I've just listened to Emmylou Harris' upcoming album All I Intended To Be for the first time over at CMT and I really liked what I heard. This is Emmylou's 21st album for a major label, her third for Nonesuch, and it is due out on June 9th (June 10th in the US). Along with covers of some great songs, including one each by Merle Haggard and Billy Joe Shaver (Old Five and Dimers, which also provides this album's title), it features vocals from, amongst others, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and Buddy... Please visit Ceci N'est Pas [...]
The International Submarine Band: Luxury Liner [ purchase ] Emmylou Harris: Luxury Liner [ purchase ] Is this song even about boats? The only evidence I can find is the very first line: "Luxury liner, 40 tons of steel". Hey ho, I love Gram Parsons, so I shall include it here, along with the more popular cover by Emmylou Harris. I could spend some [...]
Wakarusa returns, hippies rejoice! The festival has come a long way since 2004, when college-rock snoozers O.A.R. headlined. This year Wakarusa boasts an impressive lineup, including Flaming Lips , Emmylou Harris , Dr. Dog , Cake and Blackalicious , among prestigious others. And we've got MP3s for all of them! MP3 : The Flaming Lips, " Do You Realize? ", from Yoshimi [...]
and count its many tears. While we all sup sorrow with the poor." "Tis the song, the sigh of the weary, Hard Times, hard times, come again no more Many days you have lingered around my cabin door; Oh hard times come again no more." Of all of the songs written by Stephen Foster, "Hard Times Come Again No More" is one of the most popular and enduring. Oddly, at the time of its writing, the song was not especially popular. While "Hard Times" may not [...]
This song was promised. MP3 File
I almost played this on Sunday, cover day, but I liked it enough to let it stand on its own. It's from Roses in the Snow. MP3 File
In 1981, British rock Elvis Costello went to Nashville to record a country covers album called Almost Blue . I blogged about it in an earlier post . I recently picked up a copy of George Jones' 1965 album Trouble In Mind , which contains the original version of Brown To Blue , which Elvis later covered on Almost Blue . That gave me the idea to put together all of the other "original" versions of the songs that inspired Costello. In some cases, the versions below are not truly the "original" versions [...]
Big news in the folkworld yesterday as Bob Dylan received a Special Citation from the Pulitzer Prize folks for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In response, For the Sake of the Song turns up a set of stellar live Dylan rarities, and claims Dylan's recognition as a big win for rock and roll, but we know better -- that description has folk written all over it, doesn't it? Kudos, Bob. This would be the perfect moment [...]
IMO, Pancho and Lefty is one of the saddest songs ever written. I don't know why it affects me in such a way but it does. Pancho and Lefty was written by Townes Van Zandt back in 1972 but it was Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson's version of it for their 1983 album of the same name that I first encountered. While it was widely assumed Townes wrote the sang about the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, Townes has denied that he played any role in the inspiration of the song. Over the years Pancho and his [...]
Yesterday's post on For The Sake Of The Song , told the unfortunate story of a man under a court order to buy 124,000 roses for his wife. After reading the post I was surprised to find 47 different rose songs on my i-pod. No other flower comes close, not even "flower" itself. Flower = 24 Daisy = 5 Lily = 4 Blossom = 4 Orchid = 3 Tulip = 1 Dandelion = 1 Violet = 1 Obviously the rose is a popular symbol--especially in country songs. Maybe it has something to do [...]
I have a love/hate relationship with Neil Young . While I've always loved his early work, both solo and with CSNY, as my ears and his voice age, I find it harder to listen to that infamous whine for more than a few minutes at a time. But ever since I wore a used copy of his incredible, confessional album Harvest down to the groove one mopey adolescent summer, I have had nothing but admiration for Neil Young's ability to pen poetic yet straightforward songs which give voice to the plight of the [...]
