The Music Video Alive and Kicking: Hold Your Horses' 70 Million

There's been a minor kerfuffle of late over MTV's removal of the word music from their logo, as if the minor graphics update was anything but a mere formality, the final nail in a coffin that's long since six deep. Between grainy videos of mustachioed felines and grammatically challenged toddlers, we lament the loss of the music video as a cultural force (at least those inclined to lament such things), while would-be classics of the genre quietly amass modest yet respectable viewership in the tens of thousands. And while "Charlie Bit Me" may have replaced the Thrillers and Smells Like Teen Spirits as the shared short-video touchstone of our times, it's pretty comforting to know that not only are iconic and memorable videos like this one still being made, but that you don't have to wait through an episode of MTV Sports just to see it.


70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

The Amblers and Roy G. Biv: The Music Behind The Montage

The thing about the montage is, you've gotta have a great song to back it up. Rocky had Gonna Fly Now (the given name of Rocky's iconic theme song). Karate Kid had Joe Esposito's classic You're The Best Around. Footloose had Footloose. But, when it came time for us to cut together a montage of our Pathfinder finalists' epic ascent to glory and greatness, Kenny Loggins just wouldn't return our calls. Same deal with Esposito. So we did the next best thing. We called out to a couple of really great young bands who haven't yet had a huge inspirational movie's success go to their heads.

Providing the soundtrack to Kim and Chana's epic adventures was San Francisco's Roy G. Biv and the Mnemonic Devices. Originally a two piece consisting of Dan Paggi and Ben Lang, the group has recently solidified its status as a quartet and is now taking to the Bay Area stage like Rocky Balboa took to those stairs. Their debut album, "The Blue Orange," is a roots-rockin' collection of catchy ruminations on the simple joys and workaday struggles of ordinary life, from punching the time-clock to hanging out with the cat, hitting the open road to being left all alone. The songwriting manages the impressive feat of fusing such unassailable touchstones as The Kingston Trio, The Band, and Simon and Garfunkel with contemporary artists like The Magnetic Fields and Built to Spill, while maintaining a unique voice that never descends into mere pastiche. It's a truly fantastic record front to back, full of soaring multi-part harmonies, infectious melodies, and enough ooohs and ahhhs to fill a 60s surf record. Give a listen to a few of our favorites, but keep this moment in mind two days from now when you just can't figure out what that song is that's still stuck in your head...
Download "Lucy"
Eureka at Dawn (From The Blue Orange)

I'll Dance and I'll Jive (From The Blue Orange)

Lala

 The backbeat to Tim, Scott, Margie and Rodelio's
journey came courtesy of The Amblers, an up-and-coming band formed by four veterans of Chico, CA's vibrant music scene. As catchy and approachable as their songs are, the band seems to take a certain pleasure in playing a game of cat and mouse with anyone unwise enough to try to classify their sound. They lay the bait with a sweet and twangy alt-country undercurrent that runs throughout. It's just enough of a through line to let you get comfortable; to think you've got them all figured out. But then, between whiskey-soaked breaths, they unveil a dense wall of fuzz, a fleeting wisp of jazz guitar or abrupt tempo change, before launching into an icy a cappella anthem or barn-burnin' hootenanny. Next thing you know, you're floating along with a twilight take on the Beach Boys' summer surf sound before the harmonicas break out and you're back home in Whiskeytown. Luckily, The Amblers are as much a joy to listen to as they are impossible to peg, with rock-solid songwriting chops and an abundance of juicy, "haven't I heard this before?" hooks. You haven't. They're really just that good. They recently logged some hours in San Francisco's venerable Tiny Telephone studios and have plans to release their newest album, "Pattern Parts," in mid-April. To learn more, check out these here articles from Chico's local press and give a listen to these splendid jams.
Download "Not as Good, But Easier"
What a Joy (advance mix from the upcoming Pattern Parts)

So Long (From The Ottoman Empire)


P.S. We never actually called Kenny Loggins or Joe Esposito. That was a complete fabrication. Sorry.

A Discoveries Mixtape Pt. 1

No Kids - Another Song: A nursery rhyme for big kids. Warm-fuzzy lyrics about ghosts and angels narrate a cotton-stuffed scene in which two best friends, a treble-pounding toy piano and a brittle sea of distant guitar strums, dance arm in arm while a stern and insistent snare struggles to keep everybody in line and a joyous menagerie of flutes and horns playfully flit about without a worry in the world.

