Welcome to Blog number 17! Are you ready to laugh, cry and run the gamut of emotions? Okay, that’s probably not going to happen, but I will tell you about some CD’s that have been floating around my desk.
First up is Wilco with their latest release, (the album). That’s not a typo, that is the name of the release! To take it a step further, the first song is titled Wilco (the song), I kid you not. Jeff Tweedy leads the group down an interesting path. This CD sounds like it was made 30 years ago…just has an older sound and it also seems to get better on the 2nd half. Wilco has been described as Alternative Country…yeah, I don’t know what that means either but this industry always has to try to find a label for everything. To me, this record sounds like a rock/soft rock/country-ish release from the 70’s. You check it out and tell me what you think. I especially enjoyed You Never Know, I’ll Fight and Sonny Feeling. If you enjoy the record, look up Wilco and their history, there’s an interesting story there.
You Never Know live at the Wiltern!
Sonny Feeling live at the Wiltern! starts about 1:20 if you want to skip the banter!
I really like the song I’ll Fight, but couldn’t find a link. I did find a random youtube guy covering the song and he does a good job! That’s what I’m going to call him, Random Youtube Guy! Here it is!
Tom Morello is famous for being the guitarist for Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave. He has now teamed up with Boots Riley to form Street Sweeper Social Club. I think if you’re a Rage fan, you’ll dig this release. Some of the songs have a Rage feel, but Boots delivers a more talking style rap as opposed to Zach De La Rocha’s loud scratchy vocals. They are touring right now and people are raving about the live show. I found a couple of cool clips to share with you. Cool songs: Fight! Smash! Win!, The Oath, Shock You Again, Good Morning Mrs. Smith and Nobody Moves Til We Say Go.
Nobody Moves Til We Say Go Live!
Fight! Smash! Win!
Kick Out The Jams with Trent Reznor!
Whooo! Let’s take it down a few notches with our old friend Moby, or Mohb-ster which is what I call him…not really…anyway…Moby is back with his latest release, Wait For Me. He is back to his old tricks, creating atmospheric music with nice female vocals interspersed throughout. His inspiration came from seeing David Lynch speak. Here’s what Moby was quoted as saying according to culturebully.com:
“I started working on the album about a year ago, and the creative impetus behind the record was hearing David Lynch Speak at Bafta, in the UK. David was talking about creativity, and to paraphrase, about how creativity in and of itself, and without market pressures, is fine. It seems as if too often an artist’s or musician’s or writer’s creative output is judged by how well it accommodates the marketplace, and how much market share it commands and how much money it generates.”
Well said Moby! I liked Pale Horses, Walk With Me, Wait For Me and Hope Is Gone. Here are a couple of videos:
Zee Avi landed her first record deal because of the success of her youtube channel. Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler forwarded her videos to record execs. Way to go Zee! She was born in Borneo and moved to Kuala Lumpur when she was 12. The 23 year old started playing guitar at 17 and now has a self-titled release on Monotone/Brushfire. Brushfire Records is an excellent label owned by Jack Johnson. Seriously, check out the label, they put out great artists. Anyway back to Zee, she’s a mellow singer-songwriter that definitely has her own sound and a little bit of an edge to her. I enjoyed Bitter Heart, Just You And Me, FIrst Of The Gang To Die (Morrissey cover) and Darlin’ It Ain’t Easy. You can hear Zee Avi on Street Date Radio and WNEW.com.
Bitter Heart:
First Of The Gang To Die:
Datarock are pretty much what their name suggests. Electronic Alternative Rock band that pays heavy respect to 80s Alternative, particularly the bands out of the U.K. Datarock formed in Norway in 2000 and have just released their third CD, RED. Check out The Blog, Give It Up, True Stories, Amarillion and Not Me. Check out the amazing video below….priceless!
Give It Up:
Computer Camp Love: another funny one from an older release!
Company Of Thieves is a new trio born out of the Chicago area. A conversation at a train station led to vocalist Genevieve Schatz and guitarist Mark Walloch deciding to work together and form an interesting rock band. Mike Ortiz filled out the trio on drums and they quickly made a name for themselves in Chicago. Wind-up Records took notice and signed the group and the result is Ordinary Riches, their debut CD. The song Oscar Wilde is one of the coolest songs out today and the rest of the CD does not disappoint. Other good tracks include: In Passing, Pressure, Around The Block, The Fire Song and another song that shows Genevieve’s range, Even In The Dark.
Oscar Wilde:
Even In The Dark: check out this acoustic version by the lucky horseshoe in Arizona!
I will leave you this week with a song that Adam Lambert recorded a couple of years ago. His label is foolishly telling him to denounce the recording, worrying about losing their own sales, but it is an amazing song that will only help sell more of his records. Even for you Adam haters out there, check this out, it’s good!
Have a great weekend!
