Apparently we need to get Wits back into rotation, as Neko Case tore the roof off Minnesota Public Radio earlier this month and few beyond the Fitzgerald Theater have yet to hear her go full metal (with the highest sung note in her repertoire in tow). Featuring comedian Rob Delaney and longtime Case collaborator/solo artist Kelly Hogan, she performed a number of sketches and musical performances on the variety show's May 10th broadcast. For the closing portion, though, Case invoked "The Number of the Beast." Proof that those sneakers and shirt [...]
Wilsen 's new single, "Dusk," has been in the queue for a few weeks now, but it's a good thing we stalled a bit, as today brings the perfect pairing for that dream-folk gem. The NYC group's hushed take on "Oblivion" also marks a second Grimes cover of note this week, following yesterday's impressive take from Katie and Allison Crutchfield . Both of these do Claire Boucher's 2012 tune justice in decidedly different ways: the Crutchfield sisters reimagine it as a raw and jangly garage-rock jam, while Tamsin Wilson & Co. approach it as a soothing bedtime lullaby. The single for their original cut arrives [...]
Ray Manzarek, the iconic keyboardist and co-founder of the Doors, died today at 74. "I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate," guitarist Robby Krieger said . "I'm just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him." Upon hearing the news, my thoughts kept coming back to two places: Manzarek's great '00 interview on Fresh Air , when he recounted (with piano soundtrack) Jim Morrison's [...]
We took a break from effusive praise of the new Laura Marling record last week with her Bruce Springsteen duet cover , but back to 20132s first-half topic at hand: Once I Was An Eagle is now streaming in full - complete with "Master Hunter," that opening 4-song medley , and a cohesive journey characteristic of any Ethan Johns-produced LP. First impression: this is her best record to date, covering indelible simple numbers, sprawling character studies, and more. Take it from start to finish here .
We've heard Kristian and Amanda Hollingby Matsson duet before, namely live onstage for the Tallest Man on Earth's "Thrown Right At Me" and for an intimate cover tune on Swedish television. But this collaboration is a little different: "Heart is Like a River" finds the pair co-writing an original on their first film soundtrack project, setting respective stage names aside for Once A Year ( En gång om året in Swedish). Featuring 7 compositions from the Matssons, director Gorki Glaser-Müller’s romantic drama about a couple's annual trysts over 30 years [...]
"As I Roved Out" - a standout cut on Sam Amidon's new record, Bright Sunny South - just arrived with excellent visual treatment from director John Hardwick. For a simple, banjo-backed tune on the surface, there's something haunting, off-kilter even, that he brings to this old Irish folk tune. The video starts off simple, too, with Amidon introducing the song's narrative alone in a wooded clearing: This song is about how you might be out on a cold winter's night - maybe you'd bring a bottle of wine - and head out [...]
Camera Obscura shared another track off their upcoming Desire Lines LP today, following last month's rousing "Do It Again" with a somber, pre-breakup slow dance called "Fifth In Line To The Throne." Somehow this consistent Glasgow quintet keep finding a charming fine line between lamenting lost love and their own brand of bittersweet optimism. "If you want me to leave, then I'll go," Tracyanne Campbell understates on the refrain, sounding tired of a romance caught in limbo. "If you want me to stay, let it show." A soundtrack to Scotland's gloaming at its finest, stream/download the song [...]
A film soundtrack and one-off song debut aside, Johnny Flynn's music has waited in the wings the past couple years while the British actor performed in lauded theater roles (playing alongside the great Mark Rylance as Lady Anne in Richard III and Viola/Cesario in Twelfth Night , to name a few). But finally, a follow-up to 20102s Been Listening is imminent, preceded by a string of UK solo shows booked for the summer. Many new tunes are promised to grace these dates , but for those of us not bound to cross the Atlantic, Flynn [...]
A half-dozen new original tunes , music videos , and that Shakespeare adaptation aren't all Laura Marling has up her sleeve in the run-up to her forthcoming LP : today brings "Dancing in the Dark," a duet take on the Bruce Springsteen classic with Southern California songwriter Eddie Berman . Recorded live from a studio in Marling's new homebase of Los Angeles, the pair reworked the Boss' '80s stadium anthem into a lovely, laid-back folk rendition, backed by acoustic guitar, violin and a light accordion drone. The way she plays with the melody in the harmonies hits home [...]
Photo by Zoran Orlic We've heard the Wilco frontman and his sons in garage-rock form as the Raccoonists , but now comes a much higher profile project from the Tweedy family. Mavis Staples' second LP recorded at Wilco's Chicago studio not only features Jeff Tweedy producing again, but his son Spencer performing on the set, as well. For today's preview, "'I Like The Things About Me," Tweedy played all of the backing instruments except drums, which feature Spencer getting in a tight groove behind his dad's bass and [...]
