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M.Ward

She & Him

She & Him, the charming duet of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, have flirted with some of the great songs from the past.

Now they give us a complete album appropriately titled Classics.

This is the song listing:

1. Stars Fell on Alabama (Recorded by: Guy Lombardo, Billie Holiday, Ella FitzGerald & Louis Armstrong)
2. Oh No, Not My Baby (Recorded by: Maxine Brown, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Carole King)
3. It’s Not for Me to Say (Recorded by: Johnny Mathis)
4. Stay Awhile (Recorded by: Dusty Springfield)
5. This Girl’s In Love With You (Recorded by: Herb Alpert)
6. Time After Time (Recorded by: Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker and Shirley Bassey)
7. She (Recorded by: Charles Aznavour, Elvis Costello)
8. Teach Me Tonight (Recorded by: Frank Sinatra, The DeCastro Sisters)
9. It’s Always You (Recorded by: Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman, Chet Baker)
10. Unchained Melody (Recorded by: The Righteous Brothers, Elvis Presley, Lee Ann Rimes)
11. I’ll Never Be Free (Recorded by: Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Jean Shepard)
12. Would You Like to Take a Walk (Recorded by: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong)
13. We’ll Meet Again (Recorded by: Vera Lynn, The Byrds)

Listen here to “Oh No, Not My Baby”

Neko Case

The chanteuse, Neko Case, known both for her solo projects and her work with The New Pornographers, has teamed up with guitarist M. Ward (a la She & Him) for her unorthodox song called “Man”.

“Man” will be included on her forthcoming album, the wonderfully titled The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You.

Zooey and Jared

Many musicians have gone on to have successful careers in film, from Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley to Will Smith and Justin Timberlake.

But I can think of only two film stars who have crossed-over and prospered in music: Zooey Deschanel and Jared Leto. This is not to say that some actors are not accomplished musicians, but rather their musical pursuits are more of an avocation. Only Zooey and Jared have flourished as full-fledged musical stars.

Zooey performs with M. Ward as the band She & Him and Jared with 30 Seconds to Mars.

They both have new albums due in May and we feature a track from each.

She & Him “Never Wanted Your Love” (Volume 3)

30 Seconds to Mars “Up in the Air” (Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams)

M. Ward

M. Ward will release A Wasteland Companion in April.

This will be his 6th solo project.

During the 3 years since his last album he recorded 2 marvelous records as She & Him with Zooey Deschanel as well as an album with the indie “supergroup’ Monsters of Folk.

A Wasteland Companion was recorded on-the-road with a slew of indie musicians.

“Primitive Girl” is an inviting preview.

Music To Know

Glastonbury is currently in full sway in England, but a smaller festival closer to home will take place in East Hampton, NY, August 13-14.

MTK: Music to Know Festival will feature Vampire Weekend, Bright Eyes, Tom Tom Club, Matt & Kim, Ra Ra Riot , Fitz & the Tantrums, Cold War Kids, M. Ward, Tame Impala, The Naked and Famous, Chromeo, We Are Scientists and Ellie Goulding among others.

MTK is also a first of its kind as fashion will play a prominent role. Merchants large and small will be displaying and selling their wares.

RCRDLBL has a free download of mosto of the performing bands including a two remixes of “Genius of Love”, a hit song from the always wonderful Tom Tom Club.

“Genius of Love (Senor Coconut)
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“Genius of Love (The Pinker Tones)
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She & Him

As we have previously discussed, cover songs continue to gush forth in the internet age. Earlier this week we heard Amanda Palmer playing Radiohead. Today we return to She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) whose album, Volume Two, was previewed here a few months ago and has proven to be one of the delights of the year. With a free download we now hear their version of a classic. Originally written in 1940, Frank Sinatra sang it as did Elvis Presley. Brook Benton, Etta James and Rick Nelson all had hits with it, the latter in 1963 when it reached #12 on the Billboard charts. Bow Wow Wow covered it in 1980 and here we have She & Him’s interpretation of “Fools Rush In” as the Song of the Day.

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“Fools Rush In” by She & Him

The Roots

In my first Podcast “Dear God 2.0” by Monsters of Folk was included as one of the best of 2010 thus far. (Monsters of Folk is a modern-day supergroup consisting of Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes and M. Ward.) The Roots, one of the great American hip hop bands (and currently the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) brilliantly use the song as a basis for their own commentary on the current crisis of contemporary life. From The Roots new album How I Got Over, “Dear God 2.0” is the Song of the Day.

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“Dear God 2.0 (featuring Monsters of Folk)” by The Roots

She & Him

Although a number of musicians have made the transition into film, rarely do movie stars succeed in their attempts to cross-over into the world of rock and popular music. Adequate or respectable at best (Billy Bob Thornton, Kevin Bacon, Russell Crowe, Keanu Reeves), occasionally embarrassing (Don Johnson), or satirically fun (Jack Black), these are not the songs that frequent our personal playlists. I can think of only two movie stars that can legitimately make claim to a dual career: Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars and Zooey Deschanel of She & Him. She & Him, the duo of Zooey and M. Ward have just released their second album: Volume Two. “Thieves” written by Zooey is the Song of the Day.

 

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“Thieves”

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