This Day in Music…November 27

In music news:

The Recording Academy on Tuesday added songs by James Brown, Bob Marley, the Beach Boys, Louis Armstrong and others to its Grammy Hall of Fame, bringing the total number of titles in the collection to 851.

The latest batch of 25 recordings added to the list includes Brown’s 1966 “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” and Marley’s 1973 album “Catch a Fire,” which the Jamaican reggae great recorded with his band The Wailers, the academy said.

Reuters

In concert news:

Sonic Youth has dismantled and reassembled so many rock-band strategies over the years that it can begin to feel unnerving when a simple, durable idea takes hold. Concision, for example. There’s nothing inherently deep or mysterious about a three-to-four-minute pop song, but with the right balance of nerve and craft, the possibilities can usually overwhelm the constraints.

That was largely the case at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Tuesday night, in the first of Sonic Youth’s two sold-out shows. Songs landed as songs. Spasms of discord came and went. Noise was harnessed rather than unleashed, so that every action felt weighed against its consequences.

New York Times

Also in concert news:

When tickets for Phish‘s Sunday night (November 22) show in Syracuse, N.Y., went on sale back in October, all 6,700 of them were gone in 15 minutes — and with good reason. The last time Phish performed at the War Memorial arena was November 1994. Local fans were ready for another show, and the band was certainly ready to give it to them.

Returning to the stage alongside guitarist Trey Anastasio were keyboardist Page McConnell, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer and Syracuse native Jon Fishman. Anastasio made sure to pay tribute to Fishman’s homecoming midway through the second set. “We’re playing tonight in a venue where he saw five of his first concerts,” he said after banging out the metal tune “Big Black Furry Creatures From Mars,” a song they have not played since their March 2009 reunion. Anastasio also acknowledged Fishman’s father, a local orthodontist who was in the audience. When he asked everyone who had visited Dr. Fishman’s practice to stand up, the crowd went wild for the regional reference.

Reuters

Meanwhile, in shopping news:

U.S. shoppers turned out in strong numbers at the start of the holiday season on Friday to hunt for bargains, though many said they were spending more selectively.

Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving, is often the busiest shopping day of the holiday season, during which the retail industry rings in nearly one-fifth of annual sales.

Reuters

…and crossing over to film:

As any husband or wife who has picked the wrong kind of spousal Christmas present knows — a gym membership, for example, instead of a trip to Maui — there’s a big difference between earnest and enjoyable gifts. The same can be said when selecting a film to see this holiday season: Some moviegoers actually welcome challenging stories, but many more prefer untroubled fun.

It’s a critical distinction as Hollywood enters the final weeks of the 2009 movie season. Over the next month, audiences will be offered stark choices between disparate filmmaking styles, with perhaps the most telling choice coming this weekend, as “The Road” premieres opposite “Old Dogs.”

Los Angeles Times

I don’t know RSF, if an Idol sang it, it would be considered a stalker song:

You didn’t have to be so nice
I would have liked you anyway
If you had just looked once or twice
And gone upon your quiet way

Today I said the time was right for me to follow you
I knew I’d find you in a day or two
And it’s true

More Grammy speculation…

Looking at the ballots for the 2010 Grammys, nominations for which will be announced next Wednesday, here’s our second look at the front-runners for best new artist. On Tuesday, Pop & Hiss highlighted Diane Birch, the Zac Brown Band, MGMT, Laura Izibor and Wale. Pop & Hiss would love to see a Bat for Lashes or a Grizzly Bear sneak in, but they’re not among the best bets to get nominated.

Who is? Read on.

Los Angeles Times, Part 2

For your shopping consideration:

It’s invigorating to see musical veterans make the most of new opportunities. Earlier this year Neil Young issued the “Archives, Vol. I,” a massive box set that utilized Blu-ray technology to give fans comprehensive access to 10 discs’ worth of Young’s early material.

At its simplest, “The Live Anthology” is a four-CD set featuring 48 live tracks that span the Florida rocker’s career from 1978 through 2007. That version is a bargain, listing for $24.98 and available for less than $20 at Amazon.com and elsewhere. Where things get fun, though, is in the expanded versions that tap into the heightened aural quality of the Blu-ray disc format and the possibilities of the Web.

Los Angeles Times

And on to television:

Distractions, distractions, distractions.

April 13 is far away from here, and Fox — if you’re listening — I don’t want to see any more preggers drama. You have two weeks to wrap up this folie à plusieurs (English translation: madness of many).

Los Angeles Times

The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a time-honored diversionary tactic, as in, “Look, there’s a yellow-bellied sapsucker!”

Everyone turns to look — I mean, who wouldn’t look? — while the person employing said tactic goes on his or her merry way.

Hez is so entranced watching the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker she fails to notice.

Who wouldn’t be entranced?