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…

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…

Ben writes about his latest release: Here’s track #10 off the new album: Dark Grey Matter. I lied last week when I said that Count To Twelve was the first rock song I wrote after grad school. This was the first one. I wrote it in the garret appartment that my wife and I rented in 2001…

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…

From their album, Sigh No More.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

I’m from a jazz household, and true to that tradition, my youngest is learning to sing scat. Here’s Ella Fitzgerald, singing in that style. Enjoy.

I caught this via The Atlantic Wire, and they’re right that it’s brilliant, but it’s confident and unabashed, too.  Hathaway’s  confidence in the trying of something is noteworthy and admirable.  We’re in danger of becoming an oh-so-serious, earnest, and proper people.  I don’t believe that the danger will come to pass– I’m a great optimist…

Armatrading on the uncertain practical consequences of kind words – especially, one would guess, in difficult times.