Easter Egg: New Music Sneak Preview

Let’s open up a big ol’ Easter egg of new music, a lot of which was previewed at SXSW in Austin a few weekends ago.  We don’t want to get shut down by the blog police, so you can only stream these tunes … I encourage you to click through to the artists’ individual websites, because there are plenty more surprises and goodies awaiting you there.  So, let’s rock!

Courtney Love is bringing back her band Hole, although she’s the only original member left.  The new album Nobody’s Daughter is due in stores April 26.

“Samantha” by Hole

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash drops his eponymous debut album April 6 with a slew of guest singers including Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Cornell, Lemmy Kilmister, Kid Rock and many more.  He’s also joined by ex-GNR mates Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan … here’s a surprising remake of one of their finest moments:

“Paradise City” by Slash featuring Cypress Hill and Fergie (yes)

Stone Temple Pilots are back, with Scott Weiland (apparently clean and sober) on vocals.  Their new album (I couldn’t find a title) is slated to come out May 25.

“Between The Lines” by Stone Temple Pilots

Sixties psychedelia survivor Roky Erickson has teamed with indie rock wonderboys Okkervil River for the new album True Love Cast Out All Evil, due in stores April 20.

“True Love Cast Out All Evil” by Roky Erickson and Okkervil River

Also out next week is Jakob Dylan‘s newest, Women and Country, produced by T-Bone Burnett and featuring the backing vocals of Kelly Hogan and Neko Case.

“Everybody’s Hurting” by Jakob Dylan

Guitar god Jeff Beck will release his newest album Emotion and Commotion on April 13.  He turns in some rockin’ instrumentals and welcomes guest singers Imelda May, Olivia Safe and Joss Stone.

“I Got A Spell On You” by Jeff Beck featuring Joss Stone

Song Of The Week: “Nothin’ But The Whole Wide World,” Jakob Dylan

Jakob Dylan previewed some of his new record Women And Country, at SXSW last week.  Singing with him are Neko Case and Kelly Logan, they sound pretty good together.  Women And Country comes out April 6, it’s produced by T-Bone Burnett.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Party Hard! Time for SXSW

Andrew WK is going to be all over Austin this week

A few years ago, I made the mistake of taking my wife and kids to a free “side party” at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin.   It was a band from Canada, Priestess … and as they came on stage, before anyone strapped on an instrument, even before the introduction, one of the band members said, “We are going to fuck you!”  At that moment, my wife and daughter decided to wait in the car.

So here we are again, at the beginning of another big SXSW week in Texas, with an estimated 3,000 (lowball estimate) music acts set to perform, the city of Austin is beckoning.  When you get close enough, when you can smell the barbecue and almost taste the beer, the city leans in and whispers in your ear: “We are going to fuck you.”

Ho ho.  So we are going to jump right in.  We hope to see those crazy British rock-and-rollers the Jim Jones Revue, and we would kind of like to see Japandroids, Surfer Blood, The xx, Oh No Ono, Fucked Up, Dr. Dog or any of the other “buzz” bands appearing but realistically we may wind up seeing only one from the list above.  When I mean “we,” I mean my 15-year-old son and myself, plus my college-freshman daughter and her boyfriend.   That will tend to limit the field substantially.

Well, Andrew WK is playing about seven different venues during SXSW,

Court Yard Hounds

including a (scheduled) 3 a.m . show Saturday morning at the South by South Mess festival.  We’re gonna be there for that.  Jakob Dylan, with Neko Case and Kelly Hogan singing backup, will play a few spots including Rachael Ray’s big party at Stubb’s.  Pop folkie darlings She & Him, Justin Townes Earle and Bob Schneider are also on that bill – along with Andrew WK.  We’ll try and hit that one too.  Some other big names – like the Court Yard Hounds (two-thirds of the Dixie Chicks), Alejandro Escovedo, Ray Davies, Harper Simon (son of Paul) and Muse – are gonna play too. We have no chance in hell of seeing any of those (except for Escovedo, who will bring his Orchestra to play a big free South by San Jose show Friday night).  There’s a big outdoor gathering, the Mess with Texas party, and Saturday’s lineup includes over-the-top cartoon rockers Gwar, Crystal Antlers, Japandroids and our partyin’ buddy Andrew WK.  Yeah!

