The Orb of Whammy

Mofro: Scientifically Accurate Blues/Rock

2008-07-24T16:31:00.006-04:00

Who knew that the good ol' boys from Mofro were such Renaissance men? Not only can they grind out the blues and rock out the soul, turns out they've got scientific chops, too! There's only one thing that can make cool people even cooler in my mind... and that is the presence of smarts. (Hence the reason Bill Belichik will forever be sexy in my mind... but I digress.) Whether or not JJ Grey from Mofro knew it or not, it appears his song "Fire Flies" is right on the bean, scientifically speaking.

Now, before I get into the proverbial meat and potatoes of this story, I will admit a cold hard fact: This is my second bug-related post in as many days. Coincidence... or something more? I am not a bug guru. Entomology and I are not bedfellows. This is just a little kawinky- dink.

Driving home from work today, I got caught in a heavy downpour - complete with hail, gusty winds and drastically reduced visibility. Usually, driving in bad weather causes me to turn the radio off and sing to myself as I attempt to ignore my white knuckles. Today I turned on NPR instead, and was happy to have caught the "Living on Earth" segment. Today's topic: a group scientists have become concerned with the reduced numbers of fireflies, and have decided to investigate the cause of the population decline. Maybe I was searching desperately for a distraction from the treacherous driving, maybe I was secretly pining for those glorious little flashes I used to catch in Bell Jars as a kid, but my ears were glued to my speakers. While I processed the information, though, my brain couldn't stop singing the Mofro song "Fire Flies". That song is prophetic! It seems like the numbers of our illuminated friends have indeed dropped, a fact I have even noticed here in New Hampshire. After hearing the segment on NPR today, I am feeling incredibly guilty about accidentally squishing one a few weeks ago. (If you've ever partaken in the unfortunate act of killing a harmless firefly, you know there is no mistaking what kind of bug it was after you've done it in. You're left with quite a colorful mess.)

It appears the folks conducting this study are looking for firefly counters... so if you find your heart breaking for the loss of our luciferous flying friends, you might want to check this out.

Here's a transcript: Where Have All the Fireflies Gone?

Meanwhile, let's let the boys from Mofro sing us out.

If you're searching for more firefly-inspired songs, there's also 100,000 Fireflies by The Magnetic Fields. What's that you say? Put the video in, you ask? Oh sure, why not. I'm a slave to the people, after all.

Psychic Website

2008-07-23T14:02:00.002-04:00

This really happened to me today.

Gotta watch the intro, though. The dialogue at the beginning is pretty much spot on to what was said in our kitchen.

Groovy, psychic website.

T Minus 8 Days

2008-07-21T22:32:00.006-04:00

One week from Wednesday, folks. One week from Wednesday!

I remember being 16 years old and sitting at the kitchen table with my dad's tattered old Rand-McNally Atlas spread out in front of me. I was a junior in high school and regarded that book as the most exciting adventure story ever to hit the shelves. My car keys were barely minted and I was dreaming of taking a road trip, and in my crazed adolescence, I figured it was just a matter of time until I could hit the road. I used a green highlighter to trace highways out to Colorado and back. One route went straight west from Connecticut and afforded me the opportunity to see the plains. The return journey looped north, climbed mountains and teased the Canadian border. Unfortunately, it seemed each passing summer was overrun by the frantic money-making necessary to sustain myself at college, the enrollment in pesky summer classes and later, the reality of home-ownership and subsequent financial disarray that comes with it.

So, it is with great ebullience that I share with you the arrival of my first major road trip. My car, not a plane, will finally lead me outside of the greater New England area. Yahoo and Whoopee! I'm honestly so excited about this that I'm having difficulty sleeping at night. While this trip won't be the Colorado adventure that I had planned as a young'un, it matters not. At $4.00/gallon, the Rockies will have to wait. Instead, we've put together a journey that blends our two greatest passions: the great outdoors and music.

The roads will take us south, to states I can't remember ever visiting. Sure I slept in our van as my dad motored us to Disney as a kid, but do I recall Pennsylvania? Virgina? North Carolina? No, I do not. This time, I'm keeping my eyes open and my hands on the wheel!

We'll start in CT (gotta drop the dog off) and head to the northeastern tip of West Virgina. The next day, we're driving down Skyline Drive to put my new camera to work in Shenandoah National Park. We'll finish up that day with some bluegrass in southern Virginia. I found two really cute sounding B&B's for those nights- very excited. From there, we exit civilization as we know it and head into eastern Tennessee, to camp in the Smokies for a handful of days and do some hiking. (My boots are going to tread on the hallowed ground of the Appalachian Trail!) Once we get good and scruffy, we're motoring it to Memphis, baby! There, we will soak in all the decadent history of soul and blues that we can handle. We're touring Graceland, Sun Studios, Stax, Rock n' Soul Museum... the works. At night, our ears will ring with the sound of the blues on Beale St. Yahoo!
We figured we can't visit Tennessee without hitting Nashville, so we plan on staying a day and night there on our way back north. I've heard the Country Hall of Fame is a spectacular museum, so... although I am not a huge "new-fangled" country music fan, we're going to check it out. The chance to be wowed by relics of the oldies and greats is something I can't deny myself. I'm hoping we'll have time to see the Ryman Auditorium, too, while we're there.

