The Head and the Heart: But I Miss Your Face Like Hell

Heading out to DC tonight to see The Head and the Heart.  I've been looking forward to this concert for months now.  Ever since catching The Head and the Heart and DMB Caravan, seeing them again has been high on my list.  This is the third Head and the Heart video I'm posting.  They only have one album out.  Pretty soon all the songs will be represented!  Really, go out and buy they're album or catch them on tour.  They're a great band, and you won't regret supporting these guys.  They're great.

From this year's SXSW, here The Head and the Heart performing "Rivers and Roads".

theheadandtheheart.com

Cover Thursdays: The Picture In Reverse

Yesterday R.E.M. announced that they were breaking up as a band after 31 years.  The break-up was reportedly on very good terms, and was a mutual, yet difficult decision.  A band performing that consistently for over 30 years is astonishing. When you think about it, R.E.M. is a bit unique, even in the context of the best bands of our life times.  There's not many bands like them, with that amount of success.  The reason R.E.M. was so loved, was because of the emotional connection they made with their audience.

To celebrate the work of R.E.M. here they are performing one my favorite songs from their catalog "Nightswimming".  Also, check out Ingrid Michaelson utilizing a loop station in a cover of the very same song just below this video.



Trent Dabbs & Amy Stroup: The Quiet Feels So Loud

The way music lovers learn about new music sure has changed over the years.  Of course there's itunes and the surge in digital downloading.  There's music discovery websites like Pandora.  But from the "Why didn't we think of this sooner" department, TV shows and movies are one of the most outstanding avenues to discover new music.  In recent years, music has become and integral part of TV shows.  The music not only adds to the corresponding scene, but it adds emotion to the song as well.

One show which always seems to feature great music is Parenthood.  I've found quite a few songs while watching this show, and last night's episode offered another one.  Check out Trent Dabbs and Amy Stroup performing "Odds of Being Alone".



Patrick Park: Putting Past Poisons Gently To Sleep

Sometimes a song will start playing on the radio  your ipod, that you had completely forgotten about.  One that you loved, but for some reason it completely escaped the "heavy rotation" section of your music library, never to be heard from again.  That is, until it creeps up one day, and the love affair has started all over once again.

As you may have guessed, that recently happened to me.  Back in college I stumbled upon an artist named Patrick Park.  One song in particular caught my attention, entitled "Past Poisons".  I downloaded the whole album instantly, because of how much I liked this song.  I don't know why it slipped from my list of well-liked songs, because upon hearing it the other day it returned.  It's the honesty and emotion of the chorus that gets me.  He sings, "If you want me/ You'll know where I'll be/ Putting past poisons gently to sleep."

"Past Poisons" is off Patrick Park's debut studio album Loneliness Knows My Name.  He's since released two more full length albums, the latest being 2010's Come What Will.

Patrick Park performing "Past Poisons"...

Find more from Patrick Park at his website.

Daphne Willis: Got A Stack of Disappointment

Daphne Willis is an up and coming 23 year-old artist working out of Chicago out Nashville.  According to a NPR article, Willis found herself with her current label, when an exec from Vanguard Records ran out ipod battery and plugged into the on board music station.  Fortunately for the exec and for Willis, one of her songs happened to be playing, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Daphne Willis' debut album, What to Say, was released in 2010.  Her latest album, Because I Can, was released just this past April.  Here's Daphne Willis performing "One By One" off Because I Can.

Learn more about this up and coming singer/songwriter by checking out her website.

James Apollo: Call Off The Violins

James Apollo is a journeyman singer/songwriter.  He has that smokey jazz-infused voice, magnificently weathered by tours.  His music seems out of place to me.  Not in a bad way.  There's just not much out there right now that it sounds like.  It's always refreshing to find music that strays away from the trends to stand on it's own.  James Apollo's latest full length album 'til Your Feet Bleed was released in 2010.  The likes of Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams are amongst the fans of the album.  According the Appolo's website, he and his band, The Sweet Unknown, have been in the studio recording with Damien Jurado.

Here's James Apollo and the Sweet Unknown performing "The Violins" off the 2011 EP Born Lucky.

Check out James Apollo's website.



Cover Thursdays: I Don't Like You But I Love You

I may, or may not have a celebrity crush on Zoey Deschanel.  She's a classy kind of pretty, and she can sing.  I'm pretty much all about her.  Anyway, she's starring a new show called New Girl on Fox.  Since it premieres next Tuesday, I thought now would be a good time to feature this particular song.  In addition to starring in movies such as Elf and (500) Days of Summer, Zoey Deschanel is also a singer/songwriting.  In 2007 she teamed up with M. Ward to form She and Him.  They're released two albums together.

Here's She and Him (Deschanel and M. Ward) performing the oft-covered "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" by The Miracles.