BRAND NEW LOOK!!

A long overdue makeover at the blog today. If you read EDAS via Email, RSS, or any other non-url based way, definitely head on over to the Homepage and check out the new look. I have been considering changing the layout for a very long time and I am happy to finally share the BRAND SPANKING NEW everydayanothersong.com with the world. I chucked the old man's bathroom wallpaper in favor of the vinyl look, widened the text margins (allowing for bigger pictures and videos), moved the gadgets to the right-hand side, flipped some sizes, fonts and colors and VIOLA! Feel free to leave any input in the comments section and enjoy the changes!

David Bowie - Changes

We Made It!

WE MADE IT!

It's now May 23rd and unless Raptured-Earth looks exactly like regular Earth and Rapture-coffee tastes exactly like regular coffee, the world is not over. Even though the battle was not without it's sacrifices I was able live a normal weekend, complete with Dental Appointment (all clean!), tUnE-yArDs concert, and watching the Mets get smacked around by their more affluent local counterparts. 

As mentioned above, I spent my Saturday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg with a sublime e-ssociate of mine, Megan, who runs the succulent blog Foodie Can't Fail. Megan turned me on to the genre-shattering work of Merrill Garbus a.k.a tUnE-yArDs before she started turning heads with her dope performance at SXSW. From first listen, I likened it to a Ladysmith Black Mambazo era Paul Simon with a female empowering Tracy Chapman aspect, but those folksters  doesn't cover the amount of work Garbus does, layering her own sounds over themselves to fill the concert hall with one-woman wall of sound. With the occasional help of a bassist and a small horn section, her powerful sound was only rivaled by the energy she brought to the stage.  

Pics via Amanda Hatfield & BrooklynVegan

Check out more pics of the wild show here, as well as the opening band, Buke & Gass, who I loved (Sorry I missed most of Afuche). Ladies, in a world of Britney's, Lindsey's and Rebecca Black's, you'd be kidding yourselves not to jump on the bandwagon and feel the electricity of this self-proclaimed "New Kind of Woman." Guys, this chick ROCKS and if you like anything from Sublime to Sonic Youth to Afrobeat or any other horn  driven World Music, you will thoroughly enjoy the smashing sounds of tUnE-gArBs. If you are either or none of the above, I sincerely suggest you see her live, if you can't, Buy the album and throw it on your most portable Victrola and enjoy the summer.   

tUnE-yArDs - Bizness

BONUS SONG: tUnE-yArDs - Killa

The Rapture

"Of course the world is gonna end,
We made T-Shirts"

Supposing today is the last day before the world ends, I didn't want to leave to blog outdated. Some fools (especially in my neighborhood) are walking around claiming that the world is going to end on Saturday. Seeing how time is relative and its already Saturday in Australia, I'm beginning to get skeptical. I'm not worrying too much about it, I have a dentist appointment in the morning and the tUnE-yArDs concert at MHOW at night and I've been waiting forever for both... Plus between all that judging and heavy lifting, Armageddon has gotta be an all day affair. In the face of the apocalypse, Knowledge Reigns Supreme. 

KRS-ONE - Step Into A World (Rapture's Delight)

As a small bonus, I came across this video via one of my favorite blogs, Dangerous Minds. Just when you think you've seen it all before, neo-vaudevillian Rachel Goodrich pulls a delightful bait and switch. Borderline nsfw for those Clockwatchers.

BONUS SONG: Rachel Goodrich - Lightbulb

Gon' Fishin'

Taking off early this week to go on a short vacay... I'm Going up Boston-Way, then to my favorite historic Whaling community, and back before Monday.

I imagine the trip will look a lot like this (if the weather cooperates) except for the obvious Brazil parts.

Little Joy - The Next Time Around

SPRRRRRRRING'S HERE!

Spring is finally here. We're topping 80 degrees here in the city and it feels good. Considering you can't get a more brilliant James Brown segue than that, I'll let the GFOS welcome you to the new season in style. 

James Brown - Funky Drummer

Earth Day

I apologize for the most recent and longest hiatus of my blogging career. Time has been flying by and I've been utilizing almost every moment of it. The first signs of spring have brought forth a bounty of amazing concerts and events to my small and humble towne and I have been taking in more than my fair share. 

Before I even begin to get into who I feel are the newest and hottest bands out there right now (not to mention the scoop on the NYC Area Summer Concerts) I would like to bring attention to the beautiful earth where I have spent every second of my life. It seems like nowadays we don't think of our over-arching Earth Mother unless we're holding something with the word Green on the label. Just take some time out today and all  days to appreciate this beautiful existence we have been afforded at the direct expense of the environment we share with every organism that has ever been known. 

Good to be back. Happy Earth Day. 

Demon Fuzz - Hymn to Mother Earth

Nate Dogg

Nathaniel "Nate Dogg" Hale

1969 - 2011

We lost another Hip Hop giant today. Calling Nate Dogg simply a rapper does his nearly endless catalog of outstanding songs and appearances a huge disservice. Nate was an all around vocalist capable of bringing the (G)Funk to any song just by singing what he lived. The "King of Hooks," as he was widely known,  had been sick for a while after having two strokes and several surgeries, but his legacy as one of the foremost pillars of West Coast Rap will live on. How are we going to regulate without hm?

Nate Dogg featuring Warren G. - Nobody Does It Better

Christopher Wallace

a.k.a The Notorious B.I.G.

May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997

The Notorious B.I.G. - You're Nobody 'til Somebody Kills You

photo by the amazing Kehinde Wiley (buy his art)

Big Booties? Oh Yeah!

