Blog Archives

HEARTS AND FLOWERS

2/14/2012

1. Dear Sweetheart
2. I Pretend
3. Surprise Me
4. I'm An Actor, Baby
5. Baby Don't Go

I've no doubt others have followed her longer, but I've kept an ear out for Priscilla Ahn ever since I heard her sing "Silent Night" on the "Hotel Cafe" Christmas collection back in 2008. Priscilla has now teamed up with Charlie Wadhams and they've written a few love songs which they've recorded and released as a free download. Priscilla and Charlie sound great together, in that Indie Pop meets Americana vein, and the songs are truly terrific. "Dear Sweetheart" appears to be the plug track, but I fell in love with "Surprise Me". And Priscilla and Charlie close out the set with a cover of my favorite Sonny & Cher duet, "Baby Don't Go". If you love She & Him, I think you're going to love Sweet Hearts even more. Get it free here, then (as Priscilla says) "share it with your friends, loved ones, people you can't stand, people you don't know very well, your friend who's birthday you forgot, share it, burn it, rip it, blog it."

Trying hard not to be outdone by Alternate Root, NoiseTrade has a 25 song set of love songs that you can download free in exchange for "Liking" their Facebook page. This one dropped really recently, so I haven't had a chance to tip-toe through it's tulips just yet. But everyone should already recognize the names of Rosie Thomas, Matt Wertz, and Cary Brothers, if not more of these folks. Since NoiseTrade didn't post a playlist as such, I'm going to have to presume the artists and songs match up properly (they are properly tagged, though). And, again, a proper cover jpeg in the file would be nice. But there's some great stuff here, so grab "25 Love Songs" from NoiseTrade while you can.

1. Don't Forget - DAVID MEAD
2. Won't Let You Down Again - MATTHEW PERRYMAN JONES
3. Sugar - PAPER ROUTE
4. Over The Moon - ROSIE THOMAS
5. The Temptation of Adam - JOSH RITTER
6. Idaho - DOWN LIKE SILVER
7. Baby Shake-em - BROOKE WAGGONER
8. Ever Could - WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS
9. Song For Lovers - STEPHEN KELLOGG AND THE SIXERS
10. I Will Not Take My Love Away - MATT WERTZ
11. See It For Yourself - SUGAR & THE HI-LOWS
12. Safety - LEAGUES
13. All I Got - TYLER JAMES
14. Last Fool Standing - DEREK WEBB & SANDRA McCRACKEN
15. In My Veins - ANDREW BELLE
16. Hots Full Of Love - JOSH ROUSE AND THE LONG VACATIONS
17. Going Home - MARC BROUSSARD
18. As Long As Our Hearts Are Beating - JENNY & TYLER
19. Element - MATTHEW MAYFIELD
20. Can't Take My Eyes Off You - CARY BROTHERS
21. Beautifully - JAY BRANNAN
22. Lucky One - JESS PENNER
23. Lions And Dragons - ZACH WILLIAMS
24. Wings Of Desire - MARKETA IRGLOVA
25. Indiscriminate Acts Of Kindness - FOY VANCE

Speaking of NoiseTrade, Amy Ray (one half of the fabulous Indigo Girls) has a free sampler set available there. Amy's new album "Lung of Love" is due at the end of the month so this is her way of giving you a chance to catch up--by offering up some super selections from her back catalogue free of charge. Amy's solo work is more rock oriented than the music of the Indigo Girls, which makes it a tasty surprise for those of us who haven't been paying attention. This isn't a Valentine's Day oriented set, though I can certainly see how "Black Heart Today" (my favorite from the sampler) could work its way into a hearts and flowers mixtape, but hey...it's Amy Ray. Pick up "The Noisetrade Sampler" free at NoiseTrade.

The mystery band Oh, Hush! has become a reliable source of free music, including and especially their annual Christmas treats. For Valentine's Day, the band has recorded the all new Pop/Dance number "I Think I Can Love You". Hopefully, you can download the track here. If that doesn't work for you, you may have to sign on to the Oh, Hush! mailing list (which you should really do anyway, so that you can be notified immediately of all the band's music and plans) and you can do that here. And, if all else fails, you can check out the song on YouTube. So you got that going for you. Which is nice.

