rhiannon giddens

Playlist #249 – Black History Month Edition

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Happy Tuesday, everyone. Finally back in the school today, though of course with a two-hour delay. Not that I’m complaining. Anyway, February is Black History Month, and the 100th Anniversary of said month, so here’s a playlist to celebrate that!

  1. Louis Armstrong, “Mack the Knife”: I don’t think any discussion of the impact of African Americans on American music can be considered complete without mention of Louis Armstrong. From his distinctive voice to that great trumpet playing, Satch left an indelible mark on popular music of the 20th century. Oh, and his version of “Mack the Knife” is far superior to the Bobby Darrin version, regardless of what my wife argues.
  2. Tracy Chapman, “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution”: Look, we all love “Fast Car.” Everyone knows and loves “Fast Car” because it’s a cold banger, alright? But Tracy Chapman is more than just “Fast Car.” I feel like this song gets at what she was always talking about in her music even better than “Fast Car” does. She’s about that revolutionary change, that paradigm shift, that emphasis on the people who go unnamed and unnoticed. And she will not sit quietly.
  3. Mon Rovia, “Heavy Foot”: I was thinking of putting together a Contemporary Protest Songs list for today instead of this playlist, but I can always do that later. This song would belong on both playlists regardless. Though the melody and instrumentation feel light and airy, folky even, the lyrical contents are heavy and weighty. The government’s on the heavy foot, and that foot was made for stepping on the necks of the people.
  4. Aretha Franklin, “Chain Of Fools”: Beyonce can call herself Queen B all she wants, but I know who my queen is.
  5. Sam Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come”: That voice, man. The longing, the depth, the yearning for a better life for everyone. It doesn’t get any better than this.
  6. Ray Charles, “(Night Time Is) The Right Time”: I haven’t been able to listen to this song the same way since I saw the Ray Charles biopic and saw the way he got those backing vocals from the female singer. I mean, damn, That was pretty brutal.
  7. Robert Randolph & The Family Band, “I Need More Love”: Blues rock combined with sacred steel (a pedal steel guitar style) equals a banger of a song. Give it a listen and you’ll understand what I mean.
  8. Rhiannon Giddens, “The Angels Laid Him Away”: American folk from someone who understands who the originally folk musicians really were.
  9. Robert Johnson, “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues”: The OG Delta Bluesman, the guy who went down to the crossroads to meet with the Devil and forever had hellhounds on his tail afterwards. This guy innovated (or at least popularized) much of what we think of as blues music today.
  10. Blind Willie McTell, “Dark Night Blues”: Twelve-string twelve-bar blues. The man makes the twelve-string guitar sound like an effortless instrument to play (which is no easy feat).

Playlist #160

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Happy Monday, folks. If you’re like me, you spent the weekend thinking about music, coughing, and playing video games. You also came up with this playlist. You are very talented and quite handsome, I must say.

  1. Seven Mary Three, “Water’s Edge”: This is just the grunge version of Richard Marx’s “Hazard,” isn’t it? I’m pretty sure it is.
  2. Onnu Jonu Son, “True Love Will Find You In the End”: Icelandic dude who has one of those great raspy, lower-register voices that feel folky and lived-in. So do his songs, including this lovely cover.
  3. Rhiannon Giddens, “Yet To Be (feat. Jason Isbell)”: I am a sucker for a good duet, and these two knock it out of the park.
  4. Adeem the Artist, “Nancy”: I like his new album, though I liked White Trash Revelry more. This one strikes me as “Laid” by James only ’90s country styles.
  5. Pearl Jam, “Wreckage”: Dark Matter was a surprisingly good album. It feels like classic Pearl Jam without really sounding anything like classic Pearl Jam. This one is a predominantly acoustic number, a strange thing on any Pearl Jam album but a welcome departure from their riffy electric assault.
  6. Hurray for the Riff Raff, “The Body Electric”: They just really get the folky country style, like they’ve lived it and it’s written in their bones.
  7. John Prine, “Souvenirs”: Is that really how you spell the word “souvenirs?” Why did I think it had more vowels in it, especially in the back half? I am just left confused.
  8. The Strumbrellas, “Spirits”: It’s one of those 2000s-era, over-produced pop-alternative bands with strummy acoustics and shouted team-style vocals, and I can’t get enough of it, apparently.
  9. Willie Nelson, “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”: You can’t go wrong with the Red Headed Stranger, either the singer (Willie) or the album.
  10. The Ink Spots, “Java Jive”: I am 90% sure most of my jazz and classical music knowledge came from watching cartoons as a child. Loony Tunes, Little Lulu, Tom & Jerry…everything I know about some genres of music came from these shows, including this song. “I like coffee, I like tea/I like the java jive and it likes me.” Yes indeed.

