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Week Six: September 14th
1. Superscape by Antipode
Quite possibly the most ground-breaking electronic album since prehistoric man invented the glowstick. If you have not heard the latest work by the mysterious Antipode, you must. Especially since the album is being given away as a free download on his website. The perfect combination of soft, jazzy instrumentals and hard and fast industrial chaos (plus excellent album artwork), Superscape is definitely worth the price of purchase.
http://antipodemusic.googlepages.com/
2. Ten New Songs by Leonard Cohen
Such a humble title for such an astonding piece of musical artistry. Leonard’s 2002 effort, this album combines Cohen’s immaculate lyricism with co-writer Sharon Robinson’s smooth and jazzy arrangements. If you have not heard “In My Secret Life” or “A Thousand Kisses Deep” you have not really lived.
3. The Best of Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter is the guitarist’s guitar god. Hendrix packed with pure blue dynamite, exploding on the stage in a fury of flatted thirds and fifths minor dominant 7ths whirlwind crazyfuck down into the Mississippi delta of our American souls with a little bit of Chuck Berry in the mix. When he plays “Rollin’ and Tumblin” or “Johnny B. Goode,” the guitar becomes his bitch.
4. Riding With the King by B.B. King and Eric Clapton
Another excellent blues album by the two leading bluesmen in popular music today. B.B. and Eric play off each other very well; it is very obvious that not only are they respectful of each other’s massive guitar skills but are also great friends. A real treasure. “Key to the Highway,” mm mm.
5. 6- and 12-String Guitar by Leo Kottke
Another guitarist’s guitarist, so much can be said about Leo Kottke but I am too lazy to. I’ll just let the titles of the album’s songs do the talking:
1. “The Driving of the Year Nail” – 1:54 (“From an old Etruscan drawing of a sperm cell”)
2. “The Last of the Arkansas Greyhounds” – 3:18 (“A terror-filled escape on a bus from a man fired from Beaumont ranch”)
3. “Ojo” – 2:14 (“Ojo Caliente where Zuni hid from Esteban, the Moor, and the Spaniards”)
4. “Crow River Waltz” – 3:20 (“A prayer for the demise of the canoe and the radar trap without which Federal prisons will have to be rebuilt to accommodate prepubescence”)
5. “The Sailor’s Grave on the Prairie” – 2:34 (“Originally written to commemorate Nedicks and a Minneapolis musician’s contempt for the three a.m. cheeseburger with a nickel slice of raw”)
6. “Vaseline Machine Gun” – 3:11 (“1) for waking up nude in a sleeping bag on the shore of the Atlantic surrounded by a volleyball game at high noon, and 2) for the end of the volleyball game”)
7. “Jack Fig” – 2:14 (“A reluctant lament”)
8. “Watermelon” – 3:12 (“While at Watermelon Park Music Festival I had the opportunity to play banjo in the middle of the night for a wandering drunk. When I finished he vomited — an astute comment on my playing. Made me feel very distinguished”)
9. “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (J.S. Bach) – 2:24 (“The engineer called this the ancient joy of man’s desire. (Bach had twenty children because his organ didn’t have any stops)”)
10. “The Fisherman” – 2:32 (“This is about the mad fishermen of the North whose ice fishing spots resemble national shrines”)
11. “The Tennessee Toad” – 2:40 (“Who made an epic journey from Ohio to Tennessee”)
12. “Busted Bicycle” – 2:48 (“Reluctance”)
13. “The Brain of the Purple Mountain” – 2:11 (“From A.L. Tennyson”)
14. “Coolidge Rising” – 2:50 (“While rising from the sink, cupboard doors opened and engulfed his head; while turning to the right to avoid the whole incident he walked into a refrigerator — which afforded a good chin rest for staring at some bananas in a basket”)
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Tea for the Bloggerman 
The quilt I made!
Comment by Anonymous September 25, 2008 @ 11:12 pm