First song is “Don’t Want To Know” by the John Martyn who passed away this last Thursday. In memory, Jason Bentley played “Don’t Want To Know” on KCRW Thursday morning and that was my introduction to the song. I couldn’t find a link to any MP3 of the song, so here is the song in it’s entirety on YouTube:
And here’s a cool MP3 I came across while I was searching for the first track- John Martyn covering Portishead’s “Glory Box”
John Martyn - Glory Box
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Second song was shown to me by Oscar who had this to say about it:
Asa (pronounced “Asha”) is a Paris born Nigerian who can de described as a female Wyclef Jean, minus the entourage of celebrities. What separates her from the pack of many in her reggae/soul/jazz genre is the fact that she writes and performs damn good songs! Blips of Afro-Beat blended with rustic guitar sounds and a jazzy finger snap rhythm- you just can’t go wrong. One track in particular getting some attention is a song called “Jailer”, check out the song and video below. Since the release of the track, it has sparked some serious attention in her native Nigeria and has earned her the opportunity to open for Akon, John Legend, Beyonce and even Snoop. Believe it or not MTV South Africa has made her the “ambassador” for the music network (whatever that means?). Let’s just assume she is the face of Nigerian music right now and, from America, might be the best kept music secret in Africa. -Oscar M-
Asa - Jailer | Subway
Click here to see the music video for Jailer
Third song is Emiliana Torrini’s “Me and Armini” which was released as the title track of her September 2008 album. To be perfectly honest though, I don’t know much about Torrini, the album, or any other songs of hers. I’m going to check that out and then maybe I’ll update this…
Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini
Fourth song is “Walking on a Dream” by Empire of the Sun. The song was actually leaked in June or July of last year but wasn’t officially available until August of ‘08. And it’s great but the pictures (and music video) of the Australian duo that is Empire, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore, are pretty weird and a little creepy (see below). It’s like dark child fantasy weird, like Pan’s Labrynth characters or The Labrynth, especially since the main guy sports David Bowie style creepy makeup and some crazy looking gear. Sorry, I kind of get thrown off and distracted by that kind of stuff, but at least the song is good.
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream
