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Lately I’ve been listening through Sony’s Soundtrack for a Century, trying to expose myself to the music of some other styles and periods. One of the things that’s been happening as I listen to some of the older music is that I’ve discovered original or much earlier versions of songs I’ve been familiar with for a long time. For example, tonight I was listening to “Folk, Gospel & Blues: Will the Circle Be Broken, Disc 2” and I came across a song called The Patriot Game performed by The Clancy Brothers.
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Come all you young rebels and list while I sing
For the love of one’s country is a terrible thing
It banishes fear with the speed of a flame
And makes us all part of the patriot game
My name is O’Hanlon, I’m just gone sixteen
My home is in Monaghan, where I was weaned
I’ve learned all my life cruel and England to blame
And so I’m a part of the patriot game
It’s barely two years since I wandered away
With the local battalion of the bold I.R.A.
I read of our heroes and I wanted the same
To play up my part in the patriot game
This island of ours has for long been half free
Six counties are under John Bull’s tyranny
So I gave up my boyhood to drill and to train
To play my own part in the patriot game
And now as I lie here my body all holes
I think of those traitors all bargained and sold
I wish that my rifle had given the same
To those quislings who sold out the patriot game
I had never heard this song before, at least not with these lyrics. The music is the same as in Bob Dylan’s With God On Our Side. So I decided to do a little research on its history. It turns out that the tune is also basically the same as The Nightingale, The Grenadier and the Lady, The Brave Volunteer, The Wild Rippling Waters, The Shores of Lough Erne, Come Fill Up Your Glasses, One Morning In May, Paddington Green, Pretty Polly Perkins and quite a few others. All of these are or are based on traditional Irish folk songs.
Apparently, Dominic Behan, who wrote The Patriot Game in 1957, made a fuss when he heard Bob Dylan perform With God On Our Side, saying that Dylan stole the song from him.
Since I started importing all of my music into iTunes, one thing I’ve missed is all the album artwork that I used to look at back when I listened to CDs. However, iTunes has the ability to store cover art in the ID3 tags of each music file. So, I decided to take that on as another project. Thanks to Clutter, FetchArt, Slothdog’s Amazing CD / Album Cover Finder, Amazon and Google, I’ve managed to find and import cover art for nearly everything in my iTunes Library.
Now what do I do with it? Well, for a while now I’ve had my iChat set up to display what I’m listening to right now. So anyone else using iChat can see the title, artist and album of whatever is currently playing in my iTunes. Thanks to the CocoaObjects.com: iChat Script Collection, I was able to just drop an AppleScript into a folder on my Mac to make iChatStatus update my buddy icon with the album artwork of the current track. I am loving this! I’ve never been that into buddy icons for the most part, but this is really great.
Another thing I’ve wanted to do is publish a page of all of the music in my iTunes Library, like I currently do with my CD collection. Enter iTunesCatalog. This $10 application will read in your iTunes Library.xml file and create an HTML catalog of all of your music, with album covers and just about any other information you desire. I still haven’t got it working exactly the way I’d like. I emailed Kavasoft about some of the things I’d like to do and they said that the next version of the software should do everything, including allowing me to completely customize the layout of the catalog as well as having full control over the content. You can see a current copy of my iTunesCatalog here. It’s pretty large because of all the album covers, so be patient while it loads.
Another neat thing about iTunesCatalog is that it will update MusicMobs with your listening habits so that it can recommend other music that you’d like. I’m hadn’t been using MusicMobs before this, but since the software made it so easy, I figured I’d give it a try. You can see my page here.
So what’s next? I’m not quite sure yet. I have been thinking about writing some scripts to upload the information about what I’m listening to to this site with album artwork and all. I may also do something that changes the background image on my desktop to the current album cover. But the real project is still the ripping. I estimate that I have about 250-300 CDs left to import. So far, I’ve completed everything up to and including Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, as well as scattered items throughout the rest of the alphabet. There is still much to do. I am hoping to finish by the end of the year. Wish me luck!
Tonight, Vieve, John and I went to the Middle East Downstairs to see Mates of State open for Cake. This post, however, is not about Cake. I enjoy their music. I listen to it more than a lot of other stuff. I have seen them before. They were good. It turns out I didn’t really have to see them again.
Mates of State, however, rocked the house. I was very impressed. I had listened to their album once or twice, but not very closely. The live experience is just so different. Sometimes, it takes a live show before I really get into something. That’s how it was with these guys.
Mates of State are married. He plays the drums, she plays the organ and they both sing. It’s pretty surprising when you find out that there is only two people and two instruments in all that music. The music sounds so full. This has a lot to do with with fact that they are constantly harmonizing with their voices and change the tempo and the groove of the song. They are also both equally featured. In their FAQ they say “We both write the songs. We are equals.” That completely shows in the performance. Not to mention all the body language and signals that they have between one another.
Plus, she is completely pregnant like she’s about to bust open!
If you get a a chance to see this guys, take it. If you want to pick up an album, the one we have is “Team Boo” and the song “Ha Ha” is particularly catchy.
On Thursday, Genevieve, Adrienne, Phil and myself went to the Middle East Downstairs to see the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players. I had seen them once before on Conan. I got a pretty good review of the show from Evan. I’d read articles. I had the basic idea, that they get old slides from estate and garage sales and that they make songs about them and perform it all live. I just didn’t realize how entertaining it could be!
First of all, I need to talk about this comedian that opened for them, Bobby Tisdale. I’ve never seen this guy before. I’ve heard of him, because he produces a weekly show in NYC with Eugene Mirman, who I like a lot. Anyway, I did not like him at all. I mean, I like an alternative comic. A lot of times, there is a guy who is hilarious because of the way he is so bad he upsets the audience. You know? The kind of thing Andy Kaufman did. David Cross does it. Lots of people do it. Honestly, I think this guy just sucked.
As for the family, they rocked. The setup is pretty much daughter on drum set, mom on slide projector and dad on either guitar or little Casio-style keyboard. While mom flips the slides, the other two make music with dad singing lead. Most of the songs are silly, but have some kind of recurring theme, There’s the one I saw on TV, “LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!” and there’s one about an egg. They’re pretty popular at this point and have been to Boston before, so people were requesting favorite songs.
In addition to the slides and the music, there’s also the hilarious banter of the father and here and there from the other two. He went on for a while about how he was wearing a watch and how bad that was to do on stage and some story about Eric Clapton. He is an interesting cross between Rick Moranis, Austin Powers and Woody Allen. He has this sort of neurotic mumbly manner on stage and wears these nerdy glasses. But it all works. He’s a complete character.
If you haven’t seen these guys, I definitely recommend it. It’s a lot of fun!
A couple of weeks ago, DJ Shadow and the rest of the Quannum crew were in town on their first world tour together, ever. Let me tell you, it was quite a show.
I was basically going to see DJ Shadow. The fact that other people were going to be there, including Blackalicious, was only icing on the cake. I mean, I’ve heard Blackalicious and I’ve liked it, but I wouldn’t say I was particularly a fan. That was before.
This show was amazing. It was so high energy and dripping with quality. I’ve been to a lot of hip-hop shows and I am usually disappointed. They’re usually too loud and sloppy and high (hence the sloppy) and you end up glad that you got to see these artists who you’ve listened to, but wishing you had some proper earplugs and that you hadn’t paid $30 to get in. That was not the case here. These guys were all on point.
The arrangement on stage was three full DJ setups, one in the middle and one on either side, all aimed toward stage front and center. In the middle was DJ Shadow, with some number of turntables, samplers and unidentifiable devices, plus a spankin’ new Pioneer DVJ-X1 digital audio and video (a.k.a. DVD) turntable. To the right was Chief Xcel, DJ for Blackalicious, with two CDJ-1000 CD turntables and a standard SL-1200 vinyl turntable. Then on the left was where the other two or three DJs rotated throughout the evening. Behind them were two large projection screens.
Out in front, obviously, were the MCs and there were a number of them. Everyone just rotated onto and off of the stage every couple of songs so we really got to see everyone perform. The whole crew was very talented and they had all different vocal styles. It was really an impressive set. All the while, DJs in the back mixing it up. Periodically, Shadow would put a DVD into the DVJ and scratch it up, both on the sound system and on the screens. It definitely added a new dimension to things.
I have to say, now that I’ve seen the show, I’m not only a Blackalicious fan, but I’m a Quannum fan in general. Meaning, DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, Latyrx, The Gift of Gab, DJ D Sharp, Lateef and the Chief, Joyo Velarde, Lifesavas and Lyrics Born. They all represented and gave Boston a fantastic performance and my thanks go out to them.
A little over a month ago, just a few days after we went to see Jon Stewart, Vieve and I went to Avalon to see Bob Dylan and his band. This was only my second time seeing him. The first time was at the Fleet Center back in November of 2001. Needless to say, it’s pretty different seeing the show at a rock/dance club rather than at a big stadium. However, I guess I’d have to say my mind wasn’t blown by the whole thing. I’m glad I went, but it didn’t change my life or anything. He pretty much sounds the same in either case and I definitely had a lot more trouble seeing anything at Avalon than I did at the Fleet Center.
One of the most significant things that I noticed at the show was the size of the audience. I’m not really referring to the number of people, so much as the girth of those people. I’ve been to a lot of sold out shows at Avalon. Never was I as worried that we’d all run out of air and suffocate as I was at this Bob Dylan show. The place was mostly filled with older gentlemen, gigantic in both height and width. There was really no place to stand where there was any kind of line of sight with the stage. So Vieve and I found some place where we could stand and breathe at the same time and listened to the show from there.
It was a great performance. I really enjoyed the music. I was pretty much able to pick out all the songs I knew, which was all but three or four of them. Most people around me were totally lost for the greater part of the show, though. These men near me would spend a few minutes at the beginning of each song trying to figure out what it was and would then suck it up and come over and ask me, since I looked like I knew what was going on. “Memphis Blues,” I said, shortening the rather long title to something that could be more easily heard in a loud club. They seemed confused at first, perhaps questioning if I was right about which song it was. But once they finally caught it, for the rest of the song they never missed their cue, singing along with Bob every time he sang those two words, only. This same thing happened three or four times until I found another place to stand where I didn’t have to tell people the names of songs that they were listening to before I was even born.
Here’s the setlist, in case you’re interested:
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Maggie’s Farm
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
Lonesome Day Blues
Just Like A Woman
Things Have Changed
Tell Me That It Isn’t True
Highway 61 Revisited
Can’t Wait
Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
High Water (For Charley Patton)
It Ain’t Me Babe
Honest With Me
Saving Grace
Summer Days
encore
Cat’s in the Well
Like a Rolling Stone
All Along the Watchtower
I just got a recording of the show this week and I’m listening to it right now! Yay for the Internet!
The Saturday after the Ninja Tune show, Genevieve, Lisa, John and I went to the Orpheum for a live stand-up performance from Jon “The Daily Show with” Stewart. Man, it was such a great concert! Jon was every bit as quick, hilarious and intelligent as he is on the show. He speaks a lot about his politics and I really feel like he and I are on the same page with just about every topic he hits. This was probably one of the most enjoyable comedy performances I’ve ever experienced. It was a great followup to the Lewis Black and Mitch Hedberg (also Dave Attell) show that we saw at the same theater last year. Rock on Comedy Central!
I know it’s been a couple of weeks, but I still wanted to write about the Ninja Tune tour at the The Paradise. Even though I purchased four tickets in advance and won two more on the day of, it ended up being just Doc at the show. The show was totally sold out so I had no trouble getting what I paid for the four and Doc and I got the enjoy the show for free!
