The Walkmen are starting to walk the world on behalf of their new album Heaven.  Check them out unplugged, performing We Can’t Be Beat, Song for Leigh and Heaven for WFUV’s Alternate Side below.

The great Band of Horses are working on a new album with Glyn Johns producing, and recently played two of the new songs while performing in Brazil. Check out the band performing Everything for MTV Brazil and Long Vows at Brazil Lollapalooza below.

Sadly, we are among the ten to twelve on the planet who have not attended the Bonnaroo Music Festival.  This year’s has come and gone, but you can check out below the great Bon Iver killin’ on Blood Bank at Bonnaroo last Saturday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_93QloSGS0&feature=player_embedded

There’s been a buzz building about Denver band, The Lumineers. In the haze of the wee hours a while ago, we looked into The Lumineers and failed to be illumined. But something caught our ear this time around. We may have been too hasty in the wee haze. Check out below the band performing their lyrically powerful song The Big Parade for HearYa. While they hone close to the Portland/Seattle group-sing sound (which may be played out a bit), the lyrics and sound of The Big Parade are particularly heady and seem to have heart. If you like what you hear and see below, you can go HERE to watch three other Lumineers songs performed for HearYa. The song’s lyrics are below the video.

THE BIG PARADE:

“LOVELY GIRL WON’T YOU STAY, WON’T YOU STAY, STAY WITH ME
ALL MY LIFE I WAS BLIND, I WAS BLIND, NOW I SEE
LOVELY GIRL WON’T YOU STAY, WON’T YOU STAY, STAY WITH ME
ALL MY LIFE I WAS BLIND, I WAS BLIND, NOW I SEE

VERSE
FLEET OF BLACK, FLEET OF BLACK LIMOUSINES
THESE TINTED MACHINES, HERE COMES THE CAVALCADE

WITH THE ARMORED CARS, ARMORED CARS LIKE BERETTAS
FLAGS ON ANTENNAS DESIGNED TO KEEP ME SAFE, KEEP ME SAFE

CHORUS
AND OH MY MY OH HEY HEY
HERE HE COMES, THE CANDIDATE
BLUE EYED BOY, UNITED STATES
VOTE FOR HIM, THE CANDIDATE

VERSE
DIAMONDS CUT, DIAMONDS CUT FOR THE CARROTS
PLASTER OF PARIS, THE FLOATS FILL UP THE STREET

AND THE BEAUTY QUEENS, BEAUTY QUEENS WITH THE WHITE GLOVES
ALL SICK FROM THE NIGHT CLUBS, THEY WAVE WITH PAGEANTRY, PAGEANTRY

CHORUS
OH MY MY OH HEY HEY
HERE IT COMES, THE BIG PARADE
MARCHING BANDS AND BARRICADES
MAKE WAY, FOR THE BIG PARADE

BRIDGE

VERSE
CANVAS COVERED, CANVAS COVERED IN RESIN
THE VIOLENT MEN WHO DANCE THE BLOOD BALLET
AND THE BOOKIES SAY, BOOKIES SAY IT’S THE 3RD ROUND
OH WHEN LOUIE WILL GO DOWN, IF HE DON’T THERE’S HELL TO PAY, AND HELL TO RAISE

CHORUS
AND OH MY MY OH HEY HEY
HERE HE COMES, THE WELTERWEIGHT
TAKE A DIVE, FOR GOODNESS SAKE
OR SAY GOODBYE TO THE WELTERWEIGHT

VERSE
CATHOLIC PRIEST, CATHOLIC PRIEST IN A CRISIS
HE’S TORN BETWEEN ROMANCE AND JESUS, WHO WILL WIN THE CIVIL WAR

AND HE SAYS I’M IN LOVE, I’M IN LOVE WITH A WOMAN
YEA THIS IS MY CONFESSION, I’M LEAVING I CAN’T A PRIEST ANYMORE, ANYMORE

CHORUS
AND OH MY MY OH HEY HEY
THERE HE GOES, THE MAN OF FAITH

LEFT THE CHURCH FOR A FIANCE
LET HIM LOVE, THE MAN OF FAITH

BRIDGE

VERSE
T.V. CAMERAS, T.V. CAMERAS AND STAGE HANDS
AMERICAN BANDSTAND, ELECTRIC GUITARS

AND HE’S SINGIN SONGS, SINGIN SONGS FOR THE LONELY
ALL THE GIRLS WITH THE ROOM KEYS, THEY KNOW ALL HIS WORDS BY HEART, BY HEART AND THEY ALL SING

INTERLUDE
LOVELY GIRL WON’T YOU STAY, WON’T YOU STAY, STAY WITH ME
ALL MY LIFE I WAS BLIND, I WAS BLIND, NOW I SEE
LOVELY GIRL WON’T YOU STAY, WON’T YOU STAY, STAY WITH ME
ALL MY LIFE I WAS BLIND, I WAS BLIND, NOW I SEE

LOVELY GIRL WON’T YOU STAY, OH OH OH OH

CHORUS
OH MY MY OH HEY HEY
HERE SHE COMES BY SAVING GRACE
BURN THE CAR AND SAVE THE PLATES
SHE’S ARRIVED, MY SAVING GRACE”

As we were saying, Jimmy Fallon, The Roots and their staff are quickly establishing themselves as the best late-night-TV musical option. Whether it’s J-Fal admirably imitating Neil Young or honoring Springsteen with a week’s worth of tributes, or Fallon and The Roots (OK, Carly too) killing on their cover of Call Me Maybe, this gang is proving they are kool and have their finger on the pulse of musical entertainment (don’t get us wrong, we still have unlimited respect for Letterman, Paul Shaffer and band).

The Fallon Show’s musical acumen was proven yet again Friday night when Vancouver’s Japandroids were invited to play and proceeded to tear the roof off of Fallon’s studio.  This is a duo that clearly knows how to bring the energy and passion.  We are suckers for drummers and other band-members who are so enamored with a band’s songs that they can’t help but lip-sync throughout with the lead singer.  Just watch the performances below in which drummer David Prowse can’t resist mouthing every word behind guitarist Brian King.  The band’s irrepressible energy is best seen in the first song below, Fire’s Highway.  Prowse’s (intentionally?) off-key backup vocals on the song initially jar, but the duo’s energy and passion are so infectious that by song’s end you wouldn’t have Prowse’s vocals any other way.  In the second song, The Roots’ guitarist “Captain” Kirk Douglas joins Japandroids for an incendiary version of The House That Heaven Built.   Japandroids’ new album is Celebration Rock, which is getting rockin’ raves across the realm.

Fire’s Highway:

The House That Heaven Built:

Radiohead was, naturally, the main attraction at Bonnaroo this year.  They are the best live band on the planet as was seen at the Santa Barbara Bowl in April.  The 25-song Bonnaroo setlist looks epic (yes, we are jealous), as you can see below.   You can watch their entire Bonnaroo set at bottom.

1. Bloom
2. 15 Step
3. Kid A
4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
5. Staircase
6. The Daily Mail
7. I Might Be Wrong
8. The Gloaming
9. Separator
10. Nude
11. Morning Mr. Magpie
12. Identikit
13. Lotus Flower
14. There There
15. Karma Police
16. Feral
17. Idioteque
18. Encore:
18. You and Whose Army?
19. House of Cards
20. Supercollider(Thom Yorke dedicated song to Jack White)
21. Bodysnatchers
22. Everything In Its Right Place (True Love Waits intro)
23. Encore 2:
23. Give Up the Ghost
24. Reckoner (Thom Yorke dedicated song to the Red Hot Chili Peppers)
25. Paranoid Android

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz96Vf_kKrE&feature=player_embedded

Here’s another chance (with better production values) to check out Anais Mitchell and the Young Man Band performing her metaphysical/metabiblical song, Dyin’ Day recently at the Lexington in London.  Her album, Young Man in America, is on the heaviest of rotation at Chez Lefort.

Former Canadian Idol contestant Carley Rae Jepsen’s song Call Me Maybe is (for better or worse) dominating the airwaves this summer.  Even more curious is that musicians and celebrities around the world have been lining up to air their tongue-in-cheek covers of the song (check YouTube, they’re everywhere).  It’s become a “thing.”  Last night in a dressing room before The Jimmy Fallon Show proper, the increasingly-ascendant Jimmy Fallon and the Roots, accompanied by Ms. Jepsen, picked up some kids instruments, a uke, a couple of kazoos and a melodica and absolutely killed the song.  Infectious and joyous, we now have the definitive cover of the song.  That’s entertainment!  So the rest of ya, please stop. You’ve got better things to do. If you want to cover something, how about T.Rex’s Broken Hearted Blues or Warren Zevon’s The French Inhaler or you pick ’em?

And as runner up in the Call Me Maybe cover contest, check out Ben Howard’s Howardization of the song below. When the cover was requested at Soho last Friday, all the requester got was a big bird and a frack from Ben.  We like Ben’s intermittent smiles and smirks below.

We loved Bahamas’ opening set last Friday at Soho in Santa Barbara (pictured above).  They’ve got it all (well, except for a drummer and a couple other instruments, but who needs the distractions?).  All focus is rightly on Afie Jurvanen’s tasteful but impassioned guitar-playing and well-crafted songs, which range thematically from pathos (Lost in the Light) to bathos (Hockey Teeth).  At Soho, Jurvanen made that ole Silvertone (previously owned by Link Wray, according to Afie) snarl and sing throughout their set.  Bahamas have rightly garnered the attention of Kathleen Edwards, Feist (Afie used to play guitar in Feist’s band), and Jack Johnson amongst others.  Look for them to continue to ascend.  Bahamas will be playing this Saturday at Pasadena’s One Colorado Courtyard.  You can also check out their entire KCRW segment HERE.

Check ’em out playing I Got You Babe (not THAT one) and Lost in the Light on KCRW below.

The ever-entertaining Jimmy Cliff showed up with a big, big band last night on the Letterman Show and riled up the audience with his rocksteady performance of One More off of his new album Sacred Fire.  Check it out below.  Now that’s entertainment!  Compare the Letterman audience’s reaction to Edward Sharpe’s recent visit HERE.  Folks have a lot to learn from the likes of Mr. Cliff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAGIG5gORtI&feature=player_embedded