Tex-Mex Serenade

Looming large in my musical and personal history is a long-gone bar and restaurant called the Tex-Mex Grille, once situated near the Potomac in Rosslyn, VA, just across the river from DC (and not far from, as I boast tirelessly to visitors, the site where they filmed President Bartlet's assassination attempt on THE WEST WING). Tex-Mex was torn down years ago, along with the building in which it was housed, but if you squint at the Chipotle that has since taken its place, you can  just about make out where the outdoor patio upon which I and my musician buddies performed once stood. Fridays and Saturdays were hosted by the one and only "TV" John Langworthy, who booked us musicians two performers a night, sometimes for four hours each. (!) At one point we hit on the notion that it made more sense to spare the nerves of artists and the boredom threshold of the audience if we mixed our sets -- I'd do two songs with David McKittrick,  (producer of this here upcoming Abandoned and Heartbroke album), then Dave and Eric Eckl would do a few of Eric's originals, then I'd go back up onstage. Then we'd jam on a few songs. It worked out well for us, but of course Dave never got a break at all.

One night in 1999, Eric recorded one of these gigs and presented Dave and me with CD copies. My copy didn't work -- in the 90s, it was not unusual for certain PCs and CD players to reject certain types of blank CDs -- so originally I never got to hear that gig. But recently McKittrick unearthed his copy and burned one for me, so tonight I got to hear these performances for the first time in nearly 15 years. They're not bad, although I opted to write off one track on account of having already shared better versions (it's Bruce's "Promised Land" in case anyone cares).

Fadeway

Wicked Game (Seriously! What was I thinking?)

Romeo and Juliet

Into the Night

Unanswered Questions

Nastygrams

Possibly the meanest act a songwriter can commit is to write a song directed at someone they are pissed off at royally -- the more talented the writer, the more savage the delivery. While it's completely unfair to the subject, especially if they are not equipped or talented enough to respond in kind, some of the greatest, most biting songs have been committed to record, and herewith are some of them, as well as some equally brilliant ripostes.

I'd Like to Fly But I Can't Even Swim: Songs About Comic Books

This should have been an obvious choice long ago, seeing as I often have one foot in music and the other in the comics.

BFFs

Kenny

Kenneth Cadmus was braver than anyone I ever knew.

I don't remember how I first encountered Kenny, but I do know the year and place -- 1973, Lincoln School, New Providence, NJ. We were eight. Most probably, we met on the playground, or the classroom, but the really important memory is this:  I was a new kid, having just been arrived from the small city of Charleston, West Virginia to this middle-to-upper-middle class suburb of Manhattan, and I was frightened out of my mind. I was thin, puny, no kind of athlete and hardly a scholar. I liked to read and draw superhero comics, which pretty much helped seal my fate right off the bat. My earliest and most important memory of Kenny is that he knew all these things about me and he did not give a shit.  I mean, look at this kid, right here:

The Arts Enlighten Us

. . . and pop music is no exception. Case in point: The peppy Pompeii by Bastille or even . . . Spinal Tap's sonic tutorial, Stonehenge. These musical gems tell us something about ourselves. Now turn your attention to the "cradle of civilization" and the Bronze Age. Get a history lesson with the B-52s' Mesopotamia.

Basement Tapes

"Lo-fi," a.k.a. "low fidelity," pays homage to the fuzzy garage-band sound of the 1950s, and is alive and well in certain music circles these days. Groups like Pavement and Guided by Voices can thank Sebadoh, an indie rock band and step-child of Dinosaur Jr., for laying the groundwork for the recent offshoot. A classic example of Sebadoh's early delivery is the band's 1987 album, "Weed Forestin'," which takes the lo-fi concept one step further by making it sound as if the performer is still composing the song. Singer/guitarist Low Barlow recorded much of the album on a 4-track in his parent's basement. But despite the bare-essentials  quality, Forestin' has a beautiful, mesmerizing resonance. Contrary to what you might deduce, Barlow said of the title, "Weed Forestin' meant making the most out of what I had, foresting weeds instead of trees." Here's the hypnotic "Mr. Genius Eyes," which also appeared on the compilation "The Freed Weed."

Drink a Toast to Never

Earlier in the blog, Curt bid farewell to the iconic Lou Reed. His fellow Velvet Underground member, Mo Tucker, was an equally epochal 60's figure. Often mistaken in the early days for a male because of her short locks, Maureen was known to substitute her drum set with metal garbage cans for live performances. Tucker would fade into family life, working for a Georgia Wal-Mart distribution center, before being summoned back for the 1992-3 VU Europe reunion tour. Back in its glory days, the band would occasionally give her a chance to test her pipes. Shifting gears from her usual garage sound, Mo adopts a 20’s timbre in the lo-fi “Close the Door” (as visually interpreted by Edie Sedgwick).

Tickling Ivories

My favorite rock/pop keyboard solo has to be the one featured in the final half of “Uncertain Smile” from The The’s 1983 “Soul Mining.” Uncertain Smile percolates with a modest mid-tempo sound until Squeeze’s Jools Holland takes the lead, holding it until the song fades out. With a jazzy flare, Holland moves smoothly and cleanly up and down the keys. Interestingly, Uncertain Smile was recorded the year before as a single and featured flutes and a saxophone solo. However, the band decided to replace the sax with a piano for the album recording. A staple on ‘80s alternative rock stations, here’s Uncertain Smile.

No Words Can Describe Them

Bands, particularly during the vinyl days, needing to fill out album playlists, would often resort to brief instrumentals. Considered throw-aways by critics, many of these are beautiful gems that have stood the test of time, and some come from the most unlikely sources. Here are 5 of my favorites, in no particular order:

• Stephanie (Buckingham Nicks)
• Bron-Yr-Aur (Led Zeppelin)
• Slack Key Soquel Rag (Doobie Brothers)
• Mermaid (Sade)
• Guess I'm Falling in Love (Velvet Underground)

Attention David Lynch Fans!

No, this video wasn't directed by the "Eraserhead," but it easily could have been. The enigmatic Natasha Khan and several of her . . . inner demons . . . enjoy a bizarre nighttime bicycle ride in Bat for Lashes's "What's a Girl to Do." With its 50's sensibilities, Do feels like an outtake from "Blue Velvet" or "Lost Highway." Don't worry about what it all means. Just take a moment to summon your inner Goth as you give this little incubus a whirl.

The Next Big Car Ad Soundtrack

During the last decade, a Volkswagen television commercial sent people scrambling to find old copies of British singer songwriter Nick Drake's "Pink Moon."  Drake contemporary, Manchester-born Roy Harper provides a similar appeal, offering textured, atmospheric guitar combined with a distinctive vocal range. Harper never received much in the way of U.S. attention, but managed to provide the voice for David Gilmour's "Have a Cigar" and was prominently acknowledged  on Zeppelin's third album. A regular from the 70s British college/countryside music festival circuit, Harper's themes often focus on social injustices or the series of girl friends he had, one of whom was underage (listen to the song, "Forbidden Fruit," for details). Appearing a bit hazy, no doubt from his extensive performance preparations, here is Roy Harper singing the beautiful "South Africa."

Mired in 60s/70s Folk Rock?

Fast forward to the recent explosion of rusticated bands like Mumford & Sons and the Decemberists, likable but ultimately forgettable ensembles. If you want to hear something truly divergent from this school, cue up Iron & Wine's 2007 "The Shepherd's Dog." Sam Beam and company turn the folk sound on it's ear, building abstract landscapes with a foundation of acoustic guitar as heard through a psychedelic filter. This is a gateway album to be listened to in it's entirety, and, to be fair, it's a bit of an acquired taste.

Imagine you're in a club enjoying an acoustic troupe when you begin to realize that someone spiked your drink. The opening "Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car" moves along at a catchy pace, but as you get deeper into the playlist, Sam, his accompanying sister Sarah, and others introduce sounds, instruments, and keys that stretch your initial patience. Will you flee from this unconventional cacophony or give it a chance to mellifluously blend into the arrangement, as it ultimately does? A second listen to songs like "Carousel," draws you further into the Dog's addition. This is Iron & Wine's magnum opus but it's definitely not for the folk puritan. Fortunately and unfortunately, it may leave you craving for more.

Meaning of Life

Following the 80's theme . . . this is my favorite video of the early MTV "New Wave" era. "Something About You" features the Isle of Wight's Level 42 and was essentially a one-hit wonder for U.S. audiences, despite the band's homeland popularity. The video is not so much a story as an anecdote, presented in outtakes as we see singer and bassist Mark King sing along--or fail to sing along--with the soundtrack. Set during a brief underground train ride, each of the band members explores a fantasy about fetching British actress, Cheri Lunghi, who you may recognize from movies like Excalibur and The Mission. At times, you can virtually feel the gusts of air blowing through the cabin. As the crew disembarks from their car, they fail to notice Ms. Lunghi as they walk past her. To add a nightmarish air, a King doppelganger appears as a vaudevillian reality check for each band member's flight of fancy. BTW, in the book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "42" is the answer to a question about the meaning of life. Check out, Something About You.