culture vulture

so being in the music worship sector, i find myself often suggesting music to people. this is a joy for me, yet it takes away from my music exploring time. plus, i tend to be more thorough than most people want their inbox to be. a nice solution could be a blog form of what's what imho. it's all random and as it comes to me, so flip through it when you need something new (links are colored text).


shelby lynn's album "suit yourself." a quickly thrown together album that somehow shines so quaintly beautiful. simple can be beautiful, and this album is proof. the music is marginally simple fun that lets shelby tell her stories in smooth rhythym. a few stand out lyrics in "iced tea;" "you're the cornbread and iced tea of life." a former country star now playing acoustic and sitting back reflecting and laughing about most of it.

further digging into her musical catalogue brings one of the best versions of "rainy night in georgia" to light. it puts you on her porch and completely changes any listeners mood to pensive.

around this time i discovered shelby, i became infatuated with "emerge" from fischer-spooner. i can't really explain this particular infatuation other than it's one of the most dynamic electronic songs out there; a big overall crescendo with lots of peaks and valleys. it's a fun one to wake up to, which ajm, kd and tmo might attest to. or not.

my most recent musical affair has been with theresa andersson. she's a swede residing in new orleans putting down the best female soul tracks today. the youtube stuff of her in her kitchen is an immediate hook that makes you sit up and is the best introduction to her, but this link has the best sound and video quality. she's a non-alcoholic janice joplin with strong instrumentation skills who's at first slightly gimmicky with the looping one woman show, but has so much talent to back it up, it's absolutely unbelievable live. better live than recorded, but the recorded bits are just fine, too.

the rebirth brass band. the voice of new orleans until recently, this group transends genres and energy levels. live shows are always a party that goes on and on. at one time they had the most popular song on the radio in new orleans on the rock station, the jazz station, the pop station and the hip hop station; "do whatcha wanna." it's a good place to start on the long road to understanding why new orleans is a musical mecca.

i should prolly follow up the rbb with new sound of new orleans brass; the soul rebels. they are very young but have brought latin poly rhythyms to that scene which is infectious and mesmerizing. their live show is a bit too hip hop for me, but they're super young still. some people want to see the hot 8 brass band in that spot, and they're worth mentioning.

back to singer songwriters, i feel few can touch langhorne slim. he's raw, energetic and passionate. his voice has a sweet honesty to it and his guitar has a powerful voice. a confident soul with great dynamics on several of his tracks, he's one to watch. "diamonds and gold," "restless" and "hummingbird" are all legendary tracks.

while i'm thinking of singer songwriters, consider bon iver. bon iver is much more mellow, a fact that automatically puts them into the category of a group i'll never see in concert. nonetheless, their studio cuts are ethereal lyric beams of transcendent beauty over simple music. i see them as "i still don't know what he's saying and i don't care" music. in almost the exact same category are blind pilot. out of portland oregon they bring a simpleness to the lyrics and a subtle complexity to the music.

someone a bit more familiar and famous is andrew bird. i've found andrew leading somewhat of a parallel life to david byrne in that he is musically at ease in many different genres, offers dynamic song construction nearly every time, consistently brilliant lyrics and an overall sweetness to the songs that makes me smile. he first achieved fame playing with the squrrel nut zippers, who are an act of their own, albeit clearly missing andrew. he's also plays just about any instrument you put in front of him. live shows are unmissable.

speaking unmissable live shows, i have to mention tom waits. any album, any hour, and just about any song. actually i found the last couple albums getting progressively less accessable, but there are still some gems in them. the best lyricist and song writer of our time. and a great sense of humor and humility. he's desert island material that i can't say enough about.

in the legend category in van morrison. often overlooked due to the success of "moondance" and "brown eyed girl" (which was originally "brown skinned girl") he throws gobs of lush vocal talent into nearly every album. no one can sing the voice inflections he does. try it - nearly impossible. a few great albums are "his band and the street choir," "down the road," "new york sessions '67," and "astral weeks." some of the best music on earth there.

neil diamond. check his recent stuff, too ("delirious love"). the old stuff is what you hear at karaoke and is what i was raised on, and if even if you don't like neil, go back and listen to "cracklin rosie." it's about a bottle of wine.

alright, enough of the famous jackoffs. let's see, who's super obscure? ahhh! helios jive. hollywood based funk group with a spanish twist. mix a great unknown beat artist, a giant of a multi instrumentalist and a female mexican bassist and waaala! helios jive. despite only playing a handful of gigs, i feel confident in their eventual rise to fame. or at least to a few more great albums.

lynn collins. obscure to a degree but famous by association, she wrote a few of james brown's hits. hearing her versions and other tracks is like looking into the studio before james did a cut which is a great snapshot of that era. she also opened his shows for several years and i think had one of his children. she's a bit hard to find but worth the digging.

speaking of james brown, i recently discovered his "live at the apollo" album. i've been familiar with his music for years, but when i first heard this i felt like i grew a new musical appendage. as for live recordings and performances, it's hard to top this one.

