starting with the letter A…some stuff I’m listening to or thinking about
I know that a few of you may consider this some sort of list. But really all I’m doing is trying to clear my deck of stuff I’ve wanted to share with you that doesn’t necessarily require more than a few sentences. And so it seems to make sense to me that I do it alphabetically. Here you go:
-I’ve seen a number of posts here about Arlo Guthrie‘s tour with his family and at the risk of being redundant I’ll just say that the show I saw in Escondido, CA. last week was historical, inspirational and damn fun. For days I’ve had fantasies of running away with them and joining the tour. Looking forward to seeing Sarah Lee and Johnny again this summer at Pete Seeger’s Clearwater Festival in New York.
-It kills me that Anthony Da Costa is not even twenty years old yet. His stuff blows me away. The CD I think I like the best is the one with Abbie Gardner from Red Molly called Bad Nights/Better Days. Just get it.
–Anais Mitchell‘s latest is Hadestown which is an update to her 2006 New England tour of what some call a “folk opera”. I’m still discovering her work, but this one is especially interesting with guests that include Pieta Brown’s dad Greg (that’s a turnaround, huh?) and Ani DeFranco.
–Alejandro Escoveda has a new release coming soon and although he’s a favorite of mine, I admit to not loving everything he’s ever put out. My favorite that I keep coming back to is still available but not listed under his name on Amazon. It’s the 2005 live set from Austin called Room of Songs and its him with a string quartet.
–Mars Arizona (I’m cheating a little with the A thing) has a new release out. I think it’s their fourth. Paul had a little trivia contest and I won it…although to be honest it was just me and one other person competing. I like a lot of the songs on this set…especially the Dead/Robert Hunter cover. Sorry I missed the LA gig but hope to catch them sometime soon.
–Arnold Maxin was my dad’s first cousin which makes him mine too, once removed (genealogy-speak). I’ve mentioned him here and there a few times in the context of his being a senior executive with MGM Records from the late fifties until 1968. Like my dad and most of that side of my family, he’s long gone. A few months ago I discovered for the first time that he was the producer of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell On You”. It blew me away and when I proudly told the family, my oldest kid says “yeah dad…I’ve known that for years. It’s on the internet.”
–Tete A Tete by ABBC is probably one y’all know about but I just stumbled upon it. It’s about ten years old and features Joey Burns and Joey Convertino of Calexico along with French musicians Naïm Amor and Thomas Belhom. Very mellow.
-This might be blasphemous, but on the Warren Zevon tribute Enjoy Every Sandwich I think comedian Adam Sandler‘s version of “Werewolves of London” might be better than the original.
–Antje Duvekot from Boston put out a great album last year produced by Richard Shindell. The Near Demise of the High Wire Dancer features seven new tracks and a few older ones that she re-worked. I think she may be a better reason to visit Boston than to see Fenway Park.
That’s it…next up….B.