/dev/random

It’s still much too early to start making my best album list, but there are so many great albums I’ve been listening to recently. Here’s a partial list.

The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love A rare album that needs to be listened to in its entirety.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest Simply beautiful music.

Animal [...]

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I walked to the Embarcadero Center today, which is much closer than I realized. I just had to go there to mess with everyone at home (the name of my condo is The Embarcadero, so I emailed pictures saying I’m at the Embarcadero).
These musicians called The Jugtown Pirates were playing outside the ferry building. They’re [...]

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I always love when two things I like come together, and this is one of those times. Tapulous has released Tap Tap Revenge: Dave Matthews Band. If you’re a DMB fan, it’s worth the $5.

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As you probably know, Apple posted the first trailer for Spike Jonze’s new “Where the Wild Things Are” movie today. The music in that trailer excited me a lot more than the movie itself. I consider any new Arcade Fire song a big deal, since their last album came out 2 years ago, with only [...]

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When i guess i’m floating compared Fanfario to Arcade Fire, it caught my attention. I really like the two samples from their upcoming debut album, Reservoir, which still isn’t listed in iTunes or eMusic. I did find a few EPs and collections with their songs on eMusic, though. I’m definitely going to buy their album [...]

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Apple’s special musical guest at the keynote was Tony Bennett.

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Awesome cover version of Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” by Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel. One of my favorite songs of the year.
Listen

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Legendary South African singer Myriam Makeba has died following a concert in Italy. I’ve been in shock since I read the news this morning, as she was one of my favorite singers.
Here’s a vintage performance of her most well-known song, “Pata Pata” to remember her by.

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Grace Slick, from Jefferson Airplane (and later Jefferson Starship) is 69 today. When I was in high school I thought she was incredibly hot. I still think she was one of the greatest rock singers ever. She had one of the most powerful voices with great control.

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Vampire Weekend is playing a special show in New York City on Sunday, Oct. 12. All proceeds from the show will go to helping Obama win in swing states.

With Wall Street in economic turmoil, Music for Democracy has proposed an economic stimulus package for this Sunday’s fundraiser event in New York.
“We’re releasing 100 pairs of [...]

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One of my favorite singers, Loreena McKennitt, has a new album called A Midwinter Night’s Dream, now available for pre-order from her website. The album is available as a CD, digital download, or two special editions featuring a DVD.

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Flickr Blog introduced Yahoo’s new Start Wearing Purple campaign. I sure hope they got permission from Gogol Bordello to use that name.

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I’ve always found this song very haunting, but the devastation from the recent hurricanes in Haiti makes it even sadder. One way to help the people of Haiti is to support Partners In Health.

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One of my favorite people, Ashley Maher is leaving Monday for Dakar, Senegal to record her 5th album at Jimi Mbaye’s Studio Dogo.
Ashley bought Jimi a new Mac Pro for his studio to help pay for her studio time. Getting it there was quite a saga. Jimi was supposed to pick it up in [...]

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The new album by David Byrne & Brian Eno, Everything that happens will happen today is now available for download from their website. I bought the digital download for $9 and I’m enjoying it.

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This story really hit me hard this morning. LeRoi Moore, the saxophonist & founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died suddenly yesterday due to complications from his ATV accident in June. According to the band’s site:
We are deeply saddened that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August [...]

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Just a day after Bernie Mac died, legendary musician Isaac Hayes died. Like many recent news stories, I found out about it first on Twitter, long before seeing it on the news or in the paper.

This song has a special place for me. The “Shaft” soundtrack was one of the first records I remember buying [...]

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Ashley Maher informed me that she’ll be recording her 5th CD at Jimi Mbaye’s studio in Dakar, Senegal. When she travels there, she’ll be bringing Jimi a new Mac Pro.
Here she is during her last trip to Dakar in April.

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I really love this song.

‘Fired Up & Ready to Go’ is by Fojeba, a musician born in Cameroon now living in Canada. His song is a Central African makossa. Fojeba uses samples from Obama’s speeches in the music including his signature “Fired Up, Ready to Go” as a refrain.
Via Calabash Music’s blog, which also features [...]

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As a thank you to their fans for their continued support, NIN is giving away the new nine inch nails album free at nin.com. The music is available in several formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. Even better, the music is licensed under [...]

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