Sunday, January 15, 2006

And....POOF!


Welcome to the re-launch of It's Magic. I'm Dr. Moshe of Dr. Moshe's Medicinal Music and have joined forces with AK of Soul Shower to create this joint venture. For those of you unfamiliar with It's Magic, we cover all genres, both old and new, mainstream or obscure. Basically, whatever we feel like writing about (and whatever we feel you'll be interested in).

To kick things off, AK and I have devised a 'game' that we are going to be playing over the next 10 days (the next two weeks, Mon.-Fri.) - The Cover Circle. The Cover Circle is essentially this - on Monday we will be posting three songs. The first song will be a cover song by The Beatles. The second song will be a cover performed by the artist that The Beatles covered. The third will be a cover song performed by the artist that was covered by the artist that was covered by The Beatles. We will continue doing this, posting three songs a day, linking all of the artists by songs they've performed of other artists. On our tenth and final day of The Cover Circle, the final song posted will be another cover performed by The Beatles, completing our circle. I know that might sound a little confusing, but once we get rolling, you'll understand what we're doing.

As a little bonus, here are three songs with 'welcome back' type themes that we thought would be appropriate for our re-launch (sorry, no "Welcome Back, Mr. Kotter").

Al Kooper
"Back On My Feet"
1971


Thin Lizzy
"The Boys Are Back In Town"
1976


John Lennon
"(Just Like) Starting Over"
1980

Friday, January 06, 2006

Nine days and we're coming at you...

Yep.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

It's Coming Back...

It's Magic! returns on January 15th...


Three people in Canada are way excited.*











*
(That's not true.)

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Welcome to the Hiatus.

After some encouragement and the hit counter getting more of a workout than usual, instead of stopping work on It's Magic! altogether, I'm going to put it on hiatus until further notice. As you hopefully do, visit Soul Shower and Dr. Moshe's Medicinal Music (the good doctor is a good friend) and sooner or later there will be a note or some links or something that tell you It's Magic! is bigger, badder, and better than ever. Until then...two more artists to feature...

DON NIX
Black Cat Moan (1974)
We Gotta Move (Keep On Rolling) (1974)
(from Hobos Heroes & Street Clowns)

Most folks know Don Nix because he wrote the classic blues tune "Going Down." He also was a saxophonist in the Mar-Keys and wrote, produced, and performed with many other artists. Just like every other person known for their performing and songwriting in the 70s...Nix recorded a handful of solo albums. Hobos Heroes & Street Clowns was released on Enterprise in 1974 and was the 3rd solo album released by Nix. Nix grew up with some other musical heavy hitters--Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn. They all went to the same high school...I bet they had quite a band. Anyway, Nix writes good songs and the production is solid--check the tunes. Enjoy.

SENSELESS THINGS
In Love Again (1991)
Got It At The Delmar (1991)
Fishing At Tescos (1991)
(from The First of Too Many)

Before Jamie Hewlett drew some pretty pictures for the group Gorillaz...he helped out this British pop-punk band with some cover art. Senseless Things formed in 1987 over in West London, England, put out a few albums and disbanded in 1995. The First of Too Many is apparently their best work and is a solid piece of Buzzcocks/Replacements influenced pop/punk/rock music. I picked up this CD in a bargain bin and it was definitely that. Listen to all three tracks, enjoy a few weeks or so off from It's Magic! and we look forward to having you back after the hiatus. Enjoy.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Another day closer...

It's kind of interesting...as the blog winds down the hit count has been higher everyday. While that is inspiring, it isn't quite inspiring enough. With that said, here is one of the last batches of artists being featured on It's Magic!

CHRIS COCO
&
SASCHA PUTTNAM

G2 (2005)
Nocturne No. 1 (2005)
(from Remasterpiece)

For anyone who likes classical music when they hear it, but aren't really sure they want to dive into the mounds of composers, orchestras, and collections...this is a solid place to start. Chris Coco and Sascha Puttnam take some of their favorite classical music moments and add ambient textures and sounds to create an aural experience that is fresh and exciting. The website for the release has a lot of information, as well as different outlets you can purchase the release at--EMI put it out so...that means you can get it almost anywhere. It was a daunting task to pick a couple tracks off of the album that are representative of the whole thing. Hopefully, "G2" and "Nocturne No. 1" do Remasterpiece justice.

ANDREW BIRD'S
BOWL OF FIRE

Wishing For Contentment (1999)
Dora Goes To Town (1999)
(from Oh! The Grandeur)

Andrew Bird was an occasional part of the Squirrel Nut Zippers and in addition had this group to call his own. Bowl of Fire never has a dull moment mostly because it jumps between a number of genres that your typical alternative music fan may not always indulge in. Oh! The Grandeur was the second Bowl of Fire album, and features fantastic fiddling from the headliner, as well as guest spots from Bird's Squirrel Nut Zipper friends. Andrew Bird/Bowl of Fire are still releasing things, and they have an official website here.

EASTERN STANDARD TIME
It's Alright (2005)
Step Ready (2005)
(from Tempus Fugit)

Back in the mid to late 90s...you could find me at just about every ska show in Wisconsin...I'll admit that. My musical tastes have changed drastically over the years, but there is something about the ska bands of today that go for that more jazz-oriented sound of yesteryear (Hepcat, Deals Gone Bad, etc.) that still really grab my attention. Eastern Standard Time--a D.C.-based band with members of the Pietasters and Skunks--is one of those groups that reminds me of why I liked ska in the first place.

The tunes are fun and danceable while refraining from being musically typical or lyrically tacky like some ska bands of the third wave (some people love that, it just isn't my thing). These tracks come off of their newest album Tempus Fugit, which is available from Jump Up! Records (one of the few ska labels that has made it through the ska backlash of the early 2000s--reminds me of people hating disco--some people still liked it, but others were waving their ska-hater flags). I just wish someone would reissue some of the Moon Ska NYC catalog...enjoy.