So Much

He's been releasing all these singles and I've been resisting because I wanted to hear them for the first time all together on his new album, but with no known release date, one can only resist extreme temptation for so long. 

'So Much' by Peter Gabriel. Incredibly beautiful. 

A Slice of the South

Oxford American magazine put(s) out an annual music issue and would include compilation discs of various artists and songs with a southern related theme. 

Twenty-six songs on this sampler. Some gems within. Some of the more noteworthy offerings .... your opinion may vary ..... 'Little Bit of Rain' by Fred Neil, 'Killing Him' from Amy LaVere, and a cover of the old Tim Hardin classic, 'If I Were a Carpenter' by Eldridge Holmes. 

I'll also mention, 'G-Man Hoover' by Van Dyle Parks. It took years but I appreciate Van Dyke Parks now. 

..... and I still have at least half the songs on this collection, to listen to for the first time. More gems to discover.

All these various Oxford American compilations are well worth picking up .... if you can find them. Last time I looked they were pretty expensive. I have three on compact disc and would like to gather the entire collection. These to me, would qualify for, as the vinyl community folks like to say: "Holy Grails."

Safe

'Safe' by The Shook Twins. 

Listening on KLCC-fm radio to the festival concluding performance of the Oregon Country Fair this Sunday late afternoon into early evening, This was the opening song of their live set. A great way to grab ones attention. Wishing I had been there. 

First time hearing the group and the song which I thought from the echoing, repeated line of lyrics that it might be titled, 'All I Want' but when I typed those words into the YouTube search engine, several videos for their song, 'Safe' came up. 

There are still good things to be discovered these days on the radio. Especially local community radio stations who can broadcast performances from live and local festival events. 

A live performance of the song from 2019 in the Paste Studios.

Mimicking Birds

Mimicking Birds is a Portland, Oregon band that I follow. Indie Rock. 

I first became interested when hearing their song, 'Burning Stars' on a short lived Oregon Public Broadcasting series that focused on local music .... the Portland scene. It didn't take long to get hooked. 

They were a breath of fresh air. A little more artsy than the usual Indie band. Explorative in many of their song openings. I don't know if others would agree with my use of "explorative" but that's what comes to mind. 

Brothers and Sisters

'Brothers and Sisters' by The Allman Brothers.

From 1973 on beautiful deep black vinyl. 

If you are too young to have been there, this was huge. Powered by the song, 'Ramblin' Man.' It helped define that place and time. College students would stick their speakers in their dorm windows and you'd hear it blasting while walking back and forth between room and classes. I don't know who started that, but my generation sure continued it. (Maybe they still do that?)

Southern-Rock, Blues-Rock, Classic-Rock, 70's Music .... Whatever you want to call it, I've had this record in my possession for half a century and that thought boggles my little mind. Flashbacks and memories of youth rage out-of-control when this is played. In this moment, I feel like I'm 17 again. 

Bruno Raberg

A new name for me: Bruno Raberg and his recording, 'Chennai Reminiscence.'

Solo bowed bass.

New jazz directions.

And a sound I've come to love in the past year. The bass becomes a voice. 

Tell Her

Causing emotions and nostalgia for a place I've never been .....

Several years ago (2017) while on a ritualistic music search and buying trek to Everyday Records in Beaverton, Oregon, where I would always flip through these mini-crates of $.50-$1 priced compact discs, I came across this compilation disc of Vermont musicians from 2014. Just the kind of thing I love to discover. As the Vinyl Community folks like to say: "In the wild."

Imagine Vermont, crossing 3000 miles of rivers and mountains and suddenly in Oregon!! 

Home later, I popped it into the disc changer and was stunned by the lyrical power and beauty of the opening song on the disc. 'Tell Her' by Lisa Piccirillo. Years later and I still can't go for long without hearing it.