Joseph Arthur has been one of our favorites for a decade or more.  Comes now, he’s morphed into a protest singer (hey, someone had to try and write a Mission Statement for this committed and soon-to-be-committed commixture that calls itself Occupy Wall Street) .  Check out his new video for his song, We Stand As One (#occupywallstreet), below.  In good ole protest song tradition, it rambles on for a good 8:47.

Joseph has this to say about the song, et. al:

“Protest songs should be open and somewhat naive
They can’t help but reference Bob Dylan referencing Woody Guthrie
They usually speak in somewhat general terms
And to be effective at all, they say things that even those coming from a similar space, may not fully agree with.
They are easy targets for the venom of music critics (because of all the reasons above)
And yet still sometimes
They are necessary
So with that I am happy to present you

We Stand As One.

I hope you love it
Or hate it
Or love to hate it
Or let yourself
Hate to love it
but either way,
In some small way,
I hope that it helps.

– Joseph Arthur

Donate here:
http://www.nycga.net/how-to-help/

For more on Joseph Arthur visit: http://www.josepharthur.com”

We’ve mentioned the A.V. Club’s “Undercover” show before, and now from that treasure trove comes a double-barrel of covers from the great duo, Wye Oak, which we’ve referenced repeatedly.  First up from Jenn Wassner and Andy Stack is The Kink’s great song, Strangers, followed by Danzig’s song, Mother. As we’ve said before, Wassner can play serious guitar and co-conspirator Andy Stack nicely stacks on the rhythm attack and added elements.

The Kink’s Stranger (with Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg):

Wye Oak covers The Kinks

Danzig’s Mother (with Callers’ Don Godwin on horn):

Wye Oak covers Danzig

Tom Waits released his first studio album in seven years, “Bad as Me,” this past Monday.   The new album has been one of our most highly anticipated releases of the year (having written about it repeatedly), and those lofty expectations have been far exceeded.  We would expect nothing less from the national treasure that is Tom Waits.  The album is in many ways Waits’ (and his wife, Kathleen Brennan’s) State of the Union address, and it ain’t always a pretty picture (though the music and delivery decidedly are). Do yourselves a huge favor and go buy the new Waits album HERE.

After only a few listens, our pick of the song litter (the album is littered with gems) so far is Pay Me, which features both longtime-Waits-standby, Marc Ribot, and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo, on guitar (Keith Richards also plays/sings on four songs on the album).  Pay Me is a heartbreaker in the tradition of Waits’ best ballads–otherwise known as “Bawlers“–such as Soldier’s Things, Time, Tom Traubert’s Blues, and Innocent When You Dream, amongst a bevy of others. Check out the Pay Me lyrics and song below.

Pay Me:

“They pay me not to come home
Keeping me stoned
I won’t run away
They say it’s easy to get
Stuck in this town
Just like Joan
You know I gave it all up for the stage
They fill my cup up in the cage
It’s nobody’s business but mine when I’m low
To hold yourself up is not a crime here you know
At the end of the world

I kick my foot at the lights
I breathe it in all night
There’s a light on a canvas tree
Money from home supporting me
They pay me not to come
I won’t eat crow
I’ll stay away
And though all roads will not lead you home my girl
All roads lead to the end of the world
I sewed a little luck up in the hem of my gown
The only way down from the gallows is to swing
And I’ll wear boots instead of high heels
And the next stage that I am on it will have wheels”

Tom Waits–Pay Me

[audio:https://www.thelefortreport.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/06-Pay-Me.mp3|titles=06 Pay Me]

And just so you know we’re not in this alone, check out the well done reviews/pieces on Bad as Me from The New Yorker, New York Times and LA Times.  You may have heard of those rags.

Another dynamic duo hits Santa Barbara next week when the live-killing Phantogram play at Soho.  We caught them last year in LA when they opened for The Antlers on tour, and immediately began fantasizing about catching them headlining.  Turns out we didn’t have to wait too long, thanks to Club Mercy.

Phantogram recently performed three new songs (16 Years, Don’t Move, and Nightlife) off their impending EP, “Nightlife“, on The Current (Minnesota Public Radio).  Check those songs and the band being interviewed below.

She’s a little bit punky; she’s a little bit country.  21-year old Lydia Loveless grew up in a musical family with a rock drummer-dad (he plays on her albums) and otherwise surrounded by country music in Ohio.  Like another young Ohian, Jessica Lea Mayfield (what is it with Ohio?), Lydia’s vocals remind you of Neko Case, but also of seminal female country singers such as Loretta Lynn.   Her songs are all over the map stylistically (fast, anthem, ballad, humorous ode, you name it).  And Loveless ladles on loads of lyrical lines that stick to your cerebellum and heart (Salty lyric alert:  she is not afraid to hide anything and tosses off some vulgar vernacular and ribald phrases–Amen!).

To start getting Lovelessed, go over to MTVHive and check out her song, Jesus Was a Wino, off her brand new album, “Indestructible Machine.”  And then below, check out an in-store performance of that same song, which, amongst other things, recognizes the Son of Man’s empathy for the earth’s downtrodden.  At MTV Hive Loveless said this about the song: “I’ve always seen wine as a really biblical thing.  Growing up and drinking it in church for communion, and when I got older, meeting a lot of Christians who think it’s sinful to drink. It’s poking fun at people – it’s not anti-Jesus.”

As mentioned above, Loveless just released a great new album entitled “Indestructible Machine” on Bloodshot Records.  Saunter on over and buy the album HERE. She’s also on tour and coming to the following Cali venues next week:

Nov. 1st–San Diego at the Soda Bar
Nov. 2nd–Los Angeles at the Bootleg Bar
Nov. 3rd–Santa Cruz at the Crepe Place
Nov. 4th–San Francisco at the Hotel Utah
Nov. 5th–Sacramento at Harlows

You can get tickets for those shows HERE.  In the interim, check out her rocking go-girl anthem, Can’t Change Me, off the new album below:

Lydia Loveless–Can’t Change Me

[audio:https://www.thelefortreport.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/lydia-loveless_cant-change-me.mp3|titles=lydia loveless_can’t change me]

And then check out her brand new Daytrotter (newly subscription-based–we’re in!) session HERE.  From that session you can check out Back on the Bottle below.

Lydia Loveless–Back on the Bottle

As Daytrotter writes (with their usual, penetrating aplomb):  “She sings about the affairs of man and woman in the way that they really are – often very unromantic. She gives us some of these farewells and some of the spicy interludes the way we never get to see them unless they’re happening to us for real. They are blunt and the cut to the chase. They are stories that male songwriters would pretty up, but Loveless would be the first to admit that she’d never pussy out like that. She hits us with it all and it leaves that sweet sting, all while still settling in like something that used to be written and played all the time in old Nashville.”

Together with Jessica Lea Mayfield, there is added hope for Real Country music.

Ryan Adams showed up on Live… on Jools Holland to perform Lucky Now. Check it out below, followed by Adams’ trick-or-treat “Night Sweats” promo-video (for his new album “Ashes and Fire”) featuring mega metal allusions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcG1PbHvtEs

We recently shared Kathleen Edwards‘ new songs, Change the Sheets and Wapusk, from her forthcoming album, “Voyageur.“ Voyageur was co-produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon.  Comes now the new song, Sidecar (via TLOBF).

Check Sidecar out below (while we wonder what that  pooch is doing in our spot above).  We’re hearing quite a departure from her beloved Americana strum (and drang).

Kathleen Edwards – Sidecar by Kathleen Edwards

Catch Kathleen Edwards on tour with Bon Iver on the following European dates:

October
26 –  Utrecht, Netherlands – MCV
27 – Brussels, Belgium – AB
29 – Paris, France – La Grande Halle de La Villette (Pitchfork Music Festival Paris)
30 – Cologne, Germany – E-Werk

November
01 – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle
03 – Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
04 – Stockholm, Sweden – Globen Annexet
05 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Falkoner
06 – Hamburg, Germany – Docks
09 – Leeds, England – O2 Academy
11 – Bristol, England – Colston Hall

We’re still reveling in the memories of Sunday night’s Paul Simon concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl.  Check out the only videos/audios we can currently find below.

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hym1afFEy5M&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Kodachrome

Sounds of Silence (good audio)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gklGYQXVjFs

Slip Slidin’ Away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmF1BnIu6aU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Here Comes the Sun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx2epKddx20&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Still Crazy After All These Years (including great, SNL-esque sax solo beginning at 2:41)

Beirut showed up on the Jimmy Fallon Show last night to perform their song, Santa Fe, off of their new album, The Rip Tide.  Check it out below courtesy of the Audio Perv.