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.

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.

Challenging but appealing Psychedelic Pop from Animal Collective

Animal Collective is a band out of Baltimore, MD that consists of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin (Josh Dibb), and Geologist (Brian Weitz). Their music is not for the faint of heart. They play way, way outside and although the songs are often beautiful, they can be very challenging. Their music typically features keyboards that are often the most disciplined instrument, atmospheric guitars and other affects, and meandering vocals that frequently wander up into falsetto. These are not Pop songs. Well, maybe they are Psychedelic Pop songs. The Wikipedia article on Psychedelic Pop includes them along with accessible, mainstream acts like The Shins, MGMT, and The Polyphonic Spree. Animal Collective isn’t really cut from the same cloth, though.

"Strawberry Jam" from Animal Collective is even better than it looks.

So after all those caveats and warnings, let me say I really like Animal Collective. I don’t like every song I’ve heard, but I really enjoy a lot of what they’ve done. For all its weirdness, their music is usually melodic and appealing. The guys are talented on their instruments and play them fearlessly. It’s a potent combination that has led to some very interesting sounds over the years. Today, I’m going to recommend a few tracks from a couple of late releases. They have put out 8 releases to date, though not always with the same lineup. A CD credited to Animal Collective might feature any or all of their members so there is a lot of variability in the music.

First, a couple tracks from “Feels,” released in October of 2005.

• Did You See the Words – This track is unorthodox, but still pretty accessible. Piano, drums, and guitars are used for traditional purposes. The melody is also catchy, if a bit strange. I suppose, though, that the strangeness is a lot of the appeal to me. It doesn’t sound like anything else I own, but it rocks out a bit before dissolving to a finish.
• Bees – The singer meanders through this ethereal tune, backed by noodling piano and what I think must be autoharp. The song never really goes anywhere, but it’s a beautiful composition.

These three are from their 2007 release, “Strawberry Jam.” If you thought ‘Bees’ was weird, have a seat.

• Derek – I am reminded of some joyful African folk song, though after the first half of the song, more instruments kick in. The melody remains the same, but the song sounds bigger. As for this video, live footage, studio audio.
• Cuckoo Cuckoo – The feel of this track is dreamy, but I’m not altogether sure it’s a good dream. I couldn’t assign a time signature to this song, though I suppose it can be counted in 4/4. Moments of quiet piano are punctuated by spikes of punching, chaotic percussion and wailing and warbling vocals. I can’t explain why I like this song.
• #1 – A descending keyboard arpeggio is the basis of this song, behind which an incomprehensible poem is chanted with accompanying singing voices and clicking percussion. This song is entirely experimental but it reaches me. What can I say? I have listened to a lot of cutting edge New Age music for a long time and this closer to that than any Pop music.

Apparently, Animal Collective is working on a new album that will be released in conjunction with a film. The film is to feature abstract visuals and some live action footage to accompany their music, which the band claims is some of the most experimental stuff they’ve ever done. The film has been submitted to the Sundance Festival and they would like to see it shown in movie theaters before it is eventually released on DVD. If that happens, I may invest in some LSD futures, because I have a hunch psychedelic drug sales would spike.

The Friday mix: More of my favorite female artists

Today I’m going to continue making my way through some of my favorite female performers. I pulled 16 songs from the letters G through J in my iPod so I got artists both popular and obscure. I hope you like them.

1. Goodness – Electricity, Electricity
   I don’t actually know anything about Goodness nor do I have any other song by them. However, they contributed this winner to the “Schoolhouse Rock Rocks!” album. It’s an energetic (no pun intended) cover of the great cartoon song. Her delivery of the “Electricity Eeeeelectricity” lyric has this great liquid sheen that I love and since she sings it in every measure of the song, I love the song.
2. Helium – The Revolution of Hearts
   They were never a huge band, but there is an interesting story attached to their front woman Mary Lou Lord, if Wikipedia is to be believed. For my part, I just like their songwriting. Towering and complex guitar parts paired nicely with simple and pretty vocal lines.
3. Holly Golightly & The Greenhornes – There Is an End
   Holly Golightly pops up in some unexpected places. In addition to her own voluminous solo career, she has collaborated with acts like Rocket from the Crypt and The White Stripes. This is a collaboration with The Greenhornes that wound up on the Broken Flowers Soundtrack.
   

