Five Days of Bond Covers: Day 005 (RE-POST)

***UPDATE:
OK, so I received my second DMCA takedown notice in the past month. For this particular post of all posts. Why? Beats me. There was only one song posted and the mp3 link is now removed, though check below since it is freely available from the artist's own website. If Fong Songs suddenly disappears overnight, well, I guess you'll know why. By the way, Cover Lay Down is back up and running at his new site. While that's all fine and dandy, I'm afraid I don't have the time or inclination to pull up my roots and move to a new platform. I simply don't have the disposable income to pour into what is essentially my hobby on public display. When I started this blog, my thinking was I don't mind putting all these unpaid hours into it as long as I didn't start incurring personal expenses. I've already broken that rule, paying for an annual box.net account and the countless CDs I buy on a regular basis, but I'm not prepared to go much beyond that in paying for hosting services, domain names, and such. I've always resisted putting ads or accepting donations and that's not about to change now. In short, I'm going to stay put like a curmudgeonly old man, re-posting just the words of "infringing" posts and carrying on until Google smothers me in my sleep with a pillow.


The final day of Bond covers week, which means Quantum of Solace is out today! Quite honestly, I doubt I'll catch it this weekend since my tolerance for big crowds is steadily declining, but I'm über-pumped to see it when I get the chance.

Casino Royale (2006)
Flat Foot - You Know My Name [originally by Chris Cornell]
To my knowledge, this is the only cover of the last Bond theme from Casino Royale (excluding the exact copycat cash-in covers) and it's a good one. This comes from a Swedish rockabilly trio Flat Foot who basically have a good chunk of their album Cold Case including this cover available for download from their website.

Quantum of Solace (2008)
I'll be keeping an eye out for any cover of the new theme, again excluding the exact copycat cash-in covers which sadly already exist on iTunes (avoid like plague).

Haven't fulfilled your Bond covers fix? Head on over to Versions Galore for an overdose of Goldfinger covers with more to come in a 3-day Bond cover marathon.

And today's my last post over at BreakThru Radio. Big thanks to the folks there who invited me to be a part of Anatomy of a Blogger even though hearing myself self-consciously blather was definitely cringeworthy. Anyway it was fun, though remind me not to try that again when I pull an "event" week. Today's BTR post features some covers of Andrew Lloyd Webber including one from Bond diva Shirley Bassey.

James Bond Covers Will Return

Five Days of Bond Covers: Day 004

Today we work our way through the Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan Bond films. If my sources are correct, tonight there'll also be a Bond theme cover story on Coverville, so I'm excited to hear what Brian has dug up. By the way, my guest appearance on Breakthru Radio's Anatomy of a Blogger is now available as of today. I haven't listened to it yet (I'm a little embarrassed to do so), but if you go to the main page, you can select the show on the left-hand side to listen or even download it using the button above that. There's too much going on here with Bond week, but next week I want to go through my submitted playlist, which at quick glance substantially differs from what they played. Could be a rights thing (even though I selected from their approved lists), but I guess they're not big on cover songs at BTR!

The Living Daylights (1987)
Ten Masked Men - The Living Daylights [originally by A-Ha]
This cover is amusing, though I can't honestly recommend it. The Ten Masked Men are a death metal band that specialize in cover songs and their albums are all named after Star Wars movies in order (i.e. 2000's Return of The Ten Masked Men and 2003's The PhanTen Masked Menace). Each of their albums also contains at least one Bond cover! So I like the band in theory, but the Cookie Monster vocals give me such a headache it's hard to sit through a full song. Their new album is supposed to be due this year containing a cover of Thunderball.

Licence to Kill (1989)
Count Basic - Licence to Kill [originally by Gladys Knight]
The second and last Timothy Dalton film, this one featured Benicio Del Toro in an early role as a main henchman to the villain Sanchez played by Robert Davi. In an AV Club feature earlier this week, Davi compares Licence to Kill to Casino Royale in that both were attempts to make the franchise grittier, but it was a little ahead of its time. Although Dalton was supposed to do the next one, the series got tied up in a legal fight that led to the six year break between Bond films. The Licence to Kill theme is admittedly a guilty pleasure. It makes liberal use of the Goldfinger motif to great effect, though the back-up vocals nearly kill it. I was surprised to find this pretty awesome cover by Count Basic, who make it a little more groovy and modern sounding, though I guess the chorus is inherently cheesy. Got a licence to kill and you know I'm going straight for your heart!

Goldeneye (1995)
Wise Guys - Goldeneye [originally performed by Tina Turner]
It's always been one of my favourite bits of trivia (yes, I have faves) that Bono and the Edge wrote this Bond theme while the other half of U2, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. reworked the Mission: Impossible theme for the 1996 film. I've always enjoyed Tina Turner's performance, but can you imagine what a version sung by Bono would have sounded like? Poke around YouTube and you can hear the demo... which surprisingly isn't all that exciting, though hardcore U2 fans are quick to point out it's actually MacPhisto singing. This is a pretty good a cappella cover by German a cappella group Wise Guys from their album, Live.

Goldeneye 007 (1997)
Entertainment System - Goldeneye 007 - Frigate
This isn't from the film series, but I couldn't NOT include this. I can't believe it myself, but this a cover from the Nintendo 64 Bond game Goldeneye, which still might be one of the best movie-to-game adaptations ever. Very fond memories of 4-player multiplayer and very frustrating memories of replaying various levels over and over again on the hardest setting trying to beat time challenges, which unlocked various cheat modes such as invincibility. This particular track is from the level Frigate and I can still remember the original theme too. Most of the game's soundtrack was made up of variations on the main Bond theme including a muzak version as you wait in an elevator. Frigate incorporated a little bit of Goldfinger too as you snuck around a boat trying to plant a bug on a helicopter and possibly rescuing hostages (memories are a little vague here). I don't know the exact details about who did what, but the credited composers on Goldeneye 64 were Grant Kirkhope, Graeme Norgate, and Robin Beanland. Entertainment System is one of a surprising number of video game cover bands, though I think they may only do Nintendo tracks hence their name. They've got three albums to their name, which are all available on iTunes and one's on Amie Street.

