• Rock n' Folk

    Clay Pigeons – John Prine on Austin City Limits

    I was catching up on some recorded episodes of Austin City Limits this afternoon, and came across a goldmine: a repeat of the John Prine / Amos Lee episode that aired about 2 years ago. It was John’s version of “Clay Pigeons” that really affected me, and led me to the original songwriter, Blaze Foley. I wrote about that day here.

    I checked YouTube back then for the Prine ACL version, but no go. And today, after seeing John’s amazing performance again, I checked again, and lo and behold, here it is. I trust there’ll be a few of you who are just as affected as I was.

  • Prince

    Prince’s Big Weekend in SoCal (Coachella, Leno)

    Looks like our boy Prince had one his best weekends in a while – since last year’s Super Bowl Sunday at least. Friday night he debuted a new chicken scratch funker called “Turn Me Loose” on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (vid below). And last night, as Saturday’s Coachella headliner, what does he go and do? Brings out Morris for “Jungle Love” and “The Bird”; brings out Shelia E. for “The Glamorous Life”; and debuts a live cover of – get this – Radiohead’s “Creep”! Wha-wha-whaaat?

    I hope the DAT recorders were rolling (don’t tell the purple one!)…

    Set List (thanks T.):
    The Bird (performed by Morris Day) /
    Jungle Love (performed by Morris Day) /
    Glamorous Life (performed by Sheila E.) /
    Instrumental Jam /
    1999 /
    I Feel For U /
    Controversy (with snippet of “Housequake”) /
    Little Red Corvette /
    Musicology /
    Cream /
    U Got the Look /
    Shh /
    Anotherloverholenyohead /
    Creep (Radiohead cover) /
    The Arms of an Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover performed by backup singers) /
    7 –> Come Together (Beatles Cover) /
    Purple Rain /
    Let’s Go Crazy

    [redlasso id=’e5a48730-b64b-4791-ab0e-ceae86507fb4′]

  • Indie,  Rock

    New Tunes: Bridges and Powerlines

    I hadn’t heard of NYC’s Bridges and Powerlines until they hit my inbox. But it’s a great sign when a song grabs me by the 00:03 second mark, which this one did. After the intro, a “Road to Nowhere”-like rhythm eases in, and what ensues is four minutes of quality power-pop.

    The band formed back in ’05, and is made up of singer Andrew Wood, bassist Keith Sigel, guitarist Jon Crockett, and drummer Pete Mucek. Their first full length album, Ghost Types, was released just yesterday (April 22). I haven’t had the opportunity to take in the whole album yet, but if this very strong opener is any indication, you’re gonna want to dig a little deeper into these guys.

    Bridges and Powerlines Uncalibrated (mp3)

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    BridgesandPowerlines.com

    Buy Ghost Types on: emusic, itunes, insound, tonevendor

  • David Hidalgo and Louie Perez
    Latin,  Roots Rock

    Review: In Tucson with David Hidalgo and Louie Perez

    This past Sunday, I jumped on I-10 East and headed down to Tucson for a Dave & Louie show. Dave & Louie being David Hidalgo and Louie Perez, two members (and the main songwriters) of Los Lobos. The atmosphere and show format could not have been cooler: two 45 minute sets of music followed by a Q&A session – where audience members could step to the microphone and ask questions. Did I step to the mic? But of course! More on that later.

    Sunday’s Tucson show was the final stop on a short seven city tour of the West, celebrating almost 40 years of writing songs together.

  • McDowell Mountain Music Festival

    Coming Right Up: McDowell Mountain Music Festival

    For those of us in the southwest U.S. who can’t make it to Prince’s Coachella debut this weekend, a great alternative exists with the 5th annual McDowell Mountain Music Festival in Scottsdale.

    I’ll be heading out Friday to see the Subdudes, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, and Friday headliner Gov’t Mule.

    Saturday’s lineup includes the John Butler Trio, Blues Traveler, the Wailers, and J.J. Grey & Mofro.

    So grab the sunscreen (forecast of 90 degrees), hit the noon to 4pm happy hour ($2 beers), and catch some quality tunes with Ickmusic! (or Pete, as I’m known in these parts)…

  • Rock

    My Morning Jacket’s Evil Urges

    I want to be the 840th blogger to post the new My Morning Jacket single, “Evil Urges”! I don’t know how it sounds to you folks, but it sounds like Jim James is channeling his inner Prince here? However you wanna swing it, cool tune all around, in my opinion.

    My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges

    From the forthcoming album of the same name, due out June 10th.

  • ickmix3
    Ickmix

    Ickmix 3

    ‘Tis time for another Ickmix. This is my best one yet, if I may toot my own horn. Toot.

    Take a little trip with me, yah? Oh and check my fancy intro.

    Download Ickmix 3 (57MB, 41:38)

    Playlist :

    1.“Brother Lee” – Citizen Cope

    2. “Revolution Rock” – The Clash

    3. “Freedom Park” – Marah – from 20,000 Streets Under the Sky

    4. “Big Fish” – Giant Sand

    5. “Hey Truckers” – Andre Williams & the Sadies- Amazon

    6. “Helicopter” – M. Ward

    7. “John Allyn Smith Sails” – Okkervil River

    8. “Parachutes” – Pearl Jam

    9. “Teresa” – Los Super Seven

    10. “Panama” – Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons

  • Kris Delmhorst
    Indie

    New Tunes: Kris Delmhorst’s Shotgun Singer

    One bonus (and frustration at the same time) of this bloggin’ hobby of mine is the flood of music that comes my way. In a just and perfect world, I could spend all day giving these tunes a fair listen. Just so you know, my wife and I are in the market for a sugar daddy or sugar mama to finance our family while I sit and listen to music. Well, my wife probably wouldn’t be totally up for that, but it sure sounds good to me.

    Kris Delmhorst is one of those established, respected singer-songwriters that I’d never heard of. I’ve spent the last couple of months listening to her upcoming album, Shotgun Singer (Signature Sounds Recording Company). It’s her 5th album, and really grows on me with each listen.

    Kris spent a lot of time holed up in a rural Massachussets cabin with a minimal amount of recording gear and a bunch of instruments: guitars, cellos, a Rhodes electric piano, mandolins, vibraphones… and she brought in reinforcements like Sam Kassirer (who produced Josh RItter’s latest album) to help her arrange, mix, and chip in on percussion and keys. The result is a strong, adventurous album of indie-folk-pop.

    The “poppiest” of the record is this catchy tune. Other standout tracks for me are the seamless, flowing “To The Wire” and the haunting rhythm of “Heavens Hold the Sun”. This album will be hanging on my iPod for a while. There’s something fresh and new to discover about it with every listen.

    The Ickmusic *ding* of approval is hereby affixed to Kris Delmhorst’s Shotgun SInger….

    Kris Delmhorst – 1000 Reasons

    Shotgun Singer will be released on April 22nd.

    Official Site