The best seat at the Green River Festival is in the shade along the ridge by the side stage, watching the motionless kiteflyers staring at the outfield sky. Because every year, there's that one sidestage artist that comes out of nowhere, a voice and style fully formed, and -- where did HE come from? -- blows you away. You have no idea who you just missed at the main stage, and you don't care. Such was the year I discovered Jeffrey Foucault . Foucault (pronounced foo-kalt) is a scruffy, [...]
Whether stripped-down so as not to overwhelm the authenticity of the song and singer, or jazzed up to resonate with modern musical sensibilities, it is the passage of familiar song, motif, and situation between audience and performer which makes the "folk" in folk music. Songs about trains are ultimately songs about longing; songs about the road resonate with those who wander and those who long for a change, though in different ways. Such songs play broadly to universal themes, the better to leave room for such connection. In collapsing the participant/observer gap, the songs have [...]
Making it to 100 posts is the first meaningful benchmark in the world of blogging, and we wanted to recognize it in true Canals style. We'd planned live performances, fireworks, giveaways, parties, etc. - it was going to be the event of a lifetime. Unfortunately we forgot to keep track, and it turns out we reached the milestone earlier today. So now, in our 101st post, we'd still like to take a moment to thank all our loyal fans who have stuck with us through thick and thin. The comment box is always open, and we'd [...]
One of my favorite albums of 2003 was "Redbird". A folk super-group by the same name. Here are some tracks by the individual members and the band. If you dig folk, you'll dig all the below. Kris Delmhorst ~ Everything Is Music , You're Not Train (maybe one of the saddest breakup songs every written) Jeffrey Foucault ~ Ghost Repeater , Americans In Corduroys , Peter Mulvey ~ Old Simon Stimson , Shirt Redbird ~ Ships (A Greg Brown Song), [...]
Today marks one year (!) since I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS took its first tentative steps with an initial post, and I've been contentedly rolling along ever since, gathering steam as I go. I know that downloading music (and absorbing all that I have to say here) can sometimes be like drinking from a firehose, so I thought to compile you a 20-song mix of my absolutely favorite tracks that I have featured in the first year of this blog. Some of these tunes I posted up way at the beginning when I [...]
I frequently check the Mountain Stage schedule to see what artist will be performing there, in hopes that gas prices will drop enough that I can afford a freakin' ticket. Several acts that I like... **Click on the link to read the full post, download mp3s, and comment.**
Cover Lay Down
The Canals
The Late Greats
I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS
Muruch
Bobby Womack ft. Lana Del Rey – “Dayglo Reflection”
Albums We Love: D'Angelo - "Voodoo"
Bears
