Murmers of Earth

Doc Snock Rocks

2011-03-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

The many moods of Michael Hurley: the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

I don't care that she left me, just so long as the cupboard's fulla tea.

For the werefwolf have sympathy, for the werewolf is someone just like you and me.

O my stars how you undo me.

Free fallin' through the abyss, that's where I wanna be.

Everything is weird.

Old black crow, you can't take my seeds up in the sky! sky! sky!

He is the pork of crime.

I make a wish for a potato.

Music Is a Virus

2010-12-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

A little exercise in musical mutation/evolution...

The Bard of Armagh (Irish poem, dubbed)

Tommy Makem, The Bard of Armagh

Black Irish Band + Michael Martin Murphy, The Bard of Armagh; Irish band, American country singer: "This melody is over 400 years old."

Anonymous Ukelele Guy, Young Girl Cut Down in Her Prime; one of many recent bedroom versions on YouTube.

Ian McShane (in TV series Deadwood), The Unfortunate Rake: "As I was out walkin' down by St. James Hospital..."

Doc Watson, St. James Hospital; He attributes this to a prisoner in Texas via John Lomax. (see also the blues variants, St. James Infirmary and House of the Rising Sun)

Hedy West, The Dying Cowboy: "Here's a cowboy song from Georgia, where there weren't no cowboys." (she later recorded a different version of this as The Whore's Lament)

Ken Maynard (early singing cowboy movie star), Cowboy's Lament; now set in Austin, Texas

Tex Ritter, Streets of Laredo (this whole album is great)

Marty Robbins, Streets of Laredo

Johnny Cash, Streets of Laredo

John Cale, Streets of Laredo; Two very different versions, back to back. One sweet, one nasty.

Feist, When I Was a Young Girl

Son the Revelator

2010-03-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

Son House gives me goose bumps. Every time.

Perfect Pop

2010-03-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

Adore the Go-Betweens, miss Grant McLennan.

Your lunacy fits neatly with my own...

2010-02-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

Before I die, I hope to share a meal with Robert Wyatt.

Eliane Radigue interview

2010-02-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

Eliane Radigue is one of the true heroes of minimal electronic music. Within this limitation exists a subtlety, a delicacy, and a completely extraordinary richness of expression. Click here for video.

Love & Happiness/Simply Beautiful

2010-02-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

Al Green is most definitely NOT lip-synching!

At zero hour only passion can save you

2010-01-30T17:34:00.000-08:00

Astor Piazzolla wants you to suffer, motherfucker. Love the seamless hand-off between the violin and bandoneon solos @ 3:50.

Sekar Gadung

2010-01-30T16:53:00.000-08:00

I once paid Pak Gunawan to ~~torture~~ teach me gamelan selonding for six weeks. Good teacher, bad student.

Big Questions

2010-01-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

The Staple Singers ask them beautifully.

Slow-mo Low

2010-01-30T16:28:00.000-08:00

Low's world is crashing down around them...

...but everyone keeps dancing.

Strange Affair

2010-01-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

June Tabor & Martin Simpson do "the blessed Richard Thompson" proud.

Coolsville

2010-01-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

Stunning live version (1992) of one of Rickie Lee's best.

La Voix d'Or

2009-12-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

The great Kouyaté Sory Kandia of Guinea (1933-1977).

One of my favorite recordings. Ever.

Notice how far from the mic he sounds. The man could wail!

Forest Yodel

2009-12-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

"...canons and fugues as complex as those of any be-wigged European art music composer." Yep.

Baka people, Gabon & Cameroon:

Aka/Babenzélé people, Central African Republic:

Sanctified Saxophones

2009-12-11T15:23:00.001-08:00

Dr. (aka Brother) Vernard Johnson, Amazing Grace

Evangelist Rosie Haynes, I Won't Complain

The Waters of March

2009-03-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

Elis Regina sings Jobim.

Ida in Seattle

2009-03-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

Love me some Ida. Here they are playing Johnny Hahn's piano at Pike Place Market and in the Central Library.

Gírias do Norte x 4

2009-03-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

Jackie put the Xangai version on a mix tape in the 80s, been looking for it ever since. Can anyone tell me about this song? It seems to really get around.

UPDATE! After many years of looking, I finally tracked down the CD by Xangai (Eugénio Avelino) with this song. He is a folkloric singer from the Sertão, a semi-arid region of Bahía in northeastern Brazil where an archaic dialect of Portuguese is spoken. The title listed on the CD is "Gírias do Norte," which translates as "Northern Slang"; it's a medley of two songs, "De Quinze Pra Tras" ("Count Backwards") and "O Sapo No Saco" ("The Toad's Hat"). These represent a kind of nursery rhyme or tongue-twister called (I think) "pinto pelado," in which the sounds of the words are emphasized over the meaning. From the liner notes: "A sort of backslang is spoken in Brazil. This is the language used by a quadrille dance caller to explain how he goes from one party to another to lead the proceedings."

Chico César & Xangai (Eugenio Avelino)

Triero (sounds like Orixa songs)

Trio Rapacuia (Forró = Brazilian zydeco!)

Vanessa Longoni & Terratronix (rock band)

Scratching the Surface

2009-02-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

Lê Quan Ninh never fails to astonish me. Brilliant improviser.

What They Were Really Playing

2009-02-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

Now that's what I call CHANGE in America!

RIP John Martyn

2009-01-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

He leaves a big hole in the world. No way I can post only one thing. So much beauty.

May You Never (1973)

Make No Mistake (1973)

Solid Air (great version with Danny Thompson - 1987)

Spencer the Rover (1995)

Hurt in Your Heart (2007)

Finally! The World Gets a Funky President

2009-01-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

James Brown, Say It Loud... meets Nigeria's Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Black President.

DIY Ambient: Zendesk Wall o' Buddha Machines

2009-01-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

By now you may have heard of the Buddha Machine, the ambient version of the Walkman. You can buy the box, download the loop files, or put it on your iPhone. But much better yet, you can also do your own online multi-Buddha ambient thing with up to twenty one virtual Buddha Machines simultaneously at the Zendesk for hours of navel-gazing enjoyment. You may never see me again...

Nice & Naughty

2008-12-20T08:51:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen...Miss! Eartha! Kitt! (when I made this my xmas post a few days ago, I had no idea she was going to die on xmas...damn!)

The Other Delta Blues

2008-12-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

Nile (Hamza el Din, oud), Yangtze (Tao Chu-Shen, guqin), Mekong (Kim Luyén, voice)

Elliott Carter Turns 100 Today

2008-12-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ursula Oppens plays Carter's Retrouvailles.

But the Little Girls Understand

2008-12-10T22:25:00.000-08:00

Peter Sellers gets ultra-modern in The World of Henry Orient. Love that steam whistle.

Llorona de Ayer y Hoy

2008-12-10T22:16:00.000-08:00

The great Chavela Vargas, then and now.

The 5000 Fingers of Mr. P

2008-12-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Dr. Seuss meets Harry Partch in Microtonal Hell.

Secrets of the Avant Garde

2008-12-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

John Cage plays Water Walk, John Cale plays Satie's Vexations.

Piano Problems

2008-12-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

Interpretation is everything.

Wasted & Wounded

2008-12-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

Laugh first, then cry in your beer.

Old Friends

2008-12-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

Who let Norm's come to harm?

First Rock Show (Age 12)

2008-11-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

John Kay's sunglasses. The keyboard player's 'fro.

Ed Sullivan, Corrupter of Youth

2008-11-25T07:08:00.000-08:00

It's all about the hips and the hair.

My Parents Did the Twist in the Living Room

2008-11-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

Silly white people.