Amoeba Music and CIIS Public Programs & Performances present An Evening with Lila Downs on February 23rd at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

Thursday, February 23, 2012
8:00PM
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
$25/$45/$65/$85
Get tickets HERE or call 415.392.4400
Group discounts available for 10 or more! 

Mexican American singer and composer Lila Downs adds to her heritage original compositions fused with blues, jazz, soul, and African roots. Known for her smoky voice and magnetic performances, Downs has created one of the most singular explorations of Mexican roots music and a unique body of work.

Her musical vision is anthropological in nature, as varied as the ancient and earthy cultures that continue to nurture and inspire her. Lila often taps into the native Mesoamerican music of the Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya, and Nahuatl cultures. Embracing and highlighting indigenous origins, whether in the US or Mexico, has always been an important aspect of her music, as well as the topics of political and social justice, immigration, and transformation, all rooted in the human condition. Lila always strives to make a meaningful connection with her diverse audiences through her music and performances.

Her new album, PECADOS Y MILAGROS (Sin and Miracles), is inspired by the traditional themes of votive paintings of Mexico, as well as her infant son. The new songs are born of the reasons to find items and symbols that give us strength. She is also working on the musical theater presentation of Like Water for Chocolate, the award winning novel and film by Mexican author Laura Esquivel.


Don’t miss your chance to see this dynamic performer.
 Get your tickets today!

If you are looking for a tell-all autobiography about the tumultuous life of Gil Scott-Heron, chances are you are going to be disappointed by The Last Holiday: A Memoir. What Gil Scott-Heron gave us were selected memories, the ones that resonated in his mind before his death. He is a man full of inspiration and controversy, but chose to reflect on his accomplishments and share the memories of people who most inspired him most.

The autobiography jumps around in the beginning, from his tour stories from his 1980 tour with Stevie Wonder to his upbringing with his grandmother in Tennessee. Gil writes eloquently about being raised in the south and being one of the first black students to integrate into an all-white school public school. After his grandmother’s passing, he moves with his mother to New York, in which his mixture of book smarts and street smarts ends up going to a private high school mostly reserved for students of privlege. From there it covers his college days, in which he takes a leave of absence to finish his first novel, The Vulture. From there, he returns to school and starts on a path as the musician the most people know him as.

Gil never dwells too much on his accomplishments. For instance, Gil spends more time writing about his appreciation how other artists covered his songs off his excellent album, Pieces Of A Man than he does about writing the songs himself. Much praise in the book was given to the people that he felt helped him along the way, such as his family, instructors, musicians as well as guys such as Bob Thiele and Clive Davis, who both released his albums and helped make him the icon that he became.

The most praise and perhaps could have been a book on its own, was Gil’s stories about tour with Stevie Wonder in 1980. The significance of that tour was that Stevie Wonder used the tour to help spearhead the campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr. day a national holiday, with a show at the Washington Monument, the very spot were King gave his infamous, “I Have A Dream” speech. Gil admiration for Stevie, who though blind, was keen in every other sense. He was a person who could say exactly what was needed to be said and do what was needed to accomplish his goal of a Martin Luther King Day, an accomplishment that was achieved during one of the most conservative governments in U.S. history. It is also noteworthy to add that Gil was supposed to do a few selected dates on the tour, as Bob Marley was the opening act. But as it was, Bob was diagnosed with cancer and had to cancel the tour.

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Super Bowl isn't the only event happening today. On a more bittersweet note around the same time as the Giants/Patriots game over in the UK is a big J Dilla fundraising tribute party - just one of numerous events scheduled this month, on both sides of the Atlantic, that will honor the greatly revered late hip-hop producer and emcee who died six years ago around this time (Feb 10th, 2006) following a battle with lupus. Fittingly money raised at the British Dilla event today, which is titled J Dilla Changed My Life and will be held at Scala in London, will be donated to both Lupus UK and the J Dilla Foundation with all the DJs performing for free to benefit both causes. Also in the house today will be Ma Dukes - the mother of the late great artist born  James Dewitt Yancey and was also known as Jay Dee (not to be confused with an early 90's European house music act of same name). For more exact details on today's London event, that will be hosted by Phat Kat, visit the official Facebook event page.

Other J Dilla tribute events this month include ones in Detroit, LA, Baltimore, San Francisco, and New York where on Feb 19th at the Brooklyn Bowl the sixth annual Donuts Are Forever celebration will start at 8pm and will feature such talents as DJ Neil Armstrong, Prince Paul, and the hip-hop group Tanya Morgan. Of this NYC accidentally annual event Derreck "Dee Phunk" Johnson,  a partner in Rare Form - the event's organizer, said, "We never went into this planning for it to be an annual series. The original Donuts Are Forever in 2007 was a commemoration of the first anniversary of his passing.  But when we witnessed the turnout, we were dumbfounded.  We were fans and we knew there were a ton of other fans out there...but just seeing the physical manifestation of that love blew us away.  And five years later...here we are on number six." Details.

