The Current Music Blog

Yeasayer give you a free tune!

2009-11-23T17:52:24Z

Today on our Song Of The Day podcast we're featuring a tune from Yeasayer's forthcoming sophomore record, Odd Blood. You can grab the tune "Ambling Alp" free! If you're a new subscriber to the Song Of The Day podcast you will also receive new music from No Bird Sing, A Place to Bury Strangers, Orenda Fink and Thao w/the Get Down Stay Down. Later this week we'll be featuring new music from Chuck Prophet, Alec Ounsworth and new local music from Har Mar Superstar. Spend a little time with Yeasayer while listening to an in-studio performance from last year.

Monday Coffee Break: Short and Sweet

2009-11-23T14:16:18Z

In honor of the short week this week (for many folks, that is - our hearts go out to those working in service or retail who will be on the clock Thursday and/or Friday), the topic for today's 9:30 Coffee Break is "short and sweet"; songs that are over practically before they've even gotten rolling. As usual, make your requests below, or here.

Today In Music History: A Salute To Roy Acuff

2009-11-23T13:13:09Z

Today in: 1964 - The BBC banned the Rolling Stones from its airwaves after the band arrived late for two radio shows. 1976 - Ten hours after his last arrest, Jerry Lee Lewis was arrested again after brandishing a Derringer pistol outside Elvis Presley's Graceland's home in Memphis, demanding to see the 'King'. When police arrived they found Lewis sat in his car with the loaded Derringer pistol resting on his knee. 1979 - Keith Richard's girlfriend Anita Pallenburg was cleared by a court of shooting a man found dead at her home. 2008 - Guns N' Roses released their long-awaited album, "Chinese Democracy." History highlight: Today in 1992, American country music singer Roy Acuff died aged 89. Known as the "King of Country Music," he was the first living artist elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Acuff started his career in 1932 working for Dr. Hauer's Medicine Show, hired as one of its entertainers to draw a crowd to whom Hauer could sell medicines. In 1942, Acuff co-founded with Floyd Rose the first major Nashville-based country music publishing company, Acuff-Rose Music, which signed acts such as Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, and The Everly Brothers. Acuff is often credited with moving the genre of country music from its early string band format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful. From Roy Acuff and his Smokey Mountain Folks, we played "Wabash Cannonball."

Honey-do: Power Pop tunes

2009-11-21T17:05:45Z

Today's assigment is "power pop" tunes. What is that, you ask? Well, it's music full of big guitars, lots of harmonies & catchy sing-a-long melodies. Pete Townshend coined the phrase back in the late 60' to descibe the Who's music. When I think of "power pop," I think of bands like Big Star, Badfinger, Teenage Fanclub, Hoodoo Gurus, & the Redwalls. Until 3pm today, we''ll hear all of 'em and a few of yours as well...

Random Vinyl 11/16-11/20

2009-11-20T17:45:32Z

Monday: The Suburbs, "The Suburbs" (1986) The Suburbs were true to their name, they were actually from the Twin Cities suburbs. Their self titled album was produced by Bobby Z, drummer for Prince and the Revolution and they were even on a major label by this time. This album should've launched their career right? Wrong. Frustration with not breaking out nationally led to the breakup of The Suburbs a year after this record was released. We played "Every Night's A Friday Night." Tuesday: Stryper, "To Hell With The Devil" (1986) Christian metal? Yes, that's a genre. Yes, we played Stryper on Random Vinyl. We delighted the audience with the power ballad "Honestly." By accident, no seriously, we meant to play the rocker "Free." Maybe next time. Wednesday: Smith, "A Group Called Smith" (1969) Smith covered a number of songs, they even had a hit song with their take on "Baby It's You," sung by their front woman Gayle McCormick. When they covered a song they put their own bluesy, rock sound on them. We played Smith covering the Stones' tune, "Let's Spend the Night Together." Thursday: Sly and the Family Stone, "Stand!" (1969) "Stand!" was the breakout album for Sly and the Family Stone. "Sing a Simple Song" was the b-side to "Everyday People." Even though it was a b-side and album track, it's been covered and sampled numerous times over the years. Friday: Bob Dylan, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" (1963) This album contains just two covers. One of them is, "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance," originally by Henry Thomas in 1927. Bob totally "Dylanized" the song by rewriting the majority of it. He also sped up the tempo and added harmonica parts.

