Catching Up With... Jonathan Coulton
Cory Chisel - "Born Again"
If You're Happy and You Know It: The 13 Best Songs with Handclaps
Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons- "Born Again"
About a year ago, we whet your appetite with news of a Monsters of Folk album. Said monsters (Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward and producer Mike Mogis) first announced their plans after their 2004 collaborative tour and are finally making good on their promise. The supergroup headed to Malibu, Calif. and Omaha, Neb. to record its self-titled album, scheduled for a Sept. 22 release.
Guess who's feeling unmotivated? This guy! Sometimes, though, it's fun to channel an apathetic mood into something productive. A soundtrack to lazy, as it were. The key here is to ignore what the song is actually about (listening requires motivation), choosing instead to base its inclusion off the title alone. Have a look at the list below (which I'm capping at 15, since any more than that would be too much work), click where applicable to hear the track and feel free to post your favorite lethargic lyrics, tired tunes, melodies of malaise and sleepy song choices in the comments. (Alliteration is lazy). Depending how motivated I get, I might just add them to the list.
As we began to compile this list of the 50 Best Bob Dylan Covers of All Time—asking for input from Paste readers, writers and editors—someone suggested that it might be easier to compile a list of artists who haven't covered Dylan. I've listened to literally hundreds of Dylan covers over the course of the past week, trying to weigh choices like, "Who's version of 'Tomorrow Is a Long Time' is better, Nick Drake or Nickel Creek?" But I don't mean to make it sound like grueling work. My biggest take-away from this exercise is that going to Dylan for source material generally elevates whatever artist is tackling it. There are so many transcendent moments in these 50 songs. Antony's trembling tenor veering "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" into a completely new direction. Beck making "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" sound like he wrote it. I could put this playlist on repeat, and it'd be a long while before it grew old.
Denmark's 2009 Roskilde Festival will take place July 2-5, with the final lineup featuring about 175 acts from around the world. 
Come along with Paste as we look back on some of the more notable sets from Day One of Coachella 2009...
Him has added new dates to the tour in support of his latest release, Hold Time, and has unveiled a new music video for the album's second single, "Rave On," a new spin on the Buddy Holly tune, which features She.
M. Ward's new album, Hold Time, dropped yesterday, and along with the release of the record came a slew of new tour dates.
Him goes back to solo for pleasant but uneven record
When I wrote my Five Movies to Get Excited About in 2009 list a couple weeks ago, ostensibly, I was providing a reader service. But really, I was getting as pumped up about those movies as anyone reading that post. In fact, I'm listening to Ready to Die right now, looking forward to taking in a showing of Notorious this weekend. Looking forward to stuff is fun, and it makes actually experiencing said stuff just that much more awesome (or, alternately, disappointing).
The day after the release of M. Ward's new solo album, Hold Time (via Merge Records), the "Him" of She & Him—makers of Paste's album of the year—will set off on a tour of the East Coast/West Coast, with a few European dates thrown in. Fans can buy tickets ahead of time, today-Dec. 11, on MWardMusic.com. Make a note of the pre-sale password: "holdtime," and make sure to log in before Dec. 12, when tickets for all the U.S., U.K. and E.U. performances go on sale to the public.
An open letter to Zooey Deschanel. 
We just named Zooey Deschanel's venture with M. Ward, She & Him, our album of the year. If you're like us and you were won over by the actress's musical chops, you might want to pay attention to the soundtrack of her upcoming film, Yes Man.
The sound at Park City, Utah’s Sundance House is terrible, and a chunk of the crowd is more interested in chattering and munching on hors d’oeuvres than paying attention to the duo on guitar and piano, even if it is the debut performance of what will eventually be known as She & Him—the collaboration between indie-music darling M. Ward and movie star Zooey Deschanel. This 2007 Sundance Festival audience doesn’t get high points for attentiveness—they’ve already pretty much ignored Glen Hansard of The Frames playing alongside Markéta Irglová, his co-star in the buzzing film Once. 
Bask in the earth-toned glory of the cover of M. Ward's forthcoming album, Hold Time. Kind of relaxing and rustic and um, muted, isn't it? Then again, if you were eagerly anticipating bright, explosive colors, you probably haven't been paying attention to Ward's catalog to date, now have you?
Vote in PasteMagazine.com's latest poll...
It's been a little over two years since M. Ward released his last solo album, Post War, but the singer/songwriter/producer has been anything but idle in the interim. He's released an EP, lent his guitar, voice and/or production skills to more than a few artists covered in Paste, contributed to a trio of film soundtracks, made his acting debut, and become a world-famous pronoun, alongside Zooey Deschanel.
It's a bird... it's a plane... It's a slow-singing, guitar-slinging, floppy-haired supergroup! My Morning Jacket lead crooner Jim James just announced in a recent Rolling Stone interview that he's recording an album with buddies/former collaborators M. Ward and Conor Oberst.
"Just imagine you're weightless, in the middle of the ocean surrounded by tiny little sea-horses," Deb tells Uncle Rico in a scene from Napoleon Dynamite. But in his attempt at relaxation, perhaps it would have been easier to put on the Watson Twins forthcoming album, Fire Songs. It has pretty much the same effect as tiny sea-horses, only, you know, musical.
If the rise to indie-rock royalty was a political game, then M. Ward would seem to be rubbing elbows with the right public figures. Not that the singer/songwriter hasn’t already established himself as a force to be reckoned with, but as of late, Ward has been getting some extra attention as a result of notable collaborations.
With the world waiting with baited breath for further confirmation of his team-up with long-time friend Conor Oberst, Ward has begun side projects with other indie darlings. Most recently he has hooked up with the actress Zooey Deschanel to produce her album.
Although the starlet is no stranger to music (she has had her own cabaret act, If All The Stars Were Pretty Babies for years), it wasn’t until Director Martin Hayens paired her up with the guitarist to do a cover of Richard and Linda Thompson’s “When I Get to the Border” for his film The Go-Getter, that she even considered putting out a record. But, with the talented Ward at her side, its safe to say that Deschanel is in good, seasoned musical hands.
Her album was completed in May, but no label or release date has been announced.
Related links:
MWardMusic.com
Zooey Deschanel on MySpace
Paste: M. Ward: The Depth of Simplicity
Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.
[Above: M. Ward]
We were slow to pick up on this one at Paste HQ (800+ miles in distance will do that), but there are a pair of miraculously free concerts happening tonight and tomorrow night in the NYC. As part of the three-day Music Downtown series, M. Ward and Nick Lowe will play for free at 7 World Trade Center in Manhattan. Last night featured the immortal Hold Steady in a headlining slot, and we're sorry we couldn't get the word out to you in time (please vent all your ire via the e-mail link below). However, if you're an NYC resident or make your home within shouting distance of the Big Apple, check out these lineups:
Sept. 18 show (tonight):
M. Ward
Victoria Williams
McCarthy Trenching
Sept. 19 show (tomorrow):
Nick Lowe
Holmes Brothers
Ollabelle
Both concerts kick off at 5:30pm local time. For all of the details, check out the series website.
Related Links:
Paste News: Nick Lowe Returns
NickLowe.net
MWardMusic.com
Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.
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Wilco - "Wilco (the song)"
