Long story short (too late right…)  surgery  and countless doctors visits later, my dad is recovering nicely and is back to work.  He’s also getting ready to move to the East Brazilian Coast, which is way cool. Trust me, I’ll be visiting as much as possible.

Since the dust has seemed to have settled, I can get back on this.  This project hasn’t been out of mind by any means.  The stack of unopened CD’s on my bedside table has been stacking nicely, since quite a few of the next recordings I wasn’t able to  find available to listen to online.

Oh yeah. To answer a few questions: Yes I know what a torrent is, and no I will not be using one.  Also….who uses limewire anymore?  Seriously.

Thanks to @TruebadoorVideo on twitter for giving me a lil push to get back on. 

Made up of A.P., his wife Sara, and her cousin Maybelle, they traveled to Tennessee from Virginia in 1927 to audition for a talent scout.  Their recording career began almost immediately.  Johnny Cash refers to the audition of the Carter family in 1927 as the single most important event in country music history.  A.P. learned songs on his travelers, jotting down notes and making small revisions.  It was enough to get him composers credit, and the Carter family were among the first to get their songs copyrighted, whether they wrote it or not.  I’m not a huge fan of country, but I do enjoy “old” country on occasion, and I’m honestly looking forward to listening to this. I think because, Tom Moon describes this a trip through our country’s history.

Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow – Okay, given the song title, I shouldn’t have cracked a smile when I initially heard this, but I couldn’t help it.  It was exactly what I expected it to be.  For those of you may not know what type of music this is, it would have fit in nicely on the soundtrack to the movie “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”  Its an expected start.

Keep On The Sunny Side – Probably one of the first “catchy” songs ever recorded.  This was recorded in 1928 before the Great Depression, but a year later I bet this song would give a little hope to a lot of hurting people.

Forsaken Love – This song sounds just a bit different from the others.  My problem through this album hasn’t been the lyrics or the vocals, but most of the songs have about the same tempo and the same “sound”.

Sweet Fern – This song is my favorite so far…one word: yodeling.

My Clinch Mountain Home – one of the few songs that A.P. wrote himself.  He needs to sing more often, he has such an authentic sound in his voice.

Well, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t as amazing as I was hoping it would be.  The music was pretty much the same over the 25 tracks.  I’m hoping the other CD’s are different, because if not, by the time I get to the last one, I’m not going to be liking this even a little bit.

Thanks to Tom Moon, and to Cactus Music in Houston for ordering this box set for me.

So, what kind of music are you guys listening to right now?

You can read my Aphex Twin post if you want to know how I listen to techno for this blog.  I don’t complain repetitiveness, because its supposed to be.  This album I didn’t have to go find on a streaming site or go buy, because I actually already have this one.  I have never listened to it critically before though, so I’m interested on what I will notice.

Block Rockin’ Beats – This song samples Schoolly D.  (had to look that up, because I couldn’t figure out who that was) They won a Grammy for this for a reason.  Hearing this live must be amazing.  One thing I love about the Chemical Brothers is that they are so unique.  I can’t think of another artist(s) that has they same sound as them.  Even copy cats can’t pull it off.

Elektrobank – I don’t even know what to say about this one besides that its amazing.  If you guys listen to this album, you need to wear headphones to hear the ridiculous turntable work.

Setting Sun – Noel Gallagher (of anti-Oasis fame) does the vocals on this.  It definitely adds something different to the performance. I like this one, and it deserves to be mentioned.

It Doesn’t Matter – this is my least favorite on the album.  I know that techno is repetitive, but listening to a slightly annoying robotic voice telling me “it doesn’t matter” wears on my nerves just a bit.

Where Do I Begin – This is my favorite on the whole album.  It’s not normal, not just for the Chemical Brothers, but for the techno genre.  It’s a mix of acoustic and electronic, and it’s absolutely lovely.

I love it when I already own the album that Tom Moon suggests in his book.  Makes me feel like my personal taste in music isn’t so terrible.  And quite a few times during this project, music that he suggests becomes part of my taste.  But I’ve learned that one should never close themselves up to a genre as a whole or decide they dislike an artist or album before they give it a chance, you may be in for a surprise.

Fiddler, Michael Doucet, was part of the reason for the “Cajun Renaissance” of the 1970′s.  Zydeco was a declining genre, and with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts he started his quest to breathe some life into it.  He succeeded, and even managed to put his own twist on things.  BeauSoleil is zydeco at its heart, but Doucet twists in Irish reels, funk, and calypso to give it an edge.  So, here goes nothing.

(By the way, this was the first time I actually had to go physically buy the album to stay legal.  If you guys needed proof that I’m definitely committed to this thing, that should do it)

For y’all’s sake, I’ll only comment on songs that I think will be my favorites and ones that I here that Michael Doucet twist, otherwise its just going to be “This song is so fun” and “Zydeco is one of my favorite sub genres”.  I will listen critically as well or I wouldn’t be doing what I originally have set out to do.

Le Jig Francais – Strong first track, gets me excited to listen to the rest of the album.  The lyrics are in Cajun French so I can only pick out a few things but who cares? It sounds like they’re having fun.

