Video: Orangechair.tv – “Black Swan”
Black Swan is Darren Aronofsky’s latest gem about addiction and obsession. The intensely sexual thriller straddles the line between thriller and drama, with a final act as powerful as any in recent memory.
Movie critic for OrangeChair.TV, Mike Eisenberg is also an independent filmmaker and staff writer at Screenrant.com.
Video: Dr. Dre – “Kush” (feat. Snoop Dogg and Akon)
If you’re like me, you’ll be surprised by the topic of the new single by Dr. Dre. Just kidding. It’s Mary Jane. Ganja. Weed. Grass. Kush.
It’s the first official single from Dr. Dre’s new album, Detox. They put the video out on Friday, and by Sunday night, it already had almost 1.7 million views. [2,216,859 at time of publication -ed.] Eleven years after his last album, 2001, Dr. Dre is planning to release Detox in February. It’s been a long time coming, and the album has been hinted at for years. It’s finally here!
It’s a pretty cool video, too. Stop motion photography, lots of ladies, cash money, Snoop in braids and Dre looking older and wiser. In a tight fitting leather motorcycle jacket, no less.
The last time Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg appeared in a video together was for 2001‘s “The Next Episode.” See it after the jump. And check out Snoop’s doo!
My love for British music and fashion is well known. I had a “mod” band in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the mid-90s, for heaven’s sake. I also have a deep passion for garage rock and early R&B and that passion was sparked by a video I saw while working at Blockbuster Video. We had a VHS tape of the British musical variety show called Ready, Steady, Go! These clips in particular set my world on fire. It’s two of the best soul voices in rock and roll on the same stage: Otis Redding and Eric Burdon of The Animals.
As awesome as these clips are they do pose some interesting questions. How is it that these British kids can so effortlessly and without a hint of self-consciousness affect a musical style and approach so foreign to them? In other words, how can these white kids get away with acting black? And make no mistake, they’re doing it and doing it justice. Is it because blacks do not make up the predominant minority in Britain and therefore there’s less racial strife? Is it because there’s little to no guilt associated with slavery and segregation (unlikely given the “No blacks, No Irish, No Dogs” signs adorning pubs at times)? Or are they just so cool that it simply doesn’t matter? They FEEL it.
I don’t know but these clips of Otis, Eric and fellow British soulman Chris Farlowe should be enough to get you through this cold December afternoon. Shake!
Video: RSG! Otis Redding Special 1966 (Eric Burdon) – [Part 1 of 2]
Watch Part 2 starring Otis below…
Continue reading Otis Redding and Eric Burdon on Ready, Steady, Go!
Among the many, many unsung bands of the 1960s are The Pretty Things who have an impressive lineage, if little commercial success. Central to that lineage is Dick Taylor, who was briefly in the nascent Rolling Stones and that band’s precursor, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. The latter band was the first that featured Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as bandmates.
Most music snobs know The Pretty Things and they’re beloved in the garage rock world, but if this video didn’t turn them into international stars then the 60s truly were crazy times. Dig this appearance on Dutch TV.
Video: The Pretty Things – “Come See Me”
The Pretty Things: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, eMusic, MOG, wiki
Video: New Garage Explosion: In Love With These Times
This looks pretty cool. Interviews and live footage with Jay Reatard, the Dirtbombs, Black Lips, and lots of other bands that play messy, loud rock and roll. “New Garage Explosion: In Love With These Times” was directed by Joseph Patel and Aaron Brown with producer/journalist Mike McGonigal, and you can now watch the entire 75 minute long documentary online.
We posted a link to this gem on Twitter last week but it’s too awesome to hide away in that ghetto so we’re putting it here on the front page.
Merry Clayton is responsible for the spine tingling backing vocals on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and in 1970 she released her own version. This is a scorcher, folks. It’s just a kiss away.
Video: Merry Clayton – “Gimme Shelter”
And check out the isolated tracks of the original Stones version. The genius of this song just becomes clearer.
Merry Clayton: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, eMusic, MOG, wiki
The Rolling Stones: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, eMusic, MOG, wiki
It’s well known that I am the resident Oasis apologist in these parts. I am comfortable with that. It’s one of the things that made me and Loftus friends in the beginning. And I had genuine excitement listening to the last two Oasis albums because I felt like they’d moved beyond pub rock and rip-offs to a point where they could wear their influences with flair, rather than defensive posturing. They embraced their love of the 60s British Invasion and let the tones ring through instead of burying them under layers of overdriven guitars. Noel even let some of the other guys contribute more than token songs!
And then Oasis broke up.
Well, Liam has moved on and taken a few of the old boys with him to form Beady Eye. They released a digital single a couple weeks ago and much to my delight it’s continuing down the line the Gallaghers started with 2005’s Don’t Believe the Truth. It’s a lot of jangly piano and space-echo vocals and killer back-up singers. Give it a go. It’s a free download, why not? (Free download no longer available. Boo!–ed.)
Video: Beady Eye – “Bring the Light”
Video: The Sinatras – She Said I’m Neil Young
The Sinatras perform “She Said She Said” and “I’m Neil Young” at Access Vision Studios. April of 1992, Battle Creek, Michigan.
This was the era when the Sinatras first blew my mind. You can see from this video exactly why Twin/Tone expressed an interest in them; they would’ve fit in perfectly there. They were so great, and they deserve far more recognition than they’ve ever received. If you’re not familiar with these guys you can read our big, long feature from 2006: The Sinatras: Kinda Like Love. And you should definitely check out their album, Life in Flames, finally released in 2009 after being tinkered with for more than a decade.
The Sinatras: iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, MOG, MySpace, Facebook.
So, yeah…Riviera is back…sorta. As most loyal readers know, Mick and I moved to Portland a while back. Well, this city is just too great to NOT play here. And since we have a ton of stuff to sell still we figured it made sense to resurrect the Riviera name.
You can get all the nitty gritty details on the band’s website or at ReverbNation, but the gist is that we found some great, great players here in Portland and will be playing some shows starting December 4.
In the meantime, enjoy this clip of me and pal Hamilton Sims of Little Beirut covering New Order’s “Love Vigilantes” shot in the GLONO West HQ, La Finca.
We miss the Chicago crew something fierce and could never replace those boys even if we wanted to. But the music calls! Be sure to check out Josh B’s new joint too.
Riviera: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, eMusic, wiki, web, ReverbNation.
Video: Dandy Warhols – “This Is the Tide”
So the Dandies must’ve owed Capitol one more album or something, because they released a “best of” compilation, The Dandy Warhols Collection: The Capitol Years: 1995-2007. As hits comps often do, this one contains a previously unreleased song. And now the band has even made a video for it. Seems like an awful lot of effort to promote an album on the label that dropped them three years ago. But who knows? Maybe they got one final handout from the EMI coffers for a big video budget. Looks like they had fun anyway, despite the fact that Zia was away “on tour with Brush Prairie” during the shoot.
Via Spinner.