What makes our favorite new country singer tick? Check out the first-ever STWOF interview to find out... Setting The Woods On Fire (STWOF): Hi Caitlin, thanks for agreeing to be part of the first ever interview on Setting The Woods Of Fire! Let's get started with your records, can you tell us a little about what's available now and what will be released in the coming months? Caitlin Rose (CR): Well, this first EP, Dead Flowers, has its official release next week. [...]
By now you've probably heard Steve Earle's legendary statement and Townes' reply: "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." — Steve Earle. "I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table." — Townes Van Zandt. So what is that basis for all the love? Let's examine the song Pancho And Lefty , which is Van Zandt's [...]
Hope no one minds an early "Sunday" post this week; my brother and his wife are on their way in from Brooklyn for the long weekend, and I don't get to see them as often as I'd like. I'll have a short post up for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, if I can; in the meantime, enjoy today's feature on "American Primitive" folkartist Gillian Welch and her partner David Rawlings, the tenth post in our popular Covered in Folk series, where we pay tribute to the songwriting talents of a single artist. [...]
Dec 22, 2007, 8:51am
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Die Amerikaner sind irgendwie völlig durchgeknallt, wenn es um Feiertage und Musik geht. Egal ob Thanks Giving oder Weihnachten, für die Feiertage scheint jeder noch schnell einen Song schreiben zu wollen. Augenscheinlich bewiesen wurde dies durch den Sufjan Stevens Weihnachtsong-Wettbewerb . Der Singer/Songwriter hat den schönsten Weihnachtsong gesucht und gefunden . Über 600 Songs wurden eingereicht. Den besten und circa 40 andere gibt's hier . Sufjan Stevens ist aber nicht der einzige Musiker, der eine (oder meherere) musikalische Ode(n) an Weihnachten geschrieben hat. Weihnachtssongs von namhaften Musiker gibt's wie Tannennadeln in einem Tannenwald oder so ähnlich. Jetzt [...]
you guys getting sick of christmas music yet?...well, here's our final mix of the season, featuring some pretty good tracks from leon russell, thad cockrell & roman candle, brook benton, t. rex & a killer version of "auld lang syne" from forgotten seattle funk band, black on white affair...i hope you've all enjoyed the abundance of leather canary xmas mixes over the past month, & if you haven't checked out the first six, there are links at the bottom of the post...i'm out of here until the new year, have a happy holiday & thanks for stopping by. [...]
Not surprisingly, one of my favorite Christmas albums is Emmylou Harris' Light Of The Stable (1979). Emmylou mixes popular carols such as Silent Night with less-well-known (but still great) material like Rodney Crowell's Angel Eyes . She delivers the material over an accoustic band with just the right tinge of twanginess. Backing vocals are provided by none other than Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Neil Young. Read the excellent AMG review here . Get a taste with these two tracks: Angel Eyes (mp3) [...]
I love cover songs. And I used to love "The Boss." One of my all-time favorite concerts was his July 30, 1984 show at the Joe Louis Arena. I thought I had seen my rock'n'roll future that night... But that kind of faded over time. Apparently I wasn't the only one under the spell of Springsteen in the mid-1980's. A college buddy recently showed me some pictures from a house party we had back in 1986 and I couldn't believe how many kids were wearing denim jackets. Probably a fashion side effect of Bruce fever, even [...]
Sorry I'm posting this so late in the day. I have a shitty cold, spent a lot of the day in traffic, and my roommate (whose computer I actually use because mine's so old I can't even use the internet on it) is also sick, so we're sharing today. Anyway, this week's mix is suitably bleak, except for one stretch in the second quarter where it stops being bleak briefly. Listen to it while you can, songs are only up for a week, buy the music legally if you like it, and so forth. On the bright [...]
Happy Birthday Neil Young . We love you. To celebrate, the Philly band Remote Islands have recorded a cover of Neil's "Philadelphia" (from Jonathan Demme's movie of the same name ) which Pitchfork put up on its site today. Way to go boys! Here's the song and a couple more cover tunes to celebrate. Philadelphia - Remote Islands Harvest - [...]
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