Today's cd/Moon Whale - Keven St-Ours

I just today heard of Keven St-Ours on my local public radio station. From the website:

All the music in this story, by the way, comes from Moon Whale, the debut piano solo album of Canadian composer Keven St. Ours. Keven is 29, and lives in Quebec.  He spent the last three years recording his first piano album and at the moment is trying to figure out how to get people to listen to it. “He’s working mostly by himself,” Keven’s girlfriend Sarah told me.  “He’s using mostly YouTube and Soundcloud for people to hear what he’s doing.  Each time he has a new piece, he’s putting it on the web.”Another thing Keven has been doing – he’s been sending public radio reporters links to his music and asking them to make use of it.

Credit Keven St-Ours

I so loved the music that I went to iTunes and bought the album. I find it very, very beautiful. 

Here is one of the pieces. No video, just the pure music.

Today's cd/To Be Loved - Michael Bublé

Just bought it, and LOVE it!

Today's cd/The Rip Tide - Beirut

I first heard of this band here, and I haven't stopped listening since. Oh, do I love their sound! This video is from the fantastic NPR series, Tiny Desk Concerts.

Today's cd/Oh! Look At Me Now - Bobby Darin

I feel like I should be wearing a housedress and have my hair tied up in a scarf as I dance around the kitchen to this 1962 album. Oh my, it is wonderful. Anyone my age remembers Bobby Darin and his zillions of hits, but he really shines at singing the standards.

This album is long out of print, but thanks to iTunes I could buy it and listen 49 years later with it sounding as fresh as if it were recorded yesterday. His phrasing, his smooth singing is incomparable. The title song, written by Joe Bushkin and John DeVries in 1941, is just about the best song I've ever heard. I spent a good hour with the song on repeat. I wish there were a video of him singing it, but at least there is this so you can hear his great, great voice.



I did find one of him singing a few other songs on the album like this one, which I'm also exceedingly fond of.



His life was way, way too short. He had a heart condition and died at 37 years old. There's a nice biography of him here.

Today's cd/Darius Rucker - Learn To Live

The very best of country albums make the listener feel happy, sad, and thankful. There are songs you can sing along with yet never get sick of. This cd has every one of those facets. I don't know when I've loved a country album quite this much. It all begins with the voice. Darius Rucker has one of my favorite voices in music. The songs are rocky and they are quiet. He sings about love and breaking up and parenting and his late mother.

From Learn To Live:

Grandpa Campbell would sit upon his front porch
And I'd be right there, just sittin' on his knee
He'd tell stories of love and feast and famine
And I'd hang on to every word that he would breathe
He said, boy as you walk through this life
Here's a little wisdom that'll help you get by
You gotta live and learn
You gotta crash and burn
You gotta make some stances
And take some chances
You gotta live and love
And take all life has to give
You gotta live and learn
So you can learn to live

Here is my favorite song on the album.

His latest, Charleston SC, 1966, just came out, and you can bet I'll be buying it.

Today's cd/It Had To Be You - Rod Stewart

Oh, do I love this album! I've been a fan of Mr. Stewart's for as long as he's been singing. One of my earliest favorites was Drinkin' Again which he did with the Jeff Beck group. I just recently learned that the lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer. So, in a way, Rod Stewart is coming full circle here with the standards; 'the great American songbook.' He does, as they say, make the songs his own, as do all the best singers. Some of the titles are: They Can't Take That Away From Me, Every Time We Say Goodbye, That's All, and a song I've raved about in my letters here and here and here, You Go To My Head. I want to buy the other volumes in this collection.

When I use the words, 'today's cd,' that's actually the truth. I put a cd into my Bose on repeat, and it plays all day long. I love to immerse myself in one album this way.

Here's a video of Rod Stewart singing one of the songs, The Way You Look Tonight.

Today's cd/My One and Only Thrill - Melody Gardot

While chopping squash and onions for the freezer today, I listened to the wonderful, exquisite new album by Melody Gardot. You may recall an earlier 'today's cd' which featured another album here. Rather than try to find the words to tell you how much I love her songs and her voice, you may have a look and listen for yourself. The cd is for sale at all the regular places. I bought mine at iTunes.

Today's cd/ Kate Rusby - Awkward Annie

Kate Rusby
Awkward Annie

2007

This is the music I listened today as I made the macaroni and cheese. I first heard Kate Rusby on the dvd of Clatterford, singing the theme song, one of Ray Davies' best. I was enchanted. She has an incredibly lovely voice as if she is a visitor from an earlier day. One of the songs on the album is called Streams of Nancy, and somehow my name always sounds nicer in a British song, sung with a British accent (Noncy).

