This Holy Mess
“It’s hardly morning
It’s early January
There’s always something
That’s coming or goneOut in the dark light
I go walking
Into the quiet
Of this holy mess”So I’m a sucker for the gritty raw singer songwriter types. Springsteen, Earle, Prine, Tweedy, and this fella, Matthew Ryan. My favorite of his CD’s, ‘May Day’, was left in a rental car at the Burbank Airport, along with about 30 others. I hope the rental car agent or car washer is at least listening to some of the CD’s. Yep, another one of my shining moments. DOH! There goes a case of CD’s! See ya!
Anyhow, take a listen to “Me & My Lover”. What I love about ol’ Matt is when he kicks it up a notch into the next octave at the 2:21 mark in the song. It’s effortless and so powerful. And the chord changes are great. This tune starts mellow, kicks into gear, and goes back down the hill toward the end. It’s a nice sweet ride with a hint of bitterness: “cause most things are meaningless, the more you get to know them”.
For those who like the artists I mention above, you’ll like Matthew Ryan. ‘May Day’ is a great introduction…
Matthew Ryan – Me and My Lover (mp3) – 2000, ‘East Autumn Grin’ – {Amazon}Nels Cline – Mas Sangria, por favor!
In keeping in line with music that involves one of my favorite beverages, sangria, I give you the long, intoxicating journey that is “Sangria for Three”, as performed by Nels Cline, Wayne Peet, and Alex Cline, live at the Alligator Lounge in Santa Monica, CA. This one was downloaded from Nels’ Official Web Site, which has a ton of great MP3 downloads. Check his site out here.
I’ve just recently begun to explore Nels’s music, which is, again, hard to label. Improv crazy acid mind bending guitar jazz. Iiii dunno.
Nels Cline/Wayne Peet/Alex Cline – Sangria for Three, from the Tony Williams “Lifetime” Tribute – Live @ Alligator Lounge, Santa Monica, CA USA 03/17/97
Photo credit: “The Nels Cline Singers” by mrnnr is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
DVD – “Tom Dowd & The Language of Music”
The language of music indeed… Recently watched this DVD about the legendary engineer/producer and all-around music man Tom Dowd and I have to say that this is the best music documentary/DVD I’ve seen in years. The life this man led and the scope and span of music and musicians he was involved with is simply staggering… I wish I could have done one-tenth of the things this man as done.
We’ve all seen his name countless times on 45s, LPs, CDs, but we never really knew who he was and what he was capable of, until now? From jazz to rock, from soul to blues, from Dizzy Gillespie to Eric Clapton, this man has seen it all and heard it all and been there behind the scenes. The only comparison that comes to mind in this genre-spanning, decades-long category is discoverer-producer John Hammond, Sr.
Dowd proves himself to be not only a worthy study because of his musical history but also because he is a thoroughly wonderful human being. From his involvement in the Manhattan project (no, not the vocal group the Manhattans), to his innovations in the technical aspects of recording music, the man is awesomely talented. But it ends on a ironic and sad note, Mr. Dowd passed away shortly after the film was completed and originally shown. Buy this, rent this, steal this…. do anything, just see this wonderful documentary. Note: I noticed once in a while it shows up on PBS outlets and things like Bravo.
Here’s the link on Amazon.
Old School Saturday – Electric Lady
It’s time to take you back to 1985. I was a 15 yr old snot-nosed little kid and I loved the 80’s R&B / Soul of the time (thanks to Prince opening up my mind and expanding my love of music a year earlier), including this absolute classic by Con Funk Shun. Now, these brothers were around a looong time before I came across this tune. They got together in the late 60’s.
This track was produced by Larry Smith, who produced Run-DMC’s first two albums, and Whodini’s Escape (another one of my favorites of the time…”I’m a Ho”, anyone?). So dig if you will the picture, of Con Funk Shun busting out a little Electric Lady on yo ass….
By the way, I have to thank Tofu Hut for an honorable mention on their site. My traffic has picked up quite a bit as a result.
So come on folks, click the little Comments thing under the posts and let me know what you think. Does any of this music fill your soul, or make you beeline for the latest toilet? Anybody else remember Electric Lady? You thought it was Cameo too huh? Hehe. Me too…
What do you get when you cross Elvis and Bob Marley?
No, it’s not fried peanut butter & ganja sandwiches, it’s this ‘mash-up’ of Elvis’ “Crying in the Chapel” over the rrrrasta beat of Bob’s “Satisfy My Soul.”The great music blog The Suburbs Are Killing Us writes:
“Fuckin’ love song here, son.”
That’s what the King says at the end of what must be a modern mashup of ol’ Elvis croonin’ the Orioles’ 1953 hit “Crying in the Chapel” over the Wailers’ “Satisfy My Soul.” If there’s one thing that Elvis knows more than love, son, it’s Rasta biznezz. And snacks.The tune came out on a limited edition 7-inch last year, with Presley’s “In the Ghetto” vox laid over “Taurus Song” by Sound Dimension on the flip.
Love and Mercy to you and your friends tonight
If you saw the tsunami celebrity extravaganza the other night, you may have seen Brian Wilson performing “Love & Mercy”, a simple and poignant tune from his 1988 solo debut. Before I ever found out that the tune was Brian’s, I heard the tune coming from Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, which I guess was in pre-Wilco times (maybe while he was in Uncle Tupelo). He was part of a side project called Golden Smog, which also contained members of Soul Asylum, the Replacements, the Jayhawks, and more. Sort of a supergroup that got together in the Minneapolis area in the late 80’s – early 90’s.
Well, I was quite taken by the song for it’s simplicity, beauty, and important message. Take a listen.
{Amazon}Van the Man – See Me Through
Last Sunday morning my wife asked to hear some Van Morrison, so, I kindly obliged by queuing up the best of Van’s more spiritual offerings, “Hymns to the Silence.” Now, for the uninitiated, this is not the young, stoned, romantic Van of hit-making days and his still fresh sounding “Moondance” era. This is Van the Preacher Man in all of his enlightened glory. He is older, wiser, and has a more seasoned approach to life, but still not quite mainstream and always ready to lash out at the hand that feeds him.
Anyway, this song, “See Me Through, Part 2 (Just a Closer Walk With Thee)” is an incredible surprise to anyone who has not heard it. It starts out gentle enough with the standard organ giving it that proper church feel befitting of an old gospel classic, but wait…. on the second bridge, Van begins speaking…. about the past and what has sustained him through the years (hence the See Me Through title)… and he builds to a feverish pitch that never fails to send goosebumps to run all up and down my spine. It is thrilling and very inspirational to hear… you won’t believe it…. it is the most impassioned recitation in a recorded piece of music I have ever heard. And there is a message to it, it gets in your head and bounces around until you’re ready to stand and shout, “Preach it Van, I hear ya, preach it brother.” Sit back and take a listen and prepare to be moved….
FThere’s a ghost that haunts this town – Steve Earle
Steve Earle. Still a hidden gem. He’s managed to fly just enough below the radar that when I’m asked who I listen to, and one of my replies is Steve Earle, it always elicits a “hmm, haven’t heard of him”, or “what kind of music does he play?”. I can’t say country. I can’t say alt-country. Roots rocker? Singer songwriter? No, too tame. Blues, rock, country, bluegrass, just plain old American is Mr. Earle. All wrapped up tight into one opinionated, fiery sonuvabitch.
Well, after a brief prison vacation in the early 90’s, Steve has released some of the best albums I will ever own. ‘I Feel Alright’, ‘Train a Comin’, ‘El Corazon’, ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Transcendental Blues’, last year’s ‘The Revolution Starts Now’. He keeps churnin’ em out.
Anyhow, I came across this acoustic live version of “Halo ‘Round the Moon” a few years ago. It’s probably my most frequently played tune in my Steve Earle collection. It’s short, sweet, intense, sad, and beautiful. I remember seeing somewhere that this was recorded live in Sweden, but I’m not sure. If anyone knows, please let me know. He starts out with an intro about Galway Bay, the River Carrib , and the Wolfe Tone Bridge. The studio version appears on ‘Transcendental Blues’, which Steve wrote during a months-long stay in Galway. I hope someone out there enjoys it as much as I do (and the guy at the 2:06 mark who lets out a primal “EAAGGH”.
See Steve’s Official Web Site
Steve Earle Original Unofficial Site
Check out Steve’s albums on Amazon
Find out more about Steve on All Music Guide.Stetsasonic’s Talkin’ all that Jazz
And so tonight we go back to 1988, whence Stetsasonic released ‘In Full Gear’ (and just by looking at the album cover above, wouldn’t you agree that, wow, yes, they are in full gear?), and the best track on the album was (and is) entitled “Talkin’ All That Jazz”. Their DJ, Prince Paul, produced one of my favorites, De La Soul’s ‘3 Feet High and Rising’.
So anyway, the song defends the art of sampling the music of others, and includes a trumpet sample by Donald Byrd. Kudos to whoever can peg the actual song. Googling “Talkin’ All that Jazz sample” didn’t do it for me. Dang.
But, it’s the beat that’s always done it for me on this tune. Stet was one of the first rap groups to use a live drummer. Again, I wish I was musically articulate enough to expound on the technical details of this beat, but all I have is: “goldang it sounds goooood!” Maybe my drummin’ buddy Richard can help. 4-4 beat? 2-4? Hell if I know, but it sounds good.
A Texas Prayer – Old 97s “No Mother”
Led by Murry Hammond and Rhett Miller, the Old 97’s have been putting out their Texas brand of super-charged country punk for the better part of twelve years. Last year, they released their sixth album, ‘Drag it Up’. The album wraps up with a – well – it can be best described as a dirge.
Tsunamis, the horrible mudslides in California, and of course, the ongoing living Hell that is Iraq… I figured this song fits the bill right about now. I’ll be back at ya with some more high spirited, up-tempo selections, but this song seems appropriate at the moment. May all those poor souls rest in peace…
Cherish every moment of life and count your blessings.
Buy Old 97’s on Artist Direct.
See the Old 97’s Official Web Site.
