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Medeski Martin & Wood are bringing together the final pieces of a project begun way back in the spring of 2008. It is a project that resulted in: three albums, hundreds of performances in the US and Europe, two seasons of Camp MMW wherein music students of all sorts and from with all sorts of skills could participate in workshops with the trio, and now, finally a DVD feature film. Wow! If I was that productive in the past 18 months my wife would probably fall over in shock.
This box set is more than just the three albums and the movie, m’dears. It also gives you bonus tracks and 10 remixes by cool DJs who I don’t know at all but who you might (Dan The Automator, DJ Spooky, DJ Logic, DJ Olive, Scott Harding). It also of course includes vinyl, you knew it would, right? It’s a double vinyl LP of highlights from Radiolarians I, II, and III. Oh, and there’s a 70 min. live album in this box set as well. Geeze, what freaking great present this would be, and yes, I know I’m sounding like a commercial here, but honestly, this is great stuff. I was just at a party last night discussing Medeski, Martin & Wood with a jazz lover and saying how Radiolarians II was my introduction to jazz music. Really, I love these guys, they’re incredibly accessible for any rock n roll lover. The Radiolarian series is a wonderful stepping stone to more traditional jazz music. Or just stay right here with them, it’s a fine place to be. xoxo
Tour Dates
11.12.09 – Mass MoCA – North Adams, MA
11.13.09 – House of Blues – Boston, MA
11.14.09 – Nokia Theatre – New York, NY
11.15.09 – Westcott Theatre – Syracuse, NY
11.17.09 – Kent Stage – Kent, OH
11.18.09 – Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI
11.19.09 – The Vogue – Indianapolis, IN
11.20.09 – The Eagles Club – Milwaukee, WI
11.21.09 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
Songs from this EP, by Anna Rose, come up on my car stereo quite often and I find myself thinking back to my highschool days. Now, Anna’s highschool days are only a few years behind her; she’s a very talented and mature 24 year old singer and guitarist. Highschool was a coonsiderably longer time ago for me. But Ana’s voice brings it back rather clearly. Listening to “Picture” you can hear that hint of Ann Wilson’s guitar solo, that sharp way she ends her words at the end of her phrases like Nancy Wilson does. Listen to the lyrics and imagine a bit of Grace Slick’s drama in there. It’s not a far stretch. And indeed, Anna Rose does not deny that her heroes are the same heroes of my youth: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin.
These five songs are from a larger project, her upcoming album Nomad, and they give a clear picture of where this accomplished woman is heading. Vocally, she effortlessly shifts from soft, high notes to bluesy low ones which almost make me wait impatiently for that sweet little guitar solo in the middle of “WIlshire Blvd.” to finish to hear her sing some more. Are we tired of female singer/songwriters? Has Jewel, Shania, Callie glutted the market? No, I doubt we will ever tire of the sweet female voice singing us a story but it does mean that each new one has to outshine the others. Anna Rose stands to win this round if not with this little EP then with Nomad, which I eagerly anticipate. buy it here
Well, fuck ya we do! Ok, calm yerselves and hop on over to my buddies at Knox Rd. and read their fine post and then it’s just one more hop to hear the lovely TWO new songs from Frightened Rabbit. Why am I not just linking you up directly to FatCat Records? Why make you do two little bunny hops? Well, darlings, because you really should get to know the guys at Knox Rd. and I’ve not properly introduced you yet. So now’s as good a time as any. I met Lee from that fine site, in just this way, talking over our love of the FRabbit and our coverage of their summer festival performances. My review of Frightened Rabbit’s Pitchfork Fest show and their aftershow at the Bottom Lounge is here, and go see Knox Rd.’s write up of NYC’s Siren Fest show here. Wowzers, it’s quite a Saturday for our favorite Selkirk boys here in the Love Shack.
And honestly, even though I’ve heard “Swim Until You Can’t See Land (live)” before in it’s acoustic version, this new arrangement is amazing and simply gorgeous. I’m hearing bits from “Pink Bookmark” in there and influences from other elements of electronica music that’s floating around Glasgow and Edinburgh at the moment and it’s so perfect. “Fun Stuff” of course is not what you expect, well not if you’re not familiar with Scottish irony. Too many double negatives there? Just go give it a listen, you’ll quickly see. It’s another howlingly sad and yet makes-you-smile-to-yourself kind of tale that maybe only Scott can sing. Enjoy the both of them on your Saturday! xoxo
Ok, I’m really trying to not make crazy, rash statements here but I LOVE this album so much that I’m afraid of how it might skew my end of year lists. I’ve had it about two weeks now, it’s not been out of rotation since and I think I’ve tweeted about it every day for the past week. Seriously, it’s the most interesting album I’ve heard in a long time. Each track is odd, intriguing, different, and encapsulates some sort of sound that I would have never anticipated. I want to give you a more thourgh run down on this, and I will, closer to its release date. But for now, hear “In America” and keep it on, don’t stop after the first few seconds just because you think you know what it’s about. It’s the least interesting one, I swear they are afraid of this album out there in whatever place that makes these decisions, because this is NOTHING compared to the rest of it, darlings! You are gonna go nuts over This Great Pressure and all its indie/pop/8-bit/electronica/experimental goodness.
I love noise. I love noise music, have for ages. But it’s often hard to find noise that is accessible enough, where there’s actually music in there somewhere. railcars are part of a genre called “shitgaze” which causes me to laugh every time I see it. Yes, it’s a respectable classification. This stuff by railcars is really noisy noise/pop. ”Castles” starts out with a great big assault to your ears and just as you’re very certain you should turn this shit off it pokes in a melody to change your mind. It’s also the kind of thing to completely kill your neighbors or office-mates with, so have at it! And if you’re not a noise fan, you need to know that it has to be turned up loud and listened to with headphones or else you gotta hear it live. The intricacies are in there for a reason. Don’t lose them or write them off as not mattering.
In reality, railcars consists of Aria Jalali and for this tour he’s including Sam Farzin. The EP, Cathedral With No Eyes has this whole concept behind it which, (yes I’m quoting the press release to make sure I get this right): “recounts the life of Edmund the Martyr, a 9th century king of East Anglia with songs about his life and succession to the throne as a young boy, his conquests, his suffering at the hands of vikings and death by their arrows.” (see why I wanted to quote it?) Ok, that provides inspiration, for sure. Go buy the EP, come out and see this live, I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Enjoy a noisy Friday, darlings xoxo
order the vinyl 12″ from Stumparumper Records
get the digital download here or I hear it is also on itunes
FALL 2009 TOUR
10/1 the smell – los angeles, ca w/ Experimental Dental School, Pocahaunted, Foot Village
10/2 biko garage – santa barbara, ca w/ Desolation Wilderness
10/3 UC Irvine – irvine, ca w/ Tempo No Tempo
10/4 the smell – los angeles, ca
10/5 echo curio – los angeles, ca w/ VOICEsVOICEs
10/6 ports o’ call – west covina, ca
10/7 che cafe – san diego, ca
10/8 trunkspace – phoenix, arizona
10/9 meow wolf – santa fe, new mexico
10/10 Burt’s tiki lounge – albuquerque, new mexico
10/11 rhinoceropolis – denver, colorado
10/13 soundpony – tulsa, oklahoma
10/14 good records – dallas, texas
10/15 the mohawk – austin, texas w/ Arrington de Dionyso
10/16 ameroplace – fayetteville, arkansas
10/17 rad haus – little rock, arkansas
10/18 little hamilton’s – nashville, tennessee
10/19 go bar – athens, ga
10/20 maya gallery – greensboro, north carolina
10/21 the triple – richmond, virginia
10/25 danger danger gallery – philadelphia
10/26 market hotel – brooklyn, ny
10/31 death by audio – brooklyn, ny
11/1 monkeytown – brooklyn, ny
11/2 now that’s class – cleveland, ohio
11/6 weirder park – chicago
11/7 pangea house – minot, north dakota
11/12 TBA – seattle, wa
11/13 le voyeur – olympia, washington
11/14 TBA – portland
11/18 fungarden – sacramento, california
11/19 thee parkside – san francisco, california
11/20 flux 53 gallery – oakland, california
11/23 synchronicity space – los angeles, california
11/24 acrobatics everyday – irvine, california
Greenland is Melting struck my fancy because it has an interesting name, said he who shall remain nameless, as he gets far too much credit as it is for feeding me good music. Well, the same thing happened to me. I got this CD in the mail with a nice handwritten note (that always does sway me, I have to admit.) I clicked on the cute name, not knowing at all what to expect, and out popped the most folk-ish, bluegrass-ish, country twanged folk I’ve heard in ages. And I loved it from the start. I sat back and enjoyed it. But as the album progresses it starts turning into almost something else, before coming around that corner once again, with ”Jaundiced Eye” bringing the whole thing back to its roots in the end. All in all, the trip Greenland is Melting takes you on in Our Hearts are Gold, Our Grass is Blue is a bittersweet romp through heartbreak and friendship and old time stories about just regular life and death and what lies beyond it all.