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Uwe Kröger - Tomorrow Never Dies [originally by Sheryl Crow]
Fans haven't been too kind to having Sheryl Crow sing the film's theme. I have no problem with the song, though I agree with the many who think k.d. Lang's Surrender (which played over the end credits) would have made a better main theme. We go back to Germany for another Bond cover, this one by German Broadway star Uwe Kröger, who's appeared in roles like Javert in Les Misérables and the lead role in The Phantom of the Opera. This comes from his album From Broadway to Hollywood, which features film and broadway covers including a pretty good rendition of From Russia With Love.

The World is Not Enough (1999)
Jackie Moore - The World is Not Enough [originally performed by Garbage]
I'm surprised that opinion isn't very high of this Bond theme, which I've noticed bears a strong similarity to The Carpenters' hit Superstar (itself a cover song... fodder for a future post). I know the world was clamoring for a dance remix of this theme, so here it is.

Die Another Day (2002)
Mister Bond - Die Another Day [originally performed by Madonna]
OK, so this is the Bond theme I just can't stomach in any way, except as a cover. From its inane repetitions of line Die Another Day to the wince-inducing whispers of "Sigmund Freud... analyze this, analyze this this this..." It just makes my eyes roll as much as the movie did: Korean guy turning into white British guy (eye roll), Madonna "acting" (eye roll), Halle Berry "acting" (eye roll), invisible car (eye roll), CGI para-surfing Bond (eye roll)... I mean the Bond series doesn't exactly have a history of plausibility, but that one was so over the top it ventured into Batman & Robin territory, thus necessitating a reboot. Roger Moore hilariously summed it up perfectly in a recent article:

"I thought it just went too far – and that’s from me, the first Bond in space! Invisible cars and dodgy CGI footage? Please! They gave the public what they wanted, though maybe they too realised there was only so far they could push it before Bond became a caricature of himself, and the funeral directors were called in."

When an 81-year old man complains about dodgy CGI, take heed. Definitely read the rest of that article written by Moore as he talks about each of the Bond actors (except Dalton's portrayal, which he purposely avoided!). He just penned an autobiography, My Word is My Bond, which I think I'll have to tack on to my reading queue. This cover is from an album called Mister Bond: A Jazzy Cocktail of Ice Cold Themes, which seems so generic it practically screams its awfulness, but this very well may be the best collection of Bond cover songs. I really could have just filled up today's post with tracks from this album, particularly since it's one of the few that focuses in mainly on the modern day Bond themes from the Dalton and Brosnan films, but I chose this one since it's pretty much the only Die Another Day cover I know, plus it's actually palatable to me unlike the original. As the album title suggests, most covers are of the lounge variety, but the Tomorrow Never Dies has a nice bossa nova vibe and there's a swinging cover of Goldeneye. Definitely seek this one out if you're a Bond fan. iTunes has got it.

Today's post on BreakThru Radio is covers of TV themes. I've included covers of the themes from Scrubs, Mash, Frasier, and Inspector Gadget.

James Bond Covers Will Return... tomorrow!

Five Days of Bond Covers: Day 003

Moore covers today, ho ho ho.

**UPDATED... Oops, posted without the song links, then the internet went down for an hour. Great.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
8mm - Nobody Does It Better [originally performed by Carly Simon]
Nice, atmospheric cover by LA band 8mm who recast this Bond theme as a duet between real life husband-and-wife band members, Sean and Juliette Beavan. This was the first Bond theme (besides Dr. No, of course) that did not match the film's title. While recognized widely outside of a Bond context, there's always that line about "the spy who loved me" to set anyone straight. It's arguably one of the best Bond themes, but unfortunately the themes take a sharp decline over the next few films.

Moonraker (1979)
The Film Score Orchestra - Moonraker [originally performed by Shirley Bassey]
Initially I wasn't much of a fan of this theme, but it's kind of grown on me. It's the third and last theme that Shirley Bassey performed after Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever. This disco cover is credited to the Film Score Orchestra, but the real performer may never be known. The exact song appears in iTunes under at least 5 different generic band names such as the Studio Sound Ensemble, Starlite Singers, Royale James Bond Collection, and Knightsbridge. I've gotta admit it's semi-decent for some quick studio cash-in.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Edenbridge - For Your Eyes Only [originally performed by Sheena Easton]
Here's a theme hampered by some really cheesy production and it ranks pretty low on my scale of Bond themes, though I will listen to it on the odd occasion without coercion. Austrian metal band Edenbridge adds a little edge to the original... well, as much edge as one could possibly add to this song (i.e. not much).

Octopussy (1983)
Pulp - All Time High [originally performed by Rita Coolidge]
Another one of the few themes that doesn't reference the film's title. I guess no one wanted to sing about Octopussy. Pulp actually turn this into a pretty good, if not great cover. This comes from the 1997 Bond cover album Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold Project, which also features covers by Aimee Mann, Chrissie Hynde, and Iggy Pop. I had always assumed this album came about from David Arnold's work as the modern day composer of the Bond series, but the album was actually instrumental to Arnold getting his first real Bond gig based on a personal recommendation by John Barry to the series' producers. He's scored every Bond film since Tomorrow Never Dies and co-wrote several of the main theme songs. I think a Shaken and Stirred sequel album is long overdue!

A View to a Kill (1985)
Gob - A View to a Kill [originally by Duran Duran]
I had a couple cover choices for this one, but just had to go with this fast punk cover and it may not exactly be everyone's cup of tea. After a normal opening 20 seconds, suddenly it becomes a frenetic race to perform the rest of song within the next minute or so. If you can make any sense of it, it is strangely faithful in a way... just crazy sped up. Makes me laugh anyway. The band's from BC too, so bonus points for that.

