Random Sample 12-26-08

Sorry this post is up late, but better late than never!  We woke up late, took a long walk, had a leisurely breakfast, read the paper, showered and tried to figure out how to get DVDs ripped onto Maya’s new iPod (it’s a slow process, but it works).  Anyway, for those of you checking blogs today, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.  Here are some stocking stuffers for you as you either head out to stores to do returns or just veg out at home.

“Awful,” Hole (Download)  The other day I was listening to NPR and I heard this woman talking about her daughter and how she wants to be a stand up comedian even though her family’s life was filled with tragedy.  I was trying to figure out who it was that was being interviewed and I thought it was Courtney Love (mostly because of the tragedies she was recounting).  Turns out I was wrong.  It was Carrie Fisher being interviewed, but she sounds so much like Courtney Love that it might as well have been.  So, after that I started thinking about Hole and eventually rummaged through my CDs to find  the only Hole recording I own.  While this album isn’t their best work, it does have a few good songs — like this one.

“Jacksons, Monk, and Rowe,” Elvis Costello with the Brodsky Quartet (Download)  And the award for “Most Interesting Career” goes to … Elvis Costello.  The guy now hosts a talk show on the Sundance Channel, but back in the 90s Elvis was having fun experimenting with a fusion of styles when he got together with the Brodsky Quartet to create some songs that grew out of a newspaper article about letters addressed to Juliet Capulet.  The newspaper story was about a professor in Verona who would answer letters addressed to Juliet for years until the media broke the story of the true author. One, two, three, and Costello has an idea for an album — which he pitched to the Quartet after seeing them perform in Britain.   “Jacksons, Monk and Rowe” is probably the poppiest track on this CD, but that doesn’t mean it blows.  Quite the contrary, it’s a very catchy song from an album that, quite frankly, takes some getting used to.

“Miles Davis & The Cool,” The Gaslight Anthem (Download)  I downloaded this album off of eMusic and haven’t been disappointed. The songs certainly live up the “anthem” qualities in the band’s name, and at times they sound like the Killers — but without the puzzling lyrics.  Have a listen and let me know what you think ’cause I’m guessing most of you are going to like this song.