Fun is getting smaller, people

I’d just like to take a moment to mourn the passing of the “Fun Size” candy bar as we know it.

With Halloween coming, we picked up two large bags of chocolate delicacies at Sam’s Club last weekend, in preparation for the costumed masses that happily descend on our house in suburbia.

Now, I may (or may not) have opened said bag of candy in advance and behind closed doors, you know, just to sample the wares and make sure nothing is poisoned. I was shocked and chagrined to see that fun is apparently getting smaller, with Snickers and Milky Ways (and maybe more — who knows how far this travesty has spread) now tinier than ever, mysteriously shrunken from the candy I remember by about 1/3. I thought I was crazy until my friend Jenn recently commented on the same abhorrence, reassuring me that I’m not completely nuts yet.

You don’t just go around messing with Halloween history, M&M/Mars Co.! Is nothing SACRED anymore?

Little Things (acoustic) – Bush
(Heather hearts Gavin Rossdale)

I Want Candy (Kevin Shields remix) – Bow Wow Wow
(from that Marie Antoinette soundtrack you can enter to win here til Friday the 20th)

Monday Music Roundup

Greetings from California! It’s been a busy, fantastic weekend. I flew into SFO early Saturday morning, descending through the pea-soup fog and thinking, as always, that the plane was going to land on the Bay, but at the last minute the runway always appears. Thankfully. When I got the rental car, I had some time to kill before I had to be in San Jose, so I took a quick jaunt through the City and saw the Golden Gate (just to say hello) and some other gorgeous landmarks. The best thing about Saturday was that KFOG radio was playing an A-Z Beatles retrospective all day long – I cannot think of a better soundtrack for my drive. It was thorough and fantastic.

Yesterday was my husband’s birthday and we celebrated by eating all day at a big family party. We had a Spongebob Squarepants pinata and I got the therapeutic honor of smacking the bejesus out of it to finish it off after the candy was out. The arm flew off Spongebob, and a leg. It was awesome, although it makes me wonder a little bit why it was so dang satisying. Something visceral about using a baseball bat like that. And today my sides still hurt from laughing so hard on the long night drive back to San Jose.

Here are a few songs I am enjoying this week, having time to listen to some new releases on the airplane:

“Fata Morgana“
Gary Lucas and Gods & Monsters
For those of you who may follow or share my Jeff Buckley obsession, you may find this first track especially interesting. Respected guitarist Gary Lucas co-wrote some of Jeff’s earliest material (such as those heartbreaking guitar solos in “Grace”) and was briefly formed a band with Jeff when he first moved to New York City. As much as I am sure Gary wants to be viewed as an independent artist, I can still hear some of those Buckley threads in this new song, off Gary Lucas’ new album Coming Clean (Oct 17 on Mighty Quinn in the US, Oct 31 on Side Salad Records UK ).

“Red Wine, Success!“
Cold War Kids
I’ve been listening to the Cold War Kids‘ self-titled album a few times through this weekend, trying to figure them out (and liking the process). This group from Fullerton, California has a loose and eclectic sound — and this song sounds more than a little like it also channels some of Jeff Buckley’s best vocal ranting and ravings (listen to “Eternal Life”), while other songs have a more bluesy swagger and rock sound with falsetto vocals (think Rolling Stones meet the Scissor Sisters?). Hot off both SXSW and Lollapalooza this year, their debut disc Robbers & Cowards is out now on V2/Downtown Recordings.

“On Again, Off Again“
Sean Lennon
By now Sean Lennon‘s second album Friendly Fire is out (along with its bonus disc of videos), but I am just taking an initial listen after getting my promo copy. I found myself wondering if the seeds of Beatlesesque music are in his bloodstream like a parasite, compelling him to channel his father? Or is it a natural extension of spending the first years of his life hearing his Dad sing and play around the house? Either way, I am not complaining, but this song sounds like a dead-on ringer for his father’s music. Was it destined by fate or could Sean have chosen to have, like, a German screamo-death metal band?

