John Cale Live On KEXP

Around these parts, our affection for John Cale knows no bounds. And, despite the fact that we have undying love for his classic records(like Paris 1919 which was recently so well revived at BAM), we have been equally smitten with his latest record, Shifty Aventures In Nookie Wood. The record finds Cale in a true return-to-pop-form, deviating from his more recent noisy work, and instead embracing the art-pop he has always delivered so well. It's truly a fantastic listen.

So, you can imagine our delight when we recently stumbled across the knowledge that Cale had made a mid-December stop at KEXP, and recorded a killer set. Not only does he deliver the seventies classics "GUTS" and "You Know More Than I Know", but also stripped-down takes on the new tunes "I Wanna Talk To You" and "December Rains". It's all there in glorious HD, with the 70-year-old Cale sounding fantastic. Check it out above!

New Phoenix Vids From The Cutting Room Studios

As Phoenix make their way about the good old US of A, it's nice to know that they're not just bringing their live show to the fans, but also making a few solid stops at some of our nation's finer radio establishments. Case in point: the band stopped by The Cutting Room Studios in New York last month and filmed some acoustic tracks for the venerable KEXP.

While the vibe is similar to the tracks done for Stereogum last month, but we have to say: the video and the audio production is a notch above (props to Electric Tweed on that one). What's more, the band play two more tracks, and we get treated to acoustic versions of "1901" (above) and "Armistice" in addition to "Lisztomania" and "Playground Love".

Given our obsession with the lovely Frenchmen, it should come as no surprise that we were pretty damn psyched to stumble upon these vids. We think you'll agree.

Video: Phoenix - Armistice Live On KEXP
Video: Phoenix - Playground Love Live On KEXP
Video: Phoenix - Lisztomania Live On KEXP