Rock Room Service

Fascinating lineup at The Rock & Roll Hotel last night that nicely managed to span much of the indie spectrum. Locals Junior League kicked off with folky, banjo-driven rock. Eric Elbogen’s band Say Hi To Your Mom followed up with witty, fuzzy tunes, especially from Impeccable Blahs, Elbogen’s concept album about vampires. +/- played really complicated mathy songs, with a lot of 5/4 and 7/8 beats. And headliners Bishop Allen rocked enthusiastically. For a taste, you can check out Junior League's adorable slide show or catch this clip of another Bishop Allen performance.

No More "Waiting For a Miracle" in DC

It was a soul-stirring Friday night at the Washington National Cathedral- the inaugural show for the Musician's Project- a live music showcase that aims to bridge the gap between spiritual life and popular music. You couldn't ask for a better ambassador for that goal than Bruce Cockburn! I had a feeling the Cathedral's acoustics would provide the perfect chime for one of the fastest, most melodic guitar virtuosos of our time, but I had no idea how profound lyrics to songs like WONDERING WHERE THE LIONS ARE, DUST AND DIESEL and BEAUTIFUL CREATURES (off his new one, "Life Short, Call Now") would carry in the church. People were moved to tears during the latter. For a night, the Cathedral became the Church of social justice, peace and protection of all things precious. It just seemed being in this beautiful, historic setting in the Center of Power of the Western World and listening to a man who has, over his long career, become sort-of a musical journalist and champion for the Third World was the right juxtaposition. They announced the next show (though, it's still not "official" yet). Looks like Sheryl Crow will be the next to rock the church...on Earth Day! Stay tuned for details

Backwards Music Video

Is it me or is the internet becoming the only place music videos are seen?

I happened to catch this one by MuteMath for their single "Typical"



also here is The Hold Steady's latest video "Stuck Between Stations"

Having a Great Life

People often debate the commercialization of music, but I’m a big fan of the musicalization of commercials. I’m psyched when I hear a song I love (The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights”), am reminded of a song I’d forgotten (Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky”), or am woken up to an artist I didn’t know before (Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon”).

Perhaps Goat (Andrew Rosen) falls into one of those categories for you. The title track to his 1998 Great Life album has been popping up in recent car commercials. So if you’ve been singing along to those upbeat lyrics (Start having a…great life / It’s about living with inspiration) you can find more about him at his website or his MySpace page.

PS: Meanwhile, on the humor front, what if the Beatles were Irish?

Damnwells Documentary

Attention Damnwells fans - Golden Days, a documentary on the Damnwells has been selected to be featured at the Phoenix Film Festival this April from the 12th - 19th.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be in a rock band - without all the glamor...this is the documentary you'll want to see. Here's a quote from lead-singer Alex Dezen about the film:

“It almost seems a little too coincidental that right at the moment Chris showed up, the band's career went into a tailspin. In the months that immediately followed the production of Air Stereo my girlfriend left me, everyone moved out of Brooklyn, the drummer's wife had a baby, and the band was released from our deal with Epic Records”

Here's a sample clip from the documentary:

and their new video for "I Am a Leaver"

Virgin Festival

An expanded, two-day Virgin Festival returns to Pimlico Race Course August 4-5. The Police, Smashing Pumpkins and Beastie Boys will headline.

Here's a link with some more details.

I've Found My Summer Record!

We got an advance copy of Traffic and Weather from Fountains of Wayne the other day.

WOW this is the record I'll be listening to all summer long. Deliciously juvenile, Traffic and Weather details the love, lust and infatuation on the highways, at the airports and any other mode of travel you might imagine.

Remember your first car? '92 Subaru is all about the teenage pride of your first tricked out, impress the gang symbol of America. This song alone took me back to my teenage days and my '76 Grand Prix SJ with Burgundy Velour Buckets, a 440-Four Barrel, and 8-Track and Moon Roof.

