Damien Rice

Please watch the above video, you will not be disappointed. It's Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan performing 9 Crimes live on The Tonight Show. If I had to use one word to describe this performance it would be 'haunting.'

Damien Rice has always held my mind captive. It's as if his voice demands that I listen to what he's saying, even if it's a song about Eskimos. There's a certain plaintive quality to his voice, a sense of urgency that says "if you don't listen, I just might fade away to nothing." And so I listen, and so should you. He really is a great song writer, and apparently he has great stage presence as well.

mp3 : Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan - Unplayed Piano
mp3 : Damien Rice - 9 Crimes

buy 9 on Amazon for 12.97

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Random News

I'm basically posting to say that The Hype Machine has finally sorted out whatever issue they were having with my blog. Well, allegedly they've sorted it out. So that's good news.

In other randomness the next installment of the EA Mixes is ready to go, expect thirteen songs of yummy goodness to appear up here before this weekend. I've been working on that a lot lately so I haven't really had a chance to write small articles. Check below this post for some great stuff by Forgather, Zach Williams, and a weird Jay Z / Chris Martin collaboration.

Oh, and so as not to leave you high and dry, here's a little bit of music to hold you over.

mp3 : Sufjan Stevens - Woman at the Well

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Jay Z and Chris Martin

Normally I don't play much to the hip hop crowd. I do like Kanye, Jay Z, Outkast, and The Fugees, but it's not really my style to post about them. That is until Jay Z teamed up with one unlikely suspect for a song on his newest album. That suspect being Chris Martin of Coldplay. It's still Brooklyn this and Brooklyn that on the album with all of the standard Jay Z hooks and rhymes, but for one solid song Chris Martin was there not only with some creative music arrangements but Chris also produced the song.

Kudos to both of you boys for trying something new. I just hope Chris doesn't have Jay Z return the favor on the next Coldplay album. Please.

mp3 : Jay Z (feat Chris Martin) - Beach Chair

buy Kingdom Come on Amazon for 9.99

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Forgather

Broc Stanage is the creative influence behind indie folk outfit Forgather. His myspace page is sparse, simple, and yet there is an elegance to be found in the minimalist nature of it all. And that's really what defines his music. Simple stories, complex points of narration [on his latest song he portrays Meriwether Lewis writing letters to President Jefferson], and great acoustic folk sounds.

He sounds incredible, and with a proper studio and production Broc could easily fit in on such labels as Asthmatic Kitty or the newly formed The Apple Union.

mp3 : Forgather - Wallace Gentry
mp3 : Forgather - Song About A Dream
mp3 : Forgather - April 1995
mp3 : Forgather - Letters of Pardon

check out Forgather on myspace
check out the latest Forgather interview in Fort Wayne's Journal Gazette

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What's The Hype?

So I've discovered that it's not my filehost that's causing the issues. There's something wrong or screwy with The Hype Machine. It's not picking up my posts nor is it finding my posted mp3's. In fact it's not realizing that I update my blog at all.

So that's why I've been taking a break lately.

Elbo.ws still recognizes everything I put up... I wonder when Hype will get back on track. It seems as if they're having this problem with most of their bloggers.

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Sufjan and Songs Forgotten

So I was looking through my list of single songs the other day and I came across this little story by Sufjan Stevens. Most of his songs are stories, but this one is especially so. He wrote this song, The Lord God Bird, in response to a challenge thrown down by witty NPR dj's who didn't think he was all that amazing. And he handedly proved them wrong by walking into this small bayou town with only a few interviews and a guitar and emerging two weeks later with a ridiculously great song.

And I know this song is old news, it's probably even been blogged about over a hundred times. But with something this good it never hurts to bring it up and host it again. The first mp3 is the actual song Sufjan wrote and the second song is the twelve minute segment about the song that originally aired on NPR.

mp3 : Sufjan Stevens - The Lord God Bird
mp3 : Sufjan Stevens - The Lord God Bird Story

Oh, and I like this rare track by Sufjan as well.

mp3 : Sufjan Stevens - Woman at the Well

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Scotland Yard Gospel Choir

I'm not sure if this band is still a band. I'm not sure what's going on in their lives or where they went after a key member split off to go solo. There doesn't seem to be anything more recent than June 11th, 2005 pictures on the website, and a myspace site is missing in action.

All that being said I still like the sound The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir puts out. I first saw them live when they opened for aging alt-rockers Wheat three years ago in Indy. They clearly stole the show. Since then they've released one indie record, I Bet You Say That to All The Boys, and have played a slew of little shows with the likes of Death Cab and The Long Winters. If you're curious about them, that's their scene.

check out the SYGC website

mp3 : Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Bet You Never Thought
mp3 : Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Ellen
mp3 : Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - She Just Wants to Move
mp3 : Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Tear Down the Opera House

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Zach Williams

Let me say what I've been saying for a couple of months now. Zach Williams is amazing. His music, his style, his lyrics, all things together combine to form music that is both interesting, personal, and original.

I would place Mr. Williams alongside such artists as Page France, Asher Lev, or Sufjan Stevens, all of whom he shares a faith and a similar sound with. A certain type of new folk sound with a lot of indie darling credibility. Acoustic yes, raw yes, delicate and intricate double yes. Although I cannot seem to find the exact words to accurately describe his music I would say that above all things Zach's music is quality.

And on top of musical talent Mr. Williams has the knack of meeting and warming to people like they're old friends. A friend of mine recently met Zach after his show at Rockwood in NYC and had nothing but warm things to say of their brief encounter. If you check out Zach's myspace account, which I highly recommend as it's regularly updated, you'll find many people that not only love his music but have formed some sort of personal connection with the man behind the music. That's actually where I met him.

Mark my words, this man will be huge. All he needs now is a little attention.

check out Zach on myspace

mp3 : Zach Williams - Maybes
mp3 : Zach Williams - James
mp3 : Zach Williams - Push
mp3 : Zach Williams - War of 38 (Guitar Version)
mp3 : Zach Williams - Hospital Dream
mp3 : Zach Williams - Fears (live at Rockwood)
mp3 : Zach Williams - Dirty Feet (live)

buy Zach Williams EP on cdbaby for 8.00

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Sufjan's Christmas

So while I wait to get my file host woes sorted out [currently working on a couple of fixes] I thought I would at least post something new. This is old news, but maybe old is the new new. I'm not sure, and yes I am confused.

Anyway, you all deserve to get in the holiday mood and listen to the magic that is Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas.

And it's all free and streamable.

http://www.asthmatickitty.com/suf_xmas/suf_xmas.php

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File Host Issues

I'm having some trouble with my file host. It's a free host, so I can't really complain, but I also can't afford to move anywhere else right now.

If anyone can recommend a free file host that would be amazing. Right now I'm using filelodge and their track record has been spotty at best.

Any suggestions? I have a lot of posts brewing, just no way to host the files.

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Doves

I decided that I would do this a couple of times a week now. I'll go back through some older material that I have and pick a band or a track to feature. So consider this the inaugural post of the single variety. The mixes will still come out about once a month, but this will help tide you over in the time between.

To start us off we have the British band Doves. Never quite famous in the states, never actually quite famous anywhere, they nonetheless have a wonderful sound. A bit British in nature, ie early Radiohead, Coldplay, Keane, etc., they still manage to create a unique quality of music that is both pleasant to listen to and makes your feet move.

mp3 : Doves - Pounding


buy The Last Broadcast on Amazon for only 10.99

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Dove Evolution

The Dove Self Esteem Campaign is quite amazing. I'm proud of them for at least attempting to change the way we look at beauty. Over at youtube there are a handful of videos that they've released dealing with issues that all effect the way we label things beautiful.

Here's one of them.




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EA Mix vol 7 - Oh, Where Have We Gone

01 : Joseph Arthur - Can't Exist (Live) : Joseph Arthur is one of the best ten artists who will never be famous. He's smooth, many of his songs are instant classics, and the man creates some of the weirdest paintings I've ever seen in my life. This is a gorgeous track and to hear it stripped down and live is amazing. I would love to see one of his shows.

02 : Akron/Family - Gone Beyond : I'm still not sure what to think of this band. Are they nu-folk? Are the easy listening? Do their songs even make sense to the band? I'm not sure if this one track can answer these question, but it's a great start to the Akron/Family sound.

03 : Ben Folds - Still : Ben Folds will always be a musical genius in my book. I mean let's be honest, the man takes even Elton John and improves upon it. About a year ago Ben set down to do something, musically, he had not attempted before. And that was to make the soundtrack for the film Over the Hedge. There are a couple of great songs off of that soundtrack but this one stands out with the classic Ben Folds sound.

04 : Tori Amos - A Sorta Fairytale : In the past I haven't been the biggest fan of Tori. And I'm not really sure why. There are just some artists that always get associated with a sound that you don't like. And for too long I think I was lumping Tori Amos in with Fiona Apple, whom I rather dislike. But all those years of ignorance are now washed away with this gorgeous and melancholic ballad. Kudos to my friend Cole for introducing me to this song.

05 : Bishop Allen - Like Castanets : There is a certain quality about this song that is inescapable. Something inside of me craves more music like this. Music that is light, fun, interesting, and ultimately builds upon itself with harmonies, layered instruments, and clever lyrical twists. If I had to quantify Bishop Allen I would place him halfway between Sufjan and Beirut with a light Mediterranean quality to his sound.

06 : Now It's Overhead - Let Up : Years ago I came up with a classification of people that could best be described as "brooding romantics." They weren't hopeless, they weren't carried away, they believed in true love yet they realized that the odds were stacked against them ever finding it. And now I have found the iconic group to sing their emotions to the world. Simply gorgeous music.

07 : The Hidden Cameras - The Waning Moon : It seems like one 'out-there' band somehow makes it onto every mix I make. In the past it's been bands like Applejack or Wolf Mother and on this slice of nirvana it's The Hidden Cameras. Maybe I lump all of these bands together because of their excessive use of layered vocals or toy instruments, but whatever. It's a good song, and it's nice to take a lighter turn, in both sound and lyrics, after the broodiness of Now It's Overhead.

08 : Old 97's - Question : I love this song. It's a wonderful little story and they explain so much with so few words. It's really what's left unsaid in this song that makes you think. And I enjoy that quality of the Old 97's. [crap, now i'm back to hopelessly romanticising everything]

09 : Alela Diane - Pieces of String : At one point in this song the lyrics read "I'd have a choir of little children sing along." And during that line there is literally a choir of little children backing up Ms. Diane. And as amazing as that is, mind boggling really, the rest of the song is heartbreaking and thought provoking. It's subdued and sets the perfect mood for a looking out your window into the rain.

10 : The Decembersists - The Crane Wife 3 : Alright, I'm finally giving in to the hype surrounding this album. Apparently it's the bee's knees my friends. And I'll admit that it is good. But I will not go ahead and give it best album of 2006 just yet. What about Josh Ritter, the Killers, Robyn Hitchcock, or Ray LaMontague? Yeah, I can't just go handing out best of the year before this year is finally come to an end. All that being said, this is a superb song.

11 : Zach Williams - Maybes : Zach continues to amaze me. And he's been amazing some of my friends out in NYC lately as well. Apparently the man puts on an incredible and personable show. If anyone has the chance to catch him live please please please make an effort to get out and see him. He continues to impress with the offerings on his myspace page and mark my words, Zach will be huge.

12 : The Blind Boys of Alabama - I Shall Not Walk Alone : I'm not Catholic, nor will I ever be, but there's something about the imagery of Mother Mary that is so righteously comforting. Whether it's the Beatles or the Blind Boys singing about her, songs with Mary in them always seem to bring comfort and hope to my heart. I needed this song during the past two weeks and I'm glad to be able to share it with you now.

13 : Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter : Sufjan is going to dominate Christmas on his way to taking over each and every one of the fifty states. It's hard to believe that music this poetic and this wonderful [written largely with Christmas and winter in mind] has sprung from the heart of someone who used to hate Christmas music, especially carols. This November watch for Sufjan to drop a 5 EP box set with around 50 selections, some originals like 'sister winter' here and some reworkings of old classics. This man is brilliant. [and this song proves it]

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