   Something about that is just sexy as hell. Don't stop playing those instruments, ladies.

4. Hope Sandoval & Warm Inventions – On the Low
   Of course, I loved Hope Sandoval’s work with Mazzy Star, but this is a song you may not have heard by her. In addition to being drop dead gorgeous, she has great patient melodic sense and a smooth, smoky voice.
5. Inara George – No Poem
   OK. So this is cheating. I already wrote up Inara George as part of The Bird and Bee. But in addition to her work with them (with whom she still works), she has released some solo work. I really like this sweet, twisted love song. The gist is he is no poem when he opens his mouth, so she tells him, “If I were you I wouldn’t talk. I’d just keep on dancing.”
6. Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am
   I couldn’t decide between this song and ‘Die Alone.’ Ultimately, I picked this one because my daughter loves it. The simplicity of this song reminds me of Feist but it’s funnier than Feist.
7. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – Saturday’s Gone
   Cellist and singer Isobel Campbell used to be a member of Belle & Sebastian. I’ve got to say I’m glad because I like her solo stuff better than I like B&S and on this one she gets to work with Scream Trees founder Mark Lanegan. This is a pretty, dreamy song like you might expect from someone hip deep in the Indie scene but maybe not from someone with roots in the grunge scene.
8. Janis Joplin – One Good Man
   The one and only. I always really liked this one, perhaps because she was able to convey so much emotion with her voice. It was made for the Blues.
9. Jefferson Airplane – Volunteers
   Grace Slick is one-of-a-kind. Radio murdered most of their songs for me. This one never got as much airplay. The whole intergenerational tension thing seems silly to me now – perhaps because I wasn’t there – but the song rocks, make no mistake.
10. Jem – They
    Jem has a few songs I really like, but again I had to go with this one because it is one of my daughter’s favorite songs ever. It is quite possibly the best updating of a Bach song ever (Prelude in F from The Well Tempered Clavier).
11. Jesca Hoop – Summertime
    Born to strict Mormon parents, Jesca Hoop ran off to be a homesteader in the wilds of Northern California before becoming a nanny for Tom Waits’ kids. He describes her music as “going swimming in a lake at night.” This song makes me smile every single time I hear it.
12. Jill Cunniff – NYC Boy
    I love Jill Cunniff most for her brilliant worth with Luscious Jackson, whom I will be writing up next time. Since their breakup, though, she has done some solo work, which I also like. This is poppier than the LJ stuff of the past, but it’s still good.
13. Jill Scott – It’s Love
    I suppose I need to listen to more Jill Scott. This was the only song on “Who Is Jill Scott?” that I really liked, but what an unbelievable song. I also really like her collaboration with Lupe Fiasco, ‘Daydreamin’.’ I should check out the rest of her catalog.
14. Joan Osborne – Right Hand Man
    Joan Osborne is an amazing talent. I was always rooting for her to become huge. She has collaborated with everyone from The Dead to Michael Franti to The Funk Brothers. I’ve seen her perform on a few occasions and she has such a great voice and exudes such a powerful sexual energy. She is absolutely riveting. This song was from the same album as the unfortunate ‘One of Us’ but this song has sprit and soul and electricity.
15. Jonatha Brooke – How Deep Is Your Love?
    I’ve been a fan of Jonatha Brooke since her early days with The Story. Ms. Brooke is a fabulous songwriter. This song comes from my favorite record of hers, Steady Pull. Also check out the title track, a collaboration with the aforementioned Michael Franti.
16. Julie Dexter – Ketch a Vibe
    I don’t know who selected this clip, but it’s from the intro. Once this song gets going, it’s huge and energetic. You can get a sense of it from this live performance, but the sound sucks.

That’s it for this week. Enjoy with a bottle of some really good wine, because she’s worth it.

Middle East meets West Coast in an emotional blend from Ariana Delawari

To add another layer of effed up, it was released on David Lynch's label.

Interesting stuff. She recorded portions of this album with armed guards outside her family home in Afghanistan. The politically charged tension led to some tense and heartfelt music. Read the full review at Altsounds: http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/112289-ariana-delawari-the-lion-of-panjshir-album.html

Rich and catchy Folk Rock from Blitzen Trapper

Kind of Wilco meets Grant Lee Buffallo. Dig it.

Two thumbs up for this one. Rolling Stone listed their last release among the best of 2008, but I missed them somehow. Their new EP is smooth, well-written, and well-produced. Read all about it on AltSounds: http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/112042-blitzen-trapper-black-river-killer-ep.html

They edited my text and introduced some errors again. I think I’m gonna have to say something.

Challenging but appealing experimental music from Anata Wa Sukkari Tsukarete

‘Sweetness and Light is an experimental EP from Anata Wa Sukkari Tsukarete (Japanese for “You are completely tired”), a multi-national trio comprised of artists Gnomefoam, Bunny, and _. From the opening moments of the first track, “Forsake,” you know it is going to challenge your ear. A synthetic voice (a la Stephen Hawking) and cricket noises greet you before the song is taken over by heavily echoing noises and arrhythmic percussion. “Forsake” never gets easier, remaining mostly noise and atmosphere.

You are completely tired.

The second track, “Cataract” is a bit more musical, with keyboards and vocals picking out a meandering melody while scratching percussion and buzzing guitar keep things from getting too grounded.

‘Sweetness and Light’ is like this throughout. Anata Wa Sukkari Tsukarete are uninterested in traditional music forms, beyond how they can use and distort them to serve entirely new purposes. They compose pretty melodies to use as backdrops to atonal sounds and use traditional instruments mainly to twist their voices to new purposes. The effect can be haunting and even beautiful, but don’t expect to put this disc on with a roomful of friends and have everyone enjoy it – unless you and your friends are under the influence of some heavy psychedelics.

The first movement of the third track, “Bearskins,” features recited poetry and some demented keyboard work until it gives way to a more traditional New Age sounding synthesized song. It still shifts rapidly between musical sounds and effects until the third movement, which is a dreamier and even more melodic – beautiful, actually – than the rest of the song. This 8 ½ minute song is my favorite on ‘Sweetness and Light.’

The fourth track, “Sweetness and Light” is mostly solemn piano and distorted vocals. The melody is pretty and the vocals give way to effects as the song progresses, adding color and depth to the track. The lyrics that I could understand were dark, but it was still a pleasant and pretty song.

The closing track, “My Drive” uses an out-of-tune piano to start us out on a jarring, atonal note. Whispered, distorted vocals are sometimes accompanied by and sometimes obscured by synthesized effects. It definitely sets a mood, but the track is slow and not much happens, making it probably my least favorite.

It took a couple times through before I began to get this disc more. I have said before that the #1 thing I ask of musicians when listening to their music is don’t bore me. There were a few times on ‘Sweetness and Light’ that Anata Wa Sukkari Tsukarete lost me, but even then I was never bored. I did enjoy most of this disc and if you find yourself bored with the traditional music forms of Rock, Pop, and even Jazz, this disc will expose you to some new ideas that might even make their way back into popular music.

I was able to get this entire release here free yesterday. I found a link to this download while I was looking for a track listing (the copy I got to review for AltSounds wasn’t factory and had no track listings). I don’t know if the free download is supposed to be here or not. I figure if you hear it and like it, you may go purchase some of their other music so have at it.

http://www.myspace.com/awsts

The Friday mix: Women are back

So a couple of weeks ago I decided to pull together a collection of my favorite female musicians. I only got as far as the letter B before I had enough for a mix, so I decided to continue it later. Today is later. I only needed two more letters today. I have made no effort at sequencing this because it ranges around too much to be a cohesive mix. Still, I hope you give them a listen, particularly if you’ve never heard of one before.

It's a beautiful thing.

