Record Store Day was a smashing success. We brought in, as far as I know, the 2nd largest amount of dollars in any sale in the history of the store. The only day that outperformed yesterday was Christmas '08. Who the hell says we're in an economic depression? When a tiny independent store can rake in twice my annual salary in a span of nine hours...it really makes one wonder. I'd post some pictures to prove how much pandemonium there was yesterday, but I've yet to find any circulating online. Oh well, it's your loss. That said, today [...]
Flutes or pipes are not very common in blues recordings, because in the 1920s they were already part of the past, and had been replaced by the harmonica. In the blues, there are of two sorts : The quills Everybody with an interest in music should read Land Where The Blues Began by Alan Lomax. When Alan Lomax came first to the hill country near Senatobian, in northern Misssissippi, in 1942, he met Sid Hemphill, a multi-instrumentist, born around 1876. Hemphill showed him the quills, "a set of hollow canes [...]
There are few times in my life when being a little careless works out for the best, let alone for the rapturous and revelatory. But last week – on a rainy but refreshing afternoon – it did. Let me set the scene. I had left work earlier than usual. I had just called my dad to [...]
Vera Hall is sampled here in Santic's version of Troubled so Hard . I think this is another example of the influence of gospel blues music on other forms of music. Many who are not familiar with the orgins of modern forms of music do not understand the debt that is owed to those who came before. As an example of this, you can find many covers of Troubled so Hard on YouTube, but almost none of them mention MS. Hall or her contribution. I also wrote a post about Moby's sample [...]
Every time I think of Mr. Lomax, I thank God for him. He is one of the most important men in the world of blues as far as I am concerned. Consider the case of Mr. Alan Lomax (January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002).
I had a strenuous day at work, helping to re-price all the jazz LPs in the store. It entailed pulling all the records and lugging them to the back of the store, re-pricing them, and then lugging them back out to the floor and reorganizing them. While that was happening, I had to help one of the girls at the front counter by providing her with $2.99 records that needed to be priced. So I had to lug all those records from back to front and then back again for storage. When full, the LP boxes weigh about 70 pounds, [...]
Alan Lomax is legendary in the field of American music -- he and his father John were largely responsible for preserving a whole musical tradition: chain gang songs and work songs written and passed along by African-Americans for decades. This is what folk music is about: people hear a song from someone, then make it their own and pass it on to others, who change it some more. If you look at the wide variety of lyrics and tunes we've heard about Stag, you'll notice that (until Lloyd Price's 1959 recording, at least) each version is different in some way [...]
I like to give credit where credit is due. That's just how I roll. Some people mistakenly believe that the blues is a black or white thing. It is true that many of the great bluesmen were black, it is also a fact that there were many white men standing behind them encouraging them, enabling them, cajoling them, collaborating with them to create this great art form that we all love so much. Any way, I just want to shed some light on the men who stood with the bluesmen. Who helped them become the giants that we [...]
"On arrête tout et on réfléchit" "On nous dit: Le bonheur c'est le progrès faites un pas en avant. Et c'est le progrès... mais ce n'est jamais le bonheur. Alors si on faisait un pas de côté! Si on essayait autre chose! Si on faisait un pas de côté, on verrait ce qu'on ne voit jamais." l'An 01 ( Jacques Doillon, Alain Resnais, Jean Rouch - 1973) Julie n'avait rien à faire du week [...]
"On arrête tout et on réfléchit" "On nous dit: Le bonheur c'est le progrès faites un pas en avant. Et c'est le progrès... mais ce n'est jamais le bonheur. Alors si on faisait un pas de côté! Si on essayait autre chose! Si on faisait un pas de côté, on verrait ce qu'on ne voit jamais." l'An 01 ( Jacques Doillon, Alain Resnais, Jean Rouch - 1973) Julie n'avait rien à faire du week [...]
Natural blues - Moby According to Wikipedia "Natural Blues" is a 2000 single by the musician Moby. It was originally released in 1999 in his album Play. It is essentially a retitled remix of the originally a cappella song "Trouble So Hard" by American folk singer Vera Hall and her cousin Dock Reed. "Trouble So Hard" can be found on Alan Lomax's "Sounds of the South: A Musical Journey From the Georgia Sea Islands to the Mississippi Delta" disc 1, track 8. It was first released in the UK, where it peaked at number [...]
" We don't just bitch about Bush and global oligarchies. We're still a rock band and 'Cover Up' is THE Ministry party album." ~ Al Jourgenson So I was putzing around the house listening to the surprisingly awesome upcoming Ministry album, Cover Up, and had the idea for a Black Betty throw down... Cover Up is supposedly the really final Ministry album and it very well may be their best since The Land of Rape and Honey . Featuring covers of Deep Purple, T-Rex, ZZ Top, The Doors, Mountain, Bob [...]
I often say, "If you want to play the blues, you have to live the blues." When I make this statement I am often referring to the musicians for the most part. But the more I study the blues and read about the men and women who were on the edges, and not on the stage I realize that many of them had to live the blues too. Consider the case of Mr. Alan Lomax (January 31, 1915 â€" July 19, 2002). The LA Times.com recently ran an article that chronicles [...]
Swan Fungus
River's Invitation
The Post-Rockist
SqueezeMyLemon
She'll Grow Back
Streetkiss Music
Nine Bullets
NSFW: Miley Cyrus shows off RIDONK-ASS sideboob!
Check Out: Just Friends (Nicolas Jaar & Sasha Spielberg) – “Avalanche” (Leonard Cohen cover)
