listen.

A Christmas Mix from listen.

Listeners: Geo. Ben.
Geo and Ben: Hm?
L: Where have you been?
G&B: What are you talking about?
L: You haven't posted in, like, three weeks.
G&B: Oh. About that...
L: No, it doesn't matter. It's fine. I know you guys both have really unsatisfying, time-consuming dayjobs.
G&B: ...
L: But I'm home for the holidays right now, and... my mom just keeps playing the Kenny G and Michael Bolton Christmas albums on repeat.
G&B: Oh my god.
L: So... maybe you could hook me up with some non-gag-inducing christmas tunes.
G&B: You got it.  Let's start with some tunes from the old masters.

Ella Fitzgerald - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Ella Fitzgerald - Sleigh Ride
Ella Fitzgerald - Winter Wonderland
Aretha Franklin - Blue Holiday
Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas
Elvis Presley - Silent Night
Otis Redding - Merry Christmas, Baby
Otis Redding - White Christmas
David Bowie and Bing Crosby - Little Drummer Boy
James Brown - Funky Christmas
James Brown - Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto
The Jackson 5 - Up on the Housetop
Stevie Wonder - One Little Christmas Tree
Stevie Wonder - What Christmas Means to Me
Donny Hathaway - This Christmas
Judy Garland - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

And moving along to some more recent interpretations of the classics, along with some original tunes to add to the catalog.  We'll start with the obligatory block from old Sufjan.

Sufjan Stevens - Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming
Sufjan Stevens - O Come O Come Emmanuel
Sufjan Stevens - Amazing Grace
Sufjan Stevens - That was the Worst Christmas Ever!
Chris Garneau - Christmas Song
The Innocence Mission - Little Town of Bethlehem
Aimee Mann - I'll be Home for Christmas
Low - Just Like Christmas
Low - If You Were Born Today
Low - Silent Night
Pedro The Lion - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Belle & Sebastian - O Come O Come Emmanuel
Belle & Sebastian - O Little Town of Bethlehem
Clem Snide - Joy to the World
Tracy Chapman - O Holy Night
Feist - Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

AND!  If you want to download the whole shebang in one fell swoop, just go HERE (part 1) and HERE (part 2).  So I guess that's actually two fell swoops. sorry.  [but beware!  These links expire Dec. 29th.]

Merry Christmas from listen.

and stay tuned for some year-end lists in the next week or so.

xo,
ben

Blue Monday* redux

Before we begin – let me say that I am quite a happy fellow lately.

It’s just this rain.

These gray skies and wet sidewalks.

It just begs me to fall down the (aforementioned) rabbit hole of somber folk and blues.

And fall I do – gladly.

Blues run the game, Jackson C Frank

It doesn’t get much sadder than this man’s life. And this song is just so gorgeous.

"wherever you go, the blues are all the same."

Basically his school furnace blew up – covering his adolescent body in burns, he started playing the guitar, moved to new york, and was drawn into the folk coffee house scene of Greenwich village  - then he came into money through an insurance settlement – and moved to London, released an album – which never caught on in the US – his money ran out so he had to go back to nyc and fell into a deep depression and was then cripple with stage fright.
Broke, he lived on the streets, eventually he grew very unhealthy and became a ward of the state.
A fan found him in a housing project in the Bronx and took him to woodstock, ny where he started to sing and write songs again. he died in 1999.  i mean, the man has a right to sing the blues.

fountains of sorrow, joan baez
the title says it all.  If this isn’t an evening-commute-ipod-on-repeat kinda song – I don’t know what is.

both sides, now – joni mitchell
My good friend rebecita brought this song into my life.  And shortly after being introduced to it i listened to it whilst smokin grass – and my body almost shut down. i don't listen to joni stoned anymore.  talk about a coming of age song. 

court and spark – joni mitchell
my dear friend/collaborator jesica brought this album into my life. And I am ever so grateful.

that’s a nice trend – wonderful woman bringing the wonderful joni Mitchell into my life.

Ne Me Quitte Pa, jaques brel
literlally translated it means – do not leave me – but the English version of the song is called IF YOU GO AWAY. which works – but I think do not leave me is more tragic – it’s really desperate. – especially repeated at the end.  my french pen pal, lo, sent this to me. he's filled my ipod with a lot of great music -- expect a paris-post soon...

-----------------

my knowledge of classic rock and musical tastes were heavily defined by my parents - my mom's peter, paul and mary and donovan albums (not to mention linda ronstadt and sinatra) - my dad always listening to jethro tull and the stones (and some patsy cline or hendrix) -our family taking a drive while listening to loggins and messina or gordon lightfoot.   one artist they never listened to all that much was neil young, i am not sure why - they just didn't; or they did - but i don't remember it.  as i've grown, and my tastes have matured into my own, i've folded all sorts of new genres and artists into the mix.  for whatever reason, neil young never found it's way into my music library. then this cute guy, named sean, started playing him for me -- and i am really digging it.

one day, sean and i were on our way to the MoMA and we wandered down into the york street station to hop on the F.  the platform was empty - save for one dude waiting for the train and a subway musician (an "official" one, with the MTA sign, etc.) sitting on the bench - singing harvest moon. he was really good - and the york station is so unique and the song is so beautiful - it was like a scene out of some less polished looking wes anderson movie. definitely a moment when i was very happy to be living in this city.

harvest moon, neil young

have i posted this song:

ticket to ride, the carpenters

i mean, really? just the saddest cover of this song ever, ever, EVER. if a sadder one exists - i shan't listen to it. my head might implode.  "i think i'm gonna be sad, i think it's today."  mateo, for better or worse, emailed it to me one day - and i really appreciate it.

and what somber rabbit hole would be complete without a little indigo girls?

ghost, indigo girls.

"And the mississippis mighty
But it starts in minnesota
At a place that you could walk across
With five steps down
And I guess thats how you started
Like a pinprick to my heart
But at this point you rush right through me
And I start to drown"

enough said.

 

and for good measure - here's the wonderful rosemary clooney:
blues in the night, rosemary clooney

i love music. 

to prove i don't ONLY listen to sad music -- i'll post happy stuff tomorrow.

enjoy

g

*yes, it's tuesday. i was supposed to post this yesterday - but, you know, sometimes you just don't get around to it....

 

killing me softly.

some days it's kinda gray out and you're a little sleepy and maybe a little overwhelmed with life.

on days like this (today) i turn to my music (well either that or my friends or my couch and muppet dvds)
but we deal with music here. so....

more often than not i turn to nina simone.
and more specifically - her softer side.

i let it cradle me.

which is why we are going to enjoy her singing some lullabies

here are songs from FOLKSY NINA

You Can Sing A Rainbow, nina simone

hush little baby, nina simone

here's aretha singing a different version:

mockingbird, aretha franklin

now how about some oh, susanna?

oh! susanna, carly simon
the first time i heard this song (on jonathan schwartz's saturday show) i cried. i think i was really emotional that day.  it's really beautiful - it's from her album into white.

oh susanna, james taylor.
from sweet baby james. such a good album.

now let's let nina sing about love:

i want a little sugar in my bowl, nina simone

cotton eyed joe, nina simone

this song KILLS ME. i love it. we've all known a cotton eyed joe one way or another.

and let's have nina sing us out - with a rousing little number?

in the evening by the moonlight, nina simone.

it's not the cleanest file (it makes weird sounds) but i love this song so -- it from her live at newport festival.  oh, to have been there!

okay. that's my playlist for a day like today.

enjoy

g

Guest listen.er mateo with the BARBRABLOG you've been waiting for!!

Hello, listeners, guest poster Mateo here.  Today at the listen blog, we have the post that you have all been begging for.  We've read your comments, poured through the thousands of emails, and decided it was finally time to give you what you want:

 

THE BARBRA STREISAND POST

 

Today we'll be picking a few favorites from throughout Barbra's career.  From old standards to funky 70's covers, this post runs the gamut.  But what do they all have in common?  The voice of a beautiful, Jewish angel.

 

Happy Days are Here Again
Starts out sad, ends up angry, this song is a beautiful paradox.

 

Come to the Supermarket (In Old Peking)
Without a doubt, the most dramatic song you'll ever hear about grocery shopping.

 

Time and Love
If your dentist has taste, he'll be playing this in his waiting room.  A masterpiece of Easy Listening.

 

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
She.  Was.  Born.  To.  Sing.  This.  Song.

.....
Addendum: i'd actually never heard this solo version of Happy Days, but if it's not QUITE gay enough for you, here's Barbra singing it as a medley-duet with Get Happy sung by Judy Garland.  Delicious. >ben
Judy and Barbra - Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again
.....

sing you sinners!

hey hey kiddos!
have you all heard about erin mckeown? 
after you read this post and listen -- you will have heard. (i LOVE the future perfect!)
how did we find out about her?

well.... several months ago my friend dan s. gave me a copy of PASTE magazine
paste comes with a cd of all these tracks of various artists (i think it is an emusic tie in... no?)
anyway! the one track was:

melody, erin mckeown.

and i dug it. emailed it to ben.  times passes....

a week or two ago ben emails me some more erin mckeown.
i dig it even more.

if you a viper, erin mckeon

(i love it when people sing about smokin grass!)

he tells me to go to emusic and buy her new album LAFAYETTE.
(which is a live recording of her Joe's Pub show. get it? Lafayette? yeah, it took me a few minutes)

anyway - i am sharing a few tracks and encouraging all to go to emusic and get SING YOU SINNERS or LAFAYETTE or any of the other albums.  it's folksy - country - type music with a little love for the american songbook/songs popular during the vaudville era.  her voice is great - quiet at first - then she kicks it into gear with a full sound.   i like troubadours, and she reminds me of one.

from lafayette

slung-lo

blackbirds

(this isn't bye bye blackbird. so chill out)

how cute is she????

----------------
also. yesterday was coming out day! did you shame your closeted friends?

just kidding! did you call your fancy little cousin/nephew that loves unicorns and/or your niece that is most likely a lesbian just to tell them you love them?  here is what bush's new abstinence campaign says about a kid coming out....
good to know money is being put to that as opposed to an HPV vaccine for all teenage girls or education that would actually do some good.  here's what the hater had to say.

-----
AWARD TIME
and awards for worst movie tag line goes to......

BEE MOVIE with HONEY JUST GOT FUNNY!
(applause)


i mean. what the fuck are you talking about?
if there is one thing i have been waiting for it's honey to finally get funny.
is this movie about honey FINALLY loosening up? like some sort of along came polly but with a pot of honey instead of ben stiller? or is it about a bee falling in love with renee z?
either way: i'm not seeing it AND someone was, most likely paid a lot of $$$ for that sentence. sigh.

other tag lines they should have used:
bees say the darndest things!

don't worry about all those bees dying. as you can see here they are alive and CRAZY!

pretend we're pixar.

------

and the award for THE STUPIDEST AND  MOST ANNOYING AD CAMPAIGN CURRENTLY CLOGGING OUR SUBWAY (the SAMACCCOG pronounced SAM-a-kog or THE SAMMY for folks in the biz)

goes to our favorite waste of paper/resources: PAGE 6!
with their six = sex campaign.

so hard to find images of all 300 CLEVER CLEVER CLEVER variations....BUT my personal faves are:

Feeling SIXy?
SIX Therapy
and
Put More SIX in your sunday

DAMMIT! WE GET IT! you swith out the i for an e and it is the word sex. are you 8?
does saying the word SEX make you giggle?

i picture waking up on a sunday morning...thinking...damn, i sure do feel SIXy...i wonder what i could...
BAM! all the sudden my brain flashes image after image of the horrible ad campaign and i am running down the street to the deli to buy my very own NY POST (i don't have to buy the magazine becomes it comes FREE with the paper.  which is like saying the Metro section comes free with the NY TIMES. i still have to buy the fucker to get it....so....it isn't...free...the price just isn't changing...)

-------

and finally:

did you all hear about 88 yr old Doris Lessing and the Nobel Prize for Lit?

the press pounced on her when as she was getting out of a cab with her groceries asking her about winning - she hadn't even heard. HA! it's a funny clip.

that website calls her a bitch -- but i don't think she was that nasty. she's just an old lady.

i LOVE it when she says: "Look, I've won every award in europe - every bloody one - so this is..delightful."

-------
if you made it this far:

onion radio news is funny!

have a good weekend!
geo

celebrity deathmatch: Odetta vs. Dylan

so in '65 awesome blues-gospel-folkster-chanteuse Odetta released one of the first Dylan-only cover albums, and it's totally amazing, so i thought we could listen to some of those today, alongside their Dylan originals.  fun, right??  (i was kidding about the deathmatch part, they're both too good for that)

Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

Odetta - Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

no, seriously, don't worry about it, you totally screwed me over and broke my heart, but i'm dealing with it, and i'm just gonna go. later.

Bob Dylan - The Times, They Are a-Changin'

Odetta - The Times, They Are a-Changin'

are they? I can never tell.

Bob Dylan - With God On Our Side

Odetta - With God On Our Side

an intense song about the appropriation of religion for war, as hard-hitting now as it was in '65.

Bob Dylan - Paths of Victory

Odetta - Paths of Victory

better roads are waiting, and boys, they aren't far off.

and now for some BONUS TRACKS!!

ms. Power's own take:

Cat Power - Paths of Victory

and another awesome non-Dylan Odetta song:

Odetta - God's Gonna Cut You Down

special thanks to geo for introducing me to the music of Odetta a while back.

xo,ben

rock the vote: BLACKBIRD!

all righty folks.

are you ready for decision '07?!

there's been so much talk, so much debating and oh-so-much mudslinging all of which, personally, i hope continues because when all is said is done: we can rest - knowing that we have done our job as citizens.

i am, of course, talking about our challenge to you, our readers to vote for the best cover of BYE BYE BLACKBIRD.

i know what you're thinking: "WHAT?!? there are so many version of blackbird out there -- each one with sung by talented performers in their own unique way - HOW ON EARTH CAN I PICK ONE?!?!"

well, to that i say: too bad. we have to chose. and believe me -- that isn't easy for me. (i am a pisces with gemini rising.)

some background on this song:
Blackbird was published in 1926. it was written by Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon. It was first recorded by Gene Austin in the '20's.  it became quite a popular standard and was recorded by many many performers (versions that are sadly missing from this challenge include Judy Garland and Nina Simone (if you have those -- drop me a line!)

personally i love this song because i find a deep melancholia hidden beneath the jazz and syncopation.  those times when you've gone off in the world to do something and you realize in the process that you've lost yourself -- so you pack your bags and head home in the hopes that you can find yourself again.

LIFE! JAZZ! SOUL!

VOTING!

so we have TEN versions competing for the coveted title of BEST VERSION OF BYE BYE BLACKBIRD.
you have until friday to listen and vote. so...... listen and vote!

(i am also including 3 versions that aren't competing and that is NOT because the online poll widget we(ben) found only has ten slots....so GET OFF OUR BACKS!)

Dame Shirley Bassey - Bye Bye Blackbird

i was going to embed this AMAZING you tube clip of dame shirley singing it on her variety show....
but you can't embed that clip....which is annoying...so CLICK HERE!!!!

Rickie Lee Jones - Bye Bye Blackbird

Joe Cocker - Bye Bye Blackbird

Rosemary Clooney - Bye Bye Blackbird

The McGuire Sisters - Bye Bye Blackbird

Sarah Vaughn - Bye Bye Blackbird

Carmen McRae - Bye Bye Blackbird

Julie London - Bye Bye Blackbird

Mel Tormé - Bye Bye Blackbird

Liza Minnelli - Bye Bye Blackbird (from Liza with a "Z")

BONUS!

here are some bonus tracks and a REALLY funny/intense video from Brenda Lee
(i like the LONG monologue and THEN the brief scene where she walks by the tables with all the actors...why did they do that?? funny. it also has SUCH a dramatic end!)

Josephine Baker - Bye Bye Blackbird

Tallulah Bankhead - Bye Bye Blackbird

Miles Davis - Bye Bye Blackbird

OKAY!!!

so:
1. listen.
2. vote.
3. let your voice be heard!  Does Julie London understand the song better than Sarah vaughn?
4. Missing your favorite version? SEND IT MY WAY!

what does the winner get? the knowledge that this small circle of people voted them the best. and that means A LOT.

 

i can't wait to tally!
enjoy
geo

love letters from ella

so - there is a new ella album out - and first things first: we need to overlook the fact that starbucks is involved with this album.  so, everyone: take a deep breath and erase that from your mind.

(deep breath)

OKAY!
now this is album was to commemorate what would have been ms. fitzgerald's 90th birthday. it is a collection of never-before-released tracks of some really amazing standards.  It features her singing with Count Basie and his orchestra, joe pass, andré previn and the london symphony orchestra.

it's truly a beautiful collection of songs.  she's just so good.

i'm gonna share three tracks with you all:

cry me a river (with the london symphony orchestra)

Cry Me A River.mp3

i've got the world on a string (with the london symphony orchestra and joe pass)
((i think that this is now my favorite version of this song))

I've Got the World On A String.mp3

and - our love is here to stay (with andré previn)
YAY GERSHWIN!

Our Love Is Here To Stay.mp3 (5844.6K)

and here are two ella clips.

the first one - how high the moon from stockholm in 1966.
she scats and it ROCKS.  she goes in and out of a bunch of songs.

you gotta watch/listen (the audio and picture are a little off) and wait for 4.28 - it is SO SWEET!

and here she is rockin on her variety show with count basie singin mac the knife!

i love her. i just love her so very much.

g

no more summer fridays

sad but true.

the wonderful little office treat, the summer friday, ended on aug 31. (collective sigh)

why don't we always have 3-day weekends every other week?

alas.

at any rate. i am sharing some songs with you all today -- i am trying to share something a little up beat to counteract the pouty-angst i feel about the aforementioned summer fridays.

DINAH SHORE!

dinah was a singer with the big bands etc in the '40s and actress and for a long time hosted a variety show on television.  i feel like she always sort of hovered around the periphery of the american song book in my mind.  then one day as i was you tubing the hours away i came upon all these clips of dinah singing with people on her show.  i kinda fell in love with her.

she seems so sweet.  like she would be an amazing grandmother.  she has such an endearing smile. plus the fact that she is a white lady that sings the blues  gives me hope that someday i can become a blues/soul singer and sing duets with ella fitzgerald.

i am sharing three songs, all from the album Lower Basin Street Revisited.
it's from later in her career and the title references when she was a featured vocalist on The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street which was a musical variety radio program in the '40s.

i really dig listening to these three snazzy tracks:

Basin_Street_Blues.mp3

Cry_Me_A_River.mp3

Do-Re-Mi.mp3

i am also going to embed some you tube clips that i think you all have to watch. it's from her show and the quality is not super.  but they are worth it.

I JUST LOVE WATCHING THOSE CLIPS.

okay. have a good one!
geo