RSS
July 8, 2007
Spinal Tap with Metallica + 'Gypsy' Madonna @ Live Earth
The greatest surprise performance at the 24-hour Live Earth was not Kanye West and John Mayer joining the Police on "Message in a Bottle." Hell, no. It was Spinal Tap (reunited) with some help from Metallica (they actually laugh) bringing down London's Wembley Stadium with hits like "Stonehenge" and "Big Bottom." Madonna's gypsy-hobo-punk performance -- fully choreographed -- of "La Isla Bonita" with Eugene and Serge from Gogol Bordello was also surprisingly excellent (watch after the jump).
MSN reports that the Live Earth Web simulcast resulted a single-day record 9 million streams launched. It will be interesting to see if it experiences continued traffic over the next few weeks as the Live 8 site did in 2005 -- before viral video and YouTube embeds became viewer's choice.
Good LA Times coverage of Live Earth here.
12 more videos after the jump include Live Earth performances from Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, Roger Waters, Beastie Boys, Corinne Bailey Rae & John Legend, Metallica, Snoop Dogg, and more...
Madonna & Gogol Bordello: "La Isla Bonita" - Wembley Stadium, London
Beastie Boys: "Sure Shot / So Whatcha Want" - Wembley Stadium, London:
Corinne Bailey Rae & John Legend: "Mercy, Mercy Me / What's Goin' On" - Wembley Stadium, London:
Roger Waters: "Happiest Days of Our LIves / Another Brick in the Wall" - Giants Stadium (w/ flying pig & chorus of Jersey kids singing with British accents):
Smashing Pumpkins: "United States" (best cut on new record!) - Giants stadium, NJ:
Jorge Ben Jor - Rio de Janeiro:
Genesis (yep, reunited): "Turn It On" - Wembley Stadium, London:
Yusuf Islam: "Where Do the Children Play?" - Hamburg, Germany:
Snoop Dogg: "What's My Name?" - Hamburg, Germany:
Metallica: "Enter Sandman" - Wembley Stadium, UK
Nunatak: "How Many People" -- Survey Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctica:
The Police attempt "Message in a Bottle" w/ Kanye West & John mayer - Giants Stadium, NJ:
| 
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
[ report this ]
You're joking about Madonna, right?
[ report this ]
for what, riding Gogol Bordello's coattails?
1) someone was gonna do it eventually
2) ol girl can still dance
[ report this ]
ps the Beasties were on fire - thanks Andy!
[ report this ]
I always wondered how "last night I dreamt of some bagels" translated into Romanian gypsy -- now I know.
After all these years -- I really was impressed, ol' girl still looks hot (at nearly 49, no less) and is still reigning mistress of running around / dancing while actually singing into a headset.
And she revealed a certain "hip" factor that has not rubbed off on Mr. adult contemporary himself -- Sting -- who got with, as he said, "Kane-yay" West and Jon pretty boy Mayer.
I'm sure some Material Girl-purists thought it was a joke, but it wasn't. The (well-rehearsed) stunt served up some serious exposure for Gogol Bordello, who's 5th studio album -- "Super Taranta!" -- drops Tuesday on the small LA-based indie, SideOneDummy Records (The Dan Band, Flogging Molly, Mighty Mighty Bosstones).
[ report this ]
OK, so Der Stingelhofer has gone soft in the sound (but not anywhere else, talk about hot: the other guys on stage were wearing jackets, yo, in the summer heat because it's like why bother) I hear that. Madonna has always been a superstar entertainer - and I applaud her for that - but even she doesn't consider herself a great musician (see: Truth or Dare). At least Sting creates his own oeuvre, and whatever camp his production values tip him into, he has written some strong work.
One of my all-time favorite word-music combos is the My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun bit at the end of Sister Moon. The whole song is moody, it's melancholy, it's romantic, (all that owing much to Branford Marsalis' restrained soprano sax lines) but actually singing those last 5 lines is one of the most sensual musical experiences I know. The combination of open vowels and round tones gives the music an almost physical form that you want to hold in your mouth, your head, your chest, and everywhere.