Monthly Archives: February 2014

“…Baby One More Time” (An Cover of the Fountains of Wayne rock cover of the Britney Spears pop song)

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By Chris Moore:

Mwa-ha-ha… And a good EVE to all joining me on this FRIGHTENING 31st of October, 2008.  This is All Hollow’s…

EVE!

And I think that, tonight, the title pretty much says it all.  What could be scarier, as Jim asked last night, than Chris Moore covering a Britney Spears song?  Well, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.  In my defense, I’m not exactly doing a Britney Spears cover.  Technically, this is a cover of the Fountains of Wayne arrangement of Britney’s hit single, first released on their “Out-of-State Plates” album, a collection of non-album tracks and previously unreleased material.  Now, these collections are usually hit-and-miss, but this is actually a really good one.  There’s a couple of new tracks (one of which, “The Girl I Can’t Forget,” is one of my favorites from them), some great live stuff (including a rare better-than-the-studio-album version of “She’s Got A Problem”), and crazy tracks like this, their arrangement of the classic “Hit me baby one more time!”

So, I know you can’t wait to listen, and I certainly want to rush back to the big Fusco-Moore Experience All Hallow’s Eve bash, with special guest (and Richard Simmons impersonator) Mike Fusco!  He really went all out — I’m talking head-to-toes, red tank top labeled “PUMPkin’ and SWEATin,'” leggings to disguise leg hair, and amazingly 80’s-esque velcro sneakers.  Thankfully, Jim and Becky have changed out of their terrifying, horrifying costumes… as Jim said, they wanted to be the scariest people he could think of… namely, John McCain and Sarah Palin.  Meanwhile, I’ve had a sudden urge to manage a beet farm and shun my co-workers (if you’re not an Office fan, I was Dwight Schrute tonight).  And, yes — it’s true: as part of his tip, I left our On the Border waiter a Schrute Buck.  He earned it for actually ensuring that the chips and salsa were bottomless.  With five hungry people at the table, this was no easy task!

In related news, we’re all too tired to record the Halloween WCJM show we had planned on doing, but I have the song list that I would have recommended to the boys (in reverse order):

6)  “Long Black Veil” – the Band’s version; not a halloween song per say, but a creepy one;

5)  “Heroes and Villains” – Brian Wilson’s SMiLE track; good for Halloween costumes;

4)  “Reflective Smile” – a Moody Blues poem set to music that begins “Your painted smile hides you…”;

3)  “Ninjas” – the Barenaked Ladies song from their new album that ends “If you take off their masks, they’ll be smiling”;

2)  “Brilliant Disguise” – classic Bruce Springsteen; again, not a Halloween song, but speaks for itself;

and…

1)  “Werewolves of London” – the quintessential Warren Zevon Halloween-worthy tune!!

For some reason, I’m filled with things I want to keep writing about, but we’re about to kick back and watch a flick — possibly North by Northwest.  Not exactly a scary movie, but a classic nonetheless.

I’ll leave you with a challenge to Jeff that Jim initiated last night — come on, Jeff, joing us in lady land.  And I’m not making a Jimi Hendrix reference.  No, I’m referring to the fact that this is my third cover song in a row that was originally sung by a female singer, and Jim shared an incredible Diana Ross interpretation.  Jump on the bandwagon!

Regardless of the gender of tomorrow’s session, I hope you’ll come back for some amaze-za-zing videos by Jeff and Jim.

See you next session!

Music Review: Relient K’s “Forget And Not Slow Down”

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RATING:  4.5 / 5 stars

By Chris Moore:

Relient K’s new 2009 release Forget and Not Slow Down — the Christian rock band’s sixth studio album — is a fine addition to their catalog.  Indeed, if the recent history of Relient K has been one of striking a balance between their trademark tongue-in-cheek moves and being taken more seriously, then this album is the ultimate realization of that endeavor.

Taken one song at a time, this latest release may not initially measure up to the standout tracks of their career — think: “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been,” “Falling Out,” “Getting Into You,” or “Sadie Hawkins Dance” to name a few.  And yet, perhaps for the first time in their now decade-long career, Thiessen and company have assembled a truly excellent album.

To be sure, this is the first Relient K release to transcend the bounds of the standard “15 or so songs we wrote and recorded around the same time” theme of their previous records.

THE REVIEW CONTINUES AFTER THE BREAK…

"Forget and Not Slow Down" - Relient K (2009)

"Forget and Not Slow Down" - Relient K (2009)

Forget and Not Slow Down

TRACK LISTING

1)    “Forget and Not Slow Down”

2)    “I Don’t Need a Soul”

3)    “Candlelight”

4)    “Flare (Outro)”

5)    “Part of It”

6)    “(Outro)”

7)    “Therapy”

8)    “Over It”

9)    “Sahara”

10)  “Oasis (Intro)”

11)  “Savannah”

12)  “Baby (Outro)”

13)  “If You Believe Me”

14)  “This is the End”

15) “(If You Want It)”

“You’re not the first thing in my life I’ve loved and lost,” lead vocalist Matthew Thiessen croons in “This is the End (If You Want It),” the aptly titled closing track .  Simply put, this love and loss that Thiessen refers to is the driving force that unites each thread of the album .

Thus, approached as a study of one man’s reaction to the end of a serious relationship, Forget and Not Slow Down is an engaging concept album from start to finish.

The opener (and title track) sets the scene for what is to come, laying out the philosophy of accepting what is in the past, “gather[ing] regrets for the things I can’t change now.”  The second track, “I Don’t Need a Soul,” echoes this sentiment and can be read as a further declaration of independence.

