Music Report

New Year, new albums:

Based upon the type of music that often passes the time on FarmAir, the album “The Very Best of Ethiopiques: Hypnotic Grooves From the Legendary Series” would be a excellent addition to the office collection. It is only natural to be skeptical of a series focused on reissuing Ethiopian popular music but this collection of jazzy soul, chillout tracks and “world music” rewards listeners generously for a slight digression from their comfort zone. Avid fans already include Jim Jarmusch, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, and Robert Plant.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/46123-the-very-best-of-ethiopiques-hypnotic-grooves-from-the-legendary-series
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5560216

Leading up to the release of their new album “Accelerate” on April 1st, R.E.M. has established a site to provide ambiguous teaser content for fans rabid enough to care. The band will most likely preview tracks from that album at the Langerado festival they’ll be playing with the Beastie Boys and about a hundred other acts March 6-9 in the Florida Everglades.
http://www.ninetynights.com
http://www.langerado.com

Released December 4th of 2007, Wyclef Jean’s album “Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant” didn’t get the publicity one might expect. He convened a stable of collaborators including Paul Simon, Norah Jones, and Shakira, along with many of the usual suspects, to produce an album that defines the word eclectic. The deluxe 2-disc set include 5 bonus tracks and 3 music videos.
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/wyclefjean/albums/album/17395636/review/17436478/carnival_vol_ii_memoirs_of_an_immigrant

Chrisette Michele of Central Islip, NY began singing on tracks for Jay-Z and Nas and has now sung her way into a Grammy nomination for best Female R&B vocal performance for the song “If I Have My Way” off of her album I Am released over the summer. My first experience was mistaking her for Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday on the local smooth jazz station. As an up-and-coming act, it might pay to buy tickets sooner than later for her show February 24th at New York’s Highline Ballroom.
http://www.highlineballroom.com/bio.php?id=339

“The Killing of John Lennon” won the special jury prize at the Tribeca Film Festival this year and has been picked up for wider release by IFC First Take beginning with the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue in the West Village. Expect no stars but plenty of circa 1980 period dress, psychoanalysis, and real passages from the journals of one Mark David Chapman.
http://www.thekillingofjohnlennon.com/index.html