In an effort to be more timely with posts, I’m gonna try mix things up a bit. Lately, I’ve been waiting until mid-week to post downloads, streams and release comments all in a single post. With some streams only previewable for a week, this didn’t leave much time to hear some new music. So I’m […]
Phoenix – “It’s Never Been Like That”
Phoenix has lived up to it’s name. Previously known as a French electronica band with American-pop influences, they have started anew with a more rock-influenced sound.  It’s Never Been Like That is an appropriate title for an inventive new song set. It’s definitely not the same old Phoenix, but you can hear their energy carrying over from […]
Joshua Radin “We Were Here”
Let me begin by saying that the first thing that came to mind when I listened to this album was that this had to be something Wes Anderson would listen to. It made me want to go home and watch The Royal Tenenbaums. I originally heard about Josh Radin through Zach Braff (of Garden State fame). […]
Sam Roberts Band Released & More, Tom’s Take
Getting their start in the 8th grade as The Happy Death Men, the Sam Roberts Band from Montreal release their follow up album to 2003’s slammer We Were Born in Flame. Their latest is called Chemical City and it looks to be an excellent third effort. Look for this album to continue the power-pop licks […]
Notable Releases: 16 May 2006
Powder Burns, The Twilight Singers You may remember Greg Dulli as the driving force behind the late Afghan Whigs. DullisThe Whigs established their credibility by crafting pop-based melodies in an aggressive and theatrical rock format. There was little coincidence that the production credits were positioned as theatrical credits: Dulli imbibes his music with a cinematic […]
Notable Releases: 9 May 2006
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 […]
Neil Young Released & More, Tom’s Take
From the small amount of music I’ve been able to preview this week it seems to have been a bit lackluster. The charts look to be saying the Kieran Kane, Keven Welch & Fats Kaplin album is something to behold. Unfortunately, I have yet to hear it. Paul Simon is on a different path with […]
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, […]
Pearl Jam Released & More, Tom’s Take
Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam Did you see these guys a few weeks ago on Saturday Night Live? They absolutely tore it up! I’ve always felt that if you can play a memorable set on SNL that it says something about you as an artist (one that comes to mind is Elvis Costello & the Attractions […]
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 […]