The Current Music Blog: March 21, 2007 Archive

The Stream 03/21/07

Posted at 8:57 AM on March 21, 2007 by Barb Abney (3 Comments)

On April 17th a compilation titled Bridging The Distance, will be released. It will benefit p:ear, a Portland, Oregon program for homeless and transitional youth.The disk features The Decemberists coverring Fleetwood Mac. The Thermals coverring Zeppelin. Chris Walla coverring Johnny Hates Jazz. Viva Voce coverring The Alan Parsons Project. The Minus 5 coverring Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Dandy Warhols coverring The Cult. Britt Daniel coverring Sam Cooke. More info on the album. Official p:ear site.

Pitchfork has full Modest Mouse (including 2 nights next month in Minneapolis!)_ and Bjork dates.

Brooklynvegan has rescheduled dates for The View & Young Knives shows.

Chin Up Chin Up and Minus the Bear dates on More Cowbell.

Smashing Pumpkins tour info.

Chris Cornell is coming to town.

Today In Music History:
1902 - Eddie James "Son" House is born.
1950 - Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) is born.
1984 - A portion of Central Park is named Strawberry Fields in honor of John Lennon.
2000 - Soul Coughing disbands.

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Live On Air Blogging 03/21/07

Posted at 9:00 AM on March 21, 2007 by Barb Abney

Noonish
Bloc Party are apparently taping a mini concert for Carson Daly's show today. I assumed the performance was being taped because...
Tunes On The Telly Tonight:
Gary Jules on Carson Daly

11:45am
In related The Good The Bad & The Queen news, here's new Damon Albarn info.

11:35am
When it comes to The Jesus and Mary Chain, the words "more news coming soon" are such a tease! Do you think they are holding off on scheduling further dates beyond Coachella until they are sure they can get along on stage?

11:10am
Cornelius is back! And he's releasing new music next month! More info on his official site.

10:40am
R.E.M.'s version of #9 Dream is from the forthcoming charity compilation Instant Karma. More info on R.E.M. HQ.

10:35am
Arab Strap stopped by The Current about this time last year and did an in-studio performance.

10:25am
The Cinematics are coming to The Twin Cities next month. Full schedule here.

10:10am
Today on our Song Of The Day Podcast we're featuring The Stooges, with "My Idea of Fun" from The Weirdness. Tour dates and more info on their Myspace page.

9:55am
Sondre Lerche is playing the Twin Cities at the end of the month. Just in case you missed it, here's his appearance at our SxSW broadcast.

9:45am
Akai's Myspace page.
Trampled By Turtles playing several dates in the next couple of months.

9:30am
The French Set:
Dimitri From Paris
Coralie Clelment
Phoenix

9:15am
TM Juke info

9am
Gruff Rhys, you know him as the frontman of Super Furry Animals. His second solo album 'Candylion' (his debut, ‘Yr Atal Gehhedlaeth’ was in Welsh) was released earlier this month. His site is a bit clunky, but here it is.

We Still Have the Current!

Posted at 10:35 AM on March 21, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller (3 Comments)

Hope this isn't too much of a downer for a Wednesday morning ....

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my little brother, who's stationed in Iraq. He's been there almost a year now, and works with the convoys--dangerous job. This morning on the bus to work, I was listening to M. Ward's "Right in the Head," and I gotta say--that song hits real close to home. In a good way, and in a terrible way, too. In other words--in all the ways good music should. Some songs are just for humming along to, while others are what resonate with you, and even carry you through a tough time.

Ever had a song get you through a rough patch? Which songs resonate with you, personally?

Though I'm not as crazy about Modest Mouse's more recent work as I was of their early stuff, I've been hanging onto "Dashboard" lately like a drowning man to a life preserver: It would've been, could've been worse than you would ever know ... the dashboard melted, but we still have the radio. Wow. Issac Brock is the new Oprah.

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What's in a name? The Roots...