“It’s The Shame“
Tift Merritt
There is a lovely new collection of songs from North Carolina’s music scene called Songs For Sixty Five Roses, out on Yep Roc Records. A play on how a child would pronounce “cystic fibrosis,” this is a warm and dusty collection of covers for a great cause, put together by Durham music producer & dad John Plymdale for his 4-year-old daughter Allie who has CF. Check out the website for a full listing of songs, but artists such as Caitlin Cary, Portastatic, and Eric Bachman perform tunes originally written by Ryan Adams, Superchunk, James Taylor and more. And the proceeds go to the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, so this is a recommended purchase.

“He-Man“
Ludacris
As my pal Chris over at Gorilla vs Bear wrote this week when he posted this up, it’s likely this is the only time I’ll ever post Ludacris. But seriously, the triumphant sample from the He-Man theme song in this tune is just too much for my little-kid-in-the-eighties receptors to resist. They rejoice in the guilty pleasure and I feel like I’m a kid eating cereal in front on the TV on a Saturday morning (even though my little brother was more into He-Man, while I preferred Jem and the Holograms because they were truly, truly, truly outrageous).

Six degrees of Bob Dylan

Last night I finally finished watching the final hour of the top-notch Martin Scorsese documentary No Direction Home, which follows Bob Dylan from his earliest beginnings, to his rise as a folk singer, through his controversial 1965 tour when he started to go electric. For someone who didn’t grow up seeing images of the young Dylan and the world he inhabited, I found it to be a fascinating character study and a look at how the world has changed in the past 40 years.

I can’t recommend this film highly enough. Scorsese unearthed a treasure trove of previously unseen film footage and audio recordings, and weaves it all together with honest reflections from Dylan himself. I thoroughly loved it.

Here are a few of my favorite songs from the soundtrack to No Direction Home, which is a fantastic double album just stuffed with rarities and alternate takes, part of the Bootleg Series:

“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” (Witmark demo) – Bob Dylan

“Desolation Row” (Take 1) – Bob Dylan

“Masters of War” (live at Town Hall) – Bob Dylan

“It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” (Take 9) – Bob Dylan
(alternate version they talk about in the film that is much more upbeat than the bluesy album version that Dylan came up with after recording this take)

“Like A Rolling Stone” (live in Manchester) – Bob Dylan
(last song performed in the film, where the crowd calls him Judas — and he plays even louder)

And regarding the subject of this post, the six degrees of Bob Dylan; Online magazine Coudal Partners is hosting a very cool contest where you try to connect various famous people to Bob Dylan in as few steps as possible. Today’s is J. D. Salinger, but see how quickly uberfans have been able to connect Zimmy to past challenges like Mary-Kate & Ashley, David Beckham, and Bugs Bunny. If you win the day’s entry, you get a copy of his new album Modern Times. All of those winners are in the hat to win the complete catalogue of every single Dylan album on Columbia (47 of ‘em). Put on your thinking caps!

As for me, I am off to California this week on vacation (hurrah) and I have an early flight this morning into SFO. Hence the posting time (or maybe I’m just up *really* late on a Friday night doing something cool other than packing? Naah . . .)

New from Jackie Greene: The Skinny Singers

Sacramento (Calif) songster Jackie Greene (whose American Myth album is just fantastic, and who you can see on some video I shot here) has formed a new band with Tim Bluhm (of Mother Hips). They are called the Skinny Singers (garage/country) for, as they say, “obvious reasons.” As their little MySpace profile says, “Together, they represent a musical force that is awe inspiring. They are also very skinny.” Take a listen:

“California Way” – Skinny Singers

“Down In The Valley” – Skinny Singers

My personal favorite of the three songs from them is only streaming on the site. It is called “Singing My Way To The Grave” and you can stream it here.

Matt Nathanson *can* get to what I need

Recently I had the pleasure of sharing some Japanese food with San Francisco singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson before his show in Boulder, catching up with him about his current tour, the music he loves, and new album coming in 2007. You’ve heard me talk about him before; a bonus discovery for me when he opened for G. Love and Special Sauce, of all people. He’s currently co-headlining a tour with Carbon Leaf, and has played with folks as varied as Fiona Apple, Toad The Wet Sprocket, O.A.R., and Train.

