The song for this week’s episode, There’s No Place Like Home (Part 1):
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole ∞ Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World
"Dreams really so come true"
Back in the late ‘90s, early ‘00s, Rkyo tinted their CD gases green. This made it SUPER EASY to find good music in music stores. Whenever you spied a green case, bingo – good music.
Fast-forward to 2008 where digital music is king. No more green cases. In fact, you don’t even need cases anymore. But Ryko is still putting out good music. Here are 8 songs from the 2008 Ryko catalog broken down into = Band ~ Website ~ Album Title ~ Genre (using food as a metaphor) ~ Release Date. Some of the songs you’ve heard elsewhere but hopefully some our new to your ears.
Matt Duke ~ Website ~ TBA ~ turkey and artichoke heart panini ~ August
Sex And Reruns
James Jackson Toth ~ Website ~ Waiting In Vain ~ dark roast coffee with a Cinnabon~ June 24
Beulah The Good
Will Hoge ~ Website ~ Draw The Curtains ~ a midnight snack consisting of microwave popcorn and lukewarm beer ~ Out Now
Draw The Curtains
Justin Currie ~ Website ~ What Is Love For ~ Thanksgiving feast ~ Out Now
No, Surrender (Part 1)
The Crash ~ Website ~ Pony Ride ~ Windy City hot from a street vender ~ May 20
Grace
Elf Power ~ Website ~ In A Cave ~ pizza with portabellas ~ Out Now
Paralyzed
The Takeover UK ~ Website ~ Running With The Wasters ~ fish and chips with malt vinegar ~ September
Ah La La
Rusty Truck ~ Website ~ Luck’s Changing Lanes ~ chicken-fried steak ~ June 10
Cold Ground
More:
8 from ‘08s
Use some of your 50 FREE DOWNLOADS from eMusic to get more great music released in 2008.
You may recognize Sarah VonderHaar from America’s Next Top Model. Or maybe you know her photography from Forbes. Or possibly, you saw her in the movie Dimension. But you probably have never HEARD Sarah’s music. 
She takes her competitive drive and tosses it into her music. Which is a poppy rockish kind of thing. Fellow Chicagoan Alice Peacock helped pen the single from her debut album – Are You Listening Now?
Listen:
Sarah VonderHaar ∞ I Got Sunshine (that single I mentioned)
Sarah VonderHaar ∞ It’s Not The First Time
Sarah VonderHaar ∞ Sing Me To Sleep
Further study:
Website
myspace
Facebook
Wiki
YouTube
IMDb
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
More:
Actors/Singers
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I needed something to post for Instrumental Thursday (as it has been a while). Enter the invisible hand of serendipity.
Coconut (of the soon-to-be famous Coconut & The Duke) saw Leni Stern the other night in NYC. He said it was “frickin amazing”.
Her 2007 release was a collaboration with some of the best instrumentalists in all of Africa. She said, "I want people to hear what Africa sounds like. Africa deserves our respect, not just our mercy. And out of respect for the music, I felt compelled to record the album in Africa."
Listen (from Africa):
Leni Stern ∞ Simbo
Leni Stern ∞ Forest Song
Bonus song:
Leni Stern ∞ Carolina
Further study:
Website
myspace
Wiki
YouTube
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
Buy it!
More:
Instrumentals
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I hate to say it, but Ana Popcovic could play any type of music and I would listen as long as I can look at her while she plays. What does she play? Mostly hard rocking blues. As the weather heats up, her music matches the climate.
Click links to download:
Hungry (mp3)
Calendars (mp3)
Is This Everything There Is (mp3)
Further study:
Website
myspace
Wiki
YouTube
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
What is your guilty pleasure this week? Leave a hullabaloo.
Buy at eMusic
More:
Guilty Pleasures
As stated here and here, I am loving Ben Sollee’s album “Learning To Bend”. It comes out in less than a month. Comparisons to Andrew Bird are inevitable as he is a string player and has a mellow voice.
The album is chalked full of great songs, great instrumentation, great lyrics, it’s just freakin’ great.
Listen:
Ben Sollee ∞ A Change Is Gonna Come
Further Study:
myspace
YouTube
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
What is your favorite this week? Leave a hullabaloo.
More:
Weekly Favorites
Use some of your 50 FREE Downloads from eMusic to get more favorites. Or not.
One of the reasons I stick with weekly features here at The Late Greats: it helps me keep track of which day it is.
Posts of note:
music is art posted a covers mixtape.
XPN posts about Ben Sollee, who’s 2008 release “Learning To Bend” is quickly climbing to the top of my list of favs from this year.
To The Dogs has more proof that Australians are the coolest people in the world.
Duke Jr.'s belly is still a little "funky". Maybe some rollerskating disco will help...
Lipps, Inc. ∞ Funkytown
Zen For Primates ∞ Funkytown
Which version do you prefer? or did I leave about your favorite? Leave a hullabaloo.
More:
Compare & Contrast-s
The Band of Heathens are like The Band. Are like Little Feet. The three frontmen all share vocal responsibility. Their sound is rootsy. Their drummer – John Chipman – won Best Drummer at the 2008 Austin Music Awards.
If you want to party down and dirty, these are your songs. Their first studio album - self-titled - hits shelves on May 20. Add it to next week’s shopping list.
Listen:
The Band of Heathens ∞ Don’t Call On Me
The Band of Heathens ∞ Jackson Station
Further study:
Website
myspace
YouTube
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
More:
Party Tunes
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I love artists who aren’t afraid to try new things, whether it is making a cover album with two friends (one would become husband/father of soon-to-be-born child) or recording an album using other people’s poetry for the lyrics. Kris Delmhorst isn’t afraid to take a chance.
Some might be shocked at the amount of production on her fifth studio album. The instrumentation is more varied, the drums more percussive, the backup kids choir, the handclaps, the string sections, the kitchen sink. Even though the sound of the 12 tracks that make up Shotgun Singer are kicked up a notch when compared to her earlier work, the overall effect is still the same.
These are well-written songs sung with boat-loads of emotion.
Rating: Da Capo Al Fine =
Siamese Dream
(Confused about the ratings scale? Check out my sidebar.)
Listen:
Kris Delmhorst ∞ 1000 Reasons
Musical Homonym:
Kris Delmhorst ∞ Oleander
Sarah Harmer ∞ Oleander
Further study:
Website
myspace
Wiki
YouTube
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
Buy from her store.
You can use some of you 25 FREE Downloads from eMusic to get this album.
More:
Album Reviews
More:
Homonyms
I wish talent = music blogoweb exposure BUT it doesn’t. In my opinion, a lot of terrible bands get WAY too much attention on the blogs (ex. Coldyplay). AND the folks with the skills to pay the bills, actually struggle to pay the bills. David Myles is that kind of artist.
This Halifaxian musician leans on the folk side of the genre spectrum. But he is not afraid to pepper his well-written songs with gospel, jazz and rock. He won the 2008 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, the 2006 International Songwriting Contest and his 2007 release – Things Have Changed – earned him two Music Nova Scotia awards and the East Coast Music Award for Galaxies Rising Star Rerecording of The Year. That is a lot of accolades.
He released a new batch of tunes last week called On The Line, which includes other talented Canadians like Old Man Luedecke, Meghan Smith and Matt Mays. More proof that 2008 Is The Year Of Canadian Music.
Listen:
David Myles ∞ Cape Breton
David Myles ∞ Holy Man
Further study:
Website
myspace
YouTube
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
Buy here or from iTunes.
More:
Underexposed Canadians
Use some of you 50 FREE Downloads from eMusic to get more Canadian music.
The song for this week’s episode, Cabin Fever:
Super Furry Animals ∞ Cabin Fever
"Welcome back my friend
Where the hell have you been"
"It's nice to know you’re here and we got there in the end
The future is now wide open and clear"
Extra special bonus song:
Casey Dienel ∞ Cabin Fever
"And talking about leaving we'll know it's time"
Obligatory recap of The Recaps:
The Beginning Of The End
Confirmed Dead
The Economist
Eggtown
The Constant
The Other Woman
Ji Yeon
Meet Kevin Johnson
The Shape Of Things To Come
Something Nice Back Home
If there is one truth about the music from 2008, it is this: 2008 is a good year for cover songs. From the early year release from Cat Power to this week’s EP released by Laura Gibson.
in no particular order:
Thao ∞ You Really Got a Hold On Me (The Mircles)
Lando Pigg ∞ Young At Heart (Frank Sinatra)
Shelby Lynne ∞ Just A Little Lovin’ (Dusty Springfield)
The Watson Twins ∞ Just Like Heaven (The Cure)
Laura Gibson ∞ All The Pretty Horses (trad.)
Adele ∞ Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan)
Caroline Herring ∞ Midnight On The Water (Kate Wolf)
And a special cover chosen by Cover Lay Down:
Dala ∞ A Man Needs A Maid (Neil Younng)
Extra special bonus cover:
Caroline Herring ∞ All The Pretty Little Horses
More:
8 from 08s
Use some of your 50 FREE DOWNLOADS from eMusic to get more great music released in 2008.
This past weekend, Coconut & The Duke played a little music together – hear a sampling of what we can do on this week’s Contrast Podcast – and a little golf. Sometimes a novice golfer is called a “duffer”.
I’m gonna steal that expression and say fans of the UK soul singer DUFFY should be called Duffers. So folks, on at least two levels, I am a Duffer.
Duffy’s debut album – Rockferry – is HUGE in her native land. It drops next Tuesday in America. Produced by Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, the 10 track album on Mercury is a perfect soul-poop affair.
Watch the vid for her sweet sounding single:
RIYL: Amy Winehouse, Adele, Joss Stone
Further study:
website
myspace
Wiki
YouTube
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
What is your guilty pleasure this week? Leave a hullabaloo.
More:
Guilty Pleasures
Not sure what to say about this one, other than it’s been stuck in my head for days.
Listen:
Collin Herring ∞ Punches (feat. Kathleen Edwards)
Further Study:
Website
myspace
YouTube
More MP3s:
Hype Machine
Elbows
What is your favorite this week? Leave a hullabaloo.
More:
Weekly Favorites
Use some of your 50 FREE Downloads from eMusic to get more favorites. Or not.
This week’s trip in the Wayback Machine is significant for a few reasons: it features The Roots who have a new album out now - Rising Down; and this past weekend, there was a lot of Toots getting played in the Straw house.
Listen:
Toots & The Maytals ∞ Funky Kingstown (feat. The Roots and Bootsy Collins)
Bonus song that features Toots:
Easy Star All-Stars ∞ Let Down (Radiohead cover)
More:
Wayback Wednesdays
Use some of you 50 FREE Downloads from eMusic to get more trips in the Wayback Machine.
Yes folks, it is true. Yours truly is back with Tim and Co. for the Contrast Podcast. This week’s theme was music with spoken word in it. I submitted the song “Water Down The Pipes” by Coconut & The Duke.
songs:il waxes about kids and Lisa Cerbone.
Muruch suggests the next book I should read.
And Brooke Miller.
Minneapolis is f-ing rocking with live Dosh.
Heather has live Explosions In The Sky.
