cara beth satalino

I came to the conclusion this morning that I am going through a "pretty voice + piano" phase. Chris Garneau, Regina Spektor, and now... Cara Beth Satalino. Cara brings a crisp, refreshing voice to music. She knows how to keep your interest too. Take her song "Life is Sweet". At first, you think it's just a sweet little upbeat melody. And then you realize how many layers there are to it. It begins to sweep and swell until finally you reach the point of just plain rockin' out. It's like that first cup of coffee in the morning where the first sip starts you on the road to feeling good and by the time you finish you are ready to take on the world. And yes, it's good to the very last drop.

Cara breezes through songs like it's second nature to her. You can tell that she was meant to be music. Miss Satalino is also part of the amazing rock group Con Amore. Check her out in whatever form you can find her in. She is a delight and we love her. Listen to her songs by clicking here. Visit the Con Amore website by going here.

down the tiny steps

A lovely little bird told me that I should listen to this band. Birds always sing pretty songs and so when they suggest something musical, I listen. Down the Tiny Steps is a sweet little "folk rock" group out of Glasgow producing fun little diddies for your ears. They currently have 3 albums released and those are available through Fence Records. I just started listening to them today, so I haven't dug up the dirt on them. Give a listen though and see what you think. Word.

jenny owen youngs

Ok... yes, I do realize that I haven't written anything in a while. It's 99% due to the fact that I was suffering from a rare disease called cookieoverdosus caused by someone force feeding me 30 dozen chocolate chip cookies in one sitting. The other 1% is due to sheer laziness. ANYWAY...

Jenny Owen Youngs. Is she a good musician? Yes. Does she know how to rock? For sure. Does she like cookies? Let's hope so. Miss Youngs hails from New Jersey and currently has recurring residencies at both the Living Room (NYC) and the Hotel Cafe (LA). Her voice is fierce and her music is well-crafted. I enjoy the simplistic nature of her songs. Too often you find singer-songwriters who cloud their music with overly dramatic hoopla instead of just letting their obvious talent shine through. Such is not the case with this gal.

Witness:

"fuck was i" mp3

Miss Youngs also does a cover of Britney Spear's "Slave 4 U" that is not to be missed. You can find the cover on Interlude Magazine's myspace page by clicking here.

Visit Jenny at her website and listen to more songs by going here. If you are in Los Angeles, go say hello to her at the Hotel Cafe March 24th and 30th. Do it!

Elliott Smith at the Oscars

In honor of the recent Oscars and its three bizarre song performances.

This performance is devoid of any slo mo acting. No fog machines, no one feeling anyone up, no one pulling anyone from a burning car, no pimp environment. This is Elliott Smith's in all his awkward glory performing Miss Misery.

Check out the end of the clip where Madonna reads the nominations to the best song. Cheesecake factory. I'm still surprised Elliott got nominated.

mae shi

Up to this point, I have been reviewing a lot of more mellow type bands. Well, that is changing right now. Here come the Mae Shi. They are bringing the party to your living room. Where everyone is crammed in, jumping on your couch, dripping sweat and beer on your carpet, and you don't care because you are having too much fun. If you don't convulse at least once while listening to them, then there may be something wrong with you. (I'd seek professional help.)

For fun, you should click on the video below. It's the trailer for the Mae Shi's about-to-be-released DVD. Then you should go out and buy it, because really, if the trailer is that crazy good... can you imagine owning a whole 32 videos worth of that madness?! Eep!



You should also go to the Mae Shi's website ... their postings are especially amusing. You can listen to some lovely little songs by clicking here also. Their album is available through 5RC.

The Knife - Heartbeats

I have been obsessed with this song for a few weeks now. Its not even part of their new album, that goes to show how on top of things I am.

The Knife is Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson. A Swedish duo that crafts pop songs with electronic b-b-b-beats.

This is the opening song from their Deep Cuts album. This song is so awesome that it was covered by Jose Gonzalez, wonderfully if you need to know, and used in a beautiful commercial for Sony.

Their new album is Silent Shout and as an album it works way better than the previous one, but that's another post.

The Knife - Heartbeats mp3
Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats mp3
Sony Bravia Ad featuring Jose's version.

Jason Collet

Jason Collet is part of the Broken Social Scene family. Is that enough? It was for me. Idols of Exile is Jason's new album and unlike any other member of the Canadian supergroup this collection offers songs which are more focused and stripped down. My sister deemed this countrified. I have issues cataloguing music, but these songs do lean in the direction of southern music. Sisters know best

The album features cameos from other Arts & Crafts members. Amy Millan and Kevin Drew guest star in Fire. Metric's Emily Haines lends her vocals to "Hangover Days", my favorite track of the album, it makes me want to take a road trip through the middle of the country, but then gas prices and motel rates dissuade me.

Jason Collet - Hangover Days mp3

coco rosie

There is a lot that can be said about this pair of sisters. Sierra Rose and Bianca Leilani have both led very interesting lives respectively. Bianca, otherwise known as "Red Bone Slim", spent her early years in Joseph City, Arizona with her father "burning ants and hunting rabbits from the burned out chassis of a station wagon." While little is known about Sierra's earlier years (although there are members of her family who say that she has learned how to "harness lightening so as to charge her body with electricity"), she is a strong soprano and was recognized as having a promising career in the opera in Paris. You will definitely hear the operatic influence in some of Coco Rosie's songs on their album "La Maison de Mon Reve". Apparently their first album was a hip hop project called "Word to the Crow" which was made only days before "La Maison.." and the hip hop element still comes through in some of their songs. They have a third album entitled "Noah's Ark" and are currently working on their fourth release. You can listen to a couple tracks by going here. Their albums are available through Touch and Go Records. You can also visit their website by clicking here. If you get a chance to see them live, do so. This is a unique act not to be missed.