Thao Nguyen of Thao with the Get Down Stay Down has written a long, impassioned article for Bitch magazine on breakup songs. Titled "Break Me Off a Piece of that Breakup Song," it looks at "the perverse pleasure of musical pain" you get from wallowing in sad songs, and lists ten of Nguyen's favorites. The Virgina native-turned-San Francisco musician should know. Her newest CD, Know Better Learn Faster is one of the most memorable post-breakup albums in recent memory, with its emotionally-fraught songs like "When We Swam," "Good Bye Good [...]
I keep missing Kasey Chambers when she comes through town, but it's not for lack of trying. The Australian singer-songwriter with the airy twang in her voice does heartache so well, it's a dream of mine to sit on the grass at some summery festival, eyes closed, letting the bittersweet music burn through me like the sunshine. Kasey's talent springs from growing up with music in her veins: the daughter of steel guitar player Bill Chambers , she picked up her first strings early, and spent an adolescent decade on the road [...]
Featuring: 1 Kon' Togethy (Come Together) Bugotak Coverlar Orig. Beatles 2 Maxwell's Silver Hammer Steve Martin & Chorus Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Soundtrack Orig. Beatles 3 [...]
Not familiar with singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer extraordinaire Gurf Morlix ? Here are just a few bits of his resume: Plays the guitar, bass, mandolin, mandocello, dobro, pedal steel,lap steel, Weissenborn, banjo, harmonica, organ, and drums. Produced albums for Lucinda Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Tom Russell, Butch Hancock, Ian "Mac" McLagan, Slaid Cleaves, The Pinedogs, The Setters, Robert Earle Keen, Mary Gauthier, Hot Club of Cowtown, and BettySoo among many, many others. Played on various recordings by Julie and Buddy Miller, Slaid Cleves, BettySoo, The Band of Heathens, Sam Baker, [...]
Our week of Fall Vinyl Giveaways come to a close with a rather cool compilation of artists paying tribute to the scene that was Greenwich Village in the '60's and early '70's featuring Shelby Lynne, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Hornsby, Rachael Yamagata, Amos Lee, Sixpence None the Richer, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Marshall Crenshaw, Rocco Deluca, Cowboy Junkies, John Oates, The Duhks, Los Lobos, Cary Brothers, Jesse Malin, and Mikey Powell. Says Susan Rotolo author of the recent bestseller "A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in [...]
Released in 2005, Kathleen Edwards' sophomore effort Back to Me had some big shoes to fill in attempting to live up to her debut album Failer . All that album did was get nominated for "Album of the Year" at the Americana Music Awards (Kathleen lost to Johnny Cash), prompt the AMA to create a "Best New/Emerging Artist" category the following year, and place the Canadian songstress on the map as a new and important voice in Americana music. Fortunately, Back to Me was able to live up [...]
Inevitably, a love of coverage leads to a constant, ever-vigilant search for thoughtful, well-crafted reinterpretation. I spend hours each week mining full albums for the hidden cover song, and scanning MySpace and email inbox for the promotional, the one-off acoustic in-studio radio track, and the otherwise unreleased singleton, and the endless discovery is eminently worth the pursuit. But there's no question that tribute albums are the cover lover's bread and butter. I gather these things in like truffles, and hold a special place for them in my heart and in my [...]
The daily mix: 1) The Pogues: "Summer in Siam" 2) Matthew Day: "Watch Your Step" 3) Lucinda Williams: "Tears of Joy" 4) Rosanne Cash: "I'm Movin' On" 5) Hank Snow: "Blue Ranger" 6) Jean Shepard: "A Satisfied Mind" 7) A.A. Bondy: "Black Rain, Black Rain" 8) Van Morrison: "I Believe to My Soul" 9) American Music Club: "Hello Amsterdam" 10) Belly: "Star"
I like only a very specific brand of country . I like old, tough, raw, awesome country. I like roots of American folk. I like alt country and cowpunk. I like the country music of other countries. I like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Hank Williams. I like The Carter Family . I like Lucinda Williams and the Old 97s. I'm predictable. I'm a parody of myself. Now that you know where I'm coming from, [...]
Reading fellow blogger Nelson's recent review of Van Meter over at A Fifty Cent Lighter prompted me to dig out some Kasey Chambers CD's I'd not listened to in while The Captain and Barricades and Brick Walls ,Nelson's comments on Kasey's quirky vocal resonant with me too, have always has a soft spot for Kasey's Aussie twang. So here's a four song selection from a show that was recorded for PBS Soundstage which premièred back in July 03 when Kasey shared the [...]
We are giving away 5 PAIRS OF TICKETS to see Jonathan Tyler and The Northern Lights w/ Screen Porch Door at Buster's this Wednesday, 11/4. Comment below with the best (or worst) Halloween costume you saw on Saturday. I'll announce the winners Tuesday night. Here are the details for the show... Billiards open at 7pm Doors open at 7pm, Show at 8pm Show is 18+ Tickets $10 Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights [...]
Monty Python's Flying Circus: I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio ( Buy Album ) I often find myself listening to new music with my "DJ ears." That is, any time I hear something new, I ask myself if it passes the radio test. Is this really something that I envision myself playing on the air? Most of the time the answer is obvious. The song is immediately catchy and passes the test, or it [...]
New Recordings 28/10/2009 David Ford - Rescue Rooms Nottingham 20/10/2009 AA Bondy - Academy 3 Manchester 17/10/2009 Richard Hawley - Philharmonic Hall Liverpool 11/10/2009 Richard Hawley - Albert Hall Nottingham 24/09/2009 Otis Gibbs - The Maze Nottingham 24/09/2009 Chuck Prophet - The Maze Nottingham 16/09/2009 Richmond Fontaine - Academy 3 Manchester 16/09/2009 Al James - Academy 3 Manchester 13/09/2009 Josh Ritter - Bridgewater Hall Manchester 12/09/2009 Ray Lamontagne - City Hall Sheffield 10/09/2009 Okkervil River - The Rescue Rooms Nottingham 07/09/2009 Josh Ritter - Brudenell Social Club Leeds 06/09/2009 The Low Anthem - The Deaf Institute Manchester 04/09/2009 [...]
Superb folk album from Austin-based vocalist Though Herring has come to prominence in Austin music circles, her music has veered away from the bluegrass with which she began, as well as the country with which she rose to prominence. Her voice has always harbored a singer-songwriter's intimacy, but starting with last year's Lantana , she stepped further in front of her band and dropped the drums and steel in favor of acoustic guitars and bass. This fourth album pushes even further in that stripped-down direction, with hard strummed and [...]
Chuck Prophet. If the name doesn't sound shivers down your spine, then you clearly haven't heard of the critically underrated musician and songwriter. Or maybe you've heard his songs, just sung by somebody else. Covered by artists like Heart, Peter Wolf and Solomon Burke—and acclaimed by Lucinda Williams and Cameron Crowe, among others—Prophet refuses to [...]
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book. Amy Stewart's Wicked Plants is the rare book I find myself recommending to friends, family, and blog readers of all types. Aesthetically it is a thing of beauty, from its luscious cover illustration to the intricate black and white etchings inside. Stewart lists and examines poisonous plant life with a rare flair for combining anecdotal history and scientific background. Charming, funny, and smartly written, I will be giving more copies of [...]
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Case Western Reserve University will celebrate Janis Joplin, one of rock and roll's most passionate and influential artists during the 14th annual American Music Masters® series. Tickets for the November 14 tribute concert are on-sale now.Lucinda Williams, country troubadour Guy Clark, and R&B vocalist Nona Hendryx are among the artists lined up for a
Si hablamos de potencial musical, resulta indudable que M. Ward se ha posicionado como uno de los referentes del "nuevo folk" . Con esta nueva entrega volvemos a oír aquel sonido característico (aunque repetitivo) de su anterior trabajo Post-War (Merge, 2006), una de las cumbres creativas de su carrera. En Hold Time encontramos 14 canciones que no engañan por su bien lograda composición y arreglos, aunque no es difícil darse cuenta que la fórmula sigue siendo la misma. Ward se entromete un poco en el country, el blues, el rock y hasta [...]
Words and Pictures by Allison Taich Three time Grammy Award singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams dazzled Chicago fans over the course of three nights at the Park West in Lincoln Park. Each concert celebrated Williams' 30-year musical career, highlighting a specific period of work each night. The first night covered 1979 to 1989, the second 1992 to 2001, and the third installment relayed 2003 to the present.
Acclaimed producer Don Was literally pulled off to the side of an L.A. freeway when he heard the voice of Pieta Brown live in the studio from trendsetting radio station KCRW. A few phone calls, emails and months later, Brown and guitarist Bo Ramsey met up with Was at his home to play him some new songs. Wanting to capture her remarkable voice "unadorned", Was grabbed his bass and joined Brown and Ramsey in the studio, mixing the impromptu sessions live as they went down. The result is the wondrous Shimmer (November 10, Red House), a [...]
new music from vampire weekend – cousins + music video
Friday Five: Surf Songs
Beach House: Norway
No Curve Allowed (Grading This Week's New Tracks)
