In the wake of the last of the free music downloading sites, Limewire , now being taken to court for the purpose of shutting them down, finding unique music is going to be much tougher. Certainly with iTunes and Kazaa opening up as pay per download or monthly subscription music sites, the more popular music will be there for purchase, but those interesting tracks found sometimes by accident are the real reason that Limewire was such a popular music tool. As we’ve all found out, it’s much less of a headache to just go to a record store and purchase a full CD than it is to download the entire thing. Again, though, for those out-of-print tracks and those tracks that never make it to the store shelves, free downloading was a blessing. Now, we’re back to giving the artist a penny for every dollar we spend on their music. Tremendous job, Metallica! In your fears about music downloading and the money you’d lose, you forgot to make any music that people would even fathom buying in the first place. Ahh, the irony!
Thinking about pocket Aces and the seemingly endless amount of time I’m about to spend on my iPod at the World Series of Poker over the next two weeks. On to the music…
Jimmy Cliff- You Can Get It If You Really Want
When you wake up sometimes and the room seems to be skewed, the day is dreary and your dog left you a nice little warm “present” at the foot of the bed, this is the song to immediately turn on. Jimmy Cliff was a legend in the Reggae world and is vastly underappreciated in this country as most people believe that Reggae starts and stops with Bob Marley. This track defines both the Reggae philosophy and the sounds that make this genre so engrossing.
The Moldy Peaches- Steak or Chicken
A track for the not-so-faint of heart. The Moldy Peaches are a duo of performance artists from New York City who picked up instruments and made some of the, well, stranger music you’ve listened to. If you fancy yourself one of those people who enjoy a little strangeness in your music (For example, how many Frank Zappa CD’s did you own?), these are your people. In this track, the decision about dinner involves a couch and some overt sexual undertones.
The Hollies- Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress
A long (sometimes lost) standing classic that is starting to get more airplay due to Gatorade using it as their marketing song for their new campaign. Unfortunately, every time I know play this song, the first ten seconds have Kieth Jackson's legendary voice running through my head. The beginning of Long Cool Woman is a legendary guitar riff and is one of the more unique and raw beginnings to any song. Many people forget about The Hollies as one of the better and more influential rock groups of their era.
Gang Starr- Moment of Truth
One of the seminal hip-hop groups from back when hip-hop was a form of expression instead of an outlet to a questionable MTV show. Gang Starr was everything that was right with the genre, accomplishing a message and looking down on the gangsta effect that was the mantra of West Coast rappers at the time. For those of you who “hate” rap, this would be a good first track to sway your opinion.
Ursula1000- Kinda Kinky
From my favorite DJ (and you can name the number of DJ’s I like on one of Jerry Garcia’s hands) comes another one of his signature tracks that combine samba beats and jazz into one energetic sound. This is the title track from Ursula’s CD and the entire disk is worth purchasing and his concerts are legendary.
Throw Rag- Race With The Devil
The underground punkabilly artists (who come through Memphis about once every six months) are taking over their home state of California and this track is one of the reasons why. On Race, Throw Rag successfully melds rock, punk, country and just about every other influence not known as Jazz into one song. It’s a very visual track, also. Hopefully, the next time they stroll through town, there will be more than 80 people at the HiTone.
Traffic- Shanghai Noodle Factory
Somehow lost in the Eric Clapton/ Steven Tyler/ Mick Jagger frontmen of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, Steve Winwood got left behind. Seeing as he’s the best musician of the group, it’s a wonder why. (And don’t bring that Clapton on Guitar talk around here.) Winwood was just a teenager when this song was recorded and the vocals are truly incredible, as is the instrumentals seeing as Traffic, at that time, was basically a three-piece act.
Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer- Redemption Song
This great Bob Marley track was redone by these two legendary singers in a duet that is very poignant now as both Strummer and Cash have passed on. Unfortunately for me, these were two of my very favorite artists. Fortunately, I found this track a couple of years ago after never knowing that the two had even met. The down home sound of Cash with the British twang of Strummer intertwined could make fingernails on a chalkboard sound amazing.
Wyclef Jean- Delia’s Gone
Performed live on TNT at a benefit for Johnny Cash at the Vienna Opera House five or so years ago, I tried to find a recording for months, even calling TNT to try and get a copy of the video footage from the show. It was that good. And with all of these country legends getting up on stage and paying their tribute to the Man In Black, Wyclef stole the show with his rendition of Delia’s Gone. In the song, Wyclef pays his own homage to Cash during the middle of the track that absolutely brought the house down.
Devo- Gates of Steel
I can hear some of you snickering already. Devo?!? Are you really recommending Devo? Yes. Yes I am. While Devo certainly isn’t a band I can listen to on continuous loop, this track is very good and damn catchy to boot. Snicker all you want.
Coming Next Week: Tracks that, for some reason, suck but I’ll still listen to them on full blast with the windows rolled up in the car while friends scream for my bloody murder.
