Unfamiliar Fridays: Vol. 7.

By: Jeff Sadler

During high school, a couple of my good buddies drug me five hours to Portland, Maine where we witnessed one of the most unbelievable, innovative, and mind-boggling performances. I certainly wasn't thrilled when they told me the leader of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones played banjo and that the percussion section consisted of some dude who called himself Future Man on a home-made drumitar rigged to play percussion samples.

I learned three things that day:

1. The banjo is cool.
2. Future Man & the "drumitar" are both very, very cool.
3. Victor Wooten is, by far, the most talented bass player on the planet.

I'm not going to bother going into the specifics of the members and albums (although a good place to start would be their Greatest Hits of the 20th Century). I'll leave you with a few videos that hopefully have as big of an impact on you as they did me that fateful day in Portland and you can dig in as much as you like depending on how you feel about their sound. If you take the time to watch anything, make sure you check out Victor's rendition of "Amazing Grace" on his bass; it's breathtaking.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Big Country.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Scratch and Sniff.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Big Country.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Amazing Grace.

The Spotlight: My Morning Jacket.

By: Robbie Lebans

Hope everyone is doing great out there! To say I'm excited to do this week's Spotlight is a severe understatement; to say I'm exponentially ecstatic is slightly more accurate, but still remains an understatement. That being said, I suppose I'll stick to my guns and just say I'm exponentially ecstatic to present My Morning Jacket to y'all.

But before I dig into what these guys are all about, let's take care of the administrative stuff, shall we? My Morning Jacket are a five piece band, fronted by singer/guitarist Jim James, hailing from Louisville, Kentucky. Since their formation in 1998, the band has been extremely active in the music world. They have put out five studio albums (1999's "The Tennessee Fire", 2001's "At Dawn, 2003's "It Still Moves", 2005's "Z", and 2008's "Evil Urges"). They have also released a plethora of EPs, as well as a live album/DVD, and have appeared on an almost ridiculous amount of compilation albums.

Many pair this long haired crew to old school southern rock bands like Lynard Skynard, and in doing so, deem My Morning Jacket "the next generation of southern rock". As great of a title as this is, I feel like such generalizations take away from, and fail to justify, the true beauty and diversity in their music. Upon listening to any of their albums, one of the initial things you will notice is the "southern twang" in Jones' voice, and at times, the band's raw instrumentals. Undoubtedly, these aspects certainly categorize them in the "southern rock" genre. But in doing so - in placing them in such a vague genre - is failing to give the band the credit they deserve. I can't emphasize enough how unique and diverse My Morning Jacket is, and for that, I choose not to place them in any single genre, or to define them in any single way. Instead, I will praise them for the diversity they bring to the table, and the many genres which seemingly influence their music.

The first time I heard of these guys, I was in a car with my brother, and he had a burnt copy of "Z" playing. He played the song "Off the Record", which is a fun, catchy track that reminded me a lot of The Clash - Kind of a punk-feel to it, with a slight tinge of reggae. About midway through the tune, the band breaks into a chill, atmospheric jam session which included various electronics. The next song he played was "Lay Low", which is truly a southern rock-type of song. But again, the band eventually breaks into a lengthy progressive rock instrumental which puts emphasis on James' skill as an experienced guitarist.

These are only brief descriptions of two songs, but already I'm sure you can see what I mean when I speak of the band's diversity. I'm going to post three excerpts from the band's "Okonokos" DVD: "Lay Low", "Off the Record", and "Dondante". I urge you to watch and listen to these from start to finish. Trust me - the band shows glimpses of genius throughout.

Note the blues-y/experimental/atmospheric saxophone solo at the 8:00 mark in "Dondante". Also note that these are all tunes from their album "Z", so check out their other stuff, too! Cheers!

My Morning Jacket: Lay Low.

My Morning Jacket: Off The Record.

My Morning Jacket: Dondante.

(The Best Of) Tiny Desk Concerts.

By: Jeff Sadler

The roughly 20-square-feet of space behind the desk of Bob Boilen, a veteran music producer of National Public Radio, has seen some of the most talented, exciting, and innovative musical acts of the last decade. Paul Farhi, of the Washington Post, describes this situation perfectly, "Each week, more or less, the little space becomes an unlikely stage for mini-concerts by an eclectic group of famous, near-famous and downright obscure musicians."

I'll stop writing and leave you with the videos, as there's lots of them, but if you're feeling overwhelmed by some of the new faces, be SURE to check Raphael "R&B" Saadiq (his latest album included collaborations with Jay-Z, Joss Stone, and Stevie Wonder), Fanfarlo, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, as well as The Low Anthem.

Raphael Saadiq

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Fanfarlo

The Low Anthem

Avett Brothers

Great Lake Swimmers

Well Seasoned: Boz Scaggs.

By: Jeff Sadler

Bill Cosby once said, "Nothing separates the generations like music", and in today's case, he couldn't be further off the mark. Just like the music that has played through our parents' generation and into ours (I'm talking about the Beatles, the Stones, Van Morrison, Clapton, Buddy Guy, CCR, James Taylor, the Doobie Brothers, Hall & Oates, and the list goes on...), I truly believe it is that same music that will survive to subsequent generations, and generations after that. In 50 years, Spears, Beiber, Gaga, Ludacris, etc. will certainly be part of our musical history, but unlike the roots and beginnings of the greatest blues and rock song-writers and performers in history, they're easily replaceable.

Know whose not replaceable? Boz Scaggs. With one of the most unique and recognizable voices in the game, Boz has cemented himself in history as an extremely classy and tasteful player and writer. Although his first attempt at recorded success included a collaboration with slide guitar legend Duane Allman, he received "lukewarm" acclaim from this particular album and several others on the Columbia Record label. It was when he teamed up with a group of renowned session musicians, Toto, that he recorded, Silk Degrees, which reached #2 on US charts and #1 in several other countries.

The first of the videos below comes from an album released in 1980 titled, Middle Man, and the remaining two were hit singles from the aforementioned, Silk Degrees. Both are great places to start if you like what you hear.

Pay particular attention to Drew Zingg (guitarist and vocalist for the legendary group, Steely Dan) in "Breakdown Dead Ahead". It quickly becomes obvious why he is currently one of the most sought after guitarists in New York and beyond.

Boz Scaggs: Breakdown Dead Ahead.

Boz Scaggs: Lido Shuffle.

Boz Scaggs: Lowdown.

Unfamiliar Fridays: Vol. 6 (feat. Hilary Ready).

By: Robbie Lebans

This week's Unfamiliar Friday is going to go a bit differently. Hilary Ready, a great friend/roommate of mine, is going to take the mic and spit some gold at y'all. Hilary is a fourth year music major here at Mount Allison University, and is both a beautiful singer, as well as an avid music listener. Awhile back, I asked Hilary to write a segment on one of her favourite artists. It worked out perfectly that her submission corresponded with the right time of week, so for this week's Unfamiliar Friday, allow me to introduce a fairly unfamiliar Regina Spektor through the words of Hilary Ready...

Better, Better, Better: Regina Spektor.

By: Hilary Ready

Even after years of devoted listening, it’s still hard for me to place a finger on what exactly it is that gives Regina Spektor’s music such a distinct and memorable sound.

I stumbled upon her in my first year of university – in a music class, actually. I heard Fidelity from her 2006 album, Begin to Hope and fell in love. My class spent the next fifteen minutes discussing her use of vocal support and the glottal, but all I could think about was racing home and getting my paws on as much of her music as I could, which I did indeed do. That was four years ago, and to this day my love for her music has yet to be entirely satiated.

Regina’s music roots itself in a few places: the classical piano conservatory and Russian music of her youth, the rock and punk music of her teenage years and the underground music scene in New York City, which is where she began playing her compositions for the public. Her first two albums were released during this time, 11:11 and Songs. 2003 saw the release of her aptly-entitled Soviet Kitsch, the first of her records to garner her significant attention on the international music scene. It has since been followed by Begin to Hope, which was a huge commercial success, and Far, which has received mixed reviews.

The result of the aforementioned influences on Regina’s music is a blend of refined story-telling (the topics on her songs range from Oedipus Rex to musicboxes to Samson and Delilah) and complex/intelligent harmonies and arrangements. Throw in some soaring lyrical lines, bizarre and somehow beautiful vocal acrobatics, and perhaps most importantly – an intimacy with the listener that even the most successful musicians never achieve and presto: there you have it. One can listen to her early recordings (raw, unedited and usually with a live audience) or a polished edited single off of a later album and still Regina’s heritage, training, and personality will ring clearly through every note sung and every chord played.

Despite being lumped into the somewhat ambiguous and altogether nondescript category of “anti-folk”, it only takes a recreational listener a few moments to identify a song as being written or sung by the Russian-born prodigy, and arguably even less time to fall in love with it. But why? Is it the piano? The voice? The storyteller inside of her that sometimes overshadows her singing ability? It’s hard to tell really, so here are a few videos I’ve selected to help you decide for yourself. Perhaps in listening to them you’ll be able to pinpoint just what it is... and if not, well, at least you’ll have something infectious and dare I say, quirky, stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Cheers!

Regina Spektor: Eet (from 2009's Far).

Regina Spektor: Fidelity (from 2006's Begin To Hope).

Regina Spektor: Us (from 2003's Soviet Kitsch).

Regina Spektor: Samson (from 2002's Songs & 2006's Begin To Hope).