Now Streaming: New CDs from Paul Simon, Rickie Lee Jones, James Iha, Ben Folds Five, Sera Cahoone, & More

Although this post's title may give the impression that it's mostly veteran artists who are streaming new albums this week, there's actually a diverse array of offerings. Among the veterans, Paul Simon is out with the two-CD, one-DVD "Live in New York City," just a few weeks after his old partner Art Garfunkel issued a two-disc collection of favorite tunes.


Video "To Who Knows Where" by James Iha's new album (streaming this week).

Rickie Lee Jones returns with an album of her interpretations of familiar tunes such as "The Weight," "Sympathy for the Devil," and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart." James Iha (formerly of The Smashing Pumpkins) is back with "Look to the Sky," his first solo album in 15 years. And the reunited Ben Folds Five is streaming its latest release (and has done a video with the Fraggles, the furry critters from Jim Henson's "Fraggle Rock").

Oh, and if you need a Michael Jackson fix (or just want to feel really old), Spinner is streaming the 25th-anniversary edition of the King of Pop's "Bad."

For albums from artists who are newer and/or more unusual, NPR Music is streaming albums by electronic musician and producer Ricardo Villalobos, the Danish band Efterklang, the singer-songwriter Sera Cahoone, and the Paris-based musician Melody Prochet (performing as Melody's Echo Chamber), her first. And KCRW has new releases from The Peach Kings and John Tejada.

Also: Pitchfork is streaming the new EP by one of our favorites, the Dum Dum Girls.

See the specific sites for more streaming albums, and as always, let us know what you think of these releases by leaving a comment. Dig in, and enjoy...

Pitchfork:
"End of Daze" EP by Dum Dum Girls
 
KCRW Album Preview: 
"Handsome Moves" EP by The Peach Kings
"The Predicting Machine" by John Tejada

NPR First Listen:
"Deer Creek Canyon" by Sera Cahoone
"Melody's Echo Chamber" by Melody's Echo Chamber
"Piramida" by Efterklang
"Dependent and Happy" by Ricardo Villalobos

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Sound of the Life of the Mind" by Ben Folds Five
"Mirage" by Band of Horses
"Live in New York City" by Paul Simon
"Look to the Sky" by James Iha
"Bad 25" by Michael Jackson
"Telepathic" by L'Altra
"Tiny Prayers" by Aaron Embry
"Sweet Lights, Sweet Lights" by Sweet Lights
"This Is An Adventure" by The Lighthouse and The Whaler

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"The Devil You Know" by Rickie Lee Jones
"All The Way Home" by Ocean Carolina
"When Ledge Is Home" by Bi-Polar Bear*

*I don't know a thing about this band, but I had to include them because of the clever name.

Free Album Previews: New CDs by Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, the B-52s, & Many More

Above: Peter Gabriel performing "Solsbury Hill" live, one of the songs on his latest release, "New Blood."

This is one of those "when it rains, it pours" weeks for online album previews. You can hear the new releases from a number of big-name veterans artists, including one who's no longer alive (that would be Johnny Cash, represented in the new "Bootleg Volume 3: Live Around the World"release).

Among the artists who are still with us (and have been for a long time), there are new albums for preview from Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, the B-52s, and even Erasure and Judas Priest. The Gabriel release, "New Blood," is a collection of songs from different eras of his solo career performed with an orchestra and some guest musicians—an arrangement he's been touring with this year.

The Paul Simon release is a two-disc retrospective, including live versions of songs including "The Sound of Silence" and "The Boxer."

And for fans of the Pixies and Frank Black (like me), there's a new album that Black has (under his Black Francis moniker) with Reid Paley, called simply "Paley & Francis."

Among the younger artists with new albums are the New Jersey band Real Estate, Ben Lee, Rachael Yamagata, and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. If you liked the music of The Swell Season from the movie "Once," you'll want to check out the debut album from the female half of that duo, Marketa Irglova. And The new Ryan Adams album is previewing on Spinner this week, in case you missed it at NPR Music last week.

I usually give multiple listens to new albums that I'm interested in, but that should to be quite a challenge this week.

NPR First Listen:
"Days" by Real Estate

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Songwriter" by Paul Simon
"Deeper Into Dream by Ben Lee
"Anar" by Marketa Irglova
"Norman (Music From the Motion Picture)" by Andrew Bird
"Paley & Francis" Reid Paley & Black Francis
"New Blood" by Peter Gabriel
"Liberty Bell" by Kate Miller Heidke
"The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective" by Ben Folds
"Chesapeake" by Rachael Yamagata
"Bootleg Volume 3: Live Around the World"by Johnny Cash
"With the Wild Crowd!" by the B-52s
"Tomorrow's World" by Erasure
"The Sound of His Voice" by John Wesley Harding
"Ashes and Fire" by Ryan Adams

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Evanescence" by Evanescence
"The Chosen Few" by Judas Priest
"Free EP" by Graffiti6 
"Gift Horse" by Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Paul Simon, The Raveonettes, Vivian Girls, & More

Paul Simon's "So Beautiful or So What" (out April 12th) is one of the new albums now available for free streaming.

There's a lot I want to check out in this week's slate of albums for free online streaming. The legendary Paul Simon is back with his first album in five years, to start things off. In addition, there are new discs by the Vivian Girls, the Brooklyn-based Danish duo The Raveonettes, and UNKLE, a collective whose new EP features Liela Moss of the Duke Spirit and Nick Cave.

As always, what's listed here is usually only a sampling of what's available; see each station or service's website for the full listings.

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Build a Rocket Boys!" by Elbow (streaming until May 3) — The fifth album from the Manchester, England band
"Euphoric / Heartbreak" by Glasvegas (streaming until May 3) — The Scottish band recorded this new album near KCRW's headquarters; the station wonders if the sunny climate was responsible for the album's more optimistic, less melancholy sound

NPR First Listen:
"So Beautiful or So What" by Paul Simon (streaming until April 12) — "Rhymin' Simon" is back with his first new album in five years
"Share the Joy" by the Vivian Girls (streaming until April 12) — The Brooklyn rock trio's third album
"Tomboy" by Panda Bear (streaming until April 12) — The much-anticipated solo album by the frontman of Animal Collective

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Blood Pressures" by The Kills
"Only the Lonely" by UNKLE
"Raven in the Grave" by The Raveonettes
"Love Notes / Letter" by The Submarines
"And I Feel Fine...The Best of the I. R. S. Years 1982-1987" by R. E. M. (reissue)
"2011" by The Smithereens