The Rationals on “Swingin’ Time with Robin Seymour,” Weird Al Yankovic, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, and Moms Mabley for Third Anniversary Show!!!

Posted on December 18, 2013 by PhilMaq

I ran across this vintage clip of The Rationals, a Detroit—Ann Arbor based band from an appearance on “Swingin’ Time with Robin Seymour” and I couldn’t resist!:

I get a kick out of playing silly stuff, and Weird Al is always GRADE A Silly! Here he is in a very bizarre multi media video of “Polka Face”:

One of the songs that got a large response from my listeners was Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers’ “Mexican Moonshine!” Here’s a live clip:

Moms Mabley was one of those pioneer female comedians that performed for many years. Here’s a clip of her doing what she did best:

I stumbled upon Moms Mabley actually singing. I had no idea that she did this, so I had to play it. The feeling that she conveys is so stunning on a lot of levels. Here she is singing  a very touching version of  “Abraham, Martin, & John” on The Merv Griffin Show. (This one makes me cry.)

All in all, a fascinating year of musical discovery!!!

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BEST ALBUMS OF 2013!!!!!

Posted on December 15, 2013 by PhilMaq

Awards season has started, and it’s time for me to share my picks, beginning with the Best Albums of 2013. I’ve sifted through the piles, the files and the vinyl to find the very best I’ve heard in the last 12 months, all for your listening pleasure. I’ve broken down the categories, so I’m certain you’ll find something that will please your senses. And, I’m hoping, you’ll find something new to you, too!

Best Albums of 2013

1. Out From the Door—Dylan McDonald & The Avians (BEST ALBUM)
2. Forge & Flagon—Skinny Lister (BEST CELTIC/WORLD ALBUM)
3. Ramdango—Mick Clarke (BEST BLUES ALBUM)
4. New—Paul McCartney (BEST MAJOR LABEL ALBUM)
5. Are You Conspirienced?—The Dan Sheehan Conspiracy (BEST ROCK ALBUM)
6. Bandwagon!—Joanie Leeds And The Nightlights (BEST “KINDIE” ALBUM)(But an excellent album, period.)
7. Carnival!—Nora Jane Struthers and The Party Line (BEST AMERICANA/FOLK ALBUM)
8. Celluloid—Bevel Emboss (BEST INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM)
9. Venice—Lyn Saga (BEST INDIE ALBUM)
10. Further On—George Bedard (BEST LOCAL BLUES ALBUM)
11. Saddle Up the Whales—The White Ravens (BEST LOCAL INDIE ALBUM)
12. Get It—Tinsley Ellis (BEST BLUES INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM)
13. Symphony!—Sultans of String (BEST CANADIAN/WORLD ALBUM)
14. Modified—The Dynotones (BEST SURF ALBUM)
15. Dreamtime—Cornell Kinderknecht and Martin McCall (BEST NEW AGE ALBUM)
16. Letters from Starfield—Roy Scoutz (BEST LOCAL INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM)
17. Foreverly—Billie Jo + Norah (BEST ALMOST EVERLY BROTHERS ALBUM)
18. Beatles at The Beeb, Volume 2–The Beatles (BEST BEATLES ALBUM OF THE YEAR)
19. Friendly Unit Creation Kit–Sonic Graffiti (BEST PUNK ALBUM)
20. Devil Fruit–Radkey

Posted in George Bedard, George Harrison, Hall of Fame, John Lennon, Music "Q"sings, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Beatles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dylan McDonald & The Avians, Skinny Lister, and Joanie Leeds and The Night Lights From Best Albums of 2013!!

Posted on December 11, 2013 by PhilMaq

Wow! It’s very difficult to find any kind of decent video clips for Dylan McDonald & The Avians. But since they are my #1 pick for album of the year for Out from the Door, here’s as close as I can get to a good sample of the band:

Skinny Lister’s Forge & Flagon album burned a hole in my brain for most of the year. Here is a video of the first track on the album, If the Gaff Don’t Let Us Down:

Joanie Leeds and The Night Lights are no stranger to this blog. They’re back with a very touching award winning song featuring Jonathan Brooke on vocals, “Family Tree” taken from the album Bandwagon::

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New Music!! Strawberry Heritage, The Ragbirds, Radkey, and Wau Y Los Arrrghs!!! Check It Out!!!

Posted on December 4, 2013 by PhilMaq

Michigan Artists Strawberry Heritage put together some interesting “home movies” to accompany their very nice song, “Grow Back New”:

Ann Arbor‘s always inventive Ragbirds kick things off with a Cajun-flavored “The Bully”:

Radkey kicks the energy level up a zillion percent with “Romance Dawn”:

Wau Y Los Arrrghs!!! has a psychedelic musical thread that stretches back to the ’60s. Here is a very campy “La Ciudad No Es Para Mi”:

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Three Thanksgivukkah Videos! Party Like It’s 81,013!!!

Posted on November 28, 2013 by PhilMaq

If it’s true that Thanksgiving and Hanukkah only occur on the same day every 79,000 years, then we’d better really live it up! Here are three tongue-in-cheek videos to start things off.

 

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Queen Ida, Be Bop Deluxe, and Loggins and Messina!!!

Posted on November 27, 2013 by PhilMaq

Here are three Hall of Fame member videos:

If you don’t want to get up and dance when Queen Ida is doing her thing, you either have a health condition…or you’re not listening!

Here’s an official video she did for “Zydeco Taco”:

No video, but Be Bop Deluxe gets the cowbell going on “Forbidden Lovers”:

Loggins and Messina knew how to rock, but they also had a quiet side. Here’s a live version of them doing “House at Pooh Corner”:

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“Q” Bombs: November 24, 2013

Posted on November 27, 2013 by PhilMaq

A “Q” Bomb will be my term for a music video that I consider to be subpar in music, video, or both. This will be a recurring weekly list that will focus on the worst videos that are currently on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus on solely on current or recent videos.
I hate to be so negative about music, but when an artist takes a “bad” song and then brings more attention to it by creating a “bad” video to support it, it will appear on this list. I honestly hope, and it could happen, that this list will be less than 10 items, but I have serious doubts that that possibility will happen. We are, after all, talking about an industry that uses art for huge profits. The companies can’t help themselves.
However, at this point, I will not do a 10 worst music list. I see absolutely no reason to waste time reemphasizing bad music. Once is enough.

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Worst Videos for the Week of November 24, 2013

1. Royals–Lorde
2. Southern Girl—Tim McGraw
3. That’s My Kind of Night—Luke Bryan
4. The Wire—Haim
5. Let Her Go—Passenger
6. Rough Water—Travie McCoy with Jason Mraz
7. Gorilla—Bruno Mars
8. Marry Me—Jason Derulo
9. TKO—Justin Timberlake
10. Demons—Imagine Dragons

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Phil’s Faves: Songs, November 17, 2013

Posted on November 26, 2013 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.

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Top Ten Songs for the Week of November 17, 2013

1. Mexican Moonshine—Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers [FSOAT]
2. Falling—Joanie Leeds & The Night Lights
3. Peek-a-boo Moon—Jason Didner & Jungle Gym Jam
4. New—Paul McCartney [Hall of Fame]
5. Go Downtown—Detroit Blues Band
6. Let Go—Coyote Union
7. Everybody Out There—Paul McCartney [Hall of Fame]
8. O Sun—Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys
9. November—Grace and Tony
10. My Life Is Ruined—Detroit Blues Band
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Posted in Favorite Songs of All Time, Paul McCartney, Phil's Faves: Songs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Phil’s Faves: Songs, November 17, 2013

Phil’s Faves: Videos, November 17, 2013

Posted on November 26, 2013 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best videos currently available on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus mostly on current or recent videos. For this category, I am also going to include any live performances on talk or variety shows that I see during the week.

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Top 10 Videos and Performances for the Week of November 17, 2013

1. O Sun—Lindsay Lou & The Earthwork Women featuring May Erlewine, darlenYa, Dede, and Sam Cooper
2. Burn—Ellie Goulding
3. Point at You—Justin Moore
4. All Kinds of Kinds—Miranda Lambert
5. Wake Me Up—Avicii and Aloe Black
6. Red—Taylor Swift
7. Night Train—Jason Aldean
8. Roar—Katy Perry
9. Applause—Lady Gaga
10. Sweater Weather—The Neighbourhood

Posted in Phil's Faves: Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Phil’s Faves: Videos, November 17, 2013

“Q” Bombs: November 17, 2013

Posted on November 25, 2013 by PhilMaq

A “Q” Bomb will be my term for a music video that I consider to be subpar in music, video, or both. This will be a recurring weekly list that will focus on the worst videos that are currently on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus on solely on current or recent videos.
I hate to be so negative about music, but when an artist takes a “bad” song and then brings more attention to it by creating a “bad” video to support it, it will appear on this list. I honestly hope, and it could happen, that this list will be less than 10 items, but I have serious doubts that that possibility will happen. We are, after all, talking about an industry that uses art for huge profits. The companies can’t help themselves.
However, at this point, I will not do a 10 worst music list. I see absolutely no reason to waste time reemphasizing bad music. Once is enough.

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Worst Videos for the Week of November 17, 2013

1. Royals–Lorde
2. Southern Girl—Tim McGraw
3. That’s My Kind of Night—Luke Bryan
4. The Wire—Haim
5. Let Her Go—Passenger
6. Marry Me—Jason Derulo
7. Gorilla—Bruno Mars
8. Rough Water—Travie McCoy with Jason Mraz
9. TKO—Justin Timberlake
10. Demons—Imagine Dragons

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