There are so many things to be grateful for, but my item of the week was getting a part-time job at the library. The moral: Don't mope (although I did); just get out and volunteer at something that will eventually lead you in a fruitful direction--took me fifteen months. It's been a long time coming. Happy Thanksgiving.
1 Comment
mr. Gnome--Madness In Miniature (El Marko Records): Cleveland's mr. Gnome (the duo of Nicole Barille and Sam Meister, who use a small m for the "mr.") makes stunning music that ought to receive a larger scale of acclaim. Call it the White Stripes with a better sense of groove, as Madness In Miniature moves gracefully from folk-ish textures to high powered rock, sometimes within the same song. Last I checked, Magnet magazine had a free download of "House of Circles," one of the best tracks on this provocative album.
Deer Tick--Divine Providence (Partisan): John McCauley's latest under the Deer Tick moniker might be his best effort yet, with a loose but propulsive sound that's kind of like alt country-meets-the Replacements. It's crude, lyrically nasty, drunken and even nasal (in a good way), which appeals to to me, because I love kind of stupid stuff like the U.K. band the Vibrators from thirty years ago. Real rock'n'roll isn't so easy to track down these days, and Divine Providence has the important elements. Fiona Boyes--Blues for Hard Times (Vizztone): Skillful Australian singer-guitarist who's been at it for twenty years and has been making records in Austin for awhile now. Boyes' singing is passionate, sometimes gutteral and often funny, while her guitar playing is clean and first rate. Her sense of history doesn't start with Chicago blues, either (although Blues for Hard Times contains a Muddy Waters tribute), as she's adept at Reverend Gary Davis-style finger picking, too. "Drink to Your Health" features one of those perfect rock and blues followup lines--"until I ruin my own"--but practically every track on this entire largely-acoustic outing has much to offer. The Best of Leon Russell (Capitol): A really welcome single disc collection that covers most of Leon's solo highlights while representing his collaborations with Marc Benno (as the Asylum Choir) and last year's Elton John pairing. A lack of liner notes and track annotation really hurts the packaging, but on the plus side, it includes Leon's still-remarkable "Jumpin' Jack Flash/Young Blood" medley from The Concert for Bangladesh. Best of runs about 66 minutes, and if my CD burner hadn't died recently, there would have been room to add three of my favorites that were left off this fun yet flawed anthology: "Roll Away the Stone," "Of Thee I Sing" and "Magic Mirror" (I used to hear the latter on WCAR/Detroit, an AM station that played album cuts because many people didn't have an FM radio in their vehicles in 1972) from Leon's first three and finest albums. Makes a good gift. This blog is supposed to be mostly about music, so I apologize for the other stuff clouding my mind (lots of difficulties with my health insurance company this week).
But here's some great news: I have a library job interview next week. Whether it's the economy or whatever, I just don't get to the interview stage very often. Overqualified, underqualified...it's difficult to find your niche. A sort of rebirth is in order, because I get rather sad about all the changes in life; losing my parents still stings. I see a parent walking with their young child while they're attached to a cell phone and it angers me, because it reminds me of being separated from my youngest daughter when she was nearly eight years old--I missed a lot of her years growing up. I missed too much time with my oldest daughter as well, for other reasons. It's time that can't be made up. I would not be on a cell phone if I were out walking with my wonderful daughters. On the same day I got news about my interview, my trusty CD burner died. Got my first one in 2000, and replaced it in 2004 (it was under warranty, and I got a brand new one for basically the cost of a new five-year warranty). It was especially fun to record songs from different sources, as I've made myself many an anthology. Not sure how I'm going to recover from that. I can take something I paid for and make a copy to play in the car--I don't like to keep legit CDs in the car--but at present, I can't burn individual tracks. I'll eventually figure out another approach, but this stinks. Maybe my good news this week is there to remind me of real priorities, real hopes. |
The J2 Blog J.J. Syrja (born in Detroit, 1955) is a journalist and radio broadcaster. The son of an electrician and a teacher, he has written for Goldmine magazine,
spinitron.com
(Playlists--all KAOS shows) ---------------------------------- kaosradio.org ---------------------------------- democracynow.org ---------------------------------- commondreams.org ---------------------------------- actionslacksnerdout. blogspot.com (The history of soul music) ---------------------------------- rockrapconfidential.com (Rock and Rap Confidential) ---------------------------------- manifestojoestexasblues. blogspot.com ---------------------------------- fairportiajewelry.com (Gina's fabulous work) ---------------------------------- allmusic.com (Their design looks like a big, desperate ad for what's left of the music industry, but the info is still helpful) Archives
March 2024
|