2009/03/04

Inevitability

One of the links on the right side of the blog will no longer be providing new posts. Yes, that's right Katharine Mooney has hung up her golden gloves of caffeine induced web log posting to pursue a career in fine dining/writing/living away from the unhealthy glow of a macbook screen. So, what's a guy to do? I suppose you could skim the archives. Or, you could do the only thing that seems to make sense on a cold, blustery March afternoon and put up a special post to serve as the death knell to an occasionally fantastic read.

So, it's only right to offer some context first; Mooney often spoke highly of The Band, mistakenly referring to them as a quartet, but an aficionada nonetheless. Enough so to change the name of her blog's final incarnation to "Moondog Matinee"; late in the game, The Hawks released an album with the same name. For those in the know, The Band were a quintet composed of Levon Helm on drums/mandolin/vocals/guitar, Richard Manuel on Piano/Vocals/Drums/chugging Gran Marnier (wikipedia says around 6 bottles a day before cirrhosis won out), Rick Danko on bass/vocals/fiddle, J.R. "Robbie" Robertson on guitar/vocals (it's worth noting that the only song he sang lead on in their entire studio discography is "Till Kingdom Come" (obligatory pontification of the relation to Jay-Z/Coldplay and this song begins and ends NOW!) and Garth Hudson on Organ/Saxophone/Accordion/Piano (he plays that signature line on "The Weight"). Some serious fans consider producer/tuba player John Simon the "6th" member of the group; you can't deny his playing on "Rag Mama Rag" among other standout tracks. I forgot to mention that every single member took a turn on playing various auxiliary horns among other things, leading to a distinct sound (the breakdown in "Chest Fever" springs to mind most immediately).

In honor of the passing of a blog, and the broke as a joke nature of basically everyone I know (save the rich jews, I'm not kidding), I'm doing double time in posting a second album today. Also, I think Mooney eye fucked my older brother at commencement.

It's also worth noting that this album is composed entirely of cover songs; an odd juxtaposition to a group that produced some of the best original music of their time.



TB-MM

Vincent Gallo approved

RJD2 seems pretty universally adored by those who are fans of various genres of music; hip-hop heads call him one of their own, progressive rock fans are likewise enamored with how he wears his influences on his sleeve, college students who aren't too hip still come out in droves to angrily demand a return to the turntables (hello Cleveland!) and aspiring producers who utilize samples can do themselves a big favor by seeing the thin line between Moby and the guy who made Deadringer.

One group that the dude really seems to lean on as an influence is King Crimson. One of the more well known, and, furthermore, respected names in the progressive rock game. More on these fellows in a moment; until then, let's watch this clip.



As a quick tangential statement; the ploy by youtube/big music companies to end the embedding of music videos that contain copyrighted material is alright with me, in fact it is only fair.

Anyways, King Crimson get love from both sides of the rock pond fanbase; yeah their flights of fancy are indulgent and a tad ridiculous, but at the core of everything they rocked and grooved (something that few bands can do with taste).



I don't even want to write anymore about this fucking shit, I just think that one might have time to listen, if they have time to browse my incoherent ramblings.

KC-ITCOKC