TBTS: We Think So You Don’t Have To

Here we are friends, together again on a Saturday afternoon here at Casa De Brown Tweed.  It’s good to see you’re still around and it’s good to know I’m not in jail.  I’d like to take a few minutes to remind you of the cultural tour-de-force that is the Brown Tweed Society.  This site doesn’t follow trends, it makes them.  Need proof?  Ask and ye shall get it thrown in your face.

The Tweediest guy I know, our own C.M. Tomlin tells us all to not believe the hype on Lady Gaga, and guess what happens?  Her lover (who obviously is a TBTS regular) dumps her the day after Tomlin’s post.  Next up witness our resident trendsetter Matt Shorr, who recently wrote a post regarding the struggling Harry Potter film franchise.  My grandma has reminded me many times of how those Harry Potter movies are evil, and obviously there are countless millions out there who agree, hence the movies struggling at the box office.  Enter Mr. Shorr’s timely post and voila:  the latest Harry Potter film kills the box office record set by Satan’s little brother Batman.  That’s the power of the Tweed, ya’ll.

I could go on and tell you about how Lloyd’s warnings to the Spanish government went unheeded, resulting in the country’s economic collapse.  Or how Evan Hilbert’s Jon and Kate post resulted in Jon getting a hot new reformed lesbian girlfriend.  But I think the point has been made.  Friends, you are on the cutting edge-watch out or you might get hurt!  And with that in mind, I bring you three musical artists to keep an eye on in what’s left of 2009.  I expect their publicists to contact me later with effusive thanks and solid payoff numbers.

Matisyahu

If I were a betting man, I’d bet on Matisyahu this year.  In what may be a rare case of the media hyping good music, this purveyor of Hasidic reggae is likely to generate a lot of buzz for his upcoming album Light.  Rolling Stone is already drinking the Kool-Aid, and I expect MTV to pick up the promotion based on the radio-ready sound of the first single “One Day”.  But don’t think Matisyahu is a studio-made faker, he’s got  3 independent albums under his belt and has one of the tightest road bands around.  I’ve been on the bandwagon since 2005’s Live at Stubb’s and I think this time around he might just hit it big.  Light drops on August 25.

The Swell Season

If you’re one of the lucky folks who have watched one of the best musical films ever Once, you know the power of Frames’ frontman Glen Hansard’s union with then-unknown Marketa Irglova. The Frames are considered second only to U2 in their home Ireland and have long seen mainstream American success slip through their fingers.  So it was odd to see Hansard reach a level of fame after Once that he never saw with his old band.  He and Irglova became a real-life couple and toured as The Swell Season since 2007.  Even though they’re no longer lovers, they’ve stayed on good enough terms to record a new album called Strict Joy, which will be released to the world September 29.

**MUSIC NERD SPAZ-OUT:  Thomas Bartlett, who goes by the stage name Doveman plays piano on Strict Joy.  Doveman made a name for himself in 2008 by releasing an album that covered the entire frikkin’ Footloose soundrack as low-key emo piano ballads.  Due to legal threats by Columbia music, Doveman had to pull the album, but there are still bootlegs that exist.  The album also can be streamed through Doveman’s website.  It is certainly a unique musical experience. END OF NERDINESS, BACK TO LIFE BACK TO REALITY**

Blitz the Ambassador

Last week, I teased the video for Blitz the Ambassador’s new track “Breathe” from his upcoming album Stereotype, which drops on August 4.  Blitz grew up in Ghana but recently hails from Brooklyn.  He cites KRS-ONE and Fela Kuti both as influences, and you can certainly hear Fela in the live horns on “Breathe”.  Blitz recently embarked on a guerilla social media onslaught that includes Myspace, Facebook and Twitter which resulted in him taking over MTV2 programming earlier in the week.  I’m not sure if he’ll breakout on this album or not, but he’s definately got the skills to make a name for himself in the underground rap scene.  RCRD LBL has a “Breathe” download, I highly recommend it.

Well that’s about it kids.  I’ll see you again on Monday, when we’ll use our social competency skills to help you conversate when there’s nothing left to conversate about.  Later!