Tell you what – we’re gonna hit some of those, take a few photos and maybe some video and get back to you Saturday and Sunday.  If you’re coming down, go here or here or here to get a lineup of all the free stuff.  If not, check out our SXSW preview:

MP3: “Basic Space” by The xx

MP3: “Swim (To Reach The End)” by Surfer Blood

MP3: “No Epiphany” by Fucked Up

MP3: “Delight” by Court Yard Hounds

MP3: “Shooting Star” by Harper Simon

MP3: “In The Sun” by She & Him

MP3: “Nothing But The Whole Wide World” by Jakob Dylan w/Neko Case & Kelly Hogan

MP3: “Art Czars” by Japandroids

MP3: “Ladykiller” by Priestess

MP3: “Rock and Roll Psychosis” by the Jim Jones Revue

MP3: “Party (You Shout)” by Andrew WK

Official SXSW website

30 Days Out’s SXSW survival guide

30 Days Out Exclusive Interview: Jesse Winchester

My first recollection of Jesse Winchester was seeing his picture on the back of a Billboard magazine in the 1970s.  I had not thought about him since until seeing him last month on Spectacle: Elvis Costello with … on Sundance Channel.  My loss.  He brought the house down (and tears to eyes of Neko Case) with “Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding,” a track from his latest release, Love Filling Station.

Winchester was born in Louisiana in 1944 and 22 years later, upon his graduation from college, he received his draft notice.   He decided the Vietnam War was not for him and he split to Canada.  As he explained it to Costello, “he hung around hippies and played coffee houses where you had to write your own songs to fit in.”  In 1970, his music caught the ear of The Band’s Robbie Robertson and he produced Winchester’s critically acclaimed first record.  He went on to release a number of records in the early 70s, and is best known for the tunes “Yankee Lady” and “Brand New Tennessee Waltz.”    When Bob Dylan was asked who he thought, other than himself, was the greatest living songwriter, he said Jesse Winchester.

Songs by Jesse Winchester covered by other artists would fill a good-sized songbook.  “Rhumba Man” was covered by Jimmy Buffett on his new album, and Winchester’s tunes have also been covered by Patti Page, Elvis Costello, Joan Baez, Anne Murray and Reba McEntire.  On Love Filling Station, Jesse reclaims “Oh What A Thrill,” which was a hit for the Mavericks.

Winchester was nice enough to answer a few questions for us about his past, his present and his future:

30DaysOut: Tell us how you got your start in music?  Were you influenced by the Memphis scene and its musicians?

JW: I seem to have been a musician from birth. I was very much influenced by Memphis music – gospel, blues, country. I loved the great radio station, WDIA, and also Dewey Phillips, the best disc jockey ever.

Grammy Nominations 2009

The 52nd annual Grammy nominations came out last night with one glaring omission. Green Day’s excellent 21st Century Breakdown was not nominated for Album of the Year. How is that possible? While I like the new Dave Matthews Band Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King album, it’s not better than Green Day. The Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. sure as hell isn’t. While I’m sure Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Beyonce have their moments, song for song, there is no way they compare with Green Day.

Bruce Springsteen showed up as a courtesy in a few of categories. Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song for “Working On A Dream” and for his “Sea of Heartbreak” duet with Rosanne Cash, but his Working On A Dream album was a no-show. Producer Brendan O’Brien, however, is up for Producer of the Year. U2’s weak No Line On The Horizon LP also appeared in couple of categories, but was shut out of the major ones. Steve Earle’s excellent Townes showed up in the Best Comtemporary Folk Album along with Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone and Elvis Costello’s  Secret, Profane and Sugar Cane (I love Costello, but this is a joke). Wilco, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams and Levon Helm were also nominated for “Best Americana Album.”

