So I'm at a bar one night

...and the band is playing some blues / bluesy classic rock while the beers are going down real nice. After a Muddy Waters' tune, the saxophone player steps up to the mike and belts out a tune in the key of one-too-many-packs of Marlboros-one-too-many-bottles of Thunderbird while the drummer kicks up thunder with a burlesque-style beat. My refined senses were appalled at the entrancing, funk-driven, sex-raving sounds coming out of the P.A. system. I was immediately hooked. When the set was over, with a Bushmill's on the rocks I approached the sax player and asked "what, what! was that song you did with the drummer right after 'I Can't Be Satisfied'?"
"That", he told me, "was 'Pasties and a G-String' by Tom Waits... From the album Small Change."

I found and bought the CD the very next day.

A classic album...

Pasties And A G-String.mp3

Small Change.mp3

Some early Tom Waits...

So Long, I'll See You.mp3 (The Buick's Outside Waiting Blues)

Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again.mp3

Some Tom Waits for your holiday traveling or weekend barbeque...

Hang On St. Christopher.mp3

Filipino Box Spring Hog.mp3

Have a happy and safe holiday!

Lately...

Last fall, I read about the Cold War Kids and my curiosity was piqued. I went out and bought the album without hearing a single song. I don't think I've ever done that, but I wanted some new music to get into and I felt like I was in a lull... I am so glad I did. Listening to the first song, 'We Used To Vacation', I heard the lyrics "...I give a check to tax-deductible charity organizations..." and I knew a Divine Force lead me to this band.
Love their album, Robbers & Cowards and I can't wait until they play around here. Check out their Daytrotter sessions here.

We Used To Vacation.mp3 from 'Robbers and Cowards'

Ballad Of A Thin Man.mp3 from 'Highway 61 Revisited'

The first post

Welcome to my weblog. My little piece of the internet universe. I thought about creating a blog for the longest time. My personal favorite out there in blogdom is Aquarium Drunkard. Great variety of music, very articulate... always something new (to me) to discover. I hope I can create and maintain a cool web log by posting some music that I'd like to share, along with a few stories or anecdotes I may want to pass along.

Obviously 5 Believers.mp3 From 'Blonde on Blonde'

Corrina, Corrina.mp3 Alternate take, 'Freewheelin'' sessions

Here are a couple of songs to get me started. Bob Dylan is my favorite musician, period. 'Blonde on Blonde'. What can be said about this album that hasn't already been said?

To quote Jack Black's character Barry in 'High Fidelity': "Don't tell anyone you don't own "Blonde on Blonde". It's gonna be okay."

My personal introduction to Bob Dylan was by a guy that owned a record store in Owosso, Michigan. 'Round Midnight Records. The year was 1993. I was a big Jimi Hendrix fan at the time, collecting every bootleg cassette tape I could possibly afford. He supplied me with some nice boots and lots of conversation about Hendrix and one of Hendrix's favorites, Bob Dylan. He loaned me two fantastic mix tapes that he had made which contained everything from Mixed Up Confusion to All Along The Watchtower to Property Of Jesus To Jokerman. It took some time initally but I eventually came to appreciate and then obsess about Bob Dylan. More on that later...

'Corrina, Corrina', from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is a gorgeous song. Bob is a supreme master when it comes to pouring out emotions through his voice inflection. Enjoy!