Every night, I tell him "Don't hog the covers"...

Recently the local radio stations have been playing this really beautiful haunting cover of "Heart of Glass." Originally by Blondie. Turns out this version is by the C'ville based band Old School Freight Train. Here's a link to check it out... I actually recommend just listening and not watching the video.

Zee Avi

Good things keep landing in my inbox this week. This artist had her debut album released today. You can hear the entire album on MySpace.

Who is Danny Schmidt?

I uncovered a tattered, old post it note last Friday. Crushed and smothered under a pile of paperwork on my desk, it had clung to it's important message for months. "Danny Schmidt," it almost gasped aloud upon its discovery. Nothing else was written on the page. A dim memory bulb flickered, and knowing I often scribble down musicians, song titles, etc that I want to look up later, I went straight to my reliable, know-it-all friend Google who quickly told me everything it knew about the mysterious Danny Schmidt.

The bad news --- Danny had his cd release party here in Charlottesville last month - should have stuck that post it on the calendar. (Evidently he's an Austin, TX based singer/songwriter who records in C'ville).

The good news --- I dig his music. I downloaded the entire Little Grey Sheep album and then a few other choice songs. Listened to him most of the weekend.

Even better news --- call him generous or call it marketing savvy, but he has a few free MP3's from each of his albums on his website. I'm still getting to know his music but "Company of Friends" and "This Too Shall Pass" are two of the songs I've been enjoying. Before the video, I've included a link to the freebies.

http://www.dannyschmidt.com/index2.html

been there . . .

. . . done that.

despite getting a great review from the Washington Post, Green Day's new record is NOT getting a great review from me. There is noting especially wrong with it, and if you are looking for overproduced ho-hum pseudo-punk pop-rock then this might be up your alley.

I am not a huge Green Day fan, but I thought American Idiot was well timed, relatively fresh, and above all energetic. Admittedly, I've only listened to the new one (I can't even remember what it's called off the top of my head) once through, but it does not strike me as having any of those attributes. It could have been stale and poorly-timed, but at least bring me a feeling of genuine energy. I didn't get it from this and I don't recommend that you buy it, unless of course you want to buy the one I picked up. I'll give you a great deal.

The Awesomeness of NPR Music

I recently signed up for NPR music's email newsletters so they would send me their "song of the day" and updates from the show "All Songs Considered". Little did I know what I had stumbled upon. NPR is a hotbed of great music. I added a link to their site to the Useful Links area of the blog for this reason. "All Songs Considered" streams live concerts that you can listen to fully or download for free online. Some on the list include: Ra Ra Riot, Radiohead, Tom Waits, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, and the Raconteurs. On May 11, I got to hear Animal Collective at the 9:30 club in DC. Dan Deacon will be streamed on the 17th. World Cafe is featuring TV on the Radio May 18. But, one of my favorite findings is the "Exclusive First Listen" series, where they let you hear an entire album before it is released. Most recently, they sent me an email to listen to an album "Dark Night of the Soul". This album is a collaborative effort among Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, and Director David Lynch. Artists featured on the album include James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils. Everyone should give it a listen...I think it's great. Thanks NPR! And, what would a post about NPR be without mentioning to please consider giving to your local NPR station. It's money well spent.

We'll travel south cross land

in other news, I enjoyed America Idiot and plan to pick up Green Day's new record, which got a great review from the Washington Post:

Green Day Delivers Another Rock Opus Most Righteous

By J. Freedom du Lac
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 15, 2009

Apparently, the Green Day dudes weren't kidding about their Serious Protest Singer phase.

Five years ago, when the long-running Northern California trio released an ambitious, righteous rock opera about living with war, etc., it signaled a serious and surprising growth spurt for a snot-slinging band of brats previously known for making caca jokes and pop-punk songs about boredom, bong hits and masturbation.

Yet it worked -- and how: "American Idiot" was a critical smash and commercial blockbuster that stands as one of the great, galvanizing albums of the new millennium. (As galvanizing as an album with an antiwar bent can be in this increasingly polarized world, anyway.)

Now comes its successor, "21st Century Breakdown," an ambitious, righteous rock opera about . . . still living with war, etc.

But it isn't so much of an ain't-broke-don't-fix-it musical gambit as it is the work of a band that's clearly decided there's much, much more to be said about the state of the union, which apparently still isn't quite right.

Thus, "21st Century Breakdown" is an "American Idiot" sorta-sequel that's every bit as potent as the original, even if the story at the heart of the song cycle doesn't always track.

It's a nonlinear narrative in three acts about Gloria and Christian, two (relatively) young adults who are trying to make sense of post-9/11 America, which appears to be a rather inhospitable place. Their leaders -- political, familial, religious, business and otherwise -- have left them feeling disenfranchised and despairing, with pessimism prevailing over Obama-era hope. Not for nothing is the album's penultimate track titled "American Eulogy."

