Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova at The Orpheum

I'm definitely not trying to upstage Natalie's gathering at Amazing Jake's, (because that would be impossible), but I thought I'd invite everyone to get tickets for 2008 Academy Award winners Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova performing live at The Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix on April 23, 2008. Here's an mp3 from the Soundtrack for your downloading pleasure:

Buy tickets here:

Swell Season Ticket Info

Barack Obama Is There For You

I love sites that force me to wear out the "refresh" button:

Barack Obama Loves You

For Emma, Forever Ago

"this is my excavation and today is kumran

everything that happens is from now on"

Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago was officially released today by one of my favorite music labels, Jagjaguwar. The album was actually self-released last summer, but quickly sold out all of its initial copies after scoring positive reviews from several bloggers and music critics between October and December of 2007. I bought the album last September following a recommendation from a music-nerd friend. He recommended the album to me shortly after I had lamented that the world needed a new Elliott Smith to come along.

I didn't actually listen to the entire album from start to finish until September 14, 2007, while taking a flight to Denver to see Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem at Red Rocks. Ironically, listening to For Emma on my flight to Denver was more memorable than seeing Arcade Fire (although my recollection might be different if I hadn't already seen Arcade Fire before). Bon Iver is certainly not Elliott Smith, but his emotional songwriting genius is similar. In addition, Vernon's vocals and lyrics far surpass the technical brilliance of Smith's. In fact Vernon's vocals evoke the godliness of Jeff Buckley combined with the soulfulness of Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio.

According to Bon Iver's website, the name "Bon Iver" derives from the French words "bon hiver," meaning "beautiful winter." The misspelling was apparently intentional, although I don't claim to be smart enough to know why it was misspelled. The album was written and recorded by Justin Vernon between November 2006 and January 2007 in a remote hunting cabin in Wisconsin. Vernon apparently went to the cabin to find some peace and quiet after experiencing some difficult personal disappointments, but ended up writing and recording nearly the entire album during his stay.

The record was recorded by Vernon with nothing more than a few microphones and some low budget recording equipment. But the handmade nature of the album is part of what gives it charm. In fact, For Emma sounds like Vernon woke up early on an icy Winter morning, chopped some wood to carve out his own guitar, experienced personal epiphanies throughout the day, and recorded some songs in the evening, (while his hands were still tired and cold), in an effort to document his beautiful experience. Although the album sounds simple at first, repeated listens to each of the songs of the album reveal new sounds and new depths that confound me over and over. Clearly, the songs must have been growing in Vernon's heart and mind for a long time--perhaps it just took some peace and quiet, and a beautiful environment, to call them forth.

The lyrics to each of the songs would also suggest that Vernon spent a great deal of time pouring his heart into making the album. The line quoted above (underneath the album photo) is a only a glimpse into Vernon's command with words and ideas. I recommend spending as much time reading the lyrics as you do listening to the music.

Can Anyone Spot Me Some Money?

If you could paypal the money, that would be great. I need to buy this to help round out my collection:

The World's Greatest Music Collection

By Regis Behe
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 18, 2008

For sale: 3 million record albums and 300,000 CDs; rare and out-of-print titles, all varieties of American music from classical to hip-hop.

But it's much more than vinyl and jewel cases.

"It's the history of music," says Paul Mawhinney, the owner or Record Rama Sound Archives in Pine. "It's my life's work."

Mawhinney, 69, is reluctantly parting with a collection he started more than 40 years ago. Legally blind and fighting diabetes, he wants to spend more time with his five grandchildren.

The collection is worth millions of dollars -- Mawhinney's personal estimate is at least $50 million -- but he has received only one solid offer.

That bid of $28.5 million fell through. Other parties have shown interest, and Mawhinney says he continues to talk to a few interested parties. He has set of goal of selling the collection by March 1.

"I've had a lot of people that wanted it, but they don't have the right kind of capital," he says.

While Mawhinney's albums are a record collector's fantasy, they are beyond the financial reach of most vinyl enthusiasts. That's unfortunate, because there are a lot of desirable items, including:

• An unreleased, untitled Rolling Stones album of early singles. Originally recorded in mono, the songs were remastered in stereo for FM radio stations in the early 1970s. Mawhinney estimates the album is worth between $5,000 and $10,000.

• A rare original copy of Phil Spector's album "A Christmas Gift for You" that features Darlene Love, The Crystals and The Ronettes.

• 15 copies of the first edition of "Elvis' Christmas Album." Mawhinney says the original album, released in 1957, has a red gatefold cover and features Presley singing "Santa Claus Is Back in Town," "Blue Christmas" and 10 other seasonal songs. Estimated worth is $700.

Scott Neuman, president of Recordweb Communications LLC in Lakehurst, N.J., and owner of the online site www.forevervinyl.com, says Mawhinney is spot on with his evaluation of the collection. He agrees the Stones album -- especially if it is unopened -- could be valued at $10,000. "A Christmas Gift for You," in mint condition, could fetch between $700 and $800, and the Presley release might be worth as much as $1,000, Neuman says.

Without having inspected the collection, Neuman believes Mawhinney's estimate of its worth at $50 million "is pretty darn close," he says. "That sounds right."

Optimally, Mawhinney would like the collection to go to a major library or museum, or someplace that will keep it intact. He tried to contact local and national politicians about his dilemma, but he has not received any feedback.

"I can't seem to get any interest from the country in preserving this for history," he says. "I'm very concerned about that."

David Byrne: Survival Strategies for the Music Industry

When I was a little kid, my parents would let me rummage through their record collection stacked near the family turntable. After deciding on my favorite album cover, my mom or dad would drop the needle on my chosen record. As the music played, I would peer into the tiny holes of my parents' stereo speakers and marvel at the fact that people could live inside such a small space. I ultimately decided that singers and musicians must be really special people with magic powers. This was especially true for The Beatles.

Nearly 30 years have passed since my earliest memories of music, and now music seems doomed to extinction, thanks to the ease with which music can be pirated on the Internet; the shallowness of consumers willing to waste money on the latest Britney Spears album; and the short-sighted greed of large record companies. As a result, radio station DJs have been replaced by corporate robots, MTV has been replaced by "reality" programming, and consumers have chosen Jessica Simpson and Nickleback as the voices of their generation.

As David Byrne (former lead singer for the Talking Heads) recently pointed out in an article published by Wired, music used to be much more than a thin compact disc packaged in a plastic jewel case. It was a social experience. It was the experience of hearing a song for the first time outside your bedroom window, gathering for a dance with a small group of friends, or going to a concert with thousands of other people. Fortunately, great music might be more accessible than ever before. In the article, Byrne discusses several reasons why truly great musicians might finally have the means to sustain themselves without having to sell their souls.

Our Next President: Barack Obama

Now that McCain is going to get the nomination from the GOP, you can start counting the days until Obama is sworn in as president (no, Hillary doesn't have a chance). McCain will get crushed in the general election. Many of the Republicans voting against McCain in the primaries, (especially the Romney and Paul supporters), hate McCain so much that they'll vote against him in the general election, regardless of the fact that he's the Republican nominee.