Feist released Reminder back in May and it still popular.  She released her latest single “Feel It All” from the album earlier this week.  Not only is it a good album, but the videos for the songs off it are great.  All are done with director Patrick Daughters and also done in single shots.  You probably have seen a portion of the video for 1,2,3,4 on the Ipod mini commercials.  Even when she was on the late night shows she tried to do some cool things.  Here is the video plus some other ones that I found after the jump. (more…)
When Neil introduced me to Matt Costa, it reminded me of a poor man’s Jack Johnson (who I like, but I can really only take so much of that hippy ex-surfer rock at a time). He actually was a skateboarder that shattered his leg and started developing is music during rehabilitation. He was eventually signed by Jack Johnnson’s Brushfire records. He has a new cd called “Unfamiliar Faces” that I haven’t listened to yet, but have become enamored with the single “Mr. Pitiful.” Catchy piano that somehow reminds me of a Beatle’s song. Listen to some more at Hype Machine or click on the more button to see the video. (more…)
Always looking for something different to listen to while at work, I have been listening to a lot of the NPR on Itunes. Neil pointed me to it because he subscribes Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me and This American Life with his Ipod. I know its public radio, but I was still surprised that it is free online.
Anyways, I was listening to one of the shows called All Songs Considered because they had an interview with Mark Ronson, a man who seems to have his hand in everything that I have been listening to right now. He has produced Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse. I also just found out that his label, Allido Records, has chicago rapper Rhymefest on it.
Its a decent interview, but I enjoyed was the music that they played. Highlights include his current cd with a cover of the Kaiser Chief’s “Oh My God” and cover of the Zuton’s “Valerie.” Ronson did a great remix of Bob Dylan’s “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine).” He also talked about a rapper from Washington DC named WALE that has a pretty catchy song called “W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.” using the Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” as a sample.
Get yourself some Ronson tunes at HypeMachine.
If you search, you could probably find the Bob Dylan song there along with the Wale song.
 I have been enjoying how the Stax and Motown sound has been getting a revival lately. The poster girl of this revival, Amy Winehouse, has been a let down. Back to Black was great album, but since then she has been a zombie on stage and a nut-job in the news. Anyone who says that she was great at Lollapalooza is a liar. So who do you turn to? Why not the band that backed her up on Back to Black, the Dap Kings. Like the Booker T. And the MGs for Stax Records, they are the house band for Dap Records. Sharon Jones has a phenomenal voice too. Its tough to be cool when one of your members has a unibrow, but they pull it off. Check out their myspace or hypemachine for a listen.
I, like everyone, enjoy Bob Marley.  But even Bob Marley can get old after a while.  MyOldKentuckyBlog has a post about another reggae band that I heard of, but can’t remember actually hearing.  Toots and the Maytals is a credited with coining the term “reggae”.  Their sound seems to make the connection from 50s and 60s music to more popular Jamaican music that everyone is familiar with today.  You’ve probably seen that Nissan Rogue commercial with the Clash’s take on their song “Pressure Drop.”  I just bought the “Very best of…” and it is a great listen.
Feist released Reminder back in May and it still popular.  She released her latest single “Feel It All” from the album earlier this week.  Not only is it a good album, but the videos for the songs off it are great.  All are done with director Patrick Daughters and also done in single shots.  You probably have seen a portion of the video for 1,2,3,4 on the Ipod mini commercials.  Even when she was on the late night shows she tried to do some cool things.  Here is the video plus some other ones that I found after the jump.
When Neil introduced me to 
 I have been enjoying how the Stax and Motown sound has been getting a revival lately. The poster girl of this revival, 