newgazzi 12.13.13

Today's newgazzi sampler features an old favorite, a new favorite, a newgazzi alum, a band I discovered in 2011 during my brief fling with SPIN magazine and a new take on one of my favorite Christmas songs ...


I've said it a million times.  Robert Pollard is a songwriting factory.  Between his solo albums, Guided By Voices and numerous side projects, without looking up the actual number, I'd guess he's put out close to 100 albums in the last 25 years, with 7 of those coming out in 2013.  His latest solo effort is called Blazing Gentlemen, and he's planning two more Guided By Voices releases in 2014, as well as a tour.  Here's the first single from the new record.  It's called "Tonight's the Rodeo" ...





The record I'm most excited for in the first quarter of 2014 is the new Broken Bells record, After the Disco.  Their first album and EP from a few years back are still in heavy rotation, and the first single is something else.  Would you like to hear it?  Would you?  Here it is ... it's called "Holding on for Life".





The Riverside are a band from Santa Barbara, CA and quickly became friends of newgazzi when they were featured on newgazzi Vol 4 back in May.   This is still my favorite volume of newgazzi, which can be viewed here ...

newgazzi Vol 4 ... featuring The Riverside's "Good To You"

These fantastics musicians have just released another record, called Apple Picking Season.  Here's a link to their noisetrade page.  The entire album is fantastic, and the song I will be featuring on newgazzi Vol 11 will be "Down in the Valley, Flowin' Like Water".

Hear "Down in the Valley, Flowin' Like Water" here


In the summer of 2011, I felt lonely without my Paste samplers, so I had a brief rendezvous with SPIN, and their samplers.  I discovered Phantogram then, and recently stumbled upon their new single, "Fall in Love".  I have fallen in love with it.




This week's Christmas selection is from Mary J Blige.  "Little Drummer Boy" is my favorite Christmas song, and she recently recorded it for her Christmas album, A Mary Christmas.  You'll have to go to iTunes and sample it, though.

Check back next week for the third installment of newgazzi for December of 2013, and on December 29th, or on Christmas, if you're all good, come back to hear all 15 songs featured this month as we unveil newgazzi Vol 11!