Patti Smith

From experience, the most accurate gauge I can find as to whether someone is good girlfriend material is best measured by their love for Patti Smith...really...if she loves Patti, you have yourself a keeper. Try it out.

Anyway, to the point of this post. To coincide with Patti Smith performing The Coral Sea in London next week there is a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition at The Alison Jacques Gallery (also in London) featuring some amazing images of Patti.


Elsewhere Patti Smith has recorded a new song entitled 'Qana'. The solo version of which is below, a full band version, lyrics and the songs back story can be found at pattismith.net.

Download: Patti Smith - Qana (Solo Version) (MP3)
Watch: Patti Smith - Summer Cannibals (directed by Robert Frank) (youtube)

Visit: myspace
Buy: Patti Smith records
Buy: Patti Smith books

Elliott Smith

Searching through blog archives I came across Elliott Smith Live: The Definitive Guide on the brilliant The Rawking Refuses To Stop, which reminded me of the fine wealth of resources there are for Elliott Smith online. Besides the lovingly maintained official page Sweet Adeline, there is somesongs.net containing a great list of live bit torrent downloads, Trash Treasury which has videos, live shows, interviews and rarities available for download, the fine image resource that is The Elliott Smith Gallery and my personal favorite elliottsmithbsides.com which has everything a boy could wish to download including demos from Either/Or, XO, Figure 8 & From A Basement On The Hill, promo tracks and out of print singles, b-sides and songs used on various compilations.

Download: Elliott Smith - Between The Bars (MP3) (courtesy of Kill Rock Stars)
Download: Elliott Smith - Some Song (MP3) (courtesy of Kill Rock Stars)

Visit: elliottsmithbsides.com
Buy: Elliott Smith records

Another Sufjan Christmas

I seem to have a love hate relationship with Sufjan Stevens music. I had little time for 'A Sun Came Up' and 'Enjoy Your Rabbit'... I could not get enough of '..Michigan' and 'Seven Swans', but by the time of '..Illinois' I just didn't get it again and I began to find his music somewhat insipid. So I found myself with mixed feelings when I heard about the forthcoming Sufjan Stevens 5-disc Christmas Box Set.

Released on Asthmatic Kitty at the end of November, the box set (titled “Songs for Christmas”) will be stuffed full of surprises, including the following novelty items:

• Five individually packaged CD EPs!
• Five Christmas stickers!
• Extensive liner notes and short stories by Sufjan Stevens!
• An original Christmas essay by Rick Moody!
• An animated music video and comic strip by Tom Eaton!
• A Christmas Songbook with lyric sheets and chord charts--so you can sing along too!
• An original Christmas Family Portrait painting of Santa Sufjan (with wife and kids!) by Jacques Bredy!


My feelings are best summed up by the following two tracks. I instantly loved Sister Winter, but would not be too upset if i never heard 'That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!' ever again.

Download: Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter (MP3)

Download: Sufjan Stevens - That Was The Worst Christmas Ever! (MP3)

Buy: Sufjan Stevens records

The Letting Go & Daytrotter Sessions

If you have not seen them already, check out the first two parts of the three part commercial for the forthcoming Bonnie Prince Billy album The Letting Go.

The Letting Go (Part One)

The Letting Go (Part Two)

Daytrotter has posted a recent session for download. For the uninitiated, apart from being a fantastic website, Daytrotter has a new session consisting of four songs available for download everyweek. All of the sessions they make available are analog recordings, only converted to digital format for the purpose of transmission as Daytrotter Sessions.

Download: Bonnie Prince Billy - Daytrotter Sessions (MP3 link)

Watch: Cursed Sleep (Video)
Pre Order: The Letting Go
Listen: Bonnie Prince Billy on The Hype Machine

And Now That I'm In Your Shadow

Sweetheart of the Radio favorite Damien Jurado's new album 'And Now That I'm In Your Shadow' will be released on October 10th. This will be his seventh album, his third for Secretly Canadian and I really cant wait. From bits and pieces that I have heard already including the demos that were on the 2006 tour EP this album looks like it is going to live up to expectation.

Damien Jurado is a band now, with the help of permanent members Eric Fisher and Jenna Conrad collaborating on lyrics and populating the world of Damien's songs with new sound backdrops. For those of you like me who cannot wait for the album to come out, Damien is streaming a new album track every week between now and release on his myspace page. He has also set up an MP3 blog upon which he promises to submits songs (old, new and rare) that he has recorded down a telephone line. He also promises to update the page with news and pictures.

