The journey of Fleet Foxes began with the childhood friendship of Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset. The two wrote and composed songs for eight years before adding the instrumentation of Nicholas Peterson (drums), Casey Wescott (Keyboards), and Bryn Lumsden (bass). Armed with a full lineup, Fleet Foxes took their baroque pop stylings to Sub Pop, who earlier this year released the Sun Giant EP, followed by their more recent self-titled full-length. They’ll do a stint opening for Wilco later this month. Check out their sound in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
Critical praise for this album has been overwhelming, highlighted by four stars from Rolling Stone and a whopping 9.0 from Pitchfork. Pitchfork is (in)famous for giving nearly everything a mediocre score, as was hilariously accentuated by The Onion last fall.
The Watson Twins grew up in Louisville and have spent the past ten years out in LA, working with lots of the musicians in the vibrant Silver Lake scene. They first became familiar to most music fans when they backed up Jenny Lewis on her solo project Rabbit Fur Coat. You can hear their stand-alone sound in this Songlines podcast, which features tracks from their debut full-length Fire Songs.
Friday July 11th 2008, 11:20 am
Filed under: Podcasts
Posted by: Melanie
In their fittingly-titled debut Ode to Sunshine, San Diego’s Delta Spirit channels the energy of the Southern California sunshine, as well as some of the grit of its deserts. It’s a great, literate record that’s a pure joy to listen to. Sample its tracks in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
It’s been just over a week since Alejandro Escovedo’s career-defining record, Real Animal, hit stores, and what a week it’s been! Alejandro and his band performed on the Today Show, Conan O’Brien, and on Sirius, WFUV, WRLT, and CW11. He did two packed CD release parties at Austin’s famed Continental Club that were broadcast by KUT and KGSR, as well as in-stores at Waterloo and Grimey’s. Tomorrow, he plays Milwaukee’s SummerFest, and for Independence Day, he’ll be in Chicago alongside Gomez and the Old 97’s for WXRT’s 4th of July Concert. The man is working hard! Sample some of the album’s tracks in this Songlines podcast.
Back in April, Alejandro and his wife were on their way to see a Bruce Springsteen show in Houston when he got a phone call from his manager. She had some news: The Boss wanted to perform Alejandro’s new single, “Always a Friend,” that night. By the time Alejandro arrived backstage, Springsteen had already arranged the tune for the E Street Band and taught it to them. And so, in front of 18,000 people, they got to perform the song together:
Thursday June 26th 2008, 9:05 am
Filed under: Podcasts
Posted by: Melanie
Though the disaster and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has sadly receded in national consciousness, on a local scale, it will never be forgotten. Much of the vibrant city of New Orleans — whose music, food, voodoo and vibe is vital to the American cultural fabric — is still devastated. As one of the city’s most famous native sons, Dr. John feels an enormous sense of responsibility to keep reminding those of us outside the region that there’s still much work to be done. His latest effort, City That Care Forgot, is an exploration of many of the issues that Southern Louisiana and Mississippi still face. Sample some of its tracks in this Songlines podcast.
Wednesday June 25th 2008, 9:05 am
Filed under: Podcasts
Posted by: Melanie
Though Solomon Burke never had a top 20 hit, he has long been revered by most everyone who cares about soul music as an essential pioneer of the genre. And he’s also proven to have remarkable staying power, soldiering through the lean years of the ’80s and ’90s when his new recordings were rarely heard outside circles of soul purists. His career achieved a proper revival with the release of 2002’s Don’t Give Up on Me, a startlingly intense and wrenchingly beautiful affair produced by Joe Henry and featuring tunes by Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello, among others. That album won a Grammy, and since then, Burke has released three more terrific records to much acclaim, gaining legions of younger fans. The latest of those albums is called Like a Fire, and you can check out its sound in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
Tuesday June 24th 2008, 8:45 am
Filed under: Podcasts
Posted by: Melanie
Over the span of a few short years, Amos Lee went from working in a jazz record store to teaching elementary school to getting signed by Blue Note. The easygoing sound that characterized his first two records has gained more incisiveness with his latest, Last Days at the Lodge. Hear and enjoy some snippets in this podcast.
Monday June 23rd 2008, 11:57 am
Filed under: Podcasts
Posted by: Melanie
Scottish singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald is poised to make a big impact in the U.S. with her stateside debut, This Is the Life. Two months shy of her twenty-first birthday, she’s already beloved in her native land; she performs and writes with a grace and strength uncommon in artists twice her age. Hear tracks from her album in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
Monday June 16th 2008, 10:45 am
Filed under: Podcasts
Posted by: Julia
The breakup of one of New Jersey’s most popular bands has produced another promising lineup all too ready to fill the void. Todd Scheaffer, lead singer of From Good Homesnow fronts Railroad Earth, a Stillwater-based sextet that defies genre and defines eclectic with a rootsy blend of bluegrass, rock, jazz, Celtic and Americana. Originating as an informal acoustic jam session amongst professional musicians, Railroad Earth has amassed a huge following through incessant touring, and recently released their fourth studio album Amen Corner. Learn more about the making of the record in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
The band’s popularity on the jam circuit has allowed them the opportunity to play with some of rock’s finest, including Phil Lesh who employed them as his “friends” on Phil Lesh & Friends, and even learned some of their repertoire. Check out this video of Railroad Earth returning the favor with a rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Casey Jones.”
Legendary singer and songwriter Steve Winwood is back with his best record in years, Nine Lives. Though it might be tempting to leap to the conclusion that the album’s title is a thinly-veiled reference to the many stages of Winwood’s decades-long and ever-evolving time in the spotlight, he offers a characteristically modest and pragmatic explanation: “Nine Lives is quite simply my ninth album, and there are nine songs on it. So it’s really no more complicated than that. Each song has a life of its own. It’s the opposite of a concept album: it’s a book of short stories rather than a novel.” Get snippets of some of these stories, as well as details about the record’s making, in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
After reuniting in February with Eric Clapton for three sold out and critically-lauded shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Winwood has hit the road with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for a summer tour. Find out when this great bill comes to you.
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