Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl of The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger and Marco Tonincelli of Joujoux d'Antan
Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl’s recommendation: “Joujoux d’Antan is our favorite undiscovered band. The lead singer Marco just moved to London from Italy, so people in the UK should look out for what he does next. They have two albums, Live á Le Grand Mix and Mi Voglio Bene Come Un Figlio. They also have an EP called Nel Mio Armadio. Their live shows are always insane, you never know who will be in the band or what instruments they will be playing. Everything he does sounds like the beautiful nightmare child of Nino Rota and Thurston Moore.”
New to Joujoux d’Antan? Sean and Charlotte’s suggest you start here: Mi Voglio Bene Come Un Figlio (which you can purchase here)
About our guest authors, Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl: He’s the multi-instrumentalist son of Beatle John and artist/musician/painter/activist Yoko who and has released solo records and performed with Cibo Mato. She is the Atlanta born supermodel that is quickly mastering pop music arts, blending dreamy vocal delivery with curious lyrics and catchy melodies. The two have formed The Ghost Of A Saber Toothed Tiger and released a single Jardin du Luxembourg, produced by mix master Mark Ronson. Charlotte and Sean have also been busy launching a music label, Chimera Music (music sampler link below) and finishing their full length album, which will be released in October.
Abraham Villanueva’s recommendation: “The Temptations are one of my favorite groups and I feel are often wrongly disregarded as 60′s love/bubblegum pop. The discography attached with this vocal group is amazing, the production, musicianship and songwriting talent that went along with the temptations were an amazing catalyst that provided opportunity for a talented group of singers to flourish. The range of style which the Temptations preformed is in part due to the fantastic quality of the performers ability to interpret the songs (making otherwise lyrically banal top 40 songs genuine and unique) and also to the inventiveness of the producers and the musical talent of the legendary Funk Brothers. The earlier hits are most often associated with the band, but as the years and styles changed through the 60′s you find a group of artists (arrangers, writers, musicians and producers included) willing to push the boundaries of an otherwise simple act into a vehicle for great musical achievement. A fact I find incredibly important is the team never sacrificed groove and melody for ego/novelty as you often find with a lot of late 60′s music.”
New to The Temptations? Abraham suggests you start here: “I find some of the most interesting tracks came during the production/writing transition from Smokey Robinson to Norman Whitefield. Not yet into the 7-9 minute funk epics to come, and far from the simple sugary pop of the early years; albums like I Wish It Would Rain and Sky’s the Limit find the band feeling their place in a musical climate built around the overemphasized political messages and psychedelics of the era. Pulling from all the creative elements of the bands past (R&B, Broadway, Vocal-Pop), The Temptations created a group of songs that are probably as beautifully strange today as they were back then. More often then not, it seems, when presented with the question: why would you make a certain musical choice, the group responded with: why not?”
About our guest author, Abraham Villanueva: Abraham is the piano player and one of the vocalists of Hacienda, a Mexican-American quartet that wowed Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Auerbach heard a six song demo from the band and went on to produced both their 2008 offering, Loud Is the Night and their latest, Big Red & Barbacoa. The Beach Boys are clearly an influence on the boys, but spy the Younger Days clip below and you’ll think your listening to the Band (is that Robbie Robertson on gueeetar?). Check the Hacienda MySpace page for tour dates, and New Yorkers, be sure to catch them opening for My Morning Jacket!
Rusty Willoughby’s recommendation: “To me, Scott Walker has always exemplified everything that is wonderful and mysterious about music. His creative output between the years 1967 – 1969 on his solo releases, Scott I – Scott IV can arguably be considered one of the most consistent streaks of musical creativity and confidence ever put to record. Scott’s music is grand American Music filtered through the haze of nascent 1960′s pop artistic renaissance and the old world charm of artists such as Jacques Brel and Yves Montand. Brel, in particularly, was a heavy influence as you’ll find many Brel tunes translated and covered on Scott’s records.
From his early days playing bass in the Walker Brothers (not real brothers, as you probably already know) through his more taciturn stretch composing solo albums, Scott Walker’s continued march from Pop Stardom to Musical Savant was steady as she goes. Eschewing the typical Pop Star lifestyle in pursuit of more pure and honest personal expression, Scott Walker has always been a major influence on me, and i’m sure, any artist looking to find their own way in an absurd and beautiful world.”
About the guest author, Rusty Willoughby: Rusty has been a known entity in the Seattle area since 1990. He’s led and/or performed in local acts Flop, Llama and Pure Joy. He also has a strong collection of solo offerings that carefully balance catchy melodies, sweet harmonies and lush string arrangements. You will hear hints of Elliot Smith, but repeated listens reveal a unique voice that will earn a place on your iTunes most played list. Try starting with his Cobirds Unite record, which features Barrett Martin, Barb Antonio, Margrethe Bjorklund, Rachel Flotard, Johnny Sangster, Scott Sutherland, Lisa King and Tillman Herb. Rusty performs often and an upcoming show finds him opening for Black Francis with Rachel Flotard of Visqueen at the Tripledoor in Seattle. Check the Rusty Willoughby site for complete tour dates.
MP3: Too Early by Rusty Willoughby from the Cobirds Unite album
Steve Wynn’s recommendation: “I’m currently listening to Inner Speaker by Tame Impala. It’s a record that sounds both classic and brand new at the same time. Most of all it reminds me of The Nazz, Todd Rundgren’s band from the 60′s. And that’s a comparison you don’t hear everyday. Good, trippy late night music.”
About the guest author, Steve Wynn: Steve Wynn started off as a sportswriter and has also recorded songs about baseball with Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) and Scott McCaughey, so it is only appropriate to learn about Wynn through few of his major stats. First off, he’s recorded 400 songs. He’s also played over 2,000 shows in 25 countries. But as impressive as these numbers are, Wynn’s music offers tons of quality to go along with the impressive quantity. He trail-blazed indie rock with his band, The Dream Syndicate in the eighties. Their masterwork, Medicine Show has been re-released and was recently named one of the 40 best rock albums of all time by the London Guardian. Since then, Wynn has continued to write and perform and even appeared on the Letterman show with The Baseball Project (video below). There’s plenty of great reading about Steve on the official Steve Wynn site along with tour dates, CD purchasing and more.
MP3 sample: Still Holding On To You by The Dream Syndicate from the album, The Medicine Show
Justin Angelo Morey’s recommendations: “There are many influences constantly decorating my mind therefore it’s quite difficult for me to produce a single artist/band. I listen to many old 60′s Soul/Freak-Beat 45rpm vinyl records. Some are names familiar to many but the majority consists of obscure artists that never hit one out of the ball park and are sadly underappreciated by the mainstream. Taking that factor into consideration, it’s probably best to select from artists/groups that produced more than one single.
Lately I’ve been rediscovering the sounds that invaded my head while attending high school. Playing them at loud volumes make my sad moments go away for a little while. It is impossible for me to pick only one. Can I list a couple? I’m going to assume your response was, “yes, go ahead.”
1. Nation of Ulysses
Why? They are responsible for a major change in my life. Had I not witnessed their perormance live before my very eyes, who knows how I may have turned out? I’m forever in debt to what they provided me then and will always be inspired by everything they managed to produce within their short existance. There will never be another band like them ever again. They were the perfection combination of everything.
2. The Who (nothing after late 1967)
Why? The first song I ever played on guitar with a group of other kids from my 8th grade class was, My Generation. We would do the ending and Eric Christ would kick the bass drum over like Keith Moon and Mike Muriel would take the alluminum music stand and scrape the classroom floor to produce a sound equivelant to nails running down a chalk board. The early Who are so damn good and explosive. I wanted to be Keith Moon. I’m not a fan of their later stuff but there are plenty of people that are so my opinion won’t ever break their bank and everyone wins.
3. Spacemen 3
Why? Back in the glory days of MTV, videos were actually played and in addition to Headbanger’s Ball, there was another late night show called 120 Minutes. I used to tune in every Sunday night and was turned on to all sorts of different artists/bands that I never knew existed. One of those videos happened to be, Revolution by Spacemen 3. The song itself was just so unlike anything that I had been listening to at the time and the video was strange to me. They just appeared as if they didn’t care to be there. Almost completely the opposite of anyone in frot of a camera. I rediscovered them about two years ago and now I’m pulled deeply inside of their work. Amazing!!!
4. Small Faces
Why? Four white British guys from East London that manged to pull of Soul/R&B/Psychedelic/Pop sounds better than anyone on the scene back then and now. Their chemistry is so brilliant it’s sad that they never really became gigantic. Their self titled debut LP for Decca contains some of the most raw and exciting moments captured to tape. Their version of, You Need Loving (1966) BLOWS Zeppelin’s later version (retitled to avoid any confusion or lawsuits or comparisons from You Need Love (1962) by Muddy Waters ), Whole Lotta Love (1969) to bits and pieces. That’s one example but their work produced during their Immediate records period was more colorful and delicately layered for maximum listening pleasure. Again, totally underated. Ronnie Lane is definitely one of my most favorite bass players of all time.
