Georgie James

JD Blogging Moves to...

2008-08-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

titletracksdc.blogspot.com is where I'll be blogging from here on out.

JD Top 10 - 3/21/08

2008-03-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

1. "Awaiting On You All" - George Harrison
2. The Cowsills - live at Central Presbyterian Church @ SXSW - Incredible vocals and a really infectious joy for music
3. "Tragedy" - The Wipers
4. The Lemonheads - live at Emo's Annex @ SXSW - doing "It's A Shame About Ray" in its entirety. Honestly, they didn't even play that well, but it was great to hear those songs again. Certainly one of my all-time favorite records
5. Cherry People - "And Suddenly" - whenever I get around to my "Greatest D.C. songs of All Time" list, this'll be on there
6. Montage - "Grand Pianist" - Michael Brown's project after the Left Banke. The feathery production on this is incredible.
7. My pursuit of every single issue of Bomp! Magazine from the 70s. I've already got a few, so if you're selling, let me know. I'm also looking for any of the Bomp! Books, too. I'm not sure when this happened, but I'm turning into a collector.
8. The Ricky Gervais DVD box set. Not available in the U.S. for some reason, but this collects all three of his stand-up shows ("Animals," "Politics" and "Fame"). So unbelievably funny and it brightened up our dreary drives all over the UK when were on tour there a couple months back.
9. ABBA - German TV clips collection DVD I found at a record store in Belgium. As if I didn't already love this band enough, seeing Benny get so into "Mamma Mia" only deepens my affection for this lot.
10. The Paul Collins Beat - live at Soho Lounge @ SXSW - not as mind-blowing as last year (which was the first time I'd seen them), but still amazing. Being in a room where everyone is so happy to be there is just the kind of place I want to be. Wish he's had time for "Walking Out On Love," but I can't really complain too much. Definitely a musical hero.

JD's Radio Show - Listen To It

2008-01-04T21:49:00.001-08:00

Hey all. I've started doing a radio show at WMUC FM in College Park (www.wmucradio.com) on Monday afternoons this month (from noon to 2pm Eastern) and I believe they put the archive up for listening for at least a week. So, check out my first show (it's called 1,2,3,4 More More More -- which was briefly the title of the first Georgie James album and is actually derived from the book that Roger/Jim McGuinn read and inspired him to write "Eight Miles High") back on the air in years at http://wmucradio.com/stream_ripper/mon/Unnamed_Show_502_1200_1400.mp3. The link might come down in a few days, I'm not sure. We'll see. I have to admit, it was a little rocky at first as I don't think I've done a show there since 2001 or 2002, but once I shook off the rust, the second hour was pretty smooth. So I advise you to skip ahead a bit on the mp3. You can send me requests and such at 1234moremoremore(at)gmail(dot)com. You should also just check out www.wmucradio.com and listen to some of the other stuff they've got going on. I learned a lot about music from my years there in college, so I'm glad to see they're still going strong.

It also looks like I'll be the guest host for A.I.R.Time on XM Radio in February. It airs Tuesdays at 10pm Eastern on the XMU Channel (No. 43). There are a couple encore airings, too. I should have details on that later next week, I hope. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks. - JD

JD Top 10 - 12/18/07

2007-12-17T22:15:00.000-08:00

1. "If We Try" - Don McLean
2. The version of "Trains and Boats and Planes" from Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits.
3. On The Beach - directed by Stanley Kramer - 1959
4. "Close Your Eyes" - Peaches & Herb
5. Myself, for downloading Peaches & Herb's rider off of their moldy website (last updated in 2003?) in the vain hope that maybe GJ could play a show with them.
6. "The Who Sell Out" - by John Dougan -- one of the 33 1/3 series of books on classic albums. Sell Out is in the middle of the pack as far as The Who's album go, so it was interesting to see a book dedicated to it. The book dwelled mostly on Pirate Radio and the BBC, but also had some interesting factoids about the making of the album and the context of the band at the time.
7. "Tintinnabulation" from Environments 2, one of the series of "ambient" music LPs that were a big deal in the early 70s. Though the series usually covers the sounds of lapping waves, chirping insects or gently falling rain, "Tintinnabulation" is a series of softly-struck bells for a solid half-hour. Play it on any speed you like.
8. "A Dear John Letter" - Skeeter Davis and Bobby Bare
9. The impending reissue of Nick Lowe's Jesus of Cool (aka Pure Pop For Now People). I'm psyched.
10. Robin Workman - Moog Plays ABBA LP

JD Top 10 - 12/10/07

2007-12-10T20:04:00.000-08:00

1. "Shoot The Moon" - directed by Alan Parker, 1982
2. "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" - Major Lance
3. Born A Woman - Sandy Posey
4. "Come Closer To Me" - The Cheepskates
5. "Nothing More Than Murder - Jim Thompson
6. "I Need Love" - LL Cool J - (summer of '87 all over again)
7. "Nutted By Reality" - Nick Lowe
8. "They Don't Know" - The Impressions
9. "My Sweet Lord" - Byron Lee
10. "Breakdown" - The Buzzcocks

