Music Break: L-I-V-I-N Edition

From Butch Walker and the Black Widows, the music video return of Matthew McConaughey's Wooderson from Dazed and Confused (one of my all-time favorite films).  It's kind of a cool song, too.

Link Day

Almost everyone (including hipsters) derides Thought Catalog for being a den of hipster iniquity, but they do some really great stuff over there.  So I don't care, I'll like it all the same.  Check out this piece by Stephanie Georgopulos called "Who You Used To Be."  And in lighter fare (maybe), Brad Pike's "Dumb Day."  I think every day for the past month has been one for me.

In much more serious news, a crowd of prospective students trying to get into University of Johannesburg in South Africa trampled a student's mother to death and injured others.  There were several thousand students and parents waiting outside the school to register for a few hundred final spots, and the crush at the gates had tragic results. The NYT coverage is here.  This story just broke my heart and is so indicative of the difficult place in which South Africa is currently situated--politically, socially, and economically.

California is set to close seventy state parks in July of this year.  What a huge shame.  As always, environmental issues get short shrift in budget negotiations: environmentalists' hands are tied and must vote Democrat, and Republicans, generally, just don't give a shit.  Furthermore, 20% of state rangers and all seasonal lifeguards will be laid off.  It's clear that the California governmental system is broken.  Outside Magazine has more information, including the video below.  It's a trailer/short film for The First 70 by Heath Hen Films, which recently reached surpassed its goal on Kickstarter (awesome idea, BTW) of raising $35K to complete a film about the seventy parks and the effect of the closures on communities.  The three-minute version below is awesome.




In breaking and important news, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's new baby, Blue Ivy Carter has, among other things, a $600,000 gold rocking horse.  I know that gossip blogs are not bastions of journalistic integrity (though who is, anymore?) but D-Listed has the story (warning: D-Listed is not 100% safe for work or sensitive eyes.  Never stopped me though).  I am disgusted with everyone.  Additionally, you can kill me with fire for (1) knowing the name of Jay-Z and Beyoncé's baby, (2) caring about any of this, and (3) forcing you, dear reader, to look at it.

Finally, via Belle, Japan-born and SF-based Toshio Hirano, who has a serious jones for some old-school folk-country-bluegrass Americana.  I feel you, sir.  And I'll look out for you next time at HSB.  Below, he sings Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'."  Want more?  Check out his incredible version of Jimmie Rodgers' "Peach-Pickin' Time in Georgia."

Adorable-ness Break for NYE

I just want to marry both of them.  And be insufferably adorable all the time.  I'd give up snark for that.  Seriously.  I guess I'd have to learn to play Hendrix-style, however.

Happy end-of-2011, beginning-of-2012, everyone.  Big changes are on the horizon--perhaps a new website.  Maybe the Mayan Apocalypse will come, though, and I won't have to deal with it.  Or I'll live-Tweet it.  Fingers crossed.

Music Break

Love this song.  Also love the comment on YouTube* at the top: "I fell asleep with this song on and woke up with a beard."


Bonus track, H/T Kai.  The YouTube comment also applies.





*Disclaimer: reading YouTube comments is the most sure-fire way to become convinced that humanity is not inherently good.  

Heard Somebody Say (Part Deux)

I already did this once, but here we are again, at another "official" end to the Iraq War. 

Link Day

First, heartening news from the Obama administration!  Secretary of State Clinton announced yesterday that the US government would do more to protect and promote the rights of LGBT(QI...and so on) people around the world.  In remarks to the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council, not to be confused with the UNHCR, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees...it gets me every time) Secretary Clinton said: "Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct, but in fact they are one and the same."  Despite President Obama's caginess on his personal stance on gay marriage, this administration has done a lot for gay rights in the US and, with hope, now abroad as well.  I love you, Hils & Barry!

The SF-based music blog Positive Destruction put together a list of their 15 fave (local) albums of 2011, which include a bunch of sample tracks.  Take a listen--you might find something you like.  Oh, and if you haven't checked it out already, Turntable Kitchen's November Mixtape is pretty awesome.  Come for the surf-canyon-electronica-pop blends, stay for the Eurythmics cover.  Now that I've moved my turntable up from Ojai and (re)cut my teeth on a kickass show from The National (pictured above), I anticipate that this will be an expensive year, music-wise. 

 Courtesy of Pajiba, here's a beautiful series of photos of paint dropped into water.  Jellyfish-explosion hybrids.

I thought I had a bit more than that to share, but with Mercury in retrograde, I can barely focus on anything.  I don't go in for astrology, but after I read up a bit, these past few weeks make so much more sense.  I was contemplating getting checked out for ADD.  There's one more week of this nonsense, so look out.  FYI, I can't really tell if I'm joking about all of this or not. 

Hardly Strictly

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was last weekend.  The festival, which is free, started in 2001 and has expanded over the years to include more than just bluegrass acts (the "Hardly" was added later).  Over 600,000 people thronged to Golden Gate Park on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  It was one of those special events where, despite the terrible crowds, everyone was relatively calm, relaxed, and happy.  No, it's not pleasant to feel like you live in a tube of toothpaste.  But it was worth that crushing feeling to hear incredible music.  I spent most of the time wandering on my own, though I did manage to meet up with some friends, which was nearly impossible given the circumstances.  You'll be able to suss that out on your own in the following photos.

 People had wonderful outfits, like this gentleman in a rose and pistol shirt.  I saw him at Robert Plant & the Band of Joy's set and the next day, in the exact same outfit, at Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. 

One woman helped a friend with her dreads at Band of Heathens.

