Song of the Day

SXSW Song Of The Day: Cedric Burnside – Hard To Stay Cool

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Paul in Song of the Day, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

artist-28796
Photo Credit: Abraham Rowe

Cedric Burnside‘s latest album is entitled Benton County Relic, and while he’s been at this for awhile, it’s a pretty safe bet that Burnside himself is not the relic being referenced in the title. At 40, he’s far too young for that, but with eight albums under his belt and getting his start playing drums with his grandfather, legendary Mississippi bluesman R.L. Burnside, back when he was only 13, he certainly qualifies as a veteran performer.

The video for “Hard To Stay Cool” opens up with Burnside giving a bit of a lesson on the blues and its importance to African American culture before it segues into the song itself, a languid, slow burning blues about the challenges of trying to keep your cool during hard times. Check it out.

Cedric Burnside plays Cooper’s BBQ on March 13 at 10:00pm and on March 15 at 1:00am.

SXSW Song Of The Day: Austin Lucas – Immortal Americans

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Paul in Song of the Day, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

artist-30688
Photo Credit: Chad Cochran

Every now and then a song just jumps out at you and demands your attention.

Such was the case with “Immortal Americans”, the title track off of Bloomington, Indiana alt country singer-songwriter Austin Lucas‘ latest album. Upon hearing that tune as part of a playlist, I had to stop what I was doing, listen, and find out exactly who was behind it. And then I listened to the song all over again.

First it was Lucas’ voice that caught my attention, then the melody, and then finally the lyrics: a portrait of American heartland culture and a celebration of the power of rock and roll that elevates it all to a new sort of gospel – “the sound of immortal Americans.” Check it out.

Austin Lucas plays the Continental Club on March 15 at 11:00pm.

SXSW Song Of The Day: Robert Ellis – Fucking Crazy

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Paul in Song of the Day, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

artist-30458
Photo Credit: Alexandra Valenti

When people talk about Texas singer-songwriters, a certain type of sound comes to mind – the sounds made popular by the likes of Guy Clarke, Steve Earle, or Townes Van Zandt. But Austin’s Robert Ellis brings to mind a different kind of sound with “Fucking Crazy” – the easy, breezy sound of ’70s soft rock.

Yes, with his latest, Texas Piano Man, Ellis doesn’t just dip a toe into the sort of sounds made famous by the likes of Elton John, Billy Joel, and other songwriters of a ’70s/’80s vintage (I detect a hint of Bread’s David Gates in his delivery on this one) – he dives in head first. And the results are fantastic.

And though he’s serious about his music, Ellis also injects a certain sense of humour into his tunes (as you might expect from the man who entitled a previous album The Lights From The Chemical Plant), from “Topo Chico“, his drinking song about Texas’ favourite sparkling mineral water, to the aforementioned “Fucking Crazy”, which is probably the best piano-based pop song to feature the f-word since John Grant’s “GMF.” Check out the video below.

Robert Ellis plays the Mohawk on March 15 at 9:00pm.

SXSW Song Of The Day: Girl Skin, Darling

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Gary in Song of the Day, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

artist-28337
Photo Credit: Joe Miller

A caramel sweetness and warmth is baked and caked into the name of Girl Skin. So it wasn’t a surprise at all that the Brooklyn-based collective gave a seemingly delicate opening to “Darling”. That was the folksy, dreamy, hazy 70s KodakColor Plus imagery that captured my attention at first.

But like any song worthy of your interest, it has one surprise in store. Just when you thought it would exit via a sugary fade out, this thing makes a “Hey Jude” turn, at almost exactly the same timing as the Beatles’ hit did 50 years ago. To the Beatles’ (and Girl Skin’s) credit, that recipe still works wonders.

« Previous   1 2 ... 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 ... 187 188   Next »