Album of the Week, 2/24

My album of the week is Bruce Hornsby and the Range's live album "Here Come the Noise Makers" from 2000.

 

 

My first concert going experience happened to be in the summer of 1994, when I went to see Bruce along with Bonnie Raitt in upstate New York. My parents had always been big fans of Bruce (and I think my dad secretly had a bit of a crush on Bonnie Raitt, but that's a whole different story....) so we went with my uncle, and I had the time of my life. Not just because I got to stay up until midnight on a school night, but also because the music was fantastic.

From this album, I love the opening piano intro, which then morphs into "The Great Divide" for the first track on the album. I couldn't get all of the tracks on a playlist here to share, but I managed to wrangle in a couple. "Long Tall Cool One" is a classical laid back track, and one of his biggest hits, "The Way it is" is also featured on this album. Bruce shows off his virtuoso piano skills throughout the record, and definitely keeps the listener on his toes. Hope you all enjoy!

Music Video of the Week, 2/19

So this week I'm doing a double feature for my videos of the week. First off is "Mr. Tout le Monde" by Hocus Pocus. (You can read more about the album "Place 54" from my earlier post here.)



Hocus Pocus / Mr. Tout Le Monde from Arthur King on Vimeo.

Definitely one of my favorite videos of all time, I really like the simplicity of it all. If you don't understand the words it really doesn't matter, as it is visually stunning.

My second video of the week is inspired from watching Andy's post about "DNA". It reminded me of this video by country singer Josh Turner.






This is one of the first singles from Turner's newest album, "Haywire", which was released this past year. Turner has always been one of my favorite country singers, as he is much more laid back and not as sappy as most. Hope you enjoy!

Band of the Week, 2/18

I know it's been a while since I've posted, and for that I apologize. Hopefully Quintus will make up for that.

My band of the week is also one of my all-time favorites, Quintus. Lead by frontman Reuben Chess, Quintus is a rock-blues-pop band from NYC.



Quintus "What Do You Know?" Brooklyn Bowl from Possum Den Productions on Vimeo.




This is a video from one of their shows last April at the Brooklyn Bowl. Their first EP was released in 2006, entitled "The Shape We're In." Recorded by Levon Helm at his studio in Woodstock, the album featured 6 tracks, most notably "Orienta", a fan favorite. My personal favorite on the album, however, is "Night Owl."




Hope you enjoy!

Music Video of the Week - Feb 18, 2011 - Darwin Deez: DNA

My cousin-in-law (is that even a thing?) pointed me to this video by Darwin Deez, and I really like it. It complements the song very well, I think, especially the end. There's a director's cut out there, but I like the official video because it's more subtle, and I think that makes it more bittersweet.

If you like this song, you might also like the band Submarines.

Jumping on the Bandwagon: Esperanza Spalding

I am officially on the bandwagon. Esperanza Spalding is an incredibly talented musician/singer/composer that recently won the Grammy for Best New Artist. I had not heard of her before she won the award but I quickly bought her album when I found out these 3 things: she writes her own songs, plays an upright bass, and a singing style that critics' have so far been unable to find enough adjectives to describe. As if I needed to sell it more, perhaps I should note that she sings in three languages, beatboxes, and scats. Okay, that should do it.

If you have not checked her out do so IMMEDIATELY! I am doing you a favor, you're welcome.

Music Video of the Week - Feb 10, 2011 - FLASH DELIRIUM

Since Matt is doing songs and albums of the week, I figured somebody might as well throw in a video of the week.

I have to admit, this first video is quite possibly my favorite music video of all time, from one of my favorite albums of all time—so it's all downhill from here. It's "Flash Delirium" from MGMT.

I didn't use to be a huge fan of MGMT. I had been vaguely aware of their first record, Oracular Spectacular, and had heard their three singles from that album. They struck me as kinda cool, but also a little formulaic. When their second album, Congratulations, came out, I listened on a lark—and was completely blown away by the psychedelic music and surreal lyrics. For months, I listened to this album over and over—and picked up their first album Oracular Spectacular to find that the deep cuts were very experimental and better than the singles. When I stumbled into half-of-the-band Ben Goldwasser at Sasquatch last summer, it was like meeting Picasso. What do you say to Picasso? Meeting Ben went something like this: "Um... Congratulations is my favorite album of... like... ever." "Thanks."

Anyway, prepare yourself for the surreal, Kafkaesque masterpiece, FLASH DELIRIUM. Listen loud. Really loud:

MGMT "Flash Delirium" from JLP on Vimeo.

Improv's Effect on the Brain: A TED Talk

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/charles_limb_your_brain_on_improv.html

Courtesy of a tip from my friend Adam Fohrman, this TED talk researches how improvisation in music affects the brain. Studies include Fmri scans of musician's brains during the creative process and moments of pure musical improvisation. Check it out!