CHART ATTACK!: Michael Jackson Edition

Jason Hare takes a look at some of Michael Jackson’s most (and least) memorable tracks to grace the Top 10 on this week’s CHART ATTACK!

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Friday, July 3rd, 2009

The Friday Mixtape: 7/3/09

by Dw. Dunphy

A-B-C! It’s easy as do-re-mi!

Art Brut – Summer Job from Art Brut vs. Satan (2009)
Bat for Lashes – Moon and Moon from Two Suns (2009)
Battles – Atlas from Mirrored (2007)
Chris Eaton – Don’t Play Games from Vision (1986)
Depeche Mode – Halo from Violator (1990)
Glenn Kaiser Band – Carolina Moon from Carolina Moon (2001)
Michael Been – Worried from On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthough (1994)
Michael Jackson – Human Nature from Thriller (1982)
Pale Forest – Tristesse from Of Machines and Men (2000)
Paul McCartney – My Brave Face from Flowers in the Dirt (1989)
Pete Droge – If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself) from Necktie Second (1994)
Robert Wyatt – Shipbuilding from Songs of Elvis Costello: Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Detours & Rendezvous (1998)
Television – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction from Live at the Old Waldorf 1978 (2003)
The Dismemberment Plan – Gyroscope from Emergency & I (1999)
The Flaming Lips – Revenge from Dark Night of the Soul (2009)

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Friday, July 3rd, 2009

How Bad Can It Be?: “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li”

by Jack Feerick

howbadcanitbe

When you think about it, there’s no earthly reason why movies based on video games should, as a class, be so atrocious. For one thing, the games themselves are largely cinematic in conception and style; the biggest problem of most adaptations from other media — of imposing a three-act framework on material that lacks structure — is largely absent, since the source game is most often already organized as a series of escalating encounters. Backstory and characterization, however rudimentary, are already in place. And coming from such a design-intensive medium, game-based movies arrive pre-packaged with a deep sense of environment, of atmosphere. The ingredients for success are in place.

And yet, the record speaks for itself. The history of the genre is a grim slog of tax-shelter flops, assembled by Eurohacks for a one-weekend audience of insomniacs, craphounds, and ever-hopeful fanboys. Into this parade o’ crap now steps Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, dropping straight to DVD this week. A spin-off from the Capcom game (and a sequel or prequel or perhaps paraquel to 1994’s Street Fighter, featuring the once-in-a-lifetime pairing of Van Damme and Raul Julia), Legend has already — though the year is scarce half-over — been branded by several critics as the worst film of 2009.

And I, um — I kind of liked it.

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Friday, July 3rd, 2009

CHART ATTACK!: Michael Jackson Edition

by Jason Hare

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What the hell, I’m jumping on the bandwagon. I don’t have too much to say about Michael Jackson’s death (okay, maybe a little bit at the end of this post), but I did love the man’s music. Like so many of you, I grew up with Thriller, bought Bad the day it came out, and threw up a little when he kissed Lisa Marie on national television. So this week, I thought I’d review some of Michael’s many songs that graced the Top 10 over his career.

A few notes before we begin: would you believe that Michael never had a song at #9 or #8? It’s true. So I took a few liberties across the chart, but every song did indeed reach the Top 10. Also, I don’t think I’ve really come to terms with the fact that Michael Jackson is actually dead (how come there haven’t been any conspiracy theories brought forth yet about this all being a ruse, and Michael is actually living in hiding somewhere with John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Olivia Newton-John’s boyfriend?), so forgive me for switching tenses here and there. I know I did it, I’m too lazy to edit it now. Okay, enough explanation — it’s time for CHART ATTACK!’s Michael Jackson Edition!

