I'm listening to Amy Ray's new album Didn't It Feel Kinder and it's good, ... it's uneven, as some of her stuff is. So I'm disappointed but also so happy because when she's good, she's excellent. And when she's not good, she's just o.k. and that's still pretty good in my book. I'm a die hard fan. I'm one of those that can sing all the songs, that can tell you all the details of the album covers, all the liner notes, all the points along my life where the songs meant what and why and how. It's not something I'm particularly proud of, I mean, I don't consider The Indigo Girls and Amy's solo projects to be the cutting edge of great music by any stretch but then again, it's not bad stuff either. Like most folk-rock out there, it's good cause it's good to me. It's good in my mind, I like the way it sounds, I like what it evokes in my memory and it's good to me in that it does good things to me. It makes me feel good about my life, it causes me to remember the good things in my life, the tough shit I've got through, the great times I've had with friends and lovers, that music has been there for all of it. So this new album is just another ring on a finger on a hand that travels with me. And eventually I'll have listened to it so many times that I won't recognize the songs that I think aren't so good at first hearing. But for now, track two,"She's got to be" is excellent.

Well that paragraph was written about a month and a half ago. It sat in my blogger draft box all this time while I kept on listening, just waiting for the right time to be posted, to be ready. And yes, I've forgotten which tracks are uneven, which aren't so good at first hearing. But "She's got to be" is still the BEST ONE, oh my god, it's good. You want Amy to sing those high notes. You want to make Amy sing those high notes just for you. Oh god if only she sang those just for you. Ok, I lie, it's not her singing you want. Making those sounds yes, in your ear, in your bed, in with you, hmmm yes. Amy doesn't sing those high notes very often you see.

Now, the music. "Birds of a Feather" starts on a rather sour note, a typical Amy note in fact, and if you've not heard a lot of her music it's rather jarring to have an album open with a song that seems to be so down, so despondent, so un-melodic in fact. But if you listen to it four or five times it shines and especially that last chorus will make you smile. It's the perfect set up for the star track of the project, "She's got to be" (did I mention yet that it's the BEST ONE?).

Amy's in love. We love Amy when she's in love. Hell, we love Amy when she's heartbroken, when she's bitterly disappointed, when she's mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, and when she's sobbing like a baby because somebody took her last cigarette. But we really love Amy when she's in love. Amy in love is like a momma dog protecting her pups, like a eagle bringing fresh meat home to the nest, like pelican plucking her own breast to feed her chicks her own blood if need be (even tho that's indeed a myth). She's noble, regal, beautiful and sexy. And so is this song. Listen to it, buy it, soak up the love folks.

The falsetto is gorgeous and tender next to the more typical sounds of the chorus, the background vocals are smooth and angelic and the easy pop sounds of the guitars make this song a total hit.

"Cold Shoulder," "Who Sold the Gun," "SLC Radio," "Rabbit Foot" all sound like other songs from Amy's solo efforts, all follow formulas from other albums. But they're formulas we like. I don't mind one bit that "SLC" is the same genre as "Let It Ring" lyrically, or that "Cold Shoulder" fills the space of "Driver Education" or "Rural Faggot." "Who Sold The Gun" might be my least favorite song from the album but I guarantee you I'll love it live. Those yearning lines are hard to capture on a recording but are so damn sexy to hear in concert. And yes, it's reminencient of "Covered For You." Of course, "Rabbit Foot" is so much like "Rodeo" and that's just fine with me. I love those bittersweet songs.

Some are harder to match but just feel like they fit... "Out On The Farm" is a great song, so much like one that would go on an Indigo Girls album but I'm glad Amy saved it for this one, it's a song that deserves a solo vocal, that showcases her tone, her sound and the background vocals once again do that justice in a way that Emily Saliers accompanient changes things. There's a reason why artists do solo work when they're well known as being part of a duo.

"Bus Bus," (we'll overlook the verb conversate here) just whispers The Clash to me. Is it because I know of Amy's love for that band? Or is there something musically of it there? Readers, tell me! She proves she's not stuck in a 1990s musical style, though I doubt we'll see a Amy Ray hip hop catalogue any time soon.

