“The Robots,” Kraftwerk, mp3

There’s a guy named Señor Coconut (actually a German DJ named Uwe Schmidt) who likes to make Latin versions of music that clearly need some salsifying. Here’s his version. Listen to the Kraftwerk one first, then the Señor Coconut cover. It’s much funnier that way.

“The Robots,” Senor Coconut, mp3

I’m still learning the best way to embed an mp3 into my blog (if anyone can tell me how to embed a Quicktime file, I’m all ears). But until then I will be bringing you linked music files.

This one is a doozy.

It’s “Brickhouse,” originally performed by the Commodores.

By Rob Zombie.

It’s everything you ever wanted a cover song to be.

—-

Sweet Jesus, I found a video of them performing this live. The performance isn’t that great (the studio version linked above is brilliant!), but seeing Rob Zombie and Lionel Ritchie on stage together is like Christmas come early.

The original version of this song is a great track, don’t get me wrong. But Pistol Pete’s remix takes the slowed down, steel drums version and cokes it up, so to speak. It sort of gives me anxiety to listen to it, like the cops are going to bust into the illicit party that you’re at and arrest you, so you better have your fun now.

Pistol Pete has some other great remixes, too. Check out his MySpace page for more.

Tonight I’m going to see the Silver Apples in concert at the Empty Bottle. This has been a good year for seeing bands that I never should have had the opportunity to see. I’ve already written about Roky Erickson. Now I’m going to get to see someone nearly as important.

The Silver Apples were a duo formed in New York in the late 60’s. They were comprised of Simeon and Danny Taylor. Taylor played the drums. Simeon played…well…he called it the Simeon. It was a sort of keyboard that he built out of surplus military oscillators tuned to various frequencies. Simeon couldn’t read music or play the piano, so he had them hooked up to color-coded telegraph keys and pedals. He made odd ‘boops and bleeps’ as he called them, while Taylor drummed like a robot.

Before we go on, perhaps you should hear what the very first song on their first album sounds like.

Silver Apples, “Oscillations,” mp3

Their first show was at a music festival that the Fugs were also playing at. There were something like 10,000 people there in New York City, ready to listen to some groovy hippie music, and then this band comes on. I can only imagine what people were thinking. I hope at least a few realized that they were hearing an entirely new form of music being played in front of them.

They broke up after recording their third album. They reformed about eight years ago, and then Simeon broke his neck after their bus was run off of the road. Then Danny Taylor passed away.

Somehow Simeon is still playing tonight.

I’m psyched. Their music still sounds like it comes from the future to me.

Still with me?

The only recording ever made of John Lennon and Paul McCartney post Beatles, A Toot and a Snore is a lot of background talking, with a bunch of famous people (Stevie Wonder, possibly Ringo, Harry Nilsson) playing on a few tracks. Lennon is clearly coked up, and keeps offering or asking for more, screaming when things aren’t going his way. It’s a disturbing portrait of a man coming apart at the seams.

The whole album is available through a fine blog called Licorice Pizza. I am much indebted to him for this recording.

So, click here to download.

When I was in college, I was a radio DJ (106.1 FM, WZND!). I purposely chose the overnight shift, which would allow me to play whatever music I felt like, rather than the music I was supposed to, as WZND was modeled after a commercial station, unlike most college radio. This song reminds me of sitting in at the console at 3 in the morning, spinning a record from the 80’s that I’d never heard before, and knowing that there was probably only two people listening out there, and enjoying every moment of it.

This is a song that I’d like to have on vinyl.

This sounds like my fondest memories of 80’s radio mixed with my nightmares about 80’s culture. Who said pop music has to suck?

The only drummer that has ever played a drum solo that you’d wait to hear.

Lee Hazlewood died August 4th, shortly after releasing what he called his farewell album (right on the money, there). He had been battling cancer for a long time, so it wasn’t a giant shock, but distressing nonetheless. Hazlewood was known as the “Psychedelic Cowboy,” and is best known for his work as a producer and songwriter with Nancy Sinatra.

We’ll miss ya.

I think of them as bubblegum new wave prog, if that makes any sense at all.