The strange, ethereal musings of Melissa Ann Sweat take shape as the Lady Lazarus project. She's filled her Mantic LP with Daniel Johnston-style confessions wrapped in layers of surrealist gauze. Here's my favorite cut from the record.
Monte deck out their energetic Spanish-language post-punk with some sweet electronic textures. Their debut self-titled EP is full of driving downstrokes slashing against humming synths. Nifty stuff.
This jangly, lo-fi stomper makes up one side of a split 7" with Slow Trucks. Getting your hands on the vinyl is the only way to actually own the track, but for now you can stream it right here.
Read more about Ugly Winner - "Other Things"
I can't even hear Jamie's guitar on this live track but he's still playing it like the earth would disintegrate if he stopped. And Caralee is the eternal master of offhand cymbal taps and gameboy beats. Xiu Xiu's new lineup is great but I do miss this duo as they used to be. Check out "Crank Heart" from 2004 below.
Fact of the day: San Jose producer and songwriter DJ Shadow has a personal record collection of over 60,000 titles. That's at least sixty times what I've got. What a pro. He's currently working on a new record entitled The Less You Know, The Better, which is slated for a September release. Just last month he put out a new EP to tide over the fans waiting for the full-length. Its title track, "I Gotta Rokk", is some pretty badass stuff. Stream the audio in full below.
Read more about DJ Shadow - "I Gotta Rokk"
Grammy-award winning artist Sade will be performing in San Jose on August 25 at the HP Pavilion. She will also be at the Oracle Arena on the 27th of the same month. It’s sure to be one of the best concerts of the year in the area, and Sade fans should be sure to get their tickets before the shows sell out.
Other notable concerts in the San Jose area this summer include…
Yanni on May 7, at the Warfield Theater
Usher and Akon will be performing at the HP Pavilion on May 29 Read more about Sade to Perform in San Jose in August
Here is a a quick "Did-you-know": Did you know that the music sensation The Doobie Brothers are from San Jose, California? Well - they are! Let's take a moment to listen to and watch "Black Water" - one of their hits! Check out the lyrics below for a good time, too!
Lyrics: Read more about Black Water Music Video & Lyrics - Doobie Brothers
The San Jose Downtown Association has organized another great season of Music in the Park, one of the best free concert series anywhere in the US, outside of New York, of course. Reggae fans should be especially excited this year as two legendary acts come through and a couple other ska bands of momentus reputation. The roots reggae legend Don Carlos will make an appearance July 15 and MitP mainstay, Eek-A-Mouse, wraps up the season on August 26. For Ska fans, be sure to attend The English Beat (July 1)and Jamaican ska legends The Skatalites (June 17) as they represent two eras of the ska invasion. Read more about San Jose's Music in the Park among the Best