Matt is a compelling songwriter with a biting edge and a fiercely humorous energy. No moon-faced mopey songwriting here, he’d rather strike with a sharply incisive lyric or a driving melody. Even his acoustic shows rock pretty hard, and this current tour is with a full band, so it is exciting to see that side of his music as well. As Matt said once in concert, “Tonight is going to rock, I guarantee you. You are going to run home tonight, naked, and possibly on fire.”

How could you resist? I hear nothing but good things in the future for this fellow.

A CONVERSATION WITH MATT NATHANSON

Let’s start with a hard-hitting and serious journalistic question: If you were a white rapper, what would your street name be?

(no hesitation) MC Bitch Tits.

Niiice. I first saw you as an opening act last March in San Francisco, and the crowd was happy but not always, shall we say, attentive. What have you learned from being an opening act that you now use in your headlining shows? I imagine it must be quite an acrobatic stunt trying to hold the attention of some of these crowds.

Sometimes it’s a better fit opening for certain bands vs. others. When I opened for Tori Amos it was fantastic because the crowd was really ready to listen. G. Love can be a little bit more of a tough crowd. But I’d say I like being the opening act better, actually, than headlining. I like being the underdog and being underestimated and kind of trying to win my way. It’s much better than being in a position of, “Put on a great show. I came here to see you.” Much cooler. I mean, both are good shows, but I think opening is just fun in general. I like it.

It seems as if you are a total cover whore, which I can appreciate because I am too. Some are serious and gorgeous, like Romeo & Juliet, or Springsteen, but others are not so much (White Snake, Rick Springfield). How do you decide what covers to do, and what do you bring to it that makes it worthwhile?

People don’t always appreciate the Boss, but every crowd appreciates White Snake. For us as a band, it’s fun to do covers that are stupid, like last night for fun we did “Dancing With Myself,” didn’t really rehearse it. So it’s usually just like you’re in middle of a song and something makes you think of something, you follow the train of thought and all of a sudden you’re at “Crazy Train.” Occasionally, tags on the end of songs or at the beginning just pop into my head, like “Anna Begins” (or “Such Great Heights”) with “Bent,” or “Pictures of You” with “I Saw.”

Are there any covers you want to do that you haven’t tried yet?

Ohhhh . . . I want to do “Dreaming” by Blondie. I think that’s a great song. Ah, I love that song. But I don’t think we’ll ever do it.

Dual pronged question about music, take your pick:
-What do you find yourself listening to most often now?
-Top 5 Desert Island Discs

Oh, I buy records all the time, I go every Tuesday to the record store. It depends which one — Best Buy is cheap, but I go to Amoeba first . . . great. And Tower on Columbus, before Tower went belly up, they were great. My top albums? Man, how about…

U2 – Achtung Baby
Def Leppard – Hysteria
R.E.M. – Life’s Rich Pageant
Lou Reed – New York
Jane’s Addiction – Nothing Shocking

aaand . . . maybe Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (Black Crowes) if I can take six onto this island.

Music that’s blowing my mind; John Darnielle / The Mountain Goats. I’ve known him for a really long time, since college and he’s just soooo good (see A Violently Perfect Song). The first song on the new Ani DiFranco record blew my mind. I was really excited about that new Black Crowes double record thing that came out. I bought the My Morning Jacket live record, and last week I bought ummmm . . . Fergie (yeah), and Luna’s greatest hits. It just piles on, stacks and stacks of CDs, and eventually I get there and find time to listen to it all.

Are there any songs that you ever don’t feel like performing because they are so wrenching and, well, a lot of the situations are pretty crappy? Like, Ryan Adams wrote:
“there are just some songs that are too painful, not in an emo-core way or whatev, but in a personal way, that i see in a way that makes me uneasy and unable to translate from the frame of mind i am in now . . . and that song [Come Pick Me Up] doesnt speak to me. it isnt what i would say if i were being myself . . . i respect the song enough not to sing it and lie.”

