Waterdeep in NashVegas

The husband-and-wife, folk-rock duo Waterdeep will play Nashville on Nov. 15, along with Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken and Alli Rogers. You can pre-order Waterdeep's forthcoming album, Pink and Blue, online here.

Spinning This Week:

Tyrone Wells : Hold On
Sixpence None the Richer : The Dawn of Grace
Iona with the All Souls Orchestra : Woven Cord
Over the Rhine : Snow Angels

Spinning This Week:

Radiohead : The Best of
Lenny Kravitz : Greatest Hits
Tyrone Wells : Hold On

Waxing Familiar

On the heels of last night's Phil Wickham show (a mind-numbingly LOUD show, by the way), Ray LaMontagne has a big claim to my weekend, with a listening party tonight (featuring his new record, Gossip in the Grain -- see my Lost Art Form: The Listening Party 10.9.08 post) and Sunday night's concert at the Ryman. Is there a particular reason for the (re)appearance of the photo above, you may wonder? Yes -- because it's beautiful.

Phil Wickham in Concert

I'm excited to be able to hear Phil Wickham's golden voice and Jeff Buckley-meets-Coldplay-meets-Josh Groban sound live for the first time this evening. Wickham's vocals are also often reminiscent of those of Nate Cole (formerly of Plus One), Kevin Max and Phillip LaRue (formerly of LaRue).

Spinning This Week:

Coldplay : Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Seven Day Jesus : The Hunger
Ingrid Michaelson : Girls and Boys
P.O.D. : When Angels and Serpents Dance
Delirious? : Kingdom of Comfort
Ray LaMontagne : Gossip in the Grain
Phil Wickham : Cannons
Feist : Let It Die

Hot Picks: Out Today

Ray LaMontagne : Gossip in the Grain
Ingrid Michaelson (pictured above) : BE OK

My Two Cents: Jennifer Hudson

A big Dreamgirls fan, I was excited to learn that Jennifer Hudson's debut CD was recently released. To my disappointment, I enjoy the album artwork more than the actual recording. (The artwork may even make my Best of 2008 for artwork/design. Stay tuned...) The standout tracks bookend the record -- the first cut (and first single), "Spotlight," and the last two tracks -- JHud's passionate Dreamgirls' encore performance, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," and the traditional spiritual "Jesus Promised Me a Home Over There." Rather than allowing Hudson's exceptional vocals room to soar, most of the disc features average, middle-of-the-road, romance-gone-wrong flatliners. Sadly, this extraordinary songbird has been confined to a stale pop cage and an ordinary stage.

Lost Art Form: The Listening Party

Those of you who have followed this blog for a time know that, while I am learning to embrace the age of the iPod, I have serious concerns about the extinction of "the album." In the spirit of "album conservation" (and simply for a good time), I am attempting to revive a pastime of the past -- the listening party. Long before the digital age, music lovers used to enjoy good food, good company and good music as they gathered around the record player. Today, listening to music is largely a solitary activity, save for concerts and the like. Sadly, earbuds are many's only musical companions. Music is meant to be shared and experienced. And so, I plan to (re)introduce the listening party to the digital world with a small group of fellow music lovers next week -- complete with mood lighting and good wine. Although I will be spinning a CD rather than vinyl, the spirit of the listening session lives on! This first installment will feature Ray LaMontagne's forthcoming record, Gossip in the Grain.

Spinning This Week:

Shawn McDonald : Roots
Jennifer Hudson : Self-titled
Coldplay : Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
My Brightest Diamond : A Thousand Shark's Teeth

My Two Cents: Ordinary Dreamers

Group 1 Crew's "Let It Roll" made my list of top 10 favorite songs for 2007. (See my Top 10 Songs of 2007 12.31.07 post.) The hip-hop trio's self-titled debut was a collection of party-ready jams, middle-of-the-road urban pop ditties and token ballads. G1C's sophomore release, Ordinary Dreamers, continues with the same successful formula and quality production. Now to see if one of the new tunes will land on my top 10 this year...

Black and White and Green All Over

It's been a long time coming. I've finally come to the determination that it's okay to recycle my music magazines (with the exception of those I have articles in, special collectors issues and mags that have an article on one of my favorite artists). For those of you who know me well, you realize that this was no easy decision for a print media junkie like myself. As for my CCM magazines, I have elected to keep them all for the time being. Since the pub is no longer in print, I am hoping to score some eBay success, as my collection spans nearly 17 years. Let me know if you're interested!

Beating the Boot

What constitutes staying-power criteria for CDs in my collection? A variety of factors, such as:

* I've interviewed the artist/band.

* The artist is a friend of mine.

* The CD is autographed.

* I have an emotional tie to the album that I don't want to sever (it reminds me of a person, place or period in my life).

* I like the artist/band enough to want the "series." (Even if I don't like one of the records in the series, I may keep it to complete the set.)

* The project has the possibility of becoming a rarity or collector's item.

* I actually like the disc.