On Songs & Albums

A collection of 75 posts

On Songs & Albums

20 Years Ago, U2 Moved in New and Mysterious Ways

It was 20 years ago this weekend that U2's Achtung Baby landed in music stores like something from another planet. I was assigned to listen to the album and turn in a music review the next day to The Falcon, the student newspaper at Seattle Pacific University. So

On Songs & Albums

2012 Will Bring a Pretty Time Bomb

A nostalgic sort of dream of being a pop star in the ‘60s and early ‘70s. It’s a sweet kind of album and I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know what compelled me to make it. It’s probably a bad idea, but everytime

On Songs & Albums

Wait, what? A new Leigh Nash album?

While patient fans of Sixpence None the Richer keep checking to see if the band's new album has a release date, lo... an almost-Christmas miracle! Leigh Nash has a new record: Hymns and Songs. It came out today, and I only learned about its existence last night. So,

On Songs & Albums

Over the Rhine, The Long Surrender: Track 2, "The Sharpest Blade"

Here is the second part in my review of Over the Rhine's The Long Surrender. (Part One, "The Laugh of Recognition," is here.) Thanks for your patience. I told you I was going to take my time and do this right. Here goes... • Track Two, "

On Songs & Albums

Over the Rhine, The Long Surrender: Track 1, "The Laugh of Recognition"

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to post thoughts on Over the Rhine’s The Long Surrender... my favorite album of 2010… and 2011 (so far). The band's website calls The Long Surrender a 2011 release, but since almost all of their fans had the album

On Songs & Albums

Leonard Cohen's secret

There is a new Leonard Cohen album coming in January. But even if there wasn't, this video would be enough to hold me for a while...

On Songs & Albums

Reverie - The New Joe Henry Album

NPR First Listen is streaming one of my favorite 2011 records. And... My review of it is up at SPU's Response.

On Songs & Albums

Andy Gullahorn and Jill Phillips: Look Them Up

I'm really digging Andy Gullahorn's thoughtful, amusing, often surprising way with lyrics. I met him and his wife Jill Phillips, who has a bright and beautiful voice, this weekend at the Laity Lodge Writer's Retreat. Here are a couple of examples: And as if

On Songs & Albums

When it comes to rock and roll, there are no "good old days."

Today's must-read: Andy Whitman tells us to shut up about how music used to be great. He writes: What I don’t understand is why so few people continue to seek out new music past the tender age of, oh, say twenty five. ... Why would you ever give

On Songs & Albums

U2 GQ

U2 are GQ's Men of the Year. I noted this in an earlier post, but now... ...you can peruse the full article here.

Interviews

Over the Rhine will orchestrate the sunset in Seattle on Monday

To celebrate Over the Rhine's upcoming outdoor concert at Bumbershoot in Seattle (It's supposed to be an 80-degree day!), I've brought back three different conversations I've had with Linford Detweiler over the last 11 years. These interviews have been offline for a

On Songs & Albums

A Good Week for Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips'ss Long Play experiment was one of the most rewarding experiences of 2010 for me. Phillips provided so much creative, inspiring music that I hardly had time to learn the lyrics of one album before another one arrived. The music she recorded in 2010 is still surprising

On Songs & Albums

Return to The Suburbs: Two New Arcade Fire Songs!

Thanks to the folks of ListenBeforeYouBuy.net, we can listen to two new songs from the upcoming deluxe edition of Arcade Fire's Grammy-winning album The Suburbs. (I still can't believe I can say that: Arcade Fire's Grammy-winning album!) Elsewhere, my friend Stephen Lamb says:

Interviews

My Conversation with Sam Phillips: An IMAGE Interview

For a limited time, my interview with Sam Phillips from IMAGE's 20th Anniversary Issue is available online. That should whet your appetite for Phillips's upcoming visit to Seattle to accept the Denise Levertov award, where she will perform a short set of songs, and then answer

On Songs & Albums

The Return of Gillian Welch

Josh Jackson at Paste just posted some news that made me shout out loud. He said: Listening to an advance of the upcoming Gillian Welch album. Yes, it's coming and all will be right with the world again. It's been a long, long wait. But I&

On Songs & Albums

Paul Simon's Aim is True (According to Costello)

When Elvis Costello loves your album, well, what higher praise could you want? Paul Simon doesn't really need high praise from great songwriters anymore. And I've been hearing raves about his new album So Beautiful or So What for a while now. But my eagerness to

On Songs & Albums

IAM Encounter 11 Discovery #2: Rosebud Incarnation

What you're about to see is pretty incredible. First, watch some of this. It may be familiar to you: A clip from the 1943 film Till the Clouds Roll By. Okay, now you're ready for the real fireworks. Check this out... Rosebud Incarnation from Slim Jim

On Songs & Albums

IAM Encounter 11 Discovery #1: The Johnny Cash Project

I saw two things on the big screen at IAM Encounter 11 in New York last week that I came home eager to share with you. Then I lost a whole week due to illness, and that isn't over yet. So I'm tired of waiting until

On Songs & Albums

Andy Whitman Interviews Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples' You Are Not Alone was far and away the finest gospel album I heard in 2010. Have you heard it yet? It's so full of joy, warmth, encouragement, and soul. My friend Andy Whitman was blessed with an opportunity to interview her, and he turned

On Songs & Albums

OTR on NPR

Over the Rhine is enjoying an excellent 2011 so far. Their fan-funded album The Long Surrender, my personal favorite from their entire 20-year catalog, is enjoying rave reviews all over the place. One of the highlights of their current success came last week, when they were interviewed on NPR'

On Songs & Albums

Overstreet's Favorite Recordings: 2010

1. Over the Rhine - The Long Surrender They've been my favorite band for several years, and I love all of the albums they've released in a 21-year career. But they get better every year, and this is, in my opinion, the finest album they'

On Songs & Albums

Happy Half-Century to Joe Henry!

In honor of a man who, as of today, has lived a half-century, here is a birthday song by They Might Be Giants. I've chosen this song for two reasons: * It's from an album called John Henry, who may have been a distant relation. * It'

On Songs & Albums

Eno Déjà Vu

As I discovered the cover art for Brian Eno's exciting new instrumental work Small Craft on a Milk Sea - which happens to sound like a sequel to his Passengers collaboration with U2 - I thought, Wow. That looks really familiar. Then I remembered this... Perhaps Eno'

On Songs & Albums

"Learning not to white-knuckle everything"

No Depression posts notes on the new Over the Rhine album: The Long Surrender The album’s title “speaks to our ongoing desire to let go of certain expectations — and much of what we are convinced we know for sure — in favor of remaining open and curious,” Bergquist explains. “It

On Songs & Albums

Sufjan Stevens on rock gods, Almighty God, and the scandal of Christ's love

It's amazing what Sufjan does with this interview. These questions tell you a lot about the interviewer's shoddy understanding of Christian faith. And yet Stevens responds with such patience, and such insightful, revealing answers that it's all worth reading. I'm already enthralled