Give It Away: Nick Harrison & Bruce Springsteen
Trick or treat? You decide! We have two songs for you to sandwich in between gory Robyn Hitchcock songs on your Halloween playlist today. First is a cheeky mashup of “Something Special” by 23-year-old British artist Nick Harrison with The Specials “Ghost Town,” next check out this bluesy new Bruce Springsteen track that he says is about “the Jersey Devil” he grew up with. Check out the video on his website.
Although “Ghost Town” has become associated with Halloween for its spooky riff and title, it was actually written in response to increasing unemployment in the UK in 1981 under the rule of Margaret Thatcher. The song spent three weeks atop of the UK charts at the same time labor riots broke out there.
Lemme Tell Ya, Them Guys Ain’t Dumb
MTV recently launched
MTV Music, a highly-searchable online portal that contains zillions of music videos. Those of you who have spent years complaining about how MTV hosts no actual music programming, take heart: now you can stream good-quality video versions of “Sledgehammer” and “Like a Virgin” to your heart’s content.
Give It Away: Radiohead
Just for fun today, it’s a cheesy cover! Radiohead’s tongue-in-cheek version of the Glen Campbell hit “Rhinestone Cowboy” recorded before the release of their debut album always puts a smile on my face. Maybe it’s the thought of Thom Yorke with a lasso. . . By the way, if you’ve been wondering about Radiohead’s pay-what-you-want scheme for their last album In Rainbows, the official figures were released last week, and it turns out they sold over 3 million copies, beating sales of their 2003 album Hail to the Thief.
If you’re looking for fun cover songs, here’s a great list.
Give It Away: Peter Broderick
It almost seems redundant at this point to bother telling you that a musician from the seemingly bottomless talent pool of Portland has delivered a noteworthy album, but that’s what we’re doing with
Peter Broderick. To be fair, he’s now based in Copenhagen, but minus that exception most of the usual adjectives apply: gifted, brilliant, and unfeasibly youthful in comparison to his accomplishments. The 21-year-old moved to Denmark last year upon invitation by the ensemble Efterklang to join their live band, and now brings us the album
Home which plays with that very concept with magnificent subtelty.
Though you might not be familiar with him by name, you’ve no doubt heard his violin, mandolin, banjo or musical saw on recordings by artists such as M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel and Dolorean.
Purchase Home.
Give It Away: Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
Ryan Adams fans delight! The new album Cardinology, his fifth with The Cardinals, hits stores today, and to celebrate we thought we’d treat you to this standout track (with an appropriately “Halloween-esque” title) “Cobwebs”. On the band’s blog, the Adams says the song is about his friendship with comic book artist Leah Hayes.
Cardinology will be the first album released by the notoriously prolific Adams in 2008 (he released 5 albums between 2005 and 2007) but if you’re afraid he’s losing his touch, never fear, he’s just branching out; Adams has announced plans to release a
book of poems and short fiction titled
Infinity Blues on April 1st, 2009.
Give It Away: Alexis Taylor
London band
Hot Chip originally starting out composing acoustic songs before changing direction and releasing three albums of what has become their trademark electropop/dance. Lead singer Alexis Taylor recently revisited their simpler roots with this version of Paul McCartney’s “Coming Up” on his solo debut
Rubbed Out.
“Coming Up” is the only song officially credited to Paul McCartney as a solo artist to reach #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (in June 1980), even though that version was a live B-side recorded with The Wings in Glasgow in December 1979. The A-side featured his wife Linda, and appeared as the opening track on
McCartney II.
Purchase Rubbed Out.
Give It Away: Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas
Yesterday’s track from Lucero’s Ben Nichols has us on a punk-rocker-turned-folk-singer run, this time it’s Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music, Rumbleseat) and Austin Lucas (Rune, Twentythird Chapter, K10 Prospect) unleashing their inner acoustic souls. Check out “Bloody Shells” from their recent collaboration titled Bristle Ridge. Ragan is currently on The Revival Tour with Nichols, with Lucas opening on select dates.
The album offers up austere Appalachian fiddle music echoing the darker side of American roots, featuring three original songs from each artist, three co-writes, and two traditional numbers.
Purchase Bristle Ridge.
Give It Away: Ben Nichols
Ben Nichols of the Memphis band Lucero has released a solo EP titled The Last Pale Light in the West, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel Blood Meridian. Nichols’ sparse treatment of McCarthy’s narrative deftly conjures the sun-drenched violence of the mid-1800′s Indian massacres as he portrays the plight of the lead character in “The Kid,” his sworn enemy in “The Judge,” and his emancipator in “Toadvine”.
The full version of the album won’t be released until next year, but you can purchase the 7 song EP now from Lucero’s webstore.
Songlines Podcast: Joseph Arthur
Thursday October 23rd 2008, 9:08 am
Filed under:
Podcasts
Posted by:
MelanieAkron, Ohio native Joseph Arthur first came into the national spotlight in the mid-’90s with support from Peter Gabriel, who signed him to Real World, and set him up with a performing slot on the WOMAD tour. Most recently, he’s been releasing music on his own Lonely Astronaut label. His new full-length Temporary People sports his strongest material to come out of the studio in quite some time. Hear some of its tracks in this Songlines podcast.
Curious about that visual art that Julia mentions in the podcast? Joseph has a current show at a gallery in Brooklyn, and just finished exhibiting a piece at Ritchies in Montreal. In addition, there’s a little teaser of an art gallery on his site, and there are really cool prints, pieces of jewelry, and t-shirts in his online store, too.
Give It Away: Pete Yorn
Pete Yorn has recorded a new song titled “American Blues Vol. 1″ that he says on his website he wrote on the 4th of July after reading about Americans boycotting Independence Day in protest of the Government. It is rumored to be released on an album of the same name that will feature Frank Black of The Pixies.
Pete posted this shot of himself working with producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) in the Omaha studio on his Myspace page.