Some pleasant surprises (besides the Americana category) include Adele’s nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance for “Hometown Glory,” Willie Nelson’s American Classic nominated for Best Traditional Vocal Performance, AC/DC’s Black Ice up for Best Rock Album and Megadeth’s Head Crusher being recognized in the “Best Metal Performance.”

The show airs on CBS Sunday, Jan. 31. Maybe Kanye West will steal someone’s thunder again. Maybe Lady Gaga will poor blood on herself again, or maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see Wilco, Steve Earle, Springsteen/Cash or AC/DC play live. We can only hope.

2009 Grammy Nominations

Review: “Middle Cyclone,” Neko Case

Listening to Neko Case’s new album Middle Cyclone, the notion crossed my mind that Case could be the female counterpart to Alejandro Escovedo: a hopeless romantic who has been bruised and battered by life but ultimately becomes tougher and stronger.  The album cover imagery and the song titles – “This Tornado Loves You,” “People Gotta Lotta Nerve,” and “I’m An Animal,” to name a few – give off the appearance of toughness.  But when you scratch a little deeper, you find this is Neko’s most personal statement to date.  On this, her sixth studio set, Case is wise enough to surround her clear-as-tequila voice with interesting instrumentation; the multiple pianos on her cover of Harry Nilsson’s “Don’t Forget Me,” and the Byrds-like guitar on “People Gotta Lotta Nerve” only add to Case’s swirling songwriting.   And Neko plunges headfirst into avant garde with the album closer “Marais La Nuit,” a 30-minute (or so) field recording of night noises (frogs, crickets – you know).   It all fits in with Neko Case’s vision of love that’s like natural disasters and meat-eating predators.  Don’t try to figure it out, just go with it.  Middle Cyclone may not immediately blow you away but its claws sink in to your flesh.  It’s a quirky, original and engaging album.

Free download of “Middle Cyclone,” courtesy of Neko Case and Anti- Records

Stream entire album at NPR Music

Neko Case official website

Neko Case is blogging for charity!

30 Days Out reviews Middle Cyclone by Neko Case

Singer-songwriter Neko Case is going to the blogs for charity.  The first single from her forthcoming album Middle Cyclone is available for free download.  “People Got A Lotta Nerve,” from the new album coming out March 3, is the song we’re talking about. 

For every blog that posts the song, Neko and her record label (Anti-) will make a $5 donation benefiting Best Friends Animal Society, one of the country’s top animal rescue organizations.  Founded in 1984, Best Friends works with shelter and rescue groups around the country.  On any given day the Best Friends sanctuary in southwestern Utah houses approximately 2,000 dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds and other animals.

And for every iLike user who adds the new song to his or her profile, Neko will make a one dollar donation to the cause.  Nice deal, eh?

MP3: “People Got A Lotta Nerve”  (Anti- Records blog)

Best Friends Animal Society website

Neko Case official website

Hurricane Ike Is Here

There are probably many things one could sensibly be doing as a major hurricane moves in to the neighborhood, but I’m writing this post for a music blog.  Hurricane Ike is poised to come onshore off the Texas coast within an hour or so.  Galveston, that fine city to our south, has apparently taken a major blow in the form of flooding and nasty winds.  In the days ahead we’ll count our losses.  But now is the time to hide from the wind – and listen to a few tunes.  If you are in a place where the wind is not blowing and the power is still flowing, count your blessings and dedicate your next beer to the good folks in Galveston. 

MP3: “Mighty Storm” by The Duhks

MP3: “Galveston” by Glen Campbell

MP3: “Catch The Wind” by Donovan

MP3: “Buckets Of Rain” by Neko Case

MP3: “Galveston” by Ezra Thomas

MP3: “Hurricane” by Mindy Smith

MP3: “Four Strong Winds” by Johnny Cash

MP3: “Galveston Bay” (live) by Bruce Springsteen

MP3: “Hurricanes Carla and Esther” by Lightnin’ Hopkins

MP3: “Blue Tarp Blues” by Sonny Landreth