art is the new religion

slow hand throwdown

It's another post about the Pointer Sisters, y'all!

Jenny threw down the gauntlet in the comments to my "he's so shy" post.  Says Jenny:

"These may be fightin' words Krissy, but I'm pretty sure I prefer Conway Twitty's version of "Slow Hand" to the Pointer Sisters. But it's kind of a toss up."

Ah, leave it to Jjjjjenny to bring up Conway Twitty.  (I love you, Jenny!)  So let's have them duke it out.

Iiiiiiin this corner, Conway Twitty's version from 1982 which hit the top of the country charts.  Here's a live version that appears to be from a country awards show.  Note the underwhelmed reaction from the crowd, and watch carefully at the very end for an awesome hand gesture combo: golf-swing-of-the-mic, thumbs-up, point-to-the-sky.

I bet Conway smelled strongly of aftershave with undercurrents of cigarettes, polyester and hairspray.  May he rest in peace.

And in this corner, The Pointer Sisters' version from 1981 which only hit #2 on the pop charts.  Coincidentally, I actually sang this version of the song at karaoke on Friday night with Lisa and Lilia.  Unfortunately we didn't achieve the Sisters' sultry-sway choreography, but Lisa made a great Anita Pointer.  I think I played the part of the Pointer in the sad hat and two-toned tights. 

And now let's tally the score:
-1 Twitty: His hand, be it slow or fast, is just not something I want to think about.
-1 Pointers: The official music video is a snoooozer.
+1 Pointers: They were first to make the song a hit.
-1 Twitty: His countrified version's a little too upbeat.  Pointers got the tempo right.
+3 Pointers: They took a song written by two men and turned it into a feminist anthem.
-1 Twitty: Back off, Conway, you don't know what I need.
+3 Twitty: His name was Conway. Twitty.  Not even his real name, he took it as a stage name, possibly even stealing it from an actual Conway Twitty.  But I digress.

OK you know which version I prefer.  Jenny, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.  Everyone else: which version is your favorite?  Help us settle the score in the comments.

Pointers are the new religion:

• My post about "He's So Shy"
• My post about "Automatic" and the Sesame Street pinball countdown song

there is always music

I haven't gone to many show over the past six months, but there are several concerts coming up that I don't want to miss.

11/1: Shudder To Think in LA
11/2: Shudder To Think at the Fillmore in SF

I met Craig back around '97 or '98 in Austin.  Shudder To Think played Emo's on a Wednesday so cover was a criminal two bucks.  We ended up standing next to each other at the bar, waiting for our drinks, started talking, and have been friends ever since.  I have waited a decade to see one of my favorite bands of all time again. (Also, this video - not my favorite David Wain production):

11/22: My Brightest Diamond with Clare & the Reasons at Swedish American Hall in SF
11/30: Azure Ray in LA
12/11: Wildbirds & Peacedrums at Bottom of the Hill in SF 

It's been years since Azure Ray has toured; in the meantime Maria and Orenda went their own ways to release solo records.  This is a one off show, not yet part of a larger tour.  I miss those Azure Ray harmonies.  Also, slip dresses and scooters:

I've seen My Brightest Diamond, the brainchild of Shara Worden, twice now and both shows were full productions: she definitely brings the theatre.  But beyond her wit, fanciful outfits, immaculate hairdos, and absolute shredding on guitar, her voice is the star of her show.  Can't wait to hear it in the delicate, old-wood acoustics of the Swedish American Hall.

Owing to Shara's impeccable taste, I'm already checking out the artist she's bringing with her on tour: Clare & the Reasons.

Under The Water

Shara was the one who tipped me off to Wildbirds & Peacedrums, whose debut record Heartcore tops my Best of 2008 list so far.  Mariam Wallentin's voice is a universe unto itself, a true original.  This show will be a revelation, I guarantee it.  Get your tickets now!

Related reading:

• My post about My Brightest Diamond
• My post about Wildbirds & Peacedrums

he's so shy

It's no secret how much I love the Pointer Sisters.  I woke up with "He's So Shy" in my head this morning.  It really has a beautiful melody, and the synth solo in the bridge is solid.

Warning: Nothing much happens in this video.  But you can still listen to the song.

It would make me really happy if I could be a Pointer Sister for just one day.  If anyone wants to stand around in the lobby of a large building with me and re-enact this video, let me know.

• Read my post about the Pointer Sisters' "Automatic" and the Sesame Street pinball countdown song

Support local artists this weekend in San Francisco

All this week I've been writing about buying local and buying directly from artists and makers.  So I'm excited to tell my blog readers in San Francisco about some of this weekend's opportunities to do just that.

The Capsule Design Festival is back this Sunday in my gorgeous neighborhood of Hayes Valley:

Capsule Design Festival
Sunday, October 19, 2008
11:00 am ‘til 6:00 pm
Hayes Valley Park
Octavia and Hayes Streets, San Francisco, CA 94102

Sunday's event will feature 160 clothing, jewelry, children's, lifestyle and accessory designers so you're bound to find something you love.  Check out the complete list of designers.  This video shows an aerial view from the event they held this past spring.

SF Open Studios continues this weekend.  Weekend 3 concentrates in the following neighborhoods:  Bernal Heights, Castro, Duboce, Eureka Valley, Glen Park, Mission, Noe Valley, Portola.  I'm planning on stopping by Art Explosion Studios in the Mission, which offers a chance to see well over 100 artists across three locations which are within walking distance of each other.

Also on Sunday is the 20th Annual Festival on the Hill in my old 'hood, Bernal Heights.  Reason I mention this is because a band I heard last Sunday at Indie Mart, Blue Rabbit, is playing the festival at 12:45pm. Blue Rabbit is fronted by three women, with Heather penning the songs and Sarah and Arami cooking up some gorgeous lead harmonies.  Their playfulness and beautiful blending of voices remind me a little bit of Tilly and the Wall, but the addition of a cello player adds a moodiness to the music.  A very fun band to see live.

Looks like it's raining

I went to Indie Mart at Thee Parkside on Sunday afternoon so I could rock and shop (meaning, hear some live music while buying stuff handmade by local designers).

The first thing I did was walk inside the bar so I could withdraw shopping and imbibing money from the ATM.  As soon as I stepped inside, I was enveloped in this KISS hit from the mid-80's:

Sure, this technicolor, practically bare-faced version of KISS might be an embarrassment to old school fans, but after all this time, the song sounds totally fresh to me.

When watching this video, don't miss:

• Paul's fingerless neon green tassled gloves
• The sheer size of Peter Criss Eric Carr's* drum kit
• The set has a volcano that spews pyrotechnics in the background and TV sets are strewn about.  It is unclear why.
• Sequins
• Reaching-over-the-top-of-the-guitar-neck noodling
• Paul's repertoire of dance moves: above the head jazz hands, rope-pull, tracing an imaginary tear down the face, high jump into a split kneel, fingers-as-windshield-wipers
• A short list of where tears can fall: onto your clavicle, down your cheek, into your coffee (watch out!), down your guitar neck, over your kneecap, onto the top of your foot
• Neon pink tassled gloves!
• Seriously, the sheer size of that drum kit.  There are drums in his kit that he couldn't possibly even reach from where he's sitting.
• Paul's Tarzan-style swing across the stage reminds me of DLR's harnessed swing across the stage in Van Halen's "Panama" video, which came out the previous year
• So, why is she crying?  Is it because the colorful ghost of Paul Stanley haunts her in her sepia-toned attic?

Listening to this song makes me want to do that shoulder-y, shuffle-y, Jagger-y dance Paul's doing.

 

• "Tears Are Falling" appears on Smashes, Thrashes & Hits which is only $5.99 from Amazon MP3.

* My factchecker was away in Shanghai when I wrote this post - sincere apologies to my paying customers!

their splendid sparkling fire

It's been so long since I've heard anything from Antony and the Johnsons that I nearly forgot about them. I was really excited to find out Antony duets with Bjork on her next single, "Dull Flames of Desire", to be released later this month.  He is a rare talent who can hold his own next to Bjork; they each embody the definition of unique, the realization of being fully and only themselves.  This video was made by three contest winners, who each got a chance to direct one third of the video.  The final third creeps me out, but the song itself is awesome:

It's been three long years since the release of Antony and the Johnsons' breakthrough album I Am a Bird Now, but he released five new songs yesterday on the Another World EP.  The title track is somber, mournful, dark, but gorgeous as ever.  If you click on the video below, do it when you have four minutes to listen to Antony sing to you.  Better yet, stop what you're doing and put on headphones.  Listen to the timbre, the melody, the catch in his beautiful voice.

To celebrate the EP release, he's playing two very special shows accompanied by a 20 piece orchestra: 10/14 at the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and 10/16 at the Apollo theater in Harlem. If you have a chance to see either of those shows, you should go.

 

a receiver, held to the ear by a headband

Continuing on the headphones theme from my previous post:

Ginevra was surfing around on some blogs (as we do) and came across a post about Nokia's "Music Almighty Headset Competition" that challenges you to design some sort of fantasy set of headphones, and Nokia will produce the winners.  (There's a "social media" component where entrants drive traffic to the site by haranguing friends to vote for their design.)  She sent me the link to amuse me.

The post provided a sample design, presumably to inspire some submissions:

I cannot stop staring at this image.

The contest website (located at the awful URL here) features some appalling 3-D animations of similarly "inspiring" monstrosities, in case you need to get your creative juices flowing. 

I have so many questions:

• Whose idea was this?
• How did they get the rest of Nokia to approve it?
• Nokia makes headphones?
• I thought part of the benefits of advancing technology was that all gadgets get increasingly smaller and more discreet.  What does it say about Nokia's technology to create larger, heavier, more obtrusive headphones?
• Would anyone wear these headphones?
• Why are they adorned with sound-amplifying flourishes in the form of mic heads, organ pipes and little foghorns?
• Seriously, would anyone wear these headphones?

I suppose now that I have blogged about this, Nokia wins.  (Although, now that I do know they make headphones, they still haven't made my short list of "companies to buy headphones from".) 

They promise to manufacture fully functioning custom-made ("bespoke" as the Brits say) sets from the top 5 winning designs to display in their stores then award to the winners.  No plans to manufacture them en masse.  So I'm choosing to see this more as an art competition.

In which case, I'm voting for these:

 

Because I need some tiny megaphones to blare music directly into the back of my neck, whilst the white tiger just dares you to make fun of the fact that I'm listening to "Endless Love" by Diana Ross & Lionel Ritchie.

Speaking of Astor Piazzolla

Yesterday I posted about Unboxing Indiespensable Volume 5, and showed you some of the cool stuff that came in the package. 

Here's a detail of one of the information cards that comes with each book release.  There's always an interview with the author, in this case Miriam Toews, which gives you some fun facts and interesting details about the writer and the book.

The bottom card is a quote from Nick Hornby, where he tells the story of how Powell's turned him on to Toews' first book.  The top card in this photo shares some info about Toews herself.  What stood out to me was that she listed Astor Piazzolla as her favorite relaxant.

Astor Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer who played the bandoneón, which looks and sounds somewhat like an accordion.  The bandoneón, according to Wikipedia, "has buttons on both sides. Additionally the notes produced on push and pull are different (bisonoric). This means that each keyboard has actually two layouts - one for the opening notes, and one for the closing notes. Since the right and left hand layouts are also different, this adds up to four different keyboard layouts that must be learned in order to play the instrument."  To even imagine trying to play this instrument makes my mind reel a bit.

Piazzolla was keen to throw some jazz elements into traditional tango, and he's lauded for taking the genre to a totally new place (nuevo tango, if you will).  Here's a not-particularly-relaxing clip of a live performance of "Chin Chin" from the 1984 Montreal International Jazz Festival:

I own Piazzolla's Tango: Zero Hour, recommended to me several years back by the incomparable Craig Wedren.  It's a lovely record.  Highly recommended.

 

Kings of Leon, revisited

I'm getting my music recommendations from really weird places these days.  I don't listen to the radio or watch TV and rarely check in with music blogs or music magazines.  The promotional CD fairy has flown away since I'm not actively writing about music.  And when I listen to music, it's usually from my own collection or from something I've intentionally sought out on Rhapsody.

So where am I hearing about new stuff?  One source is (non-music) blogs.

I already told you how Alyssa Milano inadvertently alerted me to the new Chad VanGaalen album coming out. That was unexpected.

I've recently, and extraordinarily late in the game, started regularly reading Dooce's very famous blog.  (For my friends who read this blog who are not SF Web 2.0 know-it-alls, Dooce got fired from her job for blogging years ago and now basically feeds her entire family from her blog empire.  The woman's a true pioneer and a phenomenal writer to boot.)  Turns out she's got pretty great taste in music too, even though music is hardly the focus of her blogging.

Dooce tipped me off to Kings of Leon's new single "Sex on Fire" in this post.  Now, I tried to like the toothsome brothers in Kings of Leon when they first came out, but something put such a bad taste in my mouth for them that I have written them off ever since.  Then Dooce's description of the song piqued my curiosity:  "Holy God, this song is so good. One morning last week it came on the satellite radio when I was taking Leta to school, just as we were pulling into the parking lot, and I totally made her sit there in the backseat so I could listen to the whole thing. And she kept rolling her eyes at me AS IF SHE COULD JUST SIT THERE AND IGNORE ITS BRILLIANCE. WHATEVER." and (via her Twitter) "'Sex on Fire' is on the radio in the car right now, and yeah, I'm actually humping the dashboard."

After that recommendation, I had to listen to determine whether I disagreed with Dooce's taste in music or whether KOL had actually recorded a song I could like.  Turns out they recorded a pretty amazing song; it's not going to change my life, but it is phenomenally catchy and passionate, and those brothers sure are growing up to be fine specimens.  Caleb's voice breaks and squeaks in just the right ways, like he's giving you all he's got.

The official video for the song exploits the brothers' attractiveness in a very satisfying way, and is worth watching for that reason, but their ignorant record company has disabled embedding the video (and you know how I feel about that).  But here's a great live version:

There's something kind of retro about this song - it's exuberant and not ironic.  It's straightforward, not trying to be clever.  Reminds me of the sincere delivery and giant choruses of old Pearl Jam.  The chorus - "your sex is on fire" - is dumb as a rock; but isn't that the point sometimes? 

In all those ways, this song - from Only By The Night which was released this week - is a perfect specimen.

Brazilian Girls on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic

Brazilian Girls is one of those bands which I've heard of over the years, listened to once or twice, but never really formed a positive or negative opinion about.  Yesterday I happened to click to watch this live performance from KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, and I was charmed:

Brazilian Girls from http://kcrwmusicnews.vox.com/

The song didn't really grab me in the beginning - her whistling is quite impressive, but I let the song run in the background while I read some other blogs.  But when she began the chorus, I stopped in my tracks. There's a sensory shift from the jaunty, plonky verse as the chorus quiets (ethereal, melancholy) then opens up (arching, angelic).  "Do you like my accent..." she asks, singing foreign words, playing with pronunciations.  Even her body language shifts; she closes her eyes in the denouement, reaches her hands skyward, calls out in that language, words I imagine are endearments, entreaties. I've listened to this song over and over, just for the reward of the chorus.

Then the spell is broken each time with those la-la's.

 

• You can see this performance and more over on the KCRW Music News blog.