Today seems to be one of those "embarrassment of riches" type situations here in North America, what with the simultaneous celebrations of Columbus Day (U.S.) and Thanksgiving (Canada). Of course, we all know by now that Christopher Columbus didn't actually discover America -- or even set foot on what would eventually become the American mainland. He set foot on the Bahamas, for which generations of American vacationers thank him.
I don't really know what the Canadian Thanksgiving is all about. In the U.S., it's when we celebrate the last meal we permitted the Native Americans before we started slaughtering them. Maybe, in Canada, it's when they celebrate universal healthcare or whoever the hell the guy was that discovered hockey. Or curling. Ice-fishing, maybe. Or the loose moosemeat sandwich.
Regardless, this post is rife with irony. The band Columbus is Canadian; the band Canada is American. To be more precise, the band Canada is from Ann Arbor, which is home to the University of Michigan. The University of Michigan's archrival in all things is the Ohio State University, which makes its home in Ohio. Columbus, Ohio. You really can't make this stuff up.
[MP3] Columbus/"Christian Girls"
[MP3] Canada/"Record Function"
BONUS TRACK >>>
[MP3] "Blame Canada" [from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut]
Much to my (and everybody else's) surprise, the Detroit Tigers awoke from their late-season slumber and kicked the forever-overrated Yankees to the curb. Thus, I wanted to start this week with some kind of Detroit-themed something-or-other.
The exact angle and vector of that something-or-other became clear while visiting my brother on Sunday (and watching the forever-inept Detroit Lions find still more creative ways to give a game away). Somehow or another, I got to thinking about Motor City blue-eyed soulman/rocker Mitch Ryder, which led me to ask my sibling if he'd ever heard Mitch's cover of the Prince song "When You Were Mine." Turns out, he hadn't.
In truth, it had been years since I'd heard it myself. For a time after its release in 1983 (on the John Cougar Mellencamp-produced Never Kick a Sleeping Dog), it received a fair amount of airplay on Detroit radio. But, since then: nothing.
Of course, that didn't stop a slew of other artists from covering the catchy little bastard. Everybody from Tegan and Sara, Crooked Fingers, Casiotone for the Playfully Alone, and Cyndi Lauper took a crack at it. My Old Kentucky Blog had the skinny on all this back in May. But, alas: no Mitch.
So, my enterprising brother took it upon himself to whip up a bit of search-engine sorcery, and, lo and behold, I had the Mitch Ryder version of "When You Were Mine" in a matter of minutes. I was quite the happy man. A tiny hole in my music-seeking soul had been closed.
Now, just to complete this story: I decided to run a quick hit on the Hype Machine to see what other Mitch Ryder tunes might be circling around the cybersphere. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a French blog going by the name of Un Violon, Un Jambon ("A Violin, A Ham Bone"?) had posted "When You Were Mine," by Mitch Ryder, THAT VERY DAY. I mean, pardon my French, but that's just effin' spooky.
Nevertheless, here's my version, which is actually Mitch Ryder's version, which comes to you by way of my brother...
[MP3] "When You Were Mine"
It's nothing new for me to receive e-mails from record labels asking me to flog their latest releases, but I was a little taken aback to receive one from the distribution arm of NAMBLA Recordings (who knew?) alerting me to former U.S. Congressman Mark Foley's upcoming EP, Bring in Da Boyz, Bring in Da Punkz.
TRACKLIST >>>
01) "Do I Make You Horny?"
02) "Sliding the Shorts Off Ya"
03) "Typing One-Handed (Hunting Pecker)"
04) "Cock Tales & High Balls (The Booze Made Me Do It)"
05) "I'll Bring the Ruler, You Bring Your Dick"
06) "Turn the Page" [Bob Seger cover]Till it actually comes out (hee hee), however, we'll just have to make do with the following troika of tracks...
[MP3] Noblesse Oblige/"Daddy (Don't Touch Me There)"
[MP3] Devendra Banhart/"Little Boys"
[MP3] Connie Francis/"Where the Boys Are"
The Affair are a New York City-based five-piece -- two girls, three boys. This little ditty could have been done in the early '80s by Blondie. Or the Motels. But it wasn't. It was done in the mid '00s by the Affair. From New York City. Two girls. Three boys.
The Affair's MySpace page.
[MP3] "Andy"
Oh, wherefore art thou, Kajagoogoo? Despite VH1's Bands Reunited best efforts: dead as Dillinger. But their once meticulously-mulletted singer, Limahl, lives and breathes and is never Too Shy to sing his silly little pop songs. His legacy, one might say, is NeverEnding.(And please don't be alarmed by the fact that he sounds exactly like Yaz's Alison Moyet.)
[MP3] "Tell Me Why" [radio edit]
[My time is short today, but I do not wish to leave you tuneless. Thus, I must regrettably resort to plagiarizing myself...]
"For today's offerings, we once again travel to the Kingdom of Sweden -- enchanted land of Saabs and ABBA. Smorgasbords. Socialism. Suicide. And such pretty, pretty people that Hitler secretly dreamed he was Swede."
"The band Kent formed in the early '90s, released their first record in 1995, and have been big sellers in their home country since at least 1997. Alas, they are little known in North America, no doubt getting lost amongst the countless other one-word, post-Radiohead types (Travis, Coldplay, Doves, Elbow, Paloalto, Starsailor, Muse, etc.). Muse may well be the most accurate comparison, though Kent is generally more mellow; their singer less prone to shrieky hysterics. Also, Kent sing most of their songs in Swedish, so be forewarned."
From the EP Hjarta & Smarta, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "Ansgar Och Evelyne"
From the LP Vappen & Ammunition, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "FF"
BONUS TRACK >>>
[MP3] "Nalens Oga" [2006]
