Deer Tick: croaky, cigarette-fueled folk-rock

John McCauley, the 23-years-old singer and lead songwriter for Providence, Rhode Island band Deer Tick, has a raspy and kicked-around drawl that probably feeds off packs of Marlboro Reds. McCauley and his young band—who sound as harsh and gritty as a group of 40-year-old convicts—play a loose and almost traditional style of rock and roll that rides along steam engine rhythms, guitar licks, and introspective lyrics. Even NBC anchor Brian Williams gave the band his stamp of approval on his internet show BriTunes a few months back. It was well deserved. The band's second full-length, Born On A Flag Day, is a hard-nosed fistful of folk-rock—it's best yet. The dirty electric guitar on "Straight Into The Storm" paired with McCauley's vocals sounds like band mates from Creedence Clearwater Revival or the Drive-By Truckers throwing together their best ode to "Johnny B. Goode." It's as smoldering as it is ragged and loose. Even "Friday XIII," a boozy shuffle of a duet shared with fellow Providence songwriter Liz Isenberg, feels more like a punch in the gut than a love song. Like a spilled beer on a kitchen floor, Born On Flag Day is a record that has a habit of sticking around.

Deer Tick - "Friday XIII" (from Born On Flag Day)

Deer Tick - "Straight Into a Storm" (from Born On Flag Day)

My Morning Jacket: A Retrospective

Niche markets dominate today’s music. In the current iTunes climate, everything is heavily categorized so that consumers can be identified and connected with genre-specific advertisements. Occasionally these sub-categorizations can be informative for the listener (Italo-disco), but most of the time they read like belabored nonsense (post-punk-new-wave) that can polarize and limit a band and its audience. Reaching and appealing to a mass audience has never been harder. But there's one thing that helps: defying categorization.

Metal heads, hipsters, hippies, classic rock aficionados and a host of other music fans have been drawn to Louisville, Ky.’s My Morning Jacket for one reason: it is genre-blending, all-encompassing rock and roll. The no-frills type you can fill a small room with or a giant outdoor arena.

From their early longhaired days playing basements and small clubs to recent tours headlining festivals, My Morning Jacket has delivered a constant mash of hair-raising guitar solos, unworldly vocals from Jim James’s reverb-drenched falsetto, and some of the best songwriting and musicianship of the past decade. Here's how ten years add up.

Evil Urges (2008) — “I’m Amazed”

The band's most successful release is also it's most bizarre. While it contains the accessible and anthemic rock of "I'm Amazed," it also features moments of hilarious drug-infused paranoia ("Highly Suspicious") and the Prince-meets-Grateful Dead funk of "Evil Urges." The band proves one thing: great art doesn't have to be serious.

Z (2005) — "Anytime" (Okonokos live version)

The breakthrough record. The band reaches new heights of success after experimenting on its signature sound and adding two new band members. On "Off The Record" guitar chords never sounded so big; "Wordless Chorus" is a soulful R&B jam; "Gideon" takes listeners to a ethereal daydreaming haze; and "Anytime" quotes Madonna to a head-banging beat.

It Still Moves (2003) — “One Big Holiday” (Okonokos live version)

The band's best and most complete album. From the haunting acoustic masterpiece "Golden" to the beautifully textured "Mahgeetah," epic guitar rock of "Run Thru," and the signature live barn-burner "One Big Holiday," the record's as dense as it expansive: a soulful rock lullaby that won't be easily put to sleep.

At Dawn (2001) — “Phone Went West” (Celebración live version)

The reverb record. Jim James and company's signature sound comes to full fruition with the reverb dial on ten. "The Way That He Sings" and "Bermuda Highway" sound like nothing else in music: they're original, experimental, and catchy. But it's the epic seven-minute reggae-infused "Phone Went West" that becomes a staple for the band and its live shows.

The Tennessee Fire (1999) — "I Will Be There When You Die"

The beginning. The textures and instrumentation aren't yet fully developed, but the songwriting is already there. "I Will Be There When You Die" is James's first perfect song. Written for his girlfriend at the time, it's full of heartbreaking melodies and an unforgettable lyrical narrative that could work just as well as poetry or a short piece of prose. "Evelyn Is Not Real" and "War Begun" aren't far behind.