Attraction is a funny thing. Some people like blondes while others like brunettes, never mind the fiery wild cards known as redheads. But why? Well Timmy, it all stems from the basic principle of Sexual Dimorphism, or the physical differences between the male and females in a given species. Take, for example, the noble Peafowl. Peafowl are often mistakenly referred to as a Peacocks, which is actually the name for the male only while the female is dubbed the Peahen. This bird perfectly illustrates the scientific premise of sexual dimorphism.

Witness the glorious spectrum of colors exhibited in the plumage by only the male of the species. It looks like this for one reason and one reason only... and no, it's not to end up as a design staple for 1970's studio apartments. The reason in scientific terms is called procreation however, in romantical terms  its known as  doin' it.

Look at the male and the brilliant colors of his exquisite tail-feathers; Now look at the female as she dons a schlumpy sand colored number. Sexual Dimorphism rears it's slightly differing male and female heads  when peahens simply choose their peacocks based on how impressed they are with these tail-feathers. In the human species we have obviously spawned language and society among other intellectual discourses to deepen and complicate the mating process, but have we really evolved that much past looking at butts? Supposing we haven't, the only difference between us and the birds is that our roles are slightly reversed. Now I'm not calling myself a schlump, but I think many (including this facebook group) would agree that the females are the ones with the glorious tailfeathers.

You remember Lydia? Check out her newest, 

non-Butt-Touching endeavor, aroundthe.net

If you don't believe me, or obvious butt-loving royalty, Sir Mix-A-Lot, maybe you can be convinced by my man Mos Def and his hind-centric opus. Ms. Fat Booty has been adored by all races (especially White People) and females and males alike. I have personally seen this song played on the subway by my fellow straphangers on more occasions than I can count, and I'm sure that if you don't know this one already, you'll be buying it and playing it too.

Mos Def - Ms. Fat Booty

Uh Oh

Wait, wait for the moment to come.
Stand up, stand up and take my hand.
Believe, believe in mystery
Love, love is simple as 1-2-3.
I'm a know-it-all, I'm the smartest man around,
That's right, you learn real fast
you the smartest girl in town, so:
Here come a riddle, here come a clue...
If you are really smart,
you'll know what to do...when I say:

Jump back, sit back, get back, relax...it's ok.
I called in sick, I won't go to work today.
I'd rather be with the one I love...
I neglect my duties...I'll be in trouble...but
I been to college, I been to school
I'm not the people
that read about in books...so:
Here come a riddle, here come a clue...
If you are really smart,
you'll know what to do (when I say)
Jet pilot gone out of control,
ship captain run aground,
Stockbroker make a bad investment,
when love has come to town.

Where, where is my common sense?
How did I get in a jam like this?
Believe, believe in mystery
Love, love is simple as 1-2-3.
Here come a riddle, here come a clue...
If you are really smart,
you'll know what to do (when I say)
Why am I going out of my head
whenever you're around?
The answer is obvious...
love has come to town.

Talking Heads - Uh Oh, Love Has Come To Town
(I'm posting two versions so you can see an super young David Byrne sing live while also sharing the steel drum solos featured on the record)

Love Kills

There's not much to mention about this song, except it's beautiful Afro-Lypso style get interrupted almost right away with a murderous threat. You'd think someone named Pepsi-Orlando would be a little more lyrically tame. Regardless, this gem reflects an extremely colorful musical period in Ghana's history that occurred during the 1960's. 

An interesting way to express one's love? 

I think so.

If you like what you hear, try to buy this unreal compilation of 1960's Ghana Music entitled Money No Be Sand. It actually took me years to find and since I was able to procure it a few months ago, It has garnered serious airplay in my personal collection.  

Pepsi-Orlando & His Young Star Band - I Love You

Oingo Wrongo

Sometimes love is not always ok. I'm not sure what the intentions of Oingo Boingo's Danny Elfman were when he penned this ode to gross, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had some pretty nasty things on his computer. Up until today I had only listened to this song, but the audio alone made me fear for the young daughters of the 1980's. Seeing a performance set to the words makes me want to call the government. "Little Girls" are made up of all sorts of nice, magical, delicate things and it is perfectly fine to enjoy the precious beauty they contribute to this cold-cold world, but keep it together man. We have a wannabe Lewis Carol over here and it kind of calls the integrity of the entire excellent album into question. Experience the weirdness below, continue to experience it every time you hear the theme to the Simpsons.

gifs via  

Oingo Boingo - Little Girls

Happy Valentine's Day

This year, instead of putting up a few sappy songs, or even "Songs To Bone To" like I did last year, I have decided to give this Valentine's space to alternative love songs. Now I don't just mean alternative as in gay or lesbian (although this will most likely be represented), but the true meaning of alternative, as in straight up different from the norm, or weird. Yes, we can all agree that the Fab Four's "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is an extremely romantic song, as is anything by the Carpenters, Pretenders, Smokey Robinson, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Billy Joel or Savage Garden, but it takes a true wordsmith to express love without falling into the same-old  ruined clichés. This week will celebrate those who went out on a limb, and whether it was successful or not, take the road less traveled, towards love.

Take today's song, specifically not only as a throwback to Rasta Mon-Days of old, but more importantly for it's slightly off putting hook. I have heard this song is actually written by the most famous reggae singer ever, Mr. Bob Marley, but this version is performed by Johnny Nash off my favorite soundtrack of all time (you should already know it's The Harder They Come). It begins with a soothing voice serenading you with high fructose lyrics but quickly slides into a chorus that repeats a very odd and fetishistic simile. I don't know what the 'it' is, that he's looking to have rubbed all over him, but I guarantee the next time you look at a jar of jelly... it will be way different. 

Come back all week for more Alternative Love Songs, here at
Every Day, Another Song.

Johnny Nash - Guava Jelly