Welcome to a new feature here on Popdose! Each month I’ll review a bourbon that, more often than not, is from a small batch and assign it a rating (between one and five stars). I wanted to co-write this feature with my fellow bourbon lover, Jeff Giles, but he lives in New Hampshire, where the state government runs all the liquor stores. In other words, there’s a paucity of choice when he goes bourbon shopping, so if he decides to write up a review, it will probably be on his current favorite: Knob Creek. But let’s not pillory Jeff for his poor choice of where he makes his home. Rather, let’s move forward with the topic at hand and delve into the first bourbon to be reviewed here.
Go into any bar, and what do you think the most popular drink is? If you said beer, you’d be right. But among variety of micro and macro-brews at local watering holes, you’re also going to find people order quite a few rum and Cokes, Mojitos, and Cosmopolitans being ordered on any given Friday night. I have nothing against those drinks, but you won’t find me ordering them. Nope. My drink of choice is bourbon. Yeah, that’s right, bourbon: straight with no chaser. But not just any bourbon, mind you. It has to be something that’s worth savoring; something to slowly enjoy over a long conversation or while watching an engaging movie. In other words, (and to use a more high-minded way of expressing myself): I loves me some sipping bourbon. (more…)
Call this mix the postscript of Beatles Week at Popdose … a postscript that’s a couple of weeks late! But better late than never, right? There’s been a lot of talk about the marketing savvy of Beatles merchandise, and it’s pretty damn impressive. I mean, getting people to buy remastered recordings they’ve probably had in their collections for years (and I’m talking about vinyl, cassette, 8 track, CD, and mp3s) is no easy feat – unless the product really is superior to what came before. And yes, the remasters did live up to the hype. But if I may start a second sentence with a conjunction, what also lives up to the hype is the long shadow of the Beatles’ style of music on popular recording artists. Billy Joel, Andy Partridge, Roland Orzabal, Jeff Lynne, Neil Finn, and the Gallagher boys must have all, at one point or another, fantasized about being “The 5th Beatle” while singing along to one of the Fab Four’s songs. So much so, that they all wrote songs that were unabashedly Beatlesque.
Billy is certainly a singer/songwriter who doesn’t need to copy the style of musical giants since, well, he’s in that pantheon. I’m not a big fan of his music, but The Nylon Curtain was, for me, the most impressive of his catalog. The sappy love songs were absent and the themes tackled were certainly a step up from what came before and after this album — and having several nods to the Beatles only added to the depth of this album. (more…)
So, I’ll be upfront about where I ripped off got this idea for this mix. I was reading the San Francisco Chronicle (Essentially my hometown paper because I’ve tried reading the Contra Costa Times, but found myself going back to “The Chron” time and time again) and they had a pretty good article on a reunion concert featuring artists who were on the 415 label back in the day. Even though I consider myself a serious music junkie, I never obsessed over labels. If the song was good, that’s all that mattered to me — well, until I got older and realized what it meant to be on a certain label. For those who don’t know, 415 Records was the brainchild of Howie Klein (who’s now doing a lot of political writing), Butch Bridges, Chris Knab and, later, Queenie Taylor. The label promoted mostly new wave bands (though some punk bands were on the label, too), and they cranked up their little machine in 1978 to sign and promote bands that would (hopefully) revitalize the music scene in San Francisco — which it did. With the success of bands like Romeo Void, the label caught the interest of Columbia records and Bill Graham and 415 acts were able to carve out a niche whereby some new wave musicians living in the “City by the Bay,” could make records, get paying gigs, get airplay on radio stations , and with the interest of Bill Graham, be booked on tours with big selling acts. Oh, and maybe have a video or two in rotation on MTV. Best of all, the local bands didn’t even have to relocate to New York or L.A.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and 415 Records (after being in partnership with Columbia) ceased to exist in 1989. Boo! (more…)
For the past few weeks — and because of my job managing a promotions department at a radio station — I’ve been inundated with Woodstock. The film Taking Woodstock, the director’s cut of Woodstock, TV specials, and special radio programming dedicated to Woodstock have all, in one way or another, crossed my desk this month. From the way Woodstock is marketed, it’s as if 1969 was the beginning and end of live music festivals. But we all know better. Where I live (the San Francisco Bay Area), the Outside Lands Music and Arts festival just wrapped up. It was a lower key event this year — owing in no small part to The Great Recession– but still, a crush of people descended on Golden Gate Park to enjoy band after band, substance after substance, and being with friends who love live music. Now we all know (or at least I hope most of those who read the music section of Popdose know) that some bands are just sublime live. Other bands, alas, suffer from ProTools-itis. That is to say, their limited musical abilities are masked by the plug-ins and other bells and whistles that come with digital multi-track recording. I’m happy to report that the bands and performers featured here have probably all used Pro Tools, but not for the reasons stated above. One disclaimer: before you get started sampling this mix, the song by Westbound Train is not a live recording, but I have seen crappy You Tube videos of them, and they are a tight, talented group.
I must disclose two things right off the bat. Number one, these are not guilty pleasures — I think these are great movies so I can enjoy them completely guilt-free. Number two, I am in no way guaranteeing that you will like any of these, so if you want to check any of them out, proceed at your own risk.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Some critics have dubbed it “Star Trek: The Motion-less Picture.” Yeah, well bite me. Most people think the Enterprise-in-drydock sequence is too long, but my 14-year-old self found it mesmerizing to see the Enterprise up so close that it was actually possible to read the call letters on the thing (there’s probably still an imprint of my jaw on the floor of the theater). Perhaps I’m seduced by Jerry Goldsmith’s music — the cue for this scene (called “The Enterprise”) damn near made my “Super Soundtracks” Mix Six when I filled in for my good friend Ted Asregadoo. As far as William Shatner’s acting goes, let’s just say that no parody of his “style” can possibly match his work in this film. After all, this is the movie that has him saying, “I need you … Dammit, Bones … I need you … badly!” Director Robert Wise, best known for West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965), released a director’s cut in 2001 that runs 136 minutes. This is generally the preferred version, but since I’m in the minority, I’ll go on record and say I actually prefer the original 132-minute theatrical version. In typical Star Trek fashion, at its heart is a great story. It’s a science-fiction cautionary tale — with Klingons.
Last week, I was trying to figure out the awkwardly titled decade called “The 2000s.” Yes, there’s been an A.D.D. quality to the last 10 years, but it could also be argued that there’s also a postmodern current flowing underneath all those mini-trends that came and went so fast they didn’t say goodbye. If I may be so bold as to throw another musical novelty borne out of the proliferation of cheap multitrack audio software into this decade, it would be the mashup. I think the first time I heard a kind of mashup was with the release of the Small Soldiers soundtrack. Just a few years later, people wouldn’t need recording studios to do what the DJs where able to do on that soundtrack — and I’m thinking specifically of the “Love Is a Battlefield” Kay Gee remix with Queen Latifah and Pat Benatar. Nowadays, it’s clear that ProTools can do wonders, and the more people with time and interest on their hands delve into what new musical forms they can weave into familiar songs, the more the original songs take on new and interesting twists when mashed up together. Having tried to do my own version of a mashup called “the smashup” — where I smashed covers of certain songs together — I know the time and dedication it takes to put these mixes together. So, here we go with a mix from some very creative individuals who clearly have talented ears and great skills with a multitrack recorder. (more…)
I used to watch Thritysomething during its original run and on re-runs on Lifetime because, well, I’m a sensitive new age guy, I guess. Maybe it was the fact that my girlfriend (who later became my wife) was a big fan of the show and I just kind of got sucked into it. Or maybe, it’s because the show was so full of navel-gazing angst that, for me, it was hard to resist.
One of the minor characters who was integral to the narrative arc was Miles Drentell — the owner of D.A.A. D.A.A. was one of the most influential advertising agencies in Philadelphia, and it seemed that the weird world of manipulation/advertising was wrought, in part, by Miles. During one episode, he and Michael Steadman (moral anchor of the series) were eating dinner with some mucky mucks from the heartland and talking about an ad campaign. Steadman and the Midwest mucky mucks were hitting it off, and Miles, increasingly alienated by the conversation, blurted out an aphorism that my wife and I quote from time to time: “The Decimalization of time is so arbitrary…” And so it seems to be when it comes to popular music. If I say “The ‘70s” what comes to mind when it comes to music? The folksy stuff of the early ‘70s? Disco? Arena rock? How ‘bout the ‘80s? New Wave? Michael Jackson? Rap? Richard Marx? The ‘90s? Grunge? Rap? Boy Bands? Britney? Okay, enough questions … I think you get my drift.
Well, what about “The 2000s?” (Crap, I thought I was through with questions!) It’s a decade that hasn’t really defined itself with a genre of music the way its predecessors did. But here we are at 2009, and if we’re slaves to the notion of decades, then 2010 means it’s the start of a whole new world. Could it be because of the way in which the Internet has fragmented music consumption, radio taking fewer and fewer risks when it comes to formats, and MTV creating niche channels that cater to certain demographic groups, that the power of a medium to frame the tastes in popular music has resulted in “The 2000s” not having defining characteristics that are easily distilled into unique one or two-word terms? (more…)
A few weeks ago, I took my family down to a train wreck of an event called the Great American Food and Music Festival in Mountain View, CA. It was supposed to be a day where you could eat regional foods from around the country, listen to music like Marshall Crenshaw, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Little Feat, and then watch cooking demonstrations from Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri of the Food Network. I won’t go into too much detail on why it hellish experience, but just to give you a sample (ha!) of why it was such a poorly organized event, I give you this: it was a day where you had to stand in line for three hours to get food — like a hot dog from Pink’s Hot Dogs. Anyway, as we were driving down, we were listening to the radio and “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie was on. This started a 10 minute discussion on duets and collaborations that started with UB40 and Chrissy Hynde’s cover of “I Got You Babe.” I kind of filed some of the duets in my mind with the intention of doing a Mix Six at some point in the future, and guess what? The future is now.
