The New And Improved Fashion Board

[greatwhitenorthchick]

Originally posted by Not Bob
I'm telling you, Frank's artistry was in bringing out the essence of a song. He took Kermit's literal statement of fact and turned it into a metaphorical tour de force.

Does anyone (old) remember the guy on the very early episodes of Sesame Street who was a bit of a con man and shady character and sold Ernie some air? I was just thinking about him yesterday and having a good laugh. Early Sesame Street rocked.

[Replaced_Texan]

NPR's All Songs Considered had a listener contributed top ten albums of 2006 show last week. Like any top ten end of the year list, it's subject to debate, but it's worth taking a look at. There are also links to listen to songs from the albums and, in some cases, to listen to full concerts by the artists. There's also a side bar with the NPR critics top choices.

Their picks:

10. Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope

"Regina sounds like Regina. Her voice is unmistakable – gorgeous, lithe, far from timid. Her songs are richly textured with unexpected yet accessible arrangements, and the variety of moods begs for many repeat listens. Her playful and sometimes theatrical way of addressing the human condition is the best melding of sugar and medicine I’ve been served up since Nellie McKay. Thanks NPR for introducing us." -- Barbara

9. Tom Waits: Orphans

"Way back in 1972 The Rolling Stones released Exile on Main St. That album was a tour through various styles and genres: blues, country, gospel, etc., but with all of them filtered through the Stones' musical identity. Well, it's taken 34 years, but someone has finally created another record of equal breadth, stylistic adventurousness and power. There's something here for everyone, and yet it's unmistakably Tom Waits. Only real artists can pull something like this off, and Waits not only pulls it off, he makes it seem easy." -- Steve

8. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins: Rabbit Fur Coat

"It touches the soul. It is both irreverent and uplifting. Her version of 'Handle Me With Care' gives me goose bumps. And I can just listen to Jenny Lewis sing forever." -- Randal

7. Cat Power: The Greatest

"Chan Marshall follows through on the promise of earlier albums You Are Free and Moon Pix, which – no pun intended – only flirted with greatness. Her latest album, recorded in Memphis with a host of veteran soul and R&B musicians, is a giant leap forward for this ever-intriguing songwriter. Sad, hopeful, lovelorn, romantic, regretful, sweet – Marshall's voice and lyrics convey emotions and feelings that most songwriters only pay lip service to. Quietly but confidently -- and I mean that figuratively and literally -- Marshall indeed delivered the greatest album of 2006." -- Jake

6. Joanna Newsom: Ys

"Joanna Newsom is definitely an acquired taste. But once you settle into her world, you become addicted. She may caterwaul and screech her schwas, but for my money she has the most emotive voice going in music... a voice you can fall into like a well worn chair. Ys makes me feel as if I’m being physically lifted into the air -- the first album in a long while to evoke 'real world' sensations." -- Chris

5. TV On the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain

"Simply put, there is no independent rock/pop band emerging anywhere on the scene pushing the boundaries of sound in such an imaginable, intelligent and stylish way. They embody all that is good about popular music: uncompromising standards and a radical sound that neither overwhelms the listener, nor underestimates them." -- Nathan

4. M. Ward: Post War

"M. Ward's Post War has a mysterious and seductive quality that never grow tiring. The songs are never too long, always a little elusive, yet insistent and memorable. Not only are the songs little gems in their own right, they are set perfectly against each other. The record has that rare quality that makes you feel as though you are in a conversation in which everything said came at just the right moment." -- Mark

3. Bob Dylan: Modern Times

"This is a high point for an artist whose high points redefined modern music. There is no irony in this album's title if you view history in a panoramic sense as Dylan seems to do. Dylan takes literary modernism to its next level, interspersing the lyrics of a confederate poet among blues forms that are rooted in African American tradition. His voice is worn but dances through this album. The album begins with the voice of God on the mountain and ends with a proclamation that Dylan 'ain’t talking.' Brilliant. This is a no brainer." -- Chuck

2. Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

"Neko Case has made another album shrouded in dark beauty. Fox Confessor's music sounds the way old black and white celebrity stills look. Confessional lyrics like, 'The most tender place in my heart is for strangers / I know it's unkind, but my own blood is much too dangerous,' make Case perfect for late night listening. She restrains herself from the melodrama that her popular country counterparts can't seem to avoid. She's content with making music that is truly entrancing. This is what modern country should sound like: thoughtful, evocative, all wrapped in a package that sounds oddly like home." -- Bertha


1. The Decemberists: The Crane Wife

"The Decemberists manage to do something completely new from their previous album while retaining all the wonderful things that make them unique: Colin Meloy's fantastic storytelling, the ability to be incredibly creepy and yet entirely beautiful at the same time, not to mention the use of fun words. I'm torn between 'dirigible' and 'parallax' as my favorites, though I’m not sure either competes with 'palanquin' from their last album. Even if you put all that aside, this is just wonderful music, that makes me laugh, cry, join arm in arm with my fellow man." -- Felicity

