Devotion #9

Unofficial reports have Radiohead selling a little over a million copies of In Rainbows on the first day of the album’s release. Wow. Those are, like, ‘N Sync numbers. Does this mean Radiohead is as good as ‘N Sync?

Little Brother – Getback (ABB/HOJ Music Group 2007)

Not to be outdone, Little Brother preemptively released their third album, Getback, last week in the form of a free download that hit the Internet and spread like wildfire. Leaking your own product? Genius – especially since it keeps the fans happy. This increases the likelihood of them riding with you in the future, and also spending their hard-earned money when the time does come to hawk your album, DVD, sneakers, bobblehead dolls, foam cowboy hats, key chains, cologne, rubber chickens, chipper/shredders, or whatever.

Getback is in stores proper on October 23. Run, don’t walk. I know it seems a little odd to provide a link to an album, and then ask that you purchase the same album a week later, but that’s how things are nowadays (odd). To Little Brother’s credit and a consumer’s delight, they’re one of the best things going in hip-hop – independent, mainstream, or otherwise.

And since artists don’t make money off of album sales anyway, show some love in supporting the Fall 2007 Getback Tour.



Oct 17, 2007
Paradise Rock Club w/Evidence – Boston, Massachusetts

Oct 18, 2007
The Station w/Evidence – Portland, Maine

Oct 19, 2007
Pearl Street w/Evidence – North Hampton, Massachusetts

Oct 20, 2007
Highline Ballroom w/Brother Ali and Evidence – New York, New York

Oct 22, 2007
Babylon w/ Evidence – Ottawa, Ontario

Oct 23, 2007
The Mod Club w/Evidence – Toronto, Ontario

Oct 24, 2007
St. Andrew’s Hall w/Evidence – Detroit, Michigan

Oct 25, 2007
The Abbey w/Evidence – Chicago, Illinois

Oct 26, 2007
The High Noon Saloon w/Evidence – Madison, Wisconsin

Oct 27, 2007
The Waiting Room w/Evidence – Omaha, Nebraska

Oct 29, 2007
The Fox Theatre w/Evidence – Boulder, Colorado

Oct 30, 2007
Bluebird Theatre w/Evidence – Denver, Colorado

Oct 31, 2007
Hotel w/Evidence – Salt Lake City, Utah

Nov 3, 2007
Chop Suey – Seattle, Washington

Nov 4, 2007
Richards on Richards – Cabaret Vancouver, British Columbia

Nov 5, 2007
Nightlight Lounge w/Ghostface – Bellingham, Washington

Nov 6, 2007
Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, Oregon

Nov 8, 2007
Independent w/Evidence – San Francisco

Nov 9, 2007
Williams College – Williamstown, Massachusetts

Nov 10, 2007
Canes Bar and Grill w/Evidence – San Diego, California

Nov 12, 2007
El Rey Theatre w/Evidence – Los Angeles, California

Nov 14, 2007
Club Congress w/Evidence – Tucson, Arizona

Nov 15, 2007
The Brickhouse w/Evidence – Phoenix, Arizona

Nov 17, 2007
Stubb’s BBQ w/Evidence – Austin, Texas

Nov 20, 2007
The Parrish@HOB w/Evidence – New Orleans, Louisiana

Nov 24, 2007
The Social w/Evidence Orlando, Florida

Nov 28, 2007
Mercy Lounge w/Evidence Nashville

Nov 29, 2007
The Dame w/Evidence Lexington

Dec 1, 2007
The Black Cat w/Evidence Washington, Washington DC

Dec 6, 2007
The Soapbox w/Evidence Wilmington, North Carolina

Dec 7, 2007
Cats Cradle w/Evidence – Carrboro, North Carolina


Donald Byrd – "Child's Play" – Byrd in Flight (Blue Note 1960)

Back in 2005, I wrote what I like to think is the definitive history of the Mizell brothers for Wax Poetics magazine. So definitive, in fact, that the All Music Guide’s Jason Ankeny took it upon himself to lift material from that story for pretty much everything in the site’s biography on the duo. Flattering? Kind of. Ethical? Not so much. But I still support the AMG and you should, too.

The Mizells were Donald Byrd’s producers for most of his “fusion” period on Blue Note Records during the 1970s. Byrd, however, had a storied history as both a music scholar and accomplished hard bop pioneer long before his work with the brothers. “Child’s Play,” recorded relatively early in his career, is a Duke Pearson composition from 1960’s stellar Byrd in Flight. Throughout the album, you can hear the masterful tone that would become Byrd’s signature in the sixties, but also of note is the combined lead of the trumpeter and tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley at the tune’s head, and the whimsical opening to Byrd’s solo. “It’s so choice.” © Ferris

Cannonball Jane – "Take it to Fantastic" – Knees Up! (Gaddycat 2007)

I get promotional music in the mail pretty regularly and I’m crazy backed up right now. Believe it or not, I don’t own an iPod, so much of my music listening is done at work, home, in the car, or on my phone. And that’s more than enough. It’s not that I’m anti-‘Pod, but I started listening to walkmen and whatnot in the 7th grade, and coupled with constant interview transcriptions, I’m really sick of wearing headphones on or in my ears. Plus, I just like to hear what’s going on around me – or nothing at all.

So, I’ve been trying to chop the promo tree down as of late, and thankfully, the homey Cannonball Jane served up something that didn’t suck or bore me to death. It’s kind of hard to put my finger on this, mostly because I don’t have enough fingers to touch on everything she has going on. Her one sheet makes a few attempts, but a good description comes from coolest girl ever, Kathleen Hanna, who writes, “This is what Carole King would sound like if she had a sampler and was really into Francoise Hardy.” The Carole King influence is obvious after hearing a sample of King’s “It’s Too Late” on “Slumber Party,” so I trust Hanna’s opinion over that of many others, including a publication which fancied Jane – born Sharon Hagopian – “a female Beck.” But Beck has undergone so many mutations (no pun intended) that it’s hard to compare anyone to him as an artist. The mainstream, breakthrough-era Beck aesthetic is here, but Jane may be more of an original simply because she’s a “Jane,” and a one-woman, queen-of-all-trades.

And if Cannonball Jane isn’t an original, then at least she’s paving the way for legions of girls cranking out vibrant sound collages and low-fi demos in their bedrooms every night. Because they’re out there – word to Helen Reddy.