Anaïs Mitchell is already known as a gifted singer-songwriter, but now she has proved herself to be a brilliant poet and playwright with her new album Hadestown . This studio recording of Mitchell's "folk opera" will be released on March 9th by Righteous Babe Records, and features such well known guest vocalists as Ani Difranco, Greg Brown, Petra Haden, Bon Iver, and Ben Knox Milller of The Low Anthem . In Hadestown , Anaïs transforms the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice into a post-apocalyptic American fable with Depression era style and indie-folk sensibility. This gorgeous, [...]
While faffing about on the net checking out The Decemberists, I came across a live cover that Petra Haden did with them back in 2005. There are few people who can hit those Kate Bush high notes. I love the violin at the end too. Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush Cover) - Petra Haden with The Decemberists A talented violinist and vocalist, Petra Haden has performed and collaborated with a slew of other bands including The Twilight Singers, Beck, Luscious [...]
Dan, maybe the Coltrane one's too old, even though it's got the only complete live version? If so, please substitute w/ Petra Haden's "Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out," ok?
"Give a listen to Harper Simon's shining solo debut and you'll soon recognize that he is much more than just a shooting star." [Translation: Harper's father is Paul Simon. ] "Harper Simon is the work of an exceptionally gifted singer-songwriter and guitarist who's clearly discovered who he is and found his own way and as a recording artist in a time when the very concept of recording an album seems threatened." [Translation: By focusing on the supposed demise of the album as an art form, which [...]
"Give a listen to Harper Simon's shining solo debut and you'll soon recognize that he is much more than just a shooting star." [Translation: Harper's father is Paul Simon. ] "Harper Simon is the work of an exceptionally gifted singer-songwriter and guitarist who's clearly discovered who he is and found his own way and as a recording artist in a time when the very concept of recording an album seems threatened." [Translation: By focusing on the supposed demise of the album as an art form, which [...]
THE LOW ANTHEM ANNOUNCE HEADLINE TOUR, DATES WITH THE AVETT BROTHERS, PERFORM ON LETTERMAN Rhode Island trio The Low Anthem will embrace an exciting new decade by headlining their first North American tour in March and April and making their US television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman this Thursday, January 14th. They will also spend much of February supporting The Avett Brothers on the road. 2009 was a benchmark year for The Low Anthem: they toured for the larger part of it behind their Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, which was [...]
MUSIC NEWS - The Rhode Island indie rock trio The Low Anthem will embark on their first North American tour this March and April and make their US television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman this week ( Thursday, January 14t). They're also spending most of February supporting The Avett Brothers on the road (full itinerary below). 2009 was a key year for The Low Anthem, touring for most of the year to support, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin , (their Nonesuch [...]
Counting down the best covers of all time, as nominated and voted on by you Coverville listeners! We'll count down your top ten on today's show. Plus, listen to find out how you can win a copy of Tune Up software! 55 minutes | Sponsor: TuneUp , the #1 selling plug-in for iTunes, lets music fans get the most out of the music they love by offering the must-have music management [...]
Counting down the best covers of all time, as nominated and voted on by you Coverville listeners! We'll count down from #30 to #21 on today's show. Plus, listen to find out how you can win a copy of Tune Up software! 54 minutes | Sponsor: TuneUp , the #1 selling plug-in for iTunes, lets music fans get the most out of the music they love by offering the must-have music [...]
I've closed the voting for the Coverville Countdown 2009, and I'm tabulating the results right now. Some old favorites on the list, as well as some new independent stuff that I'm really happy to see made the grade. Starting tomorrow, we'll countdown the top 40 on the last four shows of the decade! And as promised, following the break, see the entire list of nominees: Here is the full list of nominees (minus the songs inducted into the Coverville Hall Of Fame ) '19992 - Red Dirt Rangers [orig. [...]
![The Rentals – Return of The Rentals [Throwback Thursday]](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2185116_lg.jpg)
Back when Weezer was on top of the world the first time in the mid to late 90s, bassist Matt Sharp (no longer with Weezer of course) put together this side project with Petra Haden, Pat Wilson (also from Weezer) and some other musicians that ended up being his main project once he was no longer playing yin to Rivers' yang. Weezer in those early days certainly had something special to the way the songs were put together and the combination of fun and interesting melodies they came up with were not really ever once again topped or matched [...]
