Last year’s Orchard-IODA merger brought a veritable treasure trove of great new music into our system. We’ve had the very pleasurable opportunity to do a fair bit of exploration over the last 13 months and thought we might share a cross section of highlights. The following playlist includes household names to some of today’s buzziest / most acclaimed new artists to formerly obscure musicians who have only been rediscovered in recent years.
The list includes “Head Like A Hole,” the song that put Nine Inch Nails on the map in 1990, Arlo Guthrie‘s 1972 Top 40 hit “The City Of New Orleans,” and “After The Laughter (Comes Tears),” a 1964 Soul masterpiece by Wendy Rene which has been sampled by The Wu-Tang Clan and Alicia Keys and used in films like Lucky Number Slevin and The Wackness.
It also contains early tracks by contemporary Rock royalty like My Morning Jacket, Rise Against, and The Black Angels; and music from fast-rising up-and-comers like Portland bands STRFKR (“Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second” has been heard in a Target ad on the TV show Weeds) and Blind Pilot (their 2008 debut, 3 Rounds And A Sound led them to tours with The Hold Steady and The Decemberists), as well as San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees, (Breaking Bad fans may recognize the 7″ single “Tidal Wave” from a pivotal scene in season four).
It’s not all Rock by any means. On the Electronic end of the spectrum, we have selections from the Mercury Prize-nominated debuts by the UK’s Burial and Zero 7, and a single from Minneapolis duo Poliça, whose (late) 2011 debut Give You The Ghost earned praise from the likes of Jay-Z and Bon Iver. We have also have Jazz from three-time Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride (a track recorded with Grammy-winning world music legend Angélique Kidjo), and Hip-Hop from Deltron 3030, an Alternative/Hip-Hop supergroup comprised of Dan the Automator [Gorillaz], Del the Funky Homosapien and Kid Koala, (their self-titled album was “the most purely enjoyable Hip-Hop album of 2000,” according to NME).
We’ve also included a few slightly under the radar picks from some personal favorites, including pioneering all-female Post-Punk trio The Raincoats (who were extensively championed by the late Kurt Cobain), influential Los Angeles Blues Punk-ers The Gun Club (“Carry Home,” featured here, was covered by Mark Lanegan on a his 1999 covers album, I’ll Take Care Of You), and Santa Barbara Folk musician/Vietnam veteran F.J. McMahon, whose lone album, Spirit Of The Golden Juice [1969], was a highly sought after/highly priced collector’s item that was only recently reissued by Rev-Ola [CD + digital] and Sacred Bones [vinyl].
Now, without further ado…
Listen to this playlist on Spotify or ShareMyPlaylists.
We hope everyone in the Northeast is safe and sound in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. It’s certainly been a momentous week and I say this writing from my apartment while our New York office remains closed without electricity. While I was lucky enough to keep power, water and the interwebs, something that got me through the week was definitely music.
This Freeloader Friday is for all those who need some tunes to pick up their mood. It’s got a full album stream from Pretty & Nice (and we all need things pretty and nice); a new single from Geoff Barrow of Portishead’s new band Beak>; a really really awesome video premiere from Death Cab for Cutie’s Benjamin Gibbard; a not-so-old favorite from Isis that features in their upcoming posthumous rarities and remixes compilation; a track premiere from Lucius‘ self-titled EP; and a Tim Maia sampler from a spotlight on the artist in the New York Times.
We hope music will make everything better.
Pretty & Nice: Full album stream via All Music
Us You All We out November 6 on Lost Colony Music
Beak>: “Mono” via Pitchfork
>> out now on Invada
Benjamin Gibbard: “Teardrop Windows” video premiere via Entertainment Weekly
Former Lives out now on Barsuk Records
Isis: “Ghost Key” via Pitchfork
Temporal out November 6 on Ipecac Recordings
Lucius: “Genevieve” track premiere via RCRD LBL
Lucius EP out now on Wildewoman Music
Tim Maia: “Que Beleza,” “Brother Father Mother Sister,” “Do Leme Ao Pontal,” and “Nobody Can Live Forever” via New York Times
Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia out now on Luaka Bop
It’s the last Friday of September and we are now properly into the Fall… how time flies! Well, what better way to spend said flying time than listening to music? We’re not guaranteeing it’ll give you the same look as that girl on the left, but it might get you close.
In this week’s Freeloader Friday, we’ve got not one, but TWO new songs from PAWS for you to check out, Part Two of The Raveonettes‘ Making Of Observator series, a full album stream of the ever-soulful Tim Maia and a new video from Deleted Scenes.
Happy listening!
PAWS: “Sore Tummy” and “Salem” via Pitchfork
Cokefloat! out October 9 on FatCat Records
The Raveonettes: “Observator Making of” (Part 2) video via IFC
Observator out now on Vice Records
Tim Maia: Full album stream via Slate
Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia out October 2 on Luaka Bop
Deleted Scenes: “A Bunch of People who Love You Like Crazy” video via IFC
Young People’s Church of the Air out now on Park the Van
Keep smiling freeloaders, (and how could you not with the artwork posted to my left?), it’s Friday! And you know what that means!
Today, we have tracks to suit all tastes and platforms: streams, downloads, videos of Brazilian Funk Soul à la Tim Maia, Synth-Pop/New Wave/Rock brought by Spirit of Talk Talk, Menomena’s Indie Rock, and a special making-of spotlighting The Raveonettes’ upcoming release Observator.
Good week-end to you, Freeloaders!
Tim Maia: “Que Beleza” via Soundcloud
Nobody Can Live Forever out October 2nd on Luaka Bop
Jason Lytle: “Tomorrow Started” via Stereogum
Spirit of Talk Talk out September 3 on Fierce Panda Records
Menomena: “Capsule” via Pitchfork
Moms out September 18 on Barsuk Records
The Raveonettes: “Making of Observator (Part 1)” on Paste Magazine
Observator out September 11 on Vice Records
Very rarely is an unreliable, unpredictable, explosive and at times uncontainable personality in music matched with such a talented, emotional and subtle soul. Enter: Tim Maia. As a Brazilian Jazz/Soul singer, Tim ironically embodied all that is Rock n’ Roll.
He is said to have begun his career in music via New York City in the late 50′s and early 60′s but was quickly sent back to Brazil after a run-in with the law. Back in his homeland, he found himself integrating American Soul throughout his native rhythms of Brazil, creating styles never heard before in the country.
He released numerous albums beginning in 1970 (many of which were self-titled Tim Maia) and quickly gained notoriety and interest with hits like “These Are the Songs” (later re-recorded by Pieno Verão), “Azul da Cor do Mar” and “Não Quero Dinheiro (Só Quero Amar)”….but this hype was short lived. Maia’s drug habits and spiritual passion often took precedent over meetings, professionalism, business etiquette and at times his own shows. His political motivations and involvement in cult-like groups is also said to have hindered his path to further acclamation and recognition.
All that said, and with all of Maia’s curious personal issues, few have been able to disregard the iconic imprint he left on Brazilian/World music. He fused American Soul with Brazilian Samba and Baião, creating a beautiful and cheerful Soul/Funk/Jazz/Latin stew – that just tastes so good.
According to NPR, on October 2nd, Luaka Bop is planning to release Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia which features some of Maia’s most notable (and maybe some overlooked) tracks throughout his career. Watch the preview below:
