Well, another Super Bowl has come and gone, and with it another performance by a legendary rock group at the halftime show. Now, there are those who complain that only “safe” acts are ever invited to play the game — but once upon a time, they used to be considerably wilder. As a reminder, here are some of the signature original 20th Century live performances of the established halftime hits of the 21st. Oh, and for those of you who expected a Syd Barrett tribute playlist when you read the title — sorry to disappoint you, but we’ll save that one for another day.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band — Born to Run
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — I Won’t Back Down
Prince and the Revolution — Purple Rain
The Rolling Stones — (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Paul McCartney and Wings — Live and Let Die
Janet Jackson — Rhythm Nation
The Police — Message in a Bottle
U2 — Where The Streets Have No Name
Aerosmith — Walk this Way

Last week’s earthquake has devastated the nation of Haiti, with a death toll likely to reach over 100,000. Crucial infrastructure has been destroyed, as have many of the sites and resources that help define Haitian history and culture. If you can give in any way to help the Haitian people, please do. In the meantime, here is a tribute to Haiti’s music:

Rara Bands — Rara Processional Music
Eddy Francois — Kri a Yo
Boukman Eksperyans — Ti Pa Ti Pa
Boukan Ginen — Pale Pale W
RAM — Sa’n Pa Wè Yo
Nemours Jean Baptiste — Contre No.7
Webert Sicot — Leçon de Moral
Les Fantaisistes de Carrefour — Rêve Bleu
Tabou Combo — Tabou Mania
Zin — Souke Dada’w
Barikad Crew — Trip N’ap Trip

Well, here we are on the eve of 2010, and not a flying car in sight. Nor, for that matter, is HAL’s birth — or rebirth — anywhere on the horizon, no matter what Arthur C. Clarke’s book says. Ah well — guess we’ll just have to ring in the new year with some of the most distinctive science fiction music ever composed. And just to keep things interesting, no themes by John Williams will be included — those get enough airplay as it is:

Richard O’Brien — Science Fiction/Double Feature (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
Jerry Goldsmith — Alien Main Title
Peter Schickele — Rejoice in the Sun (from Silent Running; lyrics by Diane Lampert; sung by Joan Baez)
Basil Poledouris — RoboCop Theme
Bernard Herrmann — Outer Space (from The Day the Earth Stood Still)
Brad Fiedel — The Terminator Opening Credits
Louis and Bebe Barron — Forbidden Planet Main Titles
John Barry — Moonraker (lyrics by Hal David; sung by Shirley Bassey)
Leith Stevens — War of the Worlds Soundtrack
Clint Mansell — Welcome to Lunar Industries (from Moon)

A recent guest blog post by documentary filmmaker Harald Himsel talks about his quest for Silvio Rodríguez, one of the founders of the Cuban musical movement known as the Nueva Trova. Starting in the late sixties, and with strong connections to the Chilean Nueva Canción (”New Song”) movement, Nueva Trova singer-songwriters saw themselves as messengers for the ideals and goals of the Cuban Revolution. Over the years, this revolutionary zeal has given way to more nuanced and critical views of the realities of Cuban life today, frequently expressed in the form of passionate and hauntingly beautiful love ballads. Here is an introduction to Nueva Trova, starting with its best-known ambassadors — Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés — as well as some of its other originators, while also looking at younger singers that have taken the genre in new directions:

Silvio Rodríguez — Unicornio
Pablo Milanés — El Breve Espacio en que no Estás
Vicente Feliú — Créeme
Noel Nicola – Comienzo el Día
Amaury Perez — Amigos Como Tu y Yo
Sara Rodriguez — La Guitarra
Santiago Feliú — Buscame
Carlos Varela — Desde Aquel Día en que lo Dividieron Todo
Karel García — Palabras Quedan
Liuba María Hevia — Ausencia

People all around the world are currently celebrating — as well they should — the twenty-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, including a rock concert extravaganza at the Brandenburg Gate. The anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution is coming up next week, and it seems fitting to commemorate it by listening to some of the Czech musicians that became icons for resistance to the regime, as well as their Western influences. So, as in 1989: “Let’s Wake Up Prague!”

Marta Kubisova — Ring-o-Ding
Plastic People of the Universe — Hannibal’s Wedding Party
Joan Baez — We Shall Overcome
The Velvet Underground — Heroin
Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart — The Torture Never Stops
Michael Kocab — With a Woman in Another Room
Marta Kubisova — An Adventure With the God Pan
Plastic People of the Universe — The Miraculous Mandarin
Prague Selection — Frank Zappa is Our Papa