So I'm in a great mood. Spring is in the air. The cherry blossoms are out. Those so familiar voices are coming out of that cheap little transistor in the kitchen telling me what's going on in the ballpark. My Giants win their home opener, small thanks to our Cy Young winner (that was a little scary, no?). And to top off the afternoon my son pitched well in his little league game. Great way to start the regular season. So why not some baseball tunes? America's Favorite Pastime - Todd Snider [...]
Haven't posted a Monday mashup in way too long. Perfect excusse to stop by and visit our good friends at Bootie SF, America's first ever regular mashup dance night curated by DJ's Adrian & the Mysterious D . Go homies! The duo have also released their annual Best Of featuring the hip shakinest, head banginest grooves from around the globe. There's ComaR out of Paris stuffing the Jackson 5 into a Justice jam, Munich's DJ Y Alias JY crashes Duffy into the Doobie Brothers plus several local folks like SF's Earworm shoving Beyoncé up against Tom Petty. Such great [...]
Totally fun episode below from XLR8R TV . Two founding members of local avante-hip-hop record label/collective Anticon , Jel & Odd Nosdam, get $40 worth of records from a junk shop in West Berkeley and create some down temp deliciousness in a single afternoon. So THAT'S how they do it... Here's the whole track: Tune In An Afternoon Jel's Myspace Odd Nosdam's Myspace
Can't believe it's taken me this long to post about this amazing five disc Pogues box set lovingly compiled by their own Phil Chevron. After all, it made my best of 2008 list . What better time to rectify the situation than today? This is no mere odds n' sods set. It includes gleaming gems like "Maggie May" (which I had the good fortune of seeing at The Filmore in 1986), a couple of tracks from Joe Strummer's stint replacing Shane McGowan (criminally not the haunting version of "Straight To Hell"), and demos galore (including what the band feels [...]
From Elvis Perkis' website: Hi Friends, We're excited to announce a special early release of our new album, Elvis Perkins In Dearland! With the help of our friends at Amie Street, we are releasing the album a week early for only $8. When you purchase the album, $2 will be donated to Clearwater, an organization founded by Pete Seeger that's dedicated to protecting, restoring and celebrating the Hudson River. Clearwater is one of the very best environmental education and advocacy organizations in the country. Click here [...]
After Pirate's Gospel , Alela Diane's mesmerizing debut record, made my Top 20 of 2007 I had pretty high expectations for her follow up. Believe me, To Be Still met 'em in spades. Recorded in various locales over 2008 (including a return to her father's studio), her sophomore effort is a folk fireside dream; haunting compelling gorgeousness. Now Hear This has a copy to send to you, kind reader. Just email me with the name of Diane's old home town (she now resides in Portland). Here's a hint: she used [...]
Dan Auerbach's solo tour pulls into Bimbo's on Friday the 13th. Tune into the Cuppa Joe Show tomorrow night at 6 PM for a chance to win a pair of tickets courtesy of me and the mighty 90.7. We'll also be celebrating the birthdays of Miraim Makeba, Billy Gibbons, Jason Newsted, Evan Dando and Modest Mouse drummer Jeremiah Green. We'll also be checking out the new Neko Case record as well as new music from Jason Isbell (former Drive By Trucker), Great Lake Swimmers and the reissue of Pearl Jam's debut. And as always there's the regular Music Picked [...]
I've been an avid Avett Brothers fan ever since Emotionalism made my Best of 2007 list but sinister forces have conspired to prevent me from catching their live show, which I hear is spectacular. That will certainly change when they play the Fillmore two nights in May (Friday the 15th & Saturday the 16th). Rumor has it Magnolia Electric Co. will be opening. What a night of alt-folk bliss! Tickets go on sale this Sunday @ 10 AM. The video below comes from a nifty little corner of Bruce Springsteen's website called Hangin' Out On [...]
The solo debut from one half of the Black Keys sounds like, well, the Black Keys. What did anyone really expect? Unless Auerbach spent 80 minutes playing the bagpipes it was bound to. So folks hoping to hear Dan stretching himself will be disappointed but I'm digging this. The Fogerty like blues howl is replaced with a deeply soulful crooning in just the right spots and a bass player (god forbid) makes for an interesting low end counterpoint missing from the Black Keys' drum/guitar minimalism. My favorite addition is the haunting Hammond B underpinning this track right here: [...]
Red Hot Org., the international HIV and AIDS charity dedicated to raising money and awareness through popular culture, turns 20 this year. To celebrate the folks responsible for such great compilations like No Alternative, Red Hot and Blue and many more have turned the reigns over to The National's brothers Dessner for comp #20, Dark Was The Night. Out on 4AD on February 16th, these 31 exclusive tracks from an impressive array of artists include some fascinating collaborations: Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch, Antony & Bryce Dessner and Feist & Ben Gibbard. If this little do-dad below works out you [...]
It seems like eons ago that Neko Case's last record, Fox Confessor Brings The Food, made my Best Of 2006 list . The three separate editions doled out since its initial release only served to make me hungrier for new material. A double live disc in 2007 (of a performance recorded 4 years prior), another record and tour with the New Pornographers as well as collaborations with Crooked Fingers, M. Ward and Giant Sand were fine placeholders but when was that new record coming out?! Well come March 3rd the wait is over. Anti- will release Middle Cyclone and [...]
Yours truly will be doing a special program on KALX tomorrow starting at 3 PM (West Coast time). It's our annual Best Of Week where DJs feature their favorite moments and music from 2008. Under my DJ moniker of Cuppa Joe I'll be doing my 5th annual KALX #1's Show, three hours of all the records that held the top spot in our weekly charts. To tune in click on the picture above and get the audio stream or try 90.7 FM if you're in the SF Bay Area. Here's what we'll be enjoying tomorrow (w/ [...]
Trying to get back at this sorry, neglected blog here. The knee's feeling much better; thanks for the kind emails folks. Anyway, at long last I got to indulge in a bit of used record shopping for the first time since the ol' leg hinge crapped the bed and had to be refurbished (my ortho referred to it as "spring cleaning"). And what was waiting for me at dear old Amoeba Berkeley? A fourtet of the Rhino Replacements reissues: Sorry Ma,... ; Hootenanny ; Let It Be & Tim . Sweet!! I've had [...]
Bruce Springsteen picked up his second Best Original Song Golden Globe last night for his theme for the film "The Wrestler." He won the same award for 1994's "Streets Of Philadelphia." While he certainly deserves kudos I mention his victory over Peter Gabriel, Clint Eastwood & Miley Cyrus merely as an excuse to revisit of my favorite records of 2006 , We Shall Overcome: The Seegaer Sessions . The Seeger Sessions is a rollicking, heartfelt tribute to a giant of contemporary American folk music. While the sound is big enough to verge on bombastic there's a [...]
Sorry for the extended absence folks. NHT has been laid low with some corrective knee surgery. First time I ever had to show ID to get a prescription. I must say I fail to see what all the hubbub about this oxycodone (generic Oxycontin) stuff is. Sure I'm not feeling much post op pain but there's a distinct lack of the euphoria that would explain why folks as disparate as Jeff Tweedy and Rush Limbaugh would get hooked. I guess one needs to ignore doctor's advice to get their mellow on. Anyway, hopefully we'll have more time to post inbetween [...]
The greatest Christmas song ever.
Now Hear This
Avicii – Two Million
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
iamamiwhoami: kin - Teaser
