Jim James – Spinning Platters

Album Review: Laura Veirs – Warp and Weft

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Not many musicians have the longevity to release nine full-length studio albums. Laura Veirs is one of the few. The Portland, OR resident has been producing a constant flow of beautiful folk rock and delicately woven lyrical tales since 1999. It’s only appropriate, then, that Veirs’ new effort, Warp and Weft, is aptly named using the terms for the crossing threads in weaving. It is tightly constructed, contemplative but also commentative, and weaves together vivid images and stories of lives long gone and some yet to pass.

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Album Review: Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk

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I’m not sure what I was expecting from this “supergroup” of modern indie/folk but it is not what I got. The album opens with a drum machine, some sort of harp imitation, and Jim James’ ethereal falsetto. My carpool-mate responded to this by saying, “What is this? The slow jam from a Backstreet Boys album!?!” Not what is expected from a group called Monsters of Folk. I don’t know about the folk part, but the members of the band: Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) are monsters of the indie scene. The question remains: when they come together, do you get something better than the sum of its parts? Continue reading “Album Review: Monsters of Folk — Monsters of Folk”

Spinning Platters Picks Six: An Early Educated Guess At Bridge School

So, Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit is October 24th-25th. For those that aren’t already aware, Neil and Pegi Young have a school for the developmentally disabled. Every year, they put together an acoustic show with a few friends in the business. In the past, these friends have included Tom Waits, Paul McCartney, Green Day, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Ministry, and, well, the list can go on for miles. Today, I am going to try to predict six of the bands playing. They usually announce the bill about six weeks in advance, so we have a bit more time, and as some acts get confirmed, I will revise the bill. Well, on with the show: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: An Early Educated Guess At Bridge School”