Cee-Lo Strikes Again!
If the rest of Cee-Lo’s forthcoming solo album, due out in the fall, sounds anything like the two tracks I’ve heard, then we are in for a treat. A few weeks ago, I posted a link for Cee-Lo’s fantastic rendition of Band of Horses’ “No One’s Gonna Love You,” and earlier this week another single, entitled “Fuck You,” was released on Cee-Lo’s youtube page. As he has in recent years with the help of Danger Mouse, Cee-Lo channels the past legends with that Stax Records sound. It is a sound his voice is superbly well suited for, and the track will instantly have you finger-snapping and dancing along in your kitchen.
If the rest of Cee-Lo’s forthcoming solo album, due out in the fall, sounds anything like the two tracks I’ve heard, then we are in for a treat. A few weeks ago, I posted a link for Cee-Lo’s fantastic rendition of Band of Horses’ “No One’s Gonna Love You,” and earlier this week another single, entitled “Fuck You,” was released on Cee-Lo’s youtube page. As he has in recent years with the help of Danger Mouse, Cee-Lo channels the past legends with that Stax Records sound. It is a sound his voice is superbly well suited for, and the track will instantly have you finger-snapping and dancing along in your kitchen.
Golden Opportunities Demands You Listen!
Okkervil River is one of my favorite bands, yet another that I have my brother to thank for introducing me too. In late 2007 and on the heels of their standout album The Stage Names, Okkervil River released Golden Opportunities Mixtape, a free, nine track album of live covers. It’s an album of theirs that I haven’t listened to for a time, and now that I have, I am loving it more than ever. Will Sheff and the rest of Okkervil River offer their interpretation of such artists as Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and Jimmy Webb, in a way that only Okkervil River can. As they are want to do, the group aptly blends the traditions of Americana folk music with its own intricate and layered presentation. Sheff’s voice is stirring as it always is, pinched and slightly off-key at times as a point of strained emotional emphasis. The most striking of the tracks are “April Anne,” “Blonde in the Bleachers,” a tragic tale of farewell in “Do What You Gotta Do,” and the one original track of the nine, the nostalgic and heartbroken “Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas.”
If you go to the wikipedia link, oddly enough, for Golden Opportunities Mixtape and click on “Pitchfork Download Link” towards the bottom, the album will download for you.
Okkervil River is one of my favorite bands, yet another that I have my brother to thank for introducing me too. In late 2007 and on the heels of their standout album The Stage Names, Okkervil River released Golden Opportunities Mixtape, a free, nine track album of live covers. It’s an album of theirs that I haven’t listened to for a time, and now that I have, I am loving it more than ever. Will Sheff and the rest of Okkervil River offer their interpretation of such artists as Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and Jimmy Webb, in a way that only Okkervil River can. As they are want to do, the group aptly blends the traditions of Americana folk music with its own intricate and layered presentation. Sheff’s voice is stirring as it always is, pinched and slightly off-key at times as a point of strained emotional emphasis. The most striking of the tracks are “April Anne,” “Blonde in the Bleachers,” a tragic tale of farewell in “Do What You Gotta Do,” and the one original track of the nine, the nostalgic and heartbroken “Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas.”
If you go to the wikipedia link, oddly enough, for Golden Opportunities Mixtape and click on “Pitchfork Download Link” towards the bottom, the album will download for you.
Notorious B.I.G., Motivating My Run
It’s always a treat when a completely unexpected song comes up on my iTunes during a run, especially when that track really gets you going. A few weeks ago, it was “Holland, 1945” by Neutral Milk Hotel that spurned me on, when I felt like I had nothing more, Jeff Magnum’s voice and the cascading crash of percussion pushed me further and further. Today, it was Notorious B.I.G. with “What’s Beef?” off Life After Death. The percussion and background music fuse together, creating a brooding atmosphere as Biggie unleashes some of his most violent and malicious verses: “There'll be nothin’ but smooth sailin’ / When I spit shots, now your crew's bailin’ / All I got is heat and tough talk for you / Tie you up, cut your balls off just to use / Man listen straight torture, look what that slick shit bought ya / A first class ticket to Lucifer, real name Cristopher / Watch me set it off like Vivica / Here lies your demise, close your eyes / Think good thoughts, die while your skin start to glisten/ Pale blue hands get cold, your soul's risen.” With harsh words delivered with such a smoothness of tone and meter, the adrenaline was definitely moving about my system quickly.
It’s always a treat when a completely unexpected song comes up on my iTunes during a run, especially when that track really gets you going. A few weeks ago, it was “Holland, 1945” by Neutral Milk Hotel that spurned me on, when I felt like I had nothing more, Jeff Magnum’s voice and the cascading crash of percussion pushed me further and further. Today, it was Notorious B.I.G. with “What’s Beef?” off Life After Death. The percussion and background music fuse together, creating a brooding atmosphere as Biggie unleashes some of his most violent and malicious verses: “There'll be nothin’ but smooth sailin’ / When I spit shots, now your crew's bailin’ / All I got is heat and tough talk for you / Tie you up, cut your balls off just to use / Man listen straight torture, look what that slick shit bought ya / A first class ticket to Lucifer, real name Cristopher / Watch me set it off like Vivica / Here lies your demise, close your eyes / Think good thoughts, die while your skin start to glisten/ Pale blue hands get cold, your soul's risen.” With harsh words delivered with such a smoothness of tone and meter, the adrenaline was definitely moving about my system quickly.
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