Remember when Sara Barielles wrote Love Song as a protest to record execs who wanted her to do more ballad-y songs? Well, she’s been trumped by Amanda Palmer, who’s pulled out all the stops in an attempt to get RoadRunner Records to drop her.

OK, so before now, we had no idea who Amanda Palmer was. But she’s got our attention now!

From what I can glean of the situation, RoadRunner records decided that Palmer looked a little chubby in a recent video and wanted to either airbrush the offending belly shots or cut them completely. Amanda explains on her blog. Needless to say, her fanbase mobilized and responded angrily to RoadRunner’s offensive comments with a Rebellyon website featuring messages of support written on people’s bellies.

I was shocked at the attitude of the label bosses, which can best be described as condescending and rude:

a few weeks later i had a meeting with the owner of the label. he said he thought it was a shame that someone as smart and talented as me could not make a commercial record that they could sell. and he thinks that someday i’ll see the light and write some better songs.

And while I’m sure that there are two sides to the story, Palmer paints a compelling picture of an out-of-touch record label “trying to sell pieces of plastic in a digital world”.

In a follow-up blog post, she sings a song to the label trying to convince them to drop her, but apparently they have refused to cancel the contract, despite her having fulfilled her contractual obligations. Apparently they make a decision whether to renew the contract some time in June.

Via The Lefsetz Letter

I’m betting you’re either a supporter of Blindfold, or you’ve never heard of them. I fall into the latter category, so here’s a quick background: Blindfold are an Icelandic four-piece who create some very interesting atmospheric music.

Sad Face, their single which is released at the end of the month, is the first time I’ve ever heard their music. Things do not start well: the song begins according to the dreary singer/songwriter textbook. A minor-key acoustic guitar and some maudlin lyrics over the top.

The good news is that Blindfold – thankfully – don’t stop there. As the song progresses, beautiful layers of sound are introduced. It’s all very subtle, but in the course of the entire track I went from being vaguely annoyed to being enraptured by the closing notes. The introduction of a sweet bass melody, and the later arrival of a blissful string section elevate the song to new heights.

You can get a feel for more Blindfold music by visiting their MySpace page, which has Sad Face and a few other tunes. And right now, you can get a free digital EP by visiting their homepage. Having listened to a few of their songs, I can recommend them. I get a slight Damien Rice vibe from the band, so if that’s up your street, go and listen to more.

I got a breezy email from Sean Fournier the other day recommending that I check out his 6 track album, Oh My.

Normally, I approach this type of email with caution – you never know if the contents are going to be good or appalling. But Sean’s confidence and enthusiasm impressed me enough to download his free album. That last link’s a hint, by the way!

If you’ve read my posts about other singer/songwriters, you’ll know that I believe being a singer/songwriter is one of the hardest things in the world. That’s a limitation of being one man (or woman) and an acoustic guitar. Fournier, since you’re wondering, manages to offer something pleasurably unique: melodic, catchy tunes with clever accompaniments that lift the songs beyond the ordinary.

Let’s jump straight to my favourite track – Put The World On Stop – a piano-led track that incorporates a bassline that takes the song almost into hip-hop territory. Trust me, you’ll be singing that one line all day.

I won’t give you a track-by-track account of each song – just go and listen to the album. The bottom line is, the first five tracks are well-crafted songs, and Fournier’s voice is smooth and relaxing on all. Having spent the last hour listening to the album, I’m feeling really chilled out.

Most of the songs on Oh My are of such a high quality, it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear them in the charts. Broken Stereo is immense, one of the strongest choruses on the album – definitely check that one out.

The final track, Holding The Hand Of The Hurricane moves into more experimental territory, with a seemingly Indian influence to the instrumentation. It’s a touch out of place with the other songs, but shows that Sean has a flair for the dramatic, declaring “yeah I’m gonna live forever, as long as I feel your rain/dancing around like I’m holding the hand of the hurricane”.

Oh, and I should mention the quality of the presentation – the cover art is beautiful, and the album includes a little PDF booklet with the lyrics to the songs, all very stylishly laid out. If that’s not enough incentive to download the album, I don’t know what is!

Spread the word!

When you’re getting an album for free, it’s always nice to spread the word about it. If you do happen to download Oh My, make sure you tell your friends about it – share it on your Facebook/MySpace/Twitter profiles. You can even talk about it in real life too!

Stalk Sean Fournier on the Internet!

Not only is Sean a talented singer and songwriter, but he’s a clever self-publicist. If you become a fan after hearing this album, you’ll be pleased to know that Sean can easily be stalked all over the Internet.

Start off on his official website, move on to MySpace, where you can friend him and listen to his latest tunes. And if you want to catch up with his exploits, his blog is an essential stopping point.

The word most people are using in connection with Marina is “eccentric”, and it’s hard to argue with that synopsis.

Arjan is tipping Marina for big things this year, and considering the strength of the handful of songs she has on her MySpace page, I’d be inclined to agree. If you read this Guardian profile about her, they describe Marina’s vocal style as…

more like one of those kooky new wave girls like Lene Lovich, all whoops, hollers, cackles and shrieks that make her sound strangely mid-European.

And you know how much I like singers who sound mid-European! Read the rest of that Guardian piece for some more frightening information about her.

In short, I’m loving what I’m hearing so far, and I’m telling you about it so you can go out and listen to Marina too. You are her Diamonds, after all…

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has hinted that the band may split up within the next two years.

Chris says that he would like to retire from the band before he gets too old….and too fat!

“I’m 31 now and I don’t think bands should keep going past 33,” BANG Showbiz quotes him as saying.

“So we’re trying to pack in as much as possible. Up until the end of next year, we’ll just go for it in every sense. I don’t believe in time off.

“We’ve still got our own hair, we can still fit into our musical trousers and we’ve got to make the most of that.”

Coldplays most recent album Viva La Vida sold 720,000 copies in its first week of release in America and reached number one in 36 different countries.

I’m listening to this guy Ben Lee at the moment.

He’s releasing a new album in February 2009 to be called “The Rebirth Of Venus”. You can catch a couple of the tunes from the album over on his MySpace page: What’s So Bad (About Feeling Good) and I Love Pop Music.

I like this stuff, it has a quirky vibe. It’s hard to put Lee’s music in a particular category, which is nice. Don’t even try to, just enjoy its upbeat and playful musicality.

If you want to find out more about Ben, check out this interview with Sauce magazine. Or visit his homepage. He won’t mind.

Back to the new album…it’s produced by Brad Wood, and has cameo appearances by Missy Higgins, Cary Brothers, the Grates’ Patience Hodgson and Nic Johns. Jump to the end to see the album artwork – here’s the track listing.

Track Listing

1. What’s So Bad (About Feeling Good)
2. Surrender
3. Sing
4. I Love Pop Music
5. Rise Up
6. Yoko Ono
7. Boy With A Barbie
8. Bad Poetry
9. Blue Denim
10. Wake Up To America
11. I’m A Woman Too
12. Families Cheating At Board Games
13. Song For The Divine Mother of the Universe

Wanna hear a gloriously upbeat song about terminal illness? Conor Oberst has just the thing for you then.

His latest release brings in The Mystic Valley Band for a good, old-fashioned knees-up that sticks two fingers up to death and disease.

The chorus refrain of I Don’t Want To Die In The Hospital is just perfect. Imagine yourself singing that one while walking down the street.

Rather than describe this as a song about death, Oberst thinks of it as a type of jailbreak anthem:

This guy didn’t mind the idea of dying, but he just didn’t want to die in such an undignified place (as a hospital). He wanted to be out in the desert, under the stars. He told me if he was ever in a hospital that I should break him out. It’s a jailbreak song.

There’s an awesome country sound to this record, but the humour in the lyrics should appeal to a broad audience. I’ve included a clip below for your listening pleasure:

The single is released on 17th November 2008.

This young woman is big news in Australia. Her name? Missy Higgins.

Unlike the other famous Missy, this one isn’t known for her dirty rapping style, or anything like that.

This Antipodean is gaining a reputation for herself as an amazing singer/songwriter, and has already released two albums, The Sound Of White back in 2004 and this year’s On A Clear Night. And she’s only a tender 24 years old.

She’s won stacks of ARIA awards (that’s the Australian recording industry, fact fans), and her music has been featured on loads of American dramas, like Smallville, Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill.

“That’s fantastic,” you’re all saying, “but what does she sound like?”

Well, best to throw a few comparisons in the air – a slightly sultrier version of Dido, a little Jewel, and many of those other femmes of the acoustic scene. Here’s a few links for places you can find Missy on the web, and we’ve thrown in a video of her best-known song, Where I Stood.

• Listen to Missy on MySpace
• Official Website

Fresh from chart success in her native America, Sara Bareilles is launching an assault on the British charts with a love song called Love Song…

Anyway, wasn’t it The Beautiful South who started this trend of writing songs about writing songs? Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa, Sue…

It goes without saying that I’d rather look at Bareilles than Paul Heaton any day of the week. But about that song…

Love Song was apparently written in response to Sara’s record company requesting that she record a commercially viable love song. Get it? It’s not a love song at all, it’s actually a witty rebuke to her record company.

This is my first encounter with Sara Bareilles, and I have to say, I love the voice. It’s a little more forceful than many of her contemporaries could muster, and soulful too. The song itself is poppy: accessible yet different from the other music pervading the charts at the moment.

My only concern would be how far a piano-star can go in the music business. Remember when Vanessa Carlton launched with A Thousand Miles some years ago and has steadily (and sadly) faded into obscurity since? As I always say, we’ll know from the strength of the follow-up how far Bareilles is likely to go, but this song is a winner.

Let’s face it, Jack Johnson hasn’t made a name for himself as a musical trailblazer. His forte seems to be in melodic, laid back acoustic tunes for folks to chillax to. Yes, I said ‘chillax’.

And unlike the evil-voiced castrato that is James Blunt, Johnson has a voice that’s pleasant to listen to. I don’t think the lyrical content matters much with this type of music – it’s just a nice lilting vibe that you could imagine unwinding to at the end of a tough day.

I’ll leave you to watch a video of Hope…enjoy…

Hope is released on 14th April 2008 and is the second single from Jack Johnson’s Sleep Through The Static album.