Actually, it was very laid back as Eugene Hutz, Sergey Ryabtsev and Yury Lemeshev of the band stopped in at All Things Considered to talk and have a small acoustic set yesterday. Regular visitors/listeners of The Yank Sizzler know that I'm absolutely rabid about Gogol Bordello. Did I mention they are the best live band playing today?

Make sure you head on over to NPR's website and check out the full set and interview, especially the unaired parts of the interview as they are more interesting than the stuff that made it to air.

As a treat, here is a MP3 of "Greencard Husband" played acoustically for the NPR session. For some reason they decided not to play a song about lesbian roommates on the air. And here I was positive that NPR was more progressive than that.

Enjoy it everyone,

Michael


The photo was taken by someone I don't know of. But they deserve any credit for it.

Hey remember that crappy song by the Reel Big Fish?  Way back in 1998 i was at a really boring music festival with an odd commercial lineup that was
Pharcyde (headlining)
Everclear
Reel Big Fish
Wilco
and Incubus

and I was arguing with some guy who insisted that Sublime sang the above mentioned song. When RBFish sang it, he did not apologize.

So goes life, and so go musicians who write a catchy little diddy for some company.

A day or two ago, the blog Thighs Wide Shut put up the Jack White jingle he wrote for that certain soda company, you know, the one with the polar bears and the Latin American union-busting death squads.

It reminded me of the great minds that have shelled out talent for various products and in addition to Jack's "What Goes Around", there is also the infamous Ween / Pizza Hut team-up that created "Where's the Mother-Fuckin' Cheese". Interestingly enough, PH passed on the song, even the clean version.

And of course, there's Mick doin' it for Rice Krispies.

Hundreds of others have done it too, but those are the ones that come to mind right now. Rest assured I will probably be sued for suggesting that some soda company is connected with hired thugs who murder people.

That said, I still respect Jack White and still really love a lot of the music he creates. The Raconteurs new material is pretty good.

Boston really had a wealth of good music in the 1980's among The Pixies and Mission of Burma were Galaxie 500. The band is long gone, but since both of the previously mentioned bands have reformed and toured I imagine G500 will to, fingers crossed. Last year, they released an EP of their lone two Peel sessions. Looking back on it, I would have expected there to be more Peel sessions from this band, but they really were a constantly dimming light and we should be thankful we have what we have.

The sessions were marked by the beautiful nature that often lent itself to a Peel session. A range of covers were played including songs from The Sex Pistols and Jonathan Richman plus a dandy version of my favorite Young Marble Giants song, "Final Day".  If you ever get a mix tape from me, chances are good that "Final Day" by YMG will close out the tape. That or "Midnight Cowboy" by John Barry.

Regardless, here is Galaxie 500 doing "Final Day."

Buy the album here.

Unfortunately, a cool little record shop nearby recently quit business. The blow was softened by the fact that the owners didn't have to quit business because they couldn't make a living at it anymore, but because they wanted to try something new. Regardless, Recycled Sounds is now gone. RIP.

As they were selling out the inventory, I grabbed up a double LP compilation called Live at The Hope & Anchor: Front Row Festival 1977. It's bands from the punk and post-punk scene playing live at a pub called Hope & Anchor in Islington, north of London, in late 1977. The set has The Stranglers, X-Ray Spex, 999, The Only Ones, XTC, The Saints, Dire Straits and many more. It was only released in the UK on Warner Bros. I don't know what the Hope & Anchor looks like on the inside, but I imagine it's somewhat small, so I was hoping for a real intimate sound on the recordings.

Excited by my find, especially since I was able to get it at 50% off, I rushed home to play it. Too bad the record didn't pan out. It's decent but not amazing. However there are 3 solid numbers on it. Check em out below on mp3 (Vinyl rip at 256 kbps)

The Stranglers - Hanging Around (live 1977)
The Saints - Demolition Girl (live 1977)
X-Ray Spex - Let's Submerge (live 1977)

A zanny show featuring new music from Love Is All, Tapes 'n Tapes, and The Black Angels. Also Love, The Specials, Balkan Beat Box, New Order, Drumcorps, Aavikko, True West, The MC5, The Favourites, Precious Bryant, & Black Box Recorder.

The Specials - Ghost Town [1981]
EP: Ghost Town
Buy the release.

Love Is All - Talk Talk Talk Talk [2006]
Album: Nine Times That Same Song
Buy their album.

Tapes 'n Tapes - Insistor [2005]
Album: The Loon
Buy their album.

Love - A House is Not a Motel [1968]
Album: Forever Changes
Buy their album.

The MC5 - Skunk (Sonicly Speaking) [1971]
Album: High Time
Buy their album.

Precious Bryant - Morning Train [2005]
Album: The Truth
Buy her album.

Balkan Beat Box - Meboli (feat. Vlada Tomova) [2005]
Album: S/T
Buy their album.

The Favourites - SOS [1979]
7" on 4 Play Records
Available at Little Hits Music Blog or Here

True West - I'm Not Here [1983]
12" EP: Bring Out Your Dead
OUT OF PRINT
But look around for the unofficial compilation -
V-A 80's Nuggets - Hyped to Death Unofficial Addendum Vol. 3
(it has no affilation with neither Nuggets nor H2D)
Also thanks to http://www.collectorscum.com/ for helping me figure out the details of this release.

Drumcorps - Saddest [2005]
10" Rmx or Die
Possibly OOP, but check Kriss Records.
Also available on this free comp. put out by Cock Rock Disco.

Aavikko - Pizza Job / Tapettava [2001]
Recorded John Peel Session Sept. 10, 2001.
Unreleased.
But check out the band's website
or check out the details of the BBC Session.

The Black Angels - The Sniper At the Gates of Heaven [2006]
Album: Passover
Buy their album.

