Katie Sawicki is having her CD release party in Minneapolis on May 30th at 8pm. I’ll be there, will you?!
Collected Sounds friend and favorite, Brianna Lane will also be playing.
Read a review of [Time Spent Lost]
Read a review of her previous records:
[Black Boots]
[For the Quiet]
MULTI –PLATINUM ARTIST SARAH MCLACHLAN TO RELEASE RARITIES, B-SIDES AND OTHER STUFF, VOLUME 2
Multi-platinum Arista recording artist Sarah McLachlan will release Rarities, B-Sides And Other Stuff, Volume 2 on April 29th, 2008.
Culminated from Sarah McLachlan’s illustrious recording career, the Rarities, B-Sides And Other Stuff, Volume 2 collection contains Sarah McLachlan material never before available before on one CD. The collection includes live performances, rare recordings, remixes and soundtrack contributions. In addition, the album includes exceptional, one of a kind duets with Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, Emmylou Harris, and more!
Since signing with Arista nearly two decades ago, every one of Sarah McLachlan’s studio and live albums and videos have been certified gold, platinum, multi-platinum, or diamond by the CRIA, starting with Touch (1988) and Solace (1991), both platinum sellers. Her 1994 breakthrough, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (2x platinum) was followed by the digitally enhanced multimedia version of The Freedom Sessions (1995, gold). Sarah’s landmark fourth album, the Diamond certified Surfacing (1997), contained two Grammy Award-winning tracks, as “Building a Mystery” won for Best Female Pop Vocal, and “Last Dance” was voted Best Pop Instrumental. 1999’s quadruple-platinum Mirrorball, and its platinum long-form video counterpart, were both culled from that year’s Lilith Fair tour, and spun off Sarah’s third Grammy-winning performance, as “I Will Remember You” won for Best Female Pop Vocal. The 5 times platinum Afterglow followed in 2003, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, while its opening track, “Fallen” was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal.
Track listing below:
1. Ordinary Miracle
2. Blackbird
3. Time After Time (with Cyndi Lauper)
4. River
5. Don’t Let Go (with Bryan Adams)
6. Angel (Live) (with Emmylou Harris)
7. Pills (Live) (with The Perishers)
8 The Rainbow Connection
9. Prayer of St. Francis
10. Unchained Melody
11. Silence (DJ Tiesto ISOS Remix)
[Sarah McLachlan Official]
[Sarah on MySpace]
The good news for you is that I’m giving away a copy!! Courtesy of [Filter Magazine], thanks Filter!
Aren’t you glad you read to the bottom? the 5th person to comment here (saying you would like a copy and naming your favorite Sarah M song) wins a copy of this. (US residents only)
UPDATE: Congrats to Josh! I never said you couldn’t fill out more than one comment 
This is the first contest I’ve done and it was fun (I love getting comments) so expect more to come. If I get more Sarah M CDs I will be sure you let you all know.
GIRL’S NIGHT OUT AT THE BITTER END!
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21st, 2008
Wednesday, May 21st marks the first in a series of NJ Songwriters in the Round showcases to focus solely on female songwriters. It’s GIRLS NIGHT OUT and these girls are headed for the legendary Bitter End on Bleecker Street in NYC. The Jersey based organization is loading 5 talented female singer/songwriters, a few guitars and a bunch of fans into a bus and crossing the river for this debut event. And what better way to make a splash than in front of a TV audience. On The Beat (Time-Warner) is NY1’s entertainment program and they will be on location to capture the fun. The feature will air on-demand in all 5 boroughs in June.
Performing on May 21st will be ASCAP songwriters Jaclyn Brown, Carrie Cheron, Lisa Coppola, Eryn Shewell and the show’s director, Deb Ferrara. Showtime is 7:15 and in keeping with the show’s tradition, there is no cover charge.
Tom DeSavia, Senior Vice President of Rock/Pop, ASCAP said: “ASCAP is proud to be a supporter of the NJ Songwriters Girls Night Out event. They continue to not only provide singer/songwriters an outlet to perform, but bring together these creators in a sense of true musical community.”
Now in it’s 6th year, NJ Songwriters in the Round is an original music showcase series founded by NJ songwriter/producer Deb Ferrara. The regular monthly event takes place every 3rd Tuesday at Maxwell’s in Hoboken and is sponsored by ASCAP, BMI, Rainmaker Public Relation & Artists Development and GoGirls Music. In addition to featuring the most promising up-and-coming songwriters from across the country and beyond, the organization regularly presents educational and networking events as well as charity concerts and auctions. Twice yearly, GIRLS NIGHT OUT will take the show to different locations in the tri-state area for a night of Girl Power. Deb organized NJ Songwriters in the Round because she felt there wasn’t much support for original music beyond open mic nights. The goal was to provide an outlet for serious songwriters, and to that end she fills the show’s precious slots using her discriminating ears. Said Ferrara, “New Jersey has an incredibly rich music history. The next Paul Simon or Bruce Springsteen could be on our stage and we urge the music community: fans, industry, press, and colleagues to check it out.”
For more on NJ Songwriters in the Round, including event and showcase submission information, visit
I’m sorry, as some of you know I have a full time job above and beyond Collected Sounds (thank goodness, because my bank doesn’t accept CDs for mortgage payments).
Well, the company I work for is going through some big big changes and that is making my job very very busy. So time has really flown by. This week felt like about 6 hours total.
The deadline for this work stuff is May 1 so hopefully things will calm down after that (however, it could also be just the tip of the iceberg, hard to say).
So is anyone else a fan of Robin Sparkles? It’s no “Let’s Go to the Mall” but pretty good anyway. (Thanks HIMYM for a great episode last week!)
…and is anyone curious about [this?!]
That site is Flash-tastic, so if you hate that, see [this]
I was hanging around YouTube today and found some fun things for your Friday afternoon.
Have a great weekend!!!
Terra Naomi doing Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”
..and I am pretty into Sara Grabow’s new (to me) record. A big thank you to Anna Maria for sending it to me.
Portishead will be releasing a new record on April 28th. Band member, Adrian Utley compared it to their previous releases, “It sounds nothing like Dummy or Portishead, but it’s definitely its older brother or sister.”
I can’t wait!!
Samples for your enjoyment[removed]:
Sorry looks like these were not sanctioned by the band, so they were removed.
Looks like they have one song on their MySpace page [check it out]
A Fine Frenzy has been covering Death Cab for Cutie’s I Will Follow You Into the Dark on her current US headlining tour.
A sample: [”Count to Ten” .mp3]
US Tour:
Apr 2 Bluebird Theatre Denver, Colorado
May 5 Joe’s Pub New York, New York
May 6 Schubas Chicago, Illinois
May 7 The Khyber Philadelphia, PA
May 8 Ram’s Head Tavern Annapolis, MD
May 9 La Sala Rossa Montreal, Quebec
May 10 Le Cercle Quebec City, Quebec
May 12 The Courthouse Toronto, Ontario
May 13 The Ark Ann Arbor, Michigan
May 15 Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, California
Dan Wilson tour dates:
On the Hotel Café tour:
Apr 1 2008 Record Bar Kansas City, Missouri
Apr 3 2008 Fox Theatre Boulder, Colorado
Apr 4 2008 Bluebird Theatre Denver, Colorado
Apr 5 2008 Avalon Theatre Salt Lake City, Utah
Supporting Kathleen Edwards
Apr 10 2008 The Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza New York, New York
Apr 11 2008 Rams Head On Stage Annapolis, Maryland
Apr 12 2008 The Fillmore @ Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia, Penn.
Apr 14 2008 Birchmere Alexandria, Virginia
Apr 16 2008 Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall Asheville, North Carolina
Apr 17 2008 Headliners Music Hall Louisville, Kentucky
Apr 18 2008 WorkPlay Theatre Birmingham, Alabama
Apr 19 2008 Mercy Lounge Nashville, Tennessee
“Free Life” Streaming Audio Links:
Now working as a solo artist and collaborating with a collective of notable musicians from his home city of Minneapolis, Wilson earned a Song of the Year Grammy® in 2007 for his co-writing work on the Dixie Chicks’ Not Ready To Make Nice from the album Taking the Long Way. He also contributed writing to six songs on the album, which won the Dixie Chicks a total of five Grammy® Awards including Album Of The Year and Country Album Of The Year. Wilson has also collaborated with such acclaimed artists as Mike Doughty, Rachael Yamagata, Jewel, Jason Mraz and others.
Wilson’s first solo effort, Free Life began as a self-produced project in the Twin Cities and was finished in Los Angeles by Wilson and Rubin, who enthusiastically agreed to help complete the record, saying of Wilson, “Dan’s music touches my soul. He is/has the perfect combination of inspiration and songcraft. He is a timeless artist whose music will feel as good in 50 years as it does today.”
