The full lineup for Austin’s 2008 Fun Fun Fun Fest! was announced today (see: Official Fun Fun Fun Fest Austin 2008 Lineup). I signed up as a volunteer in keeping up with my vow to do one music/one art event a year. This means I’ll most definitely have a shift during one of my favorite acts. Oh well, here’s hoping the odds are slim in working a kiddie booth again during a propane tank explosion (…ACL Fest, ‘07).
A handful of the artists I’m looking forward to hearing:
(and for the computer illiterates, right click and “Save Link As” to get the mp3)
inFO: James Scott Tamborello, aka Dntel, is an electronic music artist. He’s also known as James Figurine, the co-programmer and vocalist for the electropop outfit named (you guessed it) Figurine. Other projects include Strictly Ballroom, Headset and the ever-so-popular duo with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie called (drum roll please), The Postal Service. Album Appearances include Bright Eyes - Take It Easy, Love Nothing (2004, Saddle Creek) and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (2005, Saddle Creek).
inFO: Why? is one of the founding groups of the anticon. record label out of Oakland, California. The band is a three-piece group with Yoni as the primary song writer, his bro playing the drums and an additional keyboardist at live concerts. In their arrangements, Why? lean more towards folk and indie rock as opposed to the more hip-hop styling of their label mates. Their lyrics tend to be very abstract, focusing more on imagery than on any particular story….and they’re f***ing awesome. Period.
Why? - By Torpedo Or Crohn’s Lyrics
Sleeping late i
hear the sad horns of labor trucks sigh
my neighbor walks by
high heels click dry
like half a proud horse downbrook
i hear somebody’s babbling i mistook
for a cavalry
whispering victory to the sparks in their kindling
but but all their green wood’s wet and unmet
as of yet by the gases of flame
pressing again the pending physics of my passed down last name
living in the tier between two spaces condemned
in one of the many places you’re not i am
hiding from my friends in the bathroom at thrift town
to write this tune down
just doesn’t stop
today after lunch
i got sick and blew chunks
all over my new shoes in the lot behind whole foods
this is a new kind of blues
and what about losing limb or loved one in a duel
dissatisfies you
it seems just as a kid i did not shit my pants much
why start now with this stuff
and man i do not bluff
second caller
gets bit by a dog or jeff dahmer kisses or stitches
no mitt for these pitches
lone pone one master of the cheap pun
if i’m not raw i’m just a bit underdone
but i’d be okay cool as a rail
if they’d just let us have health food in hell
just doesn’t stop
good heavens background radiation and the black arts awaiting
not the same since i switched my hair part and started shaving
got hacksed
my hidden hair gone corners
oh i’ll never be a joiner
life long local foreigner i
raw lung homegrown faking co-ed naked choir
second tenor highest riser blessed clever compromiser
i’ll be proudly mouthing watermelon every song
i put the phone to my ear
but all’s i hears a dial tone
will they map my skull and wrap my bones
when my wig is gone?
hmmm
i’ll go unknown by torpedo or crohns
only those evil live to see their own likeness in stone
…my brother said that
just doesn’t stop
i can decide
while i’m alive i’ll feel alive
and what’s next
i guess i’ll know when i’ve
gotten there
while i’m alive i’ll feel alive
and what’s next
i guess i’ll know when i’ve
gotten there.
Goldfrapp - A&E Lyrics
It’s a blue, bright blue Saturday.
And the pain has started to slip away.
I’m in a backless dress on a pastel ward, the shining.
Think I want you still.
But it may be pills at work.
Do you really wanna know how I was dancing on the floor?
I was trying to fool you when I’m crawling up the door.
And theres a tune at things you say that you don’t do.
Why don’t you ring?
I was feeling lonely, feeling low.
Feeling like I needed you.
Like I’m waking up surrounded by me.
A&E.
It’s a blue, bright blue Saturday.
And the pain has started to slip away.
I’m in a backless dress on a pastel ward, the shining.
Think I want you still.
But it may be pills at work.
How did I get to accident, emergency?
All I wanted was you to take me out high.
I was feeling lonely, feeling low.
Feeling like I needed you.
Like I hoped you’d call and hoped you’d see me.
A&E.
Goldfrapp - You Never Know from Supernature, 2005
Live at Brixton Academy, 6/10/05
Minus the Bear - Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse Lyrics
Hey, let’s cross the sea
and get some culture.
