
As noted Sunday, I'm in Memphis over the holidays, staying right on Beale Street in the thick of the scene. Though I've pre-scripted these entries in the interest of truly taking some time off, by now, we're either on our way to or have already visited Graceland, so let's dive right into our usual Vacation Coverfolk celebration, wherein we feature the songs and songbooks of local musicians of influence in the regions where we travel. Ladies and Gentlemen: Elvis Presley, covered in folk. Love him or hate [...]

There's little a humble folkblogger could add to the cultural conversation about the Rolling Stones . Heck, without a quick glance at Wikipedia, I can't even name all the players, though after three and a half decades of modern radio culture, I can certainly hum along with their radio hits. There's certainly no dearth of Stones covers out there, either. Yet interestingly, though the songs of Jagger and Richards seem to lend themselves to soul, heavy metal, and both mainstream and alt-country wonderfully, I find few covers from the folkworld in my [...]

This is my new favourite photo of Boy Z. I think it just personifies him. In motion. Hair flying (Enjoy that hair, little one. Male pattern baldness is hereditary). A cheeky crooked smile. A little bit feral. It's just essence of Boy Z. It has been kind of a lost weekend. Not like those that were frequent in my 20's - days of memories lost to booze, drugs and the trappings that went along with them. No, lost in the sense of time that is irretrievable. Lost to a combination of driving rain, a dodgy tooth, a croupy [...]
Alors celui-ci, niveau pilosité, il fait fort. Comme tout l'indique, Iron & Wine , alias Samuel Beam, est un auteur-compositeur-interprète folk américain signé chez Sub Pop. Comme vous vous en rendrez compte très vite en écoutant ces 5 chansons, il est extrêmement doué. Je vous ai mis dans le lot une collaboration du bonhomme et de Calexico sur une reprise de Bob Dylan, pour le film I'm Not There . [Pour écouter sans télécharger, allez visiter l'article] Télécharger clic droit+enregistrer sous [Pour écouter sans télécharger, allez visiter [...]

Mark Hamilton is a renaissance man; a novelist, a music critic, and he fronts the hottest band in Canada. The Calgary based Woodpigeon is a super-group of eight members, scaled down from fourteen, that has received critical international praise for their latest album “Workbook” . They have opened for Andrew Bird, Broken Social Scene, Calexico and Iron & Wine. Hamilton creates what I would describe as “Summer of Love” breezy pop music, but when you look under the surface, the lyrics are sometimes dark. According to Hamilton "If you look at pop music, most of [...]
Mary Margaret O'Hara Even more new music on the second hour of this week's Pampelmoose edition of the New Music Hour on Portland's 94.7FM. Through the miracle of technology I can be on air and watch Portland bands at the same time at the CMJ Music Conference in NYC. This afternoon, Friday, Oct 24th, the PDX [...]

Has anyone else noticed that as the numbers go up, the subject matter gets darker? Recently we’ve had the Milgram experiments , soccer carnage , a lethal toss of Big Ed’s knife , and now we reach 41: ‘Zounds! I had no idea that to some numerically minded Bible enthusiasts, 41 signifies the 39 lashes, the spear in the side, and the crown of thorns suffered by Christ. I can, on the other hand, confirm that turning 41 might be your first grandly depressing birthday. (Turning 40, as traumatic as it is, at least involves a big [...]
I like Calexico alright on their own. I like Iron & Wine just fine on their own. But put them together, and the result is magnificent. They toured together a few years ago and found themselves enjoying each other's company so much that they would play together as one big headlining act (after they each played opening sets). Following their 2005 tour, they recorded an EP together, and the music is quite powerful. They just wrapped up a tour together in Japan, so who knows, maybe they'll write some more [...]

A lot of adjectives could be used to describe Calexico . creative, inspiring, twangy, lush, and sprawling. The only one(s) that really matters to you is (as always): awesome. and awesomer. and awesomest. Come on, you knew that was coming. These Tuscon, AZ boys are absurdly diverse, blending folk, slide guitar, blues, '50s jazz, and some creepy carny music into a cohesive and flowing sound entirely their own. Listen: Quattro (World Drifts In) Black Heart [from Feast of Wire | buy ] Sixteen, Maybe Less [...]
Vita grigia e giornate scure? La playfeast vi offre il rimedio.Una canzone per colore, ognuna con una sonorità differente, per ogni momento. Nick Drake per emozionarsi, Clap Your Hands per muovere la testa e Bobby Vinton per sentire in bocca quel gusto retrò. E se pensate che possa essere così scontata da mettere Yellow Submarine, vi sbagliate di grosso!! Nick Drake - * Pink Moon Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - * The Skin Of Your Yellow Country Teeth Calexico/Iron and Wine - * Red Dust Bobby Vinton - * Blue Velvet [...]