April 28, 2008
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New Additions to the Catalog:
Taj Weekes and Adowa - Deidem CD - Taj Weekes’ music is more than just entertainment. The St. Lucia born, bred and based roots reggae artist’s music stirs thought, provokes discussion and inspires people to think for themselves, free from the constraints of the corporate media. On his beautiful new album
Deidem, released on his own independent label, Jatta Records, Weekes sings assuredly and soulfully for the voiceless and the oppressed, taking his music to a new level of commitment and universal appeal. For those who have been disadvantaged, abandoned or just alienated by a power structure that values profit over people and fear over hope,
Deidem speaks for them in its refusal to forget those left out of the new “global economy” and in his continued belief in what is possible through authentic music and real communication. $12.00
Check out our video of the week below, which is a look at the
making of this album.
The Giving Tree Band - Unified Folk Theory (2 CDs) - The Giving Tree Band's 2007 double-disc set was manufactured in the most
environmentally friendly process currently available, at a wind-powered studio using recycled materials and nontoxic soy ink printing. The Giving Tree Band is a four-piece group of versatile Chicago-area musicians. The band's eclectic and unique brand of soulful folk is the collaboration of four friendly multi-instrumentalists. Their sound is all acoustic, expanding from a variety of folk and roots traditions. The band has a very natural yet inventive approach to songwriting and music-making, which they use as a tool for investigating the mystery of life and understanding the human condition. These troubadours have creatively chronicled their own experiences, random thoughts, and deep feelings into a musical diary. By opening it freely, they hope to bring a little joy and inspiration to the lives of the listeners. $18.99
Turbo Pro Project - Daydream CD - It's banjo-hip-hop-fusion music! When a band lists Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck, Grandmaster Flash, and Rakim as their most powerful influences, you know you're in for something different! A banjo player and a DJ seem to be unlikely candidates to be playing music together, let alone in the same band, but they are indeed part of the personnel in the Turbo Pro Project, a group headed by banjoist Adrian "Turbo" Trbovich and supported by DJ Chris "DJ Pro" Prear. Adrian has played all over the country sharing his unique approach to the banjo, from festivals to smoky bar rooms. Among these numerous venues, Adrian has repeatedly been a musical artist at the prestigious Merlefest, the premiere festival for Americana music. DJ Pro has guest DJ'd for stars like Biggie Smalls, Method Man and Redman, Chico Brown, and Little Vicious. The Turbo Pro Project puts all stereotypes aside to take a musical journey that knows no bounds. $11.99
Moly - Post Crisis Reflection Agenda CD - Post Crisis Reflection Agenda ushers Moly's cinematic instrumental sound into the future. With more sounds and textures than any of their previous releases, this album has a dark edge that is shot through with sweeping emotion. The UK duo coaxes some truly human tones out of their computers, creating a moody blend of thought-provoking melodies and mind-expanding beats. “Achingly beautiful landscapes of sound swathed in white noise" and “heart-soaringly, mind-expandingly lush and subtly lovely” are some of the things that have been said about this unique duo. $16.00
Zappa Plays Zappa - 2 DVD set or
Deluxe 5-disc set - In 2006, two Zappa Plays Zappa shows were pristinely filmed and recorded (in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA, respectively) to capture the experience. The Zappa Plays Zappa DVD collection brilliantly commemorates the critically-acclaimed concerts, which presented a collection of Frank Zappa’s rock-oriented compositions from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Zappa Plays Zappa is a tour de force of rock guitar virtuosity and a guitarist’s dream come true. Featuring Dweezil Zappa on lead guitar and the precision virtuoso instrumentalists Terry Bozzio and Steve Vai, plus a dash of Frank Zappa’s social commentary and wit, ZPZ is a document like no other! Also featured are a mix of musicians who previously played with Frank Zappa including original Mothers of Invention member Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax, flute, vocals)! In addition, Frank Zappa himself performs posthumously via synchronized audio/video technology, including the solos in “Chunga’s Revenge.” The Deluxe 5-Disc Set includes the 2 concert DVDs plus the entire program on 2 CDs, and a bonus 3rd CD including tracks not available on the DVDs.
2-DVD Set
$23.99; Deluxe 5-Disc Set $35.99
Global Noize CD - Featuring DJ Logic, Karl Denson, Billy Martin, John Popper, Bernie Worrell, Cyro Baptista, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Jason Miles, Herb Alpert, and others! Produced by DJ Logic (world-wide DJ superstar) and Jason Miles (noted for his work with Miles Davis), Global Noize is a ground-breaking jazz/funk/world fusion project that mixes Logic's turntable wizardry with irresistible funk grooves, impressive jazz solos, and vocal textures from around the world. $18.98
The Roots - Rising Down CD/LP - Garnering critical praise throughout their career, The Roots have firmly established themselves as a band with uncompromised artistic control and integrity. With
Rising Down, the band's 10th album release, The Roots continue to take bolder steps adding new depths and range to their repertoire. The political nature of
Rising Down is not only heard within the music - the release date falls on the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King. Standout tracks include "Criminal," a reflection of life on the streets and unjust persecution, "I Will Not Apologize" a tribute to Fela Kuti that discusses keeping dignity in the music biz, and "I Can't Help It," a look at addictions and urges that compel us all. The pop-infused "Birthday Girl" features Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump, and additional guests include Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and more.
