Thank God it's Friday! (and thank God fashion has evolved since 1978!)

Sarah McLachlan-Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff, Vol. 2

Sarah McLachlan will be releasing a new album on April 29: Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff, Vol. 2. I was just checking out some of the material from the new album, which includes collaborations with Bryan Adams, Emmylou Harris and... Run DMC??? Yup, and the Run DMC collaboration is pretty creative... I think she's trying to give Aerosmith a run for their money. You can preview a bunch of songs from this new album here.

Tomorrow is Record Store Day throughout the country! So head down to your local record store and support them... I sure will! A lot of stores are giving away free cds and hosting in-store performances by bands too. In the age of iTunes and digital downloads, a lot of stores are hanging on by a thread. I much prefer the experience of shopping at a record store over a digital download any day. I love having something tangible in my hands that a band produced... artwork, lyrics and all. I love talking with record store employees about obscure music... It's the one place I can go where people are just as into the music as I am. I love ruffling through a pile of discount cds to find a gem being sold for $3.00. I love hearing something unfamiliar play over the speakers as I browse the store. Hopefully I'll see you out at Plan 9 or if you're a collector of vinyl, check out American Oldies Records in Newport News (they have a huge collection!).

Bill Cosby releasing hip-hop album

This is no joke... Bill Cosby is releasing a hip-hop album! It's going to be called, "Cosby Narratives Vol. 1: State of Emergency." He says he's going to rap about, "education, self-respect, self-esteem and confidence." Awww man... I want to hear a rap about Jello pudding pops and Rudy Huxtable! That would make excellent content for a hidden track, don't you think?

To read the full article, click here.

How I spend my down time

I've been really into watching music documentaries and live concert DVDs the past couple months. Ever since I watched that documentary on the Pixies, I've been eager to find films about bands I love. This past weekend I watched a documentary on the Flaming Lips called Fearless Freaks, that's been sitting on a shelf at home for a good 2 years. Eh... it's was ok. I would only recommend it to die-hard fans (which I'm not really, so maybe that's why I found it a little boring). The Flaming Lips do however put on a hell of a live show though. Check out these pictures I took last year at Bonnaroo:
What is that giant sphere in the picture on the left you ask? It's the grand entrance of the lead singer of the Flaming Lips! Wayne Coyne is actually inside the sphere!! He rolled down a giant ramp and then crowd surfed while inside the bubble!!! (My overuse of exclamation points in the paragrah above is completely warranted by the way, if you had seen this entrance.)

This Thursday night I watched a live broadcast of an Ani Difranco concert online. She was playing in Reno. I love watching live broadcasts like this of full concerts... it's the next best thing to actually being there. Ani Difranco is a bad-ass in concert. I love her guitar playing... so rhythmic and unique. And her story is so inspirational to anyone who is a musician. Something else kinda cool on my end... I took my sister to go see her concert in Boston a couple years ago and we realized that Ani Difranco's bass player went to a performing arts camp with us when we were growing up. Cool! Here is a great live performance:


The last DVD I want to talk about is something that was included with the newest album by the band Stars. This is a band that's been around for a while, however I just got introduced to them within the last couple years. They are now one of my favorites and I think I might be borderline obsessive about them (driving 3 1/2 hrs. into North Carolina to see a show one night... is that obsessive?) Anyway, they're a great band and the good thing about them is that they're well known within a circle of people, but not huge (yet) so you can still see them at relatively small clubs if you're lucky. The DVD that comes with their latest album, In Our Bedroom After the War, is kind of a live performance/travelogue/interview type of documentaary. If you don't know this band, you have to look into getting some of their albums. They are on the same record label in Canada as Feist, called Arts & Crafts. They are excellent. Really. Go buy their entire dicography. Now. Go.

Ok, with all of that said... I'm always looking for good music documentaries, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Taxes shmaxes...

Have you done your taxes yet? Yeah... neither have I. Here's something else to look forward to on April 15 besides not having to worry about your taxes anymore: The Kooks new album Konk. It will be in stores April 15. They are one of my favorite bands to come out of the UK in a long time and their new single, "Always Where I Need to Be" knocks my socks off!

Never too old to rock!

Take a look at this amazing story. I can only hope that I end up like this when I'm 80 years old. Coldplay, the Ramones, the Clash... heck, I'd be the hippest granny on the block!

Did you figure out who the voice of El Madmo is? It's Norah Jones! I guess the project has been around for a while, but they're just now releasing an album.

So did you hear that Bob Dylan won a Pulitzer yesterday? It's the first time a rock musician has won the prize. He was awarded a Pulitzer for his, "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." To read the full story, click here.
And check out this young chap:

bob dylan from mervyourself on Vimeo.

Guess the artist...

There is a new band roaming around the internet lately... El Madmo! They just signed to Connor Oberst's (of Bright Eyes) record label, Team Love. Take a listen here and see if you recognize one of the voices. Here are some hints: this artist has won tons of Grammys, broke onto the scene in 2002, has a world famous father, has worked with Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Ryan Adams, Foo Fighters, Willie Nelson and a slew of others. Still don't know?? C'MON! tomorrow my friends... tomorrow.

It's been a while, I know. Oh how I've missed thee! There's so much catching up to do... my last post was just before SXSW. I feel like that is too far in the past to talk about now, but I'll just say highlights included: Seeing R.E.M. play for the first time, running into Ben Harper on the street in the middle of the night, the Helio Sequence, Phantom Planet and catching up on sleep when I returned. Ok, moving on...

I figure the best way to play catch up on music now is by making a list, so here are some cds that have caught my attention in the past few weeks and some stuff I can't stop listening to:

The Helio Sequence Keep Your Eyes Ahead
B-52's Funplex
Hot Chip Made in the Dark
Kaki King Dreaming of Revenge
R.E.M. Accelerate
The Black Keys Attack & Release

I suggest all of the above. My favorite song as of late is the new Death Cab for Cutie single, "I Will Possess Your Heart." Have you heard it?? Brilliant. Their album Narrow Stairs will be in stores on May 13th... too far away! I promise to be better about keeping up with my blog posts. In the meantime, here is a link to another new Death Cab for Cutie song titled "Cath." This one is a live acoustic version (the studio version has not been released yet). Enjoy!


:: Download Death Cab for Cutie's live-acoustic version of "Cath" ::