Good morning! You look a little sleepy. Are you moving a bit slowly this morning? Well, I've got just the cure. Get yourself a good cup of coffee, turn up the volume as much as you dare, and check this out: a medley of "America the Beautiful," Leon Russell's "Dixie Lullaby," and "Chicken Fried" from the 2010 Grammy Awards show. Guaranteed to get your blood pumping.
I've been getting back into country music lately, and the Zac Brown Band is definitely one of the reasons. If they're new to you, check out the original full-length video of "Chicken Fried" (sorry, embedding is disabled; you'll have to hit that link to YouTube).
Then check out some of their other stuff, like "Toes" — one of the coolest songs and funniest videos I've heard and seen in a long time. Catchy melody and great lyrics. It starts like this:
I've got my toes in the water, ass in the sand Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand Life is good today, life is good today
And the twist on that verse at the end is just perfect. Enjoy!
Then, for a serious change of pace — and only if you don't mind getting a little verklempt — watch "Highway 20 Ride." And read the two highest-rated comments. If that doesn't move you, you have a heart of stone.
Dire Straits was one of the greatest rock bands of the 80s and 90s, and 1985's Grammy-winner "Money for Nothing" was their biggest hit. Mark Knopfler wrote it in an appliance store, capturing in its lyrics some of the phrases he heard an employee there utter while watching MTV. I prefer "Sultans of Swing," "Lady Writer," and "Skateaway," but there's no question that "Money for Nothing" is a great song.
Now, the Canadian government is censoring it for violating Canada's "human rights standards." Because someone complained. Because of this verse:
The little faggot with the earring and the makeup Yeah buddy, that's his own hair That little faggot got his own jet airplane That little faggot he's a millionaire
At least one Canadian radio station has defied the ban, playing the song repeatedly for an hour.
IMHO, anyone who's offended by "Money for Nothing" hasn't really listened to it or understood it. And is either an idiot or one of those "offense thieves" who takes offense where none was given. Here it is. Turn it up and enjoy.
Some of you no doubt traveled somewhere in the last couple of days, and if it involved an airport, it probably wasn't a particularly pleasant experience. For your Christmas Eve entertainment, here are some ditties that hopefully will evoke a smile — if perhaps a somewhat rueful one. Enjoy, and have a very Merry Christmas!
I’ve admired Elton John and his music since Tumbleweed Connection (1970). But this year, he did something that increased my esteem for him considerably. No, I’m not talking about performing at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding (although I did enjoy seeing the left become apoplectic at the news that Sir Elton and Rush got along famously).
No, I’m talking about the fact that Sir Elton remembered his idol and biggest musical influence, Leon Russell — who had fallen into complete obscurity — reconnected with him, and persuaded him that they should record an album together. Here’s Sir Elton telling the short version of the story (he tells the long version in a 4-page essay in the CD booklet):
I’m listening to the resulting album, The Union, as I write this, and it’s terrific. But the story is even more terrific, and I don’t mind telling you it brought a tear to my eye and some wonderful memories to my heart. It also caused me to reconnect with Leon Russell’s marvelous music from the 70s. I have all those albums on vinyl — I have tons of vinyl — but have never found the time and energy to rip them to digital form. Now I’ve bought several of them on CD.
If you’re under 40 (or maybe even 45), you may have never heard of Leon Russell. Well, allow me to introduce you to a bit of his work. “Back to the Island” is the song that made Sir Elton weep. It’s one of my favorites, too.
“A Song for You” has probably been covered by more artists than any other Leon Russell song, ranging from Ray Charles to Karen Carpenter. It’s one of the most beautiful love songs I know, and I still think the original studio recording, with its spare instrumentation and haunting air, is the best of them all.
Now for something more upbeat. The iconic Leon Russell song is “Stranger in a Strange Land,” from one of my all-time favorite albums, Leon Russell and the Shelter People.
I’ll finish with a live recording. A commenter at YouTube called this “The ten greatest minutes in rock n roll history.” It’s certainly one of the greatest live performances. From 1971’s Concert for Bangladesh, here’s “Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Young Blood.” Turn it up!
I hadn't heard this in years until I stumbled across it tonight: the perfect performance, by David Allan Coe, of the perfect country song, by the late great Steve Goodman and John Prine. Grab a beer and enjoy "You Never Even Called Me by My Name"!
What about John Prine, you say? OK, if you really want to heard a third version of the same song, there's a John Prine rendition on YouTube (sound is a bit muddy) in which he tells how the song came to be. And offers yet another version of the last verse.
But for something a bit different, here's a YouTube video that begins with Steve and John together doing a wonderful rendition of the hauntingly beautiful "Souvenirs."
Steve Goodman, whom I consider one of the finest singer-songwriters ever to walk the earth, died of leukemia at the too-young age of 36 in 1984, leaving this world a much poorer place. As if his passing weren't sad enough, the man who wrote and performed "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" died four days before the Cubs won the National League Eastern Division title, sending them to the playoffs for the first time since 1945.
John Prine survived his own bout with cancer (in 1998), and is still performing.
For your musical entertainment and amusement, here's a pretty clever take-off on the old Kenny Rogers hit, "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Lucille." It's written and sung by Jonathan McWhite, accompanied by his brother David on guitar. Enjoy!
In response to my "Obamaville" post, someone asked me offline what I considered Paul Shanklin's best parody song. That's tough, but I know which is my favorite: Elvis Presley (or someone like him) singing "In a Yugo" (to the tune of "In the Ghetto"). The lyrics are just priceless — and timeless.
