Welcome To The Good Times: The Black Crowes

Would you let your wife out of the house wearing this?

So, Mr. Kate Hudson and the boys, otherwise known as the Black Crowes are together again after a long hiatus. The tour is on, and there is a plan to release a two-disc set of unreleased music tiitled "The Lost Crowes" on August 29th. The cds are a composit of two never before released albums, "Tall" recorded in 1993, and "Band," recorded in 1997. Oh, and Katie? Eat a sandwich and put on a sweater. I'm just sayin'.

The following passage is from the Band's press release:

"In fall of 1993 vocalist Chris Robinson, guitarists Rich Robinson and Marc Ford, drummer Steve Gorman, bassist Johnny Colt, and keyboardist Ed Harsch recorded more than 30 songs at Conway Studios in Los Angeles. Working on the follow-up to Southern Harmony And Musical Companion, the band descended into an emotional, startlingly heavy creative patch that became a stepping-stone to the 1994 album, Amorica.

Named after an old jazz term for getting high, the Tall sessions contain a total of 16 unreleased tracks that offer an unflinching glimpse into rough and beautiful music born from turmoil and tension. THE LOST CROWES includes early versions of seven amorica songs such as “A Conspiracy,” “Descending,” “Wiser Time” and “Cursed Diamond.” The collection also features the undiscovered classics “Tied Up And Swallowed,” “Feathers,” “Thunderstorm 654” and “Lowdown,” a sad lost anthem that became “Ballad In Urgency.”

Four years later, the band came off the road after headlining the Furthur Festival and went into a Nashville studio to record songs for a planned follow-up to 1996’s acclaimed Three Snakes & One Charm. Where Tall thrives on the mayhem of their young Los Angeles days, Band confidently probes some of The Black Crowes’ most mature, thoughtful work.

The Band sessions contain 10 songs including a different version of the B-side “Peace Anyway,” plus “If It Ever Stops Raining,” a song that would become the title-track to the 1999 album By Your Side. The compilation also spotlights the taut riff rock of “Paint An 8,” the windblown ache of “Wyoming & Me” along with the freaky-longhaired-Mother Earth grooves of “Another Roadside Tragedy,” “Grinnin” and “Life Vest.”

Paul Stacey has remixed all of the music on THE LOST CROWES, which also includes liner notes spotlighting the stories behind these legendary lost sessions as told by the Robinsons."

For your consideration:
The Black Crowes - Feathers Mp3 (from the "Tall" sessions)

"ROCKY BALBOA" Official Trailer

Yo Adrian, check this out. Rocky lives! For those of you who didn't know about it, the sixth installment of the "Rocky" series called "Rocky Balboa" enters the ring this Christmas. I figured since my recent postings have been about movies and music ("Eye of The Tiger," "Gonna Fly Now", anyone?) that you'd might want enjoy Bill Conti's classic score one more time... I'm just sayin.

Help Me Tom Cruise!

The summer is here and the blockbusters at the cineplex are in full force. We got pirates, superheroes, and race car drivers... your pick. "Help me Jesus! Help me Jewish God! HELP ME TOM CRUISE!" from Will Ferrel's upcoming goofball comedy "Talladega Nights," could easily be this season's most quotable line. Help me Tom Cruise... classic.

But while we are all laughing at Willy's latest shenanigans and Johnny's swashbuckling ways, there is something strangely missing from this summer's crop of movies. No, it's not the commercials that grace our presence at every show that add twenty excruciating minutes to our running time that's missing, god forbid it be that! What's missing from the theater these days? Laser pointers you ask? No, they're there. Cellphone usage during the movie? Nope, there's plenty of that too. What is missing from movies these days is the original song!

What happened?

Now, we all know it's hard out there for a pimp, but since when did it become hard out there for a song? Has the worn out montage set to "Walking On Sunshine" totally killed the original song? Let's take look at last year's Oscar nominees for best original song:

"In the Deep" from CRASH
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from HUSTLE & FLOW
"Travelin' Thru" from TRANSAMERICA

Umm, just what the hell is that? The original song is in such dire straits that the Academy couldn't even find 5 of them to fill out the category! And seriously, does anyone even remember the songs from "Crash" or "Transamerica?" And for that matter did anyone outside of LA and New York even see "Transamerica?"

Help us Tom Cruise! Our nation turns it's lonely ears to you. (Oh yeah, hey, that was a "Graduate" reference, a movie that included original songs! Keep up with me here people.)

Please get the original song back to where it belongs. We need more "Top Gun" soundtracks, more "Footloose's," "Beverly Hills Cops's!" I'm just sayin'. I'm so desperate, I'll even take a tune penned by Dianne Warren! You want Aerosmith to sing that? Umm, ok, maybe I'm not that desperate. We need more songs that instantly relate to the flick. Think Lindsay Buckingham's "Holiday Road" from "Vacation." "I've Had the Time Of My Life" from "Dirty Dancing." Even "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. Ok, so even the Academy got that one right.

Now you've read this far (hey by the way, thanks!) and you're asking yourself "When is the whiner gonna get to the MP3's?" Well, here are a couple of tracks from movies that I to this day still love:

For your consideration:
Kristin Vigard - God Give Me Strength MP3(from the movie "Grace Of My Heart", the original version, not the Elvis Costello take)

Jimmy Buffet - I Don't Know (Spicoli's Theme) MP3 (from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High")

Team America: World Police - Montage MP3 (from Team America: World Police)

New Release Tuesday

Remember when you used to go to Tower Records at midnight the day of an eagerly anticipated album's release? "New release Tuesdays" we called 'em. Line ups would begin at 11pm after the store "officially" closed, and the last of the clueless patrons went on their way. They'd be blasting the album over the store's speakers. Posters were everywhere. Perhaps they'd even be giving away t-shirts too. The adventure of a late night out, proving to yourself, and others how much of a true fan you really were.

Yeah, wake up skippy, those days are over.

To your face I'd say God bless the internet. I can buy a cd weeks in advance, and have the damn thing waiting for me at my front door the day it comes out. I don't have to search for a parking space, and then go to a mega store where I can't find what I'm looking for, only to be mocked by some kid with a spike in his nose when I ask him to help me find the John Mayer cd with that song about daughters. Hell, I don't even have to leave my couch! Now some artists even allow you to download the "advance" on mp3 just to bide your time before the hard copy graces your precious little hands. The times, well, they done changed, ain't they?

Under my breath I'd say we're witnessing the death of the record store. You know, people cried when the Drive-in movie theaters went away, there is something romantic about the experience of pulling your car into a space and watching a movie on the big screen. Watching, necking, whatever, you know what I mean. Keep it up with internet music sales, and you're gonna lose the joy of hanging out in a store that's pumping the latest from the White Stripes while you're fingering through the new release section. Just in this last year alone two prominent independent record stores here in Los Angeles, Rhino Records and Aaron's Records closed their doors forever. Some say the new kid on the block, Amoeba Records gobbled them up. I say it was the internet. And here's why. Feel free to download the new single by the Killers below. Now go buy the album AT A RECORD STORE when it officially comes out. Did I make my point? And no son, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target do not count, ok?


For your consideration:
When You Were Young - The Killers MP3

The Monster Mash

I did it. A full week of postings. Monday is here, and we're off to our first themed day. Here at (I'm Just Sayin), Mondays will be Mashup day. Every Monday you'll get a new mashup, unless of course something better comes along. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you are all clamoring for the new Audioslave and Killers tracks, but I am sure you can find that elsewhere. Today's mashups are "Karmastition" and "Stars On 45."

2005's "Karmastition" is a killer track that mashes up Stevie Wonder's funky classic "Superstition" and the ever fine Alicia Keys's "Karma." The mashup was created by Mark Vidler at Go Home Productions, and was a huge hit overseas. Enjoy.

1981's "Stars on 45" might not be exactly considered a mashup in the purest sense, but I wanted you to hear it just the same. According to Wikipedia (the free encylopedia!) the "origin of the single is the Netherlands where numerous bootleg disco singles were floating around and Willem van Kooten, the owner of one of the copyrights, decided to make a similar, legitimate record. He found singers who sounded similar to John Lennon and Paul McCartney and decided to make the single focus on The Beatles." The song contains snippets of Venus, Sugar Sugar, No Reply, I'll Be Back, Drive My Car, Do You Want to Know a Secret, We Can Work It Out, I Should Have Known Better, Nowhere Man, and You're Going to Lose That Girl. The single reached number one (!) on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 20, 1981, and was aside from "Yellow Submarine" (I am ashamed to admit) my introduction to the Fab Four. Hey, cut me some slack, I was ten years old, ok? I'm just sayin!

For your consideration:
Karmastition - Go Home Productions MP3
The Stars On 45 Medley - The Stars On 45 MP3

It Rubs The Lotion On It's Skin

I know it's kind of a cop out to just post a video without putting it in some sort of context of an actual article, but I saw this on You Tube and had to share it with you. Arguably the greatest homage to a movie villain ever... and the song by the Greenskeepers ain't that half bad either. Enjoy this video or else you'll get the hose again. I'm just sayin.