nobody but the baby

dylan, duncan and brady

there was a great era in the late 1990s and early 2000s (in the pre-9/11 riverboat saloon daze) that bob dylan would open his shows with a classic old-timey song with a three-part harmony in the chorus. these were transporting occasions. the songs themselves were rare, dylan singing them was even rarer, and the three-part workgang vocals really took the biscuit, because dylan is not much known for his interest in sharing the mic. i saw a lot of dylan shows around that time, and especially loved hearing "this world it can't stand long" and "duncan and brady," the latter of which i post below for your change of pace.

thanks to bro mch for the tip.

practice makes perfect

i am thinking about spending fortyfive dollars on this print from our beloved gillian welch.

once : "Make Art!"

i know that this has probably been blogged to death, but it is hard to find this video.

hansard and irglova and crew made a great movie...and speeches to match.

check them out here.

ps: have you ever noticed that for all the talk of chinese censorship that it is only through chinese websites that you can find the TV clips that you want?

pps: here a link to a lovely pitchfork interview with hansard and irglova.

son lux : raise

here go the kids again.

"only visiting this blog"...goodbye larry norman.

larry norman has died, a beautiful nutcase risk-taker. beloved of many great artists including frank black, of the pixies who said of norman, "you know, I never met Jesus Christ, but he actually seems Christlike.”



larry norman was the syd barrett and the gram parsons and john the baptist of Jesus rock. my dad took me to a larry norman show when i was a young kid, and carried me on his shoulders down to near the front of the stage. its a blurry memory, but i hope its true.

i understand that CCM magazine will close down its operation this month, no doubt with some "tributes" as they go. the timing is perfect. as their attorney, i advise them to click here.

see also andy whitman's post, and the pitchfork article with a nice video of "i wish we'd all been ready," one of the crazier millennial rapture songs. also, a good article in the san jose mercury news quoting david disabatino, who will hopefully have things to say about larry in the months to come.

for a good analogy, watch the video.

so su-su-bu-bu-bu-liime

once upon a time, MTV played music, and english people in the snow were mad cool.

records i need (and the job i need to pay for them)

Marah -- Angels of Destruction!

British Sea Power -- Do You Like Rock Music?

Twilight Sad -- Twilight Sad ep / Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters [Sound, no video]

The Band of Holy Joy -- Leaves That Fall In Spring (i just came across these guys. no good recent videos, but here's an old one. check out the song lyrics below....)

I have a feeling that The Band of Holy Joy might be really, really good.

And Then The Real Thing Comes Along

Faith rules forever and a day
Here comes fun-time OK
All my life I've dipped between the lines
Hoping everything would turn out fine                            

The kind of angel you'd die to impress
Turns out to be a devil, couldn't care less
All my life I've cultivated needs
The needs that flower from bad seeds                            

All your life you've prayed for something heaven sent
Here it comes you mess up of course you repent
All my life I've bought the sad lies
But still I chase the glittering prize                                  

I've been conditioned to love
All the things in this world that are wrong
And then the real thing,
Then the real thing comes along...

the great pretender

"I am against nature. I don't dig nature at all. I think nature is very unnatural. I think the truly natural things are dreams, which nature can't touch with decay."  --bob dylan

i dreamed about you 29 yrs before i saw you

i'm really loving the national's new record, boxer. the songs are poetic, personal, fragmented, associative, truth told slant. gentle questioning. implicating.

labelmates of the late great grant mclennan, and not far from the same sources. check 'em out.

you can find the lyrics here (along with some other cool stuff.)

ps: i have no idea why people call this record stuff like "subdued" or "no rockers on their quietest yet," etc. this record rocks for sure...it is really not that quiet at all, i think. don't believe me? go here and play the mp3 of "apartment story". email if not satisfied. all comments will be eaten.

the country doctor rambles...