A retrospective journey through the ever-evolving world of Will Oldham - spanning the lo-fi, acoustic Palace recordings of the early 90s, to the polished country/folk of the very prolific Bonnie “Prince” Billy.
Palace :: A Retrospective
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy :: A Retrospective
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Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
SIRIUS 350: Jean Michel Bernard — Générique Stephane ++ The Fall - Frenz ++ Josef K - Pleasant Heart ++ Ought - Pleasant Heart ++ Girls Names - A Second Skin ++ Modern Vices - Keep Me Under Your Arms ++ The Jesus And Mary Chain - Some Candy Talking ++ Mission Of Burma - New Disco ++ Wire - Ex Lion Tamer ++ Parquet Courts - Borrowed Time ++ The . . .
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In an October 2010 issue of The Believer, I made passing reference to GT Moore and the Reggae Guitars, as the band Moore rather weirdly left Heron to pursue. However, Moore’s sophomore crew did go on to draw a large enough following on the pub rock circuit to see them through to the onset of punk. And unlike Heron they seem to have toured extensively during this time, opening shows for the likes of Jimmy . . .
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Diversions, a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, catches up with our favorite artists as they wax on subjects other than recording and performing.
As the guitarist for post punk legends Mission of Burma, Roger Miller has played in some pretty crazy locales over the years, but he has never before boarded an airplane intent on playing in a divided country balancing the tensions behind a potential outbreak of civil war. What had before been an expected week of exciting performances with Alloy Orchestra (in which Miller plays keyboards) was now filled with curiosity as to how the people of the Ukraine were reacting to these developments, and what would it mean for the band and the concerts? There was only one way to find out, so he took his seat on the plane to Kiev and wondered what lay ahead…
Tuesday June 24:
Leaving Boston at 8:45pm, we were bounced up to Business Class at no extra charge: that was a definite bonus. Notice the expansive leg-room? After a pasta dinner with wild-caught mushrooms (probably grown on the lush organic gardens of Lufthansa's rear airplane wings), slept almost the entire flight in my seat's “Sleep Mode” position. Bodes well for the 7-hour time-change adaption to Kiev. Jimmy (Mission of Burma’s Tour Manager), if you're reading this, get us a free upgrade up to Business Class when Burma heads out to the West Coast in August: I know you can do it....
Wednesday June 25:
Arrived zonky in Kiev. Amazingly easy Customs - they looked at our passports, at our faces, and let us right in. Didn't ask us a single question. More like entering a high school than a country in the middle of a crisis. Anna, our Ukrainian hostess from last year met us outside. She works for the U.S. Embassy, which is the organization that brings us here (your U.S. Tax dollars at work!). We were glad to see each other again, and off we were whisked into a van.
We unloaded our gear at the venue for tomorrow's show: a huge old arsenal turned into a Ukrainian avant-garde gallery/show-space. Cool. Then to the Intercontinental Hotel (same as last year) - good rooms, good English spoken, everyone charming and eager to help us. After settling in we had a classic Ukrainian dinner in a local tent-restaurant: a bit kitschy, but great. Beef Stroganoff please with various pickles and Borscht, please. No reason to complain (except for the mild lager beer).
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Tony Joe White turns 71 today — a good excuse as any to put on one of his many excellent platters. I recommend 1971’s self-titled Tony Joe White. Cut at Sounds of Memphis Studio and Ardent Recording Studio in Memphis for Warner Brothers, it’s thick, greasy, and sticky, a potent blend of country, R&B, and down home blues, with the leering White serving as a sly, funky narrator. He was already a proven hit maker by that point, with singles like “Polk Salad Annie” and “Rainy Night in Georgia” -- recorded by Elvis and . . .
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The reissue of Cotton Jones’ 2009 Rio Ranger EP includes the previously unheard “Marula” - a breezy, cantina waltz. The track, which can be streamed here, finds frontman Michael Nau singing and scatting amongst hazy, mercury vibes, which include trumpet, mandolin, and strange, shapeless backing chants. It is yet another example of the band’s singularly enchanting brand of cosmic Americana.
Another such hidden gem . . .
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Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” is a strange, haunting thing. Largely carried by Cohen’s monotone, yet slightly lilting voice and sparse guitar accompaniment, the song evokes a dark, ambiguous feeling. The angelic backing vocals and seraphic strings that periodically emerge give the song a heavenly relief - a bittersweet release of giving yourself into a formless and transient love. A joy you know is fleeting.
What makes Nina Simone’s rendition so interesting is her arrangement’s total embrace of the beauty of this strange affair. Light and floating -- with the piano, drums, guitar and Nina’s free-flowing vocals all working in perfect unison to give the song a brightness and buoyancy. It’s a spirited and optimistic rendition, all while adding further mystique, and allure, to Cohen’s words.
“And just when you mean to tell herThat you have no love to give herShe gets you on her wavelengthAnd she lets the river answerThat you’ve always been her lover”
A mysterious song about a mysterious lover, "Suzanne" evokes the kind of romance that you do not, and cannot, fully understand, yet one you allow yourself be taken away by, no matter how temporary, or sorrowful. It is Simone’s alternate version, found on the 2012 reissue of her 1969 lp To Love Somebody, that fully embodies this sentiment. Here, the arrangement is sparse: some cloudy, fluttering piano, a subtle, metronomic drumbeat, and a meandering, noodling groove. Simone sings slower and, more importantly, deeper. She’s not approaching the subject so freely and brightly in this performance.
Nina Simone :: Suzanne (alternate version)
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Betty LaVette has been a powerful force in soul music for over fifty years since her 1962 debut recording which was cut when she was 15 years old. Betty was born in the small town of Muskegon, MI, and grew up in Detroit, which is where she was discovered by Motown raconteur Johnnie Mae Matthews. As someone who has been known mostly to soul aficionados, her recent resurgence in popularity and activity is inspiring, and her old records are legacy that will live on forever.
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Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
SIRIUS 349: Jean Michel Bernard — Générique Stephane ++ Loose Fur - Hey Chicken ++ Parquet Courts - You've Got Me Wonderin' Now ++ Pavement - Baptist Blacktick ++ The Fall - The Classical ++ Pavement - Unfair ++ Silver Jews - Send In The Clouds ++ Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange ++ Women - Black Rice ++ Ought - Pleasant Heart ++ Here We Go Magic - Tunnelvision ++ Destroyer - Blue . . .
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Atlanta-based singer/songwriter Grace Braun is a folk singer known for her visceral approach, which often consists of experimental instrumentation and shrieking vocals. Yet, Braun’s showmanship takes a backseat in this beautifully orchestrated, down-tempo anthem peppered with haunting organ keys and a choir of angelic voices. “Down in the Garden” can be found on Grace Braun’s 2002 LP, I’m Your Girl.
Grace Braun :: Down In The Garden . . .
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Lagniappe (la ·gniappe) noun ‘lan-ˌyap,’ — 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus.
The Lagniappe Sessions return with two from Eric D. Johnson, whose first LP outside the long-running Fruit Bats, EDJ, is out next month via new label home, Easy Sound. Here, Johnson takes on . . .
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Los Angeles: This Thursday night, July 17th, Aquarium Drunkard presents Ryley Walker at the Echo. Advance tickets available for purchase, here. We’re giving away a few pairs to AD readers. To land them, leave a comment with your name and an email address we can reach you at. Winners notified by Wednesday night . . .
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Viet Cong, a Calgary quartet made up of former Women bandmates Matt Flegel (bass) and Mike Wallace (drums), as well as guitarists Monty Munro and Danny Christiansen, have just reissued their previously tour-only Cassette via Mexican Summer.
While there are shadows of the aforementioned Women — a certain spooky, claustrophobic, gloominess — this new concern has proven interested in expanded sonic territories, making Cassette a dynamic and absorbing listen, one which strengthens with each listen.
Viet Cong, while indefinable by genre, certainly know who they are and what . . .
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Ahhh, mann. The good Richard Swift recently turned us on to the following 2006 BBC documentary on one of my all-time heroes of any trade - New Orleans' Allen Toussaint. Ride your pony...
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"...Nancy Dupree's 1969 album Ghetto Reality, essentially an inner city version of the Langley Schools Music Project, but with the kids writing their own songs rather than covering contemporary pop hits." - Mike McGonigal
I quoted the above, via McGonigal, several years ago while introducing Nancy Dupree's "James Brown" on the radio and was reminded of it, recently, during a conversation centered around 'noteworthy' children's musical projects. If you've yet to hear . . .
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