Brandon's Buzz

Celine Dion — “Taking Chances” (from Taking Chances) —

Sherry Ann will tell you that once upon a glorious, more innocent time, there was nobody on the planet I loved more than this golden-throated gal, and it’s quite true: in her early days, before she and her handlers allowed David Foster and his cabal to drag her across every corner of adult contemporary hell, Dion was the most thrilling, most dynamic pop star on the dial. And this tune — the title track from her 2007 “comeback” effort — served as a soaring, riveting reminder of her raw, titanic talent.

Finley Quaye & William Orbit (featuring Beth Orton) — “Dice”
(from Much More Than Much Love) —

A haunting, wholly satisfying mash-up of genres (country meets electronica!) and ideals which hinges on (and benefits immeasurably from) the tense, taut interplay between the flighty Quaye and the earth angel Orton (who, by dint of her mere presence, literally lifts everything she touches toward magnificence).

The Band Perry — “If I Die Young” (from The Band Perry) —

I had another song picked out entirely, but Jaron Lowenstein (of country band Jaron and the Long Road to Love) gave this tune a shout-out on his Facebook yesterday, and I’ve been listening to it all morning positively enraptured by its elegant, easy beauty. The siblings Perry — led here by the exquisite Kimberly (think Taylor Swift’s ethereal beauty, but with Alison Krauss’ otherworldly talent) — deliver a simple, sweet knockout with their romantic rumination on leaving this plane, ready or not.

If you missed any of last week’s selections, here is a quick recap:

MONDAY: Tracey Thorn — “Oh, the Divorces!”
(from Love and its Opposite) —

TUESDAY: Joshua Kadison — “Beau’s All Night Radio Love Line”
(from Painted Desert Serenade) —

WEDNESDAY: Billy Bragg & Wilco (featuring Natalie Merchant) —
“Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key” (from Mermaid Avenue) —

THURSDAY: Joni Mitchell — “All I Want” (from Blue) —

FRIDAY: Cyndi Lauper (with Jonny Lang) — “How Blue Can You Get”
(from Memphis Blues) —

SATURDAY: Lady Antebellum — “Learning to Fly”
(from iTunes Sessions: Lady Antebellum) —

SUNDAY: Fleetwood Mac — “Steal Your Heart Away”
(from Say You Will) —

Fleetwood Mac — “Steal Your Heart Away” (from Say You Will) —

It’s not quite “Second Hand News” or even “Silver Springs,” fair enough, but Stevie and Lindsay — the greatest love/hate/hate-to-love story in contemporary music history — prove they can still make those combustible sparks fly in this thrilling third-act triumph.

Lady Antebellum — “Learning to Fly”
(from iTunes Sessions: Lady Antebellum) —

I have long thought that the brilliant Bonnie Tyler owns outright my favorite rendition of Tom Petty’s oft-covered 1991 rock radio classic, but recent developments have indicated to me that perhaps it is high time to revisit that ruling. An absolute stunner from the unquestioned band of the year.

Cyndi Lauper (with Jonny Lang) — “How Blue Can You Get”
(from Memphis Blues) —

Lauper’s new album — a soul-burned journey down into the heart of the blues — is fascinating but maddeningly uneven, but this slowed-down reinvention of an old B.B. King classic (one of two Memphis collaborations between Lauper and a never-better Lang, as compelling and as gut-wrenchingly real now as he was in his teen prodigy days) is an undeniable treat.

Joni Mitchell — “All I Want” (from Blue) —

After weeks of dragging our feet, A and I finally caught up with summer 2010’s it-indie-film The Kids Are All Right last evening, and while I’ll refrain from boring you with the specifics of a formal review, let it suffice to say that A thought it was terrible, and I thought that even though the script (and the film’s premise and conceit in general) was seriously underdeveloped, the performances — particularly Mark Ruffalo’s as a free-spirit restaurateur-slash-accidental dad to a pair of teenagers — were uniformly exquisite. And if you’re asking yourself what in hell any of the above has to do with the incomparable Joni Mitchell and/or with today’s drop of honey from the hive: this tune — a diamond from one of the ten most important, most influential albums in the history of ever — turns up at a pivotal place in the film, and reminded me in a flash that I don’t pay nearly enough respect to the magnificent Ms. Mitchell here on the Buzz, and that’s just not acceptable.

After a handful of bum weeks, the new release wall is cookin’ with gas this Tuesday, as pop music’s two strongest songwriters — who, quelle coinky-dink, just happen to be touring together this summer — face off against each other with thrilling new projects. ‘Bout damn time:

Handling the production reins for the first time, the peerless Ray LaMontagne reaches for a looser, more organic groove on his fourth studio album, God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise, out this week. Recorded with his backing band, now coined The Pariah Dogs, Rise continues LaMontagne’s breathtaking knack for crafting quality folk music with a sumptuous modern edge, and he even proclaimed to USA Today last week that these new tunes are among the best songs he has ever written. Pretty bold proclamation, that. (If you’re in the mood for a bit more of the magnificent LaMontagne, you should check out “Do U Wanna” — a buzzworthy track from Mike Posner‘s much-discussed debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff — which is built around a frisky sample from LaMontagne’s yearning “You Are the Best Thing.”)

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Billy Bragg & Wilco (featuring Natalie Merchant) —
“Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key” (from Mermaid Avenue) —

Gruff collides with graceful in a pitch-perfect re-imagining of a forgotten Woody Guthrie classic.

Joshua Kadison — “Beau’s All Night Radio Love Line”
(from Painted Desert Serenade) —

A disenchanted deejay, a conflicted cougar, and a yearning young man in just over his head all cross paths in a sweetly whimsical romantic gem from one of the century’s most criminally underappreciated troubadours.

Tracey Thorn — “Oh, the Divorces!” (from Love and its Opposite) —

My vacation last week was thoroughly lovely, but I have been positively itching to return to the Buzz (love ya, Sherry Ann), and I can’t think of a woman I’d rather return with than the gorgeously gifted Thorn, who, as far as flawlessly refined, finely etched stylists go, has nary a peer. (Rolling Stone‘s Rob Sheffield once proclaimed that she could sing the shell off an M&M.) And in this new hyper-saturated celebrity culture through which we’re all attempting to negotiate our way (to say nothing of that scary “sanctity of marriage” debate that has stampeded back into the national conversation in the last week or so), her bittersweet musings on the shaky marital affairs of those we know (and those we think we know) couldn’t be more relevant. Or more strangely moving. Or more satisfying.