Can you relate to that at all with any of your songs?

There may be songs that I don’t sing, just ones that don’t translate anymore . . .But that stuff’s all still in there, inside me. It hasn’t been solved. You know, it’s all kind of still — you can get to it pretty easy. It just sort of sits in a corner and waits for you to sort of be like, “Heyyyy!”

I don’t think I’ve had any trouble relating still to my songs. That’s probably not a good sign for my development as a human, but I can still pretty much relate to everything in there, all the ones I play.

In the past 11 years that you’ve lived in San Francisco, are you finding any specific influences from the city in the music you’ve written? Is there a sense of place that comes from songs written in different locales?

Unh-unh. Songs may be about different places, that happens. Like this song’s kind of a New York song or that one is somewhere else, based on the characters in it or whoever I wrote about. But most of my songs are just really specific about events, they’re mostly letters to people.

Like, a record from me will be, like, 12 letters to the same person. They’re not hybrids of different situations in the same song — I try not to do that because I want to communicate something to that person that the song is written about, that’s usually how it works. Almost to a fault, I feel that I really adhere to that concept, like trying to explain this situation in a song, what’s really going on in my life.

As far as San Francisco goes, as a songwriter I haven’t really written any songs that for me feel like San Francisco. I tour a lot. I try but — in songwriting I am working on kind of expanding the palette a little bit, so things get a little more dynamic, a little more soundscapey, you know?

I was talking to my friend today and I feel like I do a lot of, like, “Here’s a song. Here it’s delivered, here it is.” And it’s time to stop doing that, it’s time to start delivering them in a little bit more of a — Like making greatness, or trying to make greatness. It’s like when you have a record like the first Sheryl Crow record, that’s pretty much a singer-songwriter record, but like “Strong Enough” is just amazing because they totally went left field with how they made it, like what kind of guitar they used, and rhythm.

Once you’re confident in the songs, I think the next step (and I’ve never been able to do this) is to sort of step outside the confines of the song and see what it can be. There’s a couple on the new record that feel like they’re closer to that.

What do you think it would look like to reach that elusive quality of “greatness” in a song that you spoke of?

Ohhh, I don’t know. Like . . . Springsteen. Springsteen has moments. Springsteen is actually an example of someone who does the opposite of that concept. He adheres to strongly to the traditional structure — they sound like a rock band, but the lyrics, that’s where he gets away with it. “Born To Run” makes you feel like you’re on the Jersey shore, but it’s not because of the music, I don’t think. It’s more about his lyrics. Or like with U2, you hear “Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World” and, holy shit, it’s like it’s 6am on some street corner somewhere, like you are actually there.

When can we expect a follow-up to Beneath These Fireworks?

It’s almost done, actually. There are 11 songs done, and we’ll record another 4. We’re recording it in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it’ll probably be out in April of 2007. I’ve got a couple of titles floating around; it can be hard to name the album but eventually it just comes to you. I was thinking The Knife-Thrower’s Wife, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen now. I don’t actually know what it will be called right now.

Here are some unreleased songs you’ve done live that we’re curious about. Can you tell me which of these might be on the new album?

(Looks at paper)

*Prove to Me — “that’s never gonna make a record”
*So Long — “that’s so long gone”
*Car Crash — “that’s new, yep”
*Bulletproof Weeks
*Stay
*I Can’t Get to What You Need
*Winter Dress — “that’s called Wedding Dress now”
*Detroit Waves
*Come On Get Higher
*This Heartbreak World

So, yeah, pretty much all of those except “Prove to Me” and “So Long”.

You’ve worked with some awesome musicians on your last album: Matt Chamberlain, Glen Phillips, David Garza. Who would be on your dream team of collaborators for the future?

A couple of records ago I had Charlie [Gillingham] from the Counting Crows come in and play piano and he is just great. I loved working with Matt [Chamberlain], who was in Pearl Jam for like three weeks. I just totally just saw Pearl Jam in Irving Plaza, it was a fucking incredible show.

David Garza is amazing, just constantly creating. Our bass player John played with his band for a while around the time of This Euphoria.

