album cover #21: jens lekman is the opposite of “this afternoon: periods of rain. patchy fog. high near 59. east wind around 13 mph. chance of precipitation is 100%.”
max abelson's super groovy music video spectacular
online since 1759
aka "max abelson and his massive monster museum of music videos"
at least one youtube video of music every day, plus a few groovy sentences, or your $$$ back!
this is the plan:
m. 60s
tu. 70s
w. 80s
th. 90s
fri. 00s
email: mabelson at observer.com
(i write for the new york observer)
this is tom waits' best lyric: "his wife was a spent piece of used jet trash, made good bloody marys, kept her mouth shut most of the time, had a little chihuahua named carlos that had some kind of skin disease and was totally blind."
this is what phil spector says about himself: "i'm dealing in rock 'n' roll. i'm not a bona fide human being."
this is what leonard cohen says about phil spector: "at a certain point phil approached me with a bottle of kosher red wine in one hand and a .45 in the other, put his arm around my shoulder and shoved the revolver into my neck and said, 'leonard, i love you.' i said, 'i hope you do, phil.'"
"whenever i start playing around on youtube i always end up watching that lady fall over while stomping grapes, so it's nice to have someone steer me in a more worthwhile direction." - the 33 1/3 book series' blog (on the spectacular).
bubblicious flavors that could have been good names for this blog: bursts with thunder, gonzo grape, tropical tango, lebron's lightning lemonade
brian eno songs that will make excellent book titles for my ten-volume memoir, chronologically ordered: here he comes, baby's on fire, the lost day, swanky, brutal ardour, events in dense fog, the fat lady of limbourg, some of them are old, dead finks don’t talk, what actually happened?
the smiths once said: "there's always someone somewhere with a big nose who knows."
#1 favorite song on the white album: long long long
#2 favorite song on the white album: happiness is a warm gun
#3 favorite song on the white album: sexy sadie
woody allen's reasons to live: "i would say groucho marx, to name one thing, and willie mays, and the second movement of the jupiter symphony, and louie armstrong’s recording of potatohead blues, swedish movies, naturally. sentimental education by flaubert, marlon brando, frank sinatra, those incredible apples and pears by cézanne, the crabs at sam wo’s, tracy’s face."
john lennon's middle name: ono
thelonious monk's middle name: sphere
my middle name: joseph
"i love songs about horses, railroads, land, judgment day, family, hard times, whiskey, courtship, marriage, adultery, separation, murder, war, prison, rambling, damnation, home, salvation, death, pride, humor, piety, rebellion, patriotism, larceny, determination, tragedy, rowdiness, heartbreak and love. and mother. and god." - johnny cash
please listen at a very high volume, and please see the archives below for more grooviness.
aka "max abelson and his massive monster museum of music videos"
at least one youtube video of music every day, plus a few groovy sentences, or your $$$ back!
this is the plan:
m. 60s
tu. 70s
w. 80s
th. 90s
fri. 00s
email: mabelson at observer.com
(i write for the new york observer)
this is tom waits' best lyric: "his wife was a spent piece of used jet trash, made good bloody marys, kept her mouth shut most of the time, had a little chihuahua named carlos that had some kind of skin disease and was totally blind."
this is what phil spector says about himself: "i'm dealing in rock 'n' roll. i'm not a bona fide human being."
this is what leonard cohen says about phil spector: "at a certain point phil approached me with a bottle of kosher red wine in one hand and a .45 in the other, put his arm around my shoulder and shoved the revolver into my neck and said, 'leonard, i love you.' i said, 'i hope you do, phil.'"
"whenever i start playing around on youtube i always end up watching that lady fall over while stomping grapes, so it's nice to have someone steer me in a more worthwhile direction." - the 33 1/3 book series' blog (on the spectacular).
bubblicious flavors that could have been good names for this blog: bursts with thunder, gonzo grape, tropical tango, lebron's lightning lemonade
brian eno songs that will make excellent book titles for my ten-volume memoir, chronologically ordered: here he comes, baby's on fire, the lost day, swanky, brutal ardour, events in dense fog, the fat lady of limbourg, some of them are old, dead finks don’t talk, what actually happened?
the smiths once said: "there's always someone somewhere with a big nose who knows."
#1 favorite song on the white album: long long long
#2 favorite song on the white album: happiness is a warm gun
#3 favorite song on the white album: sexy sadie
woody allen's reasons to live: "i would say groucho marx, to name one thing, and willie mays, and the second movement of the jupiter symphony, and louie armstrong’s recording of potatohead blues, swedish movies, naturally. sentimental education by flaubert, marlon brando, frank sinatra, those incredible apples and pears by cézanne, the crabs at sam wo’s, tracy’s face."
john lennon's middle name: ono
thelonious monk's middle name: sphere
my middle name: joseph
"i love songs about horses, railroads, land, judgment day, family, hard times, whiskey, courtship, marriage, adultery, separation, murder, war, prison, rambling, damnation, home, salvation, death, pride, humor, piety, rebellion, patriotism, larceny, determination, tragedy, rowdiness, heartbreak and love. and mother. and god." - johnny cash
please listen at a very high volume, and please see the archives below for more grooviness.
jens lekman - black cab (2003)
sludgy, slick, stormy days in new york like this one are sad, but twee home-recorded swedish pop music from a guy that samples harpsichord riffs and loves the ukelee is happy.
jens lekman’s music is so ceaselessly chipper that he makes this grainy stop-motion footgage of a snowball look like positively the sunniest, shiniest thing in the world. basically, black cab makes lolcat photos look un-cute.
the notorious b.i.g. - juicy (1994)
this one goes out to my mother, patti, who turns 58 today (but she doesn’t look a day over 53), because juicy has my favorite mom-and-birthday lyric in history: “thinking back on my one-room shack/ now my mom pimps an ac’ [acura!] with minks on her back… birthdays was the worst days/ now we sip champagne when we’re thirsty.”
mom, just because i can’t buy you an acura and minks doesn’t mean that i don’t love you a lot. i also really, really, really, really love this song. nothing comforts me like biggie’s melted-butter iambic pentameter flow (“fifty-inch screen, money green leather sofa/ got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur”), and that beat’s oceanic bassline cheers me up when i’m down—basically juicy is the mother i never had. just kidding, ma. happy birthday.
the fall - mr. pharmacist (1986)
why does rap get all the attention for epic celebrations of drug dealing (“we’re cloud-hoppers/ tailored suits like we’re mobsters/ break down keys into dimes, and sell them like gobstoppers,” the clipse says) when so many rock and roll songs obsess over suppliers?
little feat had their doctor, the beatles had dr. robert and the beta band had dr. baker too, bob dylan had his man, donovan had his man, and lou reed had to schlep up to 125th and lexington for his.
but none of those ditties had mr. pharmacist’s impassioned psychotropic pleas. it’s odd that the fall’s funny-faced, superdrive-speedy frontman mark e. smith didn’t write the song (it’s a garage rock tune from 1968) considering his large fondness for non-sobriety.
“i’ve been out with gangsters, coked out of their heads, taking the piss, and i’ve just put them in their place,” he wrote. “the only hangovers i’ve ever had were off ecstasy. it’s not nice. it’s like going to hospital and being drugged up when you’ve had an accident.”
gregory isaacs - tune in (1987)
mr. isaacs, the cool ruler, the lonely lover, wants to meet you at the corner and do it to you nicely, because that’s the kind of lover’s rock guy he is. actually, he basically invented lover’s rock: he’s the ultimate dreadlocked romantic (or heartbroken rastafarian, if you will).
watching him do that incredible standstill strut—chest out, eyes closed, arms swaying, hip swaggering, microphone right up to his mouth—is enough to make you forget that he’s so stoned he’d probaly be not-so-effective in bed with the lady he’s singing about. but he’s still the man.
good album cover #20: the chief commander was a cool-as-a-cucumber compadre in 1970, but he’s not bad now either. click here to see the guitarist-turned-minister recite some biblical passages on marriage—followed by a 1981 wedding song called eto igbeyawo, played over home videos of nigerian weddings. groovy.
chief commander ebenezer obey - olowo laiye mo (1968)
on the downside, this video looks like it was produced by an alcoholic in a public television studio’s basement sometime during the first bush administration. on the plus side, the song itself comes from the late 60s, when chief commander ebenezer obey helped create a new kind of slinky, rubbery, twangy, uber-godly nigerian pop music.
he has reportedly retired from pop, but his spirit carries on: according to the closing credits of this equally trippy song (with an equally odd video) there is now something called the ebenezer obey evangelistic ministry, with a vice president named lady president j.o. obey fabiyi. i hope she’s watching.
spoon - don’t you evah (2008)
a corollary to the do i like indie rock? test is the do i like watching awesome japanese robots dance to really superb indie rock songs by spoon? test.
if you pass this round, click here for round two.
and if you fail, go smoke something expensive (but, please, not through a human skull) and try again.
new pornographers - all the old showstoppers (2007, london)
holy cow, i just came up with the most amazing test in the whole universe. it’s called the do i like indie rock? test, and this is how it goes: you watch this choppy video of two of the most charming members in the charming new pornographers (a.c. newman and his niece—yes, his niece (and my dream girl?)—kathryn calder) play one of their songs on an acoustic guitar and an accordion in the back of a cab.
if you’re moved by the incredibly sweet uncle-niece harmonies, and the neutral milk hotel-ish instrumentation, well wouldn’t you know it, you’re a fan of indie rock.
and if the low-fi jangles and cute rhymes get on your nerves, you probably shouldn’t watch the black cab sessions featuring spoon, okkervil river, or smog.
iris dement - sweet is the melody (1995)
this is the prettiest song every written. iris dement makes joni mitchell or joan baez or any other sweet voice look like a hideous, acidic pile of deformed, vicious vocal ugliness.
also, sweet is the melody is a beautiful song about beautiful songs, which means if someone wrote a song about it, the world would probably implode in a moment of sheer metaphysical ecstasy?
lastly, let me say this: accordions are great.
john prine and iris demend - in spite of ourselves (1999, nyc)
john prine—who spent the late 60s curled up in empty chicago mailboxes writing songs like sam stone (“there’s a whole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes/ jesus died for nothing, i suppose”), and angel from montgomery—has a voice as bourboned and noirish as tom waits, but instead of tom’s top hats and loosened ties there’s fresh-cut hay and merle haggard’s bandana.and iris dement, the fourteenth child born to her father in paragould, arkansas (but only the eighth child born to her mother, flora mae) has the voice of an eight-year-old that learned to read, talk and sing from emmylou harris and sped-up johnny cash records.
she’s a cherub, and so she looks supremely uncomfortable singing the ungodly lyrics of this dirty little ditty; meanwhile, john prine’s hay-farmer’s voice is more haggard than merle haggard—and that’s what makes the duet work so perfectly. and that sundays/undies rhyme is damn fine.
good album cover #19: r.e.m.’s chronic town ep (1982)
a good indie rock album cover featuring a gargoyle sticking its tongue out is like a fine wine: it only grows finer with age. and speaking of which:
in today’s paper! i wrote about the wine-liking baron eric de rothschild, two tisch brothers spending massive amounts for massive real estate, and a hip hotelier that likes to remind people he knew heath ledger.
and last week’s column had noted tom waits scholar scarlet johansson selling nonchalantly, a hearst widow selling to settle some debts, and a poor bear stearns exec buying before his firm tanked.
r.e.m. - radio free europe (1983, letterman)
elvis costello had radio radio and radio sweetheart, public enemy had how to kill a radio consultant, ll cool j had i can’t live without my radio, patti smith had radio ethiopia, and nirvana even had their radio friendly unit shifter, but none of them had the chorus of the first song on r.e.m.’s first album.
it’s a chorus that thwacks, thwaps and jangles, and it bounces (like this), cries (like this), and then it hooks. and it’s a chorus that needed to be on the radio so badly that a whole new kind of FM station—college rock—was invented around it. plus, young david letterman seems to like it, which is groovy.
jonathan richman & the modern lovers - new england (top of the pops, 1978)
you wouldn’t think that a catchy little melody, wobbly singling, corny dancing, a fresh-shaven grin, doo-wop harmonies, doo-lee-doo and dum-a-dum-day refrains, and ivy league rhyming (“i have seen old israel’s arid plains/ it’s magnificent, but so’s maine”) would make for convincing music.
but jonathan richman is perfect.
if he were two inches less talented he’d be a children’s party performer in the midwest, but instead he makes music that’s like chuck berry without the bluesy pain, the talking heads without the over-artsiness, the sex pistols without the purposefully-torn jeans, or maybe the velvet underground without opiates and distorted cellos.
new england is sweet and bare and doesn’t try to hard, and if you it doesn’t make you smile you’ve probably had that kind of facelift that takes away your ability to properly move your face muscles. and if it makes you happy you should watch this and definitely this.