New Gordon Gano (ex-Violent Femmes)
Album out Sept. 1.
Album out Sept. 1.
If you can stand it — and this video is well worth standing it — here's organist Robert Ridgell playing an all Michael Jackson set at Trinity Church.
By eh
So I'm back after a long vacation and so is MTV's Unplugged. The series that reintroduced Tony Bennett to a whole new demographic in the mid-90s (remember that; it was kind of weird, right?), has recently relaunched in cyberspace.
The current featured artist is Silversun Pickups.
Future Unplugged performers include Paramore and Katy Perry. If that makes you feel too old, they also have archived performances from the first go-round, so you can put Nirvana on repeat, if you need to.
By eh
So I'm listening to the recently released, "Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison," and I'm falling back in love with the overlooked one. It's amazing how often I forget what an excellent song writer he was.
Also, I still find it weird that "Got My Mind Set on You" and "My Sweet Lord" were written by the same person.
Also, "Give Me Love" might be in my top five desert island hit list.
ETA: I totally forgot to mention this, but: "[My Morning Jacket's JIm] James will debut a George Harrison tribute EP entitled "Tribute To" under the name "Yim Yames" on August 4." (Via)
I've been listening to Moby's forthcoming "Wait for Me" — look for my review in the paper next week — and it's gotten me thinking about how wild we all went for "Play," which came out in 1999. I remember not being able to get enough of that album. Which was good, because it was in every commercial being made at the time.
But I loved him. (In my defense, my loving Moby overlapped with my living in Europe for a time.)
Also, I never saw the movie version of "The Beach" (which used "Porcelain," above), but the book was horrendous.
The ex-Pavement, sometimes Preston School of Industry guy is releasing a new album under his old nickname, Spiral Stairs. "The Real Feel" is out Oct. 20 on Matador (you can hear a track at their site).
He's got the Roots, he's got the geek factor, he's in a position to try crazy new things ... he just can't interview worth a damn. I'm finding myself really wanting Fallon to succeed.
And now one more thing: The Roots are debuting a new track tonight! I might even watch. Or at least flip over from Craig Ferguson toward the end of the hour.
By eh
Jack White's latest project, The Dead Weather, just held their first performance in the UK. From The Basement has video. It's not the greatest quality audio, but you can hear White's signature dirty blues style is alive and well.
Here's an interview with the legendary Bill Withers on West Virginia public access, on the occasion of his induction into the WV Music Hall of Fame. It's absolutely fascinating. (Via)
Give this a listen.
Halifax-based Gypsophilia describes themselves as a gypsy-jazz band. The music is pretty cool. You can hear more here.
• Listen to Bloc Party's new single here.
• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was all over Bonnaroo last weekend. Here he is dueting with Jenny Lewis.
By eh
I went for Clues, last night, but the band before them, Philadelphia's Drink Up Buttercup was phenomenal. That's them above.
I would describe their sound as the best parts of Animal Collective (who I don't like), combined with the quirky enthusiasm of Spinto Band with a dash Philly funk. It's tribal and weird and totally awesome.
Live, they ramp up the energy 10-fold. The four-piece consists of a guitarist/lead singer, a drummer and two guys who switch between bass, keyboard and backup percussion. You can tell you're in for something intense just by looking at their instruments. The bass in particular has seen better days; the strap is held on to the body of the instrument by what looks like an entire roll of gaffers tape. One add. percussion in their arsenal is a crumpled up aluminum garbage can.
Continue reading "Clues, Drink Up Buttercup @ Santos Party House, June 18, 2009" »
It's getting Biblical out there. Here are two songs to help you get through it.
So yesterday, everyone was talking about Weird Al's latest, in which he channels Jim Morrison of the Doors droning on about Craig's List. Well, he also does a mean Bob Dylan impression.
This one's pretty old, but worth it. Also we can't talk palindromes (didn't you realize we were talking palindromes? Watch the video!) without mentioning Demetri Martin.
Wired, with the help of Greg Gillis, put together this cool chart which breaks down the samples used in "What It's All About."
By eh
Brendan Benson, occasional collaborator with Jack White, freaks out on his new album. "My Old, Familiar Friend" drops Aug. 8, but the preview track "Feel Like Taking You Home," is making the rounds. Listen here.
Some one has been listening to a lot of dance music, I think. It's alright, just a lot different from his prior stuff.
I'm definitely curious to hear the rest of the album.
By eh
I mentioned these guys a while ago, and they've finally released a video for their hit single "In me Shed." It's charmingly English.
If it weren’t for the movie “Hope Floats,” the New Orleans brass band Bonerama might never have existed.
Eleven years ago, trombonists Mark Mullins and Craig Klein were members of Harry Connick Jr.’s band. But when the New Orleans jazz crooner began to star in TV shows and films — including the aforementioned 1998 romance with Sandra Bullock — Mullins and Klein found themselves with a lot of spare time.
So the longtime friends formed a trombone-centric funk and rock group, which plays Friday night at Sullivan Hall in Greenwich Village.
Today, Bonerama, which includes three front-line trombonists, is not only one of the most popular brass bands in New Orleans, it is also usually greeted with packed houses in New York, where the band recorded a 2004 live album.
“There’s a New Orleans to New York connection, I don’t know exactly what it is, especially with music,” Mullins said. “There’s a lot of music fans up there that are really tune in with what’s going on with New Orleans, and they really support it.”
Continue reading "Bonerama brings Big Easy brass to Big Apple" »
By eh
Remember that crazy tour of Canada the White Stripes did in 2007, where they hit up every province and territory and played all manner of wacky shows? Well, Jack White and friends are releasing a documentary film on the whole experience.
White spoke to the CBC about it. From the story:
According to White, he and drummer Meg White dreamt up the odd performances on the fly.
"We'd make up an idea at breakfast of where we'd play that day, whether it was on a boat, bus, school or city park, then we'd make it happen," White recalled.
The article also hints that another White Stripes album is on the way.