Visitors to Grant Park are still probably picking up remnants of Lollapalooza 2010 -- but it's already time to weigh in on what the 2011 event might look like. Today Lollapalooza's site began seeking suggestions for the bands people want to hear at the 2011 event, which will be held Aug. 5-7. Visit the site and you can suggest your top 3 bands for what will be the 20th anniversary fest.
So will Neil Young or Bob Dylan finally get the call to fill the "older" icon artist slot (where Jimmy Cliff fit this year and Lou Reed last year)? Or maybe Booker T. Jones or John Fogerty, or even Wanda Jackson -- all of whom are out on tour this year. And speaking of Wanda, how about and Jack White/Wanda Jackson set (following his production of her recent new record)...or will White show up with his other Stripe? Maybe as a Raconteur? Or will he blow in with The Dead Weather?
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals are due an invite, as is Martha Wainwright, The Hold Steady, and Conor Oberst with some version of Bright Eyes. And then there's The Vulgar Boatmen -- maybe they can be talked into playing.
One of the great things about this fest is that it''s proven over the years that it can handle any act from the unknown to the biggest name, so don't let the 2011 schedule be set without your input!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Jackson Browne Rolls Back the Years at Chicago Theater
Closing your eyes last night at Chicago Theater it was easy to think you were sitting in 1975, when Jackson Browne last toured with David Lindley as part of his full band. What a great place to spend the night.
Lindley, who is adept on just about any stringed instrument on the planet, has always lent Browne's music a tone and texture that has carved a special place for the early-era Jackson Browne records and concerts among Browne fans. And last night's performance, while making no nostalgic effort to recreate those days, demonstrated from start to finish the bond the two artists share, both musically and personally.
Browne and Lindley performed as coffeehouse duo for much of the first hour, bantering and offering musical insights to introduce a varied set of acoustic music. Starting with Warren Zevon's "Seminole Bingo," Browne's "For Everyman," and Bruce Springsteen's "Brothers Under the Bridge," Browne supplied the rhythm while Lindley played often intricate lead (and sang lead on "Brothers"), and he provided a Middle Eastern feel to Browne's political "Looking East." Browne, known for changing set lists on the fly, (though he admitted that's tougher to do with a full band), then surprised even Lindley by dusting off "Call It a Loan," co-written with Lindley, for a strong, up-close-and-personal reading. Browne left the stage to Lindley for a reinterpreted "Soul of a Man" by Blind Willie Johnson as well as a great cover of Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road."
But as strong as the first set was, the strength of Browne's music really showed when the full band took the stage after the break. Selecting songs spanning virtually his entire career (including spontaneous changes "Rock Me On the Water," "Sky Blue and Black," and "I'm Alive" prompted by audience shout-outs) Browne split the night between acoustic guitar and electric piano, giving fine voice to the three best cuts from his newest CD Time the Conqueror "Off of Wonderland," "Giving That Heaven Away," and "Just Say Yeah" (an updating of "Call It a Loan.") Hits "Running on Empty" and "The Pretender" and fan favorites "Bright Baby Blues," "Late for the Sky," and "Fountain of Sorrow" really benefit from a solid sonic background as well as from the ability of the band to kick each of those songs into a higher, more powerful, and in some cases more spine-tingling gear. "Too Many Angels" and encores "Mercury Blues" and "I Am a Patriot" allowed the band to stretch instrumentally and rock a little harder, particularly on "Mercury Blues."
Special mention must be made of "For a Dancer," possibly the saddest, most joyous song of the Browne canon. And while Browne hasn't neglected this Late for the Sky cut over the years, solo piano just doesn't do it justice. Lindley on fiddle instantly creates an atmosphere of melancholy and provides a depth that underpins Browne's cathartic vocals. A highlight of a great night, 2010 or 1975.
Lindley, who is adept on just about any stringed instrument on the planet, has always lent Browne's music a tone and texture that has carved a special place for the early-era Jackson Browne records and concerts among Browne fans. And last night's performance, while making no nostalgic effort to recreate those days, demonstrated from start to finish the bond the two artists share, both musically and personally.
