Wilco is streaming the entirety of their forthcoming release Wilco (the album) at their web site here. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.
Listen Up: Willie Nile’s 1000 Guitars
I’ve figured out the secret to Willie Nile. It’s not some special studio trick or the backing of a top notch band (though they do rock like nobody’s business). No, the magic of Willie Nile is his unbridled passion for life that permeates the man and his music. It hearkens back to the romantic innocence […]
Ted Russell Kamp – Poor Man’s Paradise
When reporting on Major League Baseball, it seems as though most anchors or scribes have a hard time saying anything, whether it be positive or negative, about Manny Ramirez without using the tired, lazy phrase, “Manny being Manny” . I imagine that there is a similar need or desire by most bloggers or music journalists […]
Webb Wilder – More Like Me
Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need ’em.” This is the Webb Wilder credo. It is a credo that I have lived by since my college days in the late 80s when I first heard Webb Wilder. Back then Webb was doing the college bar circuit that […]
Win Big: Sara Watkins
“I just say that I grew up in a bluegrass band that became something else,” says Sara Watkins to describe her time spent with Nickel Creek. Watkins stretches out on her self-titled newly released solo outing. Recorded in Nashville and LA with producer John Paul Jones (he of Led Zeppelin fame), the album features tracks […]
Listen Up: Buddy and Julie Miller
If there has been a more heart-breaking song this year than the Miller’s “Chalk,†I haven’t heard it. The twinge in Buddy’s voice as he sings, “If all our heartaches were in a stack, they’d go all the way up to heaven and back,†is spine-tingling. The song, a duet with Patty Griffin, is only […]
Steve Earle/Townes
When I first heard Steve Earle was recording an album of all Townes songs I was like, well, guess he took so much flack from his last album, he’s trying to redeem himself with some old time fans. Â But then I realized that Steve probably doesn’t care what his fans think about his artistic endeavors […]
Wilco – Ashes of American Flags DVD
Although mainstream commercial success has consistently eluded them, critics have just as consistently showered the band with praises. Although perhaps not as compelling as Sam Jones’ “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” the new documentary shows a very different band whose relentless schedule of arduous tours keeps them away from family and friends. While […]
Bombadil – Tarpits & Canyonlands
While many buzzed-about-blog-bands are typically the laptop-toting, electronic, shoe-gazers, or the hipper-than-thou indie act that may or may not have hints of The Band in their sound, the occasional rootsy, folk driven band eeks through and creates a stir. The Avett Brothers (who were at Ramseur Records before going with Rick Rubin for their upcoming […]
Mayer’s Playlist for March/April 2009, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Broken, by Todd Thibaud Thibaud is a roots rock everyman, routinely cranking out hearty workingman’s music. His latest continues his streak of satisfying releases. Thibaud is at his best when he takes on the emotional conflicts of people grappling with their everyday lives. His lyrics capture their internal conflict yet keep […]