 I loved this guy's hat.  And he loved Robert Plant. 

This woman had a great patchwork Earth Mother dress.  She was selling headbands, like the one she's wearing, to festival goers.  And making a tidy profit, I think.  Woodstock for the Consumer Generation.  Not everyone appreciated the hippies, but others marveled at the festival, which felt like a throwback to the Summer of Love.  With more dogs and fewer people tripping on acid (I think).  One guy looked around and smiled, saying "People are drinking PBR and listening to Robert Plant...It could be forty years ago."

The Gaia-Hawker had a stranger hold her parasol as she made a sale.  He looked pretty pleased (seriously).

Of course, no concert in SF is complete without matching tie-dye.

Or massive numbers of bikes.

The weather threatened to be wet and cold, as it was the previous year, but it was beautiful out.  Just enough cloud cover so you didn't roast.

Did I mention that it was crowded?

 Without much of a plan for the earlier shows on Saturday, I checked out Band of Heathens, mostly because I liked their name.  They turned out to be a sick, old-school rock n roll n blues band from Austin.  They ushered in (and greeted) the sunshine, though they had to break for a quick guitar re-tune as the weather warmed.  They ended with a slow, more countrified version of Grateful Dead's "Brokedown Palace" in homage to that San Francisco sound.  Pretty brave, if you ask me, but they pulled it off.

 Then I fought my way over to see Hugh Laurie, otherwise known as Dr. Gregory House.  Although I'm often dubious of actors who try to be musicians (I'm looking at you, Scarlett Johansson), Mr. Laurie is a serious and legitimately good musician.  He did old blues, gospel, spirituals, and Southern standards, from "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" to "Swanee River" (of the latter, he said he plays it to "exorcise the demons"--I'm not sure what that means, but perhaps he just wanted to acknowledge the racist history of the song...or I could be way off-base).  Apart from being hilarious, he killed it.  It helped that he had a great band, of which he said: "They are the Rolls Royce, and I'm the Spirit of Ecstasy on the hood."  You could tell he was stoked to be doing this--when opening his set, he exclaimed (if Hugh Laurie can exclaim), "This is the most exciting day of my life."  He also continually referred to the audience as "Bob" and ended by saying, "I'm starting to like you, Bob.  I'm going away from here with a firm message: Bob is great."  Mr. Laurie, so are you.

 At this point, I managed to find one of my childhood friends (hey Melissa!) and her crew.  A few of us fought our way back over to see Patty Griffin, one of my all-time favorite singers.  We didn't end up in a great spot--it was too crowded and I needed garlic fries--but her voice sort of floated out over the crowd, like a ghost, ethereal.  She brought out Robert Plant for a number (she sings with him for the Band of Joy).  She's just wonderful.

My final concert was Gillian Welch & David Rawlings.  They mostly did stuff from their new album, The Harrow & the Harvest, and all of it was great.  There's nothing really more to say--they're two of the best bluegrass/folk/Americana/etc. musicians working today.  I thought of a dear friend during "Look at Miss Ohio" (hey Mel-Mel!), one of my favorite songs ("I wanna do right / But not right now").  Ms. Welch promised to "learn a fancy dance step for next time," and attempted a kick-step she hadn't quite mastered.  Before singing "The Way the Whole Thing Ends," she said, "I have this fixation.  I can't seem to get the word 'cornbread' out of my head," hence the lyrics: "That's the way the cornbread crumbles / That's the way the whole thing ends."  To end, in another nod to San Francisco's musical contributions, they covered Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit."  Grace Slick was one of the queens (the "Acid Queen," to be precise) of late 60s rock (we will ignore the Jefferson Starship "We Built This City" abomination...ugh), and to cover one of her songs is courageous, especially given her unique voice.  But it was a triumphant gamble, and I left the festival buoyant and smiling.  

To close, I'd like to talk about my first set, Robert Plant & the Band of Joy, who played on Friday night.  I went to HSB on Friday specifically to hear the former lead singer of Led Zeppelin.  I've seen a few (once) great rock acts over the years: Bob Dylan (three times, all wonderful), the Rolling Stones (once, still good but a shadow of former times), the Who (I don't think that energy can be captured anymore...and if they're not smashing guitars, what's the point?), and Simon & Garfunkel (still LOVE them).  So I thought knew what to expect with Mr. Plant: a crowd-pleasing set with little innovation (Stones, Who) and/or an unrecognizable voice who can't capture that former glory (MAYBE Dylan if he weren't still putting out awesome records...but I'll concede he's very froggy).  At the start, it was a combination of both: he opened with "Black Dog," which was risky: it requires pitch-perfect vocals and a face-melting guitar that's just impossible to replicate without Jimmy Page.  He then went into a number of covers and allowed his talented band--including Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin--to take over here and there, which was a smart move.  Mr. Plant was also genius in using Ms. Griffin to hit the notes he no longer can and in shifting to slower, more bluegrassy/Americana Led Zeppelin standards (i.e., less rock guitar heavy songs), like "Misty Mountain Hop" and "Ramble On."  They ended with rollicking versions of "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" and "Gallows Pole" as a waxing crescent moon sunk low in the West.  The perfect way to start a weekend of exceptional music.

Music Break

For your listening pleasure in the AM, Fleet Foxes played on David Letterman last night.  Ignore ol' Dave at the end getting the name of the song wrong.  They kill it.  So hauntingly beautiful.




And if you want something a little more upbeat to pep up your morning, try out Tinariwen, a Tuareg desert blues group.  They have a strange little history too.