The first update of 2010 (and the first in more than 3 months!) is two days late, partly due to a computer virus, but better late than never! I'd almost forgotten how to write these. The website hasn't been entirely fallow since November; I've posted Best of 2009 posts on "music albums" and " Summerworks shows" , with "Fringe shows" coming up soon, and "comedy shows" and "music singles" not far behind. But the core of the site - the updates - well, it's good to have one of those up again, and I'm going to try to [...]
Portland producer Mike Coykendall puts his own foot forward. IMAGE: Courtesy of Field Hymns Records Thirty years ago, Norwich, Kan., wasn't really a rock 'n' roll town. Luckily, a teenage Mike Coykendall had an older brother with a guitar and an amp. "He could play 'Day Tripper' and 'Interstellar Overdrive,'" says Coykendall, wrapped up in a gray fleece coat and ushanka outside Southeast Portland's Albina Press. "He was kind of a wild child. [So] I knew about some stuff no one else really knew about." Were it not [...]
I've had a couple of requests over the past week or so. Figured I'd do a quick Tuesday post to fill 'em. First off, the links on the Fine Young Cannibals and The Beat posts that had gone bad have been fixed. Secondly, I had a request to re-post the songs I posted during the 2008 holiday season, as nearly all of the links have since gone away. so here they are, all in one zip file . I won't [...]
IMAGE: Denise Siegel Born: Bryan G. Phillips on Sept. 1, 1963, in Stockton, Calif. Latest release: Little Moon, 2009 Why you care: Because if you're my age or older, Phillips' old band, Grant Lee Buffalo, probably made an impact on your eardrums. The band's biggest hit, "Mockingbirds," was a refreshing bit of pop songwriting upon its release in 1994, with Phillips' breezy falsetto cutting out an unflinchingly infectious hook. The band released three solid albums before its disappointing 1998 swan song, [...]
This year's San Francisco Sketchfest could quite possibly be the best in the festival's history. With the Reno 911 cast reuniting for the last time, popular sketch shows like Celebrity Autobiography, The Red Wine Boys, Ask A Ninja, and Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT Improv, amazing comedians like Maria Bamford, Michael Ian Black, Paul F. Tompkins, Eugene Mirman, and Greg Behrendt, as well as San Francisco's own batch of talented comedians like Brendan Lynch, Kevin O'Shea, Mary Van Note, Moshe Kasher, and Brent Weinbach. Let's not forget Conan O'Brian's apperance in the wake of his unfortunate yet understandable announcement. There is way too [...]
9th Annual SF SKetchfest Just a reminder that New York doesn't always have the lock on cool, the always amazing SF Sketchfest starts tonight ( Jan 14, 2010 ) and runs through Feb 2 . Some of the great shows and performers on the bill at this year's 9th Annual SF Sketchfest include: Tim & Eric, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Dave Foley, Dave (Gruber) Allen, Linda Cardellini, Scott Adsit, Fred Willard, John Hodgman, Ask A Ninja, Invite Them Up, The Red Wine Boys, [...]
Come si può non voler bene a Grant Lee Phillips ? C'è da provare quantomeno simpatia per questo splendido quarantaseienne che, finita l'avventura Grant Lee Buffalo e archiviati capolavori come "Fuzzy" e "Mighty Joe Moon" (seguiti da dischi assai minori), sta tentando di glorificare la sua maturità anagrafica con una carriera solista che merita senza dubbio attenzione, soprattutto alla luce di "Little Moon", la sua ultima prova in studio che potrebbe anche essere, in tutta tranquillità, la sua migliore uscita in solitario. In un momento così tetro e buio, permeato di incertezze e da [...]
This Saturday, January 9th, is gearing up to be the most frustrating night in recent local folk music history, thanks to a huge convergence of talent in the Boston area. I've got third row tickets to see Greg Brown at Sanders Theater - a great place to see a folkfan's favorite wry basso and sensitive songwriter, who once told me a hilarious anecdote about being asked to sign a woman's breast, "and I had to hold it down with my other hand, it was so jiggly" - so I'm not really disappointed [...]
Ik kan me niet herinneren wanneer ik meer naar muziek luisterde dan in 2009 en ik heb nooit eerder zoveel muzikale ontdekkingen gedaan in één jaar tijd (of het moet zijn tijdens mijn studies, toen de hele "alternatieve" muziekwereld voor me openging...). Het bewogen jaar dat 2009 voor mij persoonlijk was, zal er zeker voor iets tussen zitten, daar twijfel ik geen moment aan. En er waren natuurlijk ook (vooral via Facebook) mensen die ik leerde kennen met gelijkaardige muzieksmaak, die me in de richting wezen van artiesten die ik nog niet kende : Bart van [...]