"First, the music is phenomenal: the band moves away from its older, quieter sound into an eclectic, bold style. They veer from folk-rock to prog rock to funk to hard rock and back around again with ease, and it all sounds excellent. 'The Crane Wife' song cycle stands out, but so do the epic run-on 'The Island,' the Led Zeppelin-esque 'When the War Came,' and the mournful 'Yankee Bayonet.' Second, despite the range of genres, the album comes together as a cohesive whole. There's no filler on the album, and from the opening chords of 'The Crane Wife 3,' to the closing chants of 'Hear all the bombs, they fade away,' the album flows together perfectly. In short, one of the best bands producing music today outdid itself in spectacular fashion and nothing else quite matched it." -- Evan

Of these, the only ones I have are the Neko Case and the Cat Power, and I agree that they're excellent. I will be buying TV On the Radio, the Decembrists and Bob Dylan. I'll also buy Martha Wainwright. If you click on Neko Case's concert link, you'll also find a link to Martha Wainwright's ASC concert.

[Beelzebubba]

Originally posted by Oliver_Wendell_Ramone
Speaking of which, Gram Parsons doing Wild Horses (actually released before the Stones version; Parsons and Keef had been doing rEdiculous amounts of drugs together around that time).

Warren Haynes' version of U2's One
Aerosmith's version of the Yardbirds Train Kept a Rollin'

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Beelzebubba
Warren Haynes' version of U2's One
Aerosmith's version of the Yardbirds Train Kept a Rollin'

Slave has a tape of SS singing him love songs. the best is probably shapey getting all Marilyn on "Happy Birthday, Mr. Pain Giver."

[LessinSF]

Originally posted by Not Bob
The "I Am Sam" soundtrack has a bunch of good covers of Beatles songs. I like Rufus Wainwright's version of "Across the Universe" and "Blackbird" by Sarah McLachlan (duh).

Ani DiFranco does a cool version of "Wishin' and Hopin'."

Frank Sinatra does an amazing version of "It's Not That Easy Being Green."

I can't believe no one has mentioned the best cover band of all time:

Judas Priest. Not only do they rock out Fleetwood Mac with "The Green Manalishi With the Two Pronged Crown," but they bring it even more doing Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust."

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by Oliver_Wendell_Ramone
Speaking of which, Gram Parsons doing Wild Horses (actually released before the Stones version; Parsons and Keef had been doing rEdiculous amounts of drugs together around that time).

I assume you own the special extended version of "Sweetheart of the Rodeo." If you don't, you ought to.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by LessinSF
I can't believe no one has mentioned the best cover band of all time:

Judas Priest. Not only do they rock out Fleetwood Mac with "The Green Manalishi With the Two Pronged Crown," but they bring it even more doing Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust."

Now that... That is motherfucking hard core, ollllld school. That is possibly the most obscure cover reference I have ever read.

"Unleashed in the East," right?

It's amazing nobody put two and two together about Halford back then. He'd have been less flamboyant doing interviews about his love of lace draperies and flouncing around screaming "fabulous" between songs.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
Now that... That is motherfucking hard core, ollllld school. That is possibly the most obscure cover reference I have ever read.

"Unleashed in the East," right?

It's amazing nobody put two and two together about Halford back then. He'd have been less flamboyant doing interviews about his love of lace draperies and flouncing around screaming "fabulous" between songs.

He cleverly fooled everyone buy disguising his orientation by wearing all that macho studded leather. How was anyone to know?

[dtb]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
He cleverly fooled everyone buy disguising his orientation by wearing all that macho studded leather. How was anyone to know?

Uh... I'm afraid it's over.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by dtb
Uh... I'm afraid it's over.

What's it over buy?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
What's it over buy?

can't you hear? Your done!

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
can't you hear? Your done!

Damn. And I looked so grand in green livery.

[SlaveNoMore]

sebastian_dangerfield
Now that... That is motherfucking hard core, ollllld school. That is possibly the most obscure cover reference I have ever read.

"Unleashed in the East," right?

Although both on that live album, "Diamonds and Rust" was originally on their first album "Rocka Rolla" and (I think) "Green Manalishi" was on "Hell Bent for Leather".

Speaking of "Green Manalishi" - few folks realize that Santana's "Black Magic Woman" is also a Fleetwood Mac cover.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Although both on that live album, "Diamonds and Rust" was originally on their first album "Rocka Rolla" and (I think) "Green Manalishi" was on "Hell Bent for Leather".

Speaking of "Green Manalishi" - few folks realize that Santana's "Black Magic Woman" is also a Fleetwood Mac cover.

They are all included on a list of the "100 Greatest Cover Songs." How Jose Feliciano's cover of "Light My Fire" made it, I'll never know.

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/page...oversongs.html

[Paisley]

Originally posted by Alex_de_Large
Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers covering Stevie Wonder
Rusty Cage - Johnny Cash covering Soundgarden
Black Steel - Tricky covering Public Enemy
American Pie - Pearl Jam covering Don McLean

Mrs. Robinson by the Lemonheads