I did a Youtube search for one of my favorite artists today and discovered that Ms. Spektor is doing the theme song for the new Chronicles of Narnia movie. It’s a big coup for the artist, whose music has graced many a Grey’s Anatomy/CSI episode over and over again, but has yet to venture into the lucrative, albeit potential shark infested waters of Hollywood.
Anyways, as we’re huge fans of Regina on this blog and were planning on sneaking a peak of the new Narnia flick this weekend (Note: Not the Sex & The City movie), I say a celebratory drink is in high order. However, given that it’s 5 PM and I have a night of work ahead of me, I think I might have to settle for a run to the local Dunkin Donuts…
One of my favorite preoccupations and possibly a career of mine in a former life is discovering really great music acts before they make it big. Given this disclaimer, it’s only fitting that I introduce to you an Israeli singer-songwriter that’s sure to gain some serious kudos and notoreity. His name is Oren Lavie and he’s one of a wave of Israeli singers whose music is getting airtime on big-time commercial broadcasts these days. (Yael Naim’s MacBook Air ads are also pretty catchy). So if you haven’t yet heard Oren’s hit single, Her Morning Elegance, on ads for Chevy Malibu, it’s only a matter of time. And if you’d like to hear a more crisp version of the track, click here.
Oren’s brand of music (think brooding Nick Drake meets orchestral overtures of Damien Rice with a little Beatle mania thrown in) is indicative of the type of music that is most likely going to be featured on a Morning Becomes Eclectic playlist and so not surprisingly, not only has his music been featured on KCRW, but it’s gained critical acclaim from the station, being honored as one of the Top 10 albums of 2007.
While it may be rare for someone who is just 31 to have already lived two professionally unrelated lives, it is even rarer to find someone who happens to be re really good at both and acknowledged as such by the public. Lavie, who grew up in Israel and gained early buzz as a playwright winning awards at the Acco Festival in Israel, moved from Israel to New York (with a stop in London) before realizing that music was more his calling. He started his own label, produced his own music, and even began to write his own music.
Lavie, who counts Jacques Brel, Leonard Cohen, and Tom Waits among his influences has a funny, self-deprecating tone to his demeanor. Perhaps evocative of his Israeli upbringing and attempting to create some sort of linear connection between the many different acts of his young life, Lavie likens the cities he’s lived in to the “green-ness” of the cucumbers. For those of you cucumber purists, don’t be betting on Berlin or London. They will only bring you tristesse, which for Oren Lavie might just suit him after all.
For more on Oren, click here.
I saw Frank Bell, whom I know nothing about other then what this page has to offer, singing and playing the guitar (and whistling…) on YouTube. And since I liked “The Penguin”, I decided to share. So, here it is: Frank Bell- “The Penguin”
“I don’t know how you measure levels of being deaf, but we couldn’t hear anything out there.” No, it’s not a part of a war veteran memoir, nor one of a demolition expert. This quote belongs to New England Patriots QB Tom Brady, talking about the crowd noise on the Sunday game in the RCA Dome Vs. the Colts. Yahoo! reports that The NFL is looking into allegations that the local team piped in noise during the game, to help distract opponents when the other team is on offense. From what I hear, it’s not the first time this is happening. If one rule fits all, the Colts should be punished the same way the Patriots were punished after the ridicules Spygate thing with the Jets.
I’ve been owing readers here a recap of the Regina Spektor concert I attended last Sunday for roughly a week now, so here goes. In my defense, I turned the big 3-0 last week and was slightly preoccupied with birthday shenanigans. So now I’m back and ready to give Regina Spektor, experimental folk-acoustic, seductive songstress du jour (du semaine) a proper ode.
Headlining the Regina show was Only Son, aka iPod Man. His act was decent enough, but he went on for way too long and his shtick involved an iPod, which he used in lieu of a band. It got a little irksome after a while and as he came onstage drunk and saying a little too many “F*cks,” I quickly realized that a) I’m too old to find this MySpace-generated Mick Jagger/Bono wannabe remotely appealing and b) My generation (X) is WAY cooler than the 18-year-olds bopping along to the Yeah, like, that’s so f*cked man. Shit, ya know. Yeah, f*ck. Then again, maybe I’m being way too hard on our nation’s youth and even more frightening, maybe my generation sounded like that 12 years ago.
But then again, why were all these youngsters who I couldn’t envision really “getting” Regina’s brand of music, the overriding demographic present at her show?
Regina came out onstage 1.5 hours after the 7:30 starting time. While one can argue that the wait augments the level of anticipation, being stuck in the auditorium seating in Boston’s Orpheum Theater- whose seating was constructed and hasn’t been renovated since the early 20th Century when my height of 5′3 was the average height of a male, you can imagine the physical comfort level by the time the illustrious Ms. SpeKtor finally came onto stage.
