Blog: Eleven's Song Reviews

When Kim Yu-Na, the Korean "rock star" figure skater, neared the end of her gold-winning performance in Vancouver, commentator Sandra Bezic declared, "This is glorious… one of the greatest Olympic performances I have ever seen." I felt a similar sense of WTF when I first heard the song, "Ami O," on jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke's new album Mwaliko (released March 1, 2010, Blue Note Records). Lionel Loueke You can check out the track on Loueke's MySpace site . In my research [...]

With my sleeping schedule all screwed up, I'm half watching the Olympics, half finishing up this song review that I started before my daughter was born in late January. (Congrats to Ohno and Celski who earned silver and bronze , respectively, in short track skating.) I wanted to come back to "Bright Orange Air" by Inlets because the song is so good. To be released on the album, "Inter Arbiter," on April 20 by Two Syllable Records , this track may end up being a well-kept lo-fi secret, but deserves a wider audience. [...]

• Inlets - Bright Orange Air

Okay, the baby is wiggling around under bilirubin lights to my left, and the wife is sweetly snoring on the foldout couch to my right, so I have a few minutes to share with you 10 songs I can't live without. From 2002, MeShelle Ndegeocello's song Priorities 1-6. Bet even Papa Jo Jones would dig these crazy hi-hats http://url4t.com/WCQ From 1996, Big Mama's [...]

For me, the joy of the creative process is up there with other key life events…say, feeling my wife's prego belly as our baby does kung fu moves in utero. That's why I was tickled when I read a recent tweet from indie-rocker Laura Veirs. She said, "Somebody's kicking me in the ribs! WTF?" No, she didn't get into a bar fight in England where she is currently on tour. She has an onboard band member (translation: she's pregnant ). Indie Singer/Songwriter Laura [...]

• July Flame (permission received for free... » 02-july-flame.mp3

Not that the guys in British alt. pop group Field Music should listen to me, but here's an idea for a Field Music video that's sure to make the kids say "that's beast!" On Jan. 12, 2010, the group released the single, "Let's Write a Book," from the upcoming double-album, "Field Music (Measure)." For me, the track evokes images of Prince writhing in funky purple accompanied by a leather-clad Terminator bodyguard (1984 vintage), while David "Burning Down the House" Byrne jumps up and down on stage. Add [...]

Deer ticks are nasty little arachnids whose mission is to suck the blood out of living creatures, all the while transmitting the horrible Lyme disease. Well, in the summer of 2005, singer/songwriter John McCauley found one of the little buggers on his scalp on a camping trip and inspiration hit. His band would be "Deer Tick." (L to R, Deer Tick is John McCauley, Dennis Ryan, Chris Ryan and Andrew Tobiassen) But don't worry, this group is all about rocking your [...]

Hip-hop is universal. Don't believe me? Did you know that Hungary has a well-established hip-hop culture? The country's first hip-hop album emerged in the mid-1980s. That's a testament to the kids who created rap music in the streets of U.S. urban centers and to the people of Hungary. Until relatively recently, Hungarians were under a creative lock-down (although less harsh than some other communist countries). Formally , communism ended in Hungary in 1989. (Read more about the history of hip-hop in Hungary - http://tiny.cc/q5vss ) [...]

From the Wu-Tang Killa Bees to indie-pop's The Bird and the Bee , musicians are irresistibly drawn to bee references. And why not? The bee's stinger is ideal for violent or naughty metaphors, and romantic songs come to life with a little pollination/honey-making innuendo. Here are a couple snippets from the Diana Ross and The Supremes song, " Honey Bee (Keep on Stinging Me) ": "You started a fever burnin' deep inside of me, since you stung me with your sweet love… This taste of honey you're givin' me has sweetened all my [...]

My first exposure to singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Davison was this Tuesday, when label Sargent House released a split EP with two songs from Cast Spells (a Davison side project) and Good Old War. Listening to the moving, sentimental song, "Letters," I assumed Davison was a folk singer. Check out this link to the EP: http://castspells.bandcamp.com . Then, I searched Cast Spells on YouTube and watched the video, "A Badge, Glass Room Sessions." Seeing Davison with his bushy hair and bare feet, playing his acoustic guitar, and I "knew" he was a folk singer. [...]

(Want to hear the song first? Scroll toward the end of this posting.) So I walk into Banana Republic and I'm fascinated by something. It's not the clothes or the freakishly stylish sales attendants…it's the sophisticated in-store music. Apparently, Banana Republic wants to accessorize my eardrums. That's the idea. In fact, the retailer employs music licensing and branding firm Rock River to provide "branded music strategies." Why? By selecting the right tunes for its stores, Banana Republic helps influence consumers to buy expensive shirts (I bought two.). [...]

Is the world a big rubber band ball with everything connected to everything? Maybe. When you look for common threads among people, history, science…relationships start to surface. At the very least, you and I are connected right now through the Internet. So with this in mind, let's play a game (not the Kevin Bacon game). Question: What do "The Secret" (the Law of Attraction philosophy featured on Oprah), jazz artists Eddie Harris and Pharaoh Sanders (best known for their work in the '60s and '70s) and the year 1983 have in common? [...]

( Let me know what you think of this song by leaving a comment.) To your dismay, the couple you follow on your favorite TV drama has a nasty blowup over infidelity. In a dress by Vera Wang, the distraught woman sobs alone in her dark apartment with her back against the bedroom door. Her scorned lover races off in his 2010 Camaro. He shakes his head in disbelief about the betrayal and then suddenly punches the dash. In my view, the song, "Ambulance," by Eisley on the new EP, "Fire Kite," was born [...]

Eugene Hütz, founder of the acclaimed gypsy rock group, Gogol Bordello, was a teenager when the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986 displaced his family in Kiev, Ukraine. Since then, Hütz seems to have converted that chaotic, atom-splitting energy into "complete orgasmal hysteria" onstage - which is how Hütz has described the group's live performances (NPR Interview, 2007). (L to R: Gogol Bordello's Yuri Lemeshev, Sergey Ryabstev and Eugene Hütz) Here's what a couple of my Facebook friends told me this week about seeing Gogol [...]

Following in the tradition of Julie Andrews, Jim Brickman and the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Disney Records has released a new collection of its classic movie tunes, this time performed by…Los Lobos? That's right everybody. The guys from East L.A. are bringing "un poco del alma Latina" (a bit of Latin soul) to Disney. (L to R: Los Lobos' Cesar Rosas, Dopey, Snow White and Sneezy) Since 1973, Los Lobos has combined rock, soul [...]

(If you listen to this song, let me know in the comments if you like it or not.) Every once in a while, usually while I'm driving in traffic, an awful, violent thought flashes through my mind. Then, I think, "Wow, that was unacceptable"; I pop another Lexapro; and I move on with my day. I can imagine singer/songwriter Alec Ounsworth having a similar experience, but instead thinking, "What a great idea for a song." (Left, Singer/Songwriter Alec Ounsworth; Right, Friendly [...]

(If you listen to this song, let me know in the comments if you like it or not.) Here's a test. Try not to dance around the room waving your hands in the air when you listen to the song, "The Diplomat," sung by Maria Muldaur. It's impossible. Listen to the song here (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton – dancing like diplomats.) [...]