I see that British Sea Power has a new CD out, and I know that band name sounds familiar, so I search my iTunes to jog my memory…….hmmmm, nothing there. Search djeddieo.com and I did, indeed, write about them back in February 2008. All I said was that their then new CD, “Do You Like Rock Music?”, was well-reviewed and that I wanted it all, but I guess I forgot to download it ;-(
If Arcade Fire, The Pigeon Detectives, or maybe The Kooks are currently floating your boat, you’ll enjoy British Sea Power. The new LP, Valhalla Dancehall, is streamable HERE. and it’s all great (like that last one that I’ll have to also dig up). The first single is “Living Is So Easy”, if you care about such things.
Cage The Elephant
Cage The Elephant was also blogged about here in February 2008, sharing a post with Vampire Weekend. This new LP of theirs, “Thank You Happy Birthday”, is just plain awesome, and streamable HERE for now, but it can’t last forever. I swear I hear Frank Black-influence, but what do I know? Go listen, then YOU tell ME which song should be on djeddieo #22!
Oh, and if you’re like me, and great live shows are only memories, check out this CTE appearance at Grimey’s Record Store basement, in Nashville.
Hey, I know I still owe you the details of volume 21, posted toward the end of twenty-ten, and I will get that up soon. For my first post of twenty-eleven though, let me start by sharing some blog stats. This will likely come as a surprise to the readers I know personally, who could (and have) all fit in my kitchen, but djeddieo.com had 15,000 views in 2010! Given that there were only 15 posts, that’s a feat. My lovely wife would likely say that our gorgeous daughter viewed the site 14, 950 or so times, but she says that isn’t so.
Anyway, on to music…..I was listening to a local college radio station with a wonderfully eclectic playlist (WERS….click HERE to check it out: folk, rock, jazz, world, blues, soul, electronic and reggae is what they list on the website), when an unfamiliar song began. It sounded vaguely country-western which, not being my usual cup o’ tea, meant it might be new, might be old….who knows? About a minute in, it starts to sound like it could be a club anthem, at least with a remix, so I have one of those “driveway moments”, wherein I’ve reached my destination but remain car-bound till the DJ comes on to identify the song. Turns out it’s the new Adele.
Now, I don’t believe I’ve ever blogged about Adele, other than to refer to the “Amy/Duffy/Adele continuum”, but I was a huge fan of “Cold Shoulder” and “Chasing Pavements”, as was much of America, and I had included the former on a 2008 compilation. This new album, 21, is sure to find mainstream success here as well. Check the video for “Rolling In The Deep” here, and go buy the whole LP/CD on January 24th.
Another new tune that caught my ear is from the November 2010 release from Ryan Adams & The Cardinals titled Cardinals III/IV, his twelfth (!) studio album. The song, “No”, is laden with F-bombs and is sure to be the next big sensation sung along to by teenagers with more than their share of undirected angst. How I never heard of this guy is beyond me. Many of you, I’m sure, won’t need this little bare-bones primer:
“alt-country/rock singer-songwriter” drops out of 10th grade in 1990 or so to be in The Patty Duke Syndrome and form Whiskeytown, gets help on his first solo record (still country then) from Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch, among others, then follows that in 2001 with Gold, for which he initiall refuses to do videos or meet-and-greets. He reluctantly shoots a video for the single “New York, New York” on September 7, 2001, and the twin towers loom large in his loving shout-out to the greatest city in the world. By the time the video is released, it was a veritable time-capsuled memorial to the fallen towers. Me? I never saw it till last week:
Cool as that country tune is, this new stuff is pure, classic/garage American rock, and incredible. A two CD set with additional bonus downloads, there’s not a single stinker on it. The one I’ve chosen to share with you is aptly titled “My Favorite Song” ……
djeddieo.com 