Crosby, Stills and Nash + The Band

Phil writes: I bought the Fleet Foxes album. Although they have a great sound, I don't think their songs are quite there yet. They have been compared to CSN and The Band, amongst others, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to post a couple of my favourite tracks from these two prolific sources of great music.

Crosby, Stills and Nash - Cathedral:


 (iTunes)

The Band - The Weight:


 (iTunes)

Save The World, Get The Girl

Phil writes: A great title for a great album. The King Blues have succeeded in producing one of those albums where every song is worth more than one listen. They remind me, amongst others, of Billy Bragg, Mike Skinner, Lennon, Everclear, and I guess they're inspired by most if not all of the bands mentioned in What If Punk Never Happened, the tour de force which makes such a perfect final track. There's even a song which sounds as though it might be a Nizlopi cover - it isn't, of course - is there such a thing? The success here is the extent to which the influences have led to some distinctive and memorable tracks with some great tunes and clever lyrics, rather than pale imitations, as is sometimes the case. You really need to get the whole album (Amazon) but the title track is possibly as good an introduction as any.

The King Blues - Save The World, Get The Girl (iTunes)

Boyzone have covered Tom Baxter's Better

Joe writes: Boyzone always had a knack of picking great songs to cover, although I must say their cover of Better didn't live up to their glory years on first listen. Good song though. Have a listen to Tom Baxter's original instead, as featured on this blog last year.

(iTunes)

wonderful footage of Miriam Makeba just now closing Newsnight on BBC 2

Joe writes: Steve Wright also played Pata Pata today. God bless the BBC.

There are two wonderful pieces on other blogs commemorating Miriam - Heart on a Stick which has great links to audio and video (the track Nongqongqo is beautiful), and SoundRoots which includes a statement from Nelson Mandela. God bless the bloggers.

Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata on iTunes

Immortal Technique

Joe writes: I've found another Immortal Technique track that I like almost as much as The Cause Of Death. It follows a well-worn formula but it's hard to resist thanks to the combination of a lesser known Bob Marley sample with IT's lyrics and delivery.

Immortal Technique - Mistakes (iTunes)

Dinosaur Pile-Up

Joe writes: A good band who remind me of my early radio listening experiences about 15 years ago, when Radio 1's Evening Session was dominated by the likes of Smashing Pumpkins and Dinosaur Jr. There's one specific band who Dinosaur Pile-Up really remind me of, but I can't think who it is.

Dinosaur Pile-Up - My Rock 'n' Roll (not on iTunes but another track of their is)

Sam Cooke's masterpiece

worldsgreatestmusicdad writes:

has been quoted more than once in all the comment on Obama'a historic victory. And the President-elect almost referenced it himself in his speech. It's a song that has often been covered - the Neville Brothers have a distinctive take on it.

Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come (iTunes)

Aaron Neville - A Change Is Gonna Come (iTunes)

Let Your Love Flow

Joe writes: This Bellamy Brothers soft rock classic is on the current Barclaycard advert on British TV (the one with the water slide).

I was surprised to discover no-one has posted this on a Hype Machine blog yet. There is one Bellamy Brothers track on a Hype Machine blog but that gets slagged off. I guess they can't compare to Of Montreal.



If you like Let Your Love Flow, you may love the Abandoned Luncheonette album by Hall & Oates and my favourite Bread track, Guitar Man (another track that is absent from the Hype Machine).