Red wine with every meal
and absinthe after dinner. We’d look good side by side, walking back to the hotel.
We’ve got to get something
to eat and to drink yeah.
And find a place too stay
that’s not far off the main way.
We’ve got to plan our day,
Rodan and the D’Orsay
and find a way to cram it all in
before we drink hard again.
Let’s get a bottle and drink
alone tonight.
Let’s get a bottle and drink
alone tonight.
This light looks good on you.
Morning came early.
Sitting on a park bench
that’s older than my country.
Two star hotel
hotel
two star hotel
hotel
Two star hotel
near St. Germain.
Two star hotel
where the stars don’t mean,
the stars don’t mean anything.
Télépathique - I’m Not the Man You Think I Am
Official Video, Unreleased Album, 2008
Télépathique - I’m Not the Man You Think I Am Lyrics
I’m not the man you think I am.
I’m not that kind of guy.
Beneath the sleek exterior,
there’s less than meets the eye.
I’m just what you’ve been looking for.
Your wildest dream come true. I’m not the man you think I am,
but I’m the man for you.
I’m unimportant business
I’m late for my premier.
I’m doing you a favor
just by being here.
Surely you can buy a drink
for someone so renowned.
I’m not the man you think I am,
but I’m the man you found.
I’m burning with indifference.
I’m sleeping with desire.
I’m selling the snow to Eskimos.
I’m preaching to the choir.
My best is catching up to me.
My chips are coming due (too?).
I’m not the man you think I am,
but I’m the man for you…
Bottle Up and Go – Wayward Son Lyrics
This is more than just the blues, its depression.
I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know what to do.
I got so thirsty,
I fell down the well.
Went to sleep in my bed,
I woke up in hell.
I reached for the bottle,
but nothing was left.
I reached for my baby,
my baby was dead.
This is more than just the blues, its depression.
I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know what to do.
Oh mama I’m home,
your wayward son,
but all my trials have just begun.
And I know I’ve done wrong
but I’ll make it right.
Just give me the strength
to last the night.
Keep a gun in my pillow.
I don’t understand,
why I always wake up
with a gun in my hand.
I love my baby
but her body is cold.
Seems like my liquor
is the only thing…
Martha Wainwright – Factory Lyrics
These are not my people,
I should never have come here.
The chick with a dick and the gift for the gab.
I know a place.
I’ve seen a face.
I’ll take the coast from factory to factory
ah….
These nights that I’ve been all alone and,
through my window the moonlight she shone
and ah, on my walls the fire she danced
playing out my very last chance to
run, run, run, run.
Don’t look back, you’re moving fast…
I know a place.
I’ve seen a face.
I’ll take the coast from factory to factory
ah…
And there are millions and millions of people around.
On my TV, walking my streets, making sounds.
And I can walk with them I, I love them I need them, I…
But there are others I have known as poor souls, sores exposed
through the run-of-the-mill, the destitute, and the cold
and ah,
sores exposed to the blisters and shards,
where any kind of kindness is as far as the sun,
the sun, the sun, the sun.
Run, run, run, run.
I know a place.
I’ve seen a face.
And I’ll take the call from factory to factory,
ah yeah.
Oh yeah.
Run, run.
These are not my people,
I should never have come here.
Oh I know a place,
I’ve seen a face.
I’ll take the high road from factory to factory.
Ahhhh yeah.
There’s a lot of confusion as to what defines a DJ these days. Well, I’m confused anyways. The official definition says “a disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays prerecorded music for an audience, evidently.” This would be a Samantha Ronson-style DJ, clicking a button on her Mac between tracks, Marlboro reds and Lindsay Lohan. Then on the other hand you have DJs like Girl Talk, who has been known to sport an “I’m Not a DJ” t-shirt. He plays prerecorded music, but it’s original music that he’s created by mixing together several pieces of other prerecorded music. On the other side of the spectrum you have DJs like RJD2, that are also musicians. He creates original tracks by using samples from other sources plus music that he’s created using various instruments. (Side Note: After seeing his sold out show back in April, it’s safe to say that the masses would prefer he spin, rather than sing). Where am I going with all of this? I’m not sure, but I’m angry and I have a bone to pick (and I’m not even a meat eater). If you’re using other music to create your own, then give credit where credit is due regardless of which type of DJ you are.
If someone uses a song to create their own track, it’s out of respect for the original creator that credit is given. All of the sources of Girl Talk’s tracks (see: Girl Talk Wiki) are cited, and some of these popular remixes include samples of over twenty songs. So why is it that when a single song is used, you rarely see any cred given to the original singer?
Case in point: I heard this song (below) a few months back and after watching the video my initial reaction was, “Who’s that white girl? Great voice, great lyrics, I want her albums!” (YouTube commenters seem to share the same opinion). If you haven’t seen this video in all of its MTV-style cheesiness (aka: a “funny” intro, a dramatic song pause and a “to be continued”), then take a gander and a listen to see if the same question enters your mind:
Sonny J : Handsfree (If You Hold My Hand)
from Disastro, 2008
After watching this, I did some digging (the word “some” being an understatement). I did a lyrics search only to find that the actual singer is not the hot white girl, it’s Donna Hightower. After checking the YouTube video page once more, along with Sonny J’s website and MySpace page, I couldn’t find a single reference to the original song that sounds almost the same, but even better (scroll to the very bottom to listen for yourself).
About a month after my findings, I checked Sonny J’s MySpace page again to see if any credit had finally been given to the singer only to find the following post: Date: Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Subject: DONNA HIGHTOWER ROCKS MY WORLD
“big thanks to everyone who has supported sonnington through the power of myspace or wherever . you should be able to buy or steal ” handsfree” from most record shops from the 9th, just likes i dids with donna hightower’s tune. this is funk legit. so,git yo asses in gear n …. happy shoppin’ folks…”
So the subject line was okay, but I’m not digging his use of poor grammar and misspellings or the fact that he admits to stealing the song: “just likes i dids with donna hightower’s tune”. I also don’t dig the fact that not only does he use a lame-ass MySpace post as his only outlet for prop giving, but he also has a dancer lip-synch Donna’s song in that lame-ass video.
In closing, if you’re going to throw a few beats in something and then label it as your own, at least give credit to the original creator! …and learn how to f’ing write a sentence, yo.
So, here is some credit to you, Donna Hightower. Listen to her songs, watch her videos and then go buy Donna Hightower records.
The only bit of information on the singer I could find is the following from Ron Wynn at All Music Guide:
“Little” Donna Hightower had a dynamic, big voice and made some fine shouting records for Decca and RPM in the ’50s. Unfortunately, she never landed any hits, but that wasn’t due to any lack of skill. She not only had range and power, but was equally compelling doing sentimental, soft ballads. She was backed by the orchestras of Horace Henderson and Maxwell Davis on the Decca and RPM material, respectively.
Enjoy.
Donna Hightower – This World Today is a Mess
Donna Hightower-Kiss Me (Bésame)
Donna Hightower - Stormy Weather
Donna Hightower - If You Hold My Hand
Donna Hightower - If You Hold My Hand Lyrics
If you hold my hand, things won’t be the same.
If you hold my hand, things are about to change.
Summer’s gone, spring is gone, life goes on and on and I’m just bored to tears.
If I could find a little space to paint a smile upon my face and hide the years.
If winter comes and I’m around to see the snow upon the ground, what can I do?
When I don’t have the will to fight,
the coldness of the summer nights are the darkest blue.
TUESday
@ Antone’s: Women’s Show w/The Great Barbara Lynn- with Carolyn Wonderland, Cindy Cashdollar, Rosie Flores, Paula Nelson The Great Barbara Lynn MySpace Carolyn Wonderland MySpace @ Salvage Vanguard Theater (FREE Rehearsal): “Twilight and Ghost Stories” w/Chris Schlarb, Bill Baird from {{{Sunset}}}, Nick Hennies, Aaron Russell from The Weird Weeds, Diane Cluck, Jon Doyle, Chris Cogburn and more Chris Schlarb Website
WEDNESday
@ Mohawk: Coke Dares w/Awesome Cool Dudes Coke Dares MySpace Awesome Cool Dudes MySpace @ Salvage Vanguard Theater (FREE Rehearsal): “Twilight and Ghost Stories” w/Chris Schlarb, Bill Baird from {{{Sunset}}}, Nick Hennies, Aaron Russell from The Weird Weeds, Diane Cluck, Jon Doyle, Chris Cogburn and more Chris Schlarb Website
