Real Music Alternatives
51 years ago today, Jimi Hendrix signed with Reprise, which released his three studio LPs: Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland). Exactly 13 years later, a thief broke into the Hendrix-built Electric Lady Studios and stole five of his gold records. Ain’t no telling. Read Brett Netson (Built To Spill, Caustic Resin) on Hendrix in MAGNET:
Happy birthday to Stan Lynch (Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers). Baby’s a rock ‘n’ roller. Photo of Lynch with MAGNET’s Patrick Berkery, who also knows his way around the drum kit. Read Amy Rigby on Warren Zanes’ Petty: The Biography in MAGNET:
From The Desk Of Amy Rigby: “Petty: The Biography” By Warren Zanes
47 years ago today, Marvin Gaye released stone-cold-classic What’s Going On. This is what’s happening, brothers and sisters. The Twilight Singers take on Mr. Gaye in MAGNET:
Happy 55th birthday to Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine). You made us realize. Read our classic pre-MBV-reunion interview with Shields where he sets the record straight on Loveless:
My Bloody Valentine: Kevin Shields Sets The “Loveless” Record Straight
The pure, blues sound made by Cosmos Sunshine Heidtmann—yes, that’s his real name—comes from his hippie-style upbringing on the Connecticut River. (No phones, no electricity, no bathrooms, water that had to be hand pumped, etc.) He started his music career as teenager and has continued to create new recordings since then, with four albums and four EPs under his (presumably homemade) belt. Heidtmann has seen success opening up for artists like Gov’t Mule, Blues Traveler and King Crimson, and this exposure just landed him in the Connecticut Blues Hall Of Fame. You can catch Cosmos Sunshine live this this month and next, supporting new album Comes With The Fall, out Friday. To get a taste of LP, you can stream and/or download “The Bomb” below.
“The Bomb” (download):
This superstar bluegrass-flavored trio features former Nickel Creek fiddler/guitarist Sara Watkins, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/guitarist Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan (known for her stunning vocal work with Crooked Still and Sometymes Why). Debut See You Around shows off the band’s celestial harmonies, instrumental prowess and impressive songwriting with 11 originals and unrecorded Gillian Welch gem “Hundred Miles.”
The women alternate lead vocals throughout the album, but when their voices blend, moving from two-part to three-part harmonies, the music really takes off. There’s a hint of ’50s R&B on “Ryland (Under The Apple Tree)” with subtle, twangy electric guitar supporting the trio’s smooth vocal interplay. “Close It Down” is an old-fashion country cheating song, given a new spin by the trio’s arch vocals as they brush aside the advances of a smug Lothario. “Hundred Miles” wraps things up with a mostly a cappella rendition of this chilling, traditional-sounding tune.
—j. poet
36 years ago today, The Haçienda club opened in Madchester. 15 years of sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll and 24-hour party people later, it closed. Illustration for MAGNET by John Ritter, 2001. If you remember the Haçienda, you weren’t really there. Read our review of Manchester: North Of England: A Story Of Independent Music, Greater Manchester 1977-1993:
Essential New Music: Various Artists’ “Manchester: North Of England”
Happy birthday to Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn, Joe Henry). Guitar dog. Read our review of his great latest LP:
Happy 60th birthday to Jane Wiedlin (Go-Go’s). Beauty and the beat, indeed.
Happy birthday to Susan Cowsill (Cowsills, Continental Drifters, Psycho Sisters). Sister of mercy. Read Susan on horses and Dwight Twilley in MAGNET: