The Friday mix: more of my favorite female artists

I know more than one musician who admits he got into the business to meet chicks. More than 2, in fact. Sure, they like music and performing, but the #1 reason they started performing was to meet girls. So, why do women start performing? To meet guys? That hardly seems necessary. Most likely, they do it simply to play their music to people. I’ve read interviews with female musicians who say they can’t imagine doing anything else. I like that.

Continuing on with my multi-part series of my favorite female musicians, here are the letters K and L. If I recommend a video, make sure you follow the link. There is some great stuff from YouTube today.

1. k.d. lang – Love’s Great Ocean
   Lang used to do really goofy country music.  Thankfully, she left that behind to become more of a torch singer. Some artists do their best work when they’re sad and lonely. Lang writes the best songs when she’s in love.
2. Kami Lyle – Boys
   Honestly, this is the only Kami Lyle song I have, but I love this loungy song. It reminds me of Rickie Lee Jones.
   

   I suppose some of them DO get into music just to meet guys. Or chicks.

3. A Felicidade (Happiness)
   Karrin Allyson is a jazz singer and pianist from Omaha Nebraska. I’m not sure how she came to speak and sing in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish, but she does so brilliantly. The New York Times says she has, “a feline touch and impeccable intonation,” which is a really great description. I guess that’s why they earn the big bucks. This one is from her 2008 release “Imagina: Songs of Brazil.”
4. Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
   Bush is an odd and eclectic musician and producer and some of the stuff she does loses me entirely. However, some of it stands the test of time, like this 80s classic.
5. Kate Nash – Birds
   Nash hasn’t been on the music scene long. Her first album came out in 2007 and promptly went platinum in the UK. Her melodies are pleasing and her lyrics are incredibly honest, sometimes to the point where they sound a little odd, like this one. ‘Nicest Thing’  is a better song, but it’s so heartbreaking I didn’t want it to be the first song of hers you ever heard.
6. Kidneythieves – S&M (A Love Song)
   Free Dominguez leads this industrial rock band. I love women that truly rock and Dominguez is one of them. This song will put hair on your chest.
7. KT Tunstall – Black Horse & the Cherry Tree
   If you’ve heard one song from Tunstall, this is probably it. I am linking to this live version from Later…with Jools Holland because it was her breakout performance and it will knock you out. This is just one of her cool songs, by the way. For example, check out “Hold On.”
8. Laurie Anderson – From the Air
   Chicago beat poet and performance artist Laurie Anderson wins the distinction of being the weirdest performer in any of my Women mixes. This is just a clip of one song from the brilliant 1982 release “Big Science.” Go out and find a copy of this disc today. It’s funny, beautifully played, and still crazy hip. Fun fact: after many years together, she and Lou Reed got married in 2008.
9. Lauryn Hill – To Zion
   I already mentioned Lauryn Hill as part of the Fugees in a previous mix, but her solo album, “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” is worthy of a second mention. This song explains her much lamented departure from pop music, to some degree.
10. Lena Horne – Stormy Weather
    Harold Arlen didn’t write this song for Lena Horne, but he should have. Watch this video to see how lovely she was in 1943 and how wonderfully she sings this song.
11. Letters to Cleo – Here & Now
    OK, so I think this is a nostalgia piece for me because of where I was in my life when this was on the radio. It’s a cool song, but I don’t know anything else by them and the band broke up in 2000. Kay Hanley sings a good one here, though.
12. Lily Allen – Smile
    Love, love, love Lily Allen. She writes such great melodies and the lyrics are smart and funny. She seems very genuine, generally, and is a hilarious evil bitch in this great song.
13. Linda Lyndell – What a Man
    Here is another artist by whom I have only one song. This one is an insanely good old school soul song.
14. Lisa Mitchell – Neopolitan Dreams
    This song is Feist-esque in its simplicity and its appeal. I love the use of glockenspiel in the background. This is a strangely compelling video.
15. Liz Phair – Uncle Alvarez
    One of my all-time favorite female artists. I could have chosen anything at all off of “Exile in Guyville,” but instead went with this great song from “Whitechocolatespaceegg.” She lost a lot of fans by striving unashamedly for commercial success and money, but she is undeniably a talented songwriter and frankly, I like to get paid too.
16. Luscious Jackson – Deep Shag
    I mentioned LJ front woman Jill Cunniff last time, but this is the best work she ever did. This is from the 1994 release “Natural Ingredients.” This album has lots and lots of great music and was years ahead of its time. This is probably my favorite song off this release.

Enjoy with a trusty beer or something else social. Have a good weekend.

Ripping old school rock from Podunk

I owe a lot of my love of music to my brother, Gary. I am almost 3 years younger than him so growing up I listened to whatever he thought was cool. Early on, that was Kiss (hey, those first few albums were great). He turned me onto Queen (thanks, bro), Red Hot Chili Peppers (in 1987), and Lenny Kravitz (so I saw him touring on “Let Love Rule”). Gary taught me to sing harmony to ‘Nowhere Man’ by The Beatles when I was 9. When I was 10, my brother was given his first guitar from a stranger at my aunt’s church who said God told him to buy Gary a guitar. He went on to become a career musician and lives in Texas now.

Since he moved down there, our musical tastes have diverged somewhat. Gary has played in a wide variety of styles but being in Texas, one gets immersed country and southern rock. He likes that stuff a little more than I do. I love hip-hop. Gary not so much. Still, living near Austin, where every barista, carpenter, and cubicle denizen has a night job with a band, he hears all kinds of great music in many styles and still passes stuff along to me. Bob Schneider of Ugly Americans is one of my faves that Gary turned me onto. Soulhat, whom I have not yet written up but will, is another. Gary has a great natural ear that he has honed through years of performing, writing, and producing so when he sends me something, I slap on the headphones and check it out.

He'll be out in a minute.

For my birthday this year, Gary sent me “Podunk,” the 2002 release by Podunk. I had never heard of these guys before, though this is their 4^th album. I was a little scared, since I felt a band named Podunk from Texas has a high potential to suck. They are not what I was expecting. Podunk plays old school rock ‘n roll influenced by AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, King’s X, and Bad Company. The guitar work isn’t virtuoso, but totally solid. The bass and drums don’t break new ground, but lay down bedrock for the band. The songwriting is excellent and that’s more than half the battle right there. What really jumped off the disc at me was the vocals.

Lead singer/guitarist Jason Touchette has a flat out amazing voice. Incredible. I compared Podunk to Bad Company and Touchette is why. Throughout the disc, he constantly reminded me of Paul Rodgers. That is high praise indeed, because I think Rodgers has one of the best voices ever in rock ‘n roll. Touchette has great range, can sing sweetly and screech with equal facility, and throws vibrato at any note at will. He also picks interesting vocal lines to accompany the instruments.

I ripped these 5 tracks from the 11-track release.

• Creeper – Power chords and ripping riffs from the guitar are driven by the pounding percussion. Touchette wails this one with heart.
• Closer to Free – The verses are cool, but the big fat harmonies in the chorus are undeniably appealing.
• By Yourself – This is kind of a standard hard pop song, but the production manages to capture great energy in the studio and again, Touchette has some shining moments in this one.
• Damn Good Day – I am reminded of Screaming Trees by the guitar riff in this one. “Everything is beautiful. It’s a damn good day to die.” Hmm.
• Mockingbird – This track makes me think of Chris Cornell (probably THE best voice ever in rock ‘n roll) and features some of the best guitar work on this disc.

It is unclear to me whether the band is still active. This 2002 release was their last album. Their website, www.podunkrocks.com is defunct, but their MySpace page is active. The last login was in November, but I can’t find a new update. Anyway, they have 3 other releases I get to go back and dig up. Woo hoo.

Nearly ridiculous but somehow successful Austrian Metal from Siegfried

Oh, Bwunhiwde, you'we so wovewy...

Honestly, I’m not sure if these guys are serious or not. “Nibelung” by Siegfried is a metal opera based on the same Teutonic myth that inspired the third of Wagner’s four Ring Cycle operas. If they’re serious, sorry guys, this is kind of funny. If this is a Spinal Tap-esque parody, it’s the funniest take on this subject since Buggs and Elmer took a swing at it in ‘What’s Opera, Doc?’ I would probably know for sure if I spoke German. Either way, the project would fail if the metal wasn’t blistering. It is. Read about it on AltSounds: http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/113043-sigfried-nibelung-album.html

The Friday mix: No theme. Just good music.

When I’m riding around in my car and a song comes on my iPod that I particularly want to share, I tag it for later. So this week I don’t really have a theme other than this being a round-up of songs that I’ve tagged over the last few weeks. I hope you like.

Things I like.

1. You Make No Bones – Alfie
   Every time this song comes on, I think it’s Gomez for a minute. I like Gomez a lot, so I like this song. Great mix of harmonica and strings behind an appealing melody.
2. Spreadin’ Rhythm Around (Lady Bug vs. Lady Day RR Remix) – Billie Holiday
   Fantastic, fantastic song. In the first place, you’ve got Billie so you can hardly miss. The old instrumentation is still there, so you’ve got lots of wailing clarinet and muted trumpet. Then you add in updated percussion and Lady Bug (Digable Planets) alternating verses with Billie and it’s such a winner.
3. Arc of Time – Bright Eyes
   Kind of a cool contemplation of life, death, and what comes after. I like the funky, clap-laden percussion, the multi-octave vocals and the kind of deep lyrics.
4. Happiness – Built to Spill
   I really like Built to Spill. The juxtaposition of the slide guitar with his nasally alto verses is really cool
5. Dim the Lights – Ekolu
   I can only take so much Reggae in one sitting but the well placed Reggae tune is a thing of beauty, which is why I like to throw the occasional one into a mix. This has all the standard elements: keyboards on the upbeat, a little horns, a sweet melody. It makes me smile.
6. I Don’t Care – Fall Out Boy
   Not a whole lot of Fallout Boy really grabs me, but this is one of them. It’s a great stomping groove with cool background vocals thrown in and a really catchy guitar hook. I find a lot of their stuff kind of basic, but this is some advanced songwriting, in my opinion.
7. All Rise – Further Seems Forever
   This has kind of a grungy feel to it, but it doesn’t do so much of the minor chord thing. The verses are wispy and thoughtful but the chorus you don’t get to hear in this sample is big, sweeping, and melodic.
8. Thursday – The Futureheads
   Fat harmony vocals like this get me every time. The jangling guitars and simple percussion don’t bowl you over, but the lead and backing vocals and even the peculiar lyrics give this song appeal.
9. Do It for Free – G. Love & Special Sauce
   “Philadelphonic” was an atypical album for G. Love, but this is my favorite. Everyone has heard the Jack Johnson song ‘Rodeo Clowns’ off this album, but this one is a lesser-known but equally catchy Pop song from the same release.
10. Sirens – The Gabe Dixon Band
    Gabe has some busy fingers on his piano in this track. The melody of the verses is pretty, the chorus swells and ebbs, and the bridges feature some cool guitar work. Gabe is doing the heavy lifting keeping the groove going, so the guitar can sort of ooze around and set mood. They do a really nice job with it.
11. She Knows – Gnarls Barkley
    Charles Barkley is a prick. Gnarls Barkley, however, is a collaboration between one of my favorite producers, Danger Mouse (Brian Burton), and rapper Cee-Lo Green. This track is from “The Odd Couple” and it’s a quiet, pretty groove. Like all of their stuff, the production is worth listening to and the lyrics demand your attention.
12. Sweet Emotion – Mike Gordon & Leo Kottke
    This really is a great version of this song, though why Amazon picked this nondescript segment as their clip I don’t know. Mike Gordon (Phish) is an amazing bass player and if I could play a guitar like Leo Kottke I would never put it down.
13. Crosseyed Beautiful Youngunz – Love as Laughter
    Just a simple song with some clean electric guitar and gentle electric piano, but the melody is just beautiful.

I think that will do it for this week. Enjoy with an early Christmas Ale, which is something else I’ve enjoyed over the last few weeks. Have a good weekend.

The Friday mix: Spooky and cool music for Halloween

Halloween has been my favorite holiday since I was about 9. Maybe it’s because October is such a great month in NE Ohio. Maybe it’s the brazenly pagan nature of the holiday. Maybe I was just a macabre little kid. Anyway, this year I put together a mix of songs some of which are creepy, some of which just have Halloween themed titles, but all of which are cool. I hope you like them.

