Although it can sometimes feel like you are trying to get a drink from a firehose, one of the joys of summer is the return of the Summer Mix Series, from the creator of the very nice blog, Yewknee. New mixes are being added throughout every day of the summer, and there are some inspired themes. Poke around, and download some stuff you may have never heard before. Click here to unleash the torrent.
You have two opportunities to see Blitzen Trapper tonight. The first is at Vintage Vinyl, at 6 PM, and this is your opportunity to see them for the low, low price of free! And then, later tonight, at Off Broadway, they will be playing with the Moondoggies from Seattle opening for them. Perhaps one is thinking about catching them at both places, being a BT glutton. I say I like the cut of your jib. Make it so.
Not in STL? Here are some other dates: Mon 06/21/10 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway Nightclub Tue 06/22/10 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar Thu 06/24/10 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen
Appearing at "Telluride Wine Festival" Sat 06/26/10 Telluride, CO Telluride Town Park
Mon 06/28/10 T Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse Music Venue Tue 06/29/10 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre Wed 06/30/10 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Appearing at "High Sierra Music Festival" Thu 07/01/10 Quincy, CA Plumas County Fairgounds
Fri 07/02/10 Quincy, CA Plumas County Fairgounds
Appearing with Avi Buffalo Fri 07/23/10 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
Appearing with "Capitol Hill Block Party" Sat 07/24/10 Seattle, WA Capitol Hill Festival Grounds
Appearing with Avi Buffalo Tue 07/27/10 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue Wed 07/28/10 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
Appearing at "Newport Folk Festival" Sat 07/31/10 Newport, RI Fort Adams State Park
Appearing at "Osheaga Festival" Sun 08/01/10 Montreal, QC Parc Jean Drapeau
Appearing with Avi Buffalo Tue 08/03/10 Toronto, ON Opera House Concert Venue Wed 08/04/10 Detroit, MI The Majestic Thu 08/05/10 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
Appearing at "Lollapalooza" / Soundgarden Sun 08/08/10 Chicago, IL Grant Park
Tue 08/10/10 Iowa City, IA Gabe's Wed 08/11/10 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre Thu 08/12/10 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre Thu 11/11/10 Muenster, Germany Gleis 22 Fri 11/12/10 Berlin, Germany Comet Club Mon 11/15/10 Munich, Germany Kranhalle Thu 11/18/10 Cologne, Germany Blue Shell
One of the better new releases this year has been Josh Ritter's new album, So Runs The World Away. And now he has a nice video to accompany it, for the song The Curse.
It's your typical mummy comes to life, falls in love with a pretty archeologist. But wait! Before you say "yeah, who hasn't written a song about THAT?", please note that the video is a gem performed all by puppets! And the video was created by Josh's drummer, Liam Hurly, who is also a puppeteer. It's a great, deceptively simple video:
You can read more about the creation of the video over at NPR, where they have a nice description from Liam.
Well, this was a welcome surprise. I admit to liking the Kinks but never truly falling head over heels for them. This cover version sounds more like a lost piece of Americana, something from the Band's discography, rather than a track from an English rock act. Here's the song "Strangers", which was originally released on the album "Picture Book"
She sounds good, doesn't she? Here's the lyrics:
Where are you going I don't mind I've killed my world and I've killed my time So where do I go what do I see I see many people coming after me So where are you going to I don't mind If I live too long I'm afraid I'll die So I will follow you wherever you go If your offered hand is still open to me Strangers on this road we are on We are not two we are one So you've been where I've just come From the land that brings losers on So we will share this road we walk And mind our mouths and beware our talk 'Till peace we find tell you what I'll do All the things I own I will share with you If I feel tomorrow like I feel today We'll take what we want and give the rest away Strangers on this road we are on We are not two we are one Holy man and holy priest This love of life makes me weak at my knees And when we get there make your play 'Cos soon I feel you're gonna carry us away In a promised lie you made us believe For many men there is so much grief And my mind is proud but it aches with rage And if I live too long I'm afraid I'll die Strangers on this road we are on We are not two we are one Strangers on this road we are on We are not two we are one
Li(f)e, by Sage Francis, is a very good release that came out a couple of weeks ago. Here's a key track from the album, The Best Of Times:
Sage Francis has a handful of dates in the States before heading off to Europe. The closest he has come to St. Louis was in May, when he came to the Blue Note in Columbia. It doesn't seem like we get many of the indie rappers here, which is a shame. I'd like to check out more of these types of shows: Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre - 6/14/10 Austin, TX - Mohawk - 6/15/10 Houston, TX - House of Blues - 6/16/10 Orlando, FL - Club at Firestone - 6/18/10 Atlanta, GA - The Loft - 6/19/10 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle - 6/21/10 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel - 6/22/10 Baltimore, MD - The Ottobar - 6/23/10 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero - 6/24/10 New York, NY - Webster Hall - 6/25/10 Rap oftern gets categorized as simple-minded. It is, and can be, so much more in the right hands. I think Sage is a perfect example of a person using the musical form to get across his ideas and personality. Here's the song Got Up This Morning. As a sidenote, the video also has Buck 65 as one of his card-playing buddies, and Jolie Holland sings the female parts.
Johnny Mercer was a classic songwriter. It's interesting to compare Fred Astaire to Dean Martin, the different takes on the song. Fred is surprisingly dark with his take, and Dean is, well, Dean. The guy ALWAYS looked like he was having fun. No breaking champagne glasses for him.
The Astaire clip has about 4 minutes of his film, superfluous for this comparison, but the best clip I could find.
I wasn't around when these songs, these versions, were released. But I still feel a pang, realizing that they are slowly slipping away. And by 'they' I mean all of these songs that were before our time. The obsession with 'what's next' at the expense of what came before is a crime.
