Archive for the ‘Rock’ Category

What Now, What Next (anything is possible)

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

MCDMASE EC003

Ah, It has been awhile my music friends. please expect my apologies for not posting more, I have been focused on larger projects of change.

I though wanted to pass on the summer mix (a little late) that was given to the Magnificent 7 this year. I hope you enjoy, best listened in this order.

What Now, What Next (anything is possible)

1. Chest Of Drawers / Daniel Lanois 0:24 Daniel Lanois - Here Is What Is - Chest of Drawers

2. Transit Lounge / Crowded House 4:26 Crowded House - Time On Earth - Transit Lounge

3. Good Morning Good Morning / Steel Pulse 2:50 Easy Star All-Stars - Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (Bonus Track Version) - Good Morning Good Morning (feat. Steel Pulse)

4. Advent In Ives Garden / Sin Fang Bous 3:07 Sin Fang Bous - Clangour - Advent In Ives Garden

5. Daylight / Matt and Kim 2:51 Matt & Kim - Daylight - Single - Daylight

6. Reckoner / Radiohead 4:50 Radiohead - In Rainbows - Reckoner

7. St. Peter’s Day Festival / Ra Ra Riot 3:36 Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line - St. Peter's Day Festival

8. Cello Song / The Books 3:54 The Books - Dark Was the Night - Cello Song (feat. Jose Gonzalez)

9. Dirt On Your New Shoes / Bishop Allen 2:45 Bishop Allen - Grrr... - Dirt On Your New Shoes

10. Talk About the Passion / R.E.M. 3:24 R.E.M. - Murmur - Talk About the Passion

11. Art / Tanya Davis 2:52 Tanya Davis - Gorgeous Morning - Art

12. The Concubine / Beirut 3:30 Beirut - March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland - The Concubine

13. All the First Pages / Anathallo 5:18 Anathallo - Canopy Glow - All the First Pages

14. Supermellofied / Peter And The Wolf 3:06 Peter and the Wolf - Mellow Owl - Supermellofied

15. Drowning Man / U2 4:15 U2 - War (Remastered) - Drowning Man

16. Tunnelvision / Here We Go Magic 4:24 Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic - Tunnelvision

17. Ah…, I See / The Books 0:21 The Books & Various Artists - Music for a French Elevator EP - Ah..., I See

18. God Only Knows / Cornelius 4:57 Cornelius - Fantasma - God Only Knows

let the cold wind blow

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

It must be that time of year. Everything is colder and the New England weather chases me to emotional epic music. The work has pilled up and the need to think and work, during these times I often find the dramatic based music, works the best. In 2009 or should I say this end of 2008 has left us with some great emotionally centering music.

To start your winter of 09 collection of emotional classics, we should start with Johann Johannsson “Fordlandia”. Johann Johannsson - Fordlândia (Bonus Track Version) This is a large work that at times reminds me of the music of Arvo Part, ebbs and flows of strings and emotions. Very moving music, is based on string arrangements that can take you to dark places, giving us places to reflect and pushes us forward.

If strings are not for you and you prefer the beeps and cracks of the modern electric sound. Fennesz “Black Sea” Fennesz - Black Seatakes you for a ride if amazingly full textures of sound, what weave melodic states and emotional friction of sound. This is probably Fennesz most excess-able CD since Venice.

I can not forget looking a Sigur Ros for some emotional solstice. Their CD “Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust” Sigur Rós - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust that came out this year hits every energy source know to our being. Laughter and forgetting, reflection and pain can all be found in these tracks that I can not understand vocally, but I don’t need to. I have been hovering around the song Festival and the title track a lot lately.

Happy New Year! and hear is to the hope of more great music in 2009.

Peace.

Cover me

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

The Ra Ra Riot cover of Kate Bush’s “Suspended In Gaffa” has really got me thinking about what makes a good cover song. Is it the interruption of the track? is it adding something that was missing?

The one thing I do know is what makes a bad cover song, and that is a song that sound just like the original.

So, what’s your favorite cover song?

