Thursday, February 25, 2010

Antonio Carlos Jobim: A Felicidade



live from the Montral Jazz Festival.. if you were this cool, you could have more Brazilian babes singing backup than you had musicians in the group!

Catiela: Samba de Uma Nota So



they make this Brazilian jazz classic by Antonio Carlos Jobim (One Note Samba, from the 60's) sound so simple, Takeeki is playing some pretty complex stuff effortlessly.. Fujida has one of the nicest voices of anyone

Catiela: Ainda Lembro



This Japanese lady, Eri Fujida, has an incredible voice, and she sings this Brazilian song in Portuguese.. guitarist Takaaki Ohnishi isn't bad either, that's some pretty complex rhythms.. these "rehearsal" songs they record have such a clear purity that they blow away the live stuff they've put out..

Charlatans: Sproston Green



live video of cd version (?)

Charlatans: Weirdo



tv video, original cd version..

Led Zeppelin: That's the Way It Is (live)



Live at Earl's Court 1975 - beautiful song.. from the multi-disc dvd Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin: Going to California (live 75)



beautiful live acoustic version from Earl's Court 1975

Led Zeppelin: Rock and Roll (live)



Live from Seattle, and the film The Song Remains the Same

U2: In God's Country



Music video version to the cd original from The Joshua Tree album.. great song..

James Brown: Cold Sweat, Soul Train 73



Does r&b get any better than this? only, they truncate the video before the song concludes, otherwise an undeniable soul classic and his singing was never better.. pretty bitchin trombone solo too..

Dave Brubeck: Take Five 1961



Joe Morello was never better on drums, which is to say this is probably as good a jazz drum solo as you will ever see and hear! He used to win every poll for best drummer back then, for about a decade.. this is just about the most uptempo version of this jazz classic as I've ever seen them do..

Theresa Andersson: The Waltz (Luxury Wafers Sessions)



nice sound on this simple and interesting composition..

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Catiela: I Can Let Go Now



beautiful clean, clear version of Michael McDonald's best ballad - vocal by Eri Fujida, amazing what people are doing now at home! ok - so she sings "where I'm no longer found" rather than "no longer bound", forgive her one gaff.. imagine singing this in Japanese yourself!

Luciana Souza: Here It Is



nice easy samba rhythms from this Brazilian singer

Luciana Souza: I Can Let Go Now



NO one alive can sing like Michael McDonald, but Luciana gives this song a female perspective that is worth a listen or two.. nice arrangement.. what does Michael have that others lack? perhaps a sweet natural melancholia.. I especially love the acoustic bass player on this.. McDonald's version was actually overproduced, with an unnecessary string orchestra.. it was also too short at just over two minutes.. everyone else thankfully adds a repeat of the chorus..

Monday, February 22, 2010

Righteous Brothers: Unchained Melody (live)



theirs was the classic version, wasn't it? this is live..

U2: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Stockholm 1992)



One of their best songs, and one of the few live videos that you can hear adequately, from Stockholm Sweden in 1992..
"You're dangerous, cause you're honest.. you're dangerous, you don't know what you want.. well, you left my heart empty as a vacant lot, for any spirit to haunt.." (I think we've all been here)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Pete Seeger: Little Boxes (live on tv)



The Malvina Reynolds song that is the theme song of "Weeds".. love the way he pronounces "boxes" each time, like it's a despicable word..

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Theresa Andersson: Birds Fly Away (The Basement)



This is an awesome vocal performance, maybe the best I've ever witnessed live.. from The Basement in Nashville - thanks to whoever recorded this for the world!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Theresa Andersson: Birds Fly Away



This is absolutely amazing, especially considering the locale (her kitchen, note the fridge!) and all the stuff she does by herself.. and of course, she's an amazing singer.. this gave me goosebumps.. Now from New Orleans, originally from the isle of Gotland in Sweden

[As I post more videos of hers, I keep moving this one so it remains at the top - I think new viewers should start with this one, as she made these at home first before recording the Hummingbird Go cd, and before the tv appearances - LJS]

Theresa Andersson: Na Na Na



Live on Craig Ferguson "Late Late Show" - very good sound on this one! (maybe they made her up a little too much, but then that's tv..)

Theresa Andersson: Na Na Na (splitscreen version)



Split-screen, widescreen edited version (from Shockhound.com) of this very popular song of hers.. the violin solo at the finish is much better than the version from The Late Late Show, but the sound isn't as good.. I do like the attempt to show visually the music that's looping to give you an idea of the complexity of what she's doing live

Theresa Andersson: On Your Way Down



This is the classic Alan Toussaint song, now my favorite version - and I was a huge Little Feat fan (lucky to see them with Lowell George).. live from The Basement in Nashville

[I counted at least five vocal tracks going here, and at least two hand rhythms, at the same time.. anyone else remember Al Jarreau? this is like a Jarreau quintet, all from one person! Does anyone else from Sweden have this much soul? Silly question - doe the entire country of Sweden have this much soul?]

Theresa Andersson: Mary, Don't You Weep



This live song by Theresa features some nice violin work, beginning with some pizzacata (sp?) or string plucking, and a traditional blues-jazz solo that reminds me of jazz legend Stephane Grappelli (who seemingly played the entire 20th century), which isn't too shabby! I also can hear some of the angst of Bartok in her violin, I wonder if she's had some classical training..

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Theresa Andersson: Innan Du Gar



This is sung in Swedish, the title is "Before You Go" in English.. a true siren song.. the living incarnation of the Muse

Theresa Andersson: Interview on Kiwibox



Nice interview about her new CD "Hummingbird, Go", how it was made and her plans..

Monday, February 8, 2010

My Song "Angie G (Eulogy)" At TuneCore



This is my first composition published at TuneCore, "Angie G (Eulogy)" (TuneCore removed the spaces and capital G, dunno why).. in the future, "available at an online store near you".. this was originally "Eulogy for my Mother", written on a Yamaha Digital Grand about a week after getting it, written for horns and strings. I ported it into the computer, used Cakewalk to change it to guitar and piano, then I renamed it for my singer friend, Angie, who liked it best of all my compositions. It's about two people who can't quite get in sync - the two instrumental parts never come together as a result..

The album title should actually read "Little Journeys", which is my homemade CD of my first five compositions (in order of creation): 1.Awakening 2.Sky 3.Eulogy 4.Angie G 5.Gone
These were all written in three weeks, then I spent about four months getting the proper MIDI to USB cable, porting them into Cakewalk, then exporting them as MP3 and WAV files. That took longer than writing the music originally! Everyone, including Yamaha, was out of the connecting cables - I had to wait for one from the factory in Malaysia.. (Doh!)

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Logorama - Oscar nominated animated short



Warning: this film contains non-deleted expletives! probably rated R