I first
saw Richard Thompson at the Wolf Trap Jazz & Blues Festival, probably
sometime in the 1990s – not sure whether “jazz” or “blues” was the label they
used for him. This was back when they had 3 stages for the festival, so he and bassist
Danny Thompson (no relation) didn’t play inside the Filene Center, but rather
on a small temporary outdoors stage. There was a thunderstorm earlier in the
afternoon, so I was worried that the performance might be canceled. I don’t
remember much about the set list, but this is the song that made the biggest
impression on me. I promptly went out and picked up two RT albums (Daring Adventures and Rumor and Sigh), and the rest is
history.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Modern Man at El Golfo Restaurant, 1/12/2014
Modern Man, which consists of David Buskin, George Wurzbach and Rob Carlson, might
best be characterized as a folk-comedy trio (their bio mentions “a vocal blend
that has not been heard since Ella and F. Scott Fitzgerald went their separate
ways”). I had seen them do a short set at a multi-artist show several years
ago, and so when their performance at one of the monthly World Folk Music Association showcases was announced, the opportunity seemed too good to pass
up.
The
restaurant was packed, and the guys put on a great show, starting with “Don’t
You Hate It” when folkies make the audience sing along (a personal pet peeve of
mine), and continuing with a number of their other classics, including “Jews
Don’t Camp”, “Eggs Like These” (a parody of Springsteen’s “Born to Run”),
“Channel Surfin’,” and “Folk Music in the Nude.” I was especially pleased that
they performed one of my personal favorites, the rap-folk “Assisted Living.”
This is
the first WFMA showcase we had attended since they had revived the series at El Golfo, a Latin American restaurant in Silver Spring MD – nice place, and the
food we had got thumbs-up all around (fajitas, Salmon Pacifico, Masitas de
Puerco). Due to the overwhelming demand for the show, the logistics were
somewhat chaotic – the restaurant parking lot was full, and they had lost our
dinner reservations. Fortunately we were able to get seats, and everything
ended well.
If you’re
looking for some Modern Man music in iTunes, be warned that there is more than
one act with that name. Look for something from their albums (Assisted Living, Modern Immaturity, The Wide
Album – Live at the Bottom Line) and you won’t go wrong.
Notable Quotes #3
Who says nobody in the government has a sense of humor?
Yesterday the Post ran an Associated Press story about an
Oregon diaper company reaching a settlement with the FTC of charges that
their claims of environmental benefits for their products were misleading.
The article contains the following quote from Jessica
Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection: “The claims for
these diapers just didn’t pass our smell test.”
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Serendipity #4
Peace Tonight – Indigo Girls (1999)
Heard 1/17/2014 around 1:15, Wegman’s in Germantown
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Search function now works
Some of
you may have tried the Search box on the right of the blog and not come up with
any results. Apparently there has been a problem with the built-in search
widget for several months that the Google engineers have not been able to fix
for some reason.
I’ve
replaced this with a scrap of HTML code that was suggested as a workaround in
one of the discussion forums – seems to work fine now.
Retirement Party Playlist
This past
Friday, my Westat colleagues sponsored a wonderful retirement party for me –
many thanks to all of the organizers and participants!
I had almost
nothing to do with the event planning, but Linda Gowen did call me up a few
weeks in advance and asked if I could supply some music for the party from my
iPod. Naturally I couldn’t resist. A couple folks asked for a copy of the
playlist, so here it is.
Stayin'
Alive -- Bee Gees (the #1 song when I started at Westat in February 1978)
Margaritaville
-- Jimmy Buffett
One Fine
Day -- The Chiffons
Freeway Of
Love -- Aretha Franklin
Do You
Believe In Magic -- The Lovin' Spoonful
I'm
Alright (Theme from Caddyshack) -- Kenny Loggins
High Hopes
-- Frank Sinatra (in honor of Harry Kalas and the Phillies)
Take On Me
-- a-ha (in honor of Michael Morse and the Nats)
Drift Away
-- Dobie Gray
Rosalita
(Come Out Tonight) -- Bruce Springsteen
Down At
The Twist And Shout -- Mary Chapin Carpenter
Barbara
Ann -- The Beach Boys
Ramblin'
Rose -- Nat King Cole (had to have this one …)
If I Had A
Boat -- Lyle Lovett
Walking On
Sunshine -- Katrina & The Waves
This Will
Be (An Everlasting Love) -- Natalie Cole
Two Hearts
-- Phil Collins
Twisting
By The Pool -- Dire Straits
Your Love
Keeps Lifting Me Higher And Higher -- Jackie Wilson
Take Me In
Your Arms (Rock Me) -- The Doobie Brothers
Dixie
Chicken -- Little Feat
We Got the
Beat -- The Go-Go's
Groovin'
-- The Rascals
Wild Night
-- Van Morrison
Bang The
Drum All Day -- Todd Rundgren
Rock This
Town -- Stray Cats
Having A
Party -- Sam Cooke
Last Dance
-- Donna Summer
Goodnight,
Sweetheart, Goodnight -- The Spaniels
And here’s
a link to the Stan Rogers version of Nigel Russell’s “White Collar Holler”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDkmVo2fg4
Phil Everly
Terence
McArdle of the Washington Post did a great article on the Everly Brothers on
the occasion of Phil Everly’s recent death. Particularly notable was his nod to
their great, but little-heard, Born
Yesterday album from 1985.
When I
first heard about Phil’s death, though, one of the first things that came to
mind was a much older article in the Post. Back in March of 2000, David Segal
got in touch with all of the presidential candidates to ask them about their
favorite music – songs, albums, concerts, etc. (A version of the article is available
online in the Post's archives, but you’ll need to pay for access.)
I was most
impressed by the answer of one candidate, who listed his favorite artists as
Van Morrison, the Everly Brothers, and the Neville Brothers. The selection
seemed free of any political calculation and included some personal favorites
of mine. (Both Van Morrison and the Nevilles show up on my Favorite 100 Songs
list.)
So, had I
been deciding on the basis of music, George W. Bush would definitely have
gotten my vote in November of 2000. The inclusion of the Neville Brothers wound
up being especially ironic, given the impact that Hurricane Katrina had on the family several years later.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Best Music of 2013 (Update)
I’ve
updated my Best Music of 2013 lists to include where the songs and albums wound
up in the WXPN and mvyradio countdowns.
Only one
of my top 5 albums finished on mvyradio’s Top 25 list, and only one of my top 5
songs made the WXPN Top 200 list (although all of my #6-10 choices made it). I
was particularly disappointed by the absence of K T Tunstall and She & Him
from both lists – 3 Justin Timberlake songs made the WXPN countdown, for crying out
loud. (Admittedly two of them are actually pretty good.)
Serendipity #3
This one is a little unusual, since Roy Rogers plays
classic country songs and I had never heard this one before, but this is a
great cover of a classic Steve Goodman song (with a shout-out to Steve in the
middle).
You Never Even Called Me By My Name – David Allan Coe
(1975)
Heard 1/4/2014 around 12:15pm, Roy Rogers restaurant in
Gaithersburg
Serendipity #2
Architects & Engineers – Guster (2010)
Heard 1/3/2014 around 2:00pm, Wegman’s in Germantown
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