Music

Them Crooked Vultures Sunday, 13 December 2009 22:07 Written by pjmullen

From the title you might be wondering if this band is comprised of a group of ex-Lehman bankers.  Fortunately, that is not the case.

The beginnings of Them Crooked Vultures started back in 2005 when Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame dropped some hints about this project in an interview.  Things finally came together this year and the the latest 'Supergroup' dropped their self title debut album in November.

Joining Grohl as founding members are Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin).  Grohl retakes his rightful place behind the drums while Homme handles lead guitar and vocals.  An ageless Jones tackles bass, keyboards, piano, mandolin and slide guitar.

While John Paul Jones is most well known for his work with Led Zeppelin, the more reserved member of the legendary band has an impressive body of work including collaborations with REM, Peter Gabriel and Paul McCartney and numerous production credits.  The connection with Grohl was made when Jones played mandolin and piano on the Foo Fighter's 2005 release 'In Your Honor'.

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The Top 10 Greatest Christmas Songs Wednesday, 09 December 2009 13:08 Written by pjmullen

'Tis the season to be jolly, which means stores have eggnog again, I become even more thankful for the invention of the DVR because of those damn Jared commercials and, of course, Christmas music is dominating the airwaves.  I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods, but around here several radio stations went to a 'holiday only' format before we had the chance to recover from our tryptophan comas.

I'm not quite in the holiday spirit yet, but every year there are a handful of songs that I need to hear when it comes time to wrap up the presents and trim the tree.  Some are timeless classics, some are just personal favorites, but, to me, these are the top 10 greatest Christmas songs of all time.

10. A Holly, Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives

How can you not like Sam the Snowman?

 

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Chanukah Fever Giveaway Winner Tuesday, 10 November 2009 11:20 Written by pjmullen

Congratulations to eyesofbabes, the winner of the Chanukah Fever giveaway as chosen by random.org from the 16 entries received in the contest.

The content drawing results can be viewed by clicking here.

Please contact PJ Mullen @ pj at realmendriveminivans dot com to claim your prize.

Thank you very much to all that entered!

These are not your Mama's Chanukah songs: a review and giveaway Tuesday, 03 November 2009 00:00 Written by pjmullen

Today at The Crossroads I'm turning to keys over to my good friend Steely Dad who was kind enough to handle a new music review opportunity for me.  Without further adieu, the Donald Fagen to my Walter Becker, or something like that, Steely Dad:

My buddy PJ over at the blog Real Men Drive Minivans asked if I’d like to review a new Chanukah CD. Although a serious jazz buff and reviewer who knows much about his art form, PJ felt, as a righteous gentile, that he was notqualified to do this genre of music justice. Enter me.

I love music but Chanukah music? I was asking myself, “Seriously, is PJ really going to put me through this torture?” Let’s face it, Chanukah music just doesn’t imbue one with the spirit of the holidays as well as its Christian cousin, Christmas music. So, to be honest, my first reaction was “What are you, meshugenah, PJ?” But I love PJ; he’s my blogging bro and if a brother asks a favor, you deliver.

PJ mailed the CD, Chanukah Fever, a 13-track disk (the first is not a song but an intro) created by the artist Mama Doni. My son, who is four, was really stoked to check it out.  I, on the other hand, thought, “How many versions of ‘The Dreidel Song’ can one artist sing?" Thirteen, I guessed. Oy vey! What did I get myself into?

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Creatures of habit? Thursday, 22 October 2009 10:20 Written by pjmullen

A few weeks ago I was in the middle of a funk coming up with new topic ideas for this column. In an effort to break out of it and find something to talk about I turned to Joe for some ideas. Through our conversation he started sharing some music that he was digging. While a lot of it was good, most of it were things that wouldn't necessarily jive with my musical preferences.

As the conversation turned towards artists like Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth, the music clips we were coming up with appealed more to me because I tend to gravitate towards the blues. It wasn't until Ciara left a comment one of my earlier posts about how Bruce Springsteen wasn't her thing and that people tend to gravitate towards specific genres that it hit me - are we musical creatures of habit?

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Jamming in Joe's Garage Sunday, 27 September 2009 09:45 Written by pjmullen

Back in the mid 1960's the concept of a rock opera was pretty much foreign until Pete Townshend of The Who penned 'A Quick One While He's Away', which is a nine minute track on The Who's second album that is considered to be the earliest recorded example of a rock opera.  Then Townshend would turn the music world upside down with the release of 'Tommy' in 1969.

Townshend's influence quickly spread in the 1970's to the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, 1970), David Bowie (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, 1972), Genesis (The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, 1974) and Pink Floyd (The Wall, 1979).  The rock opera format would also be adopted by none other than Frank Zappa when he released Joe's Garage, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this month.  Act I was released as a single LP and began the story of what could possibly happen to you if music were made illegal.  It was quickly followed by a double LP containing Acts II & III in November 1979.

Joe's Garage revolves around the main protagonist Joe, who is a typical garage band youth who gets signed to a record deal and learns the hard way about life in the music business.  After having the cops called on him repeatedly by his neighbors, he is given the advice to 'stick closer to church oriented social activities' where he meets Mary who would become his girlfriend.

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