1. This Is Halloween – Marilyn Manson
   Manson’s version of this song is fantastic. They never made a video that I know of, but here it is synchronized with the original footage from Nightmare Before Christmas.
2. Black Feather Wings – Bourbon Princess
   I first heard this song on the Respond benefit compilation CD. It’s a bass-heavy, oozy song with a cool lyrics and a great feel.
3. Scarecrow – Beck
   “Guero” was a great album, but then, Beck hasn’t put out a bad album that I’ve heard. Typical funky Beck groove, lots of effects, great vocal melody, and engaging lyrics.
4. New Killer Star – David Bowie
   Bowie continues to put out cutting edge music year after year. He has never lost his ability to write catchy melodies and has reinvented himself more times and more successfully than Madonna. I like this song and it is nearly impossible to look away from this video.
5. Vampires and Failures – Grandpaboy
   The solid Pop guitar riff, dark lyrics, and vocal delivery give this track kind of a vintage Rolling Stones feel. I found this on “Not the Same Old Blues Crap: Vol 3,” and indeed it is not.
6. Pretty Girls Make Graves – Dada
   Not The Smiths’ version. This one is an entirely different song and it’s much cooler. The Amazon sample only has the quiet intro, but about 10 seconds after this clip ends, the guitars kick in and it turns into a rocker.
7. See You Dead – Helmet
   True Halloween fare here. “I’d like to see you in two pieces. You won’t be walking. Barely breathing.” It’s actually a love song, believe it or not. A stalker love song. Ah, Halloween, when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of decapitation.
8. Necromancer – Gnarls Barkey
   If you thought “See You Dead” was creepy, wait ‘til you get a load of this one. What could be better than a little “naughty necrophilia?” The lyrics to this are truly disturbing.
9. Little Death – +44
   

   I sent this mix to my brother on CD with this cover art and the title "The Horror."

   I’m not actually a big fan of a lot of +44, but this song reached me. I like the quiet acoustic groove at the beginning with the verses sung in two octaves and then the slamming chorus. This track is well produced too. In particular pay attention to what they do with the percussion. It even has good lyrics.

10. Invisible Man – Joe Jackson
    Joe Jackson has put out over 20 albums since “Look Sharp” came out in 1979. I came upon this one and was stunned to find several really good tracks on it, including this one. I say stunned not because I thought he would suck, but just because he hasn’t had a Billboard hit in the U.S. since 1984. I hear this and I’m not sure why not.
11. Grey Ghost – Mike Doughty
    When Doughty was with Soul Coughing, they were the coolest band in the land, in my opinion. Since then he has largely left that sound behind and does the singer/songwriter thing these days. That said, he’s still a talented songwriter and this is a cool acoustic song.
12. Devil’s Pie – D’Angelo
    A little D’Angelo goes a long way for me, but this is one of my favorite songs of his (Spanish Joint is better). A funky groove, almost eerie keyboards, and deep lyrics. Good stuff.
13. War Pigs – Cake
    They screw up some of the lyrics, but I still love this version. Every time this song comes on my iPod, people are intrigued and want to know who it is.
14. House of 1000 Corpses – Rob Zombie
    More good Halloween fare. The movie was a bit ham fisted, but I suppose it was exactly what it set out to be. This song, on the other hand, is great. The guitar hook is inescapable and Rob Zombie’s gravelly vocal delivery works really well. Shrieking background vocals and some movie sound bytes add some nice texture.
15. She Said – Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
    This song is about becoming a werewolf. I love the song, but I’m not sure what the hell is going on in this video.
16. (Antichrist Television Blues) – The Arcade Fire
    These guys have listened to a lot of Bruce Springsteen. I’m just saying. Nothing new here, but I still like the song. Plus it has “antichrist” in the title, so into my Halloween mix it goes.
17. Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives – Mel Torme
    I can’t believe this entire song isn’t on YouTube (except for a dreadful version of some woman dressed as a witch singing it karaoke style [shudder]). This is from Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters and is one more reason Mel Torme is one of the coolest singers ever.

Enjoy with a Bloody Mary and have a great Halloween, everyone!

Complex, musical Metal from Mastodon

I have a lot of friends who are into Metal and have been for years and years. I was a little late to that game. I really only started to appreciate Metal a few years ago. Now my Metal mix is perhaps the fastest growing category in my collection. I have a good friend who is always talking up Mastodon. Mastodon formed in Atlanta, GA in 1999 and have been on a steadily upward trajectory since then. In 2007, they were nominated for a Grammy (Best Metal Performance) and their last release entered the Billboard 200 at #11.

"Dude, what's heavier than an elephant?"

I think I caught a few minutes of their show at Bonnaroo 2008, but I didn’t get to hear much. The first half of their show was up against Ozomatli and there were other competing bands as always. I enjoyed the bit that I saw then and I’ve always kind of liked what I hear in my friends’ cars when I catch any Mastodon.

