That's AAAArt Right There, Son, by Mike Doughty

In the interest of full disclosure, i've got a thing for Mike Doughty. Could be that i was an avid member of The Only Answer (and a few other iterations), his on-line fan community. Sure, we seldom actually talked about The Mikeanator, all things being equal, but it was our love of his music that brought us together in the first place, i'd wager.

Have you checked out Soul Coughing (particularly Ruby Vroom)? What about Smofe + Smang or any of his other early solo stuff? Back before signing to Dave Matthews' label, Doughty was one of the leading jazz beat poets out there, as far as i'm concerned. Then he apparently opted to try to go mainstream, but we don't need to get into that right here.

As luck would have it, MD just did a performance piece with Carolin Pook and her Pookestra. For the following performance, that means Mike laying down rhymes that would make Ginsberg jealous, two violins, two upright basses and a trumpet. The end result is more artsy than straight musical (or AAAArt, as Doughty calls it), so strap yourself in for the nearly 20 minute ride. Where else can you go to hear someone use the phrase "seelenausfallgeschichte?" This is beat music of an ENTIRELY different nature, kids, but it's no less digable.

mp3: Excerpts from the Seelenausfallgeschichte of Dodge Cuddly, Jr. (Mike Doughty and the Pookestra from Dubious Luxury Website)

The Laziest Mixtape You Ever Will Hear

You know what the biggest problem with three day-weekends is? They're not four or more days.

You noticed we didn't post yesterday. For those of our non-U.S. readers, yesterday was the tail end of one such three-day weekend. And while my nap levels seem to have been replenished, i'm not sure i feel like working towards much of anything today. So you get the laziest mixtape you ever will hear, and we're both winners.

mp3: Another Day (4hero ft. Jill Scott from Creating Patterns)

mp3: Let's Spend the Day in Bed (Over the Rhine from The Trumpet Child)

mp3: Lazy (Jim Gaffigan from King Baby)

mp3: Lazy Conversations (The Moldy Peaches from Back to the Bus)

mp3: Lazybones (Mike Doughty from Smofe + Smang: Live In Minneapolis)

mp3: Nothing to Worry About (Peter Bjorn & John from Living Thing)

mp3: Sleepy Tigers (Her Space Holiday from XOXO Panda : The New Kid Revival)

The Greatest Mostly Jingoistic U.S. Mix You Ever Will Hear

Since i may or may not be either hosting or attending a BBQ tomorrow, i'm dropping The Greatest Mostly Jingoistic U.S. Mix You Ever Will Hear today. i'm not a huge flag waver, but i do love making mixes, so i guess Uncle Sam's semi-loyal are the winners here. Or, if you're not from here and/or harbor reasonable, less than complimentary feelings in our direction, play this at your "ironic" Americans are Wankers party. See how music can bring us all together in a non-violent, in this case condescending way like that?

mp3: America, Fuck Yeah! (Team America-World Police from Team America-World Police Soundtrack)

mp3: The American (Nouvelle Vague from 3)

mp3: American Boy (Chris Isaak from Always Got Tonight)

mp3: American Car (Mike Doughty from Haughty Melodic)

mp3: American Girls (Homie from Meet the Deedles Soundtrack)

mp3: American Music (Violent Femmes from Why Do Birds Sing? )

mp3: American Woman (The Guess Who from American Woman)

mp3: Amerykahn Promise (Erykah Badu from New Amerykah Part One (4Th World War) )

mp3: U.S. Custom Coast Guard Dope Dog (George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars from Dope Dogs)

mp3: Red, White and Blues (Brendan Benson from his Facebook Page)

mp3: I Am a Patriot (Eddie Vedder with Bill Murray intro at some Nader Rally)

Maybe Not the Greatest You Ever Will Hear, But A Pretty Damn Good Robot Mix Nonetheless

OK, i've got a boatload of reviews and freebies i need to get to, but guess what? That ain't happening today, my friends. Work has been hectic, and equally if not more importantly, i need to get my ass to the Velvet Lounge to go catch the early show with the Elastic Waste Band headlining. Who are they? Just the remaining members of Morphine with a Delta Blues Man sitting in for Mark Sandman. Too bad the Lounge's website is sucky, and they won't answer their own phone to tell folks when the show actually starts, because the real losers here are the LET readers deprived of the daily fix of little heard gems as dictated by yours truly.

And the Flyers. They're losers, too.

Fortunately, apropos of absolutely nothing, i've been sitting on a robot mix for some time now. i'd like to say it's The Greatest Robot Mix You Ever Will Hear, but that might be pushing it this time. i'd probably need some Heartbeeps clips to reach that stratosphere, but this one is pretty damn good nonetheless.

Without further ado, it's Maybe Not the Greatest You Ever Will Hear, But A Pretty Damn Good Robot Mix Nonetheless.

mp3: Robots in the Garden (Autolux from Future Perfect)

mp3: Freak-A-Zoid Robotz (RMXXOLOGY Theme) (Delicious Vinyl All Stars feat Bobby Evans from RMXXOLOGY)

mp3: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Live On The BBC) (The Flaming Lips from Future Soundtrack for America)

mp3: Robots (Live) (Flight of the Conchords from The Distant Future)

mp3: Orion's Belt Buckle (Free the Robots from Ctrl Alt Delete)

mp3: Do You Like Robots? (Mike Doughty from Smofe and Smang)

mp3: Revelation of the Robots (Luke Kuzava from Zombies Can't Dance)

mp3: Grocery Robots (Patton Oswalt from My Weakness is Strong)

mp3: Tonight (The Robot Ate Me from Carousel Waltz)

mp3: Death Star Droid (Robot Koch from Death Star Droid)

mp3: Mr. Roboto (Styx from Kilroy Was Here)

mp3: Paranoid Android (Sia covering Radiohead from Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads)

And, of course, the greatest robot dance i've ever seen, which means it's probably that much greater than the greatest you thought you had seen prior to seeing this one. Or something like that.

The Greatest Sugar Free Chicago Mix You Ever Will Hear

We try to stick to all things music here at LET, but we do have other interests, too. You may recall my mentioning my hockey fanaticism just a few weeks back. While i'm a Washington Caps fan (and season ticket holder) by location (with highly inappropriate feelings for AO and Backs; what can you do?), i am, of course, a Chicago Blackhawks fan by birth and by blood (which hopefully explains the equal bromance felt for Johnny Toews, shitty playoff beard or not). With yesterday's sweep of the perennially snakebit San Jose Sharks, the 'Hawks are on their way to their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1992, but we don't really need to go into that one right now.

As a tip of the hat to a job well done, i've put together a Chicago mix that clearly doesn't have "Sweet Home Chicago" in it. i've got to have something to post when they win the whole thing, right?*

As such, here's The Greatest Sugar Free Chicago Mix You Ever Will Hear.

mp3: Chicago (Coleman Hawkins from An Introduction to Coleman Hawkins)

mp3: Chicago (Frank Sinatra from The Capitol Collectors Series)

mp3: Chicago (Ladyslipper from Time, Not the Weather)

mp3: Chicago (Sufjan Stevens from Illinoise)

mp3: Chicago People (Sam Prekop from Who's Your New Professor?)

mp3: Chicago Style (Bing Crosby and Bob Hope from Bing Crosby: Duets With Friends)

mp3: I Used to Work in Chicago (Eddie Vedder from Signature Live)

mp3: "It's 106 miles to Chicago..." (Dan Akroyd from The Blues Brothers)

mp3: Perth Bongs, Chicago Bud (feat. Gzutek) (Alex Ludovico from The Reawakening Mixtape)

mp3: Train to Chicago (Drink Me from Sleep)

mp3: Train to Chicago (Mike Doughty covering Drink Me from Smofe + Smang: Live In Minneapolis)

mp3: She Was in Chicago (John Lee Hooker from She Was in Chicago)

mp3: On the South Side of Chicago (Walter Wanderley from Hammond Bossa From Brasil)

mp3: Chicago Wind (Adrian Younge from Black Dynamite Soundtrack)

mp3: Chicago (Django Reinhardt from Djangologie)

mp3: Take Me Back to Chicago (Chicago from Chicago XI)

And for the 'Hawks enlightened:

mp3: Here Come the 'Hawks (The Dick Marx Orchestra and Choir from the Blackhawks multimedia page)

mp3: Chelsea Dagger (The Fratellis from Costello Music)

*That's right, i'm trash talking, bitch. And you know what elese? Your mother dresses you funny. What about it?

