In keeping with my new "blog less, dig more" credo, this week I offer you three quickie mentions of new discs from artists too cool to not write about. And a bonus sneak preview from perhaps the coolest artist of them all. I mean, c'mon, he's from Jersey - you can't get any cooler than that.
Greg Brown Yellow Dog You can't find a more laid-back-sounding folk singer than Greg Brown, but he's pretty pissed about plans to open a metallic-sulfide mine (sounds perfectly safe to me) in the Yellow Dog Watershed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He did a benefit back in 2005 and has now released this recording of that concert, with all proceeds going to the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve. Pretty cool. No free downloads, but you can watch a video with him playing "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" live over a slideshow of the Yellow Dog area.
Michelle Shocked To Heaven U Ride For a former critics' darling, Michelle Shocked doesn't get much press these days. Still, I do remember her being on Fresh Air a few years ago talking about how into gospel music she had become. Well, someone recorded a bootleg of a concert of hers from around that time and Shocked has just now released it. The woman can pretty much sing in whatever genre she chooses (punk, swing, folk), but she sounds really, really good here. She's even offering a free download from the disc at her website.
Michelle Shocked "Quality of Mercy" [mp3]
The New Pornographers Challengers I've been listening to this one quite a bit (it came out a couple weeks ago) and it sounds like AC and the band have managed to somehow top their last disc, 2005's excellent Twin Cinema. They've stretched out in all kinds of new directions on the new disc but don't worry, they're still bringing the catchy pop songs - they're just bringing them in a whole bunch of different ways this time around. Oh, and Long Cut favorite Neko Case is highlighted on a few songs, which is always a good thing. Always. They too offer a free download from the disc.
The New Pornographers "My Rights, Versus Yours" [mp3]
This post is already much longer than planned, but here's the promised preview - Springsteen's new video from his upcoming Magic album. And yes, it does sound like he lifted the intro straight from Tommy Twotone's "867-5309."
This week's list:
- THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Challengers
- JOSH RITTER The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
- RILO KILEY Under the Blacklight
- JOSH ROUSE Country Mouse City House
- TEGAN AND SARA The Con
- JULIE DOIRON Woke Myself Up
- SPOON Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
- MICHELLE SHOCKED To Heaven U Ride
- GREG BROWN Yellow Dog
- KELLY WILLIS Translated from Love
- RYAN ADAMS Easy Tiger
- GOLDRUSH The Heart is the Place
- ROSIE THOMAS These Friends of Mine
- WILCO Sky Blue Sky
- LINDA THOMPSON Versatile Heart
- NICK LOWE At My Age
- BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Live in Dublin
- THE WHITE STRIPES Icky Thump
- TEDDY THOMPSON Up Front and Down Low
- KIM RICHEY Chinese Boxes
- THE NATIONAL Boxer
- AU REVOIR SIMONE The Bird of Music
- PETER BJORN AND JOHN Writer's Block
- THE CLIENTELE God Save the Clientele
- FEIST The Reminder
- THE POLYPHONIC SPREE The Fragile Army
- GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS Ongiara
- THE SHINS Wincing the Night Away
- TRAVIS The Boy With No Name
- MY MORNING JACKET Okonokos
Dropping off the list this week:
- SON VOLT The Search
- G. LOVE A Year and a Night with G. Love and Special Sauce
- ALBERT HAMMOND, JR. Yours To Keep
RIYL for the week beginning September 3, 2007. Backstory here.
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