I stumbled upon Mastodon’s last release, “Crack the Skye,” a few days ago and I’m pleasantly surprised. This stuff is more complex and melodic than I was expecting from what I’ve heard in the past. Maybe I wasn’t playing close enough attention. The musicianship is accomplished and the songwriting is good. Vocals are throaty and heavy most of the time, but they can throw out smooth harmony vocals at need. The release is only 7 songs long but I liked 4 of them.

• Oblivion – Mastodon sounds like a cross between Alice in Chains and Tool on this track. It’s almost 6 minutes long with sections of moaned vocals, crunching power chords, and Prog Rock solos.
• Quintessence – Most of this track is built around a twisted minor chord riff, but there are moments of melodic harmony vocals and a hard-driving chorus. It all builds to a powerful finish. This is my favorite track on this release.
• Ghost Of Karelia – They give us a bit of Math Rock on this one with the hard to count verses and then the pounding 4/4 chorus. It’s a head banger.
• Crack the Skye – When this song started, I thought it was going to be a throw away track.  Then after about a minute it got going and I changed my mind about it. The main riff during the verses is a minor key arpeggio, but the bridge features growling vocals and heavy guitars before the chorus just crushes the sun.

There are a couple tracks on this album that are positively epic. One is ‘The Czar: I. Usurper II. Escape III. Martyr IV. Spiral.’ It earns that name, coming in at nearly 11 minutes. Parts of it are brilliant, but enough of it misses me that I didn’t want to have this saga pop up on my iPod. The other is ‘The Last Baron,’ which clocks in at fully 13 minutes long (this YouTube clip is just 6 minutes worth). I guess I feel the same way about this one. The song has several movements and parts of it are compelling, but if this thing comes up on your iPod, boy you are along for a long ride. Fans of the band — or of long, heavy tracks you won’t hear on the radio — will like them.

I have not been able to decipher all the lyrics, but apparently this is a concept album about a quadriplegic who learns astral projection, is burned by the sun, meets Rasputin… I guess I need to bust out my headphones.

http://www.mastodonrocks.com/

The Friday mix: more Heavy Metal and Hard Rock

It rained all day today without a break so I was inside doing home improvement. I had the hard rock mix on to keep me motivated. It’s cold enough outside that the windows are shut, so I can turn it up to 11 without the neighbors banging on my door or calling the cops. It’s been a while since I’ve posted a Hard Rock/Metal mix, so I figured I’d share these.

"Hey, that's a lot of metal."

1. Chevelle – Humaoid
   I thought this was a good way to kick off the mix. A little guitars-only lead in before the drums smack you down. This video was mixed by a fan from other footage of the band. I think he did a pretty good job.
2. Audioslave – Out of Exile
   I know I’m not introducing anyone to Audioslave, but this song is insane. It sucks that they broke up. They really had it going on.
3. Bigdumbface – Burgalveist
   I usually find Cookie Monster vocals silly, but for some reason this one really works for me. I think they applied some effects to slow his voice down and make it even more guttural. Another good one from these guys is ‘Fightin’ Stance.’
4. Black Mountain – Stormy High
   The punching guitar and wailing harmonies in this song are cool. I was tickled to find this song on YouTube with this unbelievable footage of a handful of maniacs boarding down a snowy mountain.
5. Brand New Sin – Wyoming
   These guys are Southern Rock meets Metal. This is the only song I have on my iPod by Brand New Sin. I seem to remember the rest of this disc didn’t do a lot for me, but this song kills. I don’t know who the drunks are in this homemade video.
6. Brother Cane – Machete
   These guys sound an awful lot like Soundgarden. Of course, since Soundgarden isn’t around anymore, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sadly, this song isn’t on YouTube, but you can listen to the sample on Amazon. Track 4.
7. The Buzzhorn – To Live Again
   These guys have broken up and gone on to other projects. That’s kind of too bad, because they got a lot of great press when they hit the scene but never quite punched through. Singer Damon Johnson has an ear for cool harmonies and a great hard rock voice, which is why I find it so utterly perplexing that he is now with the Country band, Whiskey Falls.
8. Clutch – Power Player
   I said before you can’t make a metal mix without Clutch. That’s the law. Just keeping out of trouble.
9. Coinmonster – Low Profile Car
   Surprisingly, Amazon did a nice job with this sample. They catch the dirty, bass-heavy verse and the transition to the growling chorus. Love these guys.
10. Deftones – Bloody Cape
    These guys have been at it since the mid-90s. This one is from their eponymous 2003 release. I don’t know how the strings don’t break, he’s playing them so hard.
11. Distrubed – Stupify
    Again, I know I’m probably not turning anyone onto this song, but it get my head banging every time so I’m adding it. I like the Hellgate video they put together for this song as well.
12. Every Time I Die – Rendez-Voodoo
    Singer Keith Buckley can sing slick harmonies when he wants to, but usually he wants to sound like this throat is bleeding. The band is tight. The lyrics are clever. I think guys like this are the future of Metal.
13. Far – What I’ve Wanted to Say
    This chord progression is so heavy you don’t expect the vocals to come in gently like some college radio band. He gets his wail on before it’s over, though.
14. Baroness – Grad
    I wrote up Baroness a few months ago. This song, like much of their music, is beautiful as outer space and heavy as Hell. This is a towering, patient instrumental piece and it felt like a good way to close a mix.

