It’s already a new week? One thing that flew past me in the craziness of last week was a mention of the new Contrast Podcast that I contributed to, where a bunch of us bloggers get together to virtually DJ a radio show. The theme last week was Who?and I finally contributed a most excellent Pearl Jam track (“Who You Are”). I held out on the PJ for a while but hey, what do you expect?
This upcoming week Tim will be putting together Contrast Podcast #18 wherein all of us were supposed to submit an instrumental track and then SING OUR INTRO. I confess, I recorded one and then buckled. I listened to it, buckled, and didn’t send it. I can sing, but geez that felt too vulnerable. I’ll be interested to see who had the cajones to submit for this week’s podcast. In the meantime, listen to last week’s for some mind-expanding variety & good tunes.
Chains Danielia Cotton Swanky, bluesy, delicious. Danielia Cotton hit the music scene with a bang last year with her Small White Town debut album (HipShake Music). This is a raw, soulful, dust-on-the-front-porch album from Danielia, who alternately shares some of the growl of Joss Stone, the blues-rock of the Black Crowes, and the vocal chops of Janis Joplin. She combines her skills on the guitar with an appreciation of all the musical greats that came before her, and the result is fresh and highly recommended.
So Good To Me Sam Champion Now despite the name, Sam Champion is a quartet from New York, not just one guy named Sam (they apparently named their band after a weatherman from a 1974 TV show). Thanks to my pal Chad for enthusiastically recommending this Ryan Adams-fronting-Pavement sound. He said I would be humming the main riff (from this track off their 2005 album Slow Rewind, Razor & Tie) and I have been all morning. A spirited alt-country shout-out chorus with handclaps & some fierce electric guitars; I like it.
Reconstruction Site The Weakerthans I am just rediscovering The Weakerthans; an old friend slipped me their Left and Leaving disc back in 2000, and I promptly lost it in a box of stuff when I was moving. I just found it this weekend and have been listening ever since, and catching up on what they’ve done since then. This track is off their 2003 follow-up to Left and Leaving, the weathered sounds of the Reconstruction Site album. If you’ve never heard these guys, give all their work a spin. They have a quirky blend of several influences, from country to punk to indie folksy — all wrapped with bitingly intelligent lyrics. It’s those lyrics that make me want to listen again and again. On this track, there’s a simple line that nonetheless conveys perfectly a sense of unease: “I’m your dress near the back of your knees and your slip is showing.” Bucket Full Of Nails Centro-Matic I swore I wrote something about Centro-Matic a few months ago when I discovered the loose & beautiful sound of these Texas indie-alt-rock-country guys. But I guess not, so now I get to recommend that you take a listen to their newest disc Fort Recovery (Misra Records) which has a melancholy sweet air permeating the whole thing. One reviewer wrote that it captures “that time just before the sun goes down when everything looks burnished and beautiful, but also a little sad” and I completely agree. This piano track also has a lazy touch of Jagger or Wayne Coyne on the vocals.
Into The Groove Sonic Youth. Covering Madonna. Seriously. You all know that I love covers, and I will argue that the very best of the covers are the ones that take the original and turn it into something completely new — Exhibit A: Cat Power, “Satisfaction.” Exhibit B: This damn song. The torchbearers of mid-90s-fuzzy-rock, Sonic Youth, slog their way through Madonna’s slumber party favorite and, well, there’s something special about Thurston Moore’s voice cracking on the high notes. Whose idea was this? (thx Matt)
BONUS RECOMMENDED READING: I found that I could relate to about 20 things in this article by the Heather from Dooce, detailing her college years of loving ’90s music and BritPop, studying abroad in London and going on an Oasis history hunt, and reflections on how (to her Mormon ears), “the heartbreak in Kurt Cobain’s voice was to me what it would sound like to violate all the ten commandments at the same time.”
Thanks to a hot tip from a fellow music blog addict, I recently got turned on to the swanky, fun, clever music of L.A.’s Hello Stranger. Fronted by that hot gal above in the red boots (Juliette Commagere), Hello Stranger has put together a polished, diverse, and radio-ready collection of songs on their self-titled debut album.
Hello Stranger formed in 2003 when Los Angeleña Juliette Commagere and drummer Joachim Cooder (son of bluesman Ry Cooder) met up with the freshly-arrived-in-CA Jared Smith (guitar). With the addition of their bass player Ben Messelbeck, Hello Stranger was born. Their first incarnation as a band was called Vagenius, but I must say Hello Stranger is a vastly better name, mostly because it doesn’t sound like an STD.
Fresh and retro-cool, Hello Stranger alternates between the warm loll of a voice like Chrissie Hynde and the teasing pop sound of the Cardigans, with just enough of the coy ’80s electronica pop sheen a la Blondie. With playful synthesizers and singalong harmonies, you will want to listen this until the last warmth of summer fades from the streets.
Hello Stranger has toured the country three times (once with Kings of Leon), and were recently holding the Wednesday night rotation spot at Spaceland in Silverlake, a gig previously filled by Giant Drag and Rilo Kiley. So keep an ear out for these folks coming to your town. They’re doing a bunch of shows at cool venues in the coming months; Aug 11 at Beauty Bar (San Diego), Aug 24 at Hotel Utah (San Francisco), Sept 5 at the Hi-Dive (Denver) and lots more across the country.
Fluxblog posted up this surprisingly plaintive and pretty two-minute song from them, lamenting the growing distance in a relationship. It is addictively simple, but wrenching as well:
Es Tu Vida (a sexy little Spanish dance hit, a nod to Juliette’s Mexican heritage).
Their new self-titled album comes out August 8th on Aeronaut Records. It’s produced by Ry Cooder and engineered by Don Smith (The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan). I am not sure what’s going on with the album cover — it involves some sort of lunar expedition, accompanied by wolves and crows, with completely appropriate red knee-high boots. Right on, right on. Regardless, this is a disc you should pick up. I am convinced that everyone’s music collection can use more good female-fronted sounds, especially one with a hot chick who plays the keytar at the fore.
Ah, where to begin? I have just spent a fantabulous two days saturated with all the Pete Yorn I can handle (although yes, I’d go for more). Two in-store appearances packed with acoustic rarities, two fantastic concerts with the full repertoire of songs, and a one fine interview for y’all – an insight into the mind of the man behind the music.
Pete Yorn is an authentic, quality singer-songwriter (slash drummer, slash guitarist, slash multi-instrumentalist) with heartfelt passion for his music. This 32-year-old from Jersey combines raw urgency with melodic beauty, and I think that he is currently making and performing some of the best music of his career. If you can catch some of the remaining tour dates or in-stores, I urge you to do so. Many of the shows are sold out, but beg borrow and steal, baby.
If you have not yet read my massive post on Pete Yorn from a few months ago (or are unfamiliar with him), you must do so immediately. Full stop. The coolest thing to happen to me in recent memory is discovering on Monday night that Pete Yorn himself has previously read that very post on my very own little blog (and apparently the version of “Knew Enough To Know Nothing At All” that I have on there is a remix with Velvet Underground loops, not the original). Huh. Sweet beard of Zeus.
After some shuffling of schedules Monday night out on the open-air patio of the Walnut Room in Denver with Pete, we finally found some time to sit down together on Tuesday afternoon up in Boulder on a couch backstage at the Fox Theatre and chat a bit about what he has been up to. What I saw revealed was a rather pensive (but funny) musician with a lot of interesting things to say while he rubbed his guitar-string calloused fingertips. ————————————————————————- Pete Yorn Interview, July 25, 2006 Fox Theatre, Boulder, Colorado
So, tell me about your new album Nightcrawler. What is the musical progression or evolution from your two previous records, Musicforthemorningafter and Day I Forgot, to the new Nightcrawler?
It’s a completely different record than either of the other two records. The natural progression for me is just being older, living more, experiencing more. Right from the first song on Nightcrawler (“Vampyre”), it’s definitely a darker tone than what I’ve set with other records, but there’s a lot of bright spots on there too. But I mean, with any record if you just listen to the first song and think that’s what the whole record is going to sound like, you’d be missing a lot, it’s a pretty diverse. And I work on the order of the songs to make a flow that I like, so yeah, that’s something that’s important to me.
The vibe during the recording was everything from free-and-easy to real pain in the ass. We recorded something like fifty songs for Nightcrawler, so it was hard for me to pick. I have that problem with every record, its always hard for me to pick what’s gonna make it and what’s not gonna make it. I try to put together a group of songs that’s gonna fit well together, ones that kind of enhance each other. I started recording songs for Nightcrawler at the end of 2003, beginning of 2004, so it’s been a few years in the making, lots of songs recorded.
Were the Westerns EP songs recorded during the Nightcrawler sessions? Or do you look at that as a separate project?
A bunch of those songs were done & recorded in Jersey. Some of that stuff was like the first stuff I did when I got inspired to record again, and it always just stayed with me. Then I kinda went and started doin’ the other stuff, but then when it was time to put the record together I was like, “Man, I really want that [Westerns] stuff to get out there.” It just has an innocence to it, to my ear anyway, that I like. Westerns just feels a little more rootsy to me than Nightcrawler.
And the Dixie Chicks got involved because I was writing songs with them for their record, and we were friends through that. Then, they came out to L.A. to do their record with Rick Rubin, and that’s where I was recording at the time, so I asked them to come . . . I thought they would just be perfect for those songs.
Do you think there is more freedom in doing an EP than a full-length album because perhaps there aren’t the same commerical pressures with an EP?
Hmmmm. No. That’s never why I do it anyway, so I mean – maybe other people are pressured to market it. But I just want to put forward music that I am into, music that I want to play, that captures a good vibe. So whether its Westerns or Nightcrawler, it’s the same approach.
You opened for Bon Jovi in 2003 . . .
Yeah (laughs)…
And you’ve played hundreds of shows, both large and small. Is there one that stands out in your mind as being particularly memorable?
Yeah, uh . . . last night in Denver? I always remember my last show the most vividly. But they’re all different in their own way. It’s weird with me, like sometimes I’ll be havin’ a bad time during the show, and then I get offstage and everyone thinks it’s like the greatest show we’ve ever played. Then there’ll be times when we’ll be having the best time on stage and everyone’s like, “Eh, it was just alright …” So my perception of a good time might be different than what’s going on in front, but I try to make every show stand out in its own way.
What excites you about music today?
I listen to mostly older stuff. I haven’t really been listening to much new stuff at all. It’s like I do so much music that it’s all I do, so I haven’t been listening to music that much. I kind of like to take a break from it on my downtime. So like, driving around I listen to talk radio.
Can you list any of your top desert island discs?
Oh man, it changes a lot. London Calling I love, always have, still do. Sounds great. The Stones — Sticky Fingers, Let it Bleed, Exile On Main Street. I like the Stones a lot. Uh, Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
What was the first song you remember learning? Either on drums or guitar, since I know you do both.
On drums I remember learning “Dance The Night Away” by Van Halen when I was like nine. On guitar, like at 12 or 13, I learned maybe like “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” or something. Those first chords. And I remember learning bass lines, like I could play “Smoke On The Water” or Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun” (sings tune). But then I learned chords and I remember that Poison song was two chords, it was like G and C, so it was easy. And I told my mom that I wrote it (laughs).
You’ve performed a variety of interesting covers, from Mark James’ “Suspicious Minds” to Beach Boys to The Smiths. How do you pick covers? Are there just songs that you can see through to the core of it and know it conveys something for you?
Hmmm, well sometimes lyrically something will really hit home, like “Oh, I wish I said that” and then you’ll want to sing it. Like with [The Smiths'] “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,” I’ve always loved that song so much. It’s kind of dark imagery in it, but the other night somewhere I did [Warren Zevon's] “Splendid Isolation” into “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and lyrically they are such strong statements, they’re like polar opposites. Like one’s this too-super-cynical guy who just wants to be alone and be a hermit, and then on the other side of someone who is so lonesome they just want to go out and don’t even care if they crash and die next to the person — they are so desperate for contact. And I never realized that until I sang them both back to back, I was like “holy shit.” Then I see the parallels in a lot of my own songs, when I’ll go into a song and then the next song for some reason will pop into my head as a polar opposites.
Are there any songs that you think would be cool to cover that you haven’t done yet?
“Unsatisfied” by Paul Westerberg – The Replacements. Definitely.
I always appreciate the interesting layers of percussion that you use in all of your songs, and I know that your roots are as a drummer. When it comes to songwriting, what comes first in your mind? Do you ever think of the drum portion first and then go into the melody or the lyric?
Yeah, “Strange Condition” was a drumbeat, it was just like (“slap, pat, tap tap, pat” on his knees) and I was like, “I like that beat, I’m gonna write a song to that.” Um, “Committed” was a drumbeat. Committed was actually the drumbeat to “Surrender” by Cheap Trick, exactly. I mean, literally, it was The Drums from Surrender — we got the tracks of Bun E. Carlos playing it, just the drum track, and Surrender is a great song, great rhythm, great tempo, and I just threw it down and wrote Committed – just played into it. Someone emailed me saying that they heard Bun E. Carlos on XM Radio or something the other day — or maybe it was Sirius or something – and he was saying, “Oh yeah, I played drums on ‘Committed’ with Pete Yorn,” even though it was just his drum disc. Well, it IS him, but it wasn’t like he was there. I was surprised he even knew about it. In the credits I did put Bun E. Carlos on it. But it is as it is.
So you do work from those different perspectives when you’re writing songs . . .
Yeah, like, “Black” I wrote on the bass, it’s just a bass line — you know, like (imitates bass line) — and immediately that drumbeat just came right in (slaps his knees in time). But yeah, a lot of stuff starts from that bass and rhythm.
You played a gorgeous version of Bandstand In The Sky last night, and I know that you’ve said that was written the day Jeff Buckley died.
Yeah, I wrote that when I heard the news. I didn’t know him, but it just popped out. I’m a fan of Grace. I remember the first time I heard it, I was in school still, college. I ‘member this friend of mine was a film major and asked me to be in his student film and I was like, “Alright, sure.” And I remember we were filming at a gas station and I had to just sit in the car and throw a tennis ball at the dashboard and catch it, for like, hours. It took them forever to set up the shot, they were just learning how to use all the stuff and nothing would work. So I’m just sitting in the car for hours and I remember just playing “Last Goodbye” on repeat. Just over and over and over and over again, loving that song, and loving the whole record.
[Pauses] . . . But just having a night with that. It would end and I’d start it again.
The last song on Nightcrawler is a studio version of “Bandstand.” It’s kind of slow, mid-tempo. It’s a cool version.
You’ve had a lot of songs on movie soundtracks in the past few years. Do you have anything new coming up?
Yeah, I just did a, uh, Paul Westerberg song. He scored this new animated movie that’s coming out called Open Season, and they called me and asked me to sing one of the songs, so I recorded it and sang it. In the movie there’s an orchestrated version, then I recorded one for the soundtrack, like my own version. The song is called “I Belong,” and I think it comes out September 29th.
(Laughs) Yeah, how did that come about? Um, my friend recorded the song for them, for “Afternoon Delight,” my buddy Doc. And he called me one day and he was like, “Dude, they need people to be in this video they’re shooting!” and I was like, “What is it?’ and he’s like “It’s fuckin’ Will Ferrell in Anchorman!” and I was like “No shit, really? Hell yeah, let’s do it!” I had nothing to do, so I headed down and they slapped some big old moustache on me and a turtleneck. Actually if you notice, I’m not playing with my hands, I’m playing with mallets! I’m playing mallets on the bongo, it’s really . . . silly.
[Commence laughing, general thanking, and farewells as we realize the time and Pete heads off to his in-store; you know, poor form to be late to those]
Additional photos from Dave Ventimiglia, taken at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis, 7/1/06. —————————————————————-
Now I’ve amassed such a collection of songs & video from the last two days that it is hard to filter (hence the exercise in complete excess which follows shortly). The live shows were absolutely amazing; Pete is backed by an excellent band that knows their shiz — they are cohesive and tight, but they also are having a good time (the proof is right here).
I have picked out some of my favorites from the two shows here (caveat — I taped it again myself so don’t expect excellent audio, just a document of the occasion that is listenable, except maybe for the warbling girls next to me):
FOUR HIGHLIGHTS FROM DENVER Crystal Village This song is absolutely anthemic in concert, an elevating experience. Listen to the crowd sing along. “Take my hand, come with me, I see the lights so brightly. And we fall as if we never really mattered.”
Good Advice A rocker off the Westerns EP, full of lyrics about showin’ the world you can dance. Even if you can’t. Bassist Sid Jordan manages to thrum out the hip-shakin’ bass line, sing harmonies throughout the show, and all without taking the cigarette out of his mouth. It’s a gift, really.
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Smiths cover) I had never really listened to these lyrics before Pete played it because I was not a goth kid in high school (you know the two camps, goth or rock?) but now I am glad to have it in my musical knowledge because it is so evocative & urgent.
Bandstand In The Sky I can’t express how breathless I was when he announced this song, since it was written about Jeff Buckley and I had just been thinking as I drove up to the concert how much I would love to hear this live. Stunning.
THREE HIGHLIGHTS FROM BOULDER A Girl Like You One of the things I had said to Pete the night before was that I had missed the inclusion of “Girl Like You” (after which he asked if I had green eyes, but I didn’t get the lyrical reference until about an hour later when I was driving home and I had a smack-the-forehead moment). This is such a perfect little song.
For Nancy (‘Cos It Already Is) This song rocks hard live, and watching drummer Mal Cross furiously cut loose at the end just exhausted me in one of the best ways possible.
Lose You The opening piano notes of this song just hang in the air with such a sense of anticipation, it almost knocked the wind out of me. Another absolute gem. Joe Kennedy rocks on the piano.
IN-STORE PERFORMANCES Then I will post the complete sets for both in-store performances, since the audio quality is better on these and the songs are generally pretty rare.
Boulder, Bart’s Records July 25, 2006 1. Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon cover) 2. Baby I’m Gone (yeah!) 3. I Feel Good Again (Junior Kimbrough cover) 4. June(Pete refers to this as one of his favorite songs) 5. Alive (from the new album Nightcrawler)
COMPLETE SETS Finally, I also uploaded and zipped the full shows:
So if you were busy last weekend when the WXPN All About The Music Festival was streaming all that great live music (or like me, trying to simultaneously mind the BBQ and listen – not easy) Sweet Oblivion has ripped some audio, including Brandi Carlile’s set and Jim James from My Morning Jacket.
Brandi also cranked out one additional tune which was not broadcast on the streaming audio show, but thanks to little music elves I have a copy for you. It is a quality version of her wrenching cover of Radiohead’s Creep, in all of its angsty glory. I think it is a really lovely cover:
Nope, I am not dead, just bit zonked today as I recover from my last two days & nights of rock ‘n’ roll excess. There are a few things I wanted to share with you:
Ray LaMontagne = out of the Guster tour Nada Surf = in with the Guster tour I had tickets to the Denver show, and I am hoping that now Ray LaMontagne will reschedule with solo shows. I hear that the dear Guster fans were not very supportive of Mr. LaMontagne and his music, which is unfortunate. I’m just sayin’, is all.
