TOMORROW ON OUTQ: NEW YEAR, NEW MUSIC

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET(ish) I am a guest on SiriusXM OutQ's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick.  I talk about music, unsurprisingly.  This week, I'm talking about new music - mostly artists who are not well known in America. (I may wash it down with  songs from upcoming albums by The Drive-By Truckers, R.E.M., Social Distortion and DJ Shadow).

Rumer is a singer in the vein of Karen Carpenter. She has a very soft voice - Burt Bacharach is a fan, and I think he wrote some songs for her. It's not really my thing, but I have enjoyed some of her songs, including "Slow" and "Aretha." She's pretty popular in the UK, and I could see her doing pretty well here, a la Adele and Duffy.

John Grant is an American artist who no one in America has heard of! Or few people anyway. But his debut solo album (he used to be in a band called The Czars), Queen Of Denmark, was Mojo magazine's #1 album of the year! He also sounds a bit like The Carpenters, but also Cat Stevens or other '70s soft rockers. But his music is pretty painful. He has a song called "Jesus Hates Faggots" which describes what it was like for him, growing up gay in the midwest. I don't know if his music would appeal to me, but I'm interested to hear what he sings about - he has something to say, no doubt about it.

Warpaint is a sort of psychedelic rock band who used to include current Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. Former Chilis guitarist John Frusciante has worked with the band in the past as well - he mixed and mastered their debut EP, Exquisite Corpse. I read about them in Mojo as well, and I dig them so far.

I guess I'm in a real '70s mode: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (the most well known artist on my list for this week) are definitely '70s kids. They may not be old enough to remember the '70s, but their music is definitely very '70s: they remind me a lot of Heart in the '70s (a point that was hammered home when Ann and Nancy Wilson joined Grace Potter & The Nocturnals onstage at VH1 Divas last month). Their new self titled album has a bit more glammy and less hippy of a vibe.

The Duke and The King are another very '70s-ish band.  Led by Simon Felice, formerly of the The Felice Brothers, they are a bit funkier than that band. They're another American act that you can't really find in America: I couldn't find their songs on iTunes, but I did find "Shaky" on a CD that came with an issue of the British music magazine Uncut.

Thee Spivs remind me of a lot of '70s British punk rock bands. Their songs are short and tight, so it's no surprise that I dig them. Their album is called Taped Up.

We may talk about some other new bands, but this is a handful of artists that I figure lots of people aren't familiar with yet.  Hope you hear something you enjoy!

GREAT SONGS FROM 2007 - part 2

Here's more songs I loved from 2007, not including tracks from my favorite albums of the year.

Green Day: "Working Class Hero" I was a bit disappointed with the Instant Karma John Lennon tribute that came out this year. Still, the proceeds went to Amnesty International, so at least a good cause benefited. Andyway, Green Day did a great job on "Working Class Hero," which features a short bit of Lennon's own version at the end of the song. I'll also give Green Day a shout out for their version of "The Simpsons Theme" from The Simpsons Movie.

Rush: "Far Cry" No secret that I'm a huge Rush fan. I didn't love thier new album, Snakes & Arrows, but I think this song is among their best. I know that back in the '70s, they were thought of as totally un-hip because (among other reasons) drummer/lyricist Neal Peart was very influenced by the writings of Ayn Rand whose writings were very pro-individualism and were not what you could call "altruistic." But after traveling across the country (Peart has crossed the country many times on his motorcycle trips, which he's written books about) he's gotten scared by the way religion and dogma has been influencing many (mostly republican) leaders, and the direction of our country, and the direction of the world. "Far Cry" addressed that in a global way, "It's a far cry from the world we thought we'd inherit/It's a far cry from the way we thought we'd share it" (which seems to be pretty un-Rayd-ish, but maybe he grew out of that). But he also personalizes things: "One day I feel like I'm on top of the world/and the next it's falling in on me/ I can get back on, I can get back on." It resonates with me.

Dropkick Murphys: "The State Of Massachusetts" I've always kind of known about this band from going to the Warped Tour back in the day, they were always part of that scene. I think I saw them once at the Fleadh Festival as well and liked them. And I think Dicky Barrett of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones told me that they were his favorite band ever. But they really got my attention last year with "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" from soundtrack to The Departed. But this song, "The State Of Massachusetts," is great, just a classic combination of punk rock and traditional Irish music that really "works." I'm going to have to start checking out their albums based on this one.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals: "Ah Mary" This is the first I've heard of her, I don't really know how long she's been around for. I've heard that Bonnie Raitt is a fan. I enjoyed the rest of this album: I can see her being a real "people's" artist, the way Dave Matthews or Jack Johnson is.

Wyclef Jean and Norah Jones: "Any Other Day" I kind of mentioned this one when I was writing about Norah's album Not Too Late (which this doesn't appear on). It's on Wyclef's The Carnival II, which features all different collaborations with 'Clef. I like that Wyclef can get on stage with any hip-hop act and freestyle, or get on stage with a rock band, strap on a guitar and jam, or produce hits for everyone from Whitney Houston to Santana. Norah is such a great duet partner too, isn't she? Anyway, I didn't love the whole album, but it did have some great moments, including "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill.)" I'm surprised to mention that song, because it features two guys who seem to be on every other hip-hop/pop single, Akon and Lil' Wayne. But what can I say, it's a great song.

Social Distortion: "Far Behind" This is one new track from Social D's Greatest Hits album. I don't think that they get enough credit, they are just super-consistent and great. Really, it's all about frontman Mike Ness, who is the only founding member left in the band. He also did some really underrated solo albums a few years back. Social D. fly under the radar these days, but still sell out almost all of their shows. They've earned the loyalty of their fans. I saw them last year, they killed it.

Ray Davies: "Morphine Song" I didn't love Ray's latest, Workingman's Cafe, as much as his last one, Other People's Lives. Still, this is a great song. I do hope that The Kinks do some shows this year, as long as they're in shape to do it. But I think Ray is better served doing solo albums, and not trying to recreate the magic of The Kinks in the studio.

I'm still not done: there are still songs by The Hives, The Arctic Monkeys, The Afghan Whigs, Mark Ronson, Q-Tip, Randy Newman, Paul McCartney and more to write about.