking T-shirts and blue-jeans! Odd…
Billy Idol`s band was very tight, with Steve Stevens tweaking his Gibson Hummingbird against stacks of Marshall Amps. Brian Tichy is popping lumber and Stephen McGrath is a left-handed Ready Steady Go bass thumper. That`s Derek Sherinian on keyboards; shines on Rebel Yell.
Great concert, Billy can still rock. This is good time to review his career…I`ll take it! Any excuse to review the Punk Days, and Generation X, is fine with me. Does anyone know when Billy and Steve Stevens reunited? I thought that they had had a falling out…
Danny Barnes` Pizza Box-”It Ain`t No Different than the Caveman Times!”
You`re in for a treat if you have the good sense to pick up Danny Barnes` Pizza Box. Bluegrass/punk sagas told against banjo pickin` and manly drums. This line has been quoted often, but for good reason: “With her hair in a 
bun, hand on a gun, we made love with the radio on,” from TSA. I can just imagine Bonny Parker in that role. Broken Clock is straight up C & W twang. “I work hard to put the jewelry on her finger. I`m makin` payments on a car that she stills drives.” Confronts the problem of credit card debt.
Caveman is my favorite so far. Upbeat with nice harmonies and rippling banjo steamin` through. Danny sings it with a Texas twang. The theme that modern times are the same as caveman times is one that rings true for me. Pizza Box is on the ATO label which is Dave Matthews label. Danny lives in the Pacific Northwest now. Don`t know when he left Austin? Good honest American music. Pizza Box will get wings and fly! Download to ipod before it`s too late…