A quick response to Janet’s no-surprise-to-anyone Tell-It-To-Me-Tuesday question: Who are your favorite artists of today?
The Avett Brothers. Country music with the energy of punk. “November came and went like the summer that I spent with a no-name girl who walked in jelly shoes.”
Ani DiFranco. I've known some of her music since the nineties, but she really impressed me at the Philly Folk Fest a few years ago and we bought the recording she made at Jazzfest in New Orleans this year. “Beneath the good and the kind and the stupid and the cruel, there's a fire just waiting for fuel.”
Tom Waits. Any year, any decade, he’s the man. “She left Marty Rio's son, just like a bullet leaves a gun.”
Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer. Dave, alas, has passed on, but he left us with lyrics like “This is an ordinary town, and the prophet stands alone; this is an ordinary town and we crucify our own.” “Ordinary Town” is one of the most cynical songs I’ve ever heard, but Tracy’s vocal is so bright that it gives it a good-morning-neighbor cheeriness. An amazing duo.
The Decemberists. There’s something in their music that seems so much older than it is; nu-folk of the best kind. “I am a writer, writer of fictions, I am the heart that leads you home. And I’ve written pages, upon pages, trying to rid you from my bones.” Those lines never fail to hit me in the gut.
Iron & Wine. They sound like centuries-old velvet; there’s a warmth to the tone of the vocals that holds you in its grasp until the song is done. Makes no sense, I know, but those are my impressions. “Who's seen Jezebel? She was gone before I ever got to say ‘Lay here my love, you're the only shape I'll pray to, Jezebel’"
Jim’s Big Ego. Quirky, energetic pop. The Barenaked Ladies you don’t know about. “I don't think we should be changing horses in midstream, even if the horse is on fire and stream is made of gasoline.” Plus they sing about the Flash, which is extra-cool.
Taj Mahal. Again, any decade you want, Taj is tops. The coolest man in any room. “Honey, I woke up this mornin' feelin' so good, you know I laid back down again. Throw your big leg over me mama, I might not feel this good again.”
So there you have it. Aside from the ones I forgot.
Rob
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Wrap Your Savior Up in Cellophane
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2 comments:
I have heard of some of these like Ani, Tom and Iron & Wine. I know you said to check out Dave and Tracy. I'll have to do that. Where do you find your new arists?
A lot of them I first hear at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, which has a much wider selection of music than the name suggests (I've seen the Avettes, Dave & Tracy, Ani and Taj there). I think I first heard Dave & Tracy on WXPN, 88.5 out of Philly but available on the internet as well (xpn.org). I first heard the Decemberists and Iron & Wine on a podcast called Indiefeed that sends out a single song from a different artist every day.
The most unusual introduction to a band for me is Jim's Big Ego -- Jim is the nephew of Carmine Infantino, who drew Flash comics in the 50s and 60s and again in the 80s. I'm a big comics fan, and they wrote a song about the Flash. I listened online, expecting something kind of cheesy, and I was surprised at how flat-out good it was. Not just for a comic-book, song, but for a song. I listened to a few more of their tunes (they've got a good website for browsing) and picked up an album. I'm going to look around YouTube for one of their videos -- they've done a number of them, and they tend to be really funny.
Also, there's always mixtapes. My friends and I used to send them to each other all the time, and we still do every now and then. There's always a track from a new favorite band somewhere.
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