Real Remnants: TV Jones, “Eskimo Pies”

by

Screenshot 2014-06-03 12.23.16In 1974, an Australian band called TV Jones went into the studio in Sydney to record an album. They recorded a couple songs but things fell apart, the album was cancelled, the band broke up, the tapes were erased.

But they weren’t. In 2000, a cassette tape with the recordings was found. A single of Eskimo Pies b/w Skimp the Pimp was released.

Only later was it discovered that the version of Eskimo Pies on the single wasn’t the TV Jones version, but a demo of the song for the band’s guitarist/vocalist Deniz Tek’s next band, Radio Birdman. Bummer.

Radio Birdman later signed with Sire records in the states and had a storied and erratic career. By the way, Deniz Tek’s website is an excellent slice of the remnant side of rock history.

But it all started with TV Jones (which is also the name of one of the premier makers of guitar pickups).

Lunch Break: Sugar Pie DeSanto, “Rock Me”

by

We had breakfast with Sugar Pie this morning, but this is great. I’m heading to Littlefields.

Breakfast Blend: In The Basement

by

This tune popped up in my Youtube list today, because (I’m pretty sure) Sugar Pie DeSanto is doing a show a Littlefields, a small club in my nabe, in a few weeks. So I played the song. Sugar Pie DeSanto and Etta James cut this one in 1966, and it rocks.

So I thought that it might be good fun to see Sugar Pie, even though Etta James died a few years ago. But then I found this clip and I was conflicted.

On the one hand, the band seems strong, if kind of professionally bland. And she’ll be playing with a different band. On the other, Sugar Pie seems more adept at dirty dancing than singing these days, as that clip shows.

So, what do you do? Do you go to the show? Or do you avoid the discomfort?

Night Music: Efterklang, “The Ghost”

by

Efterklang is a Danish rock band. I went with a friend a couple of years ago to see them play at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. We had some really expensive and tasty cocktails on the roof before the show (it’s fantastic up there, hovering over Central Park), and then made our way down to a medium sized auditorium with excellent acoustics and sightlines for a fantastic show.

I’d never heard of Efterklang, I was tagging along, but I knew they were playing with the Wordless Music Orchestra, which is a small classical ensemble that seems to create interesting hybrids with non-classical music. The first time I saw Wordless Music they performed a symphonic piece written by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, as well as a fantastic piece by Ligetti. It was a fine show, more memorable for the Ligetti, but you have to give Greenwood a lot of credit for stretching. And for the record, I’m not much of a Radiohead fan, but maybe I’m missing something.

Efterklang (which means Reverberation, which is nice) turns out to be these delightful Danish rock guys, who for whatever reasons decided to extend their range into a world involving strings and woodwinds. And a drummer using brushes. And backup singers. This is not my definition of rock music, but it was a wonderful show, which took this rock band all around the world as they performed with different symphonies of players who usually play the classics in each city.

I’m assuming they were paid enough to not regret giving up their day jobs.

Apart from all the prelude, this song is just great, even if the drummer uses brushes.

Night Music: Vampire Weekend, “Oxford Comma”

by

The thing about the Oxford comma is that some assholes will be doctrinaire, and make a big deal about it. They’ll scold you! This is stupid, but at the same time, the Oxford comma is a great weapon for clarity. Use it right, your reader will know.

This video offers no clarity. But this could be the best song about grammar I know.

Afternoon Snack: Grass of the Garden, “Dominique”

by

French rockers tackle the 1963 No. 1 hit by the Singing Nun. They do a nice job with it!

Lunch Break: Falco, “Rock Me Amadeus” w/Sturmgeist

by

During that crazy Mozart fad, back in the 80s, an Austrian toff had a crazy hit that Lawr had suppressed from memory. One of only six Billboard No. 1 hits in a language other than English. Not including Love is Blue and Grazing in the Grass. For the record, here it is. Don’t start with the volume too high.

Like most hits, Rock Me Amadeus has been covered many times. Sturmgeist, a Norwegian black metal band, is neutered by this awful awful song, but brings all their tools, hoping for a miracle.

I’m looking for a death metal version of Dominique.

Breakfast Blend: Country Roads

by

John Denver wrote this song, which from his lips is thin and sentimental. Sentiment is a key part of its appeal, but back in the 70s Toot and the Maytals found a delicious reggae groove beating under it’s melodic heart.

Many years later, in Japan, Hayao Miyazaki wrote the great “Whisper of the Heart,” a movie love story in which the protagonists’ dreams all come together with a down home reworked rendition of Denver’s classic tune.

Editing Football: Debaser Edition

by

Football is a debased game. But I’m up late editing the Fantasy Football Guide (available on newsstands and online at the end of June), and all I can hear is the Pixies. In other words, I’m glad to have Hanley Ramirez tonight in the two leagues in which I can own National Leaguers. Sweet, but, not enough.

And I’m glad I don’t have a kid who wants to play football. That would be debasing. Hmm, that is enough. Thanks.

Night Music: Veruca Salt, “Seether”

by

This one came out 20 years ago last week. Like all alt-rock bands, an anniversary is the spur to getting back together, playing some shows and recording a couple of songs to make it all seem fresh. The funny thing is that the old stuff still sounds pretty fresh.