Even though it’s winter in their native New Zealand, Fat Freddy’s Drop dropped one on us this week and took us back to our adolescent summers when the radio was filled with high-quality soul-psychedelia from The Undisputed Truth, Curtis Mayfield, The Isley Brothers, The Temptations, Ohio Players, Sly and the Family Stone, Dramatics, Cornelius Brothers, O’Jays, and yes, even Rare Earth.  Those were heady radio times that still resound in our minds all these years later.

We had heard mention of the popular Wellington band Fat Freddy’s Drop, but only in the last week have we actually listened to the band.  This is a dangerous game to be playing since we hold to the philosophy that nostalgia can be deadly to one’s musical soul.  But take a listen below and watch the (somewhat bizarre puppetry/marionette-dominated) video for Clean The House off of their impending third album Blackbird.  Ya gotta love the guitar work of Tehimana Kerr (aka Jetlag Johnson) on this song.  And it takes us back to those lazy, vinyl-spinning, poolside summers of Central California.  Forgive us.  We’ll be back soon with something newer and arguably more progressive.  In the meantime, though, enjoy this groove.

We’re in full summer swing around the northern hemisphere, nonetheless have found ourselves in a bit of a post-Glastonbury miasma (failed again). The perfect match for the mood came to us in the form of Eleanor Friedberger performing her song Stare At The Sun on KEXP.  The song is off of Friedberger’s just released, superb second solo album Personal Record.  Check Stare At The Sun in all it’s two-plus minutes of glory and melancholia.  After, is the song’s official video. The song’s lyrics follow at bottom.

“In the back of the of taxi, you turned off the TV
And read me a book on your phone
Here’s the return of your skeleton key
Oh baby the places we’ve gone

If that was goodbye than I must be high
You know I’ll be seeing you soon
If that was goodbye and the snow in July
As it hailed in the middle of June

Give me your toothpaste
Give me your ointment
Give me your body and then
Keep this in amber
Keep our appointment
Remember the things that we sang

If that was goodbye than I must be high
You must be the sugar I need
If that was goodbye than I am a fly
And the future is guaranteed

‘Cause when I’m with you everything’s treasure
I forget what it’s like to be wrong
I’m far from the town in the suburbs of your pleasure
I’ve been in exile so long
I’m trying not to stare at the sun
No, I’m trying not to stare at the sun
I’m trying not to stare at the sun

Cooperative coffee and synchronized showers
I try not to look at the clock
Goodbye to your castle
Wave from the tower
And drop me a line from the dock
If that was goodbye than you must be high
And maybe I’m losing a friend
If that was goodbye then the sea has run dry
So I fill it in with tears instead

‘Cause when I’m with you everything’s treasure
I forget what it’s like to be gone
I’m far from the town in the suburbs of your pleasure
I’ve been in exile so long
I’m trying not to stare at the sun
I’m trying not to stare at the sun
I’m trying not to stare at the sun

‘Cause when I’m with you everything’s treasure
I forget what it’s like to be gone
I’m far from the town in the suburbs of your pleasure
I’ve been in exile so long.
I’m trying not to stare at the sun
I’m trying not to stare at the sun
I’m trying not to stare at the sun”

My Morning Jacket is finally receiving widespread attention.  Yesterday the band was the subject of a CBS Sunday Morning interview segment.  You can check out the transcript of the episode, watch two additional web-exclusive vignettes (including a live Wonderful by James in a garment that’s an elbow-patch-shy of a shirt) and stream some of their music HERE.

The 2013 BET Awards and BET Experience took place over the weekend in various venues in downtown LA, with performances by Kendrick Lamar, Miguel, Erykah Badu, a bit of Stevie Wonder (at least SOME inclusion of the patriarchs) and, most importantly, Janelle Monáe.  Watch below as Monáe closed down the BET Awards with a blistering rendering of her new song Q.U.E.E.N. with Badu.  Monae’s ferocity in the last minute of the performance is riveting (despite that big-@$$ white poodle). After, check out the au courant Kendrick Lamar and his big band performing M.A.A.D. City and Bitch [TLR: we assume Kendrick is name-checking that white poodle] Don’t Kill My Vibe (also with Badu).  At bottom is neo-soul savant Miguel (with Lamar) performing a rearranged How Many Drinks? When you watch, you might want to hit “Full Screen” mode to avoid all the miasma-inducing distractions.