Friday Coffee Break: Viernes No Ingles!

2009-11-20T13:37:25Z

Time again for our periodic Friday feature, Viernes No Ingles - when we take your requests for songs sung in any language but English. It's just that simple. Jot 'em down below, or here.

Today In Music History: He Wrote The Religious Song That Wasn't

2009-11-20T12:05:49Z

Birthdays: Singer/guitarist Joe Walsh is 62. Rapper Mike D of the Beastie Boys is 44. Bassist Jared Followill of Kings of Leon is 23. Today in: 1970 - Kinks singer Ray Davies re-recorded one word for the single "Apeman." The song contained the word "foggin'," which sounded too much like an expletive. 1973 - Who drummer Keith Moon collapsed twice during a concert in San Francisco, apparently because of jet lag. Guitarist Pete Townshend asked for a volunteer from the audience to finish the set -- and got one. 1990 - The two performers known as Milli Vanilli held a press conference to discuss the lip-synching scandal that cost them their Grammy. Rob Pilatus (pih-LAY'-tuhs) told kids to get a good lawyer if they want to get into show business. 1994 - Musician David Crosby got a liver transplant. Today's highlight: Singer Norman Greenbaum is 67 today; his big hit, released in 1969 was "Spirit In The Sky." He was inspired to write the song after watching Porter Wagoner on TV singing a gospel song. Greenbaum later said, "I thought, 'Yeah, I could do that,' knowing nothing about gospel music, so I sat down and wrote my own gospel song. It came easy. I wrote the words in 15 minutes." "Spirit in the Sky" contains lyrics about the afterlife, making several references to Jesus. However, Greenbaum, who is Jewish, stated that he had no particular religious intentions with the song.

The Chart Show Top 20 11-19-09

2009-11-20T01:30:29Z

For the 5th week in a row our #1 blew everyone else away!

Perhaps giving tickets away for their sold out show helped them this week?

Congrats to the brand new #2 who played in town this week supporting Brendon Benson and reports suggested a storming show.

The Chart Show will be on Wednesday at 8pm next week because of Thanksgiving and you'll get a chance to win tickets to see The Swell Season Dec 5th at The State Theater.

TW	LW	Wks	11/19/2009	The Current Chart Show
			Artist	Song
1	1	6	Edward Sharpe...	Home
2	X	1	Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons	Born Again
3	2	4	Vampire Weekend	Horchata
4	8	6	Mason Jennings	The Field
5	3	8	Weezer	I Want You To
6	5	4	Tegan & Sara	Hell
7	4	5	The XX	Crystalised
8	6	7	Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson	Relator
9	11	2	Mason Jennings	Ain't No Friend Of Mine
10	r	3	Brandi Carlile	Dreams
11	19	2	Florence and the Machine	Drumming Song
12	10	9	The Big Pink	Dominos
13	16	9	Wilco	You and I
14	X	1	Pearl Jam	Just Breathe
15	14	8	Radiohead	These Are My Twisted Words
16	r	7	Grizzly Bear	While You Wait For The Others
17	12	8	The Rural Alberta Advantage	Don't Haunt This Place
18	X	1	The Rural Alberta Advantage	Drain The Blood
19	7	9	The Avett Brothers	I and Love and You
20	X	1	Har Mar Superstar	Tall Boy

Thursday Coffee Break: Second At The Mic

2009-11-19T13:56:08Z

For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, here's an idea: songs sung by the person who served as the secondary lead singer in the band. Some props to the backup guy or gal who took the mic every now and then and fully held his or her own with the regular frontperson. Offer up your suggestions below, or here.

Today In Music History: The Original Blue Suede Shoes

2009-11-19T12:07:43Z

Birthdays: Drummer Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses, The Cult and Velvet Revolver is 49. Today in: 1964 - The Beefeaters changed their name to The Byrds. 1968 - Diana Ross interrupted a set by The Supremes at the Royal Command Variety Performance in London to make a plea for racial harmony. The audience applauded for two minutes. 1990 - Pop duo Milli Vanilli were stripped of their Grammy because other singers had lent their voices to the "Girl You Know It's True" album. 2002 - Michael Jackson dangled his baby son over a fourth-floor balcony at a hotel in Berlin for fans waiting outside. History highlight: Today in 1955, Carl Perkins recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" at Sun Studios in Memphis. The rock 'n' roll classic became a US No.2 & UK No.10 hit for Perkins in 1956, and has been covered by many acts including Elvis Presley and John Lennon. A lot of people associate the tune with Elvis in fact, but we played the original this morning.

New Music Added To The Current This Week!

2009-11-19T04:05:15Z

Hey there! It's Melanie Walker the Music Director here at The Current. Check out the latest new music we'ved added to our playlists each week here on The Current's music blog. You can learn more about the artist or band and listen to more of their music by clicking on their name and you will be linked directly to their website. Enjoy! Them Crooked Vultures has a new self titled album out and it is our featured CD of the week! We'll be hearing multiple tracks from the record all week including "Mind Eraser No Chaser", "New Fang" and "No One Loves Me and Neither Do I". Them Crooked Vultures is in stores now. Supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures, features Queens of the Stone Age's guitarist and vocalist Josh Homme, Nirvana/Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl on drums, and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones on bass. The band also features Alain Johannes (Eleven, Queens of the Stone Age) as a live rhythm guitarist. The trio first discussed working together in 2005, but not much more was heard of the project until summer 2009, when Them Crooked Vultures announced that they had been recording an album in Los Angeles. Los Campesinos "There Are Listed Buildings" from their new EP There Are Listed Buildings EP in stores now. Formed in 2006 in Cardiff, Wales, seven-piece group Los Campesinos! (roughly translating to "the Peasants") includes Aleksandra (keyboard, horn), Ellen (bass), Gareth (glockenspiel), Harriet (violin, keyboard), Neil (guitar), Ollie (drums), and Tom (guitar), with all members sharing vocals and the last name of Campesinos! They had their first show in May 2006 and by the following August opened for Broken Social Scene. They soon signed later that year to U.K. label Wichita, which released their first single in early 2007. A few months later they were added to the roster of Canadian label Arts & Crafts. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings "I'm Not Gonna Cry" from their new album Daptone Gold in stores now. The Dap Kings are a funk and soul band that serves as the house band for Daptone records. They are credited as being spearheads of a revivalist movement that captures the essence of funk and soul music of the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. This is acheived mainly by shuning modern digital recording methods and instead using traditional analogue recording equipment. The Dap Kings started as the Soul Providers in the mid nineties. The Soul Providers began recording James Brown inspired instrumentals and vocal collaborations with Deep Funk legend Lee Fields. It was during these sessions that they discovered Sharon Jones after she recorded backing vocals for one of the tracks. They were impressed enough that she became the perminent lead vocalist for the band. Daptone Gold is a collection of B sides and rarities from the Daptone Records collection. The Cribs "We Share the Same Skies" from their new album Ignore the Ignorant in stores now. The Cribs are an indie rock band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire in the UK. The band consist of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. The former guitarist for The Smiths, Johnny Marr, recently joined the band in 2008. Ignore the Ignorant is their 4th album. The Pines "Heart And Bones" from his their album Tremolo in stores now. The Pines David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey originally moved to the twin cities from Arizona. They recorded their new album, Tremolo on Red House Records, in only two days. But, you would never guess that it was a rushed job. This is their best work to date getting rave reviews locally as well as nationally in the alt-country world. Weezer "I'm Your Daddy" from their new album Raditude in stores now. Weezer hails from Los Angeles and was formed in 1992. Initially, the band consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums, guitar, backing vocals), Matt Sharp (bass, backing vocals), and Jason Cropper (rhythm guitar, backing vocals). Cropper was eventually replaced by Brian Bell, while Matt Sharp was replaced by Mikey Welsh who was later replaced with Scott Shriner. Their first gig was opening for Keanu Reeves' band Dogstar. Their debut album was recorded in 1994 with producer Ric Ocasek at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Their success all began with their first single "Undone - The Sweater Song". The music video was directed by Spike Jonze and the song became a huge hit. 15 years later Weezer has released six albums, five EPs, and a DVD becoming one of the most popular alternative rock bands of the last two decafdes. Raditude is their 7th album. Wild Beasts "All the King's Men" from their new album Two Dancers in stores now. Formed initally in Kendall England as a duo called Fauve by Hayden Thorpe (guitar, vocals) and Ben Little (guitar) in 2002, they eventually were joined by drummer Chris Talbot in 2004 and changed their name to Wild Beasts. Tom Flemming was recruited as Wild Beasts' bassist and the band relocated to Leeds, where they quickly earned a dedicated local following. Two Dancers is their second full length release. Wolfmother "Sundial" from their new album Cosmic Egg in stores now. Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band that formed in Erskineville, Sydney in 2000. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett, the band has released one studio album (2005), which reached number three on the Australian Charts. The album also won the 2005 J Award and 2006 ARIA Awards for Best Breakthrough Album and Best Rock Album. They even gained critical acclaim in the USA with a single from the album titled "Woman" which won the band their first Grammy Award, for Best Hard Rock Performance, in 2007. But that didn't mean everything was going well for the band. Co-founding members Ross and Heskett left the band due to "irreconcilable personal and musical differences,". After a brief hiatus, Stockdale returned with new musicians: bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres, guitarist Aidan Nemeth and drummer Dave Atkins.

Theft of the Dial : FELT (with audio)

2009-11-19T03:05:27Z

Enjoy the banter between Slug, Murs and Aesop Rock as they celebrate the release of their new cd "A Tribute to Rosie Perez" and argue over their respective picks. Predict who selected which of these tracks, who really likes Insane Clown Posse!?!? 1. Felt - Protagonists 2. Roma Di Luna - Plenty 3. Kings of Leon - Revelry 4. The Mountain Goats - Palmcorder Yajna 5. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home 6. Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 7. Attracted To Gods - Dirt Road 8. Felt - Ghost Dance Deluxe

Fresh Eye on the Radio

2009-11-19T01:42:17Z

Update: A small number of apparently wayward souls, have asked if this daily feature could be a podcast. We have not yet marshaled the considerable leverage of News Cut to do this correctly, but thanks to Jon Gordon of Future Tense, I've at least figured out how to get it to you in podcast form. Go here.

Today, the U.S. attorney general tried to explain to worried U.S. senators why he will try the mastermind of 9/11 in a civil court. Coincidentally, the Eden Prairie News on the same day was carrying details of new security arrangements around Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie. Barely-hanging-on businesses will now be encased in barbed wire and chain-links, even though no general aviation airplane has ever been used in a terrorist attack on the United States.

A Ryder Truck has been used for terrorism, but you don't need to pass through security to rent one today.

A lot of the damage to our psyche in the wake of 9/11, we've done to ourselves. That's the topic of today's Fresh Eye on the Radio conversation with Mary Lucia and Bob Collins on The Current.

By the way, I do realize these things are running way too long. We'll get them shortened up starting tomorrow and get back to the music.

Teenage Kicks ... High on XTC

2009-11-18T21:04:22Z

In 1986, I was a surly, Siouxsie-Sioux-haired teenager, fresh out of a six-month stint in a half-way house. I was misunderstood, man! But then I heard a song on the radio (I was lucky to have a station back then that played this stuff) and it spoke to my tortured soul. (It also seriously freaked my mom out, which earned it vital bonus points.) I still think "Dear God" is a great song. But as I came to know XTC better, I came to appreciate the parts of them that appealed to my sunnier side (yes, I had one.) XTC is a pop band, and I am a shameless and unabashed lover of pop. This band gave us sweet, jangly gems like "Generals and Majors," "Senses Working Overtime," "Making Plans for Nigel," and "Earn Enough for Us." This is the point where I'd go into a little history of the band, but why not let them tell you? With puppets. Tune in to Teenage Kicks, this Saturday from 8-10am, for more of our featured artist--XTC--plus other vintage goodies from OMD, Wire, The Jam, Iggy Pop, and more. And while you're here--why not share your thoughts about XTC (ahem ... Seel?)

Wednesday Coffee Break: To Friend or Un-Friend?

2009-11-18T14:59:39Z

Perhaps you've heard about new the "word of the year" - the Oxford American Dictionary chooses a new word each year as a summation of the year's zeitgeist. This year, it's one you may have used yourself - or at least hear others use: "unfriend." If you're on Facebook, that's a concept you've likely been exposed to (and hopefully, not been the victim of yourself). So in honor of the word of the year, we gotta do breakup songs for today's 9:30 Coffee Break.