So, I'm putting the call out, folks. Know any good road food on the way south? Got a favorite spot to visit along the way? Any recommendations for my road trip music? Tips for surviving long car rides? Advice for how to scare a bear away? (I know, make yourself as formidable as possible... but that seems a bit hard to think about when looking at one of those beasties!)

Oh, speaking of bears... while you think of all those tips you're going to share with me, take a look at who I met this weekend on our way home from camping:

The picture didn't come out very well, which made me sad, but at least there's proof of my sighting. The camera was trying very hard to focus on the raindrops on the windshield, and NOT on the large furry bear in the middle of the road. By the time I aborted the full-frontal angle and popped my head out the side window, Mr. Bear had strolled across the road. (The situation was not helped by the fact that my hands were shaking like a leaf with all the excitement.) The next shot shows him climbing up and over the guard rails, on his way to a stream below. This gave me a quite different view! Black bears have very cute backsides, I think. Fuzzy, plump, and round... just as you would expect.

One more, just because I can't resist gladiolas. They make me, well... glad!

Beach Day

2008-07-20T20:21:00.003-04:00

One more reason why I'm not blogging too much.

Split Playlist Decision

2008-07-14T12:48:00.009-04:00

Some folks decide to make resolutions around the start of a new calendar year, but mine tend to pop up around my birthday. Because I work on a school schedule, summers give me the time needed to reflect, renew and, in this case, re-quit. (Oh and make up words, too.)

Hours and hours of soul searching, meditating and contemplation led me to discover that I cannot have the body of a pro-athlete while burning down countless clove cigarettes. No, you haven't clicked on a post from last summer. I just happen to have the will power of a flea on sheep dog. In case you're not in the know: last June, in order to improve my habits, I decided to capitalize on the mutually exclusive relationship between running and smoking. It worked... until it got too cold to run. Somewhere on or around New Year's Eve, I bought a pack of the confounded beasts, and now it's July and I've spent the last 4 weeks making up moronic mantras and avoiding the three stores in my area that sell my spice-scented nemesis. I've been successful but the will power is fading fast. So, what can I rely on when the traditional methods of quititude don't help? To what trusty lover did I turn when the visualizing has vanished, the mantras have melted and the affirmations have abated? Music, of course.

I had been trotting along my favorite roads with the playlists of yesteryear dancing in my ears. They were fine, but so... last year. So I locked myself in my office and put together a playlist that contained all potential runnables acquired in the past 9 months or so. After adding the 17th song, I rested, and decided it was good. The next day, I laced up the ol' Nikes and hit the road. By track three, I was saddened to realize that the hip indie beats could not co-exist playlistentially with the old school funk nuggets. Peace, harmony and cadence was lost when Martha and the Vandellas followed MGMT. I had to segregate the genres if this playlist was going to make it on the running paths. So I did, and ended up with two shorter but altogether delicious mixes of music. As always, I share:

Playlist One: Commanche (the song that inspired it all)

Comanche - Cake
Mercy - Duffy
Ladyflash - The Go! Team
Music is My... - CSS (abbreviating that to avoid blog crashers)
Well Alright! - The Hives
Killing Machine - How I Became the Bomb
Time to Pretend - MGMT
Goodnight Goodnight - Hot Hot Heat
Looking at the World from the Bottom of the Well -Mike Doughty
Yoo Hoo - Imperial Teen
Run Around Me - The Mother Hips
Hanging On the Telephone - The Nerves
A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
Like I Needed - Rogue Wave

Playlist Two: Soul Cadence (Still somewhat under construction)

He's Sure the Boy I Love - The Crystals
Think - Aretha Franklin
Da Doo Ron Ron - The Crystals
Soul Finger - The Bar-Kays
Little Bitty Pretty One - Bobby Darin
Can't Be Still - Booker T & the MGs
Up From the South - The Budos Band (best running song ever!)
Blow Your Whistle - Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers
El Garbanzo - Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass
Bongolia - Incredible Bongo Band
Honeycomb - Jimmy Rodgers
Hand Clapping Song - The Meters
Damn It's Hot - Sharon Jones
Nowhere to Run -Martha and the Vandellas
Fairchild - Willie West
Funky So-and-So - Sugarman Three & Co.

As always, feel free to contribute your opinions and selections! I'm all ears/eyes.

EDIT (7/18/2008):
Just thought I'd update and say that The Ting Tings have indeed been added to the first list. That song had come on my satellite radio a few times and I had logged it in the memory feature twice... so good.

Also, in the soul department, I've added in Bed of Roses (Judy Clay), Copy-Kat (Bar-Kays) and Running Out (Mable John). I've taken out the Hand Clapping Song and Fairchild - they were both just a little too slow to run to.

Dog Walking On a Summer's Day

2008-07-12T12:05:00.002-04:00

I've been finding it very hard to sit at a computer this summer. The weather has been so nice, why would I want to type when I could be staring at this?