Songs like “No More Sorry Songs,” “The Kitchen Song,” and “From City To Town” really show off this trios’ harmonies and the trademark way their voices slide in and out of the words of everyday lyrics. Lyrics like: “I swear I’m sick of sorry songs and sobbin on the phone and guitars can only distract you from yourself for so long.” (from “No More Sorry Songs”) But by the time you get to the middle of the album it starts to go all indie-country, in a nice way. “No One Wants To Die” still has plenty of bluegrass in it. But track eight, “Already Gone” is what totally sold me on just how versatile this band really is.
Greenland is Melting trades off lead singers, they don’t identify anywhere that I could find who sings what. Karl Seltzer, Will Dueease, and Shaun Pereira make up this band and even thought there’s a real difference in their voices, they really make it work without trying to sound like one another. I love that. It echos in their music as well. The banjo and guitar are often at odds with one another. There’s just no attempt to clean up all the sharp edges; it’s the vocals that often carry the songs. There’s no noodling around here, it’s plain and simple music in it’s most honest form. There’s no guitar solos, no long harmonica intros even though the harmonica playing is top notch. I find myself turning to this record at the end of long days when I’m just too tired to deal with much. And that’s not to say that this music is simple-minded or unskilled, don’t get me wrong. On the contrary, I find it to be the kind of music that makes the most sense to me, to the music of my own growing up years, to the songs we sang in our family. So in that sense, it’s a sort of comforting album. And Our Hearts are Gold, Our Grass is Blue has a cool version of the old folk song “Wayfaring Stranger” on it. Don’t miss that, my dear readers, xoxo
go to their Bandcamp page and download the whole darn album for free! Tracklisting
1. From City to Town
2. No More Sorry Songs
3. No More Apologies
4. The Kitchen Song
5. Everyone Wants to Go to Heaven, But
6. No One Wants to Die
7. Hotel Floors
8. Long Sad Story
9. Jaundiced Eye
10. Wayfaring Stranger
11. Blood on the Banjo
Go See Them!
Oct 2 2009 8:00P The Atlantic w/ Jon Gaunt, Me & the Devil and Coffee Project Gainesville, Florida
Oct 3 2009 8:00P Coolifornia w/ Jon Gaunt, Me and the Devil Tallahassee, Florida
Oct 20 2009 8:00P Common Grounds Gainesville, Florida
Nov 6 2009 8:00P Wonderroot w/ Jason C. Waller Atlanta, Georgia
Nov 7 2009 8:00P Sweet Melissa’s Savannah, Georgia
Nov 14 2009 8:00P Shantytown Pub w/ Little High Little Low Jacksonville, Florida
Medeski Martin & Wood are bringing together the final pieces of a project begun way back in the spring of 2008. It is a project that resulted in: three albums, hundreds of performances in the US and Europe, two seasons of Camp MMW wherein music students of all sorts and from with all sorts of skills could participate in workshops with the trio, and now, finally a DVD feature film. Wow! If I was that productive in the past 18 months my wife would probably fall over in shock.
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