March Madness Musical Finds
Just dropping in...
April has slipped ½ way by. Music reviews have filled my pages, and you all know that is a common thread. After a few nights bush, Gembrook, Victoria to be exact, nature has infused me with bliss and energy. More to be written about that time with a bird language expert and a few dozen others in due course.
Returning to the news of stabbings in Bondi Junction was an unwelcome return to society. The news was horrible and weird. One reporter said of the attacker, “He suffered from mental health.” Some adjectives were missing from that report.
Other bizarre reports made me cringe while watching the news. I reached for the OFF switch. It was and is all too much. I long for the call of the Black Cockatoo and the sound of wind through the trees.
Did someone mention heart surgery? It is 3 weeks out and time seems to be speeding up. But I am relaxed and living in the now. There is nothing else that could be better.
We are looking to get out of town for a week or so before my sternotomy. I don’t care if it is cold, warm, or hot, I want to be in nature where I feel at home. Under medical advice, I have been told to avoid going overseas, so Australia is the destination.
Do you have any ideas? Drop me a line if you do. But make it fast, we must find somewhere beautiful. Daintree, Cape Otway, Wilson’s Prom, etc. are some places we are looking at.
Some of you have hung on and I know many of you liked the monthly playlists of new music, so this month has a bunch of new records I like. I hope you find something here that may inspire or tap your toes. I have also included a little playlist of some of the songs I dug on these records.
Have a listen and find your own. In life, we are always finding our way, and place, home is where I want to be…..but hell, you know, here I am.
Josh Fortenbery-No Such Thing As Forever- Josh’s debut album, No Such Thing as Forever, is a neurotic reflection on isolation, misinformation, family, and death. An existential crisis set to music. Some people might call it folk indie country or Americana. Probably no one would call it dance music. Drop in. He’s from Juneau, so you tell folks you are listening to Alaskan folk.
Real Estate-Daniel-Sixth album by this jangly, mellow group from Ridgewood, New Jersey, now residing somewhere in the gentrified streets of Brooklyn. Produced by Daniel Tashian, I am assuming that is where the title came from. I hear a bit of Fountains Of Wayne coming through on some tracks and there is nothing wrong with that comparison.
“Dude, 15 years is a long time. It’s a long time for most bands. A lot of bands don’t make it this long, but then a lot of other bands do, like Neil Young,” he laughs alongside Bleeker. “What I’m saying is that in the course of a lifetime and a career, we’re just getting started. I don’t need to think about ‘We’re so far into our career…'”-Martin Courtney
Stoll Vaughan-Dream In Color-Do you dream in colour? I do. 8 tracks, 32 minutes. Vaughan’s 5th record and the first one I have heard. It’s worth a ½ hour of your time.
Claire Anne Taylor-Giving It Away-Hailing from Tasmania, Taylor’s emotional reach within her songs is right there for you to bathe in. Her voice goes husky at times and reminds this listener of Joan Armatrading, although her music is her own. This is Taylor’s 3rd record and you should listen to it now. I have been doing that since last month for quite a few spins.
“Death is a prominent theme throughout the album, whether it is the death of a loved one, the death of a life you might have imagined for yourself, the death of a dream, or the death of a love shared with someone.” – Claire Anne Taylor.
Gary Clark Jr-JPEG RAW-A picture is worth a thousand words and this music is worth more than that. Do not think of Clark the guitar slinger when you put this record on. Yes, he plays the guitar but this is a soul record. This is a black record. This is the new Gary Clark Jr. record. Give it more than 2 listens, it is a grower. George Clinton and some fellow named Stevie Wonder jumped on board.
“There was nobody in your ear going, "Don't think that, you got to do this now." It was complete freedom. And to see nature and see coyotes run by and see these birds. I'd go to the library and check out books on birds, I was such a weird nerd guy, run through the woods with my binoculars, and I was like a Boy Scout and I'd love to do archery and tie ropes and do all that kind of stuff. Go camping and cook noodles on our little portable pots and pans and stuff, so I really love that. I loved being in that space, in that headspace, everything else kind of felt stressful, going to school and being in order and sitting at a desk. So finally in this pandemic, I got a chance to be home and be out in the space that I'm fortunate enough to have. To be able to take breaks from the studio, go and sit outside and see antelope jumping by in the sunset, it puts your mind in a different spot to see like cotton candy, cloud was purple and pink, blue with these amazing skies.”-Gary Clark Jr.
Check out Charlie Parr’s beautiful release Little Sun and Beth Packer and Clinton Hough’s outfit, Ma Polaine’s Great Decline. Their record Molecules is a beautiful mix of folk, Americana, and whatever which will take you on a little musical journey. Can you call it Americana if they are from England? Does it matter?
Dreaming at the end of the wick
Echoes and drumbeats
Hitting my head with a stick
Makes no sense
Hitting my head with a stick
