Re: what I've been grooving to, lately, these days, these years

David & All,

Yes, we (my two lads & I) watched that doc on Danielson. With his goofy wig!

One of these same sons went to a massive Sufjan Stevens concert last 
year, in NYC.... came back exhilarated and stunned. His best concert 
experience ever. It's excellent that SS is /was putting on a Big 
Colorful show...  with lots of dancing, something that so few groups 
are capable of.

They are also keen on Joanna Newsom, whom I've enjoyed as well.

BTW, one crucial feature that Danielson, Sufjan and the Dirty 
Projectors share: female backup voices.

(Oh, and I can add that my sons told me that I looked like Sufjan, in 
those old photos, way back then... when I was young & handsome.)

Laura N is the ORIGINAL female singer-songwriter, pre-Joni. I'm old 
enough to have been amazed by her second album when it happened, when 
she broke out into her brilliance. Wow.

Enlarging my scope to the music that I've come upon over the past 5 
years, the most under appreciated, most surprisingly unknown band-- 
at least I've never(!!) come upon anyone who knows them, or more than 
one tune-- is XTC. Their songs are not up to the jaw dropping level 
of Jane's Walking (what is?), but in terms of output, quality, and 
quality-control (lack of duds) the 8 or so CD's from Mummer (?-- I 
haven't figured out where & how they climb from OK, to good, to real 
good) through the two Apple Venus volumes are extraordinary. Such an 
impressive Body of Work. This stretch includes their charming retro 
plunge into 60's psychedelia, the Dukes of Stratosphear. It's in the 
category of well-crafted imaginative eclectic well-constructed poppy 
songs (comparable to where the Beatles are around Rubber Soul- 
Revolver), so not esp difficult. But who knows about them? I would 
think that 18% of all the millions of CD collections that include 
Rubber Soul & Revolver would also include one or two XTC CD's. But not so.
         If this leaves you curious, their apex (for me) comes with 
Oranges & Lemons (1989), and Nonsuch (1992), their best.

And on a down note, Kate's last, which one of my sons downloaded for 
me... was so disappointing that I couldn't keep listening to it. I 
had to bail. Bummer...

Like The Walking, her The Dreaming was written in the wake of a 
break-up, from which it gathers a tremendous intensity. If I had to 
nominate the most intense songs I know, if would begin with The Lobby 
(which is just Crushing... and so beautiful) and Kate's Get Out of My 
House, which is the single most intense song I can think of.

OK, enough morning tune talk, I gotta get back to my main topic these 
days: Citizen Kane and "Rosebud!"

Bruce

At 10:59 PM 5/22/2012, David Rieken wrote:
>Bruce, you have a fellow Danielson fan in me. Ships is a great 
>record.  I don't know if you know it or not but there is a great 
>documentary called Danielson: A Family Movie.  We showed it at the 
>collectively-owned movie house where I volunteered for many 
>years.  This is how I was turned onto his music. It was filmed 
>during a tour and partly while he was making Ships. If you haven't 
>seen it, do.
>I am also way into his buddy, Sufjan Stevens.  I think he is brilliant.
>Also listening to Martha Wainwright, Joanna Newsom, the new Shins 
>and Michael Franti/Spearhead a lot lately.  Oh, and Laura Nyro.  Oh, 
>and Melody Gardot...
>
>David
>
>On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 8:16 AM, B Merrill 
><<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]> wrote:
>Dear All,
>In Reply to Koen,
>and in regard to what I've been grooving to, lately...  ?
>As the father of two lads, who are now 19 & 23,  many years ago I 
>had to deal with them enjoying Blink 182, and bands equally primitive. Argh!!
>But over the past two years or so we've reached a point where they 
>are bringing tunes back home that I am mightily impressed by.... 
>such as "Ships" by Danieleson Famile (I hope I've spelled that 
>right) and "Rise Above" by the Dirty Projectors. (NB We're talking 
>about "Rise Above" in particular, since after that highpoint, the 
>DP's have migrated downhill, in tandem with increased popularity, I take it.)
>On the other hand, I've still not been able to bring them to the 
>full excellence of Jane's Walking, Kate's Dreaming or Joni's Hissing.
>They kinda get it, but not the full force of it.
>-- the white tent, the raft y'all!
>Bruce
>PS Did anyone else watch the Bachrach-David honor concert at the 
>Whitehouse, on PBS, last night?
>Pretty standard (and I'm a major BB-HD fan), but Stevie Wonder's 
>harmonica solo on "Alfie" was Epic!
>His two numbers were the highpoint, indeed.