Forza Azzurri!

The Strokes and Eddie Vedder: “Mercy, Mercy Me”

Sweet lord, it’s raining duets that I’ve been wanting to hear. Thanks to Jed, here is the studio version of the Marvin Gaye cover with Vedder along with The Strokes, and Queen of the Stone Age Josh Homme helping out my man Fabrizio on the skins. Verse-swapping goodness, recorded as a b-side for the “You Only Live Once” single.

“Mercy, Mercy Me” – The Strokes, Eddie Vedder and Josh Homme

And a bonus track documenting the continuing saga of the love between Ed and The Strokes:

“Juicebox” (live) – The Strokes and Eddie Vedder
Rolling Stone’s 1000th Party, May 2006 – low quality audio, but hey it’s worth what you’re paying for it.


And folks, I know EZArchive sometimes sucks and I do apologize, but I still haven’t found any better file-hosting system. If these links don’t work, it’s not because I took em down (usually up at least 2 days) – but because EZArchive sucks. Sorry! Try back!

Odds & ends

* DUDE. File under . . . why?!? Why, oh why?

* Contest Alert: If you are into the Tapes ‘N Tapes business, Joe from Stage Hymns blog is giving away a signed copy of Tapes ‘N Tapes limited edition 7″ vinyl single “Insistor.” The contest runs til tomorrow, Friday.

* MySpace News:
- Three more new streaming songs on Leona Naess’ profile
- New Ryan Adams tour dates

* I recommend reading this interesting article about SF-Bay Area musician/independent filmmaker Chris Brown (not the rapper guy), whose Now That You’re Fed CD is one of my top sublime power pop efforts for the year.

* And I know I just posted about Pete Yorn, but I got this email shortly after announcing a bunch of in-stores which have been added. Check it out in the Tour section of his website if you couldn’t get tickets to the largely sold-out acoustic shows.

* YOU KNOW that you need a Donkey Kong polo shirt. I used to deliver the smackdown on that game. That and Ms. Pac-Man.

* Hours of endless summer fun: Let’s Paint the ’90s – a coloring book which includes a set of watercolors and hilarious drawings of Billy Ray Cyrus, Tonya Harding and Elian Gonzalez that beg for color. It hits stores in September and is the brainchild of Jason Rekulak. (Thanks to PopCandy for the info)

New Pete Yorn with Natalie Maines: “The Man” (suuuperb!!)

Easily one of the best songs so far this year for me, ranking up there with my favorite Pete Yorn songs ever, “The Man” is the title track off Pete’s appropriately titled “twang-rock” Westerns EP. The six-song limited edition EP is available only at shows on his current acoustic tour, and I highly recommend getting your hands on it however possible.

From an earlier post, here is what Yorn says about the songs on the Westerns EP (crappy picture, I know, but it is the ONLY one I could find of the cover art):

1. “The Man” (featuring dixie chix)
2. “Never My Love” (studio version of association classic featuring FARMER DAVE scher of beachwood sparks fame on pedal steel)
3. “Don’t Mean Nothing” (written for nancy sinatra, and recorded by her for her own record…had to do it myself..love the song too much….also featuring natalie from dixiechicks.)
4. “The Good Advice” (a ripper featuring leon russell on piano)
5. “Lions” (yesss)
6. “The Golden Road” (recorded in [the wallflowers'] rami jaffee’s trailer in malibu…a vibe so strong i cant even explain)

“The Man” has some lovely lyrics (“Walk me out by the water’s edge, oh my brother I’m comin’ down. We are young, we are almost there . . .”) which combine flawlessly with Natalie’s bittersweet & evocative harmonies. How many times in a row can I listen to it? That remains to be seen. It has the sweet nostalgic feel of summers to me, with a nicely syncopated beat that Pete slips into his songs like a gift.

“The Man” – Pete Yorn with Natalie Maines

Yorn says, “I’ve been in this lonesome cowboy phase for a while. I’ve been really inspired by guys like Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. ['Westerns'] has a twang to it and is a real departure for me [but] ‘Nightcrawler’ is most definitely the rock record.”

