New music

Have you heard Dengue Fever? Check them out. (Hat tip: Knuckles)

The thrill of the fight

The music editor saw this flick last week, enjoyed it immensely. It is the tale of a young lady of the 1970's fleeing tyranny in Iran only to find ennui in France. My favorite scene was the juxtaposition of the horrible burka-ed Persian teachers and the horrible Austrian nuns that provided just a little taste of how close--and how horrible!--east and west can be. This piece is only an extract and it's really barely worthy of your local Karaoke bar but it has spirit and a healthy dose of cognitive dissonance.

Marjane Satrapi -- 'Eye of the Tiger' (from Persepolis)

'We would've made millions of that one!'

No doubt, dude. Too bad. Here's the reminiscence.

DMX v Jay-Z

Wait til the judgment day comes

Man, Gov't Mule are serious pros. These guys know what they're doing. Video is headache-inducing at times but the audio is excellent.

Government Mule -- 'War Pigs'

When you believe in things you don't understand you suffer

Stevie Wonder had a stretch from Music of My Mind in 1972 to the underrated Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants in 1979 (like a Pink Floyd record with thick funky basslines) where he was on top of his game--one of the tip top artists of the 1970s. Here he is blowing young minds--check out the little head banger!--with a top notch performance of one of his finest tunes. The horns sound great and this is truly one of my favorite beats ever. Good stuff.

Stevie Wonder -- 'Superstition' (live on Sesame Street)

BONUS -- Stevie Wonder drum solo
Dude, this guy knows some percussion. Not the greatest solo ever but Stevie's having some good fun and its all right. Dig the groovy white chicks trying clap along!

Kinda young, kinda wow

Here's a clip of three of the giants of '80s jazz rocking out. Chick Corea is a bit of a puzzle: he's had some killer highs from the wide open fusion '70s to some itch-inducing lows of the smooth jazz '80s (I still blame National Public Radio for euthanizing jazz circa 1982). He was always a player but he wasn't always playing, you feel me? John Pattituci was a fine bass man back in the day, cut his teeth with Corea before putting out a string of interesting albums which is tough for a jazz bassist (not named Mingus) to pull off. Vinnie C is the star of this clip, which is really just a series of Vinnie's rapid-fire asides. You know Vinnie's a badass, he's even named in one of Zappa's finest singles.

Chick Corea, Vinnie Colaiutta, John Pattituci Live in Japan, 1986

Creeping up the backstairs

Here's a golden oldie updated (when?). The video is a remix too: someone has taken the original video and elongated it to match the longer running time of the single. Festive.

Siouxsie & the Banshees -- 'Peek-a-Boo' (Silver Dollar Remix)

I'm going nowhere

One of the Music Editor's favorite blog entries of 2007 was a homemade Samurai Jack video cut to a Notorious BIG song. For some reason that video has been removed from You Tube even though there's still like 50 other items that are pretty much the same (though not as cool as that one). I always liked this song, I used it in a similar time-killing exercise years ago and it seemed like a fitting tune to get the Music Editor back into the groove. The extended vacation is over and its time to get back to the work I enjoy. 2008 started slow but it'll go just like the years that came before. And Samurai Jack still rules.

Bee Gees -- 'Stayin' Alive' (cut to Samurai Jack clips)