New Wilco w/Fleet Foxes - "I Shall Be Released" (Bob Dylan Cover)

Every election year is a chance for new voters to experience their own personal, political awakening, no matter what ideology they belong to. But ideals don't matter a single bit if they aren't put into action--and voting is the most simple way to do that very same thing. As a means to increase voter turnout, The AV Club has announced the details of an exclusive live collaboration between lush melodists Fleet Foxes and alt-country innovators Wilco that was recorded in Bend, OR. The song played is a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released", which he originally wrote, but was played by The Band on their first album, Music From The Big Pink. Download the song here, for the cost of an email address and a pledge that you will vote in the November election.

As for the original version of the song, check out footage from Martin Scorsese's legendary concert film, The Last Waltz:



(Jonathan Graef)
jon@minneapolisfuckingrocks.com

Cross-published on CIMI

Bob Dylan Art Exhibit to Open in London

I'll let NME do the talking, since they broke the news. The art exhibition of the former Dinkytown resident goes a little something like:

'The Drawn Blank Series' will be the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of Dylan, and will feature drawings and sketches he made on the road during the period of 1989 through to 1992.

Paul Green, President of the Halcyon Gallery, said: "This is an incredible opportunity for viewing this powerful body of work which gives an insight into the artist's soul."

Indeed. What if Dylan had a surprisingly Warholian sensibility to his art? That'd be quite the sight, wouldn't it?

Buy tickets for the exhibit here.

(Jonathan Graef)

Cat Power - Jukebox

Cat Power
Jukebox (Matador, 2008)
Grade: A-

Download: Cat Power - "Song To Bobby"

Update: "Aretha, Sing One For Me" taken down at the request of management.

Oh, Cat. You have some strange Power over me.

Okay, I won't make any more puns for the rest of the review, I pinky swear.

On Jukebox, Ms. Marshall leads listeners on a wild goose chase to try and find her identity. She starts us out in "New York," a cover of the Frank Sinatra classic. It's the perfect song to start off the album. In the lyrics, we're promised that her "vagabond shoes are longing to stray," which sets the tone for the whole album. From the stomp and bustle of her vision of "New York," we're promptly escorted into a smoky, cosmopolitan soul number reminiscent of Dusty Springfield. It's nearly impossible to recognize the song as a cover of Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man."

On "Silver Stallion," Marshall sells listeners the typical Western myth. The song, which is a cover of a Highwayman song, couples twanging guitars with images of dusty trails and angry devils. It's a beautiful song that combines the steely reserve to not be bound in one place with the sorrow of knowing that the singer is running from something.

And then almost immediately, we're back into a 60's lounge with soul music pumping out of the speakers. "Aretha, Sing One For Me" (originally by George Jackson) plays with the sensuousness of the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden" and the whiskey-tinged femininity of mid-60's girl groups.

The rest of the album bounces around in similar fashion. One moment, Marshall is sitting on a fence in the middle of nowhere chewing on a bit of hay, the next you can imagine her transplanted to the heart of the big city. There's something delicious about her musical homelessness on Jukebox. Even when switching between country and pop, Marshall's distinctive, husky voice serves as a centerpiece, focusing your attention on her. It's not as if Marshall is jumping styles and you're watching, it's as is she's guiding you on a tour of different pieces of her identity.

The beauty about this album is that it isn't a chance for Marshall to make us a mixtape/CD/mp3 dump. As she displays on the original tracks on this album, she's feeding us a little sample of what's to come. You Are Free (which came out in 2004 – how old does that make you feel?) established Cat Power as someone who could blur the line between folk and blues, a somewhat expected move after her last covers record.

The new songs on the album send a little bit of a mixed message on what we can expect form Marshall in the next few years. "I Believe In You" straddles riff rock, soul and stompy folk. It's awkward. It's not a bad song, but it doesn't come together right. It's like the channa masala I made for dinner the other night: all the pieces were there, but the chickpeas weren't quite done. It's a little chunky and unpleasant, even if it tastes good. It still needs some smoothing. "Song To Bobby," on the other hand, is very cool. It's an ode to Bob Dylan that comes across sounding like a Dylan cover. It's a beautiful song that weds folk and emotional, wailing blues vocals. If this is where she's headed in her writing, then we can expect great things in the years ahead.

