I didn't get a chance to post yesterday so THE FRIDAY FIVE turns into THE SATURDAY SIX for this week. Do you like what you hear?
BLITZEN TRAPPER-Thirsty Man:
It seems like every time Blitzen Trapper puts out a cd, there are 2 or 3 songs I hear that I really enjoy yet for some reason, I never dive deeper into the cd or go see them in concert. I shazamed this song earlier in the week and was lucky enough to hear them perform on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic yesterday. This song is from their 7th (the first 3 were self released) cd 'VII' which was released early in October. Very, very cool stuff. Next time they come thru, I will not be missing them.
Also, I need to give a shout out to 89.3 The Current, which is the Minnesota Public Radio station that this video below comes from. The videos of their in-studio performances are always fantastic.
ARCADE FIRE-Afterlife:
Unless you have been living in a cave for the last month or two, you know that Arcade Fire recently released their much hyped fourth cd Reflektor. Everywhere I look this cd is reviewed and they seem to have been on every talk show possible to promote it. I'll be honest and say that I haven't yet listened to Reflektor, read any of the reviews and only caught their performance on the Colbert Report which was just OK. Actually I did read two short reviews. One was a text from my friend Karen, who loves Arcade Fire. It was a short text. She said it was horrible. The other was a review of the reivew's, which said the reviews were mixed, and that's why I don't read many reviews. Arcade Fire are in a tough boat here. Expectations are high. They are a band that average music fans feel they should like due to all the hype. Regardless of all the buzz, I really like this song a lot. The video is from the Youtube Music Awards which happened last week. I think Spike Jonze may have directed it.
PAUL SIMON-BIKO:
This is a very cool cover of Peter Gabriel's song about the black South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. The song is off the Scratch My Back/And I'll Scratch Your's which sees Peter doing covers of various bands and bands covering of his songs. Its a cool concept but the result isn't that overwhelming from what I have heard so far, then again, in true Peter Gabriel fashion, his renditions are very different and unique. As far as the covers of his songs, there are a few gems, including Randy Newman doing 'Big Time', Elbow's beautiful version of 'Mercy Street' and this version of Biko. I've had the pleasure of seeing Peter Gabriel live on many occasions and there are very few songs you will experience in concert that are as moving as when he performs BIKO. I really enjoy Paul Simon's version here and the addition of strings is a really nice touch.
BAND OF SKULLS-Death By Diamonds and Pearls:
After hearing this song, the only conclusion I can come up with is that everyone should have the Band Of Skulls in their life. Super cool stuff from their 2009 debut cd Baby Darling Doll Face Honey.
BROKEN BELLS-Holding On For Life:
The first single from the yet to be released cd After The Disco by the super collaboration of James Mercer (The Shins) and Danger Mouse (everything he touches is gold...). This will be their second cd together. Very cool mellow, psychedelic, retro vibe.
LAKE STREET DIVE-Bad Self Portraits:
How do you categorize the sound of this Boston band? On their website, they mention they started out as 'free country' band with intentions to play "country music in an improvised avant-garde style-like Loretta Lynne meets Ornette Coleman." Not they just say they are a "pop band leaning very heavily on soul and rock with hook-y writing." Whatever the sound, I love it. Reminds me a bit of early Hall & Oats. (note-I heard one of their songs, tried to shazam it and it didn't work, so I just wrote down the name of the band to remember the band).
