MUSIC THREAD

Some of my favorite studio albums of 2007 so far (in no particular order):
The Nightwatchman - 'One Man Revolution' (Don't care for the bands Tom Morello's in, but this solo album is fantastic. It's the album Springsteen should have put out instead of Devils & Dust or Seeger Sessions)

Rod Picott - 'Summerbirds' (if you love great singer-songwriters, you'll love this disc. It will be officially released in the US in the fall as he's looking for a label right now; however he's independently released it in Europe... got my copy when a legal download site jumped the gun and had it posted for a week or two before being told to take it down)

Romantica - 'America' (a great slice of alt-country/Americana music. My second favorite MySpace discovery this year)

Mr. D - Wings & Wheels (my favorite musical discovery on MySpace this year. Great harmonies and jingling guitars slightly reminiscent of the early Eagles sound on some tracks) www.myspace.com/misterdreadmusic

Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers - No More Beautiful Word (a great piece of rock 'n' roll from the man behind the Refreshments. Lyrically it's not his strongest album, but musically, it's definitely their most fun disc)

Son Volt - The Search (just a great album by the better half of Uncle Tupelo)

Terri Hendrix - The Spiritual Kind (great disc by this Texan. She's got insightful lyrics and some catchy little folk-ish tunes; once again former Joe Ely sideman Lloyd Maines produces and plays guitar)

Lucinda Williams - West (taking a little while to grow on me, but there's some solid songwriting here)

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (a voice with a touch of soul, some fun modernized 60s girl-group style arrangements, can't go wrong)

Michael O'Connor - Giants from a Sleepy Town (he's independently released another solid disc of some great story songs - two of which Slaid Cleaves covered on last year's Unsung)

Slightly disappointing disc: Kasey Chambers-Carnival. Some good songs, but pales in comparison to her first two discs that I loved.

Still need to check out: Wilco, Joe Ely, Hold Steady, Arcade Fire, a host of others

Discs I'm looking forward to the rest of the year: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (due out Oct. 2 if rumors are to be belived), Patti Scialfa (her last album was ok, hoping she rocks a little more on this one like she did her first disc), Southside Johnny (doing a collection of Tom Waits covers), John Fogerty, Steve Earle, and probably some others I don't know about.

 

That Arcade Fire album is the best record I've heard since "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

 

I don't know how to link something, but I suggest you go to youtube and watch Sigur Ros performing Hoppipolla live on a show called Jools Holland. (Those keywords will bring it up.) I've always loved them, but I never thought they would translate live. Was I wrong. This song is chills. When the horns come in part way through... Holy.

I remember one night I could have seen them here, playing in a church, but I went to see Athlete instead. I liked Athlete a lot, they were great, but now I'm feeling like I missed out on one of those nights where you just sit there and weep.

 

Here's the link to what Jones is talking about:

Has anybody here ever heard of Mika. He's Lebanese but he became big in London with a song called "Grace Kelly." He was classically trained and can do amazing things with his voice. There's certain songs, "Grace Kelly" included, where someone who just walked into a room where the song was playing would think it was Freddie Mercury singing. In other songs, though, he has the ability to sound completely different. I really recommend trying to find some of his stuff, my personal favorite is a song called "Any Other World."

 

I just got back from seeing Girl Talk. He's a DJ who specializes in mash-ups. His stuff sounds like an iPod melting down...he was meshing Salt-N-Peppa together with Nine Inch Nails, putting the guitar riff from "Today" by the Smashing Pumpkins underneath "Wamp Wamp" by Clipse. It was a wild scene...about 50 college kids were dancing on the stage, girls were stripping down to their underwear. The funny thing is, the guy looks like someone who would bring you a grande latte at Starbucks.

 

Some of the3 best I've gotten this year:
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Living with the Living (best album of the year so far)
Lucinda Wiliams, West
Wilco, Sky Blue Sky (I've finally come around).
The Broken West, The Broken West (excellent pop album).
The Shins, Wincing the Night Away
Ryan Adams, Easy Tiger
White Stripes, Icky Thump

Just got the new Josh Rouse, need time to listen to it more.
Waiting for the New Pornographers, Counting Crown and Foo Fighters.

 

Anybody who is into Springsteen should check out Canada's version, Joel Plaskett. He is from Nova Scotia and has released Ashtray Rock recently and it is a fantastic Cd. Also, Canadian SJ'ers will remember that Plaskett is the voice behind the Zellers song "I Go Nowhere with You" on the La De Da CD.

 

Girl Talk is great. The back story behind him is awesome. He was an engineer in the Burgh or Philly and made mashups on his Mac during free time. He ended up selling CDs and touring locally and sporadically. Then his latest CD blew up, and he's now a full-time performer.

Z-Trip's new album, btw, is pretty great.

 

I finally picked up the Scrubs soundtrack. If you enjoy indy music, you'll love the CD.

 

Downloaded the latest Dinosaur Jr. offering last night. Man, I really like this record ...

 

what indie songs are on it?

 

A few quick musical observations...

• I'm absolutely convinced the new Rilo Kiley song "Moneymaker" was written with the specific goal of getting strippers to dance to it.
• The band Voxtrot kicks all kinds of ass and seems to be virtually unknown. They're from Austin -- I swear, if these guys were from England they'd be on the cover of every magazine that fawned over the Arctic Monkeys. Check out their three EPs, which are stronger than the full album that came after.
• I just looked at the "most played" list on my iPod and discovered that 15 of the top 18 songs on the list were by the Pernice Brothers. (The other three: "Still Be Around" by Uncle Tupelo, "Left and Leaving" by the Weakerthans, and "Broadway Lights" by the Bees.)
• I am now hooked on eMusic, the (legal) download site for indie bands. For $9.95 a month you get 30 song downloads in a higher quality than iTunes and with no DRM. If you listen to indie music it's fantastic.