Springsteen: It Takes Two

Two hearts are better than one; Two hearts get the job done; Two hearts are better than one... (Bruce Springsteen - Two Hearts)

Bruce Springsteen has played with many other artists over the years. He has played the likes of Roy Orbison, Gary U.S. Bonds, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Moore, artists that certainly influenced him. He has played with his contemporaries like Jackson Browne, John Mellencamp, R.E.M., U2, John Fogerty, to name a few. He has also shows up on occasion with the next generation of artists including Jessie Malin and most recently The Gaslight Anthem.

Some of these collaborations turn into recordings. It seems like the frequency of this has increased as of recent years. Bruce sings on a new track from Alejandro Escovedo's excellent new record Street Songs of Love and on the song Faith.

Here is a partial listing of some recent tracks that Bruce has appeared on:

• Alejandro Escovedo – Faith (2010)
• Rosanne Cash – Sea of Heartbreak (2009)
• John Fogerty - When Will I Be Loved (2009)
• Alejandro Escovedo - Always a Friend (2008)*
• RogerMcGuinn - Turn! Turn! Turn! (2008)*
• Tom Morello - The Ghost of Tom Joad (2008)*
• Jessie Malin – Broken Radio (2007)
• Jerry Lee Lewis – Pink Cadillac (2006)
• Warren Zevon - Disorder in the House (2003)
• Warren Zevon - Prison Grove (2003)
• Emmylou Harris – One Big Love (2000)
• John Prine – Take a Look at My Heart (1991)

*Live Recordings from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's ep Magic Tour Highlights

A complete list can be found on Matt's Bruce Springsteen Discography

Here are a few videos that feature some of these songs:

Disco Strikes Back

But when all is said and done I know you are still the one, You're the only one... (The Black Keys - The Only One)

I lived through the disco era and frankly I wasn't a fan of the polyester suit, the flashing strobes or the off-beat bass line. However I can admit now that there was a few good songs that came out of that peroid (not many). So here we are in 2010 and this is the 3rd year in a row that song with a Disco feel has caught my ear.
In 2008 it was My Morning Jacket's Touch Me I'm Going To Scream part II;



...last year it was U2's Magnificent.



...and now this year The Black Keys The Only One.



This song reminds me of George McCrae's 70 disco hit Rock Your Baby.

New York, New York

Livin’ in a city that never sleeps, My heart keepin’ time to a thousand beats;
Singin’ in languages I don’t speak, Livin’ in a city of immigrants... (Steve Earle - City of Immigrants)

I just got home from visiting New York, New York (what an amazing place). I got to see all the major sites; The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, The Museum of Natural History, 2 Broadway shows, Central Park, etc...

In Central Park I walked through Strawberry Fields, the area dedicated to John Lennon. According to the Central Park web page, the area was a favorite of John and Yoko who just lived across the street in Dakota Building. This area is now designated as a quiet place in John's memory.


Another place I saw that has Beatles history was the Ed Sullivan Theater. Of course now it is the home to The Late Show with David Letterman, but in February 1964 this was the site of rock and roll history.


Here are a few of my favorite artists paying homage to the city of New York.

Summer 2010

The theme of this party's the industrial age and you came in dressed like a train wreck... (The Hold Steady - The Weekenders)

I love summertime and summer music. There's just something about listening to music with the window down or the top open rolling down the road. There's some good music out there right now and here is what I'm currently listening to this summer of 2010.

The Hold Steady - Heaven Whenever

The cover of The Hold Steady's 2008 cd Stay Positive was an old looking photo of a drive-in movie theater, an apt cover. Listening to a Hold Steady song is like watching an old grainy movie; Craig Finn's singing is like a narration of a film. The Hold Steady sound is 2 parts Wild & Innocent/Born to Run era E Street Band, 1 part Elvis Costello with a dash of punk attitude.

However, the sound on their latest cd Heaven is Whenever is a bit of a departure. They no longer have the sweeping keyboard sound from Franz Nicolay who departed from the band earlier in the year. The new sound takes them further away from the old E Street Band sound and closer to a guitar dominated sound. The opening song is the fine The Sweet Part of the City, a tale of earlier days of the singer; On The Weekenders the band really hit their stride in the chorus with their great background vocals; the song seems to be about a bad event that kind of ruined a friendship; other winner includes Hurricane J and Our Whole Lives. Heaven is Whenever is solid, but not quite at the level of either 2006's Boys and Girls in America or 2008's Stay Positive.

The Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

The Band of Horses harmony vocal give the Horses their unique sound. They have been building momentum with their first 2 releases 2006's Everything All the Time and 2007's Cease to Begin and with great songs like The Funeral and Is There a Ghost. Now in full gallop the Horses release their major label release on Columbia records Infinite Arms. Their sound is basically the same, but songs are more consistent and even.

The cd begins Factory a song that would sound at ease on the radio, with is classical string arrangement and estranged love story lyrics; Compliments immediately changes the direction with a fast pace rocker; others like NW Apt reminds me a bit of Kings of Leon's Taper Jean Girl; the upbeat Dilly and the country tinged Older have really tight harmonies. Infinite Arms should be on your playlist.

The Black Keys - Brothers

The Black Keys are a blues rock duo from Akron, OH who have been around on the Indie circuit for about 10 years. Their latest release is Brothers a terrific blend of blues, rhythm, old and new school rock.

Brothers opens with Everlasting Life a song that finds it's groove immediately; two terrific songs Next Girl and Tighten Up follow; The Only One is a great tune that strangely brings George McCrae's Rock Your Baby to mind; Sinister Kid is another solid song. Brothers is solid throughout and maybe the cd of the summer.

Happy 4th of July!

Sandy the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight, Forcin' a light into all those stoned-out faces left stranded on this warm July... (Bruce Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy))

Happy 4th of July everyone. America is a great country and freedom is an awesome thing. Our music often reflects the mood of the people:

Music as a celebration: Ray Charles - God Bless America; Bruce Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy); Woody Guthrie - This Land is Your Land; Charlie Daniels Band - In America, Chicago - Saturday in the Park; Johnny Cash - Ragged Old Flag; what would a list like this be without The Beach Boys - Surfin' USA

Music as protest: Bob Dylan - With God On Our Side, Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A., John Mellencamp - Face of the Nation; John Mellencamp - Justice and Independence; I could also include Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land here also, because at it's very heart it is a protest song.

Another great Bruce Springsteen song I like to revisit on this day is Indepence Day; a song about a son becoming independent from his parents.

A Flood of New Music

Heaven is whenever we can get together; sit down on your floor, and listen to your records...(The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever)

Early this year I was disappointed in the lack of new interesting music and I wrote about it in 2010: What's In Store. Then a few cds began to trickle out, like the terrific Broken Bells debut. Now the trickle has became a flood. Here is a list of new releases and future new releases:

• The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
• The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
• The New Pornographers - Together
• Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
• The Sadies - Darker Circles
• John Prine - In Person & Onstage (Tuesday, May 25)
• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Mojo (June 15)
• John Mellencamp - On the Rural Route 7609 (Box Set) (June 15)
• The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang (June 15)
• Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine (June 22)
• Alejandro Escovedo - Street Songs of Love (June 29)
• Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust (August 3)

In addition to these, U2's Songs of Ascent and the Darkness on the Edge of Town box set from Bruce Springsteen are expected some time this year. 2010 is shaping up after all.

Broken Bells: One of the Best This Year

Use your intuition, it's all you've got... (Broken Bells - The Malls and Misery)

My favorite cd of the year so far is Broken Bells by Broken Bells. The question is who the heck are the Broken Bells. James Mercer of The Shins and musician/producer Dangerous Mouse met in 2004 at a Danish music festival and being fans of each others works decided to record together. In 2008 they finally got together in the studio and started recording as the Broken Bells. The result is a great blend of The Shins quirky melodies and lyrics with the experimental/hip-hop (trip-hop) of Dangerous Mouse previous works.



The cd opens with The High Road which starts with electronic swirling keyboards and then a hip-hop drum beat and when the singing starts it immediately evokes The Shins. Vaporize is powered by a driving organ, tight brushed drumming and very melodic bass; The Ghost Inside echoes the sound of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy (Gnarls Barkley was the name the band that Dangerous Mouse and Cee-Lo recorded under; Crazy was one of the best singles of 2006); The Mall and Misery is another winner that begins slow with a acoustic instruments and then breaks into an alluring tune with a great guitar sound.

Broken Bells is a solid recording with no low spots. The music is hypnotic and captivating.

The Jayhawks: Big Star

I'm gonna be a big star someday... (The Jayhawks - Big Star)

Don't feel too bad. I sort of missed it too. The Jayhawks were a tremendous band, but never really made the impact that they should have. I didn't get on board until 2000 with the release of Smile, but with last years Music From the North Country - The Jayhawks Anthology release I have been revisiting this terrific band.


Here's a quick summary about the band. The Jayhawks formed in Minneapolis, MN in the mid-80's. The band consisted of Gary Louris (guitar & vocals), Mark Olson (guitar & vocals), Mark Perlman (bass & vocals) and Norm Rogers (drums). The Jayhawks music was sort of an off-shoot of the Flying Burrito Brothers/Byrds; kind of country rock, but a better description would be roots rock. Their early sound was marked by the fine harmony singing of Louris and Olson.

After a couple of small label recordings the Jayhawks signed with Def American. Their major label debut was 1992's Hollywood Town Hall which featured the song Waiting For the Sun. The song got quite a bit airplay and the video was in MTV's rotation. Then in 1995, the band released Tomorrow the Green Grass, which included their classic songs Blue and I'd Run Away. Another prominent song, Miss Williams Guitar; a song about singer/songwriter Victoria Williams. By the end of the year, Mark Olson left the band so that he could spend time and record with his future wife, Victoria Williams.



With the dynamic of the band changed,Gary Louris and company continued onward. The band now included Karen Grothberg (on piano and vocals), Tim O'Reagan (drums), Kraig Johnson (guitar) along with Louris and Perlman. The bands next release 1997's Sound of Lies, a great straight ahead under-rated rock album. In 2000 the Jayhawks went in a slight new direction with the Bob Ezrin produced popier Smile. The album featured new sounds for the Jayhawks, including synthesizers, drum loops, but enough harmony singing to make Brian Wilson smile. A New York Times critic said it best with the question "What If You Made a Classic and No One Cared? If the band didn't make their big breakout after this one, it may not happen.

The Jayhawks released their final album to-date in 2004, the excellent Rainy Day Music, a more acoustic/folky style. The album really showcased the writing and singing tallents of Gary Louris.


In a perfect world, the Jayhawks would have became the big stars that sang about in 1997.

We Want Monkeys!

My propeller won't spin and I can't get it started on my own... (Arctic Monkeys - My Propeller)

My computer has been sick and I am a bit behind blogging. I think I found a cure; there's an amazing amount of information (and misinformation) on the world wide web.

Well to catch up, last weekend I (along with my beautiful daughter) ventured to Covington, KY, just across the river from Cincinnati, OH to see the English band Arctic Monkeys. The concert site was The Madison Theater, a small theater with no seats except in the balcony. We made our way to the front row in the balcony.

A band from San Francisco called Sleepy Sun opened the show. Their sound was sort of 2 parts Pink Floyd and 1 part Grateful Dead with a dash of Jefferson Airplane. Sleepy Sun featured nice harmony singing from it's 2 main singers, a male and female.

The Arctic Monkeys took the stage around 9 or so with the familiar guitar sounds of Dance Little Liar. The Monkeys rolled through material from their three albums including Brianstorm, I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor and Potion Approaching. The crowd was appreciative, especially in the pit area where hands waved, fists pumped and crowd surfing started at every opportunity. My highlights were Crying Lightning and My Propeller from 2009's Humbug and Fluorescent Adolescent from 2007's My Worst Nightmare. At the end of the show at around 11 the crowd was left chanting WE WANT MONKEYS! All in all an excellent show.

Prine Time

Radio's on, windows rolled up and my mind's rolled down... (John Prine - Long Monday)

I got some exciting John Prine news today. First of all John is releasing a new live cd in May called In Person & On Stage! This will be John's third live cd, including 1988's John Prine Live and 1997's Live On Tour. The new disc includes some live tunes from John's last original cd 2005's Fair and Square and some exciting duets, including the hilarious In Spite of Ourself with Iris Dement and Angel From Montgomery with Emmylou Harris. To wet your appetite the song She is My Everything can be downloaded from here.

If that is not enought to satisfy your John Prine needs, Oh Boy Records is also releasing a John Prine tribute cd on June 22 entitled Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine. The contributing artists include Old Crow Medicine Show, Drive-By Truckers, Justin Townes Earle, Conor Oberst, My Morning Jacket & The Avett Brothers, among others.