The Current Music Blog: February 6, 2007 Archive

The Buffering Stream can feel its toes again, 2/6

Posted at 7:26 AM on February 6, 2007 by Hans Eisenbeis (2 Comments)

Catchin' zzzzz's...or the lack thereof

Posted at 9:23 AM on February 6, 2007 by Mac Wilson (7 Comments)

Norah Jones' latest album, Not Too Late, is apparently a swell listen...if you can stay awake, that is. Quite a few reviews, such as this one from PopMatters, note how easy it is to drift off while listening to the record. I suppose this makes it the natural counterpart to the Shins' Wincing the Night Away, the title of which refers to frontman James Mercer's well-documented struggles with insomnia. Wincing's lead track may be called "Sleeping Lessons," but it appears that the best sleeping lesson one could give Mercer would be to simply put on the new Norah Jones album. What do you think: is releasing an album that is the aural equivalent of warm milk necessarily a bad thing? What other albums or artists do you turn to in order to help falling asleep?

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Purple Raining

Posted at 12:33 PM on February 6, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (5 Comments)

Was it just hometown pride, nostalgia for 1984, a complete disgust with most forms of top 20 music these days, or just my imagination? Was the Prince half-time display the best one in recent memory? I was really hoping he'd pull out those old staples of his wardrobe, the butt-less pants, but he was quite dignified up there in all that rain. (Could've done with less of the dancers, though.) The real money should have been on what he was going to play, rather than on the outcome of the game. "Purple Rain" were a no-brainer, and I was not surprised (but completely delighted) to hear "Let's Go Crazy" - but the Foo Fighters? THE FOO FIGHTERS????? Who saw that coming?

I feel like the U2 performance from the year following 9/11 can't really be counted as a normal half-time show, what with it being so emotional and dramatic and the country looking for a time and place to weep and scream collectively, while wearing football jerseys no less. So, with that exception, what's the best half time show you remember?

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Soul Asylum and ... Cyndi?

Posted at 1:26 PM on February 6, 2007 by Steve Seel (3 Comments)

Local musician Wain McFarlane needs a kidney. Some friends are going to help out, by throwing a benefit concert at Myth on March 10th. Soul Asylum, Mint Condition, Lifehouse, and ... Cyndi Lauper. A nutty lineup to be sure. But it just goes to show how many different kinds of folks are willing to come out for a good friend. Personally, I think the pure illogic of the bill could in fact make for something magical and wonderful.

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This is what I call a Party Line!

Posted at 2:49 PM on February 6, 2007 by Barb Abney

When some concert-goers had their phones swiped, Bloc Party invites them backstage! Did they have Party lines in this part of the country? It's where all the locals are basically on the same phone line. You might pick up the phone and hear one neighbor's conversation with another. You'd have to wait in line to use the phone. Freaky.

Stay up or set your DVR for James Hunter on Leno. Calexico will be on Conan. My pick for the evening is Paul Weller on Jimmy Kimmel Live.