Don’t get me wrong. Regina is a force to be reckoned with and well worth any wait. Coming onto stage, bright curly red hair, bright royal blue babydoll dress, with intermittent sprinklings of softspoken “thank you(s)” between belting out “Mary Anne is a B*tch” (it’s a song) and songs about people f*cking to her music, she carefully positions herself as the naughty nice girl. Others have gone down this road before in more gimmicky fashion, but Regina successfully avoids the common pitfalls of her peers and predecessors, salvaged by her musical range (high-pitched, discordant elongated shrieks a la Laurie Anderson to heavy, bluesy spirituals) and well, her, incredibly diverse RAW talent. (Norah Jones may also sing to the tune of the sweet songstress, but doesn’t manage the same sub-alt following, perhaps limited by range and level of experimentation. ) The difference being Regina owns her music, even when it’s not her music. Take her cover of John Lennon’s “Real Love” or her recent gig covering “Little Boxes” for the show Weeds. You can’t imagine (no pun intended) either song wasn’t written by her for her.
But back to the concert’s finale, Regina gave us our encores (”Samson”/”Fidelity” et al) and didn’t hold out on her audience, instead generously playing to the crowd, amidst delayed starts and iPod men that read more like boys. Oh, yeah. And really young kids yelling, That’s the f*ckin sh*t iPod Man!
I recently heard a cover of Iron & Wine’s “Such Great Heights” on the radio and loved it more than the original. (Ben Folds’ cover is the version usually attributed as the original version of the song, but it’s not.) Nonetheless, it got me thinking that most often, we squirm at the thought of song covers (similar to the reaction to a movie sequel) and for good reason. Have you listened to Kelly Clarkson try and replicate the brilliance of Ray LaMontagne’s “Shelter”? If you haven’t, don’t. You’re better off listening to this guy on YouTube. He does a pretty good rendition. Of course, “Shelter” is a tough song to sing as my husband and I (and our neighbors who’ve listened to us) can both attest to.
But back to my new-found obsession with pop-techno, 80s retro band The Postal Service. They first broke onto the mainstream scene with their cover of Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds” for the Wicker Park soundtrack. That caught my attention a few years back, but listen to “Such Great Heights” below and enjoy them a bit. If you like, give “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” a try.
PS- Off to see Regina Spektor tonight (finally!) at the Orpheum. To give a synopsis in days to come…
Where to begin, I guess with a recap of last week’s R&R Triple A Summit in Boulder, CO. It was great spending time with all of my fellow music loving radio folks, label reps and promotions guys and girls. Nothing like being around a bunch of people who share the same passion, drive and enthusiasm for music and spreading its gospel to eager ears around the globe.
I am such a big fan of this conference that I would attend even if I wasn’t in the business. It makes me believe in the power or music and shows me that real radio is alive and well. BIG THANKS to R&R Triple A Editor John Schoenberger, President/Publisher Erica Farber and everyone involved in putting on this wonderful event.
I must admit, I was a bit irked by some of the grumblings I heard about this year’s lineup. Yes, there were no “headline” names so to speak but the quality of the acts that performed spoke for itself and what the convention lacked in “big names” it more than made up for with credible acts putting on memorable performances. And after all, aren’t we the people who make the stars of tomorrow? Aren’t we the ones who give the up and comer a chance and let our listeners hear their music in its infancy? Aren’t we the ones who don’t forget the artists after the rest of the industry has thrown them on the scrap heap even if they are still making incredible music? If you were one of the ones bitching about the lineup, I think you oughta check yourself! Read More…
by Scott Register
I love Kim Richey. Freaking love her. Love her engaging personality, her witty demeanor, her talent as a songwriter and that voice, oh that voice. Few things sooth my ears and soul like the sound of Richey’s voice. It brings a peace to me like the sound of listening to my two little boys breath as they sleep. Her ability to capture a moment in time and tell an epic tale in three and a half minutes is second to none. For all those reasons, I am incredibly happy that she is back with her latest offering (the first in many years mind you), Chinese Boxes (Vanguard).
This past Sunday, Kim came down to the studio from Nashville armed with her guitar, wit and voice and I sat across the console from her with a shit-eating grin on my face that I believe still hasn’t been wiped off. If you would like to check out her performance, go here and click on her link. You will not be disappointed.
While you are there, be sure to give a listen to Adam Hood’s set from the same Reg’s Coffee House program. Adam is one of my favorite Alabama artists, hailing from Auburn/Opelika, and his music makes me want to pull out my shit-kickers, pack a fat cat in my lip and suck down ice cold Buds while I shoot pool with my runnin’ buddies. He is a honky tonker’s honkey tonker and a damn good cat to boot. His debut CD, Different Groove was recently released on Pete Anderson’s Little Dog Records and Anderson even produced it. If you want to hear the sound of t
“I don’t know how you measure levels of being deaf, but we couldn’t hear anything out there.” No, it’s not a part of a war veteran memoir, nor one of a demolition expert. This quote belongs to New England Patriots QB Tom Brady, talking about the crowd noise on the Sunday game in the RCA Dome Vs. the Colts. 
by DJ Scott Register
by Scott Register