The Post That Will NOT Have a Potentially Scandalous Title

2008-06-30T11:50:00.008-04:00

This beautiful little creature is absolutely terrorizing my dog - not to mention various local members of the rodent family. Murph has completely shredded two screens on our sliding door because this sweet little beastie has taken up residence in the woods behind our house. She (?) trots through the back yard, pauses to drink from our bird bath, and has snatched up more than a few gray squirrels for supper. (This part, I cannot watch.) I have always been too busy trying to wrestle with the dog to get a picture, but today I finally did both. The pictures are a little dark, due to the fact that I was taking them through our most recently shredded screen, but here she is:

Not bad, considering I had a 65-pound ball of wriggling, howling hunting dog pinned between my knees as I snapped the photo.

The keen huntress. I love the black on her front feet.

I finally decided to go shoo the fox away, because, what you can't see in these photos is that she is perched under our bird feeders, and we kind of like our backyard feathered friends. I didn't want our bird feeder to take on a whole new meaning, if you catch my drift. So, I crept around the side of the house (with the camera, of course) to move her along, and as she bolted back into the woods, a squirrel came shooting out from under the baffle of the bird feeder. That sly fox was just waiting him out! She knew he hiding was up inside there, and even tried to leap up on the pole a few times. Here I thought she was getting ready to jump up for a treat of the feathery kind; little did I know there was a fat squirrel hiding in the baffle. I swear I heard a little squeaky "thank you!" as Mr. G. Squirrel bolted past me and into the safety of a nearby tree.

Spontaneous Music Decision

2008-06-30T11:00:00.009-04:00

If you have ever gone to see a live performance by an artist whose work you are largely unfamiliar with, you know what a crapshoot it can be. Sometimes, a friend talks you into seeing this great new band they caught a buzz on. You head out to the club and, within minutes, become numbed into a stupor with the badness of it all. Those nights, you have to continuously remind yourself that the folks up on stage are pouring themselves into their music the best they can. They aren't hiding their best songs at home- what they're playing for you is the fruits of their collective labor and artistic soul searching.
Other times, you end up going to see a little-known artist and your doors are blown off by the talent and grooviness of it all. This was my experience last night. I have to be careful using the phrase "little-known" here, because the band in question is The Black Crowes. They certainly aren't little-known, now, are they!? They are, however, little-known to me. So, when asked to accompany some friends to she show, I coughed up the $35.00 with the same mindset that I have as I settle down the the poker table. I figured: Hey, this is cheaper than any gamble I'd make at Foxwoods, and I'll probably get more out of it. To me, there's no better night out than seeing live music. It's worlds better than sitting in a bar and ringing up a $60 tab doing nothing but chattering away. Why not go listen to something and experience some grooves, instead?
The show was great. The band was tight, not overly jammy, but still played freely - not so orchestrated that you felt as though you were listening to a CD. The frontman, Chris Robinson, was probably one of the most charismatic performers I've seen in a long while. It's not that he was pulling Mick Jagger moves or flipping like Steven Tyler or anything like that- he just commanded your attention with his voice and his stage presence. The man was clearly born to perform, and perform he did.

I had another bad crowd situation at this show, though, which would have probably ruined the experience for me, had the band not been so good. That said, this show very may well have done me in on general admission seating for the foreseeable (and perhaps unforeseeable) future. I had drunk idiots banging into me all night, a grand total of 6 beers spilled on me, and a series of concert talkers surrounding me for the majority of the evening. For the record, I don't mind chatting in between songs at shows.Really, I don't. But when you're going on and on about your soapstone counter tops during "Jealous Again", I'm going to pop you in the nose. Or at least move away from your drunk self. Also- I'm 5'5", and apparently have a metal plate in my head that attracts every 6-footer in a 300-yard radius to come stand directly in front of me. (Evidently they get bonus points if they spill their Bud Light on me, too.)
At one point, when one drunkard sloppily leaned over to give me a high-five and a double peace sign, I looked at my buddy and wondered aloud if I need to a) get out more or b) stay in more.
There was no verdict reached in this quandary.

Regardless of the crazy beach crowd that I was surrounded by last night, The Crowes were surprisingly good live. If you have an opportunity to gamble on a ticket, I say take it, hold 'em and let it ride. You won't leave disappointed.

Drink It Up

2008-06-28T20:23:00.004-04:00

That's the Magnetic Fields singing "Love is Like a Bottle of Gin".

This song was my selection for our last session of music club and I can't stop humming it/singing it to myself ever since. I figured I'd put it into your heads, to see if corrupting others makes me feel better. I do believe this is called shadenfreude! Regardless of the title, if this is corruption... bring it on, I say!

As one of our assignments for this most recent music club, we had to bring a tune that had a great ending. I figured this fit the bill, seeing as the simile was completed at the end - with a twist of lime.

Banned Word

2008-06-27T10:49:00.004-04:00

Tis' the season to renew the car registration and driving license, which translates to standing in long lines at the DMV and town office. Fine, I can handle this... or so I thought.

When I arrived at the department of motor vehicles, I was fortunate to find myself at the end of a long line that snaked and coiled around the very tiny (and relatively air-free) lobby. I had to take my lumps and wait it out, because my license was set to expire the next day, so I clenched my jaw and prepared to test the limits of my patience.

