Bjork, Live at "The Spektrum", Oslo, Oct 10 1995

Okay, so I admit it-I'm having my Bjork moment. This is the last post, I promise. This set is part of the Frozen bootleg. Enjoy.

Headphones
The Modern Things
I Go Humble
The Anchor Song
Crying
Violently Happy
Shiny (5 Years)
It's Oh So Quiet
Big Time Sensuality

Return to Default: SM

Some live material from my favorite musician. Possible B-sides from Face the Truth. Meanwhile, get yourself that cd-it's a staple for every home.

Grace
Carl The Clod
Dragonfly Pie
Wow Ass Jeans

Beth Orton: KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic Session March 22, 2006

Comfort of Strangers will probably make my best 50 list this year. Deeply affecting songs rendered in a quivering emotion-laden voice, Beth's songs linger on long after the first listen, like cool winds the morning after a tropical night storm.

Here's an excellent set of old and new songs from the super-dope KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic show.

Intro
Heart of Soul
Heartland Truckstop
Conceived
Interview with Beth
God Song
Rectify
Shopping Trolley
It's Not The Spotlight
Absinthe

Buy Comfort of Strangers.

Dear Mr. Supercomputer: New Sufjan Song From The Avalanche

Today's special find comes to us via Pitchfork - it's another new one from the upcoming Sufjan release, The Avalanche. This is what Pitchfork has to say about the exclusive mp3:

"Apparently excising whatever didn't fit the airtight theme of Illinois (haha) meant at least one real sacrifice. Here Sufjan gathers the usual suspects-- the community-choir backup vocals, all that percussion, and tooting horns-- to build a wall of sound representing the all-powerful "supercomputer," while using clipped, breathless vocals to stand in for a flummoxed Matthew Broderick (or maybe David against a moustache-stroking multi-instrumental Goliath?). Said choir and said tooting cascade up and down "Dear Mr Supercomputer" in thrilling Stereolab-like drones over metronomic drums, breaking for a brief eyebrow-lifting guitar line more rhythmic than any from the album it wasn't good enough for. Illinois could have used this fleeting moment of instrumental brawn, the kind of super-arranger sleight-of-hand that can politely overwhelm."

Enjoy.

Dear Mr. Supercomputer

Bjork, Final Installment: The Cover Me Bootlegs

Stressed Out (Björk did a few remixes of this song by A Tribe Called Quest; she sings on this one)

Yoga (A collaboration with her ex, Tricky, from his album "Nearly God")
Short Term Affair (Live with Steve Coogan's character Tony Ferrino at the BBC Comic Relief gala on Red Nose Day 14.03.97)
Lilith (Collaboration with Plaid from their album "Not For Threes")
Min Farfar Drikker Sødmælk ("My Grandpa Drinks Hi-Fat Milk", traditional Danish song performed at the Danish Grammies 1997)
Jólasveinar (Traditional Icelandic christmas-song from KROQ's "How The...Stole Christmas" tape)

Ben Harper: KCRW, Morning Becomes Eclectic Session, March 24, 2006

3 days after the official release of his latest cd titled Both Sides of the Gun, multi-genre singer-songwriter Ben Harper played this session of songs from the new album on KCRW, Morning Becomes Eclectic. Listen carefully and see if you agree with me that Ben is better off just singing those smoldering ballads, rather than those forays into every conceivable genre that has often earned him labels like too derivative, unoriginal, Lenny Kravitz + Prince imitator etc.

Intro
Morning Yearning
Reason To Mourn
Better Way
Both Sides of the Gun
Engraved Invitation
Interview with Ben
Black Rain
Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating
Picture In A Frame
Waiting For You

Ben is backed by his band, The Innocent Criminals.

Buy Both Sides of the Gun.

More Bjork Rarities: The Cover Me Bootlegs, 1975-1998

Top Of The World (From The Sugarcubes' Walkabout Single) Highly recommended.

Gotta Lotta Living To Do (Elvis cover, The Sugarcubes with El Vez, live 1992)
Takk ("Thanks", Björk & DJ Þórhallur on the compilation "Sodoma Reykjavík")
O Borg Min Borg ("Oh Town My Town", Björk and KK Band on the compilation "Sodoma Reykjavík")
Satisfaction (Rolling Stones cover, live with PJ Harvey at the 1994 Brit Awards)
Visur Vatnsenda-Rósu ("Songs by Rose of Vatnsenda" A traditional Icelandic song featured as a b-side on the Possibly Maybe single and on Hector Zazou's album "Songs From The Cold Seas") Very highly recommended.
Nu Flyver Anton ("Anton Is Flying Now", Danish song for a Danish movie, only available on a small number of promo CD's)

Olde Related Poste: Bjork Rarities: The Cover Me Bootlegs, 1975-1998

Final installment later.

The Verdict: Franz Ferdinand vs. Death Cab For Cutie

As I walked out of the Shaw arena last night, there was a guy with a mike doing an exit poll. He stuck the mike in my face in the usual manner of exit pollers and asked, "Franz Ferdinand or Death Cab?" I breezed past him while I considered the appropriateness of the question. Two Bands, one from Glasgow, the one with the really cool band members, all lean clean lads, with the cool accents, tight jeans, and European braggadocio (don't mean that in a mean way). The one with the tuneful hooky art rock stompers that moves heads and jiggles hips, down to every last song. The same one all the "screaming teens" (thanks to c to the izzo for that term) and doting parents, 90% of the crowd by the way, had come to see. Everywhere you looked, there was a Franz Ferdinand shirt or bag or other piece of memorabilia to be cherished till college. And then there was the other band, the one from Seattle, the one that looked like a geek squad, with the catchy power pop, seemingly nondescript hooks that catch up with you before the end of the song and messes you up like a tornado, the one that middle-age folks like me were silently rooting for but couldn't afford to show love to by doling out 25 bucks for a shirt. This show was billed as a double-headliner, but everyone knew it was really about Franz Ferdinand; they will play the encore, they will get most of the press, they will get most of the cheers. So back to the question-Franz Ferdinand or Death Cab?

Death Cab by a mile. And this is me at my most unbiased. I walked back to the exit poller and said just that.

Hear's a bold statement that explains why. Start: Ben Gibbard has the best live voice ever: Finish. Nasally but solid, resounding but steady, it cut right through the very loud and robust jangle of drums, guitars and keyboard, strong and confident, trained and assured, and delivered one of the best performances I have ever seen live. Nothing could stop it. Not the ferocious playing. Not the audience cheers. Not the sing-alongs. It was crisp, clear and melodious. I left the Shaw with one memory-that voice. But that was not all. Death Cab played like their lives depended on it. You could tell that this was a band that wanted to earn your admiration, they came prepared, the set carefully sequenced, slow songs to follow the smart rockers, delivery very tight. Along with band members Nick Harmer, Jason McGerr and Chris Walla, he delivered a very animated performance, introducing songs from their solid catalogue of releases, songs from when this audience didn't care ("President Of What?"), and just before anyone wondered why, coming back with identifiable singles ("Crooked Teeth") and sing-alongs ("I Will Follow You Into The Dark"), thus satisfying long-time fans and more recent converts. The band moved to and from instruments, doing the keyboard here, picking up the guitars there, drummer Jason McGerr the only constant, until Gibbard joined him for a supercharged and stunning drum solo. Yes, Death Cab shred.

And then the Glasgow boys came on. By the end of it all I was all sweaty and my voice was gone. Damn those catchy, hooky, rocking stompers. I knew all the song lyrics, they strummed their guitars like maniacs, I sang, I stomped. But this was a less than perfect performance. Gone was the fine sequencing of songs I noticed with Death Cab. Gone was the "I'll play my ass off tonight" attitude. These guys knew they had the audience by the proverbial balls and they did not have to do quite as much. But most disappointing was Alex Kopranos' voice. He sounded like me-hoarse and hardly audible. He sang with a frightening Scottish accent that was absent from the records. In some cases, he spoke the lyrics. It was different, not in the "it's a live show, don't expect it to sound like the record" way, but in an annoying "wtf" way. He murdered "Eleanor...". Then he led us on a very bland and unneccesary introduction of the band, preceding each introduction by asking, "Do you wanna know...?". He seemed unsure at some points whether to slow it down or let it all rip. And they didn't play "Well, That Was Easy". What's up with that? All until the band finally got it together and delivered an explosive encore, leading off with "Jacqueline" and closing with "This Fire" for which Death Cab joined in and there was the most terrific drumming session with about 6 drummers (who knew all Death Cabbers could drum?) going totally ballistic. That was awesome. All said and done, Franz Ferdinand's real talent, live or otherwise, must lie in the songs they write-these songs will move any mountain, spoken, sung, karaoked on American Idol, or even set to acoustics. And the way they strum those guitars.

I cannot fail to mention opening band, The Cribs. The Wakefield brothers have a bright future somewhere in punk rock land, no doubt. They gave an energetic performance and set the right tone for the night. But someone should mention to Gary that you don't stick a cigarette in your mouth, light it up and start puffing at an all ages show-it sends the wrong message about coolness to the teens. Especially if the city has a no smoking in public places policy.

Well, that's it folks. Unfortunately, I have no pics or recordings to post. I went to this show without all the trappings that accompany a modern blogger-I wanted to be free to dance and have fun. And I did. Except for when that guy shoved me in a misguided audience shove. He was lucking I was wearing Axe. I had to keep my cool.

Bjork Rarities: The Cover Me Bootlegs, 1975-1998

Question: Ever wonder what Bjork sounded like before freaks started blowing themselves up for her sake and attempting to blow her up?

Short Answer: Like Bjork

Long Answer: Find out for yourself, below.

Settle (poem read by Björk on a UK TV morning show)
Minun Kultani Kaunis On (“My Sweetheart Is Pretty”, Finnish traditional song recorded 1975)
Langt Ude I Skoven (“Far Out In The Forest”, Danish traditional song recorded 1975)
I Love To Love (priceless cover of the Tina Charles hit that landed Björk a record deal in 1977)
Alfur Út Úr Hól (“Fool On The Hill”, Icelandic cover of the old Beatles hit, 1977)
Sweet Jane (cover of the old Lou Reed song on The Sugarcubes demo for the Icelandic movie "Skytturnar" in 1986)
Jólakötturrinn (“The Christmas Cat”, from the Icelandic compilation "Hvit Er I Borg & Bær", 1987)
Motorcycle Mama (The Sugarcubes’ contribution to Elektra's 40th Anniversary Compilation CD set "Rubáiyát". Cover of an old “Sailcat” hit)
Dancing Queen, see this post
Cry Me A River (traditional Jazz standard performed live by Björk with Tríó Gudmundur Ingolfssonar at Hotel Borg in Reykjavik 30.08.1990)
Misty (traditional Jazz standard performed live by Björk with Tríó Gudmundur Ingolfssonar at Hotel Borg in Reykjavik 30.08.1990)

More later. Off to see Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab For Cutie.

Cover Of The Day: Norah Jones Sings Dylan & The Band

Oh, Norah...but I digress...

This "cover of the day" bit is kinda infectious-fast and easy, something to do while sipping on the first chai latte of the day while contemplating the price we have to pay for such beautiful weather.

Today's original is "Bessie Smith", one of the demo recordings on The Basement Tapes, the highly influential and famously bootlegged product of the 1967 Bob Dylan collaboration with The Band. Subsequently released in LP format on June 26, 1975, the recordings were and remain a critical favorite. Dunno much about the history of "Bessie Smith" except that it was penned by The Band members Rick Danko and J.R. Robertson. My guess is it's some kind of homage to blues legend Bessie Smith (anyone know better? Leave comments please). The original version straddles the folk-country divide with some damn good clavinet solo.

On April 16, 2002, the beautiful, exotic, sultry Norah Jones gave the song a jazz/blues treatment live at the House of Blues, Chicago, IL. Enjoy.

Bessie Smith Bob Dylan & The Band
Bessie Smith Norah Jones

Jeff Buckley Rarities...Series: Live At WNEW, Sony Studios, NYC., April 6 1995

Time for another installment of the series of posts on Jeff Buckley rarities, outtakes, unreleased live and non-album tracks. I half expect someone to leave me a comment at this point asking wtf is up with the Buckley posts. Well, if you decide to do so, remember it's my blog, not yours. I can post about the sounds of the River Zanzibar if I want to. And I very well might.

But seriously, doing a series is kinda easy...then I don't have to lay in on my thoughts about the subject, which I am sure no one reads.

Dream Brother
So Real
Mojo Pin
Grace
Lilac Wine
Last Goodbye
Eternal Life/Kick Out The Jams (two different songs, just joined at the hip)
Lover, You Should've Come Over

Olde Buckley Postes:
Jeff Buckley Rarities...Part 2
Jeff Buckley Rarities, Outtakes, Live & Non-album tracks

Showdown At The Shaw Arena

Yes indeedee! Get jiggy rocker Scots go head to head with the Bellingham geek jammers in the City of Champions at dusk tomorrow. Show sold out in 5 mins but yours truly got a pass. One would have been enough but two! Oh, to be the envy of those who envy.

Songs I'll dance or nod to:

DCFC: Anything from Something About Airplanes, "Soul Meets Body" & "Your Heart Is An Empty Room"
FF: Everything, so please don't suck (same goes for the sound guy).

Massage your sorrow with these:

Soul Meets Body Death Cab For Cutie
Well That Was Easy Franz Ferdinand

Hot Blogwatch!

Hello lads,

Head now to BadmintonStamps for some totally awesome previously unreleased Libertines tracks including "The Delaney", a song recorded for but ultimately cut from the second album, as well as the four-song Nomis demo recorded in 2002, prior to their debut album Up The Bracket.

Neil Young has joined the blogging world. Go here to check out his nifty new blog which chronicles events and matters related to his upcoming anti-Bush release Living With War.

Olde Related KNK Poste:

New Neil Young!!!
The Libertines: The Babyshambles Sessions

E-Bow The Letter

Another one-off rarity: R.E.M. plays E-Bow The Letter (New Adventures in Hi-Fi) live at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in 1998 with Thom Yorke on backing vocals. Originally, the backing vocals were sung by Patti Smith. Enjoy.

E-Bow The Letter

Now I have to go jam Automatic For The People and Monster. It's that kind of evening.

Prelude

Dancing Queen The Sugarcubes (ABBA cover)

For those who wonder about the title of the post, that's just me being lazy. Or perhaps I have a Bjork post coming up...

Btw, you reckon Johnny Depp was a member of the Sugarcubes? That sugarcube with the hat sure looks like him.

Shuffle Hitlist

Cranked up my "7800-song" itunes and the Party Shuffle hit me with this mother lode playlist. How often does this happen? Never! So I made up a playlist of the songs titled "Shuffle Hitlist" which I'll keep and cherish forever.

Red 12 Rods from the Gay? EP
Another Morning Stoner And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead from Source Tags & Codes
Did You See The Words Animal Collective from Feels
O' Malley, Former Underdog Deerhoof from The Runners Four
How A Resurrection Really Feels The Hold Steady from Separation Sunday
False Skorpion Pavement from Rattled By La Rush EP
No Tan Lines Pavement from Shady Lane EP
No Cars Go The Arcade Fire from The Arcade Fire EP
Maps Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Fever To Tell
I Love The Valley OH! Xiu Xiu from Fabulous Muscles
Zoom! Super Furry Animals from Love Kraft
I've Hardly Been Stephen Malkmus from Face The Truth
I Summon You Spoon from Gimme Fiction
Aveda Hot Hot Heat from Make Up The Breakdown
Sports Car Paso Mino from Good People (appears there's no sales link on the www. Bought the cd at the Jason Collett live gig at the PowerPlant-Paso Mino is Jason's backing band. They also opened.)

As I always say, like a song (and there's no bad song on this playlist), buy an album (click on the album link to take you to the market).

Radiohead: Live, Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC., December 19, 1997, Rare Tracks

Part of a live set taped for MTV's Live at the 10 Spot television show.

"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe!!!!!!!" Glad we got that settled.

Airbag
Karma Police
The Bends
Exit Music [For A Film]
Subterranean Homesick Alien
My Iron Lung
Lucky
Planet Telex
No Surprises
Bones
Paranoid Android
Fake Plastic Trees
Let Down
Street Spirit

Go to Sweet Oblivion to get the remainder of this set which includes the following tracks.

Talk Show Host
Climbing up the Walls
Bullet Proof
Just
Electioneering
Nice Dream
The Tourist

And a couple of rare tracks...

You (alternate take of the Pablo Honey song)
How To Disappear Completely (Live '98, longer version)
Lift (Ok Computer outtake; highly recommended)
Big Boots (a.k.a. Man-O-War, originally recorded for the Avengers movie soundtrack but scrapped)
Big Ideas (unreleased, a.k.a. Nude, Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)-this song is infinite beauty)

Buy Radiohead music.