In the better late than never category, here are my picks from last week’s class of new releases. Sail Away: The Songs of Randy Newman, Various Artists    Although he lives in Los Angeles and has built a unparalleled (and Oscar-rich) career writing scores for films scoring films, Randy Newman’s early years were spent writing short […]
Mayer’s Playlist for April 2006
I’ll Be Coming Around, The Bottle Rockets (from the album Bottle Rockets Live in Heilbronn Germany) While we wait for their forthcoming studio release, the Bottle Rockets tease us with this knock-out live release. Essentially a greatest hits collection, it captures the band in fine form during a tour of Germany last year. This track, […]
Notable Releases: 2 May 2006
The Boxing Mirror, Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo has been lauded by critics (No Depression named him artist of the decade in the 1990’s) and heralded by his peers (on 2004’s Por Vida). After a nearly fatal bout with hepatitis C, Escovedo returns with his first album of original material since 2002’s By the Hand of […]
Preview Neil Young’s “Living With War”
Hot on the heels of Prairie Wind, his acoustic meditation on life and death, Young returns with a scatching commentary on the Bush administration and the Iraqi War. Lest anyone question where Young stands, the opening track lays it out: “Won’t need no shadow man… runnin’ the government. Won’t need no stinkin’ WAR.” Stream Neil […]
SXSW 2006: The Quotes
Some of the best moments from SXSW are the comments made by artists and audiences alike… “I nearly saw your show and it was brilliant.†~ Billy Bragg, reflecting on what to say to a band that he meant to see… but didn’t. “This is a very romantic instrument… if you happen to be married […]
Preview The Drive-By Truckers’ “A Blessing and a Curse”
You don’t have to wait until Tuesday to hear the new Drive-By Truckers album. The guitar-slinging masters serve up a fine preview of their forthcoming release: A Blessing and a Curse. A few early test spins show the Trucker’s expanding their sound. Whereas their recent albums have clearly been lyrically and musically inspired by the […]
SXSW 2006: The Bands (Part 2)
Coulda, shoulda, woulda… With over 1,200 bands appearing during the course of the festival it was inevitable that I would miss a few gems. Here are a few artists that may have slipped by me at SXSW but they didn’t escape me completely. Susan Cagle – I missed her in Austin but I made up […]
SXSW 2006: The Bands (Part 1)
Is it possible to hear too much music? I think not. Here are some of the best from SXSW 2006. Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s – Sounding like a more lively version and less pretentious version of Bright Eyes, this outfit offered up some moody rock songs and an energetic live performance. Its […]
Let the Music Play: The 2006 SXSW Recap
Another SXSW has come and gone. This year’s event brought over 1,000 bands to Austin for five days of music, cheap beer and great barbeque. Sounds pretty good to me. Although this year’s event was light on new discoveries, it was filled with old favorites. And now for the highlights: The New Orleans Social Club: […]
Susan Cagle: The Subway Recordings
I paid my cover – a New York subway ticket – and headed down into the Times Square subway station for this show. While I may have been the only one who was in the station solely to hear Susan Cagle perform, the size of the crowd revealed the extent of her reputation among New […]