Don't you just hate it when the child of a famous musician or actor tries to ride their parents coattails to fame and fortune? An awful lot of these offspring tend to fade back into deserved obscurity after a couple of mediocre albums or movies but some rise to the top and become household names in their own right. Harper Simon, son of Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel), is one guy who could easily earn stardom on his own merits. His self-titled album is a gorgeous showcase filled with dreamy melodies ( The [...]
Don't you just hate it when the child of a famous musician or actor tries to ride their parents coattails to fame and fortune? An awful lot of these offspring tend to fade back into deserved obscurity after a couple of mediocre albums or movies but some rise to the top and become household names in their own right. Harper Simon, son of Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel), is one guy who could easily earn stardom on his own merits. His self-titled album is a gorgeous showcase filled with dreamy melodies ( The [...]
MySpace What's this, a review in almost-December of a record I've been talking about since March ? Yes folks, welcome to the year-end doldrums where laziness/burnout combines with slow music releases/news for a perfect storm of stagger-to-the-finish-line posts. Hey, at least it's not a list. Anyways, while I've talked about Fanfarlo at length throughout the year, a proper review of Reservoir hasn't been amongst them. And that's not right, because as will quite possibly/probably become clear when I do fall back on list-making, it's [...]
MySpace What's this, a review in almost-December of a record I've been talking about since March ? Yes folks, welcome to the year-end doldrums where laziness/burnout combines with slow music releases/news for a perfect storm of stagger-to-the-finish-line posts. Hey, at least it's not a list. Anyways, while I've talked about Fanfarlo at length throughout the year, a proper review of Reservoir hasn't been amongst them. And that's not right, because as will quite possibly/probably become clear when I do fall back on list-making, it's [...]
Paul's kid is making pops proud with his solo debut at the ripe old age of 37. Harper Simon's self-titled CD (which he put out on his label, Tulsi Records) was a pleasant surprise in the batch of 20+ CDs I reviewed for the new issue of The Big Takeover (in stores in the next couple of weeks). Not a big surprise is that Harper sounds quite a bit like his dad but he's got a certain contemporary feel/sound not unlike [...]
The rise and fall of Everclear and The Cherry Poppin' Daddies. by Michael Mannheimer and Casey Jarman This week, as if by some strange cosmic alignment, two large-looming ghosts from Oregon music history return to Portland for encore performances. And it turns out, Everclear and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies have more in common than their disparate music would suggest: Both flew impossibly high, both bands' frontmen are mythicized and reviled and, as they plummeted back down to earth, both acts were unceremoniously butchered­ (or outright ignored) by ex-fans and critics. Here's a bittersweet look [...]
The problem with a list like this is the "shoulds". You know, the albums you feel like everyone else will pick, so you "should," too? Well, this time I decided not to deal with those. My list is based on the number of times I listened to these albums since they came out, whether I love them so much I already know every word to every song, how much it moved me, etc. This is a personal list. It isn't intended to be complete or controversial. That said, I know I'll get crap for [...]
A few thrift-store finds: Janie White & The Sonlights, w/4 year old Rejana: Something Happened To Daddy Phyllis & Art, The Hollywood Sweethearts (featuring their uncredited Horrible Singing Child): I Love Daddy The Folmer Family w/6 year old Wendy: Wendy Sings With Mommy & Daddy - For you masochists, an entire album , featuring another version of "Something Happened To Daddy," and you must hear the ghastly, LOL-out loud [...]
Let's listen to some great covers of Johnny Mercer's music, a little less than a week before what would have been his 100th birthday! Featuring: 1 Baby, It's Cold Outside The Priestess And The Fool Ride On, Santa Orig. Johnny Mercer/Louis Armstrong 2 I Wanna Be Around [...]
New Releases V2.9
2010 Bonnaroo Artists Unveiled
New Nas & Armand Van Helden
