Posts tagged "obsession"


Posted by pootytang September 19, 2008
Posted to obscura  obsession 
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39 plays so far

Howe Gelb - Wayfaring Stranger

More Howe

This time for covers friday - Here we find Mr. Gelb performing a solo rendition of the spritiual wayfaring stranger.  Maybe doing a traditional tune isn’t a cover per se, but there is a surprise in the middle that I think adds to it’s cover cred.

You may ask, how does he switch from guitar to piano so quickly??  Well, frankly I don’t know.  I’m sure there’s a youtube video that makes it clear, and if I find one later tonight I’ll post it, but rest assured - Howe is playing both the guitar and the piano on this track.

Enjoy!

(meant to post this to my personal tumblr - ooops)

New Theme: Obsession

Posted by whitneymcn September 19, 2008
Posted to themes  obsession 

Okay, this is a bit of a punt, but pootytang’s accidental themusic post is far too great to delete, so I’m going to create a home for it.

I may be more prone to it than most, but every music geek hits an obsession now and then: whether it’s an artist, an album, or a single track, you hit something that just won’t get out of your head. The desire to hear and to share becomes so great that you can no longer even keep track of which blog you’re posting to. :)

But let’s be clear: this isn’t the stuff that you’re just excited to hear when it pops up on shuffle, or the casual runs through someone’s discography—obsession is the songs that you must post to relieve the pressure that’s building up inside your head.

Posted by whitneymcn October 1, 2008
Posted to obsession 
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72 plays so far

Mountain Goats & Kaki King - Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle

There are all sorts of reasons that this song shouldn’t work. The lyrics are an imagined narrative from a video game. The chords are occasionally, pointlessly absonous. The chorus is a line too short.

It’s just off, and yet I have listened to this song at least once per day, every single day since it was released. It was literally the soundtrack of my dreams one night. I recruited a co-conspirator across the country to buy me a copy of the 7”, because it’s only being sold at shows and I’m afraid they’ll be sold out by the time the tour hits New York. I need help.

Posted by newspeedwayboogie November 20, 2008
Posted to obsession 
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30 plays so far

Sixto Rodriguez - Only Good For Conversation

Obscura, but so good.

Folksinger “Sixto” Diaz Rodriguez became a spectacular success across the Atlantic after releasing Cold Fact in 1970. The record was hailed as a psychedelic folk masterpiece, filled with colorful depictions of the Detroit inner city.

The sixth child born to a large Mexican family, Rodriguez began writing songs at 16 before being discovered playing in Detroit-area bars. It wasn’t long before he was signed to the then-fledgling Sussex label.

Though little-known in the U.S., Rodriguez became a legend in South Africa, where his songs of poverty, rebellion and love touched home. There, Cold Fact became a symbol of hope and change to thousands suffering from political and religious persecution.

Posted by pootytang February 4, 2009
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131 plays so far

Ornette Coleman - Space Church (continuous services)

Its time for some Ornette Coleman.  The free jazz pioneer’s output is so rich with beauty, and so varied in texture, that each period of his long career is ripe with astonishment.  From 1987’s “In All Languages”, a brilliant double album containing half quartet, half Prime Time recordings, here is the quartet version of “Space Church”.  One of his many slow haunting melodies, this track is given an extra ‘spacey’ feel by the faster tempo of the rhythm section, the jangling background (not sure what that is), and the strange bending electronic sound that pops up a few times to great effect.

Ornette Coleman was 56 when this was recorded, but as always his playing and composition show incredible creativity and vitality.  The late Don Cherry on trumpet, and the untouchable rhythm section of bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins round out the quartet.