New Soul by Yael Naim

If you've seen the commercial for the new Mac laptop "Air" you have heard the beginning of this catchy little ditty. I thought it was fun and quirky, so I googled the commercial and found the artist and the video. She reminds me a little of Victoria Williams, which to me is a good thing, not so much to most others.

Enjoy!

Great New Music from David Wilcox...

One of our all time favorite musicians is the American folkster David Wilcox. (I have to specify the American DW because there is a Canadian DW who is vastly different and defintely NOT among our favorites.)

We were introduced to David's music back in Mobile by our very talented friends John Wallace and Andy Cloninger . That was over 11 years ago, and David's music has just gotten better with age. He has a velvet voice, and an insane laugh. The two don't even fit together, but whatever he has going works! Most of his songs are slower and mellow, but he has a few that are quite upbeat and a lot of fun.

David's earlier albums had some "questionable" songs (from a Christian perspective), though he has always claimed to be a beleiver. In recent years his music and things he says live have really matured and you can easily see his faith in his writings and songs. He has also started doing more shows with other artists who are Christians, even performing in the Andrew Peterson "Behold The Lamb of God" concert last year at the Ryman. He is by no means a part of the "Christian Music" movement, but the best artists are most often those that go about their lives living out their faith, not stamping it all over their album covers.

We've seen DW in concert a number of times, and each time just gets better and better. He is an incredible storyteller- very funny and strangely profound. Plus, he has written a song about the waffle house, which makes him a hit in my husband's book anyday. If I had to recommend any particular album it would be his "Live Songs and Stories" because it has the best of both worlds, but "How Did You Find Me Here" and "What You Whispered" are both really good. Heck- get them all (and listen too) here at Amazon.com. He is also available on Emusic, (some of those are the Canadian DW) and that way you can download the songs you want. List of recommended songs available upon request :)

David has a new CD out called "Airstream" and a new DVD set called "Live at the Workplay Theater". I ordered mine yesterday from his website. {By the way honey... I ordered David's new CD yesterday!} He and his family spent a year traveling the country in an airstream trailer, so these songs are born from that trip and time together. I'm really looking forward to hearing it.

Below are a few videos from YouTube.







He is coming to Nashville near my birthday in May, and if we can swing somewhere to stay that night we may make the trip there for the show.

** ADDENDUM** Got my new CD a few days ago and have been listening to it a lot. There are a couple of songs with some pretty bad (Christian) theology- if that is an issue for you in regards to your music. There is also a very anti-Bush song. Just thought I would give you a heads up in case anyone cared about knowing.

(Not Quite) Even Better Than the Real Thing... But Close!

The short of it? If you have ever been a fan of U2, GO SEE
THIS movie when it comes to your town!

Shane and I have been U2 fans for over 18 years now, and even managed to catch them live in 1993 on the Zoo TV tour when they came to Birmingham Alabama. They were touring with Public Enemy (thanks Keith- it was NOT 2LiveCrew as I posted originally) at the time, and during the opening act- Flava Flav hung, in effigy, a white sheeted/hooded KKK mannequin. In Birmingham. Alabama. Apparently the Klan are not huge U2 fans, so the evening progressed without a hitch (or additional lynch as it was) but I was a little nervous for a few minutes.

U2 has had a lot of new material in the last 15 years, and Shane and I have been eagerly anticipating the new 3Dimensional Digital concert/movie from U2 for a few months now. It is only playing in IMax locations and theaters that have a digital projector, and only for one night in each town. Tonight was our night here in Memphis, so we were glad to grab our 3D glasses at the door and take our seats at the Paradisio Theater. It has been a long time Since I have seen anything in 3D, and allow me to say- this ain't those little blue and red cellophane lenses. I new I was in for a treat from the preview alone!

The movie started and it was incredible how real everything on the screen looked. (Dare I say 3 dimensional?) The text looked like it was jumping out at you- it seemed you could reach out and move the microphone stand out of your way when it blocked your view. There were a couple of times water was thrown in the air in the crowd and you would swear it was going to land in your lap. At one point the guy next to us said he almost told someone to move out of the way, then he realized they were on the screen! Digital quality sound, excellent camera work and angles, incredible music- made for a GREAT experience. As their shows always are, there was lots of entertainment value and I would pay to see it again if I got the chance.

Here is a longer (2D) clip from YouTube from the movie, and below is the trailer (also in 2D). Neither do the experience justice. [If they are a little jerky, just hit pause when they start to load, let them load a little, then un-pause.]



{{In an unrelated note, the Rolling Stones have a documentary/concert movie coming out soon as well. I have decided that Keith Richards died 3 years ago and an animatronic skeleton is propelling him around the stage since. For a truly frightening experience, watch THIS trailer for their movie, thankfully NOT in 3D.

Rockin Around the Christmas Tree: Our Favorite Christmas Albums

Ahhh, I LOVE Christmas music. So much so, that some of it gets in the playback year round. The following is a list of my personal favorite albums for this Christmas season. Some of them are brand spanking new- thanks E-Music! (If anyone wants to join emusic, please email me so I can get the referral credits. It's a great deal for indie music lovers!)

1) Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson.
--In the opinion of our household, Andrew Peterson has musically picked up in many ways where Rich Mullins left off. As mentioned in a previous post, this is one of our year round favorite albums. Be sure to check out his other music on his site- not a dud there, as well as his site The Rabbit Room, where you can gain more insight into his life, thoughts and art. (Not to mention that of some other great artists!)

2) Joy by Allen Levi, Ed Cash and Bebo Norman.
-- We have had this Cd for years now, and it is very much in heavy rotation right now. These three guys are all great musicians on their own, but their voices just fit together so well. Be sure to check out their individual web sites- especially Allen's. He has some great funny songs as well as some very insightful ones.

3) Christmas from the Realms of Glory by the aforementioned Bebo Norman.
--This album is brand new for this Christmas season, and I could listen to Bebo's voice all day long. It's like honey.

4) Any of these Cds by the Appalachian Christmas Quartet.
--The ACQ isup of some of the Kid Brothers of St. Frank, headed up by Michael Aukofer. The roster changes from year to year, but has included some of our favorites, such as Brad Layher, and Erik Hauk. The music is primarily instrumental, but using instruments you won't hear on your typical Christmas albums. These Cds are heavy on Hammered Dulcimer, Lap Dulcimer, Violin, ethnic percussion, guitar, mandolin, lute and even such unusual instruments as boomwhackers and the PVCiano. The official 4th member of the quartet is the jackalope.

5) The Darkest Night of the Year by Over the Rhine.
-- As in anything they do, Karin's voice is beautiful. They have a new Christmas Cd out for 2007 called "Snow Angels" but we don't have it yet. It's on our list for next year though!

6)Wishing for This by Leigh Nash.
--Leigh is probably best known as the voice behind Sixpence None the Richer, but has a couple of solo projects out as well. This is yet another artist with a distinctive voice, but so lovely. One of my faves on this CD is Eternal Gifts. This CD is also new for this year.

7) When My Heart Finds Christmas and Harry for the Holidays, both by Harry Connick Jr.
--These are 2 great feel good Christmas Cds that will appeal to most people. They have a lot of fun songs as well as the traditional carols. Harry's voice is so easy on the ears, and these Cds are destined to become Christmas classics.

8) Holiday Songs and Lullabyes by Shawn Colvin.
--Sweet, simple and perfect for this time of year.

9)Noel by Various Artists- Via Records 1995.
-- Shane and I got this CD the week we got married. I remember listening to it driving around Gatlinburg on our honeymoon, and it is still one of our favorites. If you manage to find one laying around in a bargain bin somewhere, be sure to snatch it up! It has some great renditions of classic songs, as well as some really good artists. If I had to compare it to anything currently on the market it would be the "City on a Hill" series.

10) Wintersong by Sara McLachlan.
-- Despite consistently spelling this musician's name incorrectly, I think she is great! Keep in mind, I do not listen to top 40 radio, am not much into "Pop" music, but I love Sarah MCLachlan. This CD came out last Christmas and it is just delightful. Yet another artist with a sweet voice that will appeal to most people.

11) WeatherVane Christmas: The Gift by Various Artists
-- This Cd is apparently out of production and impossible to find. It featured great artists (see previous posts on Real Music by Real People) such as Jason Harrod, Claire Holley and others. Weathervane was a bit of a precursor to Paste Music and a sibling of sorts to Awakening Records- just in case anyone remembers them. Anyway, this Cd has a lot of nice acoustic Christmas favorites and a number of original songs as well.

We also downloaded some great new Christmas Cds from Jars of Clay, Martha's Trouble and Kevin Max (formerly of DC Talk)- all from Emusic. I have not listened to any of those enough to list them as favorites yet, but there is always next year!

Behold the Lamb of God...