Buy more from the Official MMJ Store

Tribute: Spin celebrates the 25th anniversary of Purple Rain

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Prince's breakthrough album and film debut Purple Rain, Spin magazine enlisted nine artists to cover the nine tracks from the soundtrack.

There are a few fun interpretations (Mariachi El Bronx's "I Would Die 4 U") and a couple misses (Riverboat Gamblers' "Let's Go Crazy"), but the sharpest take is from reliable funktress Sharon Jones and her soul swinging Dap Kings. "Take Me With U"—Purple Rain's final single, sung with costar Apollonia Kotero—is nearly unrecognizable here as a gritty, hip-shaking, vintage piece of funk.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - "Take Me With U" (from Spin's Purplish Rain)

Prince - "Take Me With U" (from Purple Rain)

Tribute: Jim James of My Morning Jacket covers George Harrison

Jim James of My Morning Jacket, who likes to go by the moniker Yim Yames for his solo recording, will release a collection of George Harrison covers on July 7th. James recorded the songs after the quiet Beatle passed in 2001 on an eight-track reel-to-reel in Shelbyville, Ky. Here's James's explanation:

He always seemed to be a beacon of good light unto the world, accomplishing the rare task of using his massive fortune and fame to promote peace - both within and around the World. I will always look up to and see him as a prime example of the healing power of music and how, in tune with it, all is possible.

Tribute To will include six songs from All Things Must Pass, including "Long Long Long," "Love You To," "My Sweet Lord," "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)," "All Things Must Pass," and the beautiful "Behind That Locked Door" available below.

Yim Yames - "Behind That Locked Door" (from Tribute To)

Buy it from YimYames.com on July 7th.

Review: Phoenix at the Rock and Roll Hotel

Oversold is an understatement. Phoenix's performance last Sunday night at the Rock and Roll Hotel in DC's H Street corridor was a 95 degree endurance test with what felt like 500 concertgoers packed into the 400 capacity club like slabs of meat in a crowded oven. As a 24-year-old hydrated by a few Tecates, there were still moments when I was uncertain whether I'd make it to the end of the evening. I can't begin to imagine how the two thirty-something fully-pregnant women standing beside me felt.

The crowd wasn't just battling the heat and lack of space. The beginning of the show was brutal thanks to the opening act, Brooklyn's Amazing Baby. Unsuccessfully slinging a joyless version of Britpop, the band came across more like a garbage dumpster of inarticulated influences. But then came Phoenix.

Formed in Versailles over a decade ago, the veteran pop group took the stage for a raucous, ear-scalding, and youthful 14-song plus two-encore performance. If their latest album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is synth-pop's magnum opus, this was the performance to match it. The band, making a rare US appearance, turned its carefully constructed clean guitar sound into blaring rock with distortion and dark synthesizers accompanying the six band members' ear-to-ear smiles on the small stage.

The show was bookended by two of the band's most recent hits—the electric piano bop of "Lisztomania" and the synth-blaring "1901"—but singer Thomas Mars and company weren't afraid to mix up the set list with a genre-defying catalogue of songs from the band's four releases, including the blissful dance tune "Too Young" off 2000's United.

During songs like "Rally," "Long Distance Call," and "Armistice," the play of guitarist Christian Mazzalai and touring drummer Thomas Hedlund was especially compelling. Mazzalai—with expressionless and unfocused eyes and a fat lower lip hanging from his open mouth—picked his guitar like a possessed bobblehead doll. And Hedlund, who for some reason is not a full-time member of the band, pounded away at his drums with unparalleled precision and strength. After Chris Bear of Grizzly Bear, he's easily the best drummer I've seen perform this year.

The crowd, though small for a band as popular as Phoenix, was as dedicated and well-versed as I've seen in the District. Dancing was impossible with everyone standing shoulder-to-shoulder and front pressed against back, but in place of wiggling hips was plenty of fist-pumping, head-banging, and jumping. Mars, who delivered pitch-perfect vocals throughout the evening, ended the night with an encore-closing extended-take of "1901." During the second to last chorus, he jumped down into the audience singing "falling, falling, falling, fallen" surrounded by thirty or so wildy excited fans—a perfectly chaotic and energetic climax to one hell of a sweaty night. My ears are still buzzing.

Phoenix - "Long Distance Call" (from It's Never Been Like That)

Addicted to the Noisettes' "Never Forget You"

London trio the Noisettes released their sophomore LP Wild Young Hearts this past April, but for some reason it hasn't been released yet in the US. After listening to the great early 60's soul of "Never Forget You," I can't begin to understand why. Combining the melodies of girl groups like the Angles and Crystals with a ska-style up-beat organ and guitar, singer Shingai Shoniwa delivers instantly catchy and singable lyrics alongside punchy head-bobbing rhythm. In terms of mixing genres and styles, it doesn't get much better.

The Noisettes - "Never Forget You" (from Wild Young Hearts)

Anticipating: The Blood Feathers second LP

Sometimes bands, no matter how good they are, stay hidden and unnoticed amongst the heavily-cluttered shelves of the internet simply waiting for able ears. Philadelphia's Blood Feathers is one of them. I stumbled upon the group when I showed up early for a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah concert two years ago. The opening act Mazarin—whose unforgettably energetic and psychedelic performance deserved the headlining slot—played a cover of the Blood Feathers' "On A Holiday." Picked acoustic and electric strings gently built into pounding drums and verses where every line sings like a chorus: "On a holiday / We went miles away / Now we're all alone / With the milky way."

Mazarin singer and guitarist Quentin Stoltzfus produced the Blood Feathers debut, Curse & Praise—a predominantly acoustic record that gently tows the line between psychedlia and folk-rock without ever veering far from the band's signature talent: tuneful accessiblity. Ben Dickey and Drew Mills, the act's only two members, have spent the past few years playing for a swing band in Arizona and playing in DC songwriter Benjy Ferree's band. Now it seems the duo are poised to return.

According to the band's Twitter, their sophomore album Goodness Gracious has been fully mastered and sequenced. You can listen to two of its songs—"The Same Mad Part" and "Great God Almighty"—both packed with plenty of Marc Bolan-esque boogie and rock on the band's Myspace.

Blood Feathers - "On A Holiday" (from Curse & Praise)

New Fruit Bats: "My Unusual Friend"

Recalling the pop-sensibilities and vocal chops of the Beatles and Beach Boys while lyrically carving out their own unique niche, Eric Johnson and his Fruits Bats released two of the most complete and approachable records of the early 00's with Mouthfuls and Spelled In Bones.

Johnson—now also a member of the wildly successful Shins—writes and records harmony-laced folk-pop, ranging from intimate narratives ("The Earthquake of '76") to lyrically esoteric metaphors and images ("Lives of Crime") and moments of anthemic hand-clapping clarity ("When You Love Somebody"). It's a sound that's easy to revisit.

On August 4th, the Fruit Bats will return with their fourth LP—The Ruminant Band, due out via Sub Pop. According to the band's web site, "touring will commence shortly thereafter." For now, enjoy the piano bop of "My Unusual Friend."

Fruit Bats -"My Unusual Friend" (from The Ruminant Band)

Monsters of Folk: the Traveling Wilburys of the 00's

Back in 2004, indie folk/rock troubadours M. Ward, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket caught lightning in a bottle when they shared a stage for the aptly-dubbed "Monsters of Folk" tour. The tour led to a series of collaborations. James, with his unworldly falsetto, provided backup vocals for Ward on Transistor Radio's "Fuel For Fire" and Post-War's "Magic Trick" and on Oberst's "At The Bottom of Everything"—the pinnacle of the Bright Eyes masterpiece I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. Ward and Oberst then sung together on the Traveling Wilbury's cover "Handle With Care" orchestrated by Jenny Lewis in 2006.

Now, after a five-year hiatus, the trio are reprising the Monsters of Folk name to release their self-titled debut album September 22nd. The band will be joined by multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis, who has produced records in the past for Oberst, Ward, and Ward's She & Him. The Monsters of Folk aren't quite the Traveling Wilburys—who at one point were comprised of Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Jeff Lynne—but in terms of today's young class of singer/songwriters, they're pretty damn close.