Mine right now are:

Ra Ra Riot “Suspended In Gaffa” Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line - Suspended In Gaffa

Broken Social Scene “Horses” Broken Social Scene - The Tracey Fragments - Horses

Sun Kil Moon “Exit Does Not Exist”Sun Kil Moon - Tiny Cities - Exit Does Not Exist

Carlos Careqa “Psycho maloca” Carlos Careqa - Pelo Público - Psycho maloca

Free Tom Waits!

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

NPR - NPR: Live Concerts from All Songs Considered Podcast

There is a pun in there somewhere.
If there is one man that changed the way that I listen to environments it would be Tom Waits. Complete, with raw sounds and voice. He takes story telling to a new level of life. Mr. Tom has just finished up a tour in the USA and has graced us with publishing a 2 hour show on NPR for us to download.

It is a great selection of old an new classic Tom.

The easiest way that I found to download it is through the iTunes link above released on 7/28/08.

Cold Winter Blues

Saturday, January 19th, 2008


Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang - Dislocation Blues

In 2005 we lost one of the more interesting blues guitarist of this era. His 1998 album “Dirt Floor” does a brilliant job of describing his sound. Textured and simple, clean and dirty, brilliantly simple with the complexes creates brilliant story telling. Dislocated blues was started at Jeff Lang studio before his death and thankfully published by Rounder. Jeff Lang is a slide guitarist, but there balance is perfect between Chris guitar. Perfect cold weather blues.

Another Drummer, Beating To His Own Drum

Thursday, July 19th, 2007


Tony Allen - HomeCooking

Tony Allen for many are three different people. For many listeners of Afro-beat he was the drummer for the late Fela Kuli band, for others he was a powerful Nigeria drummer that has had a successfully solo career and modern listeners think of him as the drummer for The Good, The Bad & The Queen.

HomeCooking is a solo CD that mixes the Afro-beat funk with a fusion of smart London hip-hop. It foundation is a very powerful bass and bass drum selection of songs that at times remind me Holger Czukay and then of Lilly Allen (no relation) . Though for the most part it is beats and hip-hop that has the underline theme of self awareness.

So Much. To Much.

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

Somehow over the years I have collected more Tom Waits Records and CD,s than any other artist in my collection. It is kind of a strange, since I really have not been enjoy his work recently. But with the hopes of hearing some lost tracks from Franks Wild Years I download the 56 Track Orphans.

There is so much music here, at times too much music. The tracks seem mostly come from the vain of his more bluesy Mule Variations. Though there is some really nice story telling tracks like Missing My Son and Pontiac which remind me on what a amazing observer of life Mr. Waits is. I am glad to have the collection, but it is hard to listen to top to bottom, but a joy to listen to in the shuffle.

Do you smile when you drive your car?

Sunday, February 11th, 2007
Called it retro or modern, but, it is highly modernized funk that at times reminds me of James Brown. Quantic, a UK DJ, created this band “Quantic Soul Orchestra” to explore the funk and fusion in a live envorment and has follow it up with this studio album “pushin on”. The disc includes the vocal of Alice Russell, that gives the tracks a timeless feel with a modern backbone. Bring on the traffic…

Changes (are good)

Sunday, February 11th, 2007
Sometimes the second or third CD from a artist disappoints, they get trapped in what got them there. This is one of the times that I really feel like I am listening to the artist grow, and I like what I am hearing. On “Until We Felt Red” Kaki has a band, and the sound and power bring me into a great moments of highs and lows with power and grundge and picking and peace. Kaki pulls on some of the more intriguing parts of her past CD’s her sultry vocals and masterfull guitar work. I have not had the time to dig threw the lyrics but so far I think they are a hit. At one point I would describe Kaki King and a Michael Hedges like musician, I can no longer say that with this CD. Kaki King is Kaki King.

Searching for summer

Sunday, February 11th, 2007
When serching for summer music it is hard sometimes to find something upbeat and summer soaked. I have been spending the last month listen to large amounts of Afro-pop in the relization that this might be my new summer sound. Extra Golden is a enjoyable selection of tunes that have the repetitive noodling guitar nature of the Afro-pop but gives you great pop transions and drive. The tracks are long OK-Oyot System but I find this lends to the nature of listening. It’s great backgrond music to enjoy a summer night, but hard music to listen to in traffic…