The Spring Standards’ yellow//gold, released May 1st on Parachute Shooter Records, is a double-disc record flush with rolling piano, wistful strings, and booming percussion. The two emotionally-charged EPs tell intertwining stories of growing up and leaving home to embark on a new adventure. yellow evokes a sense of nostalgia for the trio’s shared childhoods—they started …
Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Wintersleep makes music that MTV Hive has called “a pulsing dose of indie rock, with bright pops of guitar and a glistening synth line.” Having won a Juno Award in 2008 and performed on The Late Show With David Letterman for their 2010 release, Wintersleep’s new album, Hello Hum, delivers …
England’s Zulu Winter is fervently preparing to energetically release a stunning debut album that has the immediate appeal of 1980s pop, while remaining tightly packed with 21st Century emotional insight. The band recently raised a Britstorm in the US when they toured with Polica. Sung with heartfelt sentiment and powered by endlessly syncopated dance beats, …
“In Your Room” – The Bangles. Can’t clean my apartment without it! Makes me grab a mop and dance. They’re still going strong, btw. – Alicia Dara, Supposed Former Amateur Pie Maker – @thevolcanodiary – #100songs100days http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLzrRAs8fdc
“Downton Abbey” – John Lunn. Why are you hooked on DA? The soul-stirring music. Passion, longing, grief + love won’t let go. – Alicia Dara, Supposed Former Amateur Pie Maker – @thevolcanodiary – #100songs100days http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRJ3_vEJE6g
“I’m celebrating my love for you with a pint of beer and a new tattoo.” For all of his politics, Billy Bragg’s gift for relating the pinnacles and pitfalls of human relationships has always been quite remarkable. I know my friends in East Portland can dig it. – Steve Stav
This week NATION editor Katrina vanden Heuvel brings attention to an unlikely political cause celebre involving a Russian punk rock collective called Pussy Riot. Some remarkable YouTube video footage accompanies her piece: http://www.thenation.com/blog/167647/free-pussy-riot?rel=emailNation And their Wikipedia entry makes clear that PR is a remarkable project all the way around: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot This …
“Whatta Man” – Salt ‘N’ Pepa ft. En Vogue. Dedicated to all the good and great ones I know who are actively fighting against the War on Women. – Alicia Dara, Supposed Former Amateur Pie Maker – @thevolcanodiary – #100songs100days Salt'n Pepa & En Vogue – Whatta Man by christelle_v
This’ll put some fuzz on yer chewing gum! Whoo! – Jennifer Austin
Thanks to Steve Stav, who adds “not just because it happened in [East] Portland, but because of the kind of music the DJ plays. Great, weird story.” Jonathan Toubin, a Brooklyn D.J., is back spinning records, less than five months after a bizarre accident left him close to death in Portland, Ore. – Go here.
Hi Tom – Below is a story that appeared last week in the Great Falls Tribune. The Hi-Line may be getting even more attention via cinema (hopefully Winter in the Blood will see the screens sometime soon). However, this movie looks to be pure Hollywood with the "A-list" actors probably only looking to pad bank accounts rather than …
“True Believers” – The Black Angels. Gnarly psych-rock with a scorpion sting. Iron my hair and find me my leather pants! – Alicia Dara, Supposed Former Amateur Pie Maker – @thevolcanodiary – #100songs100days
It’s official: real-life superhero Phoenix Jones now has his very own song, comic-book and comic motion music video! All courtesy of Seattle pop-punk band Quickie. After Quickie penned an anthem about the Emerald City crime-fighter, they commissioned talented local cartoonist Travis Bundy to illustrate a “motion-comic” featuring band-members Lou Trez (bass/vocals), Joe Wolf (guitar), and …
[Your comments are appreciated, what are some other great moments from Nick Lowe’s career? Please join in below.] For my money, “Bring the Family” by John Hiatt (1987) is Nick Lowe’s production highlight. Lowe’s production of this record (like most of his productions) perfectly suits Hiatt’s songs and arrangements. Only the barest production tricks and …
This clip is an hour long, so get some popcorn beforehand. I feel sorry for Muddy for several reasons here. One because he looks so tired– this was taped in the late 70s, near the end of his life– and two, because WTTW (the Chicago Public Television station which presented “Soundstage”) felt that they had …
“May This Be Love”- Me’Shell Ndegeocello. Heartbreak can be healed by repeated listenings of this epic + magical Jimi Hendrix cover. – Alicia Dara – @thevolcanodiary – #100songs100days
Sage reminds me of my centenarian spinster great aunt who was one of the first women rural mail carriers and traveled the world. She was not a striking beauty, but she was incredibly interesting and did not wilt when times got tough. There are many salvia/sages all with interesting stories, but my favorite is the …
Bobby Vee has announced that he has Alzheimer’s and will be retiring. Despite obvious bathos, I always liked “Take Good Care of My Baby,” a Goffin-King composition where the rhythm players find some kind of groove which then triumphs over the pizzicato violins. Here’s a nifty blog entry from a card-carrying Vee apologist:
When you lose the ability to make distinctions in a world of greys, you enable those who see things as black and white to win. When it has to be all or nothing, you end up with nothing. These are self-fulfilling prophecies and only lead to more cynicism. We must make choices in the real …
“My First Lover” – Gillian Welch. Sung softly but cuts like a howling punk anthem She knows to bail from a bad scene. Me too. – Alicia Dara – @thevolcanodiary – #100songs100days http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ZcAkcypgY
The best Rock & Roll singer combo in American history was with out a doubt Ike & Tina. And I’d put them up against Jagger/Richards and Page/Plant and Jeff Beck / Rod Stewart any night of the week in any decade Ike was alive. Tina is straining but this is what the Stones were really …
Life’s deepest mysteries. How could Ike & Tina have been the best LIVE Rock & Roll band EVER while never once capturing that true lightning in a bottle in any recording studio? It’s almost not fair. This recording sounds terrible in terms of fidelity but holy SH*T, they sound incredible. Were they just the best …
On Saturday, April 28, 2012, rallies put on by UniteWomen.org took place all over the country. I attended the Seattle event. My estimate is that probably between three and four hundred people of all ages, genders and backgrounds were in attendance. I even spotted a group of teenaged boys! There were a multitude of homemade …
Saturday night April 28th the stars all aligned and the moon was in the right phase and I took a trip back in time. Legendary cult figure Roy Loney played a fired up, good old-fashioned rock and roll show at Seattle’s Sunset Tavern. San Franciscan Roy Loney has been around a long time — since …
Nashville musician Katie Herzig will be performing at The Aladdin Theater in Portland on May 6th and the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle on May 9. Ms. Herzig will also be performing at Portland’s Music Millenium record store for an in-store at 2pm, May 6.
Recently I was asked, “What is wrong with CSN? They sold millions of generationally anthemic records, why do critics hate them?” and this is my response: Among the relevant arguments, with which I largely concur: Each of them emerged from a notably SUPERIOR band (The Byrds, The Hollies, Buffalo Springfield); the “American Beatles!” hype with …
“Out Of My System” – My Morning Jacket. Joyful hymn to maturation. Some of us in the music biz could stand to learn from it. – Alicia Dara – @thevolcanodiary – #100songs100days
Swedish born, New Orleans based soul singer Theresa Andersson is back with a new record, Street Parade: a lush, joyful and sometimes melancholy ode to they city she has called “home” for nearly 20 years. A stunning vocalist and a talented multi-instrumentalist, Theresa is best known for her technologically superlative live shows, where she crafts …