HAYDEN

About a decade ago, I wrote a review for an obscure little CD called EVERYTHING I LONG FOR. It had a rather elaborate intro (the review, not the CD) (perchance I was transfixed by drink)...

"Everybody knows HAYDEN. Hayden's our neighbor. Hayden takes in our papers, walks our dogs, and waters our lawns when we're away on vacation. Every time we drive by Hayden's, Hayden waves.

But Hayden harbors a heavy heart. Hayden gets angry. Hayden plots complicated, petty revenges that will never see the light of day.

Because Hayden is lazy. Hayden is so beholden to inertia he can barely be bothered to breathe, let alone carry out complicated, petty revenges. Hayden lacks the courage of his convictions. Hayden lacks the convictions to begin with.

And Hayden is horny. Late at night, Hayden downloads Danish porn and watches through binoculars as our underage daughters undress for bed.

But Hayden is harmless. Takes in our papers. Walks. Waters. Waves. Like Norman Bates. Or John Wayne Gacy.

Yes, everybody knows Hayden. Hayden's our neighbor. And sometimes, let's face it: Hayden is us.

*********************************************************

Hayden is Hayden Desser, a twentysomething Canadian whose self-produced debut plants him firmly in the freakish family-tree between VIC CHESNUTT's bastard-slacker stepson and BECK's heavily-medicated second-cousin."

After that, miracle of miracles, I actually wrote for a while about Hayden's music. Which was stripped and insular. Deep, deep, man-child voice singing intimately of dating futility & Denny's breakfasts. But that was ten years ago. Hayden is thirtysomething now and has surely moved out of his parents' basement to bigger & better things. He tends to sing a little less low; his arrangements sometimes feature more than an instrument or two. But he still has issues. He is actively working on his issues. The music helps him with his issues. Almost always, he would rather sing to you than shoot you in the face.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Love, Hayden.

From the LP IN FIELD & TOWN, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Worthy of Your Esteem"
[MP3] "Lonely Security Guard"

From the LP ELK-LAKE SERENADE, 2004 >>>
[MP3] "Home By Saturday"
[MP3] "Hollywood Ending"

From the LP SKYSCRAPER NATIONAL PARK, 2001 >>>
[MP3] "Carried Away"
[MP3] "I Should Have Been Watching You"

From the LP THE CLOSER I GET, 1998 >>>
[MP3] "I'll Tell Him Tonight"

From the EP MOVING CAREFUL, 1997 >>>
[MP3] "Middle of July"

From the LP EVERYTHING I LONG FOR, 1996 >>>
[MP3] "Tragedy"

MADRUGADA

Moody Norwegian alternative rockers MADRUGADA released their latest long-player on January 21 -- six months after the death of their guitarist, ROBERT BURAS. If there's a silver-lining to be found here at all, it's that Buras had already completed his work on the album, so the songs necessarily serve as testaments to his life and talents.

MADRUGADA on MySPACE.

From their self-titled LP, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "What's on Your Mind?"
[MP3] "Honey Bee"

From the LP THE DEEP END, 2004 >>>
[MP3] "Subterranean Sunlight"
[MP3] [VID] "The Kids Are on High Street"

ADELE

The next AMY WINEHOUSE? Musically-speaking, at least? Some would say 19-year-old Londoner ADELE fits the bill.

I have to say: My jury's still out on that one. It's not that I thought BACK TO BLACK was an especially great album; I just thought that it had three or four pretty great tunes on it. "Chasing Pavements" seems to be Adele's calling card, and methinks rightfully so. But is it as good as "Back to Black," "Rehab," or "You Know I'm No Good"? For that matter, is it as good as KATE NASH's "Foundations"? Methinks... my jury's still out.

[MP3] "Tired"

[MP3] "Chasing Pavements"

[If you're inclined toward Hype Machining or Elbo.wsearching, you might also consider tracking down the track "Cold Shoulder."]

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM

So LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM has a DVD coming out. LIVE AT THE BASS PERFORMANCE HALL -- billed as "the first live DVD of his 27-year solo career" -- will see a March 25 release. It chronicles a performance in Fort Worth, Texas from January of 2007. But this post isn't really about that.

Rumor has it that Mr. Buckingham may also be releasing a new solo disc later this year. But this post isn't really about that, either.

No, this post is simply a means of showcasing a couple of pretty-good songs from the man's last, little-heard solo album, UNDER THE SKIN -- as well as a couple of pretty-damned-good songs from FLEETWOOD MAC's last, relatively-little-heard album, SAY YOU WILL. Nothing more; nothing less. No muss; no fuss. C'est la vie; que sera, sera.

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM on MySPACE.

