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It’s been a while since we’ve posted an edition of Saturday Morning Tuneage here at daverea.com, so I thought it might be nice to play a little catch-up.

With more and more labels (and thus artists) appearing on Amazon MP3 by the day, and a newly-renewed membership to the DRM-free eMusic service burning a hole in my pocket, there’s been plenty of new music floating around the Rea home…

Leading the pack has been Counting Crows, with their new (and looooong-awaited) album Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings – which I actually picked up on a real CD! (Yes, that’s how much I like the Counting Crows!) Much as the Crows’ blog and multiple critics predicted, the album is a juxtaposition between the raucous, hard-driving songs of the “Saturday Nights” half, and the quiet, contemplative, sad tracks that clearly comprise “Sunday Mornings”. My favorite track by far is Washington Square, but my iPod’s playcounts are up for When I Dream of Michaelangelo and Hanging Tree too. Cowboys is great for driving and working, both times when syncopated beats, the Crows’ rhythmic variety and their bass-driven melodies help keep the momentum maximized. On the inward-looking tracks, soulful acoustic guitar is frequently overlaid with a piano that’s woefully underrepresented in the Crows’ earlier albums, and it’s a blend I can’t say enough good things about.

Thanks to Kelly’s parents, a copy of Dan in Real Life now graces our DVD collection – and this inevitably prompted the addition of some tracks from Sondre Lerche to our music collection. This Norwegian folk/pop artist handcrafted (no exaggeration) all of the music for the movie, and after checking out his albums, it’s immediately clear that the songs on the soundtrack are just the tip of the iceberg. From the Norah-Jonesesque chillout vibe that permeates Hell No (a genius collaboration with Regina Spektor) to the out-and-out 3:4 time fun of Human Hands, Lerche delivers tunes that are just plain enjoyable to listen to. While he’s brilliant on the acoustic guitar, he pulls off plugged-in magnificently on the foot-tapping Phantom Punch, and blends in a few nice strings in I Wanna Call it Love.

What else is seeing airtime around the Rea household (not to mention our cars)? The Weepies’ 2006 album Say I Am You is a good start, and it’s definitely got us interested enough to download their new album Hideaway once it hits eMusic on the 22nd. 2007′s Those Things from Miguel Migs, shallow as its lyrics may be, is still going to make for some good background tuneage as spring goes into full-swing and barbecue plans start floating around the kitchen. And Amazon’s latest free tracks – from a little twangy honky-tonk by Hayes Carll, to the stark acoustic honesty of Kathleen Edwards with Asking for Flowers – are sure to at least find their way to my Grados once or twice too…

As an aside, Amazon MP3 gets a golf clap for finally releasing the Linux version of their “MP3 downloader” software. Between this and the seemingly weekly announcements from assorted media companies, wireless carriers and others in the content biz that they’re offering some new spin on DRM-free music, the future is looking bright for entertainment freedom!

It had been quite the week. My two colleagues – who I unabashedly count as close friends – and I sat at a table for four at the Valencia Holiday Inn, dunking slices of bread into peppered olive oil as we waited for our 3 o’clock lunch to arrive. We recounted the week’s activities as we navigated the assortment of flatware, bread baskets and bottles that consumed every inch of usable space on the table.

I don’t recall exactly how the topic came up (maybe in discussing our plans for the upcoming holiday week?) but we somehow managed to end up chatting about music. Melissa – who assured us of her stellar taste in music when, earlier in the week, she joined in for a three-part acapella spin through G. Love’s Cold Beverage while we walked through Cuenca’s historic district – mentioned that a musician friend of hers was coming to Buffalo for a concert the Thursday after Christmas. Their friendship dated back to high school, when Melissa would attend coffee-house acoustic concerts in downtown Buffalo, watching her friend perform songs that would ultimately propel her to California and a life in the music industry.

Maybe every high school produces someone who ends up in the entertainment business – for my graduating class, it was Bill English of the sitcom Cavemen – and what I learned on returning home and doing some Googling was that Stacy Clark is that person when it comes to Grand Island, NY. Her music career has seen her through (and drawn inspiration from) serious illness, and has resulted in three albums on store shelves, appearances on MTV and songs featured on compilations and mainstream TV. Her music has earned her honors at festivals throughout Southern California, and reviewers from The Album Project all the way to the late absolutepunk.com offer abundant praise.

After reading a few reviews and checking out the songs posted on her MySpace page, adding Stacy’s albums to our music collection was a no-brainer. I found Unusual at CDBaby (we at daverea.com are big fans of CDBaby!) and Apples and Oranges at Amazon MP3. The albums are DRM-free (expect nothing less) and well worth the coin – the CD I burned them both to has been keeping me company in the car since last week!

Honesty practically drips from Stacy’s music, and it might be the part that attracts my ears the most. The lyrics are refreshingly authentic, spared of undecipherable metaphors and cryptic musings. She tells her stories without watering them down or dressing them up to fit the the alt-pop meme. The music follows consistently: neither settling quietly in the background behind the lyrics, nor noisily distracting, it’s a refreshing mold-breaker in every track. More than anything else, it completes the story that the lyrics begin, as a hook into the emotions that flow under each song. Jumping between minor and major keys, or from flowing sounds to abrupt staccato notes, it respects and reflects just how quickly our feelings can change as we navigate a situation or a relationship or an experience. Largely electronic and well-quantized, the salutary rhythms and bass are well-balanced by Clark’s guitar, a constant in her music since her Upstate NY beginnings.

Unfortunatey, our schedule didn’t allow Kelly and I to join Stacy for her concert at Staples Coffee House in Buffalo this past Thursday – though I’m certain it was a crowd-pleaser. I’m afraid (and I celebrate) that we might not get a second chance to see her perform in such a close setting – because given the way she’s taking on the music business, the next time she visits she might be playing a much larger venue! Regardless, we’ll be keeping an eye on her concert schedule, hoping for another opportunity to see this Grand Island success story play live.

In the mean time, Apples and Oranges and Stacy’s cozy EP Unusual (whose title track, remastered on Apples and Oranges and reminiscent of Frou Frou, is my favorite of her songs) both get a big Saturday Morning Tuneage “thumbs-up”. While I’ve yet to get my hands on it, I’m sure her 2002 album Movement will be well worth the search – and if I do locate a copy, I’ll be sure to link to the source here. Until then, happy listening!

As one might have surmised by the lack of posts here over the past week, holiday preparations and the pre-shutdown rush to close out open issues at work have kept me away from the “Publish” button a bit more than I care to admit.

While Saturday Morning Tuneage will hibernate a bit longer this weekend, December 29th’s feature will be something extra-special. Last Saturday I mentioned that, while travelling in Spain the week prior, a friend and colleage told me about a new artist who’s well on her way to success in the music business. By some combination of luck and serendipity, this new friend-of-a-friend will be playing in Buffalo on Thursday night, so as long as the weather is with us we’ll be there to give her a first-hand listen and some well-deserved applause.

In the mean time, I’ll be collecting thoughts on her latest album and preparing a few words for a Christmas post…

The content of this past week, which will be detailed in a soon-to-be-posted post, has kept me a bit too busy for an installment of Saturday Morning Tuneage this week or last – but it has also provided the target for next week’s issue. So stay tuned!

First and foremost, I should report that our refrigerator was successfully defrosted yesterday. Beacuse I know that’s what’s been on all of your minds in the interim. We thank you for your concern. With the coils cleaned (of about 2 pounds of dust, which I am still coughing up) I now need to locate the defrost timer, which (with my luck) is probably nowhere near accessible.

While the snowy roads this morning precluded any musical enjoyment (it was my first time driving the Aero in the snow) I did get a chance to catch a few songs on One Man Band during my limited wheel-time yesterday. If the first three songs are any indicator, the album is definitely a winner. Mellow and subdued, the songs are a blend of James, his guitar, and some tastefully-added piano. Produced live, the crowd’s enjoyment of each track is contagious, and I found myself smiling – one of those satisfied, all-is-right-with-the-world smiles – as the disc played on.

With any luck, I’ll get to listen to the rest today!

I wish that this past week had afforded me some opportunity to collect music for Saturday Morning Tuneage, but alas: I arrive empty-handed.

For now, the most that I can offer is a quick pointer to an album that looks promising over on Amazon MP3:

James Taylor – One Man Band

If you’re a James fan (and I most certainly am), at least the reviews seem to indicate you’ll be pleased. That said, I’ve downloaded the album and not yet listened to it. Maybe I’ll put it on today, to soothe the inevitable heartburn that will result from my toting the entire contents of our refrigerator into the garage so that I can proceed to fix the damn thing. [OK, deep breaths...]

If I do manage to catch some time with One Man Band before Saturday is over, I’ll do my best to get back on here and toss up a little review… and until next week, my apologies for fulfilling my own prophecy that Saturday Morning Tuneage was likely to be a less-than-regular feature!

While the last couple of weeks have brought the excitement of new experiences, the fun of visits from friends and the joy of celebrations, they’ve left little room for Saturday Morning Tuneage. What they have offered is some time to absorb new music – cruising in the car with WBER, perusing the “virtual” new releases rack over at Amazon MP3, and trying some new (and not-so-new) albums on for size on my iPod.

So much as our moods change, so does the music we thirst for – and with Thanksgiving and the winter’s first snowfall arriving this week, my mood and my music have been quiet, soulful and contemplative. Music that’s perfect for driving at night, keeping time in lieu of the windshield wipers. Or sipping hot mulled cider with a fire crackling in the fireplace. Or just humming a melody quietly as I plod up the steps toward a warm bed.

It might seem odd that I’d find the source for such a thing behind the driving beat of what one Amazon reviewer called “the future of piano rock.” The song was Love Song, a piano-powered track that headlined the second studio release, Little Voice, from California-grown Sara Bareilles. Featured as the iTunes free song of the week just before the album’s release in early July, Love Song caught a sizable slice of attention, and found a home on the airwaves soon after. To say it’s anything short of rock-out-worthy would be far short of the whole story – she takes me right back to seeing Sarah Slean rock the Water Street Music Hall, with all the gusto of Ben Folds on the black-and-whites.

But what about soulful and contemplative? For that, look beyond the single to the rest of the album. Sara’s keyboards are mixed beautifully with acoustic guitar and expressive lyrics in One Sweet Love, a perfect companion for the peculiar romance of a wet road, a cold night and a hot cup of coffee. Gravity, a melodic exploration of “go or stay” emotions, is likely my favorite of the album’s songs – you can hear Sara’s soul drip from her fingertips onto the piano, and listening to her voice as she nails every passionate note gives a stirring look straight into the clash of feelings that are pouring out of her.

You needn’t take my word for it though; turn up the volume and watch her perform the song solo over at Amazon… Video: Sara Bareilles – Gravity

Little Voice, Sara’s major-label debut, is already being compared with the likes of Sarah McLachlan and Alicia Keys. With any luck, it’ll see the success it so clearly deserves – and find a place in your music collection. Meanwhile, I’ll be searching for her now out-of-print independent first offering, Careful Confessions. Given the great work she’s put into Little Voice, I’m confident the search will be worth the effort! Unfortunately, neither are available via the popular DRM-free download stores (Careful Confessions was even pulled from CDBaby), so the good old-fasioned pressed CD will have to remain the best way to add them to your collection.

As I drove home from work yesterday, it struck me just what a beautiful Autumn 2007 is giving us. Here in Upstate NY, the unusually-warm weather has the trees taking their time on the whole leaf-dropping thing. And amazingly enough, we’re actually getting a pretty nice helping of sunny days, which tends to help with keeping those leaves looking vivid.

I love the smell this time of year – the air is cool and sharp, and when I step out of the house, or out of the office, I enjoy the smell of fresh leaves and distant smoke just as much as I love the smell of fresh-cut grass in the Spring. Of course, as we’ve covered here on daverea.com before, senses can be memory triggers – and today as 2 friends and I jogged through our sleepy suburban village during our lunchbreak, the smells of fall reminded me of something important that we started last year here at daverea.com: the Autumn Soundtrack!

So, for today’s Saturday Morning Tuneage, I gleefully present to you the 2008 Autumn Soundtrack…

Beastie Boys – Electric Worm
Train – Get Out
Ben Folds Five – Selfless, Cold and Composed
Frou Frou – Let Go
Shawn Mullins – Beautiful Wreck
Cibo Matto – Moonchild
Vega4 – Life is Beautiful
Fieldguide – Clockwork
Tristan Prettyman – Electric
James Taylor – How Sweet it is (live)
Snow Patrol – Chocolate
Wreckless Eric – Whole Wide World
The Highway Beautiful – Paint

Amusingly enough, many of the songs from last year’s soundtrack are still seeing frequent airtime on my iPod today. Unlike many of the links that surround that list in last year’s post, these songs are not 404. My theory is, when they become part of the way you experience something you love, they become part of you.

Here’s to Fall, and here’s to the soundtrack you give it…