Playlist #141

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Happy Monday, folks! It’s bright and clear here in Northern Virginia today, though tomorrow promises rainstorms. In January. Because we don’t get to have snow days anymore. Anyway, have some music.

  1. Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band, “All That’s Left Is Fare-Thee-Well”: Contemporary country that doesn’t suck? It’s more likely than you’d think! At least, it is when you’re talking about Terry Allen, who’s been at it since the mid-70s. And can you dig the name of that backing band?
  2. Neil Diamond, “Holly Holy”: Neil Diamond singin’ his heart out on this one, God bless ‘im.
  3. Bob Dylan, “Born In Time”: Sometimes, latter-day Dylan gets on even my nerves. He’s gotten to a point on many of his songs (you could easily make the argument that he was there from the very beginning) of getting too repetitive with the chord structures; it’s the same phrase, repeated over and over and over for six or seven minutes. But sometimes, he throws out a gem like this one, which didn’t even merit a regular release (it’s from The Bootleg Series, Volume 8. Though, come to think of it, there were several bangers on that particular set). So most folks will never hear this one, but thank God we got the three-disc Sinatra karaoke of Triplicate.
  4. Fleetwood Mac, “Seven Wonders”: Peak 1980s Mac. Which means my wife would hate it.
  5. Moby, “New Dawn Fades”: “Moby is so edgy,” said some vegan teen in 1998.
  6. Jenny Lewis, “Carpetbagger (Featuring Elvis Costello)”: Always sing a song with Elvis Costello if you get the chance. It just sounds good.
  7. Old 97s, “Jagged”: Is this from one of their best albums? No. It’s far too poppy for my tastes, generally speaking. Is this still a damn good song that just tears a hole straight through you? Yes.
  8. Josh Ritter, “Monster Ballads”: This is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in the past twenty years. Just guts me every time I listen to it.
  9. Miles Davis, “It Never Entered My Mind”: One of my favorite jazz songs. I don’t talk much about jazz, because (1) It’s hard to talk about jazz in general and (2) most jazz is too up its own ass for my tastes. But this song is gorgeous and mournful and melancholy in all the best ways.
  10. Rhiannon Giddens, “The Angels Laid Him Away”: This woman knows her way around an old folk tune, as this particular ode reveals to great effect.

Playlist #19

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Week three of the school year rattles on. Here’s some tunes to carry you through.

  1. Gin Blossoms, “Just South of Nowhere”: The Gin Blossoms have become one of my favorite bands from the 90s, and this is one of my favorites by them. Pre-New Miserable Experience.
  2. Electric Light Orchestra, “Daybreaker”: An instrumental from the Jeff Lynne-led band. It’s off of On the Third Day, where ELO really became ELO.
  3. Rhiannon Giddens, “Better Get It Right the First Time”: This woman can write a damn song, lemme tell you. She also plays a mean banjo, though that’s not present on this track. This is more of an old-school R&B number, with a rap break that actually really works well.
  4. Robert Earl Keen, “The Road Goes On Forever (Live)”: “The road goes on forever/and the party never ends,” he sings, and I’m still not sure if that’s a statement of undeniable fact or a plea to never let go.
  5. The Who, “The Seeker”: Any song that references the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Timothy Leary in the same verse is some kinda wonderful.
  6. Patti Smith, “Because The Night”: When Bruce Springsteen gives you an unfinished song, you take it and you rock it out. Patti Smith definitely did.
  7. Paul McCartney, “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”: Shortly after his first wife, Linda, passed away, Paul got into the studio with a bunch of buddies (including guitarist David Gilmore) to record a bunch of old 50s rockers and a few new tracks written in the same vein. They slap. They all slap. This one especially.
  8. Dawes, “That Western Skyline”: The first song off their first album is filled with so much promise. So much. Those Laurel Canyon harmonies are just perfect. The rest of the album – and honestly, everything they’ve put out since – feels like a failure of that promise.
  9. fun., “Some Nights”: Another band that falls flat right after their first song or two. Maybe what I expected from this song and what the band actually want to do are two very different things.
  10. Elliott Smith, “Either/Or”: It strikes me to this day that Elliott Smith died far too young. If I can be half – hell, even a quarter – of the guitar player or musician or songwriter that he was, I’d be perfectly happy with that.