Five For Friday: Songs For Your Hammock

Here are five songs that go well with a hammock and a refreshing beverage. I'm sure they would work equally as well if you were strolling along the beach... Relax and enjoy.

Rediscover: Band of Skulls

YES to Rock 'n' Roll!!! Can't wait for Band of Skulls now album to come out at the end of next month. Until then, find out more about Band of Skulls here.

Discover: Andrew Bird

I don't know if this really belongs in the "Discover" or the "Rediscover" area now since I've known about Andrew Bird for quite a while... But since I didn't really start listening to him until the last year or two, I'll just put it here for now. Anyway, he's brilliant...

Find out more about Andrew Bird here.

Five For Friday: Summer

After the ridiculous Winter we've had here, I'm so ready for Summer. Here are five songs to try to coax it to come a little early... I'm sure Spring won't mind.

Rediscover: Elbow

I discovered Elbow thanks to the late, great 92.9 Dave FM here in the Atlanta area. I can thank them for many musical discoveries... But this is about Elbow... Yep. Elbow. A weird name for a fantastic band from across the pond. I love the feel of their music and their lyrics and phrasing are genius.

Learn more about Elbow here.

Discover: Gary Clark, Jr.

This is big, dirty, dusty, nasty blues... If you're numb before listening to this, you won't be afterwards... but if you still are, then you're probably dead.

Discover more about Gary Clark, Jr. here.

Five For Friday: ICE!

It seems that we don't handle it very well here in the Atlanta area when multiple-millions of tiny frozen objects fall from the sky, but I think we learned a lesson from the insanity a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately , this time it wasn't as bad (I'm writing this on Tuesday night and keeping my fingers crossed). And to make it even less bad, here are five songs about ice to kick off your weekend.

Stay safe out there.

Rediscover: Amos Lee

It's been a while since I've listened to Amos Lee. *counting on fingers* Oh my word... Has it really been 8 years? Yep. I bought his first album, "Amos Lee" when it came out and loved it. I just recently bought his latest album, "Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song" and it's hitting the spot! Why did I ever stop listening to him? This album is a bit more musically broad than his first album with a good mix of folk, blues and rock, but it all flows together very well. I'm glad to see such a good artist grow and expand while remaining to be exactly who he is. I'd love to see him do something with Ben Harper. That would be awesome. And on that note, it's time for me to go play catch up with all of his albums that I've missed. 

Discover: Rich Aucoin

So, if Daft Punk and The Arcade Fire adopted a kid whose birth parents were into The Flaming Lips, bright colors and dancing, you would end up with Rich Aucoin. His album, "We're All Dying To Live" is a fantastically sprawling 22 track album that is a single, cohesive piece of art. In an age where we are being forced to create and consume in bite-sized portions, I always get excited when I find an album that flows from beginning to end creating a soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist.

Five For Friday: FRIDAY!!!

Here are five songs about Friday. Enjoy your Friday and the rest of your weekend!

Rediscover: Christ, Lord

Christ, Lord is a rambling, roving mashup of gypsy, vaudevillian, balkan music featuring trumpet, violin, guitar, upright bass, accordion, drums and occasionally tuba, vibraphone or anything else they can get ahold of. If you get a chance to see them live, go. That's the only way to get the full effect of their music.

PS: you will have a very strong urge to dance... even if you can't... especially if you can't.

Find out more about Christ, Lord here.

Discover: Filastine

I first discovered Filastine through NPR's Field Recordings. He was performing at The Cathedral of Junk in Austin, TX with all of his electronic gear... and playing a shopping cart... How I forgot about him, I have no idea. But now I've finally discovered his music once again and I am rather glad that I have.

Find out more about Filastine here.