While The National’s Matt Berninger has always had a special relationship with the band’s devout audience, Berninger and the band appear to have taken their bonhomie to a whole ‘nother level.  Watch below as the band performs set-closer sing-a-long Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks acoustic at Le Point Ephémère in Paris this week.  Berninger appears to sing the modern nursery rhyme to a fan’s daughters and then allow the dad to climb on stage to sing along.  Enchanté.

After, to bookend it, watch set-opener I Should Live In Salt.

A little bird has been singing in our ears about the British artist Bibio (Stephen Wilkinson) and his melodic electro-magic. To understand why, check out below the official video for the tres-catchy song À tout à l’heure.  The video, directed by Bibio in collaboration with Russell Weekes, consists of 8mm film footage shot by Bibio except for ‘fisheye swings’ by Barry Newman. ‘People with horses’ and ‘fireworks’ by Tom Warren.  À tout à l’heure is a addicting gem from Bibio’s most recent album, Silver Wilkinson on Warp Records.  After, watch some live Bibio performances.

One of the best live Americana bands extant, The Avett Brothers, are coming to the Santa Barbara Bowl on October 10th. To get a feel for the band, check out a brand new vignette from The Current of the band performing their song Paul Newman vs The Demons off their most recent album The Carpenter. As you can hear at the end, there will be passion.  Tickets for the Santa Barbara Bowl show go on sale tomorrow at noon, and you can get them HERE.

We’d been reading rave reviews about the new documentary exploring music’s great back-up singers entitled Twenty Feet From Stardom, and then things started to get really interesting.

First we heard through the grapevine that Fresh Air’s Terry Gross had done a fascinating piece on the new film.  In the interview (which you can listen to/download HERE) Gross interviews the film’s director (Morgan Neville) and one of the featured back-up singers (the supremely talented Merry Clayton), Gross spoke with Clayton and discussed her historic backup-vocal on the Rolling Stones’ haunting hit Gimme Shelter.  In that interview Clayton tells how her participation on Gimme Shelter came to be, and then Gross played a 31-second clip featuring only Clayton’s isolated, impassioned vocal on the song.  And chills went down our spines.  Only then did we understand the lyrics of the song that we had misinterpreted all these years.

Clayton told Fresh Air the following about the Gimme Shelter session:

“The guys come out and stand next to me and say, ‘It’s just a shot away,’ as I’m saying, ‘Rape, murder.’ I mean it was a sight to behold, and we got through it, and then they went in the booth to listen, and I saw them hooting and hollering while I was singing, but I didn’t know what they were hooting and hollering about. And when I got back in the booth and listened, I said, ‘Ooo, that’s really nice.’

“And they said, ‘You want to do another?’ and I said, ‘Well, I’ll do one more and then I’m going to have to say thank you and good night.’ I did one more, and then I did one more … and then I was gone. Next thing I know, that — that’s history.”

We recommend you listen to the full Fresh Air interview, but if you don’t have time, at least check out the vocal track below.

In addition to the Fresh Air interview, we stumbled upon last weekend CBS’s show Sunday Morning in which they interviewed, amongst others, Clayton and Judith Hill (back-up singer for Michael Jackson and recent stalwart performer on NBC’s The Voice).  And we were further enthralled. You can see/read more of the Sunday Morning vignette HERE.

We can’t wait to see the film, which opens tonight around the country, and even on the Central Coast. Check out the film’s official trailer below for a better feel.  And then get out and see this film about the unsung heroines/heroes of rock n’ roll, soul and pop history.

Glastonbury (sigh).  Glasto is on, and the vignettes are starting to trickle in from Worthy Farm.  As usual, the bands performing there will bring their A+ game to the Festival.  First to catch our attention (in a positive way) are Local Natives performing a anthemic Heavy Air (from their superb new album Hummingbird) and Alt-J playing their fan-fave Breezeblocks (from their debut album).  You can go HERE to see the BBC’s other videos and live streaming from Glastonbury.  Oh to be there with the multitudes!  Someday our ship will sail….