Root Down in the Shadow

1. Spirit Family Reunion - "Green Rocky Road" Traditional Sandwiched in the middle of their incredible 2012 release No Separation , this traditional has become owned by the Brooklyn sextet. Green Rocky Road has been played in the past by such folk stars such as Arlo Guthrie or Elizabeth Mitchell, but none has taken the song on with such a life! Mat Davidson on fiddle & Maggie Carlson on banjo have absorbed every note and tone of the song and bring it alive. Just watch the video once(Skip ahead to 4:05), and you will be hard pressed to not want to watch and hear more from this band. On this short 3 song set, you get a great glimpse into this jovial and upbeat band. Spirit Family Reunion - "Green Rocky Road" Tiny Desk Concert If you have the opportunity, go see this band live !  Pittsburgh that means YOU. Spirit Family Reunion is coming to Club Cafe on December 11th! Previously Featured:  Concert Review April 2012 or Concert Review October 2011

I've never been a fan of end of the year lists that down allow you to experience the selections.  Just reading about some great songs doesn't allow validation of the list.  For this brief list, I placed a playlist on the Daytrotter.com website, so everyone can hear it! You do need to register for the site to listen to the list, but it is so worth it.  For $2/month you get access to some of the best sessions out there for live music PERIOD.  You can register for a free trial, to see how great it is on your own.  If you are not interested in the site.. Here's a rundown of the list! Although a short list, I didn't want to waste time with so-so songs.   The first two are from the must have session, Mumford & Sons and Friends . #1 Reincarnation , is a Roger Miller standard. In this take, the "friend" of Mumford & Sons is Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes . It's such a simple and pure song, that I find my self singing it to my daughter during ou

Cover Song of the Week, albeit not as weekly as I'd like has been one of my favorite posts to do.  There's so many variations to consider.  Awesome cover band or awesome original?  Same style vs new style.  Or in general sometimes it's just sharing something cool that others should see. In this case, this week's edition is a reminder that the Onion.com AV Club is kicking off their 3rd installment of the AV Undercover, a series of cover songs on a pre-set list being completed one by one by bands stopping in the AV Club studio until all the songs are gone.  The bands are a secret until, they've been released one by one throughout the Spring & Summer. I've featured a few before including my first discovery of the AV Club with Iron & Wine and the Low Anthem on a double feature and They Might Be Giants doing Chumbawamba As mentioned above, the Onion has kicked things off for 2012.  There's a cool cover of Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater coveri

One of my favorite series here @ Root Down in the Shadow is the Cover Song of the Week .  The cover songs range from imitation to divergent.  Some keep the original mood.  Some are dramatically changed.  This week's entry as reminded by the original artist Gotye "[is] just like the ’60s when local artists would sometimes pick the original artist at the post by doing a cover and getting it out to an audience before the original artist was in the market." EDITOR NOTE: This quote was taken from a great interview by CMJ By Christine Werthman. Seeing as how I couldn't find that article when searching in Google, I thought it would be great to share it with you, as well as these videos! Aussie Gotye released Making Mirrors last fall.  I received the hit single 'Somebody That I Used to Know' via the KCRW Today's Top Tune in early October.  I lost track of it in the following weeks as I was focused on a lot of concerts in October.  I was reminded of it

One of my favorite series here @ Root Down in the Shadow by McGurkMusic is the Cover Song of the Week. Most of the posts recently have been recent covers, with a rare archive look.  In this week's installment, we're going to take a quick look at covers of a contemporary, with an obscure and obvious selection. At least in my opinion the first selection is obscure. In 1995, the year I graduated high school. I was musically very far a way from an adult contemporary solo guitar album by Bruce Springsteen , instead listening to Punk, Alternative, Metal, Ska and some Pop! RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE cover of 'Ghost of Tom Joad' original by Bruce Springsteen EDITOR NOTE: I know this video didn't link properly, go watch it on YouTube, it's a pretty sweet unoffical video.. The song begins just after the minute mark When "It Band" Rage Against The Machine  covered 'Ghost of Tom Joad' I had never heard the original. In fact, I wouldn't hav

One of my favorite series here @ Root Down in the Shadow by McGurkMusic is the Cover Song of the Week I featured the Civil Wars last week with their tour favorite Billie Jean . I ordinarily would not repeat the same band the following week, but when putting my 3 year old to bed tonight with The Decemberists , she asked if the could listen to the Civil Wars when it was done?. So really, Molly is requesting these guys, so don't be behind the 3 year old when being in the know of some great music! Between the Bars covered by The Civil Wars I'm a little partial to the version by Paste Magazine . The act actually playing on the Quad Stage bled into the audio recording, however I love watching Joy Williams float along with the recording. The original was featured on the Good Will Hunting Original Soundtrack. The late Elliott Smith made some really beautiful music, so it is only fitting that a talented band such as the Civil Wars has selected his song!

One of my favorite series here @ Root Down in the Shadow by McGurkMusic is the Cover Song of the Week When a band can take a killer original and re-capture it in their own style, it is true magic. Michael Jackson songs are a good target as they are so catchy, but they can be difficult to do.     Chris Cornell years back pulled off a great cover of 'Billie Jean' and I had considered the song maxed out. However,  the Civil Wars , breathed new life into this now 30 year old song with style and passion that only they could. This song has been covered by the Civil Wars in the past, but this most recent occurrence is just fabulous! the Civil Wars covering 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson on Later with Jools Holland The Civil Wars recently had been opening for Adele abroad, and are back touring the United States.  Be sure to get tickets now , as shows are selling out quickly!

One of my favorite series here @ Root Down in the Shadow by McGurkMusic is the Cover Song of the Week I was listening to some Beck with my little Molly. I came across 'Halo of Gold' and for some reason decided to learn more about the song. I've had a copy of  Beck 's 'Halo of Gold' since 1998 via a  CMJ New Music Monthly  sampler disc.  Sadly, I only found out the history of it today.  I had no idea it was a cover of "Skip" Spence's 'Furry Heroine'  According to Wikipedia on the'Tropicalia' song page, "It was released as a single in the UK in December 1998. The b-side "Halo of Gold" is a drastically reworked cover version of "Furry Heroine (Halo of Gold)" by  Skip Spence ." I've had the Skip Spence  OAR  album on my wish list in iTunes since the Daniel Lefkowitz interview back in April, but I haven't taken the chance yet.  Needless to say, Beck Hanson's stamp of approval seems

Back in April, I stared following The Onion's A.V.Club back in April after finding Iron & Wine covering George Michael .  I check back from time to time to find out what other covers have been completed.  Occasionally I get rewarded with a gem.  In fact, I was coming back to the site to prepare for a different post, when I was overwhelmed by the most recent post.  They Might Be Giants cover of Chumbawamba' s 'Tubthumping' was just so much fun. According the site blurb "Flansburgh also had the brilliant idea of recruiting backup singers from our office to sing/shout the chorus. He asked me to determine how many people we could fit in that room—it was 16, plus two camera men, plus the band—and on Memorial Day, TMBG made a special stop in Chicago to perform the song" They Might Be Giants covering 'Tubthumping' They Might Be Giants covers Chumbawamba The track starts of quietly like some TMBG songs, such as 'Boss of Me (Malcom In the Mid

This latest entry in the COVER SONG OF THE WEEK vein is a tried and true formula. Take a verifiable classic, and tweak it to your own style? Don't overdo it and it will turn into a beauty. In this case, the Simon & Garfunkel jubilant tune 'Cecilia' was barely touched in this 2008 showing. Instead it was amplified with additional vocals and percussion, in this case the strengths of 2010 indie darlings the LOCAL NATIVES. Who are the Local Natives? According to Wikipedia: Local Natives are a successful Silver Lake (LA) band that caught steam from the 2009 SXSW festival and has yet to look back. They have ridden the media wave with their 2009 release Gorilla Manor and continue to get better and better. EDITOR NOTE: see previous Podcast edition - Best of the Interface post for a great live view While the band is in the works to recording a new album, give Gorilla Manor a listen. Many videos can be found on their site thelocalnatives.com including beau

