Brazilian Cab Driver "Billie Jean"

The spirit of Michael Jackson lives on behind the wheel of a taxi, roaming the streets of Minas Gerais, Brazil...












Thanks to BarrientosAgustin for the upload to YouTube.

"Punk In England" Documentary

Step into a time capsule and go back to moment when rock and roll was recovering mode from a minor implosion - and a new creativity was taking music in all sorts of new directions.

How can you possibly go wrong watching a film where The Clash take control, The Jam fire off some rifles, The Specials, Selector and Madness make ska music that moves your feet and pumps your heart full of adrenaline, and a young Chrissie Hynde makes you take notice?  That's just a small bit of what you get in Wolfgang Buld's "Punk in England: British Rock - Ready for the 80's."

Get ready for an hour you'll soon wish never ended...


If you have to have it in your collection you can pick it up from Amazon:
















Thanks to SeeOfSound for the upload to YouTube.

Jimmy Wong "Ching Chong, It Means I Love You"

The way she talks about someone else

That she don't even know herself

She's the sickest thing in the world

Well, look at that stupid girl.

-M. Jagger/K. Richards

Alexandra Wallace was quite sure that people really wanted to hear what she had to say. I imagine that her parents and those in her inner circle always told her how smart she was, and how her big thoughts and outspoken ways were really going to make a mark on the world. It looks like they were right. Ms. Wallace's angry rant on Asian students talking on their cell phones in the library and her disdain of those same Asian students being visited and cared for by their families went viral, and in turn angered millions of people. It has been reported that she and her family have received death threats for the rant - a rant that she claims she was simply trying to be humorous in! If she dies of anything I'm hoping it's from the embarrassment of documenting her stupidity for the world to see. Of course, the fallout has been that Ms. Wallace has withdrawn from UCLA and apologized for her video - ultimately, it's probably too little...too late.

Her video channel is gone, but, as most of us know, once you put it on the internet it is there forever, and of course, others have managed to keep her original words alive with reposts:


There are a plethora of video responses to be found to Ms. Wallace's rant, and one not-to-miss moment comes from Jimmy Wong. As Jimmy says in his sweet tune dedicated to a sour girl: When it comes to love there are no boundaries:


Thanks to mtldd1 and jimmy for the uploads to YouTube.

The Kelly Family "An Angel"

This St. Patrick's Day, like every St. Patrick's Day, I am reminded of the four and a half months I spent working in Ireland in 1995. The greatest thing I will always remember about Ireland is the people. I have never experienced such warmth and true hospitality. I lived in a town called Spiddal which was a tiny speck of a town  - there was only one stop sign - it was small! You would think people in such a small and close knit community would be cautious or suspicious of foreigners, but it was really quite the opposite. I always felt welcome, and always felt that I belonged.

I associate so much of my life with music, and when I think about those days on the Connemara Coast I can hear the Oasis and Blur songs battling each other for the number one spot on the radio, but one song more than anything takes me back to that special time, oddly enough, it's The Kelly Family's "An Angel."  It was the first time I ever heard of the band, and quite frankly, I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention them since.  I understand that they have a huge following in Europe and particularly in Germany - it's my understanding that the Germans also love David Hasselhoff - I guess there's no accounting for taste.

Anyway, this extremely cheesy song was everywhere I went in Ireland in 1995, and I'm not sure if I love it because I heard it so many times that it just finally grew on me, or if I loved it the minute I heard the great chorus, or perhaps it was the moment I laid eyes on the creepy/angelic kid singing that chorus in the video. Who knows! Clearly, I'm not alone...the YouTube video has 7.8 million views!

I can pretty much guarantee that you'll love this tune as much as I do - and if you don't...well, there's no accounting for taste:



Thanks to czajka1982 for the upload to YouTube.

Tyler the Creator "Yonkers"

I am crazy about this song and this video from Tyler The Creator!  "Yonkers" goes to the top of the must hear everyday list...I don't think this will be dethroned for awhile! Let's hear it for Los Angeles!



...and just in case your anything like me, and you can't get enough of Tyler the Creator or "Yonkers," you can watch this Bonus Video:


















Thanks to OFWGKTA for the upload to YouTube.

