LISA HANNIGAN

If you heard Damien Rice's massively popular album O, then you've already heard Lisa Hannigan, weather you knew it or not. Though, chances are you already knew that, but if you didn't, now you do.

Of course, even if you weren't familiar with her from her work with Damien, you may have been introduced to her thanks to the "Colbert Bump" which she received shortly after debut solo album, Sea Sew, was released.

If you managed to avoid hearing her with Damien, and you weren't watching television the night Stephen Colbert introduced her to American audiences, well then I guess you can have your very first taste or her here and now.

Here's a bunch of stuff that's not on Sea Sew. . . and some stuff that is on it, but not the album versions.

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Lisa Hannigan - "My Pirate Disco" (demo) A brand spankin' new song, released in video form on her MySpace page. This would be the audio from that video.
Lisa Hannigan - "Sea Song" (demo) Released as the b-side of the "Lille" single. Original version is on Sea Sew.
Lisa Hannigan and Damien Rice - "Desifinado" From the Goldfish Memory soundtrack. She does a couple more tracks on there, too.
Lisa Hannigan - "I Don't Know" (Live on The Colbert Report) The aforementioned Colbert Bump performance. Original version is on Sea Sew.
The Cake Sale - "Last Leaf" The Cake Sale is kind of a super group of musicians mainly from Ireland, that got together to put out a nine song charity album. (buy) This is just one of several songs Lisa does vocals on.
Lisa Hannigan and Paul Noonan - "Your Ghost" (Kristin Hersh cover) Recorded for a radio session.
Lisa Hannigan - "Lille" (demo) Original version is on Sea Sew.

Buy the album:

Sea Sew, 2008 (buy)

Further Lisa Hannigan listening:

A 4 song session she recorded for Daytrotter can be heard (and downloaded) here.
A session she recorded at KCRW earlier this year can be seen and heard here.

And, because I like pushing the local scene, too:

If you're in the Valley, and you want to see some live music on the cheap (is free cheap enough?), there's three bands playing at Hoodlums this evening.

MySpace links: Earthmen & Strangers, Becky Lee & Drunkfoot, The Chandails

BIG BIG LIVE NEWS: Mark your calendars. I never thought it would happen, but The Pogues (yes THOSE Pogues) are scheduled to play The Marquee in Tempe, October 21. For other US tour dates, look here.

REQUESTS & NEWS

Technically, my job wasn't blow'd up, but I liked the image. The good news is I had a really good interview a few days ago, so hopefully the unemployment thing won't last much longer.

In the meantime, I had a couple of requests I was asked to put up, along with a few cuts from upcoming albums.

By request:

Toad the Wet Sprocket - "All In All" B-side of "Walk On the Ocean".
Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy" (live at The Grammys) not the best sound quality, but it's a great performance. Original version is on St. Elsewhere. (buy)

Some upcoming album samples. These are at a lower bit rate since they're not rare. Gotta give the artist a chance to sell the good stuff.

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porterdavis - "Grass Growing through Concrete" from porterdavis, out September 1st. This particular song reminds me of early Counting Crows. Good stuff.
Brian Setzer Orchestra - "Trouble Train" from Songs from Lonely Avenue, out September 29. (buy) Several tracks can already be had from iTunes, if you just can't wait.
The Swell Season - "Low Rising" from Strict Joy, out September 29, or October 27, depending on who you ask. (buy)
Super 400 - "Flashlight" from Sweet Fist, out September 15. (buy)

New albums out today that you may be interested in:

Arctic Monkeys - Humbug (buy) I like this album. It's still not as fun as their first album, but then what could be.
Willie Nelson - American Classic (buy) An album of standards from a living legend.
Matisyahu - Light (buy) I'm not a particularly religious person, but I like this guy.
16 Horsepower - Secret South (Re-issue) (buy) A fantastic album that's been out of print for some time.
There are also several re-issues from Radiohead (deluxe editions) Wilco (on vinyl) and The Smiths (on vinyl) coming out today.

NICK CAVE and the BAD SEEDS

Here's a special post for those Nick Cave fans who were a little bit disappointed with the B-Sides and Rarities box set.

I still recommend the box set, it's definitely worth the money, but it short-changes the consumer just a bit on some tracks. Any of you who have listened to it are already aware that several tracks were edited in order to keep the total package down to three discs.

Many of us (or, at least, I) didn't realize this until we had already gotten rid of the mass of cd singles we had collected over the years. I've spent a good chunk of time and effort to try to get back the full length versions. I'm still missing a few - and there may be others that I haven't noticed a difference on, so if anyone can help complete the collection, feel free to help out.

