New Music Tuesday November 10th, 2009: THAT’S THE WAY FOR US TO GET ALONG
Prodigal Son (Live) – The Rolling Stones – “Are you sure you can you dig it?” Mr. Jagger inquires on this newly released song from their November 1969 concert at Madison Square Garden. “Well alright”. The concert was immortalized on Get Yer Ya- Ya’s Out, a live album that floats on “Carol” and “Little Queenie” before sinking into the mire of “Sympathy For The Devil” and the loathsome “Midnight Rambler” (perhaps Phil Mushnick can muster some moral outrage over that song, or does he keep his wounded sensitivities for hip hop artists?). Beggars Banquet isn’t about “Sympathy”, it isn’t even about “Street Fighting man” -it is about “Prodigal Son”, “Factory Girl”, and “Salt Of the Earth”. It is about kicking the shit off the Bands rural shoes and getting the dark side well in place. “Prodigal Son” is a spiritual knock in the head with a sneer – a retelling of the parable where the bad son is so indifferent to what is making his father joyful and his brother resentful it works primarily as a metaphor for the Stones attitude to all stratas of society. The Beggar’s Banquet version cuts this one, even Jagger’s vocals on the album versions cuts this live version, except you can actually hear what Jagger is sining here; on banquet his Southern drawl and natural (or affected -pick your poison) slur makes it hard to decipher. Here he nails every single world. The band are real good to, I bet that’s Richard’s picking the guitartoo: it puts the lie to rumours of drug induced lethargy circa 1969. Though to be honest, I thought they were better live in 1996.
Baby By Me – 50 Cent featuring Neyo
From Before I Self-Destruct. It’s been a long long time since we partied it was like his party and he never really got his bearings since he decided to release songs head to head with Jay-Z and got his ass whupped. Plus, everybody in his posse, all the Yayos and yoyos who stank up Hut 97’s Summer Jam a coupla years ago, throwing chairs at the audience and failing to prove they could do anything but call out ja Rule and make fools of themselves. So here we go, six years after get Rich Or Die Trying, fitty makes a pop lover boy move (it’s: “have a baby by me…”) with the ubiquitious and overstretched Neyo to give it some of that soul shit. Ho fucking hum. It sucks.
Star Of Wonder – Tori Amos
Speaking of sucks, Tori Amos new Midwinter Graces should really, really be awful. And this song, a rethinking of the carol “We Three Kings” is superb -it puts Dylan’sChristmas crucification to rest for good. The Eastern flavored strings lead Westward and there is a connect to her vocal. Daughter of a preacherman Amos gets Christianity and she puts that knowledge to excellent use… John Henry Hopkins Jn. Wrote the original but “Star Of Wonder” -though credited to Hopkins, is a different, lovely serious take. Pretty superb. Single Of The Week.
Krazy – Game featuring Gucci Mane and Timbaland
Drop the “the” and bring in last years model Timbaland and next years model Gucci Mane and maybe you’ll find a hit in the middle. And Game has a much better chance than Fitty to hitting pay dirt on this addictive pop move. The drums have Timbaland all over them but the sample don’t.
Belle Of The Boulevard – Dashboard Confessional
I had a friend who loved this guy but for some reason I’ve never much liked him and this song which starts so well suddenly goes down a key and by the time they try to get it back in the chorus it’s too late. This bloke is like what Springsteen would sound like if he worked at a suicide line.
Beautiful Bride – Flyleaf
A Christian alternative rock band with a chick singer. Their debut album went platinum in 2005 -coincidentally a million teens converted to satanism the same year.
Sara Smile – Jimmy Wayne
I loved this Hall and Oates cover when I heard Jimmy Wayne sing it opening for Brad Paisley at MSG. A blue eyed soul singing leader of a country rock band is such a great update of a Midern Sounds concept you gotta wonder why nobody else has done it and Wayne has a great voice though he lets the back-up singers hit the high notes for him.
Driving Me Stupid – Serabee
And yet another soul singing southerner, nice voice but the band is a little by rote and the song not the best in the world. She sounds a bit like Kelis, she’s got that gruffness at the end of each line.