Don't forget I'm cross-posting over at BreakThru Radio all this week. In today's post I'm try to spread some maple fever south of the 49th parallel with a handful of Canuck-centric cover songs. I've got Pascale Picard covering Pink Floyd, Captain Tractor covering The Clash (an all-time fave cover), Sam Roberts covering Paul Simon, and Merry Clayton covering Neil Young (a must-have). Oops, it looks like BTR can't handle any accent aigu...

James Bond Covers Will Return... tomorrow!

Five Days of Bond Covers: Day 002

Sorry for the delay folks... we continue Bond week with today's post that features four films, three Bonds. Between 1969 and 1973, moviegoers saw three different faces of James Bond: George Lazenby, "the one-off" Australian Bond; Sean Connery, who was coaxed back for one more go (money!); and Roger Moore, who would go on to star as Bond for the next 12 years and 7 films.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Erik Borelius - On Her Majesty's Secret Service [originally by John Barry]
For George Lazenby's first and only outing as 007, John Barry composed this punchy orchestral theme. The previous three films featured title tracks performed by Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, and Nancy Sinatra, but Barry thought it would be difficult to incorporate the unwieldy title On Her Majesty's Secret Service into any lyrics. I found this great acoustic instrumental cover by Swedish guitarist Erik Borelius from his album Movies on a String, which is available on CD Baby and Amie Street. The album also contains The Godfather, Rambo, Cabaret, and many more movie-themed covers.

The Puppini Sisters - We Have All the Time in the World [originally performed by Louis Armstrong]
A secondary theme to OHMSS that served as the love theme for Bond and his eventual wife Tracy, this is one of a handful of Bond themes that found a life completely disassociated from the Bond series. Apparently it wasn't even a hit the first time out, but a 1994 Guinness ad prompted its re-release to the UK charts. This cover is by Andrews Sisters revivalists the Puppini Sisters from last year's The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo, which featured other 30s & 40s-style reworkings of contemporary songs. I barely remember seeing this movie, but the song's title figures tragically into the punch-in-the-gut ending.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Project: Pimento - Diamonds Are Forever [originally performed by Shirley Bassey]
After Lazenby announced he wouldn't be returning as Bond (before OHMSS was even released), the producers were determined to get Connery back and money was no object. With a $2 million paycheck and financial backing for 2 non-Bond films, Connery returned for one more go, excluding 1983's Never Say Never Again (we don't talk about that one). This is a wonderful cover by the self-proclaimed "world's only theremin lounge band". Check out Project: Pimento's official site for some more mp3s including a cover of You Only Live Twice. Both their CDs are available on CD Baby.

Live and Let Die (1973)
Butch Walker - Live & Let Die [originally by Paul McCartney & Wings]
John Barry took a temporary hiatus from scoring the Bond series with George Martin filling in for Live and Let Die. Martin had previously produced Bassey's Goldfinger in 1964 in between his Beatles duties, so I guess it shouldn't really be a surprise then that Paul McCartney was brought in to do the film's theme song, a orchestral rock number unlike any previous theme. This faithful cover is by rocker Butch Walker from his 2005 EP Cover Me Badd. I've been a casual fan since his days as lead member of Marvelous 3 who broke up in 2001. Butch has been busy since then as a solo artist, producer, and songwriter. He has a multitude of pop producing/songwriting credits including Avril Lavigne, The Donnas, Pink, Hot Hot Heat, Katy Perry, and even Japanese duo Puffy AmiYumi (whose 2006 album Splurge had a Marvelous 3 cover song!). By complete coincidence, I was checking Amie Street earlier and learned Butch Walker has a new solo album Sycamore Meadows released today! Back to Live and Let Die... I just have to mention that this film has the most ridiculous villain death in the entire series (you know what I'm talking about).

**EDIT: I meant to mention that a new Live and Let Die cover by Duffy (hand-picked by McCartney himself!) will be arriving on the new WarChild cover compilation early in the new year.

The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)
Emiliana Torrini - The Man With the Golden Gun [originally by Lulu]
Apparently considered one of the worst themes in the series, I've always kinda liked it, but then again I only outright hate one Bond song... we'll get to that later. The lyrics are also amusing since they're about as subtle as Pussy Galore. This cover is by Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini, who I recognize from some of her other covers like White Rabbit and The Sound of Silence. This film starred Christopher Lee as the title man with the golden gun, Scaramanga, who is also the man with the superfluous third nipple (utilized by Bond to impersonate him). Trivia buffs should know that Christopher Lee is a cousin of Bond creator and author Ian Fleming.

Don't forget I'm cross-posting over at BreakThru Radio all this week. Today's post is simply rehashing some Max Vernon for readers over there, but I've got some great covers lined-up over the next few days. Don't worry, I'll be reminding you every day...

James Bond Covers Will Return... tomorrow!

Five Days of Bond Covers: Day 001

This Friday marks the North American release of Quantum of Solace so we're celebrating here at Fong Songs with a solid work week of James Bond covers, from Dr. No through Casino Royale. It's also a special week at Fong Songs for another reason: I was chosen as "Blogger of the Week" for BreakThru Radio, a New York-based online radio station. So what exactly does this mean? It means all this week I'm double-shifting with posts over there too, starting with today's post on (you guessed it) covers of the James Bond theme. This gig will culminate with a Thursday appearance on the show Anatomy of a Blogger featuring some interview questions I've yet to record and a playlist hand-picked by yours truly, which as you might imagine will be heavy on the covers and CanCon. Very exciting, but I must be as loopy as that car stunt from Man With the Golden Gun (great stunt, unfortunate slide-whistle effect) to think I can post every day this week on two different sites.

In grade 7, a friend gave me a Best of James Bond CD for my birthday, which is how I became intimately familiar with all the Bond theme songs before I had even seen many of the films themselves. My earliest memory of any Bond film had to do with a sniper and a cello case... clearly The Living Daylights, though it would be several more years before I knew who James Bond was. One day my dad brought home a VHS boxset of the first three Bond films and that's basically where I got my start, eventually working my way through the entire series via the library and seeing the Brosnan era films in the theatres. TBS used to have a thing called 30 Days of Bond with a solid month showing Bond movies every night and that's something I've always wanted to replicate on a smaller scale... with cover songs, of course. So here we go!

Dr. No (1962)
Being the first in the series, the idea of the title theme song had yet to establish itself, but it introduced the world to Monty Norman's James Bond Theme forever more. There's somewhat of a controversy over who actually wrote the Bond theme, but here's where you should definitely head over to that BTR post to read more about that and find covers by Parodi & Fair, Bond, and Fanfare Ciocărlia.

From Russia With Love (1963)
Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen - From Russia With Love [originally performed by Matt Monro]
It's been a long while since I saw this one, but I remember it being one of my faves. Even Connery himself considers it the best of the series. The opening credits actually feature an instrumental version of From Russia With Love with Matt Monro's vocal version over the end credits. This sweet dixieland jazz cover is by British jazz band Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen.

Goldfinger (1964)
Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger [Propellerheads mix]
Arguably the most recognizable of all Bond themes, this was the first of three Bond themes sung by Shirley Bassey, setting the gold standard of all Bond themes to come. Bassey actually recorded an album of Bond covers called Bassey Sings Bond, a brilliant idea that unfortunately was marred by god-awful arrangements by what sounds like a one-man synthesizer orchestra. In fact, it's virtually unlistenable and apparently Bassey took legal action withdrawing the recordings from store shelves. I'm already cheating here by including a remix rather than a cover, but I couldn't find a Goldfinger cover I really like, not to mention I absolutely love this Propellerheads remix from the Shirley Bassey remix album, Diamonds Are Forever. Propellerheads are also responsible for a monster 9+ minute remix of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and they later teamed up with Shirley Bassey on the single History Repeating (great track, by the way).

Thunderball (1965)
Kingpins - Thunderball [originally performed by Tom Jones]
This ska cover is one of my favourite Bond covers, yet sadly I know very little about it and have some doubts as to whether this has been labeled with the correct artist. Yes, there's a Montréal ska band called the Kingpins, though from what I can tell they don't sound like this and their official discography makes no mention of it. It's possible but highly unlikely there was a different ska band by the same name. iTunes and eMusic aren't any help. I hate posting covers of unknown origin, but this cover is just too good to go unheard. Let me know if you can shed any light on this cover mystery.

**UPDATE: No worries, folks. Thanks to my pal Nick Chuck, we have confirmation that it IS by The Kingpins, a hidden track from their 1999 album Let's Go to Work!

You Only Live Twice (1967)
The Postmarks - You Only Live Twice [originally performed by Nancy Sinatra]
As previously mentioned on Fong Songs, Miami pop band The Postmarks have a cover album By the Numbers coming out tomorrow! The album features twelve covers of numbers-related songs including this Bond cover, which was previously released for free on eMusic. Can't wait for tomorrow because the final cover on the album is none other than the Pinball Number Count.

James Bond Covers Will Return... tomorrow!

By the Numbers

Impending cover album alert! Miami pop band The Postmarks are releasing a cover album, By the Numbers, which will feature covers of number-related songs. I'm looking forward to this after inadvertently stumbling upon their cover of You Only Live Twice while searching for Bond covers (uh, blatant post foreshadowing). That cover along with Bowie's Five Years, Antonio Carlos Jobim's One Note Samba, and more were available for free on eMusic as they were being released each month. Don't bother checking, they've been removed in anticipation of the new album. I didn't realize the full story until Stereogum's Gum Drop newsletter arrived last week with a mini-interview of The Postmarks. The big revelation for me was that the penultimate last track on the album is the Pinball Number Count! As regular readers will know, I'm a little obsessed with that song.

Tracklist:
1. One Note Samba [Antonio Carlos Jobim]
2. You Only Live Twice [Nancy Sinatra]
3. Three Little Birds [Bob Marley]
4. OX4 [Ride]
5. Five Years [David Bowie]
6. Six Different Ways [The Cure]
7. 7-11 [The Ramones]
8. Eight Miles High [The Byrds]
9. Nine Million Rainy Days [The Jesus & Mary Chain]
10. Slaughter On Tenth Avenue [Ray Rodgers]
11. 11:59 [Blondie]
12. Pinball Number Count [The Pointer Sisters]

Release date? 11/11.

I Met Ben Folds in a Pizza Parlor!

It's been a week since my epic trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to see Ben Folds Five's one-off reunion. It's taken me about that long to recover from pure ultimation of that trip, not to mention the brutal 40 hours spent in transit to and from there. Northwest corner of the continent to the southeast-- what was I thinking? Basically when I got to my hotel room, I walked in the door and crashed for a couple hours. When I came to, it was time to go! I headed to downtown Chapel Hill to meet-up with a bunch of random fans from the message boards at TheSuburbs.co.uk for a pre-show meal at Pepper's Pizza, chosen for its central location and because its decor consists of paintings of local musicians including one Mr. Folds.

I got there about 10 minutes early and was told no one else had arrived ("You're with the reservation for twenty?"), so the server plopped me down at the bar. Alternating between watching the front door, the TV, and my watch, suddenly I did a double take when I noticed BEN FOLDS was dining in a nearby booth with his wife and parents! He was facing me and for a brief second he must have seen my eyes pop out 2 inches out of my skull. I casually turned back to the bar, mentally freaking out and stealing furtive glances back at his table. Eventually I found out from a different server that a corner table was occupied by some of the people I was supposed to be meeting, so I hopped over to introduce myself, though they seemed to be slightly preoccupied by BEN FOLDS EATING IN A BOOTH OVER THERE. Soon he finished up and got up to go, quickly followed by a quarter of the restaurant. I don't think I would have had the nerve to say anything to him other than a smile and a nod, but when this mini-mob formed I jumped at the opportunity to meet a musical hero. Ben was friendly and gracious, taking the time to signing things, chat, and pose for photos. Then when he was done, the rest of our group showed up... he chatted for a few more minutes then bid adieu, leaving us all chattering excitedly about what just occurred. The bulk of our group were Americans who had travelled from out of state, though there were a few from the UK and one Canuck (me). We would later meet-up with another hardcore fan who had travelled from Japan! And I thought I had a long trip.


The show kicked off with a set from Hotel Lights, a two-man band headed by Darren Jessee. Unfortunately, the crowd was made up of mostly UNC students chatting LOUDLY throughout his whole set and walking in/out of the auditorium. Ironically, they only shut up between songs, then continued right back up talking when he started each song. Kinda sad, though honestly it wasn't a very good venue for his wistful acoustic songs. The highlight of his set was Amelia Bright, an unreleased Ben Folds Five tune, which he dedicated to Ben and Robert. After his set, Darren walked off to cheers, as we prepared ourselves for his return... as the drummer of Ben Folds Five for the first time in nearly 10 years. [note: they were confiscating cameras left and right so I have no shots from the show itself, which was fine since it's wonderful to just soak in the experience rather than worry about taking pictures!]

Soon the house lights dimmed for the main event and the crowd went nuts. And out walked Darren! Ben! Robert! Together again performing The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner front to back! I'll run out of superlatives real fast attempting to describe the show, but I was in a state of Full Body Tingles for the whole night. As someone who's listened to these tracks countless times and knows them inside-out, it's exhilarating to hear them live and notice the little differences or wonder how they're going to pull of a particular moment. Every song was magic in their own way, but Magic was absolutely breathtaking with the crowd rapt in silent awe. The original Don't Change Your Plans was the first track on the album to feature horns and sure enough, on cue out walked a horn section presumably made up of UNC students. They reappeared for Army, the album's one semi-hit, which received the loudest reception and crowd sing-along. It was refreshing to hear actual horns and Robert's original fuzzy bass, both missing in Ben's solo gigs where the horn sections are sung by the crowd. Your Most Valuable Possession, probably never performed live, featured Ben's dad Dean re-enacting a bizarre early morning phone message he once left on Ben's machine while half-asleep. Ben hilariously forgot the lyrics in the middle of Regrets. "So many regrets..." he sung as he shook his head just before the booming end of the song. The set finished off with Lullabye, a bittersweet ending with Ben singing "Goodnight, goodnight". They left to a deafening ovation and the excitement was through the roof because here's where we entered the unknown portion of the program.

The encore started off with Jackson Cannery, one of my faves and the band's very first single (I think). Next was Eddie Walker, the b-side to that single. The lyrics "Eddie Walker, this is your life" seemed to fit the occasion since the hometown crowd was peppered with family members, old friends, former colleagues, and ex-bandmates. Next came two from Whatever and Ever Amen: Selfless, Cold and Composed and Battle of Who Could Care Less, the lyrics from which the album's title comes from (prompting knowing fans to hold up their hands in a "W"). Ben prefaced the next song by telling a story about them recording their debut album, which was deemed terrible and re-recorded with a new producer. "That's vaulted, you'll never hear it," he teased before launching into Julianne. The band finished off with an old favourite Song for the Dumped before leaving to an even more thunderous ovation, which lasted for a good 10 minutes through the "go home" music and house lights going up before turning to chants and eventually boos as the roadies came out. Always leave 'em wanting more. The show is due to be broadcast on mySpace sometime in October and hopefully (please!) a DVD will come out. Surely it's too epic to remain in the vault. Of course, I said that about the White Stripes' Glace Bay show which was being filmed... seemingly never to be released.

Full setlist:
Narcolepsy
Don't Change Your Plans
Mess
Magic
Hospital Song
Army
Your Redneck Past
Your Most Valuable Possession
Regrets
Jane
Lullabye

encore:
Jackson Cannery
Eddie Walker
Selfless, Cold and Composed
Battle of Who Could Care Less
Julianne
Song for the Dumped

After the show, we gathered by the stage doors to hopefully meet Darren and Robert. Most of the people had seen Ben Folds numerous times, but never the full "Five" except for one superfan who'd been to over 50 shows dating back to the old days! We were assured by our insider that those two would definitely be coming out to meet and greet, though Ben had left right away with family. Eventually Robert and Darren came out to a sizable, though not unwieldy throng of fans. They were super gracious, making sure that they didn't leave before everybody got a chance to shake hands, sign stuff, and take photos. Perfect way to cap off an incredible night.

"Grew a mustache and a mullet, got a job at Chick-Fil-A..."
Army by Ben Folds Five
Honestly outside of that song, I'd never heard of Chick-Fil-A let alone seen one. I had to try it before I left town. Not bad, not great.

Here's a treat from the KCRW archives... in July 1997, the boys did a stint on Morning Becomes Eclectic, billed as Ben Folds Five and the BFF Brass Quintet. In other words, the trio were joined by a string quartet. At one point, the DJ jokes "When's the orchestra?". Of course, years later Ben would go on to play orchestral dates in Australia and the US (more orchestral dates next year too!). There is the occasional audio glitch, which is directly from the KCRW stream.

Ben Folds Five & The BFF Brass Quintet
Morning Becomes Eclectic 07/17/1997

01 One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces (with string intro)
02 interview
03 Fair
04 interview
05 Smoke
06 interview
07 Kate
08 interview
09 Theme From Dr. Pyser
10 interview
11 Misirlou/Philosophy
12 Outro

The whole show ZIPPED.

