Sunday, October 17, 2010

NPR and New Music, Part 2: Albums old and new

Among the many ways to get a taste of what's new (podcasts, interviews, and articles), my favorite might be NPR Music's First Listen series (although their live concert archives are fun, too.) Almost every week, NPR streams an upcoming album until its release date.  Cool, right?  Two recent favorites:

The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos (1962-1964) by Bob Dylan

and

Down There by Avey Tare (of Animal Collective)

Although I possess an inadequate collection of his works--and perhaps a corresponding under-appreciation for his music and influence--I do like Bob Dylan.  And now, I especially like these early songs, particularly for their topicality and the simplicity of their recording (remember my thing for acoustic-playing dudes.)  As for Avey Tare, it's some good electronic/vocal stuff, and I'll give it another listen--but there's a reason the Animal Collective is a collective, and why their Merriwether Post Pavilion is great.  After some good solo efforts, I do hope they boys get back together for another album, though they set a high standard for themselves. 

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