Brendan‘s searching for Méditation from Thaïs and opera somehow led to this bizarre, spaced out song from Charlotte Church’s new EP, Two
Charlotte Church: Glitterbombed
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Category Archives: brendan
Free Music from Upcoming Mountain Stage Guests
By Brendan
Lucious will be part of a Morgantown WV Mountain Stage show on June 2nd. They recently performed a Tiny Desk Concert.
Stephen Kellogg, scheduled for the June 30th show back in Charleston, WV, has many live recordings available on Archive.org. This one includes “Hearts of Pain,” which was featured on the TV show, One Tree Hill. Kellogg’s previous Mountain Stage performances are available to stream at NPR.
Over the Rhine will perform at Mountain Stage on July 21st. They have similarly permitted several live shows to be posted on Archive.org. This one is a favorite because it kicks off with “Laugh of Recognition” and includes a “Hallelujah” cover.
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down will appear at Mountain Stage on July 28th – you can stream or download a 2009 concert by the group here.
Massenet: Meditation from Thais
By: Brendan
Massenet’s Méditation from Thaïs is one of the most beautiful pieces ever composed. Even if you don’t recognize the title, it’s likely you’ve heard it in a movie or commercial – it recently appeared on the soundtrack to Liberal Arts
Massenet – Méditation from Thaïs (mp3 download page)
Benedetti was also featured on a recent Tiny Desk Concert, performing the theme from Schindler’s List and the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita for Solo Violin. I also love her version of Spiegel Im Spiegel
l’Orange: Old Soul
By: Brendan
Browsing Bandcamp, the Billie Holiday cover art to l’Orange’s Old Soul caught my attention. The music is not for everybody – some may find it repetitive – but I love it, film clips and all. You will hear Billie Holiday as never before, and another unique voice, that of Kelsey Lu. On “Lost Souls,” you’ll also hear Hassaan Mackey spitting those rhymes. I love the fact that “I’ll Be Seeing You” is sampled on the final track, “The Mourning.” The word transcendent is overused these days, but this one fits the definition: extending beyond the limits of ordinary experience. You can download the entire album for free below…
Derek Clegg: Free Album Downloads
By: Brendan
All Those Days to Feel Better is the latest release from busy Chicago-based singer-songwriter Derek Clegg. It’s a wonderfully twangy collection of songs. That album as well as several others by Clegg are available for free download at Bandcamp and the Free Music Archive.
Free Album Download: Alabama Shakes, Kodaline, Stars & more!
By: Brendan
One of my favorite songs this past year has been “Hold On” by Alabama Shakes – it is now available for download as a free, legal mp3 on Amazon as part of the MTV Artists Sampler. Kodaline, Stars, Everest, Samantha Crain, and Two Gallants are among the other artists featured.
Marium Bria: Billet Doux
By: Brendan
Listening to my ipod on shuffle, an unfamiliar track came on and I thought to myself: “Is this Norah Jones?” The singer was Marium Bria, a singer/songwriter based in Charleston, West Virginia. Marium Bria’s voice is like Norah Jones fused with Julie London – I yearn for her to record a jazz standards collection. Bria’s coruscating lyrics prove the profundity of simple love songs.
Some highlights from Marium Bria’s debut album, Billet Doux, include the appealingly Dylanesque “It’s Alright,” the bluesy “Die For Me,” and “In the Midnight,” which cries out for placement on the soundtrack to the upcoming Before Midnight. “You and me and the night makes three…“
You can stream selected tracks from the album here and purchase at the links below.
James Joyce: Dubliners
By: Brendan
Dublin’s Wonderland Productions released a new audio recording of James Joyce’s Dubliners, just in time for me to purchase a copy at Hodges Figgis during a visit to Ireland last month. It is an immersing audio experience with music and sound effects.
You can listen to the audio trailer below and purchase a copy (for about quarter the price I paid!) at Amazon
The collection is not quite complete, so I also recommend the recently released Librivox collection narrated by Dubliner Tadhg Hynes. You can also find my narration of the concluding story, “The Dead,” at Librivox.
Theo Tarsiguel: Free Album Download!
Guest Post by Brendan
Theo Tarsiguel has released a solo piano album for free download from Noisetrade. The collection includes covers of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” and One Republic’s “Apologize” in addition to Theo’s versions of soundtrack pieces from The Intouchables, Amelie and Twilight.
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
By: Brendan
Another highlight of the upcoming WV Symphony 2013-2014 season is Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. You can download a version of it below, as performed by the Harlow Symphony Orchestra…
Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No. 2 (mp3 download page)