Tag Archives: grammys

“My Last Mistake” (Dan Auerbach Cover)

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For Dan Auerbach chords/lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to another installment of “Chris Moore Monday.”  It is my priviledge and responsibility to start off each week right, usually with a selection that is in “new music” news.  I figure this is appropriate, since tomorrow is “New Music Tuesday” – what better role is there than to turn you on to great new music?

Okay, so tonight’s song is technically a week old…

Dan Auerbach is better known as one half of the blues rock music group the Black Keys.  The band formed in Ohio in 2001, and in less than a decade, they have accumulated an impressive resume — including opening for Beck and Radiohead, playing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Late Show with David Letterman, and receiving accolades from Rolling Stone such as one of the “10 best acts of 2003.”  Although the band has not broken up, this year has found Dan Auerbach making a name for himself by releasing his very first solo album titled Keep It Hid.  I almost transcribed and played this, the title track, but I couldn’t resist “My Last Mistake,” the subsequent track.  Auerbach might agree with this choice of songs to record and play, as he performed “My Last Mistake” on the Friday, February 13th episode of Conan O’Brien.

So, you may be wondering how I heard of this release.  Well, aside from receiving a coupon for the first-week purchase in my favorite email each week — the Newbury Comics e-newsletter!! — I was tipped off to the release by someone who has his finger on the pulse of all things modern and alternative rock.  (So, thank you again, Geoff!)  He’s the same person who strongly suggested I check out the 2008 albums of Beck and Cold War Kids, both of which I would never have purchased on my own.

And I would have missed out!

Now, they’re not my favorite records of the year, by any means, but there are some killer songs that would have passed me by entirely.  So, hopefully I’ll continue to receive new rock music insight from Newbury Comics, Geoff, and who knows who else!

Speaking of new music, I constructed a fairly impressive “Albums of 2008” iTunes playlist.  It contains 341 songs, ranging from the Barenaked Ladies children’s album to Ben Folds’ album (which was certainly NOT kid-friendly!).  I hadn’t really listened to the playlist since the New Year, but I just turned it on yesterday and fell in love with it again.  I’m listening to it now, and even now, Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” just faded into Brian Wilson’s “Oxygen to the Brain.”  Where else can you find that sort of variety?!  I cling to my playlists and albums these days, as the popular media has only embraced an extremely small and profoundly unrepresentative sample of what modern rock music has to offer.  Take the aforementioned Coldplay, an overrated and — until recently, in this writer’s opinion — mediocre band.  Chris Martin and his band have received more Grammys than all of my favorite bands combined.  No kidding!  Meanwhile, Brian Wilson got a Rolling Stone article for his amazing 2008 album That Lucky Old Sun, and that was all.  I understand that he is older and there perhaps isn’t a market for his music, but I find it sad that more people couldn’t have been exposed to the bright, brilliant, and uplifting rock tunes that pour forth from that album.

Enough ranting for one day’s post…

As a final note, I finally picked up and watched the Sam Jones documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.  I had planned on watching it with Dana last night, but he hadn’t returned home, so I got ready to watch it alone.  Then, Mike texted and sounded interested.  So, before I knew it, Mike had arrived with apple juice and saltines (food for sick people — my personal choice is G2 and wheat toast!) and we cranked up the volume on the big screen.  What a great documentary — not only is the filmography reminiscent of Don’t Look Back, but Jeff Tweedy is looking very Dylan-esque.  Scruffy, bearing harmonica rack, singing poetic lyrics — what more could I ask for?  Also, he seems like he would be a difficult guy to live and/or work with.  But that being said, I like Jeff Tweedy a great deal, and it was really interesting to see him candidly in the studio.  And thanks to Dana and Mike for making last night an event in and of itself — when Jim returns from vacation, I just may have to join them for their late night sessions that I miss so much since I’ve become an “old man” with a wakeup time of 5 or 5:30am…

And now to tie this ALL together…

Wilco switched to Nonesuch records after the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot fiasco (the situation filmed and described in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart), and Dan Auerbach is also on the Nonesuch label.  So, as you see, it all comes full circle…

Don’t miss an all-new Jim Fusco Tuesday tomorrow.  Until then…

See you next session!

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards (2009) results that you care about!

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By Chris Moore:

Hey there, all you blog-reading rock music fans!  I just tuned in to the Grammy awards, and it’s a surreal experience.  After all, I haven’t watched the Grammy awards since Bob Dylan was up for a few awards in 2002, after releasing his Love and Theft album.  There’s really nothing quite as exciting as seeing your favorite musicians honored and – especially – peforming on national television.  I’ll never forget that Dylan performance of “Cry a While”…

But, back to this year.  I’m tuning in a bit late, in hopes of seeing rock music represent!  I bought a LOT of new music last year, and I’m very interested to see if any of my favorites actually get a Grammy nod.  In all honesty, I don’t expect many of mine to win, but I see some hope for rock in Coldplay, Radiohead, and others.

So, for those of you who missed the show or would like to take a second look, here are the results of the rock music-related Grammy’s…

Song of the Year: Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”

Say what you will about Coldplay, but this is a rock band with an amazing rock album if I’ve ever heard one.  And here, officially, they have received the “Song of the Year” nod!  That will be the first album I listen to after the show — the Viva La Vida (or Death And All His Friends) album really is one of the two or three best albums of the year for 2008.  But that award is up for grabs later…

Performance: Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus

While this really isn’t my cup of tea, I really can’t complain when I see a performance with just a singer or two and acoustic guitars.  It’s the Laptop Sessions business model, after all!  I see some hope for rock, or at least acoustic guitar music, in the pop music world when I see two young, attractive women playing a bare-bones, acoustic performance for a national television audience.

Pop Collaboration with Vocals: Robert Plant and Allison Krauss

Again, this is not music that I was excited for or even interested in last year.  I haven’t even heard the Plant and Krauss duets yet.  That being said, I think there’s a victory for rock music in here somewhere.  I think.

Performance: Stevie Wonder and the Jonas Brothers

I really don’t want to be excited about this performance.  And I’m admittedly watching it on mute so I can hear the TNA “Against All Odds” Pay-Per-View playing on the other television in the room.  But – and this is a significant BUT – I think it’s really cool to see the Grammy’s schedule a meeting between old and new, the past and present.  I never thought I’d see the Jonas Brothers rocking out on their guitars, standing shoulder to shoulder with Stevie Wonder on keyboards.  Wonder really has transcended all sorts of boundaries over the years, though, so I suppose it shouldn’t be that big a surprise.

Rock Album: Coldplay’s Viva La Vida (or Death and All His Friends)

Coldplay wins!  How many times have Chris Martin and his boys heard those two words?  Even a couple years ago, I would have happily jumped right on the “Coldplay is overrated” train, but after the release of this album in 2008 I have a newfound respect for this band.  Yes, they’re wearing the faux-Sgt. Pepper’s jackets.  Yes, I can’t understand why they are so univerally loved.  But this album is amazing.  From start to finish, it flows from song to song without losing momentum and building on a number of themes over the course of its ten tracks.  It reminds me of a classic Moody Blues album.  They’re not as good as the Moodies at crafting albums yet, but they have plenty more time to work on that painfully underrated art form.  (And, hey, if they WERE as good as the Moody Blues, then maybe they’d be just as obscure and under-appreciated as Justin Hayward and company are!)

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals: Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”

I’ve reinforced several times that I love this album.  I like this song quite a bit, although perhaps not as much as the rest of the world.  But the real question here is – how many times can you win for one album and its title track??  Just had to ask.

