Music That Speaks to You

Here's a Black Friday deal that the big-box retailers can't beat.  Buy the new album from the up-and-coming indie band Ezra Furman and the Harpoons and you'll get a personalized song thrown in, for no extra charge.  Just send them a letter with your life story (or a condensed version, perhaps), and they’ll churn out a folk-rock ditty with your name on it.

Since coming together at Tufts University, Ezra and his band mates have written so many songs and played so many live shows that there were plenty of cuts left off of their first two releases.  Those songs find a home on Moon Face: Bootlegs and Road Recordings 2006-2009 -- alongside that unique, personalized track.  There have been more than 100 orders in the first weeks since the album's release, which means the band will be busy writing odes to its fans during any downtime on its current tour.  (Ezra plays a solo Thanksgiving Eve show tonight at the Lincoln Park Whole Foods in Chicago).

Ezra (in the center of the frame) and the Harpoons

And speaking of harpoons, we're serving whale for Thanksgiving this year in 'Studio 360.'  You can hear all about the classic novel that Ezra's band took as inspiration as we rebroadcast our Moby-Dick episode, the Peabody Award-winning installment in our 'American Icons' series.  Guests include playwright Tony Kushner, artist Frank Stella, and science fiction writer Ray Bradbury.  Get hooked this weekend to find out if Herman Melville's 1851 masterpiece still holds water. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)