Galactic

Another perspective into the pleasantly diverse New Orleans music scene, this time through a contemporary lens. This is a promo for the new Galactic album Ya-Ka-May.

New Orleans

Expect my next few posts to be New Orleans related as I have recently attained a newfound respect, curiosity and appreciation for the music and culture of New Orleans (Thanks in full to David Simon's new HBO series "Treme"). This video encompasses all that it is to be a musician from New Orleans. Dr. John, The Meters, and Professor Longhair playing Earl King's composition and a universally recognized anthem of New Orleans, "Big Chief".

Fleet Foxes

If you're not aware of the Fleet Foxes yet the only explanation is that you've been living on Mars in a cave with your fingers in your ears for the past couple of years. Their thick vocal harmonies and warm melodies muster up images of forests, nymphs, elves and other LOTResque mythical creatures. What better way to capture the magic of this band than to watch two swedish girls sing one of their songs in the woods.

Derek

As arguably the best slide guitarist in the world, no words can do justice to the gift that Derek Trucks was endowed with from a very young age. I've seen him play multiple times and have been blown away every time by his ability to what John Mayer refers to as making "his guitar sound like a female singer from the 50's or 60's just belting it out."

Covers

I've been thoroughly schooled in the diversity of truly great Beatles covers in the last 24 hours. You be the one to judge whether or not these are better than the original. Let me know if there are any good ones out there that I missed.

Credit goes to Micah Dubinsky



Credit goes to Dmitri Cherniak

I need a translator

I thought long and hard before posting this about whether or not there exists any Beatles' covers that surpass the original. This is the only one that came to mind. If you can think of any others please comment and let me know. Joe Cocker is one of my top four white/male singers along with Robert Plant, Jeff Buckley and Freddy Mercury. It sounds like he just ate a carton of cigarettes but it works magnificently. Enjoy.

Joe Cocker (Live Woodstock 1969) from David Lee on Vimeo.

J-Noz

I don't know if this will compromise my integrity as a blogger or if it's a breach of music blogging etiquette but I'd like to imagine that even if I didn't know the guys in this band, they have such a great sound I'd be compelled to put it up anyways. I have seen this band grow from being an infant into the full blown force it is today. Getting the chance to see friends play on Letterman was a rush and I can't express how proud I am of these guys. If you didn't catch it last night here's your chance. And trust me, Letterman was just the beginning for these four...by the way, that's Paul Shaffer playing B3 organ with them.

And Now for Something Completely Different

I had the chance to see Bela Fleck and Jerry Douglas play with the Bluegrass allstars at Bonnarro 2008. I was turned onto Bluegrass on the ride down to the festival by two of my southern music loving contemporaries who forced me to listen to artists like Jerry Rice, Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs on our 15 hour journey to Tennesse, and aren't I glad they did. The allstars set had me picking bits of my brain up off the floor and converted me to a full fledged bluegrass fan. The players were undoubtedly some of the best and most prolific at their instruments. How often to you see all the best people in the world at one particular thing get together to show off. Here's a video of Bela and Jerry playing "Alabama Jubilee" with the great Chet Atkins.

That Lucky Old Sun

I discovered this song a while ago after coming across a video of New Orleans singer/guitarist Snooks Eaglin walking Meters' bassist George Porter through a song entitled "Life in the Middle" somewhat unsuccessfully. I searched everywhere for the song to find out who originally wrote it with no luck until noticing a youtube comment that referred to it as "That Lucky Old Sun". After typing that name into the search bar I was bombarded with renditions of the tune by artists that were perfect for loveofmuzik: Aretha Frnaklin, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Jerry Lee Lewis to name a few. It is evidently one of those classic soul songs that everyone wanted a piece of. Here's the video that originally turned me onto the song as well as a link to the Ray Charles' version because the embedding was disabled. Hope you like it as much as I do.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4fwFcJYwao

The Wood Brothers

Man these guys kill me. As one of the most talented brotherhoods in music, their vocal harmonies and soulful southern feel take care of you just like mama used to. Oliver's spirited voice and Chris of MMW's multifaceted bass playing make a hell of a duo. Check out the album "Loaded". It's the first album I've heard in a long time with a full track list of brilliant songs. Go in with high expectations...I dare you.

Nothing from Nothing

There's one reason people come to this blog and that's to hear good music. Keeping with that trend, this song will put a smile on your face from to ear to ear. You know why? Cuz it's a great f*&^%$# song.

