Keith Jarrett, “Changeless”. I listen to it more than any of the other 800+ CDs I own.
Two things I’ve been listening to a lot recently:
Mass Romantic, by the New Pornographers. Garage power-pop that’s been batter-fried in '70s overtones. (Some tracks remind me of '70s Bowie.) Clever lyrics, a mixup of styles, and the dazzling Neko Case taking lead for a couple of super-catchy tracks.
69 Love Songs, by the Magnetic Fields. If Cole Porter were noodling around a studio these days, this is what you might get --Stephen Merrit. With one gift certificate, you might only be able to afford 23 of the 69 songs; I’d vote for disc 1 or 3, but they’re all great. A mix of styles, but all lyrically clever.
Also, I’ll second the “anything by Charles Mingus” and “Beta Band: Three E.P.s” votes.
I second this choice. Anything by Jean Luc Ponty is a good choice. Some great violin work. Another good Ponty album is * King Kong*, an album co written with Frank Zappa.
Well, there is a new Sparklehorse album out. It’s called It’s A Wonderful Life, and is just flat out gorgeous.
If you don’t have it yet, Sophtware Slump by Grandaddy is a pretty amazing album as well.
The cd’s I’ve been overplaying lately are:
Gillian Welch - all 3 by her,
Beth Orton - Central Reservation (playing now, wait, I’ll turn it up)
Lucinda Williams - Essence
Freakwater - Old Paint
I heard Etta James sing Born Under a Bad Sign recently. It brought shivers up my spine. Yes it was that good and I bought her CD with that track. Can’t remember the name of the CD although the other tunes on it were great too.
Highly recommended.
Jack
Man, I can second that one. Etta James is great.
Gotta add Sense of Place
Johh Mayhall…
Well, The Irish Tenors blew me out of my socks, especially the first track, Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears. I had to pull my car over and wipe the tears from my eyes.
The Commitments soundtrack is pretty awesome, as is the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?
On the new agey side, just about anything from Enigma will do, although Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! is my favorite album from them so far.
An often overlooked selection on the classical side is Karl Orff’s Carmina Burana; look for the Christian Thielemann rendition.
For sheer silliness, you can never go wrong with Wierd Al or some Dr. Demento.
Oh yeah-White Stripes kick all kinds of ass! Check out The Detroit Cobras, too.
Also Guided By Voices. Their latest, ‘Isolation Drills’ is superb.
Listen to a few cuts of Enya “paint the sky with stars” cd… Kinda neat
If you like guitar music, go with Willie & Lobo. If African-style world music does it for you, I love both Johnny Clegg & Savuka and Angelique Kidjo. Love all three of those artists. I have lots more world music CD’s in the car - I’ll dig up the old faves. Time to go for a drive with the top down!
I must confess to not having read the entire thread so far, so I apologize if I have repeated something somebody already suggested. However. I must highly recommend any of Jane Siberry’s music. She’s a great songwriter, with meaningful lyrics and good tunes as well. Also Aimee Mann (a good introduction would probably be the Magnolia soundtrack, which has the benefit of a couple good Supertramp tunes as well).
I also adore Robyn Hitchcock. Yet another masterful lyricist (in my opinion). Ditto Leonard Cohen, who writes haunting, soulful music. And throw in some Jonathan Richman, just for fun.
OK, I’m tapped.
A couple of local bands (St. Louis) have recently caught my attention - Radio Iodine (now defunct) and Greenwheel (currently on a US tour of smaller clubs. And, who can leave out Gravity Kills and The Urge?
Well, I’ve got to mention my three faves.
XTC. Great band, and if you’re only able to get one album, try “Upsy-Daisy Assortment”, which is an odd-ball collection spanning their entire career.
The Beautiful South. Already mentioned, but worth the extra talking-up. Great great band. I always found it odd their best off didn’t include “Woman in the Wall”…
John Wesley Harding. If you can only buy one, try “Why We Fight”. Great stuff.
Go with anything by The Dave Matthews Band. It’s kinda a mix of rock, jazz, and Dylan. Beautiful. Dave is a musical genius.
Sliv, I was the one who mentioned the Beautiful South. Too funny…
And woodstock, I love them because of fond memories but they are a little too singsongy for me, now that you mention it.
I decided to cancel the book and buy 3 cds instead. They are:
Beth Orton, Central Reservation - I heard this a year ago and loved it but never bought it - it’s time now.
PJ Harvey, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
And Galore, by Kirsty MacColl, because the person who wrote the recommendation had the best reasons and description. I had to have it.
Many of these will find their way to my Christmas list, never fear.
Can I recommend “Talking Timbuktu” by Ali Farka Toure and Ry Cooder to y’all? Fantastic African blues guitar and rhythms.
Cool. I knew my advertising copywriting experience would come in handy someday. Hope you enjoy it half as much as I have.
By coincidence, I wandered down State Street in Chicago yesterday afternoon to the Borders store as a way to kill some time (I’m still stuck here since all United flights are still grounded). One of the things I bought was the brand-new Kirsty MacColl collection of B-sides and other semi-rarities, The One and Only. There’s a page on it, with notes on each track, at the semi-official Kirsty MacColl site.
rackensack, do you want to grab a drink after work or something? Didn’t know you were in Chi-town.
Ben Harper - Fight for your Mind , a great mellow album with great lyrics… could be his best album.
The Black Crowes - Amorica. a very deep album which covers many different parts of the musical spectrum; although Southrn Harmony is my favorite album of theirs.
Wilco - Being There. great country-ish rock
The Jayhawks - Tomorrow the Green Grass. their harmonies and songwriting are amazing.
check them out…
oh yeah, and who could forget the classic album Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses… it is simply awesome!