The release date for his new album Nightcrawler has been amended to August 29th instead of the 15th. If you’d like to hear a preview track from the new album ripped from his MySpace page, “Go With It,” check out A Spacious Hole In The Ground. And thanks again to Phil Marino for the header photo.

As for me, I’m seein’ him in Denver (at the Walnut Room, no less!) in just a few short weeks and looking forward to it.

Is any song better with a little bit of Chris Martin?

It finally broke. I’ve been looking for this one, a song Martin “conjured out of nowhere” in the studio for Furtado’s latest album:

“All Good Things” - Nelly Furtado feat. Chris Martin

History of this blocked release is here. Get it while it’s hot.

Heather takes a field trip to the college radio station

Remember when you were a kid how you got to go on all kinds of neat field trips to see how things worked? Whether it was the bank or the fire station, I loved learning about how the world operates with all the behind-the-scenes goodness.

For that reason, I decided to schedule myself a little field trip to the local college radio station, KEPC. I love listening to their variety (recently in one set I heard: Springsteen’s “Pay Me My Money Down,” followed by “The Only Lie Worth Telling” by Westerberg, “Playing In The Distance” by Grand National, and rounding it out with “Long Road” by Pearl Jam), and I have long-wondered how radio had changed since the last time I was in a college radio studio, KSCU at Santa Clara University back in the day (’93 or ’94 when I was in high school). I wondered how technology has impacted operations, how songs are selected, what’s hot, etc. Sharon Hogg was just the gal to help me out.

Sharon is the station manager and one of the main instructors in the radio program at the college. She gets to do the fun work of deciding which songs to add to rotation on a weekly basis, and with the help of an intern, programs the massive system called Simian that runs everything. And like all good music lovers, she has a Beatles poster on her office wall, even though she claimed that there was no Beatles in rotation at the station. The grizzled engineer disagreed, and we found 5 tracks that they do, in fact, play (most from later albums). With a rotation of 57,000 songs it can be easy to get confused. Sharon showed me all around the station, answered my interminable questions, and made me want her job.

To answer my first question, most of what KEPC plays (like most radio stations now) is all pre-programmed. It’s not as I may have pictured at one halcyon moment; sitting behind the soundboard, taking requests, stacks of records to my right and left, thinking to myself, “Hmmm, what would go good with this song? What should we throw on next?” No, my friend. It’s a hard and fast science nowadays.

All the songs are on .wav files on a massive computer system; no more actual putting CDs or records or anything else in and out of players during the show. And get this – the system is programmed with what is essentially a mathematical system: Sharon tells the system roughly how often to play a song (for instance, that Grand National track –which I love– is fairly new and hot, so it is scheduled to play once every day-and-a-half). She also dictates the general overall order: One older song, followed by two newer songs, then one brand-new addition, etc. The behemoth brain of the radio station can be programmed to run for weeks with no one even in the station (like during Christmas: 5 weeks of pre-programmed!). Good luck calling in with that request (when there is a DJ in house, they can play one request per hour).

New songs are added into rotation weekly. They get about 20-25 new CDs a week (but she didn’t know about music blogs! I filled her in) and the intern compares what they have received with the college radio and AAA charts. Most of the songs they add each week come straight from the charts. She gave me copies of this week’s charts from CMJ -

…that’s the top 20 from the Radio 200 Chart above.

And those are the top 20 songs from the AAA (Adult Album Alternative) Chart.

There is leniency to add local bands, personal favorites, etc. On a yearly basis the station has to submit playlist information to ASCAP and BMI, which charges them a certain amount in order for them to have the rights to play those songs (I think she said about $700/year). All DJs are students and, obviously, unpaid. The format of the radio station is consistent all the live-long day: No “Electronica Hour” or “Emo-Screamo Saturday Night” shows. She said it just got too crazy and they standardized all their music across the spectrum for consistency.