And Glen Phillips sang some backup for me, and that was great. I’ve known Glen for a really long time, I just played a bunch of shows with Toad and we had a great time. He and I have known each other for like 14 years, and we had a fucking good hang, it was great.

There’s not many guests on the new album — my friend Susie sings backup on a couple songs, she was on that show Rockstar. I’ve never seen the show but she just has a great voice.

The new one, it’s kind of a mix of electric and acoustic. We’ve been debuting some of the songs at shows recently, we’ll play a bunch of them tonight.

Last question. I love your “Starfish & Coffee” Prince cover, it is an inspired flash of glory. So . . . what’s the best Prince song ever, and why?

“Never Take The Place of Your Man” live from Sign ‘o’ the Times the movie. Now that’s a great song. Prince is just great.

**************************************************************


Matt and his band did indeed rock Boulder that night with a crowd that was extremely attentive and tuned in to the vibe of the show. It was a pretty powerful aura of connection with the audience that evening, and the band seemed to be completely jelling together and really hitting their stride.

Matt played a mix of old and new songs, as well as a nice Violent Femmes cover and their cover of “Laid” by James. Of the new material, “Detroit Waves” was absolutely scorching, and I really liked the maturity and honest incisiveness of “I Can’t Get To What You Need.” Check it out, I think it’s great:

Here’s “Sad Songs,” one of my favorite songs of his off Beneath These Fireworks:

Finally, here’s a bit of his performance of “Bare,” another great song:

As a completely irrelevant postscript, I have to say that one of the funniest parts of the conversation we shared (and my personal favorite quote of the night because I am a total dog person): A golden retriever puppy comes up to our outside table. Matt asks the dog, very enthusiastically, “What are you doing?! Why are you perfect? Oh my god, you’re awesome. You’re so soft. What happened?!”

Come on, fuzzy puppies and good music. How could that not make for an excellent evening? Definitely go see Matt on tour if you can, and I am looking forward to hearing all of his new album next year. The strength of his lyricism and the goodness of the melodies make Nathanson one that I plan to keep an eye on.

TUNES: A few new ones from the Live Music Archive

Car Crash

Detroit Waves
(I think Matt said this was about being in an airplane over Detroit and not able to text message someone who you couldn’t control anymore)

Bulletproof Weeks
(Matt said this was about sleeping with someone that you really shouldn’t be sleeping with, and how it gets bad)

Come On Get Higher
(such a pretty, simple song)

Paolo Nutini: Live in LA, 9-13-06

I was trying on verylong shirts at Old Navy this weekend (why is everything about 17 inches too long this season? I object.) and, as you may have experienced, the soundtracking in that store can vary from “Omigosh I love this song” to “Help me leap over this rack of embroidered jeans to escape as quickly as possible before my ears start bleeding.”

Luckily when I was in there I was enjoying dancing a little in the fitting room to the sounds of Paolo Nutini, who I’ve written about once before here, but hadn’t had the pleasure of hearing loudly over a store speaker system yet.

The song on the Old Navy rotation is “Jenny Don’t Be Hasty” and I admit that he sounds so catchy and adorable with that accent that *I* almost want to marry him (even though he’s only like 18, as he laments to his older-woman crush in the song). Paolo is a Scot with Italian heritage, hence the Mediterranean name. His sound is sort of an acoustic-new wave with retro tinges, very enjoyable.

According to a recent blurb in Rolling Stone, after Nutini opened for the Rolling Stones in Vienna, he recounts: “I met the guys afterwards, and we had a chat. Mick thought I was Italian. When I told him I was Scottish, he laughed and said, ‘If I’d known you were Scottish, I wouldn’t have booked ya here!’”

Nutini is getting notice from my UK readers, who keep telling me to check him out (his upcoming UK tour is largely sold out already). This acoustic show from last month at Los Angeles’ Hotel Cafe is the perfect chance for you to do just that.

Also, Nutini’s Live Sessions EP is now available in the U.S. (iTunes, thinkindie and monitorthis).

