Cult Artists, Funky Music & Bands Coming to Town
A look ahead to bands coming to town.
Last week, the soundtrack leaned heavily and bands coming to the House of Blues - Fiona Apple, Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective and Micachu and the Shapes. This Week's Spotify Soundtrack looks ahead to show at Tipitina's. There's a lot to look forward to this fall.
1. "Rinky Dink" - Booker T & the MGs: Concord Records continues its reissue of the Stax catalogue with Green Onions, which gave us this roller rink-like dance track. I'd hoped there would be something to write about an MGs/Meters rivalry, but George Porter Jr. says none existed. Maybe I should pretend I never heard that.
2. "Message from a Black Man" - The Temptations: Not sure why I thought of the Temps, but their psychedelic era is my favorite, and they handled politically conscious R&B better than most of the Motown roster.
3. "Uhn Song" - The New Birth: Another reissue. Coming Together came out in 1972 with producer Harvey Fuqua, which explains the classic sound.
4. "Chicago Bus Stop" - Salsoul Orchestra: Early Salsoul Orchestra, when there was still a little Latin in the urban R&B/disco.
5. "Don't You Know (That This Funk Iz Real)" - Dam-Funk: A modern look back at that era by Dam-Funk, who will be at Tipitina's on September 16 with a band to perform at DJ Soul Sister's birthday.
6. "Karmatron" - Elton John vs. Pnau: Good Morning to the Night is an album made up of Elton John samples with his approval since he mentored the Australian dance duo Pnau.
7. "It Must Be Magic - Teena Marie: It just sounds right here.
8. "Love Sensation" - Loleatta Holloway: I ran across this looking for "Love Hangover" on YouTube. It was written and produced by Dan Hartman, something I just read, but once you know, you can hear it.
9. "Dirty Money" - Antibalas: The New York-based Afrobeat band served as the band during the New York stage production Fela!, and they're back with a new, self-titled album. They'll play Tipitina's October 9.
10. "Guns of Brixton" - Jimmy Cliff: Jack White had his Loretta Lynn, and Rancid's Tim Armstrong has Jimmy Cliff. He produced the new Rebirth. On this Clash cover, Cliff's deceptively tough voice conveys just the right amount of effortless menace.
11. "The Russians are Coming" - Val Bennett: A ska version of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five."
12. "Dream Baby Dream - The Cherry Thing: Neneh Cherry and The Thing cover a surprising popular choice - "Dream Baby Dream" by Suicide. Bruce Springsteen covered the confrontational electronic duo as well.
13. "Fireworks" - Blanche Blanche Blanche: Wink With Both Eyes is tailor-made for a cult following - indie psychedelia; a core duo of Sarah Smith and Zach Phillips and their friends, thus implying a cool underground community; a richly lo-fi sound (if that's not contradictory); weird identity games; and songs worth hearing.
13. "Wishes" - Beach House: The Baltimore dream-pop band's Bloom is getting much-deserved attention. They'll be at Tipitina's on September 18.
14. "Polly" - Amanda Palmer & the Grand Theft Orchesra: The theatrical Amanda Palmer and her Grand Theft Orchestra will play Tipitina's September 17. Here they are covering Nirvana.
14. "Slowly Wasted" - Charles Douglas: More lo-fi cult-ish stuff.
15. "Love is Luck" - The Walkmen: Over the years, The Walkmen have smartly pared down their songs to the essentials, making them model with songs with just enough melody, just enough crunch and just enough personality - perhaps moreso than that description would suggest. They have a strong new album, Heaven, and they'll play Tipitina's on September 22.
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