I found a nice mash up by DJ Paul V. Click here to listen to it. (mp3)

Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today for Paradise City with anyone else but you.

Franz Ferdinand formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 2001 and delighted history teachers throughout the U.S. that instantly gained 2% street cred for knowing all about Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Take Me Out became a big hit in the UK and a modest hit in the US in 2004, with it’s unique composition and catchy guitar hook. Finger Eleven lifted this idea in Paralyzer which was a big hit for the band in the U.S. in 2008.

Here’s a nice mash up from SKRATCH N SNIFF:

Mason Jennings played a sold out show at First Avenue in Minneapolis on December 27th, 2007. He usually plays First Ave every December, and this concert came closely after the soundtrack to I’m Not There was released, in which he provided two excellent Bob Dylan covers - Times They Are a-Changin’ and The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll. Surprisingly, both songs were left off the setlist.

Perhaps he was too busy tending to his family. Brother Matt Jennings, who has a striking resemblence to Mason and opened the show with his own set, came out to play on a few songs including an old song the pair had written about riding bikes intoxicated at night. Wife Amy Jennings (formerly of Astronaut Wife ) came out to provide backing vocals on a few songs including the poignant tribute The Ballad of Paul and Sheila about the untimely death of Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. Finally, in an out-of-left-field and refreshing move, he brought out his proud and understandibly nervous father to sing a couple songs including Go Tell it on the Mountain.

Former bassist and current John Lennon circa 1970 lookalike Robert Skoro joined him onstage with an acoustic guitar for a soothing cover of the Everly Brothers’ All I Have to Do is Dream followed by Heaven, a song from Skoro’s 2002 solo album Proof. The set ended with the entire group (sans father) for a performance of Sorry Signs on Cash Machines from Mason’s 2002 album Century Spring. By this time, the show had a very Grand Ole Opry feel to it, and it was nice how he slowly built to that point from starting with just an acoustic guitar.

The encore started with the wisely chosen Big Sur from his first album, leading into the poorly chosen Keepin’ it Real. The song, which I could do a songs alike post about seeing as it’s a slight ripoff of Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Going Nowhere, was written for Shrek 2. The producers nixed it for Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows , which had a lasting love affair with the Billboard charts. Mason ended the show with the stark and beautful Adrian from Century Spring.

Another highlight was a laid back cover of Waiting by Tom Petty with accompaniment on the upright bass. Maybe he included this in lieu of the Dylan songs? Either way, it was well executed and placed nicely in the middle of the setlist. All in all, another great show from one of Minnesota’s favorite singer/songwriters and truly unique talents.

Tegan and Sara, my favorite lesbian identical twin sister Canadian band, came to the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis on November 30th, 2007, in support of their phenomenal record The Con. The album is on my best of 2007 list. They played a nice mix of this record and their older material.

Overall, the show was very good, with some minor distractions.

The first of which are intended for the crowd.

Much like Nancy Sinatra’s boots are made for walking, theater shows are made for sitting. You can stand for the encore only. Also, it’s not a free for all, and you can’t run up to the pit. Sorry kids. Stay off my damn lawn.

You can take a few pictures with your click click click click camera, phone, or James Bond spycam. You can’t take a google (look it up on google) of pictures or hold your gadget up for the entire concert. It feels like a search party pointing flashlights at me all night. Why even go to a live show if you plan to watch it through your 3 inch lens? I realize I will probably be using video from these rapscallions in this post, and I understand the irony.

OK, now on to the talent.

1. The drums and bass were way too loud, and the bassist had some kind of fuzz effect which did not jive with the songs in my opinion. C’mon ladies. Listen to your album. Pretend that your capable producer Christopher Walla is in the room, and persuade the album’s bassist Matt Sharp (Weezer, The Rentals) to join you on tour. Throw some Loonies at him since they’re worth something now (at least when this post was published). You write smart, well-crafted pop songs with an emphasis on vocals and simple but effective instrumentation. That’s what we want to hear at your concerts. I also think a second rhythm guitarist is overkill. I know you’re young and you want to rock (and I salute you), but don’t compromise the music.

banter:

walking with a ghost:

Young Folks by Sweden’s Peter Bjorn and John was to 2007, as Crazy by Gnarls Barkley was to 2006 in the United States. The instantly recognizeable drumbeat, vocal stylings of guest performer Victoria Bergsman (formerly of The Concretes), and the infectious whistle used in the verse make it as sweet as a pouch of big league chew. I’m guessing The Turtles enjoyed this song, since they recorded something very similar in 1966 called You Baby. The major similarities are the drumbeat and the melody of the verses. Even the beatlesque jangly guitar in You Baby is close to the whistling of Young Folks, which makes sense since it’s just following the melody.

