August 17

Let's talk about Eric Johnson, musician's musician and guitar god. If you're a Guitar Hero player, you know how hard it is to play along with "Cliffs of Dover," his biggest charting hit. The song came from the 1990 album 'Ah Via Musicon', his Grammy-winning platinum record. Here's a performance of the song from the 'Tonight Show':


If you're not convinced of his awesomeness after that performance, you don't have to apologize. Sometimes in this column, we talk about why certain talents aren't superstars. Eric Johnson's downfall is a more pronounced but typical demonstration of why musician's musicians don't become superstars.
Let's put it in context: 1990's "Ah Via Musicon" is a technical masterpiece. In that album, he achieved the ultimate artistic goal of revealing his unique voice within his medium of guitar playing, of establishing his own sound.


When you get beyond the guitar wizardry, you can't ignore the fact that it's a soft rock record. It is so easy to believe that this guy got his big break doing studio sessions for Christopher Cross. Here's another song that Eric Johnson did with ex-Marilyn Manson guitarist John5, just to remind you that Johnson can still rock:


Back to Eric Johnson: Some of the songs on "Musicon" are barely songwriting, just skeletons to let the guitar drift and zoom around the room... that's why people gave up on jazz. It's what they call "guitar wanking", and it sets a divide between the audience and the musician. It's like any athlete or artist flexing their muscles: after a while, the only audience the performer is concerned about is the performer. And while there's something to be said about the purity of the artistic expression, what gives art its resonance is its connection with an audience.
Let me encapsulate the difference: listening to most Eric Johnson songs, at best, makes me want to play guitar like Eric Johnson. But a song like "Cliffs of Dover"... it makes me want to fly like Superman.


I don't know if he's ever going to try to hit the charts again; heck, I can't tell if he'll release another solo album on schedule (every six years.) But Eric Johnson has found great success as the 'musician's musician'. After two successful world tours with G3 (a triple bill with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai), he's doing a Guitar Masters tour in 2011, alongside other guitar masters. That's success aplenty...

August 6

I'm writing about Elliot Smith because he reminds me of somebody. Elliot chose the name Elliot growing up because "Steve" sounded like a jock's name and "Steven" sounded too 'bookish' for him. After four years in college, he did odd jobs and collected unemployment, anything to support the music he played with his friends in Heatmiser:

But it's his music on his own that made Elliott Smith renowned - his music, and the melancholy of his own life. Elliott was content playing in the band; he just happened to end up with a solo career, just like he happened to end up an Oscar-nominated songwriter.

Elliott Smith released five albums in his lifetime, so there's a lot of music to discover. But the reason I'm writing about Elliott Smith - the reason he reminds me of somebody- is because he still feels gone too soon, even if he was expecting it.
I knew somebody - barely knew somebody - whose funeral is happening the day after his birthday. I don't have enough stories, good memories, to sustain me, and I can't stand it. I'm even apologizing for not knowing the right Elliott Smith song (if there even was one) to dedicate, and just picking one, because rain is rain. This one kind of feels right, though:

July 31

One of the trickiest things to achieve in the music business is a musical identity. It's twice the challenge for a DJ, who plys his trade by, essentially, repurposing other people's sounds. Norman Cook managed that trick, although it certainly took a while - and a lot of aliases.
Born in Brighton, UK, he was putting together block parties in his teens when he helped a friend out of a pinch, replacing the bassist for his friend's band on the eve of their national tour. That's how he became the bassist for the Housemartins.

The Housemartins sounded a lot like the Smiths, but less angsty. That was good enough to get them on the charts a few times before they called it a day in 1988.

After the Housemartins, he returned to the turntables. By 1989, Norman Cook had a top 30 hit, "Blame it on the Bassline." The guest rapper on the track, MC Wildski, joined Cook's next band, Beats International; their number 1 track, "Dub Be Good to Me", was a hit mashup before there was a mashup trend. In 1994, Freak Power was Cook's foray into acid jazz. In 1995, he whipped up a house album under the name "Pizzaman".


All these projects led him to a sound that he began releasing under the name Fatboy Slim. In 1997, he had enough Fatboy Slim songs for a proper album, Better Living Through Chemistry. Fatboy Slim is his most successful alias; see how many of these songs you recognize:


In 2009, he released "I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat," under the name of Brighton Port Authority - essentially, a Fat Boy Slim duets album. Each of the album's tracks features different collaborator, such as Dizzee Rascal, DJ Danger Mouse, and Iggy Pop.

