Author Archives: Nick

When U.K. crooners Mumford and Sons broke into the radio airwaves, it was bittersweet. On the one hand, it was nice to see folk music finally be appreciated by a larger audience. On the other hand, it was Mumford and Sons, of all folk acts. The reason I bring them up is because The Lumineers are very stylistically similar to Mumford, but aren’t nearly as worried about being as polished or as palatable as their overseas cousins. They zig in areas that Mumford and Sons zag. Instead of using overwrought lyrics filled with words like “fickle” and “woozy” in the same sentence, The Lumineers keep it simple and understand the power of restraint. They’re singing from their hearts, not from their gallstones. There’s a reason why music like this never makes it to the mainstream, it’s because they’re not trying to please everybody. They’re simply making music for the sake of it, and what could sound better than that?

Watch a performance of their album standout “Stubborn Love” and check our catalog for their debut album!

As the title of the album suggests, Loudon Wainwright III is getting older, but thankfully the more things change, the more they stay the same. At 65 years old he is still going strong. Once again he has crafted an album of songs that are divided between the deeply affecting and the hilariously observant. On the opening track (“The Here and the Now”), he admits that he’s not quite sure exactly how he got where he is in life, but he’s smart enough not to dwell on it. Loudon’s biggest strength has always been turning his painful relationships and memories into some of the best written folk songs of his generation. This album takes his confessional side to a whole other level, especially with the song “The Days That We Die.” In it, he and his son (singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright) sing about their differences and how they can’t change the past, but they can change how they act in the future. The theme of regrets of the past shaping one’s future is the foundation for this outstanding album, and everyone should give it a listen.

Port of Morrow by The Shins

Who would’ve thought back in 2004 that Zach Braff’s debut film, Garden State, would’ve launched the career of one artist (James Mercer and his band The Shins), and brought another to an unforeseeable halt (Zach Braff’s post-Scrubs career). Just like the film the band was featured in, it is easy to mistake the music of The Shins as simply quirky and deliberately indie. While there’s no question that Mercer prefers going off the beaten path, it should be noted that there is a method to his madness. Blessed with particularly unique vocals, Mercer gives modern day pop a wonderfully unique sound which is not quite country, and can barely be considered rock. With the third album, Port of Morrow, their first in five years, The Shins embrace the pop music structure more than ever, by dropping the obscure titles and eccentric subject matter. What results is The Shins’ best and most accessible album to date, and it sounds like the band has finally found their voice.

You can download a free track off their new album called “Simple Song,” by searching “The Shins” on our free music database: FREEGAL.

The Grammy Awards were just on this weekend, and I’m sure the first thing that sprung to mind after every winner is: “Does the library own that?” You can rest easy now though, for we’ve compiled a list of all the winning albums that we currently own, and who knew the library had so many albums?

Adele (deservedly) went home with an armful of Grammys, and if you haven’t given her superb album 21 a listen, you definitely should make that your next order of business. If you don’t want to wait until it comes in though, you can always download tracks off the album for FREE through our FREE music database FREEGAL. FREE! All the albums on the list that can be found on FREEGAL are in BOLD below:

-         
Adele, 21 (Record of the Year, Album of
the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album)

-         
Bon Iver, Bon Iver (Best New Artist, Best
Alternative Music Album)

-         
Foo Fighters, Wasting Light (Best Rock
Performance, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album)

-         
Skrillex, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
(Best Dance Recording, Best Dance/Electronica Album)

-         
The Civil Wars, Barton Hollow (Best
Country Duo/Group Performance, Best Folk Album)

-         
Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Best Country
Solo Performance, Best Country Song)

-         
Lady Antebellum, Own the Night (Best
Country Album)

-         
Kanye West, My
Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, Best
Rap/Sung Collaboration)

-         
Jay-Z and Kanye West, Watch the Throne
(Best Rap Performance)

-         
Cee Lo Green, The Lady Killer (Best
Traditional R&B Performance, Best R&B Song)

-         
Tony Bennett, Duets II (Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album)

-         
Corinne Bailey Rae, The Love E.P. (Best R&B Performance)

-         
Chris Brown, F.A.M.E.
(Best R&B Album)

-         
Pat Metheny, What’s
It All About? (Best New Age Album)

-         
Corea, Clarke & White, Forever (Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Improvised Jazz Solo)

-         
Le’Andria Johnson, The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson (Best Gospel/Contemporary
Christian Music Performance)

-         
Kirk Franklin, Hello Fear (Best Gospel Song)

-         
Chris Tomlin, And If Our God Is Not for Us… (Best Contemporary Christian Music Album)-  

The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast
Recording (Best Musical Theater Album)

Time Without
Consequence by Alexi Murdoch

Time Without
Consequence is an album comprised of some of the most epic folk
compositions ever penned. The songs are cinematic, and don’t veer into “rock”
territory. It cannot be a coincidence that film director Sam Mendes used Alexi
Murdoch songs almost exclusively to score his (criminally underrated) film Away We Go. This is the kind of album
that can make the most mundane tasks seem profound due its highly meditative atmosphere.
Standouts include his wandering confessional “All My Days” and when he is waxing
poetic in “Orange Sky.” Alexi Murdoch creates folk music for the soul, while
singing from the heart.

Beautiful People: The
Greatest Hits of Melanie by Melanie

Melanie’s music is a wonderful artifact from the ’70s,
seeing that I doubt that anything quite like “Brand New Key” could be produced
in today’s world. Her lyrics are earnest, but as they are sung over some of the
most infectious choruses, it is easy to mistake her music for just another pop sensation.
Her sunny disposition paired with her extremely catchy melodies is a match made
in heaven. So if you haven’t listened to her since you had her single “Brand
New Key” on 45, then do yourself a favor and rediscover one of the best pop
artists of all time.

Drive (Original Motion
Picture Soundtrack)

Critics were divided over the film Drive last year, some raving and others hating, but there was one opinion
that was universal: it had the coolest soundtrack in recent memory. Keeping in
tune with its ’80s visual aesthetic, the soundtrack bounces from synths to
dancehall slow-jams at full throttle. The opening track (of the film and album
alike) “Nightcall” blasts through your speakers, effortlessly transporting you
to the more sleazy side of Los Angeles nightlife that the film lives in. “Under
Your Spell” plays out as a touching yet disturbing love ballad (much like the
film itself) and pushes the dancehall rhythms merrily along. The apex of the
album is “A Real Hero,” featuring some of the most earnest lyrics ever sung on
top of a head-thumping bass. Cliff Martinez, a frequent music composer on
Steven Soderbergh films, rounds out the rest of the album with his indelible
score, mixing orchestral grandeur with electronic pulses. I don’t think I have
to drive (pun intended) the point home any further; this soundtrack is
phenomenal.

College feat. Electric Youth – A Real Hero

Take Me Home Tonight
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

When Topher Grace made the film Take Me Home Tonight, he was trying to emulate the sweet and silly
films from the ’80s (for which John Hughes gets all the credit). Of course, to
make a film seem like it was made in that decade, you have to load its
soundtrack with pure ’80s tunes, for better or for worse. Better than any
actual ’80s album compilations, the soundtrack covers all areas of the decade
in just 12 songs. If you were in high school or college in the ’80s, you will
have no doubt heard these songs from a boom box or two back in the day. Such
hits include: “Video Killed the Radio Star,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Safety Dance,” and what
’80s nostalgia trip would be complete without: “Straight Outta Compton?”

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, there’s no better time than the present to give thanks. But if you’re anything like me (which I know, is very likely) then I’m sure you’d rather sing it than say it!

“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” by Sly and the Family Stone

Let’s all be thankful that Sly and the Family did not become English teachers and stuck to what they did best: gettin’ funky.

“Thank You For Being a Friend” by Andrew Gould

I highly doubt that Andrew Gould had four silly senior women living under roof on his mind when he wrote this song.

“Thank You For The Music” by ABBA

Thank you for not making music videos like this one anymore.

“Thank You” by Dido

Eminem still needs to send Dido a thank-you card for letting him use this song in one of the most critically acclaimed songs of his career. He then needs to send her an apology letter for letting Elton John steal her part at the MTV VMAs when the song made it big.

“Thanks, That Was Fun” by Barenaked Ladies

One of the coolest music videos ever made, and not just because it’s Barenaked Ladies. In a song written exclusively for their greatest hits album, the song acts as a retrospective both in its lyrics, and the way it utilizes footage from their past music videos to go along with this new song. You can thank me later for showing you this one.

Let Them Talk by
Hugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie was mastering sarcasm and elaborate wordplay on
television long before House went on
the air, but, he was doing so across the sea. With his comedy partner Stephen
Fry, he hosted a short-lived but seriously funny sketch show titled A Bit of Fry and Laurie, which invaded
innocent British households on a weekly basis. It was during that show that
viewers were introduced to the lesser-known side of Laurie: a musical side. In
almost every episode, Laurie would perform an original song in various styles
that were often as hilarious as they were catchy (I’m still waiting for him to
make a real recording of the very politically-correct “Protest Song,” a song
that is equal parts silly and satirically astute). Never having released a
proper album, Hugh Laurie has corrected that with Let Them Talk, a blues album comprised of well-known classics. The
album opens with “St. James Infirmary,” a haunting interpretation of an old
English folk song. Another highlight is his take on “Winin’ Boy Blues,” which
is proof alone that Hugh Laurie is much more than his on-air persona. Let Them Talk is a wonderful endeavor in
New Orleans blues, and makes a strong case that not all actors-turned-musicians
are necessarily a bad thing.

Barton Hollow by
The Civil Wars

The Civil Wars’ Barton
Hollow is the stuff of magic. Two completely earnest singer-songwriters,
Joy Williams and John Paul White, have joined forces simply for the sake of
good music. No Fleetwood Mac backstage drama, for this relationship is strictly
platonic between two people and their love for music. Their debut album, Barton Hollow, is nothing short of pure
bliss. The music is being marketed as country, but due to their fondness for
plucking their strings instead of strumming them, they technically fall into
the folk category. They are a powerhouse duo who realizes that the strength of
their act lies in the combination of their voices, and not in their individual
performances. “I’ve Got This Friend” is a highlight on an album full of them,
and it plays to their winning chemistry as they sing about their “friends” who
would be perfect for one another. The song is a wonderful embodiment of the
perfect interplay the two have developed. Now let’s just hope they don’t ruin
it by making it “real.”

The Whole Love by Wilco

Wilco has returned to the music scene with their latest
album, and after 17 years of making music, they remain just as vital as ever. The
Whole Love finds the group diving back into their more experimental side, a
side they’ve mostly ignored for the last two albums. It’s nice to see them
shaking things up again, but, their less experimental songs on the album are the
highlights. The experimentation is surprisingly shallow for a band that is
anything but. Still, in today’s music scene, we need bands like Wilco to remind
us that there’s always something new to be made. The real high point of the
album comes in the form of a 12 minute folk-rock ballad entitled, “One Sunday
Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend).” This song alone is worth the price
of this album. Wilco still has some blood left in its veins, that much is
clear. Let’s hope though that on their next outing they’ll be able to draw a
little more.