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12-04-09 Footnotes
Show 210: Thenewno2, Review of Chris Brown & Greg's DIJ
Listen to the MP3 Stream of this show: (link)
Download the Podcast: (Download the MP3)
1 Last week Jim and Greg predicted that Susan Boyle would be one of the year’s biggest success stories. But they had no idea she’d make chart history. Despite coming in #2 on Britain’s Got Talent, Boyle shot to #1 on the U.S. charts with over 700,000 copies sold. This is the biggest opening sales figure for any debut album since Snoop Dogg’s in 1993—and that’s during CD’s heyday. Furthermore, Jim notes that Boyle’s success is also remarkable in that only 6% of sales for I Dreamed a Dream were digital. One can imagine that Boyle’s standards' covers appeal to an older demographic…one that still buys physical product…one that the record industry will continue to tap.
2 Bob Keane, founder of Del-Fi Records, died last week at the age of 87. Keane was behind the sound of acts like the Bobby Fuller Four and Ritchie Valens, and as Greg explains, those Del-Fi recordings are highly coveted by collectors and music fans because the sound is so raw and pristine. Keane wanted listeners to really get a sense of each band. After both Fuller and Valens died tragically at young ages, Keane decided to close the Del-Fi doors in 1967. Jim and Greg play Valens’ 1958 hit “Come On. Let’s Go,” in honor of Bob Keane.
3 This week’s guests are Dhani Harrison and his band Thenewno2. The current incarnation of the fluid group consists of Dhani on guitar, Jonathan Sadoff and Jeremy Faccone on guitar, Nick Fyffe on bass and Frank Zummo on drums. But the group’s constant is Dhani, son of the late Beatle George Harrison. The story of famous rock children going out for their own musical glory is nothing new, but Dhani actually resisted this path. After studying industrial design and physics at Brown, he entered the car-racing world. Now he’s returned home in a sense with Thenewno2’s debut album You Are Here. As Dhani discusses with Jim and Greg, he chose the band’s cryptic name in order to give the music some anonymity. He hopes listeners love or hate it based on the music alone, rather than his celeb status. So you be the judge: check out Thenewno2’s performance live on the show.
4 Last week Jim and Greg reviewed Rihanna’s new album Rated R. This week they look at her former boyfriend Chris Brown’s new album Graffiti. The R&B star’s third album is being released only months after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna, and Jim and Greg hear more of a botched public relations attempt than a good record. The songs might have been innocuous had Brown not addressed the violent incident, but he does and seemingly without much remorse. To Greg it’s a taudry he said/she said game. To Jim it’s bad experimentation, not to mention creepy. Either way, it’s a Trash It.
5 Talking with Dhani Harrison reminded Greg of George Harrison’s often un-sung guitar skills. And one of George Harrison’s biggest influences was Carl Perkins. In fact all The Beatles adored Perkins and his rockabilly picking, Mersey beat sound they made famous. So for his Desert Island Jukebox selection this week, Greg wanted to choose a song that referenced the Beatles' love of Carl Perkins and Harrison’s terrific guitar work. “Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby” is his tribute to two quiet, talented guys.
Songs Featured in Show #210
Susan Boyle, “Wild Horses,” I Dreamed a Dream, 2009
Bobby Fuller Four, “I Fought the Law,” 1965
Ritchie Valens, “Come On, Let’s Go,” Ritchie Valens, 1959
Thenewno2, “Yomp,” You Are Here, 2008
Thenewno2, “So Vain,” You Are Here, 2008
Thenewno2, “Shelter,” You Are Here, 2008
Thenewno2, “Another John Doe,” You Are Here, 2008
Thenewno2, “Wind Up Dead,” You Are Here, 200
The Traveling Wilburys, “Maxine,” Traveling Wilburys Collection, 2007
Thenewno2, “Yomp,” You Are Here, 2008
Thenewno2, “Crazy Tuesday,” You Are Here, 2008
Thenewno2, “You Gotta Wait,” You Are Here, 2008
Thenewno2, “Bluesy,” You Are Here, 2008
Chris Brown, "I Can Transform You," Graffiti, 2009
Chris Brown, "Famous Girl," Graffiti, 2009
The Beatles, "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby," Beatles for Sale, 1964
DJ King Flow, "Stranger in Heaven," It's Hard Being Fifteen, 2009
Kevin Lyttle, "Call Me," Kevin Lyttle, 2004
Bob Dylan, "Must Be Santa," Christmas in the Heart, 2009
Susan Boyle, "Amazing Grace," I Dreamed a Dream, 2009
Wilco, "Everlasting Everything," Wilco (The Album), 2009
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