Odetta, the classically trained folk, blues and gospel singer who used her powerfully rich and dusky voice to champion African American music and civil rights issues for more than half a century starting in the folk revival of the 1950s, has died. She was 77.

She was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City for a checkup in mid-November but went into kidney failure. She died there Tuesday of heart disease, her manager, Doug Yeager, told the Associated Press.

With a repertoire that included 19th century slave songs and spirituals as well as the topical ballads of such 20th century folk icons as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, Odetta became one of the most beloved figures in folk music.

She was said to have influenced the emergence of artists as varied as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Janis Joplin and Tracy Chapman.

"The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta," Dylan once said. [Los Angeles Times]

Continue reading "Odetta, RIP"

KCRW's Sounds Eclectic: The Next One collects in-studio performances from the station's Morning Becomes Eclectic program, and offers a diverse range of artists (from Oliver Future to the Shins). Co-produced by Morning Becomes Eclectic host Nic Harcourt (one of the inspirations behind Largehearted Boy), the disc serves as a fundraiser for the station. I cannot recommend KCRW's Sounds Eclectic: The Next One enough, it is quality music that supports a great cause. The compilation's track list:

1. 'Falling Slowly' - The Swell Season
2. 'Heart it Races' - Architecture in Helsinki
3. 'Australia' - The Shins
4. 'Until You Leave' - Stoney
5. 'You're A Wolf' - Sea Wolf
6. 'Home' - Great Northern
7. 'I Summon You' - Spoon
8. 'Fruit Machine' - Ting Tings
9. 'What's a Girl to Do' - Bat for Lashes
10. 'Stranger Than the Stranger' - Oliver Future
11. 'Time Bomb' - Goldspot
12. 'Life is Still Beautiful' - The Orange Lights

I haven't heard Southside Johny & La Bamba's Big Band's, Grapefruit Moon: The Songs Of Tom Waits, but it looks like one of the year's most promising covers albums.

The highlight of the week's remasters are five Radiohead import limited edition vinyl reissues: Amnesiac, The Bends, Hail to the Thief, OK Computer, and Pablo Honey.

Dean & Britta's L'Avventura is also reissued this week with bonus tracks.

What new music releases can you recommend this week?

Continue reading "Largehearted Boy's Interesting CD Releases This Week"

Cake @ Terminal 5, NYC - Dec 12, 2007 (CRED)

GO Magazine 5th Anniversary @ Webster Hall, NYC - Dec 6, 2007 (CRED)

* RIP Ike Turner
* Kevin Nealon is playing Caroline's
* Those two things are strangely related
* GZA performs Liquid Swords @ Knitting Factory
* after We are Wolves & Foreign Islands finish their show
* White Rabbits & The Harlem Shakes are playing Bowery Ballroom
& Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s, Le Loup & The King Left are @ Mercury
* Cake, Brazilian Girls, and Oakley Hall are at Terminal 5
* Santogold & White Williams are playing a free show at Music Hall of W
& Phosphorescent is playing a free show at Sound Fix Records
* Muggabears & Bear Hands are playing Galapagos
* dan le sac VS scroobius pip are at Supreme Trading
* The Most Serene Republic is playing Southpaw
& The Onion is having a party at Union Hall
* Neil Young is at United Palace Theater
* Loudon Wainwright, Odetta, Suzanne Vega & others @ the concert Hall
* An Oxfam benefit w/ Wynn Walent, Phohograph & others @ Rockwood
* Ulrich Schnauss is playing Europa

THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY OPTIONS TONIGHT.

Do you want to see Ulrich Schnauss for free? I have three pairs of tickets to give away to the first three people who email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Urlrich) right now. Include your first and last name for guestlist. What else?

Broken Social Scene @ Webster Hall, NYC - Nov 14, 2007 (CRED) (more info)

Japanther (in 3-D) @ PS 122, NYC - Nov 15, 2007 (Rebecca Smeyne)

Bike Kill V, Brooklyn, NY - Oct 28, 2007 (Tod Seelie)

* Comedy
* vote in the plug awards
* Mike Doughty is playing Joe's Pub
* Marissa Nadler is playing the Whitney
* OM and Grails are at Knitting Factory
* Uncle Monk (Tommy Ramone) is at KF too
* Ghostface, Rakim & Brother Ali are playing Nokia
* Spirituzlized & Simple Kid are playing the Apollo
* Japanther Dinosaur Death Dance Show @ PS 122
* The Polyphonic Spree & Rooney are at Terminal 5
* Travis Morrison & Takka Takka are at Union Hall
* Electric Six & The Willowz are playing Bowery Ballroom
* VHS or Beta, Moving Units & Soft are @ Gramercy Theatre
* Odetta, Haale, monks, and many others in a Cathedral Church
* Yo La Tengo and Metal Mountains (PG 6 & Helen Rush) are at Music Hall
* Tift Merritt & The Rosewood Thieves are @ Housing Works
* "Spice Girls wow Victoria's Secret fashion show"
* Will.i.am subbed in for a grieving Kanye West
* 'Drunken' Winehouse heckled off stage at shambolic concert
* Have you seen our nifty new NYC Venue map yet?

I saw the Willy Wonka-esque movie poster for "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" in front of a movie theater last night, and got excited for a second. Then I read today that it "is really, really bad". Oh well. What else?

DOWNLOAD: King Wilkie - Brokedown and Lonesome (MP3)

* Odetta is playing BB King's
* Eartha Kitt is @ Cafe Carlyle
* Corn Mo is at Parkside Lounge
* King Wilkie is playing at Joe's Pub
* Joe's Pub in the Park kicks off w/ Jill Sobule, Lesley Gore & The New Standards
* Kings of Leon, BRMC & Manchester Orchestra are playing Radio City
* Black Lips are playing Sound Fix & Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Nick Lowe, Holmes Brothers & Ollabelle are at 7 WTC
* Secret Machines continue their residency at the Annex
* IUD release party w/ Growing & Blues Control @ Glasslands

What else?

"Rock 'n' roll legend Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at a tribute event held in his honour in New York last night (April 5)." [Yahoo]

And as Idolator points out, this video clip isn't the best quality, but worth watching especially to see (and hear) Craig Finn from the Hold Steady on stage with Bruce:

Set list from the show below...

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen showed up at Carnegie Hall - video w/ Craig Finn & The Hold Steady"

the new issue of Paste

NYU students are lucky - they'll get to see The Hold Steady & The Thermals together on April 26th. The Hold Steady are also now confirmed for an appearance (one Bruce Springsteen song) at Carnegie Hall on April 5th.

The Music of Bruce Springsteen
April 5th, 2007 - Carnegie Hall
A Benefit for Music for Youth

Twenty artists celebrate one of our most influential and dynamic songwriters - all for a great cause.

Jewel • Steve Earle • M. Ward • Pete Yorn • The Hold Steady • Jersey Guys w/ Bobby Valli • Odetta • Jesse Malin & Ronnie Spector • North Mississippi All Stars • Marah • Holmes Brothers w/ Young People's Chorus • Badly Drawn Boy • Joseph Arthur • Bacon Brothers • Juliana Hatfield • Josh Ritter • Elysian Fields • Low Stars • Uri Caine • Robin Holcomb

Tickets available from Carnegie Hall

THE HOLD STEADY announces the April 17th release of Live at Fingerprints, a collection of 5 acoustic tracks the band recorded last October at an exclusive in-store appearance at Fingerprints independent record store in Long Beach, CA. The EP will be priced at $4.98 and is a very limited release - when it’s gone, it’s gone. For a list of all independent record stores (listed by state) that will be carrying the Live At Fingerprints EP, visit: http://www.thinkindie.com

Continue reading "Hold Steady (& Thermals) Tour Dates - NYU, Carnegie & ?"

Odetta is playing Tribeca Performing Arts Center on April 14th & 15th. (click dates for tickets). All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Odetta playing Tribeca & touring"

You might remember Odetta from the Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home. Her song "The Waterboy" even appears on the soundtrack. in 2000, a remastered version of her cover album, "Odetta sings Dylan" was released on CD. For more Odetta, try "The Essential Odetta".

Her bio describes her as "one of the most important and influential artists of the last century, Odetta was the first solo woman performer to tour the world singing blues, jazz and protest songs while telling the stories of America’s southern experience." Wednesday at 12:30 PM at Winter Garden at the World Financial Center, she'll be singing "selections of folk songs and African-American spirituals celebrating the holiday season from her new album, Gonna Let It Shine, A Concert For The Holidays." It's free.