Matthew Ryan was kind enough to forward this astonishing new song, Some Streets Lead Nowhere.” It is an astonishing performance that highlights his ability to wrap emotional intensity in delicate arrangements. Equally impressive is Ryan’s essay about the song’s original and meaning, provided below. You can download “Some Streets Lead Nowhere” via iTunes. Matthew Ryan, […]
Blue Mountain – Midnight in Mississippi
2008 has seen some of the founding insurgents that have been credited for the Alt-Country movement have released albums this year. Names like the Old 97’s, Alejandro Escovedo, Gary Louris, Jason Ringenberg among others have proven that, in spite of rumors to the contrary, alt-country (or whatever you want to call it) is alive and […]
Easton, Stagger, Phillips- One For the Ditch
Easton, Stagger, Phillips is a super group. Â The good kind. Â 3 of the best singer-songwriters in alt. country music come together on this low key collection of originals. Â Though each of the three can certainly rock out, One For the Ditch is the sound of “3 friends playing songs on the porch”. Â They keep it […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Aug/Sept 2008, Video Companion Part 2
How do you spell pop music? I spell it “Jim Boggia.” This video companion features a few from the pop maestro. Keep going to find live performances from Willie Nile, Chris Knight, Air Traffic, the Avett Brothers and a classic from Todd Snider. Finally we’ve got a special interview and performance video from Randy Newman.
Marc Broussard + More, Releases 9/16
Marc Broussard performs “Real Good Thing” live at Paste Studios. MARC BROUSSARD, Keep Coming Back (Atlantic) Official Site | MySpace | Preview (AOL Music) I’m positively giddy about this new set of original tunes from Carencro, Lousiana’s Marc Broussard. Its his debut album on Atlantic records and is sure to continue to raise his neo-soul […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Aug/Sept 2008, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Misadventures in Stereo, by Jim Boggia Jim Boggia is a pop classicist extraordinaire. He takes simple and sublime melodies and packages them in intricate yet accessible arrangements. It is a skill to admire and a treat to enjoy. Take “To and Fro,” a rollicking ode to complicated relationships in which Boggia […]
The Legend of Sir Lattimore Brown
It’s Such A Sad, Sad World Who you might say? That’s what I thought when I first saw this name pop up over at the “B” Side, Red Kelly’s excellent blog. These days the net is swarming with Internet publications, blogging is so easily accessible that anybody with a half functioning computer can work it […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Aug/Sept 2008, Part 1 Video Companion
Summer ended with a bang thanks to some fine new music. We kick off our August/September video bonanza with some, well, sweet live performances by Matthew Sweet, one of our featured artists. Dig a bit deeper and you’ll get live concert footage from Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, British Sea Power, Chris Knight and […]
Calexico + More, Releases 9/9
From “Carried To Dust” – out on Quarterstick Records (9/09/08). CALEXICO, Carried To Dust (Touch & Go) Official Site | MySpace | Samples (Amazon) One of the best blends of Mexican and Texas/Arizona soundscapes you’ll hear, Calexico is back. This is classic convertible Ford Mustang driving through the desert music. Picture giant cacti zooming by […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Aug/Sept 2008, Part 1
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Sunshine Lies, by Matthew Sweet “’cause we’re already good and we’re already evil, unfazed by a world of constant upheaval,” sings Matthew Sweet on “Let’s Love” from his latest release. It’s a moment that carries meaning beyond the song’s intended topic. In the nearly fifteen years since Sweet’s seminal Girlfriend, the […]