Michael Doughten: Music

Sat, 13 Aug 2005 19:54:50 GMT

What am I listening to?

6 discs.

Son Volt - "Okemah and the Melody of Riot"            Jar Farrar gets mad, gets political! Listen to "Jet Pilot."
Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers - "Americano!"       Just an all around fantastic album. (thanks Birdie)
Richard Thompson - "Front Parlour Ballads"             One of my favorite artists. I'm undecided on this one though.
Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"   Maybe the best record of 1998.
Elvis Costello - "My Aim Is True"                               Just saw him in concert. Elvis is always good!
Eric Clapton – “Me and Mr. Johnson”                        EC plays the blues!

What's in your wallet?

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 02:41:49 GMT

Ten years ago today.

All I leave behind me is only what I found

Jerry Garcia

1941 - 1995

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 16:04:18 GMT

Last night I went to Wolftrap to see Elvis Costello & Emmylou Harris perform. It was the last show of their tour. I don't know how the rest of the tour went but last night's show was off the charts. 3 hours of non-stop music with Elvis and Emmylou switching off on their songs. I don't know about you but if I had a choice of what Emmylou songs to hear the two at the top of the list would be "Red Dirt Girl" and "Pancho & Lefty." Emmylou delivered big, she looks like an angel on stage. Elvis and the Imposters started the show with some good old rock and roll and then went into songs from "The Delivery Man." The evening switched to a more country folk mood and the Imposters showed their versatility as one of the best back-up bands around. They finished up a 2 + hour long set with a version of "Pump It Up" that almost brought the rafters down. The encore just kept going, like they just didn't want to stop. This was a scene of people on stage having a great time together and not wanting it to end, so they just kept going.

The night finished on a very poignant note. Elvis and Emmylou sang his "The Scarlet Tide" from the movie "Cold Mountain." At that Oscars they asked Elvis "This isn't an anti-war song is it?" and he replied "No, it's an anti-fear song." Good on ya mate.

"We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride."

To that Elvis added:

"Stop lying
And bring our boys home."

Amen.

They finished the night with "What So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding." And there's nothing wrong with that.

Sun, 03 Jul 2005 17:52:12 GMT

What am I listening to?

6 discs.

Uncle Tupelo - "No Depression"        Good driving music.
Son Volt -"Straightaway"                   Country roots rock, great songwriting, Jeff Farrar is fantastic. (thanks Birdie)
John Hiatt - "Master of Disaster"       One of my favorite artists.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers - "Sonoran Hope and Madness"   Fun, different.
The Jayhawks - "Rainy Day Music"     Good old no frills roots rock and roll.
Old 97s – “Fight Songs”                     More good old no frills roots rock and roll.

What's in your wallet?

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 02:46:05 GMT

Another one of those musical earworm moments........

Just can't get this Peter Gabriel song out of my head.

"In Your Eyes"

love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are

all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes

love, I don't like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
the heat I see in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes

Fri, 20 May 2005 03:49:23 GMT

Snidge done hit me! (because I begged)

Total Volume Of Music On My Hard Drive: 250 MB (pathetic I know, I play cd's. I'm a "modern" Luddite)

Last CD bought: “The Finn Brothers” – The Finn Brothers

Song Playing Right Now:
“One Big Love” – Patty Griffin

5 Songs I Listen To a lot:
“Goodbye Caroline” - Aimee Mann
”Copied Keys” – Kathleen Edwards
”Solar System” – Bill Mallonee And The Vigillantes of Love
”Lifeline" - Colin Hay
”Greeting Card Aisle” – Sarah Harmer

Five People I'm passing this on to in hopes they choose happier songs than me:
Birdie
Michael
Katya
Phil
Nancy

Sat, 14 May 2005 20:58:57 GMT

Canadian Girls Rock!

