Are there any podcasts that you never miss an episode of?
Submitted by Kadeeae.

As I've pretty much given up the radio, I get almost all my NPR exclusively from podcasts. Particularly, the 7am News Summary, the weekly technology, movies, books and pop culture podcasts and a few alt.npr joints. But my all time favorite podcast is Tiki Bar TV.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

How it Ends

DeVotchka

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Malajube "Pate Filo"

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Audio:  Share a great love song.

Made Up Lovesong #43

Guillemots

That's puppy love.

This is real love:

Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)

Nina Simone

Happy Birthday to the King of Love. May we live in love and peace and togetherness as you spoke and preached so eloquently about throughout your life.

Bonus: NPR is all about MLK, today, and has newly found tapes of one of his speeches and a whole lotta other good material.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, talks with Alex Chadwick about her performance on a Golden Globe-nominated song. Franklin is one of several artists who collaborated on "Never Gonna Break My Faith," featured in the film Bobby.

- Aretha Franklin's Globe-Nominated Performance, NPR: Day to Day, 01.10.07

I was on an Aretha kick when Bobby came out but I had no idea she had a song on the soundtrack and, much like the movie, I bet 99% of you (and me) hasn't heard or seen it before right now. This is a shame, really, as Robert Kennedy counts as one of the few political figures I have read a biography of and who I find incredibly complex and interesting. Coupled with one of the finest voices in the world?

Di-sas-ter! < /happyslip >

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The title character is a black man who was raised in a martial-arts dojo after his father was murdered by an assassin. He seeks revenge, and the recovery of his father's hachimaki headband, which identifies the wearer as the world's greatest warrior. The (very violent) action takes place in an alternate reality that juxtaposes samurai duels with cell phones and cigarette lighters.

- TV's 'Afro Samurai' Fuses Martial Arts, Hip-Hop by Charles Solomon, NPR: Diversions, 01.04.07

and...

If you missed the premiere of the new Spike cartoon Afro Samurai, you can watch the full episode on Spike's Web site.

- TV Squad, 01.06.07

Maybe I could save it up with The (white) Rapper Show and make a cross-cultural double feature.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

At around 3:40, Hudson screams, "I'm staying, I'm staying, and you, and you, and you, you're gonna love me!" and the band bursts into full power right here with the song's main musical motif - a simple but incredibly effective melodic passage that manages to accentuate Hudson's singing beyond where her voice alone could take it...yet never detracts or attempts to compete with her performance. She holds that note - "meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" before taking it back again into, "you're gonna love me" and the band makes sure that the longer you listen, the deeper you get pulled in with the gravity of it all.

- Jennifer Holiday/Hudson: You're Gonna Love This by Oliver Wang, soul sides, 12.26.06

For me, I pretty much lose it at 2:06 into the song. There's a particular "no way" right there, right before the bridge, that hits me in my core. I've seen this damn movie twice this week and both times at that point, I just want to run out of the theatre. As one of the commentators said on NPR's African-American Roundtable earlier this week, she just takes us there.

Anyway, O-Dub has downloads available of both versions.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

My Best of '06 answer in two parts. This is the second in a series of extended entries about those parts.

Rabbit Fur Coat

Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins

"I didn't intend to write a bunch of songs about God," she says. "I was surprised when I had all of the songs completed and there were so many God references throughout. I guess that's what happens when you're about to turn 30... I think being broken-hearted is not the only thing you want to sing about."

- Jenny Lewis Questioning God on 'Rabbit Fur Coat', All Things Considered, 02.22.06

Standing in the Way of Control

Gossip

Gossip's third album was partly produced by Fugazi's Guy Picciotto at the studio (Seattle's Bear Creek) where Lionel Richie recorded "Dancing on the Ceiling," which is all you really need to know about the band's new direction. Brace Paine's dirty guitar lines grind in the Olympia, Washington, tradition, and the addition of drumming powerhouse Hannah Blilie means the trio's unvarnished blues punk now strides confidently onto the disco tiles. The change suits Beth Ditto's Poly Styrene-meets-Patti LaBelle belting just fine, especially when the martial grind of "Keeping You Alive" explodes into a floor-filling chorus.

- Review by Peter Relic, Rolling Stone, 02.06.06

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

My Best of '06 answer in two parts. This is the first in a series of extended entries about those parts.

Veneer

José González

Veneer is an exercise in simplicity, with a somber and contemplative tone deepened by an affinity for bossa nova and flamenco. At 27, Gonzalez has aligned himself with folk artists who operate under the belief that quiet truly is the new loud.

 - A Quiet 'Veneer' from Jose Gonzalez, NPR, 01.23.06

Danity Kane

Danity Kane

The CD will stand in a high place in music history because of its pure musical perfection. The harmonies all fall into place to create a beautiful sound that intrigues not only the ear, but the mind. By mastering these essentials of music, Danity Kane sets itself apart from other groups.

- Danity Kane, Teen Ink, 11.06

Read and post comments | Send to a friend