Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Hello?  Tap. Tap. Anyone still here?  If you are, you probably are wondering if I am still here. Sort of.  But not for long, I think.  Life has simply become to busy to find time to get the Room going (at least as I was trying to).  Why?  Not because I haven't been listening to lots of music--I have half a dozen posts stored up about albums I have been listening to and questions I have about what others think about different aspects of music.  No, the real answer is simple.  Time. It is just in too short of a supply and other priorities need what time I have.

Of course there is work which is just all consuming and travel has been particularly heavy lately. Since Miami there have been trips to NY, California, and another one coming back to NY and probably Ohio, well, you get the picture.  On top of that I realized that trying to keep the Room updated was taking away some of my energy from the work blog and that one actually helps pay the bills.

More importantly there is the family and home life.  Keeping up the blog was also clearly taking precious time away from the ones who deserve more attention--not to mention that The Artist was getting worried that the Room was getting more attention than the Brothers K blog (invite only--friends and family let me know if you want one so you can see all the antics of the boys--the video they took of themselves dancing to "It's Raining Men" is worth it all on its own!).

And ultimately, when I started this not that long ago, it wasn't because I thought the world need another music blog or that I was even a real music blogger.  Rather, I was hoping that it would evolve into a place where the many friends I have would congregate to talk about music and share ideas.  That happened to some extent and I am so happy about reconnecting with some long, lost folks and to be talking with them again not to mention meeting some other great music bloggers on-line.  But really, I think my time would be better spent just working on keeping those connections alive rather than assuming that everyone wants to communicate via the Room.  No, I am not fishing here, just being honest and a little embarrassed at stopping so soon.

So, for now, we are taking a very long, probably permanent break.  There is a slight chance I might change the focus of the blog to not just be music which I find takes more time to write about than other things.  And I still have a hope of eventually starting a more group oriented blog with some friends that will cover music and more, but I think (hope) next time I will be start enough to figure out who might be interested in that before starting rather than going with the "build it and they will come" strategy.

Until then, thanks for all who have stopped by, commented and sent emails--it really has been fun to do and it surely has made me get back into music as I once was.  Of course, I reserve the right to be totally fickle and randomly at any time go back on this decision and just start again when time and energy allow.

Ciao for now.

Sounds of Miami

Just a quick note to say that things here in the Room will be even slower than normal as work has headed into overdrive. I will be headed off to Miami for a week--and before anyone starts thinking this is about fun and pleasure, let me just say that I will be working nonstop with little time for fun or music. That said, we will get a night at the The Freedom Tower in Miami for an evening reception that will include Cuban food and music. For those who don't know the Freedom Tower, it was originally the home of the Miami News, then became the building that handled the refugees from Cuba who fled from the Castro government and is now a museum to Cubans who emigrated to this country.

I am not trying to wade into the whole question of Castro, Cuba and the U.S.--just noting that about the only chance I will get to enjoy some music (and food) will be that night. Here is hoping the tunes sound something like this.

If by some chance you were not one of the millions of folks who picked up the Buena Vista Social Club's album in the late 90's, then do so now. You won't regret one minute of that decision. And when I return in ten days or so, I am pretty sure I intend to suggest some changes here at the TR.

Until then, let's hear what you all are listening to as we get ready to change seasons.

Open Thread: The Whispertown 2000

What say ye?

• Hot new indie band?
• Wait and see?
• Ain't no Jenny Lewis or Rilo Kiley?
• Who?

Drowning in Harmony: Olson and Louris

I am an old and angry man

Can’t you see that the trap’s been set . . .

Despite this not being an official Jayhawks’ album, the latest effort by Mark Olson and Gary Louris will surely suffer from the burden of expectations. As a result you get lots of luke-warm assessments such as that of Rolling Stone:

Mark Olson and Gary Louris' new disc may not be the Jayhawks reunion some fans hoped for, but it's a respectable set of mostly acoustic folk songs sweetened by the duo's bright, sibling-like harmonies.

Of course, one might split hairs and (again) point out that this isn’t in fact “the Jayhawks,” but that is a bit disingenuous. I do think it is fair to say that this album is definitely Olson and Louris in a very different place than when they were writing and performing as the J’s. Here we have two talented guys who get compared to other very famous duos. But unlike Lennon and McCartney or Simon and Garfunkel, these two are getting back together and aren’t just reliving past hits. Rather they seem to be figuring out how to make new music and move forward. And, in that context, I have to say that as I have listened to this album a lot for the last month, it is a really nice reunion that I hope leads to more collaboration as they clearly still have a lot of music in them.

The approach here is simple and straightforward. It isn’t going to blow you away. Rather it will court you patiently. Most tunes are slow to mid-tempo with the instrumentation being focused mainly on two guitars and a rhythm section. That said, there are some nice subtle musical arrangements with the rhythm guitar nicely countered with clean acoustic leads and fills as well as nice use of electric guitar, organ and harmonica on various songs, but the bottom line is two guys with guitars playing tunes.

And of course, there is the harmony—oh the harmonies. Anyone who likes to sing along with a song and add your own harmony, there is no disappointment here. Olson and Louris haven’t lost that great blend of voices, but like a good gospel tune, there is always room for you to add another harmony to their songs as you sing along.

The lyrics are searching and sometimes a bit too much Salvation Blues to me. Most songs are center on loss, growing older, trying to stay focused on the good—trying, and generally finding one’s way through the messiness of life. They all have a real sincere feel to them, but they aren’t what you would call uplifting. Even when you get a more rockin’ tune like “Chamberlin, SD” the lyrics about “draggin’ the Missouri river” give pause.

I wouldn’t mind the disc being a bit shorter—but I ambivalent on that point, since two of the tunes I really enjoy are considered “Bonus Tracks” since I assume they are not on the vinyl—too bad, as they are both nice country-oriented pieces.

So perhaps it has to do with my own identification with some of the themes here or that I just appreciate the sound of the album which has the very natural feel of two guys sitting together and sharing music (the trap was set), but I have found myself listening to this over and over and growing fonder of the album each time. Good albums to me are ones that have songs I immediately like and others that I come to appreciate—adding up to an experience that is, overall, really enjoyable. I suspect I might be enjoying this one more than others will (and in many ways it has been a musical oasis in a desert of work these last few weeks), but that is my take.

As I have been listening to it a lot, it took me a long time to decide on samples, but here you go.

Ready for the Flood (Buy Album)

Bicycle
Saturday Morning on Sunday Street
Cotton Dress (Bonus Track)

Now We're Cookin: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

If you aren't one of the folks who already knew to check out the new An Album A Day blog, then let me suggest you do. Why? Well, because this random, wonderfully written daily review of albums (every day!) based on whatever happens to hit this blogger's fancy will make you want to revisit classics, pick up something new you haven't heard about, or remind you of albums you should pick up but you haven't. And that is the case for me with Wes' review of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings third album, 100 Days, 100 Nights.

Bottom line here is that this is a wonderful take on Stax-era soul. I will only add a couple things to Wes' review. First, I appreciate the tempo of this album. The DK's resist any temptation to speed up the music to the quicker hip-hop tempos of contemporary music and keep the tunes at that wonderful tempo of early soul. And second, while there are great horn parts here, it is all mixed wonderfully behind Jones' vocal--it is afterall Sharon Jones and the DK's and not the other way round.

So while we have been busy the last few days with this and that, there has been plenty of dancing to these tunes as we cooked up a storm of food. If you are a fan of Otis, Booker, Wilson, early Aretha, or any others of that era and you haven't picked this one up, then send a word of thanks to Wes, pick up the disc, and get ready for some swingin and rockin. Here are a couple to get ya started.

Nobody's Baby

Be Easy

Furry Memories

Wow—just seems impossible to find time to even think about music say nothing about write about these days. Either that or the cable package we just got after nearly ten years without it is rotting my brain. For instance, I could have been listening to and/or blogging about music the other night when I found myself watching The Wedding Singer (and yes, enjoying it—I admit that).

I take it that when you watch that show, you are supposed to giggle at that wacky 1980’s music and I did . . . until I started to realize that I owned, at least at some point, almost every album that is featured in that film. And I liked a lot of them too. In fact, I noted that I still have quite of few of them and even listen to them occasionally. It had been a while though since I dipped in any Psychedelic Furs who get some good air time in this flick.

Ah the Furs—how can you not like the wall of sound that comes through in their (earlier) music? And c’mon, you’ve got to dig Richard Butler’s voice, right? And they even have some kind of cool and punky lyrics if I recall. All I know is that they make me think of house parties that I remember fondly and am now worried about my children attending.

But we still have a few years for that (I think). So muss up that hair, turn up the volume and enjoy a few Fur tunes for old time’s sake—and really, you want to hear those movie hits I know it. First up is the tune that probably go them more air time than any other thanks to the movie by the same name (although that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great tune). Then we have another hit which is the tune that gets most time behind Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in the Wedding Singer. And lastly, just for a change of pace, here is the single (and title track) from the Furs greatest compilation which represents a nice return to the earlier sound.

Pretty in Pink (Buy Album)
Love My Way (Buy Album)

All of This and Nothing (Buy Album)

Emmylou: As Slow, Sad, and Beautiful as Ever

Someone once said that Allison Krauss could sing the phone book and it would be beautiful. True. I submit that if Emmylou Harris sang the phone book, you would end up feeling like you knew the people she sang about and even more, you would empathize with them. I mean really, can anyone sing about buying someone a crescent wrench without sounding silly? Emmylou can.

Now her 2008 release, All I Intended to Be is certainly not the kind of adventurous and remarkable album, that say Wrecking Ball was. The songs are all straightforward constructions, with a standard country feel and sung at Harris' favorite tempo: slllllooooooowww. That said, it is a beautiful album with spacious arrangements that allows you to hear the wonderful warm tone of Emmylou's voice and the sincerity of her singing.

The tunes include a few originals and collaborations with Kate and Anna McGarrigle, but there is also a healthy dose of covers here, including tunes by Merle Haggard, Tracy Chapman to Patty Griffin, but all fit together well in a landscape painted with personal history, self-reflection and the lessons of life. Standard Emmylou--picking great songs and weaving them together as if they all belonged there.

This is definitely a sit on the porch and watch the sun go down kind of album--there is no dancing around to Bill Monroe tunes here. So settle in and take a listen if you haven't.

Hold On

Gold

Kern River