This video features the "Hitchcock cameo moment" that Cook normally fits into every Fat Boy Slim video.

For his latest album, he delivered Fat Boy Slim's first concept album: 'Here Lies Love', featuring David Byrne, tells the story of former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos and her personal assistant. Meanwhile, Fatboy Slim the deejay continues to play for arena-level crowds across the globe...

July 24

A Happy Birthday wish to former child star Mara Wilson. In her best roles, she distinguished herself by displaying an intelligence and precociousness that seemed more genuine than her peers; she really put the 'actor' in kid actor.

Born in 1987, she inherited a love of acting from her older brother, and Mara started acting at the age of 4. Two years later, she made her feature film debut, in the psychological thriller Mrs Doubtfire, starring Robin Williams:


'Mrs Doubtfire' was a box office smash, and Mara's star rose. The following Thanksgiving, her name was above the title of her second film, the 1994 remake of 'Miracle on 34th Street.' The following spring, the National Association of Theater Owners presented her with the ShoWest Award for "Young Star of the Year", a testament to her growing audience appeal.

Danny Devito was also impressed with Mara's talent. Devito cast her in what has become her most iconic role: Matilda.

Devito's Matilda brought to life the dread and delights of Dahl's stories like no one else had before or since, and Mara's performance as Matilda Wormwood was central to that.

2000's 'Thomas and the Magic Railroad' is the last movie she did before she concentrated on school and being a normal teenager. In the decade to come, her biggest project was in an Odessa,Texas production of Rogers and Hammerstien's 'Cinderella'.

She graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2009. In her senior year, she created a one-woman-show called "Weren't You That Girl...?" It was an autobiographical piece about the child star phase of her life. She managed to avoid the typical post-child star cliches; it'll be interesting to see where the next chapter in her acting career takes her...

July 22

I'm featuring Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls today, because I'm something of a fan. I don't have any albums, but there's a few songs of theirs I've learned by heart and can strum them on guitar. I don't know what they call male Indigo Girls fans (besides naive, I guess), but I've liked their music since high school.
And it turns out Emily's the one I prefer. She tends to sing the higher parts in the harmonies. Also, she sings the vocals for my two favorite songs, which means she wrote the lyrics to my two favorite songs:


Arguably, Emily's highest charting hit isn't with the Indigo Girls, but in a duet with Vonda Shepherd, from one of the Ally McBeal albums:


Anyway, the Girls are in Lexington tonight, so if there's any tickets available, snatch them up and enjoy the show. Tell her Happy Birthday if you see her...

July 5

Today goes out to songwriter's songwriter Marc Cohn. Cohn's most famous for his song "Walking in Memphis", from his self-titled debut.
If you want to hear that song and its origins, the Iso Tank blog has already done a great job of recounting the Walking in Memphis story, plus they've got a primo recording that starts up as soon as you click onto the page, so adjust your volume first...
The song propelled his album to Platinum status; two more singles made some ripples, but got lost in the noise of 'Memphis'. (If you want to pop the question but don't like making speeches, just play "True Companion" so she hears the words, and then show her the ring in the middle of the second verse.)

He released a greatest hits in 2006, even though, besides "Memphis", he only made the charts three more times.

In 2005, after a Denver, Colorado performance, he was shot in the head when someone attempted to carjack him. Apparently, it hit him in the writer's block; he was released from the hospital the next day with no significant injuries, and he would end up returning to the recording studio for the first time in ten years, releasing an album in 2007. Here's a TV appearence of him performing one of those songs, called "Live Out the String" (because "Driving in Denver" would have been, y'know, repetitive.)


In 2010, he's releasing his latest album, which happens to be a covers album. In fact, it's all songs released in 1970, which is a pivotal year of inspiration for him. I admit, he picked a lot of winners for his setlist: Cat Stevens, Wings, Badfinger, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder... Basically, he sang his own mixtape, and we all win. If you're reading this before the album release, and you want a sample, join his mailing list and you'll get a free download of his John Lennon cover "Look at Me".

June 27

Here's to Lisa Germano, another legend along the outskirts of popular music. Lisa's career began as a violinist; she was good enough to join John Mellencamp's band.


Besides her seven-year run in Mellencamp's band, she became an in-demand session player for scores of artists, and not just for her violin playing.



