I’ve featured songs from Ben Sommer’s latest album, Super Brain, but a proper review of the entire album is in order. I liked and favorably reviewed Ben’s first album, america’d, and so was disposed to expect another solid effort. And yet, earlier-album familiarity nothwithstanding, Super Brain surprises and impresses, exceeding Sommer’s earlier work. First, for…
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Ben Sommer’s Video of Foster the People’s Pumped up Kicks
by JOHN ADAMS •
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Monday Music: Ben Sommer on Deo Gracias Anglia
by JOHN ADAMS •
Ben writes about his latest song Deo Gracias Angliafrom his latest album, a song featured here originally last Friday. One dates oneself to write about liner notes, but there was great value in reading what a musician thought about his or her music that’s been lost without those notes. Commentary like Ben’s restores that additional…
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Premiere of Ben Sommer’s Deo Gracias Anglia from Super Brain
by JOHN ADAMS •
The best moments of blogging aren’t in the writing, but in reading of others; not in saying, but in listening. It’s more than a treat to discover, and now to premiere, the sharp and compelling — here’s the FW premiere of Ben Sommer’s Deo Gracias Anglia from his latest album, Super Brain. Readers know and…
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Monday Music: Dark Grey Matter from Ben Sommer’s new album, Super Brain
by JOHN ADAMS •
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Monday Music: Ben Sommer’s Count to Twelve
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s our Monday music feature, today from Ben Sommer. Ben writes about his latest track, Count to Twelve, from his latest album, Super Brain: Here’s track #9 off the new album: Count To Twelve. This is another old one – written and largely recorded in the winter of 2002. Though it probably sounds like straight-up…
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Monday Music: Mumford & Sons, Dust Bowl Dance
by JOHN ADAMS •
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I Married a Prostitute from Ben Sommer’s Super Brain
by JOHN ADAMS •
Earlier this week, I wrote about the premiere of a track from Ben Sommer’s Super Brain here on FREE WHITEWATER. That’s not, in fact, set for today (I was ahead of things), but I’ve the first video from the album that I will embed. Thanks much to the readers who’ve written with positive comments about…
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Ben Sommer’s fifth and sixth tracks from Super Brain
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here are links to the fifth and sixth tracks from Super Brain: Militarism and Cadaverism are available online as mp3s with accompanying lyrics. (Ben Sommer, voice). Original September premiere at Young Americans for Liberty. Ben describes the songs: Militarism. The inspiration for this piece was the 2000 presidential debates, where George Bush said “don’t mess…
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Ben Sommer’s Consumerism
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s today’s link to the fourth track from Super Brain: Consumerism is available online as an mp3 with accompanying lyrics. (Ben Sommer, voice). Original September premiere at Young Americans for Liberty. Sommer talks about the song: I wrote it in 1997, in the downtown branch of the San Diego Public Library. I was out west…
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Ben Sommer’s third track, Baby Mother
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s today’s link to the third track from Super Brain: Baby Mother is available online as an mp3 with accompanying lyrics. (Andrew Hickman: tenor saxophone; Ben Sommer: electric bass, electric guitar, percussion, synth, voice; George Arsenault: drums; Randy Pingrey: tenor trombone; Will Caviness: trumpet). Original September premiere at Theo Spark. Sommer notes that “this song…
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Ben Sommer’s I Married a Prostitute
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s today’s link to a just-released song from Super Brain: I Married a Prostitute is the album’s second single, available online as an mp3 with accompanying lyrics. (Ben Sommer: electric bass, electric guitar, voice; George Arsenault: drums). Original September premiere from Blogs ‘n Roses. Enjoy. Visit Ben’s official website at BenSommer.com, and sample Saint Martha…
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This Week: Great Music from Ben Sommer
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve posted songs from, and reviewed (highly recommended) Ben Sommer’s first album, america’d. If you’re unfamiliar with Ben’s work, there’s no better time to become acquainted than now. Ben’s a “prog rock composer, performer, writer, and pent-up curmudgeon.” His music combines political and social commentary from an edgy, libertarian angle. Visit Ben’s official website at…