Also, someone from Ben's label passed along his new single for streaming:
Ben Folds featuring Regina Spektor - You Don't Know Me



Way to Normal is due next Tuesday!

=========================================
Random news:

• earlier this week, the Dresden Dolls officially called it quits... kinda. :( Though not altogether unsurprising in light of Amanda's solo debut, the crushing news came in a roundabout manner with Brian basically leaving a youTube comment stating as much. Even Amanda found out that way. Ouch. She says: "so here's what's going on, as far as amanda is concerned: the dresden dolls aren't broken up. we're just expanding the empire. while we work on other projects, join other bands, get perspective and travel the world doing god knows what."
  and
  "i love making music with brian viglione way too much to imagine that we won't do more. we don't know when, probably more than a year from now because we're pretty firmly entrenched in our projects (me in my solo record, and brian in his new kick-ass band, world/inferno, who you should go see, because they're awesome)."
  
  
• Weird footnote to my Ben Folds Five adventure: on the Greyhound from Seattle back to Vancouver, we pulled into the Canada/US border at the 24-hour duty free shop for a bathroom break and border shopping (if anyone wanted to at 2am). Ten minutes later we headed for the border check and literally seconds before we left the parking lot, another bus passed us. We pulled in behind them and silently grumbled since that could theoretically delay us an extra 45 minutes or more while they checked that bus. Our driver got off to chat with the border people and came back grumbling about "big wig rock stars". It turned out it was Alicia Keys' tour bus headed to Vancity for a concert the next night. Actually tour buses since another one pulled up beside us. Fortunately they decided to speed process the fifteen or so of us sleepy passengers and let us be on our merry way. Take that, Alicia Keys! If you haven't heard it yet, the new Alicia Keys/Jack White Bond theme Another Way to Die is out on iTunes or stream it here.
  
  
• In related news, folk rocker Ray LaMontagne wrote an ode to Meg White. Seriously.

First Taste of Another Way to Die

James Bond + Jack White + Coke = this
Here's the new Coke Zero ad in the style of the Bond opening credit sequences featuring a Jack White soundtrack. It's not clear whether this is part of the new Bond theme or composed just for the ad, but I'm loving it in any event. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's distinctly a "Jack White" sound while still retaining the Bond feel. Can't wait to hear the whole thing.

The last Jack/Coke team-up produced this little gem:
Jack White - Love is the Truth

My biggest beef with Coke Zero's ad campaign is that it's entirely based on this crazy idea that it tastes like regular Coke, which is blatantly untrue (though it tastes an awfully lot like diet coke with that same nasty aftertaste). At least the talking eyeball and tongue ads seen before every movie in the theatres will be phased out in favour of the new Bond ad methinks.

It Got Loud

Well, the Large Hadron Collider started up today without a hitch. Everyone still here? Good. I love this headline from National Geographic: Large Hadron Collider "Actually Worked". 14 years and $8 billion later, I would hope so. Today was the first attempt to send a beam of protons around the 27 kilometer tunnel. I'm told it takes one ten-thousandth of a second for a the proton beam to circle the ring, so I can only imagine how anticlimactic it was to push the "on" button. In any event, scientists were ecstatic. Apparently Stephen Hawking bet $100 that the elusive Higgs boson will not be found, but it may be a few months before we find out who's right.

=========================

So I'm back from the big T.O. and I'm extremely thrilled to report that indeed I was able to attend the world premiere of the rock doc It Might Get Loud at the Toronto Film Fest last Friday night. Yes, it got loud... as it should, considering the film's subjects JIMMY PAGE, JACK WHITE, and THE EDGE were all in attendance! They received a rousing ovation from the audience as they entered, shuffling down the rows to their reserved seats-- not far behind me! Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) was there to introduce the film, thanking the guitar virtuosos, the film's producers, and his wife Elizabeth Shue(?!). Utterly surreal watching a movie alongside these guitar greats.

The film kicks off with a shot of a cow. At a farmhouse in Tennessee (if I recall), Jack White hammers together a homemade instrument out of some blocks of wood, a coke bottle, and wire. Plugging it into an amp, he rips through some invented riffs. "Who says you need to buy a guitar?" he quips, as the opening credits roll. Central to the film is an epic Summit meeting of the three guitarists at an L.A. soundstage, which is interspersed with the subjects telling their own stories through individual interviews, revisiting locations of personal significance, and messing around in their own studios including the recording of unreleased new songs.

Some highlights include Jimmy Page playing a record of Link Wray's Rumble from his extensive home collection and goofily air strumming along with a huge grin on his face; The Edge revisiting his old school in Dublin where he once answered a leaflet posted by Larry Mullen Jr. advertising for bandmates, which would eventually become U2 (he ponders if he hadn't seen that ad and says maybe today he'd be a bank manager); and Jack White teaching a 9-year-old incarnation of himself the folk-blues standard Sittin' On Top of the World. At The Summit, all three swap tales and ideas about the electric guitar... of course, we're all eagerly anticipating their jamming together. They take turns leading the others through their own songs: The Edge on I Will Follow, Jack White on Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, and Jimmy Page on Whole Lotta Love, though on the latter Jack and the Edge merely watch with big grins as Jimmy plays. One of my favourite parts of the film is the three of them trading solos on In My Time of Dying in their distinct styles. AWESOME. It's curious to watch the Edge here because a completely different thought process seems to apply to his guitar solos while Jimmy and Jack clearly have their roots in the blues. If you're a fan of any of these bands, this film is pure gold.

After the film, all three guitarists, the producers, and the director went up on stage for a brief Q&A. I recorded the last couple questions:

For the cover lovers, it must be noted that their Summit ends with them getting together to play The Band's The Weight with Jack and the Edge swapping verses. Jack agrees to take the high notes on the chorus while Jimmy mumbles something about not being able to sing at all. Man, they have got to release an official soundtrack to this film.

