Leave Me Nothing I Don't Need At All

Johnny Flynn's debut, A Larum, hit US stores this week. The lead single, The Box, had caught my attention a while back. However, it failed to sustain it for very long before other music I was discovering back then hit my ears. It was a great song, and one that, after a few revisits, am finally beginning to truly appreciate it. And now he is heading across the states along with a favourite artist of mine, Laura Marling. I've missed her the past couple times she has come through town, but hopefully that will not be the case this time. Of course, my being there depends on if work keeps me in NYC or not, as they perform on a school night where I live.

September
13 - Allston, MA - ICC Church
15 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
17 - Philadelphia, PA - Side Chapel @ First Unitarian Church
18 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere
20 - Chicago, IL - The Bottom Lounge
23 - Englewood, CO - The Falcon
26 - Los Angeles, CA - The Hotel Cafe
28 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord
30 - Portland, OR - Lola's

October
1 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
3 - Montreal, QC - Pop Montreal Festival
4 - Toronto, ON - Rivoli

Check out the video for The Box



And for Laura Marling's Ghosts, one of my favourite songs of the year.

Like It's Nothing You've Ever Seen

Swedish singer-songwriter Kristoffer Ragnstam's new album Wrong Side Of The Room drops August 19th courtesy of Bluhammock Music. If the lead single, Swing That Tambourine, is any indication, this album should be hot.

If you like what you hear and are in the NYC area, check him out on August 27th at Piano's, along with The Break And Repair Method (Who are actually really good, too).

DOWNLOAD (Right click and 'Save Link As...')

Then I Set Fire To Our Bed

Normally I wouldn't find the idea of an abusive relationship so fun, especially considering one of my dearest friends was in such a bind at one time; However, Florence And The Machine have made such a delectably catchy song out of a couple that beat each other up that I've been forced to make an exception. And yes, the band has stated that this isn't about domestic violence, but rather about a couple pushing each other to psychological extremes and how relationships can be completely destructive. The lyrics make it a little difficult to believe that, but you decide for yourself. Regardless of what the song is about, it's hard not to want to dance and sing along to it.

Song: Kiss With A Fist

Thank You For Being A Friend

Some very sad news today - Estelle Getty has passed away. Best known for her performance as the cranky yet lovable Sophia on a total of three different (but related) sitcoms, the long running Golden Girls and two of its spin-offs, Empty Nest and the short lived Golden Palace.

Getty has been suffering from Lewy Body dementia for a long time and was forced to stop making public appearances back in 2000. What's odd is that I was just thinking about this last night, so it's an sad coincidence that it actually occurred the following day.

She touched millions of hearts and will be missed by each of them.

Go Ahead, You Know You Want It

Because I promised you yesterday, below are the remainder of the videos I took of Santogold performing at SummerStage in Central Park yesterday. Let me apologize for all the stupid hands. The annoying people who surrounded me insisted on standing if front of me to wave their hands and seemed to follow wherever I pointed my camera.

L.E.S. Artistes



Say Aha



Shove It



You'll Find A Way



Unstoppable



For more pictures, click HERE

Polish Up Til You Make It Gleam

Must like last week, I found myself back in Central Park for yet another free concert (thanks to SummerStage). Unlike last week, I actually started off in the correct line. The show was fantastic! The headliner was Santogold, but the brilliant DJ Diplo, another DJ and some rappers all performed prior to her storming the stage. Below is the first video from the concert that I've been able to upload (it's a slow process when you're internet connection isn't reliable). I was able to get all but two songs recorded, so there are a few more that I'll be posting. But, for now, below is Santogold performing Creator

I'll Let My Heart Remind Me

The Rifles are a London-based rock group whose lead single from their soon-to-be-released sophomore effort is the stuff iTunes ads are made of. Maybe it is just me, but I Could Never Lie just makes me want to get up and dance stupidly around my room.


Like what you hear? Head on over to their MySpace page to find more songs and, if you're in the UK, tour dates (thru end of November). Be sure to head over to iTunes (via the link below) or Amazon (UK) to support the band.

