song of the week

Song of the Week: “Liebesrausch"

Dusty Wright — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Song of the Week: “Liebesrausch" Dusty Wright March 22, 2019 - 08:00

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This funky synth-fectious dance rock tune has a way cool retro minimalistic edge to it. Think Kraftwork's "Pocket Calculator," or The Normal's "Warm Leatherette" with a dollop of Peaches' "Fuck The Pain Away" dirty beats for cheekiness. NYC's What Would Tilda Swinton Do, a self-proclaimed "lazy punk" band, claims this is their first foray into the world of disco and four-on-the-floor beats.

It's also their first official release in German. Austrian-Canadian lead singer and creative director Suzie Léger said the track was "an eruption of shock, rage, despair, confusion, sadness, and pride immediately after the break-up... you're lying on the floor, crying your heart out with a bottle of wine next to you." Regardless, as the track builds to a frenzy one can't help but tear off one's clothes and gyrate with reckless abandon, hence the song's apropos title "Liebesrausch" which translates from German into English as "Love Rush." Epic band name, too.

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Song of the Week: "Everything Is Falling Apart"

Dusty Wright — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 18:58:53 +0000

Song of the Week: "Everything Is Falling Apart" Dusty Wright February 20, 2019 - 13:58

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That sumptuous indie rock jangle is back! All the way from Scotland, Teenage Fanclub, 30 years together, have released one of the best singles of this new year. A toe-tapin' homage to middle-age life's angst. From the album of the same name Everything Is Falling Apart. This epic tune features the band's new official touring line-up: original members Raymond McGinley (vocals, guitar) and Norman Blake (guitar, backing vocals), with Francis Macdonald (drums, backing vocals), David McGowan (bass, backing vocals), and Euros Childs (keys, backing vocals). The video was filmed by Donald Milne on location at Clouds Hill Recordings, Hamburg, Germany in January 2019. Get tickets for Teenage Fanclub's upcoming North American tour here: https://www.teenagefanclub.com/live/

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Song of the Week: "Echoes"

Dusty Wright — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 14:59:28 +0000

Song of the Week: "Echoes" Dusty Wright February 8, 2019 - 09:59

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Americana prog cover tune anyone? If anyone could pull it off it would be the much-beloved Mexican acoustic rock guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. Huge fans of Pink Floyd, "Echoes" is from their latest album entitled Mettavolution (ATO Records), released on April 26th. It takes up one half of their new album, much like the song did when it was originally released on Pink Floyd's Meddle album in 1971. But this is a much different journey, one accented by stunning acoustic guitar work, the duos interplay creating their own mesmerizing and psychedelic acoustic textures. Sit back and enjoy. (Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz)

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Thank you very much for the invitation

Thank you very much for sharing this music. I am from France!

Best wishes.

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Video of the Week: "This Land"

Dusty Wright — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:03:58 +0000

Video of the Week: "This Land" Dusty Wright January 10, 2019 - 18:03

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Blues artist/guitarist Gary Clark Jr. is angry and this tune sets things straight. This is a tweak on an original refrain from a chorus from an original protest singer from a bygone era, rewritten from an African-American's vantage. And wait until the epilogue hits you square in the face. This is an extremely moving song and video about racism in American. Epically executed by Gary and his director Savanah Leaf.

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Song of the Week: "I'm Not Gonna Miss You"

Dusty Wright — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 12:05:31 +0000

Song of the Week: "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" Dusty Wright August 11, 2017 - 08:05

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"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" is one of the last songs Glen recorded in the studio before being forced to retire from the music business due to his well-documented slide into alzheimer's. The lyrics reflect all of the pain and suffering so many feel when dealing with this brutal disease. Written specifically for his documentary I'll Be Me -- see it; you will not easily forget it or Glen's much-deserved legacy as one of the giants of the music industry, country or otherwise. This video features some of the moments from the film which captures his unforgettable farewell tour with his family and friends in tow -- both on stage and off. RIP, Glen! You were one talented man.

Video of the Week: "Take One Thing Off"

Dusty Wright — Mon, 01 May 2017 07:53:25 +0000

Video of the Week: "Take One Thing Off" Dusty Wright May 1, 2017 - 03:53

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If you dig Peaches, then you'll love "Take One Thing Off" and the above video. I wasn't familiar with comedian Scout Durwood's work, but she's clearly got chops, can sing, and can take the piss -- as they say in ol' Blighty. Millienials know her from the Snoop Dogg produced Mary + Jane MTV comedy series about two Hollywood gals whacky weed biz, as well as her well-documented standup comedy schtick. So she's got a new album of comedy and music breaking on May 19th on Blue Élan Records. Had I produced this single, I might have added Fred Schneider of The B-52s in a campy cameo vocal and video appeareance. Regardless, this is one seriously infectious tune. Crank it, then "dance this mess around."

