Due to recent relocations, I’m now the member of the 3Hive crew who’s keepin’ it real in the Dirrrty South. Yet, as it was in New York City with calling myself a “New Yorker,” I imagine it will take at least a few years before I’ll come close to calling myself a “Southernor.” And I imagine that for my friends, family, and neighbors down here, calling me a “Southernor” just ain’t gonna happen while I’m above ground. The Force runs deeply with Charlestonians. Anyhow, Barton Carroll is helping out the transition quite nicely. I’m not sure where he’s from, but Carroll is on the Birmingham, Alabama label Skybucket, and one of his songs posted here is “Brooklyn Girl, You’re Going to be My Bride,” which, even if it weren’t as optimistic and toe-tappable as it is, would have a special place in my heart because that’s the borough where my wife and I were when we got married. Thankfully, the melancholic “Pretty Girl’s Going to Ruin My Life (Again)” doesn’t have quite the same personal resonance. But with his Roy Orbison-esque falsetto and Buck Owens-esque lyrics like “Hair’s falling out and my back’s got a pain/ I been drinkin’ my Scotch in my truck in the rain/ I think it’s fine way to spend the day,” well, it does sound like a fine way spend the day—whether in New York, Charleston, or anywhere in-between.
The Two Man Gentleman Band
I was just looking around on the Serious Business website after posting about Benji Cossa’s Christmas album when I noticed the song title “William Howard Taft.” You know, the only U.S. President to also be a U.S. Supreme Court Justice? No, no, you only remember Taft as being the fat guy, the poor sap who got stuck in the White House bathtub. Well, that’s pretty much what The Two Man Gentleman Band remembers about him too. (I actually think he was in a tough spot, following in Theodore Roosevelt’s footsteps and all. I guess I tend to feel sorry for Taft.) With their Dixieland, Tin Pan Alley, goofy slapstick kazoo-billy rock, these New Yorkers tend to have a blast in the recording studio. If you’re not one of those serious-types, check out “Prime Numbers.” It’s kind of hard not to laugh, eh?
Hey Hey My My
Every once in a while, something pops up in my inbox and completely catches my eye. In this case it was the music of two Parisian musicians who improbably have same first name and last initial, who have referenced Neil Young in their band name and who make music that is alternately sober and peppy. Even if I didn’t harbor closet francophilia, a tendency toward melancholic-yet-oddly-upbeat music, and and a predilection for bands with “Hey” “My” “Clap” or “Ra” in their titles–they still would have had me at the opening of “Too Much Space”. I hear they will soon be descending upon the states for a tour and that is good news indeed–these guys make me feel like I’m gonna be able to gloat about knowing about them first.
The Mammals
Truth be told, I don’t know any more about The Mammals than what I read on their website. (It tells us that they’re a folk-rock quintet, a string band offering up traditional music sometimes, political rants at other times, and generally having fun traveling around in a van.) There are other downloads available on their website, too, but there’s something in their cover of Richard Thompson’s song about the Vincent that just works for me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been listening to a lot of Woody Guthrie over the last few days, using “Pretty Boy Floyd” to teach about the Great Depression in my U.S. History class, and letting the disc run on with “Jesus Christ,” “Pastures of Plenty,” and “Blowin’ Down the Road.” This take on “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” (Google says Thompson’s version is the most-requested song on NPR) fits perfectly in this series — the overwhelming narrative strength, the focus on the human condition, the crooning and the picking… Maybe later on this week I’ll plug in again, but for now I’m adjusting my audio-carbon footprint and going straight acoustic.
Josh Ritter
What I said about Josh Ritter a year and a half ago pretty much stands true today, except that now there’s another great release to add to his repertoire, including the fantastic, Dylan-esque “To the Dogs or Whoever” offered here. They don’t make as many songwriters these days who can encapsulate the sweeping American experience and still sound as personal as your oldest and dearest friend, so set yourself to downloading (especially “Dogs,” “Kathleen,” and “Harrisburg”) and have a great weekend.
Madeline
Yesterday, Sean alluded to what’s going on with Orange Twin down in Athens, GA, so I figured I’d elaborate on that a bit. Folks from the band Elf Power have, in addition to setting up their own record label, begun organizing, as they call it, “a pedestrian-based eco-village” with 100 acres of preserved woodlands five miles from downtown Athens. On the website, you can see pictures of the community house they’re fixing up, and the approval they’ve received from local government. Neat stuff. Also neat — and totally receiving less attention in this post than she deserves — is Madeline Adams. She’s been singing her songs in Athens since she was a teenager, and already has two full-length albums under her belt. Check out the tracks from her most recent release, The Slow Bang, for a sampling of her sparse, warm, intimiate acoustic offerings; more downloads and a very pretty crayon drawing can be found at Madeline’s website.
John K. Samson
I really wanted to post something about Reunion Tour, the new album by The Weakerthans, and it looks like there are two tracks from it on the Anti Records website, but I’m still a techno illiterate and am unable to link these babies up. Instead, here’s a blast from the 1990s, from John K. Samson’s solo album Little Pictures, rereleased by G7 in 2006. Samson is like our own (Canadian) Woody Guthrie, a social activist lyric genius. John K.’s guitar kills fascists too, I bet.
The Cotton Jones Basket Ride
It might take a few spins — there must be something spinning inside the computer, right? —for this debut track from The Cotton Jones Basket Ride to really work for you. Greg and I were hanging around, giving it a listen, and our first thought was to turn down the volume, for the sake of discretion. But there’s something about former Page France frontman Michael Nau’s voice that begs to be heard. In this case, it’s the refreshingly bluesy, breezy falsetto of “Had Not A Body.” He’s singing about demons in his head and fire in his throat, but you know, the song is so cool and laid back, it’s really nothing to worry about. Time will tell if the rest of his new debut, Paranoid Cocoon, will be equally tranquil; it’s due in early 2008. Until then and according to the promo people, “an individually handmade, hand-stamped, limited EP Booklet of five songs is available for purchase at all Cotton Jones shows, and via the Quite Scientific website. The booklets are hand made, hand stamped, and include a CD of four songs set to appear on the upcoming record, and one exclusive to the release.” Right on.
Dan Blakeslee
I kind of just want to rip off the songs:illinois riff on Dan Blakeslee. It’s concise, has very nice comparisons to musicians I was thinking of too (Jeff Buckley, in particular) and, well, it’s already written. I penalize my students for plagiarism, though, and doing the same here would just make me a jerk. Dan Blakeslee seems like no jerk; in fact, one of his albums is a recording of a live set performed at New Hampshire’s Laconia State Prison. He’s described as a “folk god” in local New England press, and after reading about him for awhile, you get the impression that he’s like a Homeric minstrel poet for the Robert Frost set. And he can fiddle. So, thanks for the borrow, songs:illinois.
Biirdie
Biirdie’s brings the heartache like a slow-approaching thunderstorm. They lace their lush Americana sound with bits and blips of modernity a la fellow Californians Grandaddy. However, the double threat of Kala Savage’s angelic vocals and Jared Flamm’s world-worn pipes really put them in a class of their own. Plus they also made my baby girl sway at breakfast this morning while eating her Cheerios. So that’s a double thumb’s-up if ever I heard one.
Plus, I just read that Kala is Fred and Ben Savage’s sister…FTW!