YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

HIP HOP
Urban Response: Funky Urban Tropical Electro Hop from Brazil
Urban Response was formed in 2009 by Irish producer Elektrodouche and Brazilian lyricist MC Quilombola. Their first EP, A Origem da Natureza Urbana, is a true melting pot of their diverse influences - a mix of classic hip-hop, dub, funk, electro, urban, trip-hop and ragga, along with a handful of collaborations from Ireland, Spain and Nigeria. The result of their musical journey together is a modern union of different nationalities, colors, flavors, sounds, places and styles. Music knows no boundaries.

JAZZ
Robin Stine: Jazzy, bluesy numbers that sound like comfortable standards
Robin Stine's music seduces with a whiff of subtle perfume and a casual graze of her hand as she walks past, leaving the listener powerless to do anything but follow. As a singer, her voice floats on the stylish edge of contemporary cool-light, but never lightweight. Daydream, her debut album, is a sleek collection of a dozen original jazzy, bluesy numbers that immediately sound like comfortable standards. Her enviably experienced crew includes pianist Warren Bernhardt (Steps Ahead, Jack DeJohnette, Gerry Mulligan), drummer Gary Burke (Joe Jackson, Bob Dylan), trumpeter Steven Bernstein (Roswell Rudd, Medeski Martin & Wood, Don Byron), and her fellow Kansas City native, guitarist Steve Cardenas (Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux, Paul Motian, Mark Isham).

HARD ROCK
Louis Lingg and the Bombs: Punk Rock to blow your head off
Wave the black flags, get out your molotov cocktails, don your ski masks and hit the streets with Louis Lingg and the Bombs. Named after a famous Chicago anarchist, their sound is a mix of ultra-political anarchic punk rock and fizzing children's nursery rhyme riot-pop. Their latest album, Light Lullabies for Skinny Monkeys, was recorded in a bedroom in Paris, France. These are nasal sounding DIY punk songs sung with energy and humor. There is a wild and all encompassing party contained on this album, all you have to do is press play.

CLASSICAL / WORLD
Skarazula: Medieval European, Turkish and Arabic music
Ostara, Skarazula's first album, is an homage to the pagan spring equinox festivities of ancient times. The name comes from the Teutonic spring goddess "Eastre", that later became Easter in English. Skarazula's second album, Litha, continues the pagan rituals theme with the summer solstice festival in the Saxon culture. Litha includes songs from many parts of the ancient world: a troubadour's pastourelle, a sephardic love song, a Cantiga de Santa Maria, Turkish, Breton and Italian music. Take a trip around the world with the three minstrels of Skarazula and enjoy both original and traditional pieces. All of their music is played on instruments built by Skarazula's members, giving them a completely unique sound.

ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Ninety Pounds of Ugly: Country, Rockabilly, Western Swing and Lounge
“Country malcontents Ninety Pounds Of Ugly are hung up on the heart, cracking wise, burning bridges and losing control, all with the brazen, belittling charm of a jaded barfly's liquored up loose tongue, on Richmond Motel Room #3. The rockabilly thump of Out of Your League struts like the sequel to Loretta Lynn's You Ain't Woman Enough, while Tain't One, Tain't the Other is the best Dolly song you've never heard." (Steve Baylin - Ottawa Xpress)

accordion2

This weekend is the annual Ann Arbor Summer Festival, a festival of events ranging from music, dance, comedy, film and much more. One of the main acts at Summer Fest is comedian Steve Martin performing with the bluegrass band, The Steep Canyon Rangers, on Saturday evening at 8 PM. As you may know from from his auto-biography, "Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life", Steve Martin has been an accomplished banjo player for over 40 years and an acclaimed bluegrass performer.

Though considered a traditional form of American folk music, Bluegrass as a genre is becoming more popular in recent years thanks to popular movies like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and bluegrass events like the Los Angeles Bluegrass Situation put on by writer and comedian Ed Helms. Over the years various Bluegrass bands have mixed their sounds with Blues, Country, Honky Tonk and electronic instruments but performers like Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers play more contemporary Bluegrass music with traditional roots.

