Mr Strummer

Go grab Streetcore courtesy of Serial Slingshot- it's Joe's birthday!

Idlewild

I'm excited about the movie. Can't tell you how good the soundtrack is, reception seems lukewarm.

Here are two links, with thanks/credit to the original uploaders who I think are hanging out at a Radiohead board (?) :

Link 1
or
Link 2

Sleeping Beauty soundtrack

Thanks to all this talk of Disney (all three lines), I'm going to post the soundtrack to Sleeping Beauty, which is my favorite Disney princess movie. And it's got the best prince and villain. Ha ha.

It's a lush and gorgeous orchestration from George Bruns, who worked off of Tchaikovsky's ballet score. Mary Costa sings the parts of Aurora. It's classic Disney, really very lovely.

Two decades after releasing the world's first soundtrack recording with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney achieved another milestone by releasing Sleeping Beauty, the world's first stereo soundtrack album. Nominated for an Oscar in 1959, George Bruns's lilting orchestral score was adapted from the Tchaikovsky ballet and recorded in Germany, where the most state-of-the-art recording equipment could be found. (Disney spared no expense on the tale of Aurora and Maleficent--it cost a then-unheard-of $6 million to make the film.) Featuring Mary Costa's ethereal vocals on "Once upon a Dream" and "I Wonder," Sleeping Beauty's combination of songs and score set a standard that soundtrack releases would follow for decades to come. --Bill Forman

I'll be using Megaupload again because Rapidshare has been taking forever to upload. . .

Sleeping Beauty Soundtrack!

Bops Babes Booze & Bovver

Nips 'n' Nipple Erectors - "The inimitable Shane MacGowan's debut recordings made for Soho Records when he was a punk rockabilly. Also featuring future Men They Couldn't Hang bassist Shanne Bradley" (product description).

The rockabilly and R&B influenced Nipple Erectors (they had to change from that charming name to the more public-friendly the Nips), lead by Shane MacGowan, released a batch of singles under both names.

The next couple of years saw a change in the band line up and two more singles were released as well as a live recorded LP "Only the end of the Beginning" (1980). According to the "Bops, Babes, Booze and Bovver" record folder, the line up had changed from Roger Towndrow to Gavin Dougles (guiter) and from Gerry Mcllduff to a guy named Grinny (drums). In addition to their live LP from 1980, they released yet another single, "Gabrielle" w/ B-side "Vengeance" on Chiswik Records. "Gabrielle" was sort of a poppier love ballad which wasn't all that bad but it didn't make it to the top of the charts like the band had hoped for. The B-side, "Vengeance" on the other hand was sort of a "You screwed my girlfriend, so I'm gonna break your head" type of song. Their last single "Happy Song" w/ B-side "Nobody" to Love" was released in 1981 on Test Pressing Records and was produced by the well known singer of the "Jam" Paul Weller (source).

Gabrielle is a beautiful song, King of the Bop lotsa fun. It's a different Shane, if you will, but it's still Shane, and a great listen all around.

Here

Also, go grab some live Latino Rockabilly War from Silence (is a rhythm, too). Heading that post is one of my favorite pictures of Joe :p

And- more Havana 3am goodness from Chairman Ralph. The four lost songs sound fantastic. I like the sound of this one- "'You Can Win,' a straight-up rockabilly anthem that didn't make it to record, but was played live regularly (the chorus starts with 'Wash your face, grease your hair,' what other instructions do you need?)" "Wash your face, grease your hair"- love it!
And for some words of wisdom about age which helped me out and a reminder that Paul is doing some new stuff with Damon Albarn. Can't wait to see how that turns out!

And for to hear punk/hardcore from Belgium and Sweden and the US, check out xrevolutionx. Some interesting looking stuff up there! And go look at Jim's guilty pleasures.

Cutest album cover ever

Whiskey on a Sunday

I really can't get over how cute this kid is. I also can't figure out if it's Dave King. . . Fans have probably already run out to buy this release- it includes a DVD documentary, a new studio track, and lots of live/acoustic favorites. Which further reinforces that I need to see these guys once they come to New York and aren't playing at a fancy, technologically advanced venue that requires real, scannable IDs for the show. Or aren't playing in New Jersey. Tracklist-

1. Laura (4:15)
2. Drunken Lullabies (acoustic) (4:55)
3. The Wanderlust (acoustic) (3:37)
4. Another Bag of Bricks (acoustic) (4:05)
5. Tomorrow Comes a Day Too Soon (acoustic) (3:39)
6. The Likes of You Again (live) (4:08)
7. Swagger (live) (2:14)
8. Black Friday Rule (live) (11:57)
9. Within a Mile of Home (live) (4:34)
10. What's Left of the Flag (live) (4:13)

Havana 3am
Also, check out some great anecdotes and insight from the fabulous Chairman Ralph in the Havana 3 am post. My favorite part is-

Once I'd got past asking him [Paul] the standard stuff ("When ya comin' to the States, Paul, 'cause we really need ya there?" "When we can afford it!"), I moved to bigger game (in the spirit of one bass player to another): "Paul, what are the chords to 'Red Angel Dragnet?'" Paul scratched his head, and laughed: "Oh, God, I dunno...I forgot." Pause. "If I sat down, I could probably work it out..."

I hope I didn't give the impression that I don't like the album, though. I probably should have included a review that didn't depend on Clash comparisons. As Chairman Ralph points out--

Looking back now, it seems that some writers had trouble getting past what I call the "resume" aspect of the band (y'know, "ex-this, ex-that")...but I don't remember the audiences having a problem with it (which is what counts, when you're up there playing).

Of course, now I'm incredibly envious of those who did get to see them. I'm afraid I came a little too late in the game, not to date myself or anything. . . :p Oh well. Off to see Talladega nights.