Blue Man Group on tour

It used to be that you had to be from a major city - New York, Boston, Chicago (or at least have visited one of them) - to have heard of Blue Man Group. Now, that's no longer the case; they're a world wide phenomena. Since September of 2006 they have been on the road with their How To Be A Megastar Tour and have played in front of 750,000+ fans. The latest leg of the tour brought them to Mexico and South America, which inspired the translation of Sing Along to Canta Conmigo. This popular concert cut has been twisted and turned into a whole slew of remixes by artists such as Funky Junction, Nickodemus, Onionz, and Gaea. Check out the group this fall while they're touring the states and you might just hear a version for yourself. They're incredibly entertaining, much more so than you would think for a bunch of guys dressed up identically with blue skin.

Check out tour dates here, and in the meantime, check out the following:



Blue Man Group - Canta Conmigo (Funky Junction Spanish Vocal Mix)

Blue Man Group - Canta Conmigo (Nickodemus Dub Funk Mix)

Visit their website and become their friend on MySpace.

Cut Off Your Hands (not really - just listen)

Picture the voice of old school rocker Robert Smith (of the Cure) meeting new school can't sit still for a moment Jamie T and that's a close approximation of the new New Zealander crew Cut Off Your Hands. Prepare for six tracks on their debut Shaky Hands EP of some post-punk dance fury that's insistent you don't just sit there. And if you do, go back to your Cure albums, because you have some serious emotional issues that still need to be worked out!

Cut Off Your Hands - Tell Me About : Shaky Hands EP

Visit their label I Am Sound Records and become their friend on MySpace.

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The Cure - 10:15 Saturday Night : Staring At The Sea: The Singles 1979-1985

Jamie T - Pacemaker : Panic Prevention

Eugene: Contest and Concert!

Gonna be in Boston this Thursday? Want an excuse to be in Boston this Thursday?

If so, head to Lacoste in the Pru from 6 to 8 to check out some free live music courtesy of Eugene and Marcus Congleton (of Ambulance LTD), the latest threads from Lacoste (if that's your thing), and most importantly, free cocktails (for those of age, of course)!

Tempted to make an appearance? Make sure to RSVP here, otherwise you better have contacts on the inside!

And while we're on the topic of free goodies, if you're interested in a copy of Eugene's debut EP Circles, leave a comment (or e-mail me) with your name and e-mail address. I'll pick a winner next Wednesdayish and contact them post haste.


Eugene - Circles : Circles EP

Ambulance LTD - Arbuckle's Swan Song : New English EP

Undecided

small spaces

If you've got a heart
And if you're kind
Then don't keep us apart
Make up your mind
You're undecided now
So what are you gonna do?

Nellie McKay - Undecided (Ella Fitzgerald cover) : Live at the 9:30 Club, Washington DC 3-27-07

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Undecided : The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve (Disc 2)

White Shoes & the Couples Company

Listening to the self titled debut album of White Shoes and the Couples Company will make you swear that you've been transported back in time to when bell bottoms were groovy, the Love Boat was cruising the high seas, and flower power seemed destine to replace our dependency on gasoline. Even if you weren't old enough to be consciously aware, this music will bring it all to you.

Because of their uncanny ability to capture a cultural past, it's hard to believe that the group actually hails from Indonesia. That being said, about two thirds of the album will be undecipherable to you (unless of course you are also from Indonesia or speak Indonesian), but that doesn't mean that the message is lost without translation. The music itself is a buoyant mix or sing-song-along clap-happy melodies, delicate love songs, and orchestral honey. Try a dose of the following. The first, Nothing To Fear, you'll be able to sing a long with. The second, Senandung Maaf, has lyrics you won't understand, but the feeling will come across just fine.



White Shoes & the Couples Company - Nothing To Fear : White Shoes & the Couples Company

White Shoes & the Couples Company - Senandung Maaf : White Shoes & the Couples Company

Visit their website, their label Minty Fresh, and become their friend on MySpace.

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Tom Jack Jones - The Love Boat theme : Television's Greatest Hits Vol. 3

Led Zeppelin flies again

Simply put, no other band has done more to ignite my passion for music than Led Zeppelin. Having grown up with my father's collection of classic rock music, perhaps it was inevitable they made such an indelible mark upon my musical psyche. As I grew older, my love for their music would never fade, and when I first started buying music of my own, their catalog of albums was the first I would buy - all nine of them (on cassette at that time). When their first box set came out in 1990, it was the first thing on my Christmas list.

That being said, I was excited to hear about a flurry of Led Zeppelin related news. First, the entire Led Zeppelin catalog will be available via iTunes in a digital boxed set containing Led Zeppelin’s entire discography. It's aptly titled The Complete Led Zeppelin and is now available for pre-order through the iTunes Store. It is a 165-track collection of all 13 of the group’s albums, including the new career-spanning Mothership retrospective, for only $99.

