Brandon's Buzz

Melissa Etheridge — “Fearless Love” (from Fearless Love) —

You know, somewhere in all the save-the-world semantics that have monopolized much of her material for the last decade, it seemed as though Miss Melissa had misplaced entirely that rare ability she has always had to write those clean, catchy-as-hell (yet refreshingly adult) melodic pop songs. Consider that foolishness rectified.

One of the highlights of my daily Twitter experience is checking out the latest musings from one of my all-time favorite artists, the incredible Rob Thomas. (Yes, that Rob Thomas, and if you don’t already follow him on Twitter, you can find him by searching for “ThisIsRobThomas” from the social network’s main website, or by clicking here. For that matter, if you don’t yet follow me, you can either search for “BrandonsBuzz” or click on the Twitter link inside the maroon box of tweets in the far right column of this very page.)

In amongst chattering with his friends and fans, Rob has a regular feature on his Twitter feed that he calls, simply, “Song of the Day.” There are no frills here, and no expansive ruminations: just a song title — and the name of a singer to whom the named tune corresponds — which presumably Rob is either listening to that very moment or otherwise just generally enjoys. The range of Rob’s choices can be a bit scattershot; sometimes he chooses a new-ish title, and others, he goes for a bona-fide blast from the past. Some days, he selects a superstar-sung classic that urrybody can hum along with, and others, he reaches into his hat and pulls out an obscure ditty that, probably, only he can sing in the shower. (Wednesday’s “Song” was Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” one of the all-time greats; before that, “Moves” from The New Pornographers and “Come Rain or Come Shine” from Ray Charles; recent titles from the past two weeks or so have come from the disparate likes of Suzanne Vega, The Black Keys, Cat Stevens, Soul Coughing, and — heads up, Sherry Ann! — Jason Mraz and The National.)

(more…)

July enters with a bit of a whimper, but in the wake of the wallet-buster that was June’s stunningly stocked music slate, I’m good with taking a breather this week. Don’t fall completely asleep at the wheel, though; there are a couple of titles that require your attention today, and they are as follows:

Once upon a time, a remarkable artist by the name of Alex Band was the brains and the brawn behind a now-defunct pop band name of
The Calling. The band got their big break in the summer of 2000 with a cameo appearance in the smash film Coyote Ugly, in which they performed the song that would become their signature classic, “Wherever You Will Go.” The heart-tugging tune exploded at radio in the immediate wake of 9/11, and it seemed as though The Calling was on their way to glory, but record company troubles and a crippling case of band infighting punched holes in the ship, and they parted ways after their highly-touted 2004 sophomore disc failed wholly to launch. Band has laid low for the past few years, but he’s back at the plate this week with his hot solo debut, We’ve All Been There, and I’m thrilled to announce that I am taping a conversation with Band this week, for airing later this month on Brandon’s Buzz Radio, in which we’re going to discuss all of this and so much more.

(more…)

If this website’s statistics are correct — and I have no reason to believe they aren’t, though I’ll confess I haven’t independently verified to be true what follows — then you are currently reading the Buzz’s one hundredth record store report. It’s very difficult to comprehend that I’ve written a hundred of these already, but they say time flies when you’re having fun, alas. Check out who’s helping us pass the century mark this week:

For their latest project, the brand new double-disc set Staring Down the Brilliant Dream, those marvelous mavericks Amy Ray and Emily Saliers — better known as the Indigo Girls — have combed through the recordings of all their live shows from the past four years and compiled a collection of thirty-one of their favorite performances and moments. A handful of Indigo classics — “Closer to Fine” and “Shame On You,” among them — are included, although the gals largely (and admirably) choose to bypass the obvious hits and dig deeper into their discography to fill out this album. The results, at times, are plainly electrifying: “Moment of Forgiveness” (a gem from their overlooked 2002 record Become You) shines as a stripped-down acoustic ballad; newer staples like “Get Out the Map” and “Kid Fears” remain fabulous; and the brilliant Brandi Carlile considerably livens up a cover of
Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”

(more…)