1. Camille – Au Port
   Camille is a French artist who uses lots of organic percussion (handclaps, mouth noises, etc.) and minimal instrumentation and writes pretty melodies. Watch her perform this version live. Fantastic. Weird, but fantastic.
2. The Cardigans – It’s War
   You may remember “Erase/Rewind” or “Lovefool” from The Cardigans, fronted by Nina Persson. This is a little lesser known track that was on the ‘Life Less Ordinary’ soundtrack.
3. Cassandra Wilson – I Want More
   Wilson is a wonderful Jazz singer who does great reinterpretations of cool songs and sometimes writes her own, like this one. I love the fast-walking bass line and busy percussion in this track.
4. Cat Power – Ramblin’ (Wo)man
   Chan Marshall is often backed by Hammond organ and plodding percussion. Here they add some wailing guitar for mood. This is my favorite Cat Power song. Marshall sings this song like a cross between Grace Slick and Janis Joplin. Really. My wife wanted me to pick Love & Communication. It’s a toss up for me. Hers is more upbeat, mine has more soul. Feel free to comment on who picked the better song.
5. Cibo Matto – Spoon
   The band was fronted by two Japanese women, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, though John Lennon’s son Sean actually played bass for them. ‘Stereotype A’ was a fantastic album and this is a solid Pop song from it.
6. Cocteau Twins – Pepper Tree
   They were never huge in the U.S., but you could hear singer Elizabeth Fraser on the college stations throughout the 90’s. This was never one of their hits. It’s a more obscure track from ‘The BBC Sessions’ but I really like it.
7. The Cranberries – Sunday
   I liked the Cranberries’ first album so much I picked up all four of their other albums hoping I would like them too. They never reached me again like they did on that first album. “Zombie” was the big hit, but I like this one too. If you listen, make sure you get at least a minute in, past the mellow strings intro.
8. D’Nell – That’s How I Know
   D’Nell is actually producer Dan Jones and singer Ellie Hajee and thus far they have only released 1 album. That was in 2005 so I don’t know if they’re coming back. I really like Hajee’s vocal performance fronting the cool, oozy R&B groove.
9. The Dead Weather – Treat Me Like Your Mother
   The Dead Weather is a supergroup co-fronted by Jack White (White Stripes) and Alison Mosshart (The Kills). I didn’t originally rip this track, but it has grown on me a lot. Effed up video, too.
10. Diana Krall – Devil May Care
    She has a great, smoky voice, mathematically precise fingers on the keyboard, and great Jazz sensibilities. Oh, and she’s beautiful. Here she is doing this song live. Watch her fingers.
11. Digable Planets – Black Ego
    Ladybug Mecca (born Mary Ann Vieiro) was the female third of this trio – or quartet, if you count their DJ, Silkworm (a.k.a. King Britt) – and I love her voice and her flow. This track is off their second release, ‘Blowout Comb.’
12. Dionne Farris – Passion
    At some point I know I wrote about Dionne Farris, but I can’t find when I did it. She did some session work with Arrested Development before releasing this album, ‘Wild Seed Wild Flower.’ I always thought she would go all the way, but she never quite broke through. Listen to this song and see if you can figure out why it didn’t go to #1. I can’t.
13. The Dresden Dolls – Mrs. O
    The inimitable Dresden Dolls describe themselves as “Brechtian punk cabaret.” OK. Works as well as any descriptor I could give them. They get pretty weird and their stuff isn’t for everyone. This is a cool song, though.

Enjoy with a few glasses of champagne. Because I want to get you drunk.

A couple independently produced discs: Indie and Goth

RazorBladeKisses. Oh yes. They absolutely mean it.

Got some free music and reviewed it for AltSounds. The Indie stuff from The Ventura Project was kind of meh, the full-on Goth from RazorBladeKisses surprised me, in that I liked it. Check them out here: http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/110839-the-ventura-project-heroes-single.html and here: http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/110849-razorbladekisses-ballerina-ep.html

Experimental and melodic genius from late 16 year-old phenom Yonlu

I have to confess this is probably the most difficult review I have ever written. The music is challenging and artist’s story adds a layer of complexity. This was a disc AltSounds shipped me so the review is posted there. Check out the review and definitely check out the album: http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/110584-yonlu-a-society-in-which-no-tears-are-shed-is-inconceivably-mediocre-album.html