Musically, you'll find every Modern Rock cliche delightfully mixed into a frenzy of energy that's gonna get you moving, chanting, and feeling dang good all summer long. I'm already lobbying Mike to make Traffic and Weather a CD of the Week. You all just got to hear this record! Its hits the stores on April 3rd and you should pre-order this one or get on a waiting list somewhere because the sooner you get it, the sooner your summer will begin!

There's more info about the band at their website.

Rest in Peace: Brad Delp

Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus

While I was channel surfing last night I stumbled upon something called "Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" on MPT. The name pretty much describes it all. The Rolling Stones along with a slew of other artists performed in a replica circus tent. The performance took place in December of 1968 and included performances by Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, The Stones, and a band I had never heard of called "Dirty Mac." This supergroup consisted of Eric Clapton on lead guitar, John Lennon on lead vocals and guitar, Keith Richards on bass, and Mitch Mitchell on drums.

Some notable things to mention about the show:

1. It was the last public performance Brian Jones made with the Stones.
2. It was the first time John Lennon had played publicly without any of the other Beatles.
3. Tommy Iommi, guitarist from Black Sabbath, played with Jethro Tull as he was part of the band for a few weeks.
4. The performance wasn't released until the mid 90's. The Stone said that they didn't release the footage because they were exhausted and it showed. Others say that The Who upstaged them and that The Stones didn't want people to see that.

I'm glad I caught it as I thought it was great and a lot of fun seeing these legends when they were in their 20's. I hope you check out the performance Dirty Mac put on of "Yer Blues"

Rhythm & Booze

The Washington Post has been giving a lot of attention to some of the same artists WTMD is so excited about. A few weeks ago The Post's Going Out Gurus were all excited about Lily Allen coming to town, and today's issue has J. Freedom du Lac's rave review of "Rehab" singer Amy Winehouse's new album, Back to Black.

Songwriter Honors Hometown With Anniversary Album

I used to work for a very similar station to TMD in a North Dakota town of about 50,000 called Grand Forks. As the name indicates, it was built around the confluence of two rivers- the Red Lake River and the Red River of the North (the only north flowing river in the US- and as many of those who live in river towns know...you live and die by its whim).

Almost ten years ago (April 10,1997), the snow from too many blizzards melted and poured into the swollen Red. Residents of Grand Forks lost the battle to save their town.

http://www.geo.mtu.edu/department/classes/ge404/mlbroder/during.html

Fortunately, I didn't lose any property, but I did lose something there. But, life tends to orbit back in a good way, doesn't it? Helping make 4/7/07 more sweet than bitter is a talented songwriter from Grand Forks I recently happened on. He just put out a record to commemorate the flood. The album is called GRAND FORKS and his name is Tom Brosseau. His voice has the kind of sweet yearning you'd hear in Jeff Buckley or Elliott Smith. He colors his songs with earth tones, yet splashes them with the green optimism of spring- much like the cycle of nature that part of the country deals with every year, particularly in '97. And Tom's been keeping some esteemed company lately. Renowned violinist Hilary Hahn seems to be one of his fans. Have a listen to a recent NPR story on their collaboration.

How to get ahead as a local band

Hi,

I wrote a guide for local bands in today's Baltimore Sun -- how to book your first gig, cut your first demo and book your first tour.

You can read it here

You Should Listen to Dr. Dog

Hi everybody it's Tyler just wanted to tell you what i've been listening to lately mainly Dr. Dog. These guys are great. I have been stuck on them for the past few weeks. It's one of those albums you can play all the way through and want to hear it all again after it's over. If you dig the Cold War Kids you'll be into Dr. Dog. check out this video.

897 Countdown Stats!

With the countdown being so popular we decided to put together some statistics for you. We've heard that many of you have compilied your own sets of interesting facts of the 897 Greatest Songs of All Time so let us know what you've found. We're also looking into creating a poster of the list and some other interesting ideas too.

So here we go:

Longest Song: Pink Floyd “Echoes” (23 minutes, 32 seconds)

Shortest Song: The Kinks “Where Have All the Good Times Gone?” (1 minute, 13 seconds)

Oldest Song: #185 Robert Johnson “Crossroads” (1936)

Newest Song: #513 Regina Spektor “On The Radio” (2006)

Bands with the most amount of songs:

The Beatles (35 Songs)
#7 Day In The Life
#10 Hey Jude
#12 In My Life
#25 Let It Be
#29 Here Comes The Sun
#38 Yesterday
#40 While My Guitar Gently Weeps
#43 Blackbird
#84 All You Need Is Love
#97 Eleanor Rigby
#98 Tomorrow Never Knows
#113 I Want To Hold Your Hand
#116 Across The Universe
#122 Strawberry Fields Forever
#153 Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)
#159 Something
#161 Come Together
#164 She Loves You
#210 Here, There And Everywhere
#241 I Am The Walrus
#246 Dear Prudence
#252 Long And Winding Road
#285 Helter Skelter
#299 You've Got To Hide You Love Away
#309 Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
#343 Revolution
#372 Help
#390 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
#421 Don't Let Me Down
#487 Eight Days A Week
#502 Happiness is a Warm Gun
#555 She Said, She Said
#653 Drive My Car
#739 A Hard Day's Night
#785 Ticket to Ride

Bob Dylan (26 Songs)
#2 Like A Rolling Stone
#13 Tangled Up In Blue
#35 Blowin' In The Wind
#37 Positively 4th Street
#53 The Times They Are A-Changin’
#78 Visions Of Johanna
#102 Don't Think Twice , It's All Right
#121 Desolation Row
#127 Hurricane
#179 Shelter From The Storm
#186 Subterranean Homesick Blues
#200 Just Like A Woman
#214 A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
#234 Highway 61 Revisited
#312 Lay Lady Lay
#324 All Along The Watchtower
#375 Mr. Tambourine Man#
#385 Just Like The Tom Thumb's Blues
#402 Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
#453 Knockin' on Heavens Door
#506 Idiot Wind
#530 It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
#592 Simple Twist of Fate
#686 Masters Of War
#699 Maggie's Farm
#783 She Belongs to Me

The Rolling Stones (22 Songs)
#5 (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
#11 Sympathy For The Devil
#14 Gimme Shelter
#69 Paint It Black
#106 You Can't Always Get What You Want
#140 Wild Horses
#167 Jumpin’ Jack Flash
#228 Tumbling Dice
#386 Shattered
#414 Beast of Burden
#437 Honky Tonk Women
#519 Can't You Hear Me Knocking
#652 Get Off Of My Cloud
#670 Brown Sugar
#681 You Got The Silver
#769 Let It Bleed
#770 Ruby Tuesday
#776 Under My Thumb
#781 Loving Cup
#791 Miss You
#846 Let's Spend The Night Together
#871 Angie

Led Zeppelin (18 songs)
#3 Stairway To Heaven
#42 Kashmir
#175 Tangerine
#187 Ramble On
#236 Whole Lotta Love
#269 Black Dog
#298 Houses Of The Holy
#300 Going To California
#308 Immigrant Song
#348 Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
#354 Fool In The Rain
#415 Over The Hills and Far Away
#443 D'yer Mak'er
#503 The Ocean
#548 The Lemon Song
#578 That's The Way
#700 Rock and Roll
#725 Hey Hey What Can I Do

Grateful Dead (15 Songs)
#72 Ripple
#81 Uncle Johns Band
#156 Sugar Magnolia
#168 Box Of Rain
#237 Truckin'
#361 China Cat Sunflower
#398 Friend of the Devil
#417 Dark Star
#444 Scarlet Begonias
#469 Eyes Of The World
#556 Shakedown Street
#594 Terrapin Station
#730 Jack Straw
#796 Dire Wolf
#833 Fire on the Mountain

R.E.M. (13 songs)
#44 Losing My Religion
#226 End Of The World
#251 Nightswimming
#280 World Leader Pretend
#422 Driver 8
#426 Everybody Hurts
#428 So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
#441 The One I Love
#499 (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
#532 Radio Free Europe
#654 Man On The Moon
#657 Orange Crush
#832 Fall On Me

Bob Marley (12 Songs)
#22 No Woman, No Cry
#28 Redemption Song
#199 Three Little Birds
#238 Jamming
#440 Stir It Up
#457 Get Up, Stand Up
#477 Trenchtown Rock
#645 One Love
#698 I Shot The Sherriff
#706 Waiting In Vain
#735 Buffalo Soldier
#865 Concrete Jungle

Jimi Hendrix (12 Songs)
#16 All Along The Watchtower
#75 Voodoo Child
#99 Little Wing
#130 Purple Haze
#139 Bold As Love
#188 Hey Joe
#297 The Wind Cries Mary
#403 Castles Made of Sand
#524 Star Spangled Banner
#757 Are You Experienced
#844 Crosstown Traffic
#847 Red House

Bruce Springsteen (12 Songs)
#4 Born To Run
#6 Thunder Road
#46 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
#120 Jungleland
#192 Backstreets
#208 The River
#319 Born In The USA
#363 I'm On Fire
#382 Lost In The Flood
#383 Badlands
#629 Atlantic City
#651 Darkness On The Edge Of Town

U2 (12 Songs)
#27 One
#30 Where The Streets Have No Name
#36 Sunday Bloody Sunday
#68 Pride (In The Name Of Love)
#83 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
#91 Bad
#125 With Or Without You
#162 New Years Day
#339 In God's Country
#411 All I Want Is You
#585 Beautiful Day
#895 I Will Follow

The Clash (11 Songs)
#26 London Calling
#243 White Man In Hammersmith Palais
#286 Rock The Casbah
#287 Straight To Hell
#369 Train In Vain
#399 Lost In The Supermarket
#404 Clampdown
#509 Should I Stay or Should I Go
#528 Death or Glory
#665 I Fought The Law
#786 The Guns of Brixton

Pink Floyd (11 Songs)
#41 Comfortably Numb
#64 Wish You Were Here
#147 Time
#247 Money
#392 Another Brick In The Wall
#463 Shine On You Crazy Diamond
#473 Echoes
#738 Fearless
#797 See Emily Play
#819 The Great Gig In The Sky
#843 Brain Damage

Neil Young (11 Songs)
#100 Cowgirl In The Sand
#170 Like A Hurricane
#342 Heart of Gold
#380 Harvest Moon
#384 Helpless
#389 Down By The River
#412 Rockin’ In The Free World
#586 Cinnamon Girl
#593 Sugar Mountain
#775 The Needle and the Damage Done
#80 Cortez The Killer

Elvis Presley (10 Songs)
#141 Suspicious Minds
#227 Can’t Help Falling In Love
#306 Hound Dog
#328 Such A Night
#393 Blue Suede Shoes
#396 Heartbreak Hotel
#512 Jailhouse Rock
#560 That's All Right Mama
#690 Burning Love
#748 A Little Less Conversation

Some essential Baltimore listening, part I

Here's a numberless list of some essential local listening:

Pop:

Splitsville

The Complete Pet Soul, Vol. 1

The local punk and power pop outfit liberally borrowed from the Beach Boys and the Beatles to create this uberpop album. Released five years ago, its soaring harmonies, punchy guitar runs and tasteful percussion make for a massive, delicious sound.

Folk:

Laura Brino

A Strange and Beautiful Trip

Brino's debut album is built around her breathy, beautiful voice. The instrumentation is sparse but the musicianship is solid -- especially for a first album.

Page France

Hello, Dear Wind

Striking music from the mountains. Cumberland's Page France presents a pretty standard lineup (drums, bass, guitar, keys) with a distinct sound. Lead singer Michael Nau's lyrics are filled with colorful imagery and religious overtones, and his voice tightly pairs with fellow vocalist Whitney McGraw.

Hip Hop:

Darkroom Productions

Hamsterdam Vol. 2: Stash to the Strip

The best production team Baltimore has to offer compiles this bass-heavy mixtape. Almost all the instrumentation is original -- there are hardly any samples -- and the double disc set features some of the area's more renown MCs.

Rock:

The Oranges Band
The World and Everything In It
One of Baltimore's best indie rock bands continues to mature with this album. Front man Roman Kuebler aims for a timeless summer sound, complete with harmonies, catchy melodies and driving rhythms.