About 35 minutes into the wait, a youngish father walks in and takes his spot at the end of the line. He has his daughter with him, who appeared to have Down Syndrome. I always find it interesting (in a sad sort of way) to see the discomfort that falls over the faces of others who don't understand developmental disabilities. They don't know where to look, what to say, or how to act. Imagine being a parent who sees everyone look away as soon as your kid comes into the room. If someone else brings a child into the room, there is fawning and cooing and smiling. Yours comes in: instant paranoia. It breaks my heart. It's understandable, though. I, too, grew up with the ever-present, urgently-whispered comments from mom telling me not to stare. Thankfully, moving off to college taught me that mom wasn't always right. (Read the book No Pity; it will change your views on people with disabilities for the rest of your life.) On this day, I smiled at the girl and waved as she checked out the room that would hold her prisoner for over an hour; she smiled and waved back. End of it.

Somewhere between the dad and me (should I be using I there, or me...? I've tried this numerous times. Grr!) was a girl in her early 20's. She was bored with the scene at the DMV and decided it would be a great idea to dial up a friend and chat (loudly) on her cell phone while she waited. It was a great relief to all of us in line - we really wanted to hear her conversation. She started explaining how her license had been misplaced, and then launched into a diatribe about how ridiculous the situation was. "Isn't that so RETARDED? I swear that is the most RE-TARD-ED thing I have ever heard. I just think that is *bleeping* RETARDED!" Five times the word came. Five times, my stomach just turned. I hate it. I hate that word and the flippant manner in which it is used these days.
I fumed for the next 15 minutes. While fuming, I wrestled with the idea of writing her a little note on one of the numerous forms that lined the walls of the DMV, and handing it to her as I walked out of the lobby. I would have told her to at least avoid dropping the R-Bomb in the presence of someone who might be personally offended by the term. I would have encouraged her to try reading to build her vocabulary base - maybe that would help her come up with some synonyms. I have to wonder if the dad standing at the end of the line felt the sting of the word, or if he has reached some existential utopia where he doesn't let these things bother him. At any rate, I couldn't get the wording of my note right in my head, and eventually just left the room with a glare in the 20-something's direction. Of course, she was on the phone and didn't notice.

I know that a debate king would argue that being offended by the word "retarded" should also translate to me being offended by a word like "crazy", which I admittedly use all the time. My argument back might be lame, but to me the word retarded is used to identify a level of cognitive and adaptive functioning. As far as I know, there is no "crazy" entry in the DSM-IV. That said, I should probably work on some synonym use, too. I never thought of myself as an overboard-PC person, but something about the use of the R-word makes me lose my cool.

Since I didn't have the guts to blast that twerp in line the other day, I had to at least get it out here. I feel a teensy bit better now.

A Very Fenway Birthday

2008-06-26T00:30:00.003-04:00

Hooray for celebrations!
I'm not a very big birthday person, but what better way to ring in the big 3-2 than by watching the home team play a great game of ball at the old yard? None that I can think of.
I decided that it was time to try out the camera feature on my new and oh-so-fancy cell phone. Yes, tonight was the first time I've tried this. I've always avoided the concepts of cameras on phones - I guess I'm a purist- but I couldn't resist capturing tonight's beautiful sky over the great Green Monstah. I know I'm a New Englander, so I'm biased here, but there's something very magical about Fenway.
It's good to be a wicked homer sometimes.

Party In Style

2008-06-22T23:33:00.004-04:00

Last night I went to a friend's annual Welcome Summer party, which he's hosted every June for the past 5-6 years now, I think. He usually throws it right around Father's Day, which has limited my ability to attend - until now! I had so much fun, it was absolutely worth the wait.

The host is one of the most stylin' characters I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He's an all-around good guy with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor (my favorite) and he's a wicked music connoisseur. His music collection is deadly, and has warranted the addition of the coolest "man cave" in the history of the universe housed in his basement. Stocked up with zillions of albums, endless shelves of CDs and a self-proclaimed "ugly lamp collection" that would make any flea market junkie drool, his basement is my favorite spot for our music club gatherings. So it only figures that music played a central theme at his party, right? Right!

The Hunger Mountain Boys have played at this annual gathering for a handful of years now, and they've generated so much buzz from friends who had attended the bash - I was very eager to hear them with my own ears. Truth be told, though, I thought it was so cool to have live music at a house party that quite frankly, I would have been jazzed no matter what they sounded like. Regardless of my easily wooed ears, the Hunger Mountain Boys brought it home for me. I'm not very good at classifying music, but I'll give it a go. I would say that the Hunger Mountain Boys are authentic Americana/folk/roots music. I have to throw the word authentic in there, because I feel if you were traipsing through Appalachia back in the 40's, you could have stumbled across this band at a mountain lodge somewhere. They consist of two guitar/mandolin players and a stand-up bass player. Their voices are comfortable sounding and warm. It was perfect summer evening music, relaxing on the porch with a big glass of sangria and taking it all in.

The only downside of the whole evening was that I drank entirely too much and am still feeling hungover a full 24 hours later. Shameful! I'm such a lightweight... tossing back 6 + glasses of sangria wasn't a very smart idea on my part.

