If It's Too Loud...

I've been actively trying to see bands that I've never seen before or haven't seen in a decade or two. Even though I've been a fan of The Roots since the late 90's, and despite the fact that they have been playing shows consistently in that time, I've never actually seen them. I've loved Digable Planets since 1993, and I've also never seen them. The only artist of the three that played MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Sunday night was Arrested Development, and that was at my second ever concert (Peter Gabriel's WOMAD festival which also included Midnight Oil and Live). Obviously, the Hip Hop is the Love of My Life tour could not be missed. Sunday night's show completely ignored the usual concert format of Band #1, break, Band #2, break, Band #3, break. The Roots took the stage at roughly 8:15 pm and did not leave until just before 11:00 pm. It was a nearly three hour marathon performance that included the Philly hip hop legends acting as the backing b...

Photo by Sesse Lind We've been loving the jazz meets hip hop and soul sound of Dave Guy's solo singles so far. The member of The Roots and The Dap-Kings has had this great laid back sound, and his latest single steps things up a bit. Particularly at its beginning, "Still Standing" is the most Roots-esque single we've heard from Ruby so far. It's still laid back, but Guy's playing has a certain intensity to it. And then it just takes off into this world of jazz that's perfect for music fans who don't consider themselves to be fans of the genre. Guy's playing and the composition of "Still Standing" is mesmerizing. Despite the song being just over two minutes long, it brings you on a full sonic journey you'll want to take again and again. You can listen to "Still Standing" below. Ruby is due out September 20 on Big Crown Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Dave Guy, check out the artist on Instagram .

Photo by Sesse Lind Dave Guy is best known as a member of The Roots, The Dap-Kings, and Menahan Street Band. Now the trumpet player is stepping out on his own with his debut solo album. The first single off that album, "7th Heaven," is a New York Jazz track with elements of hip hop and soul. It's a mostly instrumental track, and even though we don't cover much jazz here, we'll happily make an exception for a track as good as "7th Heaven." If you like hip hop artists that incorporate jazz into their music such as Guru, the collaboration between Damu the Fudgemunk, Raw Poetic, and Archie Shepp, or The Roots, you're going to be into Dave Guy. Dave Guy says about his new single: “It has a groove and is more in line with what the guys and I are known for with Menahan Street Band, but it is also in-your-face and catchy. It’s a bit of an ode to Tijuana Brass too, a Herb Alpert-esque track with a tight horn line and has that energy that pops.” You can listen...

Photo by Sasha Lytvyn For an MC Paul Barman fan who had lost track of what he had been up to, the past four months have been a cornucopia. We finally have word of a new MC Paul Barman album, and with it, the ?uestlove produced title track. "(((echo chamber)))" seems more like a traditional MC Paul Barman song than "(((leapfrog)))" did. It starts off incredibly quietly. The first few seconds have literally no sound, and it starts off so gradually that you might not realize it at first. Barman's first verse is more spoken word than rap. It bleeds into Open Mike Eagle's verse, which bleeds back into MC Paul Barman. There is no real traditional verse/chorus/verse structure and is one of the most refreshingly unique hip hop songs in years. You can listen to "(((echo chamber)))" below. The new MC Paul Barman album, (((echo chamber))) , will be out May 18 on Mello Music Group. You can pre-order you copy on Bandcamp . For more on MC Paul Barman, chec...

The good news is that the new releases were a day early this week and have a lot of fun nuggets. The bad news is that at least three of them are well over two hours long. Ah well. R.E.M. - Unplugged 1991/2001: The Complete Sessions : R.E.M. is far and away my favorite band of all time. Previously only available in bootleg form, and R.E.M.'s contribution to Record Store Day this year, the Unplugged collection is one of those completest things that will be of interest to R.E.M. fans and perhaps fans of the now-basically-useless Unplugged brand, but beyond that it's going to be filled with a lot of songs you probably don't know on the first disc, and a lot of songs you only know if you're a hardcore fan on the second. One thing I always enjoyed about the Unplugged shows were the ways they kind of exposed the songs for what they were - a reason the 10,000 Maniacs session was so solid was because their songs translated well to an acoustic landscape. While the 1991 U...

I mean... seriously? Look at that line up. I don't care what Boston Calling has had before, this roster may never be topped ever again. Plenty for old fogies to check out without feeling self conscious (The Replacements, Neutral Milk Hotel, Nas + The Roots, The Hold Steady, Spoon) plus a chance to see some of the up and comers we've been obsessed with without being the Creepy Old Guy. I've wanted to check out Childish Gambino and Girl Talk for a while now, and this may be the chance! And you can check out this Lorde character without being the only adult without a child. Plus, I mean, The Replacements! Neutral Milk Hotel! Nas + The Roots would be kick ass enough by themselves, but Nas with The Roots as his backing band???? Insane. I think The National might be the weak link as far as headliners go, but considering they curated the thing, I can let it slide. The September 2014 edition of Boston Calling takes place in City Hall Plaza on September 5, 6, & 7. 3 Day and ...

To say Yoko Ono isn't my thing is an understatement of epic proportions. However, her video for "Bad Dancer" deserves some attention, just because of the guest stars it features. I'll take any peek into what Ad Rock and Mike D of the Beastie Boys are doing, and when you add Ira Glass of This American Life, Questlove of the Roots, Roberta Flack, and others into the mix, you'll want to watch it at least once. The video features Ono and her cohorts all dancing badly, which sounds (and is) super cheesy, but it also ends up being a lot of fun, which isn't a side of Ono you get to see a lot. Will the song make anyone's best of 2013 list? Nope. Is it worth checking out in between cat videos on a Tuesday morning? Yeah, sure. Why not?

A lot of new releases to get through this week, so let's not waste any time: Elvis Costello and The Roots - Wise Up Ghost : Probably the most anticipated release around these parts is the Costello/Roots collaboration Wise Up Ghost . Elvis Costello has never been shy about trying other genres out, and this is surprisingly not what I expected. It's got its R&B hints, to be sure, but it almost feels like a structured jazz record in a sense, and The Roots have a significant amount of influence on the proceedings. It's definitely an interesting listen, but I'll be honest - as a fan of both Costello and The Roots, I can't say whether or not I'm actually enjoying this one. Mark Lanegan - Imitations : My first exposure to Mark Lanegan was when Screaming Trees opened for Oasis way back in 1994 or 1995. Since then, I've heard him on plenty of things, but my exposure to him has mostly been his collaborations with Belle & Sebastian's Isobel Campbell....