Future Islands – "Seasons (Waiting On You)"

This song has been in rotation at KCRW, and you can hear/see the official video here. I went with the live version, though, because the band made their television debut on Letterman on Monday, and their frontman (Samuel T. Herring, apparently) is a theatrical goofball who goes for broke. Rock on, brother!

Ladysmith Black Mambazo – "Long Walk to Freedom"

RIP Nelson Mandela.

Moby (with Wayne Coyne) – "The Perfect Life"

the idea for 'the perfect life' video is pretty simple... wayne and i in mariachi costumes walking around l.a. picking up a very random and disparate bunch of disenfranchised oddballs and leading them via trolley to a giant party on a roof overlooking l.a. while the sun sets.

– moby

Neko Case – "Nearly Midnight, Honolulu"

NSFW. Some of the other songs on Neko Case's new album are quite good and pretty catchy, but this is the one that's been sticking with me the most. It's unconventional, pretty but raw, personal and powerful. As Neko Case explained in a frank NPR interview, it's based on a real incident she witnessed. Given her description of her own upbringing, the pain and empathy in the song become all the more striking.

KT Tunstall – "Feel It All"

The National – "Pink Rabbits"

Here's the whole session.

Alela Diane – "Rose and Thorn"

Camera Obscura – "Fifth In Line To The Throne"

This is a track from Camera Obscura's new album, and it seems appropriate to keep with the Scottish theme this week.

The Doors – "Riders on the Storm"

There are many great Doors songs to choose from, but I have to agree with Digby that this is one of the best for featuring Ray Manzarek. RIP.

Richie Havens – "Freedom"

RIP. This Woodstock performance is the obvious choice, but it's iconic and kicks ass. In some folk-rock documentary, one of the other musicians (I forget which) said that back in their Greenwich Village days, no one wanted to go on stage after Richie Havens, because he was so fantastic the audience would give all their spare money to him and there'd be nothing left over for the following acts. The man had longevity, passion and soul.

Phoenix – "Entertainment"

Here's their recent live session on KCRW.

Escondido – "Black Roses"

Ivan & Alyosha – "Running For Cover"

There's also a good live version from their KCRW session (but the backing vocals are mixed too low for my tastes). As some folks might have guessed, the band takes its name from characters in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov.

Bonnie Raitt – "Right Down the Line"

Congratulations to Bonnie Raitt and her band (which includes Mike Finnigan) on their Grammy win for "Best Americana Album."

The Neighbourhood – "Sweater Weather"

Javiera y Los Imposibles – "Eyes Without a Face"

A cover by a Chilean band of one's of Billy Idol's more intimate, evocative songs (which takes its name from a French horror film).

The Low Anthem – "Charlie Darwin"

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – "Baby"

Here's the original. There's a wild story behind this one.

Tim Minchin – "White Wine in the Sun"

The animated verison of a lovely Christmas song by a nonbeliever. Minchin can be very funny, but here's he's quite touching. (I was first introduced to this a year or so back through the Balloon Juice community, and reminded again of it through a recent Digby post.)

Ravi Shankar‪ – "Raga Ahir Bhairav"‬

RIP. It would be hard to overstate Ravi Shankar's influence on introducing world music… to the world. He was an excellent musician, a true master, and also a good composer. I'm fond of his work with Phillip Glass, he did the music for early films of the great Indian filmmaker, Satyajit Ray, and Beatles fans are well aware of Shankar's influence on George Harrison. Still, for all the fusion and crossover work he did, much of it very good, it's his traditional music that may be the most, well, transcendental. I haven't been able to authenticate it, but he allegedly said something I love about education and learning being an ongoing process: "One does learn the sitar – one studies it." He leaves behind an amazing legacy.

Here are the obituaries from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times (also an appreciation), The Washington Post and the AP (plus another piece, "Sitar maker says Ravi Shankar’s legacy will inspire another generation of musicians"). Other appreciations abound.

Shankar was ridiculously prolific, and YouTube features a great deal of his music, including a playlist or two.

Local KCRW DJ (and world music guru) Tom Schnabel will be doing a Ravi Shankar tribute show this weekend. (I'll update the link for the specific show after it airs.)