A Crazy Arc from Mikal Cronin Back to Simon & Garfunkel

A favorite blog 70/day/wknd recently mentioned Mikal Cronin who released his second album “MCII” back in May. The album broke into the Billboard Top 50 Rock Albums after its release, and “Weight” is the first track.

See if you agree that Cronin’s arrangements and melodies bear a resemblance to the those of The Lemonheads. Fronted by Evan Dando, The Lemonheads breakthrough album was “It’s a Shame About Ray” in 1992, and they may be best known for their cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson”.

And on the subject of Simon & Garfunkel covers, one of the most eclectic ever was the version of “America” included on the 1971 album “Fragile” by Yes. Yes is among the bands vying to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, by the way. If you are Yes fan, enjoy all 10 minutes plus of this track, but if you want to hear the core of their take on “America” check in for a couple of minutes beginning at about 2:20.

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New Music Starts With the Letter “A” – Avicii, Avett Brothers, and Arcade Fire

To cover a lot of musical ground, you don’t need to go beyond the letter “A”.

A few months back one of the biggest electronic dance music DJ’s on the planet, Avicii, released “Wake Me Up”. He went pretty far afield of typical EDM territory, and the video echoes the country vibe of the acoustic guitar and vocal arrangement. But the dance beat picks up as the song goes on and the video’s heroine makes the club scene. The vocal on the track is provided by Aloe Blacc, an American singer who co-wrote the song.

The Avett Brothers’ new album “Magpie and Dandelion” is out. We wrote about the band in an earlier post, and they remain a favorite in the folk rock scene. Enjoy this simple studio performance of “Morning Song”.

Arcade Fire’s albums regularly earn critical acclaim, and their recent release “Reflektor” is no different. The Canadian band delivers long, hypnotic tunes, and the video below has got to be one of the longest performances ever on Saturday Night Live.

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2014 Nominees, Still At It After 25 Years – Or More!

Last week the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the nominees for the class of 2014. You can see the full list and contribute to this year’s fan ballot on the Rolling Stone magazine website. To be eligible for induction an artist or band must have released its first record 25 years ago, but many of this year’s nominees are still putting out new music.

Nirvana is nominated this year; their first single “Love Buzz” was released in 1988. Dave Grohl wasn’t with the band at that time, he joined in 1990, but he has carried the torch as a prolific musician, producer and filmmaker. And here’s “Love Buzz” in case you’ve never heard it.

Chic is also up this year, nominated for the eighth time. Nile Rodgers’ funky guitar was a central part of Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories” CD released earlier this year – maybe that will put Chic over the top this time around.

Hall & Oates are on the ballot, and Daryl Hall is planning to add more episodes to his series “Live at Daryl’s House” soon.

The Zombies first became eligible for induction in 1989 (just when Nirvana was getting started!) but are nominated for the first time this year. The classic “She’s Not There” was released in 1964, and “Time of the Season” followed in 1968. Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, the core of The Zombies, released “Breathe Out, Breathe In” in 2011 with some jazz-inflected tunes featuring Rod’s fantastic keyboard work and Colin’s clean vocals. Check out this very retro video for “Time of the Season”, and see the gray-maned men still at it after 50 years.