Recent CD Purchases

[mood swung]

Very good, Mr. Westinghouse. Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.

and look at yours - almost Faulknerian.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Loneliness - it came to me in the shower this morning. My wife is a Nancy fan, so I know that one well. Almost Faulknerian, and even moreso almost Shakespearian, but in truth it's really Sexsmithian, as so often.

[Mr. Average]

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things
John Coltrane - Giant Steps

[so lacklustre]

and



+ free t shirt.

Good packaging. Only got the latter for the dvd and sleeve notes but can't wait to get into the former.

[BlueChair]

Mmmmmm....

[Otis Westinghouse]

Verdict? Some rather lukewarm reviews here, e.g. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic ... 44,00.html

Others have been more glowing. Presumably a pretty similar vibe band and production-wise to The Greatest.

[BlueChair]

At first I thought it was good not great, but I've grown to love it over repeated listens. I don't see it being as much of a long-term favourite as The Greatest, but I love her versions of Dylan's "I Believe In You" and Joni's "Blue," both of which are starkly different than the originals. She also does a great job on James Brown's "Lost Someone," and "Aretha, Sing One For Me" is also a great old forgotten Stax tune that I'm glad to discover thanks to Cat Power. If you like Cat Power, I'd say this one is worth picking up. One of the originals, "Song To Bobby," is particularly oustanding.

[mood swung]

be still, my heart.

[so lacklustre]

Maccabees - Colour It In

[miss buenos aires]

New Cat Power and new Magnetic Fields... haven't had a chance to give either a proper listen yet.

[ice nine]

A package from Amazon:

1. In Our Bedroom After the War - Stars. There are four or five standouts here. 'Personal' reminds me of that Damien Rice song.

2. Essentials - Ellis Paul. Ellis is a New England coffee-house singer/songwriter. Big in Boston, lives in Maine. Cross between Mathew Sweet and Ron Sexsmith.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Fantastic performances of all 15 of Shostakovich's immense string quartets - for just $28. I remember going to see a performance of #7 when I was in college and being absolutely transfixed. The Brosdkys did a complete cycle back in the early '90s that I believe is now out of print. I'm sure it cost more than $28.

[StrictTime]

Tom Waits, Rain Dogs. Thanks, Blue. I've listened to only the first bit, but it seems mightily impressive. I'll have listened to it all by tomorrow. Last of the Xmas stuff, Best Buy gift card.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Well done. Now you want to see Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law. Features two or three numbers off Rain Dogs (Jockey Full of Bourbon as we cruise New Orleans streets in bright sun, etc.) and Waits acts in it. He said he couldn't resist the part when he saw he had to wear a hair-net at one point:

I met Jim Jarmusch in Berlin once (as you do), '87, not so long after DBL, and he was telling me what a great character Waits was to work with. He also had a great tale of a drunken meeting in the desert between Waits and Shane MacGowan. Hell I'm such a name-dropper (though truth be told, Jim is the closest I've come to meeting a famous person).

[so lacklustre]

Listening now for the first time, could be a debut classic.

Stuttering heart-in-mouth lushness Uncut
Overflowing with blissful melodies Dazed and Confused
Little Death is an indie pop gem Evening Standard
Quicksilver ruffian-pop NME

[ice nine]

Patty Larkin - Watch The Sky

A great CD which I purchased at her show. She produced it and played all the instruments. It deserves all the raves it is getting.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Not yet a purchase as it ain't out yet, but when it is, it will be! New Elbow LP, The Seldom Seen Kid. Single Grounds For Divorce sounding great (Guy seems to be turning more into Peter Gabriel with every release):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seldom-Seen-Kid ... 058&sr=1-1

http://hypem.com/search/elbow/1/

[Who Shot Sam?]

Not yet a purchase as it ain't out yet, but when it is, it will be! New Elbow LP, The Seldom Seen Kid. Single Grounds For Divorce sounding great (Guy seems to be turning more into Peter Gabriel with every release)

Actually did see the video for that and will have to pick it up when it's released over here. I think Hawley plays on one track.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Yep, from the link above: 'Richard Hawley duets with Garvey on next track "Fix", a chirpy, atmospheric, after last orders little number which lyrically deals with a pair of chancers making plans for their ill gotten gains.'

[Otis Westinghouse]

Annoying review - I'm known as a fan of this writer, but hasn't he heard the brilliance of Leaders of the Free World? It was in top 10 albums of the year for 2005 left, right and centre.

http://music.guardian.co.uk/reviews/sto ... 35,00.html

I love Grounds for Divorce. 'There's a hole in my neighbourhood down which of late I cannot help but fall.' This calls for a trip to Fopp on the day of its release.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Yep, from the link above: 'Richard Hawley duets with Garvey on next track "Fix", a chirpy, atmospheric, after last orders little number which lyrically deals with a pair of chancers making plans for their ill gotten gains.'

Hear it here:
http://www.theseldomseenkid.com/

[Who Shot Sam?]

Annoying review - I'm known as a fan of this writer, but hasn't he heard the brilliance of Leaders of the Free World? It was in top 10 albums of the year for 2005 left, right and centre.

http://music.guardian.co.uk/reviews/sto ... 35,00.html

I love Grounds for Divorce. 'There's a hole in my neighbourhood down which of late I cannot help but fall.' This calls for a trip to Fopp on the day of its release.

They are playing here at the end of April at Webster Hall. Thinking about getting tickets. That is an annoying review. WTF?

[Otis Westinghouse]

He is rather prone to spending a third of a review writing something clever and witty that has nothing to do with the task in hand. I wasn't much aware of Elbow when Asleep In The Back when it first came out, but Newborn got some exposure and you could tell it was the mark of a band with something special about them.

Definitely you must see them. I thought they were fantastic when I did - hugely powerful and exciting. Newborn was probably the high-point, rising for minutes in a huge tidal wave of a crescendo to then be brought to a sudden stop. Real hair-raising stuff. I'm tempted to go and see them again in the same venue, Brixton Academy, but two London gigs in one month would be a little excessive. Last time they played Cambridge (and I missed it, so it was just as wel I went to London), but sadly not this.

[BlueChair]

Went on a vinyl run for the first time in ages. Wound up with Leonard Cohen's I'm Your Man, The Rolling Stones' Their Satanic Majesties Request, Randy Newman's Little Criminals and Stompin' Tom Connors' Bud The Spud

[Otis Westinghouse]

'There's a stone-washed Blue Chair on a vinyl run.'

I just followed WSS's lead and ordered a 5 CD set of all Beethoven's symphonies conducted by David Zinman, £12.69 all in. Brilliant deal.