When I was working at Reprise Seymour Stein signed an English band called The Farm. I loved their music, especially this song "Comfort." They had a few hits in the U.K., "Groovy Train" and "All Together Now," and some underground radio action here in the U.S. but they never broke through in America the way they should have. I've been wanted to share "Comfort" with the LNMC for months and I finally got my friend Lucas to do a video for it this morning. I think he captured the essence pretty well.
LNMC had a great reaction when we first introduced The Bastard Fairies a few months ago. This week they launched a new video for "A Venomous Tale" exclusively through some cockamamie Windows Media concoction. Thank God the exclusivity lasted about 15 minutes. Robin Davey has done a very nice discussion with... the videographer about the new project that you may find interesting and entertaining. But no matter how much you laugh at that, Yellow Thunder Woman's vocals and the music are absolutely irresistible:
Last night Morrissey was David Letterman's guest on The Late Show. Morrissey's been touring behind his latest solo release, Ringleader of the Tormentors, but the LNMC decided to go way back and dig up a Smiths fave from Morrissey's early days as a galvanizing singer, songwriter and performer.
UPDATE: Looks like the video Howie had was removed, so enjoy this Smiths tune instead...
So a little contest tonight for Morrissey's legion of Crooks & Liars fans? Half a dozen simple questions about his songs. Just send the answers to and win something special to listen to that is somewhat Morrissey-related that can't be purchased in a store (a surprise).
1- What happens if a doubledecker bus crashes into us?
2- What is meat?
3- In what song does Moz claim to be the sun and the earth along with a need to be loved "just like anybody else does?"
4- Not having a stitch to wear keeps Morrissey from what?
5- Which Morrissey video has visual cues to Lord Byron, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, James Dean and "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out?" 6- Who was Hector?
And, by the way, congratulations to Craig Burney for winning the Armageddon Dildos contest last week
Kurt is an LNMC contest winner from Vancouver (WA) who just turned me on to a great new band from the U.K., The Brakes. And although they caused some stir with a song bashing a discredited American political figure and for their anti-war "Porcupine or Pineapple," it's really their music that is making them the hottest commodity in the U.K. music scene.
Here's the Rough Trade video for the U.K. hit "All Night Disco Party."
CONTEST: This isn't the first time Rough Trade has found an underground band and helped make them international stars. Send us a list of your 3 favorite Rough Trade-released hit songs (by 3 different artists). The coolest list gets its creator a cool Sire Records box set (3 CDs plus a DVD), JUST SAY SIRE: THE SIRE RECORDS STORY. Send your list to downwithtyranny@aol.com.
Bertis Downs is an old friend of mine; he's also R.E.M.'s manager and a Crooks and Liars LNMC fan. He sent me a cool, FUN video last week. The backstory is here. And the contest is for an autographed copy of Peter Clothier's fantastic new book, The Real Bush Diaries. I'll give 3 books away for the best list of R.E.M. covers-- in other words, your favorite R.E.M. songs performed by other artists. Entries to downwithtyranny@aol.com
The uber-bloody Gears of War video game is using this Mazzy Star song in its latest commercial- the haunting track juxtaposed against images of muscled heroes killing monsters and such. I don't know much about video games, but I was sure glad to hear this song again..
I would have never imagined that Brubeck played on a sitar would sound so good, but this video out of Pakistan is awesome. What's your favorite music from non-western parts of the globe?
Someone recently unearthed this original treatment of the Boss' 'Dancing In The Dark' video, and I must say that it is more entertaining to me than the official video that featured the lady who would go on to become Courteney Cox. The premise is simple: Springsteen dances (and I mean dances) in the dark for a while, and then Clarence Clemons arrives in a red suit to rock the sax. Check it.
Tonight's song is as much about the video as it is the music. Terje Sorgjerd spent a week filming the Milky Way on El Teide, Spain's tallest mountain, and the results are absolutely stunning. Italian composer Einaudi defines his minimalist music as "elegance and openess", and his composition further enhances the beauty of the video. Enjoy!
