On the Playlist 11FEB2019…

Put on an album from Jewel called "Sweet and Wild" this afternoon. Can't remember when I got this album or why. Not usually one for country music. This album is okay. Basically, Jewel and a guitar singing country songs. Well done with a fairly strong acoustic simple production sound to the songs which is nice. The lyrics seem a bit sappy to me but can't say I am actually paying much attention. Doesn't do anything special for me though.

Jewel - Sweet and Wild

On the Playlist 7/FEB/2018...

Keeping with the New Orleans theme from yesterday and put on the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and their album "My Feet Can't Fail Me Now". I love that song and have several versions of it but I like this one for its fast and loose style and amazing brass solos in it. This album is their first studio album and includes many favorites. They were one of the first New Orleans brass bands to bring in funk and bebop to their performances and as a result began a resurgence in the classic New Orleans brass band style. That has influenced a lot of other more recent brass bands including another favorite of mine the Hot 8 Brass Band.

On the Playlist 5/FEB/2019...

Listening to "O Superman" by Laurie Anderson. This track dates from 1981 and I recall purchasing this album when I worked next door to a record shop. Incidentally, this track is recorded from the album a couple years back and it sounds amazing. This track became a bit of a hit in the UK but at the time when I first listened to it Laurie Anderson was quite obscure. She recently became a bit less obscure with the death of her husband Lou Reed. Something a bit different for today. The track later appeared on her debut album but I have the single version.

On the Playlist 6/FEB/2019...

Was reminded on a road trip with the kids today and the song - "Walking to New Orleans" (not sure why but I went with it) and the fun we had riffing on this song. Anyway, lead me to put on some Buckwheat Zydeco and his album "Waiting For My Ya Ya!" As I was doing research for this post I found out that he passed away in 2016 - very sad! Don't recall when I first became aware of zydeco music but I have been listening to zydeco for a long time and Buckwheat Zydeco was a star of the genre along with Clifton Chenier whom he played with early on. I have several of his albums but I think this is the best one and the most sincere to the zydeco genre. 

Incidentally, he has a children's album which I think is one of the best children's albums out there called "Choo Choo Boogaloo." My kids enjoyed it a lot but I enjoyed it even more and was always happy to play it in the car on road trips with them. The narration brings a lot of these classic songs together into a somewhat coherent story.

On the Playlist 4FEB2019…

Listening to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones this afternoon and their album "Let's Face It". The Bosstones are a Boston Ska Punk band from the 80s and 90s. They are originators of the Ska Punk and Ska Core styles. These styles were heavily influenced by the 2 Tone Ska of the 70s in the UK popularized by The Specials. The reason I bring this up is that a colleague many of us know from Trevena turned me on to them and I recall a certain monitoring visit up in Pasadena where we had The Specials playing through a portable speaker for most of the day while we monitored - fun times! Anyway, the Bosstones album "Let's Face It" is the fifth and most successful album of the Bosstones and the quintessential Ska Punk sound.

On the Playlist 1/FEB/2019...

Listening to a very mellow jazz album by Jenny Maybee and Nick Philips called "Haiku". The album was recorded live directly to quad rate DSD which is much higher resolution than a CD. This recording technique is very difficult to do as it must be done totally live using only an analog mixing board. There are no overdubs or tracking that can be done. The audio quality is amazing. The album features Jenny Maybee on vocal and piano, Nick Philips on Trumpet and Paul Eastburn on acoustic bass. The sound floor (lack of background noise) and clean sounds is what you notice right away. Lovely music for a quiet rainy afternoon here in SoCal.

On the playlist 31/JAN/2019...

Put on some Crash Test Dummies today and their album "A Worm's Life". This is their third album and came after their big success with their previous albums. This one is a bit more guitar heavy which I like better. Crash Test Dummies is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg. Their first album had "Superman's Song" on it which was a big hit in Canada while their second album had the international hit "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". Always enjoyed their music and in particular the cover from their second album which features the band members in a copy of the Tutian's painting Bacchus and Ariadne.

On the playlist 30/JAN/2019...

Been listening to a bit of Youssou N'Dour this afternoon and his album "Egypt". This album is a bit different for this Sengalese musician as it incorporate Egyptian and muslin sounds. The album was originally slated for release in 2001 but it was delayed a couple years for obvious reasons. Although a bit different for Youssou it makes sense as he is a Muslim and this album contains songs that are distinctly Muslim not only in sound but also in the content of the lyrics. The album was controversial not in the West where it was well received but rather in Muslim countries where it was felt that making this music popular was disrespectful to the religion. Regardless, for my I enjoy the softer tone to it with the clearly African rhythms and some Middle Eastern sounds on it.

On the playlist 29/JAN/2019…

Was finishing up reading Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" this evening and what better music to listen that a bit of the Dead. I put on "Live at Hollywood Palladium from August 6, 1971" as I read the final chapters of the story of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.

