Bill Monroe & Doc Watson: What Does The Deep Sea Say? [ purchase ] What does the deep sea say? It moans, it groans, it splashes and it foams, And it rolls on its weary way. Charlie and Bill Monroe first recorded this tune in 1937, way back when older brother Charlie was the dominant Monroe. But, Bill was no man's second fiddle, so to speak. The group split up in 1938, Monroe joined the Opry in '39, and everything was [...]
Ik was toch wel een beetje teleurgesteld. Het beloofde "prachtige boek volledig gemaakt van gerecycled materiaal (waaronder bananenblad) en bijeen gebonden met hennepdraad" bleek een dun vodje met onregelmatig afgesneden papier, rommelig als een werkstuk die je op de basisschool maakte. De "excellent" (en ik citeer) zwart-wit foto's zijn vooral zwart-wit omdat ze onder een [...]
Petit jeu amusant auquel je me livre souvent : un shuffle de ma discothèque : une petite fonctionnalité sympa sur Windows Media Player compose une playlist aléatoire. J'adore faire ça quand je fais du rangement, où en musique de fond quand j'invite des potes. Le résultat est toujours étrange, les associations bizarres : du Wu-Tang Clan puis du Brel, de la country puis du ragga, etc... , parfois des miracles, des associations inattendues et superbes. Evidemment je me munis de la télécommande car souvent on peut tomber sur de smorceaux nuls ou inappropriés. Alors je zappe. [...]
Clarence White & Doc Watson - Footprints In The Snow [ purchase ] Muleskinner - Footprints In The Snow [ purchase ] Today we bookend the career of guitar hero, Clarence White, with a bluegrass standard popularized by Bill Monroe in the 1940s. The duet with Doc Watson in July 1964 was, in some ways, Clarence's coming out party. The Kentucky Colonels' masterpiece, Appalachian Swing , had been released that April, but for bluegrass fans not living in the band's home base of California, the [...]
Tired of the same old country and rock? Looking for something new? Why not give bluegrass a shot? It's folky without being maudlin. It features great technical playing without sacrificing its downhome soulfulness. It's got those wonderful close harmonies. And it's a truly independent music scene. (There's not much money in bluegrass.) Today's bluegrass sales pitch is promted by a great bluegrass mix over at Stranger Dance . Check it out! It's just about the right size for CD and makes for some nice autumnal listening. My little girl and I [...]
OK, so my original plan was to focus solely on Clarence White's electric guitar work and I've already backtracked on that commitment. However, it's a brief switchback and for what I think is a pretty good reason. As astonishing as White's electric playing is, it's also important to understand where he was coming from. So, I want to look at a few of CW's highlights with The Kentucky Colonels , to make plain why he was so highly regarded in the world of bluegrass, and to set the table for his early sessions in the world [...]
Did you know that Tom Petty was in a band before Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers made Gainesville famous? I mean, I assumed he had been in a number of bands while starting out, but I didn't think any were of much consequence. I guess perhaps had it not been for Tom inviting the original members of Mudcrutch up to his place for some reminiscing and recording he wouldn't have been...but he did, and it was. Now, I'm not gonna try and paint myself as some Petty maniac. I like 6 or 7 songs off each album but [...]
A long weekend of solo parenting while my wife headed off to Sonoma County for a long-overdue vacation has left me too exhausted for deep thought. Happily, thanks to reader emails, new releases and new discoveries, I've got plenty of material for yet another installment of our popular (Re)Covered series, wherein we recover songs that dropped through the cracks too late to make it into the posts where they belonged. A few weeks back, when my laptop went kablooie, Jamie -- host of the ever-miraculous coverblog Fong Songs [...]
News, new releases, and new discoveries leave us no choice but to bring you yet another long-overdue installment of our popular (Re)Covered series, wherein we recover songs that dropped through the cracks too late to make it into the posts where they belonged. A huge news trifecta this week from Cover Lay Down inaugural-post favorite Richard Shindell : he's started a blog , he's decided to reopen sales of his recent live album as a digital download, and he's decided to try [...]
See also: Vol. 1: Songs of the South Vol. 2: The Songs of Elizabeth Cotten Elizabeth Cotten and Arthel "Doc" Watson share more than just a connection to the state of North Carolina. Both were culturally disadvantaged -- Cotten due to her skin color, and Doc due to a lifelong blindness. Each started performing in childhood, but became truly famous in [...]
"If I had my life to live over..." How many times have you heard someone express that lament? I suppose most of us have fantasized about being able to return to some point in our lives at least once. How would your life be different if you had taken the other path at a crossroads in your life? And, wouldn't it be grand to relive some wonderful time long past? Of course, time and life continue their irreversible flow and going upstream isn't possible, so we each must make the most of the present. [...]
Keep in the Middle of the Road - Doc Watson Dear readers, I know some of you -- some of you in person and some through the technological miracles of email, IM, message boards, your own blogs. But I don't know most of you. So I'm reluctant to give you advice, and yet feel compelled to say something anyway. Here goes: Whatever you do, don't keep in the middle of the road, as Doc Watson & family tell you twice in the course of [...]
Star Maker Machine
MrBungle
River's Invitation
Setting The Woods On Fire
The Stranger Dance
The Adios Lounge
Nine Bullets
Cover Lay Down
Song, by Toad
Old Blue Bus
Shake Your Fist
Rihanna Gets Nude For Nude
Pictures From Scamp – Day Two: Bob Weir Sits In With Primus
Craft Spells
Diplo Blow Your Head 12 MOOMBAHTON 2k12 MIX
