Live Video Clip of the Day: Snow Patrol and Martha Wainwright Live From Abbey Road 10.04.06

One of those awesome moments in music when two voices play off each other in a haunting, magical way.

Gosh, it's just awesome.




You can check out the mp3 at the following link:
Set The Fire To The Third Bar

Live Video Clip of the Day: Muse on Later...With Jools Holland 9.18.09

Muse is pretty huge in England and has been for quite some time, but they are beginning to really crack the US as well. Appearances on the soundtracks for both Twilight films, along with last week's rocking of the SNL stage has only helped. They have added a bunch of dates to their upcoming tour, so try to check them out if you get the chance. They're bananas live and frontman, Matthew Bellamy, is a guitar hero whose riff from "Plug in Baby" beat out countless classics to be ranked the 12th best of all time by readers of Total Guitar magazine.

I LOVE this band. Check out their performance of Uprising, which is currently #1 on the Billboard Alternative music charts. It's from Later...With Jools Holland. Speaking of said show, if you are lucky enough to get the Ovation channel (I never knew we had it til I stumbled upon it flipping through the channels searching for a quality teenage soap opera), they are rocking many episodes of Later these days, so scoot over to their website to see when your favorite acts are on.








You can catch the mp3 over at Amazon:
Uprising

Live Video Clip of the Day: Arctic Monkeys on Later...With Jools Holland 10.28.06

Later...with Jools Holland is a late night show over in England that features some pretty amazing musical guests every week. It is played over here on the Fuse channel. It's worth checking out, because each episode is packed with several performances, so even if you don't particularly enjoy one band, chances are you'll dig another.

This clip is from a 2006 episode featuring one of the first bands that became huge with the help of fans on internet sites sharing music and videos. The Arctic Monkeys are pretty well known, but if you're not familiar, check them out. Awesome energy and great live performances.





Scoot on over to Amazon and check out the mp3:
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor (Album Version)

Pete Dohorty is Musically Awesome...Legally, Ethically, and Morally an Idiot

As I pointed out in yesterday's live music post, Pete Dohorty, formerly of the Libertines, was arrested on drug possession charges yesterday. The kicker this time? He was in court facing another charge of drunk driving, when during the mandatory frisk upon entering the court, an alleged drug wrap fell from his pocket. In basic terms: dude brought heroin into court with him. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

How is this guy still alive? Is there some Weekend At Bernie's stuff going on? He looks sorta peaced in that pic, but I think he is walking on his own. And even if he is alive, why is he not in jail? Apparently in England, rockers get the same special treatment that sports stars get in America, because supposedly he had 21 prior drug charges. Not to mention how terrible the dude looks. Is this the same guy who used to date Kate Moss and was kinda hot in the strange, artsy musician way? Now he's all clammy and scabby. Damn. This guy needs to be on Intervention ASAP.

Live Video Clip of the Day: Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers-Sun Studio Sessions

Amazing song and a little explanation on its backstory.




You can grab the mp3 on Amazon:
4th of July (Album Version)

TV Tunes Tuesdays: The Wicked Soundtracks of Felicity

TV Tunes Tuesdays is a little light today, but we bring you a soundtrack worth downloading.

Felicity was one of the first shows that really had a rocking soundtrack full of indie favorites that made the melodrama that much more awesome. I tuned in weekly less to see if she was with Noel or Ben (oh, the choices!) and more because some of the first great music I listened to was because of this show. Don't believe me? I can prove it.

Both Ryan Adams and Jack Johnson were heavily used during the show's fourth season, which aired from 2001-02. Did you even know who Ryan Adams was back then? Season three is full of indie gems. 2 is a little more mainstream with Dave Matthews Band and the Counting Crows. And who could forget season one's love for Sarah McLachlan, as well as other awesome female acts such as Kate Bush or Beth Orton?

That should be enough. There are two discs out from this shows soundtrack and it really lead the way for shows like The OC and Gossip Girl to appeal to the music lovers in all of us.

You can check out the soundtracks at amazon:

Movie Music Mondays

No real post or review today on the movie music front. Christmas is coming up way too fast, but check out this sweet, Christmas sorta-movie music moment.

Live Video Clip of the Day: The Libertines on Jonathan Ross 3.19.04

The Libertines were an amazing band from England that was pretty big around the time of The Strokes over here. Unfortunately, one of the lead singers, Pete Doherty, had a bit of trouble with drugs. Or a lot of trouble, like literally, yesterday I chose to use them for today's Live Vid Clip and he was arrested TODAY of suspected drug possession. Damn, either I'm psychic or he has a pretty bad addiction.  Yeah, you're right. The second one. He was in court to face another charge and had drugs on him, so once he received his punishment, they escorted him right to the police station. Yikes.

Apparently, his drug abuse led to the demise of the band, but hopefully it's not forever. He went on to create his own band, Babyshambles, and continued to hang out with positive influences. Other frontman, Carl Barat, formed Dirty Pretty Things, but neither saw as much success as they did together. Come on, Pete, clean up. The world needs more Libertines.

Check them out playing one of their last live performances as a band. The song is "Can't Stand Me Now" and is about the crumbling friendship of the two frontmen. It's a great performance, if not a little bittersweet as well.




Dig the song?
You can download the mp3 over at Amazon:

Live Video Clip of the Day: Gin Blossoms on Leno1993

Do you ever feel like the Gin Blossoms should have been way more famous? I do. I know they had a few major hits, but I still want to hear new music being played on the radio. Just a sweet band and it's that simple.

Muse On SNL Tonight

Muse is a pretty sweet band and they are the musical guests on SNL tonight. You'll probably be out partying, but set those Tivos to record. If you aren't familiar with them, I think you'll really dig it.

Live Video Clip of the Day: The Wallflowers Live at Alcatraz 2002

Remember how sweet the Wallflowers used to be? They're still making good music and lead singer, Jakob Dylan, has a pretty great solo album out, but nothing can compare their epic 1996 album Bringing Down the Horse.

Dylan has that great raspy tone in his voice and it doesn't hurt that he's incredibly good looking. Thank you, Bob.

Here's a clip from a tv special in 2002 when they played at Alcatraz with Creed(ew, what?). Gotta love the dude playing keyboards with a casual cigarette hanging from his mouth. Rockstar. Check it out!

Live Video Clip of the Day: Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan Live From Abbey Road 2006

Did you know Damien Rice was named the 34th (out of 50) best Irish act in music right now earlier this year by the Irish Times? That seems awfully low and has to burn a little, especially considering his former musical creative assistant, Lisa Hannigan, was named at number five. There was supposedly a bunch of drama there and since Hannigan has begun a successful solo career, the article points out that Rice has been "almost too quiet of late."

I couldn't agree more. Where are you Damien? We need to hear your music. I remember being in college and going into Rochester, buying my first Damien Rice cd. Recently, on a visit up there I saw that the store had closed and I almost wept. The honesty in Rice's lyrics is matched beautifully with his haunting melodies. Oh, how I wish I believed reports saying his new disc was coming out soon, but I have a dreadful feeling it will be some time before I get my Damien on again. And that's sad.

For all you Damien Rice fans, check out this video of "9 Crimes" from the 2006 series Live From Abbey Road. Beautiful.

Live Video Clip of the Day: Airborne Toxic Event on Letterman 1.16.09

Here is the live music video clip of the day. Yeah, it's another new addition to the blog.

Check out this amazing performance from The Airborne Toxic Event on Letterman early this year. This was shortly after the time when there was that whole mini scandal going on over at Pitchfork. A pretty insanely bad review was given and the band took it upon themselves to write the reviewer a letter in response. Drama ensued. Anyways, enjoy the clip and check out how amped Letterman gets over the band at the end. He knows what's up. 

Train on CSI:NY

A fitting addition to yesterday's TV Tunes post, Train was on CSI:NY last night. They not only performed a couple tunes, but also lead singer Pat Monahan, actually had a pretty large part in the plot. He was acting alongside Kim Kardashian, so his skills were mad good by comparison. If you missed it check out the behind the scenes snippet below or check local listings, as I'm sure it will be repeated over the holiday hiatus.





Jonesing for more Train? Check out their latest disc Save Me, San Francisco. Available for a sweet price at Amazon right now. 

TV Tunes Tuesdays (on a Wednesday)

Party foul. This post was due yesterday, but is here today. Let's pretend it's Tuesday.

Moving on.

In our first installment of TV Tunes Tuesday, we will be exploring some great live musical performances done on sitcoms/dramas/etc. Unfortunately, if you don't like sappy TV dramas, you probably haven't seen most of these, aside from the Extras clips.

Movie Music Mondays: Across the Universe

One Sentence Review: A sweet musical set mostly in America during the turbulent time of the Vietnam War, featuring the tunes of the Beatles, and solid performances by main characters.

Full Review: The premise sounds a bit daunting, doesn't it? Take a handful of songs from the greatest band of all time, change some arrangements, hire a cast of relative newcomers, and film a musical. Just an average day. I assume that's what happened when the people behind Across the Universe decided to make the film. The movie focuses a group of young adults living during the time of the Beatles, never actually mentioning the Fab Four, but alluding to them in nearly every scene, not just in the music, but in small inside jokes as well.

A Preview of Movie Music Mondays

Along with TV Tunes Tuesdays, check out Movie Music Mondays starting next week as well. It will feature everything from great soundtracks to great biopics on musical legends. This week catch a review of the film, Across the Universe. Don't know it? It's a hotly debated musical from 2007 featuring songs by the Beatles.

Here's a clip to wet your ap.

A Preview of TV Tuesdays

Check us out starting next week for a new feature called TV Tuesdays, where we showcase different instances where the music and tv worlds collided into things of beauty. That may be a bit dramatically stated, but it'll be sweet, so come check it out.

A preview of next week's topic will be great cameos by musicians playing their music on TV, because most times it is really is more of a ploy to get you to watch the show and plug the musician's new cd than anything else.

Check out this hysterical clip from the great show Extras to understand what I'm saying, because the writers just get it.

"The crickets all leapt up and met the moon with a standing ovation."-- Josh Ritter concert Review

Josh Ritter- 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., 12.1.09

Josh Ritter is the best lyricist in music. That statement is hardly radical, as I've read many other Josh Ritter reviews branding him in a similar fashion. I can't possibly imagine a musician working today who writes lyrics as beautiful and bursting with imagery as Josh Ritter does on an all too consistent basis. There are songs that simply floor me, and make me stand in awe at his mastery of the language. I'd like to channel his brilliance on a nearly daily basis as I stumble through countless conversations searching for the words I need to say. He is a poet in the truest sense. Tuesday's concert cemented Josh Ritter's spot in my top 5 favorite musicians. It was incredible.

If you've ever seen Josh Ritter perform live, you know that he may be the happiest person on Earth when he's playing his music. Throughout the entirety of the concert, he was beaming with a smile, simply psyched to be performing. It's nearly impossible to be in a bad mood as part of a Josh Ritter performance. At one point, my friend Teresa turned to me and said, "I want whatever medicine he's on." I should have kept a tally of how many times he thanked the crowd. The man was ecstatic to be doing what he loved.

I would go through the entire setlist, but this post would sprawl on forever, so I'll hit the highlights. "Right Moves", off Josh's latest studio release "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter" is a fantastic upbeat song about the uncertainty of a romantic relationship. You know the feeling.... the "Is it too early to call? Should I wait?" "Well maybe so and so thought I meant this when I really meant that," kind of scenario. This song also has one of my favorite lyrics. "You put a finger to my lips/Then you kissed me once/And once again/ The crickets all leapt up and met the moon with a standing ovation." It's a pretty good description of the feeling when that kiss does happen and you realize you did make the right moves.

One of my favorite portions of the show was when Josh came out and did 4 songs solo. His first solo song, "Kathleen" is a fan favorite and tells the story of a high school dance. Another great lyric (there's going to be a lot of these) "All the other girls here are stars/You are the Northern Lights." Note to self: Come up with lines like that, and you're golden.

Here's where the most magical moment of the show occurred... at least for me. The very next song he played was called "The Curse". It's a knockout. I wish I could write a story as beautiful as this song. Again, Josh just sang it on stage my himself finger picking away on his guitar, and the crowd was silent. Dead silent. And hanging on every word. It was like Picasso painting his masterpiece, it was Gretzky's 92 goal season, it was Chef Remy's Ratatouille (what up Pixar!). At least for me it was. The song tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a mummy. I realize that sounds weird... this is why Josh Ritter can write a kick ass song and I can't. I'll post a video at the bottom and you can hear the story for yourself. I don't want to ruin it. I've listened about 30 times since the concert. Favorite lyric: "She asked, 'Are you cursed?'/ He said, 'I think that I'm cured/Then he kissed her and hoped/The she'd forget that question."

Other highlights: The song "Wings" played in complete darkness. "Empty Hearts" when Josh asked the audience on the floor to serenade the members of the balcony with the chorus as in Romeo and Juliet. "To the Dogs or Whoever", it's just a song that rocks, especially live, and it's filled with allusions. Finally, the new song "Another New World". If it wasn't for my new found obsession for "The Curse" this would have been the highlight. It's another song that tells a story. This one, a love story between a man and his ship, the Annabel Lee. The song is haunting and beautiful in it's tragedy. The video for this song is at the bottom of the page as well. Just sit back and listen to the lyrics. It's amazing.

What a great show! Definitely up there on my list of favorites. I can't help but think that if it was the 1960's Josh Ritter would be Bob Dylan huge right now. But part of me is selfishly relieved. While Josh has a strong following (the show was sold out), it feels like being part of a club to like an artist this good that isn't HUGE yet. His fans appreciate the music he turns out, and he seems to absolutely love writing it. I can't wait for the upcoming album (possibly April) and the tour to support it!

Setlist:
1. Wildfires
2. Rumors
3. Right Moves
4. Southern Pacific
5. Open Doors
6. Golden Age of Radio
7. Kathleen (Solo)
8. The Curse (Solo)
9. You Don't Make It Easy Babe (Solo)
10. Wings (Solo)
11. Mind's Eye
12. Remnant
13. Lillian, Egypt
14. Me & Jiggs
15. Moon River
16. Another New World
17. Harrisburg
18. To the Dogs or Whoever
Encore:
19. Girl in the War
20. Empty Hearts
21. Come and Find Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZuswr9h5-Q --The Curse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoaQOKG-urc --- Another New World

Joe Purdy: A man, a piano, a guitar, and a beard

Joe Purdy- Jammin' Java, Vienna, VA, 11.19.09

First off, my apologies for writing a week after the concert. It's been an extremely busy, but fun week and I'm just now getting some time to catch my breath. Anyway... on with the review.

So for those not familiar with Joe Purdy, he's a fantastic singer/songwriter from Arkansas. Hardworking doesn't even begin to describe this man. Over the course of the last 8 years, Joe Purdy has released 10 full length albums, his latest "The Last Clock on the Wall" in Spring 2009. Nearly all of those releases have been independent. He must write continuously! You may be familiar with a few of his songs from commercials, of all things. "Wash Away" is featured on a Dawn dish soap commercial, and "Can't Get It Right Today" on an Autism PSA. Check out the Autism PSA, the song fits very well in the commercial's message!

Joe played for over two hours to a sold out crowd. I don't know if I can remember being at a show with an audience so attentive to every word coming from the performer's mouth. They were extremely respectful, and you could tell that everyone was anxious to get as much of Joe Purdy's music as possible. It was just him, and a guitar, and a piano... simple. He might as well have been in your living room.

Over the course of his set, which must have consisted of at least 20 songs, I was surprised that he pulled out a good deal of new material. I mean the guy has approximately 100 different songs he's written in the last 8 years and an album that is only about 6 months old. But that's what I love about Joe Purdy. He performs and writes what he's feeling. You never get the sense from him, that he's there to sell you something or push an album. He's passionate about what he does, and he's constantly evolving his music.

Many of Joe's songs tell stories, and in this kind of setting the stories seem so real. "Outlaws", one of my favorites, is about a man who meets a woman at a bar and they fall in love while on a crime spree. Basically, it's a great Western movie in a song. Another, "Santa Rosa" is about being stuck in a snowstorm in New Mexico on New Year's. However, my favorite ballad of the night was a new song called "The Ballplayer". Joe plays it at the piano and it tells the story of a struggling ballplayer (shocking) and how his struggles with his career effects his personal relationships. You can find a link to the video of the song performed a couple nights later in Nashville, at the bottom of the page. It's a beautiful song.

The regular set included favorites such as "Secret", "You Can Tell Georgia" and "Ode To Sad Clown." The encore was really fun to watch. Basically, Joe came out and simply asked the audience to shout out their requests and he would try to play them. He would entertain all the options then select one. Many times you could see him working through the lyrics and chord progressions in his head, trying to recall which of the 100 songs it was. During "The Sun", an adamant fan request, Joe had to stop and make up some lyrics, which made for a pretty humorous moment for all.

If you're looking for a high energy kind of concert, you probably aren't going to find it at a Joe Purdy show. But, if you're looking for some great laid back music, that is written with passion and honesty, Joe Purdy is the show for you. His songs are very easy to relate to, and have been integral parts of the soundtrack I would use for my life. In fact, I was making a playlist of my favorite Joe Purdy songs to share with a friend... 25 songs later I still felt like I was leaving some important songs out. I hope you have a chance to check him out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk3wfXwrXCA

Happy Thanksgiving! Josh Ritter next week!

American Music Awards Tonight

Check out the American Music Awards tonight on ABC. You can still vote for breakout artist over at the ABC website and since the contenders are Lady Gaga, Keri Hilson, Gloriana, and Kid Cudi, I think we can all assume the winner is Keri Hilson. I kid. Lady Gaga should have this and really it's worth tuning in to see her wacky ensembles/faux suicides.

50 Most Important Recordings of Decade According to NPR

Sweet little list over at NPR of the most important recordings of the decade.

Kudos to the team that compiled the list for including tracks ranging from the Britney Spears to Arcade Fire to Brad Paisley, which are all some of my favorites. (Pretend you don't secretly love the song "Toxic").


Steve will be proud to see The Swell Season represented.


Sadness fills my bones over the fact that the Killers and the Airborne Toxic Event are no shows on the list, but I suspect the second act is a little too new and the first is a little too awesome?


Check out the list right here.
Did they miss your favorite recording of the decade? Which ones do you agree with and which make you crazy?

Shout out to Ellyn for bringing this to my attention.

The Billboard (Not So) Hot 100

Sometimes I enjoy perusing through the Billboard Hot 100, just to see how off base my tastes are with those of the general public.

The results?
Very. Very off base.

Current Jams

I don't want to ruin my street cred, but I REALLY like that song that is everywhere right now, Fireflies, by Owl City.

I heard it for the first time in an Old Navy and prior to hearing this song, the only music I associated with Old Navy involved Lil' Kim being real hood.

Needless to say, I'm glad to replace one memory with another.

You can check out the video right here.

"The Swell Season is the BEST Season!"

The Swell Season- 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., 11.9.2009

Welp, I finally know what I want to do with my life…. I want to be Glen Hansard! That’s an acceptable goal right? I’ll have to quit my teaching job of course and find a school where I can study how to be supremely awesome and the coolest man alive. Do you know of a program? If so, please leave it at the bottom of the page.

After the concert Monday night, my friend informed me that I have a man crush on Glen. A piece of me felt I had to defend myself, but it’s clear that I do. I just want to be his best friend (insert dream sequence). Catch a match, grab a pint at the pub…sigh.

Monday’s show was the fourth time I’ve seen The Swell Season, and while the others were great, this show somehow stood apart. 9:30 Club was already packed by the time Doveman, the opener, took the stage. Then some guy from Chicago gave a meandoring, long winded, and quite confusing introduction to the band, which only made us more happy to finally see Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova take the stage.

The duo started the show with a pair of songs from the 2007 film Once. “Falling From the Sky” opened the set with Glen and Marketa playing from their knees. This was followed by “Lies”, which Glen introduced by saying, “This is a song about a man who tells the truth about things that never happened.”

At this point, The Frames, joined the stage playing a collection of song from the new album Strict Joy along with a well placed Willie Nelson cover, “Blue Eyes.” “Low Rising”, the new single off the album, seemed to be a fan favorite. It’s the kind of song that feels like it should have been a hit in the 60’s.

Marketa stepped up to the mic for two songs, which she sang beautifully. However, the highlight of the show came directly afterwards when the rest of the band left the stage, leaving Glen to play four songs. Glen started busking on the streets of Dublin when he was 13 years old, and it’s easy to see that with all that seasoning, he certainly knows how to mesmorize a crowd. “Leave” and “Say It To Me Now”, which started the solo set, are two of my all time favorite songs. Plus, I think “Say It To Me Now” was written about my life. Call me conceited, but I think the evidence speaks for itself. The final song of the solo mini set was a cover of Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”. Can I swear in blogs? I don’t know the rules. Because, my reaction to this song involved a lot of “Holy _________ “ and “That was _______ ing unbelievable,” and I’ve seen him cover this before! My words cannot do it justice, so looking it up on youtube would probably be wise. Basically, Glen goes crazy with his loop pedals and creates a tsunami of sound that just rocks this song to it’s knees. Have you watched it yet? Yeah, it’s easy to see my man crush now isn’t it?

After everyone caught their collective breathes, the band rejoined Glen for a handful of songs. “When Your Mind’s Made Up” closed the regular set, and everyone sang along, even to the screaming part at the end. The encore included “Falling Slowly” an obvious crowd favorite, and a new, yet to be titled song, which sounds like it will come together into a very nice song. The night ended on a Frames song, “Red Chord”, that included seques into “Here Comes the Night” (Them) and “The Parting Glass” (The Clancy Brothers). Simply brilliant! Glen asked the crowd to sing “The Parting Glass” in honor of Liam Clancy, who is extremely ill back in Ireland. This left everyone singing “Goodnight and joy be with you all,” until eventually fading completely. A pretty stellar way to end the show.

So if you have the chance to see The Swell Season, I highly advice you to take that chance. They are an absolutely amazing band to see live, and I doubt you’ll regret it. As one concert goer proclaimed, "The Swell Season is the BEST season!" Agreed!

Were you at the show? Have your own Swell Season memories? Let us know!

Setlist
1. Falling From the Sky
2. Lies
3. Low Rising
4. Feeling the Pull
5. Blue Eyes (Willie Nelson Cover)
6. The Rain
7. The Moon
8. If You Want Me
9. Fantasy Man
10. Leave
11. Say It To Me Now
12. Back Broke
13. Astral Weeks (Van Morrison Cover)
14. Emer’s Dream (Colm solo)
15. People All Get Ready
16. The Verb
17. I Have Loved You Wrong
18. Once
19. When Your Mind’s Made Up
ENCORE:
20. Falling Slowly
21. New Song- Untitled
22. High Horses
23. Red Chord--> Here Comes the Night-->The Parting Glass

Current Jams

Here is a song I think you should be vibing to right now.
More on The Airborne Toxic Event soon.


Tell us what you think!
Love it? Hate it? Indifferent?

A New Music Blog

A new blog to help spread the word of bands we dig to you. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we get this thing off and running.