i’m on vacation this week with my parents (pictured) and my little sister (who has been calling me names all day, thereby blowing it royally in a getting-her-picture-on-my-blog kind of way). back to videos in a week!
max abelson's super groovy music video spectacular
fine videos daily:
1960s on mon
1970s on tues
1980s on wed
1990s on thurs
2000s on fri
feat. the beatles, aretha franklin, neil young, dr. dre, will oldham, serge gainsbourg, the kinks, harry nilsson, dusty springfield, the clash, the smiths, al green, rolling stones, cat power, yo la tengo, stevie wonder, antony, wilco, elvis, talking heads, elliott smith, jimi hendrix, r.e.m., ray charles, velvet underground, the monochrome set, randy newman, cure & queen
i write for the nyo, live in nyc, am 25, please email here
"mtv makes me want to smoke crack." -beck
see the archives & a random post
"i just happen to be here, and it's okay." -caetano veloso
"sing a simple song but keep the swing strong." -de la soul
"it took me about three or four weeks to toilet train my cat, nightlife. most of the time is spent moving the box very gradually to the bathroom. do it very slowly and don't confuse him." -charles mingus
"she had a chihuahua named carlos that had some kind of skin disease and was totally blind." -tom waits
"hey there, hey now, well, you can make a pacemaker blink, yeah, easy thing, make a man's heart go bibbity bom like a gentle drum. -john cale
"i’ve still got things inside me, sad things, happy things, that people don’t know about." -loretta lynn
"after cheesecake with all of your friends and family, who's gonna front the bill? me... say you want to take first-class trips, well i want to work those first-class hips. yes i do." -r. kelly
"i'm going to boogie my scruples away." -lowell george
"i drive a rolls-royce, cause it's good for my voice." -t.rex
gotta think straight, keep a clean plate." -joanna newsom
"keep a clean nose, watch the plain-clothes." -bob dylan
"my mother used to tell me about vibrations. to think that invisible feelings, invisible vibrations existed scared me to death." -brian wilson
"i could even find it in my heart to love mike love." -belle & sebastian
"think about something else. was art tatum talented?" - shoot the piano player
"i mean every letter in the words in the sentences of my quotes." -lil' wayne
"lyrics choochoo from my mouth like locomotion." - pato banton
"i'm dealing in rock and roll. i'm not a bonafide human being." -phil spector
"at a certain point phil approached me with a bottle of kosher red wine in one hand and a .45 in the other, put his arm around my shoulder and shoved the revolver into my neck and said, 'leonard, i love you.' i said, 'i hope you do, phil.'" -leonard cohen
"they’d whisper at each other and look at phil and whisper at each other. finally this lady, tanked, comes over to phil and says, 'alright, sonny, what’s your problem?' and he said, 'premature ejaculation, what’s yours?'" -tom wolfe
"he's got a mind like a sewer, and a heart like a fridge" -elvis costello
"i bite my nails and if that fails i go get myself stoned, but when i do i think of you and head myself back home." -gram parsons
"i would say groucho marx, to name one thing, and willie mays, and the second movement of the jupiter symphony, and louis armstrong’s recording of potatohead blues, swedish movies, naturally. sentimental education by flaubert, marlon brando, frank sinatra, those incredible apples and pears by cézanne, the crabs at sam wo’s, tracy’s face." -woody allen
"where have you been all my life?" -emmylou harris
"the first time i got stoned on grass was with john paul jones of led zeppelin. we'd been talking to ramblin' jack elliott somewhere and jonesy said to me, 'come over and i'll turn you on to grass.' he had a huge room with nothing in it except this huge vast hammond organ, right next door to the police." -david bowie
brian eno songs that will make good book titles for my 10-volume memoir, in order: here he comes, baby's on fire, golden hours, brutal ardour, taking tiger mountain, events in dense fog, through hollow lands, some of them are old, everything merges with the night, dead finks don’t talk
ry cooder albums that every man should own: into the purple valley, boomer's story, paradise and lunch
#1 song on the white album (tie): long long long, happiness is a warm gun
"the only word is love." -john lennon
thelonious monk's middle name: sphere
"really, we don't want people twiddling their goatees over our stuff." -radiohead
"i love songs about horses, railroads, land, judgment day, family, hard times, whiskey, courtship, marriage, adultery, separation, murder, war, prison, rambling, damnation, home, salvation, death, pride, humor, piety, rebellion, patriotism, larceny, determination, tragedy, rowdiness, heartbreak and love. and mother. and god." -johnny cash
"the moon is clear, the sky is bright, i'm happy as the horse's shite." -the pogues
"i hope that you all out there, young, old, tall, short, fat or thin, quick or slow, no matter what kind or color or shape or person you are, if you like to make music, why, go ahead.” -pete seeger
"but chuck berry isn't merely the greatest of the rock and rollers, or rather, there's nothing mere about it. say rather that unless we can somehow recycle the concept of the great artist so that it supports chuck berry as well as it does marcel proust, we might as well trash it altogether." -robert christgau
mashable.com says about us: "you can expect the unexpected with this awesome gem. groovy." and 33 1/3 says: "it's nice to have someone steer me in a more worthwhile direction."
download albums, see album covers, photos, posters, quotes & 'staches
the olden days: 08 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 09 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 10 j. f. m. a. m. j. j.
make a tumblr!
1960s on mon
1970s on tues
1980s on wed
1990s on thurs
2000s on fri
feat. the beatles, aretha franklin, neil young, dr. dre, will oldham, serge gainsbourg, the kinks, harry nilsson, dusty springfield, the clash, the smiths, al green, rolling stones, cat power, yo la tengo, stevie wonder, antony, wilco, elvis, talking heads, elliott smith, jimi hendrix, r.e.m., ray charles, velvet underground, the monochrome set, randy newman, cure & queen
i write for the nyo, live in nyc, am 25, please email here
"mtv makes me want to smoke crack." -beck
see the archives & a random post
"i just happen to be here, and it's okay." -caetano veloso
"sing a simple song but keep the swing strong." -de la soul
"it took me about three or four weeks to toilet train my cat, nightlife. most of the time is spent moving the box very gradually to the bathroom. do it very slowly and don't confuse him." -charles mingus
"she had a chihuahua named carlos that had some kind of skin disease and was totally blind." -tom waits
"hey there, hey now, well, you can make a pacemaker blink, yeah, easy thing, make a man's heart go bibbity bom like a gentle drum. -john cale
"i’ve still got things inside me, sad things, happy things, that people don’t know about." -loretta lynn
"after cheesecake with all of your friends and family, who's gonna front the bill? me... say you want to take first-class trips, well i want to work those first-class hips. yes i do." -r. kelly
"i'm going to boogie my scruples away." -lowell george
"i drive a rolls-royce, cause it's good for my voice." -t.rex
gotta think straight, keep a clean plate." -joanna newsom
"keep a clean nose, watch the plain-clothes." -bob dylan
"my mother used to tell me about vibrations. to think that invisible feelings, invisible vibrations existed scared me to death." -brian wilson
"i could even find it in my heart to love mike love." -belle & sebastian
"think about something else. was art tatum talented?" - shoot the piano player
"i mean every letter in the words in the sentences of my quotes." -lil' wayne
"lyrics choochoo from my mouth like locomotion." - pato banton
"i'm dealing in rock and roll. i'm not a bonafide human being." -phil spector
"at a certain point phil approached me with a bottle of kosher red wine in one hand and a .45 in the other, put his arm around my shoulder and shoved the revolver into my neck and said, 'leonard, i love you.' i said, 'i hope you do, phil.'" -leonard cohen
"they’d whisper at each other and look at phil and whisper at each other. finally this lady, tanked, comes over to phil and says, 'alright, sonny, what’s your problem?' and he said, 'premature ejaculation, what’s yours?'" -tom wolfe
"he's got a mind like a sewer, and a heart like a fridge" -elvis costello
"i bite my nails and if that fails i go get myself stoned, but when i do i think of you and head myself back home." -gram parsons
"i would say groucho marx, to name one thing, and willie mays, and the second movement of the jupiter symphony, and louis armstrong’s recording of potatohead blues, swedish movies, naturally. sentimental education by flaubert, marlon brando, frank sinatra, those incredible apples and pears by cézanne, the crabs at sam wo’s, tracy’s face." -woody allen
"where have you been all my life?" -emmylou harris
"the first time i got stoned on grass was with john paul jones of led zeppelin. we'd been talking to ramblin' jack elliott somewhere and jonesy said to me, 'come over and i'll turn you on to grass.' he had a huge room with nothing in it except this huge vast hammond organ, right next door to the police." -david bowie
brian eno songs that will make good book titles for my 10-volume memoir, in order: here he comes, baby's on fire, golden hours, brutal ardour, taking tiger mountain, events in dense fog, through hollow lands, some of them are old, everything merges with the night, dead finks don’t talk
ry cooder albums that every man should own: into the purple valley, boomer's story, paradise and lunch
#1 song on the white album (tie): long long long, happiness is a warm gun
"the only word is love." -john lennon
thelonious monk's middle name: sphere
"really, we don't want people twiddling their goatees over our stuff." -radiohead
"i love songs about horses, railroads, land, judgment day, family, hard times, whiskey, courtship, marriage, adultery, separation, murder, war, prison, rambling, damnation, home, salvation, death, pride, humor, piety, rebellion, patriotism, larceny, determination, tragedy, rowdiness, heartbreak and love. and mother. and god." -johnny cash
"the moon is clear, the sky is bright, i'm happy as the horse's shite." -the pogues
"i hope that you all out there, young, old, tall, short, fat or thin, quick or slow, no matter what kind or color or shape or person you are, if you like to make music, why, go ahead.” -pete seeger
"but chuck berry isn't merely the greatest of the rock and rollers, or rather, there's nothing mere about it. say rather that unless we can somehow recycle the concept of the great artist so that it supports chuck berry as well as it does marcel proust, we might as well trash it altogether." -robert christgau
mashable.com says about us: "you can expect the unexpected with this awesome gem. groovy." and 33 1/3 says: "it's nice to have someone steer me in a more worthwhile direction."
download albums, see album covers, photos, posters, quotes & 'staches
the olden days: 08 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 09 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 10 j. f. m. a. m. j. j.
make a tumblr!
i’m not entirely sure i have the kidneys for it, but this sudden influx of instant netflix john cassavetes films i’ve always been slightly scared to see—from shadows and faces to husbands and then a woman under the influence and opening night—may be one of the best things to happen to heavy, muggy, early-august emptiness in a very long time. i watched the killing of a chinese bookie tonight and think it’ll keep me away from gambling debts and the nightclub industry for a few years. ben gazzara’s grin should be in a museum.
#640: the jesus and mary chain - just like honey (1985)
a slow-mo, long-haired, sweet-toothed summertime classic for those who enjoy wearing black turtlenecks while toeing that fine line between fuzzy and scuzzy.
#639: celia cruz & the fania all-stars - guantanamera rehearsal (zaire, 1974)
james brown struggles and sweats, then celia cruz struts and sways. her effortlessness is something from a greek myth. it is inhuman.
and when an audience is actually in front of her, brains will whirl into the cosmos.
celia cruz ≥ celia cruz with wyclef john ≥ wyclef john
(see more inequalities here.)
#638: james brown - try me (1974, zaire)
the song is a wedding cake, the album cover is a silver platter, and james brown’s acappella astrological breakdown at the end of his performance in zaire ‘74 is icing: “baby!” he says. “yeah,” grunt the backup singers. “can i call her? baby! woman! gemini! scorpio! pisces! libra! virgo! cancer! aries! sagittarius! capricorn! leo! taurus! walk with me!” it’s the best horoscope in the history of zodiac.
james brown was 25 when he recorded try me at beltone studios on west 31st street and fifth avenue, not very far from the observer. i’m 25 too and i barely deserve to look at this beautiful album cover, let alone hear the song. early james brown is better than anything i’ll ever dream up. it’s shameful. it’s a disgrace. the two lines of smoke coming up from the gun, and the zero from the unlit cigarette, don’t even begin to get at it.
#637: of montreal - requiem for o.m.m.2 (2005)
lately i’ve had some needlessly harsh things to say about of montreal. but after listening to the sundlandic twins for the first time in ages, i regret every word.
some bands are like the pixies, and you never forget you love them. some bands are like styx, and you’ll never forget your hatred. but some bands are pixy stix, and after the years tick by you forget how sweet they are—until one day you happen to sample them again, and they turn out to be delicious.
#636: wyclef jean - anything can happen (1997)
sure, wyclef jean’s yéle haiti foundation has had multimillion dollar accounting problems, and hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for haitian victims went to a t.v. station that he and his cousin jerry own. but what matters is that the carnival was my favorite album for all of seventh grade, and a third of its songs are still perfect early-august thumpers. so i think everyone can agree that he deserves to lead one of the hemisphere’s most troubled countries. just look at him roller skate! he’s a man who belongs in high office.
#635: ll cool j - i can’t live without my radio (soul train, 1986)
being this fresh would change everything. could expiration dates even exist in your fridge? 18-year-old ll cool j touched curdled glasses of milk and they instantly popped back into cow-quality grade-a beverages. cheese became ice cream. yogurt became milkshake. margarine turned to butter, just because he thought about it.
“everybody came to the party, and we all have the headache and the hangover. but it’s classically human to say, ‘we lost all this money, it must have been the villain, so let’s find him! let’s string him up. somebody’s got to pay.’ but fortunately, we have a system of laws, not men.” - richard d. parsons, citigroup’s chairman, and the former ceo of time warner, in this week’s new york observer.
“as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. we’re still dancing.” - charles o. prince, then citigroup’s ceo, in 2007.
#634: the soul stirrers - lord, remember me (c. 1976)
managing to sound like this two decades after sam cooke quit your band is like losing nine fingers and winning a bowling championship. except gospel singers don’t drink, wear better outfits, and can make harmonies that wash sins from dark manhattan souls.
#633: the beatles - rain (1966)
i thought i’d heard every beatles song i needed to hear, and then the b-side to paperback writer, a hit i’d never been crazy about, just turned out to be a throbbing, drenched, perfect little pop song. it smells like lemonade, tastes like sunflowers, and was recorded on a magic new abbey road console called the automatic transient overload control, which made it the loudest single ever. and, thank god, it even has a music video with ringo starr in blue sunglasses.