JD Top 10 12/3/07

2007-12-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

1. Charlie Byrd - Delicately
2. The Byrds - Preflyte
3. Jim Reeves - Good 'N' Country
4. Tommy Keene - "Landscape"
5. The Wire - Season 4 on DVD, at last
6. Bing Crosby - "Did You Ever See A Dream Walking"
7. "Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era" - Ken Emerson
8. Pointed Sticks - "Out Of Luck"
9. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - "Get Off The Phone"
10. Kitty Wells - "Dust On The Bible"

GJ Live on The Current (and a thanks to independent radio)

2007-11-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

After our show in Minneapolis, we stopped into The Current (KCMP) to record a live session with Danny Sigelman. Check out the whole thing here: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/11/12/georgie_james/

If you don't know The Current, you should. It's part of Minnesota Public Radio, an amazing, listener-supported free-form eclectic radio station that's doing great things for independent music. Around Minneapolis you can tune in at 89.3; you can listen online from anywhere else at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/.

Back in another life when I sat behind a desk for many hours a week, I listened every day. I was even a member -- I've got my special edition Current vinyl to prove it.

Of course there are a bunch of other stations out there doing great things for music (WOXY, WXPN, XMU just to name a few). So, much thanks to them for doing the Good Work -- and for supporting us along the way.

xo
laura.

p.s. In the vein of World's Best Radio, I just finished the John Peel book (Margrave of the Marshes). A most high recommendation if you're looking for something for yourself or someone near and dear.

Birthdays, Deathdays and What Makes Music Stick

2007-10-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

After John's recent post, I thought I'd find out what the number one song was on the day I was born. I'm happy to say it was "Call Me" by Blondie. (They also had the number one song exactly one year prior with "Heart of Glass.") My guess would've been "Sailing" by Christopher Cross, but that has more to do with one of my first relationships with a song than some logical portrait of reality.* You see, when I was about eight or nine my mom put that record on. And when the needle got to "Sailing," I had the strangest sensation. I knew the words and the melody, but I couldn't remember why or how. Further, that song was bringing up some memory, something physical (I felt changed, transported in that moment), and I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I later found out that my mom listened to the hell out of that record when she was pregnant with me and all through my first days. We lived on the Patuxent River then -- the beach was literally our backyard. For that and for so many other reasons that song resonated with her. And I guess it did with me, too, even if I didn't have a logical explanation for it -- just some memory stored up in my brain and my body. I'd always known that music affected me on a physical level, but I think that was the first time I had some window into the real power of how and why it sticks.

There's an amazing essay in the latest New Yorker ("The Abyss" by Oliver Sacks) about the relationship between music and memory. Writing about an amnesiac who can't remember his children but can recall, play, and even conduct whole pieces, Sacks says that "remembering music is not, in the usual sense, remembering at all. Remembering music, listening to it, or playing it is wholly in the present." I'm sure you can think of at least a handful of songs that give you butterflies, twist your stomach in knots, distort your vision momentarily and give the whole world a glow, and just plain transport you. Certain songs from the 80s make me feel weird whenever they happen on the radio or play over the speakers in the grocery store. And some put me back into an old apartment, in an old relationship. Some songs smell like autumn no matter what time of year I hear them. Take "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen and the entire "Violet Hour" record by the Clientele. I hear those songs and it's the winter of 2003-2004. And regardless of what the pop charts say (Outkast's "Hey Ya!" had a hold on the collective consciousness that whole winter), those were my number ones.

Number ones stick for a certain reason. It could be argued that they reflect -- or even that they speak -- the mind of the collective consciousness. So what about an individual's impact on the number one, the anthem of a whole society at one spot in time? When John Lennon died (a few months after I was born), I would guess that "Imagine" would've rocketed to the top of the charts. According to my sources, Kenny Rogers' "Lady" held strong until December 27th, when "(Just Like) Starting Over" finally sunk in and made its way out on the radio waves. Sadly, George Harrison didn't get the same treatment in the US; Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" was the American soundtrack to his passing (God, I'm sorry about that, George -- if I could've changed that, I would've). The UK was kinder; "My Sweet Lord" was number one in early 2002. These songs represented a collective mourning (except for that damn Nickelback song -- the US is pretty disappointing on the hot 100 list).

But what, in a song itself, makes it stick -- not just with one person, but with a whole group of people? I went to see Animal Collective the other night and was taken with the response of that packed room, everyone dancing and singing. From some straight up pop perspective, their popularity might not make sense. It's not traditional (melodies, song structures, etc). But there's something about it that a lot of people (myself included) love. I had a similar experience watching Radiohead years ago. The band was playing a song in a strange time signature, Thom Yorke was singing his non-traditional lyrics in fits and starts, the melodies were difficult. But there were thousands of people dancing and singing along to every word.

I recently heard that the reason it's so easy to sit down and eat an entire bag of Doritos is that they're this unnatural combination of salty and sweet -- something that doesn't exist in nature. So your brain tells your hand to keep feeding your taste buds the chips because it wants to figure out the synthesis. Well that's how I felt at the Animal Collective show. The skeleton on the back wall seemed to reference the Dead, the jam band element; the beats, the skeletons with glowing eyes and tutus on the front of the stage (fly girls?) alluded to hip hop; the melodies, and those gorgeous harmonies recalled (for me anyway) Brian Wilson; and the lights (a row of rainbow towers that backlit the band, making it more about the experience of music in and of itself than about the three people on the stage playing it) called up all sorts of dance genres. I wanted to listen as close as possible and keep listening because I wanted to figure out exactly how all the pieces were fitting together. And when I got home and put on the record (repeating the melodies, harmonies, the whirring of the beats and the loops of the guitar lines), the songs became a part of my memory, my cells, me: circa 2007, in the balcony of the 9:30 Club, Washington, DC. In other words, they stuck.

* After writing this, I checked and found that "Sailing" did, in fact, reach number one a few months after I was born. I could say it was the anthem of the collective consciousness at that moment in time, or I could launch into a tirade about the record and radio industry and how songs *really* become number ones. But that's a conversation for another time... -- Laura

Soft Focus

2007-10-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

I first encountered Ian Svenonius in 1991, when I came across "13 Point Program To Destroy America," the first record from The Nation of Ulysses, the band Ian sang for from the late 80s until its breakup in '92. "13 Point Program" remains one of my favorite punk records, let alone D.C. punk records. Its followup, "Plays Pretty For Baby," is equally good (some would argue, as occasionally happened in the Q And Not U van, that "Baby" was better, though I disagree). Both records are titanic blasts of energy, imagination and the fervor of youth. The liner notes were nearly as good as the music, containing long screeds that borrowed from various revolutionary groups (the Nation of Islam and the Black Panthers seemed to be particular touchstones) and cultural powerhouses (Motown, Teddy Boys, Coltrane). The group's shtick, in itself a pillaging of a variety of cultures, was mercilessly ripped off by bands that followed in the 90s and early-oughts (I'm looking DIRECTLY at you Refused/International Noise Conspiracy, among others). The currents that flowed throughout all of the music of NOU (and Svenonius' follow-up bands -- The Cupid Car Club, The Make*Up and Weird War/Scene Creamers) were smarts, daring and a sharp sense of humor.

I didn't meet Ian in person until 1994, when I interviewed him for my high school fanzine, Slanted. He took me for my first trip to Vace Deli in Cleveland Park, a few blocks from the National Zoo. Although I remember the interview as being pretty enlightening, at least to my 17-year-old mind, Ian asked me to scrap it and, instead, submit my questions to him on paper. A few weeks later, I received a typed, rambling screed that I really wish I still had. I think I published most of it as it was, so I need to dig out that issue of Slanted some day. On paper and on wax, few musicians have been as reliably good as Svenonius.

Anyway, it's been a long time coming as far as I'm concerned, but Ian Svenonius finally has his own TV show. It's called Soft Focus and, OK, it's not exactly a TV show. It's on Vice Magazine's internet television website (the site can be found here: http://www.vbs.tv/shows/index.php?show=Soft%20Focus). I haven't been able to watch all of the episodes yet, but the ones where he interviews Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins are quintessential Spiv. The mix of deadpan humor, generally salient points and pointed intelligence are exactly what I'd expect from a TV show hosted by the Spiv. So, I'm a little late in the game when it comes to talking up this show (I'm pretty sure it's been on for months), but whatever. I am a believer, R U? -- John

Some songs I've enjoyed recently

2007-08-02T00:28:00.000-07:00

You're So Good To Me - The Beach Boys
From "Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)," the last Beach Boys album before "Pet Sounds." You don't need to hear from me about the merits of "Pet Sounds," but I will give some respect to "Summer Days," which like many of the great Beach Boys records ("Friends," "Today!," "Surf's Up" and "20/20"), gets completely dwarfed these days by the avalanche of praise for "Pet Sounds." I'm not saying "Pet Sounds" doesn't deserve the hype, but it does bring to mind a recent discussion in the GJ van about overrated bands and records. It eventually became so easy to say a band was overrated that we wound up trying to determine bands or records that were "rated," if you will. But I'll leave those opinions in the van, for now. As for "You're So Good To Me," it's encapsulates everything that was so great about the pre-"Pet Sounds" Beach Boys. How they made sophistication sound so primitive is an accomplishment in itself, but the earnest joy is refreshing to ears that have spent so much time wading through the darker sounds and sentiments that Brian Wilson trafficked in from "Pet Sounds" to 1971's "Surf's Up." After that, the band was irrelevant, though don't sleep on "Here Comes The Night," the Boys' stab at disco from 1979's "L.A. (Light Album)," produced by sunshine pop semi-genius, Curt Boettcher. There's a freakin' VOCODER on there! While we're talking Beach Boys, does anyone else love "Friends" and "20/20" as much as I do? I think those are my two favorites.

Like Dreamers Do - The Applejacks
I've recently been trying to track down all of the songs that Lennon and McCartney wrote and gave away to other bands/singers and this one, "Like Dreamers Do," is one of the best. With the British Invasion, there were three camps. The snarling stomp of the Stones, The Animals, early Kinks, etc. Then you had the Beatles and The Hollies who straddled the line between light and dark pretty adroitly. THEN you had the bands like Herman's Hermits, The Mindbenders, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, etc etc etc. Though frequently some of my favorites of the era, these bands are the ones who really helped seal the image of most Invaders being geeks in suits and coke-bottle glasses; the sort of bands that The Brief Weeds, an obscure spin-off of Rites of Spring, so expertly spoofed on a handful of singles (Not to digress too far, but I heard that the Brief Weeds even did a fake news conference at WMUC, the radio station at the University of Maryland, where I had a show from '95-'99. I've long been meaning to dig into the archives over there, which include a fairly recently rediscovered clip of John Lennon doing a station ID). Anyway, The Applejacks, whom I had never even heard of prior to my quest, lucked into a chance to record "Like Dreamers Do," a peppy Johnny/Macca tune that boasts not a flawed moment. Sure, the lyrics are fluff, but what hooks. There was a compilation from the turn of the 80s called "The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away," which includes most of the Lennon/McCartney castoffs. Although I've tracked all of the songs down now at this point, if you find a copy of it on vinyl, that'd make a good birthday present for me.

It Could Be We're In Love - The Cryan Shames
I've already rapped on this blog about the Cryan Shames, the Chicagoland crew from the late 60s. I believe one of them bore a hook on his hand, which is a pretty novel feature. Anyway, whereas the previously mentioned "I Wanna Meet You," was like The Turtles or The Assocation with balls (kinda), "It Could Be We're In Love," owes a solid debt to The Beach Boys. A wistful ballad with tight harmonies, staccato pipe organ blasts, and that coconut sound you get when you hit a block and put a bunch of reverb on it.

Young Love - Mary Hopkin
Hopkin was one of McCartney's pet projects. He produced her first record, "Post Card," and also gave her the song "Goodbye," which is up there with "Come And Get It" for my favorite Macca song that he gave away. "Young Love" is from "Post Card" and embodies the tone of that record -- a mix of then-modern pop and old-timey standards. Hopkin's biggest hit was "Those Were The Days," the ultimate example of the aformentioned combo. "Young Love" is a jaunty pop song, sweetly harmonized and ardently warbled by the Welsh chanteuse (who was reportedly brought to Macca's attention by Twiggy who, aside from her fame as a model, recorded some decent singles of her own, some of which can be found on a few of the excellent "Dream Babes" comps). "Post Card" is Hopkin's peak, though the follow-up, "Earth Song and Ocean Song," is solid and would seemingly appeal even more to the recent flock of English folk devotees.

Love You Inside Out - Bee Gees
What a righteous song. I'm a huge fan of the Bee Gees, especially this song. Not sure why it doesn't get the same radio play as their other hits of the era, but I'd put it on par with other strokes of genius like "Night Fever" or "Tragedy." The drums are deep in the pocket (except for that kinda-whack bridge), Barry's voice is off the hook and the chorus is undeniable. I do admit, though, that it's now hard for me to listen to the Bee Gees without thinking of "The Barry Gibb Talk Show." If you haven't seen it, YouTube that shit. Makes me mourn Jimmy Fallon's lost potential.

Let's Spend The Night Together - Claudine Longet
More breathy Franco-pop-easy listening from Andy Williams' ex. Although not a songwriter, Longet never stooped to karaoke. There's even a vaguely funky, ramshackle vibe to this Stones cover. Abandoning the swagger of the original, Longet takes the song into the land of doe-eyes, long, straight hair and English with a heavy French accent. The album (from which this tune is the title track) also has a solid, dainty covers of Neil Young's "Birds" and Graham Nash's "Sleep Song." One can't really talk about Longet without mentioning her checkered past (the hazy circumstances around the shooting death of her second husband, Spider Sabich, in 1976), but her records do stand on their own as easy listening Franco-pop of fairly consistent quality. -- John

Born into the world

2007-07-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

I came across a complete list of #1 US Top 40 hits in the 70s and thought I'd see what was #1 when I was born in October of '76. I was hoping for something profound. You know, maybe that was the week McCartney or Paul Simon or someone like that had a #1. Well, um, it was "Disco Duck." Yes, Rick Dees And His Cast of Idiots with their classic that, although fairly early in disco's rise to brief, yet draconian, dominion, could be considered the nadir of a genre with a wide variety of nominees for lowest point. Ethel Merman's disco record? That's probably my choice, but "Disco Duck" isn't far behind. Oh well, we can't all be born to the strains of "Make It With You," "Le Freak" or one of other songs I wouldn't have minded introducing me to the world. To think, just a few months earlier and it could've been "Afternoon Delight." -- John

