Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Tom Hagerman: The Breakfast Playground

Tom Hagerman

It's been awhile since I fell in love with a CD, but Tom Hagerman pulled it of. The multi-instrumentalist of DeVotchKa created a magnificent solo album The Breakfast Playground, an almost 100% instrumental affair that flows and bubbles like a gentle stream with the distant sounds of a train to remind you that this is 21st century music. The Breakfast Playground is a big time chill out album, not the kind of lounge crap that is peddled as such. Hagerman plays accordion and violin and created a soundtrack for a movie that has not been made yet. If you liked the French movie Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, this record is the perfect accompaniment for a sequel.

Tom Hagerman - The Breakfast Playground

MP3: Tom Hagerman - Family Album
MP3: Tom Hagerman - This Petty Face

Buy The Breakfast Playground at CDBaby or at devotchka.net.

» myspace.com/tomhagerman

posted @ 8:00 PM | Feedback (1)

Heart: Barracuda

Shrek 3 is loaded with covers, including an really lame version of Barracuda. Eat your Heart out and watch the the real thing.

posted @ 4:47 PM | Feedback (2)

EMI and the cost of a voiceover ad for John Cale

EMI

EMI is sold to private equity $6.3 billion. So fucking what. EMI is a BIG spender crying about profit losses. Read this post by David Hepworth on his And Another Thing blog:

The other week I got a call from EMI asking me to do a voiceover for a John Cale ad to run on a couple of digital rock stations. I turned up at the appointed time at one of those flash Soho sound studios where there are two leggy girls on reception and they bring you coffee in designer cups. When the rep from EMI turned up - late because for some reason they'd ordered a car to deliver them into the West End during rush hour - it took about two minutes to do the ad. The studio is bound to have put in a four figure bill for their services, on a job that I could have done on my Mac at home.

» And Another Thing
» Private equity firm to takeover EMI

posted @ 1:29 PM | Feedback (2)

Datarock: show cancelled in Liverpool

Datarock

No show in Liverpool for Datarock tomorrow:

Datarock have been forced to cancel a gig on Wednesday night due to a clash with the Champions League final.
The Norwegian duo were due to play the Carling Academy in Liverpool but the show has been pulled as it is on the same night that Liverpool play AC Milan.

» More

posted @ 11:51 AM | Feedback (0)

Forro In The Dark: Bonfires of São João

Forro In The Dark (c) Photo by Vladimir Radojicic

A Brazilian band in New York - meet Forro in the Dark. Plugging a great sounding album Bonfires of São João (with guest spots from David Byrne and Bebel Gilberto) they will set the stage on fire in Europe and North America with their forró, the music and dance of Northeastern Brazil.

Forró lyrics are usually about love and romance, passion, jealousy, or reminiscing about an ex-lover. They often are about Northeastern themes and the longing or homesickness (saudades) that was often experienced during migrations in search of work. An example of this are the lyrics to perhaps the most beloved song by Luiz Gonzaga "Asa Branca" (White Wing) in which the singer says he will return home when the rains fall again on the dry, barren land. They will know he is coming when they see the certain white winged bird of the savanna (sertão) that only arrives when it rains.

Forro in the Dark is:
Mauro Refosco: Zabumba and Vocals
Gilmar Gomes: Percussion and Vocals
Davi Vieira: Percussion and Vocals
Guilherme Monteiro: Guitar and Vocals
Jorge Continentino: Pifano, Baritone Sax and Vocals
Smokey Hormel: Baritone Guitar, Slide Guitar and Vocals

European tour dates

  • 05/30 Joy Eslava (w/ Bebel Gilberto), Madrid, Spain
  • 06/01 Bataclan (w/ Bebel Gilberto), Paris, France
  • 06/03 Flagey (w/ Bebel Gilberto), Brussels, Belgium
  • 06/05 Knust (w/ Bebel Gilberto), Hamburg, Germany
  • 06/06 Paradiso (w/ Bebel Gilberto), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • 06/08 Universal Hall (w/ Bebel Gilberto), Skopje, Macedonia
  • 06/09 House of Sindikate (w/ Bebel Gilberto), Belgrade, Serbia
  • 06/11 Tvornica (w/ Bebel Gilberto), Zagreb, Croatia

North America tour dates

  • 06/15 The Iron Horse, Northampton, Mass
  • 06/16 Cambridge River Festival, Cambridge, Mass
  • 06/20 World Cafe, Philadelphia, PA
  • 06/21 IOTA Club, Arlington, VA
  • 06/22 The Highline Ballroom (w/ Miho Hatori), New York, NY
  • 07/06 Quebec City Summer Festival (w/ Mano Chao), Quebec City
  • 07/10 The Attic, Santa Cruz, CA
  • 07/11 The Independent, San Francisco, CA
  • 07/12 SOHO (Club Mercy presents), Santa Barbara, CA
  • 07/14 The Getty Museum w/ Los Amigos Invisibles, Los Angeles, CA
  • 07/15 Chicago Folks and Roots Festival, Chicago, Ill
Forro In The Dark - Bonfires of São João

MP3: Forro In The Dark - Asa Branca
MP3: Forro In The Dark - Limoerio do Norte
MP3: Forro In The Dark - I Wish (w/ David Byrne)

Bonfires of São João is released on the Nublu label.

» forrointhedark.com
» myspace.com/forrointhedark
» en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forró

posted @ 8:03 AM | Feedback (4)