At a used car lot on the edge of town A liberal guy and a liberal gal Buy a Yugo And they drive with pride
'cause if there's one thing that this world needs It's environmental friends who'll take the lead In a Yugo
They say, "People don't you understand? Those Suburbans are ruining the land!" But they'll wish they had a full-size van one day
They're pointing fingers at you and me They say we're too blind to see But do we simply use our heads And choose a better way As those small wheels turn
Fifty miles to the gallon and their knees on their chests We're gonna save enough gas for all the rest In a Yugo Then one day on the interstate They suddenly lose control They swerve to miss a baby duck And are squashed beneath a produce truck But they drove with pride
And as the crowds drive past the little flat car You know they saved a lot of gas but they didn't get far In a Yugo And as they're trapped inside
At a used car lot on the other side of town A liberal guy and a liberal gal Buy a Yugo And they drive with pride…
Paul Shanklin has been creating great musical parodies for almost two decades, many of them featured on the Rush Limbaugh Show. His latest is his best in years. Ladies and gentlemen, for your listening pleasure and amusement, here's George W. Bush (or someone like him) singing "Obamaville":
Thirty minutes of kick-ass rock 'n roll: Saving Abel entertaining the troops in Kuwait, courtesy of the new RightNetwork. Which, at a young age, already seems to have quite a bit of interesting content, including a video and column by Kelsey Grammer. And which may be available on demand on your TV (for instance, if you have Verizon FiOS, you lucky dog) — if not now, maybe soon.
The Flotilla Choir's marvelous "We Are the World" parody about "peaceful travelers" with guns and knives who just want to bring Gaza "some cheese and missiles for the kids" is once again available on YouTube. But why leave Combs Spouts Off? You can watch it right here.
This is a slightly different version, with some minor lyric changes (mostly improvements). And it includes more video clips of the "humanitarians" attacking the Israeli soldiers boarding their ship.
YouTube removed the video about a month ago and apparently restored it three days ago (judging from the comments). I guess the anti-Israelis running Warner Music and/or YouTube finally gave up on their ludicrous copyright infringement story. If song parodies constituted copyright infringement, Weird Al Yankovic would be selling tires or something.
For your Independence Day weekend pleasure, here's a fine old (1983) Merle Haggard performance. Damn, they don't get much better than Merle Haggard. Enjoy!
The folks at LatmaTV who brought us the wonderful "We Con the World" have a new video. "Jihad is Sweet, Jihad is Fun" is performed by Iran's Ahmedido Domingo, Turkey's Erdogano Pavarotti, and Syria's Assad Carreras — The Three Terrors. Enjoy!
If you have an extra six minutes, watch the full Tribal Update of which the video below is a part. The portion of the "newscast" after the song is especially funny. It's in Hebrew, but subtitled (hide the Google ad covering the subtitles by clicking the X at its upper right).
And if you really liked "We Con the World," buy the T-shirt. I did.
Watch the Latma TV Flotilla Choir's marvelous "We Con the World." Then share it with your friends. Awesome, truly awesome! Bravo, Carolyn Glick and associates! (HT: Big Journalism)
UPDATE: Banned by YouTube! "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Warner/ Chappell Music, Inc."
UPDATE 2: Don't miss the new music video from Latma TV, The Three Terrors!
UPDATE 3 (7/10/10): It's back on YouTube (and below)! This is a slightly different version, with some minor lyric changes, and with more video of the "humanitarians" attacking the IDF soldiers boarding the ship.
For your weekend listening pleasure, here's some virtuoso guitar playing by Rodrigo y Gabriela. In the first video, they perform "Buster Voodoo" on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. If this doesn't get your toes tapping and your heart thumping, you're dead. Turn it up!
A friend called me last night from New Orleans. She and her niece took the train down there from Memphis for the jazz festival. It sounded like a great time and a great trip — something I'd like to do one of these days.
During the phone conversation, Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans" began running through my head, and it's been running through my head ever since. Kris Kristofferson called it "the best damn railroad song ever written," and I won't dispute that. Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" ranks right up there, IMHO, but it's about the building of a railroad, not about a train. So I guess I'd say "City of New Orleans" is the best damn train song ever written.
In the course of consuming a few adult beverages last night, I checked out several YouTube postings of both songs. Sang along with them, too. Several times. My favorite "City of New Orleans" renditions are two by Steve Goodman himself.
The best, IMHO, is this version from Goodman's Easter Tapes album:
pablocruiser songs like this seem like they fall out of the sky, written by gods. almost too good to be human. and what sweet guitar picking. this guy was one of a kind.
AZHappyThis song is so lovely it makes me weep. This is such a unique country. It's defined by the landscape and by it's people. Get out of your houses and go see it! Take the train. Drive your car. Ride your bike. Breathe it. Smell it. Just get out there and find out what Steve Goodman wrote about. Lord, I hope somebody, right now, is writing a song this sweet.
This live performance with the legendary Jethro Burns is pretty awesome, too:
What a great song! What a shame that leukemia claimed Steve Goodman at such a young age. He was a national treasure, and it saddens me immensely to think of all the songs he never had a chance to write and sing. If you're not familiar with Steve Goodman, I strongly encourage you to learn about and listen to more of him. Check him out at YouTube for starters. "You've Never Even Called Me by My Name," "The Dutchman," "Penny Evans," and "Chicken Cordon Blues" will give you a sense of what a terrific talent he was.
If you're wondering about "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," I recommend the original 1967 recording, available on this album. But here's Gordon Lightfoot performing it live just a couple of years ago:
