Sarah Ragsdale first caught my attention back in August when I told you about her single/video for “This Kiss,” which embraces wholesome, happy-go-lucky sounds so desperately needed in these dark times.
Now, Ragsdale is back with another fun, watchable music video for the bouncy “Next Time.” Its uptempo melody belies its lyrics of heartbreak, which the video illustrates in a comical, manic way. Ragsdale brings a dude back to her place after a date and seemingly decides to “slip into something more comfortable.” Her date is excited, but when she emerges in a wedding dress – not so much. Cut to clips of her chasing him through the city interspersed with a disheveled Ragsdale in the wedding dress singing along, tracks of mascara down her cheeks.
The inner feminist in me wants to be salty about the cliche “woman-trying-to-catch-and/or-trick-a-man-into-marriage” trope, but being the “woman of a certain age” that I am, I get it. Some women put the pressures to settle down on themselves; others feel them from external sources. Regardless, they’re there, albeit not all the time for some of us.
Also, this tune is just way too infectious not to bop along and love the cute video. Like “This Kiss” before it, it’s a nice few minutes of escape into a colorful, musical world. And be sure to stay tuned for the last few seconds for a special appearance from Ragsdale’s favorite co-star.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor released a new LP, Luciferian Towers, the band’s sixth, today on Constellation Records and, while it’s certainly far from a dud, it sounds like the Montreal crescendo-rock ensemble is spinning in circles instead of moving forward in any tangible direction. Why? The buzz is gone from the reunion LP (2012’s Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!) and the first “new” LP they wrote together post-reunion (2015’s Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress), and all we’re left with is a handful of songs that, fidelity aside, could’ve been recorded by them in 1997.
It’s not bad. It’s just not great. I – and, I presume, others – simply were expecting more. Where is the terror? Where is Lucifer’s fury? To what end have we not followed the darkness?
For some, this is as bit of a blessing. Sure, sure. Godspeed You! Black Emperor always has had an invigorating, signature sound – when I saw them live at Knitting Factory NYC 17 years ago, I felt like I was run over by a train – and the new record sounds big (“Bosses Hang Pt. I”) and hits hard (the very engaging “Anthem For No State Pt. III”). There are good moments herein, without question.
But what Luciferian Towers is lacking is the kind of progression that gets people to want to follow bands in the first place for 20-odd years. I mean, hell, even GY!BE side-project Silver Mt. Zion sounded different on He Has Left Us Alone than it did on “This Is Our Punk Rock” three years later.
The fact that the title track, which opens the record, is a take-it-or-leave-it affair is not a good harbinger of what follows. Things get cooking on the “Bosses Hang” trilogy – the epic pieces are split here, without disruption, into shorter tracks – and, though “Fam/Famine” doesn’t really take listeners anywhere, the group makes up for it with the big, closing “Anthem For No State” trilogy. Guitars soar, strings weep, drums pounce. But, ultimately, the proceedings are far from inspiring and, for a group that’s as accomplished as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, that sadly is saying a lot.
In the last couple of years, we have had powerful returns to form from classic soul men William Bell and Don Bryant. Now we can add Lloyd Price, whose new album This is Rock and Roll will be released on September 22, to that list. In honor of the occasion, I thought I would take a look at one of Lloyd’s greatest hits this week.
Price was born on the outskirts of New Orleans and got his start singing and playing piano and trumpet in his church’s gospel choir. He got his big break when Art Rupe came to town in 1952. Rupe owned the Los Angeles-based Specialty Records. He got word that something was happening in the Crescent City and when he arrived there he found that Lloyd Price was very much a part of what was happening.
Price had a song called “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” that Rupe thought would be a hit. He hired ace arranger Dave Bartholomew to work on the record and Bartholomew’s band was there too, a band that included Fats Domino on piano. As it turned out, Rupe was right. “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” was a smash. The follow-up, “Ooh, Ooh, Ooh” didn’t do quite as well and subsequent Specialty singles failed to chart.
In 1954, Price was drafted. When he got out the service he found out that he had been replaced at Specialty by Little Richard. To add insult to injury, Larry Williams, who had been Price’s chauffeur, was having hits for the label. That door closed, Price used the opportunity to start KRC Records along with Harold Logan and Bill Bosken. When the label’s first single, “Just Because,” was picked up by ABC Records for distribution it became a hit. It was the first of several national hits that Price had for the label. “Just Because” was followed by “Stagger Lee,” and “Personality.”
“Personality” was written by Price and Logan and recorded in 1959. The ABC-Paramount single reached #2 on Billboard Hot 100 that year and also climbed to the top of the R&B chart and remained there for four weeks. Billboard named “Personality” the #3 song of the entire year. “I’m Gonna Get Married” was another Top 10 hit for Price in that era. The hits led to Price television appearances on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and the Ed Sullivan Show.
In 1962, Price founded another label with Logan, this one called Double L Records. One of the labels earliest signings was Wilson Pickett. Seven years later, Logan was murdered. Price, on his own, started a label called Turntable and opened a club in New York with the same name. Price proved to be an astute businessman. In addition to the club, he became a builder, erecting 42 townhouses in the Bronx, and promoting fights with Don King including the Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974.
Price was not done with music, however. In 1993, he toured Europe with Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Gary U.S. Bond. More recently, in 2005, there was the “Four Kings of Rhythm & Blues” tour which featured Price along with Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler, and Ben E. King.
And that brings us to the new Lloyd Price album, This is Rock and Roll. The album is a winning combination of new Price songs including “I’m Getting Over You,” “The Smoke,” and the funky social commentary of “Nobody Loves Anybody Anymore.” When Price turns to covers of classics like “Blueberry Hill,” “I Can’t Help Myself,” and Jimmy Reed’s “Peepin’ and Hidin’” (recorded live in New York City) he brings his own unique twist to the old chestnuts. He is at his best, however, on an emotional cover of Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.”
This is Rock and Roll was recorded primarily at City Lights Studios in Farmingdale, New Jersey with studio owner Guy Daniels producing. The sessions yielded 27 songs and Price chose the ten that he felt sounded like “a reflection of the past but still right now.”
Lloyd Price was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2010. The new album will be available digitally tomorrow at iTunes, and Amazon. The CD can be purchased at Price’s website.
Popdose introduced you to Brothers Prince, the twin Prince brothers (!) in June, who impressed us with their first offering, the perfectly-summer-y track, “Sun To Rise”. The Oakland natives are now back with their first E.P., aptly titled Single. Although it’s only 3 tracks – “Son To Rise” being one of them – we wanted to let you know what we think thus far.
“Finish Last” is a sweet sounding groove; laid back with some delicious guitar and elements of the ’70’s styled slower soul-funk. A little jazzy, although I don’t love rap-styled vocals (I would have preferred him singing instead), the backing vocals and harmonies shine, especially on the choruses. “Sun To Shine” you already know and we at Popdose love; “So Musical” is another warm, upbeat and positive track. This trade-off of vocals is spot on and the use of keyboards makes the song burst with pure soul.
I know three songs aren’t enough to gauge but I think Brothers Prince are already off to a fine and impressive start. A finely-tuned sense of melody; strong song structures and FEEL – which has to be emphasized. The summer’s come and gone – let’s see what Brothers Prince offer for the cold, dark winter.
It starts with the guitar and the guitar alone, amplified slightly but not distorted, its complicated figures as crystalline as frosted glass. It advances, carefully, with the occasional pitter-patter of percussion and well-placed interjections of bass, both low in the mix, letting the real star shine. Two minutes in, it climbs a scale, there’s the faintest hint of an organ and, after a brief bridge, it climbs the scales again, more emotive than cerebral despite the gallery-like presentation. Four minutes in, a minor crescendo comes crashing down and we return to the guitar, this time accompanied by a trumpet, the finger-picked notes practically emanating a life-pulse.
This is David Grubbs’ new record, Creep Mission, and rarely – if ever – in his solo career has the post-rock forefather (he of Gastr del Sol, Bastro, and Squirrel Bait) sounded better. It’s out Friday on Drag City/Blue Chopsticks Records and available for pre-order HERE. You must hear this thing. For the right set of waiting ears, this is the Record of the Year.
