BIG NOTE: I did not write these comments! I cannot take credit for how well-written anything is on this page. This scenario should be somewhat familiar if you've seen any of my other lists. The notes are the snippets I've read that piqued my interest and made me want to check out the music. Any titles which are greyed out have been purchased (or received). If there are any titles which are in italics, well, I've heard enough of them to know that I don't need to own them.
| Soundtracks |
|
| Beck |
|
| Mark Lanegan |
|
| Portishead |
|
| Morcheeba |
|
| Sneaker Pimps |
|
| Catherine Wheel |
|
| Sky Cries Mary |
|
| Luna |
|
| Lyle Lovett |
|
| Emmylou Harris |
|
| Tracy Chapman |
|
| Valerio Longoria |
|
| Harry Lafleur |
|
| Gillian Welch |
|
| Mississippi John Hurt |
|
| Various |
|
| Cowboy Junkies |
|
| Djivan Gasparyan |
The duduk is one of the oldest wind instruments in the world, dating back to Armenia's pre-Christian times. Djivan Gasparyan is the foremost living duduk virtuoso, having received four Gold Medals in UNESCO's world wide competitions. The mellow and haunting sound of the duduk gained international popularity after it was featured on Peter Gabriel's soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ. Gasparyan is featured here performing Armenian folk songs and melodies from Armenia's Pagan and Christian traditions. The ultimate in meditative music. Fans of Gasparyan's solo recordings will be astonished to hear Apricots from Eden, his first recording of rhythmic folk dances from Armenia accompanied by other duduks and the Armenian folk drum (d'hol). This recording highlights Gasparyan's virtuosity in a surprisingly different and exciting way. Digital Audiophile Series.
Djivan Gasparyan and Michael Brook have both made their mark in the musical world as artists that have deep devotion and skill, as well as innovative streaks that can get them in trouble sometimes. They seem to have found an outlet for all of these abilities on Black Rock. Their collaboration is an inspired idea, and through much of this recording the Canadian guitarist and the Armenian duduk (oboe) master and singer find some gorgeous common ground -- counterpoints of darkness and light, and conflicts befitting the source and subject matter of their work together. |
| Various |
The first ever Armenian album from England. A contemporary compilation with various UK influences. It is a fusion of genres including RnB, Hip Hop, Garage and Pop. Music for young Armenians by young Armenians. A truly special and unique experience. (Look here) |
| Andrew Bird James Mathus Katherine Whalen Kevin O'Donnell Tom Maxwell |
It is with my fellow SNZ fans in mind that I'd like to sing the praises of Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire. Andrew Bird is the violinist who plays with SNZ (listen to "The Ghost of Stephen Foster" on their last album to hear his work), and he's already had an album of his own, called Thrills, featuring his quartet and several guest artists from SNZ. I recommended that album to my SNZ friends, and the reaction they gave me was great. Andrew Bird is also a talented singer (he actually has the ability to sound like three or four different singers) and composer. Like SNZ, his stuff is hard to describe. I would say that it is very... Squirrel Nut Zippery? He recently released a second album, Oh! The Grandeur!, and while it is similar to the first one, it is much darker and more of a departure from SNZ. I think it's one of the coolest and most original releases I've heard all year, and you may consider this a glowing recommendation. This trend of Squirrel Nut Zippers' members doing their own albums is pretty cool, if you ask me. In addition to Bird, we've had a blues album from SNZ frontman James Mathus, a recent jazz release from Katharine Whalen (the woman with the strange Billie Holiday-esque "radio" voice), and something I've still not heard (but have ordered, naturally) from percussionist Kevin O'Donnell. Oh, and there's supposedly an upcoming release from Tom Maxwell. If you're a Squirrel Nut Zippers fan, you'll know exactly who I mean when I say that he's the "Yelling Guy"... (from Rob) |
| Lucinda Williams |
|
| Lone Justice |
|
| Billy Bragg & Wilco |
|
| Jeremy Enigk |
|
| Kristin Hersh |
|
| Tanya Donelly |
|
| Elliot Smith |
|
| Kim Virant |
|
| Woody Guthrie |
|
| Johnny Cash |
|
| Jimmy Dean |
|
| Five Gears in Reverse | (look for song: Dakota) |
| Beth Orton |
|
| Luka Bloom |
|
| Nick Drake |
|
| Ella Fitzgerald |
Find it here: Verve Interactive |
| Paolo Conte | (who, if you're curious as to what he's like, sounds like Leonard Cohen's Italian cousin.) |
| Adventures in Stereo |
|
| Fruitloop |
Solid debut full-length of downtempo trip hop, electrofunk and some dancehall from this London duo |
| Underworld |
|
| The Grid |
|
| Buddy Miller |
Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris back Buddy Miller, an unheralded singer-songwriter establishing a graceful link between country and soul. |
| Heather Duby |
|
| Sweet Honey in the Rock |
|
| Various |
|
| Grandaddy |
they are so much fun live! oooooooooooo! mmhmmhhmh...something between ..i dont know...some people compare them to pixies, but i really have to try hard to find the similarity, but then i loose the feeling of their music...like some Flaming Lips, but with much less buzzzzzing and much more simple keyboard sounds...which sounds sooooo funnnyy in the concert, seeing them having fun playing! on the cd it sounds then more...a bit of sad, beautiful..longing..oh yeah.... (From Mario) |
| Nancy Sinatra |
|
| Kim Richey |
...something like a Nashville version of Sarah McLachlan. It's an interesting gamble from one of Nashville's strongest songwriters. (From Greg) |
| Lungfish |
|
| Juno |
|
| Alejandro Escovedo |
|
| Ryan Adams |
|
| Zap Mama |
|
| Scott Weiland |
|
| Rufus Wainwright |
|
| Amber Sunshower |
|
| Nicolai Dunger |
|
| The Mary Janes |
|
| The Innocence Mission |
|
| The Eels |
|
| Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart |
|
| Jah Wobble and Bill Laswell |
|
| King Loser |
|
| Tim Carroll |
|
| The Beta Band |
|
| Sparklehorse |
|