Wynona's Big Brown Beaver

Upon further review I've concluded that Primus' "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" is one the 90's coolest rock songs. The music video is a spectacle unto itself, but unfortunately I couldn't find one willing to embed. This Letterman clip will just have to suffice.

... "Wynona loved her big brown beaver and she stroked him all the time... she pricked her finger one day... occurred to her she might have a porcupine." Nothing less than brilliant.

go here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzhL-0_pC3E - for the music video. It's "November Rain" good.

Cat Power - Jukebox

I don't want this blog to be just a list of amazing albums, so I'll take a break after this. That said, Cat Power's "Jukebox" album is outrageously awesome. She actually gets the jump on Lamontagne (see below) because her album has no weak spots. Jukebox delivers through and through. The whole affair has a very lived in feel. I would say it's perfect for a sunny Sunday spent drinking milk and making pancakes.

An apt description.

"It's like nothing else you have ever heard‚ and walks the boundaries between music‚ dreaming and the collective idea of reality in general."

- State of Mind mag writer describing a Sigur Ros performance.

Current sleep album pt. 1

Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians. The musical equivalent of having a fan on medium throughout the night. Thanks Jeff.

It was the best show ever... seriously, I'm not lying.

(this is a heady crew at a DMB show. Notice the dude wearing an I heart Nuggets shirt.)
Last weekend I read a great interview with the director of a new Arctic Monkeys concert DVD. Besides giving homage to The Last Waltz, the Citizen Kane of concert docs, he made a great point about a terrible cliche in the genre. Crowd shots always kill the mood. "It's like you need to show proof that it was a good show," he said. I completely agree.

So many times i've been watching a favorite concert doc, the director makes a quick cut to some loser fan, and I totally lose my emotional connection for 10 seconds or so. Most people wouldn't mind, but I suppose most people aren't as critical as me. One of my big issues is that I know how ridiculous I look at shows. I can't dance, and at the same time, I'm totally over-involved in the moment. But the whole idea is to lose yourself. You don't want to worry anyone judging you, let alone somebody filming you for a DVD. I would be pissed.

To this day, I've never seen any crowd shot that I thought was either entertaining or worthwhile. Two of the best concert docs ever, The Last Waltz and Stop Making Sense, have almost no crowd shots. I think that plays a subliminal role in why they're both so revered. After all, you won't buy a "Rent" dvd that has crowd shots. You don't buy a "Les Mis" dvd that has crowd shots. Why should a concert dvd be any different?

Sing me to sleep.

What I wouldn't give to receive a lullaby from Nina Simone. Ethereal. Terrifying. Powerful.

Six otherworldly musical passages captured in 60 seconds.

My Morning Jacket - Okonokos "I Will Sing you Songs" 5:55 to 6:55

(section in question begins at :57 in video.)

Benevento/Russo Duo - Best Reasons to Buy the Sun "9x9" 3:40 to 4:40

(section in question begins at 4:57 in video.)

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie... "Tonight Tonight" 3:12 to 4:12

(section in question begins at 3:12 in video)

The Slip - Angels Come on Time... "Sometimes True to Nothing" 4:45 to 5:45

(sorry, no video for this one.)

Stevie Wonder - Innervisions... "He's Misstra Know it all" 3:47 to 4:47

(section in question begins at 2:36 in video)

Phish - Rochester, NY 12/11/97... "Waste" 4:00 to 5:00

(section in question begins at 2:55 in video)

*note - the track times next to the song titles are in reference to the studio tracks, except of course for the Phish track which is in reference to a live show. They are not meant to correspond with the videos.)

Koreans work harder than you pt. 1