Ben Harper and The Day of the Dead

White Lies for Dark Times and a commemoration of a magical day in Grateful Dead history (see end of post). Two posts in one! Sorry Nate.

Ben Harper's latest album dropped this week. Harper is a prolific guy who generally releases an album a year. Does this dilute his work? Maybe. Hell I didn't even know he had released another album after Both Sides of the Gun. But Lynyrd Skynyrd released an album a year in their heyday and things worked out alright for them. Well, sorta.

Anyway, I've come to the decision that I don't like Harper's voice as much as I thought I did. However, he's still a gifted songwriter and guitarist. And his new band is DIRTY. The Innocent Criminals were given a break for this album, and Relentless7 offers a new rootsy sound that is powerful and old school. Guitarist Jason Mozersky in particular really adds a new layer to the Ben Harper sound, and that layer coupled with some stellar slide guitar work by Harper himself makes this release particularly fresh, especially when compared to his recent work. These are not the guys who did Burn One Down, and I mean that in a good way. Harper has always been a rocker who was best known for his softer stuff; with White Lies for Dark Times his rocker abilities are on full display, and true fans are sure to take note. Check it out:

White Lies for Dark Times - Be...

I'm off to San Fran for not one, but two shows this weekend, including the third Dead show of the tour to appear on TSAD (I'm seeing Keane as well). I really can't describe in words how excited I am to see The Dead in their hometown, but the link below might give you an idea. Thirty-two years ago today something incredible happened, and it is captured in tremendous quality below. Deadheads know it simply as 5/8/77 or Barton Hall.

In a stroke of luck that literally changed my life, the very first Dead song I downloaded off of Kazaa and listened to was Scarlett Begonias>Fire on the Mountain from this show (track 13 below). At the time I had no idea what I had stumbled upon. Many regard 5/8/77 as the finest show the Grateful Dead ever played. While I'm not sure I can go that far, I can tell you that Scarlett>Fire was never played any better than it was that night (I get chills at the 17:00 mark every time). You could argue that Dancin' in the Streets and Morning Dew are played to perfection as well. And if a show has the all-time best versions of those three Dead classics, it has to be in the top 10 at least, right? Decide for yourself. Honestly, you can skip the first seven or even ten songs. The beauty begins with Dancin' (track 11). If you haven't listened to much (or any) Grateful Dead, this is the place and the time to begin:



Click here to go to the full Internet Archive page for 5/8/77

The fact that I'm flying out to San Francisco to see the Dead on the anniversary of perhaps their greatest performance is Providence at its finest. Til next week, enjoy.

Ghostland Observatory

Two Guys and Some Lasers


At the outset of this blog I mentioned dance music and the major renaissance it was enjoying. Today it is my distinct pleasure to introduce those unfamiliar to Ghostland Observatory, an electro-rock funk duo from Austin, TX. I’ll keep this week’s post short as I think some of these posts have been getting a little preachy cough gabe cough. Just kidding, but not really, or am I? No, no I’m not.

On to the music…

Below are 5 of my absolute favorite tracks from GO’s 3-album discography. Upon listening and breaking out into uncontrollable dance, you can check them out here.

Best of Ghostland Observatory

These guys rock. And as you can tell by their YouTube videos (below), you apparently leave their concerts deaf AND blind, which is cool, stage presence is definitely something these guys have plenty of.

Enjoy the tunes for this most excellent Thursday, and next week we’ll explore the true meaning of ‘TALENT.’

Until then, adios.


Ps. Big thanks to laportapottie. Photo cred: Chad Wadsworth.


for a live taste (@the metro in chicago):


yes, lasers:

Whiskeytown: Stranger's Almanac

Whiskeytown – Strangers Almanac.

Track One: Inn Town

Hey All. My musical offering to you this week is not a new one. I’d like to bring to light one of my most frequently played albums. The album, Stranger’s Almanac, was the second offering from the band Whiskeytown. Whiskeytown’s history is a brief (1994-1999) and tumultuous one.

Despite only being together for five years the band, lead by a very young Ryan Adams, is widely considered to be one of the most successful bands in the history of Alt-country music. That being said, I find that not too many people have heard them.

Stranger’s Almanac is one of the few albums that I find completely bulletproof. It is rock solid the entire way through; regardless of how many times I’ve listened to it I seldom skip past any tracks.

- ben.

Here are some live videos of a couple tracks from the album. Although the videos aren't the finest of quality (they are from 15 years ago), I found them enjoyable; hopefully they'll spark your interest enough to check out the album if you haven't already.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO -- DADDY YANKEE

Raymond (Ramón) Ayala Rodríguez (n. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 3 de febrero de 1977), conocido artísticamente como Daddy Yankee, cantante de reggaeton, actor, productor cinematográfico, locutor radial[1] y empresario puertorriqueño. Uno de sus mayores logros es haber popularizado el reagueton a nivel mundial ,logrando vender mas de 50 millones de copias aleredor del orbe Daddy Yankee triunfa con su 'barrio fino'



Puerto Rico, oficialmente Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico (inglés: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico), es un territorio no incorporado de los Estados Unidos con estatus de autogobierno, situado al noreste del Caribe, al este de la República Dominicana y al oeste de las Islas Vírgenes. Su costa oeste se sitúa, además, a aproximadamente 2.000 kilómetros (1.280 millas) de la costa de Florida, la más cercana del continente. El archipiélago de Puerto Rico incluye la isla principal de Puerto Rico, la más pequeña de las Antillas Mayores, y un número de islas y cayos más pequeñas, de las cuales las más grandes son: Mona, Vieques y Culebra.

Guitar Heroics

Guitars

When I began scheming for my post this week, I wanted to do something abrasive to provoke responses. I thought that maybe I'd challenge people to name better guitar solos than the ones I could name (take that suckas!). Terrible idea. My rock knowledge is limited. I am not a guitar aficionado. I like cool music, but the expertise ends there. In a similar vein, I don't want to have to defend my own selections against you jackals. I wouldn't presume to guess where you might rate them on some arbitrary scale of difficulty or importance.

What I really want is some new tunes to groove to. This is pretty standard music chatter, but what makes it interesting is the fact that some of you have a taste for rock and roll music that far surpasses my own. Another interesting factor is that some of you have musical abilities that are far beyond my current and future proficiency for anything (seduction being the notable exception). I've randomly chosen three songs in which I particularly enjoy the guitar work. I'm looking forward to hearing some of your favorites.

• Little Wing ~ Jimi Hendrix. I love the open and the solo later in the song. Beautiful. There's not much more that needs to be said about Mr. Hendrix. Shout out to Stevie Ray Vaughn for his amazing version.

• Settle For Nothing ~ Rage Against the Machine. This track is about as hard as it gets from Rage. Be prepared. Before you listen, you'll need to meditate on a time in your life when you were truly irritated with The Man. The harshness of the song actually complements the solo. It's the eye of the storm. Short, and absurdly sweet. Tom Morello definitely earns his money. Behold what marvels shall emerge when Zack sees fit to silence himself.

• Californication ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers. Good solo. Good song. Good album. Great band.
  

Bonus Video: RIP Ricky Hatton (Warning! This video contains extremely violent, non-musical subject matter)

Ralph stanley

Ralph Stanley black & white



here's an instructional vid that breaks down some good banjo pickin. about two thirds into the video has a part that slows it down to take a look a the pickin



yall enjoy

Into the Presence

Found this new album on Lala yesterday. Into the Presence (the name of the band and the album) is established studio musician Luis Maldonado's first album doing his own thing. He got some help from Primus and Perfect Circle drummer Tim Alexander. The album is mostly just the two of them, with the occasional bass or cello thrown in. Unlike other acts that involve only a drummer and a guitarist, this stuff is not grungy or rootsy. It's slick and smooth and efficient, kind of a throwback to late 70s and early 80s rock. Check it out:

Into the Presence - Into the P...

Follow up to last week's post
Two other Chicago rap acts were brought to my attention. Cole Hardy mentioned Serengeti, an excellent act. And Dan Jacobsen mentioned his own group, Shytown. Check em out.