owl and bear - live audio and dvd downloads for people who don’t like mp3s
Kaki King is hands-down an amazing guitarist. Pick up …Until We Felt Red (her 2006 album produced by Tortoise’s John McEntire). I haven’t yet heard her new one, Dreaming of Revenge, but it’s supposed to be excellent as well. Rolling Stone has called her a “guitar god”(dess), and I heartily agree.
Kaki King
September 4, 2006
Soundboard/audience mic matrix
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Kaki King; September 4, 2006′
Nirvana
February 1, 1992
Soundboard
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Nirvana; February 1, 1992′
To celebrate our newly-launched live Wilco Archive, here are a variety of recordings from the band’s 2008 five night residency in Chicago:
Continue reading ‘Download: Wilco; February 15, 16, 18, 19, & 20, 2008′
Arcade Fire
September 4, 2005
Soundboard
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Arcade Fire; September 4, 2005′
Cat Power
July 20, 2000
Soundboard (FM)
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Cat Power; July 20, 2000 & February 12, 2003′
Radiohead have doubtless come a long way since the early days of Pablo Honey. After The Bends, they became pretty weird, but it was only the beginning. Zombie twins Kid A and Amnesiac followed, and then came Hail to the Thief–a precursor to what Thom Yorke would put out as a soloist. In 2007, Radiohead joined other artists in acknowledgment of a fickle industry and attempted to reward (not punish) voracious fans by releasing In Rainbows on the honor system; around the same time, they broadcast Scotch Mist. I’m still not sure if the euphoric In Rainbows giveaway affected its critical acclaim; in some ways it seems like a great scheme to get good publicity for selling an album that for $18 might have been otherwise underwhelming. In other ways, it seems like another in a long line of groundbreaking efforts from the Oxfordshire band.
Radiohead
December 31, 2007
Scotch Mist
MPEG-2 broadcast from Current TV
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Radiohead; December 31, 2007 (DVD)’
Interpol
November 17, 2007
Soundboard (Digital FM)
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Interpol; November 17, 2007′
Blur
June 27, 1998
I am ashamed to admit that I started listening to Blur only after hearing “Song 2″ (a song that I now can’t stand to hear), which also means that I watched MTV and read Rolling Stone at the time. God, how things have changed, but of all the bands that broke up and dropped off the face of the Earth, or just proved to be shite over time, Blur has managed to survive. A lot of people want them to reunite, and I’m one of them. I never really listened to anything prior to their self-titled album (which contained “Song 2″) or after their inconsistent but still noteworthy follow-up “13,” but they remain a positive footnote in my mind. They had a little competitive vibe with Radiohead, who certainly proved their worth well beyond Blur’s lifespan, but second place really isn’t that bad–and it shouldn’t reflect negatively on the good things that Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree accomplished.
Soundboard (FM)
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Blur; June 27, 1998′
Lucinda Williams
January 28, 1989
It’s pretty much universally accepted that Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was one of the best albums of 1998–if not the 1990s–and that it also marked Lucinda Williams’ peak as a songwriter. In some ways, it’s totally wrong to judge her post-Car Wheels efforts comparatively, but in other ways, it’s pretty disappointing that she hasn’t produced an album as simultaneously raw and tender and as well-rounded as Car Wheels. She has had successful releases since then, but none have reached the caliber of Car Wheels. This show is from almost 10 years before Lucinda hit the mainstream and aroused men everywhere with her voice, lyrics, and trademark heartbreak on Car Wheels. This from her sweet, sad, and less-appreciated days as a country girl from Lake Charles, LA. A few years after this show, she won her first Grammy for “Passionate Kisses” (below), even though it was performed by someone else. Five years later, she won for Car Wheels, and three years later, she won for her truly great song “Get Right With God.”
Soundboard > Cassette > … > FLAC
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Lucinda Williams; January 28, 1989′
Drunk Squirrel
Drunk (Drugged) Kitty
Cat Power
January 23, 2008 (Broadcast date)
If you’re tired of Owl&Bear posts that feature prominent female singer/songwriters, well tough luck. This here is prominent female singer/songwriter week, or at least prominent female singer/songwriter Tuesday through Thursday. The truth is, I’ve been listening primarily to women singers lately, such as Feist and St. Vincent. I have not been listening to much Cat Power, but here’s a recent shows just because. I’ve been thinking lately that Feist might be the heir to Chan Marshall’s throne, but maybe she who draws her strength from felines will prove me wrong and put out a stellar next album of non-covers. I won’t keep my fingers crossed.
Soundboard (FM)
Morgan Spurlock is back, and he’s trying to kill himself harder than ever before!
Another complaint that I have about Amy Winehouse’s Grammy recognition is that her tabloid overexposure probably hurt another particularly gifted songwriter who just seems like an all-around great person (and obviously thus less likely to win anything). Here is a recent TV performance by Leslie Feist. She really deserves a lot more recognition, including a Grammy for The Reminder. There is so much more to her than “1234.” If you haven’t heard The Reminder, you should get it now. And don’t miss this great DVD.
Pro-shot > TV > DVD
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Feist; September 20, 2007 (DVD)’
I’ll never understand why people like Heath Ledger have to die while people like Amy Winehouse seem to live interminably against all odds. Her numerous Grammys, while they doubtless reflect a genuine talent, reek of the exploitation for which the music industry has been known for decades. I’d never heard Winehouse’s music before Sunday night, so her TV gig was telling for me–her general manner and the way she twisted her lip like Sid Vicious answered any questions about how she wound up where she is today–fame and self-destruction-wise. Her performance also told me that she’ll have to fight pretty hard if she doesn’t want her talent to become another casualty of industry greed, drug addiction, and the obscurity that follows. It will also be tough to keep people interested if she intends to keep her current formula of applying edgy lyrics to a throwback sound. Time will certainly tell for Ms. Winehouse.
Soundboard (pre-FM)
Continue reading ‘Hosted Live Download: Amy Winehouse; June 26, 2007′
