Here's my breakdown of the last five minutes:
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"New Swell Season song?"
Squeal like a 12 year-old girl.
Download song, waiting impatiently.
Press play.
"Glen Hansard's voice is so good. It's like a warm blanket."
More listening.
"Oh, Lord. This is so pretty."
Lower lip quivers.
"I may cry."
Markéta Irglová's voice joins in.
"That's it...dammit, I'm gonna cry."
Tears, sniffles.
Mix tape song of the year. Right here. Seriously.
Creed reunited after five years and decided to release a new album. It's called Full Circle. There is no God.
In what has to be the biggest release in Kansas City today, we get the tenth studio release from powerhouse rapper Tech N9ne, entitled K.O.D.. The title stands for "King of Darkness," and as you might expect, the album continues Mr. Yates' plumbing the depths of the human soul. The album also has appearances from the Oscar-winning Three 6 Mafia, in addition to the usual Tech N9ne
Actor Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, How I Met Your Mother) appeared on stage with the Swell Season at a show in L.A. last week. Here's how it happened:
The band was at a restaurant in Los Angeles; drinking tea, when they were offered a bottle of wine by two celebrities. Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Now The Swell Season has been enjoying watching their "Freaks & Geeks" DVDs while on tour, so this was a nice coincidence. They became good acquaintances, so The Swell Season asked Jason Segel
Strict Joy by the Swell Season is not only one of the best but also one of the most surprising rock records of '09. If you don't care what I think about the album, skip down to the THE CONTEST PART below.
Given that the band's initial success was inextricably linked to Once, the breakout 2007 indie film starring the band's two core musicians, curlyheaded auld Irish pop veteran Glen Hansard and sleek young Czech thing Marketa Irglova, who performed songs by Hansard's other group, the Frames (who
The Swell Season is a decent, hardworking band with the misfortune of appearing to be a shrewd marketing ploy -- one molded by a creative team with a weakness for schmaltz: Veteran troubadour Glen Hansard collaborates with angel-voiced young songstress Markéta Irglová. Beautiful music is made, love blossoms and an Academy Award follows. This story, of course, is available on multiple platforms. A number of the resulting songs appear in the feature film Once; on the soundtrack to that film; on
Over at KCUR's website, they've got the top ten lists from Cyprus Avenue's Bill Shapiro and The Fish Fry's Chuck Haddix. There's some overlap in the lists (both Shapiro and Haddock picked Allen Toussaint's Bright Mississippi and the Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women record), but the two lists provide a refreshing reminder that there's music out there other than Animal Collective and assorted other indie folks whole might've put put good records this year.
Cyprus Avenue's Top Music Picks of 2
