While I was writing the post on Tanita Tikaram (A Long-lost Voice), I started thinking about musicians that had not been heard of for a while – many for the good of the world at large and some, like Ms. Tikaram, that I for one would love to hear more of. And in that respect, my cup of joy has been full to the brim these last few months. Tom Waits came out with new material after about 7 years on ‘Bad As Me’, the striking voice of Sinead O’Connor is heard again on ‘How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?’, The Cranberries re-united after nearly 11 years with ‘Roses’, a much re-formed The Shins (to me it seems that this band’s really only James Mercer with none of the other members from 5 years back on this new album) return after a 5-year break with ‘Port Of Morrow’. Read the rest of this entry »
Of The Returning Troubadour
Posted: March 22, 2012 in MusicTags: DyingNote, Music, Spoon, The Hold Steady, The National
I had read about Adam & The Fish-eyed Poets on the Moopcity blog (there is place in this country and in the world for this band – they’re too good not to) a few months back. What monumental lapse of reason it was that took me as long as this to give them a listen is a mystery to me. But sooner mended. And so on to their sophomore effort ‘Dead Loops’.
What struck me first was the gravelly, emotive voice of the singer. Read the rest of this entry »
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Out Loud
Posted: March 3, 2012 in MusicTags: DyingNote, Jack White, Jay-Z, Muse, Music, My Morning Jacket, Porcupine Tree, The Raconteurs
There was a lot of noise last year around 11/11/11 to celebrate the mythical level 11 on the volume control made notorious/famous in this scene from Spinal Tap. I had for long wanted to write about my list of songs (or just some of them) that I love to turn the noise knob up on. Silly git that I’m, I didn’t want to get on to the 11/11/11 bandwagon. Now that sufficient time has been logged since that fateful day, I can play it up…finally. This set is by no means exhaustive. Consider it a themed post in my ‘Right Now’ series. Read the rest of this entry »
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A Long-lost Voice
Posted: February 21, 2012 in MusicTags: DyingNote, Music, Sinead O'Connor, Tanita Tikaram
This past weekend I was reminiscing about music that I grew up listening to in school and college. And I couldn’t help but laugh. This was the ’80s, you see – Rick Astley, Taylor Dayne…enough said. Still, I thought even that decade had its moments of redemption. And as that thought possessed me, a question floated in. Whereabouts is Tanita Tikaram? Read the rest of this entry »
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Shorty ‘n the Farm House
Posted: February 16, 2012 in MusicTags: DyingNote, James Farm, Jazz, Music, Trombone Shorty, Troy Andrews
Nope, this one’s not about hip-hop. Had it been, it would’ve been titled ‘Shorty ’n da Farm House’…something like that.
This is just a bit of jazz, and an excellent bit of it too. I had previously heard Trombone Shorty (Troy Andrews) and James Farm (a collective of four of the brightest modern jazz artistes, the first letters of whose names form most of the ‘James’ of this outfit) online and on podcasts. Read the rest of this entry »
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Indians Out Of My Closet
Posted: February 9, 2012 in MusicTags: Allegro Fudge, Avial, DyingNote, Indian rock, Lagori, Music, Thermal And A Quarter
For a long time, I avoided – mostly – listening to Indian rock/pop bands because with a few exceptions, I thought all they produced was heavy metal. That is a notion (maybe it was based on reality, I don’t know) that has mercifully been given a sound thrashing in the last about year and a half. There was a time that (almost) every band here played only covers because that’s all the audience was interested in hearing from them. Original music was usually booed. That’s changing – and quite rapidly. A slew of bands that play diverse genres, some that even refuse to be slotted, has emerged. I’ve got around to going in for live performances by some of these acts and I can tell you that the studio doesn’t quite do them as much justice as when they get on stage. I’ve got a few of these songs on my playlist right now. They are not fully representative of what’s going on in the Indian independent music scene. Heck, these songs do not necessarily even capture the essence of the bands playing them. These are just a small sample. Read the rest of this entry »
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Black and Bright
Posted: January 10, 2012 in MusicTags: DyingNote, El Camino, Music, The Black Keys
‘El Camino’ by the Black Keys along with ‘Bad As Me’ by Tom Waits and Florence + The Machine’s ‘Ceremonials’, was one of the most anticipated album releases for me in some time. And all three released in the later part of last year and each one of them is delightful – a sort of Christmas feel-good (can’t call it a gift now, can I, seeing as I had to pay for these?). Read the rest of this entry »
