There must be something in the water in Seattle, Washington.  Maybe there is something in the coffee.  Either way, the city has produced yet another band that never intended to fall into a resurgence of a Folk Movement.  The Cave Singers released their album Invitation Songs in 2007.This is a place where I needed to add space so I used white text.

This album is most certainly an invitation into a world of music that is earthy with lingering tones that are born out of those deep places we long to know.
Places where our fondest memories are stored.
Places where the scars of our past adorn the walls of our being.
My go-to song by The Cave Singers is Cold Eye. It is simple and profound.  It is also a great song to have play in the quiet morning as you are getting your head together, as you are making your coffee and as you are slowly waking up to new thoughts of the day.
Some other great tracks are Seeds of Night, Royal Lawns and Elephant Clouds.
I could not think of a better album to kick off No Shave November.  You better believe there will be some beard entries this month.

Here is a group that has been flying under the radar for many years.  The Rosewood Thieves have offered only a handful of albums since 1996, but their root-rock/earthy sound would make you think they have been making music since the late 60′s.
Today I offer you one song.  One little song called Honey, Stay Awhile, from their album Lonesome. It is an acoustic treat that is like a glass of wine on a warm summer evening.  There are hints and flavours that strike you at different times as you imbibe your ears with their tune.  The Rosewood Thieves accent their soft lyrics with a light and delicate electric guitar that floats along the roof of your mouth as you roll the song around your palette.
Does anybody want a glass of wine?
I think I do.
But it is 8 AM — much too early for wine.
When’s lunch?

Also, click here to offer your feedback on some zombies I drew.

I came upon Vetiver while listening to Devendra Banhart.  Andy Cabic, of Vetiver operates a record label with Banhart, the often dubbed “Father of the Freaky Folk Movement.”
I just like Devendra.
And I really like Vetiver.
Their sound is definitely early 70′s, but there is still something very contemporary about it.  They are a bit Mungo Jerry and a bit Jackson Browne. Their recordings are clean but it would be hard to escape listening to their music without gaining an appreciation for the colour caterpillar yellow, shag carpet and paisley-print pants.
I have found that most of my descriptions evoke some kind of imagery with sun, friends, road trips and good times.  Vetiver definitely fits the bill.  If you have a problem with my descriptions, forgive me if I don’t care for music that evokes imagery of the moon, enemies, staying at home and horrific times.
I like music and I like good things.
Some of my highly recommended bits of ear candy are as follows:  Roll On Babe, Before the Sun Goes Down, Just to Have You and Everyday.
In addition to great music, I love their album art which is also important to me.  I mean, just look at that girl holding that LP.  That is amazing.  That should have been my senior picture.  But a guy version.

Forgive me if you already know them.
I will forgive you if you’ve not heard of them until now.
Let’s just agree to forgive one another, shall we?
They are called The White Stripes.
Birthed in Detroit, the band is comprised of Jack White (vocals, guitar, piano, etc.) and Meg White (percussion), former husband and wife.
The White Stripes use a “low-fidelity, do-it-yourself approach” to their music and their writing.  You can hear it in their albums — sometimes it’s an almost silent hiss under the track.  Sometimes Jack’s voice cracks, but it makes the song all the more visceral and almost vulnerable.  Sometimes you hear Jack play the wrong key, but he grabs it and slams it against the floor and makes it work.  Sometimes Meg’s voice lingers just above or just below the right note or her beat wavers slightly.  What you hear in their music is the sound of two people wrestling with their art.
I heard an interview with Jack where he said that while performing, if it takes him two steps to get to the piano to play during a song — he moves it three steps away, just so he can struggle with the music.  I have also heard him say that he likes using old guitars or plastic guitars — whatever instrument that strains to remain tuned, again, to struggle with the music.
While their sound has been heavily influenced by early blues and various formative stages of rock and roll, it is their raw desire to continually mold their craft that sets them apart.  It also makes it possible for them to produce a sound that, astoundingly, is created by a two person band.
Some of my personal favourites include, Screwdriver, Honey We Can’t Afford to Look This Cheap, I’m Bound to Pack it Up, I Want to Be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart, Little Ghost, We’re Going to Be Friends…to name a few.
I have included a video for a bold taste of their live performances.  This song also allows for some blazing air guitar.

There is no denying that the Traveling Wilburys are the all-star band for America.  If they had made up the American Olympic basketball team, they would have been called the “Dream Team” and then gone on to destroy England with all of their pop-synth techno mess.
This band has a unique history (I can’t even begin to do it justice – visit their page for the story).  Not only is the history of the Wilburys amazing, but their roster is unbelievable:  Bob Dylan (of… Bob Dylan), Jeff Lynne (ELO), Tom Petty (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), George Harrison (a little-known band called the Beatles), and Roy Orbison (of… Roy Orbison).
Their music is a culmination of an era (late 80′s, early 90′s) and a blending of musical history that will never again be recorded.  They only released two albums, but that may be a factor in their musical legacy.  They came together, did what they loved and left us all wanting more.
A few of my favourite bits of their ear candy are Like a Ship, End of the Line, Handle with Care, Inside Out and Poor House.

Sidenote:  Traveling Wilburys were one of the first musical groups on the lips of my children, though they pronounced is as “Traveeng Weeburries.”  That makes this group extra special to me.

