Go Be a Railbird
For those of us that follow horse racing, few Web sites are more important than Jessica Chapel’s Railbird V2. A relaunch of the ever-popular Railbird, which ran from 2004–2008, V2 features commentary on journalism, digital media, and naturally, horse racing. With a chunk of bloodhorse experience, both in print and in the shedrow, Chapel has a keen eye for what’s relevant, topical and worth noticing. Whereas some blogs can become so heavily niched or compartmentalized, Railbird manages to cover a wide swath of stuff without being alienating or disjointed.
Perhaps what’s most engaging is that she has enough on the site, via archives and the like, that could draw the casual horse racing fan in and then keep them glued.
As Paul Moran continues to pound away at a book and focus his attention elsewhere, Railbird V2 has become a daily ritual for both myself and other horse racing fans across the country. Highly recommended.
Pet-Friendly iPhone App Launches
Pet-owners are in for a treat as the animal-friendly firm Pet Acoustics has launched its own iPhone app and corresponding CDs in an effort to cater to the hearing sensitivities of dogs, cats and horses. Having been featured on CNN, Animal Planet and The Martha Stewart Show, the iPhone app aims to reduce stress, aggression and anxiety caused by pets and their reaction to sound. PetAcoustics app users note that the music has been helpful putting pets at ease during thunderstorms, training and vet visits. PetAcosutics works with the iPhone and iPod touch and is also available at iTunes.
The Top 10 Most Romantic Homes
In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Web site Top 10 Real Estate Deals has released America’s Top 10 Romantic Homes. Included in this list are a Smoky Mountain Tennessee home, a historical Upper East Side Manhattan home, a celebrity penthouse in Dallas, a Boston home visited by the poet Longfellow and a palatial estate overlooking San Francisco Bay. To take a peek, head on over to the Top Ten Most Romantic Homes. And for all those snowbirds and Winter Olympics aficionados, check out the Top Ten Most Spectacular Ski Homes.
In Praise of The Album Leaf’s A Chorus of Storytellers
If anyone has heard a better instrumental album released in the last two years, that is stronger than the new disc A Chorus of Storytellers by The Album Leaf, please let me know. Aside from being hypnotic, hopeful and uplifting, it’s transcendent, timeless and incredibly captivating. We’re not even through February and already the top-notch albums are piling up: Vampire Weekend’s Contra, Beach House’s Teen Dream and now this. Hot damn. 2010 is off to a blazing start.
Lady Antebellum Soars To the Top of the Charts
Spurred by their live performance at the Grammys, Lady Antebellum’s solacing ballad “Need You Now,” is the most downloaded song on iTunes. For those of us that follow country radio, this designation is a long time in the making. Having released the song to country charts in August, the track has enjoyed enormous success at various country formats. Now, the rest of the country is gravitating towards it as well. That makes for a pretty cool moment in popular music when the number one song is from a country outfit (we’re not including Taylor Swift in this example because she crossed over at least a year ago), even though not a single second in the song has any trappings of the traditional country sound. Still a good thing, nonetheless, and to be quite frank, not something that wasn’t unexpected. The last few months have found country music insiders chattering about the band’s ability to cross-over, not unlike multi-Grammy winner Swift. Sure enough, it happened. Mass kudos to this hard-working trio,
Patty Griffin’s Downtown Church
Thanks to the ever-amazing Spinner for profiling Patty Griffin’s new album Downtown Church this week. At this point in her career, she has yet to disappoint and seems to only get better with each release. One would certainly think this disc would follow a similar trajectory, but as of now that remains to be seen.
Playing off of the title, this disc is very much a Southern-gospel, soul-influenced effort. There’s a good chunk of scrappy singalongs and bare-bones, guttural tour-de-forces. But that middle layer of so-so songs is the part of the disc that still leaves a bit to be desired. As with most albums, it should probably only take a few repeated listens before the romance begins again, but as of now, not so sure this is worth all the advance praise. Sure having Buddy and Julie Miller, Emmylou Harris and Shawn Colvin sing on the record is a positive, and certainly she deserves kudos for chasing down a different vibe, but none of that seems to make Downtown Church any more potent.
