Not sure why I've been on a little ukulele kick lately, but there you have it. Here are a couple of selections to lighten up your Friday. Feel free to add more in the comments.
Picked up from Boing Boing...
Another good one from Sophie Madeleine...
The requisite adorable kid that makes me smile every time. This boy is brilliant...
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, November 09, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wilco, Ann Arbor — 10/16
Good times, old territory. I'm wearing a pair of 501s that are on their way to being retired, but I still love the jeans. They're comfortable. That's the way Ann Arbor feels to me — comfortable, known territory.
Seeing Wilco here last night was like bringing some new life into that old territory. Though I've seen them repeatedly over the years — first as Uncle Tupelo in 1992, and then three times since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released they consistently impress and amaze me in the shows. It seems that with each iteration they get tighter and more interesting as a band. What this allows them is a deep ground for turning out great renditions of recent songs and surprisingly energetic takes on tracks from their first album — and even sometimes from Tupelo days.
Last night, they mixed a healthy dose of Ghost with most of YHF. There was plenty of new stuff, of course, but the surprise came in what they played and what they didn't play from years past. I've never heard them pull "Box Full of Letters" out live or even do a complete wild card — "Just a Kid." Last night they pulled that out with a couple of spirited songs with Liam Finn joining in — "You Never Know" and "California Stars." There were some old favorites missing from Summerteeth and Being There, and I'm sure someone was crying over the omission of "Heavy Metal Drummer." The thing is, it was a 28-song set. In two-and-a-half hours.
Nels tore it up on the lead, and Pat Sansone was pulling all sorts of rockstar shimmies. Glenn was drenched by the end. Tweedy and Stirratt were as energetic as I've seen them. Still, the one odd note was the abrupt ending — particularly with a roadie waiting in the wings with a new guitar for Tweedy. The band seemed a little taken by surprise too. But anyone listening closely could hear how much Tweedy's voice was straining at the end. He seemed to be working at speaking in between songs. The best I can guess is that he finally gave out. But again... who can complain? They packed a hell of a set in those two and a half hours.
And like the city which is both comfortable and has a new surprise or two each year — some good, some not so good — the band I've followed so closely over the past few years was both a comfort and a great surprise.
Seeing Wilco here last night was like bringing some new life into that old territory. Though I've seen them repeatedly over the years — first as Uncle Tupelo in 1992, and then three times since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released they consistently impress and amaze me in the shows. It seems that with each iteration they get tighter and more interesting as a band. What this allows them is a deep ground for turning out great renditions of recent songs and surprisingly energetic takes on tracks from their first album — and even sometimes from Tupelo days.
Last night, they mixed a healthy dose of Ghost with most of YHF. There was plenty of new stuff, of course, but the surprise came in what they played and what they didn't play from years past. I've never heard them pull "Box Full of Letters" out live or even do a complete wild card — "Just a Kid." Last night they pulled that out with a couple of spirited songs with Liam Finn joining in — "You Never Know" and "California Stars." There were some old favorites missing from Summerteeth and Being There, and I'm sure someone was crying over the omission of "Heavy Metal Drummer." The thing is, it was a 28-song set. In two-and-a-half hours.
Nels tore it up on the lead, and Pat Sansone was pulling all sorts of rockstar shimmies. Glenn was drenched by the end. Tweedy and Stirratt were as energetic as I've seen them. Still, the one odd note was the abrupt ending — particularly with a roadie waiting in the wings with a new guitar for Tweedy. The band seemed a little taken by surprise too. But anyone listening closely could hear how much Tweedy's voice was straining at the end. He seemed to be working at speaking in between songs. The best I can guess is that he finally gave out. But again... who can complain? They packed a hell of a set in those two and a half hours.
And like the city which is both comfortable and has a new surprise or two each year — some good, some not so good — the band I've followed so closely over the past few years was both a comfort and a great surprise.
Friday, May 29, 2009
about last night
Josh Ritter put on a hell of a concert at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. The newly redone performance area is well laid out, and the roses are a stunning backdrop. We missed most of Justin Earle's opening set, unfortunately, but the couple songs we heard were as good as you'd expect.
