You’ve got to hear this one song it’ll change your life i swear #17

ALBUM: The Crow New Songs for the 5-String Banjo

ARTIST: Steve Martin

ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: 27 January 2009

LABEL:

WEBSITE:

TRACKS:

1. Daddy Played the Banjo

2. Pitkin County Turnaround

3. Hoedown at Alice's

4. Late for School

5. Tin Roof

6. Freddie's Lilt

7. Pretty Flowers

8. Wally on the Run

9. Words Unspoken

10. Saga of the Old West

11. Clawhammer Medley

12. Calico Train

13. Banana Banjo

14. Blue River Waltz

15. The Crow

I've always had this love hate relationship with the banjo and banjo-y music. I used to think it was not important to listen to. Almost like it pailed in comparison to anything that came from a guitar. (A silly comparison I know.) Thank god that mentality didn't last very long. I slowly discovered roots music and bluegrass music and just how fabulous this type of music really is.

Martin's album is one of those records that could have been placed on the shelf with an old Pete Seeger, Del McCrory (who played on the record), and other old timers. To me it feels like a little piece of Americana. Singing about topics like a father teaching his son to play music and a simple date that started with some flowers brings one back to a time of simplicity. Something that is lost from time to time now a days.

Chock full of both instrumental only and lyrical based music - Martin explored a variety of styles of banjo music. The clawhammer and three finger styles are all over it. According to Wikipedia: The principal difference between clawhammer style and other styles is the picking direction. Traditional picking styles, including those for folk, bluegrass, and classical guitar, consist of an up-picking motion by the fingers and a down-picking motion by the thumb; this is also the technique used in the Scruggs style for the banjo. Clawhammer picking, by contrast, is primarily a down-picking style.

That being said i think the opening track Daddy Played The Banjo, Tin Roof and Clawhammer Medley really stand out as favorites for me. Close your eyes and listen and you'll be able to see the golden yellow feel of sunset along your face as you sit on your porch on an early fall day.

Have no doubts friends... this is not a comedy record by any stretch of means. Though Martin did incorporate his banjo into his early stand up routines (reminiscent on the track Late For School) this is not at all a comedy record. It is just as the cover states: Truly Wonderful and Just As Advertised.

R.I.P. MJ.

1958 - 2009

CG's Stinky Mix 2.6

I had such a great success with the first Volume - I figured I'd try for a second.

CG's Summer '09 Mix (Ver 2.4)

This one took a few revisions... but I think I finally got it right.

It Could Be My Last CD I Purchase.

This could very well be my last CD that I purchased. A good one in my eyes... one of my favorite bands... a collection of live tracks from their comeback album... what's not to love right? Well... nothing unless of course you've finally succumbed to the fact that there's really no point in buying the physical/tangible item anymore and all you care about is the music.

A little history if I may... I've always prided myself on my CD collection. A completest if you will. I've worked my CD racks full of all sorts of discs worthy of many a Rob Gordon arrangement session. I was that guy that acquired every possible CD out there from the artists that I loved. Albums, Singles (when they still made CD singles), and bootlegs of any kind. I didn't care if they were soundboard, audience recordings, or some crappy guy standing in the back of the venue with a microphone shoved in his pants type recording - I just had to have it.

Not only that, but being a completest leads to multiple challenges that can reap havoc on your organizing as well as your bank account. I remember vaguely feeling the need to purchase every compilation CD from the Ken Burns Jazz series and the Martin Scorsese Blues series.

Here's the breakdown:

KEN BURNS JAZZ
1 - 5 disc box set
1 - Best of CD compilation (compiled from the box set)
23 - Single artist Compilations (IE - Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington...)

25 Discs total.


MARTIN SCORSESE BLUES
1 - 5 disc box set
1 - best of CD compilation (compiled from the box set)
16 - Single Artist Compilations (IE - Clapton, Hendrix, Robert Johnson...)
7 - Individual Soundtracks (corresponding to their film)

25 discs total


50 Discs in total in this particular challenge I bestowed upon myself. 50 discs that never saw equal playing time in my car or my stereo. I'll admit that I'm still a novice when it comes to jazz. I did tend to listen to the Blues discs more often. But I am doing better with my Jazz collection thanks to eMusic. I'm much more versed in Monk and The Duke.

One of my favorite memories about my old job was my bi-weekly CD swap for my car. Having an 80 mile a day allows you to listen to all kinds of great tunes. Monday morning I would grab a stack of discs for the car and usually by Wednesday's drive home I had gone through all of them.
I think it was 5-6 discs that fit in the door well of my Honda Civic. This sense of accomplishment for listening to such great tunes was only outdone by my driving 5 hours to see my then girlfriend in Upstate NY. I utilized both door wells for that drive - along with a reserve stash in the back of the car. (It's a sickness, I know.)

Of course now - the iPod has changed the art of buying CD's. With the ability to throw multiple albums onto one device - who wouldn't want to have that type of simplicity. I know what you're thinking - this isn't a new idea. The iPod has been around for ages, but to me - I've been reluctantly holding out. There was something about taking your time with a CD, reading liner notes, trying to understand the record from all aspects... something that's hard to do from an electronic file.

I guess this revelation came to when I started really thinking about it from a necessity standpoint. Gone are the days when the 'in the pants' bootlegs are vital to me so in the trash they went. I am still constantly searching out new music - but the majority of that is done on eMusic and maybe a little bit on iTunes. Then came the economic factor that comes into play when purchasing music. Do I really need to spend $13.99 for the new Ben Harper record at my favorite record shop, Newbury Comics, when I can get all the same songs from Amazon for $3.99? Why not save the $10 and add the new Dylan and maybe something else to my cart.

I guess it just finally hit me that I don't think I need the tangible item any more. My terabyte and a half hard drive will be enough of a focal point for my musical heaven (and at a fraction of the space.)

Friday Work Mix Vol 1

Friday's in the office are usually my time to get caught up on the 800 projects I'm currently working on. It's also another great opportunity to listen to some of the 80000 records I've acquired from various sources. People's taste in music is so subjective and personal. I thought, 'what the hell', here's the tunes that I listened to today. My buddy Tim and I have conversations about music quite a bit. It often starts out like, 'Hey have you heard this record it's...' or 'If you like that, you should listen to this... ' I've been feeling pretty mellow and groovy lately so I thought I'd post the day's listen while working.

Started off with Midnight at the Movies by Justin Townes Earle.

A fabulous new discovery shared by my brother in law. Too new to really give a full analysis, but I like what I heard so far.


















Next up Songbird by Willie Nelson.
One of his most recent albums that gets overlooked in the vast catalog that belongs to Mr. Nelson. I'll give anyone $5. if they can guess who the backing band is for this record. :) I think Willie should always play with big hollow body guitars behind him.















The Distant Future by Flight of the Conchords.

I missed their recent appearance at the Aggainis Arena here in The Bean, but from what I was told - a pants splitting funny show. (And... surprise guest Kristen Shaal... otherwise known as MEL the fan opened with a round of stand up. +5 points.)













Warpaint by The Black Crowes
Still raving about this record even though it's been over a year since they released it. Evergreen Evergreen, prettiest girl I've ever seen... The Crowes have returned to form with this masterpiece. Supposedly there's a 'Warpaint Live' record on the way next month. Woo Hoo!















Keep it Hid by Dan Auerbach
I am liking this one more and more since I saw Auerbach and his partner Patrick Carney on the show Live from Abbey Road. The duo performed a song from the song 'I Got Mine' from their latest release Attack & Release. What I love about these guys and makes them different from The Black Crowes... is that they're dirty, clanky, metal guitars that echo just perfectly to get you riled up. The guitars come out with a purpose. And that's what I like about it. There's no tentative ness. Auerbach takes that same approach with his first solo record - only this time - he does it both electricly and acoustically.

In a word: Phenominal.




Not a bad way to spend the day, Kids. So now, I'm going out to play.

Cheers
Murf

You’ve got to hear this one song it’ll change your life i swear #15

ALBUM: Bon Iver

ARTIST: For Emma, Forever Ago

ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: 19 February 2008

LABEL: Jagjaguwar

WEBSITE: www.boniver.org









TRACKS:
Flume
Lump Sum
Skinny Love
The Wolves (Act I + II)
Blind Sided
Creature Fear
Team
For Emma
Re: Stacks

Simply translated as 'Beautiful Winter'. That's the name of the band that Justin Vernon goes under for his band. That's also the feeling one can easily get from this incredibly intense personal masterpiece of a record. (I'm totally adding this to my collection of artists that I'm classifying under the 'Sad Bastard Music' category. )

Another accidental treasure, this record was hyped over all of my usual musical readings: Paste, Relix, Muzzle of Bees, and All Songs Considered. Bob Boilen of All Songs fame considers it one of the best - if not the topper of all records that came out in 2008. Luckily a spontaneous purchase with my eMusic account allowed me to fully ingest the Wisconsin winter through Mr. Vernon's eyes.

I want to know who Emma is and why she isn't around anymore. That's the feeling that I get when I listen to this record. It's a natural sensation... you feel the recording of these songs like you do a cold, sunny, winter morning in Wisconsin.

Songs about loves lost, , and things you may pass in the woods Vernon gives me the feeling about a man who can't get over the one that got away. He writes about Emma: With all your lies,
You're still very lovable. A line that is easily understood by anyone who's over felt in a relationship. Somewhere down that line you're heading for a cliff and only you can hang on - if you want to.

Lump Sum echoes the same sentiment from any number of Bruce Springsteen songs. The goal is getting out. Leaving what you know to try to make it on the other side and not only until the winter passes.

And if beautiful melody and an intimate setting aren't enough for you... check out his website where you can see Vernon going back to his roots to play with his old high school marching band.

That right there takes guts.



Cheers
Mm