While this year so far has been a tumultuous one with more downs than ups, music has once again found a way to calm the storm. There have been too many tunes to name but we’ve reached halfway through the twelve month period and these songs have stood out amongst the rest.
One of our favorite tracks of 2009, Supernova (more on this later) has a video to go with the lyrics. This track is off Mr. Hudson’s forthcoming album, Straight No Chaser, which is being released on October 5th. Update: Track list and album sampler after the jump
Pipedream is a hidden gem we stumbled upon recently. The sextet consists of Kjell Ove (Vox), Asgeir (Guitars), Einar (Guitars and BVox), Robert (Keys and BVox), Jan (Bass), Herman (Drums). While they are being compared to a ton of bands, if we had to choose a band they were similar to, although we hate to do this, their sound is more of Muse they anyone else. The instrumentals really stand out on this EP and their sound is big. Music that should be blasting from stadiums.
Head over to Lazy Acre Records to get their EP.
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Pipedream [MySpace]
Last week Friday on the Jimmy Fallon show, in house band, The Roots teamed with Erykah Badu to perform a few Michael Jackson songs. You could watch the show in the entirety above, or you can check the audio rips below via okayplayer. We might post a few more covers of Michael Jackson songs during the week. In my inbox at the moment I have a tracks from James Morrison and Kid Cudi.
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Golden Silvers have provided a remedy for our distraught moods around here at the cafe after one of the more tougher past weeks in recent memory. There video for “True Romance” takes new wave disco and the 80’s revival thing to the next level. The dapper lads from London are currently picking up quite a buzz across the pond. With an upcoming album release in the states, expect to hear more from the three piece with the futuristic Clash sound.
Michael Jackson, 1958-2009
On a day like this you have to just shake your head in disbelief.
Marina and The Diamonds have released a new video for “I Am Not A Robot” off of her latest Ep. Apparently Marina takes a few pages from Bjork & Kate Bush with this piece directed by Dazed and Confused founder/photographer Rankin. Glitter, paint, sparkles along with a ton of make-up equals a stunning vid and one hell of a clean up job.
![Bjrk Björk | Voltaic [Album Stream]](http://www.cafemaroon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Bjrk.jpg "Bjrk")
Björk lastest album, Voltaic, which is streaming on NPR is not made up of new material. According to NPR,
Let me talk about the music on Voltaic, the music you can hear on our site. In 2007, there was Volta, a CD of new songs from Bjork. Well, just before Bjork’s performance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2007, and before beginning what would be a two-year Volta tour, she and her band went into Olympic Studios in London. There, the group recorded live to tape selections from Medulla, Homogenic, Post, Vespertine and her latest. These performances are what make up Voltaic.
So basically the music is a bunch of live performances put together during a stretch in 2007. Either way, it’s new to us. Listen to the stream here (link).
The Roots have been booming from the cafe since I went to their picnic earlier this month (review here). So needless to say I’m excited I have new material to listen to this morning. Their new single and title track, How I Got Over, premiered on Fallon last night. Black Thought flows effortlessly (when doesn’t he) on this soulful track. New Roots album, How I Got Over, dropping this Fall (October 20th to be exact). Official video for this track will be out next month.
*Allow me to put on my backpack.*
Reflection Eternal aka Talib Kweli and Hi -Tek are back again (literally). Between working on his Idle Warship project and doing a few songs with Mos Def, Kweli join forces with Hi-Tek to release a new album, Revolutions Per Minute, whic is due this fall. Their lead single, Back Again, is as good as anything they’ve done before (not saying it’s better, just saying the haven’t lost a step together) and features the lovely, Res. Please don’t make us wait another nine years for your next project guys.
