As good an excuse as any

"If you are weary of endless prattle, empty words, harsh noises, selfishness, people so engrossed in their ego that they cannot see the loneliness and emptiness of another's life - - if you seek refuge where there is peace and joy, come to me."
"Fill your eyes with the starlight before you start homeward. Apologize to no man for these stolen hours away from so-called duty. Say only, if pressed, that you have walked with God in the Hills of Newton County."
-Millicent Read
A Touch of Newton County
Copyright 1963

A book that came to me from a charity book drive at the office yesterday. It's funny sometimes how the universe tells you exactly what you need to do at just the right time. I miss the hills and home and dirt and horses and shovels and dirt bikes and the creak of Old Blue's doors.

It's All Been Done Before - Scissor Sister's Night Work album

When I was a kid learning computer programming I used to toy with the idea of infinity and music. My thoughts ran along the line of writing a program that combined every note and time signature combination with every combination of instruments and the outcome would be every song possible to write. Then along came synthesizers and more varied recording techniques and I realized how infinite music can be.

But infinity doesn't seem so far away anymore, well, at least not after listening to the preview of the new Scissor Sister's album, Night Work. See, I have this method I use to filter the unremarkable from the purchase-worthy, it consists of going to iTunes, picking an album, and hitting "preview all". Once the music starts I open a game of solitaire and start playing. If something grabs my attention, then I give it another listen. If it passes this muster it usually just gets added to the wish list. On rare occasions I purchase it right away.

Tonight I was slogging through a game of solitaire, mostly not noticing any thing exciting in the previews, then suddenly I hear what sounds like an interpolation of Twilight Zone, by Golden Earring, in a preview of the Sister's Invisible Light. Then I hear a little George Michael, ala I Want Your Sex in their song, Whole New Way. Coincidence? Maybe. Then I hear the Bee Gees in Any Which Way, then it's David Bowie meets Hedwig's Wig In A Box on the track Running Out, then it's Sophie B. Hawkins on Skin This Cat.

Out of 13 thirty second previews, I recognize the sounds of 5 different artists. There is flattery and then there is blatant rip-off. Pull up iTunes or your preferred web music site and preview the album. Maybe you will find more familiar artists than I noticed. Feel free to share if when you do.

Animal Tracks by Mountain Man

Note to self: Delve further into this trio of women when their music is released stateside late summer.
Note to others: Animal Tracks is on soundcloud.com in case curiosity gets the best of you. Very syrup-y sweet harmonies on what sounds like it could be some Appalachian folk song brought to digital age. Haunting. Can't wait to hear if the rest is a swing and a miss or a homerun.

4 Chord Pop - Funny Video

I found this hilarious. I remember being a kid and astonished at my cousin's ability to play any song we wanted on his keyboard. What I didn't realize at the time was that every song I knew was either pop or country (we had two radio stations where I grew up) and that most of the songs were written using 4 chords.

Truth of the Pop Song

The truth is hilarious!

Stop, please!

I really, really can't stand Craig Finn's voice. It's right up there with Marianne Faithfull in the "How Fast Can I Switch Stations" category. It's too bad because I sort of like the music of The Hold Steady.
Which band or singer gets on your nerves?

First Music Memories

1. Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head by BJ Thomas, age 3
2. Amanda by Waylon Jennings, age 4
3. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain - Willie Nelson, age 4
4. Good Ol Boys - Waylon Jennings, age 5
5. Stayin' Alive - The Bee Gees, age 5
6. Convoy - C.W. McCall, age 5
7. Teddy Bear - Red Sovine, age 5
8. North To Alaska - Johnny Horton, age 5
9. The Missouri Waltz, age 6, the local radio station played this at midnight before they signed off the air (yes, even then the music fueled my insomnia)
10. Peter And The Wolf, age 5
11. Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills, age 6