After the band lost their major label deal in 2002, former Del Amitri lead singer and songwriter Justin Currie did some soul searching. He traveled to Spain, got stoned, listened to romantic Italian music, and realized that he had no desire to keep making the same albums over and over again. He got obsessed with the idea of making a record of intimacy and immediacy, and returned to Scotland with a lot of songs percolating under the surface. With no commercial pressures or deadlines, he took the time to develop and record what would become his first solo album, What Is Love For?, in an organic manner. He was inspired by other deeply personal albums that he loves: “I had four major reference points. Curtis Mayfield’s Curtis, John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band album, Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush, and Nina Simone and Piano. Of course, I didn’t expect to make an album anywhere near those masterpieces. I just hope that it’s honest and truthful.” Hear samples of some of the record’s tracks in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Though McEwan calls this work a novel, not a short story, it is a brief work, with a plot that’s both focused and sublime. McEwan has long been and remains one of the most descriptive writers in the language and can take simple events and draw them in such perfect detail that they do more than ring true: instead, we feel like they might be our own. This tale deals with a man and woman who meet in the uptight England of the early ’60s (before the Beatles, Carnaby Street and sexual revolution had transformed the culture into something we recognize today). Their wooing is stilted and uncomfortable and most of the action takes place on their climactic wedding night. It is both hilarious and tragic. I loved it.
Eddie Vedder and Sean Penn vaguely recall first meeting each other “backstage at some kind of multi-artist concert.” But their proper introduction came when Tim Robbins hooked them up to collaborate on some music for the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. Later, they worked together on I Am Sam. They’ve talked about several projects since then, but it wasn’t until Penn showed Vedder a rough cut of his new film, Into the Wild, until they knew what their next project would be. (Into the Wild is based on the 1996 book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, which tells the true story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who cut ties with his family and took off for Alaska with plans to live off the land and the kindness of strangers.) Everything immediately fell into place. Vedder reflects on his songwriting process: “It was startling how easy it was for me to get into his head. I found it to be uncomfortable how easy it was, because I thought I’d grown up. I think all this stuff was right under the surface for me, barely.” Julia Clarke has more in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
This is a terrific biography of one of the first true American Renaissance men. Franklin was a prolific writer, a successful printer, a renowned scientist, an effective satirist and humorist, and his work in foreign service before we actually had a Foreign Service helped pave the way for this new nation’s success.
If most of what you know about Franklin comes from tepidly-written schoolbooks, you probably don’t have a grasp on the scope of his accomplishments. This biography brings him to life. He was so far ahead of his time that, if he were to be dropped by a time machine into New York City this weekend, I’m confident he’d be comfortable within an hour. His relaxed views on religion (he believed in a benevolent God who rewarded good deeds and hard work as opposed to the more prevalent Puritan view that featured holy omnipotence and its predetermined menu of pain and suffering) seems remarkably brave given the fire and brimstone of his time. He was a pragmatist, constantly organizing and designing: clubs, associations, libraries, lightening rods, fireplaces, etc. all to the betterment of a growing middle class. Isaacson tells this story chronologically, complete with all Franklin’s strengths and shortcomings. Like so many men who achieve greatness, he was sadly estranged from his son, William, who supported the British during the revolution. His doting wife, Deborah, remained behind in Philadelphia while her husband was overseas, initially to win French favor in helping to defeat the British in the War of Independence and remaining afterward to negotiate the peace (with the much younger John Adams and Thomas Jefferson); he was away for 16 of the final 17 years of her life.
Isaacson points out in closing that Franklin’s reputation has been reevaluated by every generation to suit their own needs and biases. His stock has again risen in this time of political and religious unrest and global climate change. His story brings into relief our desperation as we search for leaders who have but a portion of his worldliness, intelligence and talent. Anyone who loves American history will enjoy reading about one of our country’s greatest men.
Like sand through the hourglass, gone are “The Days of Our Lives.” Fox’s “’Til Death” has officially parted, and before we know it “Lost” will be living up to its name.
In case you hadn’t heard, the Writers Guild of America has instituted a strike. Members are demanding rightful compensation for money made through DVD sales and the internet downloads of their efforts, and until their demands are met, they’re not writing. In the land of money and television, it all sounds fair enough in theory. But striking? Could there be a more un-American course of action? Think of a country that doesn’t like to work, and who comes to mind first: our sojourn-loving adversaries, the French, or we hardworking Americans?
A major cultural revolution is afoot! It’s simply taken for granted each summer that French lorry drivers will take a break from the job to block up roads and ports, and deny many a poor European two out of their eight or so weeks of annual vacation. But we Americans generously give back a massive 1.6 million years of unused vacation time to our employers every year. Not only has an American industry taken a leaf out of the enemy’s book, they’ve turned it into a crappy made-for-TV adaptation and transmitted it right into the center of our broken hearts by depriving us of our late night shows and doctor dramas with hip indie soundtracks!
What will I do on Thursday nights without the long agonized glances exchanged between Grey’s Anatomy’s Derek and Meredith (Deredith) as The Fray play on in the background?
Presidential hopeful Stephen Colbert could be rendered as verbally incompetent as our own real-life president. Hell, “The Word” will probably be just that: one word. David Letterman meanwhile will be left with his proverbial trousers down reading his grocery list in lieu of the “Top Ten.” Canned ham anyone?
From the green statue that greets our nation’s visitors, to the delicious side order of crispy fried potatoes we’re offered with every burger, the Francofication of America is spiraling out of control! Before you know it, we’ll be pouring maple syrup on our crepes in the morning, ordering a Royale with Cheese at McDonald’s, and our very own president will succeed in his courageous effort to set a record for vacation days taken while in office. Or has he already?
But fear not, there is hope. Through their most unpatriotic action, the WGA are inadvertently upholding another great American pastime: reality television. Ladies and gentlemen take solace, America’s most questionable contribution to popular culture needs no scripted lines!
While more refined, scripted shows go the way of the French, America’s appetite for “reality” shows may finally be satiated in the coming months. Face it, no matter how great the script, Fear Factor’s contestants wouldn’t be able to read their lines with a mouthful of cockroaches anyway. And what comedy writer could possibly beat Sharon Osborne lobbing a ham over the wall into the neighbor’s yard? The absence of scripts has allowed Jessica Simpson to mistake an aquatic vertebrate for domesticated foul, and gave viewers hope when Danny Bonaduce attempted suicide. (Then snatched it away when he failed.)
Alas, it’s true that one of Celebreality’s deities has this week suffered somewhat of a setback, and that’s The Dog. Duane “Dog” Chapman, bounty hunter to the less fortunate, is notably absent from our ever-shrinking nightly TV roster after some publicized comments that would make Don Imus himself cringe. But worry not, he’ll no doubt have a Kumbaya session with Al Sharpton, take a long vacation, and return refreshed in 2008 for a new season which will feature the mullet-wielding 18-time criminal offender boldly risking his toned physique to chase down similarly-minded criminals in return for large sums of money. Vive le fromage!
Friday November 09th 2007, 5:38 pm
Filed under: Americana
Posted by: Melanie
We’ve tallied up the votes from the Music Meeting at this year’s Americana Conference and we’re please to present them to you.
We played 14 songs from more than 700 submitted. Voters were asked to give each a score between 0 and 10.
Here’s how they stacked up:
ALL VOTERS
The Steeldrivers
8.05
“Blue Side of the Mountain”
Thad Cockrell
7.62
“A Country of My Own”
Kathleen Edwards
7.27
“I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory”
Eric Lindell
6.84
“Lay Back Down”
Cross Canadian Ragweed
6.7
“Smoke Another”
Marah
6.68
“Angels of Destruction”
Caroline Herring
6.63
“Paper Gown”
Drive-By Truckers
6.62
“Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife”
The Wrights
6.34
“A Love Like That”
Kathy Mattea
6.33
“Coal Tattoo”
The Waifs
6.23
“How Many Miles”
Gary Louris
5.71
“True Blue”
Mando Saenz
4.78
“Pocket of Red”
Shawn Mullins
4.59
“All In My Head”
RADIO ONLY
The Steeldrivers
8.57
“Blue Side of the Mountain”
Thad Cockrell
7.71
“A Country of My Own”
Drive-By Truckers
7.56
“Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife”
Kathleen Edwards
7.44
“I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory”
Cross Canadian Ragweed
7.33
“Smoke Another”
The Wrights
7
“A Love Like That”
Caroline Herring
6.89
“Paper Gown”
Eric Lindell
6.89
“Lay Back Down”
Kathy Mattea
6.86
“Coal Tattoo”
Marah
6.25
“Angels of Destruction”
Gary Louris
5.89
“True Blue”
The Waifs
5.8
“How Many Miles”
Mando Saenz
4.63
“Pocket of Red”
Shawn Mullins
3.33
“All In My Head”
Thanks to everyone who sent music for consideration. Our choices were, of course, subjective and meant to represent the wide color of sound and style that is Americana music.
We urge everyone to listen to all of these releases if they arrive in your world.
Thanks to everyone who came and participated and offered observations both humorous and insightful.
There’s a little venue in L.A. that has generated a very quiet, but very real, sense of magic. It’s called Hotel Cafe. This unassuming room opened up in 2000 without pretense — just a cozy place serving good coffee and snacks, with a small stage that the owner though might occasionally play host to a local jazz outfit or two. But a year or so later, Gary Jules happened by the Hollywood joint, spotted a piano, and stopped in to inquire about a residency. Before long, he was booking the joint with like-minded singer-songwriters (people with warm hearts, intriguing perspectives, and engaging live shows that benefited from the intimate atmosphere). And in this most unlikely of places, a community was born — a community that sports some names you might recognize, or will soon: Cary Brothers, Patrick Park, Joshua Radin, Jim Bianco, Pete Yorn, and AM.
AM — those are his initials, and you say it like “A.M. radio” — just released his second record, Soul Variations. And though you might not know his name, you might hear something you recognize when you listen to this edition of the Songlines podcast, because AM has already had his songs placed 39 times in independent films, HBO and MTV shows, and elsewhere.
Best known for “Walking in Memphis,” the hit song from his 1991 debut record, Marc Cohn has recorded sparsely in the years since. The return of his searching, soulful voice is always welcome. His latest disc, Join the Parade, is darker than his past efforts, but not dreary. The songwriter reflects on random acts of violence — from catastrophic events that ravage entire cities to intimate conflicts between people on their streets.