Oasis has hand-assembled their favorite tracks for a best-of CD coming out in November, called Stop The Clocks. Grandiosely they’ve announced that these are “the songs they believe encapsulate their remarkable career to date.”
Stop the presses. One of the members of N*SYNC (did I get the star in the right place?) Lance Bass is gay.
Shut up. Didn’t see that one coming, right?
Since we’re chatting about boy bands already, Justin Timberlake has his new sexxy video on the web (and yes, it is “sexxy” with 2 x’s). You know you never listen to Justin Timberlake, right? As my friend Chad says, those songs you have in your iTunes library are just free software packages that came with the computer or something. Hey, how did those get on there? (“I feel like somethin’s heatin’ up – Can I leave wich u?…”)
James Hunter, whose disc People Gonna Talk is a new summertime favorite, is doing a free in-store in San Francisco on Friday (Virgin Megastore on Stockton) at 6pm. Check out this fantastic blend of Van Morrison, Sam Cooke, and sheer goodness. Some Velvet Blog has two live songs from him for exclusive download.
Fuel favorite LUCE has some new tour dates announced for August & September (including one here on my Dad’s birthday. I think I should take him). Read about this great San Francisco band here.
Oh, and paparrazzi stalkers record 18 minutes of new U2 off Bono’s patio. Creepy, yet oddly irresistable. And yes, yes I know that Pearl Jam is opening for U2 in Hawaii. Cara and I are trying to think of ways to jumpstart our pro-surfing careers to get some all-expense paid trips to Hawaii. We’re working on it, and will let you know how it goes.
An absolute orgy of Pete Yorn goodies coming later, for those so inclined. Audio, video, interview – it will be a thing of glory. Just wait.
I have been finding a lotofinterestingreading on the always-packed-with-goodness Largehearted Boy blog/music news conglomerate. I recommend you browse it yourself, but the link that I thought was the most amusing recently was this description of a new game, iPod War. It’s like the old card game you played when you were seven because it was the only game you could understand (“War! My eight beats your two!”), but with iPods set to shuffle. Sounds lame a little, yes, but the way she explains it made me laugh.
You and a friend each set your iPod on shuffle, then listen to and compare what pops up. Whoever has ‘The Better Song’ gets one point. The author illustrates several vagaries to consider in judging:
-Older doesn’t always mean better. (“Yes, music was exceptionally rad from 1964-1982. Doesn’t mean a song from 1995 can’t be better.”) -Don’t demand a win on principle. (You say: “But the Rolling Stones kick Prince’s ass!”) Each song should be evaluated on its own merit. (I say: “While The Stones are an important part of music history, there are lots of Stones songs that are mediocre/sucky and some Prince songs that fucking rule.”). -Counting Crows never wins. -If neither person will concede the win, “Vietnam” is declared (both sides claim a win, but nobody really won).
Even though, clearly, sometimes the Counting Crows DO win, I applaud her creativity. A simple little game for the music nerds out there, to entertain yourself for a trip on the tube or a really boring homeroom class.
Onto my random musical selection for this week, for your enjoyment.
Happiness Michael Stipe & Rain Phoenix I’ve been on a bit of an R.E.M. kick lately after making a mix up for a friend who was severely lacking in the Athens, Georgia college band department. Amidst my sifting, I rediscovered this poppy little song from the soundtrack of the 1998 film of the same name by Welcome to the Dollhouse director Todd Solondz. The song is written by Eytan Mirsky, and it plays over the ending credits. Who knew Rain Phoenix could sing? Those multi-talented Phoenixes.
Bounce That Girl Talk This looks horrifying, but I cannot defy the inexorable and unexpected party power of this fantastic song. If you are able to listen to this guilty pleasure without moving some piece of yourself (be it a tapped toe, a bouncing chin, a shakin’ rear end) then I will personally salute you in disbelief. The inexplicably awful-named Girl Talk (aka Greg Gillis) has made “the ADD-afflicted’s album of the year” with Night Ripper, which throws together literally hundreds of recognizable hooks from popular songs of the past 40 years in an extremely pleasurable blend. It has been burninguptheblogs (especially after Pitchfork gave it an 8.4). I hear everything from the Breeders to Elastica to Van Halen, Smashing Pumpkins, Temptations — come on. It looks like a really bad idea, but I swear it’s not. Download it immediately.