Grubbs wastes little time setting goals and bars on his Mission and album-opener “Slylight,” described above, is magical, endearing, and enrapturing stuff. But there are several surprises for people who are expecting a note-for-note coda to 2016’s exciting Prismrose. For one, Grubbs exudes an amazing compositional unity on the record, and the pieces hang on similar, sometimes parallel, walls, so to speak. The whole thing sounds like a special session – somehow calculated in its precision, somehow improvised in its fluidity – recorded in one take and in one sitting. Secondly, though, the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Louisville avant-indie guitarist has never sounded this emotive. (Grubbs’ work always speaks to the head but here, as in his best works, it also aims for the heart.) Gone are the cold intentionalities that sometimes have weighed down his work; like the guitar on display throughout – yes, there are no vocals herein – Grubbs’ delivery is immediate and uncluttered.
Though I’m loathe to cite advance materials, they, here, are worth noting. Blue Chopsticks, Grubbs’ boutique home for experimentalism, promised a Grubbsian LP of “melancholy country raga,” “sludge-rock” and “pointillistic electroacoustic improv” on Mission Creep’s seven compositions. To be fair, elements of all of those are on display (the doe-eyed slide guitar of raga; the Minimalist horizon expansions of sludge-rock; the pinpoint, Fahey-esque precision on the acoustic “The Bonapartes of Baltimore”) but what Grubbs presents is a kind of genre-less skeleton, a shadow around which the listener is meant to construct larger song structures and meanings. Yes, yes, the electric noodling on the wonderfully titled “Jeremiadaic” is a little looser than Grubbs’ virtuosity on the six-string, but, again, everything is stripped bare to the point where even subtle detours can reveal sonic treasures.
The record closes with “The C In Certain” (inside joke: longtime Grubbsians will be left to ponder if John McEntire’s next band will be dubbed The Sea and Certain) a moody, almost boozy, affair where a bottleneck — in more ways than one, perhaps – sets the stage. Grubbs’ playing is resplendent, and, when accented by the subtle buzz of electronics or the moan of a horn, it’s the material of transcendence. The man is clearly onto something here and those who have been faithful to his work since “Rebecca Sylvester” or, even moreso, “Sun God” will thrill at what he’s cooked up here. Five entirely sky-drowning stars!
It starts with the guitar and the guitar alone, amplified slightly but not distorted, its complicated figures as crystalline as frosted glass. It advances, carefully, with the occasional pitter-patter of percussion and well-placed interjections of bass, both low in the mix, letting the real star shine. Two minutes in, it climbs a scale, there’s the faintest hint of an organ and, after a brief bridge, it climbs the scales again, more emotive than cerebral despite the gallery-like presentation. Four minutes in, a minor crescendo comes crashing down and we return to the guitar, this time accompanied by a trumpet, the finger-picked notes practically emanating a life-pulse.
This is David Grubbs’ new record, Creep Mission, and rarely – if ever – in his solo career has the post-rock forefather (he of Gastr del Sol, Bastro, and Squirrel Bait) sounded better. It’s out Friday on Drag City/Blue Chopsticks Records and available for pre-order HERE. You must hear this thing. For the right set of waiting ears, this is the Record of the Year.
Grubbs wastes little time setting goals and bars on his Mission and album-opener “Slylight,” described above, is magical, endearing, and enrapturing stuff. But there are several surprises for people who are expecting a note-for-note coda to 2016’s exciting Prismrose. For one, Grubbs exudes an amazing compositional unity on the record, and the pieces hang on similar, sometimes parallel, walls, so to speak. The whole thing sounds like a special session – somehow calculated in its precision, somehow improvised in its fluidity – recorded in one take and in one sitting. Secondly, though, the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Louisville avant-indie guitarist has never sounded this emotive. (Grubbs’ work always speaks to the head but here, as in his best works, it also aims for the heart.) Gone are the cold intentionalities that sometimes have weighed down his work; like the guitar on display throughout – yes, there are no vocals herein – Grubbs’ delivery is immediate and uncluttered.