The third track marks an abrupt change of pace, finding Thiessen singing the praises of a woman so beautiful as to attract so many fireflies to her “Candlelight” as to obscure her view, a beauty so pure that it results in pinched nerves in the necks of men turning around too quickly to look at her.

The idealized view of this woman is only temporary as “Part of It” finds the narrator “working with adhesives, chains and locks and ropes and knots to tether.”  Thiessen continues, “But nothing’s sticking to the pieces; I can’t seem to hold it all together.”  This is where the concept of the album truly begins to crystallize: a man is suddenly on his own — he wants to “forget and not slow down,” but vacillates between renewal and denial.

“Therapy” is a travelogue of a man on his own, riding with only music to accompany him, dressed in the clothes he woke up in.  Soon after, “Over It” is about moving forward, but seems less convincing for the repetition of the chorus.

Which brings us to “Sahara,” the hardest rocking song on the album (and probably the one that most deserves the reference to the Foo Fighters that Theissen made during a recent interview).  This track is all about frustration and airing out the scars sustained during a previous relationship.

“Savannah,” with the placidly beautiful “Oasis (Intro)” and distorted “Baby (Outro)” is the perfect follow-up to “Sahara,” and the listener can feel the calm that comes over the narrator as he refers not so much to the actual Savannah, Georgia, but rather to what the town represented for them in their relationship.

“If You Believe Me” could be read either as an “I told you so” moment or as a statement to a potential new lover, but there is no mistaking the message of “This is the End (If You Want It).”  There is frustration, but there is more importantly closure and peace in this final track.  It is truly the payoff moment for the entire album — it is not the best or even my favorite song, but it provides the perfect ending, both musically and lyrically, for this outstanding concept album.

At the end of the day, Forget and Not Slow Down appears doomed to be marginalized by the mainstream music press.  Thus far, Rolling Stone has essentially ignored its existence.  Indeed, Relient K does seem to have found themselves being written off by both rock critics (as “Christian rock” and thus not palatable to a larger, secular audience) and original fans (for having signed on with a major label).

Still, the new album debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200, as well as scoring favorable reviews in the independent press.  The only small press reviewer to award fewer than four out of five stars gave a largely favorable review, only vaguely noting that, “There are some tracks that aren’t entirely appealing.”

And if that’s the worst he could write about this album, then perhaps there is still hope that it won’t be ignored — or entirely forgotten — after all…

WCJM Free Internet Radio Station: “The Everything is Christmas Show” – 1999

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By WCJM Free Internet Radio:

Jim Fusco had one favor to ask of Chris Moore. The favor was to have one more Moore Hits in the Morning broadcast before the new millennium. Chris (to Jim’s surprise) readily agreed, and the date was set or November 27, 1999- two days after the start of “Christmas Time”. They decided to do a show solely based on Christmas because of the Thanksgiving “vacation” and the abundance of songs Jim had based on Christmas.

But Jim had made a BIG “mistake”. He mentioned the free Internet radio show in front of Alberto Distefano, who readily wanted to join. Jim said yes out of the goodness of his heart, and Alberto became part of the show. The now four member team arranged at Jim’s house, and the new Moore Hits in the Morning took the air.

For this tape, Jim bought the correct wires to hook up the CD players, and all four of the members had their own microphones (Alberto was put on the karaoke, but they fixed the level problem). This show was packed with over 25 Christmas songs, and a few segments for Chris to read his “Stupid Crooks of America” stories. This tape, although with a lot of feedback at times, came out to near-perfection, inspiring them to do one more tape before the new year.

This is just one of the many excellent shows available at the WCJM website, a virtual treasure trove of free Internet radio delights!

“It All Comes Around” (Chris Moore) – Original Wednesday

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By Chris Moore:

At long last, here it is…

…an acoustic performance of the debut single from The 2010 Project!

The title of the album is a bit misleading, as it was only just released in July 2011, but the concept of the album is that of rebuilding and reassessing, venting anger and achieving forward motion.  For me, the year 2010 was a 365-day-long process of accepting that which I couldn’t change and grabbing hold of all that truly mattered.  This extended to all realms: personal, professional, music, reading, and more.

The 2010 Project represents the culmination of a year’s worth of ideas and conflicts and hopes, all wrapped up inside twelve songs (and a hidden track…), produced by someone who has believed in me and my music since my very first album, One Step Behind the Finish Line.  In fact, there’s an interesting cyclic feeling about the fact that Mike Fusco was the producer/mixer on One Step and has now produced my most recent album — the first for Em Eff Records — The 2010 Project.

“It All Comes Around,” like my previous video a couple weeks ago (“You Will Thank Me”), was written near the end of the sessions for the album.  In fact, I believe “It All Comes Around” was the final song I wrote, and I know it bumped not one but two songs off from the original track listing.  It was originally slotted lower, but got bumped up to track four and has taken lead role as the first single from the album.  Of course, I say “single,” but I’m not sure what that exactly means anymore.  I suppose what I mean is that this is the first song I would play someone from the album, and it is the one that works to my strengths — acoustic guitar and harmonica.

What I will say, also, is that this is perhaps the most difficult song on the album to perform live.  I think this is true because of the specific harmonica part and the rapid-fire lyrics.  In fact, listening back to this video now as I’m posting it, I realize that I can definitely play it better live now than even a few weeks ago.  By the time I perform it, hopefully later this year or early next year, I’ll have it down even better.

That’s the plan, at least.  🙂

So, without further ado, I give you “It All Comes Around,” and I remind you that, if you like it, you should visit www.ChrisMooreMusic.com and go to the Store link.  The album is currently streaming online for anyone to listen to, and of course, to buy if they like it enough…

See you next session!