Babeled

These Mexican mavericks create some amazingly intense music with just two acoustic guitars. A little bit of flamenco mixed with a hearty dose of heavy metal and what you get is something you probably haven’t heard before.

Although they hail from south of the border, Rodrigo y Gabriela honed their skills in Ireland. Playing at local clubs and recording demos, it wasn’t long before they gained enough attention to make some professional recordings. In the last two years they’ve blown up on the world scene, and are now a staple at large music festivals.

The following video, a cover of Metallica’s “Orion”, demonstrates how they are able to create a unique bridge between classical and classic rock.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Somehow, someway, John Mayer won me over.

I’ve loathed this guy for years, and it all started with one song: “Your Body Is A Wonderland“.

Excuse me? Shut up John Mayer.

Where the hell did you come up with that phrase, and why did you turn it into a catchy song that gets stuck in people’s heads!? It’s not like you actually used that phrase to pick up a girl! Seriously man, what’s your deal?

Anyway, the unneccesary hatred continued until recently when I heard his last album Continuum.

I think John realized the error of his ways. The fact is, the guy’s got skills. Even when he was writing obnoxious pop fluff it was hard to deny his songwriting abilities. On top of that, he dropped out of the Berklee School of Music (one of the best next to Juliard) to pursue his music career. I’m gonna have to assume he’s smart and took the pop route only to secure himself a nice fortune, a steady supply of hot model girlfriends, and the flexibility to switch his sound up before his career even began to be established.

Do yourself a favor and pick up Continuum. It’s a surprisingly nice mix of blues, soul, and rock. Oh, and there’s also a sweet cover of Hendrix’s “Bold As Love“.

Videos

John Interviews Obsessed Teenage Girls (Funny)

Alife Sessions

“Gravity” (on Letterman)

Image Used In Post

John Mayer, courtesy of Flickr.

Popularity: 11% [?]

It’s called Sacred Steel and it’s most recent prophet is Robert Randolph. Currently on tour with The Word, a “super-group” which contains members of The North Mississippi Allstars and Medeski, Martin, & Wood, Robert Randolph exudes the confidence only a musical prodigy could.

His instrument is the pedal steel guitar, the classic sound of the South. Growing up in Maplewood, NJ, Randolph honed his skills during services at the House of God Church. If his performances at religious services were anything like what I saw in NYC this past Winter, then I can guarantee there were people dancing in the aisles. While I wouldn’t go so far as to call a Robert Randolph concert a religious experience, I would certainly call it ecstatic.

The best part about seeing this guy live is that you can tell he’s living his dreams and loving it. From start to finish he’s all smiles. And why wouldn’t he be? His main band is composed of his family members and his career was jumpstarted when he was handpicked by Eric Clapton and Dave Matthews to open for their national tours earlier in the decade.

It’s a rare opportunity to have a genuine prodigy finally emerge in this currently lackluster music scene. If you haven’t seen him yet, go buy a ticket when he comes back to town. You won’t regret it.

Video . . Blues Jam
Video . . The March
Video . . Voodoo Child

Images

Anderson, Rich. Robert Randolph. CC License.

Popularity: 16% [?]