Detroit's Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are currently working on their second album. In the meantime the indie-pop duo is set to release their new EP Patterns on April 16th - with a special vinyl edition available on Record Store Day. The EP features the single "If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren't on the Dancefloor)". The airy track showcases the duo's soulful vocals over a groovy yet laid-back beat and should definitely get you moving on your living room dancefloor.
Today's edition of The Connection features two artists that will break your heart and then write an amazing song about it.
Willie Nelson is one of those artists who I did a complete 180 on (see also: Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones). My initial impression formed when I was a kid growing up in the 80's, and amounted to essentially "hey that guy who plays Uncle Jessie on The Dukes of Hazzard and was on The Muppet Show also has a couple of famous songs!" Then in the 90's he became more of a punchline -- that old kook stoner who had all his money seized by the IRS. I never viewed him with any real credibility, more of a novelty act, even well into my 20's. But then a good friend gave me a Willie-Crash-Course, some Willie 101 (that sounds gay, but it wasn't), and I came to find out that I was an idiot and the man is, in fact, a national fucking treasure. He's a brilliant songwriter (dozens of original albums over 6 decades AND he wrote Patsy Cline's "Crazy"), and he's the father of Outlaw Country who blazed a thoroughly original career and brought the hillbillies and the hippies together. You've seen Keep Austin Weird bumperstickers? Well, Willie is the man who made it weird in the first place. In the 70's he was at his creative peak, and released a string of genius albums. An all time fave is Phases and Stages, a concept album about a divorce, where side A is written from the point of view of the woman and side B is written from the point of view of the man. Despite the melancholy subject it's not at all morose, and the sound he created in the studio is timeless -- the songs have aged amazingly well. Here is a standout track called "Pretend I Never Happened":
Which leads us to Phosphorescent aka Matthew Houck. He's been putting out albums since the mid 2000's, currently on Dead Oceans and in the middle of an amazing string of records of his own. Just like Willie Nelson, his sound mines that place where rock n' roll meets country, and just like Willie, he writes sad songs about dissolving relationships that eschew wallowing in favor of rising above and telling it like it is. You get the sense with both of these guys that it would be hell to date them, but you still understand why any girl would fall for them. Houck obviously feels the kinship as well, because in 2009 he released an entire album of Willie Nelson covers, titled simply To Willie. His most recent release is Muchacho, an album that all of the critics seem to be going nuts for, and with good reason. Here's an early favorite track called "Song For Zula":
even though they are kinda dead now, i fondly remember mix tapes (40-somethings)and mix cd's (30-somethings). i loved making mixes. and because i'm so utterly in love with my own cleverness, i used to make theme mix tapes where i tried to pull together a bunch of tracks that all had a common element. songs with lady names. songs with one word titles. songs that reference other songs. songs about dead people. it was so much fun. so i'm kicking off a regular Friday feature that harkens back to those days, where i pick two songs i really love that aren't really related, but have a common element that will or will not blow your muthafuggin MIND. check it.
so, John Lennon rules. no need to get that into an explanation -- it's as close to an accepted truth as the music world gets. that being said, i think his solo albums remain somewhat underrated. everyone hated Yoko Ono and blamed her for the Beatles breakup, and John responded by naming his first proper solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and on the follow-up, Imagine, the closing track is this awesome ditty about how much he basically just loves saying her name. not only is that an incredibly sweet thing to write a song about, but it's also like him saying "suck it, entire world." that combination of sweetness and ferocity kinda seems like Lennon in a nutshell. this song was also used to great effect in Rushmore (love that flick).
the second song is from a Philly band called Sun Airway. this was one of their first ever releases, first as part of a free EP and then they included it on their excellent first LP, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier (2010). the connection isn't exactly mindblowing (see song titles), but after listening to it many times, it only just occurred to me yesterday that it references John Lennon's song. either that or it's pure coincidence, but I doubt that. regardless, it's a wonderful song from a gem of an album that deserves more attention than it's gotten, and i really dig the one-two punch of songs that are only about the simple pleasure of calling out the name of the person you love.
It's been a busy year so far for Four Tet. Back in January he released a free rarities album 0181, containing 20 or so early tracks recorded between 1997-2001. Last week he released a fantastic remix to Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie" and just a few days ago he released a hypnotic house track called "For These Times". The new track is featured on the Nonplus Records compilation Think and Change.
Listen to the new song and remix here:
dude! on May 6, Little Boots will release Nocturnes the long-awaited follow up to her sweet and sexy debut, Little Hands. according to the press release, production work was done by DFA Records co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, with other contributions from Simian Mobile Disco‘s James Ford and Hercules and Love Affair‘s Andy Butler. SIGN US THE HELL UP. here is the twinkly (and very promising) advance single:
