Deb Talan : Cherry Trees [ purchase ] I wrote most of this entry wholesale back in 2009, for a different song entirely. But it bears repeating, in part because it reminds us how artists rise and fall: before she joined up with Steve Tannen to became half of indieblog darlings The Weepies , but after cutting her teeth on the music industry with an upbeat Oregon popband called Hummingfish, Deb Talan had a relatively low-key, small-scale career as a solo artist on the New England coffeehouse circuit. Her final solo effort from this period, 2001 live release Sincerely, reveals an artist on the ...

Requested by wlgyl • Compiled by scaroline You and I are in the same boat, my friend. 01. The Strokes - “Is This It” (Is This It?) 02. Simon & Garfunkel - “The Only Living Boy In New York” (Bridge Over Troubled Water) 03. Nico - “These Days” (Chelsea Girl) 04. The Mountain Goats - “The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton” (All Hail West Texas) 05. Radiohead - “The Bends” (The Bends) 06. The Shins - “New Slang” (Oh, Inverted World) 07. American Football - “But the Regrets Are Killing Me” (American Football) 08. The Dismemberment Plan - “Spider In The Snow” (Emergency & I) 09. The Weepies - “Not ...

Sly and the Family Stone--"Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (mp3) One of the yearly columns that used to annoy me the most back in the old Chattanooga News-Free Press before the two papers merged was this guy's piece around Thanksgiving or Christmas that consisted of nothing more than a tedious list of all of the things that he was thankful for. So, of course, I'm going to steal the idea. Ready? 1. I am thankful for the Italian rosemary ham at Costco. 2. I am thankful for my wife's explorations into veganism and how ...

This is from the same album.

Last day of Rocktober. Day of loosing evil spirits. Zombies and vampires lurk.   Seems like a perfect day to celebrate the third-most important purpose of modern music: lamenting the Break-Up. One of the best break-up quotes I’ve ever heard: “Divorce is like a death in the family where the corpse continues to walk the earth.” I first heard these sentiments from our former pastor, a man who served as one of many valued mentors in my life, although he was just passing along the quote. An intensely private man, Larry kept most of his personal life to himself, which ...

Rusted Wheel - The Belle Brigade (mp3) At Least I Have You - Mates of State (mp3) Chances Are - Bob Seger & Martina McBride (mp3) My single most favorite trend of the past 20 years in music is the surge in male-female musical groups. Boy-girl duets is nothing new, mind you. Helloooo, Sonny & Cher? Donny & Marie? The history of pop music is replete with duets, from Kiki joining Elton to Rihanna guesting with Eminem or Coldplay. But the fact is this: You put a male and a female in a song, singing into one another, singing around one another, singing on top of one another, and I’ll give your song five times the chance of success. The song doesn’t have to be overtly sexual, because the allure of male-female singing goes far deeper than mere genitalia. It follows a rule similar to Jules' explanation of foot massages in "Pulp Fiction." A male-female duet hits me in the same core as bagpipes or African drums; something primal in me is instantly drawn to it. Trying to name all the current bands on my radar which exploit this weakness is virtually impossible. The Weepies, The Civil Wars, The Rescues, Mates of State, The Belle Brigade, The New Pornographers, Buddy & Julie Miller. Those are all bands who earn chronic rotation in my musical life. Others include The Ting Tings, Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Swell Season, Acid House Kings, Sleeper Agent, Black-Eyed Peas, COYOL. These are all without even looking at my iTunes collection. There’s no telling how many I’m missing. Glee , the entire show, the cultural phenomenon, rocketed into instant success the minute they turned "Don't Stop Believin'" into a male-female duet. As much as I adore ‘80s music and its place in my heart and history, its male-female combos kinda sucked unless they were one-shot deals. Roxette? Animotion? The Human League? Ace of Base? Just about the only one that comes to mind that earned much respect was Timbuk 3, and that’s a stretch. The ‘70s and ‘80s seemed better about single-gender combinations, groups where multiple dudes shared singing duties or sang on top of one another. Hall & Oates, Tears for Fears, Wham, Alabama, The Eagles, Flock of Seagulls... the Beatles, even. Almost the only obvious exception that stands out is Fleetwood Mac. But you sit me down and ask me to start rattling off all the songs from my life I’ve loved that harnessed the power of a male-female duet, and I might never find time to eat a meal again. Here’s what I came up with just on the way home from dinner tonight: “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart” - Elton John & Kiki Dee “After All” - Peter Cetera & Cher “The Next Time I Fall” - Peter Cetera & Amy Grant “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” - Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks “Endless Love” - Lionel Richie & Diana Ross “Islands in the Stream” - Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton “Kid Fears” - Indigo Girls & Michael Stipe “I Knew You Were Waiting” - Aretha Franklin & George Michael “It’s Only Love” - Bryan Adams & Turner">Tina Turner “Up Where We Belong” - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes “Chances Are” - Bob Seger & Martina McBride “U Got the Look” - Prince & Sheena Easton “Summer Nights” (and most of GREASE) - Olivia Newton John & John Travolta “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes “Don’t Know Much” - Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville “Almost Paradise” - Mike Reno & Ann Wilson These all popped up in 15 minutes or less of driving. I’ve thought of at least several dozen more since then, and I haven’t even Googled “greatest duets ever” or anything yet. I only made this connection, about my deep instinctive love for male-female songs, because I wrote about both Turner">Tina Turner and Bryan Adams. The truth is that I love their duet, “It’s Only Love” as much as if not better than anything the two of them created individually. Which is absurd, by the way. It’s not that great. Which means this is more about my own Kryptonite, my own Achilles’ Heel. But I wouldn’t trade it. Rap and Hip hop men have always sensed the value of a well-placed woman. We would never know Rob Base or DJ EZ Rock if they didn’t enlist the assistance of a woman to tell us exactly What Took Two. C&C; Music Factory never sells 10,000 CDs without a woman belting out that chorus. This continues today with B.O.B.’s “Airplanes” and Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie,” just as examples. I love all these ...

