In this instance, I actually like the plugged version of "Plush" better.
Which songs sound better to you unplugged, or plugged, and why?
It's a music-only open thread.
PS Massive Attack fans, don't miss the concert from last Thursday (two hours of free music!) at our sister site, Newstalgia. [Massive Attack recorded the theme music for House, MD, by the way.]
(Annuals - mixing up a big bowl of Experimental in Raleigh)
My bad. I've been meaning to post this band on Newstalgia for many months now. I've been a big fan ever since their first album Be He Me came out in 2006. It's bands like this that keep proving to me over and over that the good music ain't on the charts and it ain't on your local Mainstream radio station.
As usual, I ran across Annuals during one of my browses on MySpace in 2006. Got sucked in within the first 30 seconds and I've been checking on their progress ever since. They come from Raleigh North Carolina and they've been around since 2004, and doing it like so many bands these days are doing it - slowly, but staying at it and getting good word of mouth going.
This track, Brother opens their first album. They have a lot of new material out (or newer), but this track was the first one that got me and I suppose we could call it an oldie. But like my theory goes - if you've never heard it before, it's new to you.
So, if you're familiar with them, I'm preaching to the choir. But if you've never heard them before - take a break and check them out. As always, they can use your support and I hope their fortunes take them to many places and turn on many people.
(The Futureheads - Sunderlands finest - from humble beginnings to Glasto)
When Newstalgia first got started, one of the bands I featured on the Roundtable was the relatively unknown Futureheads. They had been kicking around for a while and had their MySpace page and were just starting to get some notoriety. Well, a year later and they're now about to release their fourth album. They've been touring a lot and this new track Struck Dumb is getting massive amounts of airplay on BBC6 Music (what do you mean you aren't streaming them 24 hours a day?). So I think it's safe to say "we knew them when" . . .which is pretty good and speaks volumes about doing it yourself and what MySpace is capable of - and it also helps that support comes from readers like you who just don't think much is happening in the mainstream. Good on you.
If you didn't get to hear them the first time around, check out their pages and see what they're up to now. All their albums and eps are available and this single is available as a free download. So fall by and give them some face time.
(Grand Archives - should be landing in Madrid right about now)
I haven't heard from Seattle in a while. Not that it's dead up there - I've just been preoccupied with the flood of bands from Europe at the moment. But Grand Archives has been around for a while. They're on SubPop and are getting ready to do a huge European tour starting in the next day or two. This track, Torn Blue Foam Couch is one of their earlier tracks off their first and I was turned on to them by my friend Pati in Madrid. At any rate, Grand Archives is a new band to me and they've been getting a lot of repeat plays over here at the Newstalgia Think Tank.
If you feel the same way, by all means check them out. If you happen to be in Madrid, or any one of a number of cities they're playing in Spain this month, fall by and hear them live.
Exposing yourself to new stuff always does a body good.
(1960 ended up like just about every other year before and since: Crisis)
It's getting about that time of year when the long glances back start. For C&L and just about every other blog it will be a look at 2009; what went on, what didn't go on, what crisis did we land in or avert. How did life as we know it change this particular year.
Since Newstalgia is mostly knee-deep in the past,I thought I would kick off the roundup of year-enders with a look at 1960 and how the world changed during that particular 12 months, and how a lot of it has remained the same.
1960 saw the election of a new President and the Cold War entering new and uncharted territory. It saw Africa emerging as a continent of newly independent nations, the Middle East contemplating Israel as a nuclear neighbor. Latin America was deemed the next hot spot in East-West relationships and Germany struggling with its divided status.
On December 28, 1960 CBS News ran a one-hour round table discussion between Edward R. Murrow, Howard K. Smith, David Schoenbrun, Daniel Schorr and other notable CBS News reporters, weighing the issues that made 1960 a memorable year.
Howard K. Smith: “Well, I think our change is about as drastic a change as you can have under constitutional government. I’ve emphasized the fact that the Presidents and their intents differ drastically. But the men around them differ too. The emphasis in the previous administration was on businessmen. At present I think scholars probably have a plurality. It’s said that if all the appointees made by Kennedy so far were to walk down the hall together there would be a deafening jangle of Phi Beta Kappa keys. And there are three Rhodes Scholars among them. Many of them are famed for some very useful and active ideas, but the main thing that induces me to believe this will be an active administration is the fact there has seldom been, since the Civil War, such an accumulation of crises and merely problems as there is now and we have to act or there will be disaster.”
Always the threat of disaster and some crisis. No matter when.
1960 or 2009 - it doesn't really change.
. . .and neither does the cost of keeping blogs together.
(A Heaping Helping of Americana today)
Since it is Thanksgiving and a traditional American holiday, I thought I would toss out a large helping of Americana by way of a concert with The Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Howard Hanson, featuring all American composers of the early 20th Century - most of whom you've probably never heard of before.
The concert (actually two concerts - one from April 1945 and the other from February 1953) features music by Quincy Porter, Bernard Rogers, John Alden Carpenter, Aron Copland, Leo Sowerby and David Diamond.
Almost an hour of unfamiliar music. I understand it goes well with stuffing and cranberry sauce.
Happy Thanksgiving from the crew at Newstalgia!
(Father Charles Coughlin - one of the originators of "you're either for us or against us")
When I first began Newstalgia, I ran an entry called "Father Coughlin - the Grandfather of Hate Radio". At the time, I was only able to run a 10 minute clip from one of his talks. It gave a glimpse, but not a complete idea of just what all the controversy surrounding Father Coughlin was all about.
Charles Coughlin was no doubt the first, at least on a national scale, to use radio as an instrument of extremist ideology. Much of what is going on now in reference to the current state of Hate Radio can be attributed almost directly to the weekly tirades and rants of Father Coughlin over 70 years ago.
But in readying this entry, and playing back this broadcast of August 27, 1939, I noticed Coughlin wasn't alone in his shrillness - he had a warm up act.
Dr. Edward Lodge Curran - or Father Curran often used the first half hour of the one hour broadcast to showcase his particular rants, as is evidenced by this harangue of the Cincinnati School Board.
Father Curran: “Every effort was made by the leftist forces, who claimed the right to Freedom of Speech for themselves, but who deny it to others. Seventy-two hours before the meeting, all the efforts of the splendid Cincinnati committee and sponsors had almost dwindled to idle gestures. A Mr. Von Schlichten, a teacher in one of the Cincinnati schools had accepted the invitation to act as Chairman. Mr. Henry Siegal, editor of The American Israelite, promptly complained to the school board. The school board held a secret meeting. And at that meeting, the pedagogical wisdom of withdrawing as Chairman was impressed quite contritely upon Mr. Von Schlichten. And Mr. Von Schlichten, in free, democratic 20th Century America, was forced to withdraw. This is the same Cincinnati School Board, which has permitted the Communists to make use of Woodward High School. This is the same Cincinnati School Board which has never presumed to reprimand any of its other employees who have participated in the activities of the Communistically mind and Communistically controlled American League For Peace and Democracy.”
Curran, it should be noted, ran somewhat afoul of the America First Committee and appears to have dropped out of the history books of extremism. He does, however pop up as the author of "Great Moments Of Catholic History". The wonders never cease.
As for Coughlin - well, his rants are legendary.
Father Coughlin: “I believe that I am on safe ground in affirming that the World War was fought for commercial domination and not for the preservation of Democracy. I believe that I am on the side of truth when I say that the Peace Treaty of Versailles was nothing more than a document of hatred. Defies in a mad attempt to resolve the evils of International Capitalism. And I believe that, although Communism of Russia was in part a rebellion against the system of International Capitalism. Nevertheless it was an insane rebellion, because it fought not only the persecutors of the poor, but the principles of right-reason and the outraged Christ who loves the poor.”
We'd like to take the time to note Thursday's passing of Gordon Waller, who comprised half of Peter and Gordon (the other half being Peter Asher). That's Waller singing the lead vocal in this video.
This harmonious pair of British Invasion heartthrobs will always be closely linked with The Beatles, primarily because Paul McCartney pseudonymously authored a number of their songs- including their chart topping A World Without Love, as well as Woman- while Macca was dating Asher's sister, Jane. After Peter and Gordon went their separate ways in 1967, Waller earned considerable success as a record producer. For more, see Gordon Skene's post at our excellent sister site, Newstalgia.
Here's a word from Peter.
Godspeed, Mr. Waller.
We spent almost all day yesterday filming our commercial spots which target Blanche Lincoln's non-support of a vibrant public option at the C&L Bat Cave. Digby, d-day and BNF's were amazing. Gordon Skene of Newstalgia also joined the crew and did a bang up job.
I want to thank the readers that have donated to Blue America's Campaign For Health Care Choice so far. We can still use your help. I told you that we weren't going to sit by and watch and we're getting to work.
Adam Green from the PCCC wrote a nice post about our effort called:
Progressive Super Heros vs. Blanche Lincoln...who will win?
Some of my favorite progressive bloggers are teaming up with one of my favorite progressive filmmakers to air a new ad in Arkansas calling out Blanche Lincoln for selling out on the public option.
I'll be donating to help put it on the air -- you can consider it too...read on
While we were shooting all day did we miss any Republican sex scandals? Huh, anything? Maybe Newt Gingrich switched religions again?
I'm glad to announce a new project at C&L. Gordon Skene will be able to reach back into his incredible historical collection and add new and vital audio and video never released before on the Internet which will bring the past into the present.
"Newstalgia" becomes C&L's newest site. There's a tab on the upper left of C&L's homepage that lists our many sites. Here's a bio on Gordon.
Two time Grammy Nominee Gordon Skene comes to Newstalgia with a lifelong passion of collecting and archiving news, historic events and popular culture.
Started on the morning of November 22, 1963, Skene has accumulated an archive of over 100,000 reels and 40,000 discs of broadcasts, airchecks and field recordings highlighting history from 1898 to the present.
He's been involved with several album and Internet projects such as "Great Speeches of The Twentieth Century", "The Beat Generation", 'Have A Nice Decade - The 70's Culture Box" "The Big Box of Baseball" and more recently "The 100 Greatest" CD/Boxset. He was actively involved with Microsoft on their Encarta and Bookshelf projects and has provided The History Channel with over 1,000 historic clips to be used as downloads on their website.
In addition to countless album and internet projects, The Gordon Skene Sound collection, in conjunction with Searchworks, has provided numerous historic recordings for such film/TV projects as "Brokeback Mountain" "The Miracle", "Angels In America" and "The Hoax". He has worked closely with the music Departments of 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros.
As well as collecting and archiving, Gordon has also been consultant for various record companies, including Deutsche Grammophon, JVC Japan, Specialty Records, Vee-Jay Records and many others.
When he's not knee-deep in tapes, mildew and coffee grounds, Gordon is also a novelist, having published his first novel "Over Under Sideways Down" in the UK to rave reviews and critical acclaim from Publishers Weekly.
Skene is very excited to be working and doing daily postings on Newstalgia. As he puts it - "If I had a tail it would wag!"
