The music presented here is for the purpose of promoting the bands. If you like the songs, buy the albums.If you are in the band, or are a legal representative of them, and you don't want the music here, just drop a quick email to me (deadbilly_88 at mail.com), and they will be removed. I'm not looking to rip anyone off, just trying to share the music I love.
Secondly, I had a request to re-post the songs I posted during the 2008 holiday season, as nearly all of the links have since gone away. so here they are, all in one zip file. I won't go through the whole track list, but here's the artists: Billy Bragg, Syd Straw & Los Lobos, Goober & The Peas, INXS, Paul Kelly, The Pogues, Willie Nelson & Stephen Colbert, AC/DC, They Might Be Giants, Bad Manners, Madness, Dreams So Real, Chris Isaac, Bob & Doug McKenzie, Tom Waits, De La Soul, Damien Dempsey, John Wesley Harding, The Kinks, The Smithereens, Pearl Jam, Grant Lee Phillips, Everlast, The Greedies, E, Monty Python, Steve Earle, Damien Rice, The Chieftains & Elvis Costello.
If you're desperate to know the song titles, you can always go look at the original posts.
On to the new releases this week. It's still early in the year, and not too many labels want to put new albums out this time of year, so the pickin's are slim. Here's a small handful that you may want to take a look at:
The Magnetic Fields - Realism(buy) I haven't heard too much from The Magnetic Fields in recent years, but the little bit I have heard, I like, and I was a big fan of the old stuff.
Tindersticks - Falling Down a Mountain(buy) Probably the one I'm most excited about this week. Unfortunately, it's only available as an import at the moment.
Youssou N'Dour - I Bring What I Love (soundtrack) (buy)There's a reason why Youssou is the biggest name in world music.
Various Artists - NPR Discover Songs: The New Jazz Divas(buy) I've only heard a couple of these women before, but being the music nerd that I am, I tend to like quite a bit of what NPR hypes.
Kasabian are a British indie / dance / rock band. They've been recording for about the last 5 years or so. They first came to my attention through an amazing performance of "Club Foot" on a late night talk show. I hadn't been paying attention to the show, but the hook from that song caught me, and I've been a fan ever since.
Goodie for me, and those of you like me who are rabid about finding extra tracks, they've issued a slew of non-album stuff on their singles, and the occasional various artist compilation.
Here's just a few of those: (files expired)
Kasabian - "Trash Can" Starting out with a mellow one, from the "Club Foot" single. Kasabian - "Out of Space" (Live Lounge Acoustic) Not completely acoustic, but isn't that usually the case. From the "Cutt Off" single. Kasabian - "Runaway" (Live Del Shannon cover) From the "Fire" single. Kasabian - "Too Much Too Young" (The Specials cover) From the Radio One, Established 1967 compilation.(buy import) Kasabian - "Cunny Grope Lane" A bonus track on the Japanese version of their third album, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Kasabian - "Black Whistler" From the West Ryder EP, which preceded the WRPLA album.
On a completely unrelated note - here's a vid I recently happened across on the yew-tube. This is a live recording of the brilliant Melissa Ferrick's "Willing To Wait", which was the title track to her second album, way back in the mid-nineties. If you've not heard of her, give this a listen, then go buy the album.
First off, an addition to yesterday's post on the Haiti earthquake. It has come to my attention that some folks aren't comfortable donating to a charity they're unfamiliar with. These days, I can't blame them.
If you're more comfortable donating to a tried and true charity, here's a link to the American Red Cross. If you can afford it, please give a little something.
Most out there are likely already familiar with jam band Blues Traveler. They had a minor hit in 1990 with "But Anyway", and have had a huge group of loyal fans ever since. Then in '94 they broke through to the mainstream with their single "Run-Around".
While they've never repeated that success (which is probably a good thing), they still maintain a huge following, with particular thanks to their legendary live shows.
Here's a bit of an introduction for the newbs, and a bit of a treat for the fans that only have the albums:
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Blues Traveler with Carlos Santana - "Mountain Cry" (live) Recorded at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on September 29, 1991.Taken from the very limited On Tour Forever EP, which was included in some copies of Travelers and Thieves, which is also the album that has the studio version. Blues Traveler - "I'm Walkin'" (Fats Domino cover) From the Cool and the Crazy soundtrack. Blues Traveler - "Diner" B-side of the "Canadian Rose" single. Blues Traveler - "Escaping" B-side of "Run-Around". Blues Traveler - "Run-Around" (live) B-side of the "Hook" single. Recorded live on Vh-1. Blues Traveler - "12 Swords" One of the tracks given away for free at their website. It had been planned for an album called The Sun, The Storm and The Traveler, but the album was scrapped after the death of bassist Bobby Sheehan. Instead, the band released four of the tracks as a free EP. I had planned to link to the download page, as it was still available two days ago, but it seems to be gone now.
Albums:
Blues Traveler, 1990 (buy) Travelers and Thieves, 1991 (buy) Save His Soul, 1993 Four, 1994 (buy) Straight On Till Morning, 1997 Decisions of the Sky: A Traveler's Tale of Sun and Storm, 2000 (free EP) Bridge, 2001 (buy) Truth Be Told, 2003 (buy) ¡Bastardos!, 2005 (buy) Cover Yourself, 2007 (buy) (acoustic versions of older songs) North Hollywood Shootout, 2008 (buy)
In other news. . . Welcome to Ashley have released a new video. "Nothing But Grey Skies Ahead" also happens to be the first song I heard from them, and now we have visuals to go with the excellent track:
For a great many years, I avoided country music like it was the plague. The thing was, in my youth the only country I was exposed to was the 60's Grand Ole Opry style, with all the sequins, cheesy orchestration, and more slide guitar in each song than anyone could possibly need on a whole album.
Thankfully, the many years I spent on the retail end of the music industry allowed me to open my pallet to a much wider variety of music. Thanks to this, I belatedly became a huge fan of the Red Headed Stranger, Mr. Willie Nelson (as well as Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, and a host of other "country" artists with a bit more teeth than that schmaltzy crap).
For those of you who, like my former self, don't pay much attention to this particular style of music, here's the quick version of the beginnings of Willie's career. He moved from his home town in Texas to Nashville in 1960, hoping to land a recording contract. Things didn't work out right away, but he did manage to land a pblishing deal, and he began getting his songs recorded by other established acts, for whom they became big hits. "Crazy", "Hello Walls", "Funny How Time Slips Away". . . all Willie's.
After writing so many hits, he did get his contract, and released a handful of albums in the aforementioned schmaltzy style that was so big at the time. In the early 70's, he became one of the founders of the "outlaw country" style. This is the period that made him a legend. Basically, from this point on he's had full creative control over his music. Yeah, he may have made a few miss-steps along the way, but damn, the man is a legend for a reason.
Here's a batch of songs you won't find on his albums:
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Willie Nelson - "Philadelphia Lawyer" (Woody Guthrie cover) From the Folkways: A Vision Shared tribute album. (buy) Toots and the Maytals with Willie Nelson - "Still is Still Moving To Me" From Toots' album True Love. (buy) Willie Nelson - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana cover) Recorded live in the studio for Triple M Radio in Australia. Willie Nelson - "Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other" (Ned Sublette cover) The story goes, Willie got a tape of Ned's version in the 80s, which he played on the tour bus for some time, before recording, and shelving, his own version. Two decades later, when Brokeback Mountain became a hit at the theaters, he finally issued his version, stating on a press release "The song's been in the closet for 20 years. The timing's right for it to come out. I'm just opening the door." This one would later be included on a compilation of Willie's tunes, but it's such a great song that I'm breaking my own rule and including it here. Willie Nelson and Calexico - "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)" (Bob Dylan cover) From the I'm Not There soundtrack. (buy) If Willie and Calexico record together again, could they call themselves Wil-co? Ziggy Marley with Willie Nelson - "This Train" From Ziggy's album Family Time. (buy)
I'm not going to try to list all of his work, but here's a few albums you might want to pick up:
Red Headed Stranger, 1975 (buy) Stardust, 1978 (buy) (covers album, not my personal favorite, but it was huge) Honeysuckle Rose, 1980 (buy) (soundtrack) Crazy: The Demo Sessions, 2003 (buy) (his earliest recordings) Countryman, 2005 (buy) (reggae album) Two Men with the Blues, 2008 (buy) (Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis) Naked Willie, 2009 (buy) (60's-era songs, remastered without the schmaltz, much like The Beatles' Let It be. . .Naked) Lost Highway, 2009 (buy) (compilation w/ "Cowboys are Frequently. . .")
Willie is always on tour. Check out his website for dates, and get out to the shows.
In completely unrelated news, I recently had a conversation with someone who is close to Irish band The Frames. I was told that, while nothing is official yet, there has been talk of hitting the studio later this year, and touring to celebrate their 20th year together. Yippee!
Good morning, and welcome to a brand new year. I for one am incredibly happy to have that last piece of crap year over and done with.
This year is already looking better, thanks to now being at a job that I don't dread going to. Yeah, the pay is quite a bit less, but there really is something to be said for actually enjoying the job. I didn't really believe that until all that crap happened.
I just went through my first holiday season in eight years where I wasn't stressed to the point of not being able to sleep.
Anyway, all my personal bullshit aside, here's some non-album tracks from the wonderful Scottish band Frightened Rabbit.
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Frightened Rabbit - "Set You Free" (N-Trance cover) The b-side of "Heads Roll Off". Frightened Rabbit - "Soon Go" B-side of "Fast Blood". Frightened Rabbit - "Don't" Bonus track on some versions of The Midnight Organ Fight. Frightened Rabbit - "Song Against Sex" (Neutral Milk Hotel cover) Radio session. Frightened Rabbit - "Fun Stuff" (Demo) I've seen this one on other blogs listed as "Last Tango in Brooklyn". A fuller version can now be heard on the b-side of the new single, "Swim Until You Can't See Land". Frightened Rabbit - "Nothing Like You" (Radio Session) A new song, from the to-be-released third studio album.
Hunt up some Rabbit:
Sing the Greys, 2006 (buy) The Midnight Organ Fight, 2008 (buy) Quietly Now!, 2008 (buy) (mostly acoustic live album, a.k.a. Liver! Lung! Fr!) The Winter of Mixed Drinks, 2010