The combination set the scene for recalling the one and only time I saw the Grateful Dead in the early 90s in Oregon. I decided to take the company car (back in the day when monitors were given company cars) down to Oregon from Vancouver and camp at a Grateful Dead concert. A very good friend of mine who had turned me on to the Dead was going to drive down just for the concert and he assured me that going down the night before and camping would be cool. We got there early enough that we were able to go out again with the car to get supplies after getting our spot. I had figured out a great business idea and pretty much paid for my whole trip. We went out with the car and loaded it up (I mean as much beer as I could stuff into it and it was a large 4-door sedan) with various micro-brewed beer. We then proceeded to sell that beer at considerable mark-up to all the poor schleps that arrived later and couldn't get out to do a beer run. It was quite the night to say the least about it and I made quite a bit of money selling my beer from the trunk of the company car. The concert the next day was great but nothing like the experience of the night before. Got to love the dead and the dead heads!

On the playlist 28/JAN/2019...

In my quest for the ultimate in 8-bit midi style music I have discovered some new music in this genre. I am listening to "Healing" by In Love With a Ghost. This is a Paris based artist and the album is a story about witches, magic and friendship. The trippy 8-bit sound is pure j-pop in its sound but this is an artist from Paris which is brings some Western themes to the music and I love the artwork. Anyway, I enjoyed it.

On the Playlist 21JAN2019…

Listening to a band from Denmark that plays music inspired by the Southern United States called Turnip Greens and their album "Carry Me Down the Aisle". What is cool is that they are playing original compositions that sound fresh and new but clearly in a Southern Rock and Blues style. What caught my ear was how much their lead vocalist sounds like Tom Waits except without the years of smoking and bourbon. Even the cover of the album looks like it could be a Tom Waits album. 

Turnip Greens - Carry Me Down The Aisle

On the Playlist 16JAN2019…

A band that I can't believe I haven't talked about yet is on the playlist today and mainly because they are releasing a new album which I have pre-ordered and got a couple advance tracks from. The band is Gloaming and the album is "Gloaming 3" which somewhat obviously follows their previous album called Gloaming 2. Got two tracks as a preview of their new album which releases officially in a couple weeks. So Gloaming is a contemporary Irish folk music group. The important part of that description is the contemporary as they have brought a modern jazz/chamber music sort of vibe to traditional Irish music that makes the genre sound fresh and interesting. I first got turned on to Gloaming by my oldest daughter who was listening to their music. We listened to a lot of their music on our epic Thanksgiving road trip as well. If you haven't listened to this group they are hot and definitely worth a listen. 

The Gloaming - Gloaming 3

On the Playlist 15JAN2019…

Discovered a new artist today called Sudan Archives and am listening to her album by the same name. A self taught violinist and vocalist that plays African sounds with an R&B and electronica style to it. Loving it so far! Like a lot of African inspired music there is a strong rhythm but there also a nice edginess with an experimental electronic sounds blended in. Originally from Cincinnati she moved to LA to study music technology and has now self produced her own music for this album. A fun discovery.

Sudan Archives - Sudan Archives

On the Playlist 14JAN2019…

Listening to Midnight Oil this afternoon. Was a bit torn as to which album to listen to. I have two favorites and decided on "Blue Sky Mining" to listen to. I think I like this album better than their international hit album "Diesel and Dust' that was released prior to this album. I became a fan of the band after they appeared at the Clayoquot Sound protest in April of 1993. I had heard of them prior to this but this is when I remember being impressed by them. The lead singer, Peter Garret, trained as a lawyer and has for his whole career been an activist for aboriginal rights and various conservation causes. He has even been a member of Australian parliament. I like their music as it usually features a prominent driving beat and a good mix that ensures the vocals are also prominent. Their music definitely includes an activist message so the vocals are important.

Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining

On the Playlist 8JAN2019…

On the playlist today is Feist and her album "The Reminder". I crossed paths with this Canadian artist (yes, I checked) very early in her career when I was in graduate school in Calgary as she was in a local punk band called "Placebo" I remember hearing at some event. When I later discovered her music I hadn't made the connection. Honestly, I am not sure I would remember much from that evening but I do remember the name of the band. Anyway, this album has a pop/folk sound to it that is fun to listen to. Where you will have heard of Feist is from the song 1 2 3 4 that was a surprise hit after being featured in an Apple iPod commercial. It was a surprise as Feist is an independent artist and is therefore not heavily promoted by the large music labels.

Feist - The Reminder

On the Playlist 4JAN2019…

After playing some hi-res tracks yesterday I was thinking about some other music I have that is hi-res and got to thinking about Soundkeeper records. Soundkeeper is a small recording company that specializes in hi-res live-mic acoustic music recordings.I pulled up an album by Paul Beaudry and Pathways called "Americas" to listen to. Always amazes me how good well recorded music can sound and this album is well recorded. What is amazing about this recording is that when you turn it up how real it sounds and it just gets better since the dynamic range in the recording is quite wide. It literally sounds like there is a jazz quartet playing in my listening room. The music is a celebration of North, Central and South American musical styles.