Pop Instrumental Performance: Eagles’ “I Dreamed There Was No War”

I haven’t heard it, but now I’m very interested…

Morgan Freeman

I think it deserves a note that Morgan Freeman (a) looks better than ever, even after that car accident that made headlines a while back, and (b) is announcing a performance at exactly the same time as a match on the TNA Pay-Per-View between Abyss and Matt MORGAN.  Coincidence?

Well, yes, but I was excited.

Performance: Paul McCartney (“I Saw Her Standing There”)

Awesome.  The man still has it.  Of course, he has the same thing he’s had for forty years.  And, of course, I must rephrase my earlier question — how much mileage can you get out of one song?  As Jim mentioned, isn’t the credo of rock’n roll that “only the good die young”?  As for me, I’m not complaining.  It’s good to see McCartney out there showing all the younger acts how it’s done!

Male Pop Vocal Performance: John Mayer (“Say”)

Really?  Am I the only one who thought this song was really boring?  The chorus goes as follows: “Say what you need to say” repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc., etc…  I miss younger, short-haired John Mayer…

Solo Rock Vocal Performance: John Mayer (“Gravity”)

To be fair, I’ll include Paul McCartney (for “I Saw Her Standing There” from Amoeba’s Secret) in the following rant.  How can a live track, much less a live performance of a previously released song, make the “Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance”?  Isn’t that the beauty of the studio, that the rawness of a vocal performance and the controlled environment of the studio combine to bring the best of two worlds?  Even if you disagree, consider the competition — “Girls in Their Summer Clothes,” a great Bruce Springsteen track from Magic, and “Rise,” a track from the great Eddie Vedder soundtrack for Into The Wild.  To be honest, I haven’t heard the Neil Young track.  But, really, John Mayer?  This smacks too much of a high school-esque popularity contest.

Rock Song: Bruce Springsteen (“Girls in Their Summer Clothes”)

I’m not really sure why this song became the flagship of the Magic tracks, but this is indeed a great song and I’m glad to see it getting some credit.  Moreover, I hope more people will check out Magic, the Springsteen album that this song originated from.  Truly an enjoyable album.  And, according to the Grammy’s, this is a great song — just not good enough to beat a live version of “Gravity” by John Mayer for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Alternative Music Album: Radiohead (In Rainbows)

I didn’t like this album nearly as much as everyone else who heard it, and I personally would have voted for Beck.  But, that being said, I really do appreciate what Radiohead is trying to do and I need to go back to In Rainbows this week to see what I missed…

Recording Package: Metallica (Death Magnetic)

Boxed or Special Limited Edition Packaging: Radiohead (In Rainbows)

I LOVE that there are still awards being given out for physical packaging.  There’s hope yet for the CD/vinyl/non-digital format!

Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Raconteurs (Consolers of the Lonely)

I’ll admit that I’m not exactly sure what this means, but I like the new Raconteurs album and it’s truly a great alternative rock album, so I’ll drink to this one!

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Rick Rubin

Hands down, this is THE choice for this category.  Why do I say this?  Four reasons.  Jakob Dylan’s Seeing Things.  Weezer’s Red Album.  Neil Diamond’s Home Before Dark.  Metallica’s Death Magnetic.  Enough said.

Short Form Music Video: Weezer (“Pork and Beans”)

An instant favorite on YouTube — this choice makes sense.

Long Form Music Video: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Runnin’ Down a Dream)

This really was a great documentary and will go down as perhaps one of the rock documentary essentials, if only for its wonderful treatment of the story of one of the all-time classic rock bands.

Video Montage: Tribute to those who have passed away this year

This was a really nice presentation and is indeed a perfect stage for this sort of tribute.

When all is said and done, I can’t say I’ll rush back for next year’s Grammy awards, but I am glad to see some of my favorites get some attention.  I apologize for any negative, ranting-like tones I may have adopted during this report, but there’s just so much music I heard last year that should have received more attention than it did.  The Counting Crows and Brian Wilson to start with, never mind R.E.M. and Weezer.  But this being said, have a great night and “viva la” rock!