Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Sufjan Stevens - Listen to the Age of Adz



Here is a Tuesday Treat for you all. For a limited time you can listen to the entirety of the forthcoming Sufjan Stevens record - the Age of Adz - for free.

To do so, courtesy of NPR click here: http://n.pr/c7NTuM


And if you don't have time for that check out the Single - Too Much. This was the song that Sufjan has been airing on his recent tours. 
Too Much (Short Version)
http://asthmatickitty.com/go/too-much-short

Thursday, September 23, 2010

BEN FOLDS ADDS MUSIC TO NICK HORNBY'S WORDS FOR LONELY AVENUE,



Due out Sept 28th and streaming in full here

Ben Folds used to be a great artist. Perhaps he still is, but somehow he seems to have lost his way for a bit. I remember when every college dorm seemed to be playing Whatever and Ever Amen.

He's back, this time with Lonely Avenue, a collaboration with English novelist Nick Hornby. Lonely Avenue will be released September 28 on Nonesuch Records. The album features music and vocals by Folds and lyrics by Hornby, with string arrangements by one of the most influential pop string arrangers of all time, Paul Buckmaster (David Bowie, Elton John, Leonard Cohen).

Apparently it's been made made specifically to be listened to on vinyl. It was recorded on 2-inch tape and will be available on audiophile-grade vinyl, cut with the Direct Metal Master process at Abbey Road Studios and pressed at Pallas Manufacturing in Diepholz, Germany. Don't worry you can still download it or get a CD.

The idea to create an album of Folds' unique pop songwriting sensibilities with Hornby's insightful prose was conceived during a dinner conversation between the two friends one night in 2009. After that, Hornby began regularly emailing lyrics to Folds, who then turned them into Lonely Avenue's 12 musical short stories. The songs touch on subject matter ranging from a mother with a child in the hospital over New Years Eve to the work of Doc Pomus, lyricist of countless `50s and `60s pop hits.

Ben Folds first found mainstream success as the leader of the critically acclaimed platinum selling Ben Folds Five. He has gone on to have a very successful solo career, recording three studio albums in addition to a pair of records documenting his renowned live performances and a remix record. Folds also recently released Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!, a collection of his songs performed by college groups. In 2009 Folds was featured as a judge on NBC's a capella competition The Sing Off (a role he will reprise later this year on the show's second season), and earlier this year Folds' viral Chatroulette video became a YouTube sensation, garnering almost five million views when he joined a video chat with an unsuspecting online companion live during a show in Charlotte, NC. Folds previously collaborated with Hornby on a song for the Folds-produced William Shatner album, Has Been, which the Huffington Post called "one of the few records in recent memory that dared to tell the unvarnished truth about the human condition." In addition he has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, the Boston Pops with Keith Lockhart, and four sold out nights with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House.

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

John Lennon - Gimmie Some Truth

Click here to see the cover art

FULL TRACKLISTS AND COVER ART UNVEILED FOR EIGHT ALBUMS
REMASTERED FROM LENNON’S ORIGINAL MIXES AND SEVERAL NEW
COLLECTIONS TO BE RELEASED ON 4TH OCTOBER

It's coming up to John Lennon's 70th birthday. Unfortunately he isn't with us to celebrate it but to mark the occassion Yoko Ono has overseen eight remastered John Lennon solo albums and new titles including Double Fantasy Stripped Down, Power To The People: The Hits, Gimme Some Truth, and the John Lennon Signature Box.

It's about a year since the Beatles remasters so just in time for the holiday season the deluxe 11CD and digital John Lennon Signature Box includes 13 previously unreleased home recordings, and Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, and Julian Lennon have each
written personal essays for the lavish collection.

there will be more coming on this shortly.

Official Website of John Lennon