Paul Beaudry and Pathways - Americas

On the Playlist 3JAN2019…

Been reorganizing my music library and stumbling onto some music that caught my attention. Not trivial moving a music library of over 2tb and making sure everything is all there and correctly referenced etc. So what caught my eye - Norah Jones and her album "Come Away With Me". The debut album for Norah Jones that made it to number one on the Billboard 200 in January 2003. The album is a mix of jazz, blues, pop and folk styles with an acoustic sound to it. I have a hi-res version of it that sounds sublime. 

How I came into this album is a good story as well as it came with my limited edition Pono player. The Pono player was a kickstarter campaign by Neil Young for a digital audio player. It is a bit of a unique player in that it is triangular shaped looking somewhat like a Toblerone bar. It never really caught on as the support for the audio store and Neil's crazy ideas fell apart. I was a huge fan of the idea and got one of the first players. If you look up Pono Player on YouTube there are two videos I did that have a lot of views on them both an unboxing and first impressions. I was also one of the top posters on the forum at one point trying to develop a community around the player and good quality music. At one point I met with the hardware manager for the company who was a key designer for the Apple Newton and original iPod back in the day. I still have the player as it sounds great and is portable. It has some design quirks to it that never got fixed. 

Back to Norah Jones - I love her voice and her relaxed style and have been a fan for some time. Thanks to a reorganization of the music collection for being reminded of this album and enjoying it. I think my favorite track is the title track "Come Away With Me" but there are a lot of gems on this album. 

Norah Jones - Come Away With Me

Unfortunately my Norah Jones Pono player got stolen in San Francisco from a rental car while on a business trip along with my briefcase and all my travel gear. Ho hum!

On the Playlist 2JAN2019….

Happy New Year to everyone! Decided to start the new year with Fela Kuti and his album/track "Beasts of No Nation". This track which took up the whole side of an LP at 28 minutes is a classic Fela Kuti track. I only wish that I had a chance to see him in concert as that would have been an amazing experience. If you have not heard of Fela Kuti he is one very interesting character as well as being a great musician. He was born in Nigeria, was the founder of the Afrobeat style of music, was a human rights activist and a major pain in the Nigerian government's side as he lived in a commune that declared itself independent from Nigeria. There have been several documentaries of his life that go into all the details of his life but enough to say he was a character. 

This album/track is a classic of the style with a great rhythm with a great saxophone solo on it and then an amazing vocals track with a choral back-up that goes on for 28 minutes. The recording I have has a bit of digital brightness to it but is still amazing to listen to. 

The cover of this album is quite a trip too famously showing Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Pieter Botha with devil horns and fangs. It was based on a quote by Botha regarding the anti-apartheid movement that "this uprising will bring out the beast in us!"

Fela Kuti - Beasts of No Nation

On the Playlist 24DEC2018…

As I will be travelling and may not get to post I am going to post this one a bit early. My final installment of Christmas music.

Growing up in Edmonton in the 80s there was a cultural phenomenon that later gained worldwide prominence that was recorded in Edmonton - Bob and Doug McKenzie and Second City TV. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas went on to fame as comedic actors but their original Great White North segment on SCTV was filler to meet Canadian content rules and was filmed with just the two of them and one camera improvising. They became the most watched segment on SCTV and later released an album called "Great White North" which went to number one in Canada and included a song that I have already included in the run up to this holiday list - "Twelve Days of Christmas". Bob and Doug's version is hilarious and my final Christmas song on the playlist. I was in high school when this came out and everyone knew this album. 

Incidentally this album also features another classic song that includes Geddy Lee from Rush (another Canadian music Icon). Moranis and Lee went to school together. The song "Take Off" is the highest single in the US that Lee ever had including any Rush song. 

Bob and Doug McKenzie - Great White North

On the Playlist 21DEC2018…

Second to last post before Christmas and another holiday album on the playlist - Diana Krall and her album "Christmas Songs". This is Diana Krall's first album with a Jazz Big Band and also her first holiday album. I have been a fan of DIana Krall as she is Canadian (definitely checked and confirmed this) although I went off of her as her music got a bit boring and a bit too jazz standardy. Well this album is an album of holiday standards done with a big band. It is good straight ahead big band with no surprises. If you enjoy the Bing Crosby Christmas album this will suit you very well. It is upbeat snappy and swings. Some interesting trivia about Dian Krall is that she is married to Elvis Costello. 

I got this album at a holiday gift exchange the year it came out. It was a white elephant gift exchange with the QA department at Quintiles. My turn was early in the exchange. I forget what I originally drew as a gift but this album came up later. I knew I wanted it but had resigned myself to not getting it. Then on the last round someone took my gift which meant I was able to take the CD from whomever had got it. 

Diana Krall - Christmas Songs