Soundtrack of Our Lives

Saw these guys 1 time at Irving Plaza and was forever hooked. Swedes rule, their outrageouness and love of life shines through all over this record.

fasten your seatbelts...

Big Time - Soundtrack of our Lives

Bob Dylan's Latest

I'm a few times through and can strongly recommend; won't say it reaches classic status but that expectation would be impossible given Dylan's body of work. Still its its another fine production, and this lead track is just great.

Also check out this month's Rolling Stone for a great interview as well.

May 8, 1977 - Grateful Dead at Barton Hall, Cornell, New York

Today is the 32nd anniversary of what heads around the world recognize as the greatest show they Grateful Dead ever played. This bootleg is widely available online, and any music fan would do well to spend time listening to this entire show. A mind-blowing performance with an energy and power too impossible to describe.

Brown-Eyed Women - Grateful Dead

Let It Rain

An appropo number here for New Yorkers this week, as it just continues to downpour.
EC's monstrous JAM shines a more upbeat light on the topic.
Just can't express fully how much I love this song.

Let It Rain - Eric Clapton

The Doors

This song, so timeless, seems to be relevant to situations I encounter on a daily basis.

People Are Strange - Doors, The

Suzanne Vega

Smooth and vibey. Cool song. Love the change around :15 seconds in...

Unbound - Suzanne Vega

Chris Issak

I'm not sure why but I've always like this guy. One of the better talk/sing vocal stylings and a surprisingly good guitar player.
Heard his this track "Cheater's Town" from his latest album and thought it was cool.
Check it out.

Cheaters Town - Chris Isaak

David Byrne and Brian Eno

Leading the charge of new music I'm continually lovin', I cannot get enough of David Byrne and Brian Eno's EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS WILL HAPPEN TODAY.
These 2 giants of a-typical song structure and musical creativity have worked many times over the years, and this latest release is the best thing they've done yet. Featuring a wide span of material, the songs slowly work their magic with time and anyone in the mood for something that will challenge and satisfy should get their hands on this now.

2008 Top 10 Playlist

As 2008 draws to a close it's time to issue my picks for the year's best. Lot of great albums this year which I really enjoyed, although most were from the well-known artists I've loved for a while. Great to see they keep getting better. Here you go: check out and enjoy.

1. I'm Amazed My Morning Jacket
2. Freeway Aimee Mann
3. Sometimes Around Midnight The Airborne Toxic Event
4. Supernatural Superserious REM
5. Orange Blossoms JJ Grey & Mofro
6. The Shock of The Lightning Oasis
7. Dreamin' Of You Bob Dylan
8. Old Enough The Raconteurs
9. I Will Possess Your Heart Death Cab for Cutie
10. Scare Easy Mudcrutch

STREAM: HERE

BUY: HERE

Lightening Crashes

I don't know how or why MTV totally squandered their UNPLUGGED series. Obviously this 'music' channel has long abandoned their original format and mission, but I've never equated that to mean that people stopped loving good, quality music. Or what prevented someone else from coming along and replicating the idea: a stripped-down, live acoustic performance by rock musicians.
Luckily on occasion some of these old videos appear, whether on cable or the net. This weekend I somehow came upon this old LIVE performance from the mid-90s, and damn if this performance doesn't knock you right out. I always loved this song. A great build-up track, with a progression of sequences that add different layers with each verse, despite the odd lyrics and mournful subject matter.
It had been a long while since I heard it but there's no question it still holds up like nobody's business. This bare performance from MTV Unplugged just kills - who is this drummer?? Just wailing and owning and adding to the song's groove and power. A great way to hone in on the forgotten aspect of music today: talent. A great song from a completely solid band.

JJ Grey and Mofro

Rocking my shit right now is the latest album from JJGrey & Mofro, entitled ORANGE BLOSSOMS. Cookin it up down-n-dirty, these guys embrace to the old-school flavor that you just don't see in many other new 'rock' bands.
This album's title track is a KILLER!, and has a wickedly clever video too. Hope these guys can find the bigger audience they deserve.

Aimee Mann

If you don't own Aimee Mann's SMILERS yet you should.
With material that reaches all over the musical map, this is easily one of the year's best albums which I've been playing constantly since the summer.
I've noticed a heavy push of TV performances recently and caught this one from Ovation last week. Featuring a stripped down semi-acoustical performance inside an LA cathedral, it's a fantastic show that put her album back into heavy rotation for me. Here's a clip from this extraordinary artist who continues to make great music.

Bon Scott

half madman, all cool.....

Snow Patrol

New favorite alert: Snow Patrol's new album A Hundred Million Suns came out last week and I'm digging what I'm hearing. This sublime "Lifeboat" has been causing alot of repeat play this week.
Check em out.

Yes We Can

History was made last evening as Barack Obama became the first African-American elected President of the United States. I believe this was the right choice for this country, and that his extraordinary poise, intelligence and grace will help improve conditions across the board for the United States. Having received an overwhelming endorsement from American citizens, its now up to him, and I'll be rooting for his success every step of the way.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Vote For Change

So here we are, one week to go. What's important to you? What's your motivation? Money? Peace? Equality? A cleaner environment?
The leadership of this country over the past 8 years has caused unprecedented damage, both to our own citizens at home and to our reputation in the world. Class division in America has reached disparity levels never before observed in history, a notion that completely betrays what this country was meant to stand for.

It's time for a change. Here at FM, we believe Barack Obama is the right choice to put things back on track.

Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble

Have to say I've been extremely fortunate enough to catch some incredible shows along the path so far. This past weekend the list of all-time greats got bigger after I made it up to catch Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble.
Taking place at Levon's house(!) set back in the woods of Woodstock, NY, I struggle to pay the this wonderful evening its proper due. After picking up some food at the community table and entering the barn to catch the wonderful opener by Swell Season, who staked a claim on the map after their Academy Award winning performance in ONCE, Levon came out and ripped into a killer version of the blues-classic, "Same Thing". Standing in his barn, about 20 feet from this legendary architect of The Band was awe-inspiring. Even more so was his frail condition, having beat throat cancer (the cruelest of inflictions for a singer) he was visibly struggling throughout the performance, but only on the outside. The 15+ song set contained some classics, none moreso than The Weight finale, but it was the more intimate numbers that proved most affecting. Having had my eyes opened to the joys of blue-grass recently, I was moved unlike any previous occasion at the beauty of the songs, Levon's delivery and his band's playing.

For music-lovers anywhere, I can't recommend this very special night of music enough. Get there as quick as you can to see a true musical legend.

Astral Weeks Revisited

wow....might have to check out flights to LA. Thankfully it's being filmed....

From rollingstone.com:
Van Morrison will perform the entirety of his 1967 masterpiece ASTRAL WEEKS during a run of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl this November. Morrison will perform at the famed Los Angeles venue November 7, 8 and 9. Many of the musicians who performed on the original album will perform at the concert as well. Tickets go on sale on October 5th.
The whole event will be filmed for an upcoming DVD, appropriately titled Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl.

Like Christmas

Do you still get excited for new records? Did you ever?

For those of us who still look at albums as works of art, still look forward to what the next body of work will sound and feel like, days like this are a real treat.

As a huge Oasis fan I've been looking forward to their new release since I heard it was in the works earlier this spring. This evening I plan to channel the 1970s, throw it on, chill, and take it in top-to-bottom.

Back Door Slam

After a brief hiatus and trip down to Austin City Limits, we're back here at FM. Thanks for your emails and music recommendations over the past month, and Ron in Minnesota I hear you bro and will post some more of my Dylan favorites shortly.

So I've got a new find to share, an act I caught down in Austin and literally was blown away by. Thought it could have been the 90 degree dead heat that was making me dizzy but no, this BACK DOOR SLAM is scary good. A UK-based trio fronted by Davy Knowles, an incredibly precocious chap who plays like he's on fire and sounds like he's a 45 and lived a hard lifetime already. Playing the kind of dirty blues that always sounds best live, I urge you to check them out when they come through your town. Props to the Geisenpatch for pulling me over to see this band.

The Boys Are Back

I.Fing.LOVE.OASIS.
New album out October 7.

Lost Dylan Classic

From deep in the archive comes this diamond of a tune left over from the Time Out of Mind recording sessions. This track "Dreaming Of You" is incredibly solid. The trademark Dylan lyrical magic is all over this, and I haven't heard a funkier groove in a long time.

Best of all, this track is currently available as a free download on BobDylan.com. Get it quick.

Jerry Garcia

"There's no way to measure his greatness or magnitude as a person or as a player. He really had no equal"- Bob Dylan.

It's been 13 years since the guitar stopped playing. What an incredible life in music. What insane fun it was going to the shows. His iconic status will never fade, and thankfully his music lives on.

Springsteen's Dylan-Like Moment

"God have mercy on the man
who doubts what he's sure of...."

Bruce reached iconic status years ago but I'm not so sure his writing has been fully appreciated, at least outside the realm of his super-fans. It's easy to overlook given his wide collection of material, alot of it more internal and honest then his more popular Top 10 singles. But in each and every stage of his career he's managed to create something that truly surpasses the ordinary and climbs into the stratosphere space that most rarely penetrate.
This lyric that closes the fantastic "Brilliant Disguise", where he considers the tight squeeze of uncertainty, is one of these examples. It feels like it came from Blood on the Tracks or something else from Dylan's heyday. What an unsettling way to close a song and still maintain its majesty.
This song is indeed a brilliant one; in my opinion, one of his best.

Possibly My Favorite Beatles Jam

And in the end, the love you take
is equal to the love you make

Sheer ridiculousness. Who knew Lennon was such an animal!?! He seemed to always be the bookish, sensitive, intellectual, not the rock-n-roll lunatic who wailed that ditty before one of the Beatles' most timeless lyrics ever.