On a final note, it t'ain't free magee, but Paul McCartney's latest album, "Kisses On The Bottom", makes for excellent Valentine's Day listening. Paul's latest is largely a collection of standards intimately performed. As good as the standards are, Paul proves once again that he's a master composer as the two best tracks here are his originals, "Only Our Hearts" and "My Valentine". Fans who only want to rock and roll may want to steer clear, but romantics and lovers of love shouldn't hesitate to rush in where those others may fear to tread. You can get "Kisses On The Bottom" at Amazon and wherever fine albums are sold.

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

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ALTERNATE ROOT'S 2012 VALENTINE'S DAY SAMPLER

2/13/2012

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Alternate Root's 2012 Valentine's Day Sampler has finally made it's debut--greatly delayed by server problems which I'm sure frustrated AR as much as (if not more than) their readers. There are 36 tracks (over two hours worth), here, but only 35 functional ones (for whatever reason Joel Henderson's "One Kiss At A Time" will not play in any of my programs). The Sampler will only be available for download through this Sunday (2/19/12) according to Alternate Root, so don't sleep on it. I'd love a proper full-sized cover jpeg, but that's a nit-pik. It's ultimately about the music and the music is stunning. Starting off with Jackie DeShannon and an Americana rendition of "Put A Little Love In Your Heart".

I'd like to point you to the best of what's here, but it's really all pretty amazing. Like the retro roots rock of Mark Robinson, "I Like Em All". But, OK, on a quick first run through, I really dug Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion's "Target On Your Heart", D.L. Marble's "Not The One", and "Save Me For Later" from Suzie Vinnick. KK Miller's "Walk With Me" has a nice and bluesy 50's "slow dance at the prom" feel to it. "It's Worth Consideration" from Stuart Markus is gonna sound great on somebody's "mixtape for a girl I love". "Valentine's Day" from The Fallen Stars is very pretty and has the additional "virtue" of being holiday specific. "I Do" from Debra Lynne is a ready made wedding song. It's impossible not to like a song titled "Deep Fried Twinkie", brought to us here by Pure Grain. I'm not sure "The Universe Began" from Girls Guns Glory is supposed to be included--it's not on AR's playlist--but I was happy to find it in my downloaded folder and hope it'll be in yours (very pretty). And, when the voting was open (and when I could remember to vote), my votes went to "Inside Of Me" from Too Slim & The Taildraggers and The Boxcar Lilies' "Thinkin' Bout You", so I obviously liked those a whole lot. I would've voted for Jackie DeShannon, of course, but she had reserved seating at Cupid's table. Didn't narrow it down much, did I?

Go download "The Alternate Root 2012 Valentine's Day Sampler" at Alternate Root. Discover your own favorites. And don't forget to stop back here tomorrow as Stubby's will have some last minute hearts and flowers from the likes of Priscilla Ahn and Oh, Hush!.

1. JACKIE DeSHANNON - Put A Little Love In Your Heart
2. SARAH LEE GUTHRIE & JOHNNY IRION - Target On Your Heart
3. OMAR & THE HOWLERS - Girls Got Rhythm
4. ELLIS PAUL - Rose Tatoo
5. BLAME SALLY - Big Big Bed
6. D.L. MARBLE - Not The One
7. THE WILD RUMPUS - For Peanut
8. BRIAN ASHLEY JONES - A Song To Move Me
9. PEYTON TOCHTERMAN - Smile
10. ADAM EZRA GROUP - OK By You
11. MARK ROBINSON - I Like Em All
12. PURE GRAIN - Deep Fried Twinkie
13. JAMES LEE STANLEY - Let's Get Out Of Here
14. SUZIE VINNICK - Save Me For Later
15. MARK WAYNE GLASMIRE - I Like You
16. KK MILLER - Walk With Me
17. KIM KONDRASHOFF - Let The Madness Again
18. STUART MARKUS - It's Worth Consideration DOWNLOAD FREE AT ALTERNATE ROOT
19. TOO SLIM & THE TAILDRAGGERS - Inside Of Me
20. MARCI GELLER - Gotta Love That Man
21. JAMES MADDOCK - Beautiful Now
22. SCOTT WOLFSON & OTHER HEROES - Brooklyn Mermaids
23. CHRIS CASTLE - All Kinds Of Time
24. DAVID ALLEN SLATER - Who's Gonna Catch My Heart
25. THE BOXCAR LILIES - Thinkin' Bout You
26. LISA REDFORD - Carolina Rain
27. STEVE PERRY - Gum On Your Shoe
28. WIND ON THE WATER - Ten Thousand Suns
29. KATHY BOYD & PHOENIX RISING - Am I A Fool For You, Baby, Or What?
30. DEEANN DOMINY - Love A Good Love Song
31. THE FALLEN STARS - Valentine's Day
32. JT BURROUGHS - I Will
33. MARCIA HAYDEN HENDRICK - Lucky Girl
34. DEBRA LYNNE - I Do
35. JOEL HENDERSON - One Kiss At A Time
36. GIRLS GUNS GLORY - The Universe Began

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WHITNEY HOUSTON - DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?

2/11/2012

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Still worried about Mrs. Katz, so I'm still not in an obit writing mood. However, it can not go without mention that Whitney Houston has reportedly passed away at the incredibly young age of 48. Such an incredible talent who, like far too many, tragically fell prey to alcohol and substance abuse. Musically, Whitney was already considered beyond her prime when she released "One Wish (The Holiday Album)" in 2003. "Do You Hear What I Hear?", however, was recorded and released when Whitney was at her very peak in 1987 as part of the original "Very Special Christmas" album. This performance of the song comes from an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

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MORE VALENTINE'S DAY MUSIC

2/10/2012

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The Alternate Root Valentine's compilation was due several days ago and I've been holding off on posting anything else in anticipation because, as you know, the Alternate Root collections are some of the finest free collections around and this one was only going to be available for a very short time. But Alternate Root's server is down and shows no sign of being resurrected anytime soon. Frankly, if it were me, I think I'd just post it to their Facebook page in the interim, but I'm sure they have their reasons for not doing that.

So, anyway, I'm tired of waiting and time's a-wastin' so I figured we'd best feed the beast with a few interesting freebies I've found here and there (well, mostly there) that could be interesting additions to your Valentine's playlist. They're free, afterall, so they've at least earned an audition.

My personal favorite of this batch--for some reason--is "You Are The One" from hopeful Singapore Hip Hop artist Atoikio. Can't really learn too much more about him than that--his Facebook page is members only--but "You Are The One" has some nice lyrics and a mid-tempo Hip Hop sway that kind of reminds me of Biz Markie's "Just A Friend"...with a bit of a far Eastern accent. I just dig it and, as luck would have it, "You Are The One" appears on Atoikio's 2011 album "On My Own" (the song itself is from 2010), all of which is free. And "On My Own" also includes the song "Will You Be My Valentine" (which I didn't like as much...but, hey....free). So head to Bandcamp and pick the songs you like or just download the whole collection. It's an instant download, too. So you won't need your email address or nothin'. Parental Advisory on some of the tracks, but not on "You Are The One".

The Nearness of You (Cover) by JeanneMarieBoes

There's little question that most of the best songs for romance are still the standards--the classics. And you don't get too much more classic than Hoagy Carmichael. Hoagy's "The Nearness Of You" got a fresh and fetching cover last year from New York Indie chanteuse Jeanne Marie Boes. Jeanne Marie covers a lot of stylistic ground on her official releases "A Seasoned Heart" and "Promising Girl", but I think this type of song is her forte (for another example, check "If It's Goodbye" from "Promising Girl"--great stuff). You can download "The Nearness Of You" free using the Soundcloud thingee above or by visiting Jeanne Marie's Bandcamp page. And stay in touch via Facebook or Jeanne Marie's official website. (She's pretty too--not to be too sexist about it--great Valentine's Day lips. Just sayin'.). Hope she'll give us a Christmas song later this year.

Without the Alternate Root comp, you might be longing for some Americana, Alt Folk or Alt Country. We've got something to scratch that itch. Step in to the world of Austin's D.B. Rouse and lend an ear to "Valentine's Day At The Pawn Shop" (because where else you gonna go to celebrate Valentine's Day?). This one's new for 2012 and included on the free digital album "Meal-Ticket" (which is the name D.B.'s given his guitar). You'll find "Meal-Ticket" on Bandcamp (another instant download, by the way) and, much as I like "Valentine's Day At The Pawn Shop", you should definitely check out "Full Time Job". Trust me. Might as well download the even more recent "Ants On An Atlas", too. It's there for you to be had. Or, if you feel like actually buying some of D.B.'s music, there's a complete menu available at Amazon. Visit D.B. at home, when you get the chance, and remember to say Thank You for the music.