You Baby was written for The Turtles by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who are also responsible for writing several other charting pop songs including Secret Agent Man for Johnny Rivers. Sloan and Barri were also the masterminds behind the sixties group The Grass Roots, essentially writing the music and forming the band. Did you know that one of the original members of the Grass Roots, Creed Bratton, hilariously plays himself on NBC’s The Office? You really should know these things.

Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman formed The Turtles in 1965 in Westchester, California. Taking a cue from The Byrds, they decided to cover one of Bob Dylan’s songs It Ain’t Me Babe , and their version was the group’s first hit charting at #8 in 1965. They had a slew of other hits including their signature song, Happy Together , which was written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon and replaced Penny Lane as the #1 song in April of 1967. This song, which was their only number one, became one of the classic examples of feelgood 1960s American pop. The group disbanded in 1970, and in a surprising move, Kaylan and Volman became part of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. Zappa even released his own version of Happy Together, which was kind of like doing a parody of a song that was already a parody of itself. Kaylan and Volman still tour today as The Turtles featuring Flo and Eddie.

Zappa and the Turtles:

Young Folks Video:

Ryan Adams is arguably one of the most talented singer/songwriters of his generation, and Easy Tiger will be at the top of my best albums of 2007 list. I guess with high expectations comes the greater probability of disappointment. He is prolific, averaging an album per year, with a wealth of unreleased material on the shelf that is finally being released as a boxed set. That being said, he has difficulties performing, especially in Minnesota. I think there’s a pill for that right?

This particular show took place on September 24th, 2007, at the State Theater in Minneapolis. Ryan’s main issues were the sound engineer and the monitors. It always seems to be the monitors. He was walking over to the soundboard after what seemed like every song, and became increasingly agitated throughout the show. He even took matters into his own hands as he moved two monitors, his guitar pedals, and the location of the microphone. The lighting was a cold, dark blue. The setlist was as stagnant as the stage presence. Goodnight Rose had moments of brilliance and was the highlight, and the first single, Two, was a strong opener. Night Birds, from the disappointing 29, was a poor choice. Dear Chicago was a great choice, but an uninspired, apathetic performance.

Another factor in this concert was the audience. It was a constant state of yelling and shouting at the stage. This was beyond the typical song request activity. It was almost like mass hysteria. One person screams, so another person screams louder, almost to try and top the other person. Ryan addressed this towards the end of the show, saying that he can’t understand anything people are shouting, and that it feels like he’s amongst cavemen. He made a valid point here. The audience was horrible, and I think it worsened the situation.

The setlist was as follows:
1. Two
2. Goodnight Rose
3. Beautiful Sorta
4. Rescue Blues
5. Let it Ride
6. Dear Chicago
7. Peaceful Valley
8. Nightbirds
9. Dear John
10. Wild Flowers
*He started playing I See Monsters and scrapped it for…
11. Shakedown on 9th Street
12. Cold Roses
13. The End
14. Please Do Not Let Me Go
15. A Kiss Before I Go

I have seen great shows from Mr. Adams, like the 2001 show at First Avenue. This was the Gold tour and he was in top form, and good spirits, possibly because he was still partaking in spirits at this time. In fact, he bought me a beer, along with the front half of the crowd. I craftily attached the ticket to the bottle of this Rolling Rock for a memento (see image below), which was refreshing after what had already been a good two hours of the show. Gary Louris from the Jayhawks, who were just added to Adam’s Lost Highway label at the time, joined him for one of the encores. He came back to First Avenue in 2003, which became one of his other meltdowns, although I’ve heard claims of people enjoying this show because he was at least entertaining and weird. Apparently he started verbally attacking Paul Westerberg for some reason. I guess another meltdown happened at an outdoor show at the Walker Art Center when someone was yelling Summer of 69. Get it? His name is similar to another musician’s name. Let’s yell the other guy’s songs out as a request! The audience will find me hilarious, and want to hang out with me after the show.

Eddie and the Cruisers, released in 1983, is a story of about a fictional 1960s rock band. The band makes a name for itself playing as a cover band, until the new keyboardist (played by Tom Berenger) helps the band release an album of original material called Tender Years that becomes a hit largely because of the song On the Darkside. The next album, Season in Hell, is too experimental for the record company (along the lines of the Beach Boys’ Smile) so it’s shelved, Eddie gets depressed and dies in a car crash Jackson Pollock style…..or does he?!?! It’s a good rock n’ roll movie, but don’t bother with the pointless sequel.

The music for the film is performed by Rhode Island’s John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, and it’s their claim to fame. Their is a heavy Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band influence, which was the exact ripoff (OK…homage) that the film intended. The band road off the coattails of the Cruisers soundtrack for awhile, but things eventually faded, though you probably remember the kickass montage song Hearts on Fire used in Rocky IV. Ivan Drago was such a jerk to Apollo Creed. I think a proper solution would be that Arcade Fire has to write and record the montage song from the next Rocky movie. No, Sly is not done with the series. No way.

Extra Credit: On the Darkside shares a similar guitar part with what Prince song? Please don’t answer this question until you’ve baptized yourself in the majestic waters of Lake Minnetonka.

Hear what I’m talking about in this audio clip:

Video related goodies:

If You Could Read my Mind appeared on the 1970 album Sit Down Young Stranger and rose to #5 on the Billboard charts becoming his first American hit. This prompted Reprise Records to change the name of the album to (big surprise) If You Could Read my Mind. The album has a picture of the G-Light (everyone refer to him as G-Light from this point forward) staring out of a window with a content, possibly bordering on creepy, expression on his face similar to John Denver’s much creepier 1970 album cover for Take Me to Tomorrow.

DARE , the second single off of the Gorillaz album Demon Days (May 24th, 2005), hit #1 on the UK Singles Chart and #87 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song features Shaun Ryder from the Happy Mondays and Black Grape, and apparently he was supposed to be saying It’s There, but it sounded more like It’s Dare, so they just changed the title. Why not? Cartoon characters can do what they want. I’d like to see an animated G-Light party with 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel. Albarn should at least call on him to do guest vocals on the next Gorillaz album.

It’s also worth noting that DARE sounds like it could slip into into Your Woman, by White Town, especially after the chorus. Remember White Town? Me too. They had that one song featuring a trumpet line taken from My Woman by Al Bowlly.

For those of you that don’t have The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on your ipod, shame on you.

Listen to clips of the songs alike parts of these songs here:
(Quick, before G-Light burns you with laser vision)

Partake in these related videos:

The Chiffons were an all girl r&b group that came out of the Bronx in 1960. The group hit number one in the U.S. with the song He’s So Fine as their first single. It was written by a songwriter named Ronald Mack, who died of cancer shortly after it was released. Carole King played piano on this track. The group included Judy Craig as lead singer, Patricia Bennett and Barbara Lee. Sylvia Peterson joined the group in 1963.

George Harrison became the first Beatle to have a number one single with My Sweet Lord in 1970 from his ambitious album All Things Must Pass. Interesting tidbits about this song include it’s original intention for Billy Preston, and Eric Clapton playing guitar on the track. The song’s guitar riff was used in the Oasis’s Supersonic from Definately Maybe, which is amusing since Harrison kind of trashed Oasis, saying in a French news interview that they wouldn’t even be remembered 30 years from now. Also, Wonderwall was a 1968 film by Joe Massot that Harrison scored, and that’s where Oasis came up with the term. This is a direct answer to the Scottish band Travis, who posed the question “What’s a Wonderwall Anyway?” in their song Writing to Reach You from the excellent album The Man Who. Anyway, I am rambling pop culture, and you should probably get used to it. If you like the song Wonderwall, I recommend either the version by Ryan Adams or the Mike Flowers Pop Orchestra for a cool lounge version.

These songs, My Sweet Lord and He’s So Finehave essentially the same verse and chorus, which is what lead to the lawsuit in 1976. George Harrison lost this lawsuit when a judge said he “subconsciously plagiarized” The Chiffons tune on My Sweet Lord. He was ordered to pay Bright Tunes Music, who owned the copyright, $587,000. Disputes over damages lingered on into the 1990s, with Harrison’s manager Allen Klein changing sides by buying Bright Tunes, which published He’s So Fine, and continuing the lawsuit after parting ways with Harrison. Harrison ended up being the owner of both songs. The Chiffons actually did a version of My Sweet Lord, if only to amuse people like me, and it can be found on the album The Best of The Chiffons. I guess if you’re powerful, and you copy someone, just buy them out and make them pay you to cover your song.