Brian Eno discussions are always rife with thought-provoking quotes, but this one takes the cake for 2013. Speaking for journalists, musicians, and now us at the Red Bull Music Academy in NYC, Eno bled artistic truth for nearly an hour and a half a few weeks ago, covering such topics as the need for constructing limitations amid limitless digital advances ("this is why people still make good music with crude instruments, with simple instruments, because they understand them better than software people understand their instruments"), how technological feats like multitrack recording often begin as a simple solution before becoming applied [...]
Some good timing here: Conor Oberst 's new one-off release, a soundtrack tune for the film Stuck In Love , was just announced for a June 11 arrival date, complete with his Mother's Day-worthy cut, "You Are Your Mother's Child." As previously reported , this song is among 17 tracks due for the Josh Boone-directed drama, scored and performed by Bright Eyes members Mike Mogis and Nathaniel Wolcott. The official version is out in a month, but in the meantime, mark all occasions with this live take he performed on The Current last fall:
From Springsteen's Nebraska cassette demo getting salvaged from his glove compartment for official release to Elliott Smith's girlfriend passing along home Roman Candle recordings unintended for the public to Cavity Search Records, there's just something special about a cut put to tape without pretense. Here's a new track along those lines from Alice Boman , an emerging songwriter from Malmö, Sweden. "Waiting" is a poignant, fragile take embedded in tape hiss on Boman's forthcoming debut, a set of songs "recorded in her home, just for herself to remember," according to her label. "They where never meant to be heard by anyone, [...]
Foxygen's recent Take Away Show landed their debut LP back on the turntable around here, particularly the early-2013 favorite's "No Destruction," which helped playfully frighten some Parisian schoolchildren in that La Blogothèque clip. The fun this band is having - both within the music and in its promotion - has been infectious, and today's video is no different. Described as "8 years in the making," director Bryan Felber culled together new footage from an Old West set with clips from art flicks he made with Foxygen's Jonathan Rado and Sam France when they were in school. Watch it above. "No Destruction" arrives as [...]
Ethan Johns placed such faith in friends/collaborators on his debut record that each track gets a production credit from everyone but the renown producer with a name on the cover sleeve. "I’m asking them to trust me and so I then have to put myself in that position," he told us last year , and today brings a fine example. "Don't Reach Too Far" finds Ryan Adams in the role of bassist, drummer, and producer on a cut, which features only Johns and his longtime pal performing. I'll let the man himself describe it (via NME ): [...]
The National shared a third taste of their Trouble Will Find Me LP today, following " Don't Swallow the Cap" and "Demons" with a studio/video version of a cut they premiered live on Late Night last week, "Sea of Love." The Sophia Peer-directed clip - a single shot of the band performing in a room fronted by an awesome, air guitar-playing kid - arrived with a kind of scavenger hunt from the band, who called it "a loving homage to one of our favorite punk rock videos." It took some digging, but after getting sidetracked [...]
Be it a surprise Norwegian wedding set or in a New York hotel conference room, Ben Bridwell and Tyler Ramsey have a Cease To Begin cut prepared for any room. Rookie recorded this live version of "No One's Gonna Love You" recently, in which the pair counter their surroundings with just an old, road-weary acoustic guitar and Bridwell's strained neck vein vocals. Watch it above.
We've soaked in Patty Griffin's "Ohio" for over a month now, but this week brings her full new record, American Kid , via New West Records . It's an excellent collection, led by a moving tribute ("Go Wherever You Wanna Go") to her late father, whose impending passing influenced the set. One virtue of being among the most consistent folk, country, or any-genre songwriters around is that you could call each release a worthy introduction. So, without further ado, get to know or continue to love Patty Griffin below:
On the off chance Thom Yorke's dance moves haven't charmed everyone to this tune, here he is with a brilliant piano rendition of "Ingenue" over the weekend. Whether he's deconstructing the Atoms For Peace LP or recalling its original incarnation is unknown. But who cares, really: Yorke, like most great artists, create from many becoming angles. Even the whispered "thanks" at the end feels essential in the moment. Watch him perform on the Jonathan Ross Show above, where he also played 2/3rds of Radiohead's "Karma Police" on the open-faced upright: Interview + "Karma Police"
Here's a cut from Gregory Alan Isakov 's new record, The Weatherman , in which he has Paul Simon's knack for nimble melody, among other charms canon-claimed and self-conceived. Isakov was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to his bio, but now calls Colorado home. On "Saint Valentine" he might as well be "The Only Living Boy in New York," or a guy from anywhere else fine tunes are made. Hear it above.
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