More, briefly
The great Busy-ness is nearly slackened, soon 70-80 hour weeks of work will be done and perhaps I will write more about each CD then. Or maybe I will go fishing, or work on other writing, or practice walking on my hands. Or, i will go our and try to sell my next book, which BlazeVox books has accepted for publication in the near future. Woo-hoo!
148) Van Morrison: Down the Road
My wife has a spreadsheet with every Van Morrison CD listed on it, because she gets me one every Christmas and doesn’t want to repeat. Luckily for my lifeline, he has oodles of recordings, and keeps cranking out good new ones, like this bluesy bit of comfort and yearning.
149) The Psychedelic Furs: All This and Nothing
Hits, hits, hits from the 80’s–”Pretty in Pink,” “Heartbreak Beat,” Ghost in You,” “Heaven”… $2.10 is scrawled on the back in crayon, so I must have gotten this at the Goodwill store.
150) Harry Nilsson: Best of
This CD got at a gas station, I remember, somewhere in Georgia. More hits, hits, hits, “Everybody’s Talkin’,” “Jump Into the Fire,” “Me and My Arrow,” and of course, “Coconut.”
151) XTC: Waxworks, Singles 1977-1982
More hits! Geez, I hope the next CD isn’t a compilation of hits. Not that these aren’t some great songs, and yes, all the world is football shaped, but I’m starting to get a strong feeling of deja vu, and I’m not really digging it.
152) David Byrne: Feelings
Ah, Byrne to the rescue! Not a goddamn hit to be seen! But, has “Miss America,” the snarkiest extened metaphor criticizing the American mythos since, oh, John Prine’s “Great Compromise,” perhaps?
153) Fabulosos Cadillacs: Rey Azúcar
Now this is post rock, never mind all that “angular” crap that comes out of design schools. They started as a ska/dance band in Argentina, and have become… well, they can mix samba, metal, and be-bop jazz together in one song and make it sound perfectly natural. Plus Big Youth is on a few songs. PLUS Debbie Harry sings a spanish language cover of “Strawberry Fields Forever.” ‘Nuff said.
154) Atrium Musicae de Madrid: Musique Arabo-Andalouse
Sinuous Andalusian songs from the 9th-13th centuries. Captivating, and full of melody threads that survive in both modern flamenco and middle eastern pop. Broke my rule and played this one twice…