Happy Sunday, everybody! The weather in eastern North Carolina has been fantastic as of late. I hope it’s great at your location too. This week’s Ramblings is a bit lazy on my part with no reviews, but plenty of rambles and a bit of good news. So let’s get to it!
Thao Nguyen with the Get Down Stay Down
Some great news from Thao Nguyen and Laura Veirs: each has new albums coming soon! For Thao Nguyen, it will be a formal recording with her band, The Get Down Stay Down. According a to an announcement on their website, the new album is set for release on October 13 on Kill Rock Stars. Early indications are that it’s damn good. You can pre-order the album here. Here’s a track from the new album:
Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down – Know Better, Learn Faster (mp3)
Laura Veirs
Laura Veirs has also finally announced her new record, July Flame, which is set for a North American release on January 19, 2010 via Raven Marching Band Records. According to a recent tweet from Decemberists’ front man, Colin Meloy, “it’s his favorite record of 20??” (due to uncertainty of the release date). There is not a formal, promotional release from that recording, so I’ll give you one that was used to promote Saltbreakers (2007):
Laura Veirs – Pink Light (mp3)
OTHER NEWS…
The Ellen DeGeneres show is being sued for not obtaining the proper licenses/permission for airing over a thousand recordings used for her ‘dance in’ segments. I am not a fan of her show, but I hope they win that suit. I’ve never understood the copyright laws with regard to radio and television licensing. How does music get heard otherwise? and doesn’t it benefit recording artists if people hear something new on the Ellen show? Oh wait, they might record it… sorry, my bad.
In a related piece, Nick Hornby, the author of High Fidelity, captures reality for music consumers now. He, like many of us, believes we’re better for the new changes in the music biz. Oh, and he loves music blogs too. His experiences with blogs are very akin to my own, so this piece really stuck with me after reading it. Many of the very good blogs provide a service and entry into a world that would be lost to many of us if the music world worked like it did 20 years ago. Hurray, progress!
Or am I being too hasty?
Courtney Love, and former Nirvana members, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, aren’t too happy about Activision’s depiction of Cobain in Guitar Hero 5. Apparently, Cobain is a sell out… okay, I am being cheeky, but you can utilize his avatar and play songs from the likes of Bon Jovi and Bush. I hate to sound flippant, but it’s a good thing he can’t see this!
Until next time…
