Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine

An all-star collection of artists have collaborated to pay tribute to the great folk troubadour John Prine.  The project titled, Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, was released earlier this week (June 22) on Prine’s very own Oh Boy Records.  The album includes many of the current “monsters of folk,”  with Conor Oberst and Jim James’ My Morning Jacket, along with several other indie-folk staples, like Justin Vernon, The Avett Brothers,  Josh Ritter and many more.  I have yet to hear the record but it is already receiving much love from the blogosphere and the greater indie community.  Looks like a fun little adventure for Prine and folk enthusiasts. Be on the look out for Prine himself as he will be on tour this summer in support of his own recent release, In Person and On State.

Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows Tracklist

1. Justin Vernon of Bon Iver – Bruised Orange (Chain Of Sorrow)

2. Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band – Wedding Day In Funeralville

3. My Morning Jacket – All The Best

4. Josh Ritter – Mexican Home

5. Lambchop – Six O’Clock News

6. Justin Townes Earle – Far From Me

7. The Avett Brothers – Spanish Pipedream

8. Old Crow Medicine Show – Angel From Montgomery

9. Sara Watkins – The Late John Garfield Blues

10. Drive-By Truckers – Daddy’s Little Pumpkin

11. Deer Tick featuring Liz Isenberg – Unwed Fathers

12. Those Darlins – Let’s Talk Dirty In Hawaiian

Another Autumn Playlist

So after listening to Brady’s Autumn Shuffle last week, I was inspired to create a seasonal playlist of my own.  I didn’t put quite as much thought into my list as Brady, rather I simply chose to create a list of songs and albums that I feel both musically and lyrically fit the mood of the season. Let me know if you have any songs or albums that you really fall for this time of year. I hope that this playlist makes your ears bleed til winter comes.

matt pond PA

I really love this group a lot and in fact I find that almost their entire catalog fits that autumnal season very well, especially Several Arrows Later.  But instead of choosing a track from that album I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and include this excellent cover of another band that fits the fall season very well, Neutral Milk Hotel.

matt pond PA – In An Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel)

Iron & Wine

Here is a guy I am sure you are all familiar with by now.  Someone who like Nick Drake also got his first big exposure through the “Garden State” soundtrack. Well I find his contemplative lo-fi folk music to be great company on a sunny fall afternoon.  One of my favorite things to do is to go for a drive in the fall while the leaves are in transition and this song I chose for you here is one of my favorite companions along the way.

Iron & Wine – The Trapeze Swinger

M83′s Saturdays = Youth

Saturdays was an album that I heard last year and it went in one ear and out the other without making much of an impact.  But this fall it has penetrated down to my very core and has become one of my favorite records.  And I attribute a lot of that to the season in which it was heard, both physically and in my personal life.

M83 – Graveyard Girl

Explosions in the Sky’s The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place

One of the best experimental quartets around.  They were the first instrumental band that I was able to really get into and I find myself consistently going back to this album each fall. You might recognize them from their work for the soundtrack to “Friday Night Lights,” the television show.

Explosions In the Sky – Your Hand In Mine

The Radio Dept.

Here is another group that I would say has an autumn feel to their entire catalog.  Something about their music just takes me back.  It just puts me in this very retrospective mood. It’s not uncommon for music from my past to take me back to the time when it first captured me. But I just discovered this band about a year ago. I don’t know how they do it.

The Radio Dept. – Pulling Our Weight

Here are a few more tracks to help round out the playlist.

TV on the Radio – Family Tree

Grand Archives – Torn Blue Foam Couch

Broken Social Scene – Guilty Cubicles

Conor Oberst + Gillian Welch – Lua

Monsters of Folk Give Free Mp3

I shared with you all a couple of weeks ago about a new album that I was excited about called Monsters of Folk.  For those of you that are interested in this supergroup, made up of Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, and M. Ward, you will be excited to know that they are giving away one of the songs off of their new album for free.  And they have announced a series of fall tour dates.  Oddly enough I’d say that the song is pretty good mixture of each of their individual musical stylings.  I’m not hooked yet, but I’m definitely intrigued.  But you can decide for yourself.

Monsters of Folk – Say Please

MONSTERS OF FOLK FALL TOUR DATES

October

13 Vancouver, BC- Orpheum

14 Portland, OR- Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

15 Seattle, WA- Paramount Theatre

17 Oakland, CA- Fox Theater

18 Los Angeles, CA- The Greek Theater

20 San Diego, CA- Spreckels Theatre

21 Phoenix, AZ- Orpheum Theater

22 Santa Barbara, CA- Santa Barbara Bowl

28 Omaha, NE- Holland Center

29 Minneapolis, MN- Orpheum Theatre

30 Chicago, IL- Auditorium Theatre

31 Louisville, KY- Louisville Palace Theatre

November

02 Toronto, ON- Massey Hall

03 Boston, MA- The Orpheum

06 New York, NY- United Palace

08 New York, NY- Beacon Theater

09 Philadelphia, PA- Academy of Music

12 Stockholm- Philadelphia Church

14 Berlin- Huxleys Neue Welt

15 Copenhagen- Vega

17 London- Troxy

18 Paris- Elysee Montmartre

19 Koln- E-Werk

21 The Hague- Crossing Border

22 Antwerp- Crossing Border

Monsters of Folk Album Coming to Fruition

It has finally been confirmed that the one time tour mates that called themselves the “Monsters of Folk” have recorded an album.  This indie-rock supergroup is made up of M. Ward, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Conor Oberst, and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes producer).  Talk of this album has been floating around the blogosphere ever since they first went on tour together in ’04.  It is great to finally receive news that this record is actually complete.  The self-titled debut is set to be released 9/22 via Shangri-La.  According to the press release, these four guys will be playing all the instruments on the record. Here are a few tunes for those of you who are foolish enough to think that these guys don’t make folk music. I am so stinkin’ excited for this record.

M. Ward, Conor Oberst & Jim James – Girl From The North Country

Bright Eyes – Lua

Jim James & Calexico – Goin’ To Acapulco

M. Ward – Helicopter