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06-05-09 Footnotes
Show 184: Disco Dissection, Reviews of Dave Matthews & Sonic Youth
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1 Pearl Jam made big news this week after announcing an exclusive deal with Target. The alternative band will release a new album along with the big box chain. And in addition they will allow Target to use a Cameron Crowe-directed video in a series of ads. Pearl Jam has long been known for its anti-corporate and anti-commercial attitude, so this was a surprise to Jim and Greg. But, as Greg says, at least they aren’t selling the album exclusively through Target—good news for mom and pop record stores.
2 The usual record industry story goes like this: Label likes artist, label pays artist, artist makes music. But, in a twist, EMI recording artist Joss Stone has offered to pay her label not to make music. The British pop/soul singer is apparently desperate to get out of her 4 album contract, after making only 1 of those records. This is one of many blows to the label, which has already said goodbye to Radiohead and Paul McCartney.
3 After a 6-year trial, producer Phil Spector was finally sentenced this week. The judge showed no mercy and put him behind bars for 19 to life, with a mandatory 15 years. That means that Spector will not be eligible for parole until he is 85.
4 Disco often gets a bad rap—silly songs, silly clothes, silly people. But as Jim and Greg discuss this week, the music and the scene surrounding it were much more. Songs like “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer and “Good Times,” by Chic are as artful and influential as anything pop music has produced. And, as opposed to the exclusive disco world of Studio 54, authentic discos and disco music gave a sense of community to many outsiders, much like punk did. You can hear this in tracks like “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” by drag performer Sylvester.
5 Summer concert kings the Dave Matthews Band have a new album out called Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King. The title comes from a nickname given to the band’s late saxophonist LeRoi Moore. The shadow of Moore hangs over this album, and his death almost prevented its release. Not that the DMB needs to release albums—they make over $40 million a year from touring alone. But, Jim has always preferred the band on album to in concert. He doesn’t love their rhythms or Matthew’s lazy vocal style, but recommends people Burn It...if that’s their thing. Greg thinks the Dave Matthews Band have finally given us a record worth hearing. It’s much more rocking and robust than previous releases. It actually “rocks pretty hard,” so Greg gives Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King a Buy It.
6 Rock veterans Sonic Youth have released their 16th studio album called The Eternal. With a lineup shuffle and label change, they have returned to form according to Jim and Greg. Neither critic hears anything groundbreaking or new, but the urban surf grooves are back in a big way. Jim hasn’t enjoyed anything the band has done in 17 years, but finally hears some truly great songs. The Eternal gets a Double Buy It.
Songs Featured in Show #184
Pearl Jam, "Got Some," Backspacer!, 2009
Joss Stone, "Fell In Love With A Boy," The Soul Sessions, 2003
The Crystals, "He's A Rebel," He's A Rebel, 1962
Bee Gees, “Stayin’ Alive,” Saturday Night Fever, 1977
Shirley & Lee, “Let the Good Times Roll,” 1956
Shirley and Company, “Shame Shame Shame,” Far Out, 1975
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” Wake Up Everybody, 1975
Thelma Houston, “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” Any Way You Like It, 1976
Heatwave, “Boogie Nights,” Too Hot to Handle, 1976
Patrice Rushen, “Forget Me Nots,” Anthology of Patrice Rushen, 1977
Sylvester, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” Living Proof, 1979
Gloria Gaynor, “I Will Survive,” Love Tracks, 1979
Love Unlimited Orchestra, “Love’s Theme,” Rhapsody in White, 1974
Donna Summer, “I Feel Love,” I Remember Yesterday, 1977
Chic, “Good Times,” Good Times/A Warm Summer Night, 1979
De La Soul Is Dead, “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’,” De La Soul Is Dead, 1991
“Funny the Way It Is,” Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King, 2009
“Alligator Pie,” Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King, 2009
Sonic Youth, “Poison Arrow,” The Eternal, 2009
Sonic Youth, “Sacred Trickster,” The Eternal, 2009
Prefuse 73, “Overkill Choir,” The Forest Of Oversensitivity, 2009
Aretha Franklin, “Call Me,” Spirit in the Dark, 1970
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Ohio,” 4 Way Street, 1971
Eminem, “Déjà Vu,” Relapse, 2009
Cool Kids, “Gold and a Pager,” Bake Sale, 2008
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