If all those obnoxious Christmas covers playing nonstop at the mall are making you want to blow your brains out, then Aimee Mann's 2006 album, One More Drifter In The Snow (SuperEgo), will feel like a breath of fresh air. It's filled with beautiful renditions of the classics (including a duet with Grant-Lee Phillips on "You're [...]
The daily mix: 1) Tim Flannery: "Tear My Stillhouse Down" 2) Slaid Cleaves: "Jennie's All Right" 3) Lucinda Williams: "Marching the Hate Machines" 4) Charlie Faye: "Lady of the Leading Man" 5) Gia Ciambotti: "Wag" 6) Olivea Watson: "Let Go" 7) Fred Tackett: "A Church Falling Down" 8) Houston Marchman: "Bill Longley" 9) Shawn Colvin: "If I Were Brave" 10) Grant-Lee Phillips: "Hickory Wind"
If he's not careful, Grant-Lee Phillips could become the Paul Weller of alt-Americana. Grant-Lee Phillips' long career to date has been bookended by brilliance. Fuzzy, his debut album with Grant-Lee Buffalo, was one of the rock landmarks of the early '90s. Fourteen years and a string of solo records later, his sublime 2006 cover album Nineteeneighties paid tribute to classic acts from New Order to Pixies, proving Phillips was an artist with a musical voice so singular he could take on almost anything and make it his own....
[Happy birthday to Jon Brion, who, of course, is doing his popular weekly show at Largo tonight. Now, quickly rounding up what else is on the menu:] Tonight: Son Volt gallops back into town behind one of its most lauded records, "American Central Dust." Jay Farrar and crew headline the El Rey Theatre. ... San Diego's instrumental adventurers Tristeza [pictured] just released a new album,"Fate Unfolds" [downloads below], and they headline Spaceland supported by Lower Heaven and Drew Andrews . [...]
Exactly what do the Black Eyed Peas, Miley Cyrus, Kings Of Leon and Lady Gaga have in common, besides dominating the airwaves across the country over the past year? They all landed high up on iTunes' Rewind 2009 list of top-selling songs and albums. Surprisingly, the Peas, who had two of the top downloaded songs of the year, only ranked at #10 with their album The E.N.D. Guess there really is a threshold when it comes to a full hour of Fergie. Check out what ended up being the most downloaded music of the [...]
It's that time of year. Trees are being trimmed. Gifts are being wrapped. Stockings are being hung. Halls are being decked. Nog is being egged..and iPod playlists are being holidayed up. What better time than now to give you my Christmas playlist, directly from my iPod? There are a few new entries this year. Songs from Stars, Lindsey Mae, Tori Amos, A Camp, Neil Nathan, Grant-Lee Phillips
Willie Nelson Makes Some Southern California Appearances This Week I only made it out to see two bands last week - Flying Tourbillon Orchestra and The 88. Good times. If you've got kids, you should definitely take them out to the Kidrockers events. It's a little painful to see how awkward bands are with children, but it's fun to see how the kids react. Lots of legends in town this week: Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Black Francis, Jonathan Richman and Morrissey for starters. There's also a healthy [...]
PICK OF THE WEEK Morrissey w/ Doll & The Kicks Mon 12/7 Fox Theater Pomona Thurs 12/10 Gibson Amphitheater Fri 12/11 Ventura Theater THIS WEEK'S TICKET GIVEAWAYS Paul Scheer 10th Annual J. Montgomery Scott Christmas Show Spectacular w/ Special Guests Largo at the Coronet Thurs, Dec 10 Info [ ENTER TO [...]
Some number of years ago I had the good fortune of being able to see The Pixies play live during their original Doolittle tour. What was crazy is what happened that night. About an hour into their set yet another young dumb punk (one of several that night) managed to get up on stage and start dancing around. He lasted all of about 30 seconds before the security apes started closing in. Seeing them, he panics and quickly stage dives into the audience. What [...]
Top Album Releases: November 2009 Nick's Top Fun.: Aim and Ignite Real Estate: Real Estate Julian Casablancas: Phrazes For The Young Dave Rawlings Machine: A Friend of a Friend tUnE-yArDs: BiRd-BrAiNs [...]
HEADS UP Grant-Lee Philips @ Largo Sat 12/12 A pretty good indicator of which new albums are in medium-to-heavy rotation at Losanjealous HQ, is to see which CD is hanging on John Wooden's head on my desk. Long a fan of Grant-Lee Phillips solo and the classic Grant-Lee Buffalo incarnation, Little Moon (Yep-Roc) is a fave listen this fall, easily one of his strongest sets. The press release claims he and his band recorded the whole thing in just four [...]
Cover That Don't Suck
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Etienne De Crécy “Welcome”
I'm writing this to you in reverse...
