Check out The Strokes new video at Imeem…
Nice playlister and multimedia site….
Filed under: Alicia Keys, Benin, Branford Marsalis, Carlos Santana, Josh Groban, Joss Stone, Music, Peter Gabriel, Song of the Week, World Music, Youssou N'Dour, Ziggy Marley
Salala by Angelique Kidjo featuring Peter Gabriel
This Benin born artist just released her 9th album “Djin Djin” which features collaborations with not just Gabriel but Ziggy Marley, Alicia Keys, Branford Marsalis, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone, Youssou N’Dour and Josh Groban (not going to see that combination of artists on many albums). If you’re into World Music this is a fantastic album. If you’re more of a mainstream Pop and Rock type, there are a lot of tracks that probably won’t appeal to you, but this single should. It’s very reminiscent of Afro Celt Sound System. The duet with Joss Stone covering Gimme Shelter is also pretty sweet. The duet with Groban is a struggle to get through…a slow depressing ballad.
Kidjo is touring in North America and Europe this Summer, with dates scattered across both continents. Part of the tour is opening for Josh Groban, and other dates are headliners.
Filed under: Boston, Music, New Music, Podcasts, Song of the Week, WBOS, media, radio
Okay, if you live in Boston, you are lucky enough to listen to John Laurenti’s show every afternoon on WBOS, and even better, catch Sound Check on the weekends and John’s chats with Steve Morse, the Boston Globe’s resident music expert, on Thursday afternoons.
I am indebted to John and Steve for the inspiration of many of my selections for Song of the Week on this blog, and more importantly for the vast knowledge of the new music scene which they impart. This is great new music, with background and information that you’ll actually appreciate from the DJ’s…check out their show.
If you don’t live in Boston, you can catch WBOS streaming at WBOS.com or better yet the (somewhat consistently) podcasted episodes of John and Steve’s new music coverage WBOS Podcast
Filed under: Alternative, Indie Music, Internet, Music, Podcast of the Week, Podcasts, podcasting
One of my favorite podcasts, and now really a fantastic franchise; Insomnia Radio has the best indie music delivered in a series of geographically focused episodes. Originally focused on major metropolitan areas in the US, Insomnia Radio has gone global with episodes from around the world.
This is a great introduction to the indie music scene in major (and minor) centers of creativity. Check out the latest episodes here: Insomnia Radio at Podcast.com
Joss Stone’s – Tell Me ‘Bout It
‘Introducing Joss Stone’ is an entire album designed to highlight Joss Stone’s soulful voice, but this track and the other single to date, ‘Tell Me What We’re Gonna Do Now’ are the strongest and hippest songs of the set.
Check out the videos and her North America tour dates: www.JossStone.com
Filed under: Motorola, Podcasts, Symbian, Technology and Gadgets, cellular, media, mobile, podcasting
Big news this week at Podcast.com!
Yesterday Podcast.com and Motorola announced that they are partnering to bring podcasts to high end Motorola phones including the new Motorola MotoRizr Z8, Motorola’s first new Symbian phone with incredible video and audio capabilities.
The announcements are here: Motorola’s Press Release on the Z8 and Media partners including Podcast.com
and here: Podcast.com’s Press Release
Happy Birthday to my sister Kathleen!
Things have been very busy, so this is late, but the Song of the Week is Tori Amos “Big Wheel”, from her new album American Doll Posse. The album released May 1 and is Tori’s first new album in 2 years. There are several potentially successful singles in the album, which is much more mainstream than some of her earlier concept albums. Bouncing Off Clouds and Smokey Joe are likely to surpass Big Wheel on the Singles charts later this year.
Tori is kicking off a world tour at the end of the month.
Dates and tracks at her website: Tori Amos
I have generally avoided selecting major label Top 40 veterans for Song of the Week because they frankly don’t need the help…they’re going to be overexposed within weeks anyway. Such is undoubtedly the case for Maroon 5’s “Makes Me Wonder”, the first single from the yet to be released album “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long”, but the singles rocket to the top of several charts demands recognition. “Makes Me Wonder” is the first of Maroon 5’s singles to top the charts, despite the popularity of 2004’s “She Will be Loved”, “Harder to Breathe” and “This Love”.
Check out the band’s excellent website: www.maroon5.com
Filed under: Alternative, Indie Music, Music, Pete Cogle, Podcast of the Week, Podcasts, media
A new feature starting this week: Podcast of the Week, with a focus on podcasts that present, recommend, review or promote artists, music, or particular musical genres.
This week the Podcast of the Week is Pete Cogle’s PC Podcast. PC Podcast is a veteran podcast that Pete has been producing twice a week since January 2006. The podcast is entirely podsafe music, almost entirely indie, and the range of music is extremely wide with artists from many styles and many countries. Not the sort of stuff for those who never venture outside of Top 40 formula bands, but if you are into world music and discovering indie artists, you should check out PC Podcast.
