GLEN HANSARD Hansard delivered what was easily the best set of the week. He brought a full band, including strings and horns, to showcase songs both new and old. Josh Ritter joined for a couple of choice covers, including songs by Jason Molina (Magnolia Electric Company), Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen. THE BOTTLE ROCKETS At […]
Monday Morning Video – “September Gurls”
It’s been a few years since we celebrated September with the Big Star classic. We’ll forgo a version featuring any of the Big Star family and instead feature two young bands paying homage to the Memphis legends. First up is NYC-based indie rockers Dum Dum Girls. They are followed by a new favorite band, UK-based […]
Mayer’s Playlist for September 2015
Into the Deep, Galactic (from the Provogue release Into the Deep) There’s a lesson to be learned across the eleven tracks that make up Galactic’s latest release. I can’t recall a record in recent memory that is so musically diverse yet sounds so cohesive. It is a testament to the New Orleans-based quintet’s immense musical […]
Monday Morning Video – Robbie Fulks Covers Fountains of Wayne
Set aside his own impressive catalog, Robbie Fulks knows a good song when he hears one. Here’s an impressive cover of Fountains of Wayne’s brilliant power pop confection “The Girl I Can’t Forget.” A trombone and guitar solo? Fuggedaboutit. In true Fulks comedic fashion, the performance comes from a tribute night entitled “Fountains of Wayne […]
Route 128 on a Dark and Lonely Night – A Special Boston Playlist
Here is the latest installment in our periodic series highlighting Boston and New England artists. (View the complete series here.) Jambalaya, Girls Guns and Glory (from the self-released A Tribute to Hank Williams – Live!) Girls Guns and Glory’s annual Hank Williams tribute shows have rapidly become a New Year’s tradition. With the help of […]
Monday Morning Video – Randy Newman & Friends
Randy Newman is one of my favorite songwriters, as adept at breaking your heart with a meditation on loss as he is at riling you up with satirical commentary on the state of politics and society. Of course there’s also his impressive array of movie soundtracks, from “Toy Story” to “the Natural.” Here he is […]
Mea Culpa! A Special Summer Playlist, Part 2
Devil in Me, Anderson East (from the Low Country Sound/Elektra Records release Delilah) There’s something special about that old-school soul sound. It’s all the more impressive when it is created by a young whippersnapper like Anderson East. The Nashville by way of Alabama singer-songwriter serves up an exhilarating debut album that is steeped in Muscle […]
Monday Morning Video – Whitney Rose with Raul Malo
Last month we featured Eilen Jewell and the Sweetback Sisters paying tribute to the Ronettes with a performance of the “Be My Baby.” Not surprisingly the legendary song is a favorite of many artists. Singer-songwriter Whitney Rose recorded the song for her new release Heartbreaker of the Year. Joining her on the track is album […]
Mayer’s Picks: The Best of 2015 (So Far) the Songs Part 2
Everybody Talkin’ ’bout the All American, JD McPherson (from the Rounder Records release Let The Good Times Roll) Let’s just call this the dance hit of the year. One listen and you’ll know what I mean. You Got To Me, James McMurtry (from the Complicated Game Records release Complicated Game) On a given day I’d […]
Mayer’s Picks: The Best of 2015 (So Far), the Songs Part 1
For me, at least, this year has been more about songs than albums. Here are just a few of my favorites from the first half of 2015. If Still It Can’t Be Found, Joe Pug (from the Lightning Rod Records release Windfall) A melancholy ode to perseverance and pursuing one’s dreams. Simply magical. Don’t Let […]