From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #3037 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, July 12 2021 Volume 16 : Number 3037 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- So, what're ya listenin' to lately? [Steve VanDevender Subject: So, what're ya listenin' to lately? The stuff I've been listening to lately hasn't been standard Ecto fare, but since Ectophiles tend to be interested in good music of all types, I'll mention a couple of things. For several months now I've been following a group of high-school-age kids from Connecticut who call themselves The Low Darts. They are mainly just posting videos of song covers they are performing to YouTube, but they're *really good* covers -- they are all excellent performers on their respective instruments but more importantly they really understand what makes the songs they are covering great and their performances reflect that. The one I most frequently revisit is this cover of "My Old School" by Steely Dan: My Old School (Steely Dan) - Low Darts Cover ft. Eric Young https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pArGlJQ7U3c I did not actually hear the original until after I heard their cover, but they really do it justice, which is hard with Steely Dan songs. They also have a great cover of "Message in a Bottle" by The Police where their female vocalist sings the lead: Message In A Bottle (The Police) - Low Darts Cover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqqM1twY9HA This also accidentally led me to my most recent discovery. After watching one of those Low Darts videos I happened to be bored enough to follow a recommendation link to someone named Rick Beato talking about perfect pitch in musicians where he mentioned someone named Jacob Collier. There are a lot of things I could say about Jacob Collier but it's probably better if I just provide a few examples that I think show the arc of his career so far and the range of his musical talent. This is one of the earliest things he did, an a capella cover of "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder that along with a number of other a capella and instrumental covers brough him some initial fame: Isn't She Lovely - Jacob Collier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cttFanV0o7c Lest you think he's just a YouTube kid with a gimmick for doing multitrack a capella videos, he's since gone on to do a lot of his own songwriting. The one I currently can't help but play on repeat is this beautiful little song "Make Me Cry" with a video that looks like a segment from some kind of transcendent children's show: Jacob Collier - Make Me Cry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra77qWfXv1c He also produced an NPR Tiny Desk concert video that makes it look like four copies of him are performing together in the same room, with a selection of his funky, jazzy songs: Jacob Collier: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJR6XSSKi-g ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #3037 ****************************