The Obligatory Thanksgiving Mix Post

By this time, i have come to learn that the great unwashed masses now realize that when it comes to the Greatest Mixes You Will Ever Hear, they're not going to find any place else that stuff 1/100th as good as the junk they'll find here at LET. Arguably not the clearest of wording aside, i get it, folks. A holiday comes around, and all y'all need a mix to help you with decorating/eating/drinking/avoiding suicide/etc. And you want some really good shit. i can dig it. No worries, even. Truth be told, though, Thanksgiving isn't exactly the easiest holiday for which to make a mix to blow your mind AND stuff your turkey. Aside from that Adam Sandler track, what's a Mix Master Supreme to do? Well, whip out your three ring binders and start taking notes, kids, because this is how its done.

mp3: Thank God I'm A Country Boy (John Denver from Back Home Again)

Don't ask me why, but this was one of my absolute favorite tracks when i was about five. Probably had something to do with that infectious fiddlin'. Or maybe because i associated JD with the Muppets, and that's reason enough for any kid to love a tune.

mp3: Thank Heaven for Little Girls (Maurice Chevalier from Gigi Soundtrack)

Who doesn't love songs that verge on blatant pedophilia by old French dudes? You know NAMBLA wishes they had a theme song this catchy.

mp3: THANK YA (DOOM from BORN LIKE THIS)

If i have to explain the inclusion of DOOM into any of my mixes, you need to either move along to a different site or do some more research on where you've ended up, suckafish.

mp3: Thank You (Pearl Jam with Robert Plant from 10-5-05 Concert)

You would have felt cheated if this Zep track wasn't on your Thanksgiving mix, then i would have felt either bad and/or annoyed with your whining, and then nobody wins. So here it is, and everyone can go about their merry way, no muss, no fuss.

mp3: Thank You, Boob Lady (Hanz Zimmer from The Simpsons Movie OST)

This one is for The Missus and her plentiful, er, cornucopias. That's huge tracts of land to you and me, kids.

mp3: Thank You Boys (Jane's Addiction from Nothing Shocking)

It's short, sweet, jazzy and somehow catchy as hell. What's not to be thankful about all that?

mp3: Thank You Jack White (For The Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me) (The Flaming Lips from Fight Test EP)

This track is both bizarre and entertaining. It's about a chance backstage encounter between Jack White and the Flaming Lips wherein the White Striped Raconteur gives a gift of love to his heroes--a light-up Christ figurine. i wish i could get some rockstar drugs.

mp3: Thank You, Lord, For Sending Me the F Train (Mike Doughty from Smofe + Smang)

One of my favorite MD tunes from his best solo work to date. The fact that i've waited for that train and thought those same things certainly endears it further to me, but don't let the fact that you've somehow managed to fortunately avoid Brooklyn up until this point in your life deter you from loving it just a little bit yourself.

mp3: Thankful 'N Thoughtful (Sly and the Family Stone from Fresh)

Sure, it's about overcoming addiction, but goddamn, that bass line could be the funkiest drug i've ever heard. And those horns? Somebody call Betty Ford's for me now because i have a problem turning this one off repeat on ye olde iPod.

mp3: Thanksgiving Theme (Vince Guaraldi from Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits)

i had to get one absolutely legit Thanksgiving track in here, so i used this chestnut. Bust out the jelly beans and popcorn, folks, it's party time!

And with that, you're welcome.

April 1st Fun

I'm sure there are dozens of examples out there, so feel free to post links to others in the comments section, but here are some of our favorite musician-specific April Fools for 09:

Mike Doughty, who has something fun ever year, sent out this email:

"Greetings from Portugal, where Scrap and I are currently touring! I'd like to fill you in on a new online venture I've launched.

Inspired by my study of ancient South and Central American cultures, I've started up a new website, MayanSpace.net -- a social network where people take up the avatar of a Mayan person, god, or city.

http://www.MayanSpace.net/

Check it out, especially if you're a Mesoamerican culture + mythology buff (as I'm sure most of you are). Members can contact me personally on MayanSpace.net at my screen name, Huehuetenango2727

(Please note that MayanSpace is a limited-time-only project; the site will only be active through the fall of 2012. So sign up now so you don't miss
out!)

Não acredite que tudo que você leu,
Mike Doughty"
++++++++++++++++++++

And then LET favorite Nine Inch Nails (more from them later this week) decided to offer up this free goodie. Nothing foolish about that.

Live Review: Mike Doughty @ Birchmere, September 9

Less than 24 hours after returning from my honeymoon, I felt obligated to jump back into the thick of things for you, our adoring public, and attended Mike Doughty's "Question Jar" concert stop over at the Birchmere. For I believe the second time around, Mr. Doughty peppers his show essentially with a Q&A audience participation period between all the songs, wherein attendees are encouraged to submit questions into a, you guessed it, question jar, which he then answers throughout the duration. Accompanied by the phenomenal Andrew "Scrap" Livingston on various string instruments, the two played songs from all of Doughty's solo albums and more than a couple of tracks from his earlier days with the esteemed Soul Coughing. Shorn of locks, Doughty played everything from "Circles" to "Tremendous Brunettes", "Put It Down" to "Sunken Eyed Girl".

Now, I'm an unabashed fan and probably post way too much on his fan site (those of you who frequent said site, you can find me there under the oddbodkins moniker), but I'll have to admit, I've been a little less than blown away the past few times I've seen him live. For me, at least, the allure of a Mike Doughty show rests squarely on his intimacy with the crowd and unparalleled audience banter. The larger his ensemble has grown of late (such as opening for the Barenaked Ladies a couple of years back), the less compelling the performances have become. Thankfully, last night was a throwback to his earlier solo days (remember the stunning brilliance of Smofe + Smag?).

Mike joked easily and often with the crowd, as did Scrap, and it felt more like a performance by a good buddy in his kitchen than it did an "actual" concert. This is where the man's strengths lie, so it was quite the return to the glory days, as far as I was concerned. Mike and Scrap made it through the entire question jar, which ran the gamut from two requests for sex to what should people do if the Large Hadron Collider does inadvertently create a black hole that will destroy the earth. The duo answered all questions with the sense of humor that makes a Doughty show worth seeing. You see, catching MD is a lot like wearing your favorite flannel: while it may or may not be the most stylish apparel, it's comfy as hell and you love wearing it, plain and simple. To put it another way, when the mood is right, it's simply a perfect fit.

Sadly, I may be in the minority in this opinion, as I don't believe I've ever seen the Birchmere so empty. Management went so far as to quadrant off half the parking lot, and it didn't seem to imposition anyone at all. Still, their loss was the audience's gain, as M. Doughty reminded me why I got into his sound in the first place. Forget the "medium rock" sound of the past few albums, last night at the Birchmere was vintage Mike of the "small rock" genius.

Album Review: Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious

OK, I'll admit it. I'm a huge fan of Monsieur Doughty's early work. Soul Coughing put out some tremendous stuff (Ruby Vroom, anyone?), and his solo, acoustic stuff is some of my favorite (Smofe + Smang ranks as one of my all-time favorite live albums of all time). I've seen him in concert numerous times, most recently opening for the Bare Naked Ladies at the Patriot Center a while back. All this being said, I haven't been blown away by his output since he signed to Dave Matthews' ATO label. Haughty Melodic was OK, but, let's be honest, he essentially re-did songs he had already put out years before that were superior in their original forms. Did George Lucas' mangling of the "original" Star Wars trilogy teach us nothing? Han Solo shot first, damn it, and that's the way it should always be remembered. It was with this mild sense of disappointment that I approached Mike's second studio album, Golden Delicious. I am happy to report, however, that my fears were largely unfounded.

