Jewel - Perfectly Clear

From the young girl who debuted with a stunningly raw folksy rocksy piece of Pieces of You, Jewel certainly has experimented along her way (though sometimes to shocking results--I still abhor the neon terror that is 0304!) and now she has come full circle, sort of, to her folk/country roots. Opinions are divided here--I find it quite a strong, welcome return and zhu says meh. But/and we agree that both of us miss the emotional rawness, that bleeding, searing heartrenchingness of her early work. (Something only a young girl and young love could produce, probably, and clearly she can't be in that place for ever.)

Either way, we'll let you be the judge =) Download it here and tell us what you think! (Thanks to zhu for the upload!)

柴田淳 - ふたり

Languid web-wandering on gloomy Sunday afternoon leads me to this...Futari ('Two People') by Jun Shibata. Love the calm piano and the clear, rich flow of her voice in it!

Cao Fang - Live in Spring EP

Frankly I'm not a fan myself, but since we seem to get quite some responses to the previous posts, here's another one for all the Cao Fang (曹方) fans out there--a new EP called 住在春天, or Live in Spring, and you may download it here.

@Shrota: if you visit here again, please leave your email so that you can get notified when the previous album is uploaded.

Matt Watts - the ever seeing bird

Seems like this budding indie artist is totally new on the scene, another young guy with an acoustic guitar and a breezy voice to confide and enchant, and not much other info the net--besides this blurb on last.fm, written apparently by the artist himself:

im from the west coast of the states, but i’ve been living in belgium for the past year. thank you very much for listening- i try to update this page as often as i can. you can also check out my myspace page if you’d like. (which contains new material not collected in the album, pretty nice too - jady's note.)

The debut album, the ever seeing bird, has all the wide-eyed youthful charms and soft, flowing simplicity of a new indie folk artist, but he stands out a bit more from the other indie folksy albums I've been listening to; I don't know if it's a good mellow-and-melancholic mix or the unhurriedness sweetness, but it definitely makes good company for some quiet nighttime reading. You can listen to one of my favourite tracks in the pink radio above, or download it here.

Lisa Germano - Geek the Girl

First, some biography from wiki--

Lisa Germano is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter who has released seven albums featuring her distinctive violin and confessional lyrics. Her album Geek the Girl received widespread critical acclaim (making Spin's top 90 albums of the 90's list). She also performed as a guest on over sixty records by other artists, including Eels, John Mellencamp, Simple Minds, David Bowie, Sheryl Crow and Iggy Pop. She has also spent considerable time touring with Neil Finn, playing violin, keyboards, and providing backing vocals. She was the featured vocalist on the 1997 album Slush, which also included members of Giant Sand and Calexico.

The first album I came into contact with was her latest 2006 release, In the Maybe World, her low, wispy vocal and melancholic confessions was reminiscent of Mazzy Star, Mojave 3, or anything that brims with pure dream-pop goodness. A reading of her biography turned out to be surprising enough, given the success she had with her label, 4AD, and how it later dropped her and the dramatic events that led her to quit the music scene altogether in 1998. I could only say I am glad (very, glad) she's now back.

Geek the Girl was her fourth studio album and the most critically acclaimed (or so says wikipedia). You may download it here (link valid till 28 Dec).

Cao Fang - "Farther Than The Sky" EP

Popular Chinese indie popper Cao Fang (曹方) just released a new EP after two years, called ’Farther Than The Sky' (比天空还远).

Tracks:
01. 夜晚 | Night
02. 比天空还远 | Farther than the sky
03. 最小的海 | The smallest ocean
04. 忽略 | Ignore
05. 夏末的萨克斯手 | The sax player at the end of summer

Download the EP here.

Rie Fu

Per request(winks,Jady,bin bin), I'm throwing in a quick post on Rie Fu's latest album 'Tobira Album' released on 21st of Nov. You might think the word 'album' redundant(we appreciate its clarity) but it's in fact part of the official title. Refer to her previous album 'Rose Album'. Following this trend, we expect her next album to be 'X(a noun) album'.

I'm so lame. Forgive me.