All in all, Didn't It Feel Kinder is a new/old sound for Amy. How's that for a review!? New in that it's a real step away from her jangly, punk, rockabilly inspired tunes of Prom and Stag. This is a polished, much more produced, Indigo Girls sounding work, many tracks treading the line between solo and duo work. And old, in that the formulas remain the same, the lyrics revisit many themes that are constant in her music (thankfully) and with each effort Amy gives us quality, thoughful, and evocative art.

She's Got To Be mp3 Amy Ray Didn't It Feel Kinder
Bus Bus mp3 Amy Ray Didn't It Feel Kinder
buy it!

er,.... moan?

Public Service Announcement: fucking your friends has many benefits! So stretch your moral boundaries a bit (if you care to), play safe, and include your wife!

Regular blogging will resume after Dutch sex slaves/houseguests leave on Friday and I regain feeling in lower extremities. Hopefully by then I'll be able to walk as well ;)

Ooops, I'm being beckoned from the bathtub, until then enjoy vicariously with my favorite sex symbol (what is it about those Welsh men!?) and a great cover of another, xoxo!

Sexbomb Tom Jones Reload buy it
You Can Leave Your Hat On Tom Jones The Full Monty OST buy it
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy Revolting Cocks (Rod Stewart cover) Do Ya Think I'm Sexy buy it

Do you still listen to the music you loved in high school? Lately, I'm beginning to feel that the worse the news gets, the more us 30 and 40 somethings retreat into our past, into the music we cut our teeth on during the last great economic downturn.

Every semi serious music lover experiences changes in their musical taste as they become exposed to more and different kinds of genres. Part of blogging about music, for me, is looking back on how I received new music at different points in my life and comparing those memories to how I listen now. A great post over on Pretending Life Is Like A Song has me reminiscing and analyzing my transition from guitar-driven rock and roll to Punk and New Wave music in the early 80s. Adam unravels the meaning of "Alison" by Elvis Costello in both an academic and quite personal way -- this is great blogging folks, check it out.

And yes, Elvis Costello was pivotal for my transition. Other groups of the time also opened my eyes to a less regional sound (southern USA, "hard rock" bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Outlaws, The Allman Brothers, Molly Hatchet and Tom Petty dominated the airwaves where I lived. I took that to simply be what rock music was, not knowing how much more there could be). Soon, like everyone my age, I was lapping up everything the UK could offer me and American bands were evolving as well. But Elvis Costello--he was first.

This transition morphed into a very important social marker in highschool. There were three crowds to fit into: The Jocks/Preps, The Nerds/Geeks, and The Stoners. As you might guess they were closely aligned with social class, identified by the kind of clothes you wore, and the grades you earned. Until Punk and New Wave music hit, I had firmly been a member of The Stoner crowd. We liked our Southern Rock just fine, and threw it back with a hefty shot of Jack Daniels, a Budweiser chaser and some imported Colombian you-know-what. Football games were spent under the bleachers, Saturday nights saw us huddled around a blanket on the beach getting high to the sounds of a car radio.

Then the 80s hit and I began to find a niche academically. New Wave and Punk music had a cache that tore me out of my stupor, the lyrics were witty and meaningful. Reagan and Thatcher were gutting the working class, the mentally ill, and the children while the upper classes' wealth grew. My teenage angst was in high gear. I knew I'd never be "cool" but I might as well enjoy pretensions of Continentalism now if I were to ever escape my little beach town. I dreamed of college, Socialism, travel, love- all things that my Stoner friends hated with justifiable class resentment. But academics might be a way out, I reckoned and indeed, I was one of the lucky few who did make it. Music propelled me to aspire to larger things, it still does.

So the first major transition occurred. Another big one would happen about 10 years later, but that's another post....

Goodbye Stranger Supertramp Breakfast In America, buy it
Kid The Pretenders Singles, buy it
Is She Really Going Out With Him Joe Jackson, Classic Joe Jackson, buy it
Cockney Kids Are Innocent Sham 69 The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80, buy it

No crap post from me today! Nosiree! I've been up to my eyeballs in some good old-fashioned punk and it's got me out of my Saturday funk. Lucky you!

Someone please tell me, why are the Dead Kennedys still so completely a propos? Hmmm, ten bonus points for naming the country Bush will invade by January!

Kinky Sex Makes The World Go Round Dead Kennedys Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
Macho Insecurity Dead Kennedys Bedtime For Democracy

Buy the Dead Kennedys!

