One of the great “posthumous collaborations” of all time transpired when Billy Bragg and Wilco wrote music for lyrics long-ago written by Woody Guthrie (and later discovered by Woody’s daughter in an attic).  What resulted was the phenomenal Mermaid Avenue album in 1998.  The highlight of that album was the music written by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and the late Jay Bennett for what became the song California Stars.  If there was any justice, California Stars would be the California State Song and schoolchildren across the State would be required to sing the song in unison on Woody Guthrie’s birthday.

But until that finally happens, check out (via American Songwriter) The Farewell Drifters‘ fabulous cover of the song below.   “We’ve been fans of this song for a long time,” the band told American Songwriter. “Woody is probably best known for his politically charged folk songs, but I love the imagery he uses as he captures a hopeful kind of longing in this one. And Wilco captured that same spirit as they set it to music. I hope we did too. It seemed like the perfect song for us to do as we embark on our west coast tour this month.”  The dates for The Farewell Drifters’ tour follow the videos below.

Below it, check out the original version of the song by Wilco themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZBL5uQt5Rw&feature=related

7.11    Knuckleheads Saloon        Kansas City, MO
7.12    Strings & Wood Concerts            Denver, CO
7.14    Bluegrass on the Bay       Great Falls, MT
7.15    Pilgrim Church                       Bozeman, MT
7.17    Downtown Crossing                  Sandpoint, ID
7.18    Tractor Tavern                     Seattle, WA
7.19    Green Frog Cafe                    Bellingham, WA
7.20    Dante’s                            Portland, OR
7.21    Axe & Fiddle                   Cottage Grove, OR
7.22    Les Schwab Amphitheater      Bend, OR
7.25    The Palms Playhouse         Winters, CA
7.26    Hotel Utah                         San Francisco, CA
7.27    McCabe’s Guitar Shop        Santa Monica, CA
7.29    Music Near the Hearth       Sunnyvale, CA
8.01    Steve’s Guitars                   Carbondale, CO
8.02    Avogadro’s Number                 Fort Collins, CO
8.03    Keystone Bluegrass Festival   Keystone, CO
8.04    Conifer Community Park      Conifer, CO

Damon Albarn has to be counted as one of the great songwriters in all of musicdom.  In Blur, Gorillaz, Rocket Juice & The Moon, wherever, Albarn has penned some of the best songs of this or any era.

To celebrate the closing of the impending London Summer Olympics, Blur will headline at Hyde Park, with New Order and The Specials, on August 12th.  Oh to be there.  Check out below the band’s in-studio version of Under the Westway, the first of two new songs written by Albarn and Blur especially for the Hyde Park celebration.  It’s a beauty that can stand with the best of Lennon & McCartney.  Gold medals all the way around.

“On a permanent basis I apologize, but I am going to sing
Hallelujah, sing it out loud, sing it to you”

No apologies necessary Damon.  Please, sing on.

The official lyrics can be found in the video below.

Back after roaming in the desert for what seemed like 400 years, one of our favorite music-fans slaked our thirst for some new music (thanks Haznah).  Check out Alt-J, the smarty-pants band from Cambridge, England, and a couple of performances of their very catchy song, Tessellate.  We’re just getting a feel for the band, but Alt-J smacks of suave alt-pop that blends shimmering synths, hip hop metrics and smooth vocal harmonies.  Reminds a bit of some of the old stalwarts, such as Blue Nile, but updated well.  Alt-J released its first album, An Awesome Wave, on June 5th, which you can stream in its entirety HERE.  Check out two winning live versions of Tessellate below.  As a bonus check out the official video for their song, Breezeblocks at bottom.

New Jersey’s indie band Woods are coming to Cali(fornia) in support of their new album, Bend Beyond, which will be released this Fall.   After catching them at Jensen’s Backstage a few years back, we were wowed by the band last Fall at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.  Leader Jeremy Earl’s high, soulful voice, coupled with his bandmates’ playing and harmonizing, won us over completely.  The band has just released Cali in a Cup from the impending album, which you can listen to below.  The song smacks of Summer, and we’ll drink to that.

Woods plays Velvet Jones in Santa Barbara on August 7th with duo Peaking Lights courtesy of Club Mercy.  The other Cali tour dates are below.

8-03 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
8-04 Big Sur, CA – Woodsist Festival @ Henry Miller Library
8-07 Santa Barbara, CA – Velvet Jones
8-08 Los Angeles, CA – Echo
8-09 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar

It’s Independence Day in America.  Leave it to The Avett Brothers to spin it well with today’s release of Seth Avett, accompanied by Bob Crawford, covering Jim Croce’s sweet ole song, Operator.  Some Americana nostalgia to get you started.  Those younger than 40 years old are scratching their heads and asking why one would ever need to speak with an “operator.”

Sad news from San Francisco–Christopher Owens has announced that he is leaving Girls, one of our favorites.  In addition to putting out two phenomenal albums, Girls put on one of the most enjoyable sets we’ve seen at a club when they tore the roof off of Muddy Waters in December 2009.  We hope all is well with Owens, who has a particularly storied past, and that he re-appears soon.  We can’t think of a more appropriate soundtrack to this news than the band’s song, Hellhole Ratrace, which remains one of our favorite songs of all time.  Bon chance Christopher.

Spiritualized has released its new video for Little Girl, the great ballad and new single from their sweet album, Sweet Heart Sweet Light.  The video’s a tad troubling, but it’s Spiritualized and comes with stunts.

We have spoken volume upon volume of our love of Eef Barzelay/Clem Snide’s contribution to American music.  Simply put, in any year or on any Sunday, Snide speaks to us in volumes.   Check him out below delivering some gospel of sorts.  We love an American Eef.  No grand funk, but the soul of this country.

While Adele is off on pregnancy-leave, what better time to check out other (better?) artists in the same genre?  In addition to Brandi Carlile, check out Cold Specks, which is primarily the work of Canada-born and London, England-based singer/songwriter Al Spx.  Having rapidly gained attention and appearing on Later With Jools Holland last year, Cold Specks has released their critically-acclaimed debut album, I Predict A Graceful Expulsion, on Arts & Crafts Records.  To get a feel for the band, check out below recent performances by Cold Specks (sometimes with band, sometimes without) who have/has been making the rounds in support of the album.  We like what we hear.  Simple, yet lyrically complex.  Intelligent, and not afraid to use it.  And yes, the girl can sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcAWMxddNHs&feature=plcp

Lana Del Rey does not shy away from controversy.  Just in time for the 4th of July, Del Rey has released an official video for her song, National Anthem.  In the video, A$AP Rocky makes a cameo as Camelot’s John F. Kennedy, while Del Rey appears (apparently) as an amalgam of JFK’s loves–starting with Marilyn Monroe and segueing into Jackie Kennedy.  Back in the day, this would have been considered treasonous and/or heretical in certain segments.  Nearly 50 years later, time has soothed (not healed), and the American iconography has been repeatedly scrambled and reinvented in an attempt to examine the inexplicable.  Regardless, we’ll take the unsettling imagery and bravura just to catch that gorgeous…chorus.