These intimate live shows are often an effective showcase of stripped-down instrumentation and un-processed vocals. A real coffee house vibe; music at its most authentic.
Today’s clip doesn’t do any of that, and it’s all the more fascinating for it. Here, British New Wave artist Thomas Dolby performs his biggest hit, ‘She Blinded Me With Science,’ on a keyboard and sequencer, pressing buttons in perfect rhythm to add the drums and spoken-word interjections.
Yesterday’s Edwin McCain post sent me down one of those deliciously evil YouTube rabbit holes that dredged up material for a week’s worth of blog posts.
This week I’ll feature a quintet of live performances at the Bing Lounge, which I guess is where you go to play when the Google Lounge is down.
First up is Sarah McLachlan, with a lovely rendition of her classic sobfest ‘Angel.’
A shout out to Daniel Gallup, an up-and-coming artist recently featured on the blog, for calling my attention to today’s clip.
Here, Edwin McCain talks about his biggest hit, ‘I’ll Be,’ during a live set at the Bing Lounge in 2011. He amusingly wonders why any one-hit wonder would have a negative opinion of the song that brought him fame and fortune.
Here’s a great song from Billy Joel’s debut album, 1971’s Cold Spring Harbor. A live version was later released on the 1981 compilation album Songs in the Attic.
‘Everybody Loves You Now’ is a bitter serenade to a woman who hit it big and, in the narrator’s eyes, turned her back on the neighborhood (“you ain’t got the time to go to Cold Spring Harbor no more”).
The first three random songs that popped up on iTunes had already been featured on the blog: Aimee Mann’s ‘4th of July,’ Art Garfunkel’s live performance of ‘A Heart in New York,’ and The White Stripes’ ‘I Want to Be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart.’
When that happens, I like to go back and read the old posts, both to see if my opinions have changed and to enjoy the comment threads. In that batch, frequent commenter Dana took shots at Garfunkel, occasional commenter Amy took shots at Mann, and Jack White emerged unscathed.
Closing out Elvis Costello’s Look Now is the third collaboration with Burt Bacharach, ‘He’s Given Me Things.’
Backed by the Imposters and a nine-member string section, Costello once again sings from the perspective of a woman, this time the mistress of a wealthy man giving the kiss-off to her former lover.
Look Now feels a bit like a Greatest Hits collection of the many styles Elvis Costello has explored over the decades.
Track 11, ‘Why Won’t Heaven Help Me?,’ could have fit right in on 1993’s pop album Punch the Clock, especially during its delightful chorus. But that delicious ear candy is blended with the stately classicism of Costello’s more recent work.
