Joni Mitchell's early career was marked by confessional songs about her relationships. It wasn't hard to find out who each song was about, and people did. But, at that point, Mitchell never dropped a name in her songs. For this reason, these early songs possess a universal quality that makes them just as relevant to listeners today as they were then. So what was it that inspired Mitchell to drop a name later in her career? It happened twice. Joni [...]
Eddie Jefferson I'm sure most of you have heard my news. If not, head on over to my blog, Oliver di Place for that, and then rejoin us here. I'm sure I will have my good and bad days for a while, but tonight I feel up to posting. And I had this one planned before everything happened. Without further ado... Vocalese. Don't feel bad if you don't recognize the word. Neither does my spell check program. Still, it is a real word. Vocalese is a technique of jazz singing, where the singer takes [...]
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 [...]
A 19-year-old folk musician was killed this week while hiking by herself in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia. Taylor Mitchell of Toronto was attacked by coyotes and was found by another hiker. The singer was flown to Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Halifax, where she died from her injuries Wednesday. Royal Canadian Mounted Police killed one of the animals and sent its body for testing to try to determine the cause of the attack. Taylor was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award this year and was regarded as an artist on the rise. Mitchell's [...]
The Chieftains (with Joni Mitchell) : The Magdalene Laundries [ purchase ] "Today, if you walk into the centre of Stephen's Green, just to the right of where a magnolia is stretching in full blossom sits a new wooden bench. On it is a metal plaque enscribed with small faceless heads and the words: 'To the women who worked in the Magdalen laundry institutions and to the children born to some members of those communities - reflect here upon their lives.' " - Meadbh Gallagher [...]
This weeks Art Roundup takes a look at horny art, knitted photography, chopped apples, unfathomable oil paintings and some rather unsettling but entirely captivating sculptures. Check it out! Artist: Frank Stockton Link: www.frankstockton.com Firstly, I'm not really sure to whether to think of Frank Stockton's illustration as provocative or erotic. Which ever way you see it though, I happen to think It's great. Stockton's use of blacks, grays and whites in the foreground our boosted by the hot [...]
As we approach the end of a summer in which some (including our esteemed editor) claim that there was no one Song of Summer thanks to Michael Jackson looming large in the afterlife, we are a few weeks away from a rare act of chart dominance: Total Hot 100 ownership by a single act for every week of a calendar season. The Black Eyed Peas have held the top spot on Billboard 's flagship chart for 21 weeks, so long that they've already set a new record for consecutive dominance by a [...]
In amongst the invariably heavy, variably mundane metal, mud and Monster energy drinks lies the overblown majesty of Knebworth House and its legendary surrounding fields where this weekend, the likes of Metallica, Linkin Park and Nine Inch Nails join the ephemeral ranks of Led Zeppelin, Queen and um Robbie Williams amongst those to have rocked the stately home. Bizarrely, where the turn of the new Millennium marked the resurgence of Nu-metal, infusing Hip-Hop with drop-D master classes before regurgitating musings bereft of meaning over the top, a genre which has since become almost entirely obsolete occupies prime position for the [...]
In amongst the invariably heavy, variably mundane metal, mud and Monster energy drinks lies the overblown majesty of Knebworth House and its legendary surrounding fields where this weekend, the likes of Metallica, Linkin Park and Nine Inch Nails join the ephemeral ranks of Led Zeppelin, Queen and um Robbie Williams amongst those to have rocked the stately home. Bizarrely, where the turn of the new Millennium marked the resurgence of Nu-metal, infusing Hip-Hop with drop-D master classes before regurgitating musings bereft of meaning over the top, a genre which has since become almost entirely obsolete occupies prime position for the [...]
The Poozies : Ma Plaid/ Freya Dances [ purchase ] Ma Plaid is a traditional Scottish tune which, as recorded by The Poozies, comes in at about six minutes. But the group placed it in a medley with an original instrumental, Freya Dances, which brings the whole thing in at 7:07. It is a tribute to Mary MacMaster, who wrote Freya Dances, that it serves as the perfect coda to Ma Plaid; I cannot imagine hearing the one without the other. MacMaster and Patsy Seddon were the harp duo Sileas [...]
"He looks like David Mitchell" says Mrs Loft and Lost. "You go and tell him that" say I. "Actually, he looks like the lovechild of David Mitchell and Stephen Fry" "Are you trying to get us killed?" Mrs Loft and Lost is right though. Greg Dulli doesn't really look like the sex-and-drugs obsessed rock demon of Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers fame. He really does look like he could be David Mitchell's taller, stroppier older brother. Not that I would tell him to his face, as he'd likely take me into the [...]
Its taken me a very long time to write this, too long. Lost season 5 was epic beyond all proportions. I think if I go on about it too much I will run out of superlatives for one of the, if not the best tv program of our. Season 5 managed to continue the flawless character development that is consistent throughout the show and combine it with fantastic action scenes, twists galore, a surprising amount of answers, and of course an overwhelming number of questions. The acting as usual was outstanding, particular praise should be reserved for Elizabeth Mitchell who [...]
Joni Mitchell : Song to a Seagull [ purchase ] It's hard to imagine, after all these years, how bizarre Joni Mitchell's debut must have sounded at that time. Ostensibly a new folk singer, Mitchell played folk music from an alternate universe. Early fans tore their hair out trying to play her guitar parts, not realizing that Mitchell used her own tunings. Her vocal lines used interval jumps that had never been heard on the folk circuit before. And the production on Song to a Seagull, the album, emphasized this sense [...]
In January - February 1969, after 13 years of recording studio albums and movie soundtracks in Nashville and Hollywood, the time was right for Elvis Presley (1935-1977) to set foot once again in a Memphis studio. Those sessions at Chip Moman's American Studios yielded a year-long string of 'comeback' hit singles: "In the Ghetto," "Suspicious Minds," "Don't Cry Daddy" and "Kentucky Rain." FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS: LEGACY EDITION collects that entire American Studios output, and then some. The specially-designed 40th anniversary double-CD package will be available at all [...]
"One More Autumn" starts out with Cheron using a vocal inflection that sounds a lot like Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" than anything that has came out in the last thirty years. There isn't much in the way of extra instrumentation to "Goodnight Amelia" besides a guitar and a bass. Of course, the focal point [...]
Why hello there. Nice to meet you. I'm here to bring you some of the sweet sounds Aotearoa (New Zealand for those of you not down with the native lingo) has to offer. Those Conchord boys aren't the only cool cats from New Zealand to whip out some nifty beats, you know. There are some other great musical acts chilling at the bottom of the planet - The Shades being one of them. Ahh, The shadey Shades. I may be a little biased about how awesome these guys are (flatting with the singer earned me a copy of [...]
Singer/songwriter JAY BRANNAN announces the release of IN LIVING COVER, a 9-track album composed of 7 cover songs and 2 originals on July 7. Some of these tracks on In Living Cover include Joni Mitchell's "All I Want," Ani DiFranco's "Both Hands," The Cranberries "Zombie," Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind" and The Verve Pipe's "The Freshmen." The album isn't only covers; it opens with a brand new original track, "Beautifully," and closes with "Drowning," the first song he ever wrote at the age of 19. Brannan has always enjoyed singing other people's songs, [...]
JAY BRANNAN TO RELEASE IN LIVING COVER ON JULY 7; COVERS ALBUM INCLUDING TRACKS FROM THE VERVE PIPE, BOB DYLAN, THE CRANBERRIES, JONI MITCHELL AND MORE US TOUR KICKS OFF IN NYC ON JULY 8 AT JOE'S PUB In the midst of sell-out European dates, JAY BRANNAN announces the release of IN LIVING COVER —a 9-track album composed of 7 cover songs and 2 originals—on July 7 (Nettwerk). Brannan will celebrate with a month-long US tour that kicks off in his home city of New York on Wednesday, July 8 at Joe's Pub. [...]
In the early 1970's, the term "singer/songwriter" became synonymous with artists like Joni Mitchell , James Taylor , Jackson Browne and Carly Simon , among others, all of whom just happened to reside in Southern California's Laurel Canyon. Along with soft-rockers like The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac , these artists were writing intensely personal and lyrically strong pop containing shades of folk, rock, and sometimes jazz and country. Their records were meticulously produced to sound very polished, listener friendly, earthy, and acoustic, and the musicianship was always top [...]
Anyone who saw the Seth Gordon documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters without a doubt began rooting for Steve Weibe like Rocky Balboa. Even if the documentary, about a down on his luck science teacher attempting to break the world record in Donkey Kong, fudged some of the facts , it was undeniably a fantastic underdog story. Now Steve Wiebe will attempt to reclaim the world record from his nemesis Billy Mitchell. And you know that because this is being hyped [...]
![Jay Brannan - "Can't Have It All " (clean version) [Music Video]](http://cache.elbo.ws/youtube/oVwwaGYhdfc_130.jpg)
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
WKND PLYLST!! This has nothing to do with NEW MOON!
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
The Beach House Theory of 2k10.