Some of my impressions: Is radio losing its immediacy and its connection with the individual listener? It all seems to be so mechanized, based on formulas and charts, pre-programmed systems. While there is some freedom and flexibility for sure (especially up at the station manager’s end because she can add anything she wants) overall it is pretty structured for the little people, the DJs. The business model is tightened up towards perfection. But perfection doesn’t always equal passion, and that’s what I think listening to and sharing music should be about – that free-flowing blending of favorite songs, where the DJ’s personality can come through. I know that at KEPC the DJs are obviously encouraged to let their personality come through in what they say, but that is rigidly segmented into time slots and station breaks, and if they don’t personally like or know anything about the music they are playing, how can they be passionate?

Perhaps the freedom-seekers are shifting more towards mediums such as podcasting, blogging, or satellite radio where everyone from Bob Dylan to blogger Chris from Gorilla vs. Bear can have a show to suit their specific tastes.

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts, especially those of you who may work in radio. Is radio just changing to suit the slick production of our times & giving us what we want? And in doing so what is happening to the relationship with the audience? Is traditional radio becoming obsolete, with customizable internet radio stations, satellite radio, iTunes and iPods with the ability to store 10,000 songs and listen to them in any order you choose? Do we still need traditional radio?

All that being said, it was a very cool visit. I loved digging through their new CDs for this week (got me some good ideas) and if they ever call me, I’m definitely ready for my show. Here’s the obligatory touristy shot (ha!).

Pump up the volume.

Monday Music Roundup

My heart is still pounding and my hands are shaking from the intensity of the Italy v. Australia match that Italy just won on a penalty kick (during which my ability to breathe momentarily left me). FORZA ITALIA! That was gorgeous.

And as of this very moment I am #1 all by myself in the World Cup Bloggers Pool. That is a feat unto itself, since, as we have discussed, I am no kind of soccer superstar. I just have a way of predicting what glistening, lovely European men will do next.

It’s a gift, really.

Diventa Blu
Arizona
Translated from Italian, this song title means “Become Blue,” and is my salute to Gli Azzurri, the beautiful Italian national calcio (soccer) team in their blue jerseys. According to Connor over at iGIF, this band Arizona is going to be huge, but the fact that this song is sung in a breathy, ethereal Italian (almost Radiohead-esque), combined with the layered and interesting low-key electronica is enough to get me to listen. From their debut album Welcome Back Dear Children (coming out in August).

Thirteen
Wilco
This song, this whole tribute album is amazingly good. As I mentioned before, and as you have probably read on assorted other music sites, the Big Star tribute album (Big Star, Small World) has finally been released, after being recorded and then shelved for several years. Wilco‘s turn is sad and rich, nostalgic and truly lovely. I’ve listened to it over and over, but this whole CD is great, with contributions by Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, The Posies, Whiskeytown, Juliana Hatfield and more. Highly recommended and available on eMusic.

Dancing On The Highway
Elliott Smith
Chad over at Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands has pointed me in the direction of this unearthed studio recording, a lost “new” song, courtesy of the Elliott Smith fans over at B-Sides And Other Songs. It’s a lyrically rich love song, known also as “Still Here” — a rough mix demo from either the Figure 8 era, or the Basement Sessions. Take a listen. Thanks, Chad!

Eleanor
The Low Millions
I have been meaning to post this for months, but somehow forgot. Fronted by Leonard Cohen’s son Adam Cohen (who has released French-language albums in his native Canada), California’s Low Millions were named an Artist To Watch by Filter Magazine. This track, which did get some radio play, is yet another upbeat song about a breakup (!) with catchy hooks and a fabulous beat that kicks in at about 20 seconds. From their 2004 debut album Ex-Girlfriends (Manhattan Records).