(UK only)

All This Pain I've Tried To Hide

A couple weeks ago I was listening to some of my favourite songs from a couple years back. This included a few tracks from Red Book, a particularly strong pop album from the Glasgow band Texas. I've been a fan since the nineties, so it got me wondering when they would be putting out a new album since a couple years had passed. I put on checking because I've been particularly lazy as of late. Imagine my delight when, a few days later, I stumbled across a familiar name on a site I visit frequently. It started bugging me, so I looked it up. Turns out it's the lead singer, Sharleen Spiteri, and her solo debut hit stores yesterday. The first single, All The Times I Cried, is indistinguishable from her work with Texas, but that isn't a bad thing by any means. She's knows what her fans like and uses it to make the transition easier. Of course, the rest of the album, Melody, isn't much different either, it just has more of a retro-pop vibe.



Visit her MySpace page for additional info. Use the iTunes links below to pick up her new album if you're in the UK.

Central Park Summer Stage LAMC

Yesterday Summer Stage hosted a concert in Central Park with performers Julieta Venegas, Plastilina Mosh and DJ Bitman. Unfortunately for me (at least at first, Bon Jovi was also performing in the park. No, I didn't want see that band, but I ended up standing in line to see him for two hours because where I entered the line (after walking south five blocks just to get to the end of it) there was no information about who was performing, just that it was for a concert. Thankfully by the time we moved up six blocks there were people standing around directing people to the concert I was there for. Of course, that meant standing in yet another long line when I could have already been in the venue. I was pissed but quickly got over it once the show started up. DJ Bitman got the crowd warmed up. From what I heard yesterday, his style reminded me of the band Avalanche (if they were to add the occasional rap in, that is).

Bitman was followed by Plastilina Mosh and their mix of dance, rap and rock. They started off very strong and got the crowd dancing and jumping around. They hit a lull toward the latter half of the middle when they started experimenting a little, but then kicked it back into high gear as they wrapped up their set. See video below:





After a slew of ten minutes more, Julieta Venegas took the stage and had the crowd roaring. She was pretty amazing, but I'll let the video footage do the talking. Oh, and I know the video is really shaky, but keep in mind that at this point I had been standing for five or six hours and had to deal with people pushing their way through the already crammed together crowd. And it's just my digital camera, so no steady cam.

Here is Venegas performing her new song, El Presente



Venegas performing Eres Para Mi



I have several other performances from the show, check them out HERE.

For more pictures, click HERE

Concierto Gratuito en Central Park

Julieta Venegas will be performing at Summer Stage in Central Park today at 3 p.m. I'll be there and so should you. It's FREE, so you don't really have any excuses.

Not sure how to get there? Click HERE for directions.

All You Soul Searchin' People

The Band: Delta Spirit
The Song: People C'mon
The Album: Ode To Sunshine (to be released August 26, 2008)


Visit MySpace for more songs and tour info. Click on the iTunes link below to support them...

Careless In Our Summer Clothes

As I've previously mentioned, this past Friday I went to Celebrate Brooklyn, a free concert in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The performers were locals Sam Champion and Elvis Perkins In Dearland, with not-so-local headliner Cold War Kids. Champion and Perkins were both great, but, as expected, Cold War Kids put on a phenomenal performance. With this band, you either like them or hate them, no real in between. At least in regards to their work in the studio. Their live performances are a whole other thing. Granted, most people were showing up because they are fans, but there were also a lot of folks checking them out for the first time...but everyone was really enjoying their set. As of right now, I have only been able too upload one video (performing 'Hang Me Up To Dry') since it took much longer than expected to load. I'll post the others once I've been able to get those up on YouTube.

And I Drink Your Love

I promised you I'd be posting today and what better time to do so than during an unexpected layover? I'm making my way down to Florida for business...but you don't come here for my ramblings. You come here for the music, so I'll get on with it.

Canadian singer-songwriter Matthew Barber has already scored a number one hit in his homeland and I think it's about time he conquer America. Okay, very slim chance of that happening with the current tastes of most Americans. Given the opportunity (which isn't likely, either), he could very well storm the adult contemporary charts. While his lyrics are simple and a tad trite, he somehow makes it work. If you're anything like me, you'll find yourself putting him on repeat.

Listen to And You Give, the first single from the new album, Ghost Notes.



Like what you hear? Then check him out over on MySpace for additional songs and upcoming performances. Pick up his album via iTunes (use link below) or get in the old fashioned format via Amazon (import only).

HAPPY PRIDE!!!

So it's Pride today and I should have been having a fantastic time. While I did have some fun prior to all the rain, it pretty much spiraled downward quickly. Oh well, I'll post all the pictures and videos tomorrow. In the meantime, I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek. It's helped steer my mood into better territory, so I thought I would share it with all of you.



BTW, I also have pictures and video from Friday night's Celebrate Brooklyn concert that features Cold War Kids.

Bring Your Nieces And Your Cousins

One of my favourite bands, Cold War Kids, is putting on a free show this Friday as part of Celebrate Brooklyn. Other artists performing will be Elvis Perkins In Dearland and Sam Champion. The show will be at the Prospect Park Bandshell and starts at 7:00 p.m. I'll be there and so should you!

For those in NYC, take the F train to 7th Avenue. Exit at the front of the Brooklyn-bound train leaves you at 8th Avenue and 9 Street. Walk 1 block to park's 9th Street Entrance.

A Hundred Millions Ways To Break A Heart

I'm making a conscious effort to bring more male artists into the fold. For a while there my playlist consisted of female singers and female-fronted bands, so that was reflected on my blog. But now that I'm finding worthy songs from male artists, I need to start posting here.

One such artist is Benji Hughes. It's hard to pin him down, but he's kind of a mixture of Beck and The Eels. The tracks are a bit lighter and fun, though. And he definitely doesn't look anything like I thought he would. The song I have here is called You Stood Me Up, and it's about exactly what you'd think. He gets stood up by a girl. It's a really great track that's a nice summer vibe. Enjoy!



If you like what you hear, head over to iTunes (via the link below) to pick up his EP, A Little Extreme. His double disc album A Love Extreme is due out next month.

Best.Concert.EVER

Last night I saw The Ting Tings at Southpaw in Brooklyn, and it was hands down the best concert I've been to. Okay, so I may be a little biased considering they are my favourite band, but there is a reason that it was sold out last night. Their set list played out like a greatest hits set would for a band that's been around much longer. Each song had the entire club dancing, jumping about and singing. Yes, just about everyone there seemed about as in love with The Ting Tings as me.

Katie White (pictured) and Jules De Martino infused so much energy and fun into their performance that it didn't really matter that some of us had waited nearly three hours to hear 10 songs. Thankfully, I was one of those few that was there early, which got me a spot front and center at that stage. Little did I know that by the end of the night I would have White's crotch in my face on multiple occasions. She was constantly jumping over the equipment and getting right at the edge of the stage...her favourite spot being directly in front of me. Had I known that I was able to bring my camera, I would have been able to get close ups of her pores. I will say this, she's become far more greater presence on stage than some of the early footage I've seen. Meanwhile, Jules De Martino (who I must say I have a slight crush on) was pretty much confined to his drums, but he was equally energetic. I just wish he would take his sunglasses off for once.

Oh, and lest I forget, their opening act, Anni Rossi, was amazing. She did wonders with just her voice, a violin and a suitcase. Definitely check her out.

Please go visit The Ting Tings' Myspace page to find out if they are coming to a city near you. If so, I highly recommend you go see them. You won't regret it.

Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh

So I told you that I would be back, and here I am. A little later than I said, but better late than never...right? I swore to myself that I was going to avoid posting songs by female artists (or groups w/ a female on vocals) because this blog has way too much estrogen for its own good. I know I'm gay and all, but still. well, my best friend informed me that one of my favourite Mexican singers was back with some new material and I just couldn't resist posting here since I've fallen in love w/ the song. You don't have to know Spanish, this song is addictive regardless of what language(s) you understand. The artist is Julieta Venegas and the song is Gol. It was originally done by Anita Tijoux (she actually is featured on this version, as well), but Venegas got a hold of it and put her twist on it.