Music thoughts, criticisms, addictions from three people located in different parts of the country and with different music tastes. We range from indie to country to blues and jazz to jamband tastes.
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The Counting Crows will release their new album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings on March 25, 2008. They are making two of the songs available for download at their website.
Interestingly, one of the many music listservs/websites I read were discussing the Counting Crows and their best record. I believe I'm in the minority when I say that Recovering The Satellites is my favorite Crows' disc. I've always liked it more because it has a little more thunder and rawness than its predecessor (which is damn good in its own right). Anyway, on first listen, I can say that I like what I hear out of these first two tracks, esp. Michelangelo (probably because of the banjo - I'm a sucker for one in a pop song).
Seriously, its been since 1990-something since the Phillies last made the playoffs (hey, you want research and detailed analysis, then go to ESPN.com, here you're getting 1990-something). The Phillies are used to vacationing during the month of October. But, honestly, if this afternoon was any indication then they're simply starting their vacation a week later than usual. They've got the offense to keep up with any other team in the NL, but they're currently being steamrolled by fate. The Rockies are hot, and its going to take what no team has had the past three weeks to beat the Rockies. Good luck, it should be a good series.
Yes. I'm comparing the Cubbies to a mass murderer from Illinois (no offense, Bunny). I don't like the Cubs, just like I don't like mass murderers. I hope they get swept. My one comment on the Cubs is why the hell is everyone talking like their the best team in the NL all of a sudden. First off, they have the worst record and are from the worst division in the NL. Why is everyone talking like they've got a great chance to win it? From what I can tell, they've got 12.5% chance of winning it. I hate the Cubs.
They're all babies!! The rightfielder isn't even old enough to drink. Only like one guy on the entire team has even played in the playoffs, EVER! But, somehow they made it here. As cliche as it is, they're a team that does just enough to win. Maybe the inexperience will come to haunt them as they make their way through the playoffs, or maybe they don't know any better to be nervous. They could win every game 10-0 or lose every game and nothing would surprise me with these guys.
Hands down the hottest team in baseball, and its not even close. Counting their 4-2 win over the Phillies this afternoon, they've won 15 of their last 16. That's amazing. They've got great talent, both old and young, and their pitching is coming together at just the right time. They're a fun team to root for. They've been hitting everything in sight it seems and they're my pick to make it out of the National League to represent in the World Series.
So, with that said, here are my first round predictions:
Red Sox over Angels in 3 Indians over Yankees in 5 Rockies over Phillies in 4 Diamondbacks over Cubs in 4
Picking a favorite song is pretty difficult for most of us. If you're anything like me, your favorite will change based on various things ranging from your mood, the people surrounding you, or even the weather outside. Well, I am bucking the trend. I have found my all time favorite version of a song. If I had one song to listen to before I died, it would be The Band's King Harvest (Has Surely Come) from their live album Rock of Ages. I love this song and I think you should too.
1. Musically :: First, I love the strength in Richard Manuel's voice as he belts this tune out. Towards the end of his run with The Band, his addictions got the best of him, both in his songwriting and in his singing. Here, he's as soulful and as strong as I've ever heard. Second, the addition of the horns is fantastic. They add a layer to the song and that fosters the tone and the imagery running rampant throughout. For example, as the narrator describes his pleas for the rainmaker at around 1:23, the lead trumpet and background horn arrangements (created by none other than Allen Toussaint) add to the sense of desparation. Another example to me is around 2:47 when the horns sweep through, helping me to hear the wind blow through the cornfields. These are just two examples of how the horns set the mood. Finally, Robby Robertson and Rick Danko team up to play some killer licks at the end of the song. I've always considered Robertson's playing a little overshadowed because of his superior songwriting acumen. At the end of King Harvest, he's at his best. He's not doing anything complicated, at least to my non-musically trained ears, but the (apparent) simplicity of the rift sounds appropriate for the humble, down and out sort of vibe throughout the song.
2. Lyrically :: Robby Robertson, the genius behind this song (and many other The Band songs) writes a very compelling story in the span of four minutes. We, the listener, get abundant details of the narrator's tough luck over the last year, ranging from his barn burning down to his horse going crazy, and how he has some renewed hope in the future thanks to organized labor. However, the narrator also knows that none of that matters if the weather doesn't cooperate, thus his plea for the rainmaker to provide rain. The Band is often considered one of the forefathers of Americana music. King Harvest is, in my mind, the quissiessential reason why many critics often bestow that title on this band full of Canadians.
3. Personally :: I've talked before about my love of imagery in a song and this one is no different. For any Hanoverians that read this, the reference to wind blowing through the cornfields reminds me of the field of corn directly south of Hanover's scenic entrance. For whatever reason, I've always associated the image of that cornfield with this line from the song. It's always cool to think back to the fun times of college every time I hear this song. Moreover, the lyrics describing yellow moons and carnivals on the edge of town are direct experiences I had while at Hanover. In addition, the midwest offers plenty of driving routes with corn flanking both sides of two lane road. Playing this song on one of my trips to Oxford led to an epiphany one day that continues to this day.
So anyway, those are some of my reasons why I love King Harvest. While we're at it, here's a YouTube video of The Band rehearsing this killer song at Woodstock in 1970 (followed by Danko doing an abbreviated Long Black Veil).
Finally, we mentioned Richard Manuel, who died in 1986. Since his passing, he's taken a kind of legendary status and many bands have paid homage to him, including The Drive-By Truckers and The Counting Crows. Check out the following from their live album, New Amsterdam, Live at Heineken Hall [buy here].
