This song has grown on me over the last few months. So much so that it has made it to the grand echelons of musical glory. It is now an AC1!

Burnside is an old bluesman from "Down South" (Mississippi way, I hear), and he's been the focus of documentaries, a folk hero to younger musicians, and a legend in his own time. This cut is a remix of one of his standards, and the arrangement essentially adds soul to the blues. It has a lazy drive that bounces you through the barely enunciated lyrics. The bass groove carries you along, but the haunting bell chimes will be what you remember when the song stops playing (probably because they are creepily the last thing you hear...)

R.L. had made a history of bringing his blues into dark places, and this one isn't out of place in that oeuvre, but this song has an eerie, ringing optimism to it, as well. The song begrudgingly tells the tale of a man unwilling to let his gal say goodbye... And even the most devastating news is simply greeted by R.L.'s unwillingness to believe it.

If you are looking to branch out with a new tune, one you can feel comfortable with, even if you've never heard it before, give this one a listen. Make sure you get the track from the Bothered Mind album, and then give it a spin.

I'm hoping you'll love it. But if you don't, I'm simply not going to believe it.
;-)

All assail.

Thus ends AC week. Maybe next year, we'll beat Shark week for ratings.
But probably not.

Once, I done heard that Saturday Night was all right for fighting. That never made much sense to me. I enjoy a good weekday row just as much as the weekend ones, so why the heck should I have to wait until Saturday?

Well, the answer has arrived in this tight little ditty from the Kaiser Chiefs. Apparently, Saturday Night is the night to go out, act the fool, get jealous of the best guys on the street, and then... get in a fight! Well okay, they don't advocate that, but this song does have an intensity that bespeaks of getting a bit plastered, and then directing your irresponsibility at those around you. And we all know how much fun that can be!

Seriously, the song is a lot of fun, and though these guys do seem to be carrying the rock mantle forward, this does have a bit of a retro feel, even invoking the Elton John that encouraged the debauchery in the first place. The lyrics devolve into lunacy near the end, but as they give their regards to the "edge of the night," it fits. They seem to get tired as the song goes on. And no matter what you choose to do with your Saturday, the getting tired as the night goes on bit seems to fit no matter what. ;-)

Come for the rocking attitude, stay for the levity, go home with a smile on your face. It sounds like a good recipe for a Saturday, and perfectly describes the ingredients in this song.

All assail.

Allrighty, children, Uncle Coolkid is going out on a limb for this one. Mainly, because he has no idea what "Green Water" is. As a warning, though, Uncle Coolkid urges responsibility when consuming any controlled subsance, and takes no responsibility for improper use of any water by the one or two people that read this site.

That said, let's get into the tune!

I think at first, I was drawn to this song for its low-rent quality. It honestly sounded a lot like something my band in High School would have come up with. It would have taken us months to compose the horn melody for the chorus, but I think it's something we would have tried. Long live Chipburger!

Upon second and third listenings, I found myself drawn to the goofiness of the lyrics. They're honest and self-referential, though I wasn't fond of the habitual stretching of two-syllable words over three syllables, three-syllable to four. I was still keen on the simplicity, though. Nice...Refreshing... Like Coke Zero...

So, yeah....

Then, after I had been away from the tune for a few days, I realized that the song had actually infected me! No lie. I woke up on Sunday morning with the "Bup Bup Bup Bah Da-Ba Ba-dah Ba-da Ba-Da Duh" of the horns in my head. And I whistled it in the shower. And then I hummed it through my bagel breakfast. But interestingly, I couldn't place the name of the song, the artist, or any of the lyrics. Just the horns!

I got in the car later in the day, and luckily, it was the first thing to play. And I smiled, liking all of the idiosyncrasies that had plagued me before! Now, I sing along. And you should, too.

And if you know anything about the band, or why the water's green, please... All Assail!

Admittedly, I am still perplexed by the tribal-rhythm opening of this song, but conversely, I'm bowled over by the rest of it. It's clever in structure, progression, and message, and it's today's AC1!

Of Montreal have an eclectic discography, and honestly, a casual listener will probably always be surprised by what they hear from a new OM project, kind of like me and Gomez ("Whoa! THAT'S Gomez, too? I love this song!"). This song surprised me a lot when I first heard it, and it may have been just that quality that dialed it directly into my mind.

The first part feels like a feint, before the real meat of the song takes off. But part of the joy of this song is that the original riff follows the song almost to the end. Keep your ear tuned in, and if you got a groove on during the first few bars of the song, you can keep the groove alive almost the whole way! Even thought the song changes dramatically in scope and volume, the basic elements are still grandly all in place.

So kick back and relax as the guitars take you on a jangly ride, sometimes dropping you off for some horns to take over. And enjoy the abrupt, up-tempo key change near the end. It comes as enough of a surprise that you almost wonder why they didn't break this up into two songs!

All Assail!

