SUNDAY SHUFFLE #98
I spent over 4 hours putting together class lists and such at work this afternoon. Missed much of a beautiful day too. Plus, my brain is pretty much mush. Have I complained enough yet?
1. These Paper Walls/I Love Math (3)
2. Shiny/The Decemberists (3)
3. I Got Lost/Dinosaur Jr. (7)
4. The Things You Don't See/Canasta (7)
5. Wonderful Witches/Thurston Moore (4)
6. La Ferrassie/Tokyo Police Club (14)
7. Like A Rolling Stone/Drive-By Truckers (13)
8. Light Years/Sloan (11)
9. All the Wine/The National (9)
10. Silver Plate Complaints/Centro-Matic (16)
Showing posts with label Drive-By Truckers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drive-By Truckers. Show all posts
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
MIDWEEK
I just finished Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo a short while ago. It's a hefty book and a good one. What's it about? Optimism, pessimism, love, lust, the lies we tell each other and ourselves. What it means to call a place or people your home. It's the second of Russo's novels I've read (Empire Falls being the other) and I suppose I'll get around to his other work at some point. Wonder if this one will be adapted as well?
It's the 4th book I've read this year, which is a pretty good total. On the other hand, I have five SF magazines piled up and a couple of trades and a bunch of stuff on the DVR. I'll take the next week or so to sort through all of that before I pick up another book. Probably.
The last two days have also seen me pick up my first music of the new year - Drive-By Truckers (Brighter Than Creation's Dark) and The Whigs (Mission Control). The former is a long, sprawling record that will take a few more spins before I can get a handle on it but I've been enjoying it thus far; the latter is a really good rock record. More on both of those in the near future... or not. You know how it is.
And speaking of how it is, I'm about ready to go to bed. It's only 10:11 but hey, I'm tired. Why fight it?
I just finished Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo a short while ago. It's a hefty book and a good one. What's it about? Optimism, pessimism, love, lust, the lies we tell each other and ourselves. What it means to call a place or people your home. It's the second of Russo's novels I've read (Empire Falls being the other) and I suppose I'll get around to his other work at some point. Wonder if this one will be adapted as well?
It's the 4th book I've read this year, which is a pretty good total. On the other hand, I have five SF magazines piled up and a couple of trades and a bunch of stuff on the DVR. I'll take the next week or so to sort through all of that before I pick up another book. Probably.
The last two days have also seen me pick up my first music of the new year - Drive-By Truckers (Brighter Than Creation's Dark) and The Whigs (Mission Control). The former is a long, sprawling record that will take a few more spins before I can get a handle on it but I've been enjoying it thus far; the latter is a really good rock record. More on both of those in the near future... or not. You know how it is.
And speaking of how it is, I'm about ready to go to bed. It's only 10:11 but hey, I'm tired. Why fight it?
Monday, July 09, 2007
DAYLIGHT
The last of the Jason Isbell-penned Drive-By Truckers song is "Daylight," his second contribution to A Blessing and A Curse. It unrolls at a more languid pace than "Easy on Yourself" but it's not an acoustic song. Guitars and a chugging bassline (on the chorus) are present. And his vocals on the chorus are soaring as he sings "While we still have the daylight, I might look these lessons in the eye/While we still...I might become some brand-new kinda guy." Crank up the guitars a bit on the bridge and add some B-3 organ and you have another winner from Isbell.
Tomorrow brings his first solo record, Sirens of the Ditch, on New West Records. I can't wait to hear it and see what kind of songs Jason Isbell has brought us this time around.
The last of the Jason Isbell-penned Drive-By Truckers song is "Daylight," his second contribution to A Blessing and A Curse. It unrolls at a more languid pace than "Easy on Yourself" but it's not an acoustic song. Guitars and a chugging bassline (on the chorus) are present. And his vocals on the chorus are soaring as he sings "While we still have the daylight, I might look these lessons in the eye/While we still...I might become some brand-new kinda guy." Crank up the guitars a bit on the bridge and add some B-3 organ and you have another winner from Isbell.
Tomorrow brings his first solo record, Sirens of the Ditch, on New West Records. I can't wait to hear it and see what kind of songs Jason Isbell has brought us this time around.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
EASY ON YOURSELF
Last year saw a new Drive-By Truckers album, A Blessing and A Curse. It's a little more compact than the previous few had been, with only 11 tracks and a running time around 45 minutes. Of those 11, two are written by Jason Isbell.
It's a rock song with multiple guitars weaving in and out and has Jason's usual impassioned vocals. He is joined by Patterson's harmony on the chorus (and later echoing of Jason), which is incredibly catchy and is definitely the centerpiece of the song lyrically as well as musically...
"Don't be so easy on yourself
'cause this one might be all that you have left
Rearrange the voices in your head and remember what they said.
Don't be so easy on yourself
It's got some great guitar solo work as well. Really, it's everything you could ask of a three-and-a-half minute rock song.
