Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

The home of music journalist Nicholas Jennings, author of Lightfoot, the definitive new Gordon Lightfoot biography from Penguin Random House.

Nick's Picks: Best of 2013

arcadefireArcade Fire Reflektor

Inspired by Haitian rhythms and modern disco, Win Butler, Régine Chassange and company ask tough questions that are easy to dance to.

 

 

vampireweekendVampire Weekend Vampires of the City

Although they’ve moved away from their delicious African-pop hybrid, the New York smartypants remain relentlessly inventive.

 

 

valeriejuneValerie June Pushin’ Against a Stone

Her “organic moonshine roots music,” featuring old-school hymns and stomping blues-rockers, makes for an intoxicating brew.

 

 

franzferdinandFranz Ferdinand Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

The Scottish pop-rockers sound as fresh and vital on their engaging fourth album as they did on their first.

 

 

lauramarlingLaura Marling Once I Was an Eagle

The English folkie mixes soul-baring, Joni Mitchell-style confessions with entrancing Eastern mystic tinges to devastating effect.

 

 

nekocaseNeko Case The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You

One of the purest voices on the planet continues to venture forward bravely.

 

 

janellemonaeJanelle Monáe The Electric Lady

Psychedelic soul with a sci-fi twist, Monáe’s latest takes us deeper into her android alter-ego’s dazzling alternate universe.

 

 

lordeLorde Pure Heroine

The 17-year-old Kiwi had the year’s savviest hit with “Royals,” but her entire album boasts a brave voice that is bright, thoughtful and impossible to ignore.

 

 

atomsforpeaceAtoms For Peace Amok

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke gets happy with this funky side-project that finds his choir-boy falsetto dancing deliriously with some monster grooves.

 

 

miaM.I.A. Matangi

Her cross-cultural mélange has sometimes been too abrasive, but here pop’s agent provocateur finds the right balance of jarring beats and sweetened love songs.

 

 

 

BEST REISSUES

gracelandPaul Simon Graceland: 25th Anniversary Edition

 

 

 

otisOtis Redding The Complete Stax/Volt Singles

 

 

 

josephkabaseleJoseph Kabasele Le Grand Kallé: His Life, His Music

 

 

 

bobdylanBob Dylan Bootleg Series, Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)

 

 

 

rollingstonesThe Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (Deluxe Edition)

 

 

 

 

OTHER DISCOVERIES, REDISCOVERIES AND ENTHUSIASMS

Luke Winslow King

Rokia Traore

Django Django

Kobo Town

Laura Mvula

John Brown’s Body

Pokey LaFarge

Zaki Ibrahim

Jake Bugg

The Mavericks

Matthew Morrison - A Classic Christmas
Feature Article: Pokey LaFarge - Live @ Imperial C...