Here's the download link about to expire. Grab it now or never!



part 1 (~60mb)
part 2 (~50mb)
Tobira Album (translation: Door Album)

A little introduction on Rie Fu - A Japan-based Maryland-London educated pop and folk artist who has her shot of fame with 'Life is like a boat',the ED of Anime 'Bleach'. Although anime/drama brings tremendous airplay, but please, don't define artists by anime tags. If you're not aware whether you belong to the 'anime tagging' group, think if these scenarios ring a bell:

'Oh she's the new Bleach ending.'

'They are the 4th Naruto opening.'

You get what I mean.

Thanks to Bleach, Rie Fu starts to get instant recognition. 'Life is like a boat' is an extremely melodious song, a little sad, a little melancholic, a crystal clear voice that's trademark Rie Fu. She's inspired by artists such as Sheryl Crow and the Carpenters. The oldie taste lingers in her folkish singing. One remarkable thing I find about her is how she manages to make music easy,clean and sweet. Voice is the single most powerful weapon she wields to penetrate your defense. She's a truly talented songwriter with a quality guarantee stamp on her credit. If you think 'Life is like a boat' is her limit, you'll be surprised how she stretches and goes way beyond her typical self. 'I wanna go to a place' and 'Tiny tiny melody' prove she can write as many 'Boat' classics easy breezy but she can also be humorously romantic in '5 mintues', 'Funny dream', or a bit edgy in 'Decay' and 'Conversation'.

I'd like to think there's a style-defining focus in each album. The debut eponymous album 'Rie Fu' shows her strength in writing sweet melodies. Beautiful voice, beautiful songs, but kind of two dimensional. As she promised to show more of the third dimension to the world, the 2nd album 'Rose Album' is incredibly romantic and smart. You get nostalgia fading in and out. Simply put, smart is the word. The latest release 'Tobira Album' is a lovey dovey heavily pop-oriented piece of work. It sounds bright and cheerful, with songs '5000 miles','Until I say'and 'Come to my door' paving the popish undertone. You also get a peek at the unavoidable graduation crisis in 'London' where she's currently schooling. 'What to do afterwards?' We wish you continue with song writing!

Seriously I have nothing more to write... I've exhausted all adjectives, verbs, nouns,adverbs,punctuations(not really)... So now I make way for tubie time!

Why not have a listen and decide whether you like her?

Life is like a boat


Decay


Until I say


あなたがここにいる理由 (The reason why you're here)


Live gig in London - 'The air was dry in London'
I have to say she's a natural performer with great integrity. Even when the set-up is damn noisy and people are chit chatting like crazy, she still manages to pull it off great. This song 'The air was dry in London' is include on 'Tobira Album' but the title is simply 'London'.

Sarah Blasko - Explain

Sarah Blasko is a popular Australian artist. Wiki her.

I love her draggy nasal voice. 'Explain' is from her 2nd album 'What the sea wants, the sea will have'. There's a strong warning sign to the tempo, which I adore...

Dylan Biopic trailers

Just read this from Uncut (I am dying! to subscribe but being bankrupt, either the pound depreciates pretty damn soon now or I must just die) --

The first teaser trailer for Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan "biopic", I'm Not There, has gone online.

The film stars six actors as Dylan Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett (pictured above), Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Ben Whishaw.

"I'm Not There" debuts at this year's Venice Film Festival on September 4.

It's a rather old piece of news really, I remember reading (and squeaking) about it in production like ages ago. Long gestation baby eh Todd? But of course this being from Haynes (Velvet Goldmine! among other acclaimed pieces) about the pure brilliance Dylan and starring those names (for Bale alone I'd have elatedly gone for it--he also starred in Goldmine. Rock on Bale! and yeah you've read it right, Cate Blanchett as Dylan too, *grins*) it incites some pretty lofty expectations (and let's hope deservedly so)...Without further blabbering, some clips for your perusal--

Official 1 min trailer


A doubly long unofficial teaser


A Cate Blanchett clip -- boy she's excellent! But still finds her trademark sharp chin+thin lips+those grooves under the cheeks (what do you call it?) combination an amusing distraction...you just can't hide your Blanchett-ness with those features out and about, Cate. Should have done a Kidman trick à la The Hours. ;)


And erm...some other trailer that caught my eye--again quoting Uncut

The first trailer for Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert doc, Shine A Light, is now online. The documentary, shot last October at New York's Beacon Theater, features the Rolling Stones, plus cameos from Jack White, Christine Aquillera and Bill Clinton - as well as Scorsese himself.

