Finally got around to seeing “Man In The Sand” and was riveted throughout. Billy Bragg did a marvelous job creating music to a handful of the thousands of unrecorded songs Woody Guthrie left behind after his death. Seeing Bragg’s journey from Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma to the shore off Coney Island, the last place Woody called home, added a whole new perspective to what was already one of my all time favorite albums. Rumors of tension between Jeff Tweedy and Bragg about song selection among other things have long circulated but the only allusion to it in the film that I could see was this less than thinly veiled quote from Tweedy: “In the conversations that we’ve had that have not been arguments, but just discussions, Billy starts talking about the big picture. And these are things that I haven’t thought about at all. My only response to him is, ‘You know what, I bet Woody would just pick the songs that didn’t suck.’”
If you don’t own Mermaid Avenue go out and buy it this instant. If you do and love it like everyone who owns it does than “Man In The Sand” is revelatory. Here are some unreleased demos, outtakes and alternate versions to get you started:
Hard to imagine these two fellas as being avant-garde or on the cutting edge of anything besides a motel lounge nightmare or perhaps guest judging Project Runway. And yes, the second half of their career saw Ferrante & Teicher going the mersh route and spiraling down an easy listening, creativity sucking drain. Laughed all the way to the bank too, they did. But yet, in the early 1950′s these dudes brought the prepared piano of John Cage into the plush lined, afro/tiki decorated parlors of middle America.
The video below looks like it was filmed much later than 1955 when Soundproof caused folks to doubt that the sounds on it could be produced by just two pianos. But by tossing sandpaper, sticks, rubber, wood blocks, metal bars, chains, glass, mallets, and other found objects on piano string beds they produced sounds startlingly close to moogs before they were even invented.
As Mike Burma of Brow Beat (thanks for turning me on to it) points out, Being able to see both their hands in the split screen brings home how impressive a composition it is:
Tuesday night at the Independent Portland’s Blitzen Trapper graced our fair corner of the world with the best live performance of the year in these parts for a mere $12. They did over two thirds of my favorite album of the year so the rest was gravy, and what gravy! “Country Caravan”, about their hometown of Portland, was delivered with the kind of emotion only homesick fellas near the end of a grueling tour can muster. “Last Thing On My Mind” brought tears, “Black River Killer” was haunting as hell. The whole night was just amazing, and the hospitality of drummer Brian behind the merch booth was icing on top of gravy. Enjoy a couple of videos from that night (with many thanks to atomjack). I must of been ten feet to his right tops.
Furr
and Wild Mountain Nation
The setlist (also thanks to atomjack):
Sleepytime in the Western World
Fire & Fast Bullets
God and Suicide
Saturday Nite
Black River Killer
Furr
Country Caravan
Gold For Bread
Jericho
Love U
Echo/Always On/Easy Con
Summer Town
Wild Mountain Nation
Not Your Lover
Devil’s a-go-go
The Gambler (a hillarious partial cover of the Kenny Rogers song)
Last Thing On My Mind
Miss Spiritual Tramp
Les Blanks’ sound is a hard thing to pigeonhole. There’s a distinct scuzzy 70′s rock thing in there with a bit of Clash and a Modest Mouse type indie twist. But then the next song comes on and you’re riding the planks at a honky tonk dive. A minute later there’s a harmonica driven blues hollerin’ at you. I just love surprises!
Their second album, Shoot The Horse is being offered up for free via their website (or maybe from this player doohicky, if it works, below). The album’s available for purchase in myriad higher quality formats as well for a Radiohead style “name your own price” type deal.
They proclaim to be from Mount Echo Atwater, CA. Cool, sounds better than LA…
In my post about Studs Terkel’s passing I lamented the fact the he’d just missed the election of our nation’s first black president. Now another crusader for civil rights will miss Obama’s inauguration. Odetta, who passed way Tuesday, was scheduled to perform at that historic event. That surely would have been something to see. I found better pictures of her but none seemed as appropriate as the the shot above of her performing before the crowd assembled at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, singing into the same microphones that would broadcast Martin Luther King’s dream.
This is a previously unreleased track from the reissue of Odetta & Larry (retitled The Tin Angel after the nightclub in San Francisco where it was recorded live back in 1953). Her passionate delivery even at that early stage is riveting. Goodbye Odetta.
Now that I’m finally done with turkey sandos it’s time to get excited about some live music. I know it’s a Tuesday night but I must take Bay Area music fans to task for not selling out Blitzen Trapper’s show at the Independent over in San Francisco yet. Barring some sea change in my current listening habits there’s nothing out there to challenge BT’s latest from the top spot in my Best of ’08 list. I’ve already waxed adoring about Furr and I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight imagining how that collection of tunes will go down live.
Just take a load of this and tell me if I’m wrong:
If you want some tunes on the take out side these Portland music masters have authored no less than three seperate Daytrotter sessions. Here’s a stripped down version of the title track from their latest to get you hooked. If my kids know all the words you can bet that not only has it been in very heavy rotation around the Now Hear This house but that it straight up kills it too. Trust me, those boys know.
So come on down to the Independent tomorrow night. The opening act, Seattle’s Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, has been gettin’ some buzz lately and LA’s psych folkers The Parson Red Heads play the middle slot. Buy tickets for tomorrow night’s show right here, RIGHT NOW!
I host the Cuppa Joe show on KALX in Berkeley every other Wednesday from 6 to 9 PM. You can tune at 90.7 or online by clicking HERE
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NEXT SHOW: October 28 FUNDRAISER SHOW!!
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Check out past playlists HERE
Got something I HAVE TO HEAR? Wanna send me free stuff? Email me at mike@nowhearthismusic.com
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Quick note about the tunes
The mp3s on this blog are to give folks a little taste. Imagine they're those little pouches on the bag your Sunday paper comes in. You know, the one's with a packet containing just enough toothpaste to brush your teeth once or twice. They are left up for a limited time. If you find something you like support the artists by dragging your friends to their shows and/or buying their CDs/records/schwag. If you are the artist (or their label/representative) and don't want an mp3 on here, please email me (mike@nowhearthismusic.com) and I'll remove it posthaste.
Finally got around to seeing “Man In The Sand” and was riveted throughout. Billy Bragg did a marvelous job creating music to a handful of the thousands of unrecorded songs Woody Guthrie left behind after his death. Seeing Bragg’s journey from Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma to the shore off Coney Island, the last place Woody called home, added a whole new perspective to what was already one of my all time favorite albums. Rumors of tension between Jeff Tweedy and Bragg about song selection among other things have long circulated but the only allusion to it in the film that I could see was this less than thinly veiled quote from Tweedy: “In the conversations that we’ve had that have not been arguments, but just discussions, Billy starts talking about the big picture. And these are things that I haven’t thought about at all. My only response to him is, ‘You know what, I bet Woody would just pick the songs that didn’t suck.’”
