My Essential Music - More Fave Band Playlists (Talking Heads, Arcade Fire, Spoon, Moby, Beck, Flaming Lips, Cake, Franz Ferdinand, New Order, Gorillaz, The National & Band of Horses)

Visit wfuv.org for more info 

Last week during the pledge drive for public radio station WFUV, listeners were asked to submit their "essential music," a list of five bands/artists, along with their donation. This is clearly a clever way to survey the audience, but it also got me thinking of sharing more of my personal faves in playlist form. In prior posts, I have linked to my LCD Soundsystem Faves playlist with the news the band will be releasing another album after breaking up in 2011 (and an update: the band has signed with the behemoth Columbia Records!) Plus I posted my David Bowie Faves playlist after this legend's untimely death.

So here are links to some more playlists of "essential music" found on my Spotify account @NewMusicMatters, dig in!

Radiohead Faves

Talking Heads Faves

Arcade Fire Faves

Spoon Faves

Moby Faves

Beck Faves

Flaming Lips Faves

Cake Faves

Franz Ferdinand Faves

New Order Faves

Gorillaz Faves

The National Faves

Band of Horses Faves

Band of Horses @ The Capitol Theatre, NY July 24

Singer Ben Bridell

Band of Horses creates the kind of music that makes you stop, listen and feel.  The group is unafraid of grand gestures and deep emotions, with an indie rock base that crosses into Southern rock. Lyrics delivered in a distinctive twang deal with screen doors swayin', fixin' drinks in the morning and incredibly romantic yearnings, such as "my thoughts drift to you." Chorus lines repeat to emphasize meaning while building fervor, never as a repetitive exercise. Over four albums since 2004, their sound swings from sweet lullabies to soaring crescendos of melody and stomping rockers with blasts of guitar -- all benefiting from the immediacy of live performance. 

The core quintet since 2010 is now based in Charleston, South Carolina and treated fans to a 20-song set at The Capitol Theatre, all wearing jeans and beards on recent summer's night: singer/songwriter Ben Bridell (guitar), Tyler Ramsey (guitar), Bill Reynolds (bass), Creighton Barrett (percussion) and Ryan Monroe (keyboards/mandolin). This evening began with Midlake downsized to an acoustic trio, which unfortunately drained the songs from any anthemic punch. Band of Horses then led off with the lilting "Way Back Home," moving into the sweeping orchestral gestures of "Factory," both from Infinite Arms (2010).  Another hit for the band, "Ode to LRC" from Cease to Begin (2007) was offered up early, a song with the audacity to break into a "la-di-da" ending after declaring "The world is such a wonderful place" over and over (as captured in the video below). "No One's Gonna Love You" brought another highlight with heartfelt lyrics how "No one's gonna love you more than I do" (my soundtrack choice if I should ever feel a need to renew my wedding vows).  

Brindell earnestly responded to the appreciative crowd with lots of "thanks y'all," allowing the music to do the requisite soul bearing. Even bandmates Ramsey and Reynolds knew to step back occasionally and keep things still to let the passionate vocals ring out through the venue. Check out the set list along with some photos and videos, plus at the very end of the post is an awesome poster printed especially for the night by a friend of the band (that I got signed by all five members of the band after the show!)

Happy fans with set list (thx for the photo op!)

Midlake

Me & Asheville's own Tyler Ramsey

Paul & Ryan Monroe

Here's to 2014 -- New Releases & Starbucks Compilation (Beck Cover of "Love" by John Lennon)

Happy New Year to all that consider new music a must in their lives like I do! While basking in the clean slate that comes every January, there's a nice list of new releases to look forward to in the coming weeks, along with a new compilation from Starbucks in time for Valentine's Day.  Albums from blog faves Broken Bells, Painted Palms and Bibio drop in January, with Bombay Bicycle Club, Fanfarlo and Milagres following in February (see list with details at the end of this post).

Beck is also due with an album in February, Morning Phase, after signing with mega-label Capitol and releasing a series of singles: "Gimme," "Defriended," and "I Won't Be Long."  Plus he will be featured in a new compilation from Starbucks, Sweetheart 2014 (available February 4th).  Beck provides a lilting cover of "Love," John Lennon's plaintive poem about the subject. Other musicians I'm looking forward to hearing on the compilation include Phosphorescent, Vampire Weekend and Jim James.  And I've started my own yearly tribute to the holiday, after happily creating romantic song playlists in 2013 and 2012.

Check out the Beck song in a preview here:



NEW RELEASES TO WATCH FOR IN 2014:
January 14 - Painted Palms, Forever (Polyvinyl Records)
January 28 - Bibio, The Green E.P. (Warp Records)
February 4 - Broken Bells, After the Disco (Columbia)
February 4 - Bombay Bicycle Club, So Long, See You Tomorrow (Vagrant)
February 11 - Fanfarlo, Let's To Extinct (Blue Horizon)
February 25 - Milagres, Violent Light (Kill Rock Stars)