CUT OF THE DAY: MIDDLE BROTHER – “PORTLAND”
Middle Brother is a supergroup that consists of John McCauley (Deer Tick), Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) and Matt Vasquez (Delta Spirit). I love all 3 of those bands and I knew this group was going to be great. Their self-titled album is one of the best you’ve never heard from 2011. I hope they do another one.
“Portland” is a Replacements song and it first appeared on their 2-disc compilation, All for Nothing/Nothing for All. It’s all about an incident in December of 1987 at The Pine Street Theatre in Portland, Oregon. The Mats say it was their worst show of all-time. They were very drunk and half the audience left during the gig. Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson chose to play in their underwear. Click here for more details from a dude that was at the show.
“We’re sorry, Portland” is inscribed on vinyl copies of their 1989 LP Don’t Tell a Soul. Side A got ’Portland’ and side B got ‘we’re sorry’. Crazy story. “It’s too late to turn back, here we go, Portland, oh no.” This video is from Middle Brother’s debut performance at SXSW in 2010. Dope.
BITTER:SWEET – “DIRTY LAUNDRY”
This hot jam is off Bitter:Sweet’s 2006 debut album, The Mating Game. Quite possibly one of the only bands in the world to include a colon in their name. Artists from L.A. are so daring. “Dirty Laundry” is by far the best song on this album and it was featured in a commercial for Victoria’s Secret. Yes it features a sample from Charles Aznavour’s “Parce Que Tu Crois.” And yes that’s the same slowed-down sample you hear in “What’s the Difference” from Dr. Dre’s 2001.
The Mating Game is a cool listen and they remind me of another trip-hop band, Sneaker Pimps. Shana Halligan’s voice kept making me think of Cruel Intentions and the “take it down” from “6 Underground.” There’s no official video for “Dirty Laundry” and that’s a shame.
SIMON & GARFUNKEL – “THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK”
by Jon with no H
Sometimes you’re watching your favorite basketball team get embarrassed and your mind starts to wander. Your headphones suddenly find themselves in their natural place and your music library of choice pops up before you. You remember you own the discography of one of the best groups of all time, although it’s a group you don’t regularly seek out. The horrendous, though not unexpected, ass kicking you’ve been witnessing slowly dissipates into a haze of harmony and finger-picking.
This state of being is quite wonderful, but one song rises above the haze and demands to be listened to more than once. “The Only Living Boy In New York.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, but it’s never in the mix of Simon & Garfunkel songs that get played or talked about. This is a minor travesty. This is a minor effort to rectify the situation.
(editor’s note: the Celtics fell below .500 while Jermaine O’Neal & Chris Wilcox left with injuries, please help us)
YES – “AMERICA”
by Jon with no H
And while I’ve got the Simon & Garfunkel portal open I might as well pass along one of the greatest cover songs ever recorded: Yes’ version of “America.”
52 days with no caffeine or alcohol.
15 days til Black Keys and beers.