Golden Delicious sees Doughty return to a form befitting his more illustrious past and, most importantly, gives fans new material (with the exception of "27 Jennifers," but more on that later). For lack of a better description, this is a "fun" outing. The album can essentially be broken into two parts. The first half of the album is largely upbeat, bordering on silly in places, but it seems obvious that Mike and his backing band truly are enjoying themselves. The CD opens with "Fort Hood," an anti-war song which laments young kids having to go off to war instead of living the carefree lives they probably deserve back home. I'll say this for him, Doughty writes some of the best protest songs I've ever heard. Whereas most of this genre is heavy handed at best, Doughty employs a light touch that speaks more to the people involved as opposed to the situation itself. A slight, but very important, distinction, as far as I'm concerned. Next up, "I Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep On Dancin'" takes notes from such literary stalwarts as Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 or the equally moving "U Stink But I Love U" by Billy and the Boingers, wherein the author speaks of his infatuation with a, shall we say, non-traditional beauty. "Put It Down" follows, a somewhat nonsensical love song, heavy on the repetition and "na na nas." "More Bacon than the Pan Can Handle" harkens back to Soul Coughing, a bit of a freak funk-out. For some reason, this track more than any other seems to have drawn distaste from the other reviews I've read. Personally, I dig it, with the childlike, female vocals added to flavorful effect. One of the few stumbling blocks on the first half, for me, at least, is the latest version of "27 Jennifers." Largely a complete redo of "Lisa Ling and Lucy Liu" from the aforementioned Smofe + Smang, Doughty completely redid the song for the Rockity Roll EP. Basically, this is the third album version of a song that seems to lose a little something which each retelling. He keeps adding more to the song, but to my ears, it's subtraction by addition. See the previous George Lucas analogy. It's at about this point that the second movement of the album kicks in, taking a bit more somber tone than the previous half. "I Wrote a Song About Your Car" retains some of the playfulness, but the tempo starts to slow and the album retains that tone for the remainder. Fortunately, it's not an abrupt about-face, so the transition works nicely. "I Got the Drop on You" basically is Mike and a guitar with hints of keyboard in the background. The next three tracks, "Wednesday (No Se Apoye)," Like a Luminous Girl," and "Nectarine (Part One)" have the same feel, but with added instrumentation. The CD closes with "Navigating by the Stars at Night," and I think it's a pretty fitting ending. The band gels well, the back-up singer sounds appropriate and, quite frankly, it just sounds pretty good. All in all, a better than average affair and certainly more than I was expecting.

I would like to get on ye olde soapbox for just a second, though, and discuss my larger gripe with the release/distribution of Golden Delicious. Being a member of the MD fan club, I was barraged with e-mails encouraging me to pre-order the CD and also shell out a couple of saw bucks for a limited edition t-shirt. While I did not opt to do so, I know a number of people who did. Not only did they not receive the album on the promised release date, many of those folks were between dismayed and outright pissed to find out that the album was being released with additional tracks at different outlets. If one snags the iTunes version, one gets the fan favorite "Book of Love" as a bonus. If one purchases through a select number of independent record stores, one receives the free Busking EP with Doughty performing a handful of tracks live at subway stations around NY. Now, I'm all for artists rewarding people for purchasing at independent outlets and I know iTunes likes to offer extra incentives to use its service. However, none of these options, other than shelling out extra ducats for a pre-sale and t-shirt, were made known to the fan base until well after the fact. And the idea of essentially having to buy the same album multiple times to get all the extras has always left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm off the belief that only the fan boys and girls really give a shit about the additional stuff anyway and the end result is ripping off the most loyal followers. While I'm not a fan, I didn't like it when the Smashing Pumpkins did it recently and I don't like that Doughty is following suit now. Just my two cents.