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Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Sweet Roseanne (from No Depression)
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Today's song
Austin & Back & Reviews
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Artist:The Machine
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Album:A Friend of a Friend
So I had a whirlwind of excellence times over the past week in Austin. Congratulations to the bride & groom - I hope I did well enough marrying you folks.Too bad it was too cold to walk around much, but I did hit some really cool places along South Congress - and the Waterloo Records stop yielded some great 7 inches. I can guarantee that my first visit won't be my last. It's just too bad there
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"This should give you a dim view of human potential..."
Having just recently watched a documentary about Werner Herzog and marveled at (and joked about) his particular way of speaking, I had to laugh quite a bit at this parody:
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The Decade in Music, Part 3: Best Albums
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1. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002, Nonesuch)Disregard the David vs. Goliath record-biz mythology, disregard the band’s internal conflicts, disregard the phenomenal making-of documentary and what you still have is an absolute masterpiece – a perfect record for the decade, for any decade. This is timeless rock ‘n’ roll – energetic, ambitious, tuneful and as finely balanced as an album
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The Decade in Music, Part 2: Favorite Tucson Albums
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Album:Fourkiller Flats
I want to stress that this list is one of favorites rather than anything I’m claiming to be the best. I’m good friends with too many on this list to claim any sort of broad objectivity, so it’s hardly definitive. And while it’d be easy to find more expertise on Tucson music, I’ve been an active fan of local music all decade, and started writing about it with the inception of this blog in
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The Decade in Music, Part 1: Honorable Mentions
I have no grand pronouncements for the music of the 2000s. Defining it in terms of its technology downplays the music. Defining it by any singular trend or genre ignores the incredible expansion enabled by the technology. Marketers tried shoveling crap down everybody's throats while the fans revolted. All I can say is I found a tremendous amount to love and above all else, it was a decade of
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Best television of the decade
Mr. Chair has argued that television has outpaced movies in overall quality during the last several years, and I'll agree, especially in terms of complexity, narrative arcs and the finely wound humor.Audience involvement is at an entirely different level with beloved shows and television has a certain responsive capability that enriches the whole experience. Networks may pander as much as ever,
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Best movies of the decade
Since the 2000s lined up almost precisely with my 20s, this whole decade-in-review crap is an interesting way to think very personally in terms of what cultural elements have guided and influenced me along the way.There's no denying that the movies and TV shows I've watched have shaped not only how I've related to and perceived the world around me, but has all been part of the formulation of an
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Six years
Have I really kept this blog for six years already? Sure enough. On Friday, Jan. 2, 2004, I joined the ranks of the crazy Internet ranting folks. I've had fits and starts and long dry spells along the way, but this is my 556th post and counting. It's good to still be rolling along. Thanks for reading...
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Review: Tom Waits - Glitter & Doom Live
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I reviewed the new Tom Waits Glitter & Doom Live album in this week's East Bay Express:Part barnstorming preacher, part carnival barker, and part scarecrow come to life, Tom Waits took the stage in a string of theaters and ballrooms last summer for the aptly named Glitter and Doom tour, shuffling across the country with his wildly imaginative and profoundly weird songs.A two-disc live set culled
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New Mix: Gold & Sage
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Howdy Everybody,So here's a download of my latest mix. It's all over the map, and rather awesome. I hope you enjoy the tunes:http://www.sendspace.com/file/ivcmd7Open the zip file and drag the folder into your iTunes. Then to add this mix as a playlist: Select "File" --> "Library" --> "Import Playlist" Then select the .xml file in this folder. Lemme know if you have any questions. And Boo-ya.1.
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2009 Best Shows
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I let this list stretch a little long, but hey, I saw more than 80 shows this year and a hell of a lot of them were amazing.Live music is what I live on, as much as anything else. I can’t count the times when I’ve gone out to see a show after a subpar day or few days and – pretty much no matter who was playing – was instantly removed from that bad space.And that’s just the low end. At th
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2009 Best Albums
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This is the big one - the best/favorite albums of the year. This is the list that any music critic, blogger or big-time enthusiast hangs his or her hat on, the one that's subject to more internal debate than all others.I joined the Usual Gang of Idiots over at the Tucson Weekly this year, so check out the four-barreled cannon of music writer awesomeness where this was originally printed.And if
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2009 Album Reviews
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Moving along with my 2009 Year in Review, here are links to all of the album and live reviews I wrote this year for the Tucson Weekly, East Bay Express and Zocalo:Neko Case - Middle CycloneClem Snide - Hungry BirdBob Dylan - Together Through LifeConor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band - Outer SouthMetric - FantasiesWilco - Wilco (The Album)Magnolia Electric Co. - JosephineThe Skygreen Leopards -
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Starting the 2009 review
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It's surprising how much more music you can listen to when you start making it at least a part of your job. I've kept this blog for almost six years now (crazy!) but the dedicated music focus goes back about three years. And in 2009 I started writing music reviews and features for other publications, mainly the Tucson Weekly and East Bay Express.I want to start my 2009 Year In Review by looking
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Vic Chesnutt – two albums and a show
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Photo by Robert Loerzel, from this fantastic Flickr setThe only problem with having two new Vic Chesnutt records is the temptation to listen to both consecutively, which just may be more than most people can take. This is heavy, concentrated stuff, songs that approach like lurking danger, songs that convey the unavoidable pitfalls of self-indulgence and ultimately the inescapability of life’s
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Review: Chuck Prophet - ¡Let Freedom Ring!
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My review of Chuck Prophet's latest album is in this week's issue of the East Bay Express:In an America that by bait-and-switch twists and stacked decks has mostly succeeded in pillaging itself, simply holding on now qualifies as hoping for the best. With his richest album in a long career, Chuck Prophet manages to capture that cruel truth while avoiding traps on both sides,
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Sometimes...
Sometimes I wish everyone I know all knew each other, just as well as I know everybody.
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New Elliott Smith track
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As I've been thinking about the decade in music, one question in particular is how Elliott Smith fits in. I saw him perform solo acoustic in the fall of 2000, which was at the beginning of my fandom. I worked backwards from Figure 8 through the rest of his albums, experiencing his evolution in reverse. After his death, his final record would have to stand as a final statement. And From A Basement
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Shearwater back with new song, album news
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Another day, another dispatch from Matador Records, and another blog post to suggest that a band makes sure to add Tucson to its 2010 tour schedule...Since I first met Jonathan Meiburg (about six year ago), he's left Okkervil River to focus all of his attention on Shearwater, with each album seeing more and more acclaim. The Golden Archipelago is Shearwater's third album to be released on Matador
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