Come By Storm

All that was

A picture was

A poem was a poem

Words were trees of brown of gold

You were a place I had come to know

If the dark falls early

Would you come in the night

Would you come with the morning

Come by fire or come by storm

Laura Gibson - Come By Storm : Beasts of Seasons

...and I Will Shelter You

Shelter

I left you heartbroken

but not until those very words were spoken

Has anybody ever made such a fool out of you?

It's hard to believe it

But even as my eyes do see it

The very things that make you live are killing you, too

So listen, when all of this around us will fall over

I tell you what we're gonna do

You will shelter me my love

And I will shelter you

Ray LaMontagne - Shelter (live) : Live From Bonaroo 2005

Shelter From the Storm

Shelter

Now there's a wall between us
something has been lost

I took too much for granted
got my signals crossed

Just to think it all began on some long-forgotten morn

"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Waiting for tomorrow's hurricane.

Rodney Crowell - Shelter From The Storm (feat. Emmylou Harris) : The Outsider

Going to California

The video says it all. Going to California tomorrow and be back next week. Catch y'all then.

Josh Ritter - California : Hello Starling

I Want You (and to see Common, too)

If all goes well, hopefully I'll be seeing Common at the Rock the Bells Festival next month when it hits Boston along with Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, DOOM, Nas, and others (see the full line-up on the festival's official website).

Common - Like They Used to Say (Street Version) : One-Nine-Nine-Nine 12"

obstinate, adj.

 stubborn

obstinate, adj.

Sometimes it becomes a contest: Which is more stubborn, the love or the two arguing people caught within it?

-from The Lovers Dictionary, by David Levithan

Emy Reynolds - Stubborn : Ode to the Stubborn

Africa, Rise!

Seun Kuti: Live From Festival Chorus des Hauts de Seine from KF Records on Vimeo.

With From Africa with Fury: Rise, Seun Kuti creates an album that makes a direct connection and almost extension of his father Fela Kuti's work. While his previous albums did a notable job carrying on the Afrobeat torch, with this one he has really hit the nail on the head. In so many ways, Rise looks, sounds, and feels like his father's soul has a direct hand in its creation.

Pick up the album. Just look at the cover of the album. Look. And you'll see graphics that immediately draw you back to Fela's albums, and for good reason. For his latest release, Seun called upon Nigerian artist Lemi Ghariokwu, the same artists who created many of Fela's most well known covers.

Open up the album. Listen to the music. Backing Seun is Egypt 80, Fela's old band. And while all the members may not have directly played with Fela, the core of the band is a direct channel to the center of Afrobeat.

Listen more deeply. You'll find the heart of Afrobeat: protest. Songs of rebellions. Songs questioning the status quo. Songs seeking to address wrongs. The fuel that drove Fela and now his children.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Rise : From Africa With Fury: Rise

Seun Kuti & Fela's Egypt 80 - Na Oil long (12 inch) : Think Africa / Na Oil - Single

Visit his website, his label Knitting Factory Records, and become his friend on MySpace.

Story time

I wish I had someone to read to me.

Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends Theme : Bookends

Sunday Soul - Sad Song

 Sad

I keep singin' them sad sad songs y'all,

Sad songs is all I know.

I keep singin' them sad sad songs y'all,

Sad songs is all I know.

It has a sweet melody

tonight,

anybody can sing it, any ol' time

It got to your heart, put you in a groove

and when you sing this song

it will make your whole body move

Otis Redding - Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) : Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) 7"

Otis Redding - Good to Me : Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) 7" B-side

Find them both on The Otis Redding Story.

ubiquitous, adj.

Love is Everywhere - Love Tree

ubiquitous, adj.

When it's going well, the fact of it is everywhere. It's there in the song that shuffles into your ears. It's there in the book you're reading. It's there on the shelves of the store as you reach for a towel and forget about the towel. It's there as you open the door. As you stare off on the subway, it's what you're looking at. You wear it on the inside of your hat. It lines your pockets. It's the temperature.

     The hitch, of course, is that when it's going badly, it's in all the same places.

-from The Lovers Dictionary, by David Levithan 

Willie Nelson with Emmylou Harris & Daniel Lanois - Everywhere I Go : KBCO Studio C - Volume 10

candid, adj.

Just doing nothing

candid, adj.

"Most times, when I'm having sex, I'd rather be reading."

     This was, I admit, a strange thing to say on a second date. I guess I was just giving you warning.

     "Most times when I'm reading," you said, "I'd rather be having sex."

-from The Lovers Dictionary, by David Levithan

(I'd rather have both.)

Fleetwood Mac - Book of Love : Mirage

Last Summer, last night

A few days ago I wrote about the new Eleanor Friedberger album Last Summer that, contrary to the title, just came out this summer. Last night I was able to check out Eleanor play solo at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA for 45 or so minutes. The performance was in sharp contrast to the last time I saw her and her brother play as The Fiery Furnaces in 2006. With just her on the stage (if you want to call it a stage - the picture above was taken from the table I was sitting at about seven feet away from her, with no step up to the "stage," which was really just a carpeted section of the lounge) the selections were obviously stripped down. Also unlike the previous time, on this occasion, by herself, Eleanor was awkwardly enchanting in her own way, which perhaps explains my previous impression of her. She's been a musician for a while now, but it was clear that she felt out of her own trying to singularly interact with the crowd, which is incredibly revealing and intimate, when you think about it. My appreciation for her increased.

While only playing for 45 minutes or so, Eleanor managed to work through a rather wide range of tunes, both her own (from this new album - I Won't Fall Apart on You Tonight (which she opened with), My Mistakes, Early Earthquake, Scenes from Bensonhurst, Heaven and some even newer songs not on the album) as well as Furnaces' songs (from as far back as Gallowsbird's Bark - Tropical-Iceland, Bitter Tea - Police Sweater Blood Vow, and their latest, I'm Going Away - Staring At The Steeple and Lost at Sea). She stumbled a few times while playing her new songs, but considering she's just hit the road in support of an album that came out days ago, that's to be understood. The time flew by all too quickly, with mention of a return visit soon with her brother and band. She also has some remaining solo dates coming up which you can find below. I'll be looking forward to seeing her again, with memories of the first time assuaged.

The Fiery Furnaces - Police Sweater Blood Vow : Session Planet Claire 05-04-06 (studio version appears on Bitter Tea)

Visit her website and her label Merge Records.

 

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Upcoming tour dates

 

Sat, Jul 16, New York, NY @ South Street Seaport - The Village Voice / 4knots Festival
Tue, Jul 19, Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Wed, Jul 20, Chicago IL @ The Hideout
Sat, Jul 23, Portland, OR @ Neumo's Crystal Ball - Capitol Hill Block Party
Sun, Jul 24,Seattle, WA @ Doug Fir Lounge
Tue, Jul 26, San Francisco, CA @ Hotel Utah Saloon
Wed, Jul 27, Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite