Occupying a unique space of the imagination somewhere between Frank Zappa and Ren n’ Stimpy, a young Logan Whitehurst recorded a wealth of brilliant and unique works in his short but hugely creative life. Before succumbing to a brain tumor at the age of 29, he told his family that playing his music for people was one of the most important things to him. Among his many talents, Logan was also a cartoonist (or click on the animated gif for his comics page) in a style that fits his songwriting humor like a glove. The guy was a treasure. His work lives on. It’s genius in both art and craft, original yet instantly familiar, with a rare levity the world could sure use more of. As such, his music is available for download and streaming from freemusicarchive.org, and this is truly something to celebrate. You can buy the CD’s direct from his site, too. Enjoy.

Don’t usually hear of a lot bands from Austria. But lately the power pop and progressive rock stuff has been coming from new corners of the globe, lots of lesser known towns in Europe and elsewhere, so I’m not terribly surprised. This is something gorgeous, a very sweet production and a great big composition. Hmm, coffee setting in as I try to form first sentences of the day. Anyway, I like this song, that’s all. Nice of these gentlemen and lady to share it. <3 to Superfan for the tip.

Monk
“Santa Ana Murders And The Neonlights Of Love” (mp3)
from “The Man Who Sleeps On His Breath”
(sevenahalf records)

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Much talked about and rightfully lauded far and wide early in its release, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings’ “I Learned The Hard Way” is every bit the record it’s supposed to be. It has everything that has been largely missing lately from mainstream R n’ B, soul and pop music. You know, things like rhythm, blues, soul, and pop. These are hit songs, played by an air-tight band, sung by the incomparable Sharon Jones. I can’t say enough about it. Have a listen. The whole record generously offered in hi-qual stream here:

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings

Aquarium Drunkard has a thoughtful review and a couple of promo mp3s from the album.

You can buy the CD directly from the label, Daptone Records.

The phrase “they broke the mold when they made this one” comes to mind when I think of one Piero Amadeo Infante. Piero didn’t just break the mold, he obliterated it into a bazillion still-smoking shards. He is, to borrow a phrase from Hunter S. Thompson, “one of God’s own prototypes” – there’s never been anyone like him, and there never will be again. So, I was delighted to discover this morning that Piero (aka Papamalo, aka Pio) recently posted some unreleased tracks he’s done in various projects over the years, on his myspace page. It’s a great listen, all bold and original work. For the uninitiated, Piero was the lead singer and co-founder with guitarist Michael Maung of The Freaky Executives, and later Los Angelitos, both sensational headlining acts in the SF Bay Area, and his list of musical collaborations and projects is basically endless. Sadtown: Hour of the Rabbit is an autobiographical epic hip-hop rock opera of sorts, featuring Pio’s own alter ego, the “Indestructible Bunny.” Enjoy.

I was thinking today about the Harvey Danger song “Little Round Mirrors,” from their “Little By Little” EP. I was completely gobsmacked by it when they released it in late 2005, and though I haven’t heard it since a bunch of spins back then, I can recall the magnificent hooks in vivid detail and it’s one of those songs that just pops up from time to time in my mental playlist. So this morning I went to their site to see what’s up with them now, only to learn that like many recording artists in this era of severe public apathy about new music, they have called it quits. Their statement about hanging it up is gracious and completely without bitterness, which is about what I would expect from a band of such talent and generosity. You see, what they did with this EP, is they released the whole thing, for free, asking for donations if you felt like giving them something for their efforts, but hoping simply for their music to be heard. They detailed their reasons rather eloquently here. Their conclusion is by no means unique – plenty of bands have realized the same thing, and I wouldn’t bother posting this if not for one thing: the song is magnificent. It deserves to be heard. It’s a beautiful performance of a great pop composition that while difficult to classify, is immensely accessible. The hooks are breathtaking, the lyrics intelligent, poetic, compassionate and heartbreaking. I could go on. Think “Pet Sounds” goes to Seattle or, like, Jellyfish without the clown makeup. The whole EP is great, in fact, as I am just discovering now. Thanks to HD for leaving it up there. As a musician in a band myself, I know the cost in time, money and gear that it takes to write, rehearse, record, mix and master a record this good is anything but trivial. If you like, you can send the band some $ to offset their investment a bit, here. Hey it worked for Radiohead. Or you can go old school and buy a hard copy. Either way I think you’ll really enjoy their music.

Funny how the context for singing has evolved over the ages. It is sadly out of fashion in today’s America to burst into song – on the street, at a game, or even at a pub. People call the authorities to report the crazy person. Wasn’t always so, and indeed, in much of the world, singing is still something that people do, for the joy of it, unselfconsciously. Somehow in post-post modern society or whatever it is we inhabit now, singing has been largely relegated to sing-ers – those designated (or self-designated) as qualified to sing. Which is nonsense, but it makes a certain perverse sense, I suppose, in a world where “Rock Band” is a video game. It’s especially odd now that auto-tuners have become the norm in recorded pop music, because no one, not one living person, can actually make a sound like that, with their natural voice. So I wonder, what a child discovering pop music today, thinks. I mean, I remember people saying “I can’t sing” and I would respond, “sure you can, if you can talk you can sing,” because I never felt anyone should be robbed of that joy if they wanted it. But now? Trying to sing like whatever hit record with that pitch-perfect ersatz-singing ear candy sugar-frosted-turd vocal? You just can’t, so maybe you give up, and think you really can’t sing. Thank goodness this is not a paradigm which can survive forever, after all, people have voices, and ultimately will discover and use them, though I expect someone will implant an auto-tuning device in their larynx by Tuesday.

From the soon to be released album by England’s beloved Chumbawamba, the single “Voices, That’s All” is a celebration of the human voice, that greatest of musical instruments, the one which is each of our birthright. It’s a real recording of real people playing and singing – something I never thought in itself would begin to seem like an endangered animal. No auto-tuners here, ladies and gents, just sweet harmonies and a simple, true and timely lyric. Sing if you want to.

Chumbawamba
“Voices, That’s All” (mp3)
from “ABCDEFG”
(No Masters)

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My mp3 sleuthing hero, Superfan, has been posting some lovely Northern Soul tracks lately from the Twirl Records compilations. Released digitally now for all to enjoy, these 45′s were long the domain of crate digging fanatics and collectors exclusively. From Volume 6 of this mother lode of gems, “Shangri-La” by The Parakeets has all the elements: rich, sugary string section parts, doo-wop style harmonys, a sincere and plaintive lead vocal, and even that abrupt fade at the end which so many record producers favored at the time. Pure uncut vintage pop.

The Parakeets
“Shangri-La” (mp3)
from “Twirl Records Story Volume 6″
(Twirl Records)

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The new crown prince of soft rock, Bart Davenport got his start in a more hard rockin’ capacity as the front man for East Bay Mod RnB heros the Loved Ones. This track from his 2002 solo debut on the marvelous Antenna Farm Records, is a meandering daydream of sweet romance. Much as I hope to hear the man hit the Jagger/Colin Blunstone style that he did years ago, I gotta love that he’s true to his own vision, and he does this stuff so very well. The dry acoustic drums and nicely recorded real instruments he favors are a stark and welcome contrast to the hyper-digital compressed poo that is the norm these days. And his singing is simply beautiful. From 2002, recently re-released digitally, here’s some “Chimes” of love from a cat who means it.

Bart Davenport
“Chimes” (mp3)
from “Bart Davenport”
(Antenna Farm Records)

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Here’s an anthemic rocker from the out of control and marvelous Parkas. These guys rocked live, made some great music and called it quits. Their posthumous record, You Should have Killed Us When You Had The Chance is great. I love the lyrics to this song and the hooks would be at home on a Replacements, Clash or Springsteen record. I generally dislike like the over-flogged term “brutally honest,” but this is some brutally honest work. Bad ass rock with real guts and heart.

Parkas
“The Gang’s All Gone” (mp3)
from “You Should Have Killed Us When You Had the Chance”
(Saved by Radio)

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This rare pop gem from Berkeley-based garage band the Gazillions defies description, but the title speaks for itself. Fronted by the inimitable David Hollogram, this remarkable group only played together long enough to do a few legendary gigs and release an amazing album called “The Gazillions Have Landed.” This song is now also featured on the MP3 Jackpot Winners compilation CD. As Hollogram himself once revealed, “Hobbit Love was inspired by dating in Humboldt County. There were all these beautiful people, but they were all such hobbits in their minds. I finished this song on the cab stand as I worked my late night shift in Eureka, CA.”