Browne and Lindley performed as coffeehouse duo for much of the first hour, bantering and offering musical insights to introduce a varied set of acoustic music. Starting with Warren Zevon's "Seminole Bingo," Browne's "For Everyman," and Bruce Springsteen's "Brothers Under the Bridge," Browne supplied the rhythm while Lindley played often intricate lead (and sang lead on "Brothers"), and he provided a Middle Eastern feel to Browne's political "Looking East." Browne, known for changing set lists on the fly, (though he admitted that's tougher to do with a full band), then surprised even Lindley by dusting off "Call It a Loan," co-written with Lindley, for a strong, up-close-and-personal reading. Browne left the stage to Lindley for a reinterpreted "Soul of a Man" by Blind Willie Johnson as well as a great cover of Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road."
But as strong as the first set was, the strength of Browne's music really showed when the full band took the stage after the break. Selecting songs spanning virtually his entire career (including spontaneous changes "Rock Me On the Water," "Sky Blue and Black," and "I'm Alive" prompted by audience shout-outs) Browne split the night between acoustic guitar and electric piano, giving fine voice to the three best cuts from his newest CD Time the Conqueror "Off of Wonderland," "Giving That Heaven Away," and "Just Say Yeah" (an updating of "Call It a Loan.") Hits "Running on Empty" and "The Pretender" and fan favorites "Bright Baby Blues," "Late for the Sky," and "Fountain of Sorrow" really benefit from a solid sonic background as well as from the ability of the band to kick each of those songs into a higher, more powerful, and in some cases more spine-tingling gear. "Too Many Angels" and encores "Mercury Blues" and "I Am a Patriot" allowed the band to stretch instrumentally and rock a little harder, particularly on "Mercury Blues."
Special mention must be made of "For a Dancer," possibly the saddest, most joyous song of the Browne canon. And while Browne hasn't neglected this Late for the Sky cut over the years, solo piano just doesn't do it justice. Lindley on fiddle instantly creates an atmosphere of melancholy and provides a depth that underpins Browne's cathartic vocals. A highlight of a great night, 2010 or 1975.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Be One of the First to Hear Neil Young's Le Noise...Today on NPR
Neil Young's collaboration with producer Daniel Lanois is getting its first complete public airing via National Public Radio's First Listen segment on the NPR website. Already receiving widespread acclaim as his best record in a handful of years, Le Noise showcases Young's grunge guitar sound -- which started with a specially outfitted acoustic guitar Lanois had ready for Young when he showed up to record. Young reportedly loved the sound and was even more enthused when he switched to electric, telling one interviewer that when he started playing "It sounded like God."
Much of this record was reportedly created on the fly, with Young melding with the guitar and playing with the big sound, loops, fuzz, and feedback Lanois was creating for him. Murky sounding music showcased well by the spooky, stark black-and-white videos of Young performing. Look for a Straight Lines Review!
Much of this record was reportedly created on the fly, with Young melding with the guitar and playing with the big sound, loops, fuzz, and feedback Lanois was creating for him. Murky sounding music showcased well by the spooky, stark black-and-white videos of Young performing. Look for a Straight Lines Review!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Jazz Stylings on Film: Anita O-Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
Straight Lines Music hasn't dealt much with music on celluloid, but there's more than enough to take a look at at so it's time to start. Rather than take on more obvious fare such as Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones, The Last Waltz, or any of the 60's concert films such as Woodstock, we'll take a look at Anita O'Day: Life of a Jazz Singer.
A 2006 documentary, this is a very nice piece of work for jazz fans who know O'Day and her one-of-a-kind song stylings and for O'Day newcomers too. As the film makes clear through interviews with O'Day spanning her career and with interviews with her jazz sidemen, O'Day was what one might call in the parlance of the era "a tough broad." She wasn't soft or soft spoken, she had high expectations, and unlike most of the "canaries" who fronted the jazz big bands in the 1940s and 1950s, O'Day knew what she wanted and knew how to get it -- in music and in her life.