10. Off the Wall — Michael Jackson Amazon iTunes
9. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) — Michael Jackson Amazon iTunes
8. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) — The Jacksons Amazon iTunes
7. Human Nature — Michael Jackson Amazon iTunes
6. In the Closet — Michael Jackson Amazon iTunes
5. Scream — Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson Amazon iTunes
4. Got to Be There — Michael Jackson Amazon iTunes
3. Remember the Time — Michael Jackson Amazon iTunes
2. Man in the Mirror — Michael Jackson Amazon iTunes
1. The Love You Save — The Jackson 5 Amazon iTunes

10. Off the Wall — Michael Jackson
Peaked at #10 on 4/12/80

I’ve known this song for years and years, but I always thought it was called “Enjoy Yourself.” Nope, that’s actually a song by the Jacksons that reached #6 in 1974. This one is written by Rod Temperton, formerly known as “the white guy in Heatwave.” This marked the beginning of a very lucrative collaboration between Temperton and Jackson, as Temperton wrote “Off the Wall,” “Burn This Disco Out” and the awesome “Rock With You” for Off the Wall, and “Thriller,” the underrated “Baby Be Mine” and the just-as-mediocre-as-you-remember-it “Lady in My Life” for Thriller. Apparently Rod had a knack for writing album title songs. Anyway, “Off the Wall” features some lame lyrics and an inexplicable chimp in the opening (no, it’s not Bubbles — this was 1979, remember?), but a great hook in the chorus. That’s really what this song’s all about. If the bassline sounds familiar it all, it might be because Rod wrote a very similar part in Heatwave’s “Boogie Nights.”

Michael performed this one live frequently, both with the Jacksons (Destiny, Triumph and Victory tours) and solo, doing a pretty credible job on the Bad Tour as well. Sheryl Crow’s in the background of this video, singing backing vocals, but good luck finding her under all her hair.

9. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) — Michael Jackson
Peaked at #10 on 11/26/83

Oooh yeah! Now we’re talking! I love every single thing about this song. It’s funky, it’s got a killer groove, great vocals and awesome synths. Minor points off for any song where Michael feels the need to talk, especially when trying to sex someone up, but it really can’t stop this one from kicking ass. The Pretty Young Things echoing back the “na na na na na” part are Janet and LaToya, not that you could possibly tell.

“P.Y.T.” was originally written by Jackson and Greg Phillinganes as a slower R&B song. Quincy Jones heard it, and apparently liked the title…and nothing else. He and James Ingram re-wrote the song into the version we all know and love. Here’s the original demo that was rejected; will.i.am later mixed the demo for the Thriller 25 album, and this version has been edited by DJ U-Tern, apparently. It’s the only version I can find.

Michael Jackson — P.Y.T. (Demo) (U-Tern Edit) (download)

In 2002, Monica sampled “P.Y.T.” for her single “All Eyez on Me,” which is actually quite good. Jackson actually gave the masters to Monica, and you can hear a few ad-libs not present on the original record near the end.

Monica — All Eyez on Me (download) (more…)

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Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

CD Review: Levon Helm, “Electric Dirt”

by Ken Shane

Levon Helm - Electric DirtIn the late 1990s, Levon Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer. The radiation treatments reduced his once powerful voice to a mere rasp. Unable to make any money touring or recording, the medical and other bills piled up. For a time, it looked like his beloved home in Woodstock, NY would face foreclosure. That was the impetus for the creation of the now famous Midnight Ramble in early 2004. The Ramble takes place in the studio attached to Levon’s house every Saturday night that Levon is in town. Having had the pleasure of attending the Ramble, I can report that it is one of the most amazing musical events that you will ever attend. The money brought in from ticket sales for these and other shows allowed Levon to keep the wolves from the door.

In 2007, with his voice 80% restored by his estimate, Levon released his Grammy Award-winning comeback album, Dirt Farmer. Now he’s back with a brand-new album entitled Electric Dirt (Dirt Farmer Music/Vanguard Records). I’m happy to tell you that the new album is the closest thing to an album by the Band since, well, since the last Band album. Levon’s voice is certainly an American treasure and he belongs in the company of great roots singers like Charlie Louvin, Ralph Stanley, and Buddy Miller. (more…)

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Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Lost in the ’70s: Bryan Adams, “Let Me Take You Dancing”

by John C. Hughes

I realize I’ve sort of hit upon a theme lately when it comes to LIT70s, but I don’t think it’s fair to limit just the Beach Boys to the Disco Hall of Shame. As we’ve seen over the past few months, there are plenty of other artists who jumped the disco bandwagon to revive a flagging career. There are also quite a few who started as disco artists, only to later change direction and deny their humble beginnings once they hit it big in their new genre.

Take, for example, “Cuts Like a Knife” rocker Bryan Adams.  Or as we will all now know him, Disco Chipmunk.