'And Now That I'm In Your Shadow' track list:

• Hoquiam
• Denton, TX
• I Had No Intentions
• Hotel Hospital
• And Now That I’m In Your Shadow
• What Were The Chances
• Shannon Rhodes
• There Goes Your Man
• I Am Still Here
• Gasoline Drinks
• Survived By Her Husband
• Gas Station
• Montesano

Download: Damien Jurado - What Were The Chances (MP3) (courtesy of secretly canadian)

Website: www.damienjurado.com
Buy: Damien Jurado records

Phosphorescent: My New Favorite Band

I wasn't looking for a new favorite band, I was happy with my fill. But then, out of the blue, along came Phosphorescent, I remember seeing something about them someplace or another and being drawn to investigate what kind of band would write a song with the title 'Joe Tex, These Taming Blue'... The song grabbed me immediately, something about it resonated within me, it spoke to me, held my hand, kissed me and told me everything would be ok. I was immediately a fan, I was on board and before I knew it - here I was with a new favorite band. As is customary when I fall into in such a situation, I find myself doing everything I can to buy everything the band have released... as quickly as possible. I have not been let down.

Phosphorescent is Matthew Houck, a 26 year old southern man with a cracked voice, kind of reminiscent of Will Oldham. His music is rough and loose, but the songs reveal themselves slowly to be dense, restless, yearning and heartworn things of great beauty and sophistication.


Phosphorescent have recorded three frighteningly brilliant works, 2003's 'A Hundred Times or More' and 2004's 'The Weight of Flight EP' both released on the Warm label to quiet but lavish praise and 2005's 'Now, Aw Come Aw Wry' released by Misra, perhaps the bands most fully realized effort so far. A new album is due later this year.


Download: Phosphorescent - Joe Tex, These Taming Blues (MP3)
Download: Phosphorescent - I Am A Full Grown Man (I Will Lay In The Grass All Day) (MP3)

Website: saltandblues.com
Myspace: myspace.com/phosphorescent

The Tapesmixer

"Look at me mah, i'm Phil Spector!"... This is what you will most probably be saying after playing with the Tapes 'N Tapes Mixer. It is often the simplest ideas that work best and this adage is really true in the case of this great, but simple online tool. You get to fiddle around with the bass, drums, guitars and vocals from the song 'Jennie', hours of fun for geeks like me.



Officially, the tapesmixer is a cutting edge digital hi-fi interactive tonal interface. This technology allows you create your own mix of tapes 'n tapes songs. Which is kinda what i said already.

Fiddle with: The Tapesmixer

Download: Cowbell (MP3)

Official Website: www.tapesntapes.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/tapesntapes
Buy: The Loon

Tired Of Being Sexy?

So my boss has begun to develop a mighty gambling addiction, which led me to thinking about what it'd be cool to bet on... random bets along the lines of 'I bet the the next person through the door is a woman' or 'I bet i can get this in the bin from here'. Which in turn led me to thinking about betting on which bands would make great albums or simply be successful... Which in tun led me to pondering current band I would gamble on.

Surely a surefire bet this summer will be that CSS (or Cansei de Ser Sexy - Portuguese for 'Tired of being sexy') become huge. If there were books opened on such matters, the odds on them having huge hits this year with the brilliant single 'Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above' and the album Cansei De Ser Sexy would be pretty short. If there is any justice left in the world of pop music they surely cannot fail. With the might of Sub Pop behind them and cooler than cool looks, and attitude here is hoping that we will all be seeing a lot more of CSS!

Download: CSS - Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above (MP3)

Video: CSS - Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above
Website: canseidesersexy.com
Myspace: myspace.com/canseidesersexy
Fotolog: fotolog.com/canseidesersexy

All I Want To Do Is Turn Around...

With 2006 more than half way gone and eager bloggers all over the world compiling their lists of the 'best albums of the year... so far', I thought, rather than go the full way, I'd post a couple of my favorite songs of the year so far.



My first choice and winner of the prize for the single song that i have listened to most this year according to my iTunes is 'White Daisy Passing' by Rocky Votolato. A Seattle based singer/songwriter, Rocky Votolato moves in similar circles (both musically and literally) to other Sweetheart Of The Radio favorites Damien Jurado and J.Tillman. 'White Daisy Passing' is from the album Makers.



My second selection is 'Funeral' by Band Of Horses, a band born out of the ashes of the much loved Carissa's Weird. A favorite with bloggers at the beginning of the year, 'Funeral' is the stand out track from their debut album Everything All The Time.


Download: Rocky Votolato - White Daisy Passing (MP3)
Watch: Rocky Votolato - White Daisy Passing (Video)

Download: Band Of Horses - Funeral (MP3)
Watch: Band Of Horses - Funeral (Video)
Listen To: Band Of Horses - KEXP Live Session

Website: rockyvotolato.com
myspace: myspace.com/rockyvotolato

Website: bandofhorses.com
myspace: myspace.com/bandofhorses