unpiano: music

Jackson C. Frank discovered music at the age of 11 while in a hospital recovering from injuries caused by an explosion and fire in his school (which killed a heap of his classmates). Later he moved to England and rubbed elbows with some folky bigwigs (his only album was produced by Paul Simon, and his songs were covered by everyone from Simon & Garfunkel to the Fairport Convention to Nick Drake). Despite his amazing talent, he was marred with physical and psychological scars, resulting in an endless spiral of depression, bad health and bad luck. Cheery little story for a Monday morning eh? Seriously, from the loss of his son to cystic fibrosis, to health problems and ballooning weight from his childhood injuries, to being shot in the fucking eye while waiting for a bus in New York, dude could not catch a break.

Jackson C. Frank – Blues Run The Game
Jackson C. Frank – Tumble In The Winds

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Woah.. slow down there Benoit Pioulard. Your last record was so happy, skippy and awesome that you should probably make your new single really a really slow downer that makes me want to sleep all day. Ha.. just kidding, this new song is fucking amazing. I was just upset that it’s a one-sided UK import 7″ that costs $8.99 (that’s a lot when you’re broke). No biggie, I just recorded it with my increasingly mediocre record player, re-sealed it up and returned it to Amoeba (whoops).

Benoit Pioulard – Maginot

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A friend asked me what I thought of these records and I said I hadn’t decided yet. Its been a few weeks, and I still haven’t decided yet. Its kinda nice, like a lot of stuff on Kranky. Sort of folky, sort of spacey, sort of electro. I’m still sort of undecided though, which means it could be heading towards “music I put on when I’m vacuuming or trying to get my wife’s goddamn cat out of the goddamn neighbor’s yard again”.

Benoit Pioulard – Triggering Back
Benoit Pioulard – Parlimend
Benoit Pioulard – Sous la Plage

The rambling, ramshackle country-folk of Seattle’s The Dutchess And The Duke has been a good soundtrack to the hot summer nights we’ve been having. A departure from their previous punk outfit The Flying Dutchmen, Jesse and Kimberly pull together a record of rootsy, familiar hooks and lyrics that smack of sincerity without being cheesy. Its not a happy record, but not a hopeless one either.

The Dutchess And The Duke – Reservoir Park
The Dutchess And The Duke – Mary

Thom Yorke – Reckoner (acoustic)

It’s from a set Thom Yorke played during Jonathan Ross’s show on Radio 2. You can listen to the original version by clicking here.