If you're interested in listening to some Bluegrass similar to Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, check out:

• The Grascals
• The Infamous Stringdusters
• Mountain Heart
• NewFound Road

summe reading

School is out and the longest day of the year is here. The sun is hot and the water is calling. Time to pack the beach bag. Want some suggestions?

Every year, I look forward to the NPR's recommendations of summer books. I especially like the Indie Booksellers Target Summer's Best Reads for an insider's take on what is good that might not hit the bestseller lists.

This year O's (Oprah) Summer Reading Lists go for wide appeal. You are bound to find something to your liking.

• The Irresistibles: Lyrical, Luscious Reads
• Unputdownable Mysteries
• Tantalizing Beach Reads
• Memoirs We Love
• Short Stories We Love

These are what the editor's of the New York Times Book Reviews are reading for pleasure this summer. Check out their recommendations in the great big Summer Reading issue.

New Yorker Magazine wades in with their own Beach Reads for (Almost) Everyone.

I also like this year's Summer Beach Reads from Goodhousekeeping. Great current titles.

Just to prove that writers are avid readers, here is Stephen King's month-by-month summer reading list. Boy, is he organized!

Hey, if you are going to spend a lot of time in the car, try Summer’s Best Audio Books recommended by the Washington Post, and Library Journal's Best Audiobooks. Want more? Here is a list of the Top 100 Audio Book Bestsellers.

One last thing..... don't forget to sign up for the Summer Reading Game. Here's how to get started. You can actually earn points and get stuff for having fun. Really. For grown-ups too.

You Know When the Men are Gone * * brings to mind the final line in John Milton's (1608-74) sonnet On His Blindness : "They also serve who only stand and wait"; and is a powerful, unsentimental portrait of America at war on the domestic front.

This debut collection of 8 interconnected stories by Siobhan Fallon relate the experiences of Fort Hood (Texas) military wives who share a poignant vigil during which they raise children while waiting for their husbands to return.

In the audio, a winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award, narrator Cassandra Campbell packs each story with a unique emotional punch, capturing the loneliness, the waiting, the anxiety, boredom and sometimes resentment among the women.

The author lived at Fort Hood while her husband, an Army major, was deployed to Iraq for two tours of duty. She earned her MFA at the New School in New York City. Fallon lives with her family near the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.

When you leave Fort Hood, the sign above the gate warns, You've Survived the War, Now Survive the Homecoming . For the lingering effect of war on families, I liked Tim Farrington's Lizzie's War (2005).

And let's not forget the young who too, are asked to endure, I highly recommend Laura Harrington's Alice Bliss (2011), a coming-of-age story with wisdom and heart.

* * = Starred Reviews

33 1/3 Sereis image

The AADL recently added the 33 1/3 series of books to the collection. Each volume covers one album from the perspective of a diverse set of authors. Some of the volumes tell the story of the band, or the recording of the record, while others tell how that record effect the author. There are a couple of volumes that are fiction and dissect the record as part of the story.

Now as part of the Ann Arbor Summer fest three of the volumes
The Pogues’ “Rum, Sodomy & The Lash”
Tom Waits' “Swordfishtrombones”
Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”
Are going to be highlighted locally.

From (http://33third.blogspot.com)
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Ann Arbor: 33 1/3 Reading & Listening Parties

As part of the 2011 Summer Festival and the Fresh Ink Literary Arts Series in Ann Arbor, there will be a series of readings/listenings with local writers, journalists, and music aficionados reading excerpts from 33 1/3 books, followed by a guest DJ mixing from the oeuvre of the featured artist of the evening, beginning June 20th, and running for 3 weeks. A very cool idea...

Monday, June 20
Guest Reader: Bob Needham | Entertainment Director, AnnArbor.com
The Pogues’ “Rum, Sodomy & The Lash” by Jeffery T. Roesgen
WCBN DJ: Sue Dise

Monday, June 27 
Guest Reader: Jeff Meyers | Managing Editor, Concentrate Media
Tom Waits' “Swordfishtrombones” by David Smay
WCBN DJ: Saramin

Monday, July 4 
Guest Reader: Emlyn Chand, Writer and Book Publicist
Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” by Geoffrey Himes
WCBN DJ: Aaron Smith

All events are free. 7-9pm. Location: Arbor Brewing Company's ABC Brewpub

You can check out the series here, and there is also a partial list matching both the books and the CD version of the albums coverd by the book in our collection.

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

JAZZ
Jive Ass Sleepers: Chilled out grooves & uptempo funkathons
Jazz Funk lovers rejoice! Funk Factor is packed full of laid back funk grooves and soulful jazzy moods. Blending a retro seventies vibe with a modern twist, infectious melodies on guitar, horns and keyboards are served over toe tapping rhythm sections. Tight production with a gritty edge, this is the perfect album for all Acid Jazz fans who dig music from artists such as The Crusaders, Brand New Heavies, Ronny Jordan, George Benson and Jeff Lorber to name a few.

ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Mexeena: Achingly beautiful, almost edible
The album Ether is strangely compelling. Embark on a musical exploration with Mexeena's soft vocal guiding you down a faintly familiar path. Encounter sparse acoustic guitars freeing themselves from the darker, textured recesses. Follow your senses as you continue through stimulating, yet calming, tracks. Go ahead, breathe in the turquoise air. Find found sounds and pulsing beats, and cast out bad dreams while you absorb yet another melody.

CLASSICAL
Misericordia: Sickeningly good Medieval music
Passion, Pestilence and Polyphony brings you music and song from the dark and troubled fourteenth century. From the rhythmic drive of bagpipes, hurdy gurdy and percussion, to haunting three part polyphony via solo voice accompanied by gothic harp, this recording includes complex instrumental istampitas, love songs by Guillaume de Machaut, and music from England, France and Italy.

HARD ROCK
Damsel Down: Rock to take the top down and drive to
Damsel Down's debut consists of ten uplifting songs with heavy gritty guitar, hard hitting rock drums, low warm bass, and smooth vocals. As the title suggests, Now We Rise seeks methods of resurrecting from trials and tribulations. From smooth ballads to songs that make you want to get in your car and burn up the pavement, Damsel Down hopes you enjoy the ride.

WORLD
Moh Alileche: Music of the mountains of Kabylia
All songs on In Memory of a Hero are sung in the ancient native North African language, Tamazight, incorporating the use of instruments common to that region, namely the mondol, bendir, banjo and flutes. Alileche (pronounced "ali-LESH") blends his soulful, emotionally charged, passionate voice to hypnotic rhythms, captivating melodies, and entrancing beats. The album highlights the need for conscientious resistance to authoritarian regimes that undermine human rights, and is dedicated to late singer and activist, Lounes Matoub, who was assassinated in Algeria at the age of 42.

secrets

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

HARD ROCK
Sweet Teen Killing Machine: Don't go down into the cellar
Self-described as "horror-rock," Portland, Oregon-based, Sweet Teen Killing Machine creates hard-hitting, heavy rock soundtracks for fictitious horror movies. From the supernatural album openers, "Curse of the Bloodwolf" and "City of the Shrieking Dead”, to the more human terror of "Virgin White" and "New Meat," Sweet Teen Killing Machine can be described as the sound of a beast that always seems to be chasing you.

CLASSICAL
Vito Paternoster: Cellist extraordinaire
Vito Paternoster picked five of the most beautiful Italian Baroque sonatas for cello on his new album Sinfonie and Sonate del settecento italiano per Violoncello e Basso Continuo. Works by Benedetto Marcello, FP Scipriani (in world premiere recording), Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Francesco Geminiani and F Martino are performed with virtuosity and lyricism, bringing us back to the sounds, voices and colors of Venice, Naples and Florence long ago.

WORLD
Amelia Cuni and Werner Durand: Experimental winds meet Indian classical
Waves of Beauty – Nada Yoga Vol. 2 is a single 56 minute long track. Amelia Cuni's crystal clear voice is set in a soundscape generated by acoustic sources, using no synthetic sounds. Her singing draws from the rich heritage of Dhrupad, the oldest form of North Indian music. She uses ragas and Indian vocal techniques that are powerful and soothing, moving and hypnotic. This uplifting album is designed to calm the listener's mind, supporting balance and well being. It may be used for relaxation, massages, yoga sessions, or that bubble bath you've been daydreaming about.

ELECTRONICA
Industrial Sound Bank: The sounds that shake the masses
The Disk Platter Spins is a musical journey; a gapless, seamless blending of dance, trance and noise. There's a strong "dance-ability" factor, but even for those who choose to just listen, Industrial Sound Bank (a.k.a. In.So.Ba.) provides great material.

CHRISTIAN ROCK
Predestined: Alternative rock music out of New York City
Predestined formed in 2005 as a project of songwriter/guitarist Mike Parenti. Their self-titled album, influenced by many classic and modern rock artists, from The Beatles and The Who, to Staind and Lifehouse, explores unconditional love, Christian faith and spiritual growth.

baby with headphones

I went to my first concert in 1989. Bon Jovi was touring their latest, New Jersey, at the since-demolished Silver Stadium in Rochester, NY, and Skid Row opened for them. I was in 2nd grade. The only thing I remember from the show is sitting next to my best friend in the bleacher seats with cotton balls in my ears feeling like a dork (my mom made me wear them!), yet overcome by this conviction that I wanted to experience as much music as I possibly could until forever. Even when I got old.

Turning back to 1989, with the end of the Reagan administration, the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and the Berlin Wall falling that year, it follows that musicians were reaching as far into the future as the world around them. There are several albums from '89 that to this day I keep thinking came out after Cobain died. They didn't. They just sound like they did.

That year, keg-party rappers, Beastie Boys, studied sophisticated sampling techniques and laid them over aggressive break beats that would shape the sound of hip-hop's post Golden Age artists with their release, Paul's Boutique. Check out the Annotated Lyrics to this album for a dip into the goody bag of samples these guys used. It's enough to make Girl Talk giggle.

Meanwhile, nearly ten years after New Order's flux-capacitor rise to power out of the ashes of Joy Division, the best live dance band on the planet unleashed Technique, bringing the sun-drenched clubs of Ibiza to the dank CBGBs of the states. The rave club DJs of the following decade owe every last glow stick to this record.

If the front half of the '90s was driven by the often opposing forces of grunge and Brit-pop, then the road back home leads to Pixies' Doolittle and The Stone Roses' self titled record, respectively. Doolittle's fuzzed out guitar riffs and scream along lyrics are balanced by some of the catchiest rock hooks not written by Kiss. For me, Pixies prove that the beautiful and the profane share the same bungalow. The Stone Roses drew from Ray Davies' ear for phrasing and his love for all things UK, washing it in a dreamy haze that continues to float out of my car's windows on the sunniest of summer days.

Other visionary rock albums from 1989 include The Cure's Disintegration, Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine, and Faith No More's The Real Thing. All of which share far more in common with the decade that followed their release than the one that led up to it. Hmmm, somehow neither Bon Jovi nor Skid Row made the cut? But both of them led me to music, so they'll always have a place in my heart, if no longer in my ear.

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

POP
Linda Wood: Melodic, eclectic 'quirk-pop'
Although singer-songwriter Linda Wood has been compared to Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Rickie Lee Jones, and even a bit of Doris Day, she is a true original with her own style. Threads of jazz, blues, Latin, hip-hop, techno, pop, and cabaret, create a musical tapestry on which her diverse vocal stylings are embroidered. From the Santana-like vibe of "Goodbye Perfectionist", to the jazzy Stray Cat Strut jive of "Get Out Of My Life" with it's Andrew Sisters style harmonies, to the driving techno tribal beat and middle Eastern-inflected vocals of "Peter Pan", there is so much to like. There's also an unlisted bonus song at the end - a poignant ballad about loss and healing. One of the most quirky, yet endearing songs is "Bittersweet," a psychedelic carnival ride of a tune, complete with yodeling, triangle, and tuba that would not have been out of place on an early Frank Zappa record or Fellini soundtrack. Linda Wood’s vocals illuminate an emotional gamut from sassy and sultry to longing and vulnerable.

CLASSICAL
Kathleen McIntosh: Delicious Boismortier harpsichord rarities
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, the composer, was born in 1689 in the Age of Enlightenment. By 1724 he had begun to self publish, and achieved great financial success without having to rely on the largess of patrons. His music is elegant, witty and charming but mostly written for players of modest technical ability, his amateur customers. Nonetheless, his near contemporary, Jean-Benjamin La Borde, wrote of his work in 1780 "whoever takes the trouble to search through this abandoned mine will find enough bits of gold to make an ingot." This unusual release presents four enchanting Boismortier Suites for harpsichord plus a set of five excerpts arranged by harpsichordist Kathleen McIntosh.

JAZZ
Manuel Ochoa: Jazz and tango from Argentina
Featuring trumpet, saxophone, piano, contrabass and drums, Fauna is a jazzy album with long tender ballads and vibrant swing tunes. The compositions are easy to listen to and have creative improvised solos which create a very fresh music experience. The trumpet player plays flugelhorn on the ballads and the saxophone player alternates between alto saxophone and soprano saxophone. Manuel's sound on the piano is very personal and soft.

WORLD
Kiwi: World roots soul music
Kiwi's 2010 effort Mischief Reigns is the kind of album that reveals new layers of itself each and every time you listen. Themes such as life, death, love, and loss are set to a rich fabric of roots rhythm and bass, punctuated by killer horn arrangements and delivered in sultry harmony by a male/female vocal duo. Adding to the unique sound is a variety of percussion and keyboard instruments. With sharp songwriting and lyrics in both English and Portuguese, this up and coming 9-piece from Jersey City, NJ is guaranteed to have you hooked.

ELECTRONICA
DJ Markitos: Happy trance
Evolution of the Mind is the trance of DJ Markitos, a young producer from the Slovak Republic who fell in love with the utterly non-commercial nature of the underground scene there and captured it perfectly in his music. It's all in there: the layered, textured sounds, washes, crescendos, and occasional soulful vocals. Definitely evocative of the underground parties and raves that center around electronic music itself as the main attraction—as well as the blissful anonymity and release it provides to those who dance to it all night long.
listening abe

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

ELECTRONICA
Kalabi: Chillout music for late nights and early mornings
The Reclaimed Property albums (Volume one and Volume two) represent five years of chill out and trip hop from Kalabi. Mixing multi-layered ambience with deep dub bass and head nodding beats to create "nice music for tired ears", these tracks are designed to relax, with no nasty noises or scary samples.

CLASSICAL
La Nuova Musica: Vocal and instrumental chamber music
Italian singer and composer Giulio Caccini (c.1550 – 1618) took part in the sumptuous "intermedi" of his time, the elaborate dramatic and musical spectacles that were one of the precursors of opera. He was hugely influential, training dozens of musicians to sing in a new style. La Nuova Musica, the vocal and instrumental ensemble dedicated to the music of the European Renaissance and Baroque, now celebrate his style and influence with their album Il Circolo Di Giulio Caccini. Exquisite.

ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Nathan Mathes: Melody-driven indie-folk
Nathan Mathes can best be described as an indie-folk singer-songwriter, in the vein of Elliott Smith and Iron and Wine. American Whitecaps, his first solo album, was recorded in his basement studio in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Along with the record, Mathes released an accompanying book, Thoughts On And The Making Of American Whitecaps.

NEW AGE
Jasmine Brunch: A secret garden of lucid musical dreams
Jasmine Brunch is a solo project of the award-winning composer Ben Rusch. The music is perhaps best described as cliché-free New Age instrumental music that lovers of piano sounds will find particularly interesting. A Definitive Collection of Lucid Dreams offers hauntingly beautiful, evocative melodies inside a wonderful variety of acoustic arrangements. Jasmine Brunch will especially appeal to fans of Raul Di Blasio, Philip Glass, Carl Doy and Michael Nyman.

HARD ROCK
Breaker: Grit, guts, gall and granite
It's not often that you can strip a rock record of its vocals and find something just as worthwhile underneath. Breaker defiantly challenges the stigma of rock instrumentals by inviting listeners to experience their debut album, The More I Want, The More I Get without vocals. Within the lush landscape of gutsy guitars and propelling grooves, you're free to imprint your own story upon this dynamic hard rock collection. (Can’t live without lyrics? Check out the version with vocals.)

listening to radio