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My friend gave me a tarot card reading over the phone one night as I was watching TV with a guitar in my lap. "I've drawn a mountain," she said. "I'm a mountain," I said. So begins a song that became the title track of my new record. Most of these songs have been milling about in my mind for a while now. Some I started writing back when I put down the electric guitar and ding-digga-dinged my way through summer on the back porch. All of them live in the same wide frame and seem to belong together. "I am Aglow," "The Ring," and "I'm a Mountain," are tunes inspired by country music and bluegrass bands, singing for the joy of it, and telling new versions of old stories in song. "The Phoenix" builds on the themes of courage and regeneration and the inspirational "How Deep in the Valley" came from somewhere deep in the hymnbook of my memory. Down low in the picture frame (under a log) is "Salamandre," a children's song written by my friends Kate Fenner and Chris Brown. I am thrilled this modern classic can be part of this collection as it expresses my own love for the magical and precious amphibian and the time-honored relationship between nature and imagination. "Luther's Got the Blues" is my old pal Luther Wright's enduring, scruffy sidewalk lament, and Dolly Parton's "Will He Be Waiting For Me" lives in the world of lost love and yearning that I, too, know something about. I wrote "Goin' Out for an AIDS Vigil," and I am so happy to have my dad singing it with me. He also lends his warm and wise timbre to "Oleander." And finally, casting its glow over the entire record is the new folk song "Escarpment Blues," which tells the story of a current land-use conflict in Southern Ontario on the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. I grew up on the escarpment on the farm where my family still lives, within a long green corridor prized for its fresh water resources, its endangered species habitats, its prime agricultural soils, and its wetlands and forests. These lands are under serious threat from the aggregate (sand, gravel, and shale) industry. The problem is large multinational companies want to open new quarries on top of the escarpment and extract the rock below these ecosystems, thereby removing and destroying them. So, after writing the song, I got the idea for the "I Love the Escarpment" Tour and set out in June 2005 with some of my best musical mates to hike the escarpment and make music along the way. Julie Fader (vocals, keys), Jason Euringer (vocals, stand-up bass), Spencer Evans (clarinet, accordion), Joey Wright (mandolin, guitar), and I hit the Bruce Trail (the continuous hiking trail that goes from one end of the escarpment to the other) and spent two weeks rock climbing, caving, hiking, and performing in theaters and community halls along Southern Ontario's spine. All proceeds of the tour went to help finance the research and advocacy work of Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL), a volunteer organization I helped form last winter when the new quarry proposal came to light in my old stomping grounds of North Burlington. After a wonderful tour we put away our hiking boots and went into Reaction Studio in Toronto to capture these songs, all wrapped in up our camaraderie. This record was made for everyone, everywhere. Like the smiles we had on our faces when we made it, we hope it spreads far and wide.
Hank Brake: "Maybe I Best Leave Well Enough Alone"
Country Music Artist Hank Brake's debut cd "Maybe I Best Leave Well Enough Alone"...Thanks for listening, Star Chaser Records, Nashville
Tangerine Dream: "Backstreet Hero"
Lots of sweet synth patches and guitar shredding make this Tangerine Dream song delicious. From their DVD "Tangerine Dream: Live in America 92".
Paul Hone: "Every Time I Close My Eyes"
a song about the dreams , relationships, the struggles with day to day life, love and war...and Desire, and what ever else one can feel...A song for all who dream and wake up!!
Using BlackMagic to improve searches
Promising fast and efficient PC and network searches is the goal of BlackBall's BlackMagic, especially in the wake of Microsoft postponing the release WinFS until 2009. ZDNet's David Berlind talks with BlackBall Chief Executive Bob Brown.
The Softlightes: "Heart Made of Sound"
?Musically, we don't know what the end destination is, and I like it that way. Whatever we've created, it wasn't by accident, but it certainly wasn't on purpose. For me that makes music honest,? says Ron Fountenberry, the principle songwriter and unofficial captain of the good ship that is the Softlightes. It?s fitting that Fountenberry references bedrooms when he speaks of the Softlightes? incandescent and joyfully experimental music?it?s there that he tinkers endlessly with a dizzying array of instruments in search of the perfect melody; a way to channel an equal appreciation for Alvie Singer, Ready Made Magazine, Ali G, Boba Fett, Playstation and Larry David? a way to be real and make someone happy through song. But what?s more important to our chat right now are the products of the Softlightes? collective imagination and recording sessions: the dazzling pop songs that are collected on their shimmering debut album for Modular Recordings, Say No To Being Cool - Say Yes To Being Happy. Without digging too far back, the Softlightes story begins (roughly) in 2003, when Fountenberry and bassist Kristian Dunn?s previous project, the electro pop group The Incredible Moses Leroy, had caught the ear of one Mr. Cody Chesnutt. Or was it the other way around? ?I remember seeing a four star review of Cody?s album in Rolling Stone and thinking to myself ?It?s not that often that a black artist who isn?t doing a straight r&b thing gets that kind of attention,?? remembers Fountenberry. Meanwhile, up the California coast in Los Angeles, Moses? first album Electric Pocket Radio (E.P.R.) was becoming very popular at the rising star?s house. From there came a string of connections between Moses? and Cody?s management. Before long, Cody took the band on tour with him for a string of sold-out club shows. ?He and his management were always promoting us to other musicians and people in the industry,? says Dunn appreciatively. One of those people happened to be Modular Recordings impresario Steve Pavlovic. He immediately took a shining to the radiant pop that Moses were creating after hearing a copy of E.P.R. passed to him by Cody?s Australian tour manager. After releasing two buzz-garnering albums and working with acclaimed producers and musicians such as Joey Waronker (Beck) and Keith Cleverlsly (the Flaming Lips, Spiritualized), Moses disbanded and Fountenberry and Dunn and started up the ?idea of the Softlightes? in the fall of 2004. ?Professionally it felt as though it was time to move on, or maybe throw in the towel completely. We really didn?t have a lot of options. I just figured if we were going to try, I wanted to be happy and make music that was close to my heart, even if that meant sounding silly to some people,? says Fountenberry. ?Since it felt as though it might be our last chance, we decided to go for broke... something like that Eminem song or Rocky! We just tried to create a lush and beautifully balanced pop record, like the old days, even if we didn?t? have a record deal or access to a studio.? Over the late summer and fall of 2005, drummer Tim Fogarty (?besides being great drummer, he had a cool electronic drumset, so we knew we had to have him in our band ?) and pianist Andrew Van Baal entered the fray and the four embarked on endless sessions at Dunn?s Los Angeles home studio?better known to most as his garage. As the songs with the full band took shape, Dunn would send CDs to Fountenberry in San Diego, where the singer would tinker endlessly with melodies, harmonies and arrangements before calling Dunn to request changes (and more changes and more changes.) What resulted was a new home grown masterpiece. From the breezy sun-soaked opener ?The Ballad Of Theodore and June? to the glitchy electronica of ?Girl Kills Bear,? the thundering ?The Robots In My Room Were Playing Arena Rock,? to the utterly infectious ?The Microwave Song,? Say No To Being Cool Say Yes To Being Happy is a celebration of the sounds that would be blasting on your radio in a more perfect time. ?The thing I kept asking was ?what would happen if?,?? says Fountenberry of the experimental climate that recording at home allowed for. ?What if I used a vocoder here or replaced synths into this guitar part? What if I sampled the sound of my neighbor upstairs walking really hard and made a beat out of it? You just can?t work like that when you are on the clock.? Dunn adds, ?We?d all try to think about what a regular rock musician would do and then do the opposite.? Now that all the what ifs have been answered, the noise is about to begin. Please bask in the warm glow of the Softlightes with us.
Ep. 161: The Geeks in Love Episode
Sometimes a gadget comes along that sweeps you off your geeky feet. Not quite as often, a curiously upholstered SUV comes along and crashes into the podcast like a wrecking ball. Today we bring you all of the above in one episode.
The Kosheen sound has always been about integrating electronica with great song structures, and, locked down in the studio recording 'Damage', the band has created a subtly futuristic soundtrack for the 21st century. From the spacious titular track itself to the pop-driven forthcoming single 'Overkill' (about, says Sian, "personal or political frustration"); from the early 80s synth-stabbed 'Chances' to the epic hum of 'Under Fire', hefty beats jostle with acidic bleeps, Morricone guitars, plangent synths and haunting piano. Look out, too, for the rather swaggering majesty of closing track, ‘Your Life,’ which, says Markee, "grew from its opening chords – it stinks of flava!"
Daily Debrief: Making sense of a gadget-crazed Vietnam
Dong Ngo returned to his homeland of Vietnam, where he roamed the country examining how technology is affecting the culture and the economy. He joins Charles Cooper on the CNET News Daily Debrief to talk about his experiences.
The truth is, Maria McKee is only beginning to tap into what she has to say. On Peddlin' Dreams (Eleven Thirty Records), her sixth solo album, she draws not only from her own songs but also from those of her bassist, producer, frequent co-writer, and husband, Jim Akin. Their distinctive styles, brought into focus by an approach to recording unlike any that McKee had followed before, make Peddlin' Dreams one of her most urgent and eloquent works. That, of course, is saying a lot. From her early performances at sixteen, singing with her brother, Bryan MacLean of the epochal group Love, through her run with Americana pioneers Lone Justice and on to the career she has established on her own, McKee has maintained an uncommon honesty and excellence as a writer and singer, as those who have written with her (Steve Earle), recorded her material (The Dixie Chicks), or added her songs to high-profile film soundtracks (Pulp Fiction) can attest. Her last studio album, High Dive (2002), epitomizes her work up to that point: Meticulously produced, finely polished, it fit McKee's pattern of spending as much time as necessary to come up with an album that met the high standards she sets for herself. Fans learned to be patient, knowing that the payoff would be worth the wait. It always was, especially High Dive, which earned vast praise. Mojo magazine, in a four-star review, called the album "an organic, risk-taking record oozing rich details," while USA Today declared that Maria "has one of the strongest and most versatile voices in pop music." In addition to dates in the U.S., Maria toured across the U.K. and Europe on a 10-country tour in support of the album. Peddlin' Dreams is a departure, conceived with the same self-imposed expectations yet reflective of her evolving ambitions. On this project, McKee and Akin emphasize emotion over seamless craftsmanship; the production quality is as strong as ever, but its intention is to invest each track with a live feel. On "My One True Love" she whispers her vocal, as if standing inches away from the listener in some quiet room of the heart; on "Everyone's Got a Story" she's fronting her band in a raucous jam, ripping licks on her guitar over a thrashing beat. The other songs settle between these extremes, each with its own balance of intimacy and abandon -- and all of it feels totally alive. "The truth is, High Dive was a labor of love," Maria explains. "It was also incredibly demanding -- a lot of hard work for both Jim and me. We wanted to make Peddlin' Dreams' more direct and spontaneous. We didn't think about it too much; we just went in and did it. The process was much more natural." More than that: Their approach on Peddlin' Dreams signals a shift in Maria's thoughts about recording, her relationship with the public, and deeper issues as well. "In the past I haven't been the most prolific artist," she admits. "It's taken me as much as six years to go from one album to the next. I've had to sit with songs and ideas a long time until I've felt satisfied with them. I want to make better use of my talent now. If I'm honest with my songs, I can put albums out more frequently; that's become important to me because of how incredible my fans have been and how important it is for me to connect with them as often as I can." Her first step was to surrender the reins of production. She had her reasons: to concentrate more fully on performance, to expedite the process. Most crucial, though, is her respect for Jim's insight and skills. "High Dive was very collaborative," Jim says. We shared production credit. This time, she said, 'Go ahead. You make it.' She came into the studio to sing and play her parts. I'd hear the chord progression, the lyrics, or maybe just the melodies -- the skeleton of the song -- and then flesh it out. It was effortless, immediate, a production based on intuition." Jim's expanded role made it easier for Maria to find the heart of each song. "With this album, I wanted a more open, almost stark recording," he explains. "It's all about emotion in the vocal. Where the voice cracks and reveals something that's almost beyond what the artist intends." Sessions began with Jim and the drummer, Tom Dunne, who drove out to a warehouse in Costa Mesa. There, they cut the drum tracks, without a click or even any demos for reference. "Tom was just playing to the music in his head," Jim says. We'd do three, four, or five complete takes, and I'd choose the best one. The idea was to go for a John Bonham sound -- very open, big, and natural, with minimal, mainly distant miking. I was very happy with what we got." These tracks were the foundation for Maria and the musicians as they cut the songs that featured the full band. Everything fed off the drums; you can hear it in "Everyone's Got a Story", "Sullen Soul", and "Peddlin' Dreams", where Dunne's sound, raw and punchy, defines the live feel. Each of these performances, like the ones cut solo or with a scaled-down lineup, were captured at Maria's and Jim's home studio, which they'd completed just in time for the High Dive sessions a little more than two years ago. This, too, served the goal of going for the emotional gold. "Jim loves having a home studio because he can capture me in different moods," Maria says. "I'm sort of mercurial, so he'll observe and say, 'Hmm, Maria would really handle this song especially well right now." Clearly Maria had her reflective, introspective days, as reflected on the plaintive "Appalachian Boy" and the wistful "My One True Love". Other times she must have been feeling playful ("The Horse Life"). And her gritty, snarling guitar solo on the jam that ends "Everyone's Got a Story" just might have come from what she describes as "a melancholy frame of mind." Maria also turns in a moving rendition of Neil Young's "Barstool Blues". "After going over the Americana terrain for years and years, the worst thing anybody can say to me about my music would be, 'Oh, it's like American barroom rock!'" She continues, "So it's ironic for me to do 'Barstool Blues', which is the greatest song ever written with that sort of imagery yet it totally transcends any genre because it's such a great piece of art. To Jim and me, Neil Young is a god -- but I have to do something risky on every album, and for me that meant recording this song because his original version is perfect." The point is that every moment of Peddlin' Dreams is real. Every note reflects the new immediacy in her music. In its details and taken as a whole, Peddlin' Dreams is a message to McKee devotees: Expect more exceptional work, covering more bases, more often from this extraordinary artist. For all that she's achieved, Peddlin' Dreams points the way toward greater things just over the horizon. "Who knows how the next record will sound?" says Maria. "I certainly don't. I just know that I'm staying in the moment now. And I believe that's going to bring everyone who's enjoyed my music -- the Lone Justice people, the High Dive people, and everyone else -- together like nothing I've ever done before."
