The Round Table

Corinne Bailey Rae had it all. A hit debut single in “Put Your Records On,” that allowed her to enter the U.S. music charts and gain notoriety on a larger scale. Before she knew it, she was touring with chart-topper John Legend and performing at the Grammys. Until, one cruel day, her personal life was shattered by the accidental death of her musician husband, Jason Rae.

Two years after mourning her husband’s death, Corinne Bailey Rae is back with her follow-up album, The Sea. While The Sea does pay tribute to her late husband, it’s not a complete downer as one might assume. It’s a solid follow-up to the soulful singer-songwriter’s debut album, which showcases Corinne’s writing skills. Standouts include “Closer,” “Paris Night, New York Mornings,” and “Are You Here.”

Thanks to the kind folks at NPR, you can stream The Sea in its entirety from now until it’s release on January 26th. Album opener, “Are You Here,” is embedded after the jump.

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By far, the best Ted Leo quote ever (relayed to me by Colin Payne) is, “I consider myself a perpetual English major, but I also get into bar fights.”

Judging by the newest track off of Leo’s upcoming, and just named album, The Brutalist Bricks, this remains true. Sure, it’s not as rock as some of his other stuff, but I can imagine myself breaking a bottle to it and I’m sure there will be plenty of electricity on The Brutalist Bricks. After all, the lead single “Even Heroes Have to Die” does have the word “die” in the title, and that’s pretty hardcore, so – in summation – yes, we can rumble to this track.

You can download the track, “

Even Heroes Have to Die

If you’re not familiar with Ted Leo – A) What’s wrong with you? B) Go buy The Tyranny of Distance (NOW!!!). Listen to “Under Your Hedge” and call me a liar. I dare you.

Finally, in honor of Jayvee, we have some special Ted Leo-Kelly Clarkson love, with a little bit of Karen O for good measure. Here’s Ted covering “Since You’ve Been Gone,” all together now… JUMP!!!