What are you listening to right now?

[Jack of All Parades]

I give thanks every day for Levon Helm- have been listening consistently to his latest- "Electric Dirt"- he is a national treasure. This album is everything that "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane" is not- sincere, simply elegant-lived music. Starting with a rousing version of the Dead's "Tennessee Jed" and then moving through a lexicon of blues, folk and gospel/soul staples this album is consistently winning. His voice no longer has the keening beauty it had-that call and response tone that I loved[listen to him sing the old Muddy Waters tune "The Stuff You Gotta Watch"]-but it now has an earned fragility and tiredness in its timbre that has been earned. I rejoice that he can sing again having licked cancer. Aided by his daughter and Larry Campbell on various stringed instruments along with a crack band, he sings with the self-knowledge of a life lived on the land and in the music he celebrates so beautifully. I live not too far away from his home up in the Woodstock area and have never made it to one of his "rambles" in his barn-I plan to make a concerted effort to attend one in the near future- it would be a meaningful pilgrimage.

[Jackson Monk]

Bought this lot this week. Loving them all and can't believe I've never owned them. Folk rock at its best.

[Jack of All Parades]

You are so right- have had copies of all three in my collection since a young teenager-What We Did on Our Holidays was the first record I ever purchased-long may little Matty Groves ride- no serious collection should be without these three- was just thinking of getting tickets to see Richard with Loudon Wainwright when they play the 'Westchester Delta country' in October in Tarrytown, NY. Enjoy them- they are the lexicon of British Folk.

[invisible Pole]

If you're looking for something to ease your mind, this is as good as it can get.



Steve Kilbey, for those who may not know it, is a frontman of an Australian band The Church.

[Jack of All Parades]

As an indulgence- allowed myself recently to purchase the new compilation cd from the Jayhawks "Music From the North Country"- mostly for the generous bonus disk of material as I have the six studio CDs- finishing the biography of Gram Parsons "Twenty Thousand Roads" made me reflective as to the overall quality of this band's output and of the particular talent of Mark Olson and Gary Louris- I do not think there is an American band that can equal their output in the past twenty years- even after Olson left in the mid 90s-for sheer beauty, quality and consistency. When they are on their A game- and that is most of the time-they bring to fruition what Parson's dreamed of as that wild "American cosmic music". They harmonize like angels, write cogent, intelligent yet hooky songs and play them with a freshness that is beguiling. Louris has a guitar sound that at times so reminds me of Neil Young in texture -particularly when Neil is on an inspired jag- the differnece is that Louris can keep it to a trained length cutting it off at just the right moment to get back to the next verse or refrain. They have a list of songs that any discerning listener should appreciate- this album is an excellent introduction for new listeners but I would urge going to the sources "Hollywood Town Hall", "Rainy Day Music", "Tommorrow the Green Grass", "Smile" or "Sound of Lies". They even have a song "All the Right Reasons" that - if the world were right- would replace all the insipid Wedding songs of the last 40 years as the standard event song- it is that good and they are that good.

[Otis Westinghouse]

'45' has been my anthem today because... I turned 45! Well it was only going to happen once. haven't played this LP in years. SOme of it sounding great, e.g. 'Tart'- wow! Some of it less so. '45' still sounds brilliant, and what a great lyric. I love the feistiness of much of the record.

[Jackson Monk]

Congratulations for yesterday my friend...lots of tequila I hope?

I skip lots of songs on WIWC....prob more so than most of his recent output. The only ones I really play are:

45
Soul for Hire
Daddy Can I Turn This.
My Little Blue Window
Episode of Blonde
Radio Silence

Alibi is ok, but like lots of the album, it's overlong IMHO.

[Jack of All Parades]

Congrats on the attainment of that sturdy number. Hope you toasted with your favorite libation and played a rousing version of "Powderfinger". "Fiesty" is a good word for that album and hopefully reflective of how you feel at your attained age-looking at 54[the dyslexic reverse] in two weeks- that is an innocuous number. My cd player only seems to want me to play "my little blue window" or "spooky girlfried" when that cd visits the tray- Happy Birthday!

[mood swung]

HB OW.


spent a week without it, it sounds twice as good today. oily, I haven't forgotten you, I just can't get machines to obey me right now.

[pophead2k]

'Tart'- wow!

Happy belated birthday and a complete agreement- 'Tart' is a fantastic song and recording. I hope you behaved like one yesterday!

[Otis Westinghouse]

Why thank you. Pink cava - indeed I did. I find any rose/rosado is good outdoors in the summer, like it more and more as opposed to white.

[invisible Pole]

Happy belated birthday, Otis!

I'm enjoying this a lot.
Lloyd Cole in excellent form.

[Jackson Monk]

Must get that.

I am currently enjoying a compilation from the Fantastic Richard Thompson...mostly made up of songs from 'Rumour & Sigh' One of the greatest albums ever made.

[Jack of All Parades]

Is that the "Action Packed: Best of the Capital Years" cd? Would concur with "Rumor and Sigh" although Mitchell Froom's over production has always put me on edge-personal favorite for me is "Hand of Kindness" complete with Richard busking on the Embankment- a close second is "The Old Kit Bag".

[Otis Westinghouse]

Nice to see you have that, IP. The Radio Bremen one is a good companion piece, no too many overlaps. Good idea of what the solo show is like. Hard to get in UK, Rough Trade one of the only outlets.

[Jackson Monk]

Is that the "Action Packed: Best of the Capital Years" cd? Would concur with "Rumor and Sigh" although Mitchell Froom's over production has always put me on edge-personal favoritie for me is "Hand of Kindness" complete with Richard busking on the Embankment- a close second is "The Old Kit Bag".

No, it's just my own compilation. I've never really had a problem with the production on 'R&S' but I can understand where you're coming from. 'Why Must I Plead' is one my favourite songs of all time.

[Jack of All Parades]

Would concur that is a great song along with " I Misunderstood" which I have seen him do live a few times to great effect- saw him most recently when he was supporting "My Old Kit Bag" in the states-small little 1000 seat theater in Ridgefield, Ct. It was him and an electric/acoustic guitar for almost three hours- I had never witnessed someone hold the stage that long with a rapt audience- if you closed your eyes his playing made it seem like there was a band on the stage with him- just him-his technique- his wonderful songs- his expressive voice- his witty banter-I have rarely experienced a show like that- the closest was maybe EC several years ago when he opened for Dylan and it was just him on the stage but that show was a distant second- have asked my daughter while she was in London to recreate the Chelsea Embankment photo with her in it for dad- probably will not happen- but she was staying in a hostel in Knightsbridge- not too far away-do not know if you follow his website but he writes some of the wittiest periodic reports- I am always entertained. He is playing this fall in Tarrytown along with Loudon Wainwright- they are calling it the Loud and Rich tour- am sorely tempted to spend some discretionary income for a ticket.

[Jackson Monk]

Sounds Awesome...I'm a little ashamed I've only seen him once live. I need to rectify this asap.

At the moment I'm having a Trashcans week. Here's a snip of how Godamn awesome they are. Beautiful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSuL9JB- ... re=related

Frank Reader is such an underrated songwriter. Anyone who can write a line like "...and the itch to get rich quick has never been so hard to reach" is ok with me!

[Jack of All Parades]

Thank you for sharing- must confess I only knew the name Trashcan Sinatras- never reallly heard the music- will put them on a Pandora station and give them a spin- the clip you shared is lovely and haunting and he does have a beautiful voice in that song-are they British? The sound reminds me of She and Him.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Having a little Wilco fest, getting ready for the show tomorrow night.

[bambooneedle]

Saw The Trashcan Sinatras live on tv just last week, on the Live @ The Basement series. Yeah they're not bad, could be a little more adventurous musically for a band with 3 guitarists but they seemed to be have a lot of overall conviction about their material and seemed pretty grounded (well, this can't be said for about 85% of bands). Plus bits of an interview were shown between some of the songs and they seemed cool.

[Jackson Monk]

Thank you for sharing- must confess I only knew the name Trashcan Sinatras- never reallly heard the music- will put them on a Pandora station and give them a spin- the clip you shared is lovely and haunting and he does have a beautiful voice in that song-are they British? The sound reminds me of She and Him.

Yep. They're Scottish. All their albums are great but check out 'Cake' and 'Weightlifting' for starters. Two absolute classic albums.

[bambooneedle]

In an attempt to efficiently mine through Nick Cave's past for some good stuff I bought this to prime me for further future discoveries as I delve deeper into his catalogue. Only problem is, most of this isn't even grabbing me. I'm reminded of how I was initially repulsed by Cave's material before hearing Murder Ballads, a few other highlights like Do You Love Me, The Mercy Seat, Into My Arms and recent good stuff like the Grinderman album and Dig! Lazarus Dig!.

Case in point, Red Right Hand... instantly calls to mind Bone Machine era Tom Waits like Down In The Hole, but like a 10th rate version. It's hard to imagine that anyone who'd heard the Waits could warm to this, or to other stuff on there like Tupelo where his voice is so ragged and imprecise, where, despite the praise I've seen constantly heaped on such early material, I just don't see the supposed greatness of for the most part. A lot of it goes perilously close to just amateurish and bad. Not-so-grating stuff like The Weeping Song and The Ship Song may sit ok in an album but they're really nothing special. There've been rare exceptions like the early pre-Bad Seeds 'Shivers'. But it seems he's just been getting by in his career with just a few ok songs if this is the 'best of'...

Maybe he got it together better live over time, but this cd is making me wonder how he got as far as he has, has maintained the following he has. From as far as I can remember he's given good interviews, he tells good stories and talks up various serious religious and existential themes in the music and so on. The Bad Seeds have a sound of their own. He's definitely good at presenting/promoting himself. It might be that a lot of college age impressionable types -- you know the type, they might go around quoting the bible etc and think they're really smart (their minds are filled with big ideas, images and distorted facts!) -- have been hooked in like that and are persistent in perpetuating Cave hype... hope not. I hope there's more to it than that.

I was starting to get enthusiastic about some of the older stuff now reissued with documentary DVDs, but for now I might just stick with his new stuff. And live boots.

[Otis Westinghouse]

I think, and this is speaking as a long-term Cave sceptic, that the word 'masterpiece' isn't going too far with The Boatman's Call. The two beauties 'Into My Arms' (surely one of the best love songs ever) and 'Are You The One I've Been Waiting For?' are on that Best of, which I also have, but the whole is full of impressive moments and works very well in its totality. 'Brompton Oratory', 'Black Hair', 'Where Do We Go From Here?', for example, are all superb. It's one of the classic break-up albums, along with Blood On The Tracks and Grace and Danger. I could perfectly understand why Little Britain comedian David Walliams said on Desert Island DIscs that when his first serious relationship came to an earth-shattering end, he took to his bed for three months and played this over and over.

I've not seen him live, but would like to. People do say that you have to to really appreciate what he's all about. For a long time I couldn't bear his voice, but I recognise there is a lot of talent in there, and lyrically often interesting. If you don't have TBC, I can't recommend it highly enough. Genuinely a must-have for anyone's collection,

[Jackson Monk]

Got to agree about The Boatman's Call. A genuinely superb album that just has to be listened to in its entirety.