My good friend Justin Miller of Phonofly is plugged into the music scene and a very good judge of things and people (and if not, he’ll buy you a Newcastle) so when he mentioned some sort of “bus” show last night with local musician Goh Nakamura I was instantly intrigued.

Goh has gained quite the following from his Youtube video for Embarcadero Blues, and is playing shows on both coasts.  His fingers slide easily across the fretboard, and his voice owns its “fall in love again for the first time” feel without trying too hard.  Shegeek, Justin, and I arrived promptly late at 6:23 and were quickly waivered, signed, stamped with rouge stars and ushered into the upstairs of the British double decker bus from City Sightseeing Tours.

The back of the bus enshrined Goh as he played.  Patrons sat in pairs listening to the concert on headphones sprouting from the middle of the seats (I’m guessing the retro-fitting on this bus took quite a while to pull this off).  Odessa Chen, an acquaintance of Justin’s, sat down across from us.

As we prepared for the trip, the wind started to howl through our skin and I lured Odessa over to my seat with the promise of warmth.  She quickly hopped over and introduced herself and then we were off.  Goh began with a song from his first album as we started our journey down Mission street.

Right about the time that Goh started his cover of the Cure’s Just Like Heaven I noticed Odessa looking to the heavens - there was something magical about that moment, feeling like we were canoeing across the sky, the current turned to clouds as we meandered among the skyscrapers defining our route.  Soon after, we turned onto the Embarcadero and watched the Bay Bridge build its way across the way.

Odessa and I pretended to be tourists in this city reborn before us, if only I had brought my camera! Pictures have never done her justice though.  We rolled through his stories from the Embarcadero to Dogpatch to Potrero Hill.  And just as the city arched its back to show us the beauty of her rolling hills, we descended quickly underneath the highway and up through Mission Bay.

At times, with eyes closed, I lost myself in the music; at others, I let my eyes lose me in stories I was creating for the streets and sky before me.  At the best of times, my brain took input from both and bound something within my chest that began to swell. It felt infinite.

Odessa’s Show: 08/08

Ben Sollee is that artist you keep in the clip for special people in your life. He’s that song on a mixtape that everyone always asks about after it’s given.  It’s the album that shifts among political, upbeat and fun, to sensitive so you can find something to relate to no matter what the phase of your life.

I first heard Ben from http://aurgasm.us.  Apart from my natural inclination to give any song with a cello a chance, the first song posted at Aurgasm had me hooked. It’s a remake of “A Change is Gonna Come”, originally a 1964 civil rights song by Sam Cooke, Sollee has turned it into an upbeat song about the war and the hope that a change is gonna come for America… Starting with a simple cello and vocal, when the drums and French Horn (?) hit, it feels like coming home to summers on a lake, surrounded by good friends and an intimate comfort.

The first track on the album, “A few honest words”, is a charming, slow, and plodding track that will immediately draw you in.  Speaking to the deceit of our current administration the track begins with, “If you’re gonna lead my country/if you’re gonna say that it’s free/I’m gonna need some honesty.”  The song’s slow and simple nature allows listener the chance to imbibe the somber reality of the lyrics.

Other highlights include the raucous “Bury Me With My Car” (When I’m gone / bury me with my car / cuz if anywhere is where I end up when I’m gone / I’m gonna need my ride to get around ), the dance inspiring “It’s Not Impossible”, and the sentimental “I Can’t”.  Sollee’s debut album leaves you wanting a private backyard concert, at times twirling among friends, at others watching the maestro play and taking in all that his music means… what they mean to us…

Visit www.bensollee.com for more information
Click on the album title above to buy his music from eMusic, non-DRM goodness.

Tracklisting:
To Build a Home by The CineMatic Orchestra
Stay (Madonna Cover) by Malcolm Middleton
Sun! by Tujiko Noriko
Nantes by Beirut
Sad Sad City by Ghostland Observatory

Graveyard Girl by M83
Keep Your Eyes Ahead by The Helio Sequence
Run Into Flowers by M83
Going Back to Harlan by Emmylou Harris
Baby In Two by the Pernice Brothers

Cinders and Smoke by Iron And Wine
Re:Stacks by Bon Iver

Tracklisting for March 31, 2008

Fantasy by Mariah Carey
I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany
Mony Mony by Billy Idol
Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle
This is How We Do It by Montell Jordan

Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson
I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston
Maniac by Michael Sembello
Straight Up by Paula Abdul
Borderline by Madonna

Escapade by Janet Jackson
All 4 Love by Color Me Badd
Maneater by Hall & Oats
Hangin’ Tough by New Kids On The Block (by request).

Perfect for wind-blown trips and Sunday afternoons in the sun, Vampire Weekend are 4 young chaps who mix African, Indie, and Pop music. While I’m no expert on ethnic music, I definitely hear hints of Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel who have both been greatly influenced by the music of Africa. Already dubbed “The Year’s Best Band” by Spin Magazine, Vampire Weekend’s garnered attention for making music fun to listen to again. More specifically, their songs like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” are upbeat, universally appealing, tongue in cheek and impressionistic enough to let anyone find some meaning (or meaninglessness) in the words.

Driven by drums, guitars, and organs the album’s tracks are speckled with extra-curricular instruments including violins, violas, cellos, chamberlins, harpsichords, synths, and shakers. One member plays 8 different instruments on the album - should Sufjan be worried? The band describes their, “ideal avatar [as] preppy African with equal parts of fresh and clean. Preppiness with West African guitar pop, a perfect fusion of happy world music with Western, New England preppiness.”

If that ’s what it takes to get great rhythms like this then I say, “Give them a trip to Africa, a LaCoste gift certificate, a Guitar, and drums. They’ll work out a second album in no time.”

Tracks:
Vampire Weekend - I Stand Corrected
Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Jenny Lewis, lead singer of Rilo Kiley, stares down at you from her throne of indie rock princess… but will she stay there? There are tons of new albums from some of the best indie (and other) artists this week! A lot of new albums have bands taking different directions like Rilo Kiley’s Under the Blacklight, an album that shows Jenny Smith and the crew are no longer the awkward artsy misfits that we had them pegged for (and fallen in love with). VHS or Beta shies away from their 80s style vocals but keeps the driving guitar riffs - not sure if I’m quite down with that. Federico Aubele shines on his new album Panamericana - one of my favorite downtempo albums in a long time. San Diego’s Pinback also comes out strong with ‘Autumn of the Seraphs’ staying true to their melodic guitar backings and the unmistakable vocals from frontman Rob Crow.

They’re all in the podcast this week so check it out… Click on podcast and follow the directions for some aural pleasure.

Sweet Dreams are Made of Seven Nation Army - DJ Poly
Smack my Sexyback - Bass211.com
Young Folks Rehab - DJ Topcat
Toop Toop Groove - Loo & Placido
Promiscuous Lola - DJ Earworm

Feel Good Roboto 2 - Victor Menegaux
Hella Dare You To Smoke - Party Ben
Close to Konichiwa Bitches - A Plus D
Pour Some Hot Sugar On Me - A Plus D
W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E. - Wale

Check out each of these artist’s pages for some crazy mashups - these are the top people in the scene right now and they’ve got a ton of banging tracks.

Come support your favorite blogger/podcast/friend on August 30th at RX Gallery.
Hip-Hop, Mashups, Remixes, Dance, Electro Pop, Electro House…deliciousness all around.

Tracklisting:

Everyone Gets a Star - Albert Hammond Jr.
Scared - Albert Hammond Jr.

Black Mirror - Arcade Fire
Neon Bible - Arcade Fire

Peace and Hate - The Submarines
Ready or Not - The Submarines

Happy New Year - Camera Obscura
Pen and Notebook - Camera Obscura

Breathe - Alexi Murdoch
Love You More - Alexi Murdoch

Click here to find out how to listen!