Abner Jay

Here's another dark one for you. The twist is that Abner Jay isn't a standard blues man, instead he was a multi-instrumentalist; a one-man band. Banjo, harmonica, bass drum, high hat, boom!



And of course let's not forget the man who made this tune famous: Louis Armstrong.

José González

Here's a nice song from José González. His guitar is really nice and seemingly effortless, which is always impressive to watch.



If you'd prefer something slightly faster, this is a nice one too.

playlist: midsummer

Here's my latest mix.



full disclosure: I changed that song by The Wooden Birds because I couldn't find Cross My Heart on the tubes. A couple of these are also maybe different versions based on what I could find online. I was surprised at how easy this was to do, look for it again.

midsummer
1. I'm a Trainwreck - Old 97's
2. I Might - Wilco
3. Annihilation Eyes - Maritime
4. Monday Morning - Death Cab for Cutie
5. Old Black Dodge - Sean Rowe
6. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues - Chris Thomas King
7. Holocene - Bon Iver
8. Goshen - Beirut
9. Montezuma - Fleet Foxes
10. Ghosts - The Head and the Heart
11. Dance So Good - Wakey!Wakey!
12. Sugar - The Wooden Birds
13. Hard Times - Gillian Welch
14. I Remember You - Eilen Jewell
15. Wreckage - Jolie Holland

arcade fire

Speaking of bands that people feel strongly about but I don't totally get, I like Arcade Fire but just don't have the crazy strong feelings about them that so many people seem to have. This video is perhaps the first step in changing my mind, a beautiful piece played in a crowded elevator. Love it.

Take Away Show #41 _ THE ARCADE FIRE from Vincent Moon / Petites Planètes on Vimeo.

Sadly, the elevator will not translate when you're making your next mix, so you'll be forced to judge them on music alone.

Tomorrow's New Releases

Wilco has a new single. I should get around to doing a Wilco post because they seem like the sort of band that people feel strongly about, but I've never felt strongly about them. I find them pleasant but haven't ever really grokked them somehow.

Another interesting release tomorrow is the self-titled by a pop band called Locksley.

Beirut

Man, do I want a new album from Beirut. Here's a track from the upcoming Red Hot + Rio 2 compilation.



Here's the B-side to a single released last week in anticipation of Beirut's new album due August 20.

Tomorrow's New Releases

They Might be Giants has a new effort dropping tomorrow, Join Us.

Maritime

A couple of posts ago I linked to a video by the Onion A.V. Club. The theme music they used was a great song released in April by a band called Maritime.


Maritime had a nice pop release in 2006 called "We, the Vehicles" that featured this song (well, at least my mix at the time did):

Cults

Here's your breakout band of the summer, Cults.

Go Outside, by Cults from Boing Boing on Vimeo.

This is also one of the creepiest videos I've seen lately.
Cults is available on Bandcamp.

She & Him

Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward have teamed up as the group "She & Him" for a while now. I saw them do this one at the Ryman last year in Nashville, where they asked Big Al Anderson (the man who wrote this song) to put together an impromptu band and open for them. They called themselves "The Headliners." Everyone was sort of puzzled as to who those guys were before they came out and explained.



Big Al came out and said "I asked my son if he'd heard of She & Him and he said 'Oh, Dad, you'd better do that one!' so here I am." Here's the original:



I recommend both wholeheartedly.

She & Him do Pooh

M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel are featured on the soundtrack to the new Winnie the Pooh movie.

They Might Be Giants

Still crazy about covers. Here's a feel-good cover suitable for Friday.

They Might Be Giants covers Chumbawamba

This might be notable if only for the number of people they tricked into admitting they knew the words to this song.

The Smiths

Just links today:

1. What Difference Does it Make? on Top of the Pops - a funny view of The Smiths being very calm while really at the peak of their powers.

2. What Difference Does it Make? - Artist's Rendition - beautiful.

St. Vincent

St. Vincent doesn't get as much attention as she deserves. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to see the wrongs righted, the darkness made light, the truth made plain. So here are a couple of wonderful St. Vincent covers for your next mix.

Here she is doing a very pretty cover of These Days by Nico:


And another I've used on a mix recently, a cover with Beck of INXS' Never Tear Us Apart:

Record Club: INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

I really love finding an artist someone might already like or a song they might like and throwing in a cover as a way to shake things up. Perfect mix fodder.

Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird is the only person I've seen play the violin and guitar nearly simultaneously. He's impressive on the strings but his lyrics are small masterpieces as well. Here's an extended version of an old track of his that I think is quite good:


If you'd like a nice long track somewhere in the middle of your mix to act as a landing point, this would be a nice track to include.

Led Zeppelin

A party for Independence Day with the greatest rockers of all time. Another obvious choice, but I'm hoping you'll take to heart that there's a lot more to Zep than II and IV:


This track in particular highlights how balanced these 4 were. Throw away vocals done with real passion, beautiful prominent bass line, wailing guitar solo, the works. Listen to Bonham pound on that ride cymbal and tell me that doesn't move you. I dare you.

Eilen Jewell

Eilen Jewell is a fantastic, sort of strange singer that does a lot of stuff I think Tom Waits and Jolie Holland fans would be into. Here's a track from her new record:

Eilen Jewell - Queen of the Minor Key from Signature Sounds on Vimeo.

Here's a great track from her 2007 effort Letters From Sinners & Strangers: