I was thinking the other day about the night we met, almost a year ago now.  I don't think you're aware of the full story.  I'm glad we still talk, even though my brush with fame didn't pan out.

I remember it was just after band practice and my drummer, Wombatalie, and I decided to get trashed and go to Orange County Social Club to drum up some support for an upcoming gig.  We played a little game where Wombatalie picked complete strangers for me to recruit to the show.  Within ten minutes I had convinced about eleven people we were awesome, and that's when Wombatalie pointed out a small group of people near the bar, a group which I had been specifically avoiding, YOUR group.  You were a beautiful group, really, porcelain-faced hipster boys and a pretty black-haired girl with a stout little English Bulldog in her lap.  A bit intimidating, a bit too cool, but who's NOT in this town?

I stumbled over to your group with my hands out and my fingers splayed inquisitively.  "Hey.  Whatchall doin tomorrow night?"

You just sort of looked at me and reluctantly answered, "Were going to Charlotte."

"Oh no," I said, "You're coming to a rock show!  My band's playing tomorrow and ya'll should check us out.  We haven't played many shows but we have a good time together and blahblahblah. . " I went on for three very long minutes about how I was not trying to be egotistical by accosting potential patrons.  In the middle of my drunken babble I realized you guys were actually listening to me, so I shut up.

I remember you were holding a fancy camera and kept snapping pictures of the girl with the dog.  You turned to me and said, "Well, give us your name and number and myspace page and email and we'll be in touch if you want.  Sorry we can't make it, but we really have to go to Charlotte.  We're on tour and that's our next gig."

Oh, neato, I thought to myself.  They're in a band too!

Your request for extended contact information seemed a little strange, but I figured it was just some sort of networking tool.  But there was something about the way you said, "We'll be in touch" that struck a strange chord, a business-deal-type chord.  Plus, you were beautiful and if you wanted to stalk me, I was okay with that.

I turned to the bar for a second to grab a pen.  There was a tight little group of Carrboro boys watching me, their eyes narrow slits.  They noticed I was comfortable talking to the Charlotte-bound crew (read: drunk enough not to care).  One of them stage whispered to me, "You're friends with those guys?"  and I was like, "Yeah, why?"  I was lying, but who cared?  I didn't know anybody in either group, so what did I have to lose?  "Really?" the boys said to me.  "That's awesome, shit."  Weird.

The girl with the dog looked vaguely familiar, so I decided to bother her a little bit.  Maybe I had seen her on one of my Harris Teeter Midnite Corn Dog runs.  So I proceeded to make the poor girl look at fourteen cell phone pictures of my dog.  I told the girl about how my dog gets her lips stuck in her teeth when she's mad or excited.

I was making all kinds of dog faces at her dog.  It was sort of ridiculous.

So I felt like it was time to move on.  I had informed you guys of my show, provided you with every possible way to "keep in touch," shared my dog pictures and performed "Boston Snorts" for y'all (the noise my dog makes when she eats flying bugs directly from the air).  There was nothing left to say, really.  I was getting progressively drunker the longer I stood there.  Your phone rang, and as I was saying goodbye, I heard little soundbytes from your side of the conversation. . . "Power. . .packed. . .just finished. . .bar. . ." and right then, the English Bulldog girl stuck her hand out and said, "Well it was awesome to meet you, my name's Chan Marshall.  What was yours?"

And it all clicked in my tiny little brain.  I knew why she looked so familiar.  I mean, I read Rolling Stone and Spin for god's sakes.

"Um."  I stammered a little, then a lot, "Man-M-Mandey?"  I said my name like it was a question.

See, it's hard to properly remember your name when you realize you have just unknowingly invited fucking CAT POWER to your band's little gig.

Yeah, I so did.

So now Cat Power thinks I'm some stupid crazed fan who's all like, "Chan, Chan!  Come to my show!  Listen to my demo!  I wanna toooouuuur with yoooooouuu pleeez!!!"  when in all actuality I had no idea who you guys were when I walked up.

I said bye, quickly, and stumbled back to Wombatalie and said, "IjustinvitedCatPowertoourshowtomorrowwehavetogonowdonotdelay."

We ran outside and Wombatalie was laughing at me and we were freaking out and I got in my Baby Battered Honda and turned the keys, quick, and Wombat jumped on top of my car hood and hung her face down in front of the windshield and said, "GO WOMBAT GO" and right when I was about to take off pealing out of the parking lot with her on my roof, you materialized from nowhere and started snapping pictures with your fancy camera.  And there was Chan, watching us and giggling and cheering us on as we performed parking lot stunts.

And I swear I'm gonna sue if we don't end up on Cat Power's tour blog with an appropriate caption such as, "Retards Go For Spin After Crazed Attempt At Starfucking!"  Or maybe just, "Retards!"

So that's my story.  Of course, y'all didn't come to the show.  You were touring.  And maybe one day we'll hang out again, but probably we'll just keep emailing till we forget about each other.  Cat Power's keeping in touch, so you never know.

Love,

Mandey?

Bob Dylan. Janis Joplin. Joni Mitchel. James Brown. Billie Holliday. Uma mistura de todos, um som todo dela.
Cat Power, banda de um só integrante - Chan Marshall-, foi a minha melhor descoberta do ano.

Vocês podem conferí-la no (ótimo) filme Um beijo roubado (My blueberry Nights), onde também participa Norah Jones.
Site: http://www.catpowerthegreatest.com/
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/catpower

Como ya comenté, hoy compré el boleto para irlos a ver en concierto el Domingo en el Historic Fort York, compartiendo el escenario con grandes artistas tales como:

1. Cat Power. Se me va a hacer ver a Chan Marshall en acción. Ya ha visitado México y no la pude ir a ver, ahora la veré presentando su disco Jukebox el cual me late todo el trabajo que hizo a grandes clásicos de la música.
2. Dizzee Rascal. El maestro del grime. Me encanta dizzee, me quedo con su primer disco, pero aún así, cualquiera que rapée es buena.
3. City and Colour. Canciones melancólicas para cortarse las venas con galletas de animalitos. Muy bien elaboradas sus letras y hacen soltar más de un suspiro.
4. Chromeo. Yeah baby, I´m ready for the dance floor! Por cierto me gustó mucho un remix que les hizo el Toy, ex de Control Machete a una rola que se llama Fancy Footwork.
5. Animal Collective. Todo mundo nos quejamos de que solo van a tocar una hora cuando fácil pudieran hacerlo por seis horas sin repetir una sola canción. Ojalá y podamos escuchar más de ellos que solo 60 minutos. Su álbum Strawberry Jam fue uno de los mejores del 2007 así que a disfrutar su noise-rock.
6. Tokyo Police Club. ¿Se cumplirá lo de profetas en su tierra? Creo que sí. Canadá está produciendo buenos músicos como si se dieran en maceta. Los TPC son una prueba más de que éste es el mejor momento para la música canadiense en su historia tanto del rock como de la electrónica.
7. Born Ruffians. Chale no conozco mucho de estos músicos torontonianos, pero ya veremos.
8. The Carps. Me imagino utilizando su música en el iPod dándole con todo en el skate park sin parar. Buen rock, básico, sencillo, sin pretensiones, pero logran entretener.

Les dejo el link para más info y solo espero que me aguante la batería de mi cámara porque al parecer ya se está muriendo.

Por cierto, a la banda de Guanajuato, les paso el flyer de la fiesta del 26 de Julio en los túneles. Según los de protección civil no se iba a hacer en los túneles pero ya sabemos como son de corruptotas nuestras autoridades así que sin broncas si se va a hacer en el túnel debajo del Jardín Unión.

Manchmal verlieb ich mich in "Stars". Denn sie sind wunderschön und glänzend, und manchmal wochenlang bei mir. Das war so bei Alanis Morissette, The Cardigans, PJ Harvey, Goldfrapp, Whitney Houston und wohl noch so einigen. Manche find ich auch nicht mehr so gut und es ist mir peinlich sie hier jetzt zu nennen. (....z.B. die doch wohl eher olle Jennifer Lopez :-)
Mein neuer Liebling am Firnament ist Chan Marshall aka Cat Power. Schon im Film Blueberry Nights vom grossartigen Wong Kar Wai ist mir diese damals Unbekannte aufgefallen, und wenn ich Jude Law gewesen wäre, hätte ich wohl eher versucht die schöne Chan zu küssen, anstatt mich in Norah Jones zu verknallen. Nichts gegen Norah Jones! Find ich eigentlich super, aber die meine ist Cat Power!
Country, Folk, Singer/Songwriter, Blues und Soul Perlen. Vorgetragen in einer Art und Weise und mit einer Stimme die meine Seele aufzuwühlen vermag. I love you!!

I'll admit that I'm an avid Beck fan. I also like Danger Mouse and was pleased to see that he helped to produce this album. Cat Power is also featured on a couple of tracks, and seriously, who doesn't love a little Chan Marshall. [See tracks "Orphans" and "Walls".]

I enjoyed Modern Guilt more than 2006's The Information, a solid yet average album coming from Beck. If The Information was his dable in experimental electro-hop and robot funk, then Modern Guilt has Beck returning to his roots, singing simpler anti-folk songs with an ambient electronic feel. Modern Guilt plays has the comfort of Beck's adventurous style (if that's at all possible). Wacky lyrics and a post-modern vibe make longstanding fans giggle. "Gamma Ray" has an upbeat danceable quality to it- until you listen to the words, cheery chatter about global warming.

Modern Guilt released in the US on July 8th, Beck's 38th birthday.

Chemtrails MP3

Buy Modern Guilt Now

Listen on Beck's MySpace to three songs from the disc, Orphans, Gamma Ray, and Chemtrails. For the scoop on what chemtrails are, check out this Guardian article.

Watch Beck Hansen perform the title track to the new album live on YouTube.

Drowned in Sound did a most-welcome song-by-song review of the album. It's a fun read that will really whet your appetite.

If you're a fan of Cat Power, you'll be glad to know lead singer Chan Marshall does backing vocals on Beck's Orphans track, according to Stereogum.

--

If you're excited about the Beck, also let me recommend Benji Hughes' forthcoming (July 22) 25-song album A Love Extreme.

Listen at Benji's MySpace. Sometimes he sounds like the stripped-down funked out bits of Beck, such as in his song Tight Tee Shirt. And sometimes it's like The Eels covering Jack Johnson in a good way; see All You've Got To Do Is Fall In Love.

Download four free and legal Benji Hughes mp3s.

Unfortunately, his tour is already over. But to get ramped up for his debut release later this month, Ryan at Muzzle of Bees thoughtfully provides two mp3s (So Well and You Stood Me Up) for download. Also, you can pay to download five songs via iTunes that were released as an EP titled A Little Extreme.

Cat Power

Clear the Room

http://www.mediafire.com/?novjxkydtx1

I don't even know where to begin with this ridiculous photo, but I guess that I picked it to point out how far this artist has gone astray. Her last album of originals, The Greatest, features one of the best things she has ever written. The title track is a moving tribute to Muhammad Ali that transforms Chan Marshall into an honest to goodness soul singer. Now, many of her songs have soul, but this one smoothly became a paean to the power of determination in the face of adversity. This one song made me believe that this woman really could be a more ragged Dusty Springfield.

Sadly, the rest of the album was kind of disappointing. The followup to The Covers Album, Jukebox, was a red hot mess. If you take a closer look, all of her albums are a mix of excellence and mediocrity. However, there a few songs on all of her albums that achieve brilliance. She always had a charismatic voice and a knack for examining the more depressing points of our existence, but it never added up to a great album. However, I always loved her husky, knowing vocals and it served her well on The Covers Album which allowed her the opportunity to deconstruct tunes by Michael Hurley, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Everything is slowed to crawl and she wrenches every ounce of emotion from this established material. It wasn't an easy task, but she did it with grace and innovation.

I picked this collection since it echoes the successes of The Covers Album and includes versions of Oasis, Thurston Moore and Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes. Some of these are from Peel sessions and I prefer this bootleg to a few of her actual albums. It is a loosey goosy run through her favorite songs and includes unreleased tracks as well. It's a bit messy, but her performances are earnest and on point.

The first time I saw Cat Power was back in....I guess it was 1998 or 1999. Sometime in there. It was at a small club in the Meatpacking District. I believe it was called, The Cooler (sorry, I'm multitasking and don't feel like looking shit up right now). If memory serves, Chan Marshall was opening for John Fahey. I hadn't heard of either of them, but my "in the know" friend, Brian, convinced me to go. I'll be honest, I don't remember a lot from that night (substances may have been abused). I do remember this -- Chan Marshall was crazy and I loved her voice. She stood on one foot while playing guitar and twirled the other foot around in circles. John Fahey was also beautifully crazy. Brian and I left before the show ended, because Fahey wouldn't stop playing. It felt like hours had gone by and I'm pretty sure he was only playing one song the whole time. Oh, and I also remember that Thurston Moore was at the club that night. Not playing, just watching. I've seen Cat Power a bunch since. I still love her music, but after the last show I went to (2006 - Knitting Factory - LA), I vowed never to go to another live show. I wasn't a fan of her whole, keeping-the-lights-off-forgetting-the-lyrics-to-my-own-songs shtick. I hear she's sobered up now and puts on a better show, but I don't know...I make myself a promise, I try to stick to it. I never had another opportunity to see John Fahey. Sadly, he died a few years after the show at The Cooler. I have, however, found a lot of amazing "raw music" through his record label, Revenant. Thurston Moore...I still think he's great. I've never seen him play live, but I'd like to. I recently needed to make space in my tiny apartment, so I threw away a bunch of old tapes. It was a particularly sad day when I threw away my Sonic Youth tape, Dirty.

Cat Power - Nude As The News
Cat Power - Cross Bones Style

John Fahey - Gamelan Guitar
John Fahey - Sunflower River Blues
John Fahey - Requiem for Molly (Part 3)

Sonic Youth - Drunken Butterfly
Sonic Youth - 100%

*Listen: A piece from NPR's "All Things Considered" on rocking CEOs. And I do mean "rocking." With the "g." [whyifailed]

*How high gas prices crush touring bands: "Covering the 635 miles to San Francisco takes about 37 gallons of gas each way. With gas well over $4, that's more than $300 for a round trip." [idolator]

*Games: JamsMatch is like playing online concentration, but with album covers. [mefi]

*Play: Rock Band through Facebook. NOTHING gets you further away from the experience of actually rocking. Or your money back. (But not your private data.)

*Read: Method Man wrote a graphic novel: "If you're trying to appeal to 13-year-olds and 12-year-olds, that's cool — make a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie! Which they did, and I liked that movie." [pop candy]

*Now playing: Watch music videos from Universal Music Group artists on Last.fm.

*Festivals: The full Lollapalooza lineup here.

*Off topic: George Takei is getting gay married.

*I don't know why, but the fact that the Olsen Twins like Cat Power brings me pleasure.

*Goodbye.

It's just after 6pm and there's not many people queuing up. Some workers from phone company Orange are putting up balloons to advertise the company- this causes everyone in the queue to take these balloons and attempt to take them into the venue. It doesn't happen. So, we let the balloons go altogether on the count of 3. We set free our balloons.

The gig was meant to be in the Academy but due to not selling enough tickets (my biased opinion fails to see why not) it is moved upstairs to the Academy 2. I'm rather pleased with this as it's smaller thus making it more intimate. I'm not a fan of big venues. Give me a venue that holds 200-400 any day! Chan Marshall and the band take to the stage at around 9pm and play til 10.40pm. I wasn't the only one who wanted her to play all night. She sure has enough songs to do so!

