Unsung soul hero Bettye LaVette first recorded this song in ‘65. For time-based perspective, you can see a grainy film capture of a performance from that era here.
Flash forward 40 years to 2005, continuing on what would have to be the textbook definition of a “journey(wo)man’s career,” and here’s Bettye … still present … […]

Norwegian 10-piece… they’ve got it! Democratic and joyous, Jaga have a new record out and will hopefully be making a trek stateside in the future.
America is waiting…

So much to like about this clip…

Jonathan Kane is a downtown NYC drummer dude with a long track record swimming through the city’s huge delta of out-there performance music. In the early 80s he co-founded the Swans with Michael Gira, was the rhythmic thunder behind the massed-guitar armies of Rhys Chatham, and also […]

This was originally in response to dr. robert’s question in the comments section, “so how was Stagecoach?”. It turned into something of a screed, so i’ll make a post of it:
well it started off saturday as nothing necessarily offensive. a lot of tried and true contemporary country pop, the kind of music that […]

Leonard Cohen
Antony & The Johnsons
My Bloody Valentine
Tinariwen
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Last weekend was another successful Coachella excursion. We had the privilege(?) of providing overpriced hydration, electrolytes, and whatever Red Bull is to a mass of humanity that supposedly passes as youth culture. Got to check out some pretty neat music in the midst of it all, a […]

Nels and Alex Cline are identical twin brothers, both with eclectic histories running through the Los Angeles rock/jazz/avant-garde scene for over 30 years. Nels, probably now best known for playing in Wilco for the last few years, is a straight up shit-hot guitar player. The guy can literally play anything. His current […]

With Conan moving into the dead zone that was the Tonight Show, hopefully we’ll get some good late night music battles going. Both Letterman and O’Brien have pretty solid track records for booking quality performances. Last week Letterman had the amazing Antony, of Antony & the Johnsons on…

Antony will be a top flight […]

well, speaking about playing yer acoustic guitar..and american folk/roots/blues….
there simply isn’t anyone better than Kelly Joe Phelps..
you heard about that deal Robert Johnson made at the crossroads with Bethelzebub..?
some say Kelly must have done something similar.
A heavy favorite of Steve Earle, Bill Frisell, and my man Martin Simpson..he knocked me out the first time […]

Picking up on the Dr.’s educational and excellent last post, I got to thinking about the contemporary crop of acoustic guitar players. People like Glenn Jones, Sir Richard Bishop, Steffen Basho-Jung, Harris Newman… all exceptional musicians outright, but each more importantly are guitar sculptors of architectural space and sound. Like Fahey and Kottke […]

Upon Maria’s request… something completely different.

With a soberer celebratory spirit, Fire On Fire bestows upon thee a back porch performance… with lightening!
Their bio says they come from Maine, live together in a big blue house, and play simply for the enjoyment of playing. Makes sense to me.
Described by Michael Gira as “a backwoods, fierce, […]