Monthly Archives: May 2009

Overheard on TV: Fox’s Dollhouse Gives Knowing Wink With Inclusion of Beck Song

Posted on by
Reply

Scene from "Omega" episode of Dollhouse on Fox

Last Friday night’s (May 8th) episode of  Dollhouse titled “Omega” was the season finale for the show– and, of course with all things Fox and Sci-Fi and Whedon the show’s future is in doubt.

The episode does a fairly decent job of providing some plot resolution in the event of not renewing the series. It also opens some new plot possibilities in the event they do renew the series.

In the final scene of the episode the producers of the show use Beck’s version of the Korgis hit song “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” from their 1980 album Dumb Waiters.

Beck’s version of “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”– a collaboration with Jon Brion– was recorded for Michael Gondry’s 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. A connection, frankly, I had never made before!

The inclusion of this song has to be a knowing wink by the producers since “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” was also a story about mind erasure. Similarly, the characters in both stories are never truly “erased.”

The song’s melancholy tone and lyrics– although very few (it’s a verse and chorus repeated) fit the mood of the scene and the “change your heart, look around you” seems to fit what’s going on with the characters based on recent story developments. Of course, this is why the song fits in “Eternal Sunshine” as well.

New Jayhawks Legacy Releases Planned, Anthology on the Horizon

Posted on by
Reply

Some great news for Jayhawks fans– Sony Legacy/Columbia are working on preparing Legacy releases of the Jayhawks American/Sony catalog. This would be Hollywood Town Hall (1993) and  Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995) with Mark Olson in the band; and the post-Olson-departure releases Sound of Lies (1997),  Smile (2000),  and Rainy Day Music (2002). According to information shared on the jayhawksfanpage board (THE source for all things Jayhawks-related) as well as some interviews recently Gary and Mark (mostly Gary) have been combing through their personal archives to come up with the bonus material to be included in these releases.

Additionally, there will be an anthology to be titled Music From the North Country – The Jayhawks Anthology, which will be a two-disc set with one disc of tracks from their albums including their bigger hits, and the second disc will be full of demos, compilation-only tracks, soundtrack-only tracks and b-sides. This will be released on July 7th– just in time for their reunion gig at the Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis on July 10th.

Tracklisting for Music from the North Country – The Jayhawks Anthology:

DISC ONE: Two Angels / Ain’t No End / Waiting for the Sun / Martin’s Song / Clouds / Settled Down Like Rain / Blue / I’d Run Away / Over My Shoulder / Miss Williams’ Guitar / Trouble / Big Star / The Man Who Loved Life / Smile / I’m Gonna Make You Love Me / What Led Me To This Town / Tailspin / All the Right Reasons / Save It For a Rainy Day / Angelyne

DISC TWO: Falling Star (from Bunkhouse Album, 1986) / Old Woman From the Red Clay (alt version) / That’s the Bag I’m In (KFAI recording) / Won’t Be Coming Home (early demo) / Stone Cold Mess (HTH outtake) / Mission on 2nd (demo) / Lights (from Sweet Relief album, a classic!) / Darling Today (Blown Away soundtrack) / Break My Mind / Get the Load Out (both “Bad Time” B-sides) / Poor Little Fish (alt version) / Someone Will (Live from Woman’s Club) / Cure for This (this and all the rest are from the band’s rehearsal studio, 1999-2001)/ I Can Make It on My Own / Rotterdam / Follow Me / In the Canyon / Tailspin (alt version) / I Think I’ve Had Enough (Louris home tape) / Help Me Forget

As far as the Legacy releases of the albums are concerned, according to this thead on the fanboard in a reply by “Sacred Roots” who was involved in the archive research for the releases, including the Anthology release, the plans have been to add around six songs to each of the releases, except for Tomorrow the Green Grass which should get a second disc that includes 18 tracks from “The Mystery Demos.” Here is a great post on the blog Sixty-to-Zero about the Mystery Demos resulting from what must have been be the work done for these releases.

In this time of record labels trying to figure out how to stay viable it is clear that they at least feel that the future sustainability lies in re-releasing and re-packaging product. In the case of Sony/Columbia we see in the Legacy releases the interest in providing fans with new material that hasn’t seen the light of day before commercially. As a collector, I’m overjoyed that they can do this, but as a past consumer, I can’t help but feel like I’m being taken advantage of. I know, “gift horse” and all that, but I only have so much money to invest in material I already have.

Aside from that, I’m hoping that the relationship momentum that Gary Louris and Mark Olson have established resulting in the fantastic Ready For The Flood and the renewed interest in their back catalog may precipitate a future Jayhawks release of new material.

Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition Out 5/26/09

Posted on by
Reply

One of my all time favorite jazz records is the 1959 Columbia release Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. I have this release on compact disc (not the remaster) and a couple copies on vinyl. Frankly, it is a lot of people’s favorite jazz release– it is one of the best selling jazz albums ever (next to Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue also produced by Teo Macero). It has the distinction of having a single that reached the Top 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart– “Take Five” composed by band member Paul Desmond.

2009 is the 50th Anniversary of Time Out, and to celebrate the occasion Sony Legacy is re-releasing it’s 1997 compact disc remaster of the album on May 26th. According to this posting on the Down Beat website, the second disc is made up of previously unreleased performances from The Newport Jazz festival from 1961-1964. So, sadly, no unreleased session outtakes for this release. The unreleased Newport recordings are a nice touch, I suppose but makes the release not worth much more than the 1997 remaster except for the third disc in the release which is a DVD with an interview with Dave Brubeck on Time Out as well as some photographs and an “interactive piano demonstration” (who knows what this is?).

I spent time today trying to find any information on this release other than the paltry little bit that the online retailers have and was not successful. No press release, no mention of the release at the Sony Legacy website (at least at the time of this writing)! So, while it might be nice that they are doing a new packaging of the release, they don’t bother to promote it.

At first glance this really looks like a way for Sony to cash in on the 50th Anniversary of this release.  Unfortunately this is nothing like the Kind of Blue
 50th anniversary box with the 180g blue vinyl, the CD, DVD and book that they did last year. I will pick this up because I’m interested to see the interview with Brubeck (who turned 88 last December) and I don’t have the remastered version of Time Out.

Here is the track listing with some session information I found at the excelent jazzdisco.org I haven’t found any place that indicates which Newport Jazz Festival shows the songs are from. I’ll update if I get any details.:

Dave Brubeck Quartet Time Out 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition Track Listing

Disc 1:
1. Blue Rondo A La Turk (Album Version) (NYC, August 18, 1959)
2. Strange Meadow Lark (Album Version) (NYC, July 1, 1959)
3. Take Five (Album Version) (NYC, July 1, 1959)
4. Three To Get Ready (Album Version) (NYC, June 25, 1959)
5. Kathy’s Waltz (Album Version) (NYC, June 25, 1959)
6. Everybody’s Jumpin’ (Album Version) (NYC, June 25, 1959)
7. Pick Up Sticks (Album Version) (NYC, August 18, 1959)

Disc 2 (Live at Newport Jazz Festival 1961-1964):
1. St. Louis Blues – (previously unreleased)
2. Waltz Limp – (previously unreleased)
3. Since Love Had Its Way – (previously unreleased)
4. Koto Song – (previously unreleased)
5. Pennies From Heaven – (previously unreleased)
6. You Go To My Head – (previously unreleased)
7. Blue Rondo a La Turk – (previously unreleased)
8. Take Five – (previously unreleased)

Disc 3 (DVD):
1. Dave Brubeck on Time Out
2. Photo Gallery
3. Interactive Piano Demonstration

Wikipedia article on Time Out