My top three covers of The Weight:

Tok Tok Tok - The Weight [originally by The Band]

Aretha Franklin with Duane Allman - The Weight [originally by The Band]

The Moog Machine - The Weight [originally by The Band]

Led Zeppelin, U2, and the The White Stripes as you've never heard them:

Nuspirit Helsinki - No Quarter [originally by Led Zeppelin]

Nossa Alma Canta - Desire [originally by U2]

Nostalgia 77 featuring Alice Russell - Seven Nation Army (Grant Phabao Remix)
[originally by The White Stripes]

I had hoped to have an amazing postscript to this night after I was by some stroke of luck able to score a ticket to the fabled It Might Get Loud after party as a media guest (don't ask). But the party was a total bust. Clearly there was an exclusive party within the party for special people only, so I was out in a jammed room with the other schmucks and party fillers. Pure Hell. Utter shallowness on display in full force and free drinks! I held on for 2 hours in hope of a rumoured jam session, though obviously this wasn't going to happen or at least not for us peons to hear/see. The only person of interest I saw was Richard Branson (or a look-alike) cutting through the lobby to the hotel elevators. The next day I read a small blurb in the paper that 2 of the 3 guitarists played (doesn't even say who) and those in attendance included Michael J. Fox, Bryan Adams, Geoffrey Rush, ex-Leaf Tie Domi, probable ex-Leaf Mats Sundin, and some Blue Jays. Yep, completely different party.

Other tidbits:

• A clip I had seen previously on YouTube of a teenage Jimmy Page playing skiffle guitar on a TV show in 1957 appears in the film and the crowd erupted in laughter when they heard young Jimmy's career aspirations. Check the full segment here.
  
  
• With Jack in T.O. for this and Alicia Keys also promoting her own film The Secret Life of Bees, producers took advantage of the opportunity to film the music video for their James Bond theme duet Another Way to Die somewhere in Toronto on Saturday. By the way, did you see the new Quantum of Solace trailer released a day or two ago? Check it out. And a surprising Bond tidbit from It Might Get Loud itself... The Edge asks Jimmy Page if there are any recordings they'd recognize from Jimmy's stint in the 60's as a session guitarist on numerous recordings. His answer: Goldfinger. Wow, news to me!
  
  
• The other film at TIFF I saw was a midnight screening of JCVD, a new film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as himself. A meta look at Jean Claude Van Damme's life surreally crossed with Dog Day Afternoon. A surreal, funny film and Van Damme shockingly delivers a riveting confessional monologue. Again: Van Damme and riveting in the same sentence. And I just have to mention that the JCVD end credits also roll with a cover song-- Bowie!
  Marie Mazziotti - Modern Love [originally by David Bowie]

!!! Jack White & Alicia Keys: NEW BOND THEME !!!

You may have heard by now, but I just found out about this and I am crazy excited. After all these Winehouse/Ronson and Adele rumours and "official" announcements, this is the real deal. The theme for the upcoming Quantum of Solace will be called Another Way To Die, written and produced by Jack White who also played drums. So I guess it's already been recorded. Somewhat surprising but true, it'll be the first duet in Bond theme song history. Alicia Keys made it known a couple years ago that she was interested in collaborating with Jack White, but who knew it would end up being a Bond theme?! So awesome, can't think.

I tried to imagine what this will sound like... mix these ingredients together and shake, don't stir:
The White Stripes - Shelter of Your Arms [originally by the Greenhornes]
The White Stripes - In the Cold Cold Night
The Raconteurs - Blue Veins
Alicia Keys & Adam Levine - Wild Horses [originally by the Rolling Stones]
Shirley Bassey with Propellerheads - History Repeating

Let the inevitable White Keys jokes begin. What do you think?

New Bond Trailer!

Sweet! First trailer of Quantum of Solace has arrived! Other than The Dark Knight, this is the film I'm most pumped about this year (wait, did I previously say that about Indy?). Both series have a bit in common with their triumphant reboot/revamp approach to franchises that had descended into mediocrity. Franchise most in need of a reboot: Alien. Let's get back to the Ridley Scotts and James Camerons of directing, and forget the Paul W.S. Andersons and Brothers Strauses, ugh.

David Arnold - The Name's Bond...James Bond
A mild revamp of the classic theme that closed out Casino Royale. Arnold has scored every Bond film since Tomorrow Never Dies, but I was surprised to learn that his album of Bond theme covers Shaken and Stirred actually came out before he became the franchise's composer. In fact, that album directly led to him getting the gig based on a recommendation from John Barry, the embodiment of Bond music, who did the themes/music for pretty much every film between Dr. No and The Living Daylights.

Look forward for a solid week of Bond theme covers when Quantum of Solace comes out November 7.

Deals on Amie Street

Just read that indie digital retailer Amie Street, who I'm a big fan of, has signed a deal with Beggars Group (Rough Trade, XL, 4AD), Matador and Polyvinyl, adding their music to the site today. What does this mean for you?

• Great deals on the The New Pornographers catalogue. All their albums for under $5. Twin Cinema for $3.98? Sold! If I could, that is. Ironically, the Canadian band is only available to US customers...
  
• Cat Power and her two cover records are now on there. Again, US only.
  
• former Polyphonic Spree member, Annie Clark AKA St. Vincent. Um, US only... hmmm, I'm seeing a pattern here.
  
• Other stuff: Of Montreal, Pixies, Basia Bulat, Vampire Weekend, Interpol, Belle & Sebastian, The National, The Mountain Goats, and more!
  
• FREE: Natacha Atlas, who appeared on the David Arnold Shaken 'n Stirred James Bond covers album is one one of the added artists. Covers of You Only Live Twice and I Put a Spell on You are, as of this moment, free (sigh, US only).
  
• **Update: Five FREE Pizzicato 5 albums! A free Kimya Dawson album too.
  
• Don't forget Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are on there too!

