I may be the last music blog on the planet to write about these guys, but after reading my 100'th blurb about them, I couldn't NOT give them a listen. This Athens, Alabama outfit is sure garnering a lot of high profile attention considering they only have a 4 track E.P. and some in-studio sessions out there. Their debut full length is still 2 months from release but my initial thoughts are that it can't come soon enough! Most of the excitement is simply due to front woman Brittany Howard's insanely soulful and powerful voice. Combine that with a band that sounds like it was pulled from a 1972 Muscle Shoals recording session with Al Green, and you have one the sweetest sounding acts I've heard in many moons.
If you haven't heard of them yet, I'm thinking soon you wont have a choice!
I know this isn't a popular sentiment in the world of music criticism, but I am an unabashed Madonna fan. I would contend that with the exception of Prince, she is the most influential artist of the last 30 years. It may be a generational thing for the kids today to understand, but if you were even conscious in the 1980's, you could not ignore the impact Madonna had on music, attitudes, and pop culture. Just looking at her impact on music alone, for better or worse; there would be no Lady Gaga, M.I.A., Florence Welch, Britney Spears, Beyonce, or Taylor Swift without her.
Well after a long absence, Madonna is coming back with a vengeance (that I assume will make many wish she wasn't). With a new album and tour on the horizon, she will have her biggest audience in 2 decades tomorrow when she rocks the Super Bowl halftime show And on the heels of that, she's just dropped the first video from the record; a "return to form" jam with some infectious cheerleading help from M.I.A. and Nicki Minoj. Sounding like Blondie after a night of too much Cristal, this is a self-congratulatory track no one else could pull off but Madonna. And while she has long lost the relevance and artistic creativity that produced her best work, for this fan, it's simply just great to have her back!
If you don't know who the Athens, GA based Drive-By Truckers are by now, you need to. For over 17 years, they have been one of the best bands in the land, singing songs about life, love, criminals, the joy of family, and the blessings of rock and roll.
This week, chief songwriter Patterson Hood released a new song recorded with some friends (including Mike Mills, formally of R.E.M.) in honor of a cause to stop a new downtown development project in his hometown of Athens. The song is truley touching and a wonderful reminder of the potencial power of music. The music world needs more folks like Patterson!
Y'ALL:
As some of y'all might know, an out of town developer is attempting to build a huge mixed use development right next door to our beautiful downtown Athens. The location is a prime piece of land nestled up between our historic downtown and our river, greenway and planned Rail to Trails development.
I'm not going to get into the ramifications of all of that here, except to say it presents a tremendous set of missed opportunities and poses a host of negative implications for our beloved downtown and the local businesses that reside there.
I have written a new song about my love for this town that has given me so much and the threat that I see to our very way of life here. That might sound overly-dramatic, but I travel around this country a lot and I can tell you that what we have here is very unique and can not be taken for granted. Many of our friends who travel every year to Athens to see our annual 40 Watt / Nuci's Space Homecoming can vouch for what a special place this is.
I recorded the song at The 40 Watt Club during our weekend there backed by members of DBT. Then some very special friends from our music community pitched in and came to Chase Park Transduction to contribute some magic. 13 players, ranging from over 30 years of Athens Music history joined in and our friend Jason Thrasher filmed it.
I'd always associated this song with The Beatles and assumed it was a Lennon/McCartney composition. This morning I heard this lovely version and come to find it's a another classic by Burt Bacharach. Man that guy could write a tune!
While I love The Beatles version, I may actually like this Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe take on it better. But honestly, it would be really hard to mess this tune up.....
The title of "Band of 2011" simply has to belong to Wilco. Not only did they release one of the best albums of the year, but they rocked the globe playing over 100 shows. But the band reserved the biggest treat of the year for their hometown fans in Chicago; playing 5 shows in one week, each at a venue smaller then the last. Beginning the week at the beautiful 3500 seat Civic Opera House and finishing up at the 500 seat Lincoln Center, the band not only sounded fantastic, but played almost 100 different songs from their catalog! Who does that?? And the highlights were certainly many. One of the many reasons I love Wilco is the way they craft a setlist so that each show conveys an ebb and flow of emotions where every show may feel different.
Opening night at the marvelous Civic Opera House featured the gorgeous and rarely played "Being There" nugget; "Far Far Away", with its "kiss and ride on the CTA" line wooing the Chicago fateful. The show also had the added treat of an classic encore performance of the Nick Lowe penned "Cruel to Be Kind" joined by the author himself. As if that wasn't enough, the band brought out the incomparable Mavis Staples, who ran through the Jeff Tweedy penned "You are Not Alone" and The Band classic "The Weight"! Luckily, this show was webcast and captured in perfect quality (featured below in its entirety).
Night Two at the grand Riviera nightclub belonged to my favorite Wilco album; 2004's "A Ghost is Born". Featuring 6 songs and a B-Side from said album, the band played a masterful show culminating with the epic set list trifecta of "Reservations">"Spiders">"I'm a Wheel"!
After a day off, Night Three was hosted at my favorite Chicago venue and site of many a classic Wilco show; the Vic Theater. Hands down, this show belonged to guitarist extraordinaire Nels Cline. Always a unique and great player, he simply owned the night song after song especially during the early one-two punch of "Muzzle of Bees" and "Hotel Arizona". Capping of a blistering show with the plaintive "Being There" lullaby "The Lonely 1", the band sent the fans home walking on air.
Just a spits distance from Wrigley Field, Night Four amazingly featured Wilco's first ever appearance at the claustrophobic and classic Chicago venue, The Metro. As the bands popularity has grown, Wilco have recently mastered the art of playing big festivals, so walking into the tiny Metro fans knew they were in for a treat. I assumed due to the size of the venue, the show would be a more low-key, mellow affair. Wrong! Playing as if they were at the freaking Glastonbury festival, the band ripped through an intense set which held nothing back. Closing the night with the rockous "Dreamer in My Dreams", Wilco sent the fans home with what I can only assume was some blissful ringing in their ears.
But the best was truly saved for last. After a night off, the band played the teeny 500 person seat Lincoln Hall; a benefit show for local charity Inspiration Corporation which raised over $63,000 for the poor and homeless. Playing an insanely nice setlist featuring many of the bands quietest compositions, the show felt special and much closer in emotional tone to those Jeff Tweedy solo gigs. Ending with the mournful 'Sky Blue Sky" closer "On and On and On", the band perfectly book-ended a very magical week in Chicago while leaving future possibilities endless.
The week was the perfect celebration for the band and their fans after a wonderful year in Wilco world. Thanks to the tireless dedication of the tapers, you can enjoy a mix (from the best available sources I could find) of each different song played over the course of the week. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I do! Night One-Civic Opera House
Being an election year; 2012 in America is unfortunately going to be full of blind political rhetoric and hate speech, pitting one side against another. If you are like me, you are already sick and tired of it and its only January!
I long for a time when we can discuss our politics with intelligence and empathy for the people who disagree with us, if that time ever existed. I just fear that things will just continue to get worse and worse.
So in times of turmoil, I always resort to music to attempt to make sense of things. It is in the spirit of that, I bring you a mix i made to hopefully help you through this insane political climate of ours.
Turn it up and remember, what's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?