She began to get notice for her singing - and her songwriting. In the 90's, she signed with Capitol Records, then 4AD; 4AD would release several of her critically acclaimed releases. But one very bad year (1998) nearly discouraged her from performing altogether: she was invited to join the Smashing Pumpkins, then fired the night before their US tour, then she did a solo tour for her most recent album, only to learn mid-tour that her label dumped her. She quit music after the tour, and got a job at a bookstore.

But she couldn't give up writing songs, or singing them, and returned to the game, but found better partners. Today, she's signed with an indie label (Young Guns) and has resumed her prolific tendencies. That's good; we need more songs as beautiful as this...

June 12

Today's featured artist is a Giant to me, no question. John Linnell is the skinny, slightly quieter half of They Might Be Giants, the band that plays those songs that seem silly enough for kids, all the while planting little intellectual C4 charges that go off in our mind as we grow up and study all those things we're supposed to learn in school, college, and real life.
I didn't have a favorite John (Flansburgh is the other one) until they took a group hiatus and put out their solo stuff. Flansburgh actually put together a band named Mono Puff, while Linnell released "State Songs" as his solo project. He only managed 18 of the 50 states, but I've got a couple of favorites, while I can't name any Mono Puff songs. (I still need some Flans action for a proper TMBG song; he brings the savoir faire...)
Fortunately, they resumed business as TMBG, eschewing radio charts for multimedia success with all ages. (They learned a lot from Malcolm in the Middle.) Not sure if State Songs will ever be completed (They Might Have covered that with their Deranged Millionaire series.) For today's blog, I've chosen a bootleg recording from an in-store "State Songs" performance:

June 2

Happy Birthday to the perennially underestimated Wayne Brady. Dude has more skills than he knows what to do with. That's probably why he first got the world's attention on "Whose Line is it Anyway?" It could change from episode to episode whether Ryan Styles or Colin Mochrie was funnier, but nobody could keep up with Wayne Brady on on sheer talent.


Since the show ended, he's been everywhere, seeing what sticks. The powers that be tried to give him his own show, which started as a variety show (like all those 70's celebrity specials) then became a Regis-style talk show. He kept winning Emmys, but the show got cancelled, anyway.
He's started and stopped enough projects for a dozen stars. He's had his share of TV pilots, TV movies, and guest appearances in practically every genre on TV. He's recorded several albums, plus a weekly Vegas show. He's on his third (or fourth, I've lost count) game show hosting gig, doing the relaunch of "Let's Make a Deal."
One I didn't know was him: he wrote and song the theme to one of the better cartoons of the last few years, "the Weekenders."


So why isn't Wayne Brady taking over the world? Is it because everybody's expecting him to sing, dance, and be funny every time they see him? Or is he so cool to everybody that it's not cool to like him? Does he just seem too, well, nice?
Maybe he's holding back...

May 30

I'm in the mood for some brit-pop, so let's give a nod to Tim Burgess, lead singer of The Charlatans. They've been together since the 90's started, a product of the Mad-chester scene.

Why have the Charlatans not make a bigger splash across the pond? In the first place, they had a 60's psychedelic band with the same name that forced the band to slap "UK" on all their North American releases. Another point of contention was their first keyboardist, Rob Collins. At their height of their buzz, he was arrested for driving a getaway car from a convenience store robbery; a few years later, he died in a DUI.
Then there's the fact that Tim moved to LA in the 2K's and released a solo album. But they recorded together again in 2004, and keep on keepin' on. He's got his fingers in a lot of pies: he's sang for the Chemical Brothers several times, is part of the Britpop supergroup The Chavs, appeared on Joaquin Phoenix's upcoming rap album, and DJs at spots across the globe. In fact, between his producing credits and concert programming/curating, he's become quite the tastemaker.

2010 should be a banner year for the Charlatans, between a new album and the 20th anniversary of their first. They've thrown country, ska, psychedelia, and electronic sounds in their previous releases; interesting to see where Tim and his mates' next album takes us... maybe even the US. Meanwhile, here's the biggest splash they've made in the US so far, and the song that made me a fan...

May 29

It's easier to let the music of Danny Elfman speak for him, but I wouldn't be doing my job then, would I? Danny first made the world sit up and notice him as part of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The band formed from the afterbirth of "Forbidden Zone", which also happened to be Danny's first film score. The band lasted until the mid-90's.

