Alt Ladies Found After The Fact

I learned about Jolie Holland by the time of her third album, Springtime Can Kill You in 2006 and was eagerly anticipating her next which came in 2008.  When it did, I was happy with it but saw her veering from what had originally interested me.. the deeply alluring folk and country archaeology of her first two albums, Catalpa and Escondia; along with her work with the Be Good Tanyas and her enchanting rendition of Lakes of Pontchartain.  Alas, I missed the boat and never had a chance to see a performance like her Mad Tom of Bedlam in person.  When I finally did catch her last week, I didn't even finish out the show.  Her tender early explorations have somehow morphed to brassy noise experiments; an interesting category in itself, but an alienating departure for a Holland fan.  Like the alt-folk version of jazz's trip to Bop or Dylan's donning electric.  Douglas Heselgrave at Paste has also noticed.  Let's hope there are fruits yet to bear from this experiment... It's not like I'll ever stop listening to her.

2008 also saw Laura Marling's first album, Alas, I Cannot Swim;  but I was busy replaying Jolie's greatest hits and lo here I am, circa Marling's fifth album before I finally give her a serious listen over at her Laura Marling's Tiny Desk Concert.  Her voice if full and endearing.  Too clear to be properly husky but just as assured, and beautifully resonant.  I'm looking forward to catching up, but I feel like I've also missed the moment.  Comparing her debut to this, I can already hear the wry spunk supplanted by a melancholy.

Which reminds me of the breathtakingly poignant Joanna Newsom.  On the opposite end of the vocal spectrum from Holland and Marling, Newsom's style on Peach, Plum, Pear reminds me most of Perry Farrell.  The idea of a she Perry Farrell singing folk shook me to my core.  I simply couldn't hear enough the day I first listened.  One live performance in particular, Sawdust and Diamonds, finishes with a moment of ecstatic emotional release that I can return to as a reminder of what practice and focus can achieve in a human.

It makes me wonder.  Who is just starting?  More next time..

Comedic digestif: Joanna Newsom vs. Nardwuar followed by Riff Raff vs. Nardwuar: hang on for baby oil water slide.  Actually, just stay with the Nardwuar interviews as long as possible.

FIDLAR please come back to NYC!

FIDLAR,

Please come back.  We miss you.  It's been too long.

All we have are these memories.

Yours,
New York City

LOC's Folk Recordings Catalog - not free?

Went searching for the original Robert Johnson recordings at the LIbrary of Congress today and came up blank.

The Folk Recordings collections at the Library of Congress appear to be an amazing resource.. generations of blues pioneers, like Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Son House and Charlie Patton, recorded in the 20s - 40s by John & Alan Lomax. And that's just the blues roots collections.. there's hundreds of others covering a wide range of folk traditions.

But unfortunately you can't listen to them online, or buy the whole collection cheaply; the whole collection would probably fit on a single USB drive.

They have become "out of print" or in selected commercial distributions by Rounder Records which is now owned by Universal Music. Huh?

Check out this list:

  http://www.loc.gov/folklife/folkcat.html

Why is this not all freely available online? I'm sure Wikimedia would host them, and a zillion copies would be made within a few years for no shortage again ever.

Well, they do have their phone # listed.. guess I'll call and ask :)

Meme Modder Makes Mahem

It starts like this:

and then this happens:

Now then, just start clicking through his feed.. party pooper!

Slop Punk

My friends idols The Midgetmen have released a new album, of sorts, in celebration of their 10th anniversary.  Dare To Be Stupid, a cover of Weird Al's original.  And then they played it at FFFunfest in beautiful and warm Austin while I was enjoying hurricane Sandy.

I'm listening to it now, join me!

It's sloppy and punky, which is what The Midgetmen have been laser-focused on for their decade run, and they keep on showing off how fun it is.

That's the definition of a "good" band in my book.

I'll reserve "great" for their 11th anniversary, when I challenge them to cover Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon while acting out The Wizard of Oz, in sync to the original, on stage.  Marc as Dorothy, Jon as Scarecrow, Justin as Tin Man and Alex as Cowardly Lion.  You guys can pick which ones of your significant others play the witches good and bad, and I suggest Rich for The Wizard, and of course I'll be the Flying Monkeys and the audience will be the singing Munchkins.

Cheers guys!

Festivals!

It's really the music fests I've been getting back to recently that have rekindled my joy of the media, so a quick recap!

CMJ 2012

• Arborea @ somewhere in Bk; but... they bailed! :/
• The Luyas @ Cake Shop.  Much more restrained than at Pyg 2011, but still some moments
• Young Magic @ somewhere on North 6th, Williamsburg; but... missed it

Pygmalion 2012

• Dirty Feathers were the standout for me; it doesn't hurt that they're go-go dancer is one of my favorite cameo bartenders in C-U.
• Psychic Twin - Erin Fein's new Band (of Headlights/Absinthe Blind).. very nice.
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra

SXSW 2012

Well, rock and roll is back.  Great shows.  Great thanks to the fellas in The Midgetmen for showing me the way.

• The Future of the Left - I'm in love with the bassist
• Radiation City - I'm in love with the keyboardist
• Guards - I'm in love with her, but I don't know what she's playing at this show
• FIDLAR
• Henry Clay People
• Andrew W. K. followed by Titus Andronicus
• Ezra Furman
• and BRUCE!

Pygmalion 2011

Writing this a couple of years later, still had a few standouts

• The Dodos, The Luyas @ Channing-Murray .. just a really good show.