Archives: June 2016

“When we first meet the Street Angel, three tracks into Paul Simon‘s new Stranger To Stranger, he uses a bebop riff to describe what he does. “I make my verse for the universe … I write my rhymes for the universities, and I give it away for the hoot of it … A tree is bare, but the root of it goes deeper than logical reasoning.” No one talks to this person, so Simon, longtime champion of underdogs, lends a sympathetic ear. Naturally, he discovers not just a homeless person, but a thinking man, a soul prone to reflection… That’s pretty much the game throughout Stranger To Stranger, Simon’s 13th solo album. It’s more opaque than Simon’s recent works, less forthright and declarative, less locked onto linear tracks.” — via NPR

Click HERE to stream ‘Stranger To Stranger’ in full! Or, check out the first single “Wristband” below.

“Quilt has one of the most appropriate band names. Its music can be a soft, warm blanket with lovely harmonies, layers of textured drones and dreamy words. One standout song from the group’s current album, Plaza, is called “Padova.” It’s a galloping tune with a sad underpinning whose lyrics puzzled me. Now the Boston-bred band, with director Christopher Good, has produced a video for that song, a song named for a town in Italy. I watched it and the imagery of burning tables and flowers puzzled me more. So I asked Shane Butler, the writer, singer and guitarist for this Quilt song about it and what he wrote to me was so powerful, adding so much to the listening and viewing experience, that I’m just going to let his note speak for itself. Enjoy.” — via NPR

Watch “Padova” below!