First up was Sixtoo, who was pretty interesting. He did some stuff with mostly one turntable and a small drum machine, which he used both to play pre-programed beats and to play live. He did a few songs, but spent a good portion of his time on stage doing some experimental improvisation with DJ P-Love on various turntables and electronic instruments. In spite of the looseness of the set, it was still enjoyable to watch and to listen to.
When they got off the stage this so-called “Blockhead” came on. For the record, his name is not clever, except in that it describes the shape of his head. I did not like this guy. His music may have been alright, but he was probably the most boring DJ that I have ever watched. He didn’t move at all. He didn’t read or engage the audience. After playing a couple of very quiet, slow jams, he announced that the up-tempo part of his set was over and it was time for some down-tempo. Maybe it was that I didn’t want things to be that chilled out at that point in the night, but I couldn’t wait for him to get off stage so I could see an actual performance.
And perform Bonobo did. This guy rocks. He makes very good music and it’s very clever and interesting and he really gets the audience moving. I really like watching him because his stuff is so complicated I have a hard time figuring out which instruments are making which sounds. He uses a number of turntables and some samplers and compact disc players and a computer and who knows what else. The final product is really great. Bonobo is one of my new favorite artists.
Next up was my main man, the guy who was the original inspiration for me to buy turntables, Eric “Kid Koala” San. This guy is my favorite DJ of all time, but he wasn’t quite himself on this night. He wasn’t on stage for more than half an hour. He had a lot of false starts. He attempted some interesting things, but also bailed a bunch of them. He apologized to the audience. I was kind of disappointed that it was the first time Doc got to see him. But really, the more I think about it, a bad Kid Koala performance is still pretty damn entertaining, especially if you don’t know what to expect. I’ve seen him no less than 8 times since 1997 and I guess I’d say this was the worst of those. Don’t worry man, I’ll still be there next time when you rock out.
Finally, the crowd-drawer, Amon Tobin. I do love this guy. His music is a nice range of down-tempo and up-tempo, with a similar range of trip-hop electronica and drum’n’bass. However, at a live show he definitely lays on the hard stuff. And he goes bigger as the set goes on. Things got heavy at one point and kids were doing what I guess we used to call “moshing” and one dude and I connected a few too many times. This led to that, he ended up on the floor and I strolled over to Doc to request that he please, if he would, “watch my back.” Doc has a pretty good story about the whole adventure, though I don’t know exactly how much of it is true. I do know that the same dude came up to me minutes later and shook my hand, asking for my assurance that “we cool?”
All in all, it was a good show, if a bit rocky at times. I can never resist a Ninja event like this one. I hope it isn’t long before the next one.
Apparently, I’m the big winner! I entered some Ninja Tune ZENtertainment contest and I won! I get two tickets to tonight’s show at The Paradise, featuring Amon Tobin, Kid Koala, Bonobo, Sixtoo and Blockhead. I also get a free copy of the new ZENtv DVD, which includes nearly all of the Ninja Tune music videos.
Of course, I already have tickets to the show and I already have a copy of the DVD. Still, winning is fun. I was just starting to come down from the excitement of having won a bottle of One Barrel Refined Old Rum in a coconut bowling match at the Nautical Inn in Belize and now this happens!
Today is the one year anniversary since we started getting together every Tuesday to play music and hang out. What started out as a small group of 3-5 people has turned into movement, with people from all different musical and social backgrounds getting together for a common cause.
Personally, I have been on hiatus for the last two months, trying to get things together with the condo purchase and the rest of my life. Music has not been a focus for me as of late. However, things continue to progress. New people show up and new music is created.
If you haven’t ever made it out to TurnTables and Beer and would like to, or if you haven’t been in a while, tonight is a great opportunity to introduce yourself or to get reacquainted with the rest of the crew. Things usually get started around 6pm and go to around midnight. If you need directions, ask.
Here’s to another great year of music and friends!
Lukwam's Blog 
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