Video of the Day: Brendan Benson, “A Whole Lot Better”
Our erstwhile Raconteur is back where he’s best — solo and power-popping our faces off.
Static, Episode 25: Kate Leary
Interview
“Save Me”
“Get Away”
“Can’t Stop Dreaming”
Dueling Apps: Pandora vs. Last.fm, Round Ten: Frank Sinatra
My best iPhone music app experiences are currently with Pandora and Last.fm. I downloaded Pandora almost instantly once I got the phone, but I was pointed to Last.fm by a friend two weeks ago and since the two services are fairly similar in format and functionality, I decided it would be interesting to take one artist each day and build stations for them on the individual services. I will list the first 10 songs Pandora and Last.fm deliver for each artist, and then assess which service offered the best response.
StaticBlog concludes this experiment with the greatest male pop singer of the 20th century.
Last.fm, I get a kick out of you:
1. Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, “I Only Have Eyes For You.”
2. Sammy Davis Jr., “That Old Black Magic.”
3. Louis Armstrong, “Go Down Moses.”
4. Ella Fitzgerald, “Night and Day.”
5. Fred Astaire, “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”
6. Peggy Lee, “Golden Earrings.”
7. Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, “I Won’t Dance.”
8. The Nat King Cole Trio, “Sweet Lorraine.”
9. Anita O’Day, “Them There Eyes.”
10. Rosemary Clooney, “Jingle Bells.”
Pro: Last.fm got into the jazz side of the Sinatra spectrum with the Louis Armstong and Ella Fitzgerald tracks, offered two choice cuts from Frank’s work with Basie, and that Anita O’Day song is a killer.
Con: Astaire was a dancer first, an actor second and a singer third. I’ve always contended that Astaire was a competent but unexceptional singer who was prodded into singing by the studio system, much in the same way that Disney makes all its teen stars act, sing and dance no matter their actual skills in those fields. Beyond Astaire, the list could go a little farther afield with their Frank material — the man released enough music to run 24/7 Sinatra without getting boring — and they just seem to be going to same Sinatra/Basie album, which indicates they might be a little light on their Blue Eyes discography. Finally, no Christmas music unless specifically requested. I love Christmas music, but I don’t want to hear it out of season.
Pandora, come fly with me:
1. Frank Sinatra, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Live).”
2. Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, “Fly Me to the Moon.”
3. Dean Martin, “Just In Time.”
4. Harry Connick Jr., “It Had To Be You.”
5. Frank Sinatra, “You and the Night and the Music.”
6. Ella Fitzgerald, “Isn’t It Romantic.”
7. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin & Sammy Davis Jr., “A Marshmallow World.”
8. Nat “King” Cole, “My Mother Told Me.”
9. Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, “I Only Have Eyes For You.”
10. Frank Sinatra, “Come Fly With Me.”
Pro: Pandora’s list is much more rooted in Rat Pack, and six out of 10 come from Frank himself, there is little to complain about here, plus they worked in some Ella, and that’s always welcome. And I’m not averse to including a strong follower like Connick, as long as they don’t include anything from Star Turtle.
Con: No Christmas music unless specifically requested. I mean, I’ll take it in a few weeks, but I want it all together, not mixed in with my normal diet. Also, they seem to have the same problem as Last.fm in that they’re pulling from a small pool of Sinatra resources, or it was just how this particular draw shook out.
Advantage: Pandora managed to swing closer to what people genuinely want from a Frank Sinatra station.
Tomorrow: The final tally
Video of the Day: DJ /Rupture and Matt Shadetek: “Solar Life Raft Medley”
Hey sub-geniuses: you can have your “2012″ this weekend. This is a much cooler apocalypse.
Video of the Day: Pixies, “Here Comes Your Man” on “The Tonight Show”
Pixies were in Los Angeles to play a Doolittle gig a week ago, and stopped in with Conan for “Here Comes Your Man.” Honestly, I wish they had caffeinated a bit. Or played “Debaser.”
Them Crooked Vultures Full Album Stream
The self-titled debut by Them Crooked Vultures hits stores a week from today, but you can hear it now at StaticBlog. For those not entirely cognizant of the band’s significance, this is Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. So it’s Queens of the Foo Zeppelin, or Stone Age Led Fighters or something like that.
Dueling Apps: Pandora vs. Last.fm, Round Nine: The Flaming Lips
My best iPhone music app experiences are currently with Pandora and Last.fm. I downloaded Pandora almost instantly once I got the phone, but I was pointed to Last.fm by a friend two weeks ago and since the two services are fairly similar in format and functionality, I decided it would be interesting to take one artist each day and build stations for them on the individual services. I will list the first 10 songs Pandora and Last.fm deliver for each artist, and then assess which service offered the best response.
Today, we stage our own fight test with The Flaming Lips.
Last.fm, hit me like you did the first time:
1. The Flaming Lips, “Do You Realize??”
2. Built To Spill, “Carry the Zero.”
3. Yo La Tengo, “Always Something.”
4. Ween, “Waving My D–k in the Wind.”
5. Pavement, “Mercy Snack: The Laundromat.”
6. Mercury Rev, “Goddess On a Hiway.”
7. Grandaddy, “Hewlett’s Daughter.”
8. Spoon, “Anything You Want.”
9. Animal Collective, “Daffy Duck.”
10. Dinosaur Jr., “No Bones.”
Pro: A thoroughly interesting list of bands that share a measure of creative spirit or DNA (in the case of Mercury Rev) with the Lips, and any list that pulls from Pavement’s Westing (By Musket and Sextant) is just solid golid in StaticBlog’s book.
Con: I love it and it’s our official rock song and everything, but isn’t “Do You Realize??” a little obvious??
Pandora, everything’s explodin’:
1. The Flaming Lips, “The W.A.N.D.”
2. Wilco, “How to Fight Loneliness.”
3. Radiohead, “Pyramid Song.”
4. The Shins, “Fighting in a Sack.”
5. The Flaming Lips, “The Spark That Bled.”
6. Modest Mouse, “Bukowski.”
7. Beck, “The New Pollution.”
8. The Smashing Pumpkins, “Perfect.”
9. Wilco, “Solitaire.”
10. The Flaming Lips, “Vein of Stars.”
Pro: The bona fides are all here: three great Lips tracks, plus Lips collaborators Modest Mouse, Lips touring mate Beck, Lips faves Radiohead (they covered “Knives Out” and did “Creep” with Beck in concert), they appeared with Wilco on the “Spongebob” soundtrack, they split an “Austin City Limits” episode with The Shins, and I first met Wayne Coyne at a Smashing Pumpkins concert at Norman’s Hollywood Theatre in 1991. It’s all covered.
Con: Ultimately, it’s just not as edgy as Last.fm’s output.
Advantage: A draw — both services saw two different but ultimately valid sides of the Lips. Either way, the Lips fan is well served.
Video of the Day: Golden Silvers feat. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, “Arrows of Eros”
Perfect music to lift this morning’s dank clouds. Smile — that’s an order! True Romance is out now.
“Sesame Street” Turns 40
Four decades ago today, on Nov. 10, 1969, “Sesame Street” debuted on public television. As an original viewer, I can safely say that I probably learned to read a little faster, learned to count a little better, discovered music a little earlier and had my initial world view shaped a little broader by this show. Happy birthday, Muppet friends — your felt never looked fuzzier.
Check out this extended performance of “Superstition” that Stevie Wonder played on the “Street” in April 1973. It might just be the best thing you’ll watch all week.
A Deep Thought About the Apocalypse
With apologies and acknowledgment to Idolator, how long before Slate.com publishes a contrarian thought piece on “Why ‘2012′ is Better Than ‘The Road”’?
