Weekly Roundup 7/3-7/7

What’s making the rounds on the blogosphere (click on the blog links to get more mp3s):

Matt at YANP introduced the Black Bears, who I wouldn’t have thought were my kind of thing, but I like them. They’ve got a lot of potential. The lyrics are expressive and smart, and anyone who can use that many semantic variants of “immediacy” has my vote.

The Black Bears: Myspace | Label (Baskerville Hill)

The Black Bears: I Believe In Immediacy

I Am Fuel, You Are Friends put up a whole bucketful of older Ray Lamontagne recordings. I’m definitely a fan of Mr. Lamontagne — he has a solid blues ethic, and we all know how much of a sucker I am for the blues. And he has a new album coming out – you can preview his new song on his site (and very gooey it is, too. You could definitely play this one as you smooched your significant other. Upgrade!).

Ray Lamontagne: Site | Label (RCA)

Ray Lamontagne – A Stone’s Throw From Lonesome

Cable & Tweed put up a couple songs by Telegram, along with a funny description: Ever wonder what it might sound like if Morphine, The Forty-Fives, and Chris Isaak had a jam session? OK, I bit at that hook, and it hurt real good. To me it sounds like Jet had a lovechild with Veal, but that’s just me. It’s good listening, especially “Sugar Sugar,” which is a pretty sexy song. Give it a listen.

Telegram: Site | Myspace

Telegram – Sugar Sugar

Heather of I Am Fuel, You Are Friends posted up a great recap of Pearl Jam’s Denver show, complete with video of PJ and Tom Petty. It’s good to see that a band I loved so much in high school is so well received. “Ten” was the only tape I played on my walkman that I never fast-forwarded through any songs. That’s right! I HAD A WALKMAN. You kids and your digital music.

Eddie Vedder – You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (live)

Over at The Rich Girls Are Weeping, they linked to a video for the Gossip’s “Listen Up”. I don’t like The Gossip enough to write a whole post about them — the lead falls flat at times and the sound is a little amateur. But it’s a big, big sound, with funk in it, and jazz, and Motown. Plus, the video is great — Beth Ditto is the antithesis of those idiotic females who get mega MTV play because they are “beautiful,” (read: thin and fox-faced) but can’t sing a lick. If you like Aretha and hate Ashlee, this song is for you. And there’s cowbell and crochet. Can’t go wrong there.

The Gossip: Site | Myspace | Label (Kill Rock Stars)

The Gossip – Listen Up!