Here's the track list:
1. Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)
2. Say Please
3. Whole Lotta Losin’
4. Temazcal
5. The Right Place
6. Baby Boomer
7. Man Named Truth
8. Goodway
9. Ahead of the Curve
10. Slow Down Jo
11. Losin Yo Head
12. Magic Marker
13. Map Of The World
14. The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
15. His Master’s Voice

Conor Oberst, Jim James & M. Ward – "Girl From The North Country" (live Bob Dylan cover)

M. Ward Ft. Jim James - "Magic Trick" (from Post-War)

Digging For Covers: The Boss sings Dylan

In 1975 at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band unfolded the up-beat Dylan ditty "I Want You" into a slow and sweeping ballad. The performance—broadcast by WMMR FM-radio in Philadelphia—featured Israeli violinist Suki Lahav playing the famous melody alongside piano, bass, drums, accordion and a few muted puffs from Clarence Clemons's sax. The Boss had a slight lyrical misstep after the song's bridge, but he quickly saved himself with a well-timed mumble and pause. The 18-song set—one of the longest and most well-regarded shows of Springsteen's career—also features a cover of Chuck Berry's "Back In The USA" and the premiere of "Thunder Road"—then, still a work in progress. 

 
Bruce Springsteen - "I Want You" (live at the Main Point, 1975)

David Bowie's "I Have Not Been To Oxford Town"

Over recent weeks, I've been playing David Bowie's "I Have Not Been To Oxford Town" repeatedly. The song, from his 1995 album Outside, is on a burned disc in my car (yes I still make mixes) and it's one of the few songs that doesn't grow stale after a few listens. Bowie is narrating as much as he is singing the lyrics over heavy set of drums and a guitar riff (which starts to shin at the 1:10 mark) that is brilliant. It reminds a bit of the riff on the Brian Eno and John Cale collaboration "Spinning Away," which I used to listen to during long scenic hikes in New Zealand. It has the same sort of futuristic and heavily-spaced charm that's perfect for letting your mind wander.

"I Have Not Been To Oxford Town" recently came on my radar after hearing a cover of it in the excellent cult-classic science-fiction movie Starship Troopers. It plays during the prom scene, except "Oxford town" is changed to "paradise." Who knew a gory movie about killing aliens would lead me back to David Bowie?

David Bowie - "I Have Not Been To Oxford Town" (from Outside)

John Cale & Brian Eno - "Spinning Away" (from Wrong Way Up)

Review: TV On The Radio at 930 Club

Two songs into Monday night's show at the 930 Club, TV On The Radio had heads bopping, feet twisting and jumping, and jaws perked into contented smiling positions with a deadly fast version of "The Wrong Way." For the notoriously led-footed DC audience, it wasn't half bad.

Through to the encore-closing "A Method"—performed as an ensemble percussion piece with members of the Dirty Projectors and Baltimore's Celebration—the band had the full-capacity crowd hooked onto its waves of distorted guitars, effected drums, and seemingly possessed vocals, often delivered in beautiful harmony.

There wasn't room for much filler during the evening. From the David Bowie-esque masterpiece "Golden Age" to "Halfway Home" and "Dancing Choose," nearly every song was a monster of sound, movement, and sweat. While the crowd became especially crazed during "Wolf Like Me"—the band's most successful and accessible song to date—the highlight of the evening was instead the band's first hit: "Staring At The Sun." Performed with Katrina Ford of Celebration—who recorded vocals for the the original back in 2004—the song found the always sincerely manic Tunde Adebimpe bouncing up and down with his lanky arms flailing on-beat and Ford doing her best to keep up as the layers of guitars climbed surreal heights. Even the beer-bellied Kyp Malone—sporting his usual afro and a fully grown beard—found himself jumping around.

This was my third TV On The Radio show. And every time the venue gets bigger. For a band that's always been and probably will always be adorned by the critics, it's rewarding to see the other half of success come with droves of wanting fans. It's hard to make songs you play every night appear new and fresh, but TV On The Radio—like a middle-aged and well-read punk rock band from hell (Brookyln)—always make their songs roar with a furious enthusiasm. They are easily one of the best live bands in the world. (Photo by BetweenLoveAndLike)

TV On The Radio -"The Wrong Way" (from Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes)

Vandaveer: I wish I could grow a beard like that

Vandaveer is an old family name of singer/songwriter Mark Charles Heidinger. It belonged to his great-grandfather, father, and in 2006 when Heidinger moved to Washington, DC, it became the name for his solo work outside of his two bands—These United States and The Apparitions. “Instead of giving it to a child, I decided to give it to a musical project,” Heidinger told me a few months back. “Songs are kind of like children. You don’t have to change diapers, but you do have to nurture them.”

Now, Heidinger is allowing his finely nurtured songs to play through the lovely pop of a vinyl record. Vandaveer's first seven-inch is out now and features "Woolgathering" and "Turpentine"—two tracks from his yet-to-be-released State-side album Divide & Conquer. 

I'm a fan of everything Heidinger touches—whether it's his bass guitar on the hilarious science fiction-laced sing-along "God Monkey Robot" or rowdy roots rock with fellow DC-based band These United States—but with Vandaveer his talent is laid out in full clarity, especially on the sweetly quiet melodies of "Woolgathering."

Vandaveer - "Woolgathering" (from Turpentine/Woolgathering 7-inch)

The Apparitions - "God Monkey Robot" (from As This Is Futuristic)

Review: Local Natives at the Black Cat

Watching California's Local Natives perform Sunday night at DC's Black Cat was like standing on the outskirts of a drum circle. Out of the band's six musicians, five contributed to the heavy tribal-influenced pounding and clacking of drum sticks. The only instrument used more often was the voice—something every band member contributed at one point, whether it was singing or shouting during the climactic breakdown of the energetic "Sun Hands." 

I've written before that the Local Natives are a mellifluous harmony-driven group. After seeing them perform live, that almost seems like an understatement. The band is a vocal group that performs like a small orchestra; a contemporary Zombies that might not be as pretty, but plays with more bite. Precise instrumentation—that comes in the form of a keyboard, bass, violin, and two guitars—mimics and riffs on the melodies sung by the band's core of singers: the mustached and guitar-swinging Taylor Rice, the deftly reserved Ryan Hahn, and the bearded Kelcey Ayer with his seemingly whale-sized lungs. 

Nearly every moment of the performance featured some sort of collaboration. During the band's two best songs, "World News" and "Airplanes," that collaboration was seamless with the various voices and instruments delivering a tightly woven tapestry of choral soul and marching band-sized percussion. Whether it was the cover of the Talking Heads' "Warning Sign" or "Stranger Things"—which at one point was broken down to nothing but vocals and hand-clapping by all six musicians—the Local Natives delivered a clear vision of songs uniquely their own. 

Make sure to catch the Natives in the US and Canada this month. UK dates will be announced for July, when the band releases its seven-inch featuring "Sun Hands" and a live performance of "Cards and Quarters." Pre-order it here. 

June 9 @ Johnny Brenda’s (21+) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 10 @ T.T. the Bear’s Place (allages) Boston, Massachusetts
June 11 @ Il Motore (allages) Montreal, Quebec
June 12 @ El Mocambo Toronto, Ontario
June 13 @ Mohawk Place Buffalo, New York
June 14 @ The Pike Room (allages) Pontiac, Michigan
June 16 @ High Noon (18+) Madison, Wisconsin
June 17 @ 400 Bar (18+) Minneapolis, Minnesota

Local Natives — "Sun Hands" (from Gorilla Manor)

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Introducing Justin Townes Earle

Here's what you'll read when you see the name Justin Townes Earle: his father is rebel folk legend and icon Steve Earle, a recovering drug addict (who played the role of Waylon in HBO's the Wire); he's named after Townes Van Zandt, considered one of the all-time great songwriters; he himself is a recovering drug addict and at one point was kicked out of his own father's touring band. 

What you'll also read is that his second album, Midnight At The Movies, is damn good. His best yet. While people like Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood strangle the remaining bits of life out of country music, Earle is pumping his own blood back into it—whether or not anyone cares or listens. Songs like "Black Eyed Suzie" display Earle at his best: an upbeat and lively bluegrass rhythm, earthy and acoustic instrumentation, and dark and intimate lyrics (this time about a prostitute that was a former lover) colored by Earle's own distinctive and nasally bad-is-good Dylanesque voice.

Justin Townes Earle - "Black Eyed Suzy" (from Midnight At The Movies)

Video: MGMT - "Kids"

Nothing makes me happier than seeing people dress up in monster costumes. In MGMT's new video for "Kids" off last year's breakout debut Oracular Spectacular, the band unleashes plenty. Unfortunately for the four-year-old child in the video, the monsters predominantly appear at his expense. At least he gets to wear an MGMT headband.

It's also worth mentioning that the quote from the opening sequence is not Mark Twain. It's Friedrich Nietzsche from his Beyond Good and Evil, which either makes it a mistake or some sort of far out commentary. I'm guessing mistake.

