Fantastic Daytrotter Session!

Daytrotter, time and again, comes through with some amazing live sessions (and some great artwork), and today is no different. After spending the last few years as the drummer with the Philadelphia outfit Dr. Dog, Juston Stens decided to set out on his own. An amazing talent, Stens new project Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang have released a self-titled, five track debut, which brilliantly showcases Stens variety of musical talents. Do not miss this Daytrotter session, of particular note the track "Lonely Lonely Night." Enjoy.

http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/juston-stens-and-the-get-real-gang-concert/20031362-51536.html

My Favorite Music Videos of the Moment

Yes, it’s been awhile since the last post. Apologies to the masses that wake every morning with a burning urge to check this blog for some new musical nugget.

Among the music I have occupied myself with in recent weeks is this song by The Duke & the King from there sophomore album Long Live The Duke & The King. I find it irresistibly catchy, the type of song that leads to knee-slapping, and eventually full-fledged "I am dancing in my bedroom" mode. The vocal harmonies throughout, the layered, syncopated, uptempo percussion, the guitar riff with a tinge of reverb, and the way the saxophone bursts in pulling with further warmth and energy, all of these components drawn together establish "Shaky" as a fantastic lead track to The Duke & the King's newest album.

While on the subject of the wonders of percussion, if Maps & Atlases "The Charm" hasn't made its way into your ears as of yet, check out this video. It is amazing.

Two Albums of Great Covered Material

I love a good cover. It's both exciting and interesting to hear an artist perform a song written by someone else. An homage to a fellow artist, or a soul-bearing recognition of one's adolescent influences, such a track can take a listener deeper still, drawing him or her into psyche of an artist and how they wish to define their music.

Two recent albums solely devoted to covers have been spotlighted on Aquarium Drunkard, in the past two weeks. Richard Swift and Damien Jurado released their cleverly-titled, nine track album Other People's Songs Vol. 1 which features their interpretation of tracks by everyone from Yes to John Denver. Among my personal favorites are "Be Not Fearful" and "Crazy Like a Fox," the latter complete with fuzzed recording, and a driving piano-percussion union that echoes of the work of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. Compilation albums like Other People's Songs and Okkervil River's Golden Opportunities Mixtape are all the more interesting because there are such high prospects for quite a range of musical diversity and perspective in narrative. Swift's commentary on each of the nine songs is provided in the link below, as well as where the album can be downloaded for free.

It is not often that an artist is bold enough to forge ahead with an undertaking the likes of which J. Tillman, of Fleet Foxes, has just released in Tillman Sings 'Tonight's the Night.' Neil Young's 1975 album Tonight's The Night is an almost spiritual memorial, packed with the quaking grief, impuissance, and guilt that assaulted all depths of Young's inner and outer self following the deaths of two of his close companions by overdose within a few short months. It seems almost too vaunting a task for one to attempt, no matter the depth of talent. Young's vocals are so idiosyncratic in nature, I asked myself whether anyone can replicate that strained sound, peppered with a twinge of the off-key. So often on Tonight's the Night, the emotion, the hurt seems to have a hold over Young, the tension in his voice makes one wonder if he can manage to keep his voice above that of a whisper for the length of an entire song, especially on the title track and "Borrowed Tune." However, after a few listens through I believe Tillman has served us with a worthy rendition. This is more a case of the recent remake of the classic western 3:10 to Yuma than it is the Pierce Brosnan-led butchering of the memory of Steve McQueen's performance in The Thomas Crown Affair. Tillman Sings 'Tonight's the Night' plays as an adoration of Neil Young's work, with a taste of Tillman's own artistic mannerisms sprinkled in. On the very surface, isn't that all a cover is anyway?

Other People's Songs - http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2010/09/07/richard-swift-damien-jurado-other-peoples-songs-vol-1/

Tillman Sings 'Tonight's the Night' - http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2010/09/13/j-tillman-tillman-sings-tonights-the-night/

Horse Feathers, "This Bed"

I count myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to enjoy seeing Horse Feathers perform live, about a month ago. The quartet has recorded three tantalizingly harmonious albums since they formed in 2005, their newest, Thistled Spring, being no different. One of my favorite tracks has been "This Bed," a honey-soaked melody incorporating a beautifully understated entanglement between guitar and banjo set against a forlorn violin.

For all the pleasing orchestration, Justin Ringle's lyrics lend power and emotional weight, grounding the song with the heart-rending tensions of a crumbling relationship. It is a musical dichotomy that Horse Feathers have perfected. As the emotions stack up, a breaking point approaches with the realization that, "The one I love loves me the least / A growing need for apologies, but when I'm wrong I'm weak in the knees." Thereupon, a piteous, self-loathing verse, a cornerstone emotion of the track, is delivered. The tones of the harmonium only add to to the deflating, depthless despair: "It's better now, don't come back to me / Let it be known, I'm a liar and a thief."

Ringle almost seems to lack the faith to deliver the words, and a heavy guilt saturates the song. It is guilt born of mistrust, and fueled by self-blame, and its result is a seclusion erected by the narrator ("Inch by inch, a foot to feet, a growing gap, and miles between / A single lie becomes a beast"). It is there, when the lyrical atmosphere of isolation has come to its peak, that the beautiful arrangement of instruments rises up in support of the powerful verse: "Breathing deep, lying awake to alone to sleep / It's in my mind and in my head / There's a certain type of cold that lives in this bed." Repeated, Ringle's voice strains in the slightest, and the potency of those words builds, the downcast withdrawal of the narrator seems all but cemented. A beautiful melody, with wrenching verse. It is truly captivating.

Random Musings

Cee-Lo Strikes Again!

If the rest of Cee-Lo’s forthcoming solo album, due out in the fall, sounds anything like the two tracks I’ve heard, then we are in for a treat. A few weeks ago, I posted a link for Cee-Lo’s fantastic rendition of Band of Horses’ “No One’s Gonna Love You,” and earlier this week another single, entitled “Fuck You,” was released on Cee-Lo’s youtube page. As he has in recent years with the help of Danger Mouse, Cee-Lo channels the past legends with that Stax Records sound. It is a sound his voice is superbly well suited for, and the track will instantly have you finger-snapping and dancing along in your kitchen.

Golden Opportunities Demands You Listen!

Okkervil River is one of my favorite bands, yet another that I have my brother to thank for introducing me too. In late 2007 and on the heels of their standout album The Stage Names, Okkervil River released Golden Opportunities Mixtape, a free, nine track album of live covers. It’s an album of theirs that I haven’t listened to for a time, and now that I have, I am loving it more than ever. Will Sheff and the rest of Okkervil River offer their interpretation of such artists as Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and Jimmy Webb, in a way that only Okkervil River can. As they are want to do, the group aptly blends the traditions of Americana folk music with its own intricate and layered presentation. Sheff’s voice is stirring as it always is, pinched and slightly off-key at times as a point of strained emotional emphasis. The most striking of the tracks are “April Anne,” “Blonde in the Bleachers,” a tragic tale of farewell in “Do What You Gotta Do,” and the one original track of the nine, the nostalgic and heartbroken “Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas.”

If you go to the wikipedia link, oddly enough, for Golden Opportunities Mixtape and click on “Pitchfork Download Link” towards the bottom, the album will download for you.

Notorious B.I.G., Motivating My Run

It’s always a treat when a completely unexpected song comes up on my iTunes during a run, especially when that track really gets you going. A few weeks ago, it was “Holland, 1945” by Neutral Milk Hotel that spurned me on, when I felt like I had nothing more, Jeff Magnum’s voice and the cascading crash of percussion pushed me further and further. Today, it was Notorious B.I.G. with “What’s Beef?” off Life After Death. The percussion and background music fuse together, creating a brooding atmosphere as Biggie unleashes some of his most violent and malicious verses: “There'll be nothin’ but smooth sailin’ / When I spit shots, now your crew's bailin’ / All I got is heat and tough talk for you / Tie you up, cut your balls off just to use / Man listen straight torture, look what that slick shit bought ya / A first class ticket to Lucifer, real name Cristopher / Watch me set it off like Vivica / Here lies your demise, close your eyes / Think good thoughts, die while your skin start to glisten/ Pale blue hands get cold, your soul's risen.” With harsh words delivered with such a smoothness of tone and meter, the adrenaline was definitely moving about my system quickly.