Gillian Welch has been in and out of my music consciousness for the better part of two decades now. She was the composer of 'Orphan Girl' on Emmylou Harris's 1995 Wrecking Ball. She was featured on 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou? -tracks #9 'I'll Fly Away' with Alison Krauss & #10 'Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby' with Emmylou Harris, & Alison Krauss. In 2004 she co-wrote with David Rawlings  'Wouldn't Be so Bad', done by by Alison Krauss & Union Station on Lonely Runs Both Ways . Likewise in 2006 Elizabeth Mitchell sang 'Winter's Come and Gone' on You Are My Little Bird (also co-wrote by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings). However, it wasn't until the 2006 Black Star EP featuring the Radiohead cover of the title track, 'Black Star' that I really took a notice. The track (avail at iTunes ) is one of those covers that make you revisit the strength of the original. A very similar version by

In honor of the current tour with Headliner Iron & Wine and opener the Low Anthem cruising through the East Coast, I thought it was a perfect time to introduce my readers to The Onion - A.V. Club .  The satirists at the Onion took a break from their off the wall articles to bring an awesome twist to the cover song.  According to the intro on the videos (after the Starbucks commercial - sorry) It goes like this.  "With some help from our readers, the a.v. club made another list of 25 song and we’re inviting bands into our office to cover them.   Once a band has played a song, it gets crossed off the list.  So the later a band comes in the fewer songs they will have to choose from." We start off with the inaugural song of this season's list Iron & Wine covering George Michael 'One More Try' Iron And Wine covers George Michael It's a rare look at Sam Beam & Co doing outside songs. Of course there is the larger than life 'Such Great H

It is argued frequently what constitutes a good cover song.  Is it playing a song just like the original artist?  Is it stripping it down and recreating it in the covering artists' style?  Is it only good if you were not familiar with the original?  But what happens when the cover takes on a new life, and changes the intended song and what it stands for? 'Hurt' (live) by Nine Inch Nails, from the Downward Spiral The original 'Hurt' as shown in its officially released video version from Nine Inch Nails is in itself haunting. It speaks of a man questioning life in general and it's fragile existence. The video goes deeper showing the decay (in reverse) explicitly showing how everyone of us "goes away in the end" If you've never experienced this live, watch the video closely. This is not some effect of editing superimposing Trent Reznor and band over a screen. There is a large translucent screen that the band plays behind and in front of, while

Before I started blogging, I spent a good bit of time surfing the web, checking out band sites for tour or new album news.  It was either that or checking out tidbits on the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates, my other main obsession.  Earlier this year, I landed on the creativity jackpot.  Not only did I find excellent music, but I found it done in quite a new way. Looking at Beck.com, I found RECORD CLUB Now Bec k, as insanely creative as he is, likes different music than I do, but I was intrigued by the INXS album. First off, these hits are the same songs I have in my iTunes from INXS' "Greatest Hits". Who needs a greatest hits, when you have an album this full of hits. Second, I had come across St. Vincent (via a Rolling Stone video podcast) last year, and her song 'Actor Out of Work' is compelling, so I wanted to hear more.  Here is the best of what I found.  Enjoy! 'Need You Tonight' by INXS recreated by "record club" Featuring St. Vin

Back in 2007, I came across the the KEXP Song of the Day featuring Ted Leo & the Pharmacists .  The song, 'Unwanted Things' went into my heavy rotation right away, and I began looking for other Ted Leo to get my hands on. This upcoming Sunday, inside the FEATURED ARTIST post, I'll delve deeper into this search for more Ted and more about his recent albums. I did get my hands on a most excellent KEXP live concert and an additional super sweet cover song.  I can't recall where I purchased/downloaded/stole the audio version, I think I snagged it from my brother-in-law. It has been a favorite of mine since.  Truthfully, I didn't realize it was a cover at first.  I eventually caught on after noticing later on the song morphed into a cover of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'Maps'.  I also willingly admit that I had never heard Kelly Clarkson's version before hand, and not for a few years after hearing Ted Leo's version.    Ted weaves both songs together b

' Crazy ' is one of those songs, that you love from the moment you hear it.  The smash hit from 2006 brought Mr. Cee-Lo Green to the forefront of music that summer; including a set I caught during Virgin Fest in Baltimore, MD.   The song instantly made it to all the weddings and formals.  Looking back, it was loud and clear at my wedding in NJ, in the midst of one hell of a party! A live take of 'Crazy' by Gnarls Barkley The problem with the song is that it when you're dancing you barely pay attention to the words.  I really had no idea about the personal strength Cee-Lo was writing about, until I had heard this awesome cover version.  Ray LaMontange.  The song slowed down, shows off the beauty of the lyrics much more.  From the second half of the song: Come on now, who do you Who do you, who do you, who do you think you are? Ha ha ha, bless your soul You really think you're in control? Well, I think you're crazy I think you're crazy I

The 1963 Johnny Cash song 'Ring of Fire' has been my long time favorite song from the country legend.  When I first purposely started playing ol' Johnny Cash, it was my song of choice in the Jukebox at Denny's bar in South Oakland(Pittsburgh).  My high school buddy Fat Tom, loved Johnny Cash, and I quickly grew to love 'Ring of Fire'.  I still have great memories of darts and pitchers at the bar playing this song over and over. I eventually picked up Johnny Cash - Legend of Johnny Cash as my primer to his collection, of which I have about 20 albums now.  Ring of Fire has always held strong as my fav.  Johnny Cash - 'Ring of Fire' Through the years, there have been many cover versions of Ring of Fire. The one that sticks out the most was the Social Distortion attempt from 1990. That was at least until in a deep music exploration session, I came across The Best Of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-1971, including a live version by Ray Charles.

'Teardrop' is amongst the awesome tracks by Massive Attack on Mezzanine   with 'Angel' and  'Inertia Creeps'.  It is more well known than most people would recognize as an instrumental portion is the theme music on the television show HOUSE.  DISCLAIMER Also, the video can be somewhat disturbing... just page down, and listen instead if you don't like it, as this post is about the song, not the video. the original 'Teardrop' by Massive Attack(sorry for the commercial) During episode 16(the finale) of Season 4 of HOUSE, a cover version of 'Teardrop' by José González, was featured.  It was extremely haunting to me.  Although I had been, in a matter of months, watching four seasons of House and hearing the original, albeit instrumental, track each time, when the vocals came on through a different voice, I was stumped.  What was this song, and why was it so familiar?  I even knew the words to it, but I had no idea what this was.  Finally I

Way, way back in the fall of 10th grade, twenty years ago, the extremely naive version of myself managed to go out to a movie with a new classmate from California.  We went to the see Singles .  So many things from this event were oblivious to me at the time.  How much the future of my musical taste would revolve around the featured Seattle scene?  How to get to a second date?  And, who the hell were the Lovemongers ? Within a few short months, my musical collection would grow exponentially with grunge bands Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, and the Singles Soundtrack.   It would take me a little longer to figure out the dating thing.  It took me quite a while to figure out the Lovemongers .  In fact it wasn't until three years later, I was doing some exploration of other classmates favorite bands where I finally was officially and properly exposed to  Led Zeppelin .  Of course, after hearing the Led Zeppelin original version of 'Battle of Evermore', I realized the versio

About five years ago, I was gifted my first iPod at a not-so surprise birthday party.  Having the iPod, was the catalyst that lead to today's blog.  It was the spark that pushed me to dig into iTunes and the world of podcasts.  Soon after, I discovered KT Tunstall , Lady Sovereign , and solo Mike Doughty via the INTERFACE podcast (which at the time was audio only, but is now full video and mostly performance).  I spent more time on iTunes and all of its search features.  I had hit the jackpot, now besides the obvious pickup of KT Tunstall's Eye To The Telescope album; I searched for more KT, and found KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza .  The Acoustic Extravaganza contained 10 stripped down versions of KT Tunstall songs.  It is a wonderful package of songs, as it skipped her hits 'Black Horse & The Cherry Tree', 'Other Side of The World, and 'Suddenly I See' including only 'Miniature Disasters'.  Instead it focused mainly on "B si