Ok - so this has nothing to do with the Music

But here is a really neat little South African news service I've been following:

Go check it out - it's in my opinion uncluttered, concise, neat.

Free Coldplay Album

Coldplay has made their new live album "left right left right left" available for free download from their site:

http://www.coldplay.com/lrlrl/lr.php

Enjoy.

Jered Tanner for President - June

http://www.myspace.com/jeredtanner4pres

Now here is a tune, and an artist worth noting. If you can keep somebody's attention solid during an acoustic performance, you've got the chops.

"June" is the track by this project (although to me it seems like one dude) under scrutiny today.

Let's get the crits out of the way. I get the sense during the song that some of the "peculiarities" of the singers voice is almost affected, and not a natural product of his singing and breathing, BUT as always, one needs to put this in context of the style of music, his song and the like. Certainly belting is not required in this song, so maybe slight forcing of ones vocal chords through the mid (throat) to high (nasal) registries is acceptable. However, this criticism only comes after having listened to the tune about a dozen times. My guess is first time listeners would be more than pleased and engaged.

Lyrically this is a beautiful thing, although the metaphor not always easy to follow, but just damned 'nice'. Not like a cup of tea nice, but really nice. Almost like a happy Walt Whitman. For fear of publishing copyright infringement reprisals I will neglect to put some of the lyrics here, but lemme just say, whether June is a girl or a month or a time in his life, she must be damned fine, if a bit complicated.

Delivering his lyrics with untraditional almost rap/rhyme-like back beat sensibilities in the long sentences break the fairly straight -forward beat and rhythm of the song.... and this is a ridiculously long sentence without commas. Most great folk singers have this in their arsenal, like Jack Johnson, except Jered Tanner for President does not run out of breath in the middle of it and he does deliver it with a pure voice, no throaty whispery huskiness. (For the record: I think Jack Johnson is a legend).

My final thoughts? A killer tune. What would I like to see? A bit more chest register singing from a singer who is under-utilising the full range of his voice.

Oh, the guitar playing is solid, although there is some fret-noice on the strings, which is the guitar, not the player. The question beckons however: how many songs will still be made from that opening chord progression? I personally have about 3...

Christian Summer

http://www.ilike.com/artist/christian+summer

http://apps.facebook.com/ilike/artist/christian+summer

Having discovered this guy at Garageband, I've had a good time listening to his tunes.

"Take me Home" would be the focus of my review - what a song! But first with my criticisms. It sounds live, but I think his voice could've carried better over a drier recording. He has enough texture and timbre to carry the song without the echo/reverb. But that's purely technical. I am afraid that one might only be able to listen to about 5 of his songs, if one was focusing on the voice only, which tends to be high, but the songwriting more than makes up for it.

"Take me home" is a simple acoustic-vocal song, but with enough technical prowess, both vocally and guitar-wise, to keep any listener glued. Not just that, but it is delivered in a non-showy, functional way, keeping the focus and integrity that of sounding good.

Lyrically any folk-singer needs to know his stuff, and Christian Summer does not let us down here. A criticism that has been directed at me in the past, especially with the vocal/guitar format, is a lack of emotion in delivering lyrics, because of focusing on your playing too much. I can't say the same here. Syncopation is solid, with great delivery on both sides.

I'd really like to see this guy tear up the world in small-venue, exclusive ticket settings. I think he'll be a huge hit still.

John Mayer - Where the light is: Live in Los Angeles

A seriously cool live album. I've always enjoyed artists showing us more than one way to skin a cat. One objection I have to a lot of concerts is the single wall of loud sound and guitars all the way through, with a single ballad here and there.

JM does something different. He starts off the show with his acoustic set-up, yup, 3 acoustic guitars, and some serious folksy plucking, picking, strumming and playing. "Daughters" absolutely shine in this format. Staying objective when it comes to good acoustic music is difficult for me, as I love the format a lot. My objection would be that if this is the start to a show, wasn't it a bit sedate? Shouldn't one move into this format, maybe half-way through the show? Anyways, is still reflects on JM's acoustic chops and got me into the album fairly convinced.

The album moves along at medium shuffle into the trio section, which at all accounts turns it into a blues concert. I'm very impressed by the full sound and awesome guitar-voice syncopation he achieves, considering he doesn't just playing along in open chords. My guess would be that this becomes the less listened to part of the album, as it is purely blues-rock, heavy solo-ing and serious guitar-hero pyrotechnics. These are also his less-known numbers, especially in this packaging, but "Bold Love" stand out as a winner. I can appreciate this, but have to confess, towards the last 2 numbers in this section, it became a bit much, and I was forwarding to the full band section.

The full band section ends with his better known sounds. This is where everything comes together. THis is probably what most people would've expected from his live album. Here I didn't find anything particularly outstanding other than the fact that this guy's chops are up, and he's a great performer.

What would I see as a highlight to the album?
His cover of the Tom Petty classic "Freefalling" on the acoustic set. Pure magic.

Really cool free download site

Check out this site:

Just click on the button to download music for free, legally. The artists get paid for every download, sponsored by the individual advertisers on the site. Virgin Mobile are advertisers, so it'll give you an idea of the credibility. Music available are mainly South African, but some really awesome tracks available, from Tristan Waterkeyn's Private Beach to some great ditties from the Dirty Skirts.

Go check it out NOW and spread the love!

We're still at it...

I apologize for the few entries the last while, but I've taken notice of some really cool artists I want to review. Life's been a tad crazy, but watch this space!