Keb’ Mo’ - Shave Yo’ Legs w/ Robert Cray

This video has its flaws…but I love it.

And Happy 4th of July…thanks to boolz for posting an mp3 of this song last year on the 4th.

Fatboy Slim and the Brighton Port Authority

Fatboy Slim gets a lift from Iggy Pop, David Byrne, Dizzee Rascal, Martha Wainwright and Ashley Beedle on the debut album from his new project, the Brighton Port Authority.

The BPA’s debut album, on which Fatboy Slim appears under his given name of Norman Cook, is further presented as having been culled from a series of tapes found in a cardboard box at “Brighton dockside warehouse”.

A release date for the collection has yet to be announced, but “Toe Jam” will be out digitally July 7th via Cook’s Southern Fried label.

Warning …Naked people playing Pong!

Toe Jam

Jamie Lidell to Open For Sir Elton John!

I guess this is old news, but I just learned of it today.

Elton John. THE Elton John. Holy smokes.

Wow. Seven dates at the end of this year.

Wow.

The first question that pops to mind is: Will Jamie change his show for this? Will he drop the awesome 7 minute “The City” for the Elton crowd?

I do think anything off “JIM” would go over great…

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Wow. Elton John.

K-Os Mixes It Up

And now for something completely different…

K-Os has release several albums over the last 6 years, but I didn’t know about any of them until a few days ago.

I started with his latest album (2007), “Atlantis – Hymns For Disco,” because Pandora hooked me on a song from that album. I can’t even remember which song it was, but I grabbed that album off Amazon, PDQ. That was like 48 hours ago. 46 hours ago I grabbed his first album (2003), “Exit.” 45 hours ago I stopped myself from downloading his 2004 album, “Joyful Rebellion” because I wanted to save something for desert. I mean whoa…slow down…let’s enjoy what we have here. There’s no rush.

What I love about this guy’s music is…everything.

Here’s a small sample:

(The first three songs give some idea as to the amazing variety of good music K-Os offers up…)

* Neutroniks (Exit) …rap that makes me dance

* Valhalla (Atlantis – Hymns For Disco) ….I love to put my headphones on for this one. Do I hear Ram Jam and De Phazz? That’s crazy. So crazy it’s great. And the Beatles. Do I hear the Beatles? I love this music.

* The Rain (Atlantis – Hymns For Disco) Beauteous.

* Follow Me (Exit) rap over guitar…

*highway 7 (Atlantis –Hymns For Disco)

*mirror in the Sky (Atlantis – Hymns For Disco)

*the ballad of Noah (Atlantis – Hymns For Disco)

* FlyPaper (Atlantis – Hymns For Disco)

*Fantastique (Exit)

Todd Rundgren - Something/Anything? (1972)

I first heard of Todd Rundgren when I heard about the Wolftrap Sgt. Peppers show. I researched him on youtube and my curiosity was piqued! So, on the advice of reader fishwater, I picked up Todd Rundgren’s album Something/Anything?

That’s a lot of music! Damn. It seems more like three albums than a double album. As soon as I got it, I listened to a few seconds of a few songs here and there and I thought it sounded kinda dated…I was a little worried.

I loaded my newly acquired TR music onto my iPod, put my headphones on and set off on a 6 mile walk. (6 miles! Yay me!)

And well, this is a GREAT album. I can’t say enough about it. I enjoyed the whole thing, and the word ‘dated’ never crossed my mind. Everything sounds fresh and interesting. Some songs I liked more than others, but I enjoyed listening to the entire album.

Todd Rundgren’s lyrics are interesting. Sometimes they seem like reading someone’s mind. He doesn’t pretty up those thoughts or anything. He just puts them out there in simple, straightforward words, sometimes trite (“It takes two to tango”), but it’s honest, and he gets pretty deep that way. All that said, it’s the music that is the real star of this show.

What an incredibly wide variety of musical ideas!

I’ve only been through the album once. I’m including some of the songs that jumped out at me on the first run through. I think it is safe to say I like the more ‘unusal’ songs. But there is something for everybody on this album.

I Went To The Mirror. I hit replay on that one. That’s a big deal because I had so much music to get through and I didn’t have time to be replaying stuff the first time through. But I dig that song. I could have written that song. LOL. Some mornings are tough.

Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me. Some folks is blacker than me…I’m stuck somewhere in the middle. Talkin ‘bout your outside…talking about your inside too. (Can you tell I dig this song, too?)

Black Maria…wow. Classic.

Little Red Lights My inner rocker loves this one.

The Night The Carousel Burned Down

One More Day (No Word)

and of course….I Saw The Light

So there you have my first listen stand-outs.

I love this album.

Jsun Jasper…calling Jason Jasper…please report to the internet.

Jsun Jasper

His message, his music, his voice…it’s so moving…

And all he’ll give me is this little ‘ol myspace with no performance dates listed, no way to purchase the mysterious album, “More.” (How ironic that this album has that title as I’ve been looking for ‘more’ of him ever since his voice stopped me dead in my tracks at a rally over a year ago…)

Who I’m Not Seeing Tonight.

The Rebirth Brass Band. I can’t believe I’m not there right now.

Marc Broussard Showing the West Coast Some LOVE!

Thanks to reader Jean who mentioned Marc Broussard has announced his album’s release date! I dropped everything and rushed over to his website and got the 411:

The album is called Keep Coming Back and will be released September 16th. Also they are planning to film his June 20th show in Nashville, so maybe we’ll be getting a DVD or seeing it on TV.

But the best news for me is the West Coast Love. August 30, small venue, and a Saturday night. Hells yes.

Must Be The Water

Come In From The Cold

GO SAINTS!

Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart…

An interview with Taylor that gave me a worried feeling can be read here. It gave me a feeling like you might get if you were to have reason to wonder if your significant other might be falling in love with someone else. He says he loves you, but you see that look in his eye when he’s around the other woman…

Here is a line from the interview. I bolded the part that that got to me:

“The great thing about this role is I was able to be Taylor at the same time as Teen Angel,” he said. “It allows me to get my feet wet a little bit before I really dive into acting.”

Oh that’s ok, Taylor. If you want to act and be famous and all that more than you want to make music, that’s ok with me. Follow your heart…be free…

Yeah, I know he didn’t say that. I know he talked about a new album.

But I saw how he looked getting all that press for his “Teen Angel” part:

Somehow I’m thinking that an artistic indie album just can’t compete with that kind of attention. I feel insanely jealous.

Being a fan is so weird.

Ray LaMontagne’s New Album September 9

News from Ray LaMontagne:

RAY LAMONTAGNE TO RELEASE THIRD ALBUM,
‘GOSSIP IN THE GRAIN’ ON SEPTEMBER 9TH

Lauded singer/songwriter, Ray LaMontagne is set to release his much-anticipated third album, Gossip In The Grain, on September 9th on RCA Records. Recorded with returning producer, Ethan Johns in Box, England, and touching upon a range of styles and musical settings- spanning pastoral folk, railroad blues, front porch country, and plangent balladry - Gossip In The Grain proves to be his most creative and emotionally expansive collection to date.

Whereas LaMontagne’s two previous albums, ‘Trouble’ and ‘Till The Sun Turns Black’, were largely solo affairs, with Johns serving as multi-tasking instrumentalist, Gossip In The Grain sees him joined by members of his touring band, bassist Jennifer Condos and guitarist Eric Heywood (with Johns largely handling drum duties). Along with his band members, LaMontagne is also joined on two tracks - “A Falling Through” and “I Still Care For You” - by singer/songwriter Leona Naess.

As LaMontagne explains “It was time to open up a little bit more, not be quite so reserved in my choice of songs that I wanted to record. I’m really very critical of myself and it’s sort of a process of opening up. I felt like I was in the right space to show that side of myself.” Recently called by Vanity Fair “a fresh reminder that the genuine artist is not yet an extinct species,” Gossip In The Grain reconfirms Ray LaMontagne as an artist and a craftsman without limits, a songwriter who is able to work his melodic gifts and distinctive lyricism through any of the myriad musical traditions that catches his fancy.

Tracklisting:
1. Let It Be Me
2. Hey Me, Hey Mama
3. Sarah
4. I Still Care For You
5. Winter Birds
6. Meg White
7. Achin’ All The Time
8. Henry Nearly Killed Me (It’s A Shame)
9. A Falling Through
10. Gossip In The Grain

I’m counting the days!

ETA: Here is a video of Let It Be Me: