indeed. She has a gorgeous voice.... just checking the website...

After enjoying 'Food in the Belly'... I had to run down and pick up 'Solace' by Xavier Rudd... which I think is even better.

Sort of a little bit Ben Harper, a little but Donovan Frankenwriter, a smattering of Brett Dennen, and even a touch of Paul Simon all mixed up with some traditional Australian folk complete with didgeridoo and some Jack Johnson surf groove. Im digging it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Rudd

Ane Brun's CDs "A Temporary Drive" and "Spending Time with Morgan"

My son was volunteering at the Apple Folk Festival here in South Jersey a couple of years ago and Xavier Rudd played. My son hadn't heard of him before that, but liked his music a lot. Unfortunately, the day of the folk festival the rain poured down "in buckets" all day and the turn out was very, very, low. Xavier was kind enough to talk with my son and his friend for awhile and put on one heck of a generous, good show. So anyways. he's apparently a nice guy too!

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - The Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager

Besides receiving LFN V2 from paste today, received the following in the mail, yesterday:

Live at Grimey's - Todd Snider This in-store appearance was at Grimey's in Nashville last October 20 and we were there standing just to Todd's right. If you haven't heard You Got Away With It, check it out. This EP is great!

Peace, Love and Anarchy (rarites, b-sides and demos, vol. 1) - Todd Snider Apparently, Todd's previous label Oh Boy decided they might as well dig out some of his old stuff they had in the can since The Devil You Know was ranked so high in several of last year's year-end polls. Gonna be a winner, though! You know that going into to it.

If you dig Xavier, have you tried John Butler Trio?



I consider this CD to be one of the best of the Mell'00's... And since we're talking about Aussie's...

"If you dig Xavier, have you tried John Butler Trio?..."

hey now. Never heard of them... but checking out clips now. Sounds like definite 'surfer-dude, groovy-marcia, sandels in the sand, dont bogart-that-joint type of stuff.'

Funny. I never did really get into that type of thing too much.. but tripping on Donovan Frankenwriter & Xavier... its waaaay fun.

Thanks for the tip, Im gonna give them a spin...

....I did pick up Sunrise Over Sea, by John Butler Trio...

interesting... not all that far removed from Xavier Rudd (or vice versa)... with a bit more of a bluesy edge to it. John Butler, it seems - plays a mean 11-string guitar too. (not a didgeridoo in sight on this CD ) Worth a listen, good tip... thanks.

ellery's new, live "What I Said Out Loud" was in my mailbox when i went home for lunch today. i preordered it at the CST shows and while i'm only 4 songs in on the first listen, i'm diggin' it.

from ellerymusic.com


it can be ordered HERE.

and i also picked up mieka pauley's ep, "out of car wrecks and hurricanes" last weekend and am enjoying it a lot too. eight bucks well spent, a very nice listen...

Stronger | The Way It Is | Faster | First Stone | Draped In Blue

and it's available HERE.

I just went to target today to spend some easter store credit.
I bought...
Type O Negative - Dead Again
and
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

I HIGHLY recommend Back to Black for any of you who like soul music, reggae music, or AWESOME CHICK SINGERS.
[which is obvious that everyone here does... ]

Yes!! What she said! I got this a couple/few weeks ago and LOVE it. So much I ordered her first CD Frank from amazon UK which is also quite groovable but has more of a R&B flavor to it. They're nicely different from each other. But back to the point, Back to Black is HIGHLY recommended by me as well. heh.

The Rakes - Ten New Messages

I don't even know why I pre-order things anymore... ordered it on Dec 2nd, live in the same city as them... don't have it.

Eh...

~fff

The Story - Brandi Carlile

After first listen, I think I like it even better than her first (and it was really good).

..

I bought Brandi Carlile's self-titled cd two days ago and am pleased to say that it is SCRUMTRULESCENT.

My birthday was this weekend, and I received the following from my wife and daughter:

come to where i'm from - joseph arthur
Stay Human - Michael Franti & Spearhead (from my daughter who loves these guys, too)
from this moment on - Diana Krall
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case (this was a total surprise from my wife. my daughter thinks the artwork is really disturbing, but then, so are Neko's songs. i used to have copies of the The Virginian and Furnace Room Lullaby, but i kind of got out of the whole Bloodshot thing. this is pretty neat stuff, though. anyone ever see the Furnace Room Lullaby video on the DVD of The Gift?)

Also, received a Best Buy gift card and a few checks. Already have a few thoughts on what I'll use that for!

AHHHH.
i love this.
it was on greys anatomy the other day.
i mean, i knew about brandi carlile before, but holy crap, now i want like, every cd.

She only has two CD's out.

well then, i want two.

plus if you can find it, probably at a good indie store, she has live at neumo's, and at one of her shows here last year
she had an ep i bought that was called brandi carlile acoustic. also her first cd was reissued last year with a few bonus tracks added.

my latest are laura veirs- saltbreakers,
and i received in the mail recently the
new ellery live cd- what i've said out loud.
i had ordered that at cst.

Two studio albums.

Just ordered one myself ~ was a bit hesitant about ordering an EP instead of a CD, but your posting reminded me again about how much I really like her music. Feels good to support such a great artist by purchasing her EP too. Your link here made it all the more quicker; thanks, Bill.

got this one today

Update...

Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther

Im digging this one... what is up with this cheezy cover art though. Sheesh.
I've decided I like Midlake. I think. Sounds like David Byrne signed on as the new lead singer for the late 70s band America. Give 'It Covers The Hillside' or 'Bandits' a try and you will get a sense of it. Not as bubbly-sweet as america, but certainly just as harmless.

The Cat Empire - Two Shoes

This is kind of cool. An Aussie band playing some heavily latin influenced, funky, ska kind of thing. At first, I was just going to write it off as junk... but it grows on you and is quite danceable-groovy. Try 'Sly' or 'The Car Song'.

Low - Drums and Guns.

This has promise... but it hasnt really stuck to me yet. Alot of the tracks are supported by a clap-o-matic and synth drums... along with some dirge like soundscapes... not particularly uplifting - but there is something here I cant quite put my finger on. Its certainly a unique piece of work. 'Belarus' reminded me a bit of Sufjan Stevens, though it doesnt sound much like him, 'Hatchet' is interesting too. This isnt for everyone, I think.

The Frames - The Cost

I found nothing I like much on this. All of it sounds the same... with songs starting slow and building into some sort of predictable emotional ejaculation that comes off (to me) pretentious and boring. 'People Get Ready' is a fairly representative track. Quickly added to the pile of musical chaff. (I fully expect someone to pipe up and tell me how good the Frames are now... )

just some random thoughts...

Steve

Low is amazing, one of my all-time favorites from Duluth, MN. Thy've gone through quite a change the last few albums. From very simplistic lo-fi slow core of their first albums to the rocking The Great Destroyer, to the new abum, with synths, tapes, and loops. And amazingly it all still sounds like Low.
It isn't for everyone, I agree, but once it pulls you in....

The new Frames album is not on my list of likables at all, but damn they are great to see live.

oh... I almost forgot... I got a copy of this too:

The Fools


OK, OK... just a local band that was just way too much fun in the early 80's. They did songs like "She Makes me Feel Big", "Life S*cks, Then you Die", "Psycho Chicken", "Doo Wah Ditty", "I Love your T*ts", etc etc...

Faith Yang

laugh... the first track on her website under 'music' sounds like Dolores O'Riordan singing in Taiwanese...

Red House Painters - Songs for a Blue Guitar
(3) Beck CD's (used)
Discount Fireworks - OtR


*edit* - Electric Light Orchestra - Greatest Hits - my son lost his copy and asked me to pick one up for him at the local CD shop. Found a used copy in pristine condition for $5. All music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne...takes me till 2007 to realize that.

Cowboy Junkies - Long Journey Home (Live in Liverpool) - Pretty sweet album/DVD, I'm lovin it.
Lori Mckenna - Pieces of Me - Been meaning to get some of her stuff for a while now. It's about time!

Where did you find that one? I've been dying to find that album!

Recently bought:

Cowboy Junkies - At the End of Paths Taken
Jethro Tull - Thick As a Brick
Pink Floyd - Meddle (I've almost replaced my Floyd vinyl collection with CDs)

Thick As A Brick is SO fine on CD, not having to flip.
(new Junkies doesn't do much for me....then again, old Junkies didn't either. So so)

Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking
The Verve's Urban Hymns

you can get through their website:

http://www.thefools-band.com/

You are right!

Im trying to get into the Cowboy Junkies... I need some help.

I've had their 'greatest hits' for a while, and I simply love "Sweet Jane' and 'Blue Moon Revisited'. Sweet Jane is well... really really good...what a great job. I didnt find much else on that one I was really digging though. Which album contains a relatively smaller portion of Canadian Country?

Its Friday.... "CD Buying Day" in my little universe...

From Michael Timmins:

I rarely sit down with the objective of writing a set of songs based on a single theme. Usually the theme or themes suggest themselves as the songs are developed. But for this album I set out to write an album that dealt with “family” and all of the complex relationships that are suggested by the word. Those relationships and how they continue to echo down through generations is something that, as a parent of three young children and as a son of aging parents, has been playing/preying on my mind for the past few years. As the writing progressed, the songs began to pull in more complex directions. “Family” remained a dominant theme but events of the larger world and how those events, subtly and not so subtly, influence the “family” relationship began to creep in to the songs. It was like the themes that we explored on “Early 21st Century Blues” (violence, fear, greed, war, loss) had not been fully exorcised and were insinuating themselves in to these very intimate songs about the dynamics of personal family relationships. I’m not sure if it is my age or the age we live in, most likely its a combination of the two, but the songs began to hint at themes of inevitability, finality, not exactly pre-determination, but a sense of running out of choices, a sense of being at the end of paths taken.

todays acquisitions....

Laura Veirs, Saltbreakers
(This looked interesting...random grab)


Cowboy Junkies, Miles From Our Home ($3, used)


Yusuf/Cat Stevens - An Other Cup ($9, used)

Reminds me of the old saying:

For those that "get it" - no explanation is needed; for those that "don't" - no explanation will suffice

Very true

Oh Caroline... Songs for a Blue Guitar is one of my favs! I hope you dig it!

Kim taylor - I feel Like a Fading Light
(Update: this is a very, very good album)


The Postmarks - The Postmarks
(Update: this is excruciatingly bad. Yet another Minnie Mouse voice fronting mediocre songwiting and mediocre musicianship.)


Fountains of Wayne - Traffic & Weather
(Update: Tries way too hard to be like other FOW successes, but comes off as forced and often trite and stupid. Couple of good licks though.)


-s

i totally agree with this statement - having seen them live and owning a few of their CDs.

while their CDs range (in my opinion) from ok to good, their live show is quite amazing. i think i'd personally rather save my money and not buy their CD but yet pay to see them live.

Patty Griffin - Impossible Dream & Children Running Through.


i'm really enjoying ID.

madeleine peyroux - careless love

The new Tori Amos (American Doll Posse) and the new John Zorn (Six Litanies for Heliogabalus) are both pretty good... in different ways. Tori's "girls" motif isn't new, but it's punchier than SLG and it's actually her songs rather than covers... I'm about 1/3 of the way through this long album, but I like it.

Zorn's is avant-garde noise-metal meets mysticism with JZ's alto sax, Jamie Saft's exotica-tinged organ, Ikue Mori's laptop electronics, Trevor Dunn's rumbling, Joey Baron's percussinating, and female trio chorus over Mike Patton's glossalalial utterances. mmm... mmmm... güt. Absolutely stunning, if you're into this sort of thing.




~fff

air- pocket symphony