Then again, this is the same writer that trashed Train’s Save Me San Francisco and the band is sitting at #4 on the iTunes Top 20 with “Hey Soul Sister.” So what the hell do I know?
Eleven Questions With Folksinger Mark Erelli
Those that read this blog certainly know of my profound appreciation and respect for Mark Erelli. Few, if any, singer-songwriters currently making music, inspire me more than him. There’s a transcendence and a timelessness about his craft. Whether its his unmistakable voice, his ruminative lyrics or his deft musicianship, not many are higher on the proverbial music totem pole. Having released more than a half-dozen critically acclaimed albums in just over a decade’s time, Erelli is once again readying the release of another disc. He took time out of a busy schedule to sit down and answer a few questions. Head to the jump to read his replies. Read more…
Franz Ferdinand Scolded By Record Label CEO
Apparently, Franz Ferdinand is upset that their song was featured in a McDonald’s commercial. The CEO of California’s Authentik Artists, sounded off at the band in his blog.
Is he being cruel? Fair? Thoughts or replies in the comment section, please.
Great Band Name, Not The Greatest Sound
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on AbsolutePunk.net.
The cult of the jam band knows no limits. Any casual music fan is well aware of the throngs of fans that pack venues to see bands like Phish, Umphrey’s McGee and the Dave Matthews Band. In Washington, D.C., vocalist Phil Kominski has fashioned the Lloyd Dobler Effect, a jam-band-of-sorts with a decided melodic flair. Though the band spins more towards college frat-rock than that of LSD-induced psychedelia, the hallmarks of the jam band sound are still very much felt on the band’s latest CD A Mute Reminder. Like most jam bands, they pride themselves on their live set, having received various accolades from a myriad of D.C. publications for their inspired concerts. Moreover, the group has toured in 13 countries and almost all 50 states, which these days isn’t so easily achieved.
A Mute Reminder begins with arguably the group’s most impressive effort to date, a propulsive and anthemic cut dubbed. “The Past.” With Kominski’s striking vocals and a playful guitar line, “The Past,” is a cheery ode to foresight that would certainly serve well at college radio. While “The Past,” is a high-flying way to start an album it is also the disc’s main drawback. Try as the band might, the next 13 songs aren’t anywhere near as strong as the jet-powered kick of the opener. First single “Meet Me In London,” has a decided punch and a rhythmic quality that’s worth holding into, but in terms of potency, it does seem to fall a bit short. Of the album’s first half only “Radio,” and “Release Me,” are worth setting aside. While the disc does warm up in the latter half, the only tracks worth coming back to are “Empty Reach” and “Fingertips”
The band’s biggest downfall may be that it leans too heavily on the vocal muscle of Kominski, who has both strong lungs and decent range. But his vocals aren’t impressive enough to vault the disc into another stratosphere. That very problem is why A Mute Reminder is so disappointing. Five or six buzzworthy songs is certainly respectable, but seven or eight cuts of filler is laughable. In an age when dollar downloads and singles are the choice du jour, having an album of this many misses is not going to do much to vault this band out of the D.C. live circuit.
Though they’ve rest their hats on their live show and draw heavy on the talents of percussionist Rusty Williams, his skills aren’t deeply felt anywhere on this outing. Instead of an album of intoxicating guitar-rock, A Mute Reminder is just a ho-hum effort of college frat-rock. Eight years into their careers, Kominski and his cohorts are far better than this. Let’s hope their next effort proves exactly that. As it stands now, Lloyd Dobler Effect are in a bit of a mess.
I Think You’re a Contra
This is just a reminder to go out and buy Vampire Weekend’s album Contra. Truly a terrific album. Topped the Billboard charts this week, if that says something. Definitely think they’re at the apex of indie-rock right now. With all their quirkiness, intricacies and left-of-center ideas, they still manage to write gorgeous pop songs.
