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Jamie Kohns on March 22nd, 2006

Ben Harper - Both Sides of the Gun (dual-CD)
	Ben Harper is amazing, so much talent, so much soul, all wrapped up into a beautiful human being. I can find my mood in a Ben Harper song, no matter what my mood is. His music spans so many other genres that it's impossible to classify him. This has made it diffucult to get Ben Harper radio spins but hasn't hampered his career at all. His live shows are famous, selling out venues across the country, and attracting huge crowds at festivals. It's the live shows that really put Harper's best asset forward- the pure outpouring of enthuesiasm and soul while he's performing. On this dual-CD release, Ben stays closer to the roots rock that he does so well. There are no made-for-radio hits like Steal My Kisses, but it's a personal album- visceral yet flowing. Actually, it's a split-album: the work is divided into distinct halves- the first half more upbeat, while the second more intimate. As his previous albums have done, I'm sure I will constantly find new nuances in every listen of this album.
Official Site Ben Harper - Picture In A Frame Ben Harper - Both Sides Of The Gun

Teddy Geiger - Underage Thinking
	Somewhere between a John Mayer and Gavin Degraw, you'll find Teddy Geiger. 'Discovered' as one of the finalists on In Search of the New Partridge Family on VH1 by producer Billy Mann. Oh yeah, he was also the 'hot new artist' on the Tom Cavanah vehicle Love Monkey, which has apparently been cancelled, after teasing us with only three episodes. It was Love Monkey which brought Geiger to my attention. At first, I thought he was just a John Mayer look/sound alike they had cast to play the role. A little digging, and I found a legitimate songwriter just trying to leverage whatever advantage he could find. You can't blame hime for that. Not to mention: he wasn't bad in the bit role. The teenage (really teenage - he's 16 or 17) artist puts forward a well-produced collection of songs, full of the kind of sensitivity of James Blunt and the bluesy nature and rhaspy voice of John Mayer. If you can get over the uncoolness of its made-for-TRL-ness, this is a great album. I know, blast away at me in the comments, but I genuinely like this album. What were you doing at 16? This guy's a rock star.
Official Site Teddy Geiger - For You I Will (Confidence) Teddy Geiger - These Walls

Editors - Back Room
	The US release of Editors album might be just a bit too late for them. Already bomarded with pleanty of brit-rock, I think America will just hear yet another brit band wanting to gain market share across the pond. But Editors combine the best of the rough-hewn brit-rock like Arctic Monkeys and the refined energy of Coldplay. Originally released in August of 2005, the album has become a radio staple in the UK. We'll see how it fares here.
Official Site Editors - Munich Editors - All Sparks

Sondre Lerche - Duper Sessions
	Sondre Lerche's new album is a bit of a step back to basics for the artist, who's artsy, jazz-influenced music defies traditional pop definitions. Conforming now more to the jazz-pop song ideas of the yesteryears- Sinatra or Cole maybe. But this is just the first of two albums promised from the talented Norwegian. The next is reported to be a rock album with a more primitive sound. Duper Sessions would make a great rainy afternoon album- something to listen to while you do something else. There wasn't a single track here that made me really feel anything. The light swing and the relaxed arrangements make it good easy listening.
Official Site Sondre Lerche - Minor Details

Josh Rouse - Subtitulo
	Josh Rouse had been living in Nashville, TN for years, trying to hone his skills as a singer/songwriter- until making the decision to hop a flight across the Atlantic, and settle in Spain. WHo could blame him really? Warm weather, gorgeous women, the whole country takes a month off in the middle of summer, Beckham and Posh…er, forget that last bit. Anyways, the always laid-back and very mellow Rouse releases his first album from Spain today. Subtitulo bears some influence from the Spanish culture, all of which seems a bit forced to me (like "Oh, I live in Spain now, better sound a bit Spanish").
Official Site Josh Rouse - Summertime

Richard Ashcroft - Keys To The World
	Richard Ashcroft's third solo album is also available in the US this week. More on that album was back here.
Official Site Richard Ashcroft - Why Not Nothing

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K-Fed At Vision This Saturday

Jamie Kohns on March 21st, 2006

This is too good: Mr. Britney Spears, K-Fed, is doing a personal appearance (maybe he'll spit out a version of "Popozao") this Saturday night at Vision Nightclub in ATL. I might go just to get live footage of the K-Fed for Stereogum. Enjoy this boring, but funny footage of K-Fed rockin' out ot his own song in the studio:

Get your own invite and early-entry doorpass here.

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Kanye West Impossible on Zane Lowe

Jamie Kohns on March 21st, 2006

Last month, it was announced that Kayne West would be doing the title theme to the third installment of the Tom Cruise vehicle Mission Impossible III. Today, on Zane Lowe's show, this track was premiered, and guess what- I've got the recording of that premier for you…that is, if you want to hear it. I especially love how excited Zane sounds on this, even if just Kanye.

Kanye West ft. Twista & Keisha- Impossible

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Instant Cheese

Jamie Kohns on March 20th, 2006

Summer is just around the corner, and with it come backyard barbeques, pool parties, and general outdoor get-togethers galore. And with any event, music is always required. Hooking a computer to the stereo and letting your 250-gigabyte colleciton of mp3's play randomly or in some sort of playlist usually does the trick, but inevitably someone will want to hear Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me, or Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back (and hopefully, you don't have these in your collection). Well, if you're a Rhapsody subscriber, the solution is now easy as pie, becuase the Rhapsody service is now available from a web interface (meaning no software to download and install). Anywhere you go, you can tap into millions of tracks online, all streamable on-demand.

I know it sounds like a paid endorsement, but it's not- I simply have loved my Rhapsody experience since I signed up well over a year ago. I listen to it at work, at home, and now I can take it with me wherever I go, well as long as there's an internet connection. The search interface is easy enough to locate just about any song you want, and the player is straightforward and easy to use. Something lacking in this BETA version of the Rhapsody web site is the ability to add a track to your queue without stopping the current track playing. Also, the player only seems to work in Internet Explorer and Firefox version 1.5. As well as having a classic collection of cheese-ball party tunes for your family barbeque, Rhapsody also has dozens of exclusive live performaces, interviews, and new releases are usually available in the system by midday on Tuesdays (yes, you could run out at midnight on Tuesday to Tower Records to pick up that new Girls Aloud release, but why not wait a bit and stream it at the office the next day? Oh, I mean why not other than any boss with musical taste would fire your ass). Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Jamie Kohns on March 16th, 2006

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all! I am taking the day off to hang out at my favorite Irish pub, Fado, so there’s no Friday Mixtape. Mostly becuase I was trying to put together a SXSW mixtape, but had a list of over 50 tracks to include (and I’m not posting ALL of them).

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