The Popcorn Trick: Titus Andronicus

Showing posts with label Titus Andronicus. Show all posts

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Insert “Cover” Pun Here: My Top 6 Live Covers of 2010

Whether or not I write up a comprehensive review of 2010 in music, I got a wild hair up my ass to share this with you.

Somewhat pretentiously, you could call it an account of a blind man’s view of an elephant’s leg.

Much less pretentiously, you should call it the best live cover songs I saw this year.

After the jump, an explanation of why this picture was chosen…

Are you kidding?

This picture was on my Christmas card this year (email me if you want one, I’ve got extras thanks to UPS).

I’m thinking of eating nothing but photo cakes with this image.

I’m starting a math rock band that does nothing but play 20+ minute jams based on the binary information stored within the JPEG of this picture.

While it may be nothing more than a stolen moment in/near a hot tub on the roof of a Vegas hotel, it makes me smile every time I see it.

Much like when a band I love annexes a song from another band and makes it their own.

Thanks to everyone who recorded these songs (including me). There are some cases where the specific version I saw doesn’t exist, so I found clips of those songs from other shows. Hopefully you can forgive me.

Now let’s 15% Casey Kasem this shit!

6. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Otis Redding – “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”

Oct. 22 – North Star, Philly

Tough choice between this and “Atlantic City” (see below), but I gotta go with this perfect example of Mr. Isbell’s Southern Soul.

This was part of a legendary 9 shows in 11 nights run that I wrote about and of which you can read if you click the link contained in this here sentence.

5. Unnamed Supergroup (Rhett Miller, Nicole Atkins, AC Newman, & A Guy I Don't Know From The Wrens) – Traditional Gospel Song - “Long Road to Freedom”

Jan. 27 – Bell House (Haiti Benefit), Brooklyn

On a night of good covers (see #1), this breezed through the room and gave us hope for a Cowsills reunion. Rhett Miller (Old 97s) was the only artist I was familiar with as an individual, but have been eager to check out more Nicole Atkins).

4. My Morning Jacket – Bob Dylan - “Tonight, I’ll Be Staying Here With You”

Oct. 21 – Terminal 5, Manhattan

MMJ has always delivered good covers. An earnest, straightforward, somewhat obvious version of a Dylan song wouldn’t normally take precedence over a Lionel Richie cover (see below), but well, here we are.

3. Titus Andronicus – Weezer - “Undone (The Sweater Song)”

Apr. 15 - The Barbary, Philly

This is the second post in a week I’ve included this clip. It’s that good. I love the impromptu reimagining of the spoken word banter. So damn good.

2. Corin Tucker Band – Elvis Costello - “Party Girl”

Oct. 28 – First Unitarian Church, Philly

Another tough choice (yes, see below). A rocking punk cover and a raucous version of “The Glamorous Life” provided stiff competition. But this… this…

This is sexy. This is forceful. This is playful. This is a torch singer breathing hot fire. This is 5 pounds of quadraphonic sound stuffed into a 2 pound bag.

This fucking rules.

1. Lauren Ambrose & The Leisure Class– Bob Dylan - “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”

Jan. 27 – Bell House (Haiti Benefit), Brooklyn

This definitely wins the award for most unexpected delight. Didn’t know the actress from Six Feet Under and Can’t Hardly Wait (see below) was musically inclined, but apparently is a classically trained opera singer. This, however, is not opera.

She leads a kick-ass swing/ragtime band and this Dylan cover blew me the hell away. Her energy is infectious and the joy on her face is as wide as the Great Wall and equally visible from space.

The Rest

Ted Leo – The Impressions - “Keep on Pushing”

Jan. 27 – Bell House (Haiti Benefit), Brooklyn

Jimmy Fallon as Neil Young – Will Smith - “Fresh Prince Theme”

Jan. 27 – Bell House (Haiti Benefit), Brooklyn

Unnamed Supergroup – Seekers - “A World of Our Own”

Jan. 27 – Bell House (Haiti Benefit), Brooklyn

fun. – Queen - “Radio Gaga”

Jan. 27 – Bell House (Haiti Benefit), Brooklyn

Quasi – The Who – Medley

Apr. 23 - Johnny Brenda’s, Philly (from a different show, however)

Levon Helm & Friends (members of Felice Brothers, Edward Sharpe, Low Anthem, and others) – Bob Dylan - “I Shall Be Released”

Aug. 1 - Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI (a recap of my Newport weekend)

April Smith – Melanie - “Brand New Key”

Aug. 1 - Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI (from a different show, however)

O’Death – Pixies - “Nimrod's Son”

Aug. 21 – Rock Shop, Brooklyn (from a different show, but it’s the same borough)

Those Darlins – Johnny Kidd and the Pirates - “Shakin’ All Over”

Sep. 19 – Kung Fu Necktie, Philly (different show)

Two Cow Garage – The Replacements - “Can’t Hardly Wait”

Oct. 19 – Mojo on Main, Newark, DE (different show)

Greg Dulli – The Who - “Pinball Wizard”

Oct. 20 – Johnny Brenda’s, Philly

My Morning Jacket – Lionel Richie - “All Night Long”

Oct. 21 – Terminal 5, Manhattan

My Morning Jacket – The Band- “Makes No Difference”

Oct. 21 – Terminal 5, Manhattan

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Bruce Springsteen - “Atlantic City”

Oct. 22 – North Star, Philly

Corin Tucker Band – Au Pairs - “It’s Obvious”

Oct. 28 – First Unitarian Church, Philly

Corin Tucker Band – Sheila E - “The Glamorous Life”

Oct. 28 – First Unitarian Church, Philly

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Podcast 12.002 – Loud Refrigerators, Just Letting it Be, and Boobicon

Goose packed up his Gateway 2000 laptop and microphones so we could go mobile with this one. Either Goose’s wife can’t handle high levels of mirth or there’s possibly some other explanation.

Irregardless (my hot new word for 2011), our itch to record podcasts has again flared up.

After the jump comes a lot of audio/visual references to references we made.

If you aren’t already subscribed, search iTunes for “Popcorn Trick” or click here.

UPDATE: It’s showing up in some people’s iTunes, but not others. What worked for me was right-clicking “The Popcorn Trick” in the Podcasts section and choosing “Show all available episodes”. Also, removing and re-adding the podcast should work.

Enjoy yourself.

A live version of the intro/outro music Goose chose:

The full list of movies that I extracted from Comcast On Demand and sent to Goose (note the solitary exclamation point by Hot Dog):

Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid
Cop & 1/2
Darjeeling Limited
Deck the Halls
Great Outdoors
Hot Dog: The Movie (YES!)
Jack (Robin Williams as a kid in an adult's body)
Loch Ness (Danson investigates Nessie)
Nell
Nine Lives (Paris Hilton trapped in a Scottish castle)
Radio
Robot Holocaust
The Rock
Ski School
Ski Patrol
Street Fighter
Taxi
Three O'clock High
Time Guardian (Dean Stockwell, Carrie Fisher)
You Belong to Me (Lifetime movie w/ Shannon Elizabeth: Alex discovers that her young colleague Michael has an obsessive interest in her. Driven by her rejection, he attempts murder-suicide. She survives, he does not. He returns from the grave and she must fight his supernatural power)

The original storyboard for Dolly Parton’s “Straight Talk”:

Because we mentioned Paul Harvey, here’s possibly the best spoof of his unique delivery and aesthetic style:

“Be that as it may, Alex, those people have never been in my kitchen”

Here are both of the Gylne Tider videos:

And an example of what Michael Winslow could have done, if he were only given the chance:

And what may warrant its own blog post/podcast at some point soonish, the most underrated celebrity all-star charity video:

A trailer for what should have been Sherilyn Fenn’s primary Gylne Tider credit:

A trailer for Goose’s favorite thing of 2010:

Could not find an embeddable clip of “Louie”, but watch the poker scene and prepare to be blown away. It manages to be simultaneously funny, insightful, moving, and then funny again.

Goose’s favorite album of 2010:

Cline’s favorite album of 2010:

Saw this live and it was awesome (“I don’t know. Take it easy, bro.”):

Goose made a brief mention of the pool scene. We use a GoPro camera for that scene. This is all a circuitous excuse to show this awesome video of a GoPro attached to a turtle:

Thanks for listening and reading! Happy New Year!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

My Jam of the Indeterminate Time Period: Hallelujah the Hills

Well, it only took me 17 months for a second entry in a series that I originally hoped to update weekly. I have soft spot for myself, so I’ll cut me some slack and call that “ahead of schedule”.

Not entirely sure how Hallelujah the Hills came to my attention, but nevertheless they’re my current jam.

And they’re playing the better part of the Northern Eastern Seaboard in the next few months, including a date in Philly this Sunday.

After the jump, a list of reasons to love them, a few clips, and the aforementioned tour dates.

The List

There’s a lot of ‘em in the band. If having numbers is good enough for parking lot situations, then it’s good enough for me.
They have a hard sound to describe. I hear elements of fun., in that a lot of their songs veer wildly from one tempo/style to another. But they’re less poppy, more rocky, and entirely devoid of piano. They have some shout-along energy like Titus Andronicus and The Hold Steady, but they’re more tuneful than the former and less so than the latter.
They wear suits whilst performing live (at least some of the time).
They use the horn(s) just enough to so as to be effective (see Lucero’s 1372 Overton Park), but not so much as to be gimmicky (see Ska).
They have a guy whose instruments are listed as “Tambourine, Hollerin’” That gives me hope that someday I could be in a band. Except for the tambourine part.
They’re on the same label (Misra) as the lovely and talented Centro-Matic.
They allow me to use one of my favorite adjectives to describe their sound. Shambolic.
They have songs with long titles (e.g. “It's All Been Downhill Since The Talkies Started To Sing”, “Raise The Flag Of Your Sibling's Favorite Daydream”) that are actually used in the lyrics.
Like Titus Andronicus, They Might Be Giants, and Bad Company before them, they have an awesome song named after the band.