When I Was Cruel has plenty of gorgeous pop songs, but one in particular, "Tart", will have you sweating and crying, as Costello's voice rings out the emotion in your body, and the pretty melody brings out the joy in you.

Well, I am not one for music reviews, but I found this track to be so completely awful that I went searching for validation. Alas, I may be alone in my opinion. God, I hope not.

Tart, Elvis Costello When I Was Cruel

I know this is supposed to be serious Gothic Rock music, but listening to these tracks cheers me up somehow. Maybe it's the whiplash effect of justifying the "gothic" image of this group with their "retro" sound, (I mean how can I not think of "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive?), especially as heard on these two tracks.

Anyway, "Assassinate Me" is incredibly catchy, and well, "Nowhere Girl" just makes me laugh. Go figure. xoxo

Assassinate Me Jesus On Extasy Holy Beauty
Nowhere Girl Jesus on Extasy Holy Beauty


J.O.E. MySpace
Buy Holy Beauty

Jeane The Smiths Troy Tate Sessions, 1983 - the original.

Jeane The Smiths Hand in Glove (Sandie Shaw version), 1984 - Sandie Shaw, a great pop singer of the 1960s whom Morrissey and Marr idolized, makes a guest apperance on this track. You can hear Morrissey doing awesome, howling, back up vocals.

Jeanne Billy Bragg The Peel Sessions, 1991, or earlier as this is a collection of performances up to that date - fast paced, straining on the high notes, but for Bragg it's surprisingly in tune. This is my favorite version, although I hated it at first listen.

Jeane Billy Bragg Reaching To The Converted, 1999 - a slow, out-of-tune-starting version. Classic Bragg, he made this song his own, all full of angst, strongly accented with his Cockney inflection. Bragg says,

The Smiths cast a long shadow over this compilation, either in the person of Johnny Marr or in the influence on my songwriting. I felt they were my comrades in a struggle to bring the focus of songwriting away from production and videos and back to good tunes and great lyrics. They stopped playing this song so I picked it up and looked after it for a while.

Jeane Billy Bragg - unknown source
As far as I can make out, this track came from the great blog, This Recording, but I can't find any tag information for it. Do any of you know? It's labeled as track 18 but that didn't help me at all. Maybe it will you. Of course it doesn't help that I've found the title spelled as both "Jeane" and "Jeanne." It sounds like an older Billy rather than a younger one, so I'm guessing it's a late 1990s or early 2000s recording. It's in a lower key, with less angst, and more resignation to the delivery. Bragg's songs become less regional sounding as he ages, and yet still he gives us a gorgeous tune.

Nope, no hidden meaning in the lyrics of this one for me. I just loved playing around with the different versions this evening and seeing how Bragg, a favorite artist of mine, took something and gradually molded it to his own style.

buy The Troy Tate Sessions... well, keep checking here, you might find one!


buy Billy Bragg from his website!

One of my favorite words, "trajectory," ... I love tracing the sometimes non-linear, evolving nature of a thing, be it peoples' biographies, cultural entities like organizations or groups, or simply the sound of a band from one era to another. My latest assignment in the Tart's musical education, Joy Division and New Order. So, you can see why I'm thinking of trajectories right now. Plus, the concept of a trajectory is much more pleasing than that of a descendant or of a derivative which can be very judgmental. Trajectory just implies that something shot off in a direction, not naming the direction or even the force or extent of it's range. Keep that in mind here.


I hadn't listened to New Order's Substance probably since it first came out. The popular tracks were all the rage at parties and in clubs. To be honest, I never knew who the artists were behind "Bizarre Love Triange," "Shame of The Nation," and "Blue Monday." We just danced our asses of to them.

Now, as I listen to Joy Division for the first time, without even knowing the connection between it and New Order, I'm tempted to just turn it off. I can't get through it, I skip ahead in the songs, hoping for something bright. It's not there. My ears hear The Doors all over it. (Oh god, don't fling dead things at me, it's what i hear, ok?!) Without belaboring the point, I'll just throw out my observations to you dogs and see what happens (sorry Pup, I'm desecrating JD with Morrison as we discussed!).

• Obviously vocally, Ian Curtis in the later years of Joy Division took on a very similar baritone drone.
• Imagine the organ in The Doors music as two separated components, the upper register covered by the the guitar bits of Joy Division (and the synthesizer, obviously), the lower tones covered by Peter Hook's bass. So that you have a layering in Joy Division's sound over the more simplistic and yet "messy" sound of The Doors.The roots are still exposed however. I totally agree with Puppet Show; The Doors meander while Joy Division is clean and boxy and tight, as any post-punk band should be. But the skeletons of so many tracks are so aligned with each other.
  
• Ian Curtis' tragic death and that of Jim Morrison while of course not connected linearly do have a kind of cosmic loose affiliation, no?
  

Honestly, not having heard Joy Division before, I would place "Colony" as a derivative track, directly in the musical trajectory of The Doors, updated for a 1980s sound. Yes, I'm being judgmental in the case of "Colony." It's too close for my comfort level.

Colony Joy Division Heart And Soul
Means To An End Joy Division Heart And Soul
Strange Days The Doors Best of The Doors

But the real question of the day is how did we get from a song like "Colony" or "Means To An End" to the real pop-flavored stuff on Substance? Obviously there is a huge amount of carry-over, but the change is shockingly abrupt. Or is it just the context I heard it in initially? These are questions a blogger has to ask, our interpretation of music is so very much influenced by our past, is it not?

Call me crazy if you will, but as a new listener to this it's all I got for you today!

True Faith New Order Substance
Blue Monday New Order Substance

Hey buy all of these great songs, just follow the links!

Yeah, no mp3s for you either, apologies. I'm trying to keep as much RIAA stuff off of this blog as possible. Let me know if the allmusic links work for you, hopefully you can play the songs there, xoxox

At some point last night, my sweetie turned to me and said, "It's like they're up there, just ecstatically happy to be doing what they love to do and they can't even believe they're getting PAID to do it!" And that is exactly what going to last night's Holy Fuck show was like. Four guys, jamming on stage, bouncing like little kids on a trampoline and banging on their mom's pots and pans for the simple pleasure of the chaos. Except, in this case, add some incredible musical talent, of course ;) photo credit: neil365

We arrived about halfway through the second supporting band's show. I'm glad we got a chance to hear them, from the local review of their EP I'm not sure I'd want to have heard them.

The previous Poison Arrows EP, Straight Into the Drift, was dissonant avant-rock cloaked in a matte-black mood, simultaneously claustrophobic and desolate. The Casual Wave EP isn’t exactly a happy-go-lucky record, but the band has lightened up a little.

We walked into the Subterranean (one of the nicer, inexpensive venues here in town) to the sound of heavy drumbeats and strong bass work, the guitar riffs were almost a throwback to the classic rock of the 70s, just a small, sideways step from that psychedelic sound we associate with the time period. My itunes slipped onto Whole Lotta Love by accident while listening to this EP and in some odd way it just wasn't that far of a leap. However, vocally, The Poison Arrows are a whole different kind of group. For as retro as their guitar sound is, Justin Sinkovich's vocal style is understated, subdued even, right in step with so many contemporary indie bands. It's almost as if he's imitating the synthesizer featured predominately on the EP tracks. Hearing them live, I found the band to be less synth heavy and solidly guitar driven, but perhaps that was a function of our lateness. In any event, The Poison Arrows are not to be missed, surely a rising star, and an excellent warm up for the main attraction that night.

Trailer Park The Poison Arrows Trailer Park EP
Lockaway The Poison Arrows Straight Into The Drift EP
The Poison Arrows on MySpace
The Poison Arrows website



Holy Fuck came out to much applause, and although I'd heard about their loyal following it was a trip to see them in action. This band has carved the perfect niche out of the indie scene -- part heavy handed guitar and bass, a solid rock underpinning, and part rave, awesome improvised synth and vocal manipulations that you have to move to. The scene was awash with bouncing and head banging and if someone had tried to ride the crowd, I'd have not been surprised. And that sound in between songs? At first I thought it was the music from the club below, then perhaps the elevated subway (I know, it's an oxymoron, but it's what it's called here, get over it, it's the "El"), going past... but no, it was simply the roar of the enthusaistic crowd. In sociological terms, collective efferevescence was everywhere. photo credit: jalapeno

They played for an hour or so, and no, I can't tell you one song except Lovely Allen because I really think they made all the rest up as they went along. Honest. They do that. It's DIY indie style and it's amazing to see. That's why I wanted to go in the first place. There's only so much you can get from playing their CDs loud in your car. It's the kind of experience you need to feel, ... hot, sweaty, pulsing, the bass pounding up through the core of your body, hands swaying in the air, loud annoying woman behind you talking throughout the show (oh wait, that wasn't necessary, was it?), and most of all... your lover's body pressed up agaisnt yours.

