What a post delay, huh? I'm very much the type of person whose interests come in waves and the blog wave just didn't hit me for a while there. Long-time readers are accustomed to this pattern, so I won't necessarily apologize, but I felt a warning was necessary for newer readers. Blah, blah, blah, but now the weather smacks of fall (and fall's my favorite) and the wave crashed into me today and here I am. Another wave that's pummeled me (aside form a momentary desire to use annoying Internet abbreviations) the past week is [...]
I arrived at Finney Chapel last night feeling expectant and somewhat strange. Lucy Wainwright Roche opened, and her set came as a pleasant surprise. Between sets I made a discovery that compounded strangeness with sorrow; so often do I find myself in hatred of change these days. As Dar Williams began to sing I tried my best to contain my personal wreckage, seal it in a box so I could empty out its contents in private. Deliverance came unexpectedly: after some self-deprecating storytelling, Williams played a song that made me feel as though a terrible weight had been lifted off [...]
Two reasons for the this new (10 week) feature: There has been talk of my desert island albums before in passing and some readers seemed interested in seeing/hearing what they were; when I did my survey, folks were jonesin' for my Beta-Alpha-Cal look at my record collection. So this is a kinda compromise. Two reasons why these albums make the top ten: they are sing-a-long-able; and they are diverse in song, so much as to say repeated listens do not make one tired of them. I will list the album, make a few brief [...]
Florida - Aberdeen Iowa - Dar Williams California - Phantom Planet I don't know about y'all, but I've always thought that Florida just didn't have nearly enough effect on Presidential elections. Sure, 2000 turned into a battle over 500 votes in the state, and sure as one of about 8 swing states it gets unending attention for a huge chunk of every election-year, but they're stuck with a useless primary. The solution? Well, completely destroy the primary calendar by moving before the assigned February 5 date and try [...]
Just a quick word that there's a limited-time free download of the first single from the new Bruce Springsteen record Magic . It's called "Radio Nowhere," and it pretty much kicks ass. Actually, I don't think Bruce has rocked this hard since the mid-80s, and as much as I've enjoyed some of his work since then, it is great to hear the whole E Street Band with the freedom to blow out the speakers. Some might suggest that it's a little derivative, with a guitar riff that instantly calls to mind "Jenny [...]
For this post, we examine the musicians who came from Iowa. Or at least the ones I can remember. In my usual beta-alpa-cal order. Artists I have music from: Glenn Miller ~ Humoresque Pieta, Zoe & Constie Brown ~ Ella Mae (Greg's Daughters singing Greg's song) Pietra Brown ~ #807 Greg Brown ~ The Poet Game Everly Brothers ~ That's Old Fashion Dan Bern ~ New American Language [...]
Dar isn't a guilty pleasure. She has oodles of talent and isn't sexy (to me). But John Medeski played some killer keys on her album, "Beauty of The Rain" (which may be one of my all-time top ten desert island albums). So she's included as a GP for MMW Week. Farewell To The Old Me (Medeski on Hammond) I Saw A Bird Fly Away (Medeski on clavinet) Your Fire Your Soul (Medeski on piano) Further study: website [...]
One of the new releases today is a tribute to The Band. If you know nothing about the band, read "This Wheel's On Fire". Simply put The Band may be the most important American band in the history of rock and roll and THE band that epitomized the whole hippie/Woodstock scene. Here are some tunes loosely related to The Band. Largo Project ~ Gimmie a Stone (Levon on vocals) Robbie Robertson ~ Somewhere Down The Lazy River Band's chief songwriter going solo) [...]
I’ve never made a mix that tried to capture the feeling of Autumn, my favorite season. Until now! Just in time for tomorrow's equinox. I tried to use songs that either have fall lyrics, sound like fall, or were I purchased in the fall. Hope you enjoy. 1. Smashing Pumpkins ~ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (I like to start with instrumentals and this is a good one off a great double album released in October 1995) 2. [...]
Copy, Right?
The Glorious Hum
The Late Greats
Heartache with Hard Work
lost in your inbox
Madonna producer unloads of CD disaster
Madonna producer unloads on CD disaster
Check Out: Antony And The Johnsons – “Rise”
Michael Jackson - Bad (Afrojack Remix) [Preview]