More to come (promise), but time to wrap up this set with something a bit different...a song that isn't free. But it's definitely worth it. And, if you have any interest at all in a Valentine's Day playlist or mixtape, it's awful hard to resist a song entitled "I Hate Valentines Day". Sarah Sommers' view on the Hallmark of Holidays should be instantly relatable--especially to the ladies--and should put a smile on the faces of both the ladies and the men. Great lyrics and an almost ska flavored pop rhythm make this song a bit like the old Rupert Holmes hit "Pina Colada Song" in that it's instantly fun and catchy. Unlike "Pina Colada", this one's unlikely to be played to death so it should retain its freshness for years and years. Check out the whole EP "XOXO" on Bandcamp, but we'll make checking out "I Hate Valentines Day" easy for you and just drop it here for your sampling pleasure.

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JULIAN HERTZ - LOST SONGS OF LOVE

2/5/2012

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Always nice to give some space to a young artist on the come. Especially cool when that artist is from a "distant land". Julian Hertz--all of about 24 years old--is from the Netherlands. Not too long ago, Julian was bitten hard by the love bug and the result of what seems to have been a wondrous, confusing, and ultimately ended life episode was a handful of songs which he released on Valentines Day 2010.

The best love songs are the love songs that come from real experience and Julian's "Lost Songs Of Love" EP is nothing if not real. Musically, Julian's a pretty straight forward Folk Pop artist. In perfect honesty, "In My Dreams" doesn't work for me at all, but I found the other four tracks to be very nice indeed--kinda beautiful in a Folk Pop awesomey kinda way. It's unlikely any of these songs is going to replace "My Funny Valentine" in the holiday canon, and, sure, Julian looks a bit goofy rocking the Russian trooper hat. But anyone who has ever experienced the simultaneous rush and insecurity of young love--and who hasn't--should be able to relate instantly.

"Lost Songs Of Love" is a "name your price" download through Bandcamp. And you can find out what Julian Hertz is up to these days via his web site and Facebook page. From time to time, you may find some tracks on SoundCloud, as well.

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GREEN RIVER ORDINANCE - HEART OF ME

2/3/2012

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Apologies for dropping off the face of the Earth for the last two weeks. Ordinarily, I would not have let the deaths of luminaries like Etta James, Johnny Otis, and Don Cornelius (to name but a few) pass without acknowledgement. And I still haven't gotten around to indexing our 2011 freebies yet (that's gonna be a bit of work at this late date). But I'm still keeping a watchful eye on Mrs. Katz (not her real name) who is still alive, thankfully, but hasn't been herself since Christmas. Even though we've made it through January, I'm still concerned.

Anyway, the Ground Hog saw his shadow--at least one of them did--and Valentine's Day is right around the corner.

We'll be bringing you some free music to try out that fits the heart theme over the next few weeks (even if, obviously, that's a lot more broad a category than your usual holiday). And we'll start today with the Texas Pop Rock band known as Green River Ordinance. The group has been compared a lot to Matchbox Twenty; I'm going more with the Sister Hazel comparisons, myself. GRO is into their second decade of existence and have tasted a bit of success with a few Top 40 singles under their belts (notably "Come On" and "On Your Own").

Their new single "Heart Of Me" arrives in advance of a new full-length due at the end of the month and just in time for Valentine's Day. Best of all, you can download the track free. And not just that track, but several other songs as well INCLUDING the two previously mentioned Top 40 hits. Get yer free GRO Sampler at NoiseTrade today. You can also pick up "Heart Of Me" (and two other songs) at the Green River Ordinance web site, if you already have the hits.

Oddly enough, Green River Ordinance released a digital Christmas EP in November that seems, somehow, to have missed mention in these pages--an oversight deserving of an apology. Hopefully, mentioning the holiday disc now will somewhat mitigate that oversight. "A Green River Ordinance Christmas" is available at Amazon MP3 and iTunes and all fine digital retail outlets.

1. Jingle Bell Rock
2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
3. Little Drummer Boy
4. Let It Snow
5. Silent Night
6. O Holy Night

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HEARTS AND FLOWERS

ALTERNATE ROOT'S 2012 VALENTINE'S DAY SAMPLER

WHITNEY HOUSTON - DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?

MORE VALENTINE'S DAY MUSIC

JULIAN HERTZ - LOST SONGS OF LOVE

GREEN RIVER ORDINANCE - HEART OF ME

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