I was worried that Meatpocket, aka, the little woman, the wife of mine, would hate it. But the minute they took the stage she was in motion. And a Meatpocket in motion is a thing of beauty. Holy Fuck has impeccable timing, their show ebbs and flows at almost all the right times, rarely do you wish for a creshendo when they're full on engaged in the downside. The whole show seemed to build up to the "hit" Lovely Allen and when it began, the crowd roared CHARGE in one giant gaping voice. They left the stage to a chorus of HOLY SHIT repeated over and over until they returned to perform a calming encore. We left exhilirated and exhausted into a swampy, dank night, -- drenched in sweat and washed by rain on the way home. But not before being sold the new CD, confusingly titled "LP," by the bass player himself! I'd had my eye on him all night, it's always about the bass for me.... And he was delicious looking, indeed. xoxoxo


The Pulse Holy Fuck LP
Tone Bank Jungle mp3 Holy Fuck SXSW 2008-3-14 - KEXP @ ACL Studio

Holy Fuck on MySpace
Holy Fuck's website, buy directly from them!
photo credit: INDEED

Get To Work (On Me)Post Honeymoon Between The Two. I missed them, but I'm liking the EP quite a lot, good low-fi, post punk goodness.
Post Honeymoon on MySpace

...an event?" Says I, to the kind, middle-aged housewife from Iowa on the phone at TicketWeb. "Sure, what's the event?".... and here's where it goes all so wrong.

Me: Well, I'm going to see a band, "Holy Fuck," sorry that's their name!
Her: Oh (deadpan)
Me: It really is their name, I'm not being vulgar, I'm so sorry (turning more than red, feeling sheepish and like I've just exposed somebody's mother to ebaumsworld.. no, do not google it if you don't know.)
Her: Ok, well, if that's their name, I guess it's not your fault. (not a hint of humor in this yet AT ALL)
Me: Uh, yeah, sorry again about that (complete humiliation achieved, thank you very much guys).

The things we will do to see good music. This conversation lasted a good 10 mins. with all the necessary credit card number tracing, checking with supervisor on the files - between Meatpocket and I, we sometimes get our accounts confused and I had no idea who's credit card I had used. So at the end, I'm sure Mrs. Iowa housewife thought I was not only some weirdo female pervert but one that was committing credit card fraud to do my evil deeds as well!

I may be a perv, but I'm certainly not a criminal one. In fact this week I was named "the fleshy pincushion of the blogosphere" in comments on another site (which shall go nameless, I've given him enough credit over here!). I took that as quite a compliment! I like to flirt, and online personas are good fun, and in a world where so much is impersonal, reverting to feminine whiles is not in itself a bad thing. Is it? Besides, who wouldn't want to be a major tart out here in music blog land? Most of you bloggers are men, how else does one join the "good old boys club" without the necessary equipment? Go ahead, give me a poke, I dare ya ;) And no, it's not a photo of me below, I remain anonymous thus far.

So it's Friday, and I've got a show to go to, this time with my lovely Meatpocket at my side. We'll see how the dear wife holds up to Holy Fuck. I'll keep you posted. And yeah, this last picture is for a certain pizza blogger, it kinds looks like the guy in it is actually considering going in, eh? Ewww.

SafariHoly Fuck EP
buy it!

photo credit for Hitler pincushion
photo credit for flesh poke
photo credit for fleshy pizza

Pop over to the great blog, Fong Songs and hear how the author atteneded the world premiere of the rock doc It Might Get Loud at the Toronto Film Fest. It's a cool story and he was actually in the audience with Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge. He includes a recording of some of the Q&A at the end of the screening... totally cool!

