We had so much going on last week that we took a week off from the Friday Mix Tape. But fear not loyal readers, we’re back with another edition of the Mix Tape packed full of some heady tunes to get your weekend started. With Election Day right around the corner we’re feeling a bit patriotic, so we’ll feature songs named for a state. Just sit back and enjoy…
We kick things off with Wisconsin, a bonus track from Bon Iver’s achingly beautiful album For Emma, Forever Ago. Next up, we’ve got Philadelphia’s own Dr. Dog displaying their knack for harmonizing singing an ode to California, that can be found on their EP Takers & Leavers. From there, we’ve got the slow burner Arizona from the Kings Of Leon who will headline their biggest U.S. show to date in January at Madison Square Garden. We then move on to Yo La Tengo covering The Kinks with Okalahoma, USA from their covers record Fakebook. After that, we’ve got one from the melodic, shoegazers Ambulance LTD with the dreamy Michigan. Finally, we close things out Cat Power’s sultry take on Old Blue Eyes signature tune New York, New York from last year’s Jukebox.
As we mentioned earlier, we’re less than a week away from the release of Rhino’s latest Grateful Dead vault release Rocking the Cradle: Grateful Dead, Egypt 1978 on September 30. The 2 CD set, culled from the band’s run at the Sound & Light Theater outside of Cairo, is also being packaged with a DVD that will include a mini-documentary called the Vacation Tapes along with 95 minutes of spectacular concert footage. To get you ready for the release Spinner is currently sharing an exclusive video of Deal.
Finally, Ray Davies is stirring the rumor mill about a possible reunion of the original dysfunctional brother fronted rock band. According to a BBC report the former Kinks lead singer is claiming that the major obstacle holding things up is if his brother Dave, who has experienced some health problems over the last few years, feels good enough to commit to it. The Kinks have not performed together live since 1996, and are the only major British Invasion band whose original members are all still alive. The clock’s ticking!
Yesterday, Scotty offered up a fantastic B-List of albums hitting shelves this month that he’s looking forward to. I thought I’d continue along those lines today with a mix tape chocked full of music that is also being released in the coming months, as we see the leaves turn colors and our days grow shorter. So sit back and enjoy some Feel Good Hits For The Fall…
We kick things off with the first single off of Ray Lamontagne’s third album Gossip In The Grain. Here’s the emotive singer/songwriter with the soul-infused You Are The Best Thing. Next comes some straight ahead rock from the Kings Of Leon with Sex On Fire. From there we move into the gospel tinged Acid Tongue, the title track from the ever adorable Jenny Lewis’ sophomore effort, that features Chris Robinson, M. Ward and others on backing vocals. Then, we’ve got a couple from two former BtN artists Okkervil River with Singer Songwriter (which might be one of my favorite tunes of the year) and Blitzen Trapper with the rootsy, harmonica laced cut Furr. Finally, we close things out with some indie-piano-pop from Ben Folds with You Don’t Know Me which features vocals from Regina Spektor.
Traditionally, September has always been a big month for the release of new albums and September 2008 is looking finer than Sarah Palin. For this week’s B List, I’ve put together a list of the nine September releases you’ve gotta hear.
One of my favorite albums of 2006 was Cowards and Robbers by the unknown at the time Cold War Kids. After seeing them steal the show at MSG last summer, where they opened for Muse, I realized these guys are the real deal: a band that produces amazing albums and bombastic live shows.
The Kids have been touring behind their latest album, Loyalty to Loyalty, and the new songs sound darker and groovier than the previous batch. Loyalty to Loyalty drops on September 23. For a taste of the new album check out the video for Something Is Not Right With Me on the Kids’ homepage.
READ ON for eight more terrific albums coming out this month…
On September 23 the band that was once labeled the Southern-Strokes, Kings Of Leon, will release their second album in as many years: Only By The Night. The trashy Tennessee rockers will celebrate by playing a special intimate album release show at New York’s Webster Hall that will also serve as the kick start to their Northern American tour. We Are Scientists will join the Followill clan for the entire run, along with The Whigs and The Stills who will split the other opening slot.
If some good ‘ol fashion rock music isn’t your idea of a good time then maybe one of these recently announced tours will be for you…
Finally, emotive singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne will release his third album Gossip In The Grain come this October. The soulful troubadour will hit the theater circuit for a month and a half long tour that sees him playing a number of notable rooms around the country - including the Ryman and Radio City Music Hall.
Sometime around 1 PM today the initial installment of the All Points West gets underway in Jersey City, NJ. It’s the first major music festival here in the Northeast, and while it’s may not be jammed to the gills with stages and acts like some its other brethren they’re still bringing in a fantastic line up over the course of the three days. With that in mind, this week’s Mix Tape offers up a couple of acts that will grace the Blue Comet, Bullet and Queen Of The Valley stages this weekend.
We’ll kick things off with some indie-pop from The New Porngraphers who give us My Slow Descent Into Alcoholism off their debut album. Next, we’ll go with a song that you’re pretty much guaranteed not to hear on either night from headliners and festie favorite Radiohead with a live version of Creep from Glastonbury in ‘97. From their we’ve got some straight ahead dirty, trashy rock first with The Virgins doing Rich Girls and then Kings Of Leon give us Happy Alone. Sunday sees the major public return of Ernie and Classic TAB, let’s head back to July of ‘01 at Alpine Valley for this version of Drifting that features John Medeski on keys. Finally, mellow surf-rocker Jack Johnson, who closes the festie, closes the mix with Bubble Toes from Bonnaroo 2002.
I’m hitting up the festie tomorrow, while Scotty is heading out on Sunday so make sure to check out our Twitter feed for updates over the course of the weekend.
On September 23rd, the Followill brothers and their cousin Matt - better known collectively as the Kings Of Leon will release the fourth album Only By The Night. The record will be their second in as many years and as part of the promotion the band is currently offering up the first track off the album - Crawl - as a free download for one week only. Simply right click on the link below and it’s all yours, enjoy…
For those looking for the quick lowdown the song is definitely a continuation of the sound from Because Of The Time - crunchy guitar riffs that bring a big arena rock sound to Caleb’s large emotive vocals. The band will appear at next weekend’s All Points West Festival before heading across the pond for some U.K. dates.
In a few short days 60,000+ people are set to descend on the small southwestern Tennessee town of Manchester for the seventh installment of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. What started out as a predominantly jam-minded festival with four stages has morphed into what is arguably the premier music festival in the United States, with 15 stages and tents featuring everything from music to movies to comedy to karaoke.
With that in mind we decided we’d dedicate a good amount of posts this week to all things ‘Roo. To get things started we thought we’d turn to a band that has grown up at the festie, Kings Of Leon. The Followill brothers and their cousin have graced the grounds three times, moving from being one of the first bands on at a smaller tent in ‘04 to a slot on the main stage in ‘07. Check out this performance of Knocked Up from last year, where they drew a huge crowd…