In Repair

This is by far the coolest window into an artists writing process I've ever seen. I've always wished there was more footage of bands/artists in the studio writing, tracking, fixing and transforming songs. As an artist myself I'm no stranger to the creative process generated in the studio. It's a laboratory for experimenting with sounds, feels, mixes, effects, tempos, etc... I'm glad (and not surprised) that John Mayer of all people has given the public the opportunity to see into what life is like as a musician with the ability to do whatever you want. If I had John Mayer's status/money I'd be jamming with Steve Jordan and Charlie Hunter everyday.

Red Baron

This track was introduced to me by my ever so funky pal and long time contributor to the mid-town Toronto jam scene, Justin Binder. It features a young John Scofield and one of my personal favourite drummers Billy Cobham who I had the pleasure of seeing in New York several years ago with Sylvain Luc and Victor Bailey. Labeling that show "monumental" would be an understatement. Hold on to your hats folks.

Paolo

If you haven't heard Paolo Nutini, get on it. He's a 23 year old scot with a monster of a voice. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself...

"Growing up Beside You"

Dream Team

Credit for this post goes to my roommate Mr. Noel Thomson. Although caucasian on the exterior I'm thoroughly convinced someone in his family lineage had a child with someone of African-American descent because the man's got s o u l soul.
I don't even know what to say about this video other than it combines three of my favourite musicians D'angelo, Eric Clapton, and Marcus Miller. Whatever planetary alignment caused this collaboration to take place, I hope it happens again. Soon.
Here's Bill Withers' "Use Me".

18th Century Soul

My dad introduced my to Irakere, the Afro-Cuban group formed in the 70's, headed up by Cuban brass legends Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval and founded by pianist Chucho Valdes. Combine two of the best rhythm-heavy styles of music, Funk and Latin, throw in some blazing horns and you've got yourself a hell of a dish. I strongly suggest checking them out, but I've decided to share with you something a little bit lighter.
Here's a great clip of Paquito playing Mozart's Adagio with the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra. Everything's all ponies and daisies until Paquito brings it with some 12/8 soul straight outta left field. Makes for a beautiful contrast.

Blue Wild Angel

The release of Jimi Hendrix's new album "Valleys of Neptunes" has caused me once again to relapse into that familiar state of psychological and physical dependence on the man who's contribution to the guitar has in my opinion, been unrivaled since his death. I have a habit of exhausting artists pretty quickly on my iPod but there's something comforting, and even...mothering about Hendrix that always makes him a good choice. He was the first guitar player to completely engulf me in a solo and has the rare ability to make the world around you dissolve only to have you snap out of your daze once the song is over thinking "what just happened?".
Here's one of my personal favourite Hendrix clips. Jimi playing "Machine Gun" at the Isle of Wight in 1970, one of the last big shows before his death.

A Musical Tragedy

After a few enlightening conversations and the recent induction of two good friends to the world of blogging (http://peterwjmiller.com/, http://jacobsfox.com/), I've been re-inspired to hop back on the blog train and continue to share with the world what I believe to be music worth listening to. So welcome back to your one-stop full serve window into music that moves you.

If there was a consensus on what people thought was the biggest tragedy in the history hip-hop music, I'd put the disappearance of Lauryn Hill up near the top. Everyone familiar with Lauryn's only studio album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" is well acquainted with its ability to encompass all that is good in Hip-Hop music. She's got the voice of an angel, the flow, the lyrics and the beats for a great organic sounding hip-hop album. Here's a taste of her unplugged set at MTV.
COME BACK LAURYN!!!!!!!!!!!

Lenny

I recently rekindled my love affair with the great Lenny Breau after re-listening to one of the first guitar albums I can remember pulling out of my dad's stack of cds, "The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau". It's a live trio album where Lenny touches on different genres, tempos, moods, picking styles, he plays spanish, blues, classical, indian, jazz, he plays guitar, he sings, and I wouldn't be surprised if he played bass and drums. Lenny is one of the most under-credited guitarists in my opinion, but I have a sneaking suspicion that if you mentioned his name to any great guitar player post 1960 they'd have some words to say about Canada's contribution to the guitar community. Take a look at this excerpt from a biographical documentary about Lenny called "Genius of Lenny Breau" and let me know what you think. It doesn't matter if you chicken pick, shred, or play the blues, this guy is bound to hit a chord.

Note: If this is the first you're hearing of Lenny Breau pick up "the Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau". But the truth is, listen to anything Lenny plays and you'll be converted.

India & Pakistan in the West

The music of India and Pakistan have had a profound influence on western music since the Beatles travelled to Rishikesh, India in 1968 to study transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This event spawned a wave of Indian influence on artists like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, John Mclaughlin and more recently Pearl Jam and Jeff Buckley. Names like Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussein have become familiar to us because of their numerous collaborations with western artists. The Indian practice of playing a melody over a single "drone" or stagnant note can be found in songs like Jimi's "Third Stone from the Sun", even Creed's "Higher". Unfortunately, this concludes my knowledge of Indian music so I'll let these videos demonstrate my point.