If you could make a musical all-star band, who would be in it and why?
I would suggest Carman (the holy-rolling Christian artist), Ozzy Osbourne, Ravi Shankar and Prince — just for my own jollies, not for any musical gain.

I realize that most of the musical artists I have featured on Music is for Mondays have been dudes.
It is not that I don’t care for female vocalists.
It is coincidence.
In fact, I have several female artists in my goto list on my iPod — enter today’s artist, Joanna Newsom.

If Devendra Banhart is the father of the Freaky Folk movement, Joanna Newsom is one of the left-of-center offspring.
When was the last time you were moved by a sweet harp solo?
If you can’t remember, you need to get Newsom’s Sprout and the Bean.
It is most definitely a rainy day song, best experienced with a hot cup of coffee and a bear claw.  Maybe even hot chocolate (just so you don’t think I am girling-out on you, go ahead and smash some glass into your hot beverage and drink up just like I do on rainy days).
It is not, however, the song you want blasting from your car when you pull up to meet a group of your fellow dudes for Man Night.  If you should forget to change the song when your buddies hop in your car, be sure to lay rubber as you are leaving.

Next charity: water update will be Wednesday with Keiglet Experiment results

Maybe you discovered Iron & Wine by hearing their incredible and simplistic cover of The Postal Service’s song, Such Great Heights.  Maybe you heard the amazing ballad, Flightless Bird, American Mouth, in the painfully unfortunate film Twilight.  Maybe you discovered their CD that was left in the bathroom stall of a rest area just outside Springfield, Ohio — it’s possible.
No matter how you first laid ears on Iron & Wine, there is no mistaking the cathartic vocals of Sam Beam.  Once he gets in your head, he carves his name on the interior of your psyche — unforgettable.
Iron & Wine is not your pre-game pump-up band that will cause you to shoot the ball through the hoop with success.  Nor will it allow you to pass the ball to the man as he runs into the zone for a touch score.  Nor will it enable you to smack the ball any harder so you can get to the bases to win the match.
Beam’s voice and his evocative lyrics have made Iron & Wine a must-have for when I am feeling a bit blue, feeling a little lonely and sometime maybe even feeling a little sleepy.  Don’t pass on this ear candy.

I suppose that in some way I have my friend Tyler Stanton to thank for exposing me to The Decemberists.  I believe that it was a group of his fellows that took Tyler out prior to his wedding day and told him that he had just moments to make an impulse purchase at Best Buy.  Tyler, a sucker for packaging and known for actually judging a book by its cover (literally), selected The Decemberists and could not have been happier with his serendipitous selection.
Before you begin a listening odyssey into the very depths of this band, you need to know something — it is not your average music.  In fact, I would say their albums are like soundtracks to grand stage productions that have never been produced.  There is usually a storyline that is threaded through their releases and the tale is told in various musical arrangements.  While you can get away with having them on in the background, I have found that their music is best enjoyed by an engaged listener.  As the listener, you have to listen, eat, chew, savour, swallow and digest the lyrics in order to appreciate the art form of The Decemberists.
Some of my favourite tracks include, “Raincoat Song,” “The Crane Wife 3,” “The Hazards of Love,” and my all-time Decemberists tune (and perfect for a stage production — close your eyes and you can see it), “The Mariner’s Revenge.”
Remember, this bit of ear candy is not your normal confectioner’s creation.  It has a rich and chewy center that is worth the wait after having rolled it around in your mouth for a time.

My next charity: water update will be Wednesday. Plan on sharing a story or two.

The multiple sounds of unrestrained activity.
That is the literal interpretation of The Polyphonic Spree.  The circa 21 or so members of the band have created a sound that reaches back into the tie-dyed world of experimental music.  Their style has been labeled as “psychedelic pop” and “symphonic rock.”  Whatever you want to call it, it is absolutely unique in today’s ocean of lame songs trying to be different by being like every other cookie cutter song being turned out by some crappy machine.
My favourite tune is called, “It’s the Sun.”  For me personally, it is a great running song for the early birds among us.  It starts slow like a sunrise with clashes of lyrical and musical crescendo here and there, and has a climactic finish that kicks in and rides the song to the last note.
I have included a clip from a live performance of “It’s the Sun” at some sort of “We-Wish-We-Would-Have-Been-Born-in-the-50′s-So-I-Could-Have-Attended-Woodstock” type festival.  Even though it may seem a bit over the top, try to appreciate this large group of people making fun music with multiple sounds of unrestrained activity.

Home.
Man, that is a word that can be packed with meaning.
For some, it is the literal and physical and geographical place in which they reside.
To me, it is more than that.  In fact, I have found that home has been many places…

It has been in the desert of Israel.
It has been in front of a camera working with people in my community (I worked at a television station for almost 10 years).
It has been in the woods with my children as we explored and I could literally watch them become smarter.
It has been in a warm embrace where I could hear a heart beating in my ear…

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros have captured something in their song “Home” that goes beyond music and lyrics.  Sure they sound a little trippy, and yeah — they might even look a little trippy, but there is something raw and tender that pours out of their voices.  I don’t use this word to describe many things — but this song is… sweet.

There.
I said it.
Now get outta here.

(Thanks to Lauren for exposing me to this song.  Also, after you have downloaded and listened to the song over and over again, watch the video below and witness one of their live performances — just try not to smile.)