Song of the Week: "Parents' House"

Dusty Wright — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 17:46:32 +0000

Song of the Week: "Parents' House" Dusty Wright April 3, 2017 - 13:46

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Sometimes you have to give musicians the benefit of the doubt. As a follow musician, I often wonder if I've been given the same courtesy when I've asked a friend to come to one of my gigs or listen to one of my albums. Friendships can cloud judgements, or not. Other musicians can way too critical of fellow musicians, or not. So the other day I was in 30th Street Guitars, one of my favorite guitar shops (repairs, new and used gear) in the world looking to test-drive a new reverb pedal (Moog MF Analog Trem). I was ushered into their sound-proof room by my friend Jimmy Archey and introduced to fellow musician Talay who was playing her guitar through a new amp. Jimmy asked the young rocker to demo my pedal while I dialed in the various settings. As is often the case with fellow musicians we started to chat about our music and gear. A few mintues later, she invited me to her gig later that evening which I could not make as I had a prior commitment. But she did tell me that she had just released a new single called "Parents' House.

She left and I didn't give it much thought until I pulled out her card this AM and decided that I should check out her latest tune given that I liked her energy and attitude. I very much wanted to see how her music measured up to her personality. Well, I was blown away. Melodic, punchy, poppy and memorable rock 'n' roll, all ingredients that scream "keeper" in my ever-expanding world of music accumulation. If you dig Weezer, Fountains of Wayne, 0r Semisonic, you will def dig this earworm. Talay's music is deserving of a much wider audience and if you're smart you'll download it today. You owe it to yourself, your playlist, and to Talay.

Song of the Week: "Desert Song"

Dusty Wright — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 05:44:44 +0000

Song of the Week: "Desert Song" Dusty Wright July 10, 2014 - 01:44

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The Mother Hips

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I've been a fan of this rootsy alt-pop quasi-jam band for years. (Well, at least for two decades.) This is one of the tops tracks from an album of previously unreleased nuggets mined by SF-based The Mother Hips lads -- Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiaconog -- recorded, for the most part, around 1997. Time to crank it up! Chronicle Man album drops next Tuesday, July 15th.

The Mystery Dance 45

Robert Cochrane — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 13:56:28 +0000

The Mystery Dance 45 Robert Cochrane August 12, 2006 - 09:56

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We do judge proverbially by covers and sleeves, be it books, records, or even people. Second chances at first impressions aren't given, to burden a cliché. However, if that luxury is lost or, in this case, most likely never was, then one must use consideration over initial instinct. The characterless forward sloping scrawl on both sides of this rather battered test pressing betrays little, merely "Question of Childhood" with an "A," "Run to Her" adorned with a "B" plus the names "Adam and Dee."

With the press-out center it has all the appearances of being English, but when the needle hits the crackling plastic, the song is pure West Coast American Psychedelia and bears little indication of being a British pastiche. After a baroque acoustic guitar riff intro, Dee sings, "Tell the world this is Jackie's day off/She is gone without a sound." Her voice is pure Grace Slick, rich and full of emotional intensity. The song builds with eerie '60s electric organ and marching band drums. A vocal break a la The Mamas and the Papas ensues; the whole affair builds to a dizzying and bombastic climax before resolving itself with the original guitar riff and organ-accompanied demise. A cheap production this ain't. The song has elements of an excerpt from A Teenage Opera, but with greater conviction and better acid. It is quite an exhausting but inspired piece, and sounds like it dates from 1967.

Turn the record over and the more restrained, swirling piece of electric folk "Run to Her" is a melodic treat, less of a frenetic, white-knuckle ride. Dee, as the spurned lover, tells her errant beau, "If you really love/I won't stand in your way/If you decide to go" over a churning bed of "White Rabbit"-sounding instrumentation. Both sides are amazingly accomplished and would rest well on any Nuggets compilation.

Initially I surmised that it might have been released under a different moniker, as searches on www.Gemm.com via artist revealed nothing. Adam and Dee do not crop up. Other variations resulted in the same, as did numerous web attempts. The matrix number DP 002 rang no bells either, but I imagine somewhere, someone knows why Jackie left, and who Adam and Dee were.

Finding the disc was pure luck and serendipity. A friend managed a charity shop and was very particular about condition, being sick of people returning buggered records. I wandered in one day and noticed he was about to bin a lone single he'd extracted from a bag of clothes. Recognizing it as a test pressing, I asked to look. He said if I wanted it to take it away; it was too scratched to bother with. Even I didn't think it was promising discovery, guessing an ageing cabaret duo, bow-tied, sequined, and singing poor country songs. Something they'd paid for themselves in order to sell at their lackluster gigs.

Being proved wrong can have unusual rewards. Anticipate pure cheese and get psychedelia; a more than perfect outcome for the curious cannot be imagined. Ten years later I remain bemused and would like to share the condition, in order to facilitate a cure.