Zydeco Gris-Gris – This song has got some electric guitars and what sounds like an electric piano, but is probably synthesizer.  It’s pure zydeco, but I would put this in the “contemporary zydeco” folder.

Dimanche Apres-Midi – This might be my least favorite on the album (at least so far). Musically there isn’t much going on, and its heavier on vocals.  Perhaps if I understood Cajun better, I’d love it.

Chez Seychelles – I hear a slight Irish reel in this.  Actually its quite blatant, but they “cajunize” it.  It works, and quite pleasant.

Well, of course I loved listening to this, and I don’t regret having to actually buy the album.  If anyone has never listened to zydeco or have never heard zydeco that they liked, I would recommend any of BeauSoleil’s albums.  They are probably one of the greatest representatives of the genre.

I would never have stuck zydeco as a sub genre of blues, (when I put the CD into my computer iTunes put it in the “world” category), but I figure that Tom Moon knows more about that than I do, so I’m just going to roll with that when I categorize the blog, in case anyone was wondering why it was stuck there.

As usual, thank you Tom Moon, and thank you to Cactus Music in Houston for ordering this little gem for me.

Also, coming up in the next few weeks, Mr. Moon has recommended a box set to listen to from the book.  The question is, should I have one large post on the entire set or should each CD from the set get its own post.  Send me your suggestions to blairlovesmusic@gmail.com, comment below, or send me a tweet at @Blairness.  Love you guys!

Marian Anderson was a contralto.  Her range spanned the board.  Unfortunately, our country at the time of her emergence was not completely willing to embrace the African American Anderson.  One could say that it helped catapult her to fame though.  After having an event canceled at the White House based on her color, the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt sponsored a free concert at the Lincoln Memorial featuring Anderson.  75,000 people attended, and Anderson was made a star and symbol of civil rights.  Although Anderson was a trained opera singer, this particular recording is a collection of spirituals. A lot of these songs originated during slavery.  Gospel is always a hit or miss with me, but I’m looking forward to this one.  Tom Moon quotes the composer Toscanini as saying that “a voice like hers is heard only once in a hundred years.”

Deep River – Her voice is absolutely amazing.  The song is about solemn but seeing as where most of these songs have come from, I can understand.

He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands – I just got transported back to 1st grade Sunday School.  This song combined with her flawless voice is different.  Its not what I’m used to, but I like it.

Roll Jerd’n Roll – Okay, based on the title of this song, its obvious that its a more…informal piece than other songs.   Her voice is so operatic that it just doesn’t seem to fit. This would be more fun to listen to if a gospel diva was singing it.

Crucifixion – Okay, its a really dark song, but she’s hitting all the low notes that are near impossible for a woman and some men.

Were You There – I’m at the half way point of the album now. While her voice is absolutely amazing, if there wasn’t a pause between songs, I wouldn’t know where one stopped and another one began.  I’m hoping the second half of the album won’t sound so depressing.  So far, He’s Got the Whole World has been the most upbeat.

Soon-a Will Be Done – Yay! A slightly more upbeat song.  You can actually hear her smile during this one.

Dere’s No Hidin’ Place Down Dere – Such a fun song! Even though its less than a minute long, I can see this one being my favorite.

Hard Trials – Nothing totally special about this song, but the fact that a song was written (and probably taken seriously) about how she’s “a methodist, methodist, methodist” is amusing to me for some reason.

Well, this was very…interesting.  On one hand her contralto voice is near flawless.  On the other hand, the album itself was very monotonous.  I didn’t even feel much in key changes toward the middle of the album.  Occasionally, an upbeat gem would sneak its way in, but not often enough.  I liked this recording because I had never heard of Ms. Anderson before, and now I can look up her more operatic material which I’m sure I will enjoy more.

As always, thanks to Tom Moon for 1000 Recordings, and to rhapsody.com for keeping me legal.

Manu Chao is the first World music artist I get to listen too.  From what I can tell he takes European music and South American music…throws in some electronic beats and boom, we have music.  I honestly do not know what to expect so this should be fun.

Clandestino – hrm..well.  The first track was a bit generic.  I hope the rest of the album is a bit better. Its has a very Spanish feel about it but it sounds like any other Spanish song you’d hear on Latino radio.

Bongo Bong – I don’t know whats going on…

Je Ne T’aime Plus – its actually a very nice love song if you understand French, if not it sounds like stoner reggae with a synthesizer.

Luna Y Sol – the guitar in this song is amazing.  So far this one is my favorite.  It’s very Latino and is the “funnest” sounding so far.  This Frenchman pulls off Spaniard very well.

Welcome to Tijuana – Thanks for the very strange welcome….but can I leave now please?

Okay..well.  First off I want to say I’m too ill equipped to properly comment on this album.  I do not speak Spanish or French.  The lyrics to these songs could be the most deep and moving words known to man, and I wouldn’t know…that being said, musically this album was nothing special.  The beats could be heard on any Latin radio station in the Houston area.  The few songs that were sung in English were absolutely indescribable…in a bad way.  They were just weird and slightly creepy.  This was probably the oddest album I’ve heard from the book…

On that note: Thanks to Tom Moon and to bluebeat.com for keeping me legal.