Daily Jam - A Change Is Gonna Come

There are a lot of great things about this country.  Don't let the assholes have it.  It belongs to you.  It belongs to us.  Happy 4th.  Listen to Sam Cooke and "A Change Is Gonna Come" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Let It Flow

Time goes by, but i always come back to the noisy, psychedelic, gospel, and space rock sounds of Spiritualized.  Here's a cut from their 2nd album "Pure Phase."  Listen to "Let It Flow" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Blood in the River

I was fortunate enough to get to see the extraordinary metal band Zeal & Ardor last month in Austin.  This song absolutely killed live.  Listen to "Blood in the River" below, our Daily Jam.

Zeal & Ardor

I somehow failed to post about Zeal & Ardor's new album "GREIF" when it dropped at the end of the summer.  I caught them on stage last week and everything, and still managed to drop the ball.  Well, i'm remedying that now.  "GREIF" is the first release as a full band and continues to push the sound into new and interesting directions.  It rules.  Check out "Are You the Only One Now?" below and get the LP here.

Ka

I've begun prepping some selections for my year-end best-of lists, and new things keep creeping into my favorites of the year, like the latest from the New York rapper and firefighter Ka.  Somehow, i failed to hear that the artist released a new record a couple of months ago with the absolutely astounding "The Thief Next to Jesus."  I also missed that the album is his swan song, as he unexpectedly passed away in October at the age of 52.  RIP Ka.  The new album is quite the statement to go out on though, a mix of gospel and hip-hop with the artist's hushed delivery and insight.  It's really something.  Listen to "Tested Testimony" below and download the album here or wherever you like to stream or download things.

Daily Jam - Like a Prayer

Yeah, I’m writing about a Madonna song today. Wanna fight about it?

Madonna Louise Ciccone has been veritable staple in our pop culture for four decades now. She’s had her ups and downs, fallen in and out of favor, stoked controversy, inspired other artists, earned her own fair share of mockery, recorded some great and fun music, and made some questionable artistic decisions, as our aging pop stars are wont to do in an often misguided attempt to maintain relevancy. But through all of this music, the good stuff, the bad stuff, the stuff I secretly like, and the REALLY bad stuff (please don’t ever rap again), the one constant for me has always been how awesome “Like A Prayer” is. And still is.

Yes. It IS awesome. I don’t care what you think.

Madge really hit it out of the park with that single, the title track from her 1989 album, inspiring equal amounts of evangelical derision and Pepsi ad dollars. Pairing gospel music with pop and dance proved infectious in the Williams household though, even as its ecstasy via spirituality themes flew right over my then 10-year old, prepubescent head. But it stayed with me, through my grunge years, and my industrial years, and my Britpop years, and my punk and metal and techno and hip-hop and indie rock and psych years…always there on the backburner…just waiting for me to come back…like Black Jesus.

“God…”

Zeal & Ardor

Here's a new track from Zeal & Ardor, and a rather subdued affair at that considering what rip roaring screamer 2022's self-titled effort was.  Check out "To My Ilk" below and download it here.

Daily Jam (October Edition) - Satan Is Real

I know Satan is supposed to be this ultimate big bad, but i think that religious zealots are far, far scarier.  Anyway, here's some gospel bluegrass from The Louvin Brothers.  Listen to "Satan Is Real" below, our Daily Jam.

Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter

It's Friday, so why not listen to some weird new music from Lingua Ignota with her new project Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter.  Going by new tune "All of My Friends Are Going to Hell," new album "Saved!" seems like it's going to be one hell of a dirge.  Check the track out below and pre-order the album here digitally or here physically from Perpetual Flame Ministries.

Daily Jam - You Will Miss Me When I Burn

I'm late to the game on this one, but just recently started listening to the Soulsavers.  Of late, the band has been making music with Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan, but their 2009 album "Broken" is a mix of alt-rock, gospel, and folk that features folks like Mike Patton and Mark Lanegan.  It's great.  Listen to the Lanegan sung, Will Oldham penned piano ballad "You Will Miss Me When I Burn" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Lay Lady Lay

Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" is one of my all time favorite songs, and it doesn't matter which version or cover i'm listening to.  I love everything from Ministry's industrial rock version to this lovely gospel take on the track by The Brothers and Sisters.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Algiers

Post punk band Algiers released the excellent collaborative track "Bite Back" with Billy Woods and Backxwash last month, infusing all kinds of new sounds into their usual mix of post punk, soul, and gospel.  That was just the teaser.  February brings us new album "Shook," featuring a slew of different guest artists to shake things up (pun absolutely intended), including Rage Against the Machine's Zack De La Rocha.  Check out "Irreversible Damage" below and pre-order the record here from Matador.

Zeal & Ardor

Shame on me for not devoting nearly enough and time and space to the absolutely amazing new album from New York's Zeal & Ardor.  The band has been making brilliant music for a while now, but the self-titled album that dropped last month feels like the culmination of it all, a blistering mix of black metal, death metal, soul, gospel, old spirituals, and more.  There's no one else out there that sounds like these guys, nor should there be really.  Check out "Hold Your Head Low" below and get the record here from MVKA.

Daily Jam - Stop Your Crying

Mental note: Listen to more Spiritualized.  That goes for all of you.  Here's "Stop Your Crying," our Daily Jam.

Bill Callahan & Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Ty Segall

Bill Callahan and Bonnie "Prince" Billy have been releasing collaborative singles with a whole slew of other artists over the last few months, and their latest is a cover of "Miracles," a gospel rarity from Johnnie Frierson.  And this time around, they're joined by Ty Segall.  Check it out below and get it here via Drag City.

Zeal & Ardor

Zeal & Ardor's unique brand of gospel blues metal has always felt of the earth, a kind of spiritual din of mud and turmoil.  And on their latest upcoming EP, "Wake of a Nation," the group focuses that transcendent sound on our current and seemingly everlasting state of turmoil by way of racism and police violence.  It feels darker.  It feels heavier.  It feels real.  Listen to "Vigil" below and try not to be moved by it, a mix of anger and yearning, history and despair, and maybe even just the slightest ray of hope.  It floors me.  The EP is out next month on MVKA.  Pre-order it here.

 

Daily Jam - The Times They Are A Changing

It's the 4th of July, and really, what is there to celebrate?  America should probably just skip its birthday this year.  Anyway, here's a wonderful gospel rendition of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changing" from The Brothers and Sisters, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - They Say I Look Like God

In the '50s and '60s, jazz maestro Dave Brubeck put together a musical project called The Real Ambassadors with the legendary Louis Armstrong and his band among others.  One of the tracks produced by the project was the powerful and spiritual "They Say I Look Like God," a kind of chant and chamber music piece with nods to gospel and Armstrong's unmistakable voice at the forefront.  It's really something.  Listen to it below, our Daily Jam.

Sault

Mysterious UK outfit Sault are back with a new album today, after last year's one, two punch of "5" and "7."  The new record, "Untitled (Black Is)," is a powerful testament to blackness, channeling a whole range of emotions of this very moment in time and utilizing that anger and rage as well as that love and camaraderie to create something truly poignant and magnificent.  Elements of Motown soul, Afro-psych, gospel, hip-hop, and R&B shine throughout.  We just got ourselves a record of the year contender.  Check out "Eternal Life" below and get the record here from Forever Living Originals.

Daily Jam - Holy Man

Houston born Diane Kolby recorded one album of gospel folk in 1973, before becoming disenchanted with the music industry and bailing.  But it's a good one.  Listen to "Holy Man" below, our Daily Jam.