Gary Puckett and the Union Gap "Young Girl"

My family and I had a great time cracking up at the lyrics of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's "Young Girl" yesterday afternoon. Although I must have heard the song a hundred times, the lyrics never really sank in for me. Admittedly, all the years of listening, I was singing "Go on Girl..." and not "Young Girl..."

Here is a little taste of the tune that reached the #2 spot of the Billboard charts in 1968 and the tune that forced my daughter to declare "This singer is a Pedo!"


Young girl, get out of my mind
My love for you is way out of line
Better run girl,
You're much too young girl.

With all the charms of a woman
You've kept the secret of your youth
You led me to believe
You're old enough
To give me love
And now it hurts to know the truth, Oh,

Young girl, get out of my mind

My love for you is way out of line

Better run girl,

You're much too young girl.

(This verse is left out of the performance in the video below)

Beneath your perfume and make-up

You're just a baby in disguise

And though you know

That it is wrong to be

Alone with me

That come on look is in your eyes, Oh...

Thanks to ClassicPerformances for the upload to youTube.

Terje Isungset: Ice Musician

I do love me some Scandinavian music especially when it's inspired by grungy American rock and roll...but wait a minute, here's something new:  Norway's Terje Isungset has literally "carved" out his very own musical genre:  Ice Music. I stumbled upon Terje's work on CNN. Terje spends hours carving his instruments out of blocks of ice he extracts from frozen lakes and even glaciers. His search for ice that "sings"definitely pays off with some beautiful sounds, and I am grateful that I can enjoy them from the comfort of my warm home.



Terje Isungset:  Website
Terje's Ice Music Festival:  Website
Ice Music Festival photos by Emile Holba: Website

         

Fever Ray "When I Grow Up"

Many thanks to LD for turning me on to Fever Ray. Fever Ray is a solo effort by Sweden's Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson who also performs in a band called The Knife with her brother Olof Dreijer.

The video for Fever Ray's "When I Grow Up" is really something special. A mystical creature stands in the backyard, familiar ground while the leaves of Fall take refuge in the still waters, but still waters do run deep. The witch is clothed in all the garbage that is heaped upon us throughout our lives. She stands there working her magic, filled with regret and longing for what once was, and also hope for what still might be. Her spells reach a crescendo amidst crashing waves and turbulent emotion only to finally come to rest, and when our soul has been calmed she will leave us to our own dreams, and the gateway through the backyard and the waters will close. We are left alone to find our own way and our own loves, and to accept who we have become.

Fever Ray:  Website





Thanks to FeverRayMusic for the upload to YouTube.

The Carpenters "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"

The Carpenters cover of Klaatu's "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)" may not be the first thing you think of when remembering the The Carpenters, however, that may change after watching this video!

I'm not sure when World Contact Day is taking place, but I think the odds are pretty good that the interplanetary craft may just turn around and head to the next planet after a couple of minutes after making contact on this one. Too negative for you? Perhaps I'm just seeing our planet as half full today.



Bonus Video: Klaatu's original track...



Thanks to XkqueenringX and KOUJI3288E for the uploads to YouTube.

Off The Charts: The Song-Poem Story

Did you ever see that ad in the back of certain magazines that advertises: Write a hit song! Send us your poem and we'll put it to music!  I sure did and I was always fascinated and curious about what it was all about. I was pretty sure that it was just some sort of scam.

In the 1990's my friends and I actually wrote a nonsense song and sent it into one of those companies - lo and behold, we got back a letter stating that they really enjoyed the lyrics and would like to put it to music. All I had to do was pony up some money. Now I can't remember exactly how much they were asking for, but I do know that I wasn't about to send anyone money to record the lyrics I sent to them - afterall, it was a tune we wrote in just a few minutes that had made up words, and if I remember correctly, idolized Ava Gabor! After seeing "Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story" I've come to regret that decision.

"Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story" is a wonderful PBS produced documentary about the people that send in song poems and the musicians who record and send back the recorded music.  Director, Jamie Meltzer, dug deep and his research paid off. The film profiles several unique characters - some behind the pen and others behind the microphone.  All parties involved seem to have their heart in the process and everyone appears to get something out of it.

I watched the movie on my streaming Netflix account, but I was happy to discover that PBS uploaded the film to YouTube - so set aside an hour and get lost in some pretty unique "outsider" tunes. I look forward to hearing what you thought of the film. Leave a note in the comments area below.





Off The Charts Companion CD Soundtrack