Ennio Morricone - Cinema Paradiso

Ennio Morricone - Cinema Paradiso

One of my favorite movies of all time, and one of my favorite movie soundtracks, is Cinema Paradiso.

Ray Barretto - Urban Dance Squad

Ray Barretto - Urban Dance Squad

From Ray Charles to Ray Barretto. We were wandering around the Brooklyn Flea yesterday when I heard this familiar tune blaring from a cassette tape in a tiny little boom box. It is familiar only because I know this as an Urban Dance Squad song from way back. I loved that song growing up, and it blew my mind to learn that it was a cover.

Ray Charles

Ray Charles - Hard Times
Ray Charles - Funny But I Still Love You

"Hard Times" is my favorite Ray Charles song. In his wail you can hear all the pain that the song encapsulates. "Funny But I Still Love You", funny enough, borrows the same tune as "Hard Times", but with a completely different lyrical tone.

Nick Lowe - Marie Provost

Nick Lowe - Marie Provost

Vampire Weekend - M79

Vampire Weekend - M79

Today's Song of the Day comes from my sister, who's been listening to this song on repeat. My sister and I have been talking more about music lately, and I'm glad to discover we have similar tastes!

David Byrne and Brian Eno - Home

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is the newest collaboration from David Byrne and Brian Eno. This highly anticipated album is also the first big release from Topspin Media. Topspin is the latest endeavor from Ian Rogers, formerly of Yahoo Music and Winamp. The company is sort of a music-label for the 21st century, providing the technology and infrastructure for artists to distribute their work.
A lot of companies are trying novel and innovative ways to distribute music (such as Amie Street and Sellaband). Topspin is too, but it is fulfilling an organic need for a viable download model in this post-In Rainbows world, and I'm curious how the timely nature of their services will play out.

The Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches

The Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches

After Wednesday's Wilco show, I've been listening to bootlegs of Wilco's 5-night stand in Chicago earlier this year, where they played every song from their 6 albums and then some. The sets are just magical; you can feel the energy from playing old favorites that haven't been heard in a while for a hometown audience. Sometime during the break before the encore, this song came on the loudspeakers at the show. It was kinda disorienting; it felt like Wilco was covering this song.

I've been away for a few days so I haven't been able to post. I'm sure that's going to happen from time to time. Even the simplest posts take some time to set up. I wonder if other, simpler forms of music blogging, such as Tumblr would be easier to maintain?

Wilco - Pieholden Suite

Wilco - Pieholden Suite

There's no feeling like seeing your favorite band live. My summer is complete after seeing Radiohead on Friday and then Wilco today. A horn section called The Total Pros joined the band on a few songs, and their presence just transformed the set. One example is Pieholden Suite, which just exploded at the end. Yes, this is my 4th Wilco post on this blog, and this probably won't be my last!

Bob Dylan - Make You Feel My Love

Bob Dylan - Make You Feel My Love

Bob Dylan tonight at Prospect Park.

R.E.M. - Nightswimming

R.E.M. - Nightswimming

I'm not sure what it is about this year's Summer Olympics, but I've been slightly obsessed with it. From the amazing opening ceremony to Raj Bhavsar making Indians-Americans proud to Michael Phelps breaking his own records; no matter what the sport, I've been watching with rapt attention.

APW Day 2

Metric - Combat Baby
The Roots - You Got Me

Some more All Points West goodness to round out the weekend.

Radiohead - All I Need

Radiohead - All I Need

RADIOHEAD!! RADIOHEAD!! RADIOHEAD!! TONIGHT!!

Andrew Bird - Armchairs

Andrew Bird - Armchairs

The Knife - Heartbeats

The Knife - Heartbeats

Grizzly Bear's Knife always reminds me of Heartbeats by The Knife; there is even a mashup of the two songs. Its not only their common name, but also the fact that both songs were two of the biggest indie hits of the past few years. Hearbeats was later introduced to a whole new audience with Jose Gonzalez' acoustic cover, which was featured on One Tree Hill and Scrubs.

Grizzly Bear - Knife

Grizzly Bear - Knife

Grizzly Bear's haunting "Knife"; Grizzly Bear is another band playing at APW on Friday.

Duffy - Mercy

Duffy - Mercy

The summer festival season is in full swing, with Lollapalooza and the Oseaga wrapping up last weekend and the inaugural All Points West Festival in New Jersey this weekend. I am beyond excited to see Radiohead at APW on Friday.

Another artist playing on Friday is Duffy, who seems to be everywhere lately. I just saw here on the cover of Spin, and on billboards across the city; the reviews refer to her as the next Amy Winehouse.

Arcade Fire - Wake Up

Arcade Fire - Wake Up

The Arcade Fire are probably the most popular indie act out of Montreal right now.

Martha Wainwright - Factory

Martha Wainwright - Factory

Martha Wainwright was born in Montreal into quite a musical family; her mom is singer Kate McGarrigle, her dad is singer/actor Loudon Wainwright III, and her brother is singer Rufus Wainwright. She recently opened for the Swell Season, and then joined them on stage for the encore to sing this song with the entire band. It was a beautiful moment.

Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse

Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse

Other than the name, Of Montreal shares nothing in common with the city. But last year's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? was one of my favorite albums of the year, and this was my favorite track.

Malajube - Montreal -40°C

Malajube - Montreal -40°C

I'm out of town again for the rest of this week, this time on a short trip to Montreal. Montreal has a great music scene; in fact, the Osheaga music festival is going on there this weekend. I'm closing out the week with bands somehow related to Montreal. First up are Malajube; they are one of the few French-Canadian bands to make it big on the indie scene. I'm not sure what they're singing about, but here's a translation of the lyrics. It sounds like its so cold even polar bears are taking the bus.