Antelope

2007-05-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the new Antelope record on Dischord? It's called "Reflector" and I can only imagine it'll wind up my favorite album of the year. I've been going to shows in D.C. since 1991 and Antelope are definitely in the pantheon of great bands I've been privileged to see (I'm also including Fugazi, Hoover, Cupid Car Club, The Crownhate Ruin, Jawbox, Black Eyes and Holy Rollers in there ... I'm leaving a few out, but I don't want to get too listy, as is my want). Antelope seems to stand outside of what is commonly thought of as the D.C. sound, though, these days, I'm not sure if what was the "D.C. sound" when I was coming up still serves as the "D.C. sound" of today. In fact, I couldn't really tell you what today's version is. In some ways, that's good. There are a real variety of bands here. On the other hand, I continue to wish that more bands from our town ventured out and made more of an impact and represented what we're doing here. That said, Antelope really sounds like nothing else that’s happening in town. You can definitely hear echoes of other bands in there -- Neu! (the repetition, the unyielding beats, the willingness to offer different treatments of the same theme) or Lungfish (soulful, honest, trance-like and, again, repetition), for example. Heck, there are even whiffs of Joy Division (the bleak bass riff of "Justin Jesus") and Fugazi (though, primarily, the Fugazi that is represented in the demos and oddities of the "Instrument" soundtrack). There's also a fantastically brittle funkiness employed on songs like "Wandering Ghost" (probably my favorite song) and "Contraction." I recently read a review that refers to "Contraction" as "obnoxiously monotonous," so I guess it's not for everyone. But "Reflector" is, to me, in the same brilliant spirit as records like Miles Davis' "On The Corner," Neu!'s "Neu! 2" or Lungfish's "Sound In Time": stepping outside the parameters and taking you somewhere, if you let it. OK, so "On The Corner" might transport you to a dark, hellish underworld and "Sound In Time" might set you somewhere on the bleak lunar landscape of its cover. But sometimes that's where I want to be when I'm listening to a record. "Reflector" is not a mirror to me as much as what I might imagine a window on an endlessly ascendant aircraft might stare out upon. The wonder you feel at the beauty streaking by you mingles with the unease of your ceaseless journey. -- John

Raspberries footage

2007-04-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not really a YouTube addict, like a lot of folks I know. Still, I've found some pretty great stuff on there. A choice rendition of "Rock 'N Roll Girl" by The Beat from the tour for the first record (at least I think so, since that appears to be their first drummer behind the kit) ... the Byrds doing "Mr. Spaceman" for a TV show, but with Gene Clark back on board, post-dismissal of David Crosby and pre-swift redismissal of Clark himself ... Rupert Holmes doing "Him" on some TV show, which is especially dope for the moment when he jumps up from the piano bench to really give it his all ... even the lone Q And Not U TV performance from 2003, which we did for, er, a TV show called "Fox Rox" on an affiliate in San Diego. We were assured that we could say whatever we wanted to and that we wouldn't be edited, save for profanity or brevity. Surprisingly, some of our tomfoolery made it through. I never saw the clip until just recently and I think Harris' "I Love Le French" sticker was probably my favorite part. Things are bad now in this country, but things were REALLY bad then and any opportunity to say what we felt about the Bush administration had to be seized, even if it meant going on a channel owned by Fox.

Anyway, this talk of choice music clips on YouTube was prompted not be an actual discovery on there, though, but from the website for The Raspberries. They're not exactly at the top of my power-pop heap (that goes to The Beat and The Flamin' Groovies) but they're right up there. They also have a newish website with a good amount of content. The best part is the video section which has them doing a few songs for the cameras while they recorded their second record, "Fresh." I'm a huge fan of their song "Let's Pretend," so that was probably my favorite part. You can see all of it www.raspberriesonline.com/main.shtml. Anyway, just thought I'd pass along that the site is worth checking out. Anyone with tips on other power pop sites (especially mp3 blogs), please let me know. Next time, I'll post on some of my favorite mp3 blogs. I still hold onto my notion that I'll do one around the history of D.C. punk and indie music. There's SO much good music that's out of print now or overlooked, so I think it could do some good. Well, I'll get to it someday. -- John

Movie List Idea May Not Be Such A Good One

2007-01-31T21:59:00.000-08:00

For some reason this month, I'm WAY down on watching movies. So far it's been a bit of a rogue's gallery:

Tailspin: What, you haven't heard of this made-for-HBO film from the late 80s based on the '83 Korean Airlines Tragedy? I can't say you're missing out, but I do love movies like this. Very, er, tense. I'm surprised things didn't really work out for Chris Sarandon as a leading man. Maybe you saw him in Dog Day Afternoon or Fright Night?

Little Miss Sunshine: Not sure why it took me so long to wind up watching this. I'd heard the hype and was a bit skeptical. I'm not sure if this is really "Best Picture" material (though I couldn't give you any alternatives), but I definitely enjoyed the movie. It was cute and, although disbelief had to be suspended a few times, it was easy to like.