Last year saw a new Drive-By Truckers album, A Blessing and A Curse. It's a little more compact than the previous few had been, with only 11 tracks and a running time around 45 minutes. Of those 11, two are written by Jason Isbell.
It's a rock song with multiple guitars weaving in and out and has Jason's usual impassioned vocals. He is joined by Patterson's harmony on the chorus (and later echoing of Jason), which is incredibly catchy and is definitely the centerpiece of the song lyrically as well as musically...
"Don't be so easy on yourself
'cause this one might be all that you have left
Rearrange the voices in your head and remember what they said.
Don't be so easy on yourself
It's got some great guitar solo work as well. Really, it's everything you could ask of a three-and-a-half minute rock song.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
GODDAMN LONELY LOVE
Yesterday I talked about the one/two rock punch that comes at the end of Drive-By Truckers 2004 album, The Dirty South. The final punch comes with an acoustic-based song from Jason Isbell, "Goddamn Lonely Love." It's got piano-tinkling from Patterson Hood and an aching melody and lyrics and I don't know how else to talk about it except making you listen to it.
Yesterday I talked about the one/two rock punch that comes at the end of Drive-By Truckers 2004 album, The Dirty South. The final punch comes with an acoustic-based song from Jason Isbell, "Goddamn Lonely Love." It's got piano-tinkling from Patterson Hood and an aching melody and lyrics and I don't know how else to talk about it except making you listen to it.
Friday, July 06, 2007
NEVER GONNA CHANGE
Today I'm talking about the third Jason Isbell song on The Dirty South (Drive-By Truckers), "Never Gonna Change." It starts up with a nice riff on electric guitar and some thick bass and gets into a nice groove. Lyrically, Isbell sings about the state of things in South Alabama and the kind of people there. They "ain't never gonna change, so shut your mouth and play along" and we get some high harmony in there too. There's a wailing guitar solo that careens and crashes amid the swirl of multiple guitars and the riff just chugging along underneath. It drops down to the basics as we find out "there ain't much difference in the man I wanna be and the man I really am." Then the drums come back in and off we go, riding the chorus until the end of the song. It's a great rock song, though it is immediately surpassed by Patterson's "Lookout Mountain." But what a one/two rock punch to send the album out on a highlight...until we hit the final track, which is Isbell's fourth song on the record. More on that tomorrow...
And speaking of the DBTs, if you go over to KEXP and hit the streaming archive for Tuesday (July 3) at about 5:28 PM you can hear the gang playing three new songs and "The Living Bubba." The new stuff sounds good. And if you go to about 2:58 PM the same day, you can hear Rhett and Murray doing some Old 97s tunes as well.
Today I'm talking about the third Jason Isbell song on The Dirty South (Drive-By Truckers), "Never Gonna Change." It starts up with a nice riff on electric guitar and some thick bass and gets into a nice groove. Lyrically, Isbell sings about the state of things in South Alabama and the kind of people there. They "ain't never gonna change, so shut your mouth and play along" and we get some high harmony in there too. There's a wailing guitar solo that careens and crashes amid the swirl of multiple guitars and the riff just chugging along underneath. It drops down to the basics as we find out "there ain't much difference in the man I wanna be and the man I really am." Then the drums come back in and off we go, riding the chorus until the end of the song. It's a great rock song, though it is immediately surpassed by Patterson's "Lookout Mountain." But what a one/two rock punch to send the album out on a highlight...until we hit the final track, which is Isbell's fourth song on the record. More on that tomorrow...
And speaking of the DBTs, if you go over to KEXP and hit the streaming archive for Tuesday (July 3) at about 5:28 PM you can hear the gang playing three new songs and "The Living Bubba." The new stuff sounds good. And if you go to about 2:58 PM the same day, you can hear Rhett and Murray doing some Old 97s tunes as well.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
DANKO/MANUEL
Jason's Isbell's second song on The Dirty South (Drive-By Truckers) is "Danko/Manuel." It's an acoustic-based shuffle and features some really soulful vocals from Isbell. As you could guess from the title, it talks about two deceased members of The Band. Isbell is singing about the way life could be, how you don't always do what's best for you, how things have turned out to be "Something else you can't believe." It's a very powerful song and one of the highlights from a record that is full of great songs.
Jason's Isbell's second song on The Dirty South (Drive-By Truckers) is "Danko/Manuel." It's an acoustic-based shuffle and features some really soulful vocals from Isbell. As you could guess from the title, it talks about two deceased members of The Band. Isbell is singing about the way life could be, how you don't always do what's best for you, how things have turned out to be "Something else you can't believe." It's a very powerful song and one of the highlights from a record that is full of great songs.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
THE DAY JOHN HENRY DIED
In 2004, Drive-By Truckers put out another new album, The Dirty South. It was a record with a theme and had strong songs from all three writers, including 4 from Jason Isbell.