Notice The Ring
Chris Isaak
This one is in honor of Mr. Chris Isaak‘s 50th (!!) birthday today. I tell ya, that man does not look a day over handsome to me. For his special day, his hometown of Stockton, CA dedicated today as “Chris Isaak Day.” This song celebrates all that is rogue, feisty, and wonderful about Isaak. A retro-rocker from 2002′s Always Got Tonight.

Brandi Carlile & The Fray: Denver 6/24/06

My first experience with the CityLights Pavilion last night was a favorable one. True story: I notice the stunning close-up view of the Denver skyline (about a mile from the venue) when I turn around and look out from the stage area. I turn to my friend Andrea and say, “Wow! Look at the view of the city lights- . . . aaaand that must be why they call it CityLights Pavilion.” Not the sharpest pencil in the box sometimes.

It was apparently a sold-out show, based largely on the frat-boy and 12-year-old ticket-buying bloc. There were some pretty people there. The Fray is just alright for me. I would like to support them because this was a homecoming concert of sorts for them – several members are from Denver – but they don’t DO IT for me. I guess they are pretty melodic and rocking, though, and the Coldplay comparison is definitely unavoidable.

My enjoyment of the show was only slightly marred (actually, perhaps enhanced) by the blonde thirty-something lady in front of us who was apparently auditioning for the Whitesnake! Live! Raw! Loud! concert video (or maybe the music video for a new remix of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”). She pulled out all the stripper dance moves as the concert unfolded. She gyrated. There were pelvic thrusts and slow winds down to the ground and back up (where’s a damn pole when you need it). There was the “hand-to-the-forehead” move (like, “I can’t believe you just stuck a dollar in my g-string!”), the various wrist flippery (it’s all in the wrist). It was a show unto itself. Kind of out of place at what was, essentially, a rock show but at least she seemed to be enjoying herself. And all of us around her enjoyed it too. Some people were even taking pictures.

Stripper dance lesson aside, the highlight of the show for me, by far, was Brandi Carlile, who was the opening act. I came to the show to see her and I was not disappointed. Seeing her in a larger venue rocked. This gal is going places – all she has to do is pick up her guitar and open her mouth and the crowd just stops and listens to the passion and strength in her voice. Brandi played with her full band again this time, including a cellist (which I loved). She rocked through several of the best songs on her album (“What Can I Say,” “Throw It All Away”), some original songs which are not on the album (“My Story”), and a few superb covers (“Creep” and “Folsom Prison Blues,” as well as her show-stopper finale of “Hallelujah”).

I wanted to see more of her. She is playing in Boulder tonight, a headlining show at the Fox, but I can’t make it. I hope perhaps you can if you live in the area. I know I talk about her a lot, but she is worth every word that I write in publicity. Buy her album, and check out some of my previous posts about her (here, here, here and here) to download or stream some live performances.

Creep (Radiohead cover) – Brandi Carlile
(from last night’s show, poor sound quality, but just for the curious)

Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash cover) – Brandi Carlile
(from last night’s show as well)

Throw It All Away – Brandi Carlile
(an excellent live version of this song, from 12/7/05 in Chicago)

Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen via Jeff Buckley cover) – Brandi Carlile
(also from 12/7/05 Chicago)

Can’t sleep when the bedsheet fights

Here are some live Whiskeytown tracks (Ryan Adams’ superb alt-country combo, prior to goin’ it solo) from NPR’s World Cafe in Philadelphia from 1997. I’ve also got some extra bonus tracks that I had to add. You’ll be glad I did — soundtrack for a warm summer evening.

August 1997
16 Days (I love this song)
Somebody Remembers The Rose
Too Drunk To Dream
Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight (just noticed it’s incomplete, so a bonus one below from 1999)
Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)

April 1998
Sittin’ Around
Houses On The Hill

August 1999
Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight

Ray LaMontagne tour & album news

Yippee-ki-yay. The second leg of the Ray LaMontagne tour is FINALLY up on his website. I’ve only been checking, like, every day:

09/14 – Nokia Theatre, Grand Prairie, TX
09/15 – Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX
09/16 – Verizon Wireless Theater, Houston, TX
09/17 – House of Blues, New Orleans, LA
09/19 – Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, OK
09/20 – The Blue Note, Columbia, MO (free show!)
09/22 – City Market, Kansas City, MO
09/23 – City Lights Pavillion, Denver, CO
09/27 – SDSU Open Air Theatre, San Diego, CA
09/28 – The Wiltern LG, Los Angeles, CA
09/29 – The Wiltern LG, Los Angeles, CA
09/30 – Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA (what a great venue)
10/04 – Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
10/05 – Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA

For the rest of the tour dates in progress, check his website here. If you can catch him live, by all means do. As I enthusiastically said to anyone who would listen to me last April after I saw him in San Fran, it was possibly one of the best, most stirring & heartfelt and stunningly beautiful shows I have ever seen. He looks as uncomfortable on stage as all get out, but man, what music emerges. So (large hint to family) – tickets to the Denver show, that’s all I want as a birthday present.

Also, thanks to an absolutely fantastic little birdie, I have a rough copy of the new Ray LaMontagne album, called Till The Sun Turns Black, due out August 29. While there’s some really superb material on here, overall it is . . . a lot gentler and less folk-rock than I thought it would be. There are times when I wondered if I was listening to the Princess Bride soundtrack (although, that was by Mark Knopfler, so not entirely a bad thing).

Even though LaMontagne is working with Ethan Johns again as a producer this time, the overall feel is swirling, more fairy-tale-like, and very different to me than Trouble. The prominent immediacy of the percussion from Johns and the out-in-front strumming of Ray’s acoustic guitar is largely muted; instead, many songs experiment more with strings, trumpets, even a slightly uncomfortable flute solo. I also feel like Ray’s voice is mixed lower and often not as distinctive and soaringly-rough and cracking as it was on the debut. It is still as beautiful as Ray always is, but I miss the barely-caged passion and furious strumming of Trouble.

He does get pretty downright bluesy and funky with a couple of the songs, and there are some lovely, lovely strings that downright devastate me. Here is the tracklisting, and since I can’t share any of the album tracks, there are links to some live versions from a previous post:

01. Be Here Now (an interesting choice for opening track, clocking in at over 6 minutes, swirling, building, almost ethereal)

02. Empty (live version from Bonnaroo, album version is more restrained)

03. Barfly (intro melody sounds like a slowed down “Walk On The Wild Side”)

04. Three More Days (very bluesy, Memphis horns on the album. Live version here)

05. Can I Stay? (a little too slickly smooth for me on the album, but I love this song, absolutely gorgeous. A live version is here)

06. You Can Bring Me Flowers (another bluesy riff song with Ray’s smoky rough vocals cutting through the haze. Great harmonica licks, but an ill-advised flute solo straight out of Anchorman at the end)

07. Gone Away From Me (lyrics of your standard wrenching love lost, very simple verses, folksy structure. Album version has addition of brass backing. Used to be called Life Is Long, live version here)

08. Lesson Learned (Opening instumental similar to Empty, lyrics that recall “Burn” from Trouble, one of the few tracks on the new album where he lets his vocals GO, he wails at the beginning. Live version here)

09. Instrumental (this is the one I can’t get – sounds like it belongs on the Princess Bride film score. Maybe I am missing something.)

10. Till The Sun Turns Black (Pretty faithful to the live version, but with the addition of delicate strings. Live version here)

11. Coda (this, for me, is really a standout track on the album. A lovely cadence, layered “la la la” vocals, the feeling of a closing refrain)

I was hoping for the inclusion of a few other GREAT older songs he’s been playing live, such as “Still Can’t Feel The Gin,” “You Should Belong to Me,” “I Can Get High (All By Myself)“ and the frickin’ fantastic “Heaven Is A Honky Tonk,” but not this time around. Maybe the next one . . . *sigh*

BONUS: Ray LaMontagne interview from Atlanta’s 92.9 here, (with a live performance of three songs, ones from Trouble).