ACL Fest: Sunday

Today was mostly filled with acts that I have heard nothing or little about. So I was hoping to find some new cool bands Here's how my day went:

1:30-2:00: Octopus Project, I enjoyed this psychedelic instrumental quartet. Their style reminds me of The Flaming Lips minus the words, and their sound was full especially went they invited the Austin High School band on stage with them. B

2:00-2:30: The Kills, I left Octopus Project to checkout the Kills who left an impressionable mark at SXSW this spring. I definitely dig their sound, even though their band is just two guitarists and recorded drums, they have a full and inventive sound. B

2:30-3:30: Mike Farris feat. The Roseland Rhythm Revue, I had never heard of them until today and they put on a decent show. Farris has a really soulful voice and their style is a kind of funky gospel. B-

3:30-4:30: Stars, another band I have not heard of, they were just OK. Their sound was full but I thought their style was kind of generic. C+

4:30-4:45: Silversun Pickups, I have heard a couple of their tracks on the radio and I thought it was a 50/50 chance that I would enjoy their show. Well, maybe they were just having a bad day, but I didn't enjoy their set at all and left after only a couple songs. F

4:45-5:30: Neko Case, they had a nice and calming country vibe but I found their show to be a little boring after a while. The musicianship was good, just not my style. C+

6:30-7:45: The Raconteurs, the one band I was really looking forward to today. Unfortunately they were paired up against Gnarles Barkley, but since I have already seen Gnarls (they were amazing) The Raconteurs were a no brainer. They grabbed the crowd's attention right away with two high energy songs in "Consoler Of The Lonely" and "Level." They slowed it down slightly for the rest of the show but still kept a good energy level and full sound. Jack White and Brendan Benson are madmen on the guitar as Patrick Keller and Jack Lawrence hold everything together with their heart-pounding beats. The Raconteurs also changed up their song structure to where the song sounded fresh and new but still held onto the qualities that their fans love so much. With White's crazy guitar solos, Benson's calming voice, Lawrence's thundering bass, and Keller's pulsating drums, The Raconteurs were the kings of ACL 2008. A

Because I couldn't get close enough to hear Band of Horses clearly and myself not being particularly fond of The Foo Fighters, I decided to pack it in on a high note.

ACL Fest: Saturday

I have been going to ACL for four years now, and today may of been the most entertaining day yet. Here's how my day went.

2:30-3:30: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, maybe the best show of the fest so far. Jones may be fifty, but she has the energy of a toddler on crack. As we already knew, her voice is incredible and her backing band (The Dap Kings) can play some funky soul. Highlights were "Nobody's Baby", "Tell Me", and "Let Them Knock." I certainly hope to see them again. A

3:30-4:00: Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves, on first glance you would mistake them for just another young indie rock band, but these cats can play some mean soul. Reed has a powerful voice and their style reminds me of The Dap Kings with a little more instrumentals. B+

4:00-4:45: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, rounding out my afternoon that was filled with soul, Black Joe never fails. I've seen him play in Austin a few times and his act is always full of energy. B

5:30-6:30: MGMT, the first time I saw MGMT I was a little disappointed. Not because they sounded bad, but for whatever reason they refused to turn up the volume. Well this time they really put on a great show. They played all their grooviest songs like "Electric Feel," "Time To Pretend," and "Weekend Warriors," and most importantly they played loud. A-

6:30-7:30: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, one of the best songwritters around put on one of the ten best shows I have ever seen. He played louder than I expected and his new band (The Mystic Valley Band) really complemented his songwriting. Oberst sang passionately and played my personal favorite "I Don't Want To Die (In A Hospital)." I dig Oberst's new country style and to my pleasure he played mostly songs from his new album. A

8:30-10:00: Beck, fresh off his new album Modern Guilt, Beck was the one headliner I have really been looking forward to. I thought his show started off slow, playing some of his old standards. But to my delight he switched to some of his new songs like "Orphans" and "Chemtrails." The act took an interesting turn when Beck and his band all stood at the front of the stage with some mixers and played "Hell Yes." The highlight of the performance for me was when he covered Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat." The overall sound of the show was lacking a little bit, but I was pleased with the performance. B+

Saturday was so jam packed with good acts that I didn't even get a chance to see rock legends John Fogerty, Roky Erickson, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss, and the most blueswelling Black Keys.

ACL Fest: Friday

Oh! The smell of reefer and sweat is in the air, and this means only one thing; the majestic Austin City Limits Festival is upon us. 3 days, 8 stages, and 130 bands, 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When it comes to events in Austin, it's hard to top ACL. 

Here's how my Friday at ACL went down.

2:30-3:30: Vampire Weekend, I was sort of torn between seeing them and Jakob Dylan, but because I was so impressed with Vampire's debut album I choose the afro-pop ivy league alt- rockers. They played a decent show but I was sort of disappointed. Their singer sounded good but their overall sound was lacking. They also needed to turn up the volume. But they did play some new material which makes me curious to see how good their next album will be. B-

3:30-4:30: Del the Funky Homosapien, and I now have a new favorite rapper. You probably know him best from his guest appearance on the Gorillaz's hit song "Clint Eastwood." His fast rhymes and jovial style makes him sound like the old school rappers of the early 90's instead of the ones today. Del and his funky rapping crew know how to accompany each other's styles and really had the crowd moving with their tremendous stage presence. B+

5:15-6:00: Mates of States, I have to say that before today I knew very little of this duo. But they caught my attention with their melodic tunes. Their show was good but did not make my jaw drop. B-

6:30-7:30: N.E.R.D., this is probably the show I enjoyed the least. Although they played loud and had a good backing band, for some reason I just wasn't feeling the music. Most of the crowd seemed into it so maybe it was just me, but to me all their songs sounded the same and all the various parts of their songs did not seem to complement each other to well. It wasn't bad, just OK. C+

7:30-8:15: The Swell Season, everybody now knows this two from their Oscar winning soundtrack Once. Their set was a nice change of pace with their laid back and intimate style. Possibly my favorite moment of the whole day was when they played the great Van Morrison song "Astral Weeks." Definitely a good show for laying in the grass on a cool night. B-

8:15-10:00: The Mars Volta, without a doubt the loudest show of the night. Their guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is truly unbelievable as he sounds like a mix between Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd). Volta definitely doesn't sound like anybody else today and I would best describe them as a psychedelic alt-rock jam band. Personally, I'm not big on their recorded albums, but live they are certainly worth the ticket price. B+ 

Friday was a good day, but what I'm really looking forward to is Saturday.

 

R&B (not rock) Is Dead

Most middle-aged men I know seem to love to ramble on about how rock is dead and how there hasn't been a decent rock record since John Bonham died. Now I'll debate them about rock, but this statement is certainly true for another genre, Rhythm and Blues. It's hard to pinpoint when R&B turned from soulful bliss to commercial gloom, so maybe a timeline will help.

1950's=great, Fats Domino, Ray Charles is starting to hit his stride 

1960's=the pinnacle of soul, Otis Redding, Aretha, and Wilson Pickett

1970's=starts out great, but the beginning of the end

1980's=irrelevant

1990's=coming back but in a bad way

present=the charts are ruled by commercial products like Chris Brown, Neo, and Brandy

Damn R&B was great back in the day with Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and Ray Charles. But nowadays when people think R&B they think of this overproduced, shallow music that I am unfortunately exposed to everyday at my gym. All these artists seem the same, like they are produced in some factory.  

Now soul fans don't panic, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Soul birds like Sharon Jones (playing at ACL this Saturday) and Ruthie Foster have both released albums last year and have proven themselves as soul heavyweights.  

Download: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings: "Tell Me" and "Nobody's Baby" 

Ruthie Foster: "Heal Yourself"

Wilson Pickett: "Ninety-Nine and a Half" and "Mustang Sally"

Aretha Franklin: "Son of a Preacher Man" and "Think"

Marvin Gaye: "Right On" and "Inner City Blues"

Otis Redding: "Don't Mess With Cupid" and  "Ole Man Trouble"

Ray Charles: "The Right Time" and "You Be My Baby"

                                                   

The Fed Gives Out More and More $$$

Nowadays the Fed seems willing to hand out money to anybody. Hell, I probably could go up to Ben Bernanke and ask for a $20 billion loan, I'm sure he'll loan me at least 10. I figure I at least deserve it more than AIG, who shot themselves in the foot with the whole sub-prime mortgage fiasco. The Fed released a report saying that in the last two weeks they have loaned out an average of around $20 billion a day.  Now don't get me wrong, the Fed is not guilty of anything, this is the best way to keep the U.S. economy rolling. I just can't help but become a little stressed out when a country who is already in enormous debt is giving significant loans to companies who collapsed due to their own greed.

Atom Heart Mother

In tribute to the passing of Rick Wright, an original member of Pink Floyd and revolutionary keyboardist, I have been inspired to talk about what I think is a very underappreciated album. When people think of Pink Floyd they think of Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, and Wish You Were Here. Yet, Atom Heart Mother is an album has been overlooked Floydian history. The album is a mesh of classical avant-garde and progressive rock, making it particularly innovative, even for Pink Floyd.

The first track, "Atom Heart Mother,"is 23 minutes of every sound you can imagine. Starting with a strangely paced brass section, after about a minute and a half, the band enters with a sonic boom. Guitarist David Gilmour's powerful chords give a smooth feel to the song, contrasting with the horns that progressively sound darker and darker. Then enters strange noises of panicking horses, motorcycles rumbling, and bombs dropping. The next few minutes are filled with carefully orchestrated guitar, violin, keyboards, drums, and bass that all come together perfectly. The next part of the song is filled with somber singers who bring high drama and tension to the song. Various guitar, bass, organ, and vocal solos fill the song until the 18th minute. This is when Floyd takes the song to a whole new level. They somehow mix everything that happened in the prior 18 minutes and culminate it all into one big climax. This song is fantastic and undoubtedly the pinnacle of the album.

After that 23 minute marathon, the album turns to more conventional song structures. "If" is a somber and mellow track written by Roger Waters. The song is vintage Waters, talking about vulnerability, loneliness, and as always insanity. 

The next track, "Summer '68" written by Rick Wright, has an upbeat feel and is about as close as Pink Floyd gets to sounding like any other band. 

"Fat Old Sun" is the last conventional song on the album, written by David Gilmour. The song is light and easy going, Gilmour sings about lazy sunny days and finishes the song with a melodic guitar solo.

The final song is probably the strangest, even more so than the opening track, called "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast". The songs starts out with some guy rambling incoherently for about a minute. Then a sort of cheerful piano enters and leads for a few minuets. Then the music stops, and you hear somebody preparing breakfast and still talking too softly to understand. Next a guitar enters playing very richly and smoothly while you can still hear this guy prepare breakfast. The rest of the song is various mixtures of harmonious parts until the album comes to a very soothing close. 

I have never heard another album like this and probably never will. It's so out of the box and 

flawlessly composed that every time I listen to it, I appreciate it more and more. 

A

Dr. Dog: Fate

Dr. Dog is in my opinion one of the coolest and most creative bands in indie rock. If there is a band today that sounds anything like The Beatles, then it's Dr. Dog. Their light piano, catchy vocal harmonies, and imaginative lyrics makes them have one of the freshest sounds in alternative music. 

With that being said, I found their new album Fate to be fairly disappointing. Not that the album is bad, it's actually pretty decent, but the band brings nothing new to the table. 

"Breeze" starts the album and sounds like your typical Dr. Dog song. The song has a nice melodic sound but doesn't really get the album started. The album starts to move with the second track "Hang On," the song is catchy and is their respected radio hit, but again it seems like they have written this song before.

"The Old Days" is the first highlight of Fate. The piano playing arpeggios gives the song sort of a classical feel, accompanied by guitar and ragtime drums, the song has a distinctive sound. 

After a few decent but forgettable songs, the album hits again with "The Ark."  With a gloomy guitar and inventive lyrics about failure, insecurity, and "Ooh, What does it mean to be here?" this is the coolest song on the disc.

Two other worthy tracks are "From" which sounds like a modern day version of "Here, There and Everywhere." And "Uncovering The Old" which cleverly incorporates a string section, which corresponds well with Dr. Dog's always poppy sound.

B-

Entertainment Journalism

If you enjoy my blog, then you will surely enjoy the blogs of my peers. I'm currently taking a Journalism class and below are links to the blogs of my fellow classmates. Arguably the brightest minds in the history of mankind. 

Danielle Bauman

Christian Cabazos

Claire Cella

Tommy Collins

Celeste Diaz

Victoria Estrada

Mackenzie Jenkins

Marloes Lemsom

Jennifer Obenhaus

Mandy Odgers

Marc Sherman

Caroline Wallace

Geoffrey West

Allison Willis

Dylan v. Mariah

Who is a better singer? Bob Dylan or Mariah Carey. Now the answer may seem obvious to you, but please think to yourselves, what makes a great singer? It's not just about who can hit a high C, what truly makes a great singer is his or her ability to make the listener feel exactly what the song is trying to portray. To give the song character, a life of its own.

Now if I had to pick anybody in the world to hit a high C, it would be Mariah. On top of that she has eighteen #1 singles, the most for a solo artist in the U.S. and has five Grammys under her belt. But despite all of her success and talent, Mariah is not necessarily who I want standing behind the microphone. Now I admit, I have listened to her music sparingly, but when I have heard it I only hear a voice. She sounds like a producer told her to sing this way. No edge, no real distinctiveness.

Now Dylan certainly can't hit the high C, and according to some his Achilles Heel is his voice. And maybe I'm biased being somewhat of a Dylan worshiper. But I think few can bring what Dylan brings to the microphone. Whether he his howling "HOW DOES IT FEEL!!!" in "Like A Rolling Stone," or preaching in "Gotta Serve Somebody," or reflecting in "One Too Many Mornings," Dylan forces the listener to feel love, hate, hope, disappointment, and everything else that one experiences in life.

Now I don't mean to put Mariah down, she could do things with her voice that appear impossible. But I'll take Dylan everyday of the week.

Mugabe, World Class Dictator

Undoubtedly, my all-time favorite dictator is Mr. Robert Gabriel Mugabe. If you look up dictator who rules with his giant incompetent iron fist in the dictionary, Robert Mugabe's picture would be right there. For those who are not familiar with Mr. Mugabe, he is the "President" of Zimbabwe and has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980. Mugabe has worked hard to become the greatest dictator of today by creating the weakest economy in the world and scaring away any political opponents with violence. Kim Jong-il and Mahmud Ahmadinejad may get the hot press, but Mugabe is personally my favorite.

My favorite accomplishment by Mugabe is his ability to turn Zimbabwe previously respectable economy into an economy with such high inflation and such low per capita GDP that my jaw drops every time I see the statistics. How did Mugabe accomplish this, well he forced out every experienced farmer in the country and replaced them with inexperienced native farmers. Farming was the backbone to the Zimbabwe economy and when inevitably the new farmers could not grow crops they had shortages of food and little product to import to other countries. On top of this Mugabe printed hundred of trillions of dollars in Zimbabwe currency, which is just asking for ridiculously high inflation. Zimbabwe has been in a state of hyperinflation, climaxing in July of 2008 with inflation at 11,200,000%. Just to compare, the U.S.'s inflation is about 5%. I'm still not sure how this is possible, but the stats don't lie. Also Zimbabwe's GDP per capita is at $55. Which means the average person in Zimbabwe makes about $55 a year, less than half of the next closest (Burundi with $128).

