I love the dancing and the beat in this video. Francis Farewell Starlite (I hope that’s his real name) puts on an addicting performance that leaves you wanting more. And if you want it, just check out their awesome website with more videos right on the home page.
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Loading ...And now for something completely different…
The best thing about doing this is that not only do I get to share awesome music with a bunch of wonderful people (you’re all wonderful!), but sometimes I get to find out new music myself! I started out with the intention of writing about a totally different song also called “Fox On The Run”, but thanks to the magic of YouTube, I stumbled upon this catchy gem! Manfred Mann recorded this in 1968, but the over time his version has been forgotten and “Fox On The Run” has become a bluegrass staple. I think they’re both great, (seriously, I’ve been listening to both of them one after another, over and over again, for about forty minutes now) that’s why I’ve included the Manfred Mann version as well as a bluegrass cover (Tom T. Hall, in this case).
The video for the Tom T. Hall version is…kind of amazing. Somewhere, someone heard this song and said “You know what? I kind of see this being sung by a overweight duck named Yu Yo who wears a sort of pirate outfit. Yeah, that’s the stuff!” The song is great on its own, but the video takes it to an entirely different level.
“Take a glass of wine, and fortify your soul.”
Enjoy!
(+1 rating, 1 votes) Loading ...Oh my goodness, how I love this woman! Sister Rosetta was doing amazing things with an electric guitar almost before anyone knew what one was. She was a masterful performer and-as you can see here-an absolute joy to watch onstage. Ahead of her time, she mixed gospel and secular music years before Ray Charles, and played incendiary rock and roll guitar solos long before anyone had even considered approaching music that way. Enough talk, take a trip to heaven with Sister Rosetta!
(+5 rating, 5 votes) Loading ...Well, it’s Monday again. It might seem like a cruelty to inflict this song on you as you settle into the ‘ol computer chair for another week of desk driving, but it’s a very pretty, very sad song, and John Hartford is someone absolutely worth checking out if you haven’t already.
Fun Fact: Other than being an accomplished guitarist, banjo player, fiddler and soft shoe performer, as well as the father of modern bluegrass (“Newgrass”-easy enough), John Hartford was an actual licensed steamboat captain on the Mississippi, a job which he did a few days a week during summers for his entire life. Folk music and steamboats, the man knew how to live!
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...I first discovered this band in early 2007, and I absolutely love them. I heard this track on the radio, and it got me curious enough to go and buy their first album, “The Dust of Retreat” and woof! am I glad I did. The album is an actual album, rather than just a collection of songs, and that by itself is refreshing and rare these days. The fact that all the songs are really gorgeous and edgy pop music is icing on the cake.
It’s easy to see how the 7 piece “cinematic chamber pop” ensemble from Indianapolis easily could have fallen into the seductive trap of indie hipsterism, but they managed to avoid it and create really beautiful music together, and I thank them for it.
Check ‘em out now, before they get super-famous!
(+3 rating, 3 votes) Loading ...Sometimes it’s difficult-especially on a wintry Tuesday morning-to muster the enthusiasm necessary to get through another dim, gray day. I hope that this little gem from Finland’s own Leningrad Cowboys helps you face the workday head on! If you’re wondering who those uniformed fellows are in the background, it’s Russia’s very own Red Army Choir, lending their services to this monument of Western decadence. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this is the best thing to come of the fall of the Soviet Union. Discuss.
(+3 rating, 3 votes) Loading ...Happy Monday everybody!
Remember these guys? Despite fading from the mainstream, Squirrel Nut Zippers will always have a place in my heart. 1998’s “Perennial Favorites” features this excellent track, accompanied here by this top-notch video.
(+2 rating, 2 votes) Loading ...Hello everybody!
Sorry for the period of radio silence there, but I’ve been in the process of moving from Baltimore to Austin, Texas-the “Live Music Capital of the World”. I took my time and made some excellent stops along the way, including Asheville, NC and New Orleans, but now I’m settled, have internet access, and there will once again be some regularity to my posts.
Today we’ve got Diane Birch, who is a phenomenally talented singer/songwriter/piano player extraordinaire. I don’t really know where to classify her, as she’s got her fingers in a lot of different pies-jazz, gospel, blues, pop, rock, soul, and she does an admirable job of blending them all together in a gorgeous sound. A lot of folks compare her to Carole King, but I don’t think that does her justice. Although she is most definitely easy on the eyes, she’s got talent and soul that goes deep beneath her exterior and she delivers all of her songs without a trace of pretension or saccharin pop overkill. Every track on her album “Bible Belt” is worth a listen, but here’s ‘Fools’, one of my favorites, and a bonus solo performance of ‘Sweet River Tree’. Enjoy!
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