Just in case you are doubting the clarity of my review in light of my alcohol consumption, I'll let you form your own opinion. Here ya have it:

Last Day of School - 2008

2008-06-19T20:59:00.001-04:00

Going Back to the Roots of Rock

2008-06-15T22:29:00.005-04:00

A few months ago I got on a kick with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. I especially warmed to the "Hard Road" album, listening it to over and over until my husband cried for mercy. (For the record, I gave him none.) Respite only came as I researched the illustrious and notorious Peter Green. Peter Green's guitar playing makes the hair on my neck stand up at attention and salute. Little prickly happy things dance around in my stomach. Eyelids flutter. You get the point.

As I started reading, I realized that he was a founding father of the all-powerful Fleetwood Mac. This may be common knowledge for rock gurus far and wide, but believe me when I say I am a novice in my development to become rock historian. For a long time, I just listened to the music, found what I liked and didn't pay much attention to who was doing what, with what label or with what band mates. Within the past year or two, I started to change my tune. Listening to random nuggets recommended by friends will only get you so far. When you hit a musical drought, it's good to have a knowledge base of "who played what with who" to fall back on, so that you can follow the tree branches of musical history and climb into some unknown thickets of groovilicious goodness. This is how I came to know the decadence of early Fleetwood Mac. I was tree climbing... in a musical sense, of course.

It took me until my mid-twenties to appreciate the power rock of Fleetwood Mac, and even now, I have to use the word "appreciate" and not "love". I have a few stand out favorite tunes (Second Hand News, Never Goin' Back Again) by The Mac in their most widely known format - McVie, Nicks, Fleetwood and Buckingham. Never in my wildest dreams did I fathom that Fleetwood Mac, at one time, possessed some of the most outrageously good blues ever to grace my speakers. Prior to the signing of the hot tickets who wrote "Rumours" were the blazing strings of none other than Peter Green, and the backing/talent of Mr. John Mayall himself.

I have made it my personal mission to acquire the early catalog of Fleetwood Mac, in its entirety, on vinyl, as soon as humanly possible. I will peruse many a record store, collector's show and/or flea market this summer to fulfill this quest. Until then, it is my solemn vow to give unto you the delicacy that is Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, so that you can banish "Don't Stop Thinkin' About Tomorrow" from each nook and cranny of your psyche and replace it with something much more substantial.
Feast first! Thank me later.

Instant Bankruptcy

2008-06-09T22:11:00.003-04:00

Dear, sweet Heavens! I just had a life altering experience.

A few weeks ago, I had read about an iTunes feature called iConcertCal on the All Songs Considered blog. It sounded intriguing, but I hadn't actually investigated it for myself until today.

Do you know what this feature does, dear reader?
It renders me completely bankrupt, that's what!

Here's the scoop, although I once again feel like the newest and most clueless of the upright walking Earth-dwellers. I'm sure the whole iTunes-savvy world (which is just about everyone except my pal Dave...) probably already knows about this feature. I, however, didn't know about it, or fully understand its glory.... until today.

So. An interested party would begin the process by visiting the iConcertCal page, downloading the plug-in, and installing the nitty-gritties. From there, the iConcertCal mechanism makes its rare kind of voodoo, all by itself. Every artist currently in your iTunes music folder is now being tracked for live concerts in your area. A pretty calendar window opens when you view the plug-in, and you can see which of your favorite artists will be performing live and local in the foreseeable future. It's amazing! It's stunning! It's smart and psychic! It's a major time saver!

I now have some serious choices to make. Within the next month, I can see Jackie Greene, Iron and Wine, Fleet Foxes (thanks CBrowne!), Beth Orton, Richie Havens, My Morning Jacket, Richard Thompson, Martin Sexton, Soulive... Hey! Wait a second... since when do I have Arlo Guthrie in my iTunes?!? Dang you, Alice, and your10 minute restaurant tribute, too.

Ah-ha! I see why the boys at All Songs posted that this feature brings all the skeletons out from your musical closet. Oh well. Knowledge is power, and sometimes, it's a slightly humiliating power. Not that there's anything wrong with Arlo.

Grumble Grumble

2008-06-09T21:29:00.005-04:00

First off:
I have 7 school days remaining until summer vacation starts. I know I'm supposed to be a dedicated educator (so fun to say those words back to back) who doesn't want the school year to end, and maybe if I worked in a country where "summer break" didn't exist, I wouldn't feel this way, but it's like some strange form of torture waiting for next Wednesday to hurry up and arrive. The anticipation is killing me. Just knowing that a delicious break is on the horizon makes me salivate. That said, I'm working in the summer school program. Does that right my dedicated educator ship, now?

Secondly: I must rave about a new favorite download. Let me preface this by saying, the band is not new to the world; I am new to the band. If you're itching for something to spice up your collection and haven't heard of The Soledad Brothers, I stand firmly behind this recommendation. Chances are, the rest of the world has already picked up on them, and I'm just slow. Regardless, I am smitten. It was a stroke of luck that brought me to this band, which makes me dig on them even more.
Every few months I sift through my bedside stack of Rolling Stone magazines and clip out any interesting sounding reviews that I may have missed. The review for the CD "The Hardest Walk" was darn positive by RS standards, so I put my nose to the trail and sought out some 30 second clips. My ears were soon prickling and happy! Listening to The Soledad Brothers makes me daydream of old school Rolling Stones rocking with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Black Keys at a party. Needless to say, I like it. You may, too. I (legally) downloaded 4 songs and won't be getting any more until I buy the actual product. Young undiscovered talent deserves a full $13.00, I say.
Clicky here for a taste.

Lastly: I'm grouchy with iTunes and emusic for not having this song for me to purchase. My people, I give you "Hate Me You Do", by The Rumble Strips. Profound... and darn catchy, in a "Come on Eileen" kind of way.

Shameless Plug

2008-06-04T21:01:00.004-04:00

I can't stop sending these little treats from someecards.com
Maybe I am just too easily entertained, but they make me giggle like a schoolgirl.

Vibrance

2008-06-02T21:54:00.005-04:00

Finally! Proof that my camera doesn't just take pictures of backyard birds.

Gotta love sunset fishing at camp. And yes, that is a big fake plastic owl on the dock. Do you want to make something of it? It keeps the gulls from making gull-poopy on our stuff, or so they say.

Martin Sexton takes on Portsmouth, NH

2008-05-31T23:57:00.003-04:00

My old man is off fly fishing in the wilds of Maine this weekend, which left me to attend the Martin Sexton show in Portsmouth solo. I had put the word out for a fellow ticket taker from the Music Club crew, but nobody took the bait... so off I went. Funny story about buying the tickets (or ticket, as the case may be) before I start raving about the show.
Tickets went on sale at noon on Friday. Luckily, I have about 15 minutes at noon, so I saddled up to my office computer and hoped for the best. The show was scheduled to take place at Portsmouth's Music Hall, which is a beautiful, stately old theater. The online ticket-buying for this venue is kind of funky: you log in to their site and a little prototype of the seating plan pops up. You click on a seat that is represented by a little blue stick figure (this means the seat is empty) and avoid the red ones (those seats are spoken for). As it was 12:02 by the time I created the log in account, I scanned quickly, saw a lone blue stick figure facing forward in what appeared to be the front row, let out a whoop, and clicked to purchase. I couldn't stand it. I'd never sat in the front row of anything before. When I got the the confirmation page, I saw, "Row P - Seat 14".
... Row P? Front Row? Say what brother man?
You'd think it would be A. Maybe AA.
My doubts got the best of me and I doubled back a screen or two. It was now 12:10. There were only a smattering of blue stick figures left, and most were in the balcony. What I thought was the front row had actually been the LAST. Turns out, it doesn't matter which way the stick figure is facing. They're just there for looks. Row P it was. Nice job there, Einstein.

The theater is not enormous; there's really not a bad seat in it (unless you're stuck behind a pole, which luckily, I was not). I was actually glad to be in the back, because, for the first 20 minutes, I felt there was a neon orange arrow floating over my head, indicating a loser who was at a show alone.

Once Martin came out, I forgot about the arrow. He was amazing. The last time I saw him, he had a full band with him with lots of funky instruments supporting him, which sounded larger than life and very delicious. I had seen him solo once before, but it was eons ago (at The Music Hall, actually- opening for Richard Thompson) so it was nice to see him in an intimate atmosphere again. He stood alone on that stage, with nothing but his guitar and a pink lava lamp for company. I'm never very good at remembering set lists, but I made an extra effort to use my weak memory skills tonight. They won't be in order, but they'll be accounted for.

He started off with "There Go I", off of the Seeds LP. That song gives me such goosebumps- it was beautiful live, and a great way to start the show. Martin Sexton's voice is unlike anything I've heard before- he has a range like no other.
From there he went into a few older songs, much to my delight.
He played "Diggin' Me", "Glory Bound", "Freedom of the Road", "Angeline", and "Candy" which are some of my all-time favorites from his first few albums. He rocked out with "Things You Do to Me", which I am not sure I've heard live before. He played "Diner", which was great, don't get me wrong, but I think I liked it better with the band behind him last summer. A big highlight came with an intense version of "Gypsy Woman", which took a fairly dark and heated turn when he used this voice altering mic thingy (sorry, technical sound nerd I am not). From "Seeds", he played "Happy", "How Far I've Come" and "Failure". I'm purposely skipping over my two major highlights, saving them for last... He played "Purple Rain" which sounded incredibly soulful, heart wrenching and gorgeous. I love his version of that song. His encore was --drum roll-- "Way I Am", which was a total show stopper (literally, considering it was his encore). The song is unbelievable. I could never, ever tire of it, and hearing it live is like entering a 5 minute dream state with some 1000 other people in the room with you.

He played for 1.5 hours, and left us all panting and begging for more. The guy leaves exactly nothing on the stage when he exits. He must have turned every shade of red and purple on the spectrum as he belted out those big notes, and his guitar playing was unstoppable (which you don't notice as much when he's with the full band, I don't think). He must sleep like a wet log after a performance.

If you haven't become addicted to Martin Sexton yet, I must encourage you to come to your senses. Nowhere will you find a more passionate, heartfelt musician. The man is gold. Go forth and purchase, brothers and sisters.

