In the Headphones - February 3rd, 2012

M. Ward - "The First Time I Ran Away" 

Dr. Dog - "Lonesome" 

White Denim - "Keys" 

Rymdreglage - "Ninja Chips" 

First Aid Kit - "Blue" 

Delta Spirit - "California"

I Can Barely Hardly Wait

The Delta Spirit's blend of roots influenced rock caught my ear in 2009 with their full length debut from a year earlier "Ode to Sunshine".  Matt Vasquez's current yet timeless songwriting sung and sometimes yelled over a well integrated mix of guitar, piano, and some unorthodox percussion give songs like "Trashcan" and "People, C'mon" an urgent yet open feel.  The songs manage to be catchy enough to be the right kind of anthemic, without being preachy or cliched.  The everyman appeal of Vasquez's writing has expanded even farther on this year's "History from Below", after Vasquez was introduced to Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States".  Zinn's retelling of history from the viewpoint of the people rather than the powerful is required reading for anyone who is even moderately willing to consider that the history you learned in high school social studies may not be the whole story.  

Check out a couple of video's that I love of the Delta Spirit performing "Trashcan" and "People C'mon" in an impromptu set for La Blogotheque's Take Away shows on a San Francisco cable car.  The Take Away Shows feature lots of great artists performing unannounced shows in unconventional locations.  So you get Bon Iver following what look to be some uninterested listeners around the streets of Paris or the Arcade Fire in an elevator using a phone book to help keep the beat.  Really great stuff both for the concept and the performances.  

Delta Spirit - Trashcan from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

"No Glamour in Vengence"

Some stories would be entirely unbelievable, were it not for the fact that they just happen to be true.

That was my reaction upon hearing the story behind "The Ballad of Vitaly", the closing song on Delta Spirit's June release, "History from Below".  The song recounts the story of Vitaly Kaloyev, a Russian architect turned murderer turned folk hero who was convicted and imprisoned for the 2004 murder of air traffic controller Peter Nielsen.  Nielsen was the only official on duty on the night of July 1, 2002 when a passenger plane from Moscow to Barcelona collided with a cargo flight over German air space, killing all 71 people involved.  Included among the fatalities was Vitaly's wife and two daughters.

In the years following the crash, Kaloyev was unable to cope with his grief.  He became enraged by an offer made by Skyguide, the company in charge of managing the skies on the night of the crash, to financially compensate him for the lives of his loved ones.  Through a private investigator, Kaloyev tracked down Nielsen, whom he blamed for the deaths .  Vitaly confronted Peter Nielsen on the steps of his home in Kloten, Switzerland, where he lived with his wife and 3 children after retiring due to the stress associated with the crash.  Vitaly has said he doesn't remember much after seeing Nielsen face to face.  Hours after their meeting, however, Vitaly Kaloyev was found by police in a nearby hotel covered in blood.  Peter Nielsen was dead, stabbed to death on his front steps with his wife and children in the house.  Vitaly was sentenced to 8 years in prison for the murder.

Listen to the story on NPR's World Cafe about the Delta Spirit and the story behind the song.  Listen to the full song here.