Oh my... it's already that time of year again, and time to pull out our favorite Christmas album of all time. So favorite, in fact, that we listen to it year round. In a culture where Chrismas has become barely a little nod toward the direction of Bethlehem (if even that), it is great to take the time to remember the whole story.

Andrew Peterson has created a wonderful album called "Behold the Lamb of God" that travels through the Old Testament to a dirty stable in Bethlehem. The songs are catchy, moving and beautiful- guaranteed to bring you into the presence of God this holiday season. As an added bonus, you can also impress your friends and family by singing the entire list of begats from the beginning of Matthew! Listen to the CD HERE. My favorites are "Passover Us" "Deliver Us" "Matthew's Begats" and "Behold the Lamb of God", but the entire album is incredible- any time of year. You can order a physical Cd or download a copy HERE

Every year Andrew and a whole host of friends (a.k.a. the GREATS of the CCM/Indie music industry) perform the album at a sold out concert in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium. Shane and I have wanted to go for YEARS, but have not been able to work it out to attend. This year, the travelling tour dates brought them to Memphis, and we were thrilled to attend. This year's tour features the 3 Andy's: Andrew Peterson, Andrew Osenga (the Normals, Caedmon's Call and solo work), Andy Gullahorn, Bebo Norman, Jill Phillips, Sara Groves, Gabe Scott (from all over the place), Ben Shive, Garrett Buell (from Caedmon's Call) and a few other supporting musicians.

Bellevue, which seats THOUSANDS of people was very crowded and we staked out our seats over an hour ahead of the performance. The artists were just incredible and the wait of years was well worth it. If you can catch this tour, run out and get your tickets NOW!

Real Music by Real People: Eric Peters

Okay, Eric Peters is not an artist we know personally, but falls more into the category of artists who remembers our faces, or in this case, the fact that I am an avid Frederick Buechner reader and that we had prairie dogs as pets. (At least we did when he came to our house in North Carolina for dinner with another artist we know Mark Williams.) But, Eric is such a great musician I had to include him in this group. And since this is my blog, I make the rules.

Eric started out in another little known group from Louisiana named Ridgely. They were fairly popular in the college circles in the south. We saw them play a few times, once with the guys in Dog Named David. (Also, Shane and Eric went to the same middle school and were in the same grade. They don't remember each other apparently or just missed each other by a short time.) We have since seen him play a few times around the Southeast. He's a member of the Square Peg Alliance with Andrew Peterson, Randall Goodgame, Derek Webb, Andrew Osenga, and others. He is yet another incredible songwriter and all around great musician. Be sure to check out his tunes here. My personal favorites? "The Storm", and "Metropolis" (Scarce); "Dust to Dust" (Bookmark)"; "Little By Little", "These Three Remain", "The Maginot Line" & "Waterloo" (Miracle of Forgetting); "Spare Change" (Land of the Living).

Real Music by Real People: Jennifer Daniels

Another WOW! Good music really does come in small packages. Jennifer Daniels' CDs never cease to amaze me with their incredible songwriting and vocal punch. She can weave a story like few other artists can, and deliver them with such passion! You can download her latest Cd "Summer Filled Sky" at, where else? e-music of course! My favorites are "Day to Live", "Tattoo", and "Water Spider".

We've actually seen her in concert with Claire Holley, and the two gals make an incredible duo. Aside from being an incredible singer/songwriter, she's just as nice as the day is long. She tours extensively, so your chances are good to catch her on the road.

Real Music by Real People: Jason Harrod

If you ever want to get to know someone, hitch a ride with them from Bushnell, Illinois to Raleigh, NC by way of Chicago. That oughta do it. Or you could just loan them your harmonicas.

We first heard Jason Harrod's music on CD when he was part of the Boston duo Harrod and Funck. When we moved to Raleigh, he was living and playing a lot of gigs in that area. We went to see Claire Holley in concert one night, and Jason was opening for her set. I ended up working his merch table show, I think because Claire was familiar with us and told him we wouldn't bolt with his cash. After that we continued to catch his shows and Shane ended up taking that LONG car trip with him from Cornerstone Festival back to Durham.

For some reason we are drawn to artists who have an unusual quality to their voices, and Jason fits that bill, but in a really good way. (Not in the unusual way of one of my favorites, Victoria Williams, whose voice makes some people's flesh melt away with every note.) He won the North Carolina Singer/Songwriter competition at Merlefest a few years ago, and that is nothing to sneeze at. He is an incredible songwriter and musician and we really wish he'd tour through this area once in a while. But, if you are in the northeast or Raleigh area- be sure to catch a show!

His two solo cds are available on e-music, and you should download them immediately. No really, stop reading and get to it! My personal favorites are "When I Fly Away", "Messed Up Everywhere Blues" and "My Mad Girlfriend" (Bright as You) & "When I get Home" and "Carolina" (Living in Skin).

Real Music by Real People: Beki Hemingway

Wow. Beki Hemingway (yes, THAT Hemingway) will surprise you with her powerful voice and songwriting. She can also tell you some great stories from temp jobs past- including filling in as a character we all loved from childhood. Ask her all about it if you ever catch her at a show.

Beki got her start singing backup for CCM musicians, and joined up with the now-defunct punk group This Train. She left after the first album and started her solo career, and has toured quite a bit over the last few years. She has 5 CDs available, so be sure to listen to some of her clips on her myspace page. Her songs are guaranteed to get stuck in your head and have you wanting more.

She also has a Christmas CD with Jonathan Rundman called "Present" which is a nice change from a lot of the Christmas Music out there- pick up one or three for yourself and friends!

Real Music by Real People: Andy Cloniger and Dog Named David

Well, since there really is no way to seperate the two, I will just cover them both in one post. Dog Named David was the "original bionic folk duo" consisting of Andy Cloninger and John Wallace. They have since gone their seperate ways- with Andy doing his solo projects and a myriad of other odd things, including writing a couple of books. (Andy has several solo worship projects you really should check out at his site.) John went from Indie Rocker to the priesthood (I kid you not) and is happily raising his family in Florida, which is a big improvement over preceding "Sprinkles the Clown" on the stage at a college fun day.

We met John and Andy while I was living in Mobile and working at the Christian music store, The Amplified Version. (I also went to college with Andy and his lovely wife.) The first Dog Named David Cd "It's Alright" had just come out and we were selling them like crazy. After a lot of concerts, hot donuts and late nites at Shoney's with the guys we became the "original fans". We continued to keep up with the guys even after we moved to Raleigh- driving down to Greenville SC to see them in concert a number of times and even do a photo shoot that they will thank me for not sharing the images with you.

Their musical style has often been compared to that of the Indigo Girls, JackoPierce, or early Vertical Horizon. They put together 3 CDs while together, "It's Alright", "World Traveler", and "Acoustic Canine", and you can download the latter on their bare-bones site just for that purpose. I have also found "World Traveler" at e-music. (Both are certainly worth a download and listen.)

I am eternally in debt to these guys for introducing us to what have since become some of our favorite artists: David Wilcox, Jonetha Brooke, Pierce Pettis and others. We had a lot of laughs in their company, and they are just great all around guys. And best of all? They can also get you a mighty good price for a possum, dontcha know?

Real Music by Real People:Claire Holley

You would be hard pressed to find a sweeter or more talented person than Claire Holley.

Claire is a southern girl with a big voice, and incredible songwriting talent. If I had to compare her to anyone, the closest I could come would be Patty Griffin or Emmylou Harris, but you should judge for yourself. My favorites among the MP3s offered are "6 Miles to Mckinney" (Dandelion), "Sleep Sleep" (Claire Holley), and "Fly Away Old Bird" and "Come Thou Fount" (Sanctuary).

We met Claire while we were living in Raleigh, and frequented her shows or ran into her at other people's shows for a number of years. Then she up and moved to LA and we have not seen her since. She will be playing a gig in Jackson, MS this month, and I think I am going to head down there and catch the show- especially since Shane's mom and dad just moved there and I will have a sitter! If you are in the area, the more the merrier!

Real Music by Real People

Over the years we have listened to, and met, a LOT of musicians. Some actually remember our names or faces. A couple of them even mentioned us in the liner notes of their CDs. Some of our favorites are, not surprisingly, people who we have actually spent a little time with either in our home, on VERY long car trips, or just hanging out with after concerts.

For the next few days I plan to post about a different artist or group that fall into the latter category. Some of them we know pretty well, others casually. The thing that fits them all together is that they are all incredbly talented and not nearly widely enough known. If you happen to like any of them and order some of their CDs- be sure to tell them Jennifer (and Shane) sent you.

Rich Quotes of the Day

*"Faith is walking with God. The biggest problem with life is that it's daily. You can never get so healthy that you don't have to continue to eat right.... Spiritually speaking we're much in the same place. It's not what you did, and not what you say you're going to do, it's what you do today."