Mine Ain’t Yours Lions In The Street Magnet Magazine said of these guys, “What the Stones were, what the Dandy Warhols should’ve been” — and they are spot-on. Lions In The Street (who borrow their name from a Doors lyric) have released a sloppy & bluesy free EP on their website, I recommend snagging these five songs and adding them to your collection. They’ re embarking on their first US tour this summer/fall – in the past they’ve opened for Kings of Leon, JET, Ambulance LTD, and The Zutons. Swaggering & rollicking stuff.
Tell Me Rooney This new one from L.A.-based retro-rock outfit Rooney was posted on their website last week as a little sample of their sophomore album, due out Fall 2006. We’ve got some serious ’70s arena rock goin’ on here – sounds like the kid from The Redwalls fronting Queen. Anthemic and fun, and I do like it, but I’m still trying to assimilate the fact that they’re touring with Kelly Clarkson this summer. What?
Atlantic City/Murray Pete Yorn This one is a nod to the fact that mere hours from now I will be heading to see Mr. Yorn himself — first to the in-store at the Twist ‘N’ Shout, then off to the sold-out show at the Walnut Room.I am uber looking forward to it, it will be the first time I’ve seen him live. This track is a standout from his excellent double-disc Live From New Jersey (2004), blending together some Springsteen with a Yorn original. The subject matter fits, the transition is seamless. If you don’t have any other Yorn stuff and want a good introduction, I recommend the live CD, and remember his new disc Nightcrawler comes out August 29.
WXPN in Philly is hosting their All About The Music Festival this weekend, and after torrential monsoon rains and lightning yesterday, some of the acts have been rescheduled for today — joining a line-up that was pretty top-notch to begin with. You can stream all the sets online today (terrestrial listeners in Philly and Delaware Valley and South Jersey can tune in at 88.5), and read more about the acts on the music page. If you are around the house and looking for some good listenin’ today, these acts are hard to beat:
1:50pm (all times EDT)Lotus 2:50pm Jim James of My Morning Jacket 4:00pm IV Thieves<---Formerly Nic Armstrong & The Thieves 5:10pm Alejandro Escovedo 6:25pm Amos Lee 7:40pm Brandi Carlile 9:10pm Allen Toussaint
I absolutely love Ireland’s unofficial Ambassador of Melancholy Damien Rice and his 2003 release O. There is so much beauty, longing, and sadness wrapped up into those songs. Rice has a way of constructing these haunting & languid melodies, incorporating evocative strings to have as potent of a voice as his own. And, for the record, “The Blower’s Daughter” is the best 3am song ever ever written. (Oh, Wayne Rooney likes it too)
So, recently when a friend shared five new/unreleased songs from Damien Rice, I was excited to hear some new material which might be on his sophomore album (very tentatively rumored to be called “Childish” and out in December, according to Rice at a recent concert). Details on the new album are super sketch at this point, but Q Magazine did report that the song “Cross-eyed Bear” (which Rice contributed to the Help: A Day In The Life compilation) is a taste of new material and the direction he is going for the second album. These other five tracks will also give you a sense of what’s he’s been up to.
Accidental Babies – Damien Rice A popular and notable addition to many of his recent live shows (this version is from a June 2005 Paris show @ Le Trianon); a gut-wrenching piece about love & loss that I can’t stop listening to. This is the age-old breakup song wherein the singer wonders about everything his lover is doing with her new guy (“Do you brush your teeth before you kiss? Do you miss my smell? Do you really feel alive without me? If so, be free. If not, leave him for me – before one of us has accidental babies.”)