Yes, it’s true: our leather-clad, fist-pumping, “normal” dude next door was once shaking it on the dance floor, and he wanted you to join him. His first single at the tender age of 18, “Let Me Take You Dancing” (download) was cowritten by Adams and his longtime writing partner Jim Vallance. The original Canadian version, a snippet of which you can hear on Vallace’s website, was more in a Nick Gilder vein, but the disco beat was still there. The single made a little noise up north, so for its American release, disco remixer John Luongo was called in to disco-fy the track even more.

Luongo’s solution was to beef up the beat a bit, add some percussion and handclaps, and speed up the track a bit. Trouble is, he didn’t bother to have Adams re-record his vocal track to match the new, obviously higher pitch, so — bam! — Disco Chipmunk.

Adams was understandably unhappy with the end result, but it did score a bit of disco club play and ended up helping garner Adams a full-fledged record deal with A&M Records, so it all worked out in the end.

Now is “Let Me Take You Dancing” a bad song by any stretch? That really depends on your tolerance for disco. If you enjoy some disco, like I do, it’s really not that offensive, if a little bland.  The pre-chorus is actually sort of neat, and there are definitely flashes of Bryan Adams songs to come buried under the percussion and helium vocals. Unfortunately, Adams isn’t a big fan of the track, and so far the only place it’s made an appearance on CD is on a disc called Disco Box Vol. 2, Disco Heat released in  2000. If you have a real jones to own it, you can find it on Amazon, but you listed under Disco Heat Vol. 2.

Disco Chipmunk, awaaaaayyy!

“Let Me Take You Dancing” peaked at #76 on the Billboard Disco Top 80 Chart in 1979.

Get Bryan Adams music at Amazon or on Bryan Adams

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Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Lo-Fi Mojo: The Poets

by Ed Murray

Lo-Fi Mojo

Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, The Poets had a lot of things going for them in the mid-’60s: a unique sound, a cool look (high-necked jackets and ruffled fronted shirts – hey, it was cool for the time!), some great songs, huge local popularity and being signed and managed by Andrew Loog-Oldham, who happened to be in the area eloping with his underage (in England) bride when he allegedly saw a picture of the band in the local paper, liked what he saw, sought them out, and liked what he heard

At one point called “The Best Band in Scotland,” 10 years, a few singles and innumerable lineup changes later, The Poets were done. Which is too bad, given their proto-Byrds sound (read: 12-string guitar) and highly original songcraft, based more on folk music song structures rather than the blues/R&B sounds favored by most of their peers. Loog-Oldham’s dense production was also startling for the time; historical rumor has it that the Stones were a bit jealous of the time and energy Loog-Oldham seemed to be spending with his new wunderkinds, let alone the experimental production efforts being at odds with the Stones’ own material at the time.

“Now We’re Thru” was their first single, released on Decca in 1964. Apparently, when he first heard an advance copy, John Lennon deemed it “weird,” an interpretation obviously shared by the emcee of this BBC music television program (or would that be “programme?”):

“That’s the Way It’s Got to Be,” released on Decca in early ‘65, begins with a striking slab of a bass riff, which the observant ’60s music freak will note is virtually duplicated on the Spencer Davis Group’s “Keep On Running” a year later.

Its failure to chart more or less did the band in, as shortly thereafter, the lineup (and sonic style) changes began that ultimately saw all of the original members jumping ship (though the band lived on in name for a few more years).

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Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Basement Songs: Joe Walsh, “Rosewood Bitters”

by Scott Malchus

CD_ConfessorThe summer vacation. As I’ve mentioned a couple of times in the Basement Songs, during my childhood, when school let out for the summer, my parents would pack up the family and take us on long voyages around the country. We’d explore the great tourist attractions each state had to offer, camp in an Apache pop-up trailer at KOAs, and spend endless hours on the open road. While my dad drove and my mom worked on her current latch hook rug in the front of the van, my siblings and I would go off into our own worlds. As a young boy I invested hours in the lives of the Hardy Boys or Henry Huggins, then moved on to the supernatural tales of Poe and Stephen King as I got older.

One year, after pestering my parents for a comic book, they surprised me with the oversized “graphic novel,” Superman vs. Wonder Woman. I read that book so many times, it’s in tatters. Eventually I traded some kid from grade school my copy of X-Men #137, “Phoenix Must Die!” for a better copy of Superman vs. Wonder Woman. The X-Men comic is worth a lot of money now while Superman vs. Wonder Woman is a quaint novelty from a bygone era. I don’t regret the trade one bit.

Occasionally, while my brother Budd was stretched out in one of the seats and my older sister Beth read her own books and magazines, I would hang out in the back of the van with my younger sister, Heidi, creating stories with her Barbie dolls while the wheels of the van whirled underneath us on hot black asphalt. The time spent staring out the window as the countryside of the U.S. passed by me developed a yearning in me. To this day, I love to get in my car and just drive. The seed to become a writer was also planted in those summer road trips. (more…)

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Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Versionality: “Stagger Lee”

by Kelly Stitzel

About a month ago, while I was working on my Soundtrack Saturday post about Shag: The Movie, I tweeted that I never got sick of hearing Lloyd Price’s version of the blues folk song “Stagger Lee,” which is what Annabeth Gish and Scott Coffey’s characters dance to during the shag dancing contest at the end of the movie. In fact, I think I listened to it about 20 times just in the few hours it took me to write that post. The first time I’d ever heard any version of “Stagger Lee” was while watching Shag, and every time I hear Price sing it, I think of that scene and just want to put on my shaggin’ shoes and go to town. (Okay, so I don’t really know how to shag, but whatever.)

Seeing my tweet about my love for Mr. Price’s “Stagger Lee,” the lovely Jeff Giles asked if I’d ever heard the version by Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang. I replied that I hadn’t, and within the hour an MP3 was waiting in my in-box. After listening to it and telling Jeff how much I liked it, a discussion about some of the other versions of the song began, ultimately leading to the idea of this feature, which I hope continues with the thoughts of members of the talented Popdose staff on other oft-covered songs.

Now, much has been written about the Stagger Lee story and even about the many versions of the song; I’m certainly not going to try and rehash everything for you here. Instead I’d encourage you to read this and this, and if that’s not enough Stagger Lee history for you, there’s always Wikipedia. Rather, what I wanted to talk about here is what I love about the song and its many renditions.

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Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Way Out Wednesday: “Children’s Treasury of Superman Musical Stories”

by Tony Redman

smmusicalstories frontHere’s a fun album from 1966 featuring songs sung about — and sometimes sung by — Superman and his DC Comics universe of characters. The original album features two songs each for Superman, gal pal Lois Lane, cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, extraterrestrial menace Mr. Mxyptlk, Superboy, and Superboy’s dog, Krypto. Here’s a few tracks to whet your appetite.

The first one is about “Superman,” so of course it has to talk about all the wonderful things he does in a wonderfully jazzy way.

Superman

Then there’s Lois Lane’s song “Busy Busy Busy,” where she sings about how she’s always hunting down the next big story. It sounds like a pretty good female-empowerment-type song until she says the biggest headline she’s after is becoming Superman’s wife!

Lois Lane – Busy Busy Busy

Since they did a song for Lois, they had to do a song for Jimmy Olsen too. This one isn’t sung by Jimmy, but by Lucy Lane, who either had an unrequited crush on Jimmy or was his girlfriend. I don’t remember which.

Jimmy Olsen

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Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Test of the Boomerang: Drums of Passion

by Ben Wiser

Babatunde Olatunji – Drums of Passion (Legacy Edition)

Columbia/Legacy has just released a glorious two-disc edition of Babatunde Olatunji’s 1959 masterwork, Drums of Passion, one of the most profoundly influential records ever. Before Passion there was no such thing as “world” music, just the industry of “exotica” records from guys like Les Baxter and Martin Denny, who created the music and ambience of “faraway lands” in an air-conditioned recording studio. There were scholarly field recordings for anthropological purposes, but when John Hammond signed Olatunji, a Nigerian drummer, it opened a portal to an entire world of beat, rhythm, passion, spirituality, and movement.

Babatunde Olatunji – “Baba Jinde (Flirtation Dance)”

Babatunde Olatunji – “Shango (Chant to the God of Thunder)”

Olatunji made a string of albums for Columbia through the ’60s; the Legacy edition includes 1966’s More Drums of Passion and a slew of bonus tracks. He became an ambassador of African drumming and culture, and his acolytes include everyone from Cannonball Adderley to Afrika Bambaataa, Carlos Santana to Mickey Hart.

(more…)

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