I know it's been a while... But back by request!

Well what can I say about They Might Be Giants other than I get them confused with Dinosaur Jr. and that group that Jimmy Page and Diddy were in. Well also, if you go see them play live, you are pretty much guaranteed to be surrounded by a bunch of guys in Dockers... But on a more serious note, they do like the wordplay don't they? As well as the sing-songey thing. And I did just love that song about destroying my sweater. Plus also they ARE from Brooklyn.

Be Careful What You Pack

Their Website
and MySpace

Buy They Might Be Giants at Amazon

Lightning Strikes Twice

Remember how right I was about Plain White T's? Now totally supported by their appearance on iCarly. So now take a listen to Something Corporate. Equally, or more, adorably whiney and unthreatening, with just a spectacularly pop-friendly catchiness. And (could it be cuter?) they call themselves "punk rock." Remember you heard it here first!

Break Myself



Konstantine (Live)

Their MySpace

and website

Buy Something Corporate at Amazon

Marching On

This was requested a while ago, and I'm very sorry to have made you wait. Augie March are Australians who seem not to have discovered surfing or any of the other fun things there are to do there. They do seem to have had time to sit alone in dark dusty rooms pining over lost, or never, loves. They are playing Christmas shows in Melbourne if you are so inclined.

One Crowded Hour



There's No Such Place (Live at the Chapel)

Their MySpace

And Website

Buy Augie March at Amazon

Dubbed
Tempted as I am to do this in a thick Irish accent, I will restrain myself... Leanne Harte is a big loud young guitar player from Dublin. Likes the reverb too, which leaves me thinking of those twins from Heart (what were their names? Help me out someone) and also, though I know that no one else will have any idea what I am talking about, Jane Jensen. Though it seems like there are a lot of musicians and other moving parts, it all comes out as a nice combination of simple and bombastic.

Unspoken Thoughts



Live in Paris

Her MySpace
Buy Leanne Harte at Amazon

Wired (By request...)
Jesse Winchester contributed this wrenching song to the final episode of the third season of The Wire. To accompany the tale of Baltimore's massively corrupt journalists, "Step by Step" echoes the rhythms of his native Louisiana. Having spent the Vietnam war in Canada, he established himself in Quebec as the opening act for The Band. His songs have been recorded by everyone from Jerry Garcia to Reba McEntire (is that really that wide a range?)

Step by Step



Emmylou Harris sings Jesse Winchester's My Songbird

His website

Buy Jesse Winchester at Amazon

Oh See Can You Sing?
By request, James Carrington is a clear-voiced singer and guitarist from London. Attracted, quite literally, to the OC, he is currently recording his first record. Now I fully expect to cause a James Bluntesque schism with this one. All I can say is there is something quite lovely there in small doses.

Ache--Demo



Ache (Live)

His MySpace

Buy James Carrington at Amazon

Bob's yer...
Marcy at Lost In Your Inbox introduced me to UNKLE, one of those wacky collectives of turntables and guest-stars. Sounding something like a catfight between Depeche Mode and the Pet Shop Boys refereed by Tricky, they play this week at CMJ.

Restless



Live at the Melt! Festival

Buy UNKLE at Amazon

Immodest
Having Pat Smear play guitars doesn't make the Foo Fighters into the Germs, nor does having Johnny Marr make Modest Mouse into the Smiths, though perhaps it has made them into the Gothic Archies. Named for a line from a Virginia Wolff story, Modest Mouse hit hipster heaven (and Billboard #1) with their radio-friendly We Were Dead Before the Ship hit the Ground. But with the lights out, you might find them beautiful.

Parting of the Sensory



Float On (Live)

Buy Modest Mouse at Amazon

Overpowered
Just out, Róisín Murphy's new record Overpowered is quite lovely in a debauched euro-disco kind of way. The former vocal half of Moloku, has carved out a Grey's Anatomy friendly niche. I don't mean to make it sound ghastly, I actually have been immensely enjoying it, but perhaps you have to have a soft spot in your head made by Grace Jones and Shannon.

Primitive



Ramalama Bang Bang (Live)

Buy Róisín Murphy at Amazon

Love to Love You Baby
You all know that I have a sort of love-hate relationship with atonal whining. (Well perhaps it's more like love-like really.) Happily, Graig Markel seems to have a lot to whine about. And he does so in a quite beautiful and sophisticated way. He is a bit of a Prince-like polymath/control-freak, playing all the instruments and doing all the vocals. He has a fairly new record out now.

Hello Hello



Virgo's Merlot (Live)

Buy Graig Markel at Amazon

Comical?
Penny Century is a just adorable pop confection from Östersund Sweden. And I'm not sure, but they may be named after a comic book by Jaime Hernandez. While five others bang away in a massive retro wall of sound, Julia Hanburg alternately wails and yodels, then sometimes, just to mess with you hits notes of stunning purity that melt your heart.

Nothing Burns Like Bridges



Nothing Burns Like Bridges (Music Video)

Their MySpace

Jazzed

I am so thrilled to put up today's song by the incomparable Sara Holtzschue. Now I think most of you know how much I love Jazz, but as soon as I found this record balanced on my doorknob, I put it on very loudly and positively reveled in it's boundless sophistication. Melodious and rich, challenging and rewarding, you need to go get the whole thing right now!

Beneath

Her website

Click here to buy

Alaska. The Band

Can you resist a band called Portugal. The Man? I can't. Especially when they sound like they are channeling Clutch

and Led Zeppelin through a box full of chickens. Plus also they are from Alaska! They play September 27th at the Luna Lounge.

Children

Their MySpace

and website

Buy Portugal the Man at Amazon

Adorably Countrified
Kate Voegele is the guinea pig for MySpace Records to see if they can take over the record biz. A twenty year old from Cleveland, she sang at FarmAid and was the Pantene Pro-Voice contest runner up. I do seem to be having a slightly hard time writing this without being snide, don't I? But before I knew any of this, I did like the songs. So I am sure you will listen with an open mind won't you?

Kindly Unspoken



It's Only Life (Live)

Her MySpace
and website

Buy Kate Voegele at Amazon

For The Love Of
Towering and lovely, Dusty Springfield fell in love with Motown in the early sixties and went on to hugely blooming interpretations of songs by the likes of Burt Bacharach and Carole King. Her massive hit of the period was of course "Son of a Preacher Man." After a long fallow period spent in what sounds like obsessive self-doubt, she reemerged in the '80s at the urging of Elton John and Neil Tennant, to new and reinvigorated renown.

Love Shine Down



Can I Get A Witness ("Live")

Buy Dusty Springfield at Amazon

Deep End of the Ocean
Is there anything worse than instrumental freeform music, perhaps played on a steel string ukulele accompanied by a chorus of brooms being swished on gravel? Well be that as it may, I sort of like this. I suspect it means I've lost my mind, but I'm sure that was coming anyway. (On a more serious note, these are maloya and sega songs from the island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean.)

Zok


Game Zobac (Live)

Buy René Lacaille & Bob Brozman at Amazon

Transformation
Weekend before last, I saw a really amazing conversation with and performance by Nona Hendryx, still amazingly vital as a musician into her 60s. The event covered a great many topics from her long history with Labelle and then as a solo artist. This was the first in a series of encounters with black rock musicians planned by BoldasLive. She has a new rock musical in the works that will be debuted at Joe's Pub in October, as well as a Labelle reunion record that is in progress. This "Winds of Change" that dates back to her involvement in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and the Sun City project, as well as just being an incredibly powerful song.

Winds of Change (Mandela to Mandela)




Interview and Performance

Her MySpace

Buy Nona Hendryx at Amazon

Is Enough?
This one goes out to all those people who go to countries with great music and don't bring any back to me... (You know who you are.)
Wagëblë, one of the most popular rap groups in Senegal, have been working with Norwegian producers, touring in Switzerland, and are collaborating on the One People project. But beyond that, try to get this song out of your head once you hear it...

Senegal



Their Music Video

Their MySpace
and website

Buy Wagëblë at Amazon

Unpop Music
Since no one liked yesterday's song, I figure it is the perfect day to put up another that no one will like. So here's Cortney Tidwell from Nashville. And she is not at all country in case you are wondering, more Bjorkish (Bjorky?) I find something quite quite lovely and ethereal in it's noisy shagginess, but I am sure I am alone in this assessment.

Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up



Missing Link (Live)

Her MySpace
and website

Buy Cortney Tidwell at Amazon

Less Than Idolized
Olivia has been poised for fame and stardom for six years, but it hasn't happened... She was the first artist signed to Clive Davis' J Records who then released one unsuccessful single. Then she was signed by 50-Cent and billed as the "First Lady of G-Unit" until last year when her album "Behind Closed Doors" went unreleased and she has since been dropped yet again. Word is that her new album will be produced by Missy Elliot and Timbaland. But perhaps my advice would be not to hold your breath...

Got Me Going Crazy



Live in Germany

Her website

PB & J
Despite an unfortunate evocation of Peter, Paul and Mary and being beloved by hipsters the world over, Peter Bjorn and John are really quite extraordinary. They somehow make slightly whiny and precious little songs full of whistling and bongo drums sound fresh and new. (Also their initials spell "PBJ.")

Objects of my Affection



Young Folks (Live in Glasgow)

Their MySpace
And website

Buy Peter Bjorn and John at Amazon

From the Basement in My Brain
The National are local. From Brooklyn I mean... And just quite fabulous, if you like this sort of thing. The sort of thing where an affectless mumble covers driving and writhing chaos. They play River to River August 17th.

Secret Meeting

Their MySpace

and Website

Buy The National at Amazon