Secondly, the release of the above mentioned retrospective Mothership, as a separate two CD release that is set to be available tomorrow. Its two CDs contain twenty-four tracks hand picked by Page, Plant, and Jones arranged chronologically starting with Good Times Bad Times from Led Zeppelin I and ending with All My Love from In Through the Out Door. Their will also be available an edition with a DVD that includes live concert footage of the band. While everyone will have complaints about what is here and more importantly what is left out, it's an enjoyable collection never the less. Having been lucky enough to receive a copy before hand, I only have two minor complaints about it. First, there is nothing here from Coda. Second, it would have been really interesting to have read the group's reasons for including the songs they did in the liner notes. Regardless, it's a pleasure to listen to these twenty-four tracks remastered back to back.

Finally, the re-release of The Song Remains the Same with SIX additional tracks that were not on the original release, due out November 20th. In addition to the re-release of the soundtrack, a new edition of the DVD will also be available and will include footage of the additional tracks as well as a rare 1976 BBC interview with Robert Plant and Peter Grant; vintage TV footage from the Drake Hotel robbery during the New York concert stand; and a Cameron Crowe radio show.

I can't imagine the pains it must have taken culling through such a lengthy collection of incredible tracks to choose twenty-four for this release (hence the wish for explanations in the liner notes). Imagine my difficulty in now choosing two tracks to share with you here. In the end I settled on one of my favorite Zeppelin tracks, Nobody's Fault But Mine, a fine representation of the band's skills near the end of their career together, and Communication Breakdown, one of their first tracks, which is a great display of their younger rawer sound. Enjoy and count down the minutes for all the new (old) Zeppelin coming our way.


Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown : Mothership

Led Zeppelin - Nobody's Fault But Mine : Mothership

Mothership with bonus DVD

Visit their website, the official Mothership website, their label Atlantic Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

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The Yardbirds (with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton) - You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover (Bo Diddley cover) : London Times Volume 2

Robert Plant and Tori Amos - Down By the Seaside : Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin

Saint Bernadette - In Your Ears

How can you go wrong when one of your first live shows is opening for Run-DMC? I mean to me, you're practically at the top already. Where can you go from there - having Run-DMC open for you? I guess if you're Meredith DiMenna or Keith Saunders (collectively known as Saint Bernadette) and you're releasing your debut album (In the Ballroom), you've got plenty of time to figure that out.

Not content to the studio thing, or even the new en vogue move (recording in your bedroom, closet, and bathroom, and playing all the instruments yourself), the pair has taken the path less traveled. They located a local redevelopment project in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the historic Bijou Theatre (pictured on the cover), which housed a magnificent ballroom dating from 1908. They brought every musician on the album into the space, and after three days offered forth their appropriately named child: In the Ballroom. "We've always wanted to create something like Motown or early Atlantic Records," says Meredith. "Where everyone on the label collaborated and performed together."

The album seems to have picked up some ambiance from its incubator. It just might be Meredith's dusky vocals (which very much remind me of Joan Wasser A.K.A. Joan As Police Woman, who also released her debut album earlier this year). It might be the jazzy atmospheric instruments that feel like they belong in a smoky lounge. Either way, the album exudes a certain draw to it. Listen to the album opener (I Own the City) and the album closer (Beat Dialogue) below, then buy the album to listen to the middle.


Saint Bernadette - I Own the City : In the Ballroom

Saint Bernadette - Beat Dialogue : In the Ballroom

Visit their website, their label Exotic Recordings, and become their friend on MySpace.

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Run-DMC - Peter Piper : Raising Hell

Joan As Police Woman - Flushed Chest : Real Life

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Catch them Live

11/17 Danbury, CT SUB ROSA/Cousin Larry’s
11/29 Knoxville, TN TBA
11/30 Athens, GA TBA
12/01 Asheville, NC Westville Pub
12/02 Philadelphia, PA TBA
12/11 New York, NY Piano’s

It's a Sam Cooke song!

Lately there have been some kind people posting Amy Winehouse's cover of Cupid which is from the BBC Radio 1 website. It's been attributed to Johnny Nash by some and The Supremes by others, and while both have performed the song during their respective careers, the true original writer and performer of the tune is Sam Cooke.

Sam was INCREDIBLY important in the acceptance and integration of Aframerican music into pop culture in the 50's and 60's as well as bridging the gap between black and white audiences as well as young and old. If you're not familiar with his story, he deserves your respect. Start here.

If you have a different cover of this song, feel free to send it my way and I'll add it below.


Sam Cooke - Cupid : One Night Stand: Live at the Harlem Square Club

Otis Redding - Cupid (Sam Cooke cover) : Remember Me

Amy Winehouse - Cupid (Sam Cooke cover) : BBC Radio 1 Cover versions

Andy Swan's songs

Lately, I've been absolutely loving this little gem from north of the border; Andy Swan (also band leader of The Michael Parks), is set to release his second solo album, Ottawa. Its thirteen tracks were recorded in the Canadian province bearing the same name late in 2006, and its set to hit the shelves on November 13th.

The album starts out a little twingy twangy with If My Daddy Could See Me Now, but it doesn't stay there long. It keeps the down home feeling throughout, but in an authentic and intimate manner that will draw you in, not try to overpower you. By the time you get to track three, Brian Jones, Andy and crew have really gotten into some engaging instrumentation. The song is an ode to one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones, and considering that Brian liked to play a wide range of stringed instruments, the track appropriately employs what I swear is a ukulele.

From there they go into a love song with a slightly different spin on the topic (Maybe It's Love), a heartbreaking song named Buckle, a rollicking song that gets a little wild (No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service), a cry in your beer tune (You Got The Diamonds (I Got The Shaft)), and many more. The whole album is refreshingly light in feeling but deep in artistry. Give Andy a try below.


Andy Swan - Brian Jones : Ottawa

Andy Swan - No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service : Ottawa

and one from his last EP

Andy Swan - New Best Friend : The Sunshine EP


Visit his his label Kelp Records and become his friend on MySpace.

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The Michael Parks - Vanessa : Kelpmitzvah (Kelp Turns 13)

The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black : Forty Licks

Pluckin' with Jon Shain

Looking for some laid back blues tinged Americana to tap your foot to? Look no father than Jon Shain's latest release Army Jacket Winter. The album is his fifth as a solo artist, but his resume goes back for over 15 years, and it shows in the album's mature compositions. It opens with Time To Move On, a Tom Petty cover, and then continues on with twelve of Jon's original songs. There's plenty of finger plucking, bluesy lyrics, and country and folk influence to go around and make this a cozy album. At some points it feels bluegrass, other times more New Orleans, but at all times he retains the atmosphere of a band you could come across on the side of the road traveling through the south (try Song For JoJo below). If you like what you hear of Jon's style, he even gives lessons, so pack up your guitar, and on your way check out the entire album.


Jon Shain - Time To Move On (Tom Petty cover) : Army Jacket Winter

Jon Shain - Song For JoJo : Army Jacket Winter

Visit his website and become his friend on MySpace.

James Taylor - Back to his roots

“Performing these songs in their original, stripped-down form in small halls is like going to the well for water. It reconnects me to the music and puts me back in touch with the audience.”

-James Taylor commenting on his new album One Man Band

James Taylor's voice is one that is instantly identifiable. Its crystal clarity, its ability to convey ineffable feelings, its ability to tell a complete story in a song, all characteristics that set him amongst the greatest of singer/songwriters of our time. And with One Man Band, he's returned to where he came from. It's a CD / DVD release that was recorded live at the Colonial Theatre in James' hometown, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, June 19-21. What distinguishes it from just another live recording is the fact that James has left his band behind for really the first time since the late 70's. It's just James and his guitar, with some minimal support from Larry Goldings on piano and keyboards. That's it. A man, his guitar, and songs that have withstood the test of time, hence the name of the album.

Listening to the CD is a rewarding experience in itself, but to truly enjoy the magical evening, watch the DVD that comes with it. The DVD contains footage of the same show on the CD but helps tell the stories behind some of Taylor’s most beloved hits through exclusive interviews, rare multi-media footage, home movies and photographs from Taylor’s personal archives that are woven in between the songs. It's rare for an artist to open up his personal life, experiences, and stories behind his songs like James did this evening. I can't imagine what it must have felt like to be in the audience that night with James Taylor barring is life in front of you. The CD edits out much of the banter and the stories that are so illuminating. Don't just download the musical portion of the album. If you truly are interested in this recording, get a physical copy with both discs.

The album hits the shelves November 13th and as I suggested above, you will want an actual copy of it. Even if you're not already a fan of James, try giving this talented story-teller a chance. In the meantime, here are two songs: one I can almost guarantee you know (You've Got A Friend) and one that you might not (Copperline).


James Taylor - You've Got A Friend : One Man Band

James Taylor - Copperline : One Man Band

Visit his website, his label Hear Music, and become his friend on MySpace.

Treat yourself to The Treats

First it was Sleeping In the Aviary, then is was The Archivist, now here comes the next big thing from Wisconsin: The Treats. The band is a three piece that hails from Madison and just recently released their second full length album, Reservoir Tales. For their sophomore effort, the band didn't have a shortage of material; the album presents a hefty load of eighteen tracks. They don't mince music either, or fail to rock out for the duration. Any more southern rock & roll than this and you're talking Free Bird. To spice things up a little, you'll note a hint of some Jon Spencer Blues Explosion jamming as well (try Ever Been Down?, below). Don't think the whole album is none stop axe work though. There are the slow burners for you, too, You Don't Have To Change for instance. Try the following, then treat yourself to the rest of the album.


The Treats - Ever Been Down? : Reservoir Tales

The Treats - You Don't Have To Change : Reservoir Tales

Visit their website and become their friend on MySpace.

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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Bellbottoms : Orange