What we’re listening to today — Lonely Lover by Marvin Gaye

With mourning for the late, great Lou Reed subsiding, it’s time to get back to posting music. And what better way to get back on the horse (if you’ll pardon the expression, Lou) than a little something by The Master, Marvin Gaye:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-n5nsv9M_s

This little known track was recorded in the mid-1960s but was only released in the mid-80s in the wake of Marvin’s tragic death. It’s a classic Holland-Dozier-Holland composition with sophisticated chord progressions and a great vehicle for a supple vocalist, with a lot of opportunities for heartfelt melismas. Marvin’s always cool, always emotional voice hit it just right.

But like a lot of classic tunes in the Motown era it was also recorded by other artists pretty much simultaneously and even on different labels. The forgotten Jimmy McFarland’s version for tiny RPR records is also very good with a quicker tempo and very pleasing to the ear, if not quite the amazing vocal quality that made Marvin Gaye the Master.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpYP3RfK6_I

And Gaye’s fellow Motown stablemates the Four Tops also cut a nicely overwrought, heavily soulful version:

One great song, 3 killer versions. Call it a Friday bonus after a sad week for music.

 

What We’re Shaving With – Musgo Real

Musgo_Real_shaving_Cream__18746.1357446116.1280.1280

Brooklyn…home to the newest cultural renaissance here in NYC. Visit us and you’ll find a treasure trove of artists, artisans, and craftsmen, all producing some pretty magnificent stuff. And of course, you’ll see beards. Lots of beards. But while many of our beard-wearing brethren here in Brooklyn wouldn’t know a razor if they fell on one, a few of us actually do shave! I remember watching my Dad shave as a kid, fascinated by what I saw as one of the simplest and purest embodiments of maleness. The guy could ski double black diamonds with ease, fix any broken down car by himself, and seemingly attract the attention of any beautiful young woman (often 20 years his junior.) So needless to say, as a kid I paid close attention, and I came to see shaving as a symbol of the conflation of masculinity and refinement. I mean seriously, can you picture James Bond with a beard? Not happening.

Having decided years ago to be a clean-shaven man, I’ve had time to try many different shave creams. It’s a very important part of shaving that is often glossed over, as silly as that may seem. Many people pay attention to what type of razor they use, whether they shave with the grain or against it, etc. But the fact is the shaving cream you choose will make a big difference. Using a good shaving cream will spare you lots of nicks and rashes, and leave you smelling elegant and, dare I say, attractive. For me, the creme de la creme of creams is Musgo Real.

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RIP Lou Reed, 1942-2013

Just learned of the passing of the ultimate rock iconoclast, Lou Reed, and here is an excellent obit from Jon Dolan at Rolling Stone. Between The Velvet Underground and his solo work, there are really no words to describe his impact on the alternative rock scene. But these tunes begin to scratch the surface:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffr0opfm6I4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hugY9CwhfzE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4avM0qzEF5I

One could say it was too soon to go at 71 but he packed a lot of hard living and a helluva lot of art into those years. Really, who would have thought he’d survive this long? And what he left behind as his legacy sure ain’t too bad for a punk kid from Brooklyn who couldn’t hit it sideways…

 

What we’re listening to today – The Jean Genie by David Bowie

Certain songs sound as fresh today as they did when they were released, no matter how many times you’ve heard them through the years. Peak Bowie produced a lot of those timeless tunes with “The Jean Genie” from 1973’s Aladdin Sane being a fine exemplar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGQo6zpVzt8

Featuring Bowie at the peak of his lyrical and musical powers and with a protagonist inspired by equal parts Iggy Pop and Jean Genet (yes, there was a time when rock was that openly arty), “The Jean Genie” is an inspired free associative rumination on America and a thumpingly good rock raver. Some things just get better with age and this sounds even better to me now than when I first heard it growing up (is that a comment on the uninspired nature of much of today’s rock?). And while Bowie definitely peaked a long time ago, at least he left his 70s oeuvre to stake his claim as one of the all-time greats. His flamboyant Ziggy persona has long been retired but the high flying music of that period remains as preternaturally youthful as Dorian Gray.

Watch Collector’s Notebook: Chunky, funky Omega chronographs of the 70s

The great Swiss watch manufacturer Omega took the polar opposite approach to archrival Rolex’s conservatism during the turbulent 1960s and 70s. If Rolex was almost entirely unwilling to deviate from their main design concepts and stayed restrained in the face of the funky fashions sweeping the watch world, Omega was ready and willing to try a little bit of everything to capture the spirit of the times and the dollars, francs, pounds and yen of the trendsetters of that era. As characteristic of the 1970s as boot cut jeans and polyester leisure suits, Omega’s chunky and near Pop-art chronographs of this period make a retro statement like few other watches. They’re not to everybody’s taste to be sure but for those that enjoy wearing these colorful beasts there’s great fun to be had by taking a time trip to the past.

SpeedyMkIIWrst_edited-1

Jumping off from their enormously successful Speedmaster Professional (aka “The Moonwatch”), Omega decided to let their design team smoke a little of the good stuff and have some fun creating a new range of Speedmaster and Seamaster chronographs incorporating newly developed case shapes and calibers. At first designs like the Speedmaster Mark II & III had the traditional black dials/white hands like their predecessor but soon a veritable rainbow of colors was busting out all over. The newly launched manual wind caliber 861 and new automatic chrono caliber 1040, both Lemania-based, seemed to lend themselves to inventive case shapes and color schemes, as Omega chased fashion trends with massive tonneau cases and dispensed with conventional lugs altogether.

Omega cal. 861

Omega cal. 861 housed in “Anakin” case

Of course, as a proud supplier to NASA, Omega were also intent on expanding on their “Professional” line to be maximally useful to the aeronautic industry. Continue reading →

Indycar Series — Tonight a champion will be crowned

Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves (photo from USA Today/Gannett)

The Izod Indycar Driver’s Championship comes down to the last race of the year once again. Tonight’s MAVTV sponsored 500-miler from the 2 mile D-oval in Fontana, California will determine whether Scott Dixon can hang on for his third Indycar Championship or Helio Castroneves can recover from late season woes to claim his first. Despite the fact that Chip Ganassi’s Dixon has won four races this season to Penske driver Castroneves’ one, a mere 25 points separates them. And the Penske cars’ Chevy engines seem to have the flat out speed this weekend with a 1st-2nd-3rd lockout in Qualifying (Power, Castroneves*, Allmendinger), as well as the comfort level at Fontana having tested there frequently. But the Honda-powered Ganassi cars might have the advantage on gas mileage even with Dixon starting 7th*, so look for a very interesting strategic race to unfold so long as both contenders can avoid crashing out early on this notoriously slippery and windy circuit.

As you might have noticed with that Qualy result, Penske has added a third car to help their Brazilian ace try to win, with hot shoe A.J. Allmendinger joining Aussie Will Power and hoping to recreate his superb Indy 500 run. Power, too, has been excellent in the latter part of the season and he will be hoping to erase memories of last year’s early race wipe out at Fontana, which led to yet another heartbreaking fumble of the championship and gifted it to American Ryan Hunter-Reay.

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What we’re listening to today — Hot Knives by Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst get a lot of shit for being pretentious/hysterical/naive/not Dylan (can we retire that comparison for all future singer-songwriters please?). But I’m a big fan of young Conor because I respect artists who lay everything out there and leave nothing held back, rendering themselves emotionally naked in front of an audience. A song like “Hot Knives” from 2007’s excellent Cassadaga does that in a subtle way, telling a complex and nuanced story with passion and a fine eye for human behavior, and that’s no small accomplishment to stuff into a hard charging 4-minute tune.

Not to mention that young Conor is seriously musically gifted (certainly another source of the sometimes irrational criticism he can provoke among the less talented), with a lyrical sensibility that can be poetic, strident, political and vulnerable, often within the same song. He doesn’t always find the mark and I wish he would lose the gimmick of adding long passages of mystical mumbo jumbo to certain album tracks. And some still carp that this is youth music, too agitating and hypersensitive to appeal to a mature audience. Having been to a Bright Eyes concert I’d have to agree that the fan base seems to be 25 or younger, as well as complete believers. But good Rock ‘n Roll has always largely been for and about the young and their passions and idealism and pain. To dismiss such ambitious and raucously independent music on those terms is to admit to trying to be some sort of arbiter of “mature tastes”. And who the hell wants to be that guy?