Chris Rea’s ‘Auberge’
A lost treasure was unearthed yesterday while the wife was on a mission to clean my daughters’ bedrooms: a spindle of old CD’s. Lots of Springsteen bootlegs, old mixes… but what I was most excited to find: Auberge. British singer/guitarist…
Willie’s Spirit
Since stumbling across it on Rdio yesterday, I’ve become quickly enamored with Willie Nelson’s Spirit album. “She Is Gone” is the only song I was really familiar with from the record. It’s a sparse, heartbreakingly gorgeous tune – one that…
Justin Townes Earle sings “Harlem River Blues” on Letterman
In my recent Best of 2010 post, I crowned “Harlem River Blues” by Justin Townes Earle as my song of the year. Last night, Justin made his network television debut on Letterman. With Jason Isbell on guitar, and Paul Shaffer…
Morgan Heritage – “Down By The River”
How about some feel good, positive vibes? I have to give a shout out to the mother-in-law for pointing the song out a couple months ago at a restaurant. Out came my iPhone, I tapped on the Shazam app, and…
Q-Tip’s “Barely In Love”
Well, shame on me for not listening to this album when it came out September. 2009. It’s teeming with life. Live instrumentation; a funky, soulful, jazzy laid back vibe (it is Q-Tip, after all, who perfected “laid back” hip-hop twenty…
BET’s Tribute to Prince: Janelle Monae, Esparanza Spalding, Alicia Keys, Patti LaBelle
This past Sunday, Prince was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th annual BET Awards. Prior to the presentation, four of his favorite ladies took to the stage to pay tribute to His Purpleness, and let me tell…
Recap: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros / Dawes at the Clubhouse in Tempe
Music discovery. I feel sorry for those that don’t keep their ears open to new sounds. As the calendar flipped over to 2010, I knew nothing (or next to nothing) about Dawes or Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Last…
[Ick’s Pick] Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine
I discovered the treasure trove that is the music of John Prine back in the early 90’s, during my last year of college. The Missing Years about knocked me on my butt, with its witty wordplay, catchy cadences, and gorgeous…