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MusicRemedy
Song of the Week: “Love Interruption”
Ithaca College The Ithacan
Since that bit of depressing news, Jack White has concentrated mainly on his record label, Third Man Records. But White is back to his music-making ways. After founding three bands (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather), ...
JACK WHITE CONFIRMS US FESTIVAL DATESAltsounds.com
The 13 Best Jack White CollaborationsStereogum

all 6 news articles »

USA TODAY
Music lovers pursue technologies to return to high fidelity
USA TODAY
(Jobs, Young noted, preferred listening to his music on vinyl records.) Last month, at the former historic RCA Studio A on Music Row — now known as Ben's Studio — country artist Jerrod Niemann recorded tracks for his latest album with a new invention ...

and more »

Jamoeblog Hip-Hop Top Five Week Ending 02:04:12

1) Gangrene Vodka and Ayahuasca (Decon)

2) Lushlife Plateau Vision LP (Western Vinyl)

3) Homeboy Sandman Subject Matter (Stones Throw)

4) Eligh & Amp Live Therapy At 3 ( Legendary Music/Live Up/Traffic)

5) Wiley Evolve Or Be Extinct (Big Dada)

For a change from the usual sales-based Amoeba weekly hip-hop chart this week's Hip-Hop Top Five Chart is my own personal favorite brand new and soon to drop hip-hop releases. Topping the chart is the amazing Oh No and The Alchemist group Gangrene's third and latest collaboration Vodka and Ayahuasca on Decon. Also here is the recent Eligh & Amp Live Therapy At 3 ( which gets better and better with repeated listens and the brand new Wiley
album Evolve Or Be Extinct - a double CD on Big Dada which will appeal equally to grime and hip-hop heads. Not out yet but worthy of mention It is the forthcoming Lushlife album Plateau  Vision LP, which will be released in mid April on Western Vinyl, and is sure to propel to mainstream visibility the South Philly producer/emcee/musician who made waves last year with the much buzzed about mixtape No More Golden Days. As with that mixtape, which was an actual cassette tape, this new CD album blends mid 90's underground NY hip-hop flavor with Dilla/Madlib type production values. This is the sort of well produced album that will make you want to also track down the instrumental version. It's pure pleasure to listen to and Lushlife's flow is a treat to listen to. He is also joined by several well chosen guests throughout the 11 track album including Styles P, Canadian rapper Shad, Heems of Das Racist, and ex-Titus Andronicus garage rocker Andrew Cedermark who joins him on the album track "The Romance of the Telescope." My personal favorite tracks are the throwback eigthies/nineties sounding "Anthem" and the opening "Magnolia" which, over a dreamy hypnotic backdrop and a series of well chosen samples, finds Lushlife rapping about such things as graffiti and Coney Island. This is already making its way to becoming one of my year end top albums.

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Short quotes and book notes: Feb. 5
Knoxville News Sentinel
Pellissippi State Community College's 30th annual Faculty Senate Book Sale will offer gently used books, CDs, DVDs, videos, vinyl records, magazines, calendars, puzzles and computer games. The two-day sale takes place at each of Pellissippi State's ...

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Interview: Shelby Lynne of The Black Belles
The Silver Tongue
Jack White is often credited for the discovery and rising indie-fame of the group, though I think he and Third Man Records simply beat everyone to the punch. The Black Belles have been described as 'garage goth' by several.

Unplugging: SXSW lineup heats up
TG Daily
Former White Stripes front man Jack White has been buried in his work with Third Man Records, yet has had time to construct his debut solo album Blunderbuss, set to be released April 24 on Third Man Records / Columbia. The first single off Blunderbuss, ...

Tonight on the loft! Free in-store with Luther Russell, accompanied by talented young tabla player Pial Hossain. Former singer and songwriter of acclaimed LA quintet, The Freewheelers, Russell will be at Origami in celebration of the release of his fifth LP, The Invisible Audience. His last release, 2007′s Repair was a ragged, rootsy pop record full of rich, sometimes bouncy melodies which belied their darker subject matter.  Released by Ungawa Records, The Invisible Audience is a double-length that Russell calls “a glimpse into the jukebox of my psyche.” The record has been pressed in A Coruña, Spain on double 180g vinyl and is housed in a laminated gatefold sleeve with artwork by french collage artist Amelie Chunleau. It also comes with a free download of the 25-song record which includes four bonus tracks. Come on down tonight at 7pm and see why many have regarded The Invisible Audience as a top album of 2011!

Music lovers pursue return to high fidelity
The Tennessean
(Jobs, Young noted, preferred listening to his music on vinyl records.) Last month, at the former historic RCA Studio A on Music Row — now known as Ben's Studio — country artist Jerrod Niemann recorded tracks for his latest album with a new invention ...

and more »

There has been a flurry of activity this week with three heavy hitters releasing new songs - Jack White, M.I.A. and Madonna.