Through vintage black-and-white film O'Day is shown performing with Stan Kenton's orchestra, Gene Krupa's band, Woody Herman's Herd, and with drummer and 40-year playing partner John Poole. (It was Poole, in fact, who introduced her to heroin, a habit she maintained for almost 15 years.) A particular television clip from Art Ford's Jazz Party defines O'Day in a nutshell: While a full jazz band plays offscreen an attractive and kittenish O'Day is introduced and saunters up to make small talk with Ford. She informs him that she knows she's got a full band but she's just going to play with a trio tonight and asks the others to stop playing -- much to Ford's confusion. They stop and she nails "Body and Soul," all live and on the spur of the moment, and she just eats it up.
As the film makes clear, O'Day is right up there with Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and only a handful of other vocalists -- though she approaches her jazz from the standpoint of a musical instrument and not as a lush singer or pretty songbird. She sings on the backbeat, she can sing as fast -- maybe faster -- than her accompanists can play, and there isn't a song showcased in the film on which she doesn't put her own unique stylistic stamp. Check out this clip (also excerpted in the movie) from another documentary, Jazz on a Summer's Day filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. As she explains in the movie, she had expected to be singing at night and when she learned last minute she was singing on a Sunday afternoon she went across the street the day before and bought an afternoon "tea time" outfit complete with striking hat decked out with ostrich feathers. The resulting performance is likely the high point of her career -- and her take on "Sweet Georgia Brown/Tea for Two" is the high point of Jazz on a Summer's Day and it put her face (and hat) on magazine covers across the world. A perfect synthesis of style, visual, and vocal.
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer has a jazz sensibility all its own, too. It clips along like a jazz piece, longish live singing accented by brief bursts of interviews that give way to restatement of the live-singing theme. And much of it is overlaid and backgrounded with floating swatches of color, patterns, and slightly off-kilter geometric shapes that echo the iconic Blue Note records album graphics. Pretty cool.
A 2006 documentary, this is a very nice piece of work for jazz fans who know O'Day and her one-of-a-kind song stylings and for O'Day newcomers too. As the film makes clear through interviews with O'Day spanning her career and with interviews with her jazz sidemen, O'Day was what one might call in the parlance of the era "a tough broad." She wasn't soft or soft spoken, she had high expectations, and unlike most of the "canaries" who fronted the jazz big bands in the 1940s and 1950s, O'Day knew what she wanted and knew how to get it -- in music and in her life.
Through vintage black-and-white film O'Day is shown performing with Stan Kenton's orchestra, Gene Krupa's band, Woody Herman's Herd, and with drummer and 40-year playing partner John Poole. (It was Poole, in fact, who introduced her to heroin, a habit she maintained for almost 15 years.) A particular television clip from Art Ford's Jazz Party defines O'Day in a nutshell: While a full jazz band plays offscreen an attractive and kittenish O'Day is introduced and saunters up to make small talk with Ford. She informs him that she knows she's got a full band but she's just going to play with a trio tonight and asks the others to stop playing -- much to Ford's confusion. They stop and she nails "Body and Soul," all live and on the spur of the moment, and she just eats it up.
As the film makes clear, O'Day is right up there with Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and only a handful of other vocalists -- though she approaches her jazz from the standpoint of a musical instrument and not as a lush singer or pretty songbird. She sings on the backbeat, she can sing as fast -- maybe faster -- than her accompanists can play, and there isn't a song showcased in the film on which she doesn't put her own unique stylistic stamp. Check out this clip (also excerpted in the movie) from another documentary, Jazz on a Summer's Day filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. As she explains in the movie, she had expected to be singing at night and when she learned last minute she was singing on a Sunday afternoon she went across the street the day before and bought an afternoon "tea time" outfit complete with striking hat decked out with ostrich feathers. The resulting performance is likely the high point of her career -- and her take on "Sweet Georgia Brown/Tea for Two" is the high point of Jazz on a Summer's Day and it put her face (and hat) on magazine covers across the world. A perfect synthesis of style, visual, and vocal.
