I'm going to Paris later this year (woo!) and to get in the mood, I've been listening to the latest album from punk icon Iggy Pop entitled Preliminaireswhich is, of all things, a jazz-influenced tribute to French literature, specifically the French sci-fi satire,The Possibility of an Island, by Michel Houellebecq.
I like several of the ballads on this album, including "Spanish Coast," "Insensatez," and the moody "I Want to Go to the Beach," but this one is my favorite and the only one he sings in French. You'd know "Les Feuilles Mortes" in English as the classic "Autumn Leaves." I never knew this 1945 song was originally French (lyrics by poet Jacques Prevert and music by Joseph Kosma--Johnny Mercer didn't write the English lyrics until 1947).
Iggy says he made the album "especially for France and people who speak French." C'est magnifique!
I first heard this song live at LA's Hotel Cafe and super loved it (speaking of which, Emily is playing there on June 19 as the last stop on her current tour). Its reggae-folk vibe and laid-back quality would go perfectly with an early morning by the ocean with your honey, a cup of coffee, and fuzzy slippers.
This song and 5 others, including an amazing Emily-style symphonic hip-hop cover of Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy," are part of an EP release of Emily's newest work, Dirty.
The lead singer of The Strokes slyly shimmies his way through one of the best tracks off Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse's who-knows-when-to-be-released album, The Dark Night of the Soul. The Strokes's fourth album is currently in process.
Just a month ago, the music world was abuzz with news about the new collaboration between Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse with guest indie all-stars from Frank Black, Iggy Pop, and Vic Chestnutt (who I once saw live in NYC--yow) to James Mercer from The Shins, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips, and Gruff Rhys from Super Furry Animals.
Now, thanks to a legal dispute with EMI, Dark Night of the Soul will be released as a blank CD! I'm not kidding.
For $50, you get a recordable CD, a friendly note encouraging you to download the album via less than legal means, and an accompanying limited-edition 100-page book of photography and album poster from David Lynch (who also sings two songs on the album). You can also buy the CD-R and just the poster for $10. Both are available at the official Web site.
If downloading the album from an illegal file-sharing network gives you the heebie-jeebies, you can, for now at least, listen to the entire album through an approved stream at NPR.
An art exhibit of 50 of David Lynch's photos from the CD book will be shown May 30-July 11 at LA's Michael Kohn Gallery.
Here's the playlist. And fwiw, the album is killer. Seriously.
1) "Revenge" featuring Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips 2) "Just War" featuring Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals 3) "Jaykub" featuring Jason Lytle of Grandaddy 4) "Little Girl" featuring Julian Casablancas of The Strokes 5) "Angel's Harp" featuring Black Francis (Frank Black from The Pixies) 6) "Pain" featuring Iggy Pop 7) "Star Eyes (I Can Catch It) featuring David Lynch 8) "Everytime I'm with You" featuring Jason Lytle 9) "Insane Lullaby" featuring James Mercer of The Shins 10) "Daddy's Gone" featuring Nina Persson of The Cardigans 11) "The Man Who Played God" featuring Suzanne Vega 12) "Grain Augury" featuring Vic Chestnutt 13) "Dark Night of the Soul" featuring David Lynch
Listen to all of the tracks at YouTube or NPR. Here's track 4.
Finn Andrews and his New Zealand band, The Veils (which has a sound like Jeff Buckley crossed with Joy Division) have released a third album on par with their debut. I liked their sophomore release, Nux Vomica, but the songs just didn't stick with me like the ones on The Runaway Found and their latest, Sun Gangs.
Andrews has one of the most emotive voices around--you just feel his pain when he sings. If you have the chance to see them perform live, do it.
After a bit of a hiatus in which I changed my entire life (lol), I"m back in the blogging groove. In honor of Mother's Day, enjoy getting schooled in funk with this upbeat soul track from Sydney-based Dojo Cuts, featuring killer vocalist, Roxie Ray.
Don't forget to give your mum a hug today!
No video for "Mama Told Me," so here's Dojo Cuts doing a great cover of Stevie Wonder's "Uptight":
The trademark horns and accordion are missing from this song, but the wistfulness still speaks to me. This tune is from the double-disc EP from Beirut (aka Zach Condon) entitled March of the Zapotec and Real People Holland. It's very interesting--latin-inspired funeral march music on disc one and electronica on disc two.
This song from Andrew Bird's latest album, Noble Beast, totally captivates me--and not just because I'm a violinist and I love the way the instrument is incorporated here. It has a wonderful, layered quality and lots of tempo changes. Beautiful, complex song.
Here's Andrew Bird performing "Anonanimal" at the Guthrie Theater. Don't miss him if you get a chance to see him live--he's on tour now.
There are several songs I like from Dark Was the Night, the latest (and 20th!) compilation from HIV/AIDS awareness charity, The Red Hot Organization, but this spare cover duet of Vashti Bunyan's "Train Song" really sticks with me.
Son of legendary singer/songwriter, Steve Earle, Justin Townes Earle has quite a pedigree, but he's got an easy folk sound all his own. Earle turns the popular song by The Replacements into a great big sky road song. Great cover.
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