what's in the cd player today?

Lately I've been listening to Mat Dickson's new release, The Keeper's Log, available at CDBaby. It's much like the first album, The Lighthouse Keeper, relaxing, layered, dreamy. Listening to the first few songs I am transported back to the misty, foggy beaches of my native northern Califiornia, the sounds of the ocean weaving into the music. I like the romantic nostalgia the songs evoke in me for the raw beauty of the ocean meeting the land. These beaches are nothing like the Beach Boys' beaches of Florida or Southern California. Nope, these are grey, cold and misty, with seagulls and maybe some sea lions.Cliffs to climb, tide pools to wade through. Later the album picks up the tempo with some cheery celtic elements, but throughout it is a peaceful and welcome escape from my current landlocked life.

I also scored some freebie Patty Griffin promos at Barnes and Noble, picked up enough for me and my country music pals, Melissa and Mat. It only has a few songs on it, but they are so pretty. Making Pies has an infectious charm that sends you straight to the kitchen. Really I can't get enough of it, so I'll be looking for her albums soon. Thank you Leann for introducing me to Patty Griffin, she is quite a gift.

One Hundred Billion Dollars???? so the last few day's I've been listening to NPR in the car, and yesterday I heard an expert say that was the cost for us to go to war. That's a LOT of money. So here we are throwing away hard earned money, racking up more debt, angering the international community, and further antagonizing radical Islamic groups. And it's for the safety of the American People??? give me a break. We suck.

so I haven't blogged for a few days....it's not that there's nothing in the cd player, there is, but does something need to be said about it? well... ok, so I have a jukebox thanks to Thew, and it holds 400 cds. I think I have about 250 in there. So if I'm not rotating 5 in the cd player on top of the stack, I just put the jukebox on random. It's kind of fun hearing all the music just randomly come up, if I'm in the mood for anything goes, and really, it's pretty random, though weak on the rocknroll as many a hapless listener has lamented. But then the other day, I wasn't in the mood for anything goes, I'd had this song, Cherokee Chief, stuck in my head, specifically the lyrics "I am the night warrior, I do what has to be done." It's by Jerry Harrison, also of the Talking Heads, and it's about the guys in the death squads in Central America. The song makes a pretty strong point, and way preceded the whole anti-SUV craze that exists today. Now I do like powerful and political statements, but the particular lyric I quoted strikes me as having all kinds of meanings, and I like it out of context as well. The cd also has a couple pretty sexy tunes, and song about a suicide that always struck me as poignant. So I found the cd (Casual Gods) and set it to continuous play, which does not mean the cd plays over and over forever until you make it stop, it just means not shuffle. It's still good. Then after that I got to hear a Loretta Lynn album straight through, I love Loretta Lynn. Singing about being a wife and mother in bumf*ck USA when celebrity women are flauting their liberation. Followed up with a joyful tune about getting the pill and throwing away her maternity dress. But I gotta admit I like the fiesty Fist City. You better move your feet If you don't wanna eat A meal that's called fist city Ok, so there's still a long way to go, but these boots were made for walking. I also got to hear a long lost Los Lobos cd, Kiko. While the title track is particularly playful, one imagines little lobos running around, many of the other songs are downright heartbreaking. The music is great, they are one of my all time favorite bands. They rocked at the first Clinton inaugural festivities, but when I saw them in Illinois a couple years ago, finally familiar with their groundbreaking work and ready to hear it live, it was the wrong scene. They tried getting the audience to sing along but the song was in spanish, and as one of the audience yelled out during an awkward silence, "we're just a bunch of dumb white people here!" After that they just played their wedding band standards, lots of familiar rock'n'roll. The audience went nuts, but we didn't get to hear any of their cool experimental music. They shoulda played Chicago, not Joliet! And then Chris Rea's The Road to Hell came on. I got that cd the same day I got the Jerry Harrison cd, I wonder what was going on in my head then? The Road To Hell -- deep, smooth, raspy, moody, angry, escapist, social. Is Texas serious or a satire? I love his heartfelt (not PC) diatribe against the TV execs "You must be evil." Even more relevant today. Some Fine Young Cannibals, oh yes baby I feel your pain. Then REM came on, whatever.
And there you have it.