Tag: musica

I take my music seriously, and so should you.

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Best Use of Metallica’s ‘One’ in a Public Radio Story


Photo by Daniella Zalcman under CC license.

“Chronically Homeless See New Woes in New Orleans”, by Joseph Shapiro.

I heard it this morning around 3:15 a.m. when I flipped over my Zune and tuned to NPR after being awoken by violent sounds from a movie playing too loud in the next room. These are the stories that actually play three times here on the West Coast, where morning edition begins at 2 a.m. and in some cases, runs — or rather loops — until 9. When I lived in Chicago I thought it was cool to hear the BBC after getting home on a late night, but now, in LA, we’ve got tomorrow’s news at 2 a.m.

(The unfortunate consequences for an NPR junkie like myself are that Renee Montagne’s voice begins to randomly say “good morning” while your sleep and, at times I find I secretly wish a lengthy spell of laryngitis on the likes of Steve Julian. Sorry Steve, you’re not as annoying as Larry Mantle, just speak a bit faster if you could.)

OK, I digress. The point of this post is to highlight this great clip from another excellent Morning Edition piece from New Orleans. NPR had the best coverage during the Katrina disaster and they continue to document the aftermath better than anyone — check their Katrina & Recovery page.

In this particular story, in spite of the vivid and blighted landscape I was aurally transported to at 3:15 a.m., it totally made my day to hear 38-year-old Benjamin Parnell, a blind New Orleanian, laughing and — longing for his guitar — belting out the ever-powerful machine-gun lyrical climax of Metallica’s “One” a capella:”Landmine has taken my sight/Taken my speech/Taken my hearing/Taken my arms/Taken my legs/Taken my soul/Left me with life in hell…

The kicker, NPR followed through in providing the gritty, heavy metal context. Kudos to reporter Joseph Shapiro and his producer(s). Listen to the excerpt below. You can read / listen to the entire piece here.

NPR New Orleans Story / Metallica One [ 1:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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VIDEO: Cornelius Rocks Out Disney Hall

This video is not the greatest — from my backup camera still digital — but figured I should share so you can get an idea of the energy of Cornelius’ energy and the incredible synced animation on the huge screens in the background. More on the show + details of my brief interview with the band later at LAist.

Cornelius @ Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, January 17, 2008 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Listen Online: I’m Not There Soundtrack

imnotthere.jpgVery excited about Todd Haynes’ Dylan movie — the one in-theater preview I saw looked awesome, as does the amazing benefit concert at the Beacon Theatre in November. Stream 3 tracks from the soundtrack here. Here’s the sequencing of this 2CD soundtrack:

Disc 1
1. Eddie Vedder and the Million Dollar Bashers: “All Along the Watchtower”
2. Sonic Youth: “I’m Not There”
3. Jim James and Calexico: “Goin’ to Acapulco”
4. Richie Havens: “Tombstone Blues”
5. Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers: “Ballad of a Thin Man”
6. Cat Power: “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again”
7. John Doe: “Pressing On”
8. Yo La Tengo: “Fourth Time Around”
9. Iron and Wine and Calexico: “Dark Eyes”
10. Karen O and the Million Dollar Bashers: “Highway 61 Revisited”
11. Roger McGuinn and Calexico: “One More Cup of Coffee”
12. Mason Jennings: “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”
13. Los Lobos: “Billy”
14. Jeff Tweedy: “Simple Twist of Fate”
15. Mark Lanegan: “The Man in the Long Black Coat”
16. Willie Nelson and Calexico: “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)”

Disc 2
1. Mira Billotte: “As I Went Out One Morning”
2. Stephen Malkmus and Lee Ranaldo: “Can’t Leave Her Behind”
3. Sufjan Stevens: “Ring Them Bells”
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Calexico: “Just Like a Woman”
5. Jack Johnson: “Mama You’ve Been on My Mind”
6. Yo La Tengo: “I Wanna Be Your Lover”
7. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova: “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”
8. The Hold Steady: “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window”
9. Ramblin’ Jack Elliott: “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”
10. The Black Keys: “Wicked Messenger”
11. Tom Verlaine and the Million Dollar Bashers: “Cold Irons Bound”
12. Mason Jennings: “The Times They Are a-Changin'”
13. Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers: “Maggie’s Farm”
14. Marcus Carl Franklin: “When the Ship Comes In”
15. Bob Forrest: “Moonshiner”
16. John Doe: “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine”
17. Antony and the Johnsons: “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”
18. Bob Dylan: “I’m Not There”

Album’s out on October 30. Pre-order from Amazon. Movie in LA and New York on Nov. 21. Movie trailer follows: Continue reading “Listen Online: I’m Not There Soundtrack”

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Cubs in Five

I wore an Aramis Ramirez jersey to both Cubs losses at Chase Field in Arizona. Ramirez went hitless in 9 at bats. The D-backs uncharacteristically scored over a dozen runs in two games. The Cubs have yet to show up in the playoffs, but Chase Field is not really much of a ballpark. It’s more of a warehouse or hangar filled with ads, a mascot, and yes, cheerleaders — two teenagers who pop on the big screen to try and rile the crowd. Sadly, the crowd — the slight majority that weren’t rooting for the Cubs — were filled with haters, who, instead of rooting for their own team, could only get into the “Beat the Cubs” chant. Lame.

My optimism remains strong.

I still believe.

Next year is here.

Cubs in Five.

Mountain Goats -- Cubs in Five [ 2:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download