The sun was just going down as Ritter and the band took the stage. They opened with a track I didn't recognized and went on to play a solid two-hour set that mixed up new songs with a nice spread of tracks from his first three albums. Their energy was spot-on, and even when he flubbed a line late in the show, he just laughed it off. I've said many times over that what I most look for in a good show is the energy and engagement with the crowd, and he had both in spades.
Among the setting-related highlights was this little guy. Frogs were all over the place, and Ritter joked about making breaks in the songs for them to sing along. Buttercup found this one near the pavilion. He seemed pretty happy in her hands and was safely returned to his home before we left.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Springsteen
I never really was much of a Bruce fan growing up or in my earlier adult years. In recent months, thought, I've watched two recorded concerts, and I appreciate the man for what he does — write good songs and put on a killer show.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
RIP Odetta
There's a remarkable interview the NY Times did with Odetta in 2007. It's a remarkable piece of oral history with some brilliant insights into her life and mind, and a few amazing moments of song. There are some pretty amazing moments of song here too:
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
wow
Rush on the Colbert Report. Playing "Tom Sawyer." These guys can still tear it up.
The video is up now. Song starts at 5:26...
The video is up now. Song starts at 5:26...
Thursday, February 28, 2008
I Want My Life To Make More Sense To Me
- The title of this post is taken from a song by Glen Hansard and The Swell Season. It's a hell of a song about making amends and turning around. The Swell Season, with Hansard and his partner Marketa Irglova, is also an excellent, quiet little folk duo. They were one of the highlights of the Oscars, and the notice they're getting is well-deserved. Don't forget to pay attention to Hansard's guitar if you do catch them. It's so well worn that the face has worn through in two spots, much like an Alvarez (at least I think it was an Alvarez) that my friend Ned Landin played on the street in Harvard Square years ago.
- I recently picked up The Animal Years by Josh Ritter. It's a hell of a good album. Ritter's lyrical strength is undeniable. Like early Bob Dylan, the lyrics are worth reading just for the imagery and excellent word play. The guy can also play a pretty damn good song. His energy was infectious in a live set on "The Artists Den" on Ovation, and I suspect I'll be searching out a gig within driving distance in the near future.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
inscrutable thoughts
The last time I saw Michelle Shocked in concert was 2002, not long before Banana was born if I remember correctly. The show was at Dave's in Fayetteville, which had both a good list of people who came through and an awful sound system.
I've seen Shocked five times over the years and only been disappointed once--in 1993 when she was making an ill-advised blend of folk and funk. The other shows were stellar, from the Arkansas Traveler tour when Uncle Tupelo and Taj Mahal opened for her and shared the stage to the Kind-Hearted Woman tour when she played with the Hothouse Flowers and played one of the best, most heart-felt sets I've ever heard. In 2002, she touring for Deep Natural/Dub Natural, an album that I lost for a few years during the first divorce. It disappeared into some other things once I got it back during the reconciliation. Consequently, I did not listen to it again until I came across it during the move in May.
Since then, I've listened to it repeatedly. The album may not be her best, at least for listeners who crave her early songs. She tends to noodle around on some of the tracks, the picaresque tracks are reminiscent of her earlier songs rather than breaking new ground. Still, there is something very compelling about the album. It's clear that she enjoyed making it--something about the airiness of many of the tracks.
In any case, one of the reasons I've been listening to it more lately is that I distinctly remember something she said as she told stories while playing the song "Joy" in that concert. Shocked started talking about all the ups and downs she's been through over the years; she segued into this: "I used to think I was a glass half-empty kind of person. Then I worked at becoming a glass half-full kind of person. Then I wondered if any of us stop to think how lucky we are to have the glass in the first place."
Those words resonate.
**********
Oddly, while I was writing this, "Sleep Keeps Me Awake" (Captain Swing) shuffled onto my iTunes.
I've seen Shocked five times over the years and only been disappointed once--in 1993 when she was making an ill-advised blend of folk and funk. The other shows were stellar, from the Arkansas Traveler tour when Uncle Tupelo and Taj Mahal opened for her and shared the stage to the Kind-Hearted Woman tour when she played with the Hothouse Flowers and played one of the best, most heart-felt sets I've ever heard. In 2002, she touring for Deep Natural/Dub Natural, an album that I lost for a few years during the first divorce. It disappeared into some other things once I got it back during the reconciliation. Consequently, I did not listen to it again until I came across it during the move in May.
Since then, I've listened to it repeatedly. The album may not be her best, at least for listeners who crave her early songs. She tends to noodle around on some of the tracks, the picaresque tracks are reminiscent of her earlier songs rather than breaking new ground. Still, there is something very compelling about the album. It's clear that she enjoyed making it--something about the airiness of many of the tracks.
In any case, one of the reasons I've been listening to it more lately is that I distinctly remember something she said as she told stories while playing the song "Joy" in that concert. Shocked started talking about all the ups and downs she's been through over the years; she segued into this: "I used to think I was a glass half-empty kind of person. Then I worked at becoming a glass half-full kind of person. Then I wondered if any of us stop to think how lucky we are to have the glass in the first place."
Those words resonate.
**********
Oddly, while I was writing this, "Sleep Keeps Me Awake" (Captain Swing) shuffled onto my iTunes.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Eagles
The Eagles' "Hotel California" just came on Radio Paradise. Like so many songs from the seventies and eighties, there's a bit of nostalgia that comes up--like bile, frankly. I remember thinking tracks like this were great until I started expanding my tastes and horizons in college, and until I became jaded enough to know that The Eagles were simply music biz inventions like so many other groups. Granted the version playing is a live acoustic recording, but its fidelity to the original is impressive. One thing is clear: their greatest talent is the ability to play that song (and the other hits) exactly the same way night after night. And to get thousands of cheering fans to sing along and pay lots of money to see the same thing.
I'm going to cut over to The National now. Time to cleanse the palate.
I'm going to cut over to The National now. Time to cleanse the palate.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
vintage listening
This just came up on my iTunes. Took me right back. It seems especially appropriate for all the time I've spent in recent months trying to juggle a ton of stuff and come to terms with a couple decades of weirdness. Enjoy!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Sad reflections on the Eighties
Mountain Stage tonight has an interesting line-up: Martin Sexton, Ryan Adams, Cowboy Junkies, and... The Hooters. I can take or leave Sexton and Adams--both are competent and have done a few good things. The Junkies, I love.
And then there's The Hooters. I had a fair dose of nostalgia for them from the era when I actually owned their tape--the only one that mattered. Their first few songs on the show were good, and then they closed with "And We Danced." It was their hit. It was good, right? But there are certain songs that should never be played acoustically with a mandolin, piano, and the vocorder-thing that was the "hooter." Never. Never play songs like this in that way. "And We Danced" only belongs in the rock-concert-fun nostalgia of the Eighties--through amplifiers, with people cheering, and very little spotlight on the actual song. Stripped down, it loses even the nostalgic fun.
And then there's The Hooters. I had a fair dose of nostalgia for them from the era when I actually owned their tape--the only one that mattered. Their first few songs on the show were good, and then they closed with "And We Danced." It was their hit. It was good, right? But there are certain songs that should never be played acoustically with a mandolin, piano, and the vocorder-thing that was the "hooter." Never. Never play songs like this in that way. "And We Danced" only belongs in the rock-concert-fun nostalgia of the Eighties--through amplifiers, with people cheering, and very little spotlight on the actual song. Stripped down, it loses even the nostalgic fun.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Son Volt @ Ginter Garden
I am a bit of a johnny-come-lately to Son Volt. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, both Wilco and Son Volt stayed on the periphery of my music. It took seven years for my Wilco interest to pick up and another six years for Son Volt to really hit my radar. The album Okemah brought them onto the radar and regular play on Radio Paradise fully brought them into my CD collection.
That said, I have only seen the various incarnations of what started years ago once-apiece. Tupelo touring with Michelle Shocked and Taj Mahal in 1992. Wilco last year. And tonight, Son Volt.
The show started off on low notes with a couple of tracks from the most recent album. The sound was muddy and awful. Farrar's vocals and all of the instruments were at the same level and lost in the outdoor venue. By the third song, however, the sound man had begun to clear things up.