PAOLO NUTINI
Sept 13, 2006
Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles
(re-upped 11/11/06)

01. “Alloway Grove“
02. “Rewind“
03. “Day Dream“ (Lovin’ Spoonful cover)
04. “New Shoes“
05. “These Streets“
06. “January“
07. “Million Faces“
08. “Last Request“
09. “Loving You“
10. “Jenny Don’t Be Hasty“

PAOLO NUTINI 09-13-06, ZIP FILE

Thanks to Cherbonsy for taping, uploading this and other great shows, and notifying me. His review of this show is here.

New Pearl Jam photo book (5×1) FINALLY available

I love it when Pearl Jam reads my mind. Just yesterday it occured to me that there was a book of live Pearl Jam photographs (5×1, by Seattle photographer and long-time friend of the band Lance Mercer) that was supposed to come out this past Spring, but that I never heard a peep about it following the initial announcement. I went trolling the web to no avail.

Then just today I was alerted that the book is now (finally) available. It’s 180 pages of concert and tour photos, like the Place/Date book (1998) which I own and love to leaf through. The price is a bit steep ($40!) but it’s got commentary from Pete Townshend, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe, Gloria Steinem, Howard Zinn, Cameron Crowe, Kelly Slater and more, so I will more likely than not end up coughing up the dough to buy it.

I’m just a girl who can’t say no when it comes to Pearl Jam.

Check it out here.

PearlJamOnline.it is a supercool Italian fansite with great downloads. Check out the rar/zip file of the best of the European 2006 tour. It’ll be on this page with the link that says “File zippato.” I love Italian.

And I’ve got two cool posts coming later today once EZArchive stops balking at doing its uploading duty. Same old, same old, I know. See you later.

Happy birthday John Lennon

John Lennon would have been 66 today (had he not been shot by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman in 1980). He was only 40 when he died, and I’ve sometimes wondered what other wonderful music he had still within him.

I figure the occasion of his entrance into this world (with a bang – he was born during a German aid raid over Liverpool the night of October 9-10, 1940) is a fine reason to post some covers off the Working Class Hero: A Tribute To John Lennon album (1995, Hollywood Records). It’s an eclectic little snapshot of the musical environment of the mid-90s, with some spiffy covers & interesting interpretations.

Also speaking of covers, Coverville has a John Lennon covers podcast for free download as well.

Instant Karma! – Toad The Wet Sprocket

Nobody Told Me – The Flaming Lips

I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier – Mad Season
(featuring Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees)

Power To The People – The Minus 5
(Scott McCaughey with members of R.E.M., The Posies, and Wilco & The Decemberists – in various incarnations)

Also, you may be interested in reading my post on the 25th anniversary of his death last year, which has an active download link to a demo version of my favorite Lennon solo song — one of the most gorgeous recordings you will ever hear: earnest and yearning and raw and perfect.

Monday Music Roundup

I don’t know if you are a fan of the comic strip Dilbert, but three strips last week made me laugh out loud over my morning coffee, and I thought I’d share that smile to start this Monday (which is a rainy Monday in Colorado). Plus, I absolutely want that design to the right on a t-shirt.
Dilbert 10/2
Dilbert 10/3
Dilbert 10/4

Then you also, of course, get your musical dose for the week of fresh tunes that I am enjoying:

“The Start Of Something“
Voxtrot
If The Smiths ever decided to get happy and land in mid-’60s Britain, the sound of Voxtrot might be the result. I’ve seen the name of this band all over the blogs but for whatever reason I never listened until I got a rather anonymous tip last night to listen to this song on their MySpace page, from the 2005 EP Raised By Wolves. I liked it immediately. You’d never guess these guys are out of Austin, Texas, would you?

“New England“
Tanya Donelly
It’s raining new songs from girl bands I liked in the ’90s. Belly rocked; I listened to their 1993 Star album more times than was likely healthy. Alongside Hole, Luscious Jackson, Veruca Salt and Juliana Hatfield, this was a little mini-pantheon of rocking women whom I could admire for their ferocious riffs and fearless lyrics. Tanya Donelly was the lead singer of Belly (and also co-founded both The Breeders with ex-Pixie Kim Deal & Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh) and is releasing a solo album, This Hungry Life, on October 17th through Eleven Thirty Records. I found it to be very amenable listening, and I am liking the George Harrison cover she does on the album of “Long, Long, Long.”

