songs everyone should own: pond – moth wings

Catchy, harmonic rock from some of the members of Tame Impala.  Grab it now while it’s free!

 

songs everyone should own: double – the captain of her heart(Ole Smokey’s Ships In The Night Edit)

I had almost forgotten how much I loved this little early eighties nugget of soft rock, but Ole Smokey brought it right back for me.  Plus, I don’t ever think I even knew the name of the band.

It’s Double, BTW…

DJ TIM

van halen – 1984

There is just so much wuss rock out there these days that I feel like I need a jolt of good old fashioned misogynistic, lustful, drunken, hard living rock to remind me that real rock does still exist.  I mean, I often wonder whether or not these young kids even drink beer.

But you know who did drink beer? Van Halen.  And they drank a lot if it my friend.

Formed in 1972, the band of Eddie and Alex Van Halen originally only hired David Lee Roth to save money as they were renting his sound system. Michael Anthony was  brought in  to replace their original drummer  Mark Stone in 1974.  By the mid seventies they were a fixture in the Los Angeles club scene where they impressed folks like Rodney Bingenheimer and Gene Simmons enough to get an demo made.  In 1977 Warner Brothers was impressed enough to sign them to a deal and they released their self titled debut soon after.  Their sound was a unique fusion of hard rock, heavy metal and party rock and the resulting sound was infectious.  But as good as their first five albums were, the band’s sound truly hit its zenith with the release of 1984 in the year of it’s title.

1984 has an infectious amount of energy and no shortage of the kind catchy guitar licks that made Eddie Van Halen a household name.  Alex’s crisp, massive drum’s kept a relentless beat throughout the album, and Anthony’s bass kept the rhythm flowing under David Lee Roth’s flamboyant vocals.  You will be hard pressed to find an album this good that is this much fun at the same time, and the addition of synthesizer really helped evolve their sound into something that would become very 80’s friendly.

But 1984 also marked the end of what is known as the David Lee Roth era.   Rising tensions over band image and direction would lead to Roth’s departure and the eventual rebirth of the band with Sammy Hagar at the microphone.  But no matter who they had singing, or what changes the Van Halen brothers made to the line up, the band never quite regained that magic that they had with the original group.  Apparently they came to the same conclusion because after many years Roth is back in as lead singer.

You got to give the people what they want, and what they want is David Lee Roth Van Halen…and the dream of another album that rocks as hard as 1984.

Listen to the entire album here!

Available on Amazon for cheap HERE!

…or slightly more expensive for no reason on Itunes HERE.

we made a new mix!

So, Andrew and I were looking for inspiration the other day, when we came to the realization that we needed to make the greatest live show ever by stitching together all our favorite live tracks into one super concert.

I think it came out pretty good!

SETLIST:

Bruce Springsteen – She’s the One
The Allman Brothers – Can’t Lose What You Never Had
Waylon Jennings – T is for Texas
Van Morrison – Shakin’ All Over/ Gloria
The Who – A Quick One While He’s Away
Bob Seger – Trying to Live My Life Without You
Janis Joplin – I Need a Man to Love
Sly and the Family Stone – You Can Make it if You Try
King Curtis – Memphis Soul Stew
The Doors – When the Music’s Over
Eric Clapton – Double Trouble
Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues
Tony Joe White – Boom Boom
Mountain – Long Red
Stevie Ray Vaughn – Voo Doo Chile
Ted Nugent – Stranglehold
Cheap Trick – Surrender
War – Bolero
Santana – Jingo
Bob Marley – Kinky Reggae
Kool and the Gang – Walk on By/ Chocolate Buttermilk
Isaac Hayes – Ain’t No Sunshine
George Thorogood – One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
Ten Years After – I’m Going Home
ZZ Top – La Grange
Dirty Mac – Yer Blues
Peter Frampton – Doobie Wah
Bill Withers – Harlem Cold Baloney

 

 

mixes everyone should hear: coyote – play your dulcimer, i’ll play my guitar

AOR posted this little mix the other day from Coyote, and after finally giving it the listen it deserved, I feel I can give it the AESO seal of approval and recommend it to all.

What really caught my ear was the vibe, Coyote makes one great selection after another and they all feel similar…yet different at the same time.  There are some tracks on here you may never have heard of, and some that you might know a little( probably not,) but the overall listening experience is mellow, smooth and highly enjoyable.  Like an impromptu wine party that starts around six and ends with you waking up on the floor the next morning wondering where your pants are.  Here’s the set list:

judy tzuke….for you

michael franks….when blackbirds fly

lucio battisti….amarisi un po

gypsy kings…..trista pena

jonathan wilson….can we really party today?

boz scaggs….hercules

the souther hillman furay band….border town

mink deville….spanish stroll

johhny bristol….woman woman

supertramp….child of vision

ORS….Indian reservation

george accrue….rock your baby

jerry williams….easy on yourself

china crisis….king in a catholic stance

Personally, I went a little gaga for that Michael Fransk number in the beginning.  What a tune!

Download it over at AOR: HERE!

songs everyone should own: grimes – oblivion

I’ve been trying to find a great album to post.  Like, literally staring at my crates and attempting to will one into existence, but great albums don’t come easy.

So in the meantime, take this insanely catchy little number by Grimes that has been playing in my head all week.   I love the video too, for the low budget win!