CD
$16.99; LP Vinyl $15.99
Jamie Lidell - Jim CD - Recorded in Berlin, Los Angeles and Paris, Jim takes Jamie Lidell's inspiration even further, finding the balance between the spontaneous creativity of his raw ideas and the careful craft and polish of a great record. Jim will switch you on in the morning, move you on the dance-floor and take you down in the small hours. It s a bold, promiscuously diverse album, mixing up gospel grooves, sweetly sung and fiercely passionate soul, delicately moving ballads, thumping early R & B, synthed-up disco, and even a touch of hillbilly funk. "I haven't tried to hide the influences," says Lidell. "This is the music I love." Listen closely and you can hear Jamie moving in new directions, creating a sound and style that is entirely his own. $13.99
Bombadil - A Buzz, A Buzz CD - The music of Bombadil, a band of North Carolinians who met by chance in Bolivia, draws on a unique
mélange of influences to create an infectious, unclassifiable sound. They are truly one of the freshest bands to emerge in some time, with songs that range from straightforward rock to Bolivian waltzes and heartbreaking, piano-driven laments to swashbuckling, raucous marches. With an array of instrumentation encompassing guitar, piano, harmonica, glockenspiel, and everything in between, their live show is unlike anything else. Still, the core of Bombadil is their anthemic, concrete songwriting. It's what allows them to carry a room, whether there are one hundred instruments on stage or just a single guitar and voice. It's what people connect to and why they keep coming back. $12.99
Portishead - Third CD - Portishead's third CD picks up right where the Bristol, England trip-hoppers left the rest of the world over ten years ago. As far as music has come in the space between Portishead albums, they prove that they can still trip out and mesmerize with the best on this one.
Third is not as beat-heavy as their older work, leaving more empty space for their floaty, breathless compositions to shimmer and simmer. $16.99
Pete Francis - Iron Sea & The Cavalry CD - Pete Francis' new record
Iron Sea and the Cavalry belongs in a classic jukebox that holds only your favorite records. From the pulsing single ''Shooting Star and the Ambulance,'' to the dreamy ''Heavenly Boat,'' to the sweet and familiar title track, Iron Sea and the Cavalry represents the work of a true craftsman. Francis spent years as a member of the renowned independent band Dispatch. $12.99
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks Vinyl LP - Inevitably, when critics praise a new Dylan album, they label it the "best since
Blood on the Tracks," and with good reason. Inspired by a crumbled marriage, and recorded after a tour with the Band had apparently re-ignited his creativity,
Blood is among Dylan's masterpieces. The album's epic songs are well known, but its real high points are the shorter numbers--"You're a Big Girl Now," the flawless blues "Meet Me in the Morning," and the sweetly devastating "Buckets of Rain." These are songs of "images and distorted facts," each expressed through tangled points of view, and all of them blue.
$16.99
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters Vinyl LP Keyboardist Herbie Hancock's remarkable career took a surprising turn with this funk album--one of the first jazz albums to be certified gold. Hancock's already-storied career had included an extended tenure with Miles Davis as a member of both the classic quintet of the '60s and the trumpeter's groundbreaking electric dates. As a leader, the pianist had followed a similar course, cutting both outstanding acoustic dates and experimental electric sessions.
Head Hunters, however, was something different: a stripped-down date featuring reedman Bennie Maupin as the only horn player, and a funk-oriented rhythm section made up of Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, and Bill Summers. Hancock traded in his sophisticated piano performances
for slow-burn funk grooves and light electric keyboard splashes. The
results had a profound impact on other musicians that cannot be measured.
$16.99
Classic DVD Additions:
The Police - Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out DVD
- Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out, the directorial debut of five-time Grammy Award-winning composer and drummer Stewart Copeland, is a first-person account of The Police’s ascent from obscurity to worldwide fame as well as an astute and sometimes hilarious commentary on the pop culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Culled from over 50 hours of Super 8 movies he shot during the acclaimed trio’s heyday, the film offers an insider’s perspective on touring, the other band members and the adoring fans that puts the audience in the drummer’s seat. Copeland’s kinetic and artful camerawork forms a visual ode to the rhythm of the road: a surreal swirl of hotel rooms, bus rides, press conferences and record signings punctuated by nightly flashes of electrifying on-stage exhilaration. Copeland’s breezy narration and onscreen annotations provide a wry, sometimes self-mocking perspective on the group’s high jinks, from a lip-syncing session on skis for an early music video to their later travels throughout the Third World. Edited with a percussionist’s precision timing and a composer’s ear for the inherent pulse of each scene, Copeland scores the film using a pastiche of de-constructed studio and live versions of The Police’s extensive and memorable repertoire.
$14.99
Roger Waters - The Wall: Live in Berlin DVD -
The Wall (Live in Berlin) might be from 1990 but it looks and sounds terrifically compelling on DVD, thanks to its vivid image quality and greatly improved audio mixes. The freshly mineswept Potsdamer platz - a once-thriving plaza destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943 - proved the perfect place to mark the opening of the Berlin Wall with an all-star production of Pink Floyd's magnum opus: a Wall for a wall. An unlikely assemblage of musicians augments Roger Waters's impressive house band, with everyone from the Scorpions to Joni Mitchell to the Military Orchestra of the Soviet Army getting in on the rock-opera action. Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, James Galway, Tim Curry, Marianne Faithfull, Van Morrison, The Band, Thomas Dolby, and Albert Finney all turn in tasty cameos. The documentary is thorough and juicy, and producer Tony Hollingsworth offers an above-par essay in the booklet. Recorded July 21, 1990.
$14.99
Jimi Hendrix - Jimi Plays Berkeley DVD - Jimi Plays Berkeley is great. Why? Because of Hendrix's flawless performance with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox on bass. The band never sounded better live, and Eddie Kramer's 5.1 surround remix on the DVD really lifts the sound to a new level. Tracks include "Purple Haze," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," "Star Spangled Banner," "Hey Joe," "I Don't Live Today," "Machine Gun," and many others. This is a never-to-be-forgotten musical experience you will enjoy over and over again. In addition, the DVD includes the entire audio recording of
Jimi Plays Berkeley: 2nd Set, arguably Hendrix's best live performance ever recorded. It's just perfect. $14.99
Wetlands Preserved: The Story of An Activist Rock Club DVD
Sol Driven Train - Lighthouse CD
Tea Leaf Green - Seeds Box Set (3 CDs)
Scythian - Immigrant Road Show CD
Flight of the Conchords CD
New Releases Coming Soon:
May 6 - The Brakes - Tale of Two Cities CD (pre-order)
The Brew - Back to the Woods CD (pre-order)
Russian Circles - Station CD (pre-order)
Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime CD (pre-order)
May 13 - Electric Apricot - Quest For Festeroo DVD (pre-order)
May 20 - John McLaughlin - Meeting of the Minds DVD
John McLaughlin - Floating Point CD
The National - A Skin, A Night DVD + The Virginia EP
May 27 - moe. - Warts and All Vol. 6 (3 CDs)
Ozric Tentacles - Sunrise Festival CD/DVD
June 3 - Tea Leaf Green - Taught to Be Proud (re-release)
June 10 - Railroad Earth - Amen Corner CD
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges CD/LP
Robert Walter - Cure All CD (moved from April) (pre-order)
The Infamous Stringdusters CD
June 24 - Scrapomatic - Sidewalk Caesars CD
July - Sound Tribe Sector Nine - Peaceblaster CD
July 22 - Dr. Dog - Fate CD/LP
Latest News and Reviews:
Turbine CD review
The Afromotive CD review
HGMN's New Greening Section
All Good Additions: AMS, Grace Potter, MOFRO, more
Asheville Music Jamboree Adds Telepath, Bela Fleck, more
Rothbury Fest's Solar Schools Program
Upcoming Festivals:
The Day Celebration - 5/9 - 5/10 - Buckhead, GA - http://thedaycelebration.com
Joshua Tree - 5/16 - 5/18 - Joshua Tree, CA - http://joshuatreemusicfestival.com
Mayflowers Fest - 5/16 - 5/18 - Garrettsville, OH - http://www.nlqp.com
Desert Rocks - 5/22 - 5/25 - Moab, UT - http://www.desertrocks.org
*Asheville Music Jamboree - 5/23 - 5/25 - Asheville, NC - http://www.amjam.net
DelFest - 5/23 - 5/25 - Cumberland, MD - http://www.delfest.com
Summer Camp - 5/23 - 5/25 - Chillicothe, IL - http://www.summercampfestival.com
Sasquatch Festival - 5/24 - 5/26 - George, WA - http://sasquatchfestival.com
*look for the HGMN Store at this event!
Video of the Week:
Taj Weekes & Adowa - The Making of Deidem
Thanks for reading, and have a great week!Bryan Rodgers http://www.homegrownmusic.net
http://www.myspace.com/hgmn