New Order - Temptation / Love Will Tear Us Apart / Digital [live 2002]
Recorded live Finsbury Park, London Sept. 06, 2002.
Available on DVD: New Order 511

Black Box Recorder - Seasons in the Sun [1998]
Album: England Made Me (Bonus Track)
Buy their album.

This is Sparklehorse teaming up with the poet William Blake to create one hell of a good song. The tune is titled "London" and was originally a poem penned by the English wordsmith Blake.

Last week, I contributed this tune to the third episode of The Contrast Podcast done by Tim Young. It's an excellent program, so head on over there and check it out. Anyway, the song is considered out of print because it was originally released only as a 7" single. Capital Records put it on a promo CD called Chest Full of Dying Hawks, but that release is not official.

So here it is. Enjoy.

Sparklehorse - London (1995)

Way back now, in Episode 001 of this podcast, I played a calypso cover of "Long Time Boy" done by Nadia Cattouse of Belize. Nadia had moved to the UK and recorded several LPs and singles for Parlophone and RCA in the early 60's. Apparently she was also on a kind of TV variety show as well. Her material has never been reissued on CD and her LP's now commonly reach $80 when they come up for sale. "Long Time Boy" was the b-side to "Boy Without a Heart" which fetches up to $20 for the single.

Thank God a record collecting group called The Numero Group are around. They crate dig with the best of em and they compiled a splendid compilation of Belizean artists entitled Belize City Boil Up. They included Nadia which is where I discovered her.

Unfortunately the prices of her albums have excluded me from getting anything else but a single split with her singing "Judas and Mary."

In an attempt to further infect the ears of music fans with her rare sound, here is a MP3 of "Long Time Boy."

This might backfire though, as more people discover Nadia, her record prices will only keep going up.

Also, supposedly, Nadia is still alive and in good health having returned to Belize.

Support what The Numero Group is doing by buying the compilation here.

My goodness, what a diverse show. Brand new music from Calexico, Marianne Dissard & Bearsuit, live music from The Raconteurs and Gogol Bordello, plus the best in indie, classic alternative, Calypso, French New Wave, Ska, punk, and more.

Devotchka - The Enemy Guns [2004]
Album: How It Ends
Buy their album.

Jacques Dutronc - Fais Pas Ci Fais Pas Ca [196?]
Album: Le Double Disque D'Or De Jacques Dutronc
Buy his album.

Marianne Dissard - Les Draps Sourds [2005]
Demo 7"
Contact her to buy the 7".

Calexico - All Systems Red [2006]
Album: Garden Ruin
Buy their album.

The Raconteurs - It Ain't Easy [2006]
Recorded live March 25th, 2006 for Dermot O'Leary Show, BBC Radio2
The show has been taken down, but several blogs are hosting mp3's of it - http://20six.fr/bopperenlarme & http://gorillavsbear.blogspot.com/

Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach For My Revolver [1981]
EP: Signals, Calls & Marches
Buy their album.

The National - Looking For Astronauts [2005]
Album: Alligator
Buy their album.

Ten Minutes With My Dad - Party with the Devil [2004]
S/T 10" [Out of Print]
Re-released Rough Trade V/A Counter Culture 2004
Buy the compilation.

Emotron - In the Mouth a Desert [2004]
Demo Tape
Not available commercially, but check out his myspace page.

Bearsuit - Steven Fucking Spielberg [2006]
Fantastic Plastic Records 7"
Buy their single.

The Skatalites - Chinatown [1964]
Album: Ska-Boo-Da-Ba [1966]
Buy their album.

Lord Kitchener - London is the Place For Me [1951]
Melodisc 7".
Re-released V/A London is the Place For Me - Trinidadian Calypso 1950-56 [2002]
Buy the compilation.

Gogol Bordello - Underdog World Strike / Through The Roof 'N' Underground
Eugene Hutz & Oren Kaplen only.
Recorded live for Leon Napoleon Radio Show 2005
Radio Station's Website [in Hebrew]
Not available commercially.

Gert Wilden & Orchestra - Follow Me [1971]
Album: Was Manner Nicht Fur Moglich Halten
Re-released The Schulmadchen Report / Schoolgirl Report [1996]
Buy the album.

Tom Waits - Who Are You [1992]
Album: Bone Machine
Buy his album.

The Ramones - I Believe in Miracles [1989]
Album: Brain Drain
Buy their album.

Eugene Hutz and Oren Kaplan of Gogol Bordello stopped by a Tel Aviv radio show and performed 3 great acoustic numbers - Occurance on the Border / Underdog World Strike / Through the Roof 'N' Underground. This was a rare acoustic performance with lots of energy. Two of the tunes are going to be Episode 009 of the podcast.

Check out the radio station here. [In Hebrew]
Or you can see the host of the show's Myspace page. [In English]

Zip File of the show in MP3 Form.

Photo by Hilary Hulteen.

Vashti Bunyan is a British folk singer that has inspired a generation of cultish folkies. In 1970 she recorded a debut LP Just Another Diamond Day and then retired as a recording artist for 35 years. It wasn't until last year that she was persuaded to come back to recording music and she released her 2nd album, Lookaftering.

But before all that, in 1965 she recorded a tune called "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind."  It was that year that she met the manager of The Rolling Stones, Andrew Loog Oldham. He gave her that song to record as it had been penned by Mick and Keith. It was released on Decca under just the name Vashti and was the sound of swinging London town, and essentially gave no clue to the soft folk sound she would come to inhabit.

I know the song has been put on several comps from then to now, but for the most part, its kind of hard to track down for purchase. So here it is.

Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind by Vashti Bunyan.

It's also featured in Episode 003 of this podcast.

Enjoy.