i'm getting off track from the undiscovered....let's see...meschiya lake! you can only find her stuff on youtube unless you go down to the french quarter and buy a disc from her personally. and actually, she just bought a plane tix to europe, so here's a link to "up a lazy river." she used to be nurse nasty in traveling circus (hence the eyebrow tatoos) and has a most unexpected strong voice. great song selection and always sits in with different super talented groups.

giant panda guerilla dub squad. authentic roots reggae from a bunch of white kids from upstate ny. so good they are loved in jamaica. the studio album is weak, but check out the free download of the aggie theater show from fort collins, co. rock solid good vibes.

shawn lee's ping pong circus. i haven't been high in 6 years, but recently i had two simultaneous major throat infections that required heavy antibiotics and heavy steriods. the steriods ended up giving me an extreme euphoric high and for 6 days i levitated above my bed with the french doors of my beach house open to the sun and breezes with shawn lee blaring on repeat. despite the ideal conditions for ethereal music, shawn lee also stands up to sobriety. his "miles of styles" album defies a balance between jazz and a soulful slumber; a real joy.

on that steriod trip, i also discovered greyboy. i don't think he's the same as greyboy allstars, but i could be wrong. check out his "15 years of west coast cool" album for more loungy soul. pretty solid album that makes me want another heavy infection. btw, only about 3% of the population have a euphoric reaction to steriods. too bad for them i say.

i'm going to move out of this strict music list to include some movies, don't worry though, they are documentaries based on music. first up, "young @ heart." and yeah, they spell it with the symbol, not the word "at." it's one of the best movies i've ever seen or will ever see. you can watch it with your grandpa and your children, too. i still cry when i watch it, but i also still sing along and laugh til i fart. legendary documentary about a chorus aged 70 or more in massachusettes. they sing a lot of songs you wouldn't expect and go through a lot of things you would expect in ways that soften the hardest of hearts. don't rent it, buy it. seriously, you'll just end up renting it so much. the music's pretty funny and touching after seeing the movie, although doesn't stand on it's own. visuals are needed. go see them if you live near there and can.

next up is "life. support. music." a fantastic documentary about jason kreigler after he has a brain hemorrhage. it follows his subsequent recovery. music is astonishing after seeing the movie, and ok on it's own. this one's a bit harder to find, but worth the search.

how's your news. another documentary that's a pretty good movie with great music. digging into their mytube and youspace stuff is rewarding. watch the movie first then check the interwebs. try not to cry when ronnie meets chad everett in the dvd extras, it's impossible. tears of joy are the weirdest things, but my most sought after emotion. they have a new show on mtv that i haven't seen, but i am hopeful that it remains true to their vision. oddly they're produced by trey parker and matt stone, who keep a very even keeled polite tone throughout. who knew they could be softies? i guess it does have a big laugh factor to it as well....

on a completely different tangent is hasil adkins; psychobilly on crack. i like energy and hasil must have ate nothing but meth. i also like quirky and he was assuredly raised in a closet with few friends. he's not for everyone, but if you like to dance around chaotically from time to time to songs that are bewildering unto themselves, hasil's your man. "she said"

"my babe" by little walter. i first heard this song in hogs n heifers in las vegas. it's a great bar with better bartenders only 'cause they know their music. it's in the midst of a wicked ghetto, but the mayor hangs out there so it can't be too bad, right? the shot are kool aid, so stick with beer there. anywho, walter has a gem in this song. rythym and blues from when radio was new. big chicago sound. sweet message. music to fall in love to. is in every authentuc blues bar's jukebox in america.

"sweet dogs" by trolle seibenhaar. oh lordy what a tune, sweet message, thick beats and a delicious voice over it all.

the subdudes. colorado meets wisconson and new orleans. the drummer can do a full sounding drum roll around the kit on just a tambourine, so this is all he brings to a show. but it's not gimmicky - he's subtle and fun as the best drummers are. everyone in the band sings and amazingly well at that. sweet harmonies, good messages, and dancable stuff. great live or in studio. kind old guy stuff i guess, but quality nonetheless.

animal collective. let's talk ethereal new sounds. out of baltimore, they may sound baltimore confused, but the message is clear; we are young, visionary and focused in a dreamy way. captures a wild spirit that is oddly identifiable yet completely new. another group that i have no idea what they saying nor do i care; must be some great music going on. there is and it's power is in it's intense dynamics.

speaking of ethereal, another dreamy group to pound it's way into the collective music nerd conscious are fleet foxes. not the best live, but a great studio band that makes me yearn for a long drive with at least an hour to kill. they're akin to the beach boys reincarnate without electricity. worthy of a brief love affair.

bill withers. bill's a standard that you probably didn't know you knew already. check out his "live at carnegie hall" album; legendary. gaurantees a sing along. harlem/cold baloney is a fist full of sugar.

this is a good place to stop for now - it's late....tbc.......