Sunday, May 13, 2007

Retro MP3-Photo Travelogue: London

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I hope everyone's going out of their way to do something special for their mums. My mom likes to say I was her Mother's Day gift since I was born the day before Mother's Day, though that doesn't get me off the hook. We've got a big fancy brunch lined up this morning and a big family dinner later too.

Anyway, I figured it was time to dust off one of my irregularly updated features (see: Cover Riddles, Canadian Cover Content, MP3 Photo travelogue). Around this time last year, my blog died a slow death as I was off gallavanting in Europe. Here's some of my pics from London with MP3 commentary.

[EDIT: 05/13/2007 4:39pm Once again, Mediafire is acting up so I've uploaded a ZIP of all the songs at the bottom of the post]


Coldplay & Buena Vista Social Club - Clocks

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Jimmy Swift Band - Hockey Night in Canada jam [originally by Dolores Claman]

Around this same time last year, our Edmonton Oilers were in the middle of their storybook run to the Stanley Cup finals (ultimately falling just short in game 7). Amazingly there was a Canadian pub called the Maple Leaf near Covent Garden where they were showing playoff games (albeit a day late). The cool thing was there it was actually fairly packed with Canadians and Oiler fans alike as we watched a thrilling Oilers victory. Very surreal to see Ron Maclean & Don Cherry surrounded by English flags!

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The Magnetic Fields - Absolutely Cuckoo

I got a cheap day-of ticket to this show, front row centre (cheap because the stage is so high you can't see the back of the stage). It was interesting to see Christian Slater, often said to resemble a "young Jack Nicholson", play a role Jack Nicholson made famous in the film version. I'm always tense at plays, particularly when sitting so close, since I get the feeling the whole thing could go belly-up at any moment. And in this case, I was so close you could see Christian Slater's spit flying! All in all, a pretty entertaining adaptation.

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Adam Sandler - Werewolves of London [originally by Warren Zevon]

David Lindley & El Rayo X - Werewolves of London [originally by Warren Zevon]

"I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain.
He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's
Going to get himself a big dish of beef chow mein.
"

Tempting, but I didn't actually go in for a dish of beef chow mein. I know I've posted this Adam Sandler cover before, but it's actually a very good cover.

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Ben Folds - Careless Whisper (live) [originally by Wham!]

Blacklight Posterboys - Jet [originally by Paul McCartney & Wings]

I saw this Roy Lichtenstein painting at the Tate Modern and it's bigger than you might think. London's museums (all free, might I add) are full of major works I actually recognized. I usually scoff when I see ignorant tourists blatantly snapping photos of famous art... Turns out I'm a hypocrite, but it's fine as long as you're not using a flash, right? This Jet cover by the Blacklight Posterboys is fairly straightforward with a slight edge, yet I find it very addictive (moreso than other Jet covers).

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The Holmes Brothers - Beast of Burden [originally by the Rolling Stones]

Foo Fighters - Baker Street [originally by Gerry Rafferty]

What sort of parents would name their sons Sherlock and Mycroft?

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TheHipCola - Walk Like an Egyptian [originally by The Bangles]

I don't label my photos properly, but I think this Cleopatra's mummy at the British Museum (though not THE Cleopatra).

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Deodato - Also Sprach Zarathustra [originally by Richard Strauss]

This creepy baby from the British Natural History Museum reminded me of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Better known as the Theme from 2001, I first heard this particularly funky rendition of Also Sprach Zarathustra after seeing Being There with Peter Sellers, whom also starred in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. Nifty, eh?

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Blue Man Group featuring Esthero - White Rabbit [originally by Jefferson Airplane]

Me and a Blue Man. I even got an "autograph" when he put his hand on the back of his head and planted a print on my program guide. Man, I had to carry that thing around in a big ziplock bag and haul around Europe for another month! I still don't think it's dry.

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Erasure - Solsbury Hill [originally by Peter Gabriel]

I also spent a week in Bath with some friends. Unbeknownst to me, Solsbury Hill (yes, THAT Solsbury Hill) was a 20 minute walk from where we were staying. Naturally, we set off one afternoon to go "climbing up on Solsbury Hill" where I triumphantly mounted my iPod atop a cement pillar.

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In light of recent mediafire issues, a full ZIP of all the songs is available on sendSpace (future songs will likely be hosted there too) MP3-Photo Travelogue: London

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On a completely unrelated note, new tour dates are up for the semi-reunited Squirrel Nut Zippers! Check it out on their myspace page.

2 comments:

JoeG said...

Grrrrrrrrr. Stupid MediaFire is up to its getting-really-old tricks again. Help!

P.S. Great pics and mini-travelogue

Fongolia said...

GRRR is right! The downloading from there is becoming increasingly unreliable and a quick google search reveals that it's not an isolated incident. I've updated the post with a handy ZIP file of all the songs at SendSpace, which will likely become my new free hoster of choice. It's unfortunate because I really liked MediaFire and from a blogger standpoint it was one of the most convenient file hosting sites I've used.