The Jody Grind was a local band from Athens that became popular in the late 80's / early 90's. They were really a showcase for the incredible talent of their lead singer, Kelly Hogan. Incidentally, Hogan put out a couple of solo records (also great) and eventually moved to Chicago. I found a pleasant surprise when I bought Neko Case's solo record last year and found Ms. Hogan contributing vocals on that record. Neko Case and Kelly Hogan singing together is an absolute embarrassment of riches for any CD. Here's a bonus for you - Case and Hogan performing "Star Witness", the best song off Neko Case's last CD. It's a crappy video done by a fan, but sure enough, that's Kelly Hogan there on stage left. (Damn, if you don't get chills when they harmonize on the chorus of this song @1:30ish, you suck at life.)
The Jody Grind was really my first foray into local music, I guess. As a senior in high school, I was aware that REM / B-52s / Pylon / Guadalcanal Diary were from my town (hell, if you grow up here, it's practically implanted into your DNA at some point), but never noticed much beyond that. One day, my buddy Jake and I went to an old club in downtown Athens called "The Downstairs" (where DT's Down Under is now) to see his guitar teacher play a set with his band (we went primarily because the Downstairs let in underage folks, actually).
Opening for his jazz group was The Jody Grind, in one of their first Athens performaces. When Kelly Hogan opened her mouth and filled up that small space, I had never heard anything like that in person. This song doesn't really do her justice. I became hooked after that and showed up to see them play whenever I could. The group specialized in barebones jazz, swing, period, country stuff, and seemed destined for big things.
Then, in 1993 (I might have the year wrong), their touring van had a wreck and killed the bassist and drummer. The Jody Grind was no more, but as mentioned earlier, at least Kelly Hogan carried on her career.
This song is from "Lefty's Deceiver", their second (and final) CD. As you can tell, it has that mellow shuffle / swing thing going, with the nice little fills from thier guitarist....ah, I can't remember his name. There are some nice images in here, one I ofen think about is at 1:25 (the start of the second verse) "Hand in hand we would have sat on the hood of my car / underneath the flash of flames, the rockets and the stars". That's good stuff, especially how she delivers it.
Speaking of delivery, you get a hint of her range when she goes to a higher key around 2:05 ("Needed you for all time"). I also like, as an English teacher, how the lyrics are in the future conditional ("We would have..."), 'cause if you didn't notice at the beginning, her man went back to his old lover. Sigh.
Check this song out and look up some Kelly Hogan solo stuff too. You won't be disappointed.
http://www.mediafire.com/?4yhmn4qqr21
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Merry Christmas...from WInger!
If you can make it that far, look for them to get "funky" with this one at 1:33
Thursday, December 20, 2007
"B.O.B" / Outkast / Stankonia
Well, first of all thatnk to Merk for filling in for me. I'm back and well-rested. Hooray for Holiday break!
And what a song to retun with. Setting aside the actual music till later, I will say that this might be the best single of the '00s so far. It's also the single in which we here in Georgia lost Outkast to the whole wide world. Sure, there was "Rosa Parks", and before that "Elevators" and even before that "Player's Ball", and later Dre would conquor the whole damn world with "Hey Ya!", but up until "B.O.B" they had really been a genre based, regional hit.
"B.O.B" changed all that. I remember earing this for the first time and thinking, "Shit! Outkast is for real now". In the same way that you can tell Beatles songs as Paul's or John's, at this point you could start seeing Outkast songs as Dre's or Big Boi's. Of course, they later removed all doubt by releasing a double album that way, but you could see it coming. This was definitely a Dre song and was indicative of his exploration of other musical areas. First of all, that's a fuckin' Drum & Bass beat, which was brillant and unheard of in a rap song. Also, there's a guitar solo. In a rap song. That wasn't RUN DMC. This song got huge precisely because of that diversity - white folks who didn't like rap could dig it too. I think this even got played on 99x once or twice. I even remember it being played at Bumpers, for Chrissakes.
My favorite parts of this song: the countdown at the beginning accompanied by the musicbox chimes, followed by the "Yeah!" and hearing that beat come in. (It still gets me every time!), the chants in the chorus ("Bombs over Baaaghdaaad"), the drum fill at 2:33 that brings on the aforementioned guitar solo, then the second act of the song ("Bob your head - Ragtop") at 3:25, followed shortly by the AWESOME finish at the 5:00 mark, the "Power / Music / Electric Revival" chant that brings it home.
Outkast seems to be laying low right now, but let's hope they can find a way to make it work again. They could end up being one of the most important artists period when thier carrer is finished.
And what a song to retun with. Setting aside the actual music till later, I will say that this might be the best single of the '00s so far. It's also the single in which we here in Georgia lost Outkast to the whole wide world. Sure, there was "Rosa Parks", and before that "Elevators" and even before that "Player's Ball", and later Dre would conquor the whole damn world with "Hey Ya!", but up until "B.O.B" they had really been a genre based, regional hit.
"B.O.B" changed all that. I remember earing this for the first time and thinking, "Shit! Outkast is for real now". In the same way that you can tell Beatles songs as Paul's or John's, at this point you could start seeing Outkast songs as Dre's or Big Boi's. Of course, they later removed all doubt by releasing a double album that way, but you could see it coming. This was definitely a Dre song and was indicative of his exploration of other musical areas. First of all, that's a fuckin' Drum & Bass beat, which was brillant and unheard of in a rap song. Also, there's a guitar solo. In a rap song. That wasn't RUN DMC. This song got huge precisely because of that diversity - white folks who didn't like rap could dig it too. I think this even got played on 99x once or twice. I even remember it being played at Bumpers, for Chrissakes.