It Might Get Loud, official site

I hate silence, yet I work best in silence, it's such a cruel joke. Gradually, I'm hoping to train my brain to receive data, I mean thick, theoretical data, while listening to ambient music. Other people can do it, even with music that has lyrics. Surely I can make my mind do it, no? Just to be able to go to a coffeeshop and read would be a serious pleasure. Yesterday's Hauschka almost worked, after about the fifteenth go round I stopped listening to it. Here's something a bit angrier today, let's give it a go.

It's also chosen in light of my ongoing effort to switch webhosts, and transfer the small amount of music I've got here on the blog over. Turns out setting up a new file system, (this time correctly, I hope), does actually cause one (intermittently) to want to commit murder. But the kind 12 year old techs enslaved into windowless, brightly lit, carpeted, basement rooms over at the mega conglomerate web hosting site are really very kind when my memory of UNIX file permissions protocols temporarily fails. So, in any event, let us not deny corporate America their child labor and do let me know if the files are downloading slower or faster than before if you notice such things.

As for New Order, this is a track I pulled from a huge gift from the Pup. He's given me a Joy Division/New Order syllabus this past week in the Tart's-School-of-Music 102 (I did come to the table with some knowledge of my own). No, I've barely cracked the cover of it; yes, I'm getting to it as soon as I return properly from my foray into UNIX land. So, this track is all you get, and with very little explanation other than it suits my needs, has a fitting title for my mood, and I quite like the sound of it. Ha! What was I listening to instead of New Order in 1987? Probably the Smiths, Tom Petty, and I must admit Poison or Whitesnake, eeek! xoxoxo

Murder New Order Substance (Disc 2)

buy it!

I'm needing some peace and quiet here lately, and I'm finding myself turning to an interesting fellow named Volker Bertelmann, for you can't really have a quiet house or you'd surely go mad. I stumbled across Hauschka, as he is more generally known, awhile back on someone's blog, (before I knew better than to not keep track of where I was getting things so as to be prepared to thank them here.) I always loved piano pieces. Classical music was never a love, however. But piano music was somehow different and I could lose myself in anything that came out of a piano for hours or days. photo credit: bhollins

Hauschka does odd things to his piano. He plays a prepared piano, something created conceptually by the great John Cage. It's adulterated by all sorts of objects, thrown in, tied into, and otherwise mucking up the striking of hammers and tweaking of strings inside the instrument, thereby creating an altered sound. I love the idea of that when I'm feeling rather mucked up inside. But more importantly I love the sound that Hauschka makes and the elements of other instruments he blends into these pieces. It's good music for a quiet day, a day to just give my fucking head a rest.

Happy Wednesday, get over the hump with me, gently... save the exertions for this evening ;)

Haushka Room To Expand 2007

La Dilettante
Chicago Morning

Hauskha's webpage more downloads there
buy Room To Expand


photo credit: corrado.nuccini

At the new album by Joan Osborne, Little Wild One, out today, it's beautiful and wonderful and takes her back to herself as I first met her; a soulful, bluesy, sing-it-down-from-the-bottom-of-your-gut kinda woman. Damn that's sexy!

Little Wild One

buy it here

more complete review coming soon!

and you know what you do to me, my London lover. Sometimes it takes a song to transverse that ocean and make more real what I see when I look at you, what I feel when your eyes are on me. Come Christmastime I want your hands on me, your lips on me.... everywhere. Let's make it happen, my darling xx

You moved like honey in my dream last night
Yeah, some old fires were burning
You came near to me and you endeared to me
But you couldn't quite discern me

Does that scare you? Ill let you run away
But your heart will not oblige you
You'll remember me like a melody
Yeah, I'll haunt the world inside you

And my big secret - gonna win you over
Slow like honey, heavy with mood

I'll let you see me, I'll covet your regard
I'll invade your demeanor
And you'll yield to me like a scent in the breeze
And you'll wonder what it is about me

It's my big secret - keeping you coming
Slow like honey, heavy with mood

Though dreams can be deceiving
Like faces are to hearts
They serve for sweet relieving
When fantasy and reality lie too far apart

So I stretch myself across, like a bridge
And I pull you to the edge
And stand there waiting
Trying to attain
The end to satisfy the story
Shall I release you?
Must I release you?
As I rise to meet my glory

But my big secret
Gonna hover over your life
Gonna keep you reaching
When I'm gone like yesterday
When I'm high like heaven
When I'm strong like music
cuz I'm slow like honey, and
Heavy with mood

Slow Like Honey Fiona Apple Tidal
buy it!