So why is Mugabe still in power, in Zimbabwe they have a "democratic process". Well earlier this year Zimbabwe held a presidential election. And Mugabe lost receiving 43.2% of the vote compared to Morgan Tsvangirai with 47.9% of the vote. But we forgot Mugabe is a dictator and if he knows how to do anything, it is staying in power. So a run-off election is held. And Tsvangirai was forced to withdraw from the run-off in fear of his supporters being killed if they voted for him. So Mugabe was the only participating candidate on the ballot and won the run of with 85.5% of the vote.

So my man Mugabe is not done yet and don't think that he is past his dictatorial prime, because I figure he still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Hurricane Ike

Today is Saturday, September 13th. I was lead to believe that Austin would be experiencing 70 mph winds and heavy rain due to Hurricane Ike. People were truly fearful of the storm locally, even the UT football game was cancelled, and it would take a true test of nature to cancel a UT football game. But today was partly cloudy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon with little wind. If you wanted to work on your tan, today wouldn't of been a bad day. I was kind of hoping for at least a little rain, but in Texas it seems like there is never a guarantee for rain.  

ACL Preview

With the seemingly thousands of bands playing at Austin City Limits, trying to find your way around Zilker Park can be confusing. So I've devised a list of the 10 must see acts.

10. Black Joe Lewis, an Austin vet who can belt out soul.

9. G. Love & Special Sauce, Fri. 7:30, a combination of blues and rap, G. Love plays a fun show with his heartwarming songwriting.

8. MGMT, Sat. 5:30, released their creative debut album Oracular Spectacular, they are my new favorite acid band.

7. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Sat. 2:30, probably the best female soul vocalist today backed by one funky band.

6. Vampire Weekend, Fri. 2:30, new on the scene, Vampire takes alt-pop to a new level.

5. Conor Oberst, Sat. 6:30, arguably the best songwriter of the generation, fresh off a newly recorded album

4. The Raconteurs, Sun. 6:30, unfortunately up against Gnarls, but Jack White is reason enough to go.

3. The Black Keys, Sat. 7:30, the guitarist Dan Auerbach is unbelievable, as this duo plays the blues heavier than it has ever been played before.

2. Gnarls Barkley, Sun. 6:30, the coolest act out today, Cee-Lo's voice can knock down buildings and Danger Mouse is a musical genius. Also they put together a grovy backing band.

1. Beck, Sat. 8:30, fresh off arguably his best recording, you know Beck is going to throw a special show.

Antone's

There are a handful of places you have to experience if you live in Austin: Zilker Park, Lady Bird Lake, Magnolia Cafe, Waterloo Records, Threadgills, and so on and so forth. Antone's is definitely one of those places. In my opinion the best live music venue in Austin, which just so happens to be the Live Music Capital of the World.

When you walk into Antone's you see a timeline of blues history. All of the greats have played at Antone's: Albert Collins, B.B. King, Fats Domino, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Delbert McClinton, Jimmy Vaughn, and of course Stevie Ray Vaughn himself. Antone's history alone is reason enough to go. 

Antone's isn't flashy, it's pretty much a bar, a empty floor, a stage, seating is scarce, and is relatively small. But when you walk in you feel the bluesy atmosphere instantaneously. And since it's small, it is easy to find a good spot.   

Antone's was founded by the late Clifford Antone over thirty years ago. Antone moved to Austin in the late sixties to go to UT. Eventually he dropped out and started up a blues club, which was one of the first music venues around 6th street. One of Antone's accomplishments was helping launch the career of Stevie Ray Vaughn. Allowing Stevie to sit in with Albert King was a major factor in Stevie getting a recording deal. 

Sadly Antone passed away in 2006. His wife is now running the club and still attracts big acts. Alejandro Escovedo, Jakob Dylan, Ben Kweller, and Bob Schneider are all playing this month.   

Hole In The Wall

As I was watching the Cowboys game this past Sunday, I noticed an ad for a new T.V. show that has somehow met T.V.'s already incredibly low standards. The show is called "Hole In The Wall", which is a spin off on a Japanese T.V. show. 

The synopsis of this clever program is for people who are desperate for attention to try and contort their bodies to fit through a moving wall. And if they don't succeed then they will be pushed into a pool of water losing both their dryness and dignity. One episode was named so quaintly "The Beer Bellies versus the Six Packs." 

The chances of these people making it through the wall seems slim to none, thus lots of wipe-out and lots of humiliation. And the contestants look equally as ridiculous trying to twist their flabby bodies through these awkwardly shaped holes. Unfortunately that is what Joe American seems to be demanding these days, since similar shows have recently been aired like "Wipe Out" and "I Was On A Japanese Game Show." Am I surprised that the American shrine known as Television created such as show, but I still can't help but feel disappointed. 

Garfield minus Garfield

Officially my new favorite creation in the magical world wide wed is garfieldminusgarfield.com. The idea is simple and hilarious. To take Garfield the cat out of Garfield comic strips leads you to find a bipolar and despondent John Arbuckle. Or as the website states at the top of the page, "It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights the losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb." 

The website posts a new comic strip just about everyday. You may be thinking that the website could get old after a while, but the comics stay fresh and funny. At least in my opinion. I guess watching a middle aged man yell at the wall for no reason will always be funny. 

After a while of reading these comics I realized that the absence of Garfield does not really make John much crazier. I mean the guy talks and yells at his cat all day and is still has a hopeless love life. Nonetheless I like the comic strip more without Garfield. 

Go here now: GarfiedMinusGarfield.net

Why Is Tennis Dead?

While I was watching U.S. Open (tennis) this week, I was reminded that most people in America don't care about tennis. The U.S. Open is the biggest stage in American tennis and none of the matches sell out. On Saturday, Roger Federer (number 2 in the world) played Novak Djokovic (number 3 in the world) and only about 70% of the arena was filled. We all know tennis's lack of popularity has been going on for years now. But I think the quality of play is high enough now for Americans to get back into tennis.

The reason why nobody in the U.S. really cares about tennis anymore is simple, there are no more really good American players. On the men's side we have two guys in the top ten, Andy Roddick and James Blake. But only Roddick has a grand slam win and that seemed like ages ago. Plus Roddick can never beat Federer and seems to get knocked out of tournaments earlier and earlier. Same goes for Blake. On the women's side we have the great Williams sisters. Who when focuses are in my opinion the two best women's players in the world. But they are just about the only competitive American women and they are not always focused. I will have to say they have been playing great as of late. 

The reason why I think tennis should be more popular is that on the men's side there is a great rivalry forming. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played an epic 5 set match in Wimbledon a couple months ago and have met in many previous grand slam finals before that. Federer seemed to have the upper hand on hard courts, while Nadal was the master on clay. But now it seems that Nadal is surpassing Federer on hard courts. Outside of these two Novak Djokovic is another worthy player, who won the Australian Open this year. Even though none of these three are American, they are all sure fun to watch.

Now on the women's side, the Williams sisters are finally emerging again. Also two of the top five players in the world are super sexy babes. Ana Ivanovic (#1) and Maria Sharapova (#5). And we all know that in America, sexy babes are exactly what we are looking for.

Incredible Jazz Guitar

Wes Montgomery's Incredible Jazz Guitar is exactly what the title implies, the greatest jazz guitar album of all-time. Montgomery is unconscious during these sessions, starting out with the fast passed "Airegin," Montgomery improvises throughout a constantly changing chord progression that is to complicated for myself to even fathom. Wes is backed by Tommy Flanagan on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Albert Heath on drums. But there is no doubt that this is the Wes Montgomery show.

Wes plays in his signature octave style throughout most of the album. His unorthodox technique with his strumming hand gives him a completely original sound. "Four on Six" is a jazz standard with the most recognizable jazz guitar riff around. Montgomery explores every part of the fretboard in the song and cleverly integrates octaves within his improvisation.

I have always thought that Montgomery was underrated in the world of guitar. Maybe not jazz, but when people talk about the all-time greatest guitarists, Montgomery's name usually does not get mentioned. The most obvious example is when Rolling Stone came out with a list of the 100 greatest guitarists, Montgomery's names was not even mentioned. The almost undisputed greatest jazz guitarist of all-time. Rolling Stone even put Grant Green and John McLaughlin on the list, but no Wes.

Nonetheless Incredible Jazz Guitar is a monumental album that continues to amaze me every time I listen to it.

Freddie King Tribute

Yesterday was Freddie King's birthday. I feel obligated to pay tribute to Freddie because his name seems to have been lost in the decades since he passed away. King, in my opinion, was one of the all-time great blues guitarists. 

Freddie had a style all of his own. With silky smooth vocals and an original sounding guitar, Freddie sounded like B.B. King but with a Texas twist. "Hide Away," is considered to be the pinnacle of  Freddie's career, it is one of the most recognizable blues songs and has been covered by such greats as John Mayall and Stevie Ray Vaughn. 

Getting Ready is what I considered to be his finest recording. This is a must have album for any blues lover. Freddie covers many blues classics such as "Dust My Broom,"  "Key To The Highway," and "Worried Life Blues." Freddie's sound is fresh on the album, including a string accompaniment on the opening track "Same Old Blues." 

Unfortunately Freddie died in Dallas in 1976 of a heart attack. He toured heavily until he died and was probably took a toll on his vitality. Freddie's impact on the blues is still felt today, influencing later blues men like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and John Earl Walker.  

Cat Power Jukebox

Cat Power (Chan Marshall) is sticking with her newfound soulful sound with her 2008 release "Jukebox." "Jukebox" is an energetic album, backed by a musically gifted band containing Erik Paparazzi on bass, Jim White on drums, Gregg Forman on keyboards and piano, and Judah Bauer on guitar.

This album is mostly covers but arguably the two best songs are the two originals. "Song To Bobby," is Chan's intimate ode to Bob Dylan in the same fashion that Dylan payed tribute to Woody Guthrie with "Song To Woody." "Metal Heart" is the other original track, the song has a building structure that ends in a erie, melodic jam.

Marshall shows her first-rate taste in music in what she covers. Playing songs of greats such as James Brown, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, and Joni Mitchell. The album starts out hot with the short but groovy tune "New York." The album is structured well because "New York" flows perfectly into the next track "Ramblin' Woman." You could never tell "Ramblin' Woman" was written by country legend Hank Williams. The song has a psychedelic sound, a slide guitar off in the distance and melodic organ chords somewhat reminds the listener of a Pink Floyd jam.

Another highlight is "I Believe In You," a cover of a Bob Dylan gospel song. Marshall remains true to the song, but Marshall's raspy vocals gives the song a new dimension.

Singers with true emotion in their voices are rare to come by and Marshall is undoubtedly one of those singers. She spills her heart out when she sings, which makes her one the premiere female artists of today.

A-

Narrow Stairs

Ben Gibbard is probably the most poetic songwriter of this generation. Love lost seems to be the motif of Narrow Stairs, Death Cab For Cutie's 2008 album. This is a slight rebound from their 2005 release Plans, which was undoubltably their most commercially successful album and in my opinion a little overrated. 

The album starts out strong with two tracks that are both sturdy instrumentally and lyrically with "Bixby Canyon Bridge" and "I Will Possess Your Heart." The intro to "I Will Posses Your Heart" is to cool. With four and a half minutes of a steady bass line and random attacks from the piano and guitar. 

The rest of the album changes mood with short cute songs. "Cath..." and "Your New Twin Sized Bed" are the highlights of these. 

Death Cab seems to have a clearer focus on Narrow Stairs than they did on Plans. As I said, the songwriting is always excellent from Gibbard, and the band's sound is as full as it has ever been.