Still Flyin' - The Hott Chord is Struck: This massive (usually over a dozen members strong, many of whom are primarily responsible for backup singing, hand clapping, and general good-time having) bunch of BFFs is a hi-fiving, group-hugging, socks-on-a-linoleum-floor dance party of a band who could easily get by on sheer charisma, but then go and write ridiculously catchy numbers like this and instantly make themselves your new favorite band.

The Love Language - Lalita: It's nothing you haven't heard before. And it's not necessarily about making it sound new again. It's about hearing that which you've heard many times before, but bursting with so much good time rock 'n' roll shake the rafters and sing in the streets vim and vigor that you don't even care. You just want to kick your shoes off and dance.

Fool's Gold - Surprise Hotel - The spindly Afro-pop guitar line that kicks Surprise Hotel off like an outtake from Paul Simon's Graceland proves a fitting bellwether for the infectious cultural throwdown to come. And while Fool's Gold may come across as a post-modern pastiche of some purely imagined idea of a world music party jam, it turns out to be a pretty great idea.

Hot Holiday Music: The Yule Logs!

Holiday music can be divisive, to say the least. For some, a fear of those opening strains of sleigh bells preceding the first winter's many unplanned Jingle Bells encounters is enough to keep them from leaving the house the day after Thanksgiving. For others, it just isn't Christmas until Nat King Cole wishes you a merry one. Of course, there'll always be those brave and enterprising artists hoping to pen a new classic for people to dread in the late Novembers of years to come, or to just give a little spit-shine to a well-worn favorite and make it look new again.

To kick off the beginning of Hanukkah, and the two-weeks-till-Christmas countdown, we'll be digging up a couple fresh holiday jams that the carolers can add to their collections and that the bah-humbuggers can, well, maybe at least find more tolerable than Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime."

First off, we proudly present The Yule Logs: a merry little band out of Chico, CA that's made Christmas cheer a year-round commitment. The self-proclaimed "Hardest Working Band in Snow Business," these joyous young fellows deliver the goods. In addition to some tasteful re-imaginings of the classics, they boast a sleighfull of catchy original tunes that strike a perfect balance between tongue-in-cheek humor and genuine sincerity. Mixing slinky surf-guitar, doo-wop harmonies, Beatlesesque melodies, and plenty of straight up rock-n-roll, these tunes sound great anytime of the year, but definitely come in handy when trying find something everyone can agree on for that big holiday dance party you've been planning.

One From the Vault: Ken Nordine's Colors

Have you heard the big news? Magenta has her own gossip column! Finally, the inside scoop on the ins and outs of the entire color spectrum from that nosiest of colors. Of course, if you doubt that the secret lives of colors are really all that exciting in the first place, just ask Ken Nordine. A legendary Chicagoland radio DJ and voiceover man in the 50s and 60s, Nordine had a huge hit with a series of ads for Fuller Paint in which he waxed poetic on the company's various shades and hues. The ads were so popular, in fact, that the station was flooded with requests for them to be re-aired. Instead, Ken Nordine did the only logical thing. He recorded a entire album of such pieces, 34 tracks in all, on which he coolly holds forth on the vices and virtues of Turquoise, the obscurity of Nutria, and the foolishness of Russet. It's an album as almost-overwhelmingly bizarre as it is inescapably fascinating. As a veteran voice-actor, Nordine surely had ample experience imbuing drab copywriting with vim and vigor, and when he applies these same masterful skills to his thoroughly well-imagined color universe, the results are simply stunning. You'll listen in wide-eyed, jaw-dropped astonishment as he casually introduces the supporting members of the Group Called Oop, with Yellow Ocher on bari sax and Burnt Umber, recently paroled, on drums, before finally, excitedly, calling to the stage the star of the show: Sepia! You'll witness the dramatic irony of Olive's somber self-pity, while, elsewhere, "those with the nose for the new (the passionate few)," are about to name Olive the color of the year! And to think, without the insightful insights of Mr. Nordine, you'd have no clue/ of the greenest of greens, and the bluest of blues/ of the ongoing goings on/ of every color, shade, tint, and hue.

Incidentally, the antics of Ken's colors seem to have provided ample inspiration for aspiring animators, including what appears to be multiple class project built around his pieces, one featuring animated paper cut-outs, and another utilizing kinetic typography.

Featured Film: Rock-afire Explosion

This may be an odd discovery for you guys. Ready for a flashback? Some of us loved Showbiz Pizza, and we know we're not alone. As if the mounds of hot pizza, pitchers of soda, tokens, skee-ball, flashing lights, video games and a dive into the swimming pool full of brightly colored plastic balls weren't enough....enter the animatronic rock band, The Rock-afire Explosion. This was notably the highlight of any Showbiz experience. As kids, watching animal robots come to life was awe-inspiring. The lights dimmed, the stage lit up and a larger-than-life rock band took hold of childhood imaginations. And we had front row seats. This was no joke, they even produced a record. A new documentary, aptly named The Rock-afire Explosion is an exploration of this cult 80's phenomenon that suddenly disappeared without explanation. It's a story of one man's drive to bring this rusty crew back to life, for one small Alabama town and for millions via YouTube. The film is a "look at the importance of nostalgia, ever-changing media culture, and the eternal quest to stay young."

A World of Music: Rokia Traore

Growing up the daughter of a diplomat, Rokia Traore's youth saw expeditions to Saudi Arabia, France, Angola, and Belgium, to name just a few. An ideal childhood for a blossoming young musician, one might think, but significantly less so when you consider that Bamana nobility, the Malian ethnic group of which she is a member, are prohibited from becoming musicians, especially if you're a woman. Her decision to pursue her passion in spite of tradition gives some sense of her how deep her passion for her music must be, but her voice lets you truly understand.
Hers is the pure expression of a singular vision. Rather than wholeheartedly embracing or willfully avoiding the musical traditions of Mali and the other countries of her youth, Traore gracefully subsumes them into a sound all her own: guitar and n'goni (a traditional West African lute) weave together into a gossamer fabric, held taut by deep, resonant bass and speckled with hand percussion and balafon, all in support of her magnificently soaring vocals. Perhaps, though, she put it best herself when asked to describe her sound. "I can't say what style I am", she admitted. "But I just love music". For anyone who feels the same, there a lot to love in what she does.

This pared-down performance from a 2007 TED conference is her at her most ethereal, but Koronoko's dizzying bounce is a must-listen, as is Manian, on which she pairs with classical iconoclasts Kronos Quartet.

Featured Tunes: Lionel Loueke

It’s not everyday that legends of jazz Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter line up to play on a debut album, but that’s just what happened with jazz guitar player and vocalist Lionel Loueke on his new album Karibu. We know a good thing when we hear it and Lionel’s guitar chops and vocal stylings, which are gently percussive and melodic at the same time, are stunning. Originally from Benin (a small country in West Africa), he combines a deep understanding of traditional African folk music and the jazz technique of musicians like George Benson and Wes Montgomery. After working as a musician in Africa for several years (his brother played guitar with Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade), he moved from Paris to Boston to deepen his study of Jazz and to attend the Berklee College of Music. He went on to attend the world-renowned Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in LA, where Mr. Hancock quickly spotted this rising star (and we're oh-so-thankful!). We'll let the music speak for itself - the following video is quick introduction from Lionel himself.

A World of Music: Tom Ze

Brazil's Tropicália movement was predicated on the notion of combining traditional Brazilian music, Bossa Nova, samba, and the like, with whatever international inspirations presented themselves, be they concrete poetry, rock & roll, existentialism, African rhythms, western pop, or urban grooves. The result was a politically-charged cultural expression at once distinctly Brazilian and unmistakably global. And while he may be a lesser-known name than the movement's figureheads Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Tom Ze was arguably the artist who took the notions of experimentation and amalgamation the furthest in his music, while always hewing close to Brazilian tradition. Equally comfortable featuring a solo on a blender, typewriter, or homemade instrument as presenting a breezy bossa nova, Ze's angular pop is a perfect blend of accessible and engaging. Though if you ask him to describe his art, he would tell you simply, "I don't make art, I make spoken and sung journalism."

A World of Music: Amadou & Mariam

Often referred to simply as "the blind couple from Mali," Amadou & Mariam are currently among the world's most well-loved African artists. Having constantly expanded their sphere of influence beyond Mali's border since meeting at the Bamako Institute for the Young Blind, the duo finally saw their breakthrough release 25 years later in 2005 with the Manu Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako. Chao's influence is heard loud and clear on the infectious "Senegal Fast Food", which will have you singing nonsense at the top of your lungs, because, even though you don't have any idea what they're saying, you just can't help but sing along.


Last fall saw the release of Welcome to Mali, which continued the musical explorations and embrace of contemporary sounds of Dimanche, weaving hip-hop and electronic elements into their music while hewing a bit closer to their Malian roots. The superstar producer's heavy yet skillful hand this time belongs to Blur/Gorillaz' Damon Albarn, whose work on "Sabali" results in one of Amadou and Mariam's most gorgeously haunting, if wholly untraditional, tracks to date.



Let us not forget, however, the decades of music that predated the duo's breakout success. The more traditionally African "Nangaraba", in particular, gets the head a bobbin' and the feet a tappin' with it's relentlessly propulsive beat, punchy brass, and agile, muscular bass.

Featured Album: Arthur Russell's Love is Overtaking Me

Arthur Russell has been called a genius. More than once. In fact, the use of the word almost devolves into cliché for the frequency with which it is applied. When reading about the cellist/guitar player/disco producer/singer/songwriter/avant-garde composer you're rather more likely to come across an argument qualifying his genius, defining its specific terms, ("...cementing the fact that Russell was a genius..." “...sublime genius..." “progressive club genius” "...sketchy genius…”) than you are to encounter a genuine rebuttal of the premise. Much like with HBO’s "The Wire," against which people will on occasion lob the criticism that the much-loved show is not, in fact, the greatest television program of all time, there is little debate over whether Russell was, at the very least, a genius.

Much of this claim stems from the unrelenting consistency he managed to display across such a wide stylistic breadth. His most prominent body of work is his contribution to New York’s post-disco world in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Then there is the ethereal minimalism of his works for voice, cello, and electronics featured on his masterpiece “World of Echo.” On “Instrumentals,” Russell wove together soulful horns, soaring strings, and delicate slivers of slide guitar into an intricate yet breezy orchestral jazz number. “Calling Out of Context” gathers an eclectic batch of songs that builds a uniquely captivating architecture on the foundation of late ‘80s synth-pop. However, rather than betraying a lack of focus, Russell’s incessant genre hopping feels more like an ever shifting backdrop on which to display his singular voice and vision.

But, you may ask, what of us who care not for the opulence of avant-disco or the ethereal minimalism of, well, minimalism? What of the song, in its purest form, free from the trappings of stylistic window dressing? Fortunately, Russell’s output has this area covered as well. While most of his music was firmly rooted in the Big City New York Art Scene, the Iowa farm boy that he left behind in his youth still found a voice in some of his finest and most accessible work. Often considered something of a footnote to his career, “Love is Overtaking Me” Audika Records’ compilation of his “song” songs, could stand alone as a career-capping collection of tunes from a truly great singer-songwriter. There are distinct notes of Dylan, Lennon, Nick Drake, Randy Newman, Gram Parsons, and even a bit of Lynyrd Skynyrd. But whomever the superficial touchstone may be, each song is anchored by the immense warmth and humanity that so completely and persistently infuses all of his work. In fact, Russell’s truest genius may be precisely the way he manages to transubstantiate the obvious passion he felt for life and for love into song.

NOBODY WANTS A LONELY HEART - ...

I COULDN'T SAY IT TO YOUR FACE...

If you're at all interested in learning more, "Wild Combination" is a highly recommended viewing. Unlike many documentaries detailing the lives of late lamented musicians, which are little more than a string of friends and admirers rhapsodizing over the subject, this is film that stands alone as a cinematic achievement in its own right. (In fact, this was my introduction to his music)

Bobby McFerrin's Pentatonic Power

Bobby "Don't Worry be Happy" McFerrin turns the World Science Festival audience into the giant FAO Schwartz keyboard from Big as he displays the power of the pentatonic scale.

Featured Tunes: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

When an announcer suavely introduces our fearless lead singer over some super heavy funk, "Dap-Dipping with the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings," there’s no stop to the movement. "Sharon Jones, Sharon Jones, Sharon Jones...exciting dance floors across the nation with her dynamic new sound." Think old school James Brown soul laced with a certain East Bay Oakland-style funk.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, Sharon Jones first hit the scene as a backup singer working with soul legend Lee Fields in 1996, but has been singing since she was a child in local churches and NYC funk bands. Before she made it big, she worked as a prison guard at Rikers Island and a security guard in an armored car. Tough is an understatement. See this woman live and you’ll get the picture about 35 seconds after she hits the stage. Working with various incarnations prior, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were officially formed in the summer of 2001 after scoring a club gig in Barcelona. Sharon Jones commands the stage like a young Tina Turner and works the band into the funkified frenzy. It's only a matter of time before you start doing the Dap dip. Just wait. Here's a snip from her recent performance at Amoeba...