Enjoy with some really cheap tequila, or something else that will piss you off. Have a great weekend.

The Friday mix: Can’t get enough women

For the Friday mix this week I’m returning to my exploration of some great female artists I have found. The first week I got a meaty mix out of just the letters A and B. Volume 2 required only C and D. This week I was able to get a baker’s dozen from E and F. It’s a good crop this week too. I hope you like it.

Yeah! Play that... whatever the hell that is!

1. Edie Brickell – Oo La La
   Guess what song you find 50 versions of if you search for Edie Brickell on YouTube. Well, Edie has done a lot since ‘What I Am’ (including marry Paul Simon). This cool track is from her 2003 release, “Volcano.”
2. Elaine Summers – The Real Low Down
   Summers got her start backing up Pete Droge, and they still collaborate today. She has kind of a Sheryl Crow meets Shelby Lynne folk-rock thing going on. I love the lyrics on this song. “You thought that you were truly rare, but there’s a lot of folks like you out there and I’ll be damned if I didn’t meet another one today. The real low down.”
3. Eliza Gilkyson – Twisted
   This song is heavy. It’s oozy sound and honest lyrics are typical of Gilkyson, whose father and brother are famous musicians too. She plays cross-over Country and is an amazing songwriter. Here she is doing this song live.
4. Ella Fitzgerald – Body and Soul
   I could have picked almost any song at random from Ella. I’ve got over 30 of her songs on my iPod. The liquid sheen of her voice, the flexibility to move from jumping joy to melancholy hopefulness, and her amazing improvisation and phrasing abilities made her perhaps the best female vocalist ever. If you don’t have a bunch of Ella, do yourself a favor and go purchase the first disc you come across. She could literally do no wrong.
5. Erykah Badu – Other Side of the Game
   Badu is my favorite R&B artist right now. I saw her at Bonnaroo this year. She was really, really weird and incredibly talented. It was a riveting show. This track is about the anxiety she feels because a guy she’s madly in love with deals drugs for a living. Check out ‘Soldier’ too. Another great song.
6. Esthero – We R in Need of a Musical Revolution
   If you’ve heard anything from Eshtero, there’s a good chance this is it. I would call it radio-friendly, except the whole song is about how she’s “sick and tired of all the shit on the radio.” This is the title track to an album you should add to your collection if it isn’t there already.
7. Etta James – At Last
   My understanding is that James was pissed that Beyonce was asked to perform this instead of her at Obama’s inaugural ball. I was too. Her long, brilliant work in Blues and Soul earned her that spot. Not to mention her improvised version of this Gordon/Warren song is the one we all know – the one, in fact, Beyonce was imitating.
8. Evanescence – All that I’m Living For
   Amy Lee has a great voice and I love it when they do the metal thing. When they do the quiet ballads, not so much. This is a cool song and again, probably the one you’ve heard if you only know one song by these guys.
9. Everything But the Girl – Troubled Mind
   Tracey Thorn gets around. By which I mean she collaborates with a lot of other artists. I’m always happy when she lends her voice to a song. EBTG is her own project with her husband, Ben Watt.
10. Feist – Mushaboom
    In spite of its having been used in perfume and mattress commercials, covered and remixed multiple times, and put on movie soundtracks, I am not tired of this pretty song about a simple life in the little Nova Scotia town of Mushaboom. Feist has a remarkable ability to write little irresistible ditties like this one, God love her.
11. The Fiery Furnaces – Worry Worry
    I wrote this album up some months ago. One of the highest compliments I can pay these guys is they don’t sound like anything else on my iPod. Maybe PJ Harvey meets Gogol Bordello? I don’t know, but lead singer Eleanor Friedberger is amazingly creative and they are fearless in creating grooves.
12. Fiona Apple – Paper Bag
    I have to confess I thought Fiona Apple was going to be an enormous, enduring star. She’s still at it, but after her debut, ‘Tidal,’ went triple platinum, ‘When the Pawn…’ went platinum, and ‘Extraordinary Machine’ only went gold (which is still 1 million copies). She is a great songwriter and I hope she can put together another record that resonates with more people. I never stopped liking her. This track from ‘When the Pawn…’ got picked by Zach Braff to be on the Last Kiss soundtrack.
13. The Fugees – Fu-Gee-La
    I absolutely respect Hill’s decision to quit the music industry. That business has exploited, chewed up, or killed countless talented folks. I respect the decision, but I don’t like it. She was the complete package:  great voice, songwriting talent, beautiful… Her departure is all our loss. This is my favorite performance specifically from Hill from The Fugees seminal album, ‘The Score.’ What a great rap.

Enjoy with a wine cooler. You know. Cuz girls drink wine coolers.

Edgy Punk / Metal from Without Thought

It’s not good all the way through, but some of it is really strong. Check the review on Altsounds: http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/111657-without-thought-get-down-and-give-me-infinity-album.html

Good new music from Alice in Chains

‘Black Gives Way to Blue‘ is the new release from Alice in Chains. It is their first release in 14 years and the first since the tragic death of Layne Staley, one of the two creative forces behind AIC. It’s always tough for bands to continue after the death of a key member. Led Zeppelin gave it up immediately. Blind Melon tried for years to replace Shannon Hoon and put out a weak and watery release. In AIC’s case, Staley wasn’t their only songwriter. Jerry Cantrell was a powerful creative force himself, so it could go either way.

Layneless in Chains: Not as good as I hoped. Better than I feared.

I have been through the entire album several times now and my feeling is… it’s good. Some of it is very good. Some if it is weak, but then I never liked every single track on any old AIC release either. I would say that it hits about what you would expect if you thought about if for a minute without hearing any of it. The songs are good, but they all come from one musical voice. The genius you often get from cross-fertilization of competing ideas is gone. There is one vision behind the songs and although that vision is still strong, it lacks the full depth and color of old AIC.

Still, it’s a good release and if you’re an AIC fan, not picking this up would be a mistake. Check out these songs at least.

• All Secrets Known – The AIC you know and love. Fuzzy guitar drops triplets while Jerry Cantrell moans dark lyrics with his distinctive voice. This would be right at home on any old AIC album.
• Check My Brain – The way they bend the guitar is certainly an unusual sound and a new thing for them but it comes on maybe a little too strong. The chorus, however, has top of the charts written all over it. It’s an incongruous song that I’ve heard 4 times now and the jury is still out on it. I think I like it, though.
• A Looking In View – This seven minutes of hammering drums and grinding guitar with a great vocal melody and crushing chorus.
• When the Sun Rose Again – A mellower song, like you might have found on Jar of Flies with AIC’s signature harmony vocals. However, both lines are sung by Cantrell, so they lack a little of the texture you would have gotten when Staley was alive.
• Lesson Learned – The first time I heard this, I thought it was filler, but after a few listens, it’s growing on me a lot. The guitars never stop filling space and the lyrics are cool. It rocks.

There are a few tracks to stay away from.

• Last of My Kind – An uninspired guitar line and a somewhat unappealing vocal melody. Cantrell sings it in earnest, but it just doesn’t work.
• Your Decision – A forgettable song with a familiar acoustic line.
• Acid Bubble – This is a song of two faces. The main part of the song is plodding and little dull, but when they kick it into high gear it kicks ass. I wish there was a way to get just the hard, heavy part.
• Black Gives Way to Blue – Sadly, I’m sure this came straight from the heart, but it’s just cheesy. It’s about approaching middle age in his youth-centric business and it’s honest, but not fresh.

I loved old AIC and I’m glad they didn’t hang it up. These songs prove that the band still has something to say musically and fans will definitely enjoy it.