Let's start it off right with Run DMC's "Christmas in Hollis." It's the best Christmas song of all time and I'm thinking of carolling in the neighborhood this year with this one.
Another favorite of mine, "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" by U2.. Love the old school U2.
One of the best, "2000 Miles" by The Pretenders. This is pure fabulous.
And because I like George Michael best with feathered hair and tinsel, it's Wham's "Last Christmas."
Lastly, it's The Waitresses with "Christmas Wrapping" from 1981, set to seizure-inducing Christmas lights!
So, I was up late last night, unable to sleep for no reason and when I woke up at 6:15 this morning (after 3 hours of sleep) the song "Daysleeper" was in my head. When I get a song in my head I usually fire up the iPod and play it, oh, I don't know — 42 times. I enjoy that. With all the R.E.M. on my iPod, I looked for another version of "Daysleeper" because I thought I had an acoustic version, but I couldn't find one. I just knew there was an acoustic album, but it was the 2001 MTV Unplugged I was thinking about. This afternoon I set out to find video from the episode and I do believe I hit the motherload.
When a band does an unplugged set it shows what they can do, strips away the fancy studio fixes and you have a pure performance. That's great for music fans. If a band is really talented you'll hear that in the song, it shines through. What Michael Stipe does here is fantastic — he has a voice that can easily overpower a song, but he is great at controlling it in an acoustic setting and the instruments aren't drowned out.
And now for some "Daysleeper."
One of the things that's different about R.E.M. is that they really don't do love songs. I kind of love that. Of course, they do love songs, but they're not typical, they're not sappy, they're honest. That's why "At My Most Beautiful" is one of my favorite R.E.M. songs. It's sweet, but not saccharin. The piano in the song is wonderfully done and the melody is fantastic.
"I'll Take The Rain" is done very well here. I'll say what I always say while listening to my own iPod: I love this song.
I've adored "Find The River" since first hearing it on 1992's Automatic For the People, which is a fantastic album. Let me explain what that means to the iTunes generation. You see, back in the day, bands made albums. Albums were meant to be listened to as a whole, meaning the songs were connected, not necessarily a theme, but there was usually a flow and it was harmonious. These days, artists release a couple of songs and they're lucky if someone hears the entire album with the invention of iTunes. That's a sad thing because you miss those gems that aren't released as singles. "Find The River" didn't chart in the U.S. so you probably didn't hear it unless you bought the album. Here's the acoustic version.
Sadly, you can't get these acoustic takes on some of R.E.M.'s best songs on an album. In what I consider to be a great travesty, they didn't put out an accompanying album. I KNOW! I couldn't believe it either. Very sad. I'm glad that at least for now, the videos are available on You Tube, so if you enjoyed the blog today, go watch the rest and you won't be disappointed. R.E.M. is a fantastic band with music that holds up unbelievably well. And by the way, the band is currently 30 minutes away from me, in New Orleans recording their new album. Don't think I'm not working on finding out where they're recording. If we're lucky there will be a part two to this post entitled "Kerry meets R.E.M. (and they didn't have her arrested for stalking)."
As I've said in a previous post, sometimes music is just supposed to be fun. Thank God for The B-52s for days when fun is what you need. The B-52s are quintessentially a party band from Athens, GA. Between Fred Schneider's spoken-word vocals and Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson's harmonies (they also shared lead vocalist duties with Fred on half the songs), The B-52s made something special in the 80's. They started as New Wave, played only on college radio and became part of the mainstream by the time Cosmic Thing came out. I've loved them since my pre-teen days when their style meant as much to me as their music. I identified with the style and the quirky style, and I'd still like to wear my hair as high as Kate's.
The B-52s are precisely the fun we need today and thought you'd enjoy a few videos for this Sunday's Rewind.
First up: "Private Idaho."
"Legal Tender" is about counterfeiting money. What? You got a problem with that?
This is "Song For a Future Generation" and it's lovely in a bizarre way. I adore the way the band members introduce themselves. If I were in The B-52s I'd say: "I'm Kerry, I'm a Cancer, I love the Google and enchiladas!" You'll have to watch the video for that to make sense. What a fun way to meet the band. If you're unfamiliar with the early days of The B-52s, guitarist Ricky was Cindy Wilson's brother who was in the band and passed away from AIDS in 1985. A lot of bands would have folded upon such a devastating loss, but The B-52s soldiered on and became a household name.
My favorite B-52s song has been "Deadbeat Club" for 20 years now. Writing that sentence makes me feel so damn old. Ah, youth. Keith is supercute in this video, he has a Morrissey thing going on with the hair and glasses, and that's never a bad thing in my opinion. Oh, and check out Michael Stipe's cameo.
You know, there aren't enough Thanksgiving songs. Why are there a brazillion Christmas songs, but the only Thanksgiving songs I know of are "10 Little Indians" and Adam Sandler's Thanksgiving song. That's it.
So, I thought I'd share Natalie Merchant's "Kind and Generous" for its theme of thanks. It's a great song, uplifting, fun, and the video has great costumes. I need the pink aerialist costume where Natalie's on the horse and trapeze (although I'm more of a female cannonball, let's face it).
I do love that song. It brings to mind all the people in my life who have been a blessing to me. We all have people who have made a difference in our lives, saved us from ourselves, and helped in a time of need. I hope you've thanked those people and that you can be that person for someone else. This is a perfect week to do so.
This post really doesn't need explanation. Stevie Nicks, either with Fleetwood Mac, or solo made some superfantastic rock and roll in the 80's. I love Stevie's duets and SO wish she'd do an album of duets. That album is way overdue.
Here's Stevie and Tom Petty doing "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "I Need to Know" and Stevie and Don Henley with "Leather and Lace." I searched extensively for the original video or a decent live performance of "Leather and Lace," but turned up a big nothing, so the song with photos will have to do.
If I were to sing a duet, it would be "Leather and Lace," but since I'm not a singer, it would probably go less like the above and more like this version by Will Ferrel and Dave Grohl. This is pretty great. Caution: don't play in front of the kids.
So, for today’s Rewind, I give you my favorite songs I like to sing along to. If I’m being really honest, it’s more like songs I think I can sing the hell out of.
They’re mostly one-hit wonders, but such good stuff. Oh, and these videos are some 80’s gold.
First up is one of my all-time favorite 80’s songs evah. T’pau’s “Heart and Soul.” Best line: I used to have a lover with a Midas touch. IF I HAD A NICKEL, PEOPLE.
Next would be my theme song, “Goody Two Shoes” by the one and only Adam Ant. Best line: You don’t drink, don’t smoke/What do you do/The subtle innuendos follow/There must be something inside.
This one would be a duet. It’s “Obsession” by Animotion. It’s the song that spawned a million stalkers — if you listen to the lyrics, it’s nuts. The video makes exactly ZERO sense. Best line: My fantasy has turned to madness /And all my goodness /Has turned to badness.
Lastly, totally not a one-hit wonder and completely the opposite of the other videos today — The Commodores with “Nightshift.” I love this song. Major love. When I sing this one in the car it’s dangerous, because I have to do the hand motions. It’s a fab song, more subtle than “Brickhouse,” (obviously) and it’s about Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, who both passed away in 1984, the year before this song came out. The Kerry Blog is all about musical education, is it not? This video is perfect. The outfits at the end SO remind me of Isaac from the Love Boat, it’s good times. Best line: At the end of a long day/It’s gonna be okay/On the Nightshift.
Regina Spektor is getting quite a bit of attention of late and it’s all well deserved and wonderful. She has a great story and I thought you might like to hear what her Wiki says:
Spektor was born in Moscow, USSR to a musical Jewish family. Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist.
Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Russian college
of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.[1]
Spektor learned how to play piano by practicing on a Petrofupright that was given to her mother by her grandfather.[2] She was also exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father, who obtained such recordings in Eastern Europe and traded cassettes with friends in the Soviet Union.[1] The family left the Soviet Union in 1989, when Regina was nine and a half, during the period of Perestroika, when Soviet citizens were permitted to emigrate. Regina had to leave her piano behind.[3]
The seriousness of her piano studies led her parents to consider not
leaving the USSR, but they finally decided to emigrate, due to the
ethnic and political discrimination which Jews faced.[4]
By now y’all know I love my quirky pianists. Spektor is most certainly the quirkiest and most eclectic girl in the music industry that I know of. Not to mention wildly talented as well being a lovely vocalist who doesn’t have to dress up in outrageous costumes or make the tabloids for attention. Her music speaks for itself.
Her 2006 album Begin To Hope is superfantastic. Here’s “Fidelity” from that album.
I went back and forth over whether to share this next song with you or not. “Samson” is a jewel. It’s my favorite song of the past few years (period) and it’s one that can make me cry and I strangely identify with and just adore it. I play it often. “You are my sweetest downfall/I loved you first/Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth” just kills me. You’ll have to hear it, but I think “you are my sweetest downfall” may be the most poetic phrase I’ve heard in years. The “beneath the sheets of paper” part reminds me of my unpublished novel (sigh). So, that’s my song. Maybe you’ll like it too.
Spektor’s latest album, Far is out now and the current single is “Eet.” It’s lovely.
And the perfect song to listen to after “Eet” is “Dance Anthem of the 80’s” for the -eet sounds. Here’s a fabulous live clip.
So, that’s my Regina Spektor post. I hope y’all enjoyed it as much as enjoy her music.
Those of you who know me well know that I love everything about the written word, typeface, fonts, color, printing, and imagery. Letterpress is the one medium that combines all of those things in an organic way that is unlike anything else I've seen. Maybe it's because I learned to type on an actual typewriter and not a computer, but I love the feel of paper, I like ink, I adore the uniqueness that is only obtained by doing something by hand.
I've been dabbling in computer graphics for a couple of years now, self-taught in Photoshop Elements, and I enjoy it quite a bit, but there is nothing like paper and ink. A year ago, I drew an image for the ScrapFest! t-shirts and I hadn't had that much fun working on a project in years. I love a Papermate Felt-tip Flair pen in a multitude of colors, they make me happy.
Over the past week I've been looking for inspiration for the new ScrapFest! print materials we send to our vendors and I'm tired of the over-worked look I see so much in posters lately. A few years ago, I saw a feature on Hatch Show Print, a letterpress shop in Nashville, on the Martha Stewart show and I Googled them. I knew I liked the look of letterpress, but I was blown away with the work they've done and decided I needed to pare down and do something in the vain of Hatch Show Print.
Here's a great little documentary on Hatch Show, so you'll see what I'm talking about. Their work is a who's who of country and rock music, and they do custom work for weddings and all kinds of cool stuff. Take a look.
In the words of Liz Lemon from 30 Rock: I want to go to there. I was in Nashville a couple of years ago and SO wish I would have gone to Hatch Show Print. I need one of those monoprints. Need. I think a trip to Nashville is in order, who wants to come?
So, all this digital work I do is great and all, but there's nothing like touching the stuff. That's why I'm getting this little letterpress for myself. Yeah, I'm getting it.
Back in 1991, amidst the sea of grunge bands (which I hated) from Seattle that were ever-present on the radio, there was a gem of musician who appeared on my radar and his name was Matthew Sweet. His music was refreshing and happy and I loved it, and still very much love it. I remember the half anime/half performance video of his first song, "Girlfriend" and Sweet performing the song on the Regis show, which means it was either a holiday or I was skipping school, who knows. I bought his first album then and now have his music on my iPod and listen to it often.
Over the years, Sweet has kept a lower than low profile, but he's still making records and touring. His last release was Sunshine Lies, from last year and in 2006 he recorded an album of duets from the 60's with Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles. I love their take on The Beatles "And Your Bird Can Sing." This past summer they put out an album of covers of 70's duets — how fun is that? 100% fun — that's how much.
If you're a fan of power-pop or just love good music, I suggest you get his best-of release, Time Capsule, on iTunes right now and put in heavy rotation on your iPod, but for now listen to three of my favorite Sweet tunes.
"Girlfriend"
"You Don't Love Me"
"Time Capsule"
And because I love alternate versions of songs, a fab version of "Girlfriend" from the reissue. Enjoy.
kerryfaler.blog 