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The Lumineers / BRIGHTSIDE
Kristin: They just know how to mix the perfect cocktail of a song: perfectly sweet with a bite of bitter, a little familiar but also surprising to the palette...and by the end of it, you feel perfectly satisfied but a little woozy with...is it happiness? nostalgia? regret for what bad haircut you are about to get? Feels apt for the New Year.
More Info from Last.FM
The Lumineers is an American folk rock band based in Denver, Colorado in 2002 by Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing together in Ramsey, New Jersey in 2005. Cellist and vocalist Neyla Pekarek joined the band in 2010, and was a member until 2018. The band's debut self-titled album was released on April 3, 2012. The album's first single, "Ho Hey" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Read more on Last.fm more...
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standards / Special Berry
Joe: Listened to this instrumental for the better part of the year only to find out recently that it’s basically one guy (and a drummer). The guy is a cross-tapping virtuoso. To get the full experience check out a few of his videos like this one.
More Info from Last.FM
Standards is a math rock band from Los Angeles, CA. Formerly a duo featuring Jacob Richards on drums, the project now only consists of Marcos Mena on guitar, with Forrest Rice handling studio drums on the upcoming album and Kynwyn Sterling (yes, *that* Kynwyn :O) on touring drums: https://www.facebook.com/wearestandards https://wearestandards.bandcamp.com/ Read more on Last.fm more...
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The War and Treaty / Jubilee
John: This is technically a 2020 song - oh well. I found it this year and it’s one of those songs that is so pure and beautiful. Or, as characterized on their website, “Just two lovebirds singing without reverb.” The performance is effortless and spot on - you could imagine them performing this in your living room….and getting chills. Every husband and wife ought to be able to sing together this way…..or at least try. What this song says to me is….you don’t need 64 tracks, loopers, auto-tuners, digitized effects, synthesizers, over-dubs, samples and a computer to make great music. A simply strummed guitar, three chords and two incredibly powerful voices will do just fine.
More Info from Last.FM
The War and Treaty is American husband-and-wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount Trotter based in Maryland. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Adele / Hold On
Lindsay
More Info from Last.FM
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, (born 5 May 1988), is a multiple Grammy Award-Winning English singer-songwriter from Enfield, North London. Her debut album, 19, was released in January 2008 and entered the UK album chart at #1. The album has since received four-times Platinum certification in the UK and has sold 5,500,000 copies worldwide. The album included the hugely popular song Chasing Pavements. 19 earned Adele two Grammy Awards in February 2009 for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Myriam Gendron (feat. Bill Nace) / C'est dans les vieux pays
Andy
More Info from Last.FM
Myriam Gendron is a Montreal-based folk singer/songwriter. Ottawa-born, Myriam Gendron spent much of her youth in transition, her father being a foreign correspondent. She spent spells in Gatineau (Quebec), D.C., Paris, and Montreal, where she finally settled at age sixteen. Still in Montreal, she makes her living now as a copy-editor and book dealer, leading to her discovery of a second-hand 1936 edition of Dorothy Parker's poetry, titled Not So Deep as a Well. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The War on Drugs (feat. Lucius) / I Don't Live Here Anymore
Noah: Going to see these guys at Madison Square Garden. My buddy Josh grew up with the drummer Charlie. Haven’t been to an indoor concert in over two years, and I’ve never been to MSG. Excited, nervous. Cool video here.
More Info from Last.FM
The War on Drugs is an American indie rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Band member Adam Granduciel (born Adam Granofsky in Dover, Massachusetts) moved from Oakland, California to Philadelphia in 2003, where he met Kurt Vile and began playing music with him. They began playing as The War on Drugs in 2005, and self-released a demo EP. While Vile and Granduciel formed the backbone of the band, they had a number of accompanists early in the group's career Read more on Last.fm more...
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Little Simz (feat. Cleo Sol) / Woman
Bryn: This year I've found my favorite new music through an Apple Music host, Dotty. She features a lot of hip hop from the UK, plus other international artists and I feel mostly in sync with her selections. Little Simz is one of these fave discoveries, I love her voice and tone, and this song saved me from decision fatigue because it features Cleo Sol (singer from Sault) whose solo album has also been on repeat for me.
More Info from Last.FM
Little Simz (real name Simbi Ajikawo) is an English rapper, musician, actress and singer. She released her fourth mixtape, Blank Canvas, via JAY Z's Life+Times website. Simz studied at Highbury Fields School in London. She went on to attend St. Mary's Youth Club in Upper Street, Islington, where pop stars Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke also attended. After several months of auditioning by the BBC for the show Spirit Warriors, it was announced in June 2009 that Simz had been cast in the supporting role of Vicky. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Snail Mail / Ben Franklin
Andrew: I really enjoyed her previous album "Lush". This album, Valentine, shows growth in her style and the successful articulation of a painful breakup. Nothing like a good breakup to inspire an album. I have noticed on this album that she relies more on her voice than her guitar, and although I love that on the previous album it shows her evolving her sound.. This song to my surprise has little to do with the founding father.
More Info from Last.FM
Snail Mail is the American indie rock solo project of guitarist and singer-songwriter Lindsey Jordan. In 2015, she started playing her songs live with her band and released the EP Habit in 2016. Snail Mail's debut studio album, Lush, was released on June 8, 2018. Snail Mail's music is heavily guitar-inspired. Lindsey Jordan released her self-recorded solo EP Sticki in 2015 and played several live shows with her new band as Snail Mail. She was joined by Ryan Vieira playing bass and Shawn Durham on the drums. Read more on Last.fm more...
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James McMurtry / Decent Man
Saunders
More Info from Last.FM
James McMurtry (born March 18, 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a Texas rock/Texas Country singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader and occasional actor (Daisy Miller, Lonesome Dove). He performs as James McMurtry And The Heartless Bastards with veteran bandmates and rhythm section Darren Hess and Ronnie Johnson (not to be confused with the Cincinnati, OH, band Heartless Bastards). The son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment), James grew up on a steady diet of Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff records. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Sibylle Baier / Remember the Day
Kristin: Definitely not a new song, but has been getting some newish hype. Her story is so interesting. Wrote one album in the 70's, alone in her house while her kids and husband slept. Then she packed it away in the attic. Never talked about it. Her son found it when he was grown and got it produced. The album is lulling, haunting, and beautiful. Deceptively simple, but the progressions are really interesting. She reminds me of Nico a bit. This podcast is a good listen, especially if this song moves you. She tells the story of it...really moving.
More Info from Last.FM
Sibylle Baier is a German folk singer and actress whose musical abilities achieved belated recognition with the 2006 release of the album Colour Green, compiled from songs she had recorded in the early 1970s. Having played guitar and piano as a young girl, she was moved to write her first song, "Remember The Day", after taking a road trip with a friend across the Alps to Genoa, via Strasbourg. She appeared in Wim Wenders' 1973 film Alice in the Cities Read more on Last.fm more...
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Dougie Poole / Vaping on the Job
Joe: Sucked in by the synth and drums, this country tune about needing a relief valve every now and then always brought a smile to my face anytime it popped up. Listen up for the crackle mid tune. Hope everyone is doing well even in this perpetual pandemic hell!
More Info from Last.FM
Dougie Poole is a musician and songwriter living in Brooklyn, New York. Coming of age in Providence, he dabbled in heavier and more experimental music before maturing into a country auteur. He writes earnestly about his experience (life in the big city, heartbreak in the digital age) and approaches country as an experimental music form, as well as a tradition. He has shared tours nationally with Jerry Paper, Still Corners and Bong Wish, and in 2019 guested on the Drugdealer album 'Raw Honey.' Read more on Last.fm more...
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Robert Plant & Alison Krauss / Can't Let Go
John: This song was originally recorded by Lucinda Williams - and the only song she did not write on her Grammy award winning album in 1998 - "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" (it was written by Randy Weeks). I have always been enamored of the Plant/Krauss duo. He has always represented the demonic leather-panted 70’s rock star and she has always given off this wholesome innocent bluegrass vibe. The fact that they have made a couple of albums together is one of those twisted dichotomies that make the music world so interesting. This song is just straight-ahead, guitar-twanging, three chord simplicity - and the first single off their new album, "Raise the Roof”. Check out their performance of same on Stephen Colbert.
More Info from Last.FM
Robert Anthony Plant CBE (born 20 August 1948, West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England) is a British rock songwriter and singer famous for being the lead vocalist of one of the most influential bands of all time: Led Zeppelin. He is known for his powerful style and wide vocal range. After Led Zeppelin's breakup following the sudden death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, Plant pursued a successful solo career. Popular tracks from this period include "Big Log", "Tall Cool One", "In the Mood", and "I Believe". Read more on Last.fm more...
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Leon Bridges / Sho Nuff
Lindsay
More Info from Last.FM
Leon Bridges (born Todd Michael Bridges on July 13, 1989) is an American gospel and soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Bridges began performing in and around Fort Worth, Texas and stirred up music industry interest with analog recordings, produced by Justin Block and Austin Jenkins of White Denim, which were uploaded to his SoundCloud page. Signed to major-label Columbia, his first singles -- including a rich ballad Read more on Last.fm more...
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Grouper / Kelso (Blue sky)
Andy
More Info from Last.FM
Grouper is the solo project of American musician, artist and producer Liz Harris (born July 15, 1980). She has released material on her own label and other independent labels since 2005. Grouper released the critically acclaimed Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill in 2008, followed by six more records, including a two-part album, A I A, and the piano-led album Ruins. Her twelfth album, Shade, was released in 2021. Harris was born July 15, 1980 in Northern California and grew up around the San Francisco Bay area. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Brandi Carlile / Right on Time
Noah: Over the summer Kate and I snuck away for an amazing night in Portland, ME with friends and saw Brandi Carlile outside at Thompson’s Point. Kate read the last few chapters of her memoir to me as I drove up 95, finishing right as we arrived at our friends house. Rode bikes through the woods to the show, beautiful 70 degree evening with a light breeze, our first concert in over a year. It was a magical night. And of course Brandi delivered a killer trimmed down acoustic show with the twins accompanying. Won’t forget that one any time soon.
More Info from Last.FM
Brandi Carlile (b. June 1, 1981, in Ravensdale, Washington) is an American singer-songwriter, perhaps best known for her 2007 single "The Story". Carlile's music has been categorized in several genres, including pop, rock, alternative country, and folk. She released her first album, 'Brandi Carlile', on July 12, 2005. In the beginning, Columbia Records signed Carlile in late 2004 on the strength of songs she'd been recording periodically at home. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Tems / Crazy Tings
Bryn: Tems first solo album felt like a 2021 anthem album for me -- mainly because it was another year where I was barely ever alone, but when I was, it was doing a short errand in the car and blasting music as therapy -- and I'd either play Tems or Tom Waits, so loud that it shakes the car and I like to offer it up to everyone around me, like it or not. NYC is good for playing the DJ when you're driving on crowded streets, stopped at a light and offering your song selection up to the pedestrians crossing in front of you. Both times I drove to get my vaccine shot, I listened to Tems -- and even played it for Simone when I took her for her shots. I don't drive often, and those days were memorable, so it is imprinted. This song is my favorite 2021 release from her. I think she is such a solid, pure, unique talent. So excited for more from Tems ahead.
More Info from Last.FM
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The Weather Station / Tried to Tell You
Andrew: I love Tarama Lindeman's voice - Ignorance is their fifth album and I think the best. The band is growing and now features two drummers (step aside Gloria Estefan) which provides a juxtaposition to her simple delivery of vocals. Maybe headed towards a similar sound to the War on Drugs.
More Info from Last.FM
The Weather Station is a Canadian folk music band fronted by Tamara Lindeman, formed in 2006. It is said that the Weather Station was born in a closet. One day, Tamara Lindeman sat down to make music she had never heard. Using her banjo, her voice, a borrowed microphone, and a selection of percussive household items, Tamara taught herself to write, then to record. Slowly she cut together her musical exploration of loss and everything that comes along with it. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird / Three White Horses and a Golden Chain
Saunders
More Info from Last.FM
Jimbo Mathus (born in August 1967) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work with the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers. Jimbo Mathus was born James H. Mathis, Jr., in Oxford, Mississippi, to Jimmy Mathis and Jeanella (Malvezzi) Mathis. His genealogy is of Scottish and Italian origin. His early life was filled with music, as his father and relatives were skilled instrumentalists and singers. He began joining the family musical circle at an early age and by age 8 was proficient at mandolin. Read more on Last.fm more...
2021 Best of the Rest
140 / January 2022 / BurnMix
- BRIGHTSIDEThe Lumineers
- Special Berrystandards
- JubileeThe War and Treaty
- Hold OnAdele
- C'est dans les vieux paysMyriam Gendron (feat. Bill Nace)
- I Don't Live Here AnymoreThe War on Drugs (feat. Lucius)
- WomanLittle Simz (feat. Cleo Sol)
- Ben FranklinSnail Mail
- Decent ManJames McMurtry
- Remember the DaySibylle Baier
- Vaping on the JobDougie Poole
- Can't Let GoRobert Plant & Alison Krauss
- Sho NuffLeon Bridges
- Kelso (Blue sky)Grouper
- Right on TimeBrandi Carlile
- Crazy TingsTems
- Tried to Tell YouThe Weather Station
- Three White Horses and a Golden ChainJimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
