Uptown Again

Up there in my top ten reasons I’m happy to live in LA is that Greg Dulli lives here too. The benefit is the Uptown Lights. I got to see them again last month and even persuaded a co-worker to experience the gospel of Dulli. The highlight of the show was Dulli going into full on soul man mode during his rendition of O.V. Wright’s “Ace of Spades.” It was also a bonus hearing two tracks from the upcoming Twilight Singers album Amber Headlights. Dulli said this was the last Uptown Lights show which leaves me a little torn. The music fan in me believes he should tour the country with the Uptown Lights so that all may enjoy. The music snob in me gets a little thrill that I got to see the two shows Uptown Lights ever did even though I may be the only one to care. Below is the set list with the original artist.

From the Uptown Lights page at Myspace -

Punish Me - Margie Joseph
Ain’t Nobody - Chaka Khan
All Along The Watchtower - a la Jimi Hendrix
Get Ready - Temptations
Follow Me - Cee-lo
Tell Everyone - Ronnie Lane
Ace Of Spades - OV Wright
I Want To Be Free - Joe Tex
Hercules - Aaron Neville
So Tight - Amber Headlights
Tell Me What’s On Your Mind - Cyril Neville
Red Hot Mama - Funkadelic
Come To Mama - Ann Peebles
Wang Dang Doodle - a la Willie Dixon
Back Stabbers - O'Jays
I’ll Be Around - Spinners
Lost In The Supermarket - The Clash/Stand By Me - Ben E. King
Cigarettes - Amber Headlights
Ooh La La - Faces

For updates on Twilight Singers and Uptown Lights I suggest the following links.
Dulli's Inferno
Summer's Kiss

I've come to the final conclusion that I must be getting old because new music just isn't doing it for me anymore. I find myself buying fewer and fewer new albums. I always thought I'd be one of those guys who would be able to adjust. There have been a couple purchases though that I offer up to you.

The first is a hesitant recommendation simply because the singer's voice is an acquired taste. The Hold Steady are the rock band I need at the moment. Yes the singing is more talking in tune rather than actual singing, but the bar band rock and spectacular story telling makes Separation Sunday my record of the year so far.

My second suggestion will take a little effort to find becuase it's an import. Katamari Damacy is the soundtrack from the PS2 game of the same name. If you aren't familiar with the game, shame on you because you are missing out on a simple trippy joy that needs to be experienced. That same simple trippy joy is found in the music as well. I would describe it as Japanese pop, but then it's more than that. You could go find it for sale on some website, but I recommend using bittorrent to get a hold of it, and then buying it if the guilt gets to you.

Finally I recommend the power pop compilation Yellow Pills: Prefill. Jordan Oakes, who is responsible for power pop magazine Yellow Pills in the early 90's, is rightfully the man to compile this two disc set of lost power pop gems. Fans of Jellyfish, The Exploding Hearts, and dangerously catchy hooks will be fans of this set. My only complaint is the doubling up of artists on the compilation, but it's a minor complaint. I do offer this warning some of these songs are dangerously catchy.

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow will be a baseball post. So how ever that effects your reading take notice.