Friday, October 31, 2008

Blog as I say--not as I blog!

What is it about deadlines that compels us to procrastinate until they loom before us in all their angst-ridden glory?  I'm not sure how many new leaves I've promised to turn over, but I guess this is another one... Besides, in reality I should be raking those leaves on my front lawn, right?  Ah well.  In an attempt to jump start the conversation, let's pull out an old trick--what showed up on "random" on the iPod whilst beginning to rake said leaves this afternoon?

  • "Safar," Le Trio Joubran  Instrumentalist trio that all play the oud.  Saw these guys at Lotus Fest in Bloomington in the middle of the decade, and Loreta & I plopped down the $15 for a disc after seeing their most excellent performance (in an acoustically beneficial church, as I recall).
  • "Bright Mississippi," Thelonious Monk  My buddy Adam was always ahead of the curve on things like getting hip to jazz.  Monk, Miles, Coltrane.... I'm pretty sure he taped me my first copies of all those guys.  And what did I give him in return?  Gary Numan outtakes?!
  • "Mussolini vs. Stalin," Gogol Bordello  If you haven't seen Everything is Illuminated (2005) yet, it's time to take care of that.  Eugene Hutz, singer/songwriter of the Bordellos, plays a key part in the film, which our pal Lois set us up to see.  However, it was my time as a DJ at WFHB that got me hip to this band.  Nothing like being a DJ to have an amazing infusion of music and experiences, no doubt.  
  • "All You Need is Love," The Beatles  Magical Mystery Tour (1967) was one of those albums I nicked from my parents' collection when I was four, taking it upstairs to play over and over and over on my plastic Fisher Price record player.  Ironically, my 215 class referenced this song in their newscast they shot this past Wednesday.  Like, weird.
  • "Tu mano mergyte," Omega  Classic throwaway Lith-pop.  The the guy lists off all the different ways he and his girl are a matched set (You're my little sun, I'm your little sunbeam, You're my little little heart, I'm your little kiss, etc.).  In Lithuanian, though, it sounds really nice--the lyrics are a litany of diminutives that carry a cumulative humor and tenderness.  Even if you don't understand the words, you can feel the flow:




  • "War," Bob Marley & The Wailers  Man!  Go back and listen to the lyrics here--it'll stop you cold.  Marley was nothing more than a cliche to me in high school, and I slowly warmed to him in college.  Only in recent years am I filling out his back-catalogue.  Better late than never?
  • "Medley: The Loner/Cinnamon Girl/Down By the River," Neil Young  4 Way Street (1971) was another of those albums I ran off with when I was four, and this track is an extra on the CD issue of that double-live from CSNY.  I actually got my dad a replacement vinyl copy for the one I destroyed some three decades previous.  Remind me again why I passed on getting tickets to see Neil the last time he was in town?!
  • "Strange Apparition," Beck  In which the Beckster does a pretty mean Rolling Stones impersonation that is most certainly meant to be heard on headphones.  Maybe not while raking leaves, but definitely on headphones.
  • "Archives of Pain," Manic Street Preachers  The last album recorded with Richey James before he plain vanished (suicide is presumed).  If The Holy Bible (1994) isn't the biggest downer you've ever heard, I want to hear what tops it.  Commercial failure, total genius.  I remember sitting in a cafe in Klaipeda (Lithuania) reading the lyric sheet for the first time, jaw ajar.
  • "Fio Maravilha," Toquinho/Jorge Ben  As Talking Heads wound down, David Byrne began putting together world-music compilations for Warner Bros.  The first he did was Beleza Tropical (1989), which I turned around and taped from my dad.  Hmmm--seems like there's a pattern here.
What's on your playlist these days?  What memories come to mind as you listen?  And perhaps most important, how many more snow-free weekends do we have this fall?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!