Song of the Week – Who Needs You , The Orwells

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IGNORED OBSCURED RESTORED

The Orwells are a bunch of 5 teenage high school friends from Chicago that have earned a decent amount of recognition on the indie rock circuit. They’ve been featured on two of my favorite music blogs, aquariumdrunkard.com and rollogrady.com, and also at webzine pitchfork.com.

They appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in January and generated a swarm of social media buzz (you can read about it here – Rolling Stone – The Orwells on Letterman) with their over the top performance of the title track of their latest EP, “Who Needs You.”

I have to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for a bunch of kids that don’t give a damn what people think about them. Their only incentive is to have a good time playing their hearts out… and maybe meet a few girls and drink some beer.

Yeah, these tunes are lo-fi. But it’s only rock and roll, and I like it.

Enjoy… until next week.

Second Consecutive Terrible Post From Steve

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I am going to see Bryan Ferry at the Tower Theater in Philly in October 4th, my birthday. I’m pretty excited. Since I see a concert about once every five years anymore (what’s to see? – Hellacopters are broken up), this is a true event.

I’ll make a good post this week, I promise. Surely you’ve had enough Robert Cray and Alison Krauss.

Night Music: The Cox Family, with Allison Krauss, “Remind Me, Dear Lord”

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I won’t say this one has much to do with fucking on the floor, but it is darn near perfect even if you have no faith in anything. Except maybe fucking on the floor.

On a broader note, the Cox Family is a bluegrass gospel group who plays music that is clear and principled and has musical virtue apart from their beliefs. Their records are ace and should not be missed.

Allison Krauss, as we know, is super talented and even turned Robert Plant into a hitmaker again. She’s also a fantastic fiddle player with a very smooth and excellent voice.

I love the Cox Family on their own, but Krauss raises their game. Dig deep into their catalog. My friends will say they don’t rock, but they scratch a serious itch.

 

I’m Offended

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Peter, I really like the updates you made to the rectangular banners atop this site, except for the one of the “punk” chick lying on top of her “punk” boyfriend. Modern day poseurs like that are exactly what Rock Remnants is not about (or at least shouldn’t be). (Along with Beyonce and Ellie Goulding and Lorde.)

I vote to take that banner down. What in hell made you choose to put it up in the first place?

Night Music: Eric Clapton and Robert Cray, “Old Love”

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Slowhand and Cray apparently wrote this tune together. It’s okay, but what wins here is Clapton’s look. He had so many, most of which weren’t as weird as this one.

Clapton also has a dueling guitars moment in this clip, during which he shreds Cray the way he did Robbie Robertson in The Last Waltz. Nevermind. Clapton is god, but he clearly knows that he stands on the shoulders of others. Whether that makes him a good guy or an asshole is up in the air.

What I know is I’m always glad to hear him play.

 

Lunch Break: BB King at Crossroads, “Paying the Cost to be the Boss”

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BB King is the most facile and appealing blues guitarist I know. Live at the Regal sets the standard for blues recordings.

Still, it’s amazing to see the 81 year old BB King, not that good at walking, play the guitar so fluidly, and lead the band and big crowd so ably.

Eric Clapton is right to stay in the shadows. This isn’t a great tune, but it certainly shows how great a player and performer BB King was.

Breakfast Blend: Robert Cray Band

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Some more cuts. He’s got such a sweet sound and voice.

But this clip, from 2012, is weird. It has Dennis on bass and sounds like the records from the 80s, which is a good thing. But it also has a stubborn streak about cuts, so we never see Old Bob actually playing his Stratocaster. There he is singing, and there are fingers playing, but it’s hard to connect the two visually. So I’m suspicious about the pedigree, but the song is pretty good. A throwback, kind of.

Night Music: Robert Cray, “Right Next Door (Because of Me)”

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In the dark days of 1980s music, there were some real gems. One of those is Robert Cray, a blues guitarist who embraced a producer and songwriting team that set his skills and persona into a kind of Memphis soul vibe. I saw them live a few times, bought all the albums, and was a huge fan.

When you hear this one you will be, too.

But clearly the sound is too smooth. And clearly young Bob didn’t wear the skin of strong persuader eagerly. A lot of the success of those early albums can be pinned on Richard Cousins, the bass player/songwriter, and Richard Walker, the producer.

Which isn’t to denigrate young Bob’s talent. But he seems too nice a guy to get ahead in this business. That isn’t an attribute, but it does help explain a bit about his career. None the less, he can play.