Early in the Morning, I'm Callin' YouTube Vol. XII

Even after all these years, it's still mind boggling that a song sung by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, among others, could be so bad. But "We Are the World" is overshadowed by bad lyrics, tacky production and the presence of Huey Lewis, Steve Perry and Kenny Loggins, who are only some of the terrible artists that were there on January 28, 1985. A noble cause (and one that brought in millions for famine relief in Africa), but it's still a horrific song.

It's always entertaining when my Unkie Ken sends me a YouTube video because I know it's going to be something I've never heard before, like Freddie Bell and the Bellboy's "Giddy Up a Ding Dong."

Why can't Tom Waits just tour again?

There's something very entertaining about watching Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash talk about Jimmie Rodgers, and eventually break into a performance of "Blue Yodel, No. 9." Two men who have nothing in common have everything in common here.

Last week, residents of Chicago were lucky to have five straight nights of Wilco in which they performed their entire catalog. What I would have given to be able to go to those shows, but instead, I'm left scrapping for mp3s and watching YouTube videos, like this one of "Kamera."

From one of the Wilco shows:

My Faves

Yesterday, my dad sent me an e-mail about Frank Sinatra: The Man, The Music, The Legend, an anthology of essays about Ol’ Blue Eyes brought together at a 1998 conference held at Hofstra University. After reading the briefing by Benjamin Schwartz, literary and national editor of the Atlantic, I began to think of how much I enjoy Sinatra, although I hardly mention him on Five Best. From there, my thoughts drifted towards if I could only hear five bands or artists for the rest of my life, who would they be? Here’s what I came up with, in no particular order:

Bob Dylan
-If you’ve read my blog even once, you know how much I love Dylan. Plus, he’s got a long discography of fifty plus albums—and how could I go the rest of my life without hearing my two favorite albums, Blood on the Tracks and Blonde on Blonde.

Frank Sinatra
-Lots of albums, lots of different emotions he can stir up, amazing voice…need I continue?

The Beatles
-Although they didn’t release as many albums as Dylan or Sinatra, they’re the freakin’ Beatles! Of course I’d include them.

And here’s where it gets tough. Those three choices I thought of without even really, well, thinking, but for my final two, I’m left wondering whether I should choose two rock bands. Or maybe some jazz? Can I go the rest of my life without hearing Once More, With Feeling again? So, after much thought, here are my final two:

Louis Armstrong
-When I asked my dad who he’d have on his list, he included Louis (along with Dylan, Sinatra, Paul Desmond and either Bill Evans or Ben Webster) and I didn’t. In an e-mail I sent back to him after getting his choices, I mentioned that I’d probably pick Monk or Coltrane over Louis but upon second thought, I would choose Louis for one main reason: vocals. Although I might listen to Monk and ‘Trane more, I don’t think I could go the rest of my life without hearing his work with Ella Fitzgerald.

For the last slot, I thought about Richard Thompson, Miles Davis, the Kinks, the Ramones, Neil Young, the Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and David Bowie, but my choice inevitably came down to two: The Clash or Tom Waits. And my last artist is:

Tom Waits
-I may actually like the Clash more than Waits, but it simply comes down to the amount of albums and how good they are. The Clash has two masterpiece albums (The Clash and London Calling) while Waits only has one (Rain Dogs), but there aren’t that many other Clash albums (I mean, I could go the rest of my life without Super Black Market Clash, and I wouldn’t too upset). As for Waits, he doesn’t have a bad album on his résumé, and has a lot more of them as well.

So here they are:







Who would be in your group?

Five Best...'Wonderful' Songs

#5. “Wonderful” by Everclear

I want the things that I had before
Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door
I wish I could count to ten
Make everything be wonderful again

#4. “Wonderful Wino” by the Mothers of Invention

L.A. in the summer of '69
I went downtown and bought some wine
I wasted my head on 3 quarts of juice
And now the grapes won't cut me loose

#3. “Wonderful Life” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Speak our secret into your hands
And hold it in between
Plunge your hands into the water
And drown it in the sea
There will be nothing between us, baby
But the air that we breathe

#2. “Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke

Don't know much about history,
Don't know much biology.
Don't know much about a science book,
Don't know much about the French I took.
But I do know that I love you,
And I know that if you love me too,
What a wonderful world this would be

#1. “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
Bright sunny days, dark sacred nights
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world

Five Best...Gary Songs

#5. "Gone Fishin'" by Louis Armstrong

Gone fishin'
(bah-boo-bah-boo-bah-boo-bah-boo-bah)
There's a sign upon your door
(Pops, don't blab it around, will you?)
Gone fishin'
(keep it shady, I got me a big one staked out)
Mmm, you ain't workin' anymore
(I don't have to work, I got me a piece of Gary)

#4. "The Gary Song" by Olmstead White

"Gary, Gary, quite contrary"

#3. "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Fred Astaire

Dressed up like a million dollar trooper
Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper
Super-Duper

#2. "Gary's Got a Boner" by The Replacements

Gary got a boner
'Cause Gary's got a boner
Gary got a boner
Gary's got a boner now

#1. "Clash City Rockers" by The Clash

You owe me a move say the bells of St. Groove
Come on and show me say the bells of Old Bowie
When I am fitter say the bells of Gary Glitter
No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I
No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I