Posted at 12:29 PM on March 21, 2007 by Melanie Walker (4 Comments)

So, I decided to keep surfing my SXSW high and go to see The Roots last night. My love for these guys (especially for my man ?uestlove) runs deep. Their blend of verbal armory and jazz sensibilities makes for not only an incredibly original sound but an amazing live show. I've been told you've never truly appreciated The Roots until you've seen them live. I admit, I never have. So, I wandered on down to First Avenue to see The Roots live in all their splendor. Not just because I love The Roots but because of my whole musical philosophy started with them. They're called The Roots for a reason...

I would like to clear up some misconceptions about hip hop music and how I came to love it. I know a lot of people don't get it. They hear P Diddy and 50 cent and they just tune out, retorting with Hip Hop has no musical substance. It's all empty swagger's and shout outs and hasn't much soul to it. But, not all Hip Hop and Rap is about that. These folks are intelligent, talented individuals who have some incredibly poignant things to say about this world we live in if you just listen. But, I'll admit I had to break through my own misconceptions of Hip Hop before I really got what it was all about.

Most people wouldn't know it but I'm a huge Jazz lover, having my first radio gig as a morning jazz DJ right out of college in Monterey Bay, California, the home of The Monterey Jazz Festival. Jazz was what really lead me to Hip Hop. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, went to private school. My teenage life was as street cultured as Wonder Bread. Hip Hop wasn't the music of choice where I grew up. When I started listening to Jazz I became enamored with the verbal poetics of Gil Scott-Heron, the scat of Louis Armstrong and the free jazz styling's of Sun Ra. Then I discovered The Roots through a DJ in the UK named Gilles Peterson.

Sure I was schooled a bit in hip hop but, it just wasn't my bag until The Roots came along. Then it all came into perspective for me. The Roots Things Fall Apart was one of those cornerstone albums in my musical education. Common was quoted as saying Things Fall Apart attracted a new audience "coffeehouse chicks and white dudes" and me :) It was jazzy, subtle, and unpredictable all at the same time...like jazz. I'd known of The Roots but that album, and especially "Act Two (Love Of My Life)", became my anthem of 1999.

I played it on my show along with the jazz and it blended perfectly, like a mirror reflecting the roots of it's origins. That was it. It was all over for me. My show wasn't jazz anymore. It was everything and anything that fell in-between. Sure, the "jazz fiends" that listened religiously every morning weren't too keen on me playing anything that wasn't strictly jazz. But, a whole new audience was tuning in. They loved The Roots, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Common, Jazzy Jeff and they began to love and appreciate the Sun Ra's and Nina Simone's that connected it all together. I really felt like I was helping to continue jazz's traditions with other audience's.

I learned that if you stand in one place you aren't going anywhere... So, when you're listening to The Current and swaying along with The Decemberists or The Shins and Nas's "Can't Forget About You" comes on. Do me a favor. Don't switch the channel because hip hop's not your thing. Just give it a second..... Hear that? Yup, Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable". That what we do here at The Current. We play you great music new along side the old because we want to help keep the traditions and connect the dots. Just like The Roots...

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Wolf, wolf

Posted at 1:49 PM on March 21, 2007 by Christina Schmitt (11 Comments)

Fashion report: The name "wolf" is in a lot of band names recently. Let's see, we have Wolfmother, Wolfbrigade, Wolf and Cub, Peter and the Wolf, Sea Wolf, Guitar Wolf and a really gross band name describing...jeez, I don't even want to say. I just ate lunch.

What other Wolf names did I miss? What's with the wolf trend?

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"My 3 Songs" for Wednesday, 3-21-07

Posted at 2:34 PM on March 21, 2007 by Steve Seel (1 Comments)

Michael Storhaug of Burnsville wanted to share some music that, he says, "I don't believe you've played before, and I was hoping I could share it with people I think would really appreciate it!"

1) Editors, "Munich"
2) Cordalane, "Kissed Awake"
3) Voxtrot, "The Start of Something"

Well Micahel, you're right about 2 out of three of those tunes -- the 2nd and 3rd. As they say, thanks for sharing!

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