blind boys of alabama et al.

yet again, i come to the party late. when we lived in marblehead, our next-door neighbor was a record company rep (virgin or arista or some such thing), and she would give me demos from time to time. by far the most surreal cd was jim white's the mysterious tale of how i shouted wrong-eyed jesus. you should click on that link just to hear the sample for the 4th track, "when jesus gets a brand new name." weirdest song i ever heard.

all that's beside the point, however, or @ least it's beside the point of this post. the demo i finally picked up months after cheryl gave it to me, and which i've been listening to over and over again this week, is spirit of the century by the blind boys of alabama. if you've ever watched hbo's the wire (a fabulous show, btw), you've already heard the ninth track, "way down in the hole," which was the show's opening theme (the first year's, not the oddly altered version for season 2). if you can't make it to oxford for the dda festival this weekend to hear live music, patronize your local cd emporium and scrounge up a copy (or buy it on amazon through the link @ the bottom of my blog b/c i think i get, like, a fifth of a cent for every hundred bucks you buy or something like that . . . but don't tell your local independently-owned music store i said that or i'll deny it 'til i'm blue in the face).

and while i'm @ it -- please allow me to hawk the wares of 2 friends. caroline herring is a mississippi girl w/ a voice as broad as texas (her penultimate residence; she now calls atlanta home), and her latest cd, wellspring, is fine music and even finer storytelling. the latter link has some samples, if'n you don't take my word for it. be sure and listen repeatedly to "mistress," which is currently vying -- with the live version of "transit" by richard shindell and, of course, player's classic "baby come back" -- for the coveted all-time-muy-muy-gonzocoolest-song award. and from out of the great northeast comes maeve, an equally talented trio including an old marblehead neighbor, rollyn bornhorst nee zoubek (i'm never sure if i get that nee thingy right). their new record is the simple and the wonderful, and if brooks williams calls it "the best new music I have heard in a long, long time," it's got to be good. oo, oo, and buy some garrison starr, too; just pick any cd and go w/ it. she rocks well.

good weekend (good weather) and happy listening!