Bloggerhythms

For reasons unknown Austin musician Robert Harrison decided to name his 90s power pop band after Cotton Mather, a 17th century Puritan preacher who, unfortunately, was quite influential during the infamous witch trials held in Salem, Massachusetts. Nevertheless, Harrison put together a very fine group that released a modestly successful CD, Kontiki , in late 1997. Noel Gallagher heard Kontiki and he was impressed enough to ask Cotton Mather to tour with Oasis. The exposure helped the Texans' single, "My Before and After," to become a hit. Alternative and indie radio loved the song and the critics raved about the entire album. Great things were expected from the band in the future. However, after a couple of minor EP releases and one more full length CD, The Big Picture , in 2001 Harrison dissolved the group without any further success. Before Kontiki was released I discovered the band's debut CD, Cotton is King , in a $1.00 cut out bin and was intrigued eno...

World renowned actor Kevin Bacon and his Emmy Award winning brother, Michael, who writes scores for TV and movies, released their first of five studio albums in 1997, three years after they formed their band, The Bacon Brothers. Don't laugh. The brothers are not a novelty act. While Kevin's fame almost certainly earned them attention that other fledgling bands would die for they've managed to show the world they're mostly worthy of the publicity. Both brothers are music lovers who know their way around the stage and the studio. I saw them live in 2009 and they proved they have the goods to succeed. The same can be said about their double set live CD, Live: No Food Jokes Tour , released in 2003. Kevin plays acoustic guitar and percussion and Michael plays guitar as well as cello. Both siblings sing lead. While there is nothing remotely alternative or anything that would be considered high art about The Bacon Brothers' work, they're totally serious ab...

England's Mumford & Sons have quickly become an international sensation by mining the same musical territory as North Carolina's excellent Avett Brothers. While the band's lineup suggests they are true folkies their high energy music is frequently not for the faint of heart. Together the quartet plays a unique synthesis of rock and folk. Leader Marcus Mumford's down home banjo picking and Winston Marshall's dobro are ably assisted by Ted Dwane on bass and Ben Lovett on keyboards. The four mates don't play their instruments in quiet coffee houses where you can hear a feather drop on the floor during a set. Instead, the Mumford men play music with a kick that is readily apparent on Babel , their successful followup to 2009's rookie release, Sigh No More . They're also serious lyricists with a profound confessional tone so fans of singer-songwriters will also find something appealing in their music too. Babel doesn't suffer from the sopho...

A few weeks ago Bloggerhythms wrote about 5 classic rock artists who don't deserve our love . Today, we are discussing the opposite scenario, five artists who don't receive enough love. While I'm certain the people listed below are millionaires many times over artistically these five artists have never been rewarded with the accolades they deserve, so today, it's time to give each one a small salute. Ray Davies Davies is more appreciated in his own country but in the United States he never got enough recognition. Even though his band, The Kinks, had more than a few hits here he's probably too English for most Americans to relate to in a big way. His voice is very British, pleasantly unique, and enhances the ethnicity of his work. Nevertheless, when you can write great songs with images as powerful as those found in "Celluloid Heroes," "A Well Respected Man," "Waterloo Sunset," "Victoria, and "Muswell Hillbillies" ...