Last Night of Chanukah, Let's Celebrate with the Beatles!

Friday Five on Tuesday the Twenty-Fifth

I haven't done one of these in a while, and can't wait until Friday. So there.

In case you're just joining us, it's five random tracks off of the BilliPod.

1) "Across the Universe," the great Beatles tune, featuring Billie Joe Armstrong, Bono, Steven Tyler, Brian Wilson, Tim McGraw, Scott Weiland, Alicia Keys, Alison Krauss, Norah Jones, and Stevie Wonder, backed by members of Velvet Revolver. Snagged from the blog Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good.

According to wikipedia, this version is from the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony in February 2005. The following week, a recording of the performance was released exclusively for purchase through the iTunes Music Store. All proceeds from the sale went to funds for victims of the 26 December 2004 Tsunami. Sales from the benefit release made it the fastest-selling download in iTunes history and allowed the song to peak at #22 on the Billboard singles chart. This version has a lyric change: "Nothing's gonna change my world" was changed to "Something's gonna change my world."

If you missed this the first time around, it's pretty impressive:



2)
"Everytime I Look for You" by blink-182, track 10 off their smash album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.




3)
"Baby, Please Don't Go" by John Lee Hooker, from his album Burning Hell. This old blues standard originally by Big Joe Williams has been covered by a ton of folks. On the BilliPod alone, I have versions by Big Joe, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Lightnin' Hopkins, Aerosmith, MC5, and Them (with Van Morrison).

Here, Listen: "Baby, Please Don't Go" (mp3) by Them, via Live Journal.

4)
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Black Crowes from the I Am Sam soundtrack.

and finally.....

5) "Everybody Getting High" from one of Mick Jagger's solo albums Goddess in the Doorway. I honestly think that this solo effort from Mick is better than most of the Rolling Stones' recent work. (Rebuttal, Melanie?)

Saturday Stuff

If you watched the show NUMB3RS on CBS last night, you may have seen a familiar face. Look carefully:


See the Asian man at the top of the screen, in the tie and vest? He's about to assassinate a senator. The FBI is watching him on a closed-circuit monitor. They're zeroing on the suspect. Now look again. The gentleman right in front of him with silver hair and glasses. The grandfather of BillyBlog, blessed be he. Dear Old Dad snagged a split second of airtime right before the bullets started to fly. Way to go Dad!

Next, hop on over to the blog Culture Bully. The linked post pertains to Beck's performance as musical guest on Saturday Night Live on October 28, 2006. And because the suits at GE and NBC won't allow their shows to pop on YouTube, video clips of the show are scarcer than most. But if this doesn't give you a taste (the Culture Bully post, that is), NBC is re-airing the show tonight (Saturday, November 25, 2006) at 11:30 P.M. The performances are accompanied by marionettes, Beck in miniature, and the musicianship is phenomenal. The second performance of "Clap Hands" is particularly foot-stomping. TiVo or DVR or it, or do what they did in the old days, watch it as it airs. It's worth suffering through all the rest of SNL to catch the tunes.



I'm a little bit excited because the new Fishbone CD came in the mail today. Look for a review in the next week or so. The disc, called Still Stuck in Your Throat is only available in Europe and has not been dropped in the U.S. of A. Thank goodness for Amazon.uk for those special items. I may also review the "new" Beatles CD Love, which is based on the Cirque de Soleil show of the same name. I've listened to it and it is amazing...a must for any Beatles fan. My copy's stuck at work.

That should get you through Saturday, if not the weekend. Aloha.