*"I had a prof one time... He said, 'Class, you will forget almost everything I will teach you in here, so please remember this: that God spoke to Balaam through his ass, and He has been speaking through asses ever since. So, if God should choose to speak through you, you need not think too highly of yourself. And, if on meeting someone, right away you recognize what they are, listen to them anyway'."

* "Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very life, that it won't also cost you yours."

* "This concert won't be very different from concerts I've given in recent years. If you've liked what I've done in the past, you'll like this. If you haven't, you should go to a movie."

* "If I could change one verse in the Bible it would be: "Give me neither poverty or riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say 'who is the lord', or i may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God." to "If I'm going to be vain, at least make me good looking. If I can't be good looking, then make me not vain."

Rich Mullins Remembered: Will You Marry Me?

Well, actually it was more, "Will you marry us?"

I guess that needs some explaination.

Shane and I were a few months from our wedding date (1995) and travelled from Mobile to Jackson MS to catch Rich on his Brother's Keeper tour. We were particularly excited because not only was he touring with the entire Ragamuffin Band, but Ashley Cleveland and Carolyn Arends were opening for him.

This concert was the first time Shane ever had the opportunity to see Rich live, I think it was my 3rd or something. We got to the venue, which was 4 hours from home, only to discover Shane's glasses were at home, leaving him only his prescription sunglasses to wear the whole time. Gives another meaning to "through a glass darkly."

The concert was at an older theater, and turns out the big rig carrying the tour equipment sprang a deisel fuel leak, and the Ragamuffins et al got a police and hazmat escort to the venue.

The opening acts were great. Ashley Cleveland was just great as always with her bluesy, soulful stuff. Carolyn Arends was a newcomer on the scene, and I had already fallen in love with her songs "Seize the Day" and "What I Wouldn't Do", so was in heaven during her set. (And I ran into her in the ladies room too...)

But, the highlight of the night was still Rich's set. With Jimmy A on guitar, Mark Robertson on bass, Aaron Smith on drums it was incredible. Rich of course filled in guitar, hammered dulcimer and guitar throughout the show. Jimmy A did a couple of solo songs as well.

After the concert we hung around and chatted with all the artists and bought CDs. ("Vector" from Jimmy A; "This Train" from Mark Robertson) Also there was Bernie Sheahan who wrote for CCM (Contemporary Music Magazine) at the time, and our friend Mickey ended up in the magazine with her photo with Bernie. But back to the title of the post...

While chatting with Rich afterwards, this conversation ensued:

Shane: "Our wedding is set for December, but if you'd do it we'd love to have you officiate right now!"

Rich: "Well, I'm not ordained."

Shane: "That's alright."

Rich: "It woudn't be legal."

Shane: "Okay."

Rich: "You'd be living in sin!"

Needless to say we went the more traditional, legal, and ordained by God route a few months later.

Mitch McVicker's New CD- "Love Will Rise"

Mitch is an excellent singer-songwriter on his own, but is probably best known as the co-writer of the Dove Award Winning song, "My Deliverer" with Rich Mullins, as well as Rich's apprentice of sorts who was in the accident with him almost 10 years ago that took Rich's life. Mitch was injured severely in that accident, and after a very long recovery has gone on to release several cds and tour extensively across 49 states.

I remember the first time I heard Mitch in concert. It was October of 1996, and Rich Mullins was giving an open-air concert in Cathedral Square in Mobile, Alabama. We took our blanket and got a great seat on the lawn. Rich had a new friend touring with him, and Mitch joined him on stage for a number of original songs as well as accompanying Rich. We were really impressed with such a young guy who was just out of college with such musical talent. We chatted with Rich and Mitch for a while after that concert and were anticipating Mitch's album coming out soon.

We saw them in July at Cornerstone 1997 where they performed "Canticle of the Plains" which was a play Rich wrote and Mitch starred in with Leigh Nash, Kevin Max and Michael Tate. (Those CDs are hard to come by and Mitch has them for sale as well.) 2 months later Rich and Mitch has just finished Mitch's album and were on the road from Illinois to Kansas when the terrible wreck happened that resulted in Rich's passing and Mitch's injuries. The cd went on to be released a number of months later, and it is still probably our favorite of Mitch's. Rich does some BGVs, plays piano and is basically all over that CD.