Blazing through most of the tracks off her newest album, Jukebox, Chan also treats us with some rarities such as I Feel (at this point I was in a trance) and Angelitos Negros. She also played tracks off The Greatest and Moon Pix. Surprise cover versions were Tracks Of My Tears and Dreams (Fleetwood Mac) which were awesome.

There are no highlights from this gig, it was all amazing. Two songs in particular that stood out for me were Lived In Bars and Song To Bobby. Mid-way through Lived In Bars the pace was picked up and it felt like you were in the midst of a sing-a-long in a bar. Lovely. Just lovely. Song To Bobby is Chan's own tribute to the legend that is Bob Dylan, at the end she said "I love this song.I just love it." She wasn't the only one.

Every word sang and every note played was full of passion. Just watching them all play together looked like one big happy family. At the end Chan handed out flowers to the crowd, it seemed like she didn't want to leave. She mouthed she wanted to take us all home and we all wanted the same. A memorable night that will never ever be forgotten and will be talked about by all those there in years to come.

What would have made the night even better(if possible) would be if they played The Greatest and Naked If I Want To. But that's only because I adore the songs!

A few of the many photos I took from the gig :

La folkeuse américaine se produira le vendredi. J'espère qu'elle privilégiera ses compositions personnelles plutôt que les reprises peu inspirées de son dernier album "Jukebox". Cependant, elle est à ne pas rater, pour tous ceux qui aiment ce revival folk, dont il est clair que Cat Power est une des chefs de file indiscutable.

Myspace : http://www.myspace.com/catpower

La talentueuse songwriter Cat Power, de son vrai nom Charlyn Marie Marshall ou Chan Marshall, était sur les planches de l'Olympia le 1er juin, en tournée pour la sortie de son nouvel album Jukebox, composé essentiellement de reprises blues-rock de Bob Dylan, James Brown ou encore Janis Joplin.

Sa voix sensuelle et rocailleuse est littéralement sublime. Nous avons adoré son album The Greatest (2006) et tout particulièrement la chanson du même nom The Greatest qui est non moins qu'une déferlante d'émotions qui envahit les sens et parcourt le corps de frissons. Nous avions, à l'occasion de la sortie de cet album, été applaudir Cat Power accompagnée par le groupe soul "The Memphis Rhythm Band" au Grand Rex, confortablement installés dans les profonds fauteuils de cette salle atypique. Ce fut un concert divin, très chaleureux et convivial, nous nous sommes régalés.

Ce ne fut pas le cas à l'Olympia où la chanteuse nous a servi un concert millimétré, carré, manquant incontestablement de chaleur et d'émotion. Les reprises de son album Jukebox sont difficilement reconnaissables et jouent avec des effets de vocalises interminables : les chansons ont toutes tendance à se confondre ce qui devient vite lassant malgré une voix magnétique et séduisante. La fin du concert est devenue un peu plus rythmée mais l'artiste paraissait néanmoins distante et livrait ses chansons machinalement tout en prenant des poses pour les photographes. Nous sommes partis après 2 heures de concert, sans attendre la fin qui semblait ne jamais arriver...

Si vous ne connaissez pas Cat Power, découvrez-la sans tarder en commençant par son album The Greatest.

http://www.catpowerthegreatest.com/

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=44600504

AND ANY FRIENDS WHO WOULD LIKE TO COME OUT AND BUY HAVE DRINKS WITH ME ON SAT!!

Once I wanted to be the greatest
No wind or waterfall could stall me
And then came the rush of the flood
Stars of night turned deep to dust

Mistura de uísque com chá de camomila, eu acho. Em tom de soul, piano e sax, com o propósito de simular algum movimento da pélvis. A propósito, as pessoas têm a mania de balançar a cabeça ou deslocar o pé no compasso da música. Eu não. Os pés estão em latência - por conta do quesito confortabilidade, apenas por isso. Minha cabeça continua imóvel, como se estivesse amarrada entre a altura da costela e o teto da sala. Consegue imaginar? É como se eu tivesse a necessidade compulsiva de continuar com o cérebro intacto, em permanente saudosismo e realeza.

There's nothing like living in a bottle
And nothing like ending it all for the world
We're so glad you will come back
Every living lion will lay in your lap

Waiting by The Ex - Seriously, this band kicks ass and they are doing a free live show with Gétatchèw Mèkurya, the King of Ethiopian saxophone who you may have heard from some of the Ethiopiques compilations. There are also some other popular old school Ethiopian musicians performing on that bill from the Ethiopiques comps. The always brilliant WFMU is sponsoring it so if your in the NYC area on August 20th you know where you should be. Also, please be sure to check out WFMU's Beware of the Blog which is just as entertaining as the radio program. It's also way better than my blog. This performance from The Ex is taken from one of their live shows with WMFU.

True Love by X - this actually a new one for me. I'm more familiar with their hits(relatively speaking) like Johnny Hit Run Paulene and Adult Books. Notice that very young members of Los Lobos and the Blasters appear with them in the at the end of the video. Gotta love those California bands from that time period...

Lived in bars by Cat Power: I liked the soul direction she took her last album. The cynic could say it was a calculated move to the mainstream but it really does suit her voice very well so I won't argue with it. Maybe she was just mainstream all along posing as an unassuming indie folkie.

© Beñat Sarasola

Woah! there was some nice weather today in London,  a nice warm 18 degrees Celsius, should of busted out the shorts.

Anyway the Uniqlo Paper No.4 is out, dunno how long for, but yeah. this issue based on "Simple Things"

*Update*

Focuses on the lifestyles of Tokyo, New York & London and a little interview with one of my favourites Chan Marshall aka Cat Power
Also picked up I-D and Juxtapoz

and...

a quick reminder

Love Music Hate Racism Carnival This sunday, 27th April, Victoria Park

AND....

Sense Magazine are hosting the official afterparty for the festival!

A particularly frustrating aspect of living in Japan is waiting for the release of movies. The Dark Knight will be a month late. No Country for Old Men just premiered this month, alongside Enchanted (finally!). So when I found out that Wong Kar Wai's new film My Blueberry Nights would be in wide release more than two weeks before the limited American release, I was fairly excited. After a week of other events getting in the way, I finally saw it last night, thanks in no small part to a friend working at the theater who let me circumvent Japan's ridiculous ticket prices (1500 yen for a matinee, even with my (expired) college ID? Seriously?).

As Wong's first English language film, My Blueberry Nights has been generating a lot of buzz. While he's enjoyed lavish critical praise as well as limited commercial success in Hong Kong's movie industry, none of his Chinese language films have reached a wide audience in the notoriously subtitle-hating US. But despite the language and a cast of A-list actors and actresses, I don't think My Blueberry Nights is going to win many new fans for the director.

At first glance, Nights includes all the elements one expects to find in a Wong Kar Wai movie, nearly rivaling 2046 in sheer abundance of self-reference. There's the standard cast of damaged and lonely characters: Jude Law does a surprisingly great job in Tony Leung's usual role of introspective chain-smoker. He watches old videotapes over and over again to connect with his memories, with echoes of Kaneshiro Takeshi's decidedly more bizarre He Zhiwu in Fallen Angels. Wong taps singer Norah Jones for his female lead Elizabeth, although her performance is terribly bland in comparison to singer Faye Wong's more successful turn in Chungking Express.

The supporting cast is equally mixed. David Strathairn's Arnie feels totally natural in the Memphis story that makes up the movie's second act, but Rachel Weisz overacts in her attempts to channel Tennessee white trash as his wife. Natalie Portman is much more believable as the gambler Leslie, but she also seems to have a hard time getting through the Hollywood polish to the kind of grittiness that usually adds so much texture to Wong's social-fringe characters. One highlight is Chan Marshall's (Cat Power) cameo; her one scene with Jude Law was possibly my favorite in the movie.

In addition to the cameo, Marshall lends her song "The Greatest" as the movie's theme. The soundtrack is one area where I can't find any fault with the film. Gustavo Santaolalla continues his streak of contributing beautiful tracks to recent films with "Pajaros." Even Umebayashi Shigeru's "Yumeji's Theme," the exquisite song featured so prominently in In the Mood for Love (as well as in the linked trailer), makes a remixed appearance in one particularly nostalgic shot.

More than plot or characters, however, Wong Kar Wai's main draw is his distinctive cinematography. In his Hong Kong films, Wong employs a style of dark, narrow shots: neon lights and shadows, hallways and doorways, with characters often obstructed and reflected by their surroundings. It's a style that lends itself to urban settings that offer clutter and claustrophobia with which to work, and the New York City scenes are just as beautiful as one would expect. But as Elizabeth heads west into open spaces, the style seems forced; some of the Memphis scenes left me feeling like I was watching an Unsolved Mysteries style dramatization, and a series of messy establishing shots mark Elizabeth and Leslie's journey towards Las Vegas.

If you're already interested in Wong Kar Wai's films you'll have to see My Blueberry Nights in the theater, and there's enough substance (and reference) to make it worth your time. I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to his work, but if it is your first, be sure to keep in mind that this is just the tip of the iceberg, a sort of localized Cliff's Notes version of his other fantastic movies. Go rent In the Mood for Love as soon as possible.

Download The Show (Mp3)

Cat Power In Real Audio (Streaming)

Cat Power In Windows Media (Streaming)

Cat Power Interview In Windows Media (Streaming)

In case you didn't know, I love me a sweet sultry indie goddess. I love the whole deal. The voice, the hair, and those o so stylish garbs. But even if the whole package wasn't present, I could still get down with some Cat Power a.k.a Chan Marshall.

NPR has come through for me one more time with some live downloads and streaming audio. I high recommend you check her out. If you can be open, I don't think you will be disappointed. I sure as hell wasn't.

NPR.org, - Cat Power is the music of Chan Marshall, a Southern-born singer-songwriter with a soulful, heart-wrenching voice. In a decade-long career, her music has evolved from spare, angst-ridden rock to lush, warm soul, while always intimate and mesmerizing. Hear Cat Power in a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.

Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall turned to music after dropping out of high school in Atlanta in the mid '90s. She began playing around town under the name Cat Power and eventually moved to New York, where she opened for Liz Phair and met Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. In 1996 she signed with Matador Records and released What Would the Community Think. Marshall toured for the album briefly and it was received well critically. But after a few months she dropped out of the music scene and reportedly planned to retire from the business all together.

After working as a babysitter and moving to a farmhouse, Marshall found inspiration again and crafted a series of songs that would become the album Moon Pix, released in 1998. She followed it with The Covers Record in 2000, an album with completely reinvented versions of songs like "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones and "I Found A Reason" by Lou Reed.

In 2003 Marshall returned with all-original material for You Are Free, a critically acclaimed album featuring guest musicians like Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl. It was her most polished and fully developed album to date with minimalist, piano-driven songs on love, her struggles as an artist and finding peace in a painful world.

Marshall's latest CD, The Greatest, takes a surprising turn through a hazy world of mellow Southern soul. Recorded in Memphis, Tenn., Marshall had help from veteran artists like guitarist Mabon Teenie Hodges and bassist, Leroy Flick Hodges, known for their work with Al Green and Ann Peebles. The New York Times calls it "the best work of her life."

Cat Power is touring for The Greatest with the Memphis Rhythm Band. Marshall has a reputation for giving sometimes unpredictable live performances. But her current tour is the best-reviewed of her career.

Welcome To My World:

Download The Show (Mp3)

Cat Power In Real Audio (Streaming)

Cat Power In Windows Media (Streaming)

Cat Power Interview In Windows Media (Streaming)

Find the original links and article here (NPR.org)