She sings a beloved traditional song which I first heard sung by the wonderful, Jean Redpath. It is called Blooming Heather (sometimes called Wild Mountain Thyme), and makes me long for a Scotland I've never even seen.

I know this is a long you tube but if you have seven minutes to spare, it will make your day better, I promise. There's an interview at the beginning, and then she does the song. See if you don't find yourself swaying in your computer chair as you sing along to this chorus.

And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

Today's cd/Taylor Swift - Fearless

Taylor Swift
Fearless
2008

When Taylor Swift sings about being fifteen, I'm there. All the feelings return in a powerful wave:

Cause when you’re fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
When you’re fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin around but
In your life you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team
I didn't know it at fifteen
When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now

I love Fearless. This woman, who is three years younger than my youngest child is full of talent and heart. She writes about good stuff that (especially) women of all ages can appreciate. As a mother, I particularly loved this from The Best Day:

I'm thirteen now
And don't know how my friends
Could be so mean

I come home crying
And you hold me tight
And grab the keys

And you drive and drive
Until we find a town
Far enough away

And we talk and window shop
Till I forget all their names

And I'll bet most all of us have experienced this at least once in our lives;

She wears high heels
I wear sneakers
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming 'bout the day
When you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see
You belong with me

Tom heard her music on the radio and gave me the cd for Christmas, thinking I would like her. He was so right. She has a great voice, the music is catchy, and the words are wonderful.

Today's cd/Sentimental Streak

Catherine Russell
Sentimental Streak
2008

Oh, boy, is this ever a terrific album! Bluesy, jazzy, funny, saucy - excellent in every way. She is a great talent. You may visit her website to hear and see her. I also own her 2006 cd, Cat. I would love to see her in person.

Today's cd/Rosemary Clooney Sings Ballads

One of the great things about my new Beetle is the cd player in the front. The old car had a six-cd changer, but it was way in the back. It didn't like bumps in the road, it didn't like cold weather, and I found it impossible to learn how to put in the cds. So, now I am in music heaven as I drive along. Mostly I play the old standards, the ones I can sing along with, such as the songs on this cd. Rosemary Clooney was, is, and always will be my favorite "girl singer," as she titled her 1999 autobiography. Today as I drove to a farmer's market a bit further away to meet a friend, I felt the time changing. I expected to see older cars on the road. I was transported back to the days when these songs were on the radio. And what songs they are! I looked up the word ballad, and this is the definition: a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Each of these songs does tell a story. Thanks For The Memory is a tale of a couple meeting again after many years. They reminisce about places they went together and things they did.

Many's the time that we feasted
and many's the time when we fasted
Oh well, it was swell while it lasted
We did have fun, and no harm done.

We who could laugh over big things
were parted by only a slight thing
I wonder if we did the right thing
No doubt we did; of course we did.

And at the end, Rosemary lowers her voice, and sings:

And strictly entre nous, darling how are you?
and how are the little dreams that never did come true?
awfully glad I met you
cheerio and toodle-oo
I thank you so much.

Whew! It brings tears to my eyes. Regret, wondering what if? And she tells it like no other.

She sings The Shadow of Your Smile, from a favorite movie of mine, The Sandpiper. Another song of lost love, remembered with such fondness.

The shadow of your smile when you are gone
Will color all my dreams and light the dawn.

One of the best songs ever is on this album: A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley (British pronunciation - Bark) Square. Oh, talk about time travel. I'm back there in "London Town."

And as we kissed and said goodnight,
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.


This collection of little short stories ends with one of the all time great songs: It Never Entered My Mind, a song about loss, and how she never, ever imagined they would break up, and what life is like now. So sad, so perfect.

You have what I lack myself
and now I even have to scratch my back myself

Here is the whole list of songs:

Thanks For The Memory
Here's That Rainy Day
The Shadow Of Your Smile
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
The Days Of Wine And Roses
Easy Living
Spring Is Here
Why Shouldn't I
It Never Entered My Mind

I have a lot of Rosemary Clooney albums, each of them wonderful, but this one tops my list. Each song is indeed a little story, a happy one or a sad one, sung so beautifully. This was recorded when she was in her fifties, in 1985. Her voice is more mature; she has lived these songs and shares the experiences with us.

Today's cd/Sleep Through The Static

Jack Johnson
Sleep Through The Static
2008

I'm a word person. When a song is playing with words, I can't read, or even converse very well, because I'm listening to the words. That's why I prefer instrumental jazz if I'm reading or talking to people. But for every single rule, there is an exception, and Jack Johnson is mine. His words roll over me, as if he were just saying, the meditative "om." I've never known anyone like him musically. I wrote about him already, but today I'm featuring his new album. It is my favorite so far. I hear occasional words and I even read the liner notes, but mostly it is that voice, that music, that calm which he projects. I like to think that his music could really change the world. No road rage, no hatred of our fellow world citizens, just the peace that he gives off.

Today's cd/Amos Lee

Amos Lee, self titled
2005

I haven't been offering a 'today's cd' much lately, and I think it's because radioblogclub isn't going anymore. Every time I visit the site, they say, essentially, working on it - be back soon. But soon has turned into a long time. Just today I realized that it is fine to simply include a link and you can go listen for yourself if you are interested. So, you may expect a lot of music again. :<) When I watch a tv series on dvd, I keep a pad and pen in my little remote control basket, and every time I hear a song I like, I jot it down. Sometimes, they list it on the screen, and other times they don't, and then I write down a line or two and do a search later to see who did it. Anyhow, I've found a lot of great, great musicians this way, and Amos Lee is one of them. I love this album. I love his mellow, smooth voice, and his excellent words. He has two other cds, and I'm going to buy them both. You may go here to read more about this wonderful artist, and listen to some songs.

From All My Friends:

All my friends are dear to me
Oh when the storm comes they’re as close as family
All my friends are the ones I choose
Oh, if I hear them knockin’
You know I can’t refuse

We’ll face the winds that break the strongest of trees
Beckon for the sweet soft summer breeze.

Today's cd/These Streets

Paolo Nutini
These Streets
2006

What a wonderful album this is. Paolo Nutini is such a good writer and singer. I hear hints of Simply Red, and going back further, a little Marvin Gaye. He is very soulful in his music and words. Sometimes in a song a phrase will jump out at me and I'll think, how perfect. He is asking a woman to grant him a last request (before she leaves) and he says,

don't shrug your shoulders

I like that. It is just right. It is exactly what a disinterested, already-out-the-door person would do. 'Oh, okay, but then I'm gone' sort of gesture.

He sings of love, and those "New Shoes", and about leaving home.

cross the border, into the big bad world
where it takes you 'bout an hour just to cross the road

these streets have too many names for me
I'm used to Glenfield Road and spending my time down in Orchy
I'll get used to this eventually I know, I know

I like the way he personalizes a common experience. Most of us have been through it. Some stay on "those streets" and others come back home. When we are young, we just live through the days, unthinking, unknowing that change is coming. Then it hits us in our early twenties:

where'd days go when all we did was play
and the stress we were under wasn't stress at all

The insert has a photo of his late grandparents, and beside it are the lyrics to "Autumn."

I can hear you saying
my little fish don't cry, my little fish don't cry

Again, he puts in a personal phrase like that, a loving name, which brings it right home to all of us who have lost those in an older generation.

The songs are pensive, bouncy, humorous, deep. I just love this album and can't recommend it highly enough. You may learn more about this young man, and listen to some songs, here and here.

Today's cd/Me and Mr Johnson

Me and Mr Johnson
Eric Clapton
2004

"You better come on in my kitchen
'Cause, it's gon' to be rainin' outdoors."
Robert Johnson

This rainy, 45º day is just perfect for some blues, and this cd is one of my favorites. I love it when musicians pay homage to older influences and that's what Clapton does on this album. On the liner notes he says:

It is a remarkable thing to have been driven and influenced all of my life by the work of one man. ... I am talking of course, about the work of Robert Johnson. Up until I heard his music, everything I had ever heard seemed as if it was dressed up for a shop window somewhere, so that when I heard him for the first time, it was like he was singing only for himself, and now and then, maybe God. ... It is the finest music I have ever heard. I have always trusted its purity, and I always will.

There's a YouTube video of Clapton talking about Robert Johnson. He says it would take a lifetime to really copy the way Johnson played. Whew! The song he plays is not on this album, but it will give you a great idea of the sound. You can buy the cd and or go right to the source, and get some Robert Johnson at iTunes. Great, great music.

Today's cd/Little Voice

Sara Bareilles
Little Voice
2007

For a while now, I've been hearing this terrific song, Love Song, on the radio but as so often happens, I haven't been in the car when it was announced who the singer was. And then I'd get busy and forget, until the next time I heard it. Early in April, I got an email from an old internet friend, Brenda, telling me about this artist she thought I might like. I was thrilled to find out this is the singer of that song! I bought the cd at iTunes, and I love it. She can be added to that list I wrote a while ago of new, young, fantastic singers. She has a great voice, and she writes wonderful songs. I think you'll like her.

Today's cd/She & Him

She & Him
Volume One
2008

When it comes right down to it, what I love most is sweet love songs, whether jazz or pop. I listen to other kinds of music. I appreciate deep, dark, serious stuff, but at the end of the day, what lifts my heart is a cheery song with a good beat. She & Him Volume One is just the ticket for me. She is the actress, Zooey Deschanel, and Him is the musician M. Ward, and together they make some of the happiest music I've heard in a while. As it fills my house, there's a smile on my face and a little dancing in my feet. They do some originals, and some covers such as, You've Really Got A Hold On Me and I Should Have Known Better. Each song is special and wonderful. You may read more about them and hear some songs at their myspace.


I remember when I first saw the movie, Annie Hall, I was so impressed with Diane Keaton singing, and wished she would do an album. I bet now she would. Maybe it's not too late. Maybe she'll read this very blog, and say, why not? :<)

Today's cd/Stabat Mater

Pergolesi, Stabat Mater/Vivaldi, Motet, and Stabat Mater/1994

I promise not to repeat too many postings as time goes on, but my Good Friday music is one which I probably will. It is so moving, so emotional, and so real. Whether we are Christians or not, whether we believe every word, still, still this music can touch us. It is said that Christ shared our humanity, our joys and sorrows. Yes, except he was not a parent. It is Mary's suffering this music is about. If you are a parent, you know that watching your child go through trouble is much, much worse than you going through it yourself. Her pain is literally your pain. His sorrow is your sorrow. And even when it ends for them, it never quite goes away for you, the parent. This is something I never knew until I became a mother. All at once, very suddenly, I was part of a world I never knew existed. I thought I knew what love was, I thought I knew what caring was, I thought I knew what sacrifice was. I didn't. Well, I did on some level, but it is not the same. There is a lack of self-consciousness when you are a parent. You truly think of the child before yourself. It is amazing. It is a miracle. So, when Jesus is on that cross, yes he is suffering. But, his suffering is so different from his mother's. Those who have lost a child will know this. Those who have not lost a child still realize it is the worst pain there is. And Mary had to go through it. That's what this music is all about. I cry several times a day on Good Friday as I hear the music floating throughout the house. It is very, very beautiful but very sad, too. And I think, we as Christians, need to go through it on this day. Yes, for Him, but I think equally, for Mary, the mother.

Some of the words:

Her grieving heart
So full of tears and anguish,
Pierced as though with a sword.

Oh, how sad and unfortunate
Was that blessed mother
Of an only son.

Today's cd/Worrisome Heart

Did you happen to hear the NPR interview with Melody Gardot the other day? Her new cd is called Worrisome Heart, and you may listen to her wonderful voice here. She was hit by a car when she was nineteen, four years ago. It left her with many, many problems, such as sensitivity to light and sound and short term memory loss. Because of her physical problems, she gave up the piano for the guitar, and began music therapy on the advice of her doctor. This album is the result. She's a genuinely nice woman who said she doesn't forget her good fortune:

I'm not one to wake up in the morning and forget that, Gardot says. I forget a lot of things, but I don't forget that.

Her songs are gentle, meaningful, and inspirational. A wonderful new talent with a great future ahead.

Today's cd/Pine Valley Cosmonauts

What I'm listening to this Tuesday afternoon isn't exactly a cd, but a compilation of Pine Valley Cosmonauts songs which Laura sent me a while back. This is great stuff. You might call it good-timey music, Americana, western swing, real country. They are out of Chicago, where a while back a radio station, WLS, used to broadcast a show calledThe National Barn Dance.

Back in 1924, before Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry went on the air, WLS in Chicago started broadcasting the National Barn Dance which became the most popular Country music & variety show in America thanks to the giant 50,000 watt lightning bolts of sound that a mighty radio tower shot out across rivers & plains and into the newly electrified parlors & sitting rooms of rural America. The show ran uninterrupted for 36 years, drew huge crowds to its Saturday night live broadcasts, as its stars became household names. On stage at the 8th Street Theater the country rubbed shoulders with the city, there were cowboys & angels, hymns, reels and polkas plus cornball humor so hilariously bad it took the roof off.

And some of this feeling comes through in their songs. They feature a terrific fiddler in his eighties who played on The Barn Dance. They sing songs with titles like Little Red Barn and I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart, and one of my favorite songs of all time, San Antonio Rose. Their albums are available at record stores, and on iTunes. Go take a listen and have yourself some fun. I love this band, and thank Laura immensely for introducing me to their music.