5. Unwound
Why? Unwound were one of the groups that inspired me to explore different approachs to producing sounds in my music. They created truly incredible compositions and all the live shows i was fortunate to attend were magical. I remember seeing them in a basement in NJ. The show was up close and intimate and just so personal. I can recall feeling very connected to their creative output. One time when they played at Maxwells, I got my nerve up and asked Justin if they could play Broken E String. I didn’t expect anything in return so you can imagine how elated I was when they opened their set with the song I requested. I’ll never forget how happy that made me.”
About the guest author, Justin Angelo More: Justin is the lead singing bass player for The Black Hollies, a ’60s influenced band that proudly wears influences on their sleeves. They hail from and remain in Jersey City, NJ, so they easily slide across the Hudson to the hip, hip, hip Brooklyn venues and have upcoming dates that can be found on their My Space page here. To get a feel for their ultra-retro grooves, sample the mp3 below from their last release, Softly Towards the Light
Holly Golightly’s recommendation: “Ella Mae Sueref, singing “Ooh Baby Baby” (originally by The Miracles), accompanied by her dad Little George Sueref. It’s truly the sweetest thing I’ve heard for a very long time. She sounds like an angel. Ella Mae is not signed to any label and, as far as I know. This the only song currently available for public listening. It’s on YouTube.”
About the guest author, Holly Golightly: Holly Golightly started as a co-founder member of the all girl garage band Thee Headcoatees and has since made 14 solo records, recorded with The White Stripes, and if that isn’t enough, she has a ‘side project’ under the name of Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs. Her sound is timeless, a “mixture of pre-rock electric country blues, folk and less frantic rock & roll” and she has a Singles Round Up album that is the perfect starting point for new fans. Set aside some time and learn more about Holly at http://www.hollygolightly.com/.
About our guest authors, Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl: He’s the multi-instrumentalist son of Beatle John and artist/musician/painter/activist Yoko who and has released solo records and performed with Cibo Mato. She is the Atlanta born supermodel that is quickly mastering pop music arts, blending dreamy vocal delivery with curious lyrics and catchy melodies. The two have formed The Ghost Of A Saber Toothed Tiger and released a single Jardin du Luxembourg, produced by mix master Mark Ronson. Charlotte and Sean have also been busy launching a music label, Chimera Music (music sampler link below) and finishing their full length album, which will be released in October.
and 
find the band feeling their place in a musical climate built around the overemphasized political messages and psychedelics of the era. Pulling from all the creative elements of the bands past (R&B, Broadway, Vocal-Pop), The Temptations created a group of songs that are probably as beautifully strange today as they were back then. More often then not, it seems, when presented with the question: why would you make a certain musical choice, the group responded with: why not?”
About our guest author, Abraham Villanueva: Abraham is the piano player and one of the vocalists of Hacienda, a Mexican-American quartet that wowed Dan Auerbach of the 
and their latest, 
. The Beach Boys are clearly an influence on the boys, but spy the Younger Days clip below and you’ll think your listening to the Band (is that Robbie Robertson on gueeetar?). Check the 
About the guest author, Rusty Willoughby: Rusty has been a known entity in the Seattle area since 1990. He’s led and/or performed in local acts Flop, Llama and Pure Joy. He also has a strong collection of solo offerings that carefully balance catchy melodies, sweet harmonies and lush string arrangements. You will hear hints of Elliot Smith, but repeated listens reveal a unique voice that will earn a place on your iTunes most played list. Try starting with his 
record, which features Barrett Martin, Barb Antonio, Margrethe Bjorklund, Rachel Flotard, Johnny Sangster, Scott Sutherland, Lisa King and Tillman Herb. Rusty performs often and an upcoming show finds him opening for Black Francis with 
About the guest author, Steve Wynn: Steve Wynn started off as a sportswriter and has also recorded songs about baseball with Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) and Scott McCaughey, so it is only appropriate to learn about Wynn through few of his major stats. First off, he’s recorded 400 songs. He’s also played over 2,000 shows in 25 countries. But as impressive as these numbers are, Wynn’s music offers tons of quality to go along with the impressive quantity. He trail-blazed indie rock with his band, 
has been re-released and was recently named one of the 40 best rock albums of all time by the London Guardian. Since then, Wynn has continued to write and perform and even appeared on the Letterman show with The Baseball Project (video below). There’s plenty of great reading about Steve on the official 
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and 
About the guest author, Justin Angelo More: Justin is the lead singing bass player for 
About the guest author, Holly Golightly: Holly Golightly started as a co-founder member of the all girl garage band Thee Headcoatees and has since made 14 solo records, recorded with The White Stripes, and if that isn’t enough, she has a ‘side project’ under the name of Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs. Her sound is timeless, a “mixture of pre-rock electric country blues, folk and less frantic rock & roll” and she has a 
album that is the perfect starting point for new fans. Set aside some time and learn more about Holly at 
