Kembrew McLeod and Ben Franzens' excellent documentary Copyright Criminals is now out on DVD. I made a brief post about it last year when it aired on PBS as part of the Independent Lens series. The doc is still getting some much deserved attention, most recently via a very cool performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In a one-off performance, we have ?uestlove, Black Thought, Chuck D,. Eclectic Method and Clyde Stubblefield, the man behind the kit for many of James Brown's best known jams. Ladies and gentlemen, the Copyright Criminals All-Star Band:

Bootsy!

"Hurry up and bring my space bass. I got to hurry up and play before I come on myself."



It's also worth noting that Bootzilla will be on Jimmy Fallon tonight. Bootsy jammin' with The Roots? Oh lawd....

"I wrote this song in '94"

breakin' up is hard to do

Hot on the heels of the White Stripes' recent breakup, indie dance crew LCD Soundsystem is also about to hang it up. After only three albums, it's a little sad to see them go. But kudos to James Murphy for going out on a high note. Last year's This is Happening was one of my favorite discs of 2010, and retains its replay value after nearly a year of incessant playing. I'd like to catch the last run of shows in NYC (a series at Terminal 5, leading up to the grand finale at MSG), but I doubt I'll make it. Alas.

Murphy and co. stopped by the Colbert Report recently to chat and perform one of This is Happening's standout tracks, "I Can Change."

Tom Tom Club on Fallon

Also, Chris Frantz reflects on "Genius of Love," 30 years on.

Beach House on Conan

From Dr. Gonzo's favorite album of 2010, here's Beach House performing "10 Mile Stereo" on Conan last night:

Chromeo killin' it on Letterman

Hell yes.

Carpenters' first TV apperance

From this 1968 appearance (appears to be a talent show of sorts), I can't help but think that the Carpenters would have made a bang-up r&b combo.

[Complete, but lower quality]:


[Higher quality, but incomplete]:

Robyn on Letterman: "Dancing on My Own"

As I confessed to Marc Morrison yesterday, Body Talk pt. 1 has quickly grown on me. Part 2 is slated for September, and here is the woman herself doing "Dancing on My Own" on Letterman:

For good measure....

Last night's performance. Get 'em while they're hot - I'm sure these vids will be taken down before you can say "overzealous copyright bozos."

we are the media

Two of my favorite things - popular music and media criticism - are artfully married in Nas' new video and single, Sly Fox.

Friday Funk addendum

friday funk

From the purple one's appearance on Leno a few weeks ago. This is the first new Prince song that excites me in a few years. Is there a new album in the works? Will it all be this funky? Will the studio version sound completely flat and uninspired? Who knows. In the meantime, dig:

He's a bad mutha...

Ok, ok. So I recently rented Sesame Street: Old School, vol. 2 from Netflix. The set showcases 1977-1979, and is quite a trip down memory lane, even for those of us born in the early '80s (I'm amazed at how much recycling Sesame Street did). A lot of it I remember. This I'm pretty sure I never saw before, but my jaw dropped, and I nearly spit Diet Pepsi all over the living room.



Seriously? The Seseame Workshop parodied the theme from Shaft, modeling Cookie Monster after Isaac Hayes? How did I not know about this already? Also note Cookie's entrance, and how it's totally modeled after Hayes' entrance to the stage in Wattstax. Unbelievable!

I'm actually surprised that this next classic didn't make the cut on the dvd set. If I deejayed out regularly, I would totally slip this in one night, just to see what happened:

this is what it sounds like

Colbert's Prince Dance
Uploaded by tailgator13

When I went to the Smithsonian, Prince's guitar was a highlight for me as well.

Justice - "D.A.N.C.E." 'live' on Jimmy Kimmel

Lola F. hipped me to this little nugget over at her blog ephemera. I don't mean to steal her thunder, but I've watched this three times over the last day or so - it's worth sharing/reposting. I admit that when I first heard the Justice album I was pretty indifferent about it. But after watching this I gave it another go, and I'm grooving to it. This song should be played at every house party for the rest of the year.

Prince at the Superbowl

I meant to put in an entry on this last night, but work got in the way. So here are some thoughts.

I'm not going to lie, I was nervous about the Super Bowl performance. They are generally disappointing affairs - medleys, cheesy visuals, subpar performances. There's just something about the very nature of them that often lends itself to a sort of Vegas-type act (insert pun here). I've also been hugely skeptical of half time shows since the late '80s, when the buildup promised a 3-D halftime spectacle. I got the glasses from CoGos, I waited with anticipation. And it was the lamest thing I'd ever seen. Not only was the music horrible, but the 3-D didn't work. [A quick google led me to Wikipedia, which jogged my memory - the performer was a damn Elvis impersonator named Elvis Presto.]

At any rate, I was pleasantly surprised by last night's performance. Although Prince's original songs were predictable choices (wasn't this fairly similar to the Grammys performance a few years ago?), the quality of the performance and Prince's energy made up for it.

Visually, it was interesting. The purple symbol stage looked much cooler than it probably should have. The sheet/silhouette bit was cool (although methinks this was a trick appropriated from MJ, who probably took it from somewhere else), particularly when Habibi was strategically positioned as Prince stroked its neck (Pete over at IckMusic astutely noted this oh-so-brief moment of Prince naughtiness). I haven't watched it since the original broadcast, but the bolt of lightening that started the set was good theatrics. For a split second, James and I wondered if it was planned, if the power was out on stage, etc. It had been raining throughout the game, afterall.

The cover of "Proud Mary" was unexpected. He used to do this in the Gold/Exodus era, but to my knowledge hasn't done it recently. The Hendrix/Foo Fighters cover is something I'm warming up to after the Howard Stern clip last week. I haven't listened to the Foo Fighters since their second album, so I'm unfamiliar with this song. But it suits Prince's rock mode, and this was probably the best vocal moment of the set.

Musically there were some flaws (which again, have been duly noted on IckMusic), but overall the performance was better than I'd anticipated. Prince has been much more public since the Grammy's performance, and it's great to see people responding so well. It restored my confidence from Friday's newly available track "Guitar," which I found largely uninspired and unenjoyable. At any rate, the halftime show leaves one wondering what his next move is. The Vegas gig ends next month if I recall, so who knows. I'm still hoping that when he does tour again (whenever that may be), it's akin to the One Night Alone tour, i.e. smaller venues, more interesting setlists, etc. But we'll just have to wait and see.

Bowie: Secrets