The Current Music Blog | The Current from Minnesota Public Radio

New Hot Playlist (02/06/12)

Posted at 10:59 PM on February 6, 2012 by David Safar (0 Comments)
Filed under: New Hot, Programs

Air "Parade" Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip To The Moon)
Dr. Dog "That Old Black Hole" Be The Void
Mark Lanegan "The Gravedigger's Song" Blues Funeral
Of Montreal "Spiteful Intervention" Paralytic Stalks
Sharon Van Etten "Leonard" Tramp
Madi Diaz "Gimme A Kiss" Plastic Moon
Daniel Rossen "Silent Song" Silent Hour / Golden Mile
Lower Dens "Brains" Brains (Single)
The Staves "Icarus" Mexico EP
Bare Wires "Don't Ever Change" Cheap Perfume
Sonic Avenues "Throw It Away" Television Youth
Father John Misty "Hollywood Forever Cemetery " Fear Fun
The Magnetic Fields "Andrew in Drag" Love at the Bottom of the Sea
California X "Sucker" Sucker (Single)
The Darkness "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us" Nothing's Gonna Stop Us (Single)
Memoryhouse "The Kids Were Wrong" The Slideshow Effect
The Polyphonic Spree "What Would You Do?" What Would You Do? (Single)

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Win tickets to see the Lucy Michelle in Lutsen

Posted at 4:55 PM on February 6, 2012 by The Current (0 Comments)

Local favorites Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles are the latest Twin Cities act to be featured performers at Papa Charlie's in Lutsen Township, and we're giving you a chance to win a two-person ticket pack that includes tickets to the band's show and a two night stay at the resort! Enter below, and don't forget to read the rules

Enter the Lutsen Music Series Giveaway and you could win a Ski, Stay and Concert Package for two featuring Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles on February 20, 2012 at Papa Charlie's - Lutsen Mountains in Lutsen Township, Minnesota.

See official rules for more details. You must be 21+ to win

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You must be 13 or older to submit any information to MPR and must be 21 or older to be eligible for this ticket drawing. Any personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to contact you if you are selected, unless you selected "Yes" above. See MPR Terms of Use and Privacy policy.

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Transmission Video of the Day - The Suburbs "Tape Your Wife to the Ceiling"

Posted at 12:05 PM on February 6, 2012 by Jake Rudh (0 Comments)
Filed under: Transmission

I am more than excited to announce the guest of honor (and guest DJ) at this year's Transmission anniversary "11" being held Friday, March 9th at First Avenue.

Transmission will do a salute to the best new wave band to come out of the Twin Cities followed by a curated set by DJ Chan Poling of The Suburbs!

Visit the Transmission homepage

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Teenage Kicks Playlist: 2/4/12

Posted at 10:21 AM on February 6, 2012 by The Current (0 Comments)
Filed under: Teenage Kicks

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Public Enemy: Courtesy of the Artist

Playlist

The Smiths - Frankly Mr. Shankly
Split Enz - I Got You
Primal Scream - Movin' On Up
R.E.M. - Texarkana
The B-52s - Strobe Light
Devo - I Can't Get No Satisfaction
Pet Shop Boys - Love Comes Quickly
Big Audio Dynamite - Contact
David Bowie - Beauty and the Beast
Kula Shaker - Tattva
The B-52s Rock Lobster
Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover
Saint Etienne - Like A Motorway
Hoodoo Gurus - I Want You Back
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions - Forest Fire
Material Issue - What Girls Want
Ash - Girl From Mars
Matthew Sweet - Thought I Knew You
The B-52s - Song For a Future Generation
Public Enemy - 911 Is A Joke
The Knack - My Sharona
The Pogues - Sally MacLennane
The Waterboys - Strange Boat
The Go Go's - This Town The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
The B-52s - Deadbeat Club
Siouxsie and The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
The Suburbs - Love Is The Law

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9:30 Coffee Break: Super Bowl Songs

Posted at 8:38 AM on February 6, 2012 by Jade (22 Comments)
Filed under: 9:30 Coffee Break

Photo credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Even if you didn't watch the Super Bowl yesterday, the commercials are something you can't avoid. You'll probably be hearing about them, or talking about them at work today. And, from what we noticed many of the ads this year had recognizable songs featured in them.

Today for the 9:30 Coffee Break we want you to name the songs and the Super Bowl ad that they appear in.

Songs played:
Echo and the Bunnymen "The Killing Moon" Audi Vampire Commercial

Yello "Oh Yeah" Ferris Bueller Honda commercial

The Cult "She Sells Sanctuary" Budweiser's "Eternal Optimism" commercial

Fun (feat. Janelle Monae) "We are Young" Chevy Sonic "Stunt Anthem" commercial

The Darkness "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" Samsung Galaxy Note commercial

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Today In Music History: Happy 50th Birthday Axl Rose!

Posted at 6:03 AM on February 6, 2012 by Steve Seel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Music History

Today in:

1958 - George Harrison became a member of an obscure Liverpool group known as The Quarrymen. They would change their name and go on to some fame.
1970 - "Instant Karma" by John Lennon was released as a single.
1987 - Joan Jett made her acting debut, co-starring with Michael J. Fox, in the motion picture Light Of Day.
1990 - Billy Idol shattered a leg and broke an arm when his motorcycle hit a car in Los Angeles. Police said Idol ran a stop sign and wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
1998 - Singer-guitarist Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys died of complications from lung cancer in Los Angeles. He was 51.
2003 - ABC aired the British documentary, "Living With Michael Jackson." Jackson's comments about allowing kids spend the night in his bedroom prompted authorities to look into his relationships with children. Jackson was arrested the following November on child molestation charges.

Birthday Highlight:

Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses is 50 today. Born William Bruce Rose, Jr. and raised as William Bruce Bailey in Lafayette, Indiana, Rose grew up in a highly religious household where he attended church sometimes up to eight times a week. Despite becoming a juvenile delinquent in his teens (he was arrested over 20 times on charges such as public intoxication and battery, and served as long as three months in jail at one point), Rose was nonetheless musically active throughout his life, performing in church, singing in chorus and taking piano lessons. The rest, of course, is rock n' roll history. Voted one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone and NME, Rose continues performing today as the one remaining original member of Guns n' Roses. From Appetite For Destruction, we played "Rocket Queen."

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CD of the Week: Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

Posted at 9:06 PM on February 5, 2012 by The Current (0 Comments)
Filed under: CD Reviews, CD of the Week

Contribute and get Tramp as a Thank You Gift.
Listen to Tramp in its entirety

Sharon Van Etten's third album, Tramp, was recorded during a period of transience, in which Van Etten drifted from place to place with no true "home"; hence the album title. This wandering vagueness already lent itself to the drifting, open soundscapes of 2010's Epic, a slow-burning stunner that established Van Etten as a strong new songwriting voice. The primary constant during this period was a series of recording sessions with the National's Aaron Dessner, which led to her beautiful new album.

Whereas Epic had a more haphazard, bedroom project-type sound, Van Etten and Dessner have teamed up to craft a record bursting with meticulous sonic details, while also leaving plenty of space — sonically and lyrically — for contemplation. Most songs settle into the same broodingly melancholic feel of her other work, sometimes slowing to the point where it feels like the music will simply sputter out in its tracks. This only enhances the contrast with her "rock" numbers, of which one, "Serpents," is arguably the best song she's ever written. After a few listens, the song starts to feel almost unbearably intense, circling around a swirl of memories and accusations with no clear beginning or no end. After all, her lyric goes, "In time, you'll stay frozen in time" (or is it, "In time you'll stay, frozen in time"?), which makes the song genuinely haunting and unnerving, all amplified with Dessner's searing two-note guitar lick and a rolling drum track from the Walkmen's Matt Barrick.

Barrick is but one of the guests Van Etten enlists on this new collection (he adds a booming, yet glacially-paced, drum track to the eerie "Magic Chords"). Other guests include Julianna Barwick and members of Wye Oak and Doveman, all of whom make subtle contributions that in no way detract from Van Etten as the central focus. The most overt collaboration is "We Are Fine," a duet with Beirut's Zach Condon, meant to signify an exchange of reassurances between lovers. I wasn't sure about this track at first, as I wondered if Condon's voice spoiled the vibe of the album, but the sincerity of the sentiments won me over. Van Etten's recorded work is often stunningly sparse and lonely, and it's a little heartwarming to hear another (literal) voice offer some comfort and support.

Van Etten's lyrics are largely unpretentious; rather than focusing on flowery language, she tends to build her songs around escalating, evolving linguistic ideas, anchored with terse, memorable refrains. For example, at the beginning of "Ask," she states that she needs "more than a flowers and letters man." This is clever enough on its own, but later, as the song draws to a close, and she repeats the line "it hurts too much to laugh about it," she adds a single use of "man" at the end of the line, which might indicate an idealized partner, or it might just be an under-her-breath admonition. In the tentative "Give Out," she looks out rather than looking down, holds out instead of holding on, before finally giving out rather than giving up. In "Leonard," she adds to her sentiments with each chorus, starting with "I'm bad," progressing to "I'm bad at loving," and culminating with "I'm bad at loving you." Like Bill Callahan, Van Etten is capable of writing words that invert their own meaning, sometimes within a single line or stanza, an intriguing rhetorical device that keeps her songs captivating.

Despite its occasionally bleak outlook, Tramp is a strong next step for Sharon Van Etten, an album that should help her gain an even larger audience, while allowing her to continue building confidence to tackle the serpents in her own mind.

— Mac Wilson, host

Contribute to Minnesota Public Radio and receive Tramp as a thank you gift.

Related Features

Listen to Tramp in its entirety

Sharon Van Etten in Studio

Sharon Van Etten's TV debut

Sharon Van Etten Tramp listening party

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In The Studio For Sunday, February 5, 2012

Posted at 12:30 PM on February 5, 2012 by Jade (0 Comments)
Filed under: In the Studio

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Finally, it's February. A month that is so short it barely counts as a month, and, of course, the most romantic of all the months. But that's not why I'm glad it's here. February is when bands get over their winter hibernation and start plotting out tours again.

This past week we had a lot of great in-studio performances. I'll be bringing you two full sessions tonight from Cass McCombs and Los Campesinos!, as well as a few tracks from some recent local in-studio sessions.

Hour One:

Prima Donn
Cass McCombs

Hangin' On
Vicious Vicious

Lingering Still
She and Him

Telling The Truth and Going Away
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Full In-studio Session with Los Campesinos

Anti-Anti
Snowden

Born in the U.K.
Badly Drawn Boy

Highways and Cigarettes
Son Volt

Honey Please
Dan Wilson

Badaboom
Tapes 'n Tapes

Winter Windows
Sea Wolf

Hour Two:

Cry Cry Crow
The Pines

Widow City
The Fiery Furnaces

Can't Believe A Single Word
VHS or Beta

Eclipse
Brute Heart

Full In-studio Session with Cass McCombs

Tesselate
Tokyo Police Club

Let Me In
Hot Hot Heat

Just Got Robbed
The Sights

Girl From The North Country
Eels

Burn It Down
The Suicide Commandos

Lay Your Head Down
Keren Ann

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United States of Americana with a new tune from Justin Townes Earle

Posted at 11:46 AM on February 5, 2012 by Bill DeVille (0 Comments)
Filed under: United States of Americana

I played a bunch of new Americana this time on the USofA! I featured a brand new tune from the highly anticipated new album from Justin Townes Earle, which is due March 27th. Expect to hear this all over The Current's airwaves! JTE plays the Varsity on May 7th.

Also on the agenda are new works from the Norwegian group, Orbo and the Longshots, as well as Canadians Elliot Brood, The Barr Brothers & local brothers, The Cactus Blossoms.

BTW: Next Sunday shortly after 9, I will air my session with The Pines!

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United States of Americana
February 5, 2012
8:00 a.m.

Fizz Kizer - The Current [The River Road]
Jonathan Wilson - Desert Raven [Gentle Spirt]
The Honeydogs - Everything In Its Place [What Comes After]
Carolina Chocolate Drops - Political World [Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan]
Lucinda Williams - Words [West]
Walter Rose - Black Crow [Cast Your Stone]
Orbo and the Longshots - Magic [Prairie Sun]
The Long Ryders - Run Dusty Run [Native Sons/10-5-60]
Roy Orbison - Running Scared
Harmondale - Holy Water [Spirit of 73]
Romantica - National Side [Recorded LIVE in the Studio]
The Cactus Blossoms - Lonesome and Blue [The Cactus Blossoms]
The Barr Brothers - Beggar in the Morning [The Barr Brothers]

United States of Americana
February 12, 2012
9:00 a.m.

Waylon Jennings - Ain't Living Long Like This
Elliott Brood - If I Get Old [Days Into Years]
Old 97's - Rollerskate Skinny [Satellite Rides]
Sugar and the Hi-Low's - Two Day High
Fistful of Mercy - Buckets of Rain [Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan]
Neil Young - Harvest [Harvest]
Laura Gibson - La Grande [La Grande]
Martin Zellar and the Hardways - I'm That Problem [Rooster's Crow]
Willie Nelson - Today I Started Loving You Again [Remember Me Vol. 1]
Trampled By Turtles - Alone [Stars and Satellites]
Justin Townes Earle - Look The Other Way [Nothing's Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now]
Loretta Lynn - One's On The Way
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles -Just A Kid [Heat]
Charlie Parr - Gospel Plow [Keep Your Hands on the Plow]
Asylum St. Spankers - TV Party [Mercurial]

Americana gig list:

Rogue Valley - tonight - 7th St. Entry
Schlitz Kickin' Country w/Cactus Blossoms - Mondays at Turf Club
Charlie Parr - Tuesday's at Turf Club
Romantica & Western Fifth - Turf Club - Friday
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles - The Cedar - Friday
Martin Zellar and the Hardway's CD Release Show - Friday - Fine Line
The Pines CD Release Show w/Jeffrey Focault - 2/17 -Cedar
The Jayhawks - 2/18 - State Theatre
Laura Veirs - 2/18 - Cedar (11am kids show)
Reckless Ones - 2/18 - Lee's
Sharon Van Etten/Shearwater - 2/18/12 - Cedar
Del Fuegos - 2/28 - Varsity
Rev. Horton Heat - 2/29 - First Avenue
Hackensaw Boys/Lydia Loveless - 3/1 - Cabooze
Punch Brothers - 3/2 - Varsity
Laura Gibson - March 5 - 7th St. Entry
Whitehorse - 3/6 - 7th St. Entry
Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt - 3/7 - State
Honeydogs - 3/10 - First Avenue
G. Love & the Special Sauce /Scott H. Biram - 3/16 - First Avenue
David Wax Museum - 3/21 - Cedar
Bhi Bhiman/Rosie Thomas - 3/23 - Turf
Steve Kaul and the Brass Kings - 3/23 - Cedar
Guy Davis - 3/24 - Fitzgerald
Dan Hicks - March 27 - Dakota
Ben Kweller - 3/28 - Fine Line
Bowerbirds - March 31 - Cedar
Soul Salvation featuring Ruthie Foster and Paul Thorn - April 2 & 3/12 - Dakota
Rodney Crowell - 4/3 - Fitzgerald Theatre
Lucero - 4/4 - First Avenue
Darrell Scott - 4/3 - Bunkers
Pert Near Sandstone - 4/6 - First Avenue
First Aid Kit - 4/7 - Cedar
Trampled By Turtles - 4/11 - First Avenue
Big Sandy - 4/13 - Lee's
Kathleen Edwards - 4/15 - Varsity
Great Lake Swimmers - 5/3 - Cedar
Justin Townes Earle - 5/7 - Varsity
kd lange & Siss Boom Bang - 5/10 - O'Shaughnessy
M Ward - 5/24 - First Avenue

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Honey- Do: Bob Marley

Posted at 10:15 AM on February 4, 2012 by Bill DeVille (0 Comments)
Filed under: Honey-Do List

The gentleman some have called, "the rasta prophet," Bob Marley would have turned 67 this coming Monday. He passed away in 1981, but is far from forgotten.

Reggae wouldn't be what it is without Robert Nesta Marley! My assignment today is to slip in some Marley music throughout my portion of our Saturday!

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