Category Archives: Music

Music

Our Best FIF Ever

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Yesterday I finally got around to posting my self-indulgant, retrospective Five Iron Frenzy article. In honor of that article, and in a previous tradition, I present my choices for a Five Iron greatest hits collection: The Best FIF Ever.

As usual, I had a hard time making up my mind, so I went with 2-disc set. The first set is the very best. The second set I’m calling B-sides, but it’s really all the other songs I like a whole bunch.

FIF. (photo by Kevin D. Hendricks

The Best FIF Ever
1) FIF Tribute (Fourth from the Last by The W’s)
2) One Girl Army (Proof That the Youth Are Revolting)
3) Cool Enough For You (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
4) Cannonball (The End is Near)
5) Me Oh My (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
6) Handbook for the Sellout (Our Newest Album Ever)
7) Beautiful America (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
8) See the Flames Begin to Crawl (The End is Near)
9) A New Hope (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
10) Banner Year (Our Newest Album Ever)
11) It Was Beautiful (The End is Near)
12) A Flowery Song (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
13) World Without End (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
14) Anthem (Proof That the Youth Are Revolting)
15) Old West (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
16) Litmus (Our Newest Album Ever)
17) Farsighted (Electric Boogaloo)
18) Giants (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
19) Something Like Laughter (The End is Near)
20) Blue Comb ’78 (Our Newest Album Ever)
21) Dandelions (Quantity Is Job 1)
22) Every New Day (Our Newest Album Ever)

FIF

The Best FIF Ever B-Sides
1) These Are Not My Pants the Rock Opera (Latin Pants) (Quantity Is Job 1)
2) My Evil Plan to Save the World (Quantity Is Job 1)
3) Combat Chuck (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
4) At Least I’m Not Like All Those Other Old Guys (The End is Near)
5) Most Likely To Succeed (Our Newest Album Ever)
6) Pre-Ex-Girlfriend (Electric Boogaloo)
7) Where is Micah? (Our Newest Album Ever)
8) Marty (Cheeses of Nazareth)
9) All That is Good (Quantity Is Job 1)
10) The Greatest Story Ever Told (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
11) Farewell to Arms (The End is Near)
12) 451 (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
13) Get Your Riot Gear (Quantity Is Job 1)
14) Where the Zero Meets the Fifteen (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
15) The Untimely Death of Brad (Quantity Is Job 1)
16) Mayonnaise Taco Monday (Cheeses of Nazareth)
17) Suckerpunch (Our Newest Album Ever)
18) You Gotta Get Up (Happy Christmas)
19) Oh, Canada (Our Newest Album Ever)
20) Arnold & Willis & Mr. Drummond (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
21) Far, Far Away (Electric Boogaloo)
22) Amalgamate (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
23) On Distant Shores (The End is Near)

U2

In the Name of Love

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In the Name of Love

The CCM U2 Tribute album, In the Name of Love, showed up in the mail the other day. Well, half the album anyway. It’s a press copy of the album, but it only has 7 of 12 tracks (potentially 13; the Grits version of “With or Without You” isn’t listed in the liner notes).

It’s an intriguing project, basically an easy way to raise money for the AIDS crisis in Africa, but also a way to introduce the CCM scene to the music of U2. Many CCM fans are well aware of U2, but there’s a lot of hardcore CCMers that rarely listen to anything mainstream (I was one of them once), and for those folks this album will be a rare treat. Of course if you’ve ever heard U2 before, these songs won’t sound nearly as good.

I predict this album will be popular within the CCM world simply because of the nature of the Christian bubble. If you have never heard Bono belt out “Where the Streets Have No Name,” you’ll be perfectly happy with Chris Tomlin’s eerily similar version. Likewise Sanctus Real does a decent “Beautiful Day” knock-off, minus Bono’s soaring vocals and a little more grit in the Edge’s guitar riffs.

Jars of Clay and Sixpence None the Richer stray the most from the originals, probably because these artists are most familiar with U2 and know the danger of trying to sound like the best band in the world. Jars does a bluesy version of “All I Want Is You,” which seems to deflate the song of momentum. Sixpence tackles the forboding “Love is Blindness,” but it misses the melancholy of the Achtung Baby original. Both bands attempted an experimental angle, but it didn’t fly.

The real standout track (of the seven I can preview) is Audio Adrenaline’s version of “Gloria.” I know, I know, saying Audio A can do justice to a U2 song is tantamount to sacrilige. But they manage to modernize the thoroughly 80s song and without gutting its soul. There’s plenty of 80s rock left, and the tune just jams. Not too shabby. Of course it helps that the original was recorded 20 years ago.

