Best Of mvyradio's Uncharted Waters 2009 Final!

Okay, I know, it's over ---2009. We've counted down the Top 25 (check the list here) and we're already five days into 2010. But I have the song list for part 3 of UW Best Of '09 and another artist to praise.


One sure way to realize how you feel about a record is where said record ends up ---physically, I mean. I'm on vacation in Florida (it's not as cold as many other locales this morning, but it's not exactly beach weather!!) and before I left home, I loaded some CD's into iTunes on my computer and brought a few to listen to in the rental car. Madeleine Peyroux's "Bare Bones" came with me both on my computer, and by chance, tucked inside a Mozart Piano Quartets CD jewel case.


So, as I drove around Delray, I listened for the ?? time to this one-of-a-kind album by one of today's most intriguing songwriters. Collaboration, introspection, playfulness, precision, sonic intuition, understatement ---I could go on and on. I am once again reminded of why I'm a music fan, and a fan of all artistic expression. To be happily marooned in a new, yet familiar world. The skillful and easy connection the artist provides, the bridges they make. Madeleine Peyroux is an artist creating her art for herself and her fans, but it feels like it's just for me.

Listen to clips of "Bare Bones" here:



Friday/Sunday January 1/3 2010 - Best of Uncharted Waters 2009 part 3

"Fairlie" Rey Fresco The People Eight O Five
"I Should Speak" Sarah Blacker The Only Way Out Is Through Sarah Blacker
"Get Lucky" Mark Knopfler Get Lucky Reprise Records
"Videotape" King Wilkie King Wilkie Presents The King Wilkie Family Singers Casa Nueva
"Wilco (the song)" Wilco Wilco (the album) Nonesuch
"Homeless Happiness" Madeleine Peyroux Bare Bones Rounder
"Time Stands Still" Chris Smither Time Stands Still Signature Sounds
"Oh, No" Andrew Bird Noble Beast Fat Possum Records
"Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow" Roseanne Cash The List Manhattan
"Groove Of the Storm" Kellar Williams Odd kw enterprises
"Jackdaw" David Gray Draw The Line Mercer Street Records
"Fan It" Willie Nelson and Asleep At the Wheel Willie & The Wheel Bismeaux Records
"Cedars Of Lebanon" U2 No Line On The Horizon Interscope
"Horses" Dala Everyone Is Someone Campus Music

Best of mvyradio's Uncharted Waters 2009

"Townes" is Steve Earle's tribute to the great and troubled songwriter Townes Van Zandt who Earle met in 1972 at The Old Quarter in Houston, TX. Van Zandt became Earle's friend and mentor, and even though Earle has recorded and performed Van Zandt songs throughout his career, with this album, Earle gives himself the opportunity to comprehensively demonstrate Van Zandt's skill and heart by applying his own. Earle's wife, singer Alison Moorer, and his son Justin Townes Earle (named after Van Zandt) contribute to the record, as does Darrell Scott and Tom Morello. The result is an intimate and deeply personal record, an insiders view on this great American songwriter.

Best of mvyradio's Uncharted Waters 2009

I featured Part 2 of mvyradio's Best of Uncharted Waters 2009 last Friday 12/18 (repeated on Sunday 12/20, and now streamed in our program Archves at www.mvyradio.com). What was going to be a 2-parter has become a 3-parter --too many great songs and albums to reprise.

Scroll down and read what I wrote about back in June about one 2009 UW Discovery, and listen to her music...

Listen for Part 3 on 1/1 (repeated on 1/3).

BTW, mvy would like to know YOUR favorites of 2009! Click here to vote.

Check out the Part 2 song list:

mvyradio's Uncharted Waters playlists

Friday/Sunday December 18/December 20 2009

"Fire Escape" Diane Birch Bible Belt S-Curve Records
"Move Along Train" Levon Helm Electric Dirt Dirt Farmer Music
"Sweet Rose" Eilen Jewel Sea Of Tears Signature Sounds
"California Zephyr"" Benjamin Gibbard/Jay Farrar One False Move And I'm Gone Music from Kerouac's Big Sur Atlantic Records
"Great Mistake" Brookville Broken Lights Unfiltered Records
"All The Pretty Girls" Fun Aim and Ignite Nettwerk Records
"It's Gonna Be" Norah Jones The Fall Blue Note Records
"Mrs. Cold" Kings Of Convenience Declaration Of Dependence Mawla Records
"Drops In The River" Fleet Foxes Sun Giant Sub Pop
"I Really Love You" Ruthie Foster The Truth According To Ruthie Foster Blue Corn Records
"Love That Conquers" The Swell Season Strict Joy Anti
"To Live Is To Fly" Steve Earle Townes New West
"Hiram Hubbard" Among The Oak And Ash Among The Oak and Ash Verve Forecast
"Your Gonna Miss Me" The Band Of Heathens One Foot In The Ether Band Of Heathens
"Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" Neko Case Middle Cyclone Anti

Diane Birch's "Fire Escape" started the hour. I loved her from the start in June, recognizing her connection to the songwriting genius and performance of Laura Nyro and Carole King, and now that the year is almost done, I still feel excited when I listen to her music and stand by what I wrote here:

Famous Blue Blog post from June 29th

Diane Birch | "She's Got The Juice"

Soul and R&B legend Betty Wright, one of the producers of Diane Birch's debut album Bible Belt, is the one who's talking about "the juice" here as she describes the young singer from New York City. This is the best album to be released so far this year! And lot's of people are going to jump right on right on in because of Birch's superb songwriting and musical vision. Effortlessly drawing from doo-wop, singer-songwriter, blues, r&b and a life lived all over the world, Birch wants to connect and she does so, instantly, like an old friend.

