marvelous 3

The Dunce Cap: Week of Jan. 5, 2015

in: heavy rotation

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 53: The things that used to mean so much to me have gone the way of dinosaurs – hopes and dreams and everything. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks or play above)

1. “Career Day” – The Format
2. “Silver Things” – Limbeck
3. “Her Words Destroyed My Planet” – Motion City Soundtrack
4. “Blacking Out the Friction” – Death Cab for Cutie
5. “Social Development Dance” – Pete Yorn
6. “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” – Weezer
7. “Let Me Go” – Marvelous 3
8. “I Saw Lightning” – Telekinesis
9. “I Need My Girl” – The National
10. “Breathing Underwater” – Metric

Happy 2015, y’all! I’m still mostly listening to tracks from the past decade, though I admit I’m really hopping on the Swift train with the singles from her recent release. Just a few notes on these:

  • “Her Words Destroyed My Planet” has such a solid Veronica Mars reference in it; the whole track reminds me of being 17 and heartbroken and desperate to move forward (Justin Pierre’s near-yelp of “I’m learning to speak Japanese!” slays me every time), and it’s just great.
  • My sister and I are big Pete Yorn fans; I was 11 when I picked up musicforthemorningafter from Tower Records in Buckhead, and my father – tired of hearing it constantly – dubbed him “Pete Yawn.” His follow up efforts didn’t come close to his first record, but 2009’s Back and Fourth comes pretty damn close. “Social Development Dance” is a decidedly weird song – but I like it.
  • In September, Riot Fest brought an incredible line-up to Chicago’s Humboldt Park, including the likes of The National, The Hold Steady, Weezer, The Get Up Kids, Tegan and Sara and a whole slew more. It was, in short, fantastic. Ten artists played their seminal albums in their entirety, like The Get Up Kids’ Something to Write Home About and Weezer’s Blue. Somewhat surprisingly, the most captivating moment of the three-day festival was Metric’s showstopping finale; I caught the tail end of Metric somewhat on a whim and was bowled over by their haunting performance of “Breathing Underwater.” The studio version doesn’t quite do it justice, but it’s certainly a start.

Happy listening, and happy new year.

The Dunce Cap: Nov. 29, 2010

in: heavy rotation

How cute! Young'ns.

 

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 27: And as she closed her eyes upon the world and picked upon the bones of last week’s news, she spoke his name out loud again. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks)

1. “Private Eyes” – The Bird and the Bee
2. “Sing Me Spanish Techno” – The New Pornographers
3. “This Time” – Marvelous 3
4. “Anything You Want” – Spoon
5. “Blood Bank” – Bon Iver
6. “Veronica” – Elvis Costello
7. “Knock Yourself Out” – Jon Brion
8. “Amie” – Damien Rice
9. “Smoke” – Ben Folds Five
10. “Somebody More Like You” – Nickel Creek

Well, muckluck. I’ve been a bad blogger all over again! But I brought you this excellent mix chocked full of songs to clean to, to cling to, to work to. Y’know, for all times. I’m pretty fond of it. Give it a (digital) spin.

Happy listening.

A.V. Club: Flashback

in: viewing room

ReadySexGo!, Marvelous 3 (2000)

^^I actually have an autographed copy
of this poster in my room. She’s a mannequin, dirty.

Oh my goodness, early century flashback!

I have this clip on VHS somewhere in the recesses of my video collection, but this newfangled thing called YouTube (plural?) allows me to access them in a jiffy!

A full decade ago, Marvelous 3 appeared on the rather shitty WB drama Charmed. The show followed a succession of increasingly unappealing sisters (Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan) – who also happen to be witches. Gasp.

The show aired between ’98 and ’06 (far, far too long), though the poor plot quality was almost compensated for by the array of musical guests who appeared. Like Beverly Hills, 90210‘s Peach Pit, P3, a nightclub owned by sister Piper, was where the gang of four (I nearly typed something that rhymes, begins with a ‘w’ and is equally fitting!) congregated. The Peach Pit had The Flaming Lips and an early Adam Levine circa Kara’s Flowers (the band that would be Maroon 5); P3 had Dishwalla, Fastball, Goo Goo Dolls, Billy Zane (!) and, of course, Butch Walker‘s old outfit, Marvelous 3.

With drummer Slug and Jace on bass rounding out the triad, Marvelous 3 created a sound less glam than previous Walker group SouthGang and more tongue-in-cheek than most contemporary musical peers. The members kept their leather and cut their hair to feathered shags, but their sound was still Southern-crusted rock. In the 2000 Charmed episode “Sight Unseen,” Marvelous 3 performed “Cold as Hell” from their album ReadySexGo! Check out the clip below. There’s Slug’s Union Jack tank! Butch’s eyeliner! Jace’s weird David Lee Roth blonde homage! Alyssa Milano‘s rack! Truly, something for everyone.

Enjoy.

The Dunce Cap: July 12, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Ralph Wiggum - Image courtesy of Fox

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 16: I’m a pop sensation! I’m a pop sensation! (mix via 8tracks)
^^Click the link to listen to the mix.

Names
1. “Jason Lee” – All Girl Summer Fun Band
2. “Michael” – Franz Ferdinand
3. “Ralph Wiggum” – The Bloodhound Gang
Cars
4. “Bitchin’ Camaro” – The Dead Milkmen
5. “El Caminos in the West” – Grandaddy
6. “Survival Car” – Fountains of Wayne
Colors
7. “Sixteen Blue” – The Replacements
8. “Everything is Green” – The Essex Green
9. “Red” – Elbow
Numbers
10. “Thirteen” – Big Star
11. “83” – John Mayer
12. “#27” – Marvelous 3
Places
13. “New York, New York” – Ryan Adams
14. “ATL” – Butch Walker
15. “Chicago at Night” – Spoon
Careers
16. “Rich Wife” – The Long Winters
17. “Heavy Metal Drummer” – Wilco
18. “Fred Jones, Pt. 2” – Ben Folds
Homes
19. “House of Books” – The Pop Project
20. “Treehouse” – I’m From Barcelona
21. “Love Shack” – The B52s

Continue reading →

The Dunce Cap: May 17, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Image courtesy of John Pavlich.

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 8: Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race. A celebration. (mix via 8tracks)

1. “Summertime” – The Sundays
2. “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” – Vampire Weekend
3. “Promises” – The Morning Benders
4. “Lust for Life” – Girls
5. “Center of Attention” – Guster
6. “The Only Living Boy in New York” – Everything but the Girl
7. “Mrs. Jackson” – Marvelous 3
8. “Mr. Blue Sky” – Electric Light Orchestra
9. “25 or 6 to 4” – Chicago
10. “Stars are Blind” – Paris Hilton

Yeah, I threw you off with that last track, didn’t I? The truth is that I love “Stars are Blind.” It’s terrible and cheesy and breathless and over-produced, but it makes me want to belt it out. Frankly, so do all of these tunes. And, yet again, each reminds me of summertime, when the livin’ is easy. There are some classic rock throwbacks, even a really great Chicago track, despite my denunciation of all geographically named musical artists. There’s an Everything but the Girl cover of my favorite Simon & Garfunkel song and a Marvelous 3 (Butch Walker‘s old band) track that nearly brings me to tears.

And, due to my disappointment in Mayfest’s choice of a nighttime headliner for this year’s Dillo Day, I’ve included a good ol’ Guster track. Here’s to hoping CollegeACB was right about something. Guster and Regina Spektor may be able to salvage an otherwise lackluster line-up. Band-aids galore!

Pour yourself a glass of lemonade, find a comfy seat on the porch, pull out your favorite novel and take a breather. These songs will get you started, but feel free to explore. Peter Gabriel, too.

Happy listening.

Book Club: May music

in: on queue


“You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift cover)”

Tomorrow. Tonight, rather. Butch Walker. At House of Blues. Beyond thrilled. This will be my fourteenth (approximately) Butch Walker live show, and I’ve seen him through the various stages of his career, from Marvelous 3 to the Let’s Go Out Tonites to his stint with American Hi-Fi, and I cannot wait to take part in his newest endeavor with the Black Widows. To be frank, this whole blog endeavor could read as an endearing love letter to Walker.

Walker is hilarious and has a unique and captivating on-stage persona. He recently appeared on stage at the 52nd Grammys with Taylor Swift (and Stevie Nicks!) to perform her “You Belong With Me,” and the teen pop star attended Walker’s show in Minneapolis Friday. He’s renowned in the industry for his production and co-songwriting abilities, but I’m familiar with his independent musicianship, as he is a good ol’ hometown boy (“You say you’re from Cartersville/God, don’t say that too loud!”), and I’m so proud of all that he has accomplished. He’s had a slew of hits for bands such as Bowling for Soup, SR-71 and Weezer (he co-wrote their shockingly awesome track “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” and produced their seventh album, “Raditude“), as well as for tween queens Avril Lavigne and LiLo.

In Nov. 2007, Butch’s Malibu home, which he was renting from bassist Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was ravaged by a wildfire. The home, located in Southern California, is the namesake of his album “Sycamore Meadows,” so named for the street it was located on. All of his possessions, including the masters to every song he had ever recorded, were destroyed. He’s since experienced a rebirth musically, experimenting with glam-rock throwbacks, winding chord progression and homages to Uncle Tupelo‘s alt-country. The result is a gloriously catchy sound which fits perfectly into the growing retrospective which is Walker’s ever-burgeoning musical career.

I’m really thrilled for a night of legal debauchery with The Duckster & the only man I have ever proclaimed a “Rock God.” A video of Butch’s non-musical antics is below. He offered a variety of pre-order packages for his new album, “I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart,” and the result of a ludicrous (and likely joke) $25,000 package is this video, a collaboration with Panic at the Disco (sans exclamation point)’s Brendon Urie.