“Getting Away With It,” Electronic and Neil Tennant (Download)
This collaboration between Bernard Sumner of New Order and Johnny Marr from the Smiths lasted longer than I thought it would. And with Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys lending his distinctive vocals to the song, Electronic went from “side project” to almost a supergroup in the ’90s (I’m sure someone is going to argue that they were a supergroup, but I’ll leave that to a discussion in the comments section). The song sounds so much like New Order and the Pet Shop Boys, that Johnny Marr’s contribution sounds rather muted.
“Slow Train to Dawn,” the The and Neneh Cherry (Download)
Like many folks, I was a big fan of the The’s Soul Mining. I bought the cassette on a whim when it was released in 1983 and probably listened to it non-stop in my car for a two weeks. When Infected came out three years later, I immediately bought it because I heard/saw the lead single on MTV and just loved it. While I didn’t find Infected to be as quirky as Soul Mining, it had some great songs on side one. Side two was more of a “grower” side that included “Slow Train to Dawn” with Neneh Cherry doing co-vocals. This was, of course, years before she charted as a solo artist with “Buffalo Stance.” (more…)
Like most kids, summer used to be such a great time of the year for me. School was out, you had all day to spend with your friends, and it was just nice not having to get up and be at a place where a bell signals the passage of time. That first month of summer vacation was amazing! Sleeping in, staying up late, swimming, playing sports, BBQs, and that general feeling that you were free. However, as the months wore on, extreme boredom set in, you were broke, and suddenly going back to school didn’t seem so horrible.
Now that I’m an adult, it’s easy to forget how magical a season it could be. But maybe this mix can capture the spirit of the good, the bad, and the stupid of summer.
At first glance, this really isn’t a song about summer, but the fact that “sunshine” is in the lyrics and the Andrea True Connection loop of “More More More” is the hook has summer written all over it. There are allusions to heat, laying on the lawn, and a relationship that’s gone wrong — so yeah, it’s definitely a summer song.
“Summertime,” DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (Download)
Even though I’m a California native, I did live in Philadelphia for a couple of years, and living in a city where there are actually four seasons instead of just wet and dry, I never really understood why people would say they loved summer since, well, California has many hot days throughout the year. But if there’s a song that reminds me of summer in Philadelphia, this would be it.
Hiya, kids! This week’s mix is brought to you by Jeff Johnson, who’s been a friend of mine since high school. Ever since I’ve known him, Jeff’s tastes in music have skewed toward the soundtrack side, specifically orchestral soundtracks. We attended film school together (I changed majors at the end of my junior year), and he went on to write and direct a feature film called Holly vs. Hollywood. Nowadays Jeff is happily ensconced as the online store manager at the ever-popular soundtrack store (and record label) Intrada in Oakland, California. Intrada is one of those rare record stores where they not only exclusively stock movie soundtracks, they also restore and reissue them. Jeff also cohosts the podcast Filmed, Not Stirred with his gal pal Lisa. It’s unique because they review a new movie and compare it with an older movie in a similar genre or director. So you see? There is life after film school! —Ted
You’re about to discover six pieces of music you’re not even really supposed to notice. So what is it about film-music geeks that makes it virtually impossible for them to watch a film without noticing its music? And even more curious, why would they want to listen to it on its own?
In coming up with this list of my favorite soundtrack cues, two things are obvious: 1) all the pieces are composed by either Jerry Goldsmith or John Williams, and 2) they were all composed between 1976 and 1982. I don’t know what that means, except to say that I discovered all of them when I was between the ages of 11 and 17. I had them all on vinyl and played them so many times as a kid that I wore out the records. These aren’t necessarily the best pieces of film music, but they are some of my favorites. (more…)
Welcome to a new feature here on Popdose! Each month I’ll review a bourbon that, more often than not, is from a small batch and assign it a rating (between one and five stars). I wanted to co-write this feature with my fellow bourbon lover, Jeff Giles, but he lives in New Hampshire, where the state government runs all the liquor stores. In other words, there’s a paucity of choice when he goes bourbon shopping, so if he decides to write up a review, it will probably be on his current favorite: Knob Creek. But let’s not pillory Jeff for his poor choice of where he makes his home. Rather, let’s move forward with the topic at hand and delve into the first bourbon to be reviewed here.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Some critics have dubbed it “Star Trek: The Motion-less Picture.” Yeah, well bite me. Most people think the Enterprise-in-drydock sequence is too long, but my 14-year-old self found it mesmerizing to see the Enterprise up so close that it was actually possible to read the call letters on the thing (there’s probably still an imprint of my jaw on the floor of the theater). Perhaps I’m seduced by Jerry Goldsmith’s music — the cue for this scene (called “The Enterprise”) damn near made my 
