SINGLES GOING STEADY: "BEATLE" BY TRIP SHAKESPEARE

"Beatle" by the late Trip Shakespeare is one of the most inventive Beatle's tributes I've heard.  It contains bits of "Taxman," "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," "Hey Bulldog," "Birthday" and even the trademark "Hoos" that John, Paul and George made girls go crazy with when they first hit the scene.  And then there are so many other Beatle elements, which become less hidden with repeated listening.  

Sure, my description makes it sound totally derivative—and, in the most essential ways, it is—but the vocal melody and lyrics are totally original.  It's a little slice of 80's College Rock that feels both lively and sinister with lyrics like "let me crawl into your brain/let me crawl up in yourmind/be now bewitched, bewildered, bothered and wise/I will be a Beatle in your mind."  The goal is not to BE the Beatles.  It's to be "a Beatle in her mind."

In a way, Trip Shakespeare was tuning into most musicians desire's of seducing women with their music like the rock and roll legends they—and every other musician—were inspired by.  

"Beatle" was originally released on the band's 1986 independant release Applehead Man, several year before they were signed to A&M Records.  The studio version feels somewhat hollow and listless.  When you hear it—and see it— live, however, you can really see why so many people in the midwest went crazy for these guys.  Great stage presence.  

Check out Elaine Harris who plays drums standing up! Oh and of course, there's young future Grammy Winner Dan Wilson on the right, alternating between guitar, backing vocals and piano.  

"Beatle" by Trip Shakespeare (live at historic First Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 1989)

"Beatle" by Trip Shakespeare (Applehead Man)

Applehead Man (P.S. "Stop The Winter" and "Necklace" are two of my favorites.  Think Red Hot Chili Peppers mixed with REM/B-52s)

LOVERS AT LIGHTSPEED (EP) + BONUS SINGLES BY SUGAR GLYDER

Lovers At Lightspeed (EP) by Sugar Glyder

 Lovers At Lightspeed by Sugar Glyder is one of those rare sort of EPs that satisfies like a full album.  It packs muscular alternative rock songs into six diverse and exhilerating concoctions.  While a 30 second listen brings bands like Yellowcard to mind, Sugar Glyder is actually better and far more intriguing.  The band actually feels like a first cousin to bands like The Walkman, Dashboard Confessional, Fall Out Boy, Kings of Leon and at times even Radiohead.  Each song has so many layers that it's hard not to be impressed.   But layers and washes of instrumentation are only impressive if the songs are good and while these songs are sometimes a step behind those of the aforementioned bands, they do suggest a whole lot of promise.  

And the promise feels even more believable as you sink deeper into Lovers At Lightspeed.  While the first track, "Song Holiday" sounds like a punchy rollercoaster ride on a skateboard that borders on the line between solid and ordinary, "Deep Into Summer" is as smooth as it is beautiful and addicting.  And by the time you reach the hazy, snowy post-grunge of "The Work (And What May Come)" it becomes immensely clear that this band has a lot of raw melodic talents and plenty of integrity in the studio, crafting cool, druggy introductions and conclusions.  

Whether or not Sugar Glyder always hits a bullseye on Lovers At Lightspeed is sort of irrelevant, because this debut is quite listenable and very fun.  Yeah, music like this is nothing new, but few bands do it as well as Sugar Glyder.  I'll tell you one thing, there is a future for this band.  And as I listen to their two newest singles "Campfire" and "Lost In This Woods," I can say it again: There is a future for this band.  At the very least, Sirius XM's Alt Nation should take notice ASAP. 

Lovers At Lightspeed (EP) by Sugar Glyder

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SINGLES GOING STEADY: "BLUE MOTEL ROOM" BY JONI MITCHELL

Joni Mitchell

It gives me chills every time I hear it.  "Blue Motel Room," the eigth track on Joni Mitchell's 1976 album Hejira is a jazz ballad performed on both acoustic and electric guitars that feels like it came straight out of a lonely, smokey bar. Joni Mitchell is the quintessential tortured artist and this song is one of the best examples of that due to lyrics like "I've got a blue motel room/ with a blue bedspread/I got the blues inside and outside my head/will you still love me when I'm down."  

Those are some heartbreaking words.  But the music is even more heartbreaking.  Utilizing one of her hundred (or so) alternate tunings, the chords are unpredictable and the voicings sound equally unreal and unheard of.   Meanwhile, the song features one of Mitchell's most vulnerable and effective vocal performances.  It's funny when you compare Mitchell to some of her contemporaries and collaborators like Stephen Stills and James Taylor.  While both of those artists had written respectable and sometimes landmark compositions, by 1976, neither could hold a candle to Joni''s sophistication and brilliance.  In the end, "Blue Motel Room"  is so unbelievable that it makes most songs sound ordinary.  In fact, most songs are ordinary compated to it.  It's no surprise that just a couple years after the song's release, Charles Mingus asked to collaborate with Joni Mitchell.  Genius loves company, I guess. 

"Blue Motel Room" by Joni Mitchell 

Hejira by Joni Mitchell