Nuremberg: Another film falling into my love of made-for-cable flicks, this one was brought to us in the late 90s by TNT. Alec Baldwin as the head prosecuting attorney at the Nuremberg trials. Pretty much what you'd expect, but I appreciated that it was able to last for over three hours but still completely lose its grip on even approaching epic status. Not sure why I love TV movies, but I sure do. I've got to watch some Lifetime movies all the way through and report back on those.

Down In The Valley: Good to see Norton back. Love that guy and he was pretty good in this movie. It was a slight, but interesting enough, flick about a May-August romance that didn't seem all that well thought out by the May half. A bit predictable, but I liked it better than Hard Candy, which came out around the same time and, thus, was entwined with DITV in my mind.

And, uh, that's it. Not really sure what's up, but I just haven't been sitting still for movies lately. I just started a four part history of the Korean War that the History Channel did, but that doesn't really count. And I guess I've been listening to a lot of 10cc, The Louvin Brothers, We All Together, George Jones, Claudine Longet, Bob Lind, Sandy Salisbury and Bridget St. John. Why hasn't anyone really caught on to Bridget St. John? Seems like there's a bit of a revival for the late-60s/early-70s female folkies. I think her records are WAY better than, say, Judee Sill's, though I know that St. John's story is far less juicy and, hell, that's really what a lot of this stuff is about anyway. But, if you haven't heard Bridget St. John yet, any of the three records that Cherry Red reissued a while back are worth your time if you like Nick Drake, Nico, Vashti Bunyan, etc. -- John

Movie List for 2007?

2006-12-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

I'm wondering whether or not I should keep track of all the movies I watch in 2007. I have a friend who did that once on his website, but I can't remember if he finished or not. In fact, I think his goal was to watch 365 movies in a year. Now, I do keep track of all of the books I read and write their names and authors down when I finish. I've always found it a little weird that I do this, but it turns out to be a good tool to help me remember things I've read over the years. I have a list going back to '99 and I go through them sometimes. Anyway, for those wondering, I've finished 30 books so far this year and I'm thinking I'll get another two done before the new year creeps in. Maybe I'll even be dorky enough to post them all here. That said, anyone think I should do the movie list too? Why do I feel like there won't be any comments for this post?

Mix for Muddroe La Fudge (Part One)

2006-12-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

I just made a mix for my old pal Shawn Brackbill. Shawn was the photographer and main roadie for my old band, Q And Not U. Saddled with many nicknames (Muddy, Muddroe, Muddroe La Fudge, La Fudge, Fudgie the Whale, etc.), Shawn is one of the best people to go record shopping with. Unfortunately, it's been a while since we've had a chance to comb the racks, so I thought I'd send him a mix with some of my latest favorites:

"Changing Heart" - The Byrds
-- "Changing Heart" is one of the Gene Clark tunes on the lukewarm Byrds reunion record from '73. The first time all five dudes were together on record since 1966's Fifth Dimension, the self-titled reunion record has its moments, particularly this one. Clark's sad story is fairly well-documented at this point and his voice had already morphed from the slightly peppy, vaguely earnest timbre of 1964's "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" to the weary, but still vital, tones found here. McGuinn sneaks a few 12-string runs in here, but this song is owned by Clark. To some, this could sound like a Neil Young rehash, but Clark's gravitas gives it the necessary heft that others may not have been able to provide.

"Yesterday's Love" - Any Trouble
-- Undoubtedly pegged by some as a poor man's Joe Jackson (which might render him a destitute man's Elvis Costello?), Clive Gregson's power-pop/pub rock quartet is strangely overlooked. The band's debut, Where Are All The Nice Girls?, is a frequently excellent collection of short, sharp, shocked tunes that do lack the lyrical skill of Costello, but still don't merit the ignominy they current languish in. The fact that the band's debut was on Stiff certainly doesn't help distance them from the broad penumbra of Costello's legacy. That said, "Yesterday's Love" is a killer slice of post-pub. If lyrics can be gently spit out (lobbed, perhaps?), Gregson does just that. It's clear that Gregson comes from a time before punk, but the waves of energy that rippled out from the short-lived explosion undeniably touched his songwriting. Songcraft is prized, but so is energy, honesty and a little bit of bile. A lot of the post-pub stuff occasionally makes an uneasy drift into Dire Straits territory (no wonder, since they all emerged from the same era and scene) and Any Trouble isn't always exempt from this, but when they stick to the taut power pop that they display on "Yesterday's Love," the results merit far more attention and respect.

"Special Delivery" - 1910 Fruitgum Company
-- I'm not surprised that bubblegum is dismissed the way it is. There's something not "genuine" about it, especially since it thrived in an era of ultra-earnest anthems of political and social importance. I could see why someone might offer an askance look at a song like "Special Delivery," with its ersatz-soul horn section, it's "Gee, Wally"-sounding vocals and the anything-but-dangerous yelp that the singer gives before the horn solo. HOWEVER, this song IS great, no matter what is has going against it. The hooks are undeniable, its dorkiness endearing and its songcraft is crude, but effective. Bubblegum at its best never approaches the social resonance of "Ohio" or even "Gimme Shelter," but its the lack of pretension and the devotion to joy that keeps me coming back to the works of Kasenetz & Katz and other purveyors of sweet, simple bubblegum pop.

"I'll Be Good To You" - The Brothers Johnson
-- Just want to show a little respect for Rod Temperton. This guy knew how to write a hit. Originally the keyboardist in Heatwave (for whom he wrote "Boogie Nights" and "Always and Forever"), he went on to write "Thriller." "Rock With You," "Baby Come To Me," "Gimme the Night" and "Off the Wall," among others. "I'll Be Good To You" is a fairly overlooked gem from this era, best done here on the Brothers Johnson's record, Look Out For #1. It's a smooth slice of corporate funk and its exclusion from today's funk-pop canon is peculiar. Maybe I'm just not listening to WHUR enough these days, but I, sadly, never hear it anymore.

"Maria" - Charles Dumont
-- Dumont's soundtrack to Jacques Tati's 1971 film "Trafic" is a solid effort that fits alongside the best soundtracks of the era, though somewhat beneath the more lauded works of Morricone, Komeda and Lai (as well as the completely ignored - in America - works of French composer, Francois de Roubaix, my favorite film composer of them all). Many of the soundtracks of this period alternated between brief, pulsing, tense instrumentals meant to express tense and pulsating moments in the film OR haunting, ethereal ballads meant to go beneath haunting, ethereal shots of haunting, ethereal women. "Maria" is the latter (as the title may have tipped you off). Sure, it fits the formula, but it's BEAUTIFUL and I want to listen to it over and over again and find a window that I can gaze out of and spy a woman in white emerging from a barren forest.

"I Wanna Meet You" - The Cryan Shames
-- Whenever I visit my family in Chicagoland, I always pay a visit to Remember When, an oldies record store located on the seemingly endless stretch of car dealers and fast food slingers that is Ogden Avenue. Remember When almost never lets me down when it comes to finding various vinyl treats of the 60s and 70s. For instance, back in October, I unearthed a few Gary McFarland records priced for $5 that might've set me back 10 times that had I resorted to the internet. Anyway, part of Remember When's charm is in its steadfast devotion to the handful of Chicagoland bands that briefly poked their heads out of obscurity for a few minor national hits in the 60s. This could include The Ides of March (whose "Vehicle" still shows up in car commercials), The New Colony Six (more on them later) and, the band listed here, The Cryan Shames. About the only legacy of the Beatles that I don't like is the "misspelled band name" concept which beget names The Byrds, The Cyrkle, The Cryan Shames, etc. Anyway, The Cryan Shames only major contribution to the popular consciousness was its cover of "Sugar and Spice," later to show up on the Nuggets compilations. That said, they left behind a few other great songs the Beach Boys retread "It Could Be We're In Love," the Lovin' Spoonful-ish "We Could Be Happy" and, perhaps my favorite, the geeky, ebullient "I Wanna Meet You." Located somewhere on the strip that separated The Dave Clark Five and The Byrds, "I Wanna Meet You" basks in the glow of its own glorious hooks and unrepentant teenage yearning.

"The Visit" - The Cyrkle
One of the aforementioned flagrant band-name-misspellers, The Cyrkle are really only known still as the band that covered "Red Rubber Ball," a jangly bit of mid-60s pop that songwriter Paul Simon never saw fit to use on any of the Simon and Garfunkel records (though the Old Friends boxset does have a mediocre live acoustic version). Still, as with many of these one-hit bands of the mid-to-late 60s, you don't want to sleep on the Cyrkle. All three of the band's records have their moments and "The Visit," from 1967's Neon, stands as my favorite Cyrkle tune. Simultaneously dark and breezy, the pseudo-bossa nova tone evokes suburbs, key parties, wood panel walls and Stepford, CT. -- four of my favorites.

"Teen Line" - The Shivvers
-- In listening to the obscure power-pop of the late 70s and early 80s, one of my favorite things to do is imagine these bands from oblivion playing their tunes in empty midwestern bars on frigid January nights, as they undoubtedly did. The Shivvers are one of those bands that never made a dent on the national music scene. Only recently, thanks to the people at Hyped2Death, have the Shivvers been properly memorialized. Are they up there with The Raspberries or The Beat or other leaders of the power-pop pack? No. In fact, they don't really come close. But a song like "Teen Line" succeeds with such blinding pop perfection that its easy to wonder why this band was ignored in its time. A little bit Ronettes, a little bit Laverne & Shirley, a little bit Byrds, "Teen Line" is a perfect example of a hit song that shoulda been but never was.

"Castles in the Air" - Don McLean
-- There are two versions of this song - one from McLean's 1970 debut, Tapestry, and another from 1982's Believers. I chose the latter version. McLean's original take is very muh of the time. In fact, it must've already been pretty dated by its release in 1970, its dreamy but stiff ruminations sounding more like 1965 than 1970. McLean's '82 version indeed sounds like the work of an older man. There's something more assured about it -- more moustache, less goatee (though McLean, sans stache on the cover of Believers, looks disturbing like Michael Bolton/Matt Sorum). Lyrically, its tale of a dude who's had it with his stuck-up city girl and "her cocktail generation" and is heading out to a new life in the country. This is some John Denver shit here (it should be noted, though, that I'm a big fan of Herr Deutschendorf), but the thrust of the lyric is kinda funny. D-Mac is basically singing this song to a friend that he's hoping will tell the city girl for him that he's moving on. "Perhaps she'll understand if you tell it to her plain," McLean suggests. Perhaps she'll understand if YOU tell it to her plain, mofo.

"Yes, It's True" - The Flamin' Groovies
-- A wretched name, but a great run of power pop genius in the late 70s. The Flamin' Groovies evolved from a feral garage band into besuited pop merchants, beholden to the twin attack of the British Invasion and the 60s L.A. scene. The band peaked with 1976's "Shake Some Action" and it loaded with classics. This is one of them. "Yes, It's True" basically suggests to me what The Byrds would sound like if they were produced by Phil Spector. Jangling guitar, reverb-drenched vocals, genius hooks -- it's almost eerie how much this sounds like a product of 1965. I guess that's what kept this band from breaking through in its own time. Its dedication to sounds that had yet to come back couldn't vanquish the likes of Boston and Bad Company, some of its rivals for airtime back then.

"I Don't Want To Know" - Fleetwood Mac
-- I'm not really digging deep into the racks for this one, but a good song is a good song. There's something about Fleetwood Mac and its conspicuous excess and internal drama that fascinates me, much as it has millions of others. Any band that can release an album that, on its own, can also serve as a partial greatest hits, deserves respect. The Mac does seem to get an appreciation now that it didn't get a few years, but they're still regarded as lightweights, somewhat unfairly. "I Don't Want To Know" is perfect L.A. pop and, even though, I've heard it hundreds of times by now, I still want more.

"Looky Looky" - Giorgio Moroder
-- When one thinks of Giorgio Moroder (which probably isn't often for most normal folks), the motorik throb of disco classics like Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" or Blondie's "Rapture" (OR, if you're awesome, Sparks' "Tryouts For The Human Race") probably come to mind. I was surprised (slightly aghast?) to hear "Looky Looky," which was Moroder's late-60s stab at bubblegum. It's kinda awesome, kinda shitty. Nonsense lyrics, driving drums, a spacey bridge ... is that a tack piano? Things get a little offtrack in there, but it's fun to hear Moroder wrap his early brain around the bubblegum template.

"Singing To The Sunshine" - Mortimer
-- I first heard this song when it was covered by Cardinal on their lone 1994 album. I was able to find out that it was a song by "Mortimer," but I knew fuckall about who that was and where I'd find their record. It didn't quite evolve into holy grail status (that was reserved for Two Man Sound's "Capital Tropical," which I found SEALED for $5 at Joe's Record Paradise out in Rockville, MD.), but anything by Mortimer was something I dug through many a rack for. Still haven't found it on vinyl, but it was reissued on CD recently and it's a very solid piece of psychedelic, late-60s pop. Delicate, but not quite Nick Drake delicate. Well-crafted, occasionally a bit soulless, but quite good overall. This song's dainty, sunshine-pop sound owes a good bit to Donovan, but stands on its own as a worthwhile obscurity of its era.

"No Place Like Home" - The Neighborhoods
--I love this song 'cause it carries my mind into the same zone I mentioned earlier, where I'm thinking of dark bars at the turn of the 80s. However, in this case, I'm thinking of a kid who's a cross between Matthew Broderick in "War Games" and Keith Gordon in "Dressed to Kill," slamming the door to his bedroom and letting the music take him away. It has more than something to do with this song's "suburban hell" theme. The Neighborhoods were a Boston band that, in this case, sounds a LOT like The Jam, circa "Setting Sons." I'm not sure why the American suburbs of the early 80s are so fascinating to me, though I reckon it's cause that's where I lived when my first memories formed. I'm not going too far out with that theory, but why then and why not so much other eras in my life?

Album Title

2006-12-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

Still tossing around potential album titles for the new record. The two current favorites:

-- Hello

-- 1,2,3,4, More, More, More, More

Not sure which one works better. I'm leaning towards the latter. We'll see. - JD

Supersystem R.I.P.

2006-12-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

Sad to say that my friends in Supersystem are ending their band. Although we didn't get to play with them in Georgie James, my old band (Q And Not U) played countless shows with them all over the U.S. and Europe. This band was a rare mix of exciting music and warm, genuinely nice people. I appreciate all of the times I got to see them and wish I could've caught one more show. They posted a brief statement at their site (www.supersystemband.com) for those who'd like to see. Thanks again, fellas, and good luck with what's next. - JD

We're here

2006-12-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. We thought we'd launch a blog for us folks in Georgie James to share what's going on with the band. Life on tour, in the studio, at home, etc. Talking about our favorite music, movies, books, art and whatever else we'd like to share with anyone who cares to know what we're thinking. Thanks for checking here and we'll be adding more soon. - JD