We saw Mitch in concert many many times after that, touring with Cobra Joe Curet, Brad Layher and sometimes Erik Hauk. He toured frequently in the Carolinas, and since we were childless at that point we travelled all over the 2 states to see him play. Then we moved to Memphis, which is the black hole for all music that we would like.

So, it has been many moons since we saw Mitch in concert, or heard anything new from him on disc....5 years as a matter of fact. Imagine my surprise on Wednesday the 5th to accidentally discover he would be in Memphis on Friday the 7th for a FREE concert nonetheless! Babysitter confirmed, we were on our way.

The concert was great, and was also the kickoff tour for his new CD called "Love Will Rise". (Clips and more info at his website.) He is touring quite a bit to promote the new disc, so check his website for dates and see if he is headed to your city soon.

(With the upcoming anniversary of Rich's death, expect a week of posts relating to Rich Mullins beginning on the 16th. )

E-Music Download Service

We are real media people here in the Blake household. Music, movies, books, computers- we love it all, especially music. We have a bookshelf crammed completely full of cds and our Ipods are loaded to the max (30 gig and 60 gigs). We have a radio, CD player or IPod dock in every room of the house, except the bathrooms.

Music being a top priority at our house, we love to discover and download new music. However, we HATE ITunes because of their expense, proprietary file format and general not too user-friendly program. Imagine our excitement when Kristen turned us on to E-Music.

E-Music is a downloadable music service that is reasonably priced and subscription based, but can be cancelled at any time. Subscriptions range from $9.99 a month for 30 downloads to $19.99 for 75 downloads a month. The files are regular old MP3s, so they can be burned to disc or played on any type of MP3 player. Also, they save your info on downloads, and if you should need to re-download all your music you do it for free! Best of all- you get a great FREE TRIAL of 50 downloads (email me for the link) which you can cancel immediately if you'd like. (A credit card is required for the free trial, just remember to cancel and you are fine.)

What types of artists will you find at E-Music? No Avril Lavigne or BackStreet Boys there... but you'll be thrilled if you like Independent/Singer songwriters, up and coming alternative artists, americana or alt- country, folk, gospel, kid's music and more. Here is a list of what we have downloaded in the past few months:

• Aaron Sprinkle
• Dan Zanes (for Coleman)
• Jonah Werner
• Over the Rhine
• Chuck Brodsky
• Waterdeep
• Farmer Not So John
• Jeremy Casella
• Ed Cash
• Gillian Welch
• Stavesacre
• Brace Yourself Bridget (Irish Folk-Rock)
• Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians
• John Prine
• Katy Bowser
• Peter Mulvey
• Ray Charles
• Sandra McCracken
• Sarah McGlaughlin
• Sonia Dada
• Sufjan Stephens
• The Electrics

They also have a lot of old Tom Waits, tons of the indie artists we like so well such as Jason Harrod, Mark Williams, Dog Named David, Claire Holley, Jennifer Daniels, Christopher Williams, Brooks Williams, Beki Hemingway, many of the Awakening Records and Paste Music Artists. For 50 free downloads you can't go wrong.

Leave a comment here if you want a free trial- if you go through me we BOTH get the 50 free and I would love some more great music!

Susan Enan's Music

The great thing about the recent trend in TV away from sitcoms to more drama based shows has been the improvement in the music featured. A lot of shows have always used good music, even music that is not commonly heard on the radio, but in the last couple of years they have really stepped it up.

Some of my favorite shows (despite their morbid subject matter) are especially good about choosing great artists, both well known and some totally unknown folks. "Crossing Jordan" is always good for some Patty Griffin or Leonard Cohen; "Smallville" prides itself for picking up and coming artists that especially appeal to the younger crowd. "Cold Case" even chooses great songs to play on its show- including an episode featuring music only from U2.

Last fall, one of my new favorites on Fox, "Bones" played a song that I had never heard before and HAD to have. HAD, with CAPITAL LETTERS. It was THAT great! Of course, they did not show any info in the credits, nor did their website. I remembered a couple of lines from the song, and Googled it- and to my luck it brought me to a website of a friend of the artist, who just randomly mentioned it in a post!

The artist is Susan Enan (http://www.susanenan.com). She actually was selling CDs a while back on Paste Music's site, but they have been sold out for a long time. She has a new CD in the works that should be released soon. You can check her out, and the song "Bring on the Wonder", at her myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/susanenan . The song "Monoplain" is also great. If you like Natalie Merchant or Sarah Mclachlan, you will need to hear Susan.

Long live Indie Music!