Out of the
constant flood of new CDs passing through our offices, a few have really grabbed my attention. One of the coolest rock records out comes from the
The Raconteurs , who most people already know is a supergroup featuring Jack White of the
The White Stripes with
Brendan Benson. With a range of influences (often evoking the best classic rock), this side-project is much more broad than what you might hear on a
Stripes album.
In the recent past BlueBeat
poked fun at film stars who make records (check out the
Movie Stars Rock KP), but there are a few multi-talented individuals who pull it off.
She & Him combines indie hero
M. Ward with actress
Zooey Deschanel (of "Elf" and BlueBeat favorite "Almost Famous", among other films).
Deschanel has been privately recording much of this material over the years, and the result is some charming indie pop.
The Heliocentrics present their release
Out There, and the title pretty much sums it up: a sparse, spacey instrumental soundtrack of drums and keyboards that’s a real trip! Whoah. And over in kid’s music, there’s been a trend towards
hipper children’s records than we had in my youth.
Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino-5 weaves together stories and songs performed by Butterfly of
Digable Planets, Chali 2na (
Jurassic 5) , and Scratch from
The Roots, produced by
Prince Paul. This follows the Baby Loves Jazz
Go Baby Go CD with
Sharon Jones and
John Medeski, produced by trumpeter
Steven Bernstein. Finally, the career of
Willie Nelson is reviewed in the new box set
One Hell Of A Ride. From burgeoning songwriter to one of the most popular performers of all time, his singular style defines "outlaw". Heck, he's got his own Killer Playlist,
Willie: Original Outlaw here on BlueBeat.
Here are a few more recent releases:
Funplex by
The B-52's
Antidotes by
Foals
Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound
by
De Novo Dahl
Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story (Various Artists)
Shine by
Anna Nalick
Live At The Bass Performance Hall by
Lindsey Buckingham
- Jeff Thornton
