First it was the horns. Now horns and strings?! Damn, what I would have done to have been at this show. Hopefully we’ll get to see and hear the full show at some point.
Mayer’s Picks: The Best of 2012, So Far (The Albums)
You’ve got to love a year where this list is made up of so many young and emerging artists. Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorites from 2012. BARCHORDS, BAHAMAS Canadian singer-songwriter Afie Jurvanen unleashes a pop album that is simply sublime. The production has a textured feel anchored by the nuanced […]
Monday Morning Video: Whiskeytown
Ah Ryan, such a great songwriter and always so, um, soft-spoken. Here’s a gem from 1997.
Monday Morning Video: Dave Alvin, Flaco Jimenez & Los Lobos
Last week I posted a video featuring Alejandro Escovedo joining Los Lobos at an LA performance earlier this year. Apparently Alejandro wasn’t the only guest that evening for what must have been an incredible evening of music. Here’s Dave Alvin and Flaco Jimenez joining Los Lobos for Alvin’s classic — and seasonal — song “Fourth […]
Mayer’s Playlist for June 2012
THE PLAYLIST That Wasn’t Me, Brandi Carlile (from the Columbia Records release Bear Creek) Any Carlile discussion begins and ends with her voice, an instrument of power and beauty. While her latest is more relaxed than her earlier efforts, it retains the inspirational tone that is a hallmark of her songwriting. Many of the songs […]
Monday Morning Video: Alejandro Escovedo with Los Lobos
Wow, this is a find. Here are two clips showing Alejandro Escovedo performing with Los Lobos earlier this year. The first shows the musicians rehearsing Escovedo’s “Rosalie” in a Los Angeles studio; the second shows them performing it the next night at LA’s Greek Theater.
Monday Morning Video: The Waterboys
Here’s my question for the day: how come I never had an assembly like this when I was in grade school? Here’s Mike Scott of the Waterboys performing “The Whole of the Moon” for a group of schoolchildren in Ireland. And the best part? The kids know the words and sing along!
Monday Morning Video: World Party
To celebrate the recent release of the World Party box set Arkeology, here’s another gem from the Karl Wallinger catalog.
Mayer’s Playlist for Spring 2012, Part 3
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH The Lumineers, by The Lumineers I discovered the Lumineers thanks to, of all things, an airline who shall remain nameless. When they botched my return to Boston from a day gig work trip to LA, I found myself stranded in Denver. Others might have been upset, but I relished the chance […]
Monday Morning Video: The Right Ons
My spring playlist features a killer track from The Right Ons‘ recent release (listen and download here). Well, the boys also made a Beatles-inspired video for the explosive track “On The Radio.” Turn it up loud and enjoy.