Official word from Amie Street is they're working on the "US Only" hurdle...

Get 'em fast. If you're unaware, songs on Amie Street start off free and as they become popular, the price goes up. It caps off at $0.98 per song, so it never gets out of hand. Format is DRM-free MP3s (160 kbps, I think). There's also a deal today that credit is 50% off! So I just bought $50 worth of credit for $25. Sweet. Now, we just have to wait for them to let us Canadians/rest o' the world at those new songs. Leave a comment if you find any good covers on there!

Goodbye, Miss Moneypenny

"Pretty Penny was her name
She was loved and we all will miss her."

I was saddened to learn that Canadian-born actress Lois Maxwell, known to millions as Miss Moneypenny in 14 James Bond films, passed away this weekend at the age of 80.

Stone Temple Pilots - Pretty Penny
Chaka Khan - Diamonds are Forever [originally performed by Shirley Bassey]

Bond. James Bond Covers.

I'm quite excited about Casino Royale, which comes out today and seems to have generated some good buzz. Though after the invisible car, CGI parachute-surfing, Halle Berry-plagued, Madonna-themed antics of Die Another Day (as in "please don't let the Bond series end on this note"), anything is an improvement. I'm sorry Pierce Brosnan, but the Bond films haven't been exciting since Goldeneye (not your fault). People have been ragging on the new Chris Cornell theme song, with some proclaiming "worst Bond theme ever". Honestly, did everyone suddenly forget Madonna's Die Another Day? Gah! Just thinking of it makes me shiver. Or All Time High? All time low of the Bond theme canon is more like it, though perhaps at the time the songwriter really was on an all time high. I was in the Sony store the other day and in their big screen home theatre area they had an instrumental version of the new theme song playing on an endless loop over clips from the film. It was actually pretty sweet and had me psyched to see Casino Royale. Back in January I posted some Bond theme covers as the answer to one of my "Cover Riddles," a feature on this blog that seems to have gone the way of George Lazemby. Now, to celebrate the release of Casino Royale: some more Bond theme covers.

Bond on Bond [originally by Monty Norman]
The all-girl string quartet called Bond performs their namesake. Definitely not your grandfather's string quartet.

Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger [Propellerheads remix]
This comes from a pretty sweet Shirley Bassey remix album, Diamonds Are Forever. I love this remix by the Propellerheads who also do a nutso 9 minute version of On her Majesty's Secret Service. Here there is a low-key, funky intro that leads up to the explosive first notes of the original Bond classic.

Mr. Bungle - Thunderball [originally by Tom Jones]

The new theme song You Know My Name, follows in the footsteps of these Bond songs that also do not share their name with the film:

Radiohead - Nobody Does it Better (live) [originally by Carly Simon; from The Spy Who Loved Me]
There are several covers of this song around, but Radiohead actually tries to live up to the title. It worked.

Pulp - All Time High [originally by Rita Coolidge; from Octopussy]
Considering the original, this is quite listenable.

Tindersticks - We Have All the Time in the World [originally by Louis Armstrong; from On Her Majesty's Secret Service]

-------------
Bonus Bond-like theme songs (or more accurately, Shirley Bassey Goldfinger-like theme songs):

Blessed be the Guy That Bonds [McBain end theme from the Simpsons]
Scorpio [from the Simpsons]
Brian Song [from Monty Python's Life of Brian]
Weird Al Yankovic - Theme from Spy Hard [from Spy Hard]

Bond addendum

How apropos... was at work and saw the Music from Frasier album with this:

track #14: Frasier - "Goldfinger"

Cute. Though I have to admit I've never seen even 30 seconds of the show.

Shaken 'n Stirred

Ah, the new face of Bond. I'm not sure what to think yet... I'll give Daniel Craig the benefit of the doubt until I at least see a trailer. I think it's good that the producers seem to be taking a back-to-basics Batman Begins-type approach to Casino Royale, although I think hiring Quentin Tarantino (who claims adapting Casino Royale was his bright idea) would have given a much needed shot in the arm to the franchise. I've been less than impressed with the last few Bond films and in my humble opinion, Pierce Brosnan has the odd distinction of being the best Bond since Connery in some of the least memorable Bond films (excluding Goldeneye, which is the only Brosnan one I truly liked).

I like the idea with the Mission: Impossible series of handing over the reins to a different high-profile director each time... just to see what happens. Brian De Palma with the first one, John Woo with MI:2, and now J.J. Abrams for (as one clever bloke put it) M:I:III. At one point, David Fincher was even set to direct (that would've been killer!), which would have been way more enticing than the ol' crazy Tom Cruise show. After seeing the trailer, that one's questionable as well -- bonus points for evil Philip Seymour Hoffman though.

So anyway, the overly simple answer to last week's Cover Riddle #3 was indeed Bond... James Bond. All of the covering artists performed Bond theme songs:
-Duran Duran [A View to a Kill]
-Nancy Sinatra [You Only Live Twice]
-Garbage [The World is Not Enough]
-Shirley Bassey [Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Moonraker]
-the one-two combo of Tom Jones [Thunderball] & Tina Turner [Goldeneye]
-Sheryl Crow [Tomorrow Never Dies].

'Twas all a not-so clever ruse to post some Bond song covers, so here we go:

Parodi & Fair - James Bond Theme [originally by The Monty Norman Orchestra]
When Bond made his post-80s comeback with the newly licensed Brosnan as 007, this is the version of the theme song that accompanied the Goldeneye trailer.

Moby - James Bond Theme

Kingpins - Thunderball

Björk - You Only Live Twice

Nobody Does it Better [originally by Carly Simon]
from The Spy Who Loved Me
8mm
Aimee Mann

We Have All the Time in the World [originally by Louis Armstrong]
from On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Iggy Pop
The Fun Lovin' Criminals

A pretty good lounge cover of Diamonds Are Forever performed by Project: Pimento can be found at their website here.