My favorite parts of this song: the countdown at the beginning accompanied by the musicbox chimes, followed by the "Yeah!" and hearing that beat come in. (It still gets me every time!), the chants in the chorus ("Bombs over Baaaghdaaad"), the drum fill at 2:33 that brings on the aforementioned guitar solo, then the second act of the song ("Bob your head - Ragtop") at 3:25, followed shortly by the AWESOME finish at the 5:00 mark, the "Power / Music / Electric Revival" chant that brings it home.
Outkast seems to be laying low right now, but let's hope they can find a way to make it work again. They could end up being one of the most important artists period when thier carrer is finished.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Guest Post from the Merkin Man
Thanks to my buddy for helping out a bit around here!
The Merkin Man thought it would be sweet of him to make a little guest post for his buddy B. Mo. Since the Merkin Man is always hating on his musical choices, he thought it was only fair
to offer something up for the B. Mo. and the other two readers to reciprocate their my playa hatin'. Enjoy, fuckers.
The Merkin Man thought it would be sweet of him to make a little guest post for his buddy B. Mo. Since the Merkin Man is always hating on his musical choices, he thought it was only fairto offer something up for the B. Mo. and the other two readers to reciprocate their my playa hatin'. Enjoy, fuckers.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
"Hello, yeah, it's been a while. Not much - How 'bout you?"
Sorry for the long delay. I know both of you reading wait for each post with bated breath. Here's a little England Dan and John Ford Coley to tide you over.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
"Digging the Grave" / Faith No More / King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime
Now we're talking. Faith No More is probably one of my top five bands / artists and have been for years now. I believe they are one of the most innovative, influential, underrated bands ever. This CD is one of my favorites of thiers, but I recommend everyone pick up "Angel Dust" at some point in thier lives. Utterly brillant. If you only remember these dudes for 1990's rap / rock opus "Epic", you're missing out.
This CD came out in 1995, and 1995 was a helluva memorable year for me. At the time, I was wildly unhappy, but anytime I think back to that year I only remember good times, which I guess is a little ironic. I listened to this CD several times a week, so it's one of those instances in which music can instantly conjure up the mood and mindset you were in as soon as you hear one of the songs.
It helps that Mike Patton is a complete lunatic. If you've ever seen any concert footage of FNM, you know what I'm talking about. One of the best shows I've ever seen was FNM and Helmet at Legion Field in Athens in 1993 (?). He's also the creative force behind side projects like Fantomas, Mr. Bungle, and Tomahawk (a new project). His manic energy and creativity go hand in hand, and he has a pretty cool voice too. Plus, he's dead ringer for Robert Downy Jr.
This song is one of the most straightforward, traditional rock songs they've done (which is probably why it's one of the only songs they released as a single off this album). There's much better stuff on this CD, but this song has its moments too. Like, specifically, my favorite part. At two minutes in, after a few bars of an instrumental break, Patton lets loose with a few patented screams and yelps. It's almost as if he thought this was a little to conventional for him and had to Pattonize it a little bit.
Got a video for ya right here, too.
This CD came out in 1995, and 1995 was a helluva memorable year for me. At the time, I was wildly unhappy, but anytime I think back to that year I only remember good times, which I guess is a little ironic. I listened to this CD several times a week, so it's one of those instances in which music can instantly conjure up the mood and mindset you were in as soon as you hear one of the songs.
It helps that Mike Patton is a complete lunatic. If you've ever seen any concert footage of FNM, you know what I'm talking about. One of the best shows I've ever seen was FNM and Helmet at Legion Field in Athens in 1993 (?). He's also the creative force behind side projects like Fantomas, Mr. Bungle, and Tomahawk (a new project). His manic energy and creativity go hand in hand, and he has a pretty cool voice too. Plus, he's dead ringer for Robert Downy Jr.
This song is one of the most straightforward, traditional rock songs they've done (which is probably why it's one of the only songs they released as a single off this album). There's much better stuff on this CD, but this song has its moments too. Like, specifically, my favorite part. At two minutes in, after a few bars of an instrumental break, Patton lets loose with a few patented screams and yelps. It's almost as if he thought this was a little to conventional for him and had to Pattonize it a little bit.
Got a video for ya right here, too.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
"Overkill" / Colin Hay
No album for this one. You remember Men at Work? Early 80's Australian pop band? "Who can it be knockin' at my door", vegemite sammiches and whatnot?
Colin Hay was their lead singer and, I'm guessing, their chief songwriter. This is an acoustic version of one of Men at Work's songs, and I think it's pretty cool, myself.
As with any song, when you perform it solo / acoustically, it tends to somehow carry more gravitas, no matter what the song (see Poison's Unplugged version of "I Want Action" if you don't believe me). Same thing here. What was an innocuous little pop tune sounds somber and thoughtful. And I love the part at about 2:15 when he goes back to the opening verse, but sings it in a higher register. Almost gives you a little chill, and that's something I never, ever thought I'd say about anything associated with Men At Work.
It's worth your while to grab this one for your library, if you ax me.
http://www.mediafire.com/?fkx3pytblej
Colin Hay was their lead singer and, I'm guessing, their chief songwriter. This is an acoustic version of one of Men at Work's songs, and I think it's pretty cool, myself.
As with any song, when you perform it solo / acoustically, it tends to somehow carry more gravitas, no matter what the song (see Poison's Unplugged version of "I Want Action" if you don't believe me). Same thing here. What was an innocuous little pop tune sounds somber and thoughtful. And I love the part at about 2:15 when he goes back to the opening verse, but sings it in a higher register. Almost gives you a little chill, and that's something I never, ever thought I'd say about anything associated with Men At Work.
It's worth your while to grab this one for your library, if you ax me.
http://www.mediafire.com/?fkx3pytblej
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