I’m eager to hear the remaining tracks, including Toby Mac’s butchering of “Mysterious Ways” and what Delirious can possibly do with “Pride (In the Name of Love)” that won’t sound exactly like the original.

Music, Technology

Steve Jobs in RollingStone

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RollingStone has an interesting interview with Steve Jobs, the quasi-CEO (or some lame title) of Apple, mainly about the digital music revolution (link via jordoncooper.com)

My favorite part is when Jobs is asked about the threat of Microsoft building their own version of iTunes, and Jobs points out that many other Internet-based companies have been successful in the face of Microsoft.

“As you may know, almost every song and CD is made on a Mac — it’s recorded on a Mac, it’s mixed on a Mac, the artwork’s done on a Mac. Almost every artist I’ve met has an iPod, and most of the music execs now have iPods. And one of the reasons Apple was able to do what we have done was because we are perceived by the music industry as the most creative technology company. And now we’ve created this music store, which I think is non-trivial to copy. I mean, to say that Microsoft can just decide to copy it, and copy it in six months — that’s a big statement. It may not be so easy.”

I think there’s a bigtime reason all those creative types use a Mac, and that’s because they work simply. I’m not trying to be a Mac pusher here (I’ve never even owned one), but can you imagine a Microsoft music store? The equivalent of the blue screen of death every other time you try to play a song. No thanks.

And I love this comment, about the lack of interest in subscription services: “I think you could make available the Second Coming in a subscription model, and it might not be successful.”

OK, that’s my Steve Jobs/Apple plug for the day. I just had to beat Josh.

Music

P.O.D. Rocks the World; Gets Banned

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MTV has a couple interesting articles on P.O.D. The first piece is an interview with the band focusing on their new record and life after Marcos. They talk openly about their faith and their difficult upbringing.

The second piece isn’t quite so happy. It focuses on the 85% of Christian bookstores that have refused to sell the newest P.O.D album, Payable on Death, because of the album artwork. The artwork features a nude female figure covering her breasts and a banner with the word “Sanctus” covering the rest. Apparently Christian bookstores object because the woman’s pubic bone is visible and a sacred word is used in a sexual manner.

The P.O.D. web site addresses the controversy, pointing out that a previous album, Fundamental Elements of Southtown, was likewise banned until the band agreed to issue a black cover version for Christian bookstores. Apparently that album’s artwork was too confusing for the average Christian bookstore customer. After sales of Fundamental Elements soared, Christian bookstores reportedly asked for the original version.

This time around, P.O.D. is refusing to cave saying, “This is sad… not because P.O.D. need to be carried in those stores but because for thousands of years the church LED the world in great art and music… provocative art that moved and inspired people… art that is STILL relevant today.”

They go on to encourage their fans not to bash Christian bookstores and affirm their support for the Christian music industry, citing an upcoming appearance at Cornerstone and interviews with Relevant and HM magazines.

Sometimes I wonder what we’re doing as Christians. We bemoan the lack of our faith in the larger culture, but when Christians try to take our faith to that culture, we pummel them.

Music

Proof That the Youth Are Revolting

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As I mentioned the other day, I went to my last Five Iron Frenzy concert ever. What a show.

I interviewed Keith and Micah before the show, which was fitting because I’ve interviewed both those guys several times before. The interview went OK and I think I got some good stuff. The opening bands were acoustic guy James Cameron, and rockers Holland and Bleach. I actually wore ear plugs for those three acts (I guess I’m like all those other old guys now). They were OK, but I wasn’t too impressed.

Five Iron rocked. Lots of between-song banter, lots of hilarity, lots of fun. They had a video screen behind the stage that played old school video clips during some songs, like shots of Canadian celebrities during “Oh, Canada.”

It was fun to sing a long one more time. I wish I could have been on the floor in the midst of the crowd, jumping around with some friends. Or maybe yo-yoing off in a corner. Instead I had to go by myself and found a seat in the front row of the balcony, which gave me an easy seat to save and a good place to take pictures.

As part of the interview, I did ask the guys what songs they would put on a Five Iron Frenzy hits collection (which they did say would be an inevitability). They basically answered by saying the songs they like to play live. They did say there would need to be a b-side with stupid songs (i.e. “Kitty-Doggy”), and they would probably need to balance out goofy songs with serious songs (i.e. “Oh, Canada” vs. “Every New Day”).

Of course only later did I discover they cheated. Their live set included an 11-song medley. Here’s the complete live set:

1) “The Old West” (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
2) “Handbook For the Sellout” (Our Newest Album Ever!)
3) “Where Zero Meets Fifteen” (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
4) “Cannonball” (The End is Near)
5) “Blue Comb ’78” (Our Newest Album Ever!)
6) “At Least I’m Not Like All Those Other Old Guys” (The End is Near)
7) “You Probably Shouldn’t Move Here” (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
8) “Oh, Canada” (Our Newest Album Ever!)
9) “See the Flames Begin to Crawl” (The End is Near)
10) “Vultures” (Electric Boogaloo)
11) “You Can’t Handle This” (Electric Boogaloo)
12) “When I Go Out” (Quantity is Job 1)
13) “American Kryptonite” (The End is Near)
14) “Phantom Mullet” (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
15) “Mayonnaise Taco Monday” (Cheeses of Nazareth)
16) “Pootermobile” (prefaced as being the best song they’d play: “You can go home now.”) (Cheeses of Nazareth)
17) Medley (including “A Flowery Song,” (Upbeats and Beatdowns) “Suckerpunch,” (Our Newest Album Ever!) “One Girl Army,” (Quantity is Job 1) “My Evil Plan to Save the World,” (Quantity is Job 1) “Pre-Ex-Girlfriend,” (Electric Boogaloo) “Combat Chuck,” (Upbeats and Beatdowns) “Dandelion,” (Quantity is Job 1) “Superpowers,” (Our Newest Album Ever!) “Cool Enough For You.” (Upbeats and Beatdowns) There were also two other songs in there I didn’t recognize. The first had lyrics along the lines of “We both break down and cry,” and the second sounded like “Goodbye you, you, you,” almost like a take on “We need you, you, you,” at the end of the Blues Brothers.)
18) “A New Hope” (All the Hype That Money Can Buy, originally appeared on Proof That the Youth Are Revolting)
19) “World Without End” (All the Hype That Money Can Buy)
20) “Every New Day” (Our Newest Album Ever!)
21) (accapella praise song ending)

Quite a show. I’ll have to post my pictures once they’re developed (yeah, I went old skool). I’ll also have to work on my choices for Best FIF Ever.

Music

All of the Ska that Your Money Can Buy

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Tomorrow night I’m going to my last Five Iron Frenzy concert ever. It’s the first of two shows in Minneapolis, on their farewell Winners Never Quit tour, which winds up in Denver on Nov. 22.

For those of you who don’t know, I have fond memories of Five Iron. I saw them live for the first time on January 1, 1997, braving a snow storm and a last minute change of venue. Since then I’ve seen them more times than I can remember.

I have two favorite concert memories, including yo-yoing at an outdoor festival in Michigan and a hot, sweaty concert in Minneapolis. At the festival I was in a full-on yo-yo frenzy when I realized a photographer was taking my picture. I tried to play it cool and pretend I didn’t see him, but then my string broke, sending the yo-yo 30 feet through the air. Thankfully, no one was killed. The Minneapolis show stands out because a bunch of my friends went, including my Mission Control co-host Josh Lewis, my self-proclaimed best man ever Tim Yenter, and my soon-to-be-wife-but-not-even-girlfriend-yet. If I remember, this was one of the many crowded and unbearably hot New Union shows where Jeff the Girl twisted her ankle while lunging for the door to get some cold winter air (assumably prompting the line in “Superpowers”: “Everyone in the band can’t stand me / just because I fell off the stage / and kind of by accident, I broke the / promoters legs.”

Ah, the memories.

Before the show I’ll be interviewing the band one more time (I’ve also interviewed them more times than I can remember), and hopefully writing a sappy retrospective piece for ReALMagazine.com (or anywhere that will give me some cold, hard cash for my troubles). I’m trying to develop some killer questions for this final interview. Let me know if you have any brilliant ideas. My best question right now is what songs would you include on a FIF greatest hits collection, should such an album ever be compiled. I’d have a hard time answering that one myself.

U2

In the Name of Love

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I just received the complete track/artist listing for In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa, the U2 tribute album I mentioned last week:

Jars Of Clay – “All I Want Is You”
Sixpence None The Richer – “Love Is Blindness”
Nichole Nordeman – “Grace”
Toby Mac – “Mysterious Ways”
Audio Adrenaline – “Gloria”
Pillar – “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
Chris Tomlin – “Where The Streets Have No Name”
Tait – “One”
Delirious – “Pride”
Grits – “With Or Without You”
Todd Agnew – “When Love Came To Town”
Sanctus Real – “Beautiful Day”
Starfield – “40”

As an interesting side note, the packaging is being designed by Steve Averill from Four 5 One Design, the company that’s done just about every U2 album.

While I’m glad to see a final song list, and I’m very eager to hear what this sounds like, I still have lots of questions. What happened to Switchfoot? And where are the Newsboys? Both are on Sparrow records (the label releasing the album), so it would be no problem getting them for the project. Switchfoot has been mentioned before in connection with this project, and Newsboys have been known to perform “Running to a Stand Still” in concert. Hmm.

I’m also still curious to know what bands you’d like to see cover what U2 songs.

U2

More Wankers

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Today I learned a bit more about the U2 Tribute album I mentioned a while back.

It seems Sparrow Records is releasing In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa on January 27, 2004. A track listing is given, but no clues as to who’s playing what. For that, you’d have to head over here, where we get a few artist song matchups, including:

Nichole Nordeman – “Grace”
Sixpence None the Richer – “Love is Blindness”
Sanctus Real – “Beautiful Day”
Audio Adrenaline – “Gloria”
Pillar – “Sunday Bloody Sunday”

Other artists include P.O.D., Toby Mac, Switchfoot, Delirious and others. It’s reported that all proceeds will benefit DATA.

I’m intrigued to hear this album, but I’m also a bit worried. U2 is U2 because nobody can do what they do. Most U2 covers stink. I’m especially worried when I hear things like this from Pillar, “We just got confirmation that this is going to happen today so we have to get together this Tuesday to learn and practice the song.” You can’t learn a U2 song at the last minute and expect your cover to be worth anything.

I’m also curious to see if anyone took my advice about what Christian band should cover what U2 song.

(Thanks to CCM magazine, where I first learned more about this album, Pillar for filling in some details, @U2 for linking to JesusFreakHideOut.com, and JFHO for having further info. Whew.)

Music

The problem, Homer, is that the mind is always chattering away with a thousand thoughts at once.

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I’ve been reading the autobiography of Johnny Cash since the news that came that Cash died. It’s incredibly interesting how he incorporates his faith into his life. He’s certainly fallen flat, and he admits that, but he’s found grace.

Another interesting thing is the projects you don’t hear about. My favorites are the offbeat ones. Apparently in 1986 Cash recorded the record, Chicken in Black, as a parting shot to 30 years with CBS records. They had failed to market his releases in the 1980s, and there was a fair amount of bitterness. Cash described the album as “intentionally atrocious.” I don’t think the album was ever released, but the title track was, and a video was made featuring Johnny Cash in a chicken suit. I don’t know where that video is, but somebody needs to find it.

The Children’s Album by Johnny Cash is another one I’d love to find. I haven’t been able to find out anything about the album, but it was re-released as All in the Family in 1999 and includes some previously unreleased outtakes as well as June Carter’s 1975 solo album, Appalachian Pride.

The Bible voiced by Johnny Cash is another one I’d love to have. Thomas Nelson released the audio version of the New King James version read by Johnny Cash. It’s no longer in print, but I think it should be re-released. The Bible to a classic voice like Johnny Cash (it sure beats Larry King).

On the religious theme, there’s also The Gospel Road, a movie Cash did about the life of Christ. Cash considered it one of his major accomplishments, but it’s not exactly widely available. Supposedly it’s available through World Wide Pictures, since Billy Graham and Johnny Cash were so close, but that doesn’t mean you’ll find anything there either.

Finally, there’s an album that brings together some of the odd side of Cash, Crazy Country. It’s a compilation album released in 1998 that includes “Chicken in Black,” “Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “The One on the Right Is On The Left,” and “Boa Constrictor,” among others (both “A Boy Named Sue” and “Boa Constrictor” were written by Shel Silverstein). I imagine some of these are from Cash’s Children’s Album, but who knows. As a bonus, the album is only $6.98 from Amazon.

Music

This is just your memory. I can’t give you any new information.

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So Johnny Cash died on Friday. I’ve never been a big Cash fan, but that’s more from being completely clueless than any matter of taste. The more I learn about the guy, the more intrigued I am. I spent Friday setting up a little tribute/links page. I’m linking to interesting articles and interviews, posting cool quotes, and trying to link to every Johnny Cash album I can.

That last part is really ridiculous. According to JohnnyCash.com, there are over 140 Cash albums out there. Amazon.com doesn’t have all of them, so I won’t link to that many. But I am getting close. And as much as I enjoy earning referral fees from Amazon, this is more about seeing the expanse of Johnny Cash’s recording career. If I wanted to make money I’d just link to his recent releases and a couple boxed sets.There’s just something cool about seeing 45 years worth of music from one man.