Bradley's Buzz

This Week's Random 7

Variety is the spice of life and this week, I've been listening to some big time variety - from Broadway soundtracks to classic country to electronica to the original punk movement, this is my random 7 CDs of the week...

HAIRSPRAY - Original Cast Recording (2004)
Alf and I went to the play at the Pantages last Saturday and I've been singing the songs ever since. Fun and campy stuff for sure but the ode to the 60s girl groups is so strong these songs stand up on their own, "Mama I'm A Big Girl Now" and the opener "Good Morning Baltimore" are a riot from begining to end. The clincher is the ending tune, a full bodied tune called "You Can't Stop The Beat." The song even had Alf driving down the streets of LA making hand dances like the show. The only real problem with the soundtrack is that Harvey Feirstein is not a great singer, and there are more lines in the performances of some of the songs, but as a whole this is a pretty fun CD.

GNARLS BARKLEY - St. Elsewhere (2006)
From Broadway we head to the world of electronica and the newest project of Danger Mouse. The single and video for "Crazy" has been getting a ton of airplay. Alf and I first heard the song on Morning Becomes Eclectic on the radio and he thought it was some old Sylvester song. Little did we know it was a whole new thing. The CD is really good and I'm getting more and more into it. Plus as a surprise there is a cover of Violent Femmes "Gone Daddy Gone", something I was not expecting but now can't get enough of.

SEX PISTOLS - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols (1977)
I try to come off as some kind of music afficiando all the time, but truth be told I didn't even own this album until two days ago. An album that pretty much changed the landscape of music in the 70s, an album that is revered by all punks through out the world. So when I was at Tower Records the other day, they had a huge display declaring What's missing from your collection and there it was this Sex Pistols album for only $7. I felt more than compelled to pick it up when also in that rack of what you should own was Stevie Nick's last album which of course I do own. So I picked up this classic album and of course already knew most of the songs. It's amazing how something at one time so radical can sound not so radical thirty years ago. Of course the reason for that is, is because everyone who wanted to make punk rock started by listening to this album and adding or subtracting from the elements. None have come close to reproducing it because no one else can be the first radicals. Though "Anarchy In The UK" and "God Save The Queen" along with "Pretty Vacant" are forever branded in the mind, but there are 9 other classics on this album and through pissiness, thick accents and a lot of drum rolls I am finally in the know.

MARILYN MARTIN - This Is Serious (1988)
Again, going to a whole other extreme we have my girl Marilyn Martin and her hard to find second album. Best known as the female lead on Phil Collin's "Seperate Lives", she made her own album in 1986 with one of my all time fav songs "Night Moves" and then two years later launched this her second album. Starting with the single "Possessive Love" it's a dance rock number written for her by Madonna of all people. The song is fun, the music is fun and her voice can cut through glass. In fact it's her voice and not the whole 80s dance pop motiff that keep me putting this album on. There are some rocking tunes albeit they do have that synth drum behind him, but the minute "Lay Me Down" begins I'm hooked. The whole album is combined with great moody tracks and some earth shattering dance rock pop. The first album may stand up better in the 00s than this one, but that oh so 80s dance pop still has its place on my stereo... just ask Alf and his ever growing fear of Taylor Dayne.

QUEEN - Classic Queen
I had made a pledge not to put greatest hits or compilations on these lists but sometimes that's all I own of a group. It occured to me the other day that all the Queen I ever owned in the past I have sold off for cigarettes and beer while living in the cold depths of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. So I ran off to Tower to buy me some Queen. I figured I'd start with the most obvious and get all the hits I could. This collection is for sure a great way to start, with the hits like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "We Will Rock You" etc. I can't stop listening to it. Unfortunetly they had so many hits, they had to put out a second version called "Classic Queen" which has "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Under Pressure" so I bought that one too. There is a remastered Greatest Hits out there but once again it doesn't have all the songs, perhaps one day Bubbatunes will come up with the perfect Queen mix. Until then Queen Classic Queen and Queen's Greatest Hits will do just fine.

PATSY CLINE - Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits (1968)
I told you this was a blog of variety and since we just had a greatest hits compilation we might as well continue. A few weeks ago I was watching Lost and in Ana Alicia's flashback she was listening to Patsy Cline's "Crazy". I thought to myself, "That really is a great song. I should buy me some Pasty." Then when Alf and I went to Hairspray at the Pantages, we stopped for cocktails at the Frolic Room, a small Hollywood bar (and oh so frickin' cool) next to the theater. As some old man danced his last dance to a blues song, Patsy's "She's Got You" came on the jukebox and in the closeted spots of that bar, I realized Patsy Cline was a vocal genius and I was going to buy one of her albums. As luck would have it, I found this remastered album from 1968 with 12 of her songs (and really the only Patsy compilation I could find that had all the songs I was looking for). While listening to the glory that really is Patsy Cline I read the liner notes which informed me this album holds the record as spending the most weeks on the Billboard country charts than any other album on any other Billboard chart. It also mentions how for years and years people are rediscovering Patsy's talent and of course this certainly rings true for I am a new Patsy convert. All you have to do is listen to her country/blues/pop stylings and realize this was one amazing woman. I can't believe how talented she really was. But I have to admit my favorite track, though "Walking After Midnight", "Crazy" and a whole slew of others may be personal favs of others, one does of "She's Got You" and you will be hooked on country, or at least Patsy's country.

DIXIE CHICKS - Taking The Long Way (2006)
and since we're on a country kick, this week's highlight is by those oh so loud country girls who are not about to apologize for anything they've said or done. The Dixie Chicks' are back with a #1 album and a whole ton of attitude. Opening up with the title track, Natalie Maines and her gal pals take us through heart felt confessions and foot stomping pissiness. I had heard them perform "I Hope" a few weeks ago on some concert show and since I did like their last album and pretty much love Natalie's attitude, I figured I'd buy this one if I found it priced cheap enough. But then on the season finale of the TV series Medium, they kept playing this haunting little song with groovy little harmonies, "how long do you wanna be loved? is forever enough/ is forever enough?" and I fell in love. Imagine my happiness when they announced at the end of the show that the music was from the new Dixie Chicks' album. I ran out and bought it at Tower the day it came out and I love it. The song is called "Lullabye" and as of right now it's my fav on the album. On top of those two there is some kick ass stuff on here including "Not Ready To Make Nice" where she addresses her public's opinion of her or the public who disdains her, and her unapologetic opinions on Bush and the state of the world are addressed in a few other songs but no where as good as that one. The whole album is great with fun harmonies, heartfelt lyrics and an unabashed attitude which I love.

So there you have it, this week's random 7, I hope the craziness of genres didn't leave your musical buds all in a tither, and instead just helped you realize how much great music can transcend from soul searching country pop through angry punk rants and synth 80s drums, there's something for everyone... now you know why I spend so much damn money on CDs, I love it all.

posted by swivek @ 9:32 PM