RIP Levon Helm

On my way home from work on Thursday, I found myself rocking out in the car to The Band's "Up On Cripple Creek." At the time, I didn't think much of hearing the song, until I got home and discovered why I was hearing the song. The voice and backbone of that song and the band (The Band) itself had passed just a few hours earlier.

Although I prefer Levon to his days with The Band, I have the utmost respect for the work the man did in recent years. In 2008, his album Dirt Farmer won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album.       

In 2008 I head a live session of Levon and his friends at Levon's barn/studio on the World Cafe. The session is great (and posted below) and the whole scene seemed surreal.   
A live session from Levon's studio in Woodstock, NY in 2008


After hearing the above session and interview of Levon, I came to the realization that the music industry needs more Levon Helms. He was one of the great ones and we were lucky to have him. RIP Dirt Farmer.

I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead
I just need some place where I can lay my head
"Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?"He just grinned and shook my hand, "no" was all he said. 

Trampled By Turtles "Alone"

Here's the new video from Trampled By Turtles, Alone. Get your Duluth on! 
Trampled By Turtles – Alone

Go see the Lumineers

As we ascended the narrow canyon roads of the mighty Poudre River a couple weeks ago on our way up to see The Lumineers, our friend Micah made an optimistic prediction that this Lumineers show would be full of stomping, singing, happy people. He was spot on. By the end of the show, my feet were sore from stomping and I haven't smiled that much at a show since the last time I saw Josh Ritter. I know the quality is pretty poor, but hopefully my iPhone clip of Ho, Hey gives you a taste of what the show was like:     

But the highlight of the show came during the encore when the band pulled an piano out into the middle of the crowd and played 3 songs without audio equipment. It was just us and them, it felt like we were at a house party and our good friends pulled out their instruments to play us a couple of songs. It was one of the great moments in my concert-going life. 
The Lumineers are quickly blowing up and opportunities to see them at smaller, intiment venues is quickly dwindling. If you have a chance to see these guys soon, I would definitely take that opportunity.    
Tour Dates
Since my video is pretty bad, I decided to provide you with something a little better. Here's a live version of "Stubborn Love"  The Lumineers – Stubborn Love 

In need of a First Aid Kit

I've been wanting to write a post about the band First Aid Kit for a while now and I figured now would be a good time as ever as I recover from my second collarbone surgery in as many months. Unfortunately, I have one arm in a sling and typing is a pain, so this is going to be short and sweet.

First Aid Kit is a cool, folky, sister duet hailing from Sweden. I was really impressed with this band, and then even more so when I discovered their ages; 23 and 19 respectively. The girls gained a little popularity in the U.S. after releasing this cover of Fleet Foxes' Tiger Mountain Peasant Song. 

I discovered them after hearing their Fever Ray cover of When I Grow Up.

First Aid Kit – When I Grow Up

But the Söderberg sisters are more than just covers, and their new album is quite enjoyable. Let's start with the title track, The Lion's Roar. 
First Aid Kit – The Lion's Roar

Next up, Emmylou.
First Aid Kit – Emmylou

I’ll be your Emmylou and I’ll be your June 

And you’ll be my Gram and my Johnny too. 
No, I’m not asking much of you 
Just sing little darling, sing with me.


Finally, King of the World, featuring Connor Oberst. Heck yes! 
First Aid Kit – King of the World

Audio Pizza Playlists Goes Live!

A couple of months ago, my amazing sister (who has been the biggest Audio Pizza advocate I could have ever asked for), started building a Spotify playlist of the songs featured on this blog. That playlist can by accessed by searching AudioPizza on Spotify and I will do my best to keep it updated. I've also create a Grooveshark playlist because it allowed me to create a widget to add to this blog. Sweet! Check it out over on the right------->. Also, here's a direct link to the Grooveshark Playlist. I wanted you to be able to just put on the music from Audio Pizza and let it roll. Enjoy!


And since I'm not really down to walk away from a blogpost without posting some sort of music, here's the new video from Of Monsters and Men, Little Talks. I posted a live version of this song a few weeks ago, but I thought I'd post the official video because it's absolutely visually stunning (and Icelandic creepy). 

The moment a lead singer realizes they've made it...

I was perusing reddit/r/music a couple days ago when I came across the title of:
0:16 the moment a lead singer realizes they've made it.
The video that resulted from my inquisitive click and the warm feeling it left in my heart and reminded me of how much and why I love live music. Pay close attention to Marcus Mumford right around the 16 second mark of this song. For my fellow Redditors out there, you know this resulted in an upvote. 

This Heart Was Made For You - Valentine's Day Pizza

After finishing a lovely pasta and vino Valentine's evening dinner with my wonderful wife, I'm once again a temporary widower to science as my wife heads off to a BSL-3 lab to work on some deadly pathogen for a couple hours. While I wait for her return, I thought I'd post a small playlist love songs (and not so much love) playlist to take you through the evening.      

Josh Ritter - The Curse Josh Ritter – The Curse

Old 97's  - Question Old 97's – Question

Mason Jennings - Raindrops on the Kitchen Floor Mason Jennings – Raindrops on the Kitchen Floor

The Avett Brothers - The Ballad of Love and Hate The Avett Brothers – The Ballad Of Love And Hate

The Beatles - Here, There, and Everywhere

Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You Band of Horses – No One's Gonna Love You (possibly a break-up song, but we'll go with it).

The Mitguards – Ridin' With The One I Love

And a couple of Anti-Valentine's Day Songs for those who aren't as into the holiday as others are.

The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight

Kathleen Edwards - House Full of Empty Rooms Kathleen Edwards – House Full Of Empty Rooms

Room 125 Productions

Room 125 Productions is the pseudonym of the film/media department of Lawrence High School in Lawrence, KS. Although Mr. Kuhr and students of Room 125 seem to do an immense amount of really cool film and music projects, I'm totally enthralled by their Classroom Sessions. Mr. Kuhr brings in independent musicians to be interviewed an filmed by the students of Room 125 Productions. The teacher and the music fan in me are both overwhelmed by the opportunity provided to both the students and to the artists themselves. Great work Mr Kuhr, keep it up! I'll be sure to post my student interviews and music footage once I get my own version of this going at my school. 


I've selected some of my favorite sessions below, but here's a link to the entire set of the Classroom Sessions.
The Head and The Heart - Rivers and Roads

Damien Jurado - Rachel & Cali

The Civil Wars - I've Got This Friend

Bryan John Appleby - The Words of the Revelator

From Reykjavik with Love - Of Monsters and Men

The first time I heard Of Monsters and Men, I was walking our dogs through a local park and the song Little Talks (see below) came on and hit me like a shot of Brennivín. What ensued was not necessarily a jig, a line dance, or a grapevine, but something in between the three. I received a cold look from my dogs a warm feeling in my heart, like that of a friendly Reykjavik fire in February. This Icelandic indie folk band is about to blow up here in the states and you better jump on this bandwagon before they Mumford on you. I wanted to feature Of Monsters and Men as a Tastiest of 2011 band, but their album doesn't drop here for another month or so. In the mean time, here some of my favorites from the band thus far. I Cannot wait for the full LP.


All of these songs were recorded in a hostel in Reykjavik, which makes them way cooler.  
First off, here's the song that made me dance in the first place, Little Talks Of Monsters And Men – Little Talks
Download this song for free from the band...     
"I don't like walking around this old and empty house.
So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear"

Six Weeks Of Monsters And Men – Six Weeks

and Love, Love, Love Of Monsters And Men – Love Love Love

Illuminated by the Lumineers

I decided to dedicate this first official post of twenty-twelve to my wife. Every time I come to her enthusiastically with a "Baby, you've got to listen to this new band I found!", she always listens intently and enthusiastically gives me legitimate feedback, even when she has an anatomy test on the horizon. Early this week, the tables were turned. I received a text from her that read as follows: "Babe, do you know the Lumineers, they're out of Denver? You should put them on your blog!" #bestwifeever.
So my answer was no, I hadn't heard of The Lumineers out of Denver. But after listening to them all week, I'm grateful for this discovery. This is a folky and fun band, with heaps of talent and a definite dark side. 


The Lumineers are not on Spotify yet but they do have an amazing live session that can be downloaded for free on Daytrotter. However, their live recordings on YouTube are fun, intimate, and makes me greatly anticipate a live viewing of this great band in Northern Colorado. 


Here's Ho Hey. The audio isn't amazing in this version but I absolutely love the context and atmosphere of this video. My favorite quote heard in the background of this song "watch those beers, I bet they're full."

Dead Sea

Flowers in Your Hair

Be in my eye, Be in my heart, Be in my eye, eyeyeye, Be in my heart

Tastiest of 2011 - Laura Marling

So, I'm not actually expecting to post something to this blog everyday. I was actually planning on taking a day or two off after yesterday's post, but I listened to a lot of this next artist today and I decided to keep the streak going.
In September, English folk singer Laura Marling released her album Creature Fear. The release of this album coincided nicely to my discovery of Spotify, and the two complimented each other nicely.   
I was drawn to the album immediately but I was absolutely blown away when I found out Laura was only 21 years old! 
Here's another case, much like my conundrum with my The Head and the Heart post, where I have difficulty picking just a few songs from the album, but here goes...


First off, here's the album's opener, The Muse. I thought it'd be a good place to start. Laura Marling – The Muse 

Next up, Sophia Laura Marling – Sophia

And finally, the darkest (and my favorite) song on the album, The Beast Laura Marling – The Beast

Laura was definitely not the most talked about young English musician this year, but I don't think she's going away any time soon. She's worked with Mumford and Sons on a separate project and I think she has the potential to do really big things.