Random acts of music

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A new discovery I have made courtesy of the aforementioned Tiny Desk Concerts. Julie Byrne is completely new to me but on the strength of this performance, she's a very talented singer-songwriter-guitarist.

 
Some new tracks from some of my favorite artists today.

The Hound + The Fox team up with Camille and Kennerly, the Harp Twins, to cover Fleetwood Mac classic "Landslide". The Fox naturally (since it's a Stevie Nicks song) takes most of the vocals with The Hound mostly sitting in on guitar.


I believe that this is one of the most beautiful songs of my lifetime and this version does it justice.

Next up, Against the Current. I am still not sold on the more electronic, dance-oriented sound the band has adopted for the new album, but I am giving it a chance.


And, finally, the pride of Burlington, Ontario with a song about making it in the Big Apple. Songs about New York City are a whole genre unto themselves and this is a great addition.

 
So, I get a lot of music recommendations thrown at me by Youtube. And sometimes, one of them catches my attention. That's how I ended up falling for Lake Street Dive. Well, Haley Reinhart has been coming up in my recommendations a lot so I've finally given her a whirl. And damn, I'm sold. She's got a nice blues-y voice and some decent songwriting chops. If you watch American Idol, you may know her. She placed third in the tenth (2011) season.

A recent new original:


And this live cover is amazing. Not just Haley, but her band. And, yes, that's actor Jeff Goldblum on keys. Not half bad for a guy who got chewed up by a Tyrannosaurus, eh?


A recent live performance of a Reinhart original dating back to her first album in 2012.


Footnote: I want to kick the s**t out of the ass who commented on her appearance in the comments on the second video. She looks just fine and it's her voice that matters in the end. Harassment from guys like this is what drives some young female artists from social media.
 
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Haley has done a fair amount of work with Postmodern Jukebox, a channel that does vintage arrangements of contemporary tunes. And I now realize I've heard her there before and just didn't clue in that it was the same person.

A surprisingly good vintage jazz orchestra setting of "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden:

 
More PMJ featuring Haley Reinhart. "Seven Nation Army" by White Stripes done New Orleans style.


Unorthodox as these arrangements may be, they do show her voice off well.
 
I thought I was done with Haley, but I love this next video. It's Haley joining Jeff Goldblum again for a jazz standard (actually, it's from his VEVO channel on Youtube). And I've now realized that the wonderful band in that earlier video with the two of them is actually his band, not hers. Love how she and Goldblum interact in this one. Comic mock flirting works perfectly with a song like this.

 
Listening to Haley Reinhart and Postmodern Jukebox naturally led me to another singer affiliated with that group, Morgan James. One of Morgan's albums is a Joni Mitchell tribute, basically a cover of the entire album Blue (Joni's fourth album from 1971). While I'm not as crazy about Morgan;s singing I am about Haley's, she handles Joni's songs beautifully. A couple samples from Morgan's Youtube channel:


 
You know, watching PMJ is a great way to find new singers to listen to.

Sara Niemietz is another one I found via them.


A blues-y setting of a Bee Gees song


And wow, is Will Herrington a great blues pianist or what?

An original song from earlier in her career

 
Reading Sara's Wiki entry and she's got a great story about her first time on stage. When she was 4 years old, she got up on stage with BJ Thomas and sang a duet with him on his hit "Hooked on a Feeling" (he didn't write it but recorded the first version, with the famous Blue Swede version coming later). 15 years later, they teamed up on the song again, this time on his album The Livingroom Sessions.

So, here's Sara Niemietz making her stage debut at the age of 4.


And their reunion performance from 2012

 
Mendalla said:
Reading Sara's Wiki entry and she's got a great story about her first time on stage. When she was 4 years old, she got up on stage with BJ Thomas and sang a duet with him on his hit "Hooked on a Feeling" (he didn't write it but recorded the first version, with the famous Blue Swede version coming later). 15 years later, they teamed up on the song again, this time on his album The Livingroom Sessions.

So, here's Sara Niemietz making her stage debut at the age of 4.


And their reunion performance from 2012

Click to expand...
Very cool, I love stories like that!
 
I am not that familiar with Panic! At the Disco, but it takes some serious cojones and talent to cover Bohemian Rhapsody and they nailed it. Wow.

 
I actually saw Fun live a long time ago (Microsoft hired them to entertain at a conference I was at) and do like them. I've never heard this acoustic version of one of their best songs before but it came up on Youtube this evening. Lovely rendition.

 
I am also fond of this cover of the same song by a group of young Youtube indie artists including Peter Hollens, who is still a favorite of mine.

 
So, I heard a cover of this song and, being unfamiliar with it, went looking for the original. And then found out the story. The band was founded by singer Aleah Stanbridge and guitarist Juha Raivio, who were also a couple, in 2013. They released a demo and then went to work on their first album. In April 2016, before the album was announced, let alone released, Aleah died of cancer at the age of 39. They had finished recording so the album was finished and released in November 2016, but what a sad story. Her voice is gorgeous.


Juha has since released an album of songs and poems written by Aleah with a band called Hallatar formed for that album and has apparently produced an album of solo recordings by her, though the Wiki article just says it was due out this year so I don't know if it actually exists yet or not.
 
I have already raved many times about The Greatest Showman. Musically speaking, it is as good as an original movie musical gets. Atlantic Records has capitalized on its success with the album The Greatest Showman Reimagined, featuring various pop stars covering songs from the movie. One of them is P!nk, with a gorgeous rendition of A Million Dreams.


But the real treat is the making of video for her version. You see, she brought her daughter along and let her record it as well.

 
Hey Mendalla - thinking you might enjoy this artist - I just stumbled across her music yesterday while looking for something for a presentation - Carrie Newcomer. The presentation is on Hospitality & Welcome - and the impact of her name "Newcomer" is not lost on me! God has a sense of humour I think.

 
Mendalla said:
I have already raved many times about The Greatest Showman. Musically speaking, it is as good as an original movie musical gets. Atlantic Records has capitalized on its success with the album The Greatest Showman Reimagined, featuring various pop stars covering songs from the movie. One of them is P!nk, with a gorgeous rendition of A Million Dreams.


But the real treat is the making of video for her version. You see, she brought her daughter along and let her record it as well.

Click to expand...
Ha, and there's my cousin behind the keyboard.What a life.
 
It appears that Sara Bareilles' sojourn on Broadway is ending and, as promised, a new album is looming. A new single is out. Still no date for the album but there are still 2 and a bit months left in this year so here's hoping.


Very feminist and empowering, which is probably the kind of song that is needed these days. Reminds me a bit of her old hit Brave in that way.
 
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