Toffee Pop (live) – Damien Rice A mid-tempo number, beginning with furious acoustic guitar and a tapping foot as the sole percussion. A more playful song which I take to be about falling in love (or lust or something in between): “Lollipop licking with Lola sticking like toffee to my teeth / Wait, watch, gravitate.” This was first heard with Juniper, Damien’s earlier band with guys who are now in Bell X1.
Then Go (live) – Lisa Hannigan & Damien Rice This is another Juniper song, this version featuring Lisa Hannigan handling the lead vocals with Rice coming in with harmonies. Haunting and somber, as her voice always is. The lyric “Did your mother have you easily?” reminds me of the Ryan Adams lyric (which I find sweet, though others would argue it is creepy): “I would have held your mother’s hand on the day that you were born.”
Sand (radio broadcast version) – Damien Rice A simple song of happy love, of a growing conviction that you are with the right person. “My love, my life, my work, my time / I give them all to you / Your hand in mine we walk, we talk in rhyme / We go the whole night through.”
Baby Sister (radio broadcast version) – Damien Rice Another older unreleased song, Rice addresses grittier subject matter with this ode to escaping domestic violence. “Baby sister, keep drinking / Or he’ll hit you / He’ll bleach your eyes / So be a good girl / Just for the night / And run, run…”
As a bonus, I’ve long found this hidden track from “O” to be quietly devastating, but it doesn’t fit on a Christmas mix because, well, it only shares the melody of the Christmas carol and none of the calmness, brightness or peace. The a cappella vocals are all by the lovely 24-year-old Lisa Hannigan, who accompanies Rice on many of his songs.
In addition to Pearl Jam playing one of the best setlists I’ve ever seen on Sunday night in my beloved San Francisco (as in, if I could have handpicked my favorite songs for a set, this would be a solid frontrunner), they unleashed this on Tuesday night. And I wasn’t there for either.
I KNEW I should have stowed away in that airplane wheelwell (since I couldn’t afford a plane ticket) after a KICKASS reader offered me a free ticket to one of the SF shows.
All Along The Watchtower – Pearl Jam (written by Dylan, but how can you not associate Hendrix when you hear this version?)
Ed introduces this song by saying: “. . . And I’m not sure why, but this feels like a San Francisco song. And, uh . . . I think we’re gonna play the shit out of it.”
(cue McCready, who finished the song with this) . . .
Ben Kweller has a new album coming out, called . . . Ben Kweller (due Sept 12). This is apparently because the album is all him, singing, doing all the instruments. Pretty impressive stuff, especially from a new dad who likely doesn’t even get to sleep at night. If Kweller really wanted to work it rock ‘n’ roll style, he could let said new baby cry on the background tracks for a song on the album, a la Coco Gordon Moore (Sonic Youth offspring) on the Mike WattBallhog or Tugboat album. But I digress (as usual – it’s just how my brain works).
Ben Kweller doesn’t look a day over twelve (okay, he’s 25), but here he is both reproducing AND recording mature, well-thought-out, melodic pop. More power to him (although I don’t advocate the concept of actual twelve-year-olds reproducing, for the record). Here’s a little snippet off the new disc, which is a surprisingly lovely piece of storytelling.
Oh, and try and argue that this is not the perfect first song for your next roadtrip mixtape.
Name: Heather Browne Location: Colorado, originally by way of California Giving context to the torrent since 2005.
"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel." —Hunter S. Thompson
Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.
It’s already a new week? One thing that flew past me in the craziness of last week was a mention of the new Contrast Podcast that I contributed to, where a bunch of us bloggers get together to virtually DJ a radio show. The theme last week was Who? and I finally contributed a most excellent Pearl Jam track (“Who You Are”). I held out on the PJ for a while but hey, what do you expect?
So Good To Me
Reconstruction Site
Bucket Full Of Nails
Into The Groove 
I absolutely love Ireland’s unofficial Ambassador of Melancholy 
Name: Heather Browne
