All You Need is Love

So… a new album was released today. Maybe you've heard of the band. They're called The Beatles, and – well – they're kinda good.

Of course, Love isn't a "new" album in the traditional sense. Songs like "Lady Madonna" and "Help!" have been around since the ‘60s, and their multiple re-releases (greatest hits compilations; remastered albums; mono releases; stereo releases) haven't changed the actual structure of the songs.

This is why Love is so interesting.

Produced by Sir George Martin and his son Giles, Love is a collection of innovative Beatles remixes, with all tracks taken from the band's master tapes. This might sound like sacrilege to Fab Four purists, but Love isn't just an experiment for experimentation's sake. It's clever. It's interesting. It's also really, really good.

The Martins have made musical collages by fusing demos and alternate takes with the original recordings we've all learned by heart. They also swap parts from song to song, which means the piano solo from "In My Life" shows up during "Strawberry Fields" and the opening chord from "Hard's Day Night" jangles its way into the beginning of "Get Back."

You can check some Love tracks on MySpace. And while it's very, very odd that The Beatles are on a social networking site owned by Fox, it's still nice to stream the music for free.

Bobby Bare Jr. took an odd approach to recording The Longest Meow, the frontman’s most recent release. In addition to his usual backing band (the Young Criminals Starvation League), Bare managed to rope in some additional members from My Morning Jacket, Clem Snide, and Lambchop. After this all-star ensemble of eleven members had been fully assembled, Bare led the crew through a beer-soaked, all-day recording session. Eleven hours later, the eleven tracks that comprise The Longest Meow were completed.

Bare didn’t bring all eleven musicians to his gig at The Mercury Lounge on Friday night, but his four-piece Starvation League played with all the immediacy, fast-paced passion, and sheer volume of their last recording. Bobby Bare Jr’s music is self-conscious Southern rock – part Drive-By Truckers, part bourbon, part redneck psychedelia – and it all goes down with the fiery smoothness of a Jack-and-coke. Four-part harmonies mix with guitar feedback and organ solos, creating a sound that is faithfully captured on The Longest Meow (kudos to co-producer Bobby Jones for leaving things wonderfully sloppy) but truly takes off when it’s played at earsplitting levels.

We left The Mercury Lounge feeling deaf and happy. It was a nice start to the weekend.

Global warming and rainy weather joined forces on Thursday evening, making things unusually hot and balmy for a mid-November night. Williamsburg was absolutely dead as we flew down Bedford Ave., huddled beneath a $3 bodega umbrella on our way to the Trash Bar. We had people to see and shows to attend, and no amount of rain was going to kill our early start to the weekend.


The bar nice and dry. They offered us free tater tots. They were also holding an open bar until 9:00, and it was only 8:00. We were happy.


Tater tots and beer make for a dynamic combo, especially when they’re free, but our real reason for braving the rain was Motion Picture Demise. They’re a four-piece band from Richmond, Virginia, and they sorta resemble a punked out, post-emo Guns ‘n’ Roses. Lead guitarist Alexander Ferraro looks (and plays) like Izzy Stradlin, and frontman Travis Tucker can scream with all the pissed-off grit of Axl Rose. That was lots of rockstar posturing, mic-stand hoisting, and guitar soloing from atop the monitor speakers. Good show, guys.


After Motion Picture Demise wrapped it up, we left the Trash Bar and spent several minutes trying to find a good, cheap eatery that hadn’t closed its doors for the night. We failed, so we took our hungry selves over to Northsix to satisfy our musical appetite.


Bobby Burg, the bassist for headliners Make Believe, was working the merch table when we entered the club. He’s a very nice guy who plays for a very good band, so check out Make Believe’s page on the main Baeble site. Opening band Ecstatic Sunshine was just getting started, though, so we decided to let Bobby sell his merchandise in peace.


It was loud in front of the stage. There are two instrumentalists in Ecstatic Sunshine – just a guitar and bassist – and both had their instruments cranked to the breaking point. The vocals were scant (just the occasional rhythmic scream), but that didn't matter. When instrumental music is that frantic and entwined, additional instruments only muddle the sound.

The King of Pop hasn't really been "in power" for years, but Michael Jackson's performance at the World Music Awards was enough to drive all of Earl's Court into hysterics.

It's been over twenty years since Jackson released Thriller, the biggest selling album of all time. He appeared at the World Music Awards (his first public appearance in Britain since 1996) to accept the prestigious Diamond Award, but plans to perform the title song from Thriller were scrapped due to Jackson's reported stagefright. Singer Chris Brown – who wasn't born until six years after the album was released – performed "Thriller" instead.

Jackson did manage to channel his inner superstar and perform several lines from "We Are the World" alongside a youth choir. Remember when he did the same basic thing for Super Bowl XXVII in '93? That was kinda cool. This kinda wasn't. But it's still good to see an unparalleled icon return to the spotlight, even if he does look like a sparkly extra from the "Planet of the Apes" remake.

To see Jacko during his better days, check out this performance from the 1988 Grammy Awards.

After a 33-year residence as an iconic, groundbreaking venue in downtown New York, CBGB’s has officially closed its doors. The city’s music scene will continue to thrive, and – admittedly – CBGB’s hadn’t “launched” a worthwhile band in years. Still, the nightclub will be remembered as a pioneering venue, one that offered shows to virtually unknown bands during a time of economic recession, high crime, and urban decay. In the 1970s, most New York venues wouldn’t even book a band without a recording contract. CBGB’s booked them anyway, and many groups scored contracts after their time there.
Although owner Hilly Kristal originally envisioned his club as a home for Country, BlueGrass, and Blues music, CBGB’s quickly turned into something else. Television played a Sunday-night gig in early ’74, a full three years before debut album Marquee Moon put their name on the map. That same summer, an unsigned punk band called the Ramones scored a residency at the nightclub. As the years progressed, CBGB’s started featuring shows by such newcomers at Patti Smith, The Talking Heads, Alex Chilton, and Blondie. It became a launching pad for new music, emerging genres, and improved relationships between music venues and the bands they booked.

In the age of the Internet, underground bands have a tremendous advantage over their 1970s counterparts. Grimy rock clubs are no longer the sole perpetrators of new music. But as new websites materialize and offer exposure to emerging bands, it’s important to remember places like CBGB’s – places that took a chance, stood by the music it believed in, and fought the good fight for 30+ years. New music will live on in its absence.