Erykah Badu @ Coachella 2011 (more by David Andrako) today in NYC * One Ring Zero @ Barbes * Olivia Block @ The Stone * The Weepies @ Irving Plaza * The English Beat @ Maxwell's * Electric Zoo @...

Requested by His-best-friend • Compiled by Arden Stay strong. 01. Rilo Kiley - "'85" (Rilo Kiley) 02. Matt Costa - "Oh Dear" (Songs We Sing) 03. The Weepies - "Can't Go Back Now" (Hideaway) 04. He is We - "Blame it On The Rain" (My Forever) 05. Meiko - "Boys With Girlfriends" (Meiko) 06. Schuyler Fisk - "Hello" (The Good Stuff) 07. Ingrid Michaelson - "Breakable" (Girls and Boys) 08. Noah and the Whale - "Second Lover" (Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down) 09. Ryan Adams - "Come Pick Me Up" (Heartbreaker) 10. KT Tunstall - "Another Place to Fall" (Eye to the Telescope) 11. Erin McCarley - "Blue Suitcase" (Love ...

Nothing makes me happier than giving our readers something more than just the music we post daily. Especially when that something is signed vinyl and two concert tickets [...]

All Van Muller ever wanted was the music. As a young girl growing up in the countryside of Brazil, Van Muller became enthralled with the music her three aunts introduced her to: Rock N Roll. Muller had the posters on her wall of rock icons and endured long bus trips to catch her heroes live, always dreaming that one day it would be her up on the stage. Inspired early on by the showmanship of acts such as Queen, David Bowie and Madonna, Muller quickly fell in love with the singer/songwriter aesthetic espoused by James Taylor, Neil Young, Bob ...

When my wife and I found out we were going to be parents for the first time, one of the many things we started to worry about was how to raise our child to be a music fan.  That is to say, how would we get her to like Rosanne Cash and Buddy Miller rather than Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus... or whoever their counterparts are 10-15 years from now?  My wife made a lullaby mix to take to the hospital, and we found out early on how soothing artists like Patty Griffin and The Weepies can be to a ...

Today's category is... A Relaxing Song. Here are the staff picks: Dan Milliken: "Can't Go Back Now" - The Weepies This husband-wife duo’s sound is mega-soothing, the perfect match for a song which gently nudges the listener to persevere through reality’s burdens and chores. When I need relaxation, it’s usually because I’ve stopped feeling like I can. This one helps me realign.

Got a sweet little tip on an amazing lady who will be in Atlanta tomorrow night at Variety Playhouse opening for Raphael Saadiq . Her name is Yuna and she's got a really incredible, dream-like voice that sort of reminds me of Marketa Irglova from The Swell Season , the chick from the Weepies , or (and, stay with me on this one) the Murmurs from the 90s. Am I the only one who remembers them and how awesome they were? Annnnywho, Yuna's got the clout of FADER behind her, so I highly suggest you check it out and get to ...

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Cameron Monaghan plays the nerdy, music-loving Corey in the teen flick Prom that comes out this weekend. The film’s soundtrack includes songs from The Weepies, Oh Darling, Shout Out Louds and Passion Pit....