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(10cc - Did an admirable job poking holes in just about everything)

It's hard to imagine 10cc came out with "Sheet Music" in 1974. Thirty-five years seems like a few lifetimes ago. Times have changed and tastes in music have changed, but there is something about 10cc that has always been timeless with me. Maybe it's because they never took themselves seriously. To be certain, "I'm Not In Love" was their biggest hit and one which seemed to be played on every radio at most hours of the day when it came out in 1975 - there was no escaping it. They have pretty much faded from memory now (even though they are rumored to have gotten back together), and no doubt there is a huge audience who have never heard of them. Too bad.

It was "Sheet Music" which came out in 1974 on Jonathan King's label UK Records, that I initially heard and became a fan of. This track, Silly Love, started side two of their lp. It poked huge gaping holes in the over-wrought and well-worn genre of the love song.

And poking holes were what they were wonderful at.

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(Maurice Ravel - if you're only going to write one string quartet, make it immortal)

Heading over to more familiar music this week. The String Quartet in F by Maurice Ravel in one of the first recordings of the work (I think the first electrical recording was by the Capet Quartet), by the Krettly Quartet of Paris. Recorded for the French division of His Master's Voice in Paris on March 22, 1929.

Over the years this work has been recorded hundreds of times by a whole range of outfits, and certainly people who are familiar with it have their preferences. But it's always nice to be reminded of when a work was relatively new and its first performance was not that far in the past. And even though the Quartet in F first came about in 1903, "new music" took its time to get public acceptance going and no doubt a lot of people heard this recording for the first time when it was issued in 1929, some 26 years later.

We think of 26 years now as an eternity - but things moved a lot slower when the Ravel Quartet in F was new.

Ever watch a movie and go "Meh" but absolutely fell in love with the soundtrack?

I happened to catch the Steve Carell vehicle "Dan in Real Life" last week on cable. When I'm working, I tend to keep the TV on as background noise (occupational hazard of being from a big family and having kids--silence is distracting). Normally, I tune it out, but I found myself completely entranced by Sondre Lerche's music. It was quirky, charming and really deserved a much better movie than the one in which it was featured.

Wish I could recommend the movie, but I do strongly recommend the soundtrack.

Any other movie soundtrack knock you out?

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(Massive Attack - giving hip-hop its ear)

Something a little different tonight. From the short-lived Phoenix Festival in England from 1996, a set by the legendary Massive Attack.

Very tasty stuff from a pioneering and adventuresome group. What music should be all about - adventure.

Check it out.

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(Trashcan Sinatras - They're working on it)

Another band you can file under "criminally neglected" (at least here in the States). Trashcan Sinatras have been around since the mid-90s and are still turning out great tracks. They have a new album out "In The Music", which is getting good reviews and they have been doing a lot of touring this year, both in the U.S. and Australia and all points between. Perhaps because they are from Glasgow they have escaped being pigeonholed as Britpop, but they've also escaped being recognized as one of the more influential voices in the alternative/indie genre.

This track, Welcome Back is off their 2004 album Weightlifting and it's typical of the kind of wordplay they are so good at.

I suspect it's only a matter of time before they stop being overlooked and start being enjoyed and respected for just how great they are.

One hopes.

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(29 Luces - New faces of Mexican Indie . .si se puede!)

Further evidence that music is the universal language, 29 Luces comes from Mexico. They've been together since 2005, have one album out and I would bet you anything you've never heard of them, right?

Well, neither had I until a few years ago when I went exploring on MySpace and hit the browse icon and became a fan less than a minute later.

Aside from their album Sentado En Una Estrella (which isn't available in the States as far as I know, but is available via Amazon.com) they've been putting out some new material of which this track, El Dia es Hoy is one.

As always, check this band out. Their MySpace page is the best bet at the moment, as some of their other links don't go anywhere. I'll put some of their other material up in the coming weeks.

But for now . . .

(Sentado En Una Estrella - if you see it, grab it)

I had the pleasure of catching Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats opening for Stevie Ray Vaughn shortly before Stevie's untimely death in 1990. Stevie Ray stole the show, but Brian was every bit his equal that night. The Cats put on one hell of a show and Setzer wailed like a man on fire.

This live version of 'Switch Blade 327' isn't the greatest quality, but the music and vibe comes through loud and clear.

More music tonight at our sister site Newstalgia: The Cribs with Johnny Marr live at The Limelight in Belfast, 2004.

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(Blur - put Britpop on the map - and we're glad they did)

Blur tonight. From the Popscene ep from 1992 - Mace. I always loved this band. I could never quite figure out the whole Blur vs. Oasis thing - I suspect it was more a publicity device than anything else. It was a bit like the Beatles vs. Rolling Stones supposed rivalry in the 60s. It was and is still possible to like both bands and their music and not play favorites. Especially on a Friday night.

Life is too short anyway.

All props to John Boswell of Colorpulse for finding a way to put the (otherwise) annoying Auto-Tune to great use.

After I first heard this, I pulled my copy of Cosmos off of the bookshelf for the first time in five years. Guess I'm going to have to break down and finally pick up a copy of A Brief History of Time, too. Who'd have ever thought that these two--Sagan and Hawking--giants in the field of astrophysics, would become pop stars in the field of music?

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(From the Secret World Live disc.) In the '80s and '90s I did a fair amount of music writing as a freelancer, and in that time I saw probably over a hundred concerts, including a lot of great grunge shows in the '90s. Still, seeing Peter Gabriel on the '93 Secret World Tour -- he played locally at the Tacoma Dome, but the show looked identical to the one captured here, in Italy -- remains probably my favorite. Gabriel's songs mean a lot to me personally ("In Your Eyes" was "our song" when my wife and I were dating), but the show was just riveting, and the talent (Youssou N'dor, Paula Cole, Tony Levin) was awesome. I also have a cool big-disc 45 of this song, which included an extended version that included the line poem at the end ("Accepting all I've done and said ..."), which does not appear on the album version, but is included here. Of course, on this song, even in the live performance, you can't help being reminded of Lloyd Dobler standing outside Diane Court's window with his music blaster.

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(Max von Schillings - composer as conductor)

Some Robert Schumann this week. Music from the dramatic poem Manfred, from which the overture is the best known work. There have only been a few recordings made of the entire play with music and this is about the only recording of just the music I've heard that includes the entr`acte (the pause after the overture).

Here is a recording made for German Parlophone (issued in the U.S. first on Columbia and later on Decca) in 1928 featuring the Berlin State Opera Orchestra conducted by the composer Max von Schillings.

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(The Jam - with mended fences, talk about a reunion of sorts)

Starting off the week with one of my favorite bands of the late 70s, The Jam. Huge in the UK and Europe but barely a ripple here (radio was in the process of melting down around this time), they turned out some amazing music in the short period of time they were together. This track Carnation is off their final album "The Gift" - sounding a lot like The Style Council which Paul Weller formed at The Jam's demise.

It was probably a preview of things to come.

A blind man and woman from Mali get married in 1980, make music together for years and get some recognition internationally after 25+ years of hard work? Better late than never! The recent past has found Amadou and Mariam opening for Coldplay, jamming with David Gilmour, and getting the accolades that you, having now listened to the sizzling hotness that is this track, agree that they completely deserve.

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(Logo - Unsigned for absolutely no good reason - well, there is that language problem)

Back over to MySpace discoveries tonight. Logo is a band from Italy who've been kicking around for a while and are still without a label. In this day and age that's not entirely a bad thing, since iTunes and some entrepreneurial spirit are spotted working wonders with bands lately.

They've been gigging around Italy quite a bit and did a brief appearance in Memphis in connection with a Jack Daniels promotion a couple years ago. They were seen just recently playing the famous San Remo Festival - so things are looking up.

This track, which is no longer on their MySpace page is one of the first songs they posted when they signed on to MySpace in 2006. Mio Paroles is a great track with good production. Okay, it's in Italian - but that shouldn't stop you. Check them out and visit their site if you can - they can use the support and you'll be discovering a great band in the process.

Good music knows no language boundaries. Honest.

I love excuses for posting Hendrix embeds, and this piece of news is definitely a valid one.

Jimi's sister Janie, the President and CEO of Experience Hendrix, told Gibson guitars that she plans to release unreleased Hendrix material every 12 to 18 months for the next ten years. Gibson is releasing a line of Hendrix signature guitars, including a signature Flying V.

"We probably have another decade of music, including video. Every 12 to 18 months we'll continue to have new releases and Dagger [Experience Hendrix's label for live recordings] official bootlegs," she told Gibson.

"Jimi was a workaholic. After Electric Lady studios was built he was able to record constantly for as many hours as he wanted to. It's almost as if he knew he had only four years to accomplish everything that he did. We have an amazing amount of original masters, including a lot of material that hasn't been previously released."

The prospect of new original material from the studio is an exciting one, as the consensus is generally that the best live recordings of Hendrix's career have mostly seen the light of day. New compositions, however, are another story. We'll see.