Though I’m loathe to cite advance materials, they, here, are worth noting. Blue Chopsticks, Grubbs’ boutique home for experimentalism, promised a Grubbsian LP of “melancholy country raga,” “sludge-rock” and “pointillistic electroacoustic improv” on Mission Creep’s seven compositions. To be fair, elements of all of those are on display (the doe-eyed slide guitar of raga; the Minimalist horizon expansions of sludge-rock; the pinpoint, Fahey-esque precision on the acoustic “The Bonapartes of Baltimore”) but what Grubbs presents is a kind of genre-less skeleton, a shadow around which the listener is meant to construct larger song structures and meanings. Yes, yes, the electric noodling on the wonderfully titled “Jeremiadaic” is a little looser than Grubbs’ virtuosity on the six-string, but, again, everything is stripped bare to the point where even subtle detours can reveal sonic treasures.
The record closes with “The C In Certain” (inside joke: longtime Grubbsians will be left to ponder if John McEntire’s next band will be dubbed The Sea and Certain) a moody, almost boozy, affair where a bottleneck — in more ways than one, perhaps – sets the stage. Grubbs’ playing is resplendent, and, when accented by the subtle buzz of electronics or the moan of a horn, it’s the material of transcendence. The man is clearly onto something here and those who have been faithful to his work since “Rebecca Sylvester” or, even moreso, “Sun God” will thrill at what he’s cooked up here. Five entirely sky-drowning stars!
Some people get crankier when they get older. They drift off and sit in front of whatever TV shows best reinforce their stereotypes and validate their disdain.
But unlike decreasing metabolism and increasing detachment from the Top 40, turning into a curmudgeonly shut-in isn’t an inevitable part of aging. A lot of folks in the AARP years are beyond the petty stuff. They exude compassion and clarity. And before they go into that good night, they’re going to spend a bit more time enjoying the nightlife.
Case in point: Debbie Harry. The Blondie frontwoman is 72 years old. Yes, 72. She was already in her 30s when Blondie broke onto the scene in the late 70s. Her bandmates were a few years younger — drummer Clem Freaking Burke is still a sprightly 61, guitarist and co-creative leader Chris Stein is 67.
Chris Stein
And the band has been getting fresh infusions of youth since its 1999 comeback. Originally a comeback project of four original members (the three mentioned above, plus keyboardist Jimmy Destri) and a lot of session guys, the band’s spotlight now falls as much on dazzling guitarist Tommy Kessler and keyboardist/songwriter Matt Katz-Bohen — both veterans of everything on the NYC music scene from pit orchestras to neo-New Wave bands — as it does on Stein, who barely seems to move a finger on stage. (Curiously, Leigh Foxx has played bass for Blondie since 1999 and still has neither a bio on the band’s page nor a Wikipedia entry.)
That leaves Blondie in a unique position in the musical landscape. They might be the only band touring today in which you might want to check out the concessions and restrooms during the old material (though you should be sure to hear Atomic, where the anonymous Foxx doesn’t take a shot at Nigel Harrison’s iconic bass solo but Kessler rips into a pick-tossing, fretboard-tapping, behind-the-head shredding showcase). The new material suits Harry’s maturing voice better … and it’s terrific stuff.
(See Dw. Dunphy’s review of Blondie on a killer triple bill with Garbage and Deap Vally.)
They can still bring the disco. Their first single this year, Fun, hit No. 1 on Billboard’s dance club chart, propelled by a video that makes you wonder if Studio 54 ever closed.
And as of this writing, the No. 5 song on that chart is the song of this post, Long Time.
Perhaps it’s still too new, or perhaps people are busy admiring yet another hybrid New Wave/disco beat from Clem Freaking Burke, but our usual sites for lyric interpretation have not yet commented on this tune. And that’s a pity, because there’s interesting stuff to dissect here.
Tommy Kessler
The lyrics could be taken cynically. We could picture Tori Amos (who, incidentally, has a new album worthy of a few listens) delivering some of these lines with sarcasm:
Take me, then lose me, then tell them I’m yours Are you happy?
Does it take you a long time? Does it make you upset? Does it make you think everybody wants to be your friend?
I don’t think that’s what Blondie intends here. There’s a bittersweet element — the song ends on a slightly downcast note, and the video invokes U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For with Kessler strumming his way down the street.
But the video also reinforces the hopeful tone of the tune. Like a lot of Blondie’s output over the years, it’s very New York, with a mention of the Bowery and random shots of exits for Staten Island and Broadway along with Kessler’s strolling and Clem Freaking Burke taking his sticks to a couple of buildings.
Then Harry is at the center of it all, playing a taxi driver. It’s as if she’s guiding us, showing us that we can find more to life in this city — or wherever we are.
Extending the metaphor — Harry’s addressing someone who’s a little lost …
I’ve been running circles ’round a night that never ends I’ve been chasing heartache, in a city and a friend I’ve been with you so long, even seen you lose it, but who cares?
…
Drinking with your cell phone with a smile on your face Happy in success, but still a thousand miles away Is this what you wanted, is this everything you had in store?
Clem Freaking Burke
All of us, no matter how “successful,” get stuck in a rut and frustrated. We all wonder if there’s something else for us.
Fortunately, in moments like that, we can hop in Harry’s taxi and see something new. Doesn’t matter if you’re 72 or 47 or whatever. We can take a little detour and gain new perspective, and Long Time is as pleasant a ride as you’ll find on the dance club speakers or your favorite streaming service today.
And so while some older folks are withering away in front of Fox News griping about Colin Kaepernick or Nancy Pelosi, Debbie Harry is out there being an activist (specifically on behalf of bees, whose death by environmental malice threatens our food supply) and leading us with grace and a fun disco kick. I for one welcome our new septuagenarian overlords.
Bluetooth MP3 System Installed In Rafters At Chesapeake Arena
There has been an upgrade to the sound system at Chesapeake Arena, home of the Oklahoma Thunder basketball team. The new system will allow for fan-submitted playlists and song requests through a proprietary software application that you can download through the App store at https://www.apple.com/ios/app-store/
The idea behind this is to create more fan engagement during games. The app will also have games and trivia, scores and results will be featured on the scoreboard during the game, giving users real-time feedback. The app will also promote future events, showcase ticket sales, and provide real-time stats for games being played in the Arena.
In addition to the addition of the Bluetooth system, they rewired the sound system to allow for surround sound playback for those streaming surround sound mixes of commercially released music. Complications arose when wiring the system and technicians discovered stress cracks in the roof of the Oklahoma City arena. Facility maintenance engineers called upon Oklahoma City roofing contractors Salazar Roofing to make the repair so that the installation of the system could be installed without further setback.
Chesapeake Arena is also used as a concert venue during the offseason. Currently, there are tickets on sale for the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Musical performances like these will not be using the Arena sound system but will most likely use their own speaker walls of sound.
Equipping the Oklahoma City Arena with these additional features should encourage fans to purchase tickets and become more involved while at the games. Immersing them into an experience not previously available. The new sound system that was installed and secured to the roofing structure, blends with the rafters and gives it an industrial look.
We spoke to some fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder to get their feedback on the new sound system and the response was very positive. Here are few quotes from some of the loyal fans we interviewed after the Thunder game.
Chad Switzer – “Wow we were blown away by the interaction we had during the game, kept the kids involved and gave them an opportunity to play some games”
Philip Leonard – “I spent more time on the app submitting song requests and playing trivia than watching the game”
Jordan Ghimre – “I didn’t need the distraction, the game is what I am here to watch. If I’m going to sit and play on an app while I watch a Thunder game then we might as well send them back to Seattle”
Popdose is pleased to share with you a new track from New York’s own Jeremy & The Harlequins. A “classic” rock & roll love song, Jeremy Lublin (vocals/writer) offers, “‘With You’ is a love story. So many people I know got married or engaged this year and I was inspired to write something romantic. Sure, it has kind of a Johnny Cash thing going on in the rhythm and we figured if you’re going to do a ballad, do it right.”
Coming off their 2016 Yep Roc Records debut, Into the Night, the band recorded in the legendary Beachwood Canyon in Los Angeles with Rick Parker (Lord Huron, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts).They self-released their debut album American Dreamer in early 2015, and saw several placements in major films.
There has been an upgrade to the sound system at Chesapeake Arena, home of the Oklahoma Thunder basketball team. The new system will allow for fan-submitted playlists and song requests through a proprietary software application that you can download through the App store at https://www.apple.com/ios/app-store/
We spoke to some fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder to get their feedback on the new sound system and the response was very positive. Here are few quotes from some of the loyal fans we interviewed after the Thunder game.
