Sharon Van Etten: Tiny Desk Concert. "Peace Signs" "Save Yourself" "One Day" "For You" Though my cold, black heart rarely stirs for the work of singer-songwriters, the voice of Sharon Van Etten always turns me into a weepy, vulnerable heap. If you listen closely to this gorgeous Tiny Desk performance she gave with her musical partner, Cat Martino, you can hear the sound of my eyelashes fluttering with misty delight. I first heard Van Etten's music when TV On The Radio's Kyp Malone played it on his Guest DJ set for All Songs Considered. She sends me, too, particularly when she performs live. You can see and hear as much in this lovely performance she gave at the NPR Music offices late this past summer. AON Sessions: Sharon Van Etten, "One Day" Sharon Van Etten - One Day (Live on KEXP) #361 Sharon Van Etten - Give out. Sharon Van Etten performs "Give Out" on Soundcheck Live in The Greene Space. The Rough Harmonies of Sharon Van Etten.
Beirut // Elephant Gun. Beirut - Port Of Call - End Of The Road Festival 2011. Beirut. Beirut - Santa Fe (Live @ The Wellmont Theatre) The Civil Wars - I've Got This Friend (Live) Beirut - Vagabond. Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin' Raphael Saadiq - Radio (Live from the Bing Lounge) Alabama Shakes performing "Hold On" on KCRW. Indigo girls-Dead Mans Hill-Live in London 1994. Indigo Girls - Joking. Pearl Jam - Black - Unplugged (1992) HD.
Pearl Jam - State of Love and Trust (SBD) - 4.12.94 Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA. The Rifle by Alela Diane (official music video) Oh ! My mama. Sera Calhoun - Baker's Lake. Sarah Harmer 'Captive' Live on SHORE 104. Sarah Harmer - Careless. Neko Case "People Got A Lotta Nerve" Neko Case - I'm an Animal. June Hymn - Live at MFNW (Portland, OR - September, 2010) The Decemberists perform 'Down by the Water' on QTV. Ani Difranco - If You're Not. Ani DiFranco - In Or Out (Solo 1998) Fleet Foxes - Ragged Woods [HD] LIVE Austin City Limits Music Festival 2011. Fleet Foxes - Blue Ridge Mountains - A Take Away Show. The Head and The Heart - Cats and Dogs (OFFICIAL VIDEO) The Head and The Heart - Lost in My Mind (Live on Record Store Day 2011) The Head and The Heart - "Down in the Valley" American Songwriter’s Top 50 Songs Of 2011. 10. Drive-By Truckers: “Used to Be a Cop” This is less a rock song than a short story set to music.
Patterson Hood’s lyrics are detailed and never condescending to his down-on-his-luck ex-cop, never mind the character’s short fuse and dead end, and the band soundtrack it with a tense groove. That killer bassline only makes Shonna Tucker’s recent departure all the more depressing. 9. “Chicago” sets up the storyline for Waits’ latest album, but if he’s singing about the great migration north during the early decades of the twentieth century, the song also taps into the economic fears of the Occupy Wall Street era. 8. Dawes get that new L.A. sound to a tee, right down to the Neil Young reference in the chorus, but this anthem of lowered expectations transcends its scene. 7. The uncontested champ of 2011 actually deserves all the praise and sales, especially for this eloquent break-up song, whose heartache is only intensified by its humanity. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
Want more? Literary Mixtape: Holly Golightly. If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Truman Capote’s “American Geisha,” Holly Golightly.
Holly Golightly is a complicated character. Stream the mixtape here. “New Slang” — The Shins “Marlene on the Wall” — Suzanne Vega “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk” — Rufus Wainwright Holly has just as many strange and specific likes and dislikes as Rufus does, if not more. At Last: An Essential Blues Playlist. We were beyond saddened to hear of the death of blues legend Etta James this week. We grew up with her indomitable voice and blues standards, and her passing is certainly a tragedy for American music. To celebrate her legacy, we’ve put together an essential blues playlist for the uninitiated, interested, or even any of you experts out there who might need some reminding.
Click through to check out our picks, or stream the whole playlist here. And of course, since there are far more than fifteen blues songs you should listen to (a possibly infinite number, in fact), make sure to chime in with your own favorite standard if we’ve neglected it here. “At Last” — Etta James Sure, this is actually a cover of a redone version of a song written for a film, but all that is irrelevant. James made this song her very own, and turned it into one of the most devastatingly beautiful blues numbers of all time. Brown Bird - Blood of Angels. Brown Bird - Fingers to the Bone Midway Cafe 1 8 2011.