Here's a bunch of the ones they shortened:

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Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "The Train Song" (4:42) From "The Ship Song" single. Edited to 3:28 on the box set.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Helpless" (4:32) Neil Young cover from the tribute album The Bridge. 3:51 on the box set.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "God's Hotel" (3:16) Radio session released on Rare On Air, Volume One. 3:08 on the box, though to be fair, the extra time is just a bit of studio talk.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "(I'll Love You) Till the End of the World" (4:38) From the Until the End of the World soundtrack. (buy) 3:59 on the box set.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "What Can I Give You?" (5:26) From the "Jack the Ripper" single. 3:39 on the box set.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Sail Away" (4:36) From the "Do You Love Me?" single. Edited to 4:12 on the box set.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Sheep May Safely Graze" (4:50) Boatman's Call outtake. 4:14 on the box set. This one and the next are bootleg quality, they sound better on the box.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Opium Tea" (5:28) Boatman's Call outtake. 3:49 on the box set.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "She's Leaving You" (4:16) From the "Nature Boy" single. 4:00 on the box set.

I know there are at least four more originals that I haven't yet hunted down: "Nocturama" (4:37), "Everything Must Converge" (4:22), "Swing Low" (6:05), and "Shoot Me Down" (4:03).
Update: I found three of the four I was missing. I still need "Nocturama", if anyone out there has it.

Now, keep in mind that there are 56 tracks on the box, and these are all I've found that were shortened. Plus many of the tracks on the box have never been officially released before, so if you're a fan, it is well worth the money.

NC&TBS albums:

From Her to Eternity, 1984 (buy remaster)
The Firstborn is Dead, 1985 (buy remaster)
Kicking Against the Pricks, 1986 (buy remaster) (covers)
Your Funeral. . . My Trial, 1986 (buy remaster)
Tender Prey, 1988 (buy)
The Good Son, 1990 (buy)
Henry's Dream, 1992 (buy)
Let Love In, 1994 (buy)
Murder Ballads, 1996 (buy)
The Boatman's Call, 1997 (buy)
No More Shall We Part, 2001
Nocturama, 2003 (buy)
Abattoir Blues / the Lyre of Orpheus, 2004 (buy)
B-Sides and Rarities, 2005 (buy) (compilation)
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, 2008 (buy)

Several of the albums are getting a bit hard to come by at the moment. My guess is it's because of the remaster program. I can't wait for the next batch, three of my faves are in it.

SEVEN SONG CIRCLE #7

It's been an oddly, poppy, psychedelic sort of day today. I was searching the internet for a particular Monkees track to complete this post, while the TV was on in the background. I was half-watching Cash Cab, and I suddenly hear a question about Mickey Dolenze being the voice of Snuggle (the teddy bear from those commercials). How coincidental.

So, I go on about my search. I pause for a moment to check my email, and on the news page that loads while I sign in, the headline reads "Wife of Monkee Mickey Dolenze arrested". What are the odds of that happening today? (For those who already knew about that a week ago, I usually write these things up a week or so in advance)

Now, if I flip through the channels, and find the Davey Jones episode of The Brady Bunch, I'm gonna be seriously weirded out.

In all honesty, yeah, I'm aware it's all just coincidence, but it was strange enough that I figured it was a mildly interesting way to begin this post.

To the music:

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1 Talk Talk - "Does Caroline Know?" (live)
2 They Might Be Giants - "Caroline, No"
3 They Might Be Giants - "Theme from The Monkees" (live)
4 The Monkees - "I'm a Believer" (alternate version)
5 Bob Geldof - "Room 19 (Sha La La Le)"
6 The Wonder Stuff - "Room 512 (All the News That's Fit to Print)"
7 Mark Hollis - "The Daily Planet"

notes:

1 Taken from a bootleg recording of a radio broadcast. The original studio version is on the classic album It's My Life. (buy)
2 Brian Wilson cover from the Indestructible Object EP. (buy)
3 A Monkees cover (as if you couldn't have figured that out). Written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, with help from Neil Diamond. I'm unsure of the date or location of this recording.
4 Written by Neil Diamond, and taken from the remastered album More of The Monkees. (buy) (buy deluxe)
5 Taken from his long out-of-print album The Happy Club. You might recognize the organ riff running through the song.
6 Originally issued on the Artists for Rock The Vote: Say What You Want compilation, and later released on one of the "Hot Love Now" singles.
7 Mark was the lead singer of Talk Talk. I don't know if he meant the title of this track as a reference to Clark Kent's newspaper, but that's how I'm using it here. Taken from his one and only self-titled solo album. (buy) Damn, I wish he'd come out with something new.

A Superman reference to end the series right where it started. I may eventually come up with some new lists, but for the time being, I'll end them here.


A few new releases today that some of you may be interested in:

The Cult - Love (Expanded Edition) (buy) - 'cause you can never have too much Love
Various Artists - New Tales To Tell (buy) - 'cause you can never have too much Love and Rockets
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (2 LP + bonus CD) (buy) - 'cause. . .'cause it's the Flaming Lips. Isn't that good enough?

THE CLASH

Ok, I'm sure everyone out there is already familiar with The Clash. It's not like I have anything to add to the oft told story of The Last Angry Band.

For many people, the likes of "London Calling", "Rock the Casbah", and "Should I Stay or Should I Go" are enough to keep them happy. Then, there's obsessive fans like myself, that need to get every album (even Cut the Crap), every b-side, and as many bootlegs as they can come across. And, with The Clash, there's a whole lot of bootlegs out there.

That's where most of the tracks I'm putting up today come from. Here's some alternate Clash:

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The Clash - "White Riot" (demo) One of my favorites. The official version is on The Clash.
The Clash with Lee "Scratch" Perry - "Pressure Drop" (Toots and the Maytals cover) This is the first recording The Clash made of this song. They would later re-record the tune without Perry, and release it as the b-side of "English Civil War".
The Clash - "King of the Road" (live Roger Miller cover) Recorded during a rehearsal for Sandinista!.
The Clash - "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" (alternate version) This was recorded for the Rock Against Racism compilation. The more often heard version was issued as a single in the UK, and put on the debut album in the US.
The Clash with Mikey Dread - "Rockers Galore" B-side of "Train in Vain".
The Clash - "You Can't Judge a Book" (live) Recorded during a rehearsal for London Calling.
The Clash - "Cool Confusion" (alternate version) This was on Mick Jones' original mix of what later became Combat Rock, released on the bootleg Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg. A different mix of the song was released as the b-side to "Should I Stay or Should I Go", and later on the compilation Super Black Market Clash.

Official Clash albums:

The Clash, 1977 (buy UK version) (buy US version)
Give 'em Enough Rope, 1978 (buy)
London Calling, 1979 (buy) (buy special edition)
Sandinista!, 1980 (buy)
Combat Rock, 1982 (buy)
Cut the Crap, 1985 (buy) (without Mick Jones and Topper Headon - has since been disowned by all involved)
Super Black Market Clash, 1994 (buy) (rarities compilation)

SUPER 400

Here's some good news for the fans of power trio Super 400. They've got a new album coming out September 15th. Given what I've heard from it if you're a fan of their past albums, you will not be disappointed.

For those who haven't yet heard of Super 400, they're a band out of New York that play straight ahead classic rock. With generous nods to the masters like Zeppelin and Hendrix, but with a modern edge that makes it their own.

Comprised of drummer Joe Daley, Lori Friday on bass and vocals, and Kenny Hohman on guitar and vocals, they formed in the mid-nineties. They first hit the international scene when Island Records picked up their debut, self titled, album.

Like so many other bands at the turn of the millennium, they were unceremoniously dropped from the major when the label was bought up by another, and all the acts that hadn't yet hit big numbers were cut. Since then, the band has self released two more studio albums, and a live disc.

Next month, they'll release their fourth studio album, Sweet Fist, on the indie label Response Records. The band are very proud of the fact that, in this age of digital manipulation of music, this album was entirely recorded on analog equipment. A nice fit for their sound.

Here's a couple of tracks to give you a feel for the album:

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Super 400 - "Flashlight" The first single off the album, with lead vocals by Lori.
Super 400 - "Thorn Tree" (live) My personal favorite track on the album, this live version is taken from a show on the Live Music Archive. Several more songs from the new album can be heard on this same recording.

Super 400 albums:

Super 400, 1998
Blast the Message, 2004 (buy)
Live 05, 2005 (buy)
3 and the Beast, 2007 (buy)
Sweet Fist, 2009 (pre-order)

For more info, and music, you can check out their official site, the MySpace page, or their page on Last.FM.

THE FLAMING LIPS

As good as The Flaming Lips are on record, it's nothing compared to the live experience. An absolutely manic, fake blood spattered, flag waving, giant hamster ball crowd surfing, confetti soaked acid trip of an evening will be had by all.

I bring this up because they have a new album scheduled for next month, so I'm hoping for a big tour to follow.

Do you even need any background on The Flaming Lips? Are there any music fans out there that don't know who they are? I'm guessing if you've found your way to this blog, then you're not stuck on top forty acts. If that's the case, you must have heard some of their stuff by now.

Here's a bunch of stuff from their singles, EPs, etc:

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The Flaming Lips - "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" (Chicken Fried Hoedown Protest Rally Version) A more mellow take of one of their best known songs. I found this somewhere on the internet, and I'm not sure where it's originally from.
The Flaming Lips - "Thank You Jack White (For the Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me)" From the Fight Test EP. (buy) Not only are their songs fantastic, but someone should give them an award for the titles.
The Flaming Lips - "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen cover) They're the only band that I could possibly hear doing a version of this classic tune, and not embarrassing themselves. From the tribute album Killer Queen. (buy)
The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt 1" (KEXP session) An in-studio performance of the title track from their 2002 album.
The Flaming Lips - "Knives Out" (Radiohead cover, KCRW session)
The Flaming Lips - "Noodling Theme" (Epic Sunset Mix #5) This is from a soundtrack The Flaming Lips did for a fishing documentary called Okie Noodling. Apparently, the 3-song soundtrack was only distributed at screenings of the show.
The Flaming Lips - "Satellite of You" B-side of the "Waitin' For a Superman" single.

Get some Flaming Lips:

Hear It Is, 1986
Oh My Gawd!!!, 1987
Telepathic Surgery, 1989
In a Priest Driven Ambulance, 1990
Hit to Death in the Future Head, 1992 (buy)
Transmissions From the Satellite Heart, 1993 (buy)
Clouds Taste Metallic, 1995 (buy)
Zaireeka, 1997 (buy) (box set made to be played on up to 4 CD players simultaneously)
The Soft Bulletin, 1999 (buy)
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, 2002 (buy) (buy deluxe)
At War with the Mystics, 2006 (buy) (buy deluxe)
Embryonic, 2009 (pre-release EP)

In a week and a half, The Flaming Lips will be found performing "Kundalini Express" on the Love & Rockets tribute album New Tales To Tell. (buy)

If anyone out there has a copy of their performance on Austin City Limits a few years back, I'd love to get my hands on it. I caught the last half of it when it aired, and have been searching in vain ever since to find someone who taped it.

SEVEN SONG CIRCLE #6

Ah, that's better. This time the graphic isn't nearly as crappy looking as the last one.

And on top of that, this list is one of the best that I've come up with. Loaded with rare tracks, and filled with some great artists, several of which haven't gotten their due.

. . . with special guest appearance by God! (Now let's see if anyone out there gets that obscure reference)

Here's some music:

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1 Mondo Cané - "Spaceman"
2 Janitor Joe - "What's Going On"
3 Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Janitor"
4 David Hyde Pierce - "You Won't Succeed on Broadway"
5 Ben Folds Five - "Hava Nagila" (live)
6 Fear of Pop - "In Love"
7 William Shatner - "Rocket Man"

Notes:

1 Mondo Cané was a Michigan (and for a time Minneapolis) based band in the nineties. I'm convinced that had they been from New York or Seattle, they would have gotten signed and wouldn't need this introduction. If you've never heard Mondo before, this may not be the best track to start with, for that go take a listen to "Guns". Most of their recorded work can be downloaded from the Music Archive.
2 Hüsker Dü cover from the out-of-print compilation Dü Hüskers: The Twin Cities Replays Zen Arcade. Janitor Joe is, unfortunatley, best known as the band that lost their bass player, Kristen Pfaff, to Courtney Love's Hole. Prior to her departure, the band was comprised of Kristen, Joachim Breuer, and Matt Entsminger (formerly of Mondo Cané).
3 Taken from the out-of-print rarities compilation In Light Syrup. California band Toad the Wet Sprocket took their name from a line in a sketch by British comedy legends Monty Python.
4 From the original Broadway cast recording of Monty Python's Spamalot, (buy) which also features Tim Curry and Hank Azaria. Well worth the price of purchase if you like the Pythons.
5 Cover of a traditional Hebrew song. B-side of the "Battle of Who Could Care Less" single.
6 Fear of Pop was a one-off side project from Ben Folds. The lead vocals on this particular track are by William Shatner. It's taken from their one and only album, Volume I. (buy)
7 Shatner is God. (this is an Elton John cover performed at the Science Fiction Film Awards in 1978)

Bonus: Fear of Pop - "Still In Love"

Bonus bonus: here's the video of the original performance of "Rocket Man"




Bonus x3: A video of "You Won't Succeed on Broadway" can be seen here.