ERD City

2008-05-31T15:53:00.004-04:00

I'm on a tear with the song "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver.
Before I make this sound like I'm a single song addict only, allow me to state my position on Bon Iver, in general.
Love. This. Man.
I bought the album because I had read a number of raving reviews and heard a few samples that pricked my ears up a bit. Then, I read a little bit more and found out that the artist had suffered a loss in love, retreated to a log cabin in the woods, spent the winter there and recorded this album.
Um, hello? Does anything sound more cathartic in the world than that? I can just image this whole thing, mentally. Snow falling, guitar plucking, frantic song writing by candlelight, yowling with the pain of it all... etc. It sounds like creative heaven to me, honestly. Haven't you ever wanted to just toss the snowshoes in the car and drive into the woods for an unmeasured length of time when you had some personal wounds to lick? Is it just me? Well obviously it's not just me, because Bon Iver did it! So ha!
Here ya go, folks. Bon Iver, aka: The king of pain.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the intro, but I'll never complain about hearing a British accent. Something about the way the host talks reminds me of an episode of the Faulty Towers, though.

Tom Waits: Cool Guy

2008-05-29T23:37:00.004-04:00

I was reading the All Songs Considered Blog this evening and got a kick out of an interview posted there. Tom Waits had the great fortune to interview none other than...Tom Waits. Yes, a self-interview. It had kind of a "through the looking glass" vibe to it and seemed to marry a hefty dose of mind-altering drugs with one of those questionnaire style e-chain letters where you list your favorite colors and what's under your bed.
There were many good questions (What remarkable things have you found in unexpected places?, What's heaven for you? and What is a gentleman?) but my favorite part of the interview had to do with favorite sounds. The only thing that could make it better would be if Tom asked Tom what his favorite words to say are. (Oh, by the way, today I introduced a second grader to the joy that comes with saying the word SQUASH. She couldn't stop giggling after the third repetition. Your turn, now. Say it with me: Squash. Squash. Squash.)
Forgive the digression. Here's the interview question that had me nodding with gusto in agreement for some, and perplexed by others:

Q: What are some sounds you like?
A:
1. An asymmetrical airline carousel created a high pitched haunted voice brought on by the friction of rubbing and it sounded like a big wet finger circling the rim of a gigantic wine glass.
2. Street corner evangelists
3. Pile drivers in Manhattan
4. My wife's singing voice
5. Horses coming/trains coming
6. Children when school's out
7. Hungry crows
8. Orchestra tuning up
9. Saloon pianos in old westerns
10. Rollercoaster
11. Headlights hit by a shotgun
12. Ice melting
13. Printing presses
14. Ball game on a transistor radio
15. Piano lessons coming from an apartment window
16. Old cash registers/Ca Ching
17. Muscle cars
18. Tap dancers
19. Soccer crowds in Argentina
20. Beatboxing
21. Fog horns
22. A busy restaurant kitchen
23. Newsrooms in old movies
24. Elephants stampeding
25. Bacon frying
26. Marching bands
27. Clarinet lessons
28. Victrola
29. A fight bell
30. Chinese arguments
31. Pinball machines
32. Children's orchestras
33. Trolley bell
34. Firecrackers
35. A Zippo lighter
36. Calliopes
37. Bass steel drums
38. Tractors
39. Stroh Violin
40. Muted trumpet
41. Tobacco Auctioneers
42. Musical saw
43. Theremin
44. Pigeons
45. Seagulls
46. Owls
47. Mockingbirds
48. Doves
The world's making music all the time.

Nice, Tom. So many of those would be on my top 50 list, too (e.g., trains, owls and Zippo lighters).Without going into my own full 50 list now, I just have to add/substitute the following:

I don't think you can say Owls without following up with Loons, first off.
Rain falling on your tent roof, for nexts.
The sound of car tires going over a draw bridge is right up there.
A hound dog: "Ah-woooooooo!"
My dad's laugh.
The sound the perfect skipping stone makes. A hiss, followed by a soft ker-plunk.
Peepers on a summer night
Banjos and Mandolins

The Great Johnny A

2008-05-27T22:42:00.004-04:00

When I first started hanging around with the founding fathers of my Music Club crew, we used to head out to a ton of live shows together. It seemed that we went through a stretch where semi-local guitar virtuoso Johnny A was everywhere we went. He was opening for any rock artist worth their salt that visited northern New England back then, or so it seemed. Subsequently, I was fortunate enough to bask in his glory several times, and became a big ol' fan of his jazzy, bluesy vibe and jaw-dropping skill.
Over the past few years, Johnny and I have been like star-crossed lovers. It seemed he only came around when it was a holiday weekend and I was destined for family reunions or birthday parties or some other such monotonous business. This weekend, at long last, he came to play at my favorite little local music venue and watering hole. I put off going up to camp for a day so that we could go catch his show, and boy am I glad. Johnny, Johnny... it's been too long!

His set has changed some since I saw him last, back when he was supporting his "Sometime Tuesday Morning" album. (He's got another disc out now, which I enjoy, but nothing can take the place of his debut in my mind.) His sets used to be very jazzy and almost mellow, and this last show was much more rockin'. It was great to see a talent who could go from gently coaxing each blessed chord to just absolute shred-fest - often in the same song. He played a Hendrix medley that left me speechless! I cannot play guitar for a hill of beans- never could, never will - but watching him play always builds my appreciation for the instrument. How does one do all those things with just four fingers and a thumb??? The sound is very pure and harmonious, yet has great style and groove, too. His take on Witchita Lineman gives me goosebumps every time I hear it... it conjures images of rainy Sunday mornings or long, contemplative drives with the windshield wipers flapping.

If you don't know him, I'll post a YouTube clip to give you a flavor. Really though, get yourself Sometime Tuesday Morning. It won't let you down.

This was his big "single" called Oh Yeah. They played it lots on Beantown Radio.

I just can't permit myself to omit Witchita Lineman.
Rainy Day. Wipers On. Drive, Drive, Drive.

Drawing a Blank

2008-05-20T19:48:00.003-04:00

It appears my brain is on a bit of a vacation as far as blogging goes. I have been avoiding the blogger login page like the bubonic plague. Maybe I'm drawing a behemoth blank because work is hectic, or because I'm obsessed with my new camera (Shall I post more birds for you all? I have some winners!). Maybe I'm coming up empty because I am in a bit of a musical drought. Drought might not capture the intensity of the situation, actually. Let me put it this way: I have 30 pre-paid downloads waiting for me on my emusic account. They need to be used by the end of the month and I am just staring at them like they are a foreign code to crack. I'm in dire need of some new tunes to listen to, but I'm feeling a little uninspired. My favorite XM station seems to be playing a lot of the same stuff over and over. I'm feeling saturated. I need a new direction.

So build me up, buttercups. Give me some new tunes to listen to and reawaken my deprived iPod, which hasn't been turned on since last Thursday (simply unheard of!). What are you all listening to? What's making your happy buttons light up, musically speaking? Inspire me, and I will try to inspire you right back.

We did have a pretty cool theme at music club this past month that I enjoyed muchos muchos. Theme: Alcohol/Drugs for round one... Songs that showcase a change in tempo for round two. I'll post my prime, Grade Amy selections at another date, but in the meantime, take a peek at your own collections and be wowed by just how many delectable nuggets there are for this one.

My Apologies

2008-05-12T18:05:00.004-04:00

I am a compulsive apologizer. I apologize for things I did, for things I didn't do and for things other people do. I'm aware of the problem. I'd say I'm working on it, but really, that would be a big fat lie.
Yesterday, I took Murph for a long walk. (I'd like to say we went for a run, but that, too, would be a big fat lie.) Along the way, we got jumped by three different dogs. Each time, the owner was standing within a football pass from the road. Each time, they attempted to call their dogs off. Each time, the dog charged anyway, snarling, barking, biting and looking otherwise intimidating. My dog, who is constantly on a leash, is a chicken. He's what they call "fear aggressive". He knows he's a wimp, knows the other dogs see him as such, and therefore finds his inner cock-fighter every time he's charged by an unknown canine. I have to be very careful when I introduce him to knew four legged friends. The situation really needs to be controlled by humans, otherwise, the fur will go airborne.
Needless to say, the three high-speed charges that occurred yesterday left my knees wobbling, my heart pounding, and my shin scratched to hell from flying dew claws.
So what did I say to the owners of the accused chargers? To the 100 lb German Shepherd owner who let her hoss of a beast come flying? I said, "I'm Sorry" like I usually do, of course. I walked away, my dog was trembling. I took about 10 steps and realized that the offenders' owners had said nothing. No apologies, no inquiries about pet health or loss of fur. They wrangled in their hell hounds and headed back to their homes. I was left to walk the next 1.5 miles wondering if I should ever bring Murph to my favorite spot again. That really irritated me.
Add this to the other two apology reflexes this week and I'm at a loss for people and their sense of obligation. The first happened when a woman let her wayward shopping cart go careening across the parking lot instead of returning it to its rightful corral, three spaces away. I retrieved the cart, looked at the woman and apologized. (WHAT!? Why did I do that?) She just stared at me like I had lobster claws coming out of my ears, and got into her shiny Lexus. The second came after my brother's 8 month old golden retriever puppy leaped on my driver's side doors -front and rear- in an attempt at a friendly greeting, and ended up leaving massive claw marks in my beautiful, shiny new paint. (The curse of the car continues.) What did I say to my brother? Yes. You know. I don't even need to type it. Clearly you would win the "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" competition. What did he say in return? Nothing. "Oh it will come out if you buff it." End of story.

So are there two groups of people in our society? The Sorriers and the UnSorries? The Apologists and the I-Care-Nots? I don't know the answer but I think I'm about to run for office in one of the camps. Grrr!

Song of the day: "I'm Sorry" - Brenda Lee

Time to Evolve...

2008-05-07T20:42:00.007-04:00

It's a good thing there is a family party to attend this weekend. I need to evolve past the "photographing random backyard wildlife" stage with my new camera. The birds are starting to get inflated egos, thinking they're being followed by the paparazzi. Still, I'm having fun. It's like documenting spring's arrival!

This little white-throated sparrow clearly thinks he's a "somebody".These two Orioles obviously think they're too "A-List" to be sharing a branch with a woodpecker.
Sure you've heard of "Bennifer" and "Tomkat". Let's not forget "Brangelina", too.
But what of these two lovey doves?

Yes. It's really important that something more exciting than birds happens soon, just to give my camera a sense of importance. Not to mention me... I came home from a run to plop outside with my new toy and open fire on the wildlife for the third day in a row. Someone may have to stage an intervention soon.
In the meantime, if you'd like to share my joy in photography bliss, clicky-clicky on the pictures and prepare to be awestruck by the greatness of my new baby.