Jack White is releasing his first solo album, Blunderbuss, on April 24 and the first single, "Love Interruption," premiered this week.  (Also new this week, I learned what a Blunderbuss was -- a gun.)  Third Man Records is releasing a 7" for "Love Interruption" on Tuesday, February 7, which features a non-album B-Side, "Machine Gun Silhouette." Mr. White will be doing some solo shows, but so far only two have been announced - Sasquatch! in WA and Radio 1's Hackney Weekend in London. 



M.I.A. released a new single, "Bad Girls," which is a reworking of a track originally featured on a 2011 mixtape, Vicki Leekx. The "Bad Girls" video was directed by Romain Gavras (who also shot her controversial, banned-from-YouTube video for "Born Free"). So far she hasn't announced a release date or title for her next album, but hopefully that will come soon. 



Madonna has been all over the interwebs, radio, and television this week in a furious media campaign for her new single "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (featuring M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj) and her Super Bowl performance on Sunday, all of which are leading up to the release of her next album, MDNA, out March 26.

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JACK WHITE CONFIRMS US FESTIVAL DATES
Altsounds.com
Jack White has confirmed the first two live dates in support of his upcoming debut album Blunderbuss, out April 24 on Third Man Records/Columbia. Jack will be headlining the Hangout Music Fest in Gulf Shores, AL on May 18th, followed by another ...

and more »

Sasquatch!'s 2012 Lineup: One Day Later
Consequence of Sound
Together, the trio have played a couple of shows and released a two-song single via Third Man Records. With this booking decision, Sasquatch! promoters have simultaneously given a young band the fastest and biggest break in recorded music history while ...

and more »

Mark your calendar: Daniel Tosh second show
Connect Savannah.com
Jack White's Third Man Records will be here on March 9 and 10 with its "Rolling Record Store." The full schedule - dates, times and locations - should be online any day now at savannahstopover.com. @ Savannah Irish Festival. The music lineup includes ...

and more »

Top 10 mp3s of the Week (2/3)
Consequence of Sound
Blunderbuss is out April 24th on White's own Third Man Records. -MC M. Ward – “The First Time I Ran Away” You know those rare mornings when you wake up and you're just instantly and naturally ready to go? That's exactly what the first offering from M.

awE naturalE, the debut full-length from Seattle’s THEESatisfaction comes out March 27th. You can download, listen to, own, and otherwise enjoy the track “QueenS” from that album through the clever media delivery device (“widget”) above.

THEESatisfaction will soon tour the U.S., Europe and the UK, with more stateside dates to be announced in the near-ish future. See below for a full list of confirmed shows.

Here is where you can find more information about THEESatisfaction.

THEESatisfaction Tour:
02-18 Seattle, WA – Town Hall
03-09 Brooklyn, NY – Cameo Gallery
03-27 Seattle, WA – Easy Street
03-29 Seattle, WA – Neumos
04-04 Nantes, France – Stereolux
04-05 Amiens, France – La Lune Des Pirates
04-06 Lille, France – Aeronef
04-09 Lyon, France – TBA
04-11 Angers, France – Chabada
04-12 Tours, France – Temps Machine
04-13 Poitiers, France – Confort Moderne
04-15 Madrid, Spain – Festival Electronica
04-17 Lisbon, Portugal – ZDB
04-20 Bristol, England – Start the Bus
04-21 Glasgow, Scotland – Arches
04-23 Brighton, England – Hope
04-24 London, England – White Heat

As you might have noticed in the latest Out This Week Amoeblog, published here yesterday by Brad Schelden, among the list of new music releases for this week is Leonard Cohen's new album Old Ideas.  Available at Amoeba Music in both CD and LP formats it is the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter's twelfth studio album and his first album of new material in almost a decade. Amoeba.com reviewers accurately wrote of the new release that, "Cohen returns to form in a manner that is musically reminiscent of his early classics, full of somber details sung in his trademark nearly spoken-word style over deep, atmospheric blues."

As fans of Cohen's already well know Old Ideas is Cohen's first album with new material since his well publicized 2005 declaration of bankruptcy following his ex-manager's embezzlement in which he allegedly cleared out all of the musician's bank accounts - essentially leaving him broke. Consequently some cynics, before even hearing the new album, dismissed it - along with his recent era active touring schedule - as just another stab by the financially strapped star to get his accounts back in the black. But the reality is that Old Ideas is anything but halfhearted. Rather it's an amazing album; one that finds Cohen, who is now in his late 70's, in top form delivering songs such as "Going Home" and "The Darkness" in that trademark baritone flow of his that fans love so well. Already Old Ideas has won extremely positive feedback from longtime Cohen fans and critics alike - many comparing it to his last highly acclaimed album: 1988's I'm Your Man.

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