Note: In my minimal research for this post I came across this site, it has some of the best pictures of the Beatles that I've ever seen. http://www.thebeatlesinindia.com

Video the first: Jeff Buckley emulating Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, considered one of the greatest Pakistani singers of all time. A truly prolific figure.



Video the second: Pearl Jam singing an original song, "Long Road" with Nusrat's nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Hearing someone who has been trained in the art of Qawalli might help you understand why religion plays such a dominant role in those parts of the world.

UK Neo-Soul?

There's been an unavoidable wave of soul music coming out of the UK these past few years and I can't conceive of any other label for it than 'neo-soul'. Obviously not the neo-soul one might equate with D'angelo or Erykah Badu but it's new, it's soul and most surprisingly, it's coming from across the pond. Historically, the Brits have had a habit of taking conventionally Black, American music, tweeking it and then sending it back our way. It happened in the 60's when they took Rock n' Roll and Blues and created bands like Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones and oh I dunno...the Beatles. It seems like the Union Jack has done it again, white folk singing black folk music...and once again...they're killing it.

Exhibit A: Jamie Lidell



Exhibit B: Duffy




Exhibit C: Amy Whinehouse

Bessie Smith

Allow me now to share with you the motivation behind my love affair with Norah Jones. It wasn't until hearing her play one of my favourite Band songs, "Bessie Smith" that I decided it was time for me and Norah to become more...intimate. After that I dug a little deeper and began to understand what all the hype was about. Is there anything more attractive than a girl who sings, plays keys and covers The Band??? If you're not already a fan, hopefully hearing this will have the same effect on you as it did on me.
I also decided to throw in Ray Lamontagne's cover of 'Bessie Smith' for your listening pleasure. Any Ray fans? That unmistakable voice is a mandatory addition to LoveofMuzik. As a friend of mine put it earlier today, "it's like he's whispering REALLY loudly".

Note: If you're a Norah Jones fan or simply enjoy listening to good music, check out her side project "The Little Willies"...a little southern hospitality for ya.

Ray

It would be a sin for me to talk about music for the soul without recognizing one the patriarchs of soul and R&B, Ray Charles. Ray's music can't be characterized as anything but heartfelt, emotional, and doggone soulful. He'll find your soft spot, wherever it might be hiding and tug at it till you can't help but succumb to the notes he plays and the tune he sings.
I've decided the best way to portray Ray's profound influence is to hit you with some great tributes, unarguably reminiscent of Ray's ability to turn you to butter.
The first is Charlie Wood's rendition of "Come Back Baby". I was turned on to Charlie by my friend Mike Butlin, the well-hidden source of most good music I listen to.
Secondly is Norah Jones singing "Drown in my own tears". A song that's often replicated but never duplicated. Norah's touch never, and I mean never does any harm.

John Mayer & The Guitar Solo

Say what you will about John Mayer, the man can play the guitar. The purpose of this post isn't to argue John Mayer's integrity as a musician nor his ability to write a song. The point I wish to make is that John Mayer has done more for the guitar than the majority of people give him credit for. Allow me now to support my conclusion with irrefutable premises, the likes of which will give the John Mayer haters a new perspective, the agnostics a push in the right direction and the lovers even more respect. My objective is to make those skeptics see the light.
Upon first hearing "Your Body is a Wonderland" I thought to myself, "He's like a boy band condensed into one single entity". So I chose to pass on the craze and stick to what I knew best, the blues. It wasn't until the John Mayer Trio album "Try" came out that I thought to myself..."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". Here's where the part about him doing more for the guitar than he's given credit for comes into play.
John Mayer undeniably holds one of the most powerful positions of any current artist. He's managed to generate such a large fan base that no matter what he does, the crowd will love him for it. This makes the fact that he plays the guitar phenomenally well a significant part of his influence. He can hold his own with the most celebrated blues artists still alive i.e. B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton etc...and because of this, he's drawn the attention of the masses back to the good stuff. The stuff that tears ur heart out of your chest, the stuff that motivates you to play, listen and appreciate musicality and passion. The stuff worth investing in.
My point is this, not since Van Halen has a single artist with as big and broad a following made the guitar such an important focus of his music. What a rare occurrence it is to witness an entire stadium full of people explode over a guitar solo. Or an artist as main stream as John Mayer choose to "jam out" a song with his band of veteran musicians.
As a musician myself all I can say is this, thank you good sir for bringing the guitar back to the people, and reminding them of some of the most influential artists, writers and players of all time.

Now enjoy these videos of John having a good ol' time with blues legend Buddy Guy. Videos that exemplify my point famously.

