WORKBENCH MAPPING

hi! this is from a for-fun project a while ago… it’s kinda like degrees of separation, kinda like a journey through music culture… whatever it is, i hope it’s fun to browse through.

WORKBENCH MAPPING

Jakob Dylan → Mark Mothersbaugh
[via:
Jeff Tweedy,
Danger Mouse,
Nancy Wilson,
Jack Johnson,
and David Bowie]

→ Jakob Dylan recently released his own folk album after calling it quits with the Wallflowers. While “Valley of the Low Sun” may not live up to tunes like “Like a Rolling Stone” the effort was more than a modest attempt at stripped-down, heartfelt songs.

→→ Obviously listeners will hard pressed to forget that Dylan is the son of a more legendary one. Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” as well as other prophetic, push-the-envelope songs, is inescapable when studying American History.

→→→ I can’t count on one hand how many films and documentaries have been made about the “free-wheelin’” Dylan, but last year’s I’m Not There probably had the most original soundtrack: Dylan tunes recorded by almost 30 other artists. Highlights: “Goin’ to Acapulco” by Jim James and Calexico and “Simple Twist of Fate” by Jeff Tweedy.

→→→→ Tweedy is the grizzled frontman for Chicago-based experimental rock group Wilco, whose song “Impossible Germany” I caught live at the Austin City Limits festival two years ago.

→→→→→ In addition to being home to such a renowned festival, Austin is also home to Alex Dupree and the Trapdoor Band, who recently released a Free EP, on which “Blood on the Motorway”—one of this year’s most compelling songs—appeared.

→→→→→→ Back to Austin City Limits, we happened to score tickets to the Paste after-party, which featured private performances by indie favorites Devotchka and the Decemberists. Two years before that, the Decemberists had again played ACL, after which a live version of “July, July” was released on a concert compilation CD.

→→→→→→→ A few stages away, or perhaps later on the same one, The Black Keys graced ACL with its hard-edged southern rock-‘n’-roll. “Set You Free” would follow “July, July” on the live album, but “All You Ever Wanted” is a better representation of their current sound.

→→→→→→→→ For The Black Key’s sophomore effort, producer and electronic wizard Danger Mouse was brought in, making Attack and Release a tremendous success. For more mainstream listeners Danger Mouse is perhaps not a household name, but Gnarls Barkley, his side (or main) project, certainly is. Their debut gave us the energizing sing-a-long “Crazy” and I’m happy to report that “Surprise” and “Going On” from their second is just as catchy.

→→→→→→→ Mixing genres is what Danger Mouse does best, as seen in his production choices. But nowhere is it so aptly displayed than in “Encore (Glass Onion)” from The Grey Album, which was a masterful mash-up of Jay-Z’s The Black Album and the Beatles’ The White Album.

→→→→→→ The Beatles are probably featured on more movie soundtracks than any other band in history, but few directors can write to Paul McCartney and snag a new tune specifically written for their film. Yet “Vanilla Sky” was acquired via such a request by notable music connoisseur Cameron Crowe for his less well-known film of the same title.

→→→→→ It could be argued that Crowe isn’t as musical as his wife, Nancy Wilson, whose famous guitar picking scores all his films. “Elevator Beat” for Vanilla Sky, “60B” for Elizabethtown, and “Lucky Trumble” for Almost Famous, perhaps his most loveable (and quotable) movie to date.

→→→→ Almost Famous showed us Jason Lee could sing, but it held out on us with Zooey Deschanel, who years after the film teamed up with singer/songwriter M. Ward to turn a handful of lovely melodies, like the heart-breaking yet quirky chorus of “Sentimental Heart,” into Volume One, a record as unassuming as the duo’s chosen name—She & Him.

→→→ Deschanel chose M. Ward for her “him,” and it’s not the first time he’s been picked for the team. Jack Johnson included Ward’s “Transfiguration #1” in his surf-inspired film/documentary A Brokedown Melody, though I personally prefer tunes like “Jailbird.”

→→ Composers usually score films, but Jack Johnson has been enlisted to score more than his own movies. Brought on board for Curious George, Johnson’s unabashedly simple, monkey-friendly songs (favorite: “Talk of the Town”) were the perfect tag-a-long for George and friends.

→ Long before this, as Brushfire Fairytales climbed the charts, Johnson came to Chicago. Opening for the environmentally friendly Hawaiian artist was G. Love and Special Sauce, whose suggestive, and sometimes downright kinky songs, like “Give It To You,” were a spicy first act for Johnson’s laid-back acoustic blues.

→→ G. Love headlined his own tour later with a young up-and-comer named Matt Costa, who we caught again a year later in Chicago closing out the show with long-time favorite and finally recorded “Miss Magnolia.”

→→→ The first time we saw Costa, in Lawrence, KS, was probably the best, partly due to opening act The 88, California rockers with hair to fit the part. After playing a clean-cut, well-rehearsed set of songs like “Coming Home” and “Hide Another Mistake,” the group disappeared until Costa invited the band back on stage for a rowdy encore and dance party.

→→→→ Perhaps the highlight of The 88’s set was actually their version of David Bowie’s “Suffragette City,” the second track on the glam-rock god’s best-of album, which also includes classics like “Ziggy Stardust,” and “Golden Years.”

→→→→→ Despite his years of renown, Bowie has never been so regally treated as by director Wes Anderson in The Life Aquatic; he makes up half the soundtrack, with either original recordings or is covered by Brazilian singer Seu Jorge. The rest of the film is driven by upbeat but thoughtful compositions like “Let me Tell You About My Boat,” from Mark Mothersbaugh’s charming score.