Friday, December 28, 2007

Get Your Hands On This Record

Finally picked up the Robert Plant and Alison Krause collaboration, RAISING SAND. There's been a lot of coverage and critical acclaim in the past few months, and after a few spins I can see why. What an album. Real interesting collection of songs, some driving and some super mellow but all very enjoyable. Plant's voice sounds incredible, he continues to be stellar in each solo project he's done since the mighty LZ.
Check notable gems "Killing the Blues" and "Rich Woman".

Monday, December 17, 2007

Top 10 Songs of 2007

So we're doing things a bit differently this year as I really don't think too many people are actually listening to full albums that much these days. We're back to a singles era, and that's not such a bad thing. Makes it a bit easier to get to the songs as well. Here's the year's best in my book:
"SILVER LINING" - Rilo Kiley. This is a cool band who I've heard about for years and finally come around on when this song came out. You will too - its fantastic.
"TWO" - Ryan Adams. They say in music "no junk, no soul", but since this notorious drunkard's gone sober he's put out some great work, including Easy Tiger this year on which this sweet tune was featured.
"YOU'RE A WOLF" - Sea Wolf. Don't know who these guys are or where I first heard this, but I'm now a fan. Great song.
"THE SUN IS SHINING DOWN" - JJ Grey & Mofro. I played this non-stop this summer, a great, throw-back bluesy tune about appreciation.
"GYPSY BIKER" - Bruce Springsteen. Magic was my favorite album this year, and though its full of outstanding songs this is the track that stands out the most. Not your typical Springsteen sounding song, it's a rocker that hits you over the head both musically and lyrically. Spend some time with this one, you'll love it.
"1234" - Feist. She's great, had fans for years and even the mainstream took notice months after her album release when this was selected for an Apple commercial.
"SOCIETY" - Eddie Vedder. From the Into The Wild soundtrack. Some don't get it, but I say Eddie rules.
"HOUSE OF CARDS" - Radiohead. The non-label release of In Rainbows was the story of the year in music and has overshadowed the tunes. This one is classic Radiohead and the best on the album: left-of-center, hypnotic, beautfiul.
"IN THE COLORS" - Ben Harper. He's still relevant. This is a soul-infused gem, play it at your next party, it's great.
"INTERVENTION" - Arcade Fire. This is arguably the only band that's really 'broken' in the last few years, and this song shows why.

You can buy this playlist on iTunes here, but note that Radiohead hasn't made their tracks available so I've made a runner-up replacement with the excellent "Young Folks" by Peter, Bjorn and John.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Neil Young - Chrome Dreams Tour

I was late to the party on Neil Young. Growing up I always thought the voice was odd, hard to let in, and the tunes never really seemed to make their mark on me. It wasn't until after the release of HARVEST MOON and the backdrop of college that I finally began to see the light, and when I finally saw him live with Crazy Horse around 2003's Greendale tour I had fully drank the kool-aid. From there its been a deep-dive of appreciation and wonder combing through what this 40-year recording career has to offer.
I now own almost every album, dozens of bootlegs, read SHAKEY, and have seen 5 or 6 shows. Last evenings half-acoustic/half-electric set at this new NYC venue left me speechless. The beauty of the slow tunes, the power of the fast ones, I couldn't think of a better show to close out this year with.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Led Zeppelin at O2 - Return of the Gods

So it finally happened last night in London, and from the looks of this clip it doesn't look like they've lost any luster. Jimmy still looks commanding and listen to Plant WAIL some of the vocals fills here. Fans can only hope tour dates ensue and it's hard to understand why they wouldn't want to take a victory lap around the world to celebrate their greatness and give people the chance to bear witness to 3/4ths of arguably the greatest rock-n-roll band that ever was. I, along with millions of others, will be keeping close tabs on the developments and will figure next summer's vacation plans around any US appearances that may be announced.

Also, in all this excitement, isnt it interesting to note how this continues to highlight the sad state of affairs in the current musical landscape, as the most exciting news in music continues to be the reunions of bands from long ago?