If It's Tuesday, March 2nd, It Must Be Street Date...And A Birthday

On this very date, many years ago, I was spat out in a Greenwich Village hospital. (Thanks, Mom.) I can still remember seeing that little beam of light, though a bit blurry, as I tried to fit my huge noggin' through what seemed like a button hole. The minute that crazy ass Doctor whipped me out and slapped me 5 or 6 times (I wasn't even crying), I knew I was going to create a mix to celebrate my arrival. All these years later, I am still at it.

Here is a bonus, mid-week Birthday Mix, featuring 20 songs that I really enjoy. Simple.

"SHE'S A MY BIRTHDAY, TOO!"

Stardust- Clifford Brown
When It Rains- Brad Mehldau
More- Bobby Darin
Cliche- Todd Rundgren
Don't Disappear Now- Marshall Crenshaw
Lady Friend- The Byrds
I Never Dreamed - The Cookies
Stardust- Louis Armstrong
Try Some, Buy Some- George Harrison
John I'm Only Dancing- David Bowie
I've Got Five Dollars- Bing Crosby
(at the) Maple Leaf- Stanton Moore
Uptown- The Chambers Brothers
Who Will The Next Fool Be- Charles Brown
Sunset & The Mockingbird- Duke Ellington
Elenore- The Turtles
Waterloo Sunset- The Kinks
Dear Lord- Thin Lizzy
Stardust- Billy Ward & His Dominoes
September Song- Tim Laughlin

ZIP FILE



As for this week's new releases, I am taking the day off from my brief and biting commentary. But for those who visit Burning Wood specifically for the new release information, here's what's out with brief descriptions pulled from Amazon and Stargazer magazine. (There's not much, anyway)




NEW RELEASES FOR 3/2/10





ALBERTA CROSS- BROKEN SIDE OF TIME
Alberta Cross' ATO Records debut, Broken Side of Time, is a cathartic kaleidoscope of influences, from Depeche Mode to The Band. Grand in its volume and vast in vision, it is an inspired set of electric songs that finds the intersection between the Verve, My Morning Jacket, and Neil Young.






JAIME CULLUM- PURSUIT
Jamie will start a North American Tour week of release playing a dozen major market U.S. dates. The first single 'Wheels' is already at AAA radio. The U.S. release of Jamie Cullum’s new recording has 2 extra tracks 'I Love This' and 'Gran Torino' from the film by Clint Eastwood, a 2009 Golden Globe Nominee for Best Song. Mixing elements of pop, jazz, R&B and Hip-Hop in both his recordings and live performances and infusing them with a boundless energy and engaging sense of humor, Jamie has developed a devoted audience ranging from 16 to 66 while amassing worldwide sales of over 4 million units!






PETER GABRIEL - SCRATCH MY BACK
Considering the slow trickle of completed albums he has released since becoming a superstar in 1986 -- just two albums of songs with vocals, paired with two albums of soundtracks and two live records -- deliberate is expected from Peter Gabriel, so the slow, hushed crawl of Scratch My Back is no shock. What may be a shock is that Gabriel chose to follow 2002's Up with a covers album but, like all of his work, this 2010 record is highly conceptual no matter how minimal the end result may be. Designed as the first half of a two-part project where Gabriel would cover 12 different artists who would then return the favor by recording their own versions of Gabriel's compositions -- the counterpart album naturally bearing the title I'll Scratch Yours -- Scratch My Back divides neatly between six songs from his peers (Bowie, Paul Simon, Randy Newman, Neil Young, Lou Reed, David Byrne) and six songs from younger artists (Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Stephin Merritt, Bon Iver, Elbow, Regina Spektor.)






GROOVE ARMADA- BLACK LIGHT
With over three million albums sold worldwide, an estimated 5 million people who have seen them live, multiple Grammy & Brit Award nominees, Groove Armada are back with a new sound. The new album, ''Black Light'' is a collision of alt and electronic genres featuring vocalist Bryan Ferry from Roxy Music, Empire of the Sun, UK pop star Will Young, and introducing SaintSavior. Get ready to hear Groove Armada like never before.






JOHH HIATT- OPEN ROAD
Looking at life through the rearview mirrow was the inspiration for John Hiatt's brand new album, The Open Road. A classic Hiatt record, the rockin' songs sizzle with the heat from two lane blacktop on a summer's day.








HOLMES BROTHERS - FEED MY SOUL
Beloved roots trio THE HOLMES BROTHERS have garnered critical raves (USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone), media appearances (The Late Show, Late Night, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, A Prairie Home Companion) and devoted fans for their infectious blend of American roots music and rapturous harmonizing. Their last three releases have combined to scan over 50,000 units. FEED MY SOUL is the deepest album of their career, a joyous, triumphant celebration of love, family and faith sparked by Wendell Holmes' recent victory over cancer. Produced by Joan Osborne.









SHOOTER JENNINGS & HIEROPHANT- BLACK RIBBONS
Black Ribbons, the highly anticpated new album from singer/songwriter Shooter Jennings, features a unique collaboration between Jennings and best selling author Stephen King. The 70 minute concept album sees King providing the voice of ''Will O'The Wisp,'' a late night talk radio host who is in the last hour of his final broadcast before the airwaves are overtaken by ''government approved and regulated transmissions.''