Filming captures the band - at the peak of their worldwide spectacular 'A Bigger Bang' tour - at the end of a year which included many band related mishaps, including Keith Richards 'falling out of a tree.' Originally due for release in the UK in September, it is now scheduled to open next Spring.

What a rock cinema feast the coming months would be~~~~~~~~~~*droolz*

Random stuff: what do you listen to when everything seems to leave you cold and uninspired (like now for me)? me: probably Love Psychedelico. Or Philip Glass. And via last.fm I stumbled across this advanced addict——chart’s all but exclusively Philip Glass! Dude.

----------------
Now playing: Philip Glass - Liquid Days, Part One
via FoxyTunes

Ross Copperman - All She Ever Wrote

Ross Copperman is an american singer-songwriter, a newbie who just released his first album 'Welcome to reality' in May this year. The most popular track 'All she ever wrote' is very pop and catchy. Although it doesn't sound much different from other punk (would it offend if I say 'teenage punk'?), I like the piano arrangements. I prefer a more mature voice but this one isn't bad.

Official Site http://www.rosscopperman.com/

The Bird and the Bee

One song a day is much easier than a review proper. If you like the song you can dig up the group on your own =D Still, some basic info on this indie group 'The bird and the bee' which I chanced upon on a chinese music blog trix.cn. The L.A. based duo consists of vocalist Inara George and keyboardist Greg Kurstin who worked with Red Hot Chilli Peppers before. Their style is a bit dance and electro indie. I'd say Inara sounds like Imogen Heap, but softer and more dreamy pop.

The bird and the bee official website

***
I just knew this from one of their interviews: How does the band name suggest 'sex'? Seems it's a common saying in English.Someone enlighten me.

***

Continue here,

They released the eponymous LP on Jan, 2007.



Here's the first track on the album 'Again and Again'


F*cking Boyfriend

Keren Ann - Lay Your Head Down (video)

keyword: keren ann, new release, folk, blues, acoustic, ballad.

Rufus's new single - Going To A Town

I got another update from the prolific Rufus Wainwright news feed (the feed is prolific, not Rufus (but I don’t mean Rufus is not..)) his label is really priming the time for the new album, by releasing a single a month before the actual album? I’ve never heard of any Rufus singles before so I checked again, and turns out this is only the second single. The original page contains no tracklist but there's an iTunes link (no idea what it leads to, I don’t have iTunes..)

I am listening to Rufus’s track-by-track commentary on Want One and Want Two (registration required. I guess diehard admirers should have heard them many times, long ago. Being my usual slow self..) He tells of emotional and/or funny back-stories, and things that I’d never imagine just looking at the lyrics. And he is fabulous hilarious…(ok stop xD)

Want One (Sept 2003) | Want Two (Nov 2004)

Rufus News

Woke up this morning at 11:11, and my google reader notifier calmly said I have about 60 new feeds (10 hours after I last read), most of them under the ‘music’ tag. I thought Oh man, I hope blogspot didn’t automatically republish ukulele…and as it turns out everything was from this one “Rufus Wainwright RSS feed”, talking about bulk updating for your musician…

So, lots of Rufus news--sold-out live shows and touring and interviews and all--Rufus is one busy man (or maybe just that he can’t help being in High Demand). The most exciting of all is his new song on The Robinsons soundtrack, called Another Believer, is available for listening on his MySpace page. The song sounds catchy and cheerful, pop enough for an anime movie, but very Rufus nonetheless. And the most ‘bizarre’ of all is the cover to the new album, Release the Stars, due for release on May 15.

Does anybody else think this is a little unsettling on first glance?