“Me and The Radio“
Chris Cubeta and The Liars Club
Here’s another recommendation to me (it only took me 4 months to get to it). My friend Jason writes for The Daily Vault and absolutely loved this roots-rock artist’s 2006 CD Faithful. Chris Cubeta is my age, a 27-year-old songwriter from New York, with a knack for rich, warm songs that belie his age and remind me some of Marah or Centro-Matic. This is the first track off Faithful and has a slight alt-country feel with a driving beat and earthy lyrics. Check out more tunes on his MySpace.

“Remember Me” (Otis Redding cover)
Cat Power
The lovely Chan Marshall (Cat Power) released a nice little 4-song EP over on eMusic recently, and it included this stunning Otis Redding cover where she channels his anguished vocal dramatic in a perfectly stylish way. Because we love Otis Redding and Cat’s impeccable taste in covers (I have yet to hear one that I don’t like from this gal), I thought I’d give a mention and encourage you to get the whole EP, which includes a version of “The Greatest,” from her 2006 album of the same name, a melancholy Hank Williams cover (“Ramblin’ Man”) and “Good Woman.”

“It Was You“
Lindsey Buckingham
I’ve met guys named Shannon and girls named Kendall, but I remember being thrown for a loop the first time I learned that this Lindsey is clearly NOT a girl. Guitar-picking mastermind Mr. Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac fame) has had a steady solo career which encompasses the last 25 years, and his newest album is called Under The Skin. I am seriously loving the odd reggae beat to this song (Stereogum hearts Lindsey Buckingham and tells me that some of the percussion on this comes from him drumming on furniture in his hotel room where the album was recorded). The sound production is quirky and layered and looped, blending with a catchy melody. The album also includes the song that he contributed to the Elizabethtown soundtrack, “Shut Us Down,” and overall it is a superb, intelligent, heartfelt effort.

UPDATE: I wrote about Locksley last week and at the time, didn’t know where you could buy the new LP I mentioned. This retro garage-rock outfit now has their full-length album available for pre-order on their website, and you can stream the whole thing on AltSounds — see what I was going on about. Good stuff.

The Departed: Lots of blood and a kickass soundtrack

The Departed is Martin Scorsese’s visceral new flick: 2 1/2 hours of a tightly intelligent plotline, fascinating character studies, lots of caffeinated jump-cut cinematography, more “f**ck”s than you can shake a stick at, and a greater nunber of brains being blown out at close range than I personally care to see.

I guess I’ll never infiltrate the Boston mob (because all the violence truthfully left me feeling a little nauseated), but the soundtrack left me elated and tapping my foot furiously in my red velvet rocking seat. Here is a sampling of what you’ll hear, woven into the film at exactly the right places. The soundtrack is really superb, just what you’d expect from Scorsese: The Rolling Stones capture that rough & tumble Seventies inner-city swagger, while Van Morrison lends his pipes to a lovely live version of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” during a scene of gnawing loneliness and aching lust. John Lennon’s in there, as are the Isley Brothers, the Beach Boys, Dropkick Murphys, Patsy Cline, and even Nas. It’s a real joy to listen to.

“Gimme Shelter” – Rolling Stones

“Let It Loose” – Rolling Stones

“Well, Well, Well” – John Lennon

“Sail On, Sailor” – The Beach Boys

“Comfortably Numb” – Van Morrison live w/ Roger Waters
(1990, Berlin)

Speaking of soundtracks, keep those fantastic comments coming for that contest I opened up on Friday! I am immensely enjoying all the articulate and passionate rambles about the movie music that you love. I’ve added several films to my Netflix queue that I’d overlooked, and have been re-appreciating the classiness of the Rushmore soundtrack all weekend. Keep it up, and it’s gonna be delightfully hard to nail the winner.