They played a very clean set, mixing things up from the last two albums for the first half, and then bringing a good selection from the early albums. The band is tight, so tight that there was often little to distinguish the live performance from the recorded tracks. Farrar's reputation for staying aloof from the audience held true, and there was very little banter between songs. While this can make for a tight set, it can also take away from the live experience.
Basically, it was a good show, but except for one killer set of riffs during the encore, nothing really made it great.
That said, I have only seen the various incarnations of what started years ago once-apiece. Tupelo touring with Michelle Shocked and Taj Mahal in 1992. Wilco last year. And tonight, Son Volt.
The show started off on low notes with a couple of tracks from the most recent album. The sound was muddy and awful. Farrar's vocals and all of the instruments were at the same level and lost in the outdoor venue. By the third song, however, the sound man had begun to clear things up.
They played a very clean set, mixing things up from the last two albums for the first half, and then bringing a good selection from the early albums. The band is tight, so tight that there was often little to distinguish the live performance from the recorded tracks. Farrar's reputation for staying aloof from the audience held true, and there was very little banter between songs. While this can make for a tight set, it can also take away from the live experience.
Basically, it was a good show, but except for one killer set of riffs during the encore, nothing really made it great.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Red Dirt Girl
Banana and I headed down to Brown's Island this afternoon for the Canal Walk festival. The ultimate reason for goingwas the Emmylou Harris show. I was a little leery of the $40 charge at the door--mind you, it would have been $30 if I'd been willing to commit myself to it a day earlier. Ah well...
Banana had a hell of a time on the various moonwalks and climbing towers, and then we headed to the front of the stage area for the show. At first, with a burger in her hand, Banana was calm and enjoyed the show. Once she'd finished her burger, however, it was time to play. Thankfully, most of the people around us were tolerant of her, and of the little boy she eventually drew into a game of tag.
So, the show...
Emmylou Harris has a stunning voice. For me, that is the first and most important fact. It almost didn't matter what she sang, so long as you could hear her sing it. Anyway, her combo was simply the guitarist and singer Buddy Miller and bassist Chris Donohue. The three of them stood center-stage and had the audience rapt for nearly two hours on a stunning, clear May afternoon.
She hit on a number of covers of tunes by Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt, and others. A few selections off of Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl were thrown in. She dipped back a ways into her catalog, and then came right back up to the most recent album with Mark Knopfler for what hit me as one of the most stellar moments of the whole show--"Love and Happiness." She wrote the song with a friend as they were thinking about being parents of adult children, and she dedicated it to her niece who was at the show with her young child.
I'm a sap lately, I'll admit it. But when I think on my life and what I hope for Anna, lyrics like this mean a great deal:
Peace.
Banana had a hell of a time on the various moonwalks and climbing towers, and then we headed to the front of the stage area for the show. At first, with a burger in her hand, Banana was calm and enjoyed the show. Once she'd finished her burger, however, it was time to play. Thankfully, most of the people around us were tolerant of her, and of the little boy she eventually drew into a game of tag.
So, the show...
Emmylou Harris has a stunning voice. For me, that is the first and most important fact. It almost didn't matter what she sang, so long as you could hear her sing it. Anyway, her combo was simply the guitarist and singer Buddy Miller and bassist Chris Donohue. The three of them stood center-stage and had the audience rapt for nearly two hours on a stunning, clear May afternoon.
She hit on a number of covers of tunes by Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt, and others. A few selections off of Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl were thrown in. She dipped back a ways into her catalog, and then came right back up to the most recent album with Mark Knopfler for what hit me as one of the most stellar moments of the whole show--"Love and Happiness." She wrote the song with a friend as they were thinking about being parents of adult children, and she dedicated it to her niece who was at the show with her young child.
I'm a sap lately, I'll admit it. But when I think on my life and what I hope for Anna, lyrics like this mean a great deal:
You will always have a lucky star
That shines because of what you are
Even in the deepest dark
Because your aim is true
And if i could only have one wish
Darling, then it would be this
Love and happiness for you
Peace.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A quieter, tamer Wilco--not quite
Like a good Wilco-obsessed geek, I ran out to pick up my copy of Sky Blue Sky today. It was, of course, not the first time I'd heard the album. In fact, a copy hacked from the streamed album has been on my iPod for a couple of months now. That's the important disclaimer.
I really haven't spent much time with the album over those couple of months. First off, my iPod listening rarely tends to be album-based. More than that, however, was the fact that the album really hadn't grabbed me yet.
My early reactions were that it was good, more song-driven, quieter in some ways, and far less filled with ambient experiments. Unfortunately, there also wasn't anything that really grabbed me. Take any of their previous albums, and there is always one song that just turns the album from good to necessary. On Summerteeth, it was "Via Chicago" or "Shot in the Arm." On YHF, it was the opening track and every one after that. The other albums all have their standouts, too.
What I hadn't realized until today--and the third time around on the disc--is how cohesive the new album is. The songs are tight and clean. Tweedy's phrasing is as good as ever. More than that, the remarkable talent on all ends of the band seems to have coalesced into a real, solid entity. Cline's guitar balances Kotche's percussion. Tweedy and Stirrat seem to be having fun. Jorgensen and Sansone are messing around with keyboard and random instrumental lines in ways that work to build the songs rather than tearing down all the walls.
I'll leave the in-depth dissection of the tracks themselves to real critics.
I remember, as I listen to this album, seeing the band a little over a year ago. They looked like they were having fun on stage. That's a necessity, of course, but it was even clearer when they tested one of the tracks from this album--"Walken." The song brought out into an honest-to-god blues-rock jam. It wasn't precious. It wasn't clean. It was rock-and-roll, and that may be why the new album feels like a great album from a great band.
I really haven't spent much time with the album over those couple of months. First off, my iPod listening rarely tends to be album-based. More than that, however, was the fact that the album really hadn't grabbed me yet.
My early reactions were that it was good, more song-driven, quieter in some ways, and far less filled with ambient experiments. Unfortunately, there also wasn't anything that really grabbed me. Take any of their previous albums, and there is always one song that just turns the album from good to necessary. On Summerteeth, it was "Via Chicago" or "Shot in the Arm." On YHF, it was the opening track and every one after that. The other albums all have their standouts, too.
What I hadn't realized until today--and the third time around on the disc--is how cohesive the new album is. The songs are tight and clean. Tweedy's phrasing is as good as ever. More than that, the remarkable talent on all ends of the band seems to have coalesced into a real, solid entity. Cline's guitar balances Kotche's percussion. Tweedy and Stirrat seem to be having fun. Jorgensen and Sansone are messing around with keyboard and random instrumental lines in ways that work to build the songs rather than tearing down all the walls.
I'll leave the in-depth dissection of the tracks themselves to real critics.
I remember, as I listen to this album, seeing the band a little over a year ago. They looked like they were having fun on stage. That's a necessity, of course, but it was even clearer when they tested one of the tracks from this album--"Walken." The song brought out into an honest-to-god blues-rock jam. It wasn't precious. It wasn't clean. It was rock-and-roll, and that may be why the new album feels like a great album from a great band.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Turn Your Screw 3
Here's the set list for my recent mix CD for our little circle of music afficionados:
"I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" Wilco
"Elegant Transaction" Loose Fur
"Taillights Fade" Buffalo Tom
"Landed" Ben Folds
"Stockholm Syndrome" Yo La Tengo
"Salvador Sanchez" Sun Kil Moon
"Hold On" Tom Waits
"Goodbye Rye" Richard Buckner
"Transcendental Blues" Steve Earle
"Bandages and Scars" Son Volt
"Before I Go" John Hiatt
"Phantom Limb" The Shins
"Losing Streak" Eels
"Secret to a Long Life" Michelle Shocked
"Sons & Daughters" The Decemberists
"A Shot in the Arm" Wilco
"I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" Wilco
"Elegant Transaction" Loose Fur
"Taillights Fade" Buffalo Tom
"Landed" Ben Folds
"Stockholm Syndrome" Yo La Tengo
"Salvador Sanchez" Sun Kil Moon
"Hold On" Tom Waits
"Goodbye Rye" Richard Buckner
"Transcendental Blues" Steve Earle
"Bandages and Scars" Son Volt
"Before I Go" John Hiatt
"Phantom Limb" The Shins
"Losing Streak" Eels
"Secret to a Long Life" Michelle Shocked
"Sons & Daughters" The Decemberists
"A Shot in the Arm" Wilco
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