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer has a jazz sensibility all its own, too. It clips along like a jazz piece, longish live singing accented by brief bursts of interviews that give way to restatement of the live-singing theme. And much of it is overlaid and backgrounded with floating swatches of color, patterns, and slightly off-kilter geometric shapes that echo the iconic Blue Note records album graphics. Pretty cool.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Ready to Be a Vinyl Junkie?
We probably sghould have surveyed readers to learn how many of you have a turntable and play vinyl LPs, but we can do that at another time. More and more bands are making their releases available in LP (sometimes even before the CD comes out), so if you've been thinking about adding a turntable and integrated amplifier to your system, this might be a good time.
Not only are artists such as Van Morrison, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the estate of Jimi Hendrix releasing heavy, high-quality pressings of older albums, but current bands such as Wilco and The Black Keys are releasing their work in LP format (often with a free CD or free mp3 download thrown in). And many small, independent labels get the credit for keeping LPs alive during the CD onslaught.
But you don't have to spend the bigger dollars to buy remastered Bob Dylan on 180 gram or 200 gram virgin vinyl -- and until you get a handle on LPs you probably shouldn't. But there are dozens of places to buy vinyl in the Chicago area, and dozens more online. Here is just a sampling of where you can look to buy good ol' regular original records, new and used. These aren't "collectors" stores where you pay big bucks for the first pressing (though many do offer that service). They are just regular old regular or virtual record stores that enable you to get a good start on an LP collection. (All sites are hyperlinked even though they don't look like it.)
www.acousticsounds.com (new LPs but specializing in reissued, remastered vinyl)
www.backtoblackvinyl.com
www.becausesoundmatters.com (the Warner Brothers affiliate site that does a great job)
www.elusivedisc.com (new, used, or just plain hard-to-find records)
www.musicdirect.com (vinyl reissues, usually of audiophile quality)
www.soundstagedirect.com (thousands of titles in stock)
www.vinyl-records.biz (used records, lots of them)
And in Chicago:
Dave's Records Chicago (The door says it all: "No CDs! Never Had 'Em! Never Will!"),
2604 N. Clark, Chicago
Reckless Records (new and used), Several Chicago locations
2nd Hand Tunes (just what they say), 800 Dempster St., Evanston
Dusty Groove America (jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, Brazil, latin...more), online only
Jazz Record Mart (don't miss the back room), 27 East Illinois, Chicago
Laurie's Planet of Sound (check out the website but don't e-mail-- they prefer dealing with people), 4639 N. Lincoln
Beverly Records (tons and tons of variety), 11612 S. Western
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
A Cryptic Message From My Chemical Romance
Can cryptic messages make you throw a quick little party in your head? Not usually. However when it comes to a new album from My Chemical Romance, nobody can be sure what fans will do.It has been nearly four years since My Chem's last studio album, and what an album it was. "The Black Parade," tore down barriers and took the group to a new, superstar level. A lot can happen in four years though. The band as an entity went through some changes with drummer, Bob Bryar, leaving the group in March of this year. On a personal front, the MCR band members welcomed new members into their families and took time to enjoy life outside of the band.
Now, it is safe to say that they are almost back. In a shocker of a move, the My Chemical Romance website changed to a puzzle of sorts this past weekend possibly hinting that the new studio record was finally finished. The news was made official today with a post on the relaunched My Chemical Romance website, as guitarist, Frank Lero said, Our new record is done, finished, kaput, in the proverbial can, and being played loudly as we drive way too fast in our respective cars".
Great news for My Chemical Romance fans and the music world in general. As new information becomes available on the record, we'll have it for you here at Straight Lines Music.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Neil Young Announces New Album
Neil Young is bringing the noise. Not that he hasn't brought noise in the past or anything, but this time he is for real, literally. "Le Noise," will be Young's first solo release since 2009's "Fork In The Road", and it will be released on September 28th. The project is an eight song record that features Young on acoustic and electric guitar without a backing band or overdubs. Producer Daniel Lanois says the pair have "taken the acoustic guitar to the next level." We're not sure what that means exactly but are excited to find out. Thankfully, the world will not have to wait long.Keep it here in the days following this release for a full Straight Lines Music review of the new record.
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