The tracklist is also released, it reads

01 Do I Disappoint You
02 Going to a Town
03 Tiergarten
04 Nobody's Off the Hook
05 Between My Legs
06 Rules and Regulations
07 I'm Not Ready to Love
08 Slideshow
09 Tulsa
10 Leaving for Paris
11 Sanssouci
12 Release the Stars

I think I just saw some interesting title choice…and words foreign to me. Seems Rufus likes his literary allusions as ever, and I have a good feeling it’s not gonna disappoint me in the least.

In other news, the anticipated documentary film Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (in which Rufus among many others pays his tribute and performs 3 songs) just screened in New York. I have great respect for the man (though the man has not released any new material in many a year…But I’ve yet to exhaust his rich old stuff, so I am not as disgruntled), and I am hoping it comes my way soon (if at all). Without further ado, a trailer for your pleasure.



and I'll wrap up it all with Rufus live in concert, performing Greek Song. Yum.



(and...I curbed the next thousand incoherent words I wanted to say of Rufus...no small effort I tell you...)

Keren Ann

Shrugging off the education/informational-column-writing feeling from the last post…and finally do this long overdue one!

Keren Ann!
Keyword: singer-songwriter, acoustic, folk, Nick Drake-ian (oh which means there need a Drake post…or read last.fm bio for now)
Language: English, French

A mini-bio:

Born 1974 in Israel, Keren Ann is singer-songwriter/producer based largely in Paris, New York and Israel. She began her solo career in 2000 with La biographie de Luka Philipsen, "Luka" in homage to the Suzanne Vega song-- written with and produced by Biolay, who also co-wrote and -produced its follow-up, La disparition (“Disappearance”). In 2003, Not Going Anywhere which includes several songs from La disparition re-sung in English, was her first U.S. release, but the American breakthrough came with its bilingual follow-up, Nolita, named after her neighborhood in lower Manhattan. She also collaborated with Barði Jóhannson of the Icelandic group Bang Gang for the album Lady & Bird. The fifth album, the eponymous Keren Ann, will be released April 23rd, 2007 in Europe and May 8, 2007 in the United States.

(Groans...not another eponymous album! What's so cool with eponymousness besides a fair touch of narcissistic smiles into the mirror? Or maybe eponymous has proven to be always critically acclaimed and commercially successful and thus an auspicious move…Okay I’ll keep the grumbles to me self. Getting that album, eponymous or not!)

Keren’s style takes a lot of influence from folk while blending in elements of rock. One special thing about her is the serenity in her music—it’s not just melodious or soothing—it exudes tranquillity (not the Zen-master kind though), yet underneath her lightly sung, almost dreamlike vocal it goes deeper, takes on brooding tones and sometimes dark turns. Just like what could be said of Nick Drake’s sounds, pretty much the same could be said of Keren’s—gentle, autumnal, intimate, and can be at once so beatific and melancholic.

Besides the addition of English on top of French to sing in, Keren's approach to music has been, IMO, consistently and relentlessly herself through the last four albums. You may hear the changes, the quiet transition from one album to the next, in theme or music arrangement, but it's always her speaking true to you.

Not Going Anywhere was the first album I ever listened to, and remains my favourite. The light nonchalance of her vocal totally belies and sometimes hides the dissecting disillusionment in the lyrics, if you float buoyed by the tunes and don't listen closely. A gem.

A selection of a few tracks from three of her albums may be obtained here (expires arrgh today, should've posted earlier). Ask me to re-send if you are interested.

...And this freakin thing happened

what's wrong with this picture?

Singer-Songwriters

(kicking off with this first...wanted to clump all the artists I wanted to but never got around to rave about under this one...almost. ^6^)

I remember a rather amorphous discussion on singer-songwriters I had with someone I encountered (a Belgian, if it is of any relevance); amorphous because he was constantly straying—jumping—from one point of argument to a next and I was trying—in confusion and quite in vain—to tie up all the points along the way if not actually bring the conversation back to where it started, which was the merits and demerits of singer-songwriters and their music. As a high enthusiastic of many a singer-songwriter of our time, mostly Western but also an emerging crop of Asian artists, I could not (and can’t) find a major intrinsic flaw with the tradition, let alone a reason to shun it, and so I was rather surprised to hear the older man’s preference for non-ss artists. It was probably only indifference towards it, but when he said ‘oh that so-and-so (when I mention some favourite musicians), so you like those singer-songwriters!’ it sounded rather scornful. So I asked him what he liked. He ummed and hmphed and beat around the bush and quantum tunneled through various points, and after a rather tiresome rabbit chase nothing much came out, except for a vague remark somewhere that a singer per se is probably purer and thus better at the craft than someone who so unnecessarily wants to do it all. ???

I mean, what era do you live in, man? Even regular oldtime rock bands pen their own songs! With the perhaps perpetual exception of jazz and blues (which loves to be nostalgic and never stops covering old classics), and then pop (thinkin'...Britney) everywhere else I look I see the brilliant parts of any genre to be singer-songwriters. The whole indie scene is very much them (thanks to technology for once). I think it’s an exceptional gift to be able to write music and interpret and express it all by oneself, and when such artists come along the result is often vivid, sincere, and profoundly moving if one happens to be on the same frequency. For me, to listen to the congruent beats and lyrics that grows out of the contemporary artists through time is an amazing experience of witness, as they sing eloquently or privately, of the world we live in now, personal crises and exultations, or sentiments and small moments of life. Personal is the what feels so special about it, I guess, and so good.

Wikipedia has a pretty nice entry on the evolution of the singer-songwriter tradition, and also a list of singer-songwriters in the world, both focusing primarily on Western countries. (The absent Chinese part has a lot of catching up to do...)

Elliott Smith - Ballad of Big Nothing

Just want to test out the iJigg radio really. Elliott Smith (1969 – 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician - "bleak, almost uncomfortably unsparing and yet tragically beautiful make Smith something of a Nick Drake for the indie rock cognoscenti." I'll put up more about him later. Enjoy this first~ =D

Ballad of Big Nothing

Throwing candy out to the crowd, dragging down the main
The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth who's always got something to say
You're sitting around at home now waiting for your brother to call
I saw him down in the alley, having had enough of it all

Said you can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you

All spit and spite, you're up all night and down every day
A tired man with only hours to go just waiting to be taken away
Getting into the back of a car for candy from some stranger
Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes full of smoldering anger

You can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you
Now you can do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to though it doesn't mean a thing
Big nothing

Cao Fang

i believe you guys have all received Cao Fang's album sent by Zhu, who was asking me to write something for the newly emerged singer in China mainland. i hope her songs will leave a good impression to ppl who has never listened to Chinese pop before.

(to zhu: it's hard to write an original review... i should just put the Chinese review into google translate and get the English text...)

initially i didn't have a high expectation for her. since i'm already used to the old, traditional styles of most mainland Chinese songs. however her production came to me as a shock. she has adopted a very unique folk-song style lacked by most of her counterparts, and her voice is so natually integrated into her songs. this album "Encounter Me" is her second one so far, released 2 years after her first album, "Black Perfume". i like two of her songs in "Encounter Me" best, "Straw Man" and "Wind Blows over Rainy Days". her monologs in the front part of the songs have characterized Cao Fang's unique singing style well.

---

zhu:
Added Discography translations. I suck at translations. Bear with me.


Debut Album (2003) - 黑色香水 | Black Perfume
1. 黑色香水 | Black perfume
2. 春花秋开 | Spring flowers blooming in autumn
3. 失陪 | Excuse me
4. 透明对白 | Transparent dialogue
5. 橘子汁 | Orange juice
6. 基诺山 | Jinuo Mountain
7. Two weeks holiday
8. Garbled account
9. So cool
10. 落单 | Loly (lost + lonley)
11. 小病人 | Little patient
12. 别样生活 | Another kind of life


2nd Album (2005) - 遇见我 (Encounter Me)
1. 遇见我 | Encouter me
2. 神秘礼物 | Mysterious gift
3. 风吹过的下雨天 | Wind blowing over rainy day
4. 城市稻草人 | City scarecrow
5. ICY是淑女 | ICY is a lady
6. TROUBLE
7. I don't care anyway
8. 秋凉 | Autumn chill
9. 在夏天 | In summer
10. 落单.续 | Loly . c'td
11. 孤单的独白 | Lonely monologue

Icy's fansite: http://www.icyfans.com/forum/index.php