well i reached to grab the glowing rosebut instead i burned my handit was just a thousand mothscovering a lighthoping that they'd eat that nightlife could be a luxuryif life forfeited timecuz all that time's done to meis give and take what's minewell it's not mine, it's not minei ain't gonna waste more timehoney i'll be gone before the nightfallThis song comes from Before Nightfall, the sophomo...
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"Listen up you punks..."If you're a fan of hip hop, especially of innovative, noncommercial hip-hop, then DOOM is either on your radar screen or darn well should be. For old fans and new alike, his latest release Unexpected Guests is an insane collection of tracks that you'll be salivating over. Over the course of his career, DOOM has worked with the cream of the crop, artists like Talib Kweli,...
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‘Tis the season of giving, and today I have another charity project that could use your support. In previous weeks I’ve written about the Playing For Change project and Funk Aid for Africa. Today I want to share news about a benefit album that just came out today titled Indie Rocks! A Benefit Album For Malaria No More. It’s been put together by RED Distribution, and its aim is to raise mon
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Barel Coppet et Mister LofThere really isn't any better time to be a musical collector than the present. There are just so many great smaller labels putting out some phenomenal stuff, both new and old. An excellent example of the latter is Soundway Records. I wrote about them earlier this year, during the summer, when talking about their excellent Latin release, Panama! 2: Latin Sounds, Cumbia ...
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"The premise: the loss of love. This universal theme is handled here in uniquely Ethiopian manner. The inspiration comes from an old Ethiopian song, where a woman leaves her husband just before the Ethiopian New Year (which is in September). Jorga Mesfin's sax plays a mournful refrain lamenting the loss of his love. Andrea Fabbri's playing, on the other hand, represents a former scorned lover, ...
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For all you Nick Cave fans out there, I've got two Caveities to share with you. One to read, one to listen to. The first is something for your nightstand: The Death Of Bunny Munro. It's the second novel by Cave, and came out in September. For those of who familiar with Cave, this novel is everything you'd expect from his twisted mind and so much more. It opens with:"I am damned, thinks Bunny Mu...
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It's getting to be that time of year. The time for egg nog (preferrably spiked), candy cane colored underwear, and Christmas CDs. I know what you're saying, "It's WAY too early to be listening to Christmas music." Well I say, "Stop bah-humbuging the seasonal grooves and start ordering them now so you'll have them in time to spin for your Black Friday suicide shopping mission."Now that we've got...
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Since I wrote about Fela Kuti yesterday, it seems only appropriate to take today to talk about the fourth volume in Strut Records’ Inspiration Information series. As is typical in the series, the album pairs up two artists unlikely to share a studio otherwise, typically and older artists with a more contemporary one. In this case, it’s eccentric Swedish electronic instrumentalist Jimi Tenor wi
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Here’s some very wonderful news that I’m personally very excited about: Knitting Factory Records will be reissuing ALL of Fela Kuti’s albums over the next year and half. That’s right, forty-five releases, not only on CD, but also on vinyl. How insane is that? Kuti on vinyl…does it get any better? I’ve now got my wish list for my birthday and Christmas for the next two years written up
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Last week I wrote about the charity album Playing For Change. Hopefully you checked it out, and possibly even bought a copy of your own by now. Although only ten tracks, it's a powerful collection of music that deserves your attention and coin. Today I've got another charity project that is equally as deserving: Funk Aid For Africa. Here's what is given in the liner notes for the album:"Funk Ai...
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A Heart Of Stone it starts with a crackin a heartthat was made of stonei thought it was deadhad been sleepingso all alonenow what a mistakei've madedrifted off so far from youand from how it beganand love i wantto give myself awayandlove i want to receive youback in the same wayi make no sense on my ownbut we're made for each otherand this is the loveArmy of Me - Love Song : Make Yourself Naked...
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So I'm sure I've shared this before, but I'm not a TV watcher. I can curl up on the couch and watch a movie every once and a while, but watching a weekly show just isn't my bag. I think that might change though. I've been listening to the soundtrack for the TV show Glee nearly non-stop for the last couple of weeks. Here's the show's description: "GLEE, the genre-defying new musical comedy serie...
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I've been sitting on this one way to long. Listening to Amy Serrata's debut self-titled album is really quite refreshing. I keep coming back to it over the last few months, and every time, it's just as fresh. On it, Serrata pulls in influences from other female songstresses as diverse as Jill Scott and Ella Fitzgerald. Especially in the first half of the album, the Ella comparison really jumps ...
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“Music is the universal language of mankind”-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow"As a human race we come together for birth, we come together for death. What brings us together in between is up to us. Stop and listen to the universal language of music and bring that positive energy with you everywhere you go"-Mark Johnson, director of the Playing for Change projectI don't think I need to explain the qu
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So as all good things must come to end, so does the Dillanthology series that Rapster Records has been releasing this year. The third volume, Dilla's Productions, hit shelves at the end of last month. Want to know more about it? Start by reading about the first volume (which highlighted Dilla's production work) and the second volume (which focused on his remix work), and then prepare yourself f...
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This song / video from French artist Sliimy is just quirky as all get out (and reminds me quite a bit of the old Peter Gabriel video for Sledgehammer). In high pop song fashion,I have no idea what he's singing about and why, but it's enjoyable never the less. It comes from his album Paint Your Face, which at the moment is only available physically as an import, but is available digitally now fo...
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So I was listening to From New York City to Addis Ababa: The Best of Mulatu Astatke, the compilation just released by Strut Records, when I got to Lanchi Biye and realized the tune has been boosted by Somalian rapper K'naan on his latest effort, Troubadour (which I wrote about earlier this year), for the song America. Now I don't have a physical copy of it, so I couldn't tell you if he cited h...
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Although the name Vince Guaraldi might not mean anything to you, I can almost guarantee that you've heard his work. His piano is the magic behind the music of Peanuts, that timelessly classic cartoon featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, and the gang. All together, Guaraldi produced the music for 15 network Peanuts cartoon specials, and in doing so, assured his place in pop culture. Most proba...
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Karl Denson is such a consummate performer, one who appears here, there, and everywhere. He got his big break back in 1988 when Lenny Kravitz asked him to play on his song (and eventually the entire album) Let Love Rule (as well as joining him on tour). Two more albums later, Denson decided to change paths to the jazz road, eventually co-forming the Greyboy Allstars ( one of the first songs he ...
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Music Is Awesome. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. It's also the name of the latest soundtrack for the entertainingly off kilter TV show Yo Gabba Gabba!. You might remember that about a year ago, I wrote about the show's first musical release. This new album is longer (21 tracks vs. 13) and has about 2/3rds of the songs from the first release. Just like the first album though, the tracks speed by a...
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