Paul Reubens introduced Danny to Tim Burton, who was set to direct Paul in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure." In that time, all the way to Alice in Wonderland, Elfman has composed all but two of Burton's films.
I can't believe that for all the films he's written for, Elfman's been nominated for an Oscar a mere 4 times - and only one nomination is for a Burton film (Big Fish). Here's a great retrospective of his music libray so far:

May 20

Hawaiian Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (say it like it's spelled) brought the music of his people to the attention of the world in his time on Earth. Like the land for which he was named, Israel sang and spoke about reclaiming the land of his people for his fellow native Hawaiians. He first got notice in Mahaka Sons of Ni'iHau, a band he started with his brother in the 80's. In the 90's, he released several solo albums, to massive acclaim, before his passing in 1997.

His most famous recording is a cover medley, inserting "What a Wonderful World" into the lyrics of "Over the Rainbow". Recorded for his 1993 album 'Facing Futures', Israel's version persists, long after his passing. It's become a turn-to song for sentimental TV commercials and wistful movie scenes (Meet Joe Black, 50 First Dates, Fred Claus,...) The song anchors three of Israel's best-selling albums ('Futures' is the only Platinum album by a Hawaiian artist) and is on its way to becoming the preferred performance of "Over the Rainbow" (if American Idol auditions are any indication.)
So, here's Brudda Iz, and his signature on the song:

May 19

Is Australian David Helfgott a geniune savant, or does he just play piano better than we'd expect him to?
Helfgott is known for his piano playing, along with his psychological burden. As a youth, he showed genius potential in his musicianship, but by the time he was awarded scholarships to international music conservatories, he was also battling mental illness. By his 30's, he was institutionalized.
Eventually, he found the coping mechanisms that allowed him to return to society. He got a job playing piano at a wine bar in Perth, and from that ignominious perch, began dazzling everyone that could hear with his music again.

It's the kind of story that the movies love to tell (and the movie based on his life, Shine, would be nominated for 8 Academy Awards.) But there are music critics who feel he's been too mythologized by the movies; that beyond his on-stage tics and behaviors, his piano playing is only slightly better than ordinary. So are crowds gathering to listen to a genius? Or just to cheer on a man who they wouldn't expect to play piano at all? Is he being appreciated or exploited?
Undeniably, his story has brought to light the challenges of dealing with mental illness and trying to find a place in the world. In 1999, he played piano on the Silverchair track, "Emotion Sickness".

May 12

Happy Birthday to one of the Kids: comedian Bruce McCulloch, of the Canadian sketch comedy group Kids in the Hall. If your memory's short on which member was who, Bruce was the short one. He was also the most musical one, writing several songs for the show and the subsequent movie "Brain Candy".

Besides KITH, Bruce has recorded two albums of his funny songs. He's worked more behind the camera than his fellow Kids (writing and directing SNL episodes, plus feature films Dog Park, Stealing Harvard, and Superstar). Most recently, he created the ABC sitcom "Carpoolers", and if I'd have known, I'd have given the show a chance. Especially if they had more scenes like this:

The boys got back together this year for "Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town". It debuted on Canadian TV (and their website has episodes on tap), and comes to US cable this summer. If you're wondering if Canada's answer to Monty Python still has it, here's the trailer:

May 9

Happy Birthday to Sean Altman, co-composer of one of the most relentless TV theme songs of all time. Altman co-founded the vocal group Rockapella alive, which tried to pick up where doo-wop groups like the Inkspots and the Persuasions left off. They got their big break in 1988 performing at a house party for Kathy Lee Gifford; she was so impressed, she invited them on Regis and Kathy Lee. Their performance impressed Spike Lee, and he invited them on a TV special about vocal groups; here's a clip:

He's the one that with the dreadlocked mullet (and when is that style ever coming back?)
All this TV exposure led to a recording career and critical accolades. But Rockapella were still shy of household names, until TV stepped in once again, and they were commissioned as the house band for a children's game show. They also wrote the show's theme:

Altman stayed with the group until 1997, then began concentrating on his solo career in earnest. Besides his solo albums, he performs with other ex-Rockapellans (as the GrooveBarbers) and comedy songs under the name JEWMONGOUS (songs like "Be My Little Shabbos Goy" and "A Little Off the Top".
Let's wrap this up with a goodbye song; the GrooveBarbers, singing "Goodnight Sweetheart" onstage. Sean's the one in the middle:

May 6

The hits keep coming on the Birthday Blog; today's celebrant is Tony Scalzo, from alt-rockers Fastball. They're an Austin, TX band that hit the radio lottery with the
1998 smash "The Way," a song about an elderly couple cruising into the sunset; inexplicably, it was a top ten hit all over the world that summer. While they never duplicated that success, they made a few more splashes on the charts, and still play today, mostly around Austin.
"The Way" reminds me of my cruising days, when I had the car, the gas money, the stamina, and the legal documentation to just drive nowhere at all, for no reason at all; some of the best times of my life...

May 4

Happy Birthday to Green Day's Mike Dirnt. Born Michael Pritchard, he got known in school for playing 'air bass', muttering 'dirnt, dirnt, dirnt' whenever he strummed - hence, the nickname.
Green Day is becoming that extremely rare punk band that manages to find success decades later, at the expense of their 'punk'ness. After all, isn't punk about being marginalized(Ramones, Fugazi) and/or self-destructive(Fear, Sex Pistols)? It certainly isn't doing arena shows or musical theater...
...and yet, the toast of Broadway is American Idiot, which is energizing a otherwise moribund box office season. Rock music on Broadway isn't new - The Who's Tommy, Hedwig, Rock of Ages... But are there enough Green Day/Glee fans willing to shell out Broadway ticket prices?
Here's the video for the cast recording/band mashup of "21 Guns":

April 30

Today's birthday is a cautionary tale. Glenn Humplik was the co-host on many of Tom Green's shows, from his Canadian public access show in the 90's to his ground-breaking MTV series. The signature comedy of Tom Green combined the absurdity of Ernie Kovacs with the lowest common denominator of the America's Funniest HomeVideos standard that is a baseball bat to the groin. And when Tom didn't have his parents or unsuspecting civilians to bamboozle, Glenn served as Tom's patsy.

By the time Tom Green relaunched his eponymous show on the web, Glenn was nowhere to be found. What happened between them is, publically, a mystery. Glenn doesn't speak about it, and Tom Green says that, legally, he isn't allowed to talk about it. Glenn returned to a career in IT and has a personal blog he posts about work, raising his kid, and random videos he finds on the Internet.
He's relatively gracious to fans, but not extremely forthcoming about why that chapter closed. Was Glenn tired of being treated like a sidekick instead of a co-host? Did Tom go one joke too far? Does Glenn not want to make any more humiliating videos his daughter will eventually find on the Internet? Is the money just better in the tech industry?
There's always the memories. Here's a rap that Tom composed about his old friend:

April 27

So, why isn't James LeGros a bigger star in the universe? He's got a leading man chin and indie taste in scripts; why isn't he on the shortlist for any of these superhero movies that get greenlit every week?
Is it the name (pronounced Le-Grow)? Has he been too convincing in his burnout roles (Point Break and Drugstore Cowboy)? Has he done too much TV? (Ally McBeal, Mercy) Is he too outside Hollywood? (He's happily married, and commutes from somewhere in Wyoming) Has he done too many independent films? (My New Gun, The Myth of Fingerprints) Does he look too much like Brad Pitt? (he did beat Pitt for the lead role in Phantasm II; plus, you must see Living in Oblivion) Does James Marsden look too much like him? (C'mon, look at the guy...)

Anyway, here's a fanvid, set to Muse's "Time is Running Out", for the LeGros-starring vehicle, "Scotland, PA." Since the video encapsulates the film from beginning to end, the polite thing to do is warn about SPOILERS. Then again, mentioning that it's a remake of Shakespeare's MacBeth would also be a SPOILER:

April 26

I bought the first solo album by ex-Replacements drummer Chris Mars. I bought it used at a resale shop, which was the only way I bought CDs back in '93. I remember how great that album was, before I even knew how great the Replacements were. "Horseshoes and Handgrenades" was one of the albums that made me a alt-rock lover, and a fan of musical underdogs.

Time has crept on, and it only convinces me further that Chris Mars was, at the least, the George Harrison of the 'Mats. After the Replacements broke up, he recorded three more solo albums, before finding more fulfillment from visual arts. He painted his first album cover, and started painting for other bands, along with exhibitions in traditional venues. Besides his lithos and oils, he's interpreted his grotesquely cute creations in sculpture and film. Here's a YouTube clip of one of his animated shorts; you can find a better copy on chrismarspublishing.com: