Music Picks of the Week

So not too long ago on these pages, I made some disparaging remarks about the Stones. Turns out their new single isn't so bad--maybe nothing we haven't heard before, but a good uptempo rocker just the same. I especially enjoy the salacious glee with which Mick pronounces the word "cocks" in the first stanza. The song's called "Rough Justice," and you can listen to it here. It's definitely the best thing I've heard from them since the Steel Wheels album, but we'll see how the rest of their new album shapes up.

The Monkees: "Zilch"
Speaking of outdated rockers, I was reminded of this little number (you can't really call it a song) while digging through some old Dr. Demento tapes. The Monkees' brand of manufactured pop never really did it for me, but each of their original albums has at least one novelty number that's worth hearing. This one's like a little tongue-twister game you might play while drunk. If you can imagine any of The Monkees drunk or drinking or, for that matter, spontaneous.

Fishbone: "Date Rape"
Another band that I never really got into is/was Sublime. They always seemed a little too annoyingly skateboard for me to listen to without imagining a group of punk-ass kids riding up and down my driveway and laughing at me. (Hmm . . . maybe too much information there.) Fortunately, that's why the music gods gave us tribute albums so I can hear bands I actually like perfoming songs I wouldn't otherwise be caught listening to. This is a good example from a new Sublime tribute album. The song follows a worthwhile narrative about some punk-ass getting what's coming to him. (How many punk-asses does that make in this blurb, anyway?) Plus, you get to hear Fishbone's teeth-rattling bass, which is always a treat.

Merle Haggard: "Carolyn"
This is an oldie from 1972, back when it was OK for country songs to feature string arrangements. I like how the singer turns things around on his listener in the last verse.

Charlie Wilson: "Charlie, Last Name Wilson"
I don't know when it happened exactly, but sometime in the last 18 months or so, a lot of R&B artists stopped writing actual songs and now just tell stories over a background beat. I've heard this most recently on that cycle of "bedroom closet" songs by R. Kelly. I don't know what ever happened to R&B songs with a rhyming couplet or two (see Mariah blurb below), but what do I know? Anyway, this guy Wilson does the same thing, but his "song" is actually funny. Plus he busts out some nice vocals near the end, as he tells this girl to come check out his big house. But mostly I like it because he sings our shared name repeatedly and it sounds cool.

Nortec Collective: "Tijuana Makes Me Happy"
This is the first time I've heard Tijuana referred to as "the happiest place on earth," but I mostly dig how this group samples traditional Mexican instruments to make something that sounds like Beck on tequila.

Mariah Carey: "We Belong Together"
Yeah, this has been around for awhile and is rapidly becoming obnoxious, like many of Mariah's other hits, but I can't get away from the part where she turns on the radio, hears Babyface, and realizes it's all too much for her right now. "This is too deep/too deep/I gotta change the station." Remember when you could expect that kind of thing from the radio? So props to Mariah (rhymes with "pariah," as Michael Stipe once pointed out) for keeping the faith in the Power of Radio. If only it would stop playing her songs all the time.

Jackie Greene: anything
My buddy Chris just discovered this guy on XM Radio. I saw him play in Toledo one night; kid was unbelievable--he seemed kind of shy in front of an audience, but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he knew how to play. He did such a great set that I ran out to the foyer afterwards to buy one of his CDs, totally willing to miss the start of the next set. And the kid was already out there, signing copies for everyone who bought one. I played him on my radio show a few times after that. I've got his Gone Wanderin' album; my favorite track is "Down in the Valley Woe." If you like early Dylan or Bruce, or good bluesy guitar, you should check him out.

Note on the lack of links: I use MSN Music to find most of this stuff, mainly because it was already loaded into my laptop software (damn you, Gates!). But you can probably find most of this stuff anywhere. It's likely that this will become a, you know, weekly feature of the blog, so if you're really annoyed because I'm not providing you any links, just let me know.