I went a slightly different direction for 2008′s songs list — there’s some crossover with yesterday’s albums list because my favorite three albums happened to have my favorite three songs of the year, but other than that I tried to spotlight 20 singles and album tracks by artists who didn’t quite stand out enough across the board to crack the albums best-of. Get your left-field on after the jump and remember, the Rawkblog pledge drive ends this weekend — please give now! Read the rest of this entry »

Women / photo by David Greenwald

Apologies for the tardiness, folks, but with some distance from the — let’s just go ahead and say it — shitty trends that characterized 2008, I feel pretty good about the year. It didn’t offer a lot of new classics to my ears, but it was a fantastic time for indie-folk (excluding Bon Iver: Shitty!) and new artists, or at least those who were fresh to me — I became a Hold Steady and Mountain Goats convert, and the debuts of Fleet Foxes, Women and White Hinterland, among others, have only aged well in recent months. A great year? Nah. (My actual favorite album of 2008: Reckoning by R.E.M.) But worth digging into, after the jump. [Ed. note: Like what you see? It’s Pledge Week — please donate!]

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, folks, I promised treats, so here we are: A fantastic one-camera concert bootleg of Elliott Smith on February 22, 2000. On tour to support Figure 8, he does acoustic renditions of that album’s “Son of Sam,” “Happiness” and “LA” before launching into his back catalog. Guitar players will be fascinated by his fretwork; the rest of us, his soul. (Archive.org doesn’t have this, but it does have three other shows from this week, if you’re looking for MP3s.)

And in recent Elliott news, a sibling of his in Austin, Texas, is selling his old 1999 VW Passat GLX for charity. On Craiglist!

Elliott Smith – February 22, 2000: Video

Elliott Smith – “Say Yes” (live, 11.02.00): mp3

Like what you see? It’s Pledge Week — please donate!

Previously: Elliott Smith – Complete Unreleased Songs: Live | All Elliott Smith

All photos by David Greenwald

Wilco (The Concert): Epic. After waiting five years to see my favorite band (2004: The flu. 2007: Last-minute publicist hiccup), Jeff Tweedy, Nels Cline & Co. delivered the goods over two hours and 20 minutes — or as rock bands used to call it, a full set. I was planted firmly in front of lead guitarist Nels’ monitor, which was both awesome (Nels!) and a minor concern when he drowned out Jeff, but on the whole, the sound was great and each of Wilco’s six members were at their peak. The setlist was more polarizing, at least for me — they played all my favorites (“Muzzle of Bees,” “Jesus Etc.,” “Shot In The Arm,” “One Wing,” “Misunderstood”) and all of my least favorites — the goofball pop they’ve leaned toward recently, with “Walken” and “Hate It Here.” But after two encores (including a Being There run that included “Red Eyed and Blue,” “I Got You” and “Monday”) I was more than sold on Wilco (The Live Band) — or rather, the best band.

Like what you see? It’s Pledge Week — please donate!

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Ladies and gentlerawkers, unlike Lil Wayne, I am not ballin’ through the recession. Despite the ad (and I use that term loosely these days) at the top of this site, we’re at best breaking even on hosting and associated costs this year. With that in mind, I’m going to once again respectfully beg you for a bail-out, but I’m not asking for a freebie:

For a suggested donation of $5, you’ll get a personal e-mail from yours truly thanking you for your patronage and initiating the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

For a suggested donation of $10, you’ll get the above and a custom mixtape/playlist for the event of your choice. Need a soundtrack of party jams? Want to woo a lady/boy? I can make that happen.

For a suggested donation of $20 or more, you’ll get the thank you e-mail and the opportunity to request me to perform a cover song of your choice on acoustic guitar. I will record it and put it on YouTube for all eternity or until it gets removed due to copyright violations. (Suggestions: Ryan Adams, Jens Lekman, Taylor Swift.)

Pals, I encourage you to think of The Rawking Refuses To Stop! as a daily subscription to a rad magazine: How much would you pay a year to get this in the mail? Times are tough, folks, so no hard feelings if you can’t reach deep, but any and all donations will be much appreciated.

In return for your generosity, this will be an extra-special week of Rawk-content: In the coming days, you should look forward to some sweet bootlegs, my rundown of the year’s best albums so far and some very belated 2008 best-of lists, among other goodness. [Rawkblog Pledge Week '09 is sponsored by the The Happiest Dog Ever, pictured]

Hugs,
Dave Rawkblog

Re-Up Gang – “20K Money Making Brothers On The Corner”: mp3
Fred Thomas – “No Money”: mp3

Photo by Christina Gubala

File under: Things I regret not doing this weekend. Too low on funds. How were they, folks?

Grizzly Bear – “Cheerleader”: mp3

More: Grizzly Bear | Concert Photos

Shout-out to Levi Johnston, too. Stay strong, fellas.

New Music: sentimental jazz-folk from Charlie Wadhams, Glasgow underdogs the Trashcan Sinatras return and more post-Broken Social Scene cruisin’ from Reverie Sound Revue. Plus: The Main Drag’s Calvin and Hobbes-referencing video for “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter.”

Photos: Charlie Wadhams at the Silent Movie Theatre; Camera Obscurist wedding candids at the Skirball Museum.

Deeper Into Movies: I saw Year One last night, and I hate to say it, but it’s quite possibly the worst movie of Harold Ramis’ otherwise fantastic career. Despite a wide-open premise and an able cast, it lacked the bare minimum of cleverness of recent Ramis output such as Bedazzled or Analyze This, much less equaling Ghostbusters or Stripes. This does not bode well for Ghostbusters 3.

All photos by David Greenwald

Charlie Wadhams had to follow up a vintage documentary on banjo legend Earl Scruggs which included performances by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez for his gig at the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax last night, but the Los Angeles musician made a valiant effort to hold his own. In a brief set drawing largely on his new EP, In A Goldmine, the singer-songwriter stripped his nightclub jazz-folk down to brushed drums, upright bass and his amplified acoustic-electric guitar — as good a fit for songs such as “Someone To Kiss” as their more nuanced studio versions. Wadhams may not be following Scruggs to the Grand Ole Opry just yet, but catch his intimate sound in snugger venues while you can.

Charlie Wadhams – “Someone To Kiss”: mp3

Previously: New Music: Charlie Wadhams – “Someone To Kiss”

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