A 14 Year Old Wizard Of The Ukelele

... I have yet to finalise the streaming of this short video of the most amazing young kid playing a Ukelele - and will repost when I have that cracked. In the meantime - in reviewing have come across another guy (Vincent Esquire ) - born Oakland CA, now living on Maui - Uke prodigy at 14 - switched to guitar after hearing Stevie Ray - and is now driving his own rock and roll band - going to see him play on the 6th.

The 14 Year Old Wizard Of The Ukelele

Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life

Just 'discovered 'Amy Macdonald' last night - and checked her out - and just loved this song - and her delivery .... I know - I am probably WAY behind - but in case not .... enjoy ....

"Read All About It" (on AMG)

Noise Trade

NoiseTrade.com is a new site that I was told about through a californian connection. Her email to me (and I assume a lot of others) runs as follows ...

Just when you thought you had heard everything ….something new comes along. There is a new music effort out of Nashville that really reminds me of the first time someone from MIT sent me a link to a “brand new website” called FaceBook. Yes. I joined that and it looks like a lot of other people did, too.

Now, a brilliant young musician named David Mead has turned me on to a new site called www.NoiseTrade.com. We predict that this will turn the music industry on its ear. It is very simple, you go to a link like this one:

https://www.noisetrade.com/davidmead

and you can either recommend the record to five people and get it for free OR you can pay what you want.

I chose to pay and recommend privately because David Mead has offered to help us create a DVD for our Literacy Center Education Network non-profit called Lullabies for Literacy. He is also going to donate a portion of the profits from his next tour to us.

But the absolute best part is David Mead’s music. I can’t listen to his song called “Little Boats” without crying. It is so evocative of a little child moving between two parents. Like all his songs, it is incredibly beautiful and emotionally powerful.

So, I encourage you to give it a try. Don’t forget to tell your musician friends about it!

With joy and love, I send Season’s Greetings from the Literacy Center Education Network (www.literacycenter.net) ! In 2008, we had 35 million page views from children in 220 countries, so we have a lot to be grateful for.

I tried the link she sent of Davd Meade's stuff - it wasn't available. That aside - the site seems to offer another way for new music to get to the masses.

White Lies

I was coming away from a meeting a couple of weeks ago - and one of my colleagues got to talking about music - telling me to check out a band called White Lies ... so I did ....

(Their Wikipedia entry)

anyway - turns out his son is Harry McVeigh - vocals and guitar - so in the spirit of the blog - I am post news about friends and family contributions .... take a listen ...

They even have an All Music Entry

Nektar

It only seems like 35 years ago since I discovered Nektar ... turns out it was 36 years ago - where does the time go ?

Last Friday - a group of us from my old uni days got to together - and with typical philpin planning - though some of them travelled over two hundred miles - the venue was at my local - 200 yards ;)

I was reminded that night by my good friend Mr J Bilboa (a reader of this blog - alas - so far - not a contributor) that Nektar were playing the Borderline last night. I thought about it - couldn't resist - and went.

I am amazed that they are still going - though of course it is the creative force (Roye Albrighton) who is the constant (though the drummer is the original - the other two were relative newbies.)

During the 72/73 time period - they were described as 'the new Pink Floyd" - needless to say - just like our other heroes - the comparison does both bands a disservice.

However - it likely came from the fact that at the time - the visual element of the band was so important that the guys responsible were listed as official members of the band. Floyd of course being famous for their visual effects that were built around and complemented their music (they always argued that the band and the people were secondary ... well until they all fell out over who was the most important !!)

The Nektar concert last night - very good. I was guessing Roye was in his late 50s last night - purely to do with how long he had been around - turns out he was born in 1949, so is 60 this coming February. His guitar playing last night was masterful - BUT I do remember it being better. Am off to rediscover Tab In The Ocean and Remember the Future - two definitive albums from 72 and 73 - and see if my memory has lost it - or he has ....

