A Giant Dog - Sex & Drugs
I was a pretty fair weather fan of Mazzy Star when they first arrived on the scene. I loved the song, Fade Into You, that put them on the map. I remember buying the album and listening to it and really not being into it. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was still pretty young and hadn't been mature enough to really understand the beautiful melancholia of their music. I hadn't reached that level of feeling in life yet. I was still jamming out to modern radio hits like Tag Team, P.M. Dawn, Technotronic and Roxette. It wasn't until about 2010 that my interest in them was piqued. Their song Into Dust was featured in a Gears Of War 3 trailer I saw on TV and I distinctly remember saying "Holy crap! Mazzy Star! This song is great!" I instantly broke out the album and fell in love with it. In all honesty I had forgotten about the band. I had written them off as a one hit wonder, an all their songs sound the same band. While this is somewhat true, I definitely did not give their music the chance it deserved. Singer Hope Sandoval's deep velvet drone is hypnotic, chilling, alluring and unmistakable. I may have forgot about them, but not that voice. It doesn't come off as trying to sound sad, or whiny. It's effortless and carefree. It's a comfortable feeling. As soon as I heard her in that trailer I instantly knew who it was. It was like a ghost coming back to haunt me, in the best way possible of course. While I was falling into one of my many YouTube rabbit hole adventures, I came across this video (I guess it's more songs than video, but whatever! Don't judge me!) compilation of collaborations she did with other artists. The songs are great! Yes, a lot of them have that Mazzy Star trademark sadness to them, so if you aren't into that this might not be for you. However don't stop reading because there are a few songs that are a departure from the norm for Sandoval's style and she really shows that she can hold her own outside of her zone. I especially like the floaty electronic vibe of Asleep From Day with The Chemical Brothers and the country twinged Song Killing Smile.
Hope Sandoval - Collaborations with other artists - compilation "ALBUM"
I have been a huge fan of the Magic Numbers since their self titled debut album back in 2005. I picked that album up randomly not really knowing who they were in one of my "let's spend our paycheck on music and movies" sprees. I know nothing about them other than the album cover looked cool and the album was cheap. I am so glad I did, because that album is filled with indie pop rock scorchers from start to finish. Seriously, if you are reading this go and look up that album on Youtube right now. Did you do it? I'll wait. I was right wasn't I? Amazeballs! they released an album back in may called Outsiders and while it's not as poppy as their first album is't still filled with great songs, tasty guitar riffs, and beautiful vocal harmonies. I wish this band was more widely known because they totally deserve it. This is one of the more dark songs from their newest album and it is a monster if you love trippy crunch guitar! Make sure to give this bands other stuff a listen.
The Magic Numbers - Sweet Divide
I absolutely love soul music! This song is not only great, filled with passion, and will make you want to sing along at the top of your lungs, but the call and response back and fourth vocals are precious. I crack up every time I hear Bill say "My My My My. Buddy, talk to me, Sam!" Be on the lookout at RopBop very soon for a new Do You Have Soul? compilation.
Sam And Bill - I Feel Like Cryin'
One of the things I love is finding musicians with interesting stories. Most musicians of course have stories of being on the road and living the rock star life, but the kind of stories I really like are the ones that are off the beaten "rock and roll lifestyle" path. Laurence Wayne Fischer, better known as Wild Man Fischer is one of those stories. I won't go into full bio mode here but I think it's important to give a little background on this mans very surprising and very troubled life. Fischer was diagnosed early in his life as a paranoid schizophrenic and suffering from manic depression. He was institutionalized quite a few times in his life and was kicked out of school for singing songs in class. His style of singing is not an easy listen as he sings at the top of his lungs which he labeled as having "the pep". His mother had him committed for his odd behavior and violent outbursts. He was discovered by the great soul singer Solomon Burke who gave him the moniker Wild Man Fischer. Fischer was known to perform on the streets outside of clubs and popular hangouts and would sing his "new kind of songs" for a nickle or dime. Fischer opened for such acts as Iron Butterfly, Bo Diddley, and the Byrds. He was noticed by Frank Zappa and brought into Zappa's studio to record a double LP of his songs that were somewhat narrative in nature to his life and experiences. As time passed he became upset about the royalties he was not receiving and one night became violent and threw a bottle at Zappa almost hitting Zappa's daughter Moon. Needless to say their relationship came to an end. A while later he recorded the first song ever produced by Rhino records which launched the record label into popularity. He recorded a few other albums with comedy duo Barnes and Barnes, and appeared on an album with Captain Beefhart. These albums are hard to find and even harder to obtain is Fishcer's first album he recorded with Zappa. After Zappa's death the rights to the music on his Bizarre record label went to his wife, who refused to reissue the rights to the album as long as she lived. Fischer was also the subject of a comic book called "The Legend of Wild Man Fischer" by Dennis Eichhorn. Fishcher appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Fischer was also the subject of the rock documentary called Derailroaded, which looks very interesting and is something I very much look forward to seeing one day. there is a ton of information about Wild Man out there if you are further interested. I am going to post a few songs of his and the trailer to the documentary to end this post. Just know that these songs are very weird, but none the less interesting. The second song is much easier to listen to. I mean Wild Man is known to some as the godfather of "outsider music".
Wild Man Fischer - Merry Go Round
Wild Man Fischer - Do The Wild Man
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