I saw Kathleen Edwards in concert last night and she showed the promise we expected after two great studio albums. The pacing of the show needs work. Starting with the slow introspective “Pink Emerson Radio” is not the way to get the show off to a rolling start, especially with an 11pm start. I prefer the “blasting out of the gate” approach and think “In State” would have been the opener of choice. She seemed to disappear on stage during a couple of numbers as the band overwhelmed her vocals a few times but on “In State” and “What Are You Waiting For?” she sang loud and clearly in charge. The band was tight but lead guitarist Colin Cripps seemed most interested in playing solos note for note from the record versions, you just never got the feeling he was ever going to cut loose. Keyboard and guitarist Jim Bryson added vocals and his Montreal Expos hat to the show. The Expos, now the Washington Nationals, were a topic of conversation throughout the show. “I hope you enjoy the constant string of losing” Edwards said. “Go Nats!” was my reply. Edwards seemed to get more comfortable with the audience as the night went by, saying she was not used to playing in a room that full, and it showed. Early on she would turn her back to the audience when she wasn’t singing but as the night progress she became more chatty with the crowd. One nice thing about seeing someone with only two albums out is that more than likely you will hear all of your favorites, “Hockey Skates” would’ve been nice but we’re sort of southern here and the inference might have missed it’s mark. The last song of the set was “Back To Me” and this is where you knew that with a little more road seasoning she will be a force, she absolute torn that song up, commanding the stage as she belted it out. It was definitely the highlight of the evening. The encore started with Edwards performing a solo version of “The Harper Valley PTA” in a sort of little girl sing-song voice that was pretty cute but the following two numbers were rather subdued. As I said the pacing of the show needs work but in time she’ll have it down. A good show and well worth seeing. An engaging personality is emerging in Kathleen Edwards.

The opener, Mary Gauthier, is so brooding that she makes Neil Young sound like “Up With People”. I was ready to book a session with my therapist after her set. It takes a lot to make a song about Christmas in Key West sound down. Lyrically she has some good material and she is an intense performer, she unfortunately makes you think that suicide is a viable option with her flawed characters and hopeless scenarios. Just my opinion.

Set List

Pink Emerson Radio

In State

Westby

Independent Thief

The Lone Wolf

What Are You Waiting For?

Old Time Sake

Mercury

Copied Keys

Six O’Clock News

Good Things

One More Song The Radio Won’t Like

Back To Me

----------------------------

Harper Valley PTA

Somewhere Else

Next up: Aimee Mann, May 23rd.

Wed, 11 May 2005 00:22:24 GMT

What am I listening to?

6 discs.

Aimee Mann – "The Forgotten Arm"  Brooding, beautiful.
Vigilantes Of Love -"Audible Sigh"     Brooding roots rock, great songwriting. (thanks Birdie)
Patty Griffin - "Impossible Dream"     Beautiful voice, great songs. (thanks Snidge)
Kathleen Edwards - "Back To Me"     Can’t seem to get this one out of the player, still brooding.
Sarah Harmer - "All Of Our Names"   Another great Canadian singer, can brood with the best of them.
Colin Hay – “Going Somewhere”       Former "Men At Work" vocalist with some great acoustic music.

What's in your wallet?

Sat, 07 May 2005 13:02:21 GMT

A Haunting melody

"come in here and have a taste
yeah what's one more hopeless case
when your short wave dies and there's no one to listen
and the stars going cold in your solar system ."

- "Solar System" by Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love (thanks Birdie)

Fri, 06 May 2005 21:53:47 GMT

They have a license plate for everything these days. It's impossible to tell what state a car is from anymore.

Even the Parrotheads have one! No offense to Jimmy Buffett fans but what's next!

I'm waiting for this one.

"What a long strange trip it's been"

Mon, 02 May 2005 23:11:58 GMT

Chick Singers

Dan Bern wrote a song called “Chick Singers” where he praised a lot of women vocalists. The list goes on and is by no way complete. It grows every day. So many great singer/songwriters, so little time. I’ve added singers from groups, Julie Murphy Wells from Eddie Form Ohio, a local band that is well worth seeing if you get the chance, and The Four Bitchin' Babes.

“Seems like there’s an awful lot of women
In whose honor I would
Like to raise my glass
And give a toast
Some of them are still alive
And some, I hear their voices like a ghost
Maybe this Thursday,
I’ll throw a party
And invite every woman
That ever sang a song
This would be a party
That I think I would like to be the host
Thanks to the bald-headed girl
Whose tape of Bjork and Courtney Love And PJ Harvey
I heard driving to the coast” – “Chick Singers” by Dan Bern

Jane Arden

Joan Armatrading

Jonatha Brooke

Tracy Chapman

Shawn Colvin

Sheryl Crow

Ani DiFranco

Melanie Doane

Kathleen Edwards

Patty Griffin

Sarah Harmer

Emmylou Harris

Four Bitchen’ Babes

Marti Jones

Lucy Kaplansky

Alison Krauss

Patty Larkin

Christine Lavin

Annie Lenox

Patty Loveless

Kirsty MacColl

Aimee Mann

Loreena McKennitt

Sarah MacLachlan

Natalie Merchant

Liz Phair

Sam Phillips

Bonnie Raitt

Linda Thompson

Gillian Welch

Julie Murphy Wells (Eddie From Ohio)

Dar Williams

Lucinda Williams

Add some for me!

Fri, 29 Apr 2005 18:30:43 GMT

Sometimes a line just catches you.

"I ain't often right but I've never been wrong
Seldom turns out the way it does in the song
Once in a while you get shown the light
in the strangest of places if you look at it right."

- "Scarlet Begonias" - Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 18:14:26 GMT

Lyrical Driving

"Into the stream, we pulled away
I know it well, this old ballet
Finding the flow, minding the sway
Catching green lights all the way"
- from "The Last Fare Of The Day" by Richard Shindell

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 04:22:52 GMT

Dave Alvin at The Birchmere

"There's just no reason to go downtown in the music industry because that's where Britney Spears lives." – Dave Alvin in Sound Waves Magazine, July 2002

Just listen to the deep baritone voice that says I’ve been all over and I’ve seen it all, too much booze and too many cigarettes. The passion in the vocals really does make you think Dave Alvin has lived the lives that he sings about in his songs. The sadness in his voice as a border patrolman catching illegal immigrants who have no idea that “you can freeze to death in the California snow”, The old “Man In The Bed” refusing to believe that he’s near the end, remembering how he was when he was young.

Dave didn’t need the Guilty Men to tear it up last night, just the blazing guitar of Chris Miller to back him up. Sometimes Miller’s guitar was a little loud, drowning out Dave’s acoustic guitar and vocals but most of the time he was on fire. The house wasn’t full but the crowd was definitely Dave’s people, yelling out requests to which Dave replied, “I’m a stickler for a set list”, but playing those songs anyway. Most of the songs came from his latest album “Ashgrove” with some older favorites thrown in, “King of California”, “Out in California”, and “California Snow” (there’s a theme here) being some of my favorites. He played a beautiful version of "Somewhere In Time", co-written with Louie Perez and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos. I wish he'd played "Blue Wing" but he can't play everybody's favorites otherwise we'd have be there all night, and who wouldn't have stayed. The last song of the night was a song by Mississippi John Hurt called "Make Me A Pallet On The Floor". The song is in the public domain and Dave told the audience that these folk songs belong to all of us and no matter what our differences are we can a least sing these songs together and so we did. Overall a rocking good time.

Set List

King Of California

Black Sky

Rio Grande

Dry River

California Snow

Out Of Control

Help You Dream

Abilene

East Texas Blues

Somewhere In Time

Ashgrove

Fourth Of July

Haley's Comet

The Man In The Bed

Mary Brown

Out In California

Make Me a Pallet on the Floor - Mississippi John Hurt

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 00:50:17 GMT

What am I listening to?

6 discs. Why 6?, because that what my changer holds.

Kathleen Edwards - Back to Me" Wonderful Canadian singer songwriter, brooding
Chris Whitley -"Living with the Law" Brooding roots rock
John Hiatt - "The Tiki Bar Is Open" One of America's great songwriters, broods sometimes
Patty Larkin - "Perishable Fruit" Great songwriting, guitar, vocals, minor brooding
Aimee Mann - "Lost In Space" Great songwriting, vocals, brooding
"Shite 'n' Onions" - Various Celt pub punk

What's in your wallet?

Sat, 09 Apr 2005 05:44:53 GMT

MUSIC PICKS

Kathleen Edwards

Fantastic disc from a young Canadian artist. She’s sort of Lucinda Williams / Sarah Harmer (another Canadian) mixed together. Music is upbeat, lyrics aren’t. This has resided in my car CD player for a while. Go here to listen to "Back To Me".

Her first album “Failer” is excellent as well but I like “Back To Me” best.

Patty

Mon, 04 Apr 2005 22:51:02 GMT

PATTY LARKIN

I went to the Ram's Head with a few friends to see Patty Larkin. The Ram's Head is an intimate music venue in Annapolis, Maryland, a great place for acoustic music. She was under the weather but still put on a great show. If you don't know about Patty she's sort of alt folk, a fantastic guitar player, great voice, great song writer, very witty, and an excellent story teller. I'm running out of superlatives. That's my idea of a good evening out. Listen to Patty's live disc "A Go-Go" .