As long as he doesn't go ape on Oprah, I'll do my best to be okay with Beck embracing Scientology. Though the pronouncement does color Guero to some degree, there are still a lot of signs on the album that he's a musician first, and has no intentions of marrying a Dawson's Creek Alum.

This song is one of those signs.

Beck has always been at his best when he drags pure pop into his arena, and musses it up a bit. With "Girl," he does it again. The verse, chorus, and bridge all sound true and precious. But add the breathless background vocals, and the whole song takes on this ethereal glow that elevates the entire listening experience. It probably also makes it radio-unfriendly, so you'll have to depend on other means to get a taste of this genius.

...and if picking up the L. Ron path leads to a Cruise-like future for Mr. Hanson, I guess we'd better enjoy those tastes while we have them. And, let's hope he doesn't have anything against Brooke Shields...

;-)

First off, you knows I don't like the cussing. So here's the parental warning: Ike drops two S-bombs in this tune. Fair play, all.

Now, lets get to the music...

Holy Cow, what a great song! I want to say its reminiscent of some rollicking hit from the early 90's, but I don't think it is. I think it's got a pretty original go to it. The closest I come to getting a comparison is to dredge up "Connected" by the Stereo MCs... And that's not fair, is it? That's either one of the best songs ever made, or one of the worst (I STILL haven't decided), but either comparison isn't quite nice to Ike & Co.

But regardless, a slick git riff, a hot trap rhythm, and skanking organ, it's Southern Fried to a delicous Summer crisp. Mmmm.

This song is the one that you can take out on the road to cruise to (something I once did with "Connected"....), and when you pull up to the pimped-out Escalade droppin' some dope Fiddy, you can turn the volume up on your ride, and not feel embarrassed. It's THAT good! ;-)

G'head: Assail...

Full credit here to the leaders of WJMD for insisting I tune into Ms. Spektor. At first glance, we appear to have another strong-willed piano-playing songbird (of which, we probably don't really need more...) But if you take a second glance, and then a third...by the fourth glance, you may not be able to look away...

Spektor's a fresh breeze. She can speak her mind and still sound intelligent. She can run through a gamut of complexity, all in one song, and still make it sound coherent. She's classically trained, and uses the perspective to shine above all-comers.

The gal was born in the Soviet Union, and it looks like she may have arrived ready to take on the West...but in a good way.

The song, "Us," includes all of the contradictions I've mentioned already, and brings about a thousand more to the table. But there's so much charm, earnestness, and rich BEAUTY in the song (not including the Beauty singing it), that it deserves to be held up as the first AC1 of AC WEEK! ;-)

Please, go out to iTunes and check out the video. It's playful, hints at her past, and again, opens the doors to the inherent contradictions that make this singer/songwriter so amazing to behold. Especially behold the vocal trill leading into the "Den of thieves" line. By God, if you haven't fallen for her by the end of that line, you're frickin' hopeless.

Intelligent, talented, and beautiful.

I've heard she doesn't like being compared to another certain auburn-haired pianist/singer. The comparison begs to be made. BEGS, I tell you. But I'll refrain for now... until I run out of topics!

Discovery Channel gets all the attention this week, by bringing "Shark Week" to the world.

Well, that's just not fair. They didn't invent sharks, and really, after a few years of Shark Weeks, how much is there left to discuss? I think I'd rather enjoy Termite Week, or Giraffe Week, just for something a little different.

So, to steal some of the thunder, we're declaring this AC Week, with a new AC every day! Starting Tonight. ACs are all ours. We made 'em, you and I. We share 'em, you and I. And now, we'll flaunt them! YOU AND I!

;-)

So frickin' dig in. I think you'll like what you find, and it's a lot safer than dealing with sharks, I'll tell you that...

Originally, an attempted post on 6-20-05

£ £ £ £ £!
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Welcome to London, Baby! Where the people are cool, and the keyboards are funky!

Well, we're home.

We left Copenhagen (the last stop in our European adventure) very early on the 3rd of July, time traveled over the Atlantic, and went to bed at the same time that we got up the day before. With the time changes, that made for 30 long hours of being awake and being fed poorly.

Now, it's the 4th of July, and we're celebrating by eating the few things that are still in our house, and sleeping a lot.

The good news is: I discovered that all the email posts that I sent to the site can be recovered! So look for retro-posts coming across the site over the next few weeks. That should be fun, I hope.

In the meantime: I've got a new deckie. As we were driving home from Detroit Metro last night at 2 a.m., local time, I popped in an old CD mix, and rediscovered the Beta Band's "Dry the Rain" from the High Fidelity soundtrack. It moved us, like magic, all the way home. Brilliant progression, cool sing-along vocals, and a great "driving rhythm." It kept me driving, anyway. And thanks to its efforts in keeping me propped up and in the right lane (whilst being very, very tired) it truly fits the definition of deckie.

Thanks, Beta Band.

And Thanks, Dear Reader, for tuning in while I was gone! Hope you enjoy the updates!

AND HAPPY FOURTH!!!