I keep faith today

Billy Bragg's first US single from Mr. Love and Justice just went on sale in digital format on iTunes today, along with two non-album cuts, Ash Wednesday and Goodbye.

So that's who Kate Nash is

Kate Nash sang A New England with Billy Bragg the other night at Roseland, and apparently it wasn't the first outing.



Since I don't still follow every heartbeat of the pop music world, I wasn't sure who she was, but she has had a big hit album in Britain. Listening to her songs on Myspace, I can see an affinity with Bragg.

BTW, Bragg's new album. Mr. Love and Justice, is wonderful. More thoughts on it in a few days after I've listened a coouple more times. It'll be out in the states on ANTI at the beginning of April.

Bragg in good humor and cowboy shirt

Declaring that he had just returned from South by Southwest in Austin where he had purchased several "cowboy" shirts because "everything in this country is a half-price sale" because of the wobbly dollar, Billy Bragg peformed a short, punchy, sharp-edged, funny set before the Pogues hit the stage at Roseland last night. He played a few from the new album (Farmboy, I Keep Faith), several old favorites (The World Turned Upside Down, Waiting for the Great Leap Forward), and a duet with Kate Nash on an old Shirelles hit, and on New England (which Kate introduced with a surprising good pennywhistle vamp).

A clip of Levi Stubbs Tears below with video that is seriously out-of-focus.