"The Day John Henry Died" is another rock song and it tackles the myth of the steel-driving John Henry. "John Henry was a stell-driving bastard/But John Henry was a bastard just the same" - that about sums up the song. Okay, it's full of good lines and has a sorta-framing sequence to it but it does what it needs to go - has a lyrical through-line and rocks. What else do you need in rock music?
In 2004, Drive-By Truckers put out another new album, The Dirty South. It was a record with a theme and had strong songs from all three writers, including 4 from Jason Isbell.
"The Day John Henry Died" is another rock song and it tackles the myth of the steel-driving John Henry. "John Henry was a stell-driving bastard/But John Henry was a bastard just the same" - that about sums up the song. Okay, it's full of good lines and has a sorta-framing sequence to it but it does what it needs to go - has a lyrical through-line and rocks. What else do you need in rock music?
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
DECORATION DAY
If Jason Isbell's "Outfit" was a statement that the Drive-By Truckers had possibly found a talented third songwriter to add to the band, then his second song on Decoration Day confirmed it. That talent was real, real enough that they named the whole album after it.
"Decoration Day" is a rock song all the way. Electric guitars and minor chords and a simple bass pattern and pounding drums. And, oh, the guitar solos. It's the story of a long-running feud between the Hills and the Lawsons sung by one of the remaining Lawsons. He doesn't know how it got started but he knows what it has cost. He hates his father for it.
The song really takes off at the end. The lyrics finish with a slowed down picking pattern then the drums kick in and we hear some electric guitar. Then another guitar comes in on top and the whole thing just ascends into a swirl of guitar, bass, and drums. One of my favorite codas in rock.
If Jason Isbell's "Outfit" was a statement that the Drive-By Truckers had possibly found a talented third songwriter to add to the band, then his second song on Decoration Day confirmed it. That talent was real, real enough that they named the whole album after it.
"Decoration Day" is a rock song all the way. Electric guitars and minor chords and a simple bass pattern and pounding drums. And, oh, the guitar solos. It's the story of a long-running feud between the Hills and the Lawsons sung by one of the remaining Lawsons. He doesn't know how it got started but he knows what it has cost. He hates his father for it.
The song really takes off at the end. The lyrics finish with a slowed down picking pattern then the drums kick in and we hear some electric guitar. Then another guitar comes in on top and the whole thing just ascends into a swirl of guitar, bass, and drums. One of my favorite codas in rock.
Monday, July 02, 2007
OUTFIT
Jason Isbell's first solo album, Sirens of the Ditch, comes out next Tuesday. I've been looking forward to it ever since it was announced, back before we found that he was leaving Drive-By Truckers. I first came to the DBTs only a couple years ago when they released The Dirty South and I susbsequently bought every album. Although I like all their albums, I've felt the last three were particularly strong in that they had the three songwriter attack of Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, and Isbell. Now, I love Patterson's songs and I love Cooley's songs but I've tended to gravitate just as much to the Isbell songs. So, I thought I would spend the next week looking at Isbell's songs in preparation for next Tuesday.
"Outfit" was the first Isbell-penned DBT song on Decoration Day, which came out in 2003. It's a song from a father to son, telling him how his life turned out and wanting his son not to make the same mistakes, as well as telling him how to be a man. "Don't call what you're wearing an outfit." "Don't worry about losing your accent, a Southern man tells better jokes." "Don't sing with a fake British accent." These are great lines in a song full of great lines. The music fits the words as well, a mostly acoustic strum and pick with some pedal steel, then the electric guitars come in to solo at the end. The melody is strong with some great high harmony. It's a great introduction to the talents of Jason Isbell.
Jason Isbell's first solo album, Sirens of the Ditch, comes out next Tuesday. I've been looking forward to it ever since it was announced, back before we found that he was leaving Drive-By Truckers. I first came to the DBTs only a couple years ago when they released The Dirty South and I susbsequently bought every album. Although I like all their albums, I've felt the last three were particularly strong in that they had the three songwriter attack of Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, and Isbell. Now, I love Patterson's songs and I love Cooley's songs but I've tended to gravitate just as much to the Isbell songs. So, I thought I would spend the next week looking at Isbell's songs in preparation for next Tuesday.
"Outfit" was the first Isbell-penned DBT song on Decoration Day, which came out in 2003. It's a song from a father to son, telling him how his life turned out and wanting his son not to make the same mistakes, as well as telling him how to be a man. "Don't call what you're wearing an outfit." "Don't worry about losing your accent, a Southern man tells better jokes." "Don't sing with a fake British accent." These are great lines in a song full of great lines. The music fits the words as well, a mostly acoustic strum and pick with some pedal steel, then the electric guitars come in to solo at the end. The melody is strong with some great high harmony. It's a great introduction to the talents of Jason Isbell.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
