Musical Wanderings

I was really not sure what I wanted to listen and to share with you today. So lets put the musical machine on random and see what pops up shall we...

But before we get to that, it is a grey morning and if I didn't know any better I would think it was Nov, the only difference is that it is to warm for that. I am hoping that it will burn off and while I do not like it super hot I do like it when there are some blue skies and some sunshine out there. So heres to hoping.

Laird Baird - Charlie Parker

Oh this is kind of nice. Opening things up with a little bit of jazz this morning and some jazz from one of the masters. I have grown to like jazz more and more in the last few years. I am not sure if that is a sign of maturity or if my tastes have just gotten better. Either way I am enjoying listening to some of the greats.

Queen Anne's Revenge - Flogging Molly

This is one of my favorite bands and they have been a part of some great memories for me. One of which is seeing them with the Maestro and Eric and I will always remember and hold on to that as one of my favorite musical memories in a long line of amazing musical memories. I miss you Eric.

Hold On To What You Believe - Mumford and Sons

Well things seem to have taken a somber turn, but that is okay with me because today seems kind of like a somber day all things considered. I do enjoy this song and this band a lot and I honestly do not care if they wear vests all of the time or are to hipster for some. I just plain enjoy the sound of their music and if I sound defensive about it then so be. If you don't like it then jog on. pfffffft

Let Me Put My Love Into You - AC/DC

I love it. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face then when some classic AC/DC pops up. I have lots of them in the player but I rarely pick them to listen to. I am not sure why that is. Because whenever they pop up on random I am thrilled by it. The very first air band I was in was in grade school and we did an AC/DC song. "Back in Black" I believe was the song and we rocked it so hard. I remember cutting out a guitar outline or tracing it from a Sears catalogue so that I could have a cardboard cut out to play for the show.

Insert Supertramp song here that I was unable to find a video for. No big loss and we are just going to move on.

Hard As A Rock - ACDC

Oh my we are doublin down on the AC/DC this morning but sadly this song is no where near as cool as the earlier one. As the band as gotten older the voice of the lead singer has gotten worse and worse and it really was not all that good to begin with. Now the chugging guitar and the drums and the antic of Angus Young are still just fine. But the vocals are pretty rough. It might be time to pull a Judas Priest and bring on a new younger singer. Hmmmm I wonder if Justin Bieber would be interested?

Underground - Men At Work

Nice back to back from the Aussies. I really do like Men At Work and this is a nice treat for me to hear as well. I may need to do some more listening to them today. I also like that this is a deeper cut from the album.

That is it for now folks. You guys have a great day if possible and keep on rockin!

Musical Legacy

The other day, the AV Club did an article on 21 artists among multiple fields who did some amazing work toward the end of their lives. One of the artists was a man whose music I really enjoy and respect and that was Johnny Cash. They mainly talked about his last two albums both basically recorded during the same set of sessions but the second one "American VI: Ain't No Grave" was released posthumously . Both of these albums are amazing and fair amount of his late in life resurgence is owed to Rick Rubin and you can hear that on the first album he produced American Recordings "CASH" but in these last two albums Rubin stepped out of the way and really it was John and his guitar and the experience is amazing. I believe that these are albums that you should totally sit down and listen to in their entirety. That is the best way to achieve the total experience of these albums and the fact that these songs are coming at the end of his life there is a poignancy to this music that you are not going to get from any other artist.

I think, I should I know that one of the reasons that I like Johnny is because he was a man of transparency. He was who he was and he at least later in life and I think in some way soon after he married June Carter he became a man who was unafraid to expose himself warts and all to the world. He was a man of faith and I think regardless of your position on the existence of God or a higher power you have to respect a man who has faith and who endeavors to live by that code even though his own personal demons make it an extremely hard thing to do. It seemed that most often his songs told those stories and showed his struggles in a clear and transparent manner.

Another thing that I like about his music is that, at least for me, there is a real level of truth to it. So do yourself a favor and check out Spotify. I think anything that you might listen too by Johnny Cash you will enjoy.  I am not an advertiser for the service but as far as being able to track down music for free and give it a listen they have been the best that I have used.

In the end Johnny Cash's music and memory will live forever long after the Biebers and the Chris Browns are a sad footnote in the history of music.