Friday, November 23, 2007

Looking for music

It's usually a good time to add to your music library if you're looking forward to a long flight. So the night before heading out to the East Coast, I browsed itunes looking for something to download before boarding the plane early the next morning. Can't remember how but I stumbled across Marc Cohn's "Join the Parade."
I immensely enjoyed his heartfelt post-divorce album, Burning The Daze. (see also Greg Laswell's "Through Toledo" for your post-divorce music needs), but last I heard he had been shot in the head during an attempted robbery in Denver after a gig. He had had something of a bout with writer's block, then felt some connection to his situation and the rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina, resulting in a beautiful album with several memorable tracks. Now it shoudl be mentioned, I downloaded In Raibows by Radiohead (disappointing...although I ought to confess I'm almost never in the mood for Radiohead) at the same time, and have since downloaded the Ryan Adams fun little EP "Follow the Lights," but am still bumping to Cohn on my way to work. It strikes me he has thoughtful lyrics, is not concerned with image or defiance or making any kind of scene, and still creates music with substance. There is a tinge of gospel in his stuff, a hint of Beatles, the occasional Catholic sensibility (themes of grace and recurring religious imagery) but with a laid back vibe. Definitely low BPMs. So, it turns out I'm more adult contemporary than Radiohead fan. Should I keep this quiet? Does this mean I can never move to Silverlake? Time will tell. I was hooked from the first song (they call them "tracks" in the biz), except for the one couplet that is a little too self-referential (listen for it). It's called Listening to Levon, and it's about how he was young, on a date with a beautiful girl, but constantly distracted from conversation and make out session by Levon on the radio, a reference to Levon Helm, and, judging by the walk-down in the song, an allusion to the song "The Weight" by The Band. To quote the artist formerly known as Jewel, "I've been there/ God, I've been there."

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