. . . . . read the rest

Madison's own jazz legend

Here's some footage from ~ the 70's featuring Madison, Wisconsin's Richard Davis on bass and Elvin Jones on drums (I'm not sure who the pianist is). All parts are amazing, but Part 3 (Raunchy Rita) is probably my favorite. Alycia and Nick can also attest to the fact that he's a fun person to hang out with - always good stories to tell :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br3iwI_60YI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct2RxYN26x0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5fhUM7BrUc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bjFI9Bixi8&feature=related

Kings Go Forth

I heard about these guys today through a music list serve out of Milwaukee. It reminds me of Curtis Mayfield. Something for folks to pull out during their next dance party--although I don't think their first album is being released until July.

Lisa Hannigan and Stitch-n-Bitch

As a lover of all things handmade, I think that Lisa Hannigan and I might be kindred spirits. I bet she even has her own Stitch-n-Bitch group like me. I don't know for certain that she loves arts & crafts, but guessing by her new album name (Sea Sew) and these two videos I would say she spends her down time between shows knitting. I doubt Lisa H. will ever make it to one of my Stitch-n-Bitches in person, but her album definitely will.

If you haven't heard it yet, definitely check it out. I've been listening to it a LOT recently. If you haven't heard of her, she's the lovely voice on the Damien Rice albums, who you heard and thought, "she should make her own album!" Well, she has and it's sew pretty.

Lisa Hannigan - Lille from ATO Records on Vimeo.

I Don't Know from ATO Records on Vimeo.

BTW, I'm new here and thanks to Alycia for inviting me!

Mother's Day

NPR put together a Mother's Day music mix. So, if you're looking for gift ideas, click here. I especially like the beginning of the article: "This year, give Mom a link to our continuous music mix — the gift that costs you nothing and involves no thought whatsoever."

Happy Hour

Hello all,
I'm new here. Thanks to Dave for telling me about this place the first time and thanks to Alycia for reminding me about it yesterday. A couple of weeks ago I got the word that a bluegrass band from West Virginia was coming to my regular bar in Mississippi. The Fox Hunt came highly recommended and so I was pumped for the show. But word came down the night before they were supposed to play that a change had occured. Instead of playing Saturday night they were going to play from 5 until 8. There is something great about music in the daylight then watching the day shift to night while the acoustic instraments ring. Here's The Fox Hunt. (if I do this right)

I wanted ear plugs

Last weekend I took a road trip with my friend Carolyn (hi Carolyn!) to see Ray LaMontagne perform in Asheville, NC. And I wanted ear plugs... after the show. After listening to Ray, I wanted to plug up my ears as if I could somehow hold the music in. I wanted my audial memory (no, i don't know if that's really a word) to stay focused on the lingering notes of "All the Wild Horses" still in my head. To sum it up, I love Ray LaMontagne's music (and ok, his beard too) --- especially live.

**at this point you can detour to the bottom to get to my point, or read on and take a little trip down memory lane

I didn't always think that last part - the "especially live" part - would be true. We first bought tickets to see Ray when he played at the Charlottesville Pavilion 3 years ago. We wondered if it would be a good show. We worried that the music would be too mellow and sad to make a great live show. Unfortunately, in our enthusiasm as Ray fans, we wrongly assumed that well-of-course-Ray-is-the-headliner & it's-too-hot-so-let's-get-drink-inside-a-nice-cool-bar-during-the-opening-act. Sadly, Ray was the opener ... and we got there in time to hear only one song. Man, we were some sad pups. But the good news was we couldn't have been more wrong about his ability to put on a live show. That one song we heard was so good that for the next two years we checked his tour dates, determined to see him again. That one song was so good, last fall we drove to DC just for the evening to see him play at Strathmore Hall (amazing venue by the way - aesthetically and acoustically). And then to Asheville this spring.

From the first line sung "Baby it's been a long day" to the last line of the encore, "as for the clouds just let them roll, roll away, roll away," there wasn't a disappointing song, line, or even note. We both stopped drinking our beers because there was no way we were going to miss a minute of it for a bathroom break. You know how after a loud concert you can still feel the resonation in your ears... even a little vibration in your head... during/after a Ray concert you feel a resonation in your chest... call it your heart or your soul or your chakra, whatever you want ... but you just want it to last for awhile longer when the concert ends.

** for you detour-ers... here's the point: If you have a chance, Go see Ray LaMontagne in concert. The End.

So, you know, with this being a music blog and all, it wouldn't be right to end without a little musical gift from youtube.