Roy Buchanan – "Sweet Dreams"

NPR ran a great story by Robert Goldstein about the 60th anniversary of the Fender Telecaster earlier this week. Among other tunes, the story included this one, which also features prominently in Martin Scorsese's film The Departed. Sweet, indeed.

Patricia Barber - "Winter"

A Fine Frenzy - "Last of Days"

Massive Attack - "Paradise Circus"

Featuring Hope Sandoval. This is a fan video using scenes from The Fall (2006), directed by Tarsem Singh. The band has a video on their site, the song mixed with an interview, but it's definitely NSFW.

Stars - "Fixed"

The official video is here, but can't be embedded.

Iron and Wine - "Tree By the River"

The video takes a while to load, but it's a good version of one of the tunes from the new album. I caught Sam's show last night at the Wiltern here in L.A., with The Low Anthem opening. His KCRW session was also good

Great Northern - "Fingers"

Here's an acoustic version.

The Low Anthem - "Ghost Woman Blues"

Science Fiction Double Feature

The first version apparently reflects Richard O'Brien's original idea for the opening credits of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The second is O'Brien performing a cool acoustic version.

This has probably always been my favorite song from Rocky Horror, for its geek bait lyrics and the wistful yearning of its chorus. I was introduced to the soundtrack as a teenager by a friend who was absolutely obsessed with the film, and mined it for profundities about life the way others might meditate on a favorite play or novel. (I've never felt as strongly, but it's entertaining.) II saw a live stage version in Edinburgh years ago (an official re-release), which meant the actors could interact with the audience and heckle them back. It was pretty fun. The usherette/candy girl who sang this (and also played Magenta) absolutely nailed it.

RIP Anne Francis and Leslie Nielsen.

The Flaming Lips - "Do You Realize?"