[Edit: Just confirmed, Samatha and The Midnight Shivers will be at the Double Door here in Chicago on Oct. 17 with Will Hodge, the everybody fields, and McCarthy Trenching]

If you've never been to O.K., well... that's the best introduction I can think of for it. And Samantha Crain might become the best singer to come out of it since Woody Guthrie. I say become because this tiny person with this great big voice that echoed all the way up to my seat in the balcony tonight is only 21. Now to you who've seen the YouTube vid above that's not so shocking, but if you've only heard the songs, well, you'd be as shocked as I was.

Disclaimer: I'm a lover of folk music, but bad folk music is worse than even bad punk music and I've no qualms about walking out on a bad gig. No worries here, however with Samantha Crain. Tonight she gave a great solo performance, no... I take that back, tonight she gave a fan-fucking-tastic performance! She sauntered out on stage in her red cowgirl boots and blew us away with "Devils In Boston" featuring her wailing vocals and a damn fine harmonica.

I soon snuck an envelope outta my pocket and a pen and wrote down all the songs she sang, for being in the balcony I knew I'd never make it to the stage in time to swipe the setlist if she even had one. Sure enough, I never even saw it. I did get to speak to her after the show and hastily grabbed my crumpled and scrawled upon little paper, "oh and here's my attempt to keep track of what you sang!" I squealed a bit too loudly into her angelic face. "But of course, that's a bit crazy, isn't it?!" and I trailed off the end of that sentence with a laugh, to which she replied, "well a bit, but you can email me and I'll try and remember it for you." Sweet kid, this Samantha Crain, and I say that with no sarcasm in the least.

So, I'm embarrassed to email the girl from O.K. and here is what I can make out of what she sang for a captive and attentive audience tonight, who all applauded and some of us cheered and whistled, and one older woman in the balcony even sang along on the one's she knew and got an autographed poster, for she already had the EP, thanks "Campfires and Battlefields" and Matthew over on Song, by Toad:

• Devils In Boston - a foot stamping, rowdy opener, she shone righteously doing this for us.
  
• something with the chorus of "What will I do?"
• Get The Fever Out - go find this song and listen to it, it's beautiful.
  
• Calm Down - unknown to me, a slow and almost melodramatic tune, really lovely and yes, I can't help myself but say it, ...haunting.
  
• The River - with an introduction instructing us that indeed it is a comedic song, at least in O.K. where a preacher drowning children while baptizing them in the river really does hit the funny bone, from The Confiscation EP
  
• Traipsing Through The Aisles - from The Confiscation EP
  
• Where Will You Go? - this was a real and rare treat, a debut of a new song, never before played before an audience and she confessed to being quite nervous about it. I asked her after the show what the name was, this was the working title she gave me, but agreed that it was in flux still. The song was brilliant, full of passion, and I know that's kind of a cliche with her work, but honest to goddess, this song was so real, so full of force, you could see in her body how close to the surface it was for her, how new and raw it was. I think it gave us both chills, her to perform it (she kind of shook it off afterward, like when you get out of a cold pool of water and your flesh is all tingly) and us to receive it, we felt the electricity in the air this evening then.
• I Wish The Dam Would Break - introduced as a real "Oklahoma kind of sad song" and it truly was.
  
• the last song she played was the second song she ever wrote. I didn't get the title, I wish I had, for it reminded me of some of the early Indigo Girls songs, before they became known and when they just wrote folk music like their heroines did. The chorus went, "It ain't over yet... What you say, we hold each other up?" And it was gorgeous and simple and young and honest.

Go and buy Samantha's EP, it's only got five songs, it's all she could afford to do at the time, but there's more to come and it's going to be brilliant. She's heading back into the recording studio as we speak, with her band.