From the Lindsey Buckingham LP UNDER THE SKIN, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "To Try for the Sun"
[MP3] "Down on Rodeo"

From the Fleetwood Mac LP SAY YOU WILL, 2003 >>>
[MP3] "Peacekeeper"
[MP3] "Steal Your Heart Away"

BONUS TRACKS >>>

[MP3] LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM/"Big Love" [live]

[MP3] FLEETWOOD MAC/"I'm So Afraid" [live]

TRACY CHAPMAN - PART 2

In which we conclude our generous, two-part helping of love & respect for TRACY CHAPMAN....

From the LP NEW BEGINNING, 1995 >>>
[MP3] "Give Me One Reason"

From the LP TELLING STORIES, 2000 >>>
[MP3] "Telling Stories"
[MP3] "It's OK"

From the LP LET IT RAIN, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "You're the One"
[MP3] "Broken"

From the LP WHERE YOU LIVE, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "America"
[MP3] "Change"

TRACY CHAPMAN - PART 1

Back in 1988, TRACY CHAPMAN's "Fast Car" was something of a phenomenon. Much like SUZANNE VEGA's "Luka," the song's quiet, understated urgency stood in stark contrast to that testosterone-besotted era's loud, fast, and glossy-to-a-fault codpiece rock. If a woman was to be seen or heard at all at the time, she pretty much needed to be a perky pop-princess (TIFFANY, DEBBIE GIBSON), an axe-wielding, vamping vixen (LITA FORD), or a glorified hood-ornament (TAWNY KITAEN writhing about on WHITESNAKE's Jag). That it also helped to be white kind of went without saying.

Sure, a not-yet-coked-to-the-gills WHITNEY HOUSTON was then quite the Miss Thang, but Tracy Chapman didn't much look like Whitney Houston, and she sure as hell didn't sound like her. No Casio dance-pop; no overblown love ballads. Yet, somehow, Ms. Chapman's eponymous debut managed to top the charts, garner three Grammys, and sell 6+ million units in the U.S. alone. Not bad, for openers. But what was she going to do for an encore?

As it happens, that encore has played out as a quiet, understated, 20-year-career in the music business. Chapman has released six subsequent albums -- two of which have gone platinum, two of which have gone gold. She picked up another Grammy for her 1995 out-of-the-blue comeback single, "Give Me One Reason," and has duetted with everyone from B.B. KING and ERIC CLAPTON to LUCIANO PAVAROTTI and ZIGGY MARLEY.

So... for not burning out, and for not fading away, Tracy Chapman has earned herself a generous, two-part helping of love & respect here today. "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...."

From her self-titled LP, 1988 >>>
[MP3] "Fast Car"
[MP3] "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution"

From the LP CROSSROADS, 1989 >>>
[MP3] "Bridges"
[MP3] "Subcity"

From the LP MATTERS OF THE HEART, 1992 >>>
[MP3] "So"
[MP3] "The Love That You Had"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] "House of the Rising Sun"

MORE COWBELL! MORE COCK ROCK!

Well, "cock rock" may or may not be the most appropriate label here. "Classic rock," more like. A bit o' the ol' "prog rock." Even an Aquanet-heavy whiff of "hair metal," perhaps. In some ways, a partial soundtrack to the years 13-19 of my life. Unfashionable nostalgia? No question. Guilty pleasures? You betcha. But presented here with a minimum of irony and as further proof that some things never go out of style. (Well, not for very long, anyway.)

[Further proof: JOURNEY's "Don't Stop Believin'" as "Sopranos" swan-song. REO SPEEDWAGON's "Take It on the Run" as Holiday Inn jingle. NIGHT RANGER's "Sister Christian" in "Boogie Nights." STYX's "Come Sail Away" in "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut." ELTON JOHN's "Tiny Dancer" in "Almost Famous." ELO and QUEEN songs backing nearly every other ad currently on TV. And etc.]

Please left-click [HERE] if you miss the '70s and '80s (or, if you were born after 1989, if you literally missed the '70s and '80s).

TRACKLIST >>>

01 heart/crazy on you
02 ozzy osbourne/crazy train
03 ac/dc/you shook me all night long
04 rick derringer/rock and roll, hoochie koo
05 bon jovi/runaway
06 rainbow/since you been gone
07 george thorogood & the destroyers/i drink alone
08 eddie money/think i'm in love
09 billy squier/my kinda lover
10 nazareth/love hurts
11 van halen/ain't talkin' 'bout love
12 billy idol/white wedding
13 styx/blue collar man (long nights)
14 loverboy/working for the weekend
15 def leppard/photograph
16 blue oyster cult/(don't fear) the reaper
17 foreigner/cold as ice
18 pink floyd/comfortably numb
19 kansas/dust in the wind