You're My Little Stefonia

Today's song comes with a free piggyback-track. One of my favorite guitarists of all time.

Song #17: Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (Followed by Island Letter)

TGIF

You might notice both George Harrison and Eric Clapton on guitar (Ringo Starr is also back there somewhere), you also might notice the best spontaneous  dance break ever.


Song #16: Billy Preston at the Concert for Bangladesh - That's The Way God Planned It

Diet Shooting Stars

Woops, somehow I accidently reposted RastaMon-Day's Barrington Levy Post, but you guys already know that Reggae is only for Mondays. Hopefully I can get that taken care of, even though I am very very new to Blogspot and could use a little help if anyone is experienced enough. I am also looking for anyone with decent HTML skills to help me get a little more consistency in these posts. If you are interested please contact me.

Moving on, I saw this picture today on the ole' interwebs... These are acoustic listening devices created by the Dutch army as part their defense systems research between World Wars I and II. Really they just look like the headphones I rocked in High School.

Anyway the other day I received word that, the late indie-composer, Elliott Smith, had all of his independent label released, reissued by the ironically named Kill Rock Stars Records. The are re-releasing his amazing eponymous record and Either/Or as well as other lesser compilations both on CD and VINYL!! I went to the site yesterday and picked up Vinyl copies of both (even though they are currently out of Either/Or which is dumb because "Elliott Smith" is way better) and I am super excited for them to come. I haven't really listened to Elliott Smith since college, except for the other day when out of nowhere, my alarm clock which is set to an international station just for kicks woke me up to Smith's super melancholy track, "Between the Bars"



Song #15: Elliott Smith - Single File

Sorry Cleveland

Sorry Cleveland.

It appears that I have been receiving a little bit of heat for a comment I made in last Sunday's Bone Thugs Post. Apparently some of my Ohio friends were mad that I called their city the "worst ever." To be fair, as a Columbus Man, I only made a few trips up to Cleveland, but most of the time spent, was listening to my hosts complain about how bad it sucks.

It can't be that bad, except that Cleveland has never won a professional sports title in anything ever, and they are usually ranked among the Top 10 Most obese cities. Basically, Cleveland is the Ralph Wiggum of cities.

All in all, I have actually had some great times up in "the Land" and I look forward to going back and seeing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Congratulations to recent inductee Jimmy Cliff), Bone Thug's neighborhood at St. Clair and anything involving LeBron James.

In hopes to smooth things over with an entire population, I present to you, one of Cleveland's finest exports, Joe Walsh and James Gang doing a furiously trippy version of their song Walk Away.

Song #14: James Gang - Walk Away

The Moon

For about a year the lovely lunar experience known intimately as The Moon has descended upon the Royal Oak lounge in Williamsburg. Hosted by the hilarious and multi-talented Nat Towsen and his and baby-faced scamp of a co-host Bob Walles, The Moon has been the highlight of my week, twice a month, for the whole year. In fact here is Bob interviewing my dog, Tia a month or two ago...

The Moon is an old school, legitimate variety show showcasing of some of the best Stand-Up Comedy/Sketch Comedy/Music/Dance/Vaudeville Acts/Robots working today. You can check out a collection of their videos here, and a seperate website dedicated to their ongoing, 44 Part Series about the 44th President, here.

A tight cult following has watched as The Moon grew over this last year and in honor of their 2009 finale, today's song is dedicated to them. Good luck tonight Moonkids.

The (presumably) Unofficial theme song to The Moon is the song of the day. Enjoy!


Song #13: Baby Huey & The Babysitters - Hard Times

RastaMonday

Here is the second installment of a series I meant to call Rasta Mon-Days. The torch (or whatever) is passed from Peter Tosh to another all-time Jamaican great. This man was a huge star by the young age of 14 and released one of my favorite reggae albums, (that includes today's song) Robin Hood, at 16. His trademark voice and singing style make him one of the most loved singers in Jamaican History. He is one of the hardest workers in the industry and is still touring heavily. In fact I saw him at the Alrosa Villa in November of 2007. That is the same Heavy Metal club in Columbus, Ohio that Pantera Guitarist, Dimebag Darrell was killed at, but one day a month the best vinyl shop, Roots Records, puts on the biggest baddest reggae show. I went to 3 and they were all amazing.

Here is proof...

Without further ado, your Rastamonday jam for today...


Song #12/RM #2: Barrington Levy - When Friday Comes

A Beginner's Guide to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: Part 1

Sorry for posting so late and probably throwing off your whole Biggie Sunday plans, but I come bearing the first part of a new and vital series here at Every Day, Another Song...

A Beginner's Guide to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

Part 1:
Dedicated to Tiger Woods

My interest in the Tiger Woods saga has been decreasing since the initial Thanksgiving Car Crash. However, the other day some text messages were brought to light that caught my eye. Not because I'm interested in how he was able to get a million skanks to bang him on the low, but because he used a certain reference that blew me away.

Tiger: [later, in response to Jaimee's mention of a date who was "full of himself"] you kinda like that for some reason which is weird why you decided on me.
Tiger: having an asian mother and a military father you cannot and will not ever be full of yourself
Jaimee: I have fun with u, you always make me smile and I am not afraid to be myself or say anything to u ... the day I met u I thought u were going to kick me out a few times but for someone reason you didn't and u have told me numerous times I talk to much but slowly as I get to know u iI think your absolutely amazing
Tiger: you are wrong I'm bone thugs in harmon[y]

Wow. Awesome. Now I don't claim to know Tiger Woods, but it takes a certain person to claim that they are "Bone Thugs-N-Harmony." Bone has a very specific and hardcore cult following. Based in the ghettos of the worst city ever, Cleveland, Ohio; Krayzie, Layzie, Bizzy and Wish mix a unique melodic style with some of the most hardcore,  Thuggish, Ruggish lyrics in rap. They also have a very distinct range of song topics... the following quote explains the group's growth from their first album to their second:

From Wikipedia

"While Creepin' On Ah Come Up's subject matter was focused almost entirely on violent criminal activity. In 1995 E 1999 Eternal saw Bone diversify its content and musical style [Skip one sentence] A considerable portion of the album's concept was built upon violent subject matter, yet Bone also incorporated deeper themes, as its songs dealt with more spirituality and occult mysticism. E 1999 Eternal also introduced Bone's trademark tracks devoted entirely to the use of marijuana."

As you can see, I was surprised when Tiger Woods compared himself to these guys. I mean they are HARDCORE and before the last month, Tiger Woods was nothing more than a lovable golfing cherub.  As a student at OSU I ran into a lot of kids from Cleveland who told me all the local stories, like this gem as reported by Krazie Bone in an interview referencing one of his many arrests...

Didn't it have something to do with an altercation with Wish Bone? 

Yeah, it had to do - it wasn't an altercation it was like me and him was like - we was like driving around drunk doing stupid shit and um I accidentally shot him. Shot him in the leg with the uh twelve gauge and it was like a whole big thing. He went to the hospital, police came, you know what I'm saying, took me to jail and everything.

Ok so, Tiger, although he ruined his squeaky clean image, although purportedly had affiars with at least 10 women, although he got in a domestic dispute, crashed his escalade and had his face clawed up, he's no Bone Thug, but he's well on his way. Stay tuned for the next installment of "A Beginner's Guide to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony"

Song #11: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Mo' Murda

OhsnapIsaacHayesistheman

Song #10: Isaac Hayes - Hyperbollicsyllabicsesquedalymistic

Dap-Dippin

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are a throwback to the old soul sounds of the 60's and 70's. Daptone Records, which comes straight out of Brooklyn is one of the coolest and truest labels making music today. Ms. Jones herself is a throwback to the olden times. From Augusta, Georgia, the same town as James Brown, she carries a voice and work ethic rarely seen in today's music. Maybe it is because she didn't receive her big break until she was 40, or maybe it is because she used to be a Corrections Officer at Rikers Island Prison, but she is as talented as she is humble. The rest of the Dap-Kings are über-talented supporting cast of hipsters, funksters, jazzmen, bluesmen, songwriters and record collectors. I saw them play last Valentine's Day at the Nokia Theater and the show was UNREAL. Here is Brooklyn Vegan's Report, including amazing photos by someone named Natasha Ryan (including the one below).

Unfortunately, the next day, Daptone Record's Brooklyn headquarters was robbed. Regardless, she put on the best show, and then she signed my copy of their newest album, 100 Day, 100 Nights, and then kissed me on the cheek. Amazing.

Song #9: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Tell Me

What fellow isn't Stubborn... Kind of?

Marvin Gaye was my first favorite singer. This is his first big hit. Stay tuned for more Marvin as this blog continues. I couldn't imagine being 25 without listening to him.



Song #8: Marvin Gaye - Stubborn Kind Of Fellow

How do you deal with the Rain?

It is storming here in the city. I woke up and it was pitch black and all I could here were the sounds of rain on the window. The weather usually dictates the music I listen to for the day, especially when it's bad/existential. Rain usually accentuates the ethos of The Blues, as it does for Country. Rain and Jazz also pair up well, probably due to the improvisational nature of both. However there is a grossly under-appreciated Rain-Genre out there, it especially mixes well with the Matrix-like Green Sky we are having. GRUNGE! Grunge came roaring out of Seattle and the Greater Northwest in the 1990's, when the area averaged 150 days of Rain per year. In fact in 1992 Seattle had 20 Consecutive days of rain, its also the year Nirvana's "Nevermind" reached #1 on the charts... Coincidence?

Regardless, I'm not going to go with Nirvana in this situation even though I was Kurt Cobain for Halloween. I've heard rumblings of these guys possibly reuniting in the near future. Chris Cornell writes a mean rain track. In this example you can really see the duality between Cornell's crazy, reserved grunge voice, and his skin peeling screams. Enjoy.




Song #7: Soundgarden - The Day I Tried to Live

Oh my my my my....

Speaking of Mick Jagger & Keith Richards...


I know all the words, but I still need to get Mick's ridiculous hand and body motions down before I can unleash this baby at Karaoke.

Check out this amazing performance on Britian's "Top of The Pops" from 1967. It is chock-full-o Jagger-Spasms.



Or if you prefer... The studio version


Song #6: The Rolling Stones - Let's Spend the Night Together

Get your fake Jamaican accents out... It's Reggae MON-DAZE, Mon.

Hey Mon! Welcome to another reoccurring segment here at EDAS called Reggae Mon-Days. Get it? I have a huge collection of reggae music, predominantly Rocksteady and Roots music, and I used to listen to it all winter just to keep warm.

The first Reggae Song is by the man who taught Bob Marley how to play guitar, one of the original Wailers, Peter Tosh.

Forget Jah, judging from the montage it looks like he let that giant gun Guide him. However neither did him much good. In the midst of a career resurgence in 1987 that included a Grammy nod and a successful collaboration with Mick Jagger & Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, he was brutally murdered in his Jamaica home by robbers. It was the shortest jury deliberation in Jamaican History... 11 Minutes.




Song #5/RM #1: Peter Tosh - Jah Guide

44

During my Sophomore year at College I lived in a house with 4 roommates at 44 (Fo-Tee FO) Chittenden in Columbus. We made a tradition to spend every Sunday sitting around, usually licking our weekend wounds, and listen to Biggie. Later we expanded it to include all the great rappers starting with B: Big Pun, Big L, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Busta Rhymes, Blackstar... After about 6 months of Hip Hop Sundays, we even opened the floor up for the Blues. I dont recall what reasoning we had for only listening to music beginning with the letter "B" but here at EDAS I'm going to be carrying the 44 Chitt tradition on... That doesn't mean that I'm gong to quarantine all Rap & Blues to Sunday, just that we'll be kicking it old school every God's Day.

Song #4: Notorious B.I.G. - Everyday Struggle