Cat Power MySpace Page

(April Wright)

New Jason Collett (Broken Social Scene) - "Out Of Time" and "Charlyn, Angel of Kensington"

Download: Jason Collett - "Out Of Time"
Download: Jason Collett - "Charlyn, Angel of Kensington"

Jayber Crow wasn't the only folk band releasing new tracks this past week. Jason Collett, who is gearing up for the release of Here's To Being Here, which will be out on Arts & Crafts on February 5.

The first of the new tracks is "Out Of Time," a Dylan-esque (just you try to not read Dylan into his vox) folk popper that incorporates "ooh-ooh"s that come off just a little Feist-y in their sudden, radical pitch modulation. It's a good song, but not a phenomenal one. "Charlyn, Angel of Kensington," the other release, is an interesting track with a very deep groove. It's got a sexy, pseudo-lounge-circa-"Mushaboom" beat backing up funky guitars and a vocal line that hits a bit of Andrew Bird and definitely channels Dylan. I hate to compare him so often to fellow Broken Social Scenester Feist, but he's been on a couple tours with her. It seems to me that these songs have more of her influence than past albums.

I think these two songs hit on the best and worst aspects of Collett's career. His previous albums have always contained strong, but not terribly original showings. I don't like it when the primary way I can describe someone's music is by name checking other groups. I think that should be a tool to augment a description, rather than the description itself. Likewise with these two tracks: they're strong, and I love to spin his records, but they're a little too derivative.

Collett, however, is a great performer. I bought Idols of Exile after totally developing a crush on him when he opened for Feist a couple years back. He's doing a little bit of touring with her again this month. Dates are below.

11.14.07 Denver – Ogden Theatre
11.16.07 Madison – Orpheum Theatre
11.17.07 Chicago – Riviera Theatre
11.18.07 Columbus – Wexner Center
11.20.07 Louisville – W.L. Lyons Brown Theatre
11.21.07 Nashville – Ryman Auditorium

MySpace Page

(April Wright)

Bob Dylan's Cadillac Commercial

Not to state the obvious, but he's come a long way since Dinkytown, hasn't he? Still, it's no more absurd than the Victoria's Secret ad he did a while back.

(Jonathan Graef)

Bob Dylan - "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"

Download: Roger McGuinn - "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"

Yesterday, The Late Greats posted an interesting Compare And Contrast of Bob Dylan's "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding." You can click on the links previous to hear the original. Unless I totally nightmared this up, I thought that Courtney Love did a cover of Dylan's song as well. I didn't find it - maybe that's for the best -but I did find Roger McGuinn's (he formerly of The Birds) cover that was on the Easy Rider Soundtrack. You can listen to that track at the top of this post.

In addition, check out TLG's post about album enders from the ladies of '07. Feist is on it, and any mix that contains Feist ain't to shabby. Listen to that here.

(Jonathan Graef)

A Sequel To The Big Lebowski?

Download: Bob Dylan - "The Man In Me"
Download: Kenny Rogers & The First Edition - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)
Download: Gypsy Kings - "Hotel California"
Download: ZZ Top - "Viva Las Vegas"
Download: Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Lookin' Out My Backdoor"


Yes, according to this article on MTV's movie blog. It would seem that the talk regarding a sequel sprang from an interview that John Turturro did with ESPN the magazine. Behold the relevant quote:

ESPN: If the Coen brothers made a baseball movie, would it be better than the bowling movie?

Turturro: The Big Lebowski was a great movie. We hope to make a sequel. I can't talk about it, but it comes down to Jesus in the jumpsuit.

If this is the case, then I believe that it's the first proper sequel the Coens have ever done. I'm holding off excitement until I hear more concrete details. At the very least, I thought I would post some of the more iconic songs used in The Big Lebowski.

(Jonathan Graef)