MGMT - "Kids" (from Oracular Spectacular)

Summer songs for open windows

Driving with open windows and cranked sing-along music is a summer pastime. A tradition kept alive and revisited by movies like Easy Rider, American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused and annually brought out by the warm sunshine. 

However, you can't blast any song out on the highway or into your neighborhood streets. Animal Collective? Passion Pit? No. Popular culture's acceptance of creative and difficult music may be growing, but a car window will always more suited to the anthemic "Born To Be Wild" or rollicking funk of "Slow Ride" than a mess of blaring synthesizers. 

For a healthy dose of handclaps, foot-stomping rhythm and singable chorus, try "Song Away" by Portland's Hockey. The band may be best known for its new-wave and dance-oriented music, but "Song Away" is straightforward rock characterized by a basic rhythm guitar line and lyrics so simple the end rhyme uses the same word: "This is believe me music / This is forget me music / This is who could love me / This ain't no Roxy Music." The track is as easy to remember as it is to like. 

Including a reference to the road is an easy way into any car stereo. While Kurt Vile's "Freeway" has a slightly experinmental production style that clouds his lyrics and guitar with reverb and echo, it covers all the necessary elements of a summer driving song and more: a booming snare drum, hand claps, bluegrass-tinged guitar picking, and simple lyrics sung with a loose and upbeat cadence.

Hockey — "Song Away" (from Mind Chaos)

Kurt Vile — "Freeway" (from Constant Hitmaker)

Review: Grizzly Bear at the 930 Club

“They’ll try to keep us apart / You’ll try to keep us apart,” sang Daniel Rossen in his quivering timbre as the grimy tone of a guitar and crashing cymbals built into a near-violent fury.

From the evening-opening “Southern Point” to the encore-closing “He Hit Me,” Grizzly Bear blew open eardrums with an awe-inspiring mixture of choral music, baroque pop, and crescendos and decrescendos tinged with sadness and a politely delivered ferocity.

The full-capacity crowd bobbed along with Chris Taylor’s booming bass and Chris Bear’s manic drumming—and delivered applause with a lights-out enthusiasm—but during songs the crowd most often stood in a quiet concentration, watching the virtuosic quintet perform like a miniature orchestra: switching instruments (everything from guitar and electric piano to saxophone and autoharp), trading lead vocals, and basking in four-part harmonies as musical styles changed from song to song.

Grizzly Bear drew the majority of the night’s music from Veckatimest, the band’s third LP and one of the year’s most celebrated albums. The record, hardly manageable in its sophisticatedly-constructed and heavily-ornamented 52 minutes, became something different in front of 1,200 fans: accessible. Hard to identify sounds and esoteric lyrics were given shape by the four musicians and personalities working up sweats to expertly and earnestly deliver songs they've played thousands of times before.

Two of the band's most popular tracks, the 50’s barbershop-style and spine-chillingly performed “Knife” and the blissfully-bouncy “Two Weeks,” both came in the first half of the show, leaving a latter half that gave an unexpected but welcome emphasis to the delicate Edward Droste-sung “Foreground” and the rollicking train-like rhythm of “On a Neck, On a Spit.” Always quick to smile and thank the audience (at one point with 930 Club cupcakes), Grizzly Bear left fans with the bittersweet taste of a punch in the face: a cover of the Crystals' Phil Spector-produced "He Hit Me." And yes, it felt like a kiss.

Grizzly Bear - "Knife" (from Yellow House)

Digging for Covers: Sharon Jones funks up Kenny Rogers

Songwriter Mickey Newbury wrote the song "I Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In" as a warning against the use of LSD. However, its groovy and psychedelic textures served more as a complement than a hinderance to drug use.

Jerry Lee Lewis took the first stab at recording the song in 1967, but he rejected that version and it was instead popularized by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition a year later. The song, which at one point was a favorite of Jimi Hendrix's, was revived in 1998 by the Cohen brothers when they used the track for the Dude's hallucinogenic bowling sequence in The Big Lebowski. 

Here, Sharon Jones and her Dap-King funk machine turn up the tempo on Newbury's classic while cutting a few of its more far-out corners. The song's original wavy guitars are turned sleek while drifting melodies now swiftly pop from the Dap-Kings brass section. Make sure to catch the solo at the 1:30 mark. (Poster art by Mark McDevitt at Methane Studios)

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings — "Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In" (from Hot Funky & Sweaty)