The album features contributions by renowned artists from the worlds of pop, rock, country and bluegrass. Sheryl Crow provides harmony vocals on “Sugar,” Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) plays the finger picked acoustic guitar on “Free Life” and Gary Louris (The Jayhawks) contributes a guitar solo on “Cry.” Furthermore, Eric Fawcett (N.E.R.D.) plays drums on a number of tracks and Benmont Tench (The Heartbreakers) provides piano on “Against History” and several others.
Wilson wrote the songs that would become Free Life while living in a house built in 1903, infusing the tracks with the spirit of their surroundings. Inspired by sheet music Wilson purchased at antique stores and a Neil Young biography emphasizing his insistence on live recording, the more open and unpredictable Free Life expands upon the more structured arrangements of Wilson’s previous work.
Following his tenure with Trip Shakespeare, Wilson rose to prominence as a founding member of the Minneapolis-based trio Semisonic. The band released its full-length debut Great Divide in 1996 and was launched to stardom with its second album, 1998’s Feeling Strangely Fine. The record produced the hit single Closing Time which reached number one on Modern Rock charts, and number nine on the Billboard Top 40 charts.
[Read Collected Sounds’ review]
[Buy CD]
Ok,well, not exactly “mini’…I just got this CD and several people have asked me to weigh in on it. Since I am going to be out of town for the next few days (with no laptop…how will *that* go?) I wanted to get something up here right away. But I’m not ready to update the “proper” site yet. I still haven’t send out the newsletter (dang, I mean to do that yesterday but forgot, it’s written, I just have to send it). So long explanation on why I am posting this here even though it’s long….plus I would like you to discuss!
Album Name: Volume One
Artist: She & Him
Year/Label: 2008 / Merge Records
I purposely tried not to read too much about this record before I got it. I wanted to hear it fresh. I fell for Zooey Deschanel’s voice when she sang Baby it’s Cold Outside to Will Ferrell in the film Elf. At that time I said that I wished she had a record out. So I had to wait 5 years, but hey…
My copy arrived just yesterday and I popped it into my player this morning on my way to work. My first thought was that it was a little odd. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around her voice. It is clearly and distinctively Zooey, it just sounded…different.
What I liked about her vocal style in that film was that she made it seem effortless. Almost like she was speaking the words, like they just fell right out of her. Her style hasn’t really changed, at least in her phrasing. She sings conversationally. Most singers are trained to emphasize the vowel, not the consonant. An example, is when she sings the word, “world” she emphasizes the ‘rrrrrr’ sound as opposed to the ‘ohhhhh’ sound. So my guess is she has not had formal training. It’s fine, it’s just distracting for me, personally, since I remember learning this myself. But it does help to make her unique. Not that she wouldn’t be otherwise, she definitely is unique.
The music is really a mish-mash. It ranges from 60s sunshine pop (think Partridge Family) to Motown to Torch. And then the CD ends with the old traditional, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. The album itself is pretty schizophrenic, but it’s good for showing her range of styles.
When I Thought I Saw Your Face Today came on I thought, “ah, that’s the Zooey I wanted to hear!” her voice just sounds so good on those deep notes and torchy nightclub melodies.
But then I Was Made for You is a sort of do-whop/Motown-ish, which I don’t like at all. Anything that sounds like it could be on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack is not for me (enjoyed the movie back in the day, but a ‘yuck’ to the music).
I am embarrassed to say that I know little about M.Ward’s music. I had a friend who adored him and she and I shared many musical tastes so I am sure I would like him if I gave his stuff a listen. I just haven’t. I barely have enough time to listen to the stuff that is submitted to me, let alone stuff I pick out for myself. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I was under the impression that he wrote all these songs and she sang them. But the liner notes say that all the songs (except for the Smokey Robinson, Beatles and traditional ones, and one she co-wrote with Jason Schwartzman). So I am doubly impressed. Yet, admittedly a little confused as to where “Him” comes into it. I understand that M. Ward plays several instruments and produced it, but that seems more like a background role (not that it’s not an extremely important one) rather than a ‘band-mate’- equal billing role. But it was probably a marketing choice.
As I said, I have really only given this short ear time, but these are my first thoughts. If anything changes I will update this review.
Track Listing
1. Sentimental Heart
2. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
3. This Is Not A Test
4. Change Is Hard
5. I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
6. Take It Back
7. I Was Made For You
8. You Really Gotta Hold On Me
9. Black Hole
10. Got Me
11. I Should Have Known Better
12. Sweet Darlin’
13. Swing Low Sweet Chariot
I am Amy. I live in Minneapolis, MN and I run the site, Collected Sounds
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