A Change is Gonna Come

This is my last post of the night. I'm just getting used to sharing music with the world and evidently need to pace myself a little bit better. So here's a night cap. Three equally moving renditions of Sam Cooke's classic "A Change is Gonna Come".

Warning: Each video is highly conducive to chills, goosebumps, and feelings of euphoria.

Goodnight.

Isn't She Lovely

A duo guitar rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" played by French guitarists Bireli Lagrene and Sylvain Luc. From a musician's perspective, this is some knock you on your ass s#%t. I mean really...these guys don't f%$k around...I'll just let the video do the talking.

Throwback of the Day

This track did a number on me when I first heard it in my friend Jessy's car late one night after a jam. Up until that point I'd been falsely labeling myself an MJ fan on the basis of knowing songs like "The Girl is Mine" and "Remember the Time". But no one could have prepared me for what Mike was doing from '78-'82. Most notably "Off the Wall" and "Thriller", both co-produced by Quincy Jones. Long story short, this song served as the catalyst for my current, unyielding MJ phase. It's been playing every morning for the past two weeks. A fact which has generated some curious looks of intrigue while waiting for the bus.
Humour me and see if you can listen to this song with the volume maxed out and NOT move any part of your body. You can't do it can you.

Note: Stop whatever you are doing and immediately purchase both "Off The Wall" (1979) and "Thriller"(1982). Mike was a game changer in the truest sense of the word. You'd be hard pressed to find music that stretches over the world like his does.

Zeppelin Covers

In my opinion, there are only two Zeppelin covers out there worth listening to. Any others are a waste of time. Any Zep fan knows that trying to cover a Zeppelin song is considered heresy, so the task these artists have undertaken is an ambitious one. However, and this is not up for debate, they both pull it off magnificently.

The first cover is Jeff Buckley's rendition of Night Flight, a bold choice. Night Flight isn't one of Zeppelin's better known songs. Nevertheless I've heard a few trustworthy Zep scholars label it as a standout on Physical Graffiti. I'm personally not a big fan of the Zeppelin version but Buckley does a commendable job of making it his own (as he has a way of doing).
If for no other reason, this song is worth listening to solely for the note Buckley hits at 5:00. Don't listen too loud if you don't want to be picking up broken glass.



The second cover worth mentioning is Dream Theater's Zeppelin medley, a concept so overwhelming you have no choice but to turn immediately to the most severe skepticism upon first hearing about it. Surprisingly though, all 7:25 seconds of this masterpiece displays nothing but dedication and commitment to a band that shaped all music thereafter. The songs covered are The Rover->Achilles Last Stand->The Song Remains The Same. Ignore the fact that the video is taken from Guitar Hero.

Note: All music posted on this blog MUST be listened to either with headphones or a good sound system in order to attain the full effect.

High Hopes

Based on the assumption that you are capable of feeling emotion, this video will put a smile on your face. As far as white, male singers go, Paulo Nutini is certainly hovering around the top of the ladder for me. Up there with him would be Robert Plant, Freddy Mercury, Jeff Buckley and Joe Cocker...but that's just like...one guy's opinion maannn.

Take it all in...

00Soul

This one goes back a ways. The first time I saw this video it wasn't the fact that Ray Charles was playing keys that impressed me, nor was it the high-lighter coloured suit Preston was wearing. There's one thing that stands out above all else in this video and that is undeniably the dance break at 0:35. Let's take a moment to break down this spectacle.

He starts off with a combination of raising the roof and flicking water off his hands.

This is followed by a hypnotic, elastic-like, epileptic episode.

Finally, he so gracefully concludes by virtually floating to the microphone stand on one foot.

Preston you selfish son of a bitch. Didn't yo momma ever tell you to share??? How bout spreading some of the talent around.

Me Sooo Hooooaanny

A friend of mine posted this video on my facebook wall yesterday. So far I've watched it 2,374 times and it hasn't gotten old. This is better than any yellow fever threesome you'll find on Porn Hub. Full credit for this post goes out to Mr. Micah Dubinsky, a true appreciator of the inexplicable effects of music.

Two things to check out:

1. The unbelievable musical climax at 5:12 that transitions from the double-time swing to a gritty half-time shuffle a la "Pretty" Purdie.

2. The drum solo

Note: If you're going to watch this video...wear a condom.

And So it Begins...

Let me preface by saying I expect few people to ever gain awareness of this blog's existence. That being said, I am evidently taking the self-serving plunge into blogdom in an effort to provide some form of refreshing escape into the realm of everything music. I'll post anything I think is worth sharing with the world including videos, news and general thoughts concerning anything music related, and you can do the same by commenting, posting videos/links of you own.