Regardless - good concert - and well worth a little explore - their enitire back catalogue is streamed from their web site if you don't want to fork out ....

JB - thanks for making me go ;)

Steven Wilson Solo Recording Contract

This from the Steven Wilson MySpace Blog

Insurgentes on KScope

We are happy to announce that Steven has now made an agreement with Kscope in the UK for the international release of 3 solo albums over the next few years, starting with the retail version of Insurgentes on 10th February 09, which will be a 2 disc set, with both a stereo CD and 5.1 DVDA of the 10 track album. The track listing for the album is:

1. Harmony Korine
2. Abandoner
3. Salvaging
4. Veneno Para Las Hadas
5. No Twilight Within The Courts Of The Sun
6. Significant Other
7. Only Child
8. Twilight Coda
9. Get All You Deserve
10. Insurgentes

Guest musicians appearing on the album are Gavin Harrison (drums), Tony Levin (bass), Mike Outram (guitar), Jordan Rudess (grand piano), Clodagh Simmonds (vocals), Sand Snowman (acoustic guitar), Theo Travis (flute, clarinet), Dirk Serries (guitar drones), Michiyo Yagi (koto), and a full string section.

I decided to NOT buy the limited edition that was announced earlier this year - and now is sold out - but I was kinda with a lot of the commentary at the time - I want the music - don't really need 'the book'.

MORE

The KScope retail edition of Insurgentes consists of a 2 disc set in a rigid hardback digibook with 36 page booklet. Disc one is the already acclaimed 10 track album on stereo CD, and disc two is a DVDA containing the album in higher resolution 24 bit stereo and 5.1 surround sound (in high res DVDA and DTS version compatible with any DVD player), an 18 minute extract from 'Insurgentes' film, and 2 album trailers.

It will be released on 24th February, but you can pre-order it now and receive a link to download the album in 256kb mp3 format to listen to while you wait for your physical copy to arrive. Orders placed through this website will include a free exclusive postcard.

Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk)

Try doing this in Windows !!

Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk), an ensemble of student computer scientists and musicians that uses 20 MacBooks to compose and perform new music. It’s an experimental fusion of portable computing and live performance that harnesses the notebook’s plug-and-play compatibility, state-of-the-art sensors, and raw processing power.

Me Oh My, John Hartford

The late John Hartford will probably always be most famous as the composer of "Gentle On My Mind" but his classic bluegrass-influenced work has more complexity and humor than that beautiful tune could ever reveal.

I was first exposed to John's music on The Smothers Brothers Show when I was still in my early teens and then, in my stoned 20's, I had the pleasure of experiencing his most creative/eccentric period before and after the awesome "Aero-Plain ."

Recently I discovered his earlier work on the "best of", "Me Oh My, How The Time DoesFly", and was reminded of what a talent he was.

Liberation Music Orchestra

I finally got this Charlie Haden and "all star cast" album for my birthday a couple of months ago. It is a jazz classic "that comfortably straddles the lines of jazz, folk, and world music, working up a storm by way of a jazz protest album that points toward the Spanish Civil War in particular and the Vietnam War in passing. Haden leads the charge and contributes material, but the real star here may in fact be Carla Bley, who arranged numbers, wrote several, and contributed typically brilliant piano work. Also of particular note in a particularly talented crew is guitarist Sam Brown, the standout of "El Quinto Regimiento/Los Cuatro Generales/Viva la Quince Brigada," a 21-minute marathon. Reissue producer Michael Cuscuna has done his best with the mastering here, but listeners will note a roughness to the sound — one that is in keeping with the album's tone and attitude. "* Charlie Haden released kind of a sequel called "Not in Our Name" in 2005.

[*AMG, of course."]

"Good Boys...When They Are Asleep"

This is a "best of" the Faces that proves without a doubt that back in the day there were groups that could give the Rolling Stones more than a run for their money. There are no sticks or seeds on this CD.

Aterciopelados

AMG: "Calling Aterciopelados one of the most important rock en español innovators since the mid-'90s would be an accurate summation but merely scratching the surface. Formed as a quartet around the songwriting duo of former Delia y los Aminoacidos singer/guitarist Andrea Echeverri and bassist/producer Héctor Buitrago in Bogotá in 1993, Aterciopelados, whose name translates loosely to "the velvety ones," was one of the first rock bands to emerge from Colombia. In subsequent years, they remained one of the most consistently adventurous and influential Latin rock groups, their worldwide popularity increasing steadily even as they underwent noticeable stylistic transformations."

All of their albums are exciting and complex but they have a new one "Rio" which is getting good press. I highly recommend the group...and I don't speak Spanish...

(Proud) Guilty Pleasure

Grand Funk Railroad's "Live Album" was recorded at the height of their career, right on the cusp of "I'm Your Captain", but it's gems are "Into The Sun" and "Mean Mistreater" (and the CD has an entertaining bonus of Mark Farner giving instructions to the audience including watching out for narcs in the crowd.)

Robert Wyatt's Comicopera

From AMG: "More immediately accessible and warm than Cuckooland, more ambitious than Shleep, Comicopera, in three acts, is the end result of Robert Wyatt looking around and examining the craziness and wild unpredictability in real life in 2007. It's full of humor, horror, absurdity, shoulder-shrugging "what?"-styled confusion, exasperation, and even nostalgia, though his particular brand of that is with the eyes wide open. Old friends like Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, and Annie Whitehead are present, some not so old ones like Paul Weller and Karen Mantler, and other collaborators he has more recently encountered in Anja Garbarek, Orphy Robinson, Yaron Stavi, Mônica Vasconcelos, Gilad Atzmon, Chucho Merchán, Maurizio Camardi, and Alfonso Santimone, just to name a few, with songwriting contributions from his companion Alfie Benge, Garbarek, and Eno, among others. Comicopera may not be all comic, and indeed inverts the entire comic opera notion of beginning with a catastrophe and ending with redemption, but Wyatt's never been so simple. What he has been, however, is close to brilliant, and this delightfully engaging little set will, if heard, more likely than not bring more people sniffing 'round his large body of work than anything he's done since the early '90s."

The Secret Machines

This group has been around since 2000 and their influences include latter-day Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin as well as more conventional groups like INXS, so I'm surprised they are not more famous. After "September 000", "Now Here Is Nowhere" and "Ten Silver Drops" (all with very solid moments), their new self-titled CD rekindled my interest in the group. "Secret Machines" is worth a listen if you can grab any of it for a good price (and there are probably preview MP3's out on the web.)

Speaking of Politics...

I think the new Jackson Browne album, "Time The Conqueror" has two songs worth a listen: the title tune and "Going Down to Cuba."

Jackson's work has grown to be a wobbly mix of political and personal; less introspective than "Late for the Sky" or even "The Pretender", for example. Not all his songs are musically remarkable, (reminding me of James Taylor in their sameness) but the richness of Jackson's (and, for that matter, James') voice and the honesty of Jackson's lyrics have never changed.

Both these songs are sentimental (without being maudlin) and, as such, idealized visions, so they may not appeal to everyone but if you didn't stop listening to Jackson after "Running on Empty" then you will recognize and appreciate what he has done with these two songs.

Anathema

Don't you just love when you discover a band and find a deep and inspired catalog? I remember when I discovered Porcupine Tree, five albums into their career. I really couldn't get enough.

So, following some threads one night I stumbled on Anathema. Classified early in their career as a "doom metal" band they have clearly transitioned into a space occupied by Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd.

Check out the youtube video referenced at the bottom of this post -- taken from a tune on their latest original studio album, A Natural Disaster (2004).

It's really quite beautiful, imho

Their new album is supposedly due in the near term and will be produced by Steven Wilson.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf-as9rDie0

Election Day - I Can't; But You Can

an email blast from David Byrne received last night:

"Pardon the bulk mailing. I Can't Vote. I am an immigrant with a Green Card and, therefore, I am not eligible to vote in a federal election. FYI - I can get drafted (luckily, Daniel Berrigan burned my draft board's records) and I pay taxes, yet I cannot vote for President. On Election Day, I see my neighbors heading to the nearby elementary school to cast their ballots. The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood - rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky - they all turn out in one day.

But most of you can vote. What can I say? The Republicans have made us less safe than before 9/11, bankrupted this economy, started an illegal war they can't - and don't intend to - finish, removed what sympathy (after 9/11) and respect the world had for the US, and have robbed US citizens of many of their basic rights. Global warming? What's that? Science and education? Investment in our future? No, thanks - we'll stick with a good 'ole hockey mom. Ignorant, and fucking proud of it, as is always the case.

Although it looks like a shoo-in, it ain't over 'til Florida. And there are plenty of racists in this country who will vote against their own best interests. So please, get to your local elementary school, post office, town hall, or whatever, and cast your vote and make this a country we can all be proud of. We can get out of this mess, and life can be better than it is.

David Byrne
NYC"

A Music App For The iPhone

Burning Shed co-founder Peter Chilvers has collaborated with ambient pioneer Brian Eno to create 'Bloom', exploring uncharted territory in the realm of applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. Part instrument, part composition and part artwork, Bloom’s innovative controls allow anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen. A generative music player takes over when Bloom is left idle, creating an infinite selection of compositions and their accompanying visualisations.

"Bloom is an endless music machine, a music box for the 21st Century. You can play it, and you can watch it play itself." - Brian Eno

Click Here Yo Go To iTunes App Store

Dead Confederate

Saw these guys (Dead Confederate) on Conan O'Brien the other night - pretty good stuff ....

Georgia rockers Dead Confederate made their debut album, Wrecking Ball, in a tiny, dingy Austin studio — the same place where the sound effects for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre were recorded. "It was a shit-shack," says bassist and songwriter Brantley Senn, 28. "We called it 'the dump.' It was spooky." The eeriness seeped deeply into the quintet's music — a raw, howling take on Southern rock that recalls the darkest moments of Nineties grunge; not surprising, since they are the first band on the new label from Gary Gersh, the A&R exec who signed Nirvana and Sonic Youth. Lead singer Hardy Morris' raspy vocals are a ringer for Kurt Cobain's, while lead guitarist Walker Howle kicks out Dinosaur Jr.-like spiraling riffs. "Our music has always been dark," says Senn. "I don't think I've ever written a song when I wasn't angry or hurt by something." But the band's growing popularity is making it harder for Senn to get into the proper songwriting mind-set. "I'm at the point where I am about to take a minimum-wage job just so I can be unhappy about something so I can write a good song."

GUS WENNER, Rolling Stone

Richard and Lindsey

.. Wondering what an album featuring both Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Hawley might sound like .. anyone else spot a common thread ?

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

The new David Byrne and Brian Eno collaboration certainly takes me back to some of David's best writing. And evokes memories of "more songs about buildings and food". I had the benefit of seeing David and his band perform at the Austin City Limits music festival a couple weekends ago (as u can see I was lucky to be so close - but I had to "camp out" for that spot!). He did half of the new album http://www.davidbyrne.com/music/cds/everything_that_happens/index.php

four songs off Remain in Light + Life During Wartime and izimbra.

The new album can be purchased from the web site above even though it's not in official release until late November. A pre-order gives you immediate access to the MP3 and FLAC versions. It is GREAT!

or you can just go to the web site above and listen to the full album. sweet

National Express

I am sitting on a National Express train in the UK - and Divine Comedy's track 'National Express' has just finished. First time I have had the specific track played in parralel with the experience. Brilliant ...

1) The track

2) The words

3) The combination

Insurgentes ...

We know it is coming .... The SW solo - will be extraordinary ....

The Insurgentes Web Site