This is Wolfmother. They are great. Wrote some long eloquent prose about them, but the bloody blogger apparently doesn't know how to save a post as a draft and its all gone.
Are you blind when you're born? Can you see in the dark? Can you look at a king? Would you sit on his throne? Can you say of your bite that it's worse than your bark? Are you cock of the walk when you're walking alone?
Because Jellicles are and Jellicles do Jellicles do and Jellicles would Jellicles would and Jellicles can Jellicles can and Jellicles do
When you fall on your head, do you land on your feet? Are you tense when you sense there's a storm in the air? Can you find your way blind when you're lost in the street? Do you know how to go to the Heaviside Layer?
Can you ride on a broomstick to places far distant? Familiar with candle, with book and with bell? Were you Whittington's friend? The Pied Piper's assistant? Have you been an alumnus of heaven or hell?
Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats!
We can dive through the air like a flying trapeze We can turn double somersaults, bounce on a tyre We can run up the wall, we can swing through the trees We can balance on bars, we can walk on a wire
Can you sing at the same time in more than one key? Duets by Rossini and waltzes by Strauss And can you (as cats do) begin with a C That always triumphantly brings down the house
Jellicle cats are queen of the nights Singing at astronomical heights Handling pieces from the Messiah Hallelujah, angelical choir
The mystical divinity of unashamed felinity Round the cathedral rang "Vivat!" Life to the everlasting cat!
Feline, fearless, faithful and true To others who do what -
Jellicles do and Jellicles can Jellicles can and Jellicles do Jellicle cats sing Jellicle chants Jellicles old and Jellicles new Jellicle song and Jellicle dance
There's a man over there with a look of surprise, As much as to say, "Well now how about that!" Do I actually see with my own very eyes A man who's not heard of a Jellicle cat? What's a Jellicle cat? What's a Jellicle cat?
"Cats" tells the story, in catchy songs and exhilarating dance, of the annual gathering of Jellicle cats, at which time one special cat is selected to ascend to the Heaviside layer.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is a real genius. T S Eliot too, of course.
I know I've posted about The Libertines before, but a couple of days ago a little bit of rock history was made. It has already been described as the reunion of the decade: Pete Doherty and Carl Barat performing together again!! Considering the acrimonious nature of their split, this is all the more welcome news.
For those who don't know, The Libertines were the most influential band of the decade (so far) in Britain, and a major catalyst for the current explosion of rock 'n' roll there (along with American band and Johnjohn favourite The Strokes). They broke up in 2004, with their eponymous second and final album featuring songs that chronicled their rise and fall. Here are a some of my favourite Libertines songs. The Libertines - Don't Look Back into the Sun The Libertines - What Became of the Likely Lads? The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now
The Libertines, like all great bands, combined the talents of its two singer-songwriters in a way that was greater than the sum of its parts. Pete's band Babyshambles indulges all his junkie-rock tendencies, but lacks the lively up-beat qualities the Carl brings to the table. Carl's band Dirty Pretty Things rocks and rolls and swings, but lacks Pete's poetic flourishes and whimsy.
It's sad the Pete Doherty is known more for being Kate Moss's druggie boyfriend (and fiancee, now) than a modern rock genius. But that's how it goes I guess. I really hope they get together and make a new album.
There's a button that says "recover post", but nothing that says recover blog. We have been infiltrated by the long-haired shredders! No offense to Perakath of course, I like having variety and debate.
But the time has come for some good music.
Last night I went for a concert. It was quite possibly the antithesis to the Maiden concert in Bangalore. It was in a seedy little bar, and there were like 20 people there. The band that we went to see, Scissors for Lefty, was pretty damn good though. They're getting a bit of buzz, and have signed to Rough Trade Records in the UK, which is the illustrious label of The Strokes, The Arcade Fire, and the band that launched a thousand bands, the late, great Libertines. They're from San Francisco, but have a healthy dose of anglophile dance-punk or neo-new-wave or whatever - the antithesis to the mope-rock one sees on the charts (on the rare occasions when rock music is actually on the charts). On top of tight solid playing and vocals that have been described as "flirty" they have real charisma - especially the front man. In an inebriated state, I declared my approval to him after their all-too-short set. I wouldn't say they're stupendous, but they're fun, and they're great live. Lot of potential.
Arctic Monkeys have charisma of a different kind. A Molotov cocktail of shyness, anger, sarcasm and sheer wit. Their latest single is a blistering and furious drum-and-guitar assault, with Alex Turner's street poetry guiding the way. He seems to mention Avril Lavigne. Or at least, he says "we can't take our eyes off the t-shirt and ties combination." Which is sort of the same thing. (Avril, meanwhile, has chucked her "punk" look in order to steal some poor girl's boyfriend. I guess, Like Nelly Furtado, she'll soon join The Pussycat Dolls, Fergie and Christina Aguilera in the wild world of skank-pop. Women's Lib is alive and well.) I'd be interested to hear Perakath's comments about the drumming on 'Brianstorm'. Quite extraordinary for indie music. One techno-loving friend thought it was a drum machine.
And here's a pic of Avril now. Hmmm. Maybe all is not lost. Wow.
Where was I?
Ah yes.
Elvis Perkins is a complete change of pace. He is the son of Anthony "Psycho" Perkins, who died of AIDS when Elvis was a kid. His mother died on one of the hijacked planes on September 11th 2001.
So he's a somber guy, okay?
This song just grabbed me with its sweet simple sorrow. But it's not about his own losses. It's poetic and strange. And he has a voice.
This one is from a 1989 lineup of Sabbath, featuring Tony Martin on vocals. I think his vocals are simply stunning! I also like the bass on this song.
As many know, Black Sabbath are generally considered one of the founding fathers of Heavy Metal - the other being Led Zep. They're still together (after lineup changes that surpass even Jethro Tull), and a spinoff called Heaven and Hell with Ronnie James Dio on vocals is rumoured to come to India sometime this year!
Here's a paragraph from the Wikipedia article:
"However, some degree of band stability finally came back to Black Sabbath by 1988 with the retention of Tony Martin and Geoff Nicholls and the addition of loyal drummer Cozy Powell, who replaced Terry Chimes. Powell, a legendary drummer, had had success with his own band, as well as with Rainbow, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell and many others. With bassist Laurence Cottle replacing Jo Burt, Sabbath released the critically acclaimed Headless Cross album in 1989, their most Satanic and occult-based album so far. An MTV video for the title track received considerable airplay, and was released to mostly positive reviews. After the Headless Cross sessions, Laurence Cottle was replaced by veteran bassist Neil Murray (a former bandmate of Cozy Powell's in Whitesnake). Sabbath released what many fans maintain is their finest album of the Martin era, Tyr in 1990. The group toured extensively throughout 1990 and 1991 to support the Tyr album."
2. Mew - "The Zookeeper's Boy"
I saw this song on VH1 last year and promptly downloaded it - it became a Song of The Month! (On my playlist, that is.) Doesn't sound too good on Yourboob, but still. Nice and quirky.
3. Eric Johnson - "Cliffs of Dover (Live)"
This instrumental piece was voted #17 on a list of "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" that Guitar World magazine brought out a while ago, which is when it caught my attention. The list is composed of mainstream rock songs only, which of course led to a barrage of criticism. However it was a reader-polled list, which goes to show Guitar World's demographic appeal. (It's a great magazine though!)
Here's a blog post about the list (can't find the list itself online) on, oddly enough, an "indie music blog"...
#4 - Comfortably Numb, #3 - Freebird, #2 - Eruption (by Van Halen), and #1 - Stairway to Heaven - can't say I disagree with that order! :D
Anyway, this is the best video of the song I could find. It's terribly long and boring, but not if you follow my timestamp suggestion: watch from 05:00 minutes left to 02:33 minutes left. That pretty much corresponds to the studio version I have.
PS - Eric Johnson has also been a guest of Vai and Satriani on G3 tours. Always worth mentioning, I say!
