Sunday, November 27, 2005

got her covered #3: inspired by lucinda

posted by serafinafly at 6:17 PM 0 comments

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Fisher - featured on Podcast #11


  • LINK to podcast #11: "Betty's "Homecooked Holiday Beats" Mix!"

    • From the website:
    "As early explorers of the MP3.com landscape, Fisher became the 1st band signed to a major label deal on the basis of the strength of its musical downloads. They garnered three million downloads of their single I Will Love You before most bands figured out there were other ways than brick-and-mortar to reach listeners. With no publicity machine behind them, they built enough buzz on their own to be profiled in Time, Entertainment Weekly, and the Los Angeles Times as vanguards of the digital music revolution -- and be invited to the coveted desk side seat next to Jay Leno after tearing it up on The Tonight Show. An open invitation to return stands. Fisher’s music is also sought after by advertisers looking to tap into the band’s melodic punch over genuine lyrics to relate to their consumers. Toyota has been airing “Beautiful Life” incessantly for one of its national campaigns and has received tens of thousands of calls inquiring about the band."

    Fisher are poet Kathy Fisher and composer Ron Wasserman, and don't let the commercial jingles turn you off...this music has brains AND groove. I purchased the double CD "Uppers and Downers" a couple of weeks ago from CDBaby for ten bucks and have been cleaning the house to it all week. The tunes are definitely polished and the sound is smooth. I am usually attracted to a more organic, stripped-down style; BUT the songs are so catchy! And Kathy's voice is so powerful and seductive...an example of the siren's song??

    Fans of Sarah McLachlan, Jessica Riddle, Tara McLean and other brainy balladeers should get excited now!!

    If you can appreciate some beat-driven pop alongside smoky-whispered ballads, you will love this band! And you "indie snobs" (I've been called one myself) who listen exclusively to those esoteric bands and artists whose compositions drive the listener to at least think twice about "off-ing" themselves, need to lighten up!
    Give this artist a listen and clean your house for God's sake! :)

    Her website has LOTS of FREE MP3s!! Here are a few I've enjoyed...JUST DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN...

  • "Beautiful Life"
    • from
  • that Toyota commercial ;)


  • "I Will Love You"
    • from
  • One


  • "Never Say Never"
    • from
  • One


  • "Temptation"
    • from
  • Uppers and Downers

    These tracks are available, along with lots of other information and MORE FREE MP3S, at
  • Fisher's webpage
    • and at her
  • myspace page!!


    • If you like the music, SUPPORT THE ARTIST and BUY, BUY, BUY!
    Buy her newest CD
  • The Lovely Years

    • posted by serafinafly at 10:19 AM 1 comments

    Sunday, November 20, 2005

    Rose Polenzani - featured on Podcast #10


    LINK to Podcast #10 "Betty's "Falling Leaves When Leaving Falls" Songs"

    I first heard of Rose Polenzani seven or eight years ago...I think I read something relating her to the Indigo Girls as an opening act or something. I added her name to my "list of wanted music"...which has long since become a book! I could never find anything in my used cd stores for years...this was before I was a strong on-line purchaser. Then a group called Voices on the Verge came to Blueberry Hill (Chuck Berry's local St. Louis restaurant/club).

    Voices on the Verge included Jess Klein, Beth Amsel, Erin McKeown AND Rose Polenzani. What an amazing show...still one in my top twenty!! I purchased a few of Rose's CDs at the show and still fish them out on a regular basis. Her songs are simple and gentle, but never boring.

    Her lyrics never disappoint, they are nakedly pure and emotionally smart. Lots of songs about heartache...loss...love. So many of Rose's songs stand out in the mass multitude of depressed chicks with guitars and I'm not sure why. She has a way with her phrasing and melodies that make them really resound in the ear as well as the heart.

    Her website has LOTS of FREE MP3s!! Here are a few great ones...I am buying her newest CD (August) today! (The Voices on the Verge effort is AMAZING as well!)

    JUST DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN...

  • "You Don't Know"
    • from
  • Dragersville


  • "Or" (featuring Andrew Bird)
    • from
  • Anybody


  • "Thom II"
    • from
  • Voices on the Verge


  • "Explain It to Me"
    • from
  • August
    These tracks are available, along with lots of other information and MORE FREE MP3S, at
  • Rose Polenzani's webpage
    • and at her
  • myspace page!!


    • If you like the music, SUPPORT THE ARTIST and BUY, BUY, BUY!

    posted by serafinafly at 6:27 PM 0 comments

    Wednesday, November 16, 2005

    "got her covered" #2: joni in translation

    posted by serafinafly at 7:58 PM 3 comments

    Saturday, November 12, 2005

    Anais Mitchell - featured on podcast #9



  • LINK to Podcast #9: "Betty's Guitar Girls!!"


    • I had downloaded a few of Anais' free tracks a couple of month's ago and kept returning to them over and over again...So I finally purchased her CD "Hymns for the Exiled" from CDBaby two weeks ago. I am SO IMPRESSED with this CD!! (And I love her name, by the way...Anais Nin being one of my favorite writers.) The website says that her father is a novelist...but doesn't say who...anyone know?

    Lone woman with guitar has always been one of my favorite musical genres. Patti Griffin is my hero...I heard her initially eight or nine years ago as an opening act for Jann Arden. The raw emotions and naked energy blew me away!

    Anais has much of that same vitality...and her lyrics are so literate, gentle and smart. I also love the fact that she cites the literary influences for many of her songs in the cd jacket. Being an English major and avid reader/writer myself, I love connecting with an artist on a deeper intellectual level like this. Anais is only 23!! So lots of future releases are anticipated.

    Some praises from the site:
    " Not since Bob Dylan's early years has a 23 year old songwriter had such power and meaning. 'Hymns For the Exiled' comes to us from both sides of a story, here and there, inside and out. With literary aplomb, she gives us footnotes in the artwork, so that we can do our reading and catch up with her. Political and poetic, personal and universal, Anaïs Mitchell's work is my latest obsession. Look for her influence on my future projects."
    - Jonathan Byrd

    "I am going out on a limb to say that Mitchell may be the best under-30 year old singer-songwriter currently performing. While she doesn't sound like Ani DiFranco, she's every bit as good as, if not better, than DiFranco at the age of 23. Mitchell can write. She writes highly political and social songs, but does so with finesse and poetry. She doesn't beat you over the head, she seduces you. The song 'Two Kids' chills while it brings a tear to your eye. Her melodies are like zebra mussels that latch on and stick to your consciousness. Although this is her second CD, she prefers to think of it as her first real release. I assure you, you'll be hearing a lot more from her."
    - Rich Warren, Midnight Special, Chicago, IL

    The Kerrville Folk Festival honored her work with the prestigious New Folk award in 2003...NOT BAD FOR A YOUNGSTER! Give her a listen and, if you like it, buy it!!
    JUST DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN...

  • "Cosmic American"
    • from
  • Hymns for the Exiled


  • "Two Kids"
    • from
  • Hymns for the Exiled


  • "1984"
    • from
  • Hymns for the Exiled


  • "Make It Up"
    • from
  • The Song They Sang When Rome Fell
    • ...NOT SURE IF THIS IS STILL AVAILABLE...NO LONGER LISTED WITH CDBABY...WILL POST WHEN I FIND OUT!

    These tracks are available, along with lots of other information and FREE LIVE MP3S, at
  • Anais Mitchell's webpage.


    • If you like the music, SUPPORT THE ARTIST and BUY, BUY, BUY!

    posted by serafinafly at 9:43 PM 1 comments

    Friday, November 11, 2005

    "got her covered" #1: variations of sinead

    posted by serafinafly at 9:38 PM 3 comments

    Monday, November 07, 2005

    "b-side" the bunch #6: "rep-eat the music" cover mix

    posted by serafinafly at 7:43 PM 1 comments

    "in her own words" #1: kate bush interview




    KATE BUSH RARE INTERVIEW - HOUNDS OF LOVE ERA
    FROM BRITISH IMPORT "THE CONVERSATION DISC SERIES"
    APPROX. 33 MIN.

    posted by serafinafly at 7:25 PM 0 comments

    "b-side" the bunch #5: "eat the music" rareties mix


    In honor of Kate's state-side release of "Aerial" TOMORROW!! These rareties should take you back...

    "he's a woman at heart and love him for that..."

    kate bush - eat the music (12" version)

    "everything has an ending and everything has a tale to wag..."

    kate bush-show a little devotion

    "all they wanted was a sound that could kill someone from a distance..."

    kate bush-experiment iv

    "loneliness was tough, the toughest role you ever played..."

    kate bush-candle in the wind (elton john cover)

    posted by serafinafly at 5:36 PM 0 comments

    Sunday, November 06, 2005

    Andrea Maxand: featured on podcast #8


  • LINK to podcast #8: "Betty's Better Than Shoes Mix!"

    • I first heard Andrea a few months ago from some website (can't remember now) with a free mp3...I think the first song I heard was "Cassie's Song"...and I was so struck by the tune and that voice...beautiful and uplifting...I loved her sound immediately!

    A week or so ago, I placed a large order at CD Baby and found Andrea's newest release, "Where the Words Go" for a GREAT PRICE. I've listened to it four or five times and it is REALLY growing on me. So I'd thought I'd share the good music!

    Andrea is a relatively new artist based out of Seattle...and seems to tour the West Coast primarily. Besides her newest, she has two previous albums that I will be purchasing in the near future!

    Andrea has toured with some of my favorite "Betty's": Kristin Hersh, Heather Duby and Mary Lou Lord and has gotten some attention from KEXP.

    She shares some of her reviewer accolades on her website. Such as, "Soaring vocal harmonies contrast with filtered whispers, undercut by grinding guitars and churning bass. A tender bridge offers a poignant respite, before boiling over to the finish line. And that's just the first song." (Matt Wexler, west coast performer magazine, July 2004)
    AND "Equipped with a falsetto that rises and rips into the stratosphere with delicious, edgy bursts, Maxand is an affecting singer with impressive range, but she's an equally powerful lyricist." (Alex Green, amplifier, July 2004 )

    PRETTY IMPRESSIVE, EH? Give her a listen and, if you like it, buy it!!

    JUST DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN...

  • "Paper Cut"
    • from
  • Paper Cut EP


  • "Bedroom Window"
    • from
  • Where the Words Go


  • "Half a Joke"
    • from
  • Where the Words Go


  • LINK TO MYSPACE to hear an extra track, "Lonely Ghoul"


    • These tracks are available, along with band information, at
  • Andrea Maxand's webpage
    • and at
  • Andrea's myspace page!


    • If you like the music, SUPPORT THE ARTIST and BUY, BUY, BUY!

    posted by serafinafly at 5:41 PM 0 comments

    LOOKING FOR THE PODCAST??
  • LINK HERE