Listen to Diane's music:

Best Of Uncharted Waters 2009

As I look back over the year in music at mvy, I'm thinking about all the years of album releases that have provided the radio station with it's currency and it's basic structure. There are songs and artists that come along that are a natural fit for mvy, some that are obvious from the start and some that are wonderful surprises. Actually, Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini's 2009 CD "Sunny Side Up" falls into both categories.

We got to know Paolo's music in with the release of his 2006 debut "These Streets". We couldn't get enough of the song "New Shoes", and when the new record arrived in May of this year, we couldn't wait to hear it. I kept returning to the CD and every time I did, I liked it more and more. There's a maturity to the songs and his delivery, and an old soul sweetness that is impossible to resist.

Listen to clips of the album here:

2009 Discoveries | Best Of mvyradio's Uncharted Waters

I started a two-part Uncharted Waters 2009 Retrospective last Friday 12/11, and will continue this coming Friday 12/18. I'm featuring songs from albums that stood out as I went through the music week after week over the course of this year. It has been a very interesting process, looking and listening back, a wonderful return to the initial feelings I had as I listened to these albums for the first time. I have a deeper recognition of the qualities that make these records so NOTE-worthy!! Scroll down and read what I wrote about back in August about one 2009 Discovery, and listen to his music...

BTW, mvy would like to know YOUR favorites of 2009! Click here to vote.

Here's the UW Best list from last week. If you haven't checked out these albums, consider giving them a listen!

mvyradio's Uncharted Waters playlists

Friday/Sunday December 11/December 13 2009

"Two Grains Of Sand" Piers Faccini Two Grains Of Sand Tot Ou Tard
"Wish You Well" Katie Herzig Apple Tree (05557)
"Sweet Inspiration" Derek Trucks Already Free Sony Music
"Fee Da Da Dee" Guggenheim Grotto Happy The Man United For Opportunity
"Baby I'm A Fool" Melody Gardot My One and Only Thrill Verve Records
"Letter From A Flying Machine" Peter Mulvey Letter From A Flying Machine Signature Sounds
"Windshield" Peter Mulvey Letter From A Flying Machine Signature Sounds
"Darkness" Robert Francis One False Move and I'm Gone Atlantic
"My Love" The Bird and the Bee Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future Blue Note
"Master Macqui" Rodrigo y Gabriela 11:11 ATO Records
"Cuckoo's Nest" Lee Harvey Osmond A Quiet Evil Latent Recordings
"The Killer In Me" Amy Speace The Killer In Me Wildflower Records
"High Hopes" Paolo Nutini Sunny Side Up Atlantic Records
"Dead End Driving" Ari Hest Twelve Mondays Project 4

Famous Blue Blog post August 13, 2009:

A New Friend-Peter Mulvey

I have a new friend and his name is Uncle Peter. I never expected to make such an acquaintance on a record but that's exactly what happened. I met Uncle Peter while listening to Peter Mulvey's most enjoyable and engaging new CD "Letters from A Flying Machine". Uncle Peter is Peter Mulvey himself, appearing on the record as a character, a narrator of sorts, offering his worldly wisdom and stories to his actual (I think) nieces and nephews. He does this from his seat on an airplane in the form of several spoken word pieces that serve as the connective tissue between songs on the album. Mulvey's done this in his performances for years, but it's the first time he has presented such pieces on record. The effect is progressive; step by step you are granted wider entrance into a very personal and rich world made all the more substantive and compelling by Mulvey's folksy delivery and language. The songs are fantastic, too, and you forget just how good they are because of the strength of the spoken segments.

A good friend is hard to find --thanks Peter.

Listen to clips of Peter Mulvey's Letter From A Flying Machine:

Daphne Willis | New Music on mvy

I just played "Bluff", a new song from Daphne Willis, on What's New For Lunch. The CD came in earlier this week, and I happily put it in the player to check it out. Things pretty much come to a grinding halt as far as new releases go at this time of year, so any action is welcome. I always thought it was a smart move to get a song to radio this week or next 'cause it's much easier to get our attention when things are so slow!

Daphne is a 21 year old singer-guitarist and songwriter from Chicago and Vanguard Records has signed her to a record deal for the album "What To Say". She and her band mates have been together for only two years, playing lots of gigs in the Midwest, and it was after one of these shows that Nashville based A&R rep Gary Paczosa, who has worked with Alison Krauss and others, lent his talents to recording an EP with Daphne.

Listen to "Bluff" and other tracks on Daphne's MySpace page.

Jay Farrar, Ben Gibbard and Jack Kerouac

It's when you can't tell the difference between art and life that you know you're in good shape, in good company. Jack Kerouac merged his life and art in ways far beyond most similar mergers, and the writing that came of it is uniquely musical and transcendent, and to this day absolutely resonant, touching and important.

Benjamin Gibbard and Jay Farrar are among the many that admire Kerouac and they seized the opportunity to apply their singular talents to providing music for Curt Worden's documentary "One False Move and I'm Gone: Kerouac's Bid Sur". Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Dar Williams and Sam Shepard are also fans and it's great to hear their take in the movie. Gibbard and Farrar stayed with it and went on to make an album of songs inspired by Kerouac's book. The insightful documentary and this wonderful musical by-product are proof of Kerouac's continued and brilliant relevance.

I feature tracks from the album on this week's Uncharted Waters (Fridays and Sundays at 9 ET, and next week in the Archives at www.mvyradio.com)

Listen to clips from the CD here:

New Marc Knopfler | Get Lucky

The years have been kind to Marc Knopfler. The title of his new CD "Get Lucky", his fifth solo album of this decade, is a reference to the good fortune he has had in his career as a musician . This set of eleven songs is full of observation, insight and heart. "Monteleone", a triumph of a song, inspired by New York guitar maker John Monteleone is a brilliant, romantic homage to art and artistry. No surprise here. The author of "Private Dancer" "Romeo and Juliet", "Sailing To Philadelphia" and so many other great songs that fill his albums knows how to get a story across. And he loves the work of making records, just wants to get to it. His good luck is ours.

Listen to some clips of "Get Lucky" here:

Chad Stokes visits mvyradio

A couple of months ago, Chad Stokes stopped by mvy to say hi and drop off a copy of the new cd by his band State Radio. It was one of those great small town radio moments when you feel the power of the personal connection that is still possible in this world. The friendly hello and sharing/presenting of music one on one. Chad and I made a plan that evening to get together around the mic in the studio and have him play some of the music from "Let It Go". That's what we did, with Sybil and Lefty hanging out (pictured here outside the station).

Go to http://www.stateradio.com/music to listen to and buy the new album.

Parkington Sisters

I'm on the air, playing Parkington Sisters on What's New For Lunch, and I have to write a few words about this amazing band RIGHT NOW. Man oh man, what a sound!!! So pure, so clear, so heartfelt. Sisters Lydia, Rose, Norah, Sarah and Ariel are from Wellfleet, MA and they have delicately mastered a unique sound influenced by musicians as diverse as Joni Mitchell, The Pixies and Stravinsky. Absolutely unforgettable! Their harmonies are so beautiful that I find it hard to keep my excitement contained!! No need to.

They are playing tonight at Narrows Center with King Wilkie. We'll stream the show live starting at 7:45 at www.mvyradio.com . They are also playing at The Jailhouse Tavern in Orleans on November 27th. Go see them!

Here's a link to their myspace page www.myspace.com/parkingtonsisters

King Wilkie | Sweet and Low

Great listening here! I'm in the sweet and low King Wilkie flow of newly fashioned, old-fashioned sounding songs of soaring lap steel guitar, reverb laden electric guitar, honky-tonk piano and rich vocals. "King Wilkie (Presents) The Wilkie Family Singers" is a conceptual album and finds founding member Reid Burgess leading the New York based band through songs about the fictional world of mostly adult musical siblings who live in house together. Unique concept!! Peter Rowan, David Bromberg, Robyn Hitchcock and Abagail Washburn make appearances. Old time jazz, doo-wop, bluegrass, folk influences combine for a softly compelling record.

We're going to stream (and record for the Archives) their performance at Narrows Center this Thursday November 12th. Welfleet's talented Parkington Sisters open the show. Listen in at 7:45 p.m. www.mvyradio.com.

Listen to samples of the new CD!

The Swell Season | Giving Thanks

I heard Marketa Irglova, an Irish lilt permeating her Czech accent, speaking in a radio interview, saying that she is as equally thankful to those who have caused her pain as to those who have given her joy. The songs by Irglova and her partner Glen Hansard on The Swell Season's new album "Strict Joy"are testament to this sentiment. There's a new kind of vulnerability on this, their second record together; it's muscular, strongly infused with the experience of loving and losing and carrying on. The James Stephens poem that gives the record it's title reveals a purpose,

For, as he mediated misery
And cared it into song - Strict Care, Strict Joy!
Caring for grief he cared his grief away:
And those sad songs, tho' woe be all the theme,
Don't make us grieve who read them now -
Because the poet makes grief beautiful

By becoming familiar with grief, one transforms it.

See the white space behind these words? For me, listening to this record is like being held in such a place, open yet defined, secured by Hansard and Irglova's absolute commitment to life and music. Some of Hansard's band mates from The Frames play on the CD, which was recorded in producer Peter Katis' home studio in Bridgeport, CT. Every song has a purpose, and like all great albums, the effect grows with each listen.