But more importantly go see her and The Midnight Shivers, she's wonderful to hear in person, her voice has incredible range, a tone and shape that is unique and interesting and just jarring enough to be so interesting that you want to keep listening to it for another hour or so to try to see what she'll do with it next, and she's gracious and unassuming on stage, a rare treat in so many ways! Lyrically, her songs travel to all those places of heartache, sadness, melancholy, bittersweet and remembrances long past due. You want to go there with her. You need to go there with her. Go see her. You have received your orders. xoxoxo

The River, The Confiscation EP, Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers 2007

Change Your Mind, Demos, Samantha Crain 2007

I Don't Wanna Know, Strange Fire, Indigo Girls 1987

buy The Confiscation EP
her MySpace
(Yes, two very different kinds of folk music for you today, but something about them goes together in my mind, ... the early rawness of an emerging woman artist perhaps)

I Like You, Morrissey, Live at Earls Court

buy Live At Earls Court

Wow in all this time, we see a good amount of people shuffle through here, it seems as though people enjoy the little blog we have going here... but the funny thing in all this time I have seen just a few comments from fellow bloggers. I am not one to bite the hand that feeds me, well I guess no ones really feeding me, so lets have some fun with this...

Reasons for not letting us know how were doing and leaving a comment...

A bit stuck on oneself and you really would do yourself if you could.
I Wanna Fuck myself - G.G. Allin - Doctrine of Mayhem .....buy it

You have a hard time with the English language.
Speak English or Die - S.O.D. - Live at Budokan .....buy it

Your all emo and your not sure if your gonna be around to see any comment on your comment.
Cutting - Ayria - Flicker .....buy it

You're a record industry type and are just scouting.
Kill the Music Industry - Cold - Year of the Spider .....buy it

So here is the deal, we (well mainly Tart) puts in a crud load of time and likes to hear from folks, let us know if you like what we're doing... THANKS!

So with Tart going all political-cide on me, I think I will clear up a few things as well... as much as she doesn't say she has a political agenda I would beg to differ. As for my alliance, I am neither a Republican or Democrat and actually consider my self a Libertarian (Yes I know throw away that vote) As much as I would agree with McCain choosing Palin because she has breastages, well she does, and lord knows that a good pair of breastages distracts a lot of people which can be good. Lets see, Nuclear war... pop those puppies out and distract the opposing side from the attack. Starving kids in Ethiopia (people if your still hungry move to where the food is for lords sake) well pop the tittens out and say, I WILL FEED YOU!!!! In essence breastages can be good.

So lets see am I for Sarah... well she does look good, and well fantasizing about doing the V.P. of one of the worlds most powerful nations... well that's just HAWT!

Anyway, I am NOT a supporter of Mr.Obama, as he has holes in some "stories" so I will begin with my tribute to him, followed by some good old fashioned tribute to Caribou Barbies with nice boobages everywhere!

Liar - Yngwie Malmsteen - Trilogy ..... buy it
Weak and Powerless - A Perfect Circle - Weak and Powerless CD single ..... buy it
The Most Wonderful Girl - Lords of Acid - Greatest Tits ..... buy it
Spotin' a Woody - Dangerous Toys - Dangerous Toys ..... buy it
Evil E what about sex? - Ice-T - O.G. Original Gangster ..... buy it

I'm trying very hard to not get too partisan on this here music blog; the Puppet Show and I never have any trouble at all finding common ground and sometimes agreeing to disagree when we are at odds. We're both generally uber-rational and only get more so when things get feisty, but I have to beg your indulgence here for a second while do some partisan romping. Regular programming will return in just a bit, I promise.

Actually I was fuming and fussing in my head for most of the day over "Caribou Barbie's" speech last night. I do give her kudos for making a hell of an impression on people! She gave a great performance. And I feel she will win many over. And in the interest of full disclosure I'm not much of a Democrat, honestly (Not to say I'm a Republican either, don't believe that for a second!) I do support Obama this time around out of desperation to stop what I see as some kind of death spiral in my country's political arena.

Now, before you go about crucifying me, yes, I agree, it is SO WRONG to criticize Sarah Palin for being a woman. And any comment about her family or her maternal duties are off limits, I agree. But I think it is fair to admit that she was chosen, in part because of her gender. So let's agree on that and enjoy the music.

Honestly, I was gonna leave Sarah alone today on the blog. But I had this song in my head all day and knew I'd find it on YouTube. Well, I found this instead, and it's oh so much better:


and just because I can't be subtle!

Ain't Nothin' But A Woman Robert Cray Strong Persuader ..... buy it

Crazy Woman Magic Slim and The Teardrops Black Tornado ..... buy it

Pipeline Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble Real Deal: Greatest Hits Vol. 2 ..... buy it