Not only the best LP to come out of the massive Flying Nun / Kiwi stable (which had much good to great talent, but few who delivered complete albums as consistent and captivating as this one), but amongst the best indie albums anywhere by any group in the second half of the 80’s. – Pat …
Month: December 2014
Joe Cocker was one of those guys that my pals liked to mock and was fun for John Belushi to parody. But at his peak, Joe was “thee song interpreter” of his generation. Most famously, he was one of the first and best to really rework a Beatles song into something new, different and most …
When we shop for toys for the loved ones on our list, we like to think the kids are learning something. Books help children associate those squiggles with objects. Puzzles help them solve problems. Dolls engage the imagination. In eighth century Francia, the setting for my novels, the nobility had their own version of age …
Friday night in Seattle, less than a week before Christmas, and all through the house (called El Corazon )it is packed to the gills where X and the Blasters played a double bill. Seattle’s own Girl Trouble opened. All three bands are perfectly blended. The Blasters are traditional roots rock while X have their roots …
Los Angeles jazz organist Brian Charette has released his new single, “Time of the Season,” a cover of The Zombies’ 1968 hit. This supercoolish vamp is the latest from Charette’s full-length album, Good Tipper, which was released November 2014. When not recording or performing, Charette teaches master classes all over the world and is on …
The Joseph of the Nativity story is a cipher: one of those New Testament characters whose very blankness seems to invite us to step into their sandals and ask what we would do if we were witness to such strange events. It wasn’t until I became an adoptive father that I suddenly (if narcissistically) saw …
Friday night December 12, I once again made the long drive south to Tacoma, Washington to see yet another great show at Jazzbones. This time it was Nekromantix with Angie & the Car Wrecks opening. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen Nekromantix, but this was the most fun show I’ve seen them do. …
For me, this 1970 LP is the best “holiday” album. Why? Laura Nyro wrote all the songs, except one, which Carole King did. Felix Cavaliere and Arif Mardin produced it. The backing band are the Swampers from Muscle Shoals – plus Duane Allman AND Alice Coltrane play on it. What more could you want? – …
Friendly Canadian indie-rock trio Zerbin is spreading holiday cheer with a free download of its latest EP. Premiering on Pancakes & Whiskey, the new release features Christmas classics with a modern pop twist and two never before heard remixes of the band’s hit song, “New Earth.” The free download is available via NoiseTrade. Formed in …
After spending the last few months working on new music, Australian songwriter Anna O is excited by the release of her latest single, ‘Symphony.’ The track is brought to life by the artist’s warm, soulful vocals, which glide over a landscape of dreamy synths, strings and an overall sense of intrigue. It’s this unique layering …
For me, the soundtrack of the late 80’s and early 90’s, the definitive ‘indie rock’ artist, was Barbara Manning. Her ethereal vocals over the top of a 1960s English folk / 70’s Krautrock / 80’s Kiwi Flying Nun blend was not only unique, it was transcendent. Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo and Robyn Hitchcock sang …
As a Christmas gift for you, Red Sleeping Beauty is releasing “Merry Christmas, Marie,” their first new song in 17 years. Red Sleeping Beauty is a semi-legendary Swedish bedroom pop band. They released two albums and numerous singles on classic pop labels around the world between 1992 and 1997. Highly rated by pop connoisseurs, they …
Unless someone comes out with an excellent Christmas album in the next couple weeks, here’s my top ten of 2014: St. Paul and the Broken Bones Half the City The Budos Band Burnt Offering Lee Fields and the Expressions Emma Jean Benjamin Booker Violent Shiver Prince Art Official Age Jack White Lazaretto Sharon Jones and …
Recently signed to Cherrytree Records/Interscope, seven-piece sibling band The Hunts, have been playing music together almost their entire lives. Ranging from ages 16 to 24, twin sisters Jenni and Jessi and their five brothers Josh, Jonathan, Jordan, Justin, and Jamison all learned to sing and play violin as young kids and spent much of their …
You need to see this: Frida! Bjorn’s Ovation Breadwinner! Frida’s satin hot pants and charmingly awkward dancing and blithe overconfidence! That video was discovered in an Internet breadcrumb trail—there needs to be a word for that experience (start with site A, which takes you to video B, which leads to chatroom C, etc.); maybe wormholing?—with …
Portland jazz artist Barbara Lusch is no novice to the heart and grit that fueled the 80s and brought about rock powerhouse numbers from Springsteen, Bowie, Bon Jovi and many other culture icons. In a creative attempt to underline the passion and emotive fervor contained in the lyrics of these rock ballads, Lusch and conductor …
I’m having fun with videos again. How old were you when man first set foot on the moon? I think we have little idea how deep an impact this monumental event had and continues to have on our species…….. – Betsy Youngquist https://www.dropbox.com/s/rooaz5lpx2zi118/Spaceships.mp4 BYART.com
Religion plays a central role in the lives of my early medieval characters, but portraying Christianity in the days of Charlemagne takes more than having prayers in Latin. Here are a five aspects of Christianity in this period that might surprise you. Midwives could baptize newborns if they feared the child would die. Childbirth was …
She’s come a long way from Rock ‘n Roll N-word. She hasn’t lost the punk rock emotion in her voice though. Beautiful. – Mike Swanson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky5E6VwSZpE
One of the first stories I ever wrote for a newspaper was coverage of a tribute to black church music for the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale newspaper. I was moved by it. My parents dragged me to a Presbyterian church and we never had cool music like that. The choirs didn’t sway. Nobody tapped their feet. …
On Black Friday, braving freezing temperatures and rain, about twenty-five teachers and supporters rallied over a 520 overpass just a block from the Microsoft campus. The rally was to draw attention to the fact that Microsoft is one of many corporations that makes billions in profits but due to loopholes in the taxation system, pays …