There's always room for CELLO

I am in love with the debut cd "Learning to Bend" by Ben Sollee.  He first caught my ear on NPR's "All Things Considered" about a week ago.

This is folk/americana at it's best.  Ben provides soulful vocals and very interesting ways of making music with his instrument of choice... the cello.  Artists he can be compared to are Ray Lamontagne, Amos Lee, Iron and Wine, or even Nick Drake.

He is an amazing songwriter.  "A Few Honest Words" is directed to the future president of the United States.  On "It's Not Impossible," he remarks on the state of masculinity and how boys aren't supposed to cry.  

I also love "Panning for Gold" a beautiful song inspired by his grandparents who are suffering from dementia.  He wrote the song using God as a character losing track of things and not remembering what he created.  He sings... it's up to us to show God the beauty that He created.

There is also an excellent cover of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come."  Ben's version is WONDERFUL and very relevant during this election year.

I highly recommend this album...

Check out the NPR interview.

Here is his website and myspace profile.

 This passage is from his bio and really sums up why I love his music...

"The single most salient quality of Learning to Bend, is Ben’s contagiously optimistic worldview. Ben is not just expressing his personal quest for flexibility, he is asking the entire country to learn to bend, learn how to cry, learn how to see the sun rise… He is at the forefront of a movement that is happening right now: a zeitgeist in which a nation can face reality and empower itself to evolve and feel deeply and stand up for the power of hope."

Also of interesting note.... recently Kanye West was very late for performing at a festival.  This enraged many fans.